Motorsport eNews Issue 103 - May 5-11, 2009

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Issue No. 103 5 – 11 May 2009

T I L P S E PIT LAN Massive 61 Page Issue!

teams seek action on aero controversy

Merged Force Wilson security racing looks to a ‘bigger’ future

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

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Contributing Writers F1: Will Buxton, Mark Glendenning, Paolo Filisetti Europe: Quentin Spurring, David Addison US: Martin D. Clark, Phil Morris Speedway: Greg Boscato, Geoff Rounds, Darren Sutton, Tony Millard (UK) Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski (USA), Ken Ferguson, John Bosher, Luke Nieuwhof National: Lachlan Mansell, Mark Jones, Aaron Shaw.

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, Paris Charles, Neil Hammond, Joel Strickland, Ash Budd, Mike Patrick (UK) Motorsport eNews is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden

Issue No. 103 | 5–11 May 2009

news 4 Splitters and Scandal The inside word on the aero 6 I take you, Paul ...

9 SGR 10 Family Fast Party 12 What else is Triple F? 15 Send me in, coach

chat 22 5 minutes with ... opinion 24 Branagan

Will Cruickshank marry up?

Skaifey’s Great Racing Welcoming Triple F to V8s Frosty’s Formula Ford!

Young gun wants a shot David Reynolds

25 Rowley

What Jamie can teach Lewis Time is precious ...

34 Fujitsu V8s 38 Formula Ford 46 Targa Tasmania 54 A1GP

Lowndes and clear Winning without winning SuPercat Effort Quinn-tessential reading Luck of the you-know-who

race 26 V8 Supercars

trade 42 Classifieds Ah the good ol’ eNews Esses at Winton. Always willing to provide a few thrills and spills.

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.

Peter Bury

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

Splitter down the middle V8 SUPERCARS A TECHNICAL bunfight took place behind the scenes at Winton Raceway on Saturday after the fifth round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series – and there is more to come.

The seven Triple Eight Race Engineering-built Fords in the series all underwent modifications before Sunday’s race, after questions were raised over the legality of the mounting of the cars’ front splitter. Rival teams believe that a compressible part allows the splitter to deflect at speed, with the potential effect of giving the cars more front downforce.

TeamVodafone, Jim Beam Racing, Wilson Security Racing and Intraracing all modified their cars prior to Sunday’s sixth race. A V8 Supercars spokesman said that there would be an “ongoing investigation” into the matter this week, and after a Board meeting held today [Monday].

V8SA CEO Cameron Levick was not available for comment on the subject.

In spite of a number of team members advising eNews that they understood that protests had been lodged, no protests were heard over the course of the weekend.

After Craig Lowndes maintained his team’s 100 percent winning record with his second victory of the weekend, T8 boss Roland Dane was, clearly, not happy about what had occurred:

“As I understand it, a team or teams have complained about the system we use to mount the front splitter to the car. We have used this for four years and sold it to lots of people. It has gone through scrutineering umpteen times over the last few years.

“In the absence of anyone making a decision about whether it is the right interpretation or not of a rule – and I don’t know what rule they are referring to – to keep the peace, last night, to make life easy for everyone, we just replaced the compressible packer with a bolt. [The compressible packer] is designed to save a splitter, to save it smashing to pieces, basically. To save money.

“So, we replaced it with a rigid bolt today.”

But rivals are far from happy with the way the matter has been handled. Levick met with team bosses Walkinshaw Performance’s Craig Wilson, FPR’s Tim Edwards and Sprint Gas Racing’s Jeff Grech on Saturday afternoon, the team bosses making the point that they were not happy that the feature has been used without comment for some time.

“The VSD says what you can and can’t do,” Grech said.

“It is clear. Other things have been deliberated on – I just want to see this deliberated on by the Technical police.”

Dane drew some satisfaction from the results on Sunday, after the seven Fords were modified.

“They all think that this is a way of going faster. Obviously, Jamie was on pole and Craig won the race. So it looks like business as usual ...”

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

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Dane: It’s not about speed

TRIPLE Eight Race Engineering boss Roland Dane is adamant that the compressible mounts on the front of the Fords in question provide no performance gain.

“None,” he told eNews.

“If there were, do you think that we would have sold it to everyone? Do you think that we would have spread it out, on cars as old as Howard’s has got in the paddock, from four years ago? And all the other people here? Do me a favour.”

“What we are trying to do is to try and save the front splitters from getting smashed to pieces, at $3000 plus the paintwork, a go. Maybe this is the sensible thing to do.”

Dane said that he was not aware of which team may have brought this matter up.

“I am not sure. I would not like to say for

sure. But everyone is trying to justify to their sponsors, to themselves, why they are not winning. So, they see an opportunity to jump on a bandwagon when somebody says something and throw stones.

“I have been doing this a lot longer than people in the pit lane. I am fully aware of what people can do. But for us, this is not a big issue.

It is a waste of money.”

He says that he would welcome it if there was a technical bulletin issued prior to the next race in Tasmania to deal with the situation.

“It would be helpful if they did. It is difficult to understand why people find fault with what we are doing, because we have been doing it for so long, and the scrutineers have been looking at it for so long. But, whatever. I don’t mind. I can afford the splitters. Probably, other people can’t.”

Grech: We would History never repeats have protested Splitter row brings up past grievances NO protests were formally lodged over the splitter situationat Winton – but Sprint Gas Racing would have, had Jeff Grech known what awaited him on Sunday morning.

The team’s managing director left Winton on Saturday night under the impression that the Stewards were about to become involved with the matter.

“I was told that this would be referred to the Stewards on Saturday,” he told eNews.

“It wasn’t. When I got to the track on Sunday, I was told, ‘It’s okay, we fixed the cars’’.”

When asked what he would have done differently had he known that on Saturday, he told eNews, “I would have lodged a protest.

“I asked a question. I asked for the Technical ‘police’ to clarify the situation.”

Furthermore, Grech is not happy about being portrayed in the spotlight as the lone voice: “I am upset by what I read. This matter was brought up by several teams, not just us. I have asked for it to be brought up in General Business at the Board meeting, and acted on.”

THE angst felt by some teams over the Splitter issue, particularly on the Holden side of the divide, goes back a long way.

In 2004, an extra resisitor and wiring was found on the wiring loom in Todd Kelly’s HRT Commodore at the Gold Coast Indy round. The team admitted the breach, and Kelly was excluded from Race 2 and docked 90 points as a punishment.

That came only months after a not-dissimilar matter involving the Stone Brothers Ford of Marcos Ambrose, when Ambrose lost points from the Queensland 300 but won them back (and a $5000 fine) on appeal.

“We were monitored in the past over another matter, where an honest mistake led to a problem with a wiring loom,” says Jeff Grech, then at the helm at HRT. “Steve Brow [Ed: then, V8SA’s Technical man] knew that it was a genuine mistake, and was sympathetic. It was referred to the Stewards, but we had

breached the rule. We copped the consequences.”

But there is another wrinkle.

Grech claims that Holden teams were required to modify their splitters two years ago, after a flexing problem was discovered with a homologated mounting part.

“When the VE was homologated, there was a problem with the splitter. It was moving, not up and down, but within the plane. The angle was different, and the rule was that it should not happen.

“It needed to be fixed, but you were not allowed to change a homologated part. So it was redesigned, stronger, so the spliter couldn’t move, and we all changed them.

“They [the teams with T8 cars] have been running these mounts for a long time. At Hamilton, you could hear every car bar seven scraping their splitters on the ground ...

“I guess we’ll see what happens next – I am waiting to see what comes out of the Board [meeting].”

SS GPWEEK – THE WORLD’S FIRST ‘VIRTUAL’ INTERNATIONAL MOTORSPORT MAGAZINE ...

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Economies of Scale PCR boss investigates the benefits of merging with another V8 team V8 SUPERCARS PAUL Cruickshank has revealed initial plans to merge his giant-killing team with another V8 Supercar outfit in a bid to create another ‘mega team.’

The Wilson Security Racing team owner has spoken to at least two current V8 teams about the chances – and benefits – of merging forces to offset the high cost of racing, while boosting his team’s on-track performances.

The talks have centered on sharing factory space, engineering know-how and marketing possibilities.

“We’ve spoken to a couple of teams about doing it – and there has been some interest,” he told eNews.

“It hasn’t gone any further than that at this stage, but we spoke about some of the principles and how it could be done.

“One of them has been reasonably serious, and the other was more thinking out loud to see what the desire would be.

“I think it comes back to that NASCAR model. There’s strength in numbers and there is economy of scale in numbers.

“The economy of scale is probably more important in our current climate so therefore.”

Cruickshank said that the only way for

a deal of this nature to work is to ensure that all parties are working towards the same goal.

“It’s got to be the right people blend.

There needs to be a desire from both sides to do it and there would be your due diligence and there would be a lot of preliminary work to do.

“If you look at it now, every team has good cars, and whatever they tell you, the information transfer from team-to-team is quite common now. So it makes sense. If you can centralise your engineering and your operations, it’s a sensible thing to do.

“We get all this money in to go racing and we’re spending it all on our cars. We need to be spending it on marketing, our businesses and promoting the category.

“We’re all doing the same thing. Obviously, some skin the cat a different way, but at the end of the day we’re all doing the same thing. From our side of it, it’s certainly something we’re looking at because we want the business to not just survive but to grow. “Sharing a reasonably sized facility with another team should be a good thing.”

Cruickshank’s desire to merge his team has two elements – cost-saving and improving his team’s racing results.

“This is one of the ways I see my team moving forward. It’s not about leveling

the playing field. It’s about utilising the resources that you get,” he said.

“We need to be spending less money on parts and more work on the promotion of the sport and getting that bit of it right.

“If you could knock a substantial amount of money out of the running of your cars because you’re housed in the same facility, then you can spend more on promoting your business and promoting Supercars in general which brings more revenue. It should be a flow on affect from there.”

At this stage, teams are only allowed to control a maximum of four entries in the V8 field. Cruickshank argues that this number could be raised to provide even further benefits.

“I think Supercars needs to look at everything, and to be honest, what’s the difference between four and six?” he said.

“If you look at Walkinshaw Racing, there’s four cars there, plus they’ve got the BJR cars as well. In a roundabout way – they are efectively controlling six cars.

“Triple Eight has seven cars in the field and they’ve all got some alliance in some way. We’ve started to go that way – what would be the difference in housing them in the same facility for the benefit of the category?”

– GRANT ROWLEY

Two Sons set to Shine?

Dirk Klynsmith

and asked if I’d be interested in driving the car in Practice A – I MOFFAT, Perkins and Bathurst. said ‘absolutely!’

“I just roaded tyres for them, These three names are nothing serious, but it was synonymous with Australian great to get the laps and motorsport, and there’s there’s the potential there for a chance that they could us to build on that relationship be brought together for and see where it leads.” this season’s V8 Supercar Regarding the possibility endurance races.

Fujitsu V8 Series front-runner of the Moffat/Perkins combo, ‘Moff’ said he’d be keen to make James Moffat, son of threehis Main Series debut with a time Bathurst-winner Allan, and Jack Perkins, son of seven- “close friend.”

“Jack and I have been mates times victor Larry, have grown up around race tracks together, for years, and that goes back to Dad and Larry being mates,” and have been off-track mates he said. for a long-time.

“We were family friends, Now, there’s suggestions that we grew up together and the pair could share a seat at we’ve known each other Phillip Island and Bathurst. since we were knee-high to Moffat sampled Todd Kelly’s a grasshopper. We are both Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE doing what we want to do and during the endurance driver session at Winton last weekend, it would be great to have my first enduros with a close friend. and this could be the start of a “It’s a possibility, but there are relationship with Kelly Racing – a few other options out there the team that Perkins’ races his as well. Obviously, if Sonic Dodo Commodore for. decided to do the enduros I’d “The enduros is something have to look at that seriously.” that I’m working towards,” Allan Moffat and Larry Moffat said.

Perkins never drove together “Todd rang me on Monday

V8 SUPERCARS

at Bathurst, but have both enjoyed much success at The Mountain. To date, the names Moffat and Perkins have a total

of 11 Bathurst wins to their names. Could this be added to in the near future?

– GRANT ROWLEY

It’s Tony RicciarKello V8 SUPERCARS

TONY Ricciardello will drive for the Kelly Racing Team in this year’s Phillip Island and Bathurst endurance races, and will have his first taste of the team’s equipment at Winton today (Tuesday).

The West Australian is due to jump aboard Dale Wood’s Hi-Tech Oils VE Commodore at a ride day, his first taste of a V8 Supercar since his parttime program with Britek Motorsport back in 2006.

“It should be really exciting,” Ricciardello told eNews.

“This is a good team, so hopefully we can build some momentum before the endurance races. Coming back into V8s with a team like Kelly Racing Team is

perfect. They have well prepared cars and great support for the drivers.

“You look at the V8 grid; the category is so close these days. You need good equipment, and the team will keep getting better as the year goes on. Hopefully we can have some nice clean runs in the enduros.”

While there is no confirmation as to which of the KRT drivers Ricciardello will be paired with at Phillip Island and Bathurst, the obvious option is Wood. The rookie’s Commodore has minor sponsorship from fast food chain Red Rooster, as does Ricciardello’s fivetime national championship winning Alfa Sports Sedan.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

For Sale Ba Falcon V8 Supercar FPR BA 01

Full sPec FPR engine, BAthuRst Fujitsu WinneR, sPARes AvAilABle inc geARBox, cuRRent sPec sAchs etc. $120,000

Ph: tony 0418546755

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Dirk Klynsmith

BACK IN THE SADDLE, AGAIN V8 SUPERCARS MARK Skaife made a lastminute return to the driver’s seat at Winton last weekend, completing the half-hour ‘Practice A’ session for Sprint Gas Racing.

Skaife drove Greg Murphy’s #51 entry as a favour for his former HRT tech guru Jeff Grech. It was his first drive of a V8 Supercar since December last year, and he was 17th fastest after his 14 laps.

“Jeff explained that the team had made really good progress with Murph’s car,” said Skaife,

“the early season test had gone extremely well, development was continuing and he wanted some further feedback.

“I’ve worked with Jeff and Mike Henry over the years and hold them both in very high regard. I didn’t have to be asked to drive Murph’s car twice.

“SGR is doing things differently to how I’m used to, but then I’ve had the HRT blinkers on for a large chunk of my career. There is definitely more than one way to engineer and develop a car.

“My thoughts coincided with

what Murph has experienced.

I explained what I thought was good with the car and then looked at areas that were problematic.”

Murphy agreed that Skaife’s feedback on what the car was doing was right on the money.

“He got out and said that the car was doing this, this and this, and it sounded different to what it felt like in the [preseason] test,” he said.

“When I hopped in, sure enough, he was right; it felt like this, this and this, and you give the guy points for that.”

The ‘test’ has sparked

rumours that Skaife and Murphy will team up for this year’s endurance races, and neither Skaife nor the team have ruled it out. Skaife simply reiterated that if he does race, it will be in a Holden, while Murphy said it was worth considering: “There are a few conversations to be had before we even talk about that,” added Murphy.

“He would want to make a decision and it would go forward from there. But it is something to think about, for sure.”

Thommo in?

ANDREW Thompson and Kiwi Matthew Halliday are two of the leading contenders for the endurance drive slot alongside Marcus Marshall at IntaRacing.

While Marshall has not confirmed his second driver yet, Thompson and Halliday have been nominated as the two men in contention for the drive in the currently unsponsored red Falcon.

“Everyone’s been knocking on my door, even though some people thought things were shaky when the sponsor went down,” Marshall said.

“And to be honest, I haven’t had a great deal of time to think about it.

“There’s a possibility of Andrew coming on board with us, and I drove with Matt last year – he is very professional and I think he’d fit in really well.

“My team mate has to have good experience, be professional, and I want them to come in and do a clean job.

I think we’ll have a really good package come the endurance races.”

The first two rounds of Marshall’s V8 Supercar season have been dogged by the withdrawal of his major sponsor Access Cash.

Despite the lender’s backing being withdrawn, Marshall is still going ahead with plans to purchase a new FG Falcon from Triple Eight Race Engineering. As reported in eNews #098, the new Falcon will be available from July 31.

One thing that won’t happen, though, is Inta Racing’s entry in the Fujitsu V8 Series. The Queensland-based team was set to put a car in the Development Series, but those plans have been shelved for the time being.

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Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS

Triple F joins th V8 SUPERCARS

The tough start to the year hasn’t deterred Marshall, who had a competitive round at Winton last weekend, including setting a new V8 lap record at the rural circuit.

“I’ve had better times, but we’re still here, still racing,” he said.

“We only brought five staff with us to Winton, so I had no engineer, no engine guy.

Kenny Mac (engine builder) has been very good to come over and help us out as much as he could in between his other duties. My guys have done an exceptional job this weeken – we had some pretty good speed, but we just haven’t got a decent set-up base. Just the basics like tyre pressures, so we’re learning all the time.

“In the second race we got the car pretty good. Our strategy was a bit out, because if we’d pitted a bit earlier, we could have ended up on the podium. That’s pretty exciting for us in our first few seasons.

And I ended up with the lap record, so that’s pretty cool as well.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

TRIPLE F Racing is the newest V8 Supercar team, following the purchase of the Team Kiwi Racing license by the Fiore family just days before the Winton round of the series.

As revealed by eNews last week, Dean Fiore, who was driving the TKR car, has purchased the #021 license, ending a long financial struggle for the Kiwi team.

Aside from the change of ownership, little will change in the TKR to Triple F transition; Fiore will continue to drive the

car, and Paul Morris Motorsport will continue to provide the car, engine and technical support, as was the agreement with TKR. “We were in the box seat to grab it,” explained Fiore.

“We snapped it up and we’ll continue going exactly how we are. Morisses has been great, we’re really happy with how that is working. The support is great. We’ll stick with them, and potentially grow on that. There is room for improvement in the engine and car.”

With TKR and boss David John out of the way, the #021 entry now has a chance to re-

The grandest gestur THE F in Triple F Racing doesn’t stand for family, but it probably should.

Okay, that was a terribly corny line. But in the ilk of bad 1990s sitcoms about family ties and full houses, I figure it fits the bill.

And the heart-warming story I’m about to tell could have come straight from one of those shows (cue the audience track to ‘adoring sigh’).

The way that Triple F Racing became a V8 Supercar team goes as follows; the finances involved stemmed from the proceeds

opinion Andrew van Leeuwen eNews Deputy Editor of Dean’s Cup Car, which was recently sold. Now the F in Triple F actually stands for Fiore, because Dean has two brothers, Paul and Todd, both handy steerers in their own rights. So technically, that money was to be shared by all three boys and their racing ambitions.

But Paul and Todd elected to let

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brand itself. The next job is finding a sponsor, with the car just running black bodywork at Winton.

“We’re looking for the sponsor.

We’re talking to a few people at the moment, and now we have some decent time – well, three and a half weeks – before the next round, we can give it a decent crack. Up until now, we’ve only had three days.

“The way the world is at the moment, it’s hard to find, but we’re confident we can do it. We don’t need a Vodafonespec deal, we just need to get through the year.”

Dirk Klynsmith

he V8 family But don’t look for TKR to become TWA. While Fiore is a patriotic West Aussie, he says rumours that the team would adopt a west coast influence are wide of the mark.

“We’re not going to brand the team as a WA team. There is a WA influence, because that’s where we are from, but it’s kind of a catch 22, because you limit yourself to finding sponsors in one part of the world.”

The Winton meeting was the first without a TKR entry since the team joined the series back in 2000.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

re of brotherly love Dean use the much-needed cash to keep V8 Supercar racing in a very grand gesture of brotherly love.

“They’re superstars, aren’t they,” says Dean. “They are looking after me. The boys are busy with work back home, and they are doing a bit of racing state level, and they’re happy. I’m based in Melbourne, and they saw that I had the best opportunity, and they’ve been kind enough to let me do that.”

Dean already has plans to return the favour, so expect to

see more cars running under the Triple F umbrella, in one form or another, at some point in the near future.

“If we run the operation properly, there’s no reason why they can’t have a crack here and there. It’s up to them, really, and the flow of the dough. We’ll have the infrastructure in place.”

Dick Johnson Racing, Stone Brothers Racing, and now the Fiores; our sport might be famous for scantily clad woman holding umbrellas, but it’s still a family sport …

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V8 Legend lends a hand to CAMS kids Restoration complete, now it’s time for ...

Winterbottom’s Formula Ford return FORMULA FORD MARK Winterbottom will make a return to Formula Ford next week.

The Ford Performance Racing driver will drive the Spectrum 09 that he used to finish second in the 2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship at Winton on May 13.

The chassis that ‘Frosty’ will drive has just undergone a complete restoration by Borland Racing Developments.

The Spectrum was built especially for Winterbottom – designed especially to accommodate his height, weight and frame.

Why did BRD do that? At the time, the Victorian team thought that the Spectrum 09 was going to be the last chassis it was going to build after Ford Motorsport boss Howard Marsden outlined proposals for a one-make Formula Ford class. BRD pulled out all stops to secure

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the title – hand-picking Winterbottom fresh out of karting and building the best car they possibly could.

Fristy eventually finished second in the series, behind Jamie Whincup.

Winterbottom told eNews that he is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of his old Spectrum.

“It will be a good thing,” he said.

“The 2002 season was a great year. That car was built for me, with a small cockpit.

It was purpose-built, so it will be interesting to see if I can still fit in it!

“Mike and Paul were really pumped about that year and we tried to build a car capable of winning the title. I was probably a little inexperienced at the start and had a slow start, but I think I outscored everyone in the second half of the year.

“But it’s a great car with a history so it should be a fun day.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

FORMULA FORD MARK Skaife began his new-for-2009 role as board member of the Australian Motor Sports Foundation by offering the CAMS Rising Stars guidance over the Winton weekend.

The five-time Bathurst winner met up with the Rising Stars (Scott Pye, Luke Ellery and Nathan Morcom) as often as twice a day, offering the trio invaluable insights into the art of motor racing – both on and off the track.

The role for Skaife is totally voluntary, and while Skaife never raced a Formula Ford, the Rising Stars said that his insights are invaluable.

“Anything that Mark has to say about motorsport is priceless,” said Pye, pictured above with Skaife.

“It’s fantastic to have him on our side this year. He’s been talking to us about a variety of things, like helping us learn how to better describe the car’s performance to our engineers. We’re all new to the sport, “He came past after each session, just to see if we had any questions that he could help with.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

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Minor changes to come for V8 Supercar’s new Sprint tyre

Sticky rubber a visible success V8 SUPERCARS

in the tyre. There’s a bit to consider.

“We’ll also have a look at dayglow rims – something to stick on. That maybe a better solution, although the wheels that teams like Triple Eight and DJR use have got very narrow spoked wheels. That may or may not work.”

One thing was for sure – it was a busy weekend for the Dunlop boys.

“Twenty tyres per car, so 600 for the Main Game and 160 for the Fujitsu Series definitely kept us on our toes – it was like a mini Bathurst!”

– GRANT ROWLEY For more opinion and comment on the Sprint tyre, click to the Winton coverage, page 24.

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCAR’S ‘Sprint’ tyre experiment has been deemed a success, although there could be changes ahead of the tyre’s next appearance at Symmons Plains.

On the track, the Dunlop tyre produced its desired effect – better racing and unpredictable results.

Off track, though, minor issues surfaced, notably in regard to the visibility of the yellow strip on the tyre’s wall.

Not only was the Sprint tyre difficult to distinguish compared to the regular tyre, in some cases, the yellow paint was rubbing off.

There are, of course, a couple of solutions that are being

considered. Dunlop Motorsport manager Kevin Fitzsimmons told eNews that either a new type of paint would be tested, or a special wheel colour code could be considered.

“We tried two different types of pink paint (used on the team’s one-off Friday practice tyres) to see which one was better,” he said.

“What we need is something that dries fast so we can paint them, stack them and get on with the job. One of the paints seemed to be more durable than the other, so if we can find that brand and style of paint in yellow, then we’ll give that a try.

“The biggest problem we have is that some of the yellows go green when you apply it – just due to the oils

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TDR thinkin’ retro FUJITSU V8s

TONY D’Alberto Racing is yet to secure a driver for its Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series Commodore VZ, and is considering reverting the car to the colours of the chassis past glory.

The Commodore (HRT 052) was originally built by in 2006 and used by Rick Kelly to win the 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series. In 2007, TDR bought the car, and D’Alberto took it to FV8 series glory. Last year, David Reynolds drove the car to fourth place overall, but the car has sat idle this year – like many other potential FV8 chassis.

While the team would like to run the car in the Fujitsu V8 league, or even lease the car, TDR owner Al D’Alberto told eNews that he’s considering making the car a museum piece sooner rather than later.

“If we get some interest in running the car, we’d still look at it,” he said.

“It’s a good car and it’s a shame it’s not

being used at the moment. Just because it’s a VZ, doesn’t mean its not going to be competitive with the VEs. If anything, it could be better.

“The car will eventually end up as part of our collection of cars – we’ll just have to see how soon.”

To ensure the ex-Kelly Commodore is the genuine article, the D’Albertos have kept the original panels – complete with the tyre mark of Craig Lowndes’ Falcon after the pair’s controversial clash in the final (and deciding) race of the season at Phillip Island.

TDR is the owner of four ‘collectable’ V8 Supercar chassis. It owns HRT 044, the 2004 Bathurst winning Commodore (used by D”Alberto in the 2005 FV8 Series); HRT 048, the car that Peter Brock raced at Sandown and Bathurst in 2004 – his last V8 Supercar events; HRT 052, Rick’s championship winner; and WP 001, the very-first VE Commodore built, which D’Alberto is currently racing.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Dirk Klynsmith

Wood wan

Car ready, Marcus close ...

FUJITSU V8s

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the 2010 FV8 season kicks off in Adelaide next year.

He is planning to drive his Commodore Cup car for the first time in August, and will take it from there.

“That’s my goal. Whether it sticks to that is a different story, but you need to have goals.

“Everything is healed except the leg, and I can’t actually race until the rod comes out which is in 12 months. So the plan will be to be fit for Clipsal.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Dirk Klynsmith

THE car that was almost destroyed in Marcus Zukanovic’s horror preseason testing crash will soon be available for lease in the Fujitsu Series.

Zukanovic crashed the VZ Commodore into the wall during a test at Winton back in February, breaking his leg, collarbone, shoulder and a rib. But while the Victorian himself is still on the mend,

the ex-Holden Racing Team car is almost ready to race again, and is expected to be ready for someone to jump into before the development series season is over.

“That’s the plan, to put someone in,” said Zukanovic.

“The car will be as good as new. We’ve rebuilt it ourselves under the helpful eyes of the guys at Walkinshaw.”

As for Zukanovic himself, he is planning to return to V8 Supercar racing when

news

Assaillit: Give me a chance!

FUJITSU V8s

Marshall Cass

nts Sandown debut

DAMIAN Assaillit won his first Fujitsu Series race at Winton last weekend, and now he wants a start in the endurance races The 19 year-old sampled Jason Bright’s Main Series V8 in Friday’s half hour endurance driver session and, after his maiden FV8 win, Assaillit says that he is ready to compete at Phillip Island and Bathurst.

“I’m ready, I can definitely do as good a job as anyone out there,” he said.

“I just need the chance to do it. There are a couple of opportunities there. I have been pushing pretty hard to be ready for it and I’ve spoken to a few people.

Brighty gave me a few laps on Friday which was great to get a feel for it.” eNews understands that Bright’s team-mate of the past two years, Adam Macrow, is still in the frame to return to the Britek team, although a formal deal is yet to be inked.

And now, Assaillit’s victory couldn’t have done his chances any harm.

“It’s great to get the monkey off my back,” he said about the win.

“There were people out there who said I couldn’t do it so I’m glad to get the race win. Fujitsu has backed me the whole way through my V8 racing so it’s nice to give something back to them.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

FUJITSU V8s

Dirk Klynsmith

GLEN Wood is still confident of making his Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series debut later this year, and has targeted the Sandown round as the place to do it.

Wood, the younger brother of Hi-Tech Oils Racing driver Dale Wood, has spent the first part of 2009 on the sidelines after returning to Australia after a season of British Formula Ford. And with his brother’s ex-Tasman Motorsport VZ Commodore sitting at Greg Murphy Racing ready to go, Wood is just waiting to raise the budget to do some one-off FV8 rounds, starting with Sandown at the end of July.

“I’d like to do Sandown,” he told eNews. “That gives me some time to look for sponsors. I don’t need heaps and heaps of sponsorship dollars, just enough to get on track.”

Dale Wood raced the VZ for GMR in the Fujitsu Series in 2007 an 2008, before graduating to the main game as part of the formation of the Kelly Racing Team. Glen Wood tested the car at the end of last year, his first taste of a V8 Supercar.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

15

When Davisons meet Unsers

James D selflessly tests Indy 500 legends for ABC Television INDIANAPOLIS 500 JAMES Davison has been earning his way at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, by driving some historic cars on the 2.5-mile oval.

The Melbourne youngster was approached by Vision Racing teammate Ed Carpenter to drive four cars, for inclusion as part of ABC Television’s broadcast of the 93rd running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

“It was truly unique driving such famous Indianapolis 500 winning automobiles that are apart of so much of the history,” said the third-generation racer.

“I was first dressed as Ray Harroun to recreate him driving the 1909 Wasp. I even had black make-up on to portray the post race grit. It was a shock how hot the driver gets from the front engine fumes. 7 hours in that thing would have been tough.

“I was then dressed as Louis Meyer and drove his 1928 winning Miller which

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was a tight fit.

“Ultimately I drove Al Unser's 1978 winning Lola Chaparral using his actual helmet. A pit stop was recreated requiring me to take off out of the pits as the mechanics ran over the wall. After the on-track shoot was complete I was able to do two laps at speed.

“The 800hp Cosworth down the back stretch was the ultimate adrenaline fulfillment. When the engine boost kicked in, it was incredible. The sound was awesome, I was up to 170mph before I knew it. With 30-year-old tyres, no stagger and set-up, it was pretty sketchy through the turns!

“The biggest thing that was appreciated was how brave those guys were. I felt so vulnerable sitting in the car with nearly zero protection. Those guys were very brave, so brave that I can appreciate first hand. I would have loved to have raced in that era.”

That’s James with the Unser Lola above. No reaction from cousins Alex and Will necessary ...

Drifting’s Su

news

A1GP: Th-th-that’s All, Folks!

A1GP THE fourth A1GP season wound up at Brands Hatch at the weekend after the series cancelled its Mexican round due to the swine flu crisis.

The championship had been scheduled to end at Mexico City on May 24, but last week the series announced that it had

called off the eighth and final event due to the health crisis.

“To say we are disappointed to have to make this call is an understatement,” said A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira.

“When the news of the health problems broke last week we made sure we kept ourselves up to date with the latest information.”

The decision was made in after the UK Foreign Office had advised against making ‘non-essential’ journeys to the country.

Under the health guideline Britain has put in place, the cars would have been able to fly straight back for the race but the crews, most based in England, may have been delayed due to quarantine requirements.

McPherson struts his stuff to Le Mans V8 SUPERCARS PLAYER’S Player awards are common in the ball sport’s world, but not so much in motor racing.

Ford Performance Racing bucked that trend recently, allowing each of its team members to vote for its ‘Best and Fairest’ employee at the team’s Campbellfield HQ. The winner of the award was Grant McPherson, the data engineer on Mark Winterbottom’s #5 Falcon FG.

Having the admiration of his peers is one thing for McPherson, but the real bragging rights come with the prize – a trip to the Le Mans 24 Hours to be a part of Aston Martin’s factory squad.

McPherson told eNews that he’ll be able to get more out of the Le Mans experience other than a summer holiday in France.

“It’s going to be a really good opportunity for me,” he said.

“The Aston Martin Racing Team are endurance race

specialists. It will give me a good opportunity to learn a few strategy ideas and things that they’ve learned to master.

Also, refueling strategy, the ability to refuel the car quickly and understanding the best strategy to implement in the given circumstances.

“Our V8 Supercars races now have refueling, so it’s more important than ever for us to get that right, and I think going over to Le Mans is going to be of some benefit to FPR.” – GRANT ROWLEY

upercup is Running Over DRIFT SUPERCUP A COLLECTION of Australia’s best Drifters will head to Adelaide’s Mallala Motorsport Park on May 23/24 to battle it out at Drifting’s newest event – the Drift Supercup.

National-level Drift competition in Australia was scaled back at the end of last year when the championship was scaled back from a five round series to a ‘oneoff’ Nationals, set to be run at Oran Park in September. The addition of the Drift Supercup will give all Drift fans a taste of toplevel competition before the Nationals later in the year.

The Drift Supercup will feature two separate Drift classes, Pro and Street, with over 60 cars from around the country expected to compete for a share of the

$12,000 prize money, including $5,000 for the Pro Class winner. This makes the Drift Supercup Australia’s richest Drift competition.

“The Drift Supercup is shaping up to be one of the biggest Drifting events we have ever held at Mallala,” Drift Supercup organiser Rob Curkpatrick said.

“The G1 state championship events at Mallala continue to be successful, but we wanted to go to the next level… hence the creation of the Drift Supercup,” “We have already received well over 30 entries, ranging from high-profile national drivers through to young South Australian up-and-comers.”

Along with the Drift action, there will be a host of other track activities to entertain the crowds including a Shannons Nationals Time Attack for circuit racers and an extreme motorcycle stunt show.

17

news

John Morris/Mpix

V8 stars line up to compete in Winton’s Commodore Cup enduro

Commodore enduro gaining momentum COMMODORE CUP COMMODORE Cup organisers are confident of a 20-car grid – and a class grid of V8 Supercar stars – for the class’s second ‘endurance’ round, to be held at Winton Motor Raceway, June 27-28.

The all Holden class attracted a competitive group of drivers and cars at the category’s first enduro at Mallala last year, but the 2009 race at Winton is set to

be bigger and better, with a number of top-line drivers likely to compete.

Heading the list of guests will be Lee Holdsworth who will team with Commodore Cup regular Brett Holdsorth in the TTM Group car.

Holdsworth’s V8 Supercar team-mate Michael Caruso has also been mentioned as a likely steerer, set to drive with Scott Andrews.

Reigning Fujitsu V8 Champ Steve Owen is pencilled in to

drive with Nick Parker, while another FV8 winner Adam Macrow has been mentioned a contender.

Macrow has never driven a Commodore Cup car but would love the chance to race in the two 45-minute races, complete with compulsory tyre and driver change.

“I know a bit about the cars.

I’ve watched them before and it’s a good class and a good way to get into V8s or anything with a sedan

category,” Macrow said.

“In a race like that, you’ve just got to go out and drive the wheels off them. They are good cars, so you don’t need to baby them around. To win a race like that, you’ve just got to go for it. You can’t break an old Holden engine!”

The Winton Commodore Cup enduro will be held as part of Round 5 of the Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Lovers of all things Porsche, line up here PORSCHE REGULARITY OVER 70 Porsches are expected to hit Phillip Island next weekend, 16-17 May, across three categories in Round Three of the Shannons Nationals.

Carrera Cup was scheduled to make its Shannons Nationals debut at the event, running alongside the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge and Australian GT Championship.

Instead, a Porsche Club regularity will ‘keep it in the family’ and take the now-defunct championship’s slot on the program. Over 30 of the German machines are expected to run in two sessions, one

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on Saturday and one on Sunday morning.

Amongst a diverse field of Porsches spanning over 50 years, Jim Richards will drive a Cayenne Deisel, example above. Richards will do double duty, also

peddling his regular 997 Cup Car in the Australian GT Championship.

The second-year GT3 Cup Challenge also features a strong, all-Porsche grid, with around 30 cars set to do battle. Following their debut in a new ‘997 Trophy Class’ in Bathurst’s season opener, ex-997 Cup cars continue to trickle into the series.

Among the new cars, South Australian Mark Krashos has upgraded to the newer model from his 996-spec car, while Carrera Cup refugee Shaun Juniper joins the series.

The massive Porsche fleet will be joined

by Formula 3, Commodore Cup and Saloon cars in the Shannons Nationals’ only visit to PI this year.

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Williams sets TF mark

Jon Bosher

DRAG RACING

20

Don’t Blink ...

DRAG RACING

THERE was a time when running a five and topping 240mph in a Doorslammer would be a guarantee.

Not any more. We ran this images of Robin Judd from WSID because he did all those things, running 5.891

at 242.58mph in qualifying.

But he didn’t top the sheets.

John Zappia did. His 5.843 at 245.14mph led the fastest and quickest field ever, with two drivers in the 5.8s and four topping 240mph in qualifying.

For more on the WSID Nitro Champs, see page 40.

John Morris

IT’S official: Kiwis can fly.

Well, one can, anyway.

Athol Williams put paid to the grounded theory when he set the fourth-fastest speed ever in Top Fuel Bike at WSID at the weekend.

The man from Pokono recorded a 6.169 at 238.51mph during qualifying, far eclipsing his best previous effort of 218mph set on his NZ-made, 1500cc four-cylinder machine.

In doing so, Williams wrapped up the 2008/09 ANDRA title, a quest not hampered by the fact that second-fastest qualifier Jay Upton crashed (see separate story). To give some indication of the progress made by the Stud Racing Team, a year ago, Williams set his personal best at the same meeting, with a 6.46s, with 216mph his best top speed.

By the way, the record is set at 248.66mph, by Larry ‘Spiderman’ McBride at Valdostra, Georgia in 2006.

news

Victor down with ankle

Castrol

DRAG RACING

What Goes Down ...

Jay Upton walks away from record-setting fall on safety and other than some nasty bumps and grazes – I am ok, which is amazing WEST Aussie and multiple Australian Top Bike Champion, considering our computer data from the run suggests we Jay Upton endured a high reached speeds towards 220 speed crash at speeds miles per hour before we lost exceeding 220mph during control.” qualifying at the Karcher The other amazing fact is, Nitro Champs last weekend at even with a stab off and on Western Sydney International the throttle early in the run Dragway. down the quarter mile, Upton Upton, who actually crossed recorded 198 miles per hour the finish line at 193mph with half way into the pass! a respectable elapsed time “I remember we all marvelled of 6.357 seconds but the only problem, was that he wasn’t on at Barry Sheene’s crash at Daytona years ago,” explained his bike. Although he can now the multiple ANDRA Champion claim the official title of being “but here tonight, I was going the rider in the fastest ever 70kmh faster than that!” motorcycle crash in national Only Jason McVicar ANDRA drag racing history. of Vancouver, Canada “I am not sure what exactly experienced a crash at caused the crash, but I was greater speeds than Upton. pretty much a passenger as His 243mph ‘lose’ was on the the bike went away from me Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. towards the finish line,” sighed Upton.

Barring some grazing and Man in Black: bruises, Upton walked away Upton hitched a ride back to the without serious injury, which startline, right, after stepping off is a tribute to the safety his Honda-powered bike in a big equipment used in the sport. hurry, top.

“We have spent a lot of time

DRAG RACING

John Morris

DRAG racing’s biggest name was a noticeable absentee from the weekend’s action at the Karcher Nitro Champs.

An ankle injury sidelined Castrol EDGE Top Doorslammer favourite, Victor Bray in what was the first ANDRA event he’s missed in 32 years.

“It’s an ankle injury I’ve had since I was 18, so I cant really complain that it’s taken this long to flare up enough for me to miss an event,” said Bray.

“I’ve had a pretty good run, I’ve haven’t missed a race meet for 32 years,” Bray arrived in Sydney still believing that things would improve enough for him to take part in the event but as the weekend drew closer, it became obvious that the Karcher Nitro Champs would be without its-larger-than life character.

“I gave [the ankle injury] up until Friday but when I got in the car I couldn’t press the clutch in. That’s the way it goes, I’ll just be watching this weekend..”

Bray was seen hobbling around the WSID Startline, keeping an eye on the two other drivers from the Team Bray stable; his son Benny and Karcher sponsored Matt Abel.

The extra supervision clearly worked, with both drivers reporting a successful event.

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5 Minutes with ...

DAVID REYNOLDS

Walkinshaw Racing’s V8 rookie is getting to grips with this V8 Supercar racing caper

Is it nice to physically mix it with the big boys?

On those tyres I can do a pretty good job, because it’s what I’m used to …

Is that because of all the miles you’ve done in Porsches?

Yeah it’s just because I’ve got more grip to use. When I’ve got grip I can drive it, and when I don’t have grip I can’t drive it.

That’s what I’m struggling with at the moment on old tyres.

I love these soft tyres. It mixes it up and gives us some different results. And there is more passing, which is what everyone wanted, so it’s a good thing.

What about Saturday’s race when you didn’t use them at all. How do you tackle that

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I LOVE THESE SOFT TYRES. IT MIXES IT UP AND GIVES US SOME DIFFERENT RESULTS REYNOLDS KNOWS A GOOD THING WHEN HE FEELS IT

Phil Williams

MOTORSPORT NEWS: You just overtook Jamie Whincup, the reigning V8 Supercar Champion, on your way to your first top 10. Is this the arrival of David Reynolds?

DAVID REYNOLDS: (laughs) I don’t know about that. We went against the odds today with a different tyre strategy, and it paid off.

We should have pitted a bit earlier and got further up the grid. I lasted 20 laps on those [sprint] tyres and they lasted easily. I still had heaps more pace than anyone else out there.

But it was good to come up behind WHincup. I gave him a hard time when I went past him. Then I came up to Rick [Kelly] and the team said ‘take care with him.’ I don’t know what they meant. He made it pretty difficult.

situation?

Well I was just going to finish – that’s always my aim anyway – but I got turned around on the first lap, so my race was knackered anyway.

Had you already made the decision not to use the softs?

Yep. Tom Walkinshaw gave us our tyre strategy for the weekend, and he did a good job!

Is there still an element of management with the soft tyres, or can you just go nuts?

Nah you still have to drive the car straight, you’ve just got more grip. Today I was braking later everywhere, but still really focussing on looking after the tyres in and out of the corner.

That’s why I had good tyre life.

You were doing a lot of

passing at the end of Race 6. Compared to what you are used to, are you finding these cars hard to overtake in?

Well they’re bigger, but the passing is pretty much the same. They have no front end grip, so if you go to pass someone you’ve got get right up beside them. You can’t just sort of wash the speed off in the corner while you’re fighting with the car in front.

That’s why I get nervous overtaking on old tyres, but it will get better. I just need to learn to drive these cars better.

corners so it can’t be too hard!

Our cars usually go really well there.

Tasmania is the next stop for you guys. What are your thoughts heading to Launceston?

I’ve never been there. I suppose that will be another challenge again, although there is only a couple of

I see you’re celebrating with a sandwich.

Its peanut butter and honey.

It’s awesome; sweet and savoury at the same time, and a little bit nutty. Try it …

Speaking of your cars going well, Paul Dumbrell had a good run today as well.

He was miles in front! I was watching him on the other side of the track; he was miles and miles ahead.

Obviously he came out of the pits first, and the other guys had to snake their way through the traffic to get to him. He did a great job, it was a really good drive.

No thanks ...

chat

Walkinshaw Racing

23

When One Fone Guy can Help Another

T

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and could not be done on the track behind a Safety Car, the World Champion was put in the shade by Jarno Trulli and McLaren has paid a high price for his lack of knowledge.

Just as obviously, Whincup is up to speed on his rulebook.

That became clear after Saturday’s race, when he talked about the gap that leader Michael Caruso had grabbed at the restart.

“The rules are, the Safety Car runs at a speed where we can keep a consistent pace, either 80 or 100 kays,” he explained.

“The Safety Car was flat-out and Michael was drafting him.

They were probably doing 150 or 160 [kays]. I thought that I better do the right thing and stick at that 100 kays ... there has to be something done about it. He was ahead by

sutton-images.com

WO drivers, from the opposite sides of the world, share much when it comes to motor racing.

As a result of their 2008 triumphs, both carry number #1 on their cars.

Coincidently, both carry Vodafone sponsorships, which presumably give them the benefits of substantial salaries (and no mobile phone bills).

But there appears to be a gulf between Lewis Hamilton and Jamie Whincup in at least one way. It became very apparent at Albert Park, and glaringly obvious in the week after, that Hamilton has only a casual understanding of the rules of engagement in his chosen field.

Indeed, in terms of understanding what could

opinion

sutton-images.com

opinion Phil Branagan Executive Editor

I DON’T wear a watch. I have one of them at home, but for a reason I can’t pinpoint (probably because it’s not a Rolex), I don’t have it strapped on my wrist.

Having the time of day a little more than a glance down doesn’t really appeal to me anyway. I prefer the days and nights to pass at their own leisure, and this probably explains why I tend to be late to appointments!

But I’d rather be late for a meeting than wishing time away, and that’s something I found myself doing during the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series qualifying session at Winton.

Over the past few years, the FV8 Q session has been split into two 20 minute runs – one for the bottom 50 percent and the other for the top half of the field. This was first brought in due to the high grid numbers back in 2003.

In 2009, though, grid numbers aren’t as great as they’ve been in the past. It’s a shame that there were only 20 cars at the first two rounds at Adelaide and Winton, but for the time being, it’s a fact of life.

So, while the numbers are low, why is qualifying still split into two sessions? Winton ain’t the biggest circuit (Dick

opinion Grant Rowley eNews Editor Johnson once referred to racing there like “running a marathon around a clothesline!”) but I’m sure having 20 cars on the track is more than possible.

Hey, if the Main Series can have an ‘all-in’ 20-minute session, then the Fujitsu blokes (and lady) could deal with it too.

Deleting that wasted 20 minutes would have freed up more time on the Winton schedule, opening up more time for other support classes – an extra lap or two in their Saturday races.

Time is a precious thing, especially on race weekends.

If grid numbers are low in FV8, it’s time to cut one of those sessions.

JOHN MORRIS

about 100 metres, and that is way out of the rules.”

Caruso crossed the line with a gap of 1.8 seconds, which is not quite what is in mind when the restart rule is applied.

Then the stewards’ report came out, with a list of incidents and their penalties.

“After an investigation into the restart after the Safety Car deployment, Michael Caruso Car #34 admitted that he had breached the rules. The Stewards imposed the penalty of a Reprimand.”

No huge deal, and Caruso kept his 10th place. But the incident showed that becoming a worldclass racing driver takes effort, much of it off the track.

“That is a rule of my job as a racing driver,” said Whincup later.

“You need to know the rules.”

Watch and learn Lewis, watch and learn.

TIME OUT FOR SPLITS

25

V8 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACES 5-6 – WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

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race

‘Grinners’ beats ‘Whinners’ New tyres, varied strategies and other controversy aside, Triple Eight is still the team to beat in 2009. At Winton, it was Craig Lowndes’ turn to show his hand, dominating the weekend. PHIL BRANAGAN reports

Dirk Klynsmith

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When different means the same V8 SUPERCARS – RACE 5

A

LL the hoo haa about tyres, refuelling and strategy didn’t amount to a hill of beans, if you look at the results.

And that hides the real story of Race 5 – because there were two strategies in play; pit early, stay on Sprint tyres and hold on, or go later, optimise the lap times and hope for the best.

Almost two hours of Friday night strategising could not prompt Vodafone’s brains trust to pick one or the other, so they went each way. Fastest in qualifying would get to choose, so Craig Lowndes won the race by 0.3s.

Actually, it was more than that, but that was the gap that he had over JDub in qualifying, so Lowndes got the ‘A’ strategy.

Whincup had to suck it up, started on yellows and hoped that the rubber lasted.

He drove accordingly, and he made it

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home second.

Steven Richards was third, surprised about the level of grip he had as the race progressed, but what helped was a Safety Car period prompted by Jason Bargwanna.

The SGR driver confessed he felt a bit silly “when I realised that the grip on new, softer tyres was not the same as hot ones” and fell off at T4. At that stage Michael Caruso led, having pitted the lap before Lowndes, but the cost of establishing his 5.7s lead was that he had much less grip when the track went green. By the end of the 33 laps, he had dropped to 10th.

Rick Kelly galloped through to fourth, leading three drivers from outside the top 10 grid spots. McConville was ahead of Shane Van Gisbergen, who had roared through from grid 27 after running off the road after a single lap in qualifying. But he made up for running off the road by keeping his head and making his yellow tyres last.

The rest of the stories were ‘What Happened?’ Garth Tander became the first driver to suffer at the hands of someone else having faster tyres than he did, getting tapped into a spin by Fabian Coulthard. The Kiwi copped the punishment of a drive-through, and Tander got involved in a later clash with Lee Holdsworth, though the stewards took no action over the incident.

Those hits put Tander behind teammate Will Davison, who himself got a hit on the opening lap. The two had been separated by 20 places in qualifying, and seventh and eighth is far from where Tom Walkinshaw wants his factory cars to be.

The consensus was that in their debut appearance, the Sprint tyres had been a success. Inevitably, the teams will get onto the same page and race strategies will start to mirror each other. But while they are still providing a point of difference, let’s enjoy them while we can.

Laun cons

Marshall Cass

Options galour: Michael Caruso, above right, was on course for an unbelievable result at Winton after leading the majority of the race, only for his Sprint tyres to fade late. David Reynolds, left, didn’t use his fast tyres, saving them for his latecharge in Sunday’s race.

V8 Supercar | RACE 5, WINTON, VIC John Morris/Mpix Dirk Klynsmith

nch control: From 10th onb the grid, great strategy and sistent speed got Steven Richards a Race 5 podium place.

race

Pos # 1 888 2 1 3 6 4 15 5 14 6 9 7 22 8 2 9 39 10 34 11 55 12 17 13 8 14 25 15 111 16 10 17 77 18 67 19 11 20 24 21 4 22 51 23 33 24 16 25 5 26 3 DNF 021 DNF 18 DNF333 DNF 7

Driver Craig Lowndes Jamie Whincup Steven Richards Rick Kelly Cameron McConville Shane Van Gisbergen Will Davison Garth Tander Russell Ingall Michael Caruso Tony D’Alberto Steven Johnson Jason Richards Jason Bright Fabian Coulthard Paul Dumbrell Marcus Marshall Tim Slade Jack Perkins David Reynolds Alex Davison Greg Murphy Lee Holdsworth Dale Wood Mark Winterbottom Jason Bargwanna Dean Fiore James Courtney Michael Patrizi Todd Kelly

Team/Car Vodafone Vodafone FPR Jack Daniels WOW SP Tools Toll HRT Toll HRT Supercheap GRM Bottle-O Jim Beam BOC Fujitsu Wilson Security Autobarn Intaracing Supercheap Dodo Bundaberg Irwin Sprint Gas GRM Hi-Tec Oils FPR Sprint Gas Triple F Jim Beam Wilson Security Jack Daniel’s

Car Ford Ford Ford Holden Holden Ford Holden Holden Holden Holden Holden Ford Holden Ford Ford Holden Ford Holden Holden Holden Ford Holden Holden Holden Ford Holden Holden Ford Ford Holden

Race Time 49:26.6167 49:30.7838 49:31.0035 49:36.7001 49:37.2875 49:40.9352 49:43.5075 49:43.5494 49:43.5592 49:44.8156 49:47.2041 49:47.8591 49:50.6939 49:52.7939 49:54.0794 49:54.3123 49:54.7551 49:55.7285 50:02.1338 50:06.9468 32 laps 32 laps 32 laps 32 laps 32 laps 30 laps 19 laps 17 laps 3 laps 1 lap

Q 3 4 10 11 12 27 22 2 14 6 21 13 15 17 5 16 20 26 18 19 23 24 8 28 1 29 30 7 25 10

Fastest lap: Garth Tander, on lap 13, 1:23.2003.

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Revenge, best served imm range did not exactly line up.

“It was a bit of a gamble for us,” explained F anyone wanted a demonstration of Lowndes.

“We had to get 20 laps out of the tyre [to just how the new tyre regulations in get inside the fuel window]. The tyre went V8 Supercars are supposed to work, to about lap 15, so the last five laps [to lap Race 6 was it.

20], Jamie and Frosty started to close in.”

After 10 laps, the order was Paul So he adjusted the bars, kept plugging Dumbrell-Craig Lowndes-Jamie Whincup. away and hoped for a yellow. He got one, A Clayton Commodore leading two T8 but everyone wanted to come in at once, Fords; after the last few seasons, nothing including Whincup. And just to make life much amazing about that. But the gap more interesting, Lowndes overshot the between PD on yellow tyres and JDub on pits.

Prime tyres was 10.22s – a second a lap.

While he was being pushed back, Even better for the supporters of the Winterbottom was getting fuelled and on scheme, Dumbrell kept pulling away. the way out of the tight sport, clanged Thereafter, outside factors came into play into one of T8 wheels. Nothing happened but, in a green race, the yellow rubber – in fact, he didn’t realise that he had hit it made a big, big difference. until we told him – but it could have been Of course, Lowndes won, again. Within a zoo. seconds of the rule being announced, Once the Marx Brothers movie was over, many suggested that the grinning veteran from Kilcoy would be the man to look after Whincup resumed 25th and mounted a recovery, but in the final 10 laps, we had the softies and make the best of the new the unusual sight of the reigning Champ situation. And this weekend, he was. being passed by such as David Reynolds The problem was, tyre range and fuel

I

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V8 SUPERCARS – RACE 6

and Marcus Marshall. Both were on fresher, faster rubber; in fact, Marshall broke Jason Bright’s long-standing lap record. Get used to the concept, you will be seeing a lot more of these ‘anomalies’.

Winterbottom was second ahead of Tander, who had no such problems at the impoverished end of the pits.

“It’s nice and clear up there, it’s great!” he exclaimed.

If Tander’s result was a good one for Clayton, the news got better. Dumbrell finished a season-best and superb fourth, while Will Davison was right behind.

Reynolds got up to eighth; okay, it’s not Christmas in May, but it is a heap of points.

After the race, Tander suggested that the Sprint tyre be used all the time. The Holdens are back in the game, and FPR tests next week.

But there have been six races so far, and all six have been won by the ‘Fones. The team’s porcine mascot may be worried about the flu, but everything else looks like it’s is running a full throttle …

PD, the blaz

Dirk Klynsmith

The comeback man: Despite a bunge bonnet, Tander ran up the front in Race 6, taking third place –his first podium for 2009.

V8 Supercar | RACE 6, WINTON, VIC

Dirk Klynsmith

mediately

race

Dirk Klynsmith

running well: He’s probably been the most unluckiest driver of season to date, but with a nice set of Sprints to use in Race 6, he zed to the front, eventually taking fourth.

Pos # 1 888 2 5 3 2 4 10 5 22 6 18 7 15 8 24 9 77 10 3 11 39 12 9 13 1 14 55 15 4 16 6 17 67 18 16 19 11 20 51 21 17 22 333 23 14 24 7 25 021 26 8 27 34 DNF 111 DNF 33 DNF 25

Driver Craig Lowndes Mark Winterbottom Garth Tander Paul Dumbrell Will Davison James Courtney Rick Kelly David Reynolds Marcus Marshall Jason Bargwanna Russell Ingall Shane Van Gisbergen Jamie Whincup Tony D’Alberto Alex Davison Steven Richards Tim Slade Dale Wood Jack Perkins Greg Murphy Steven Johnson Michael Patrizi Cameron McConville Todd Kelly Dean Fiore Jason Richards Michael Caruso Fabian Coulthard Lee Holdsworth Jason Bright

Team/Car Vodafone FPR Toll HRT Autobarn Toll HRT Jim Beam Jack Daniels Bundaberg Red Intaracing Sprint Gas Supercheap SP Tools Vodafone Bottle-O Irwin FPR Supercheap Hi-Tec Oils Dodo Sprint Gas Jim Beam Wilson Security WOW Jack Daniel’s Triple F Team BOC GRM Wilson Security GRM Fujitsu

Car Ford Ford Holden Holden Holden Ford Holden Holden Ford Holden Holden Ford Ford Holden Ford Ford Holden Holden Holden Holden Ford Ford Holden Holden Holden Holden Holden Ford Holden Ford

Race Time 1:37:06.3464 1:37:08.8584 1:37:25.4171 1:37:27.1034 1:37:27.4586 1:37:30.4986 1:37:51.2141 1:37:51.4618 1:37:51.9506 1:37:52.0011 1:37:53.6787 1:37:54.5742 1:37:55.0629 1:38:04.3891 1:38:09.1815 1:38:11.3143 1:38:13.1759 1:38:13.3654 1:38:17.9999 1:38:19.9710 1:38:23.9222 1:38:25.3822 1:38:43.5772 65 65 65 60 46 18 11

Q 3 2 4 5 9 10 8 15 23 12 21 11 1 26 24 14 27 29 25 20 18 28 19 17 30 16 13 13 7 22

Fastest lap: Marshall on lap 46, 1:22.981 (record) Championship points: Whincup 804, W Davison 690, Johnson 573, Holdsworth 534, R Kelly 531, Tander 504, Lowndes 501, van Gisbergen 453, J Richards 417, Coulthard 414, S Richards 399, Winterbottom 396, McConville 378, Courtney 374, Dumbrell 372, A Davison 354, Reynolds 342, Ingall 332, Bright 297, Caruso 291, Murphy 264, D’Alberto 258, T Kelly 252, Wood 243, Patrizi 216, Marshall 201, Perkins 198, Fiore 183, Bargwanna 105, Slade 105.

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Be good to your mum, and be kind to your Sprints ...

BATTERED, BUT UNBOWED

FROM THE COUCH CHRIS LAMBDEN

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John Morris

The debut of Dunlop’s option ‘Sprint’ tyre provided a clear point of focus for this third weekend of the 2009 V8 championship.

And, on first view, it appears to have achieved what it set out to do – create some speed differential and thus passing, allied to some additional strategy decisions from team managers.

As Larko poined out, Winton is perhaps not a typical circuit – being quite low in wear/degradation terms – and thus not a great pointer to how it is going to be at other circuits, but there certainly appears to be sufficient performance difference between the standard and option tyre to make it worth while.

On this first occasion too, the teams were allocated a ‘test’ set of Sprint tyres for Friday, so they all knew, going in, what the performance of the tyre was likely to be. There is no ‘test’ set at future rounds so at Symmons Plains they’ll be going in cold when they choose to throw the Sprints on …

While the crew at Seven did a good job of absorbing the extra factor, and explaining it, one interesting notion stood out – on Saturday, championship-leader Jamie Whincup did the whole 33 laps race on his set of Sprint tyres without significant dropoff, while there were those for whom 15 to 20 laps was it, before the rubber started to go away badly.

Conclusion? Cars which are kind to their tyres are going to shine under the Sprint tyre regime. It’s an attribute which has won Triple Eight a couple of Bathursts already and, on the face of it, is going to work in its favour in the six ‘Sprint’ tyre rounds.

As if beating the orange cars isn’t difficult enough, the option tyre initiative appears to play straight into their hands …

GARTH Tander had a better weekend than of late – but it was not without its trials.

His HRT Commodore was not strong on the standard tyre, but in his own words, “the car came alive” on the option tyre and he had a great trip on the way to third on Sunday.

“I am happy to finish a race, like Frosty,” he smiled later.

“Good points for myself. Will right behind, good points for him and for the team. Not the result we wanted this weekend, but we will take it.

“We want to take wins off them, not sit back and wait to see if they trip over.

“Not bad for a bloke who forgot how to drive yesterday, apparently …”

Tander went on to say that the performance of the new rubber was good enough to want him make that the ‘standard’ tyre. That would make for interesting endurance races …

Axles: Unexpected issues ONE of the stories of the weekend came from an unexpected source – axles.

The bits that take the spinning power from the diffs to the wheels are not often a point of interest, as they seem to have been bulletproofed over the years. But there were a few that gave up and the teams were scratching their heads a little.

Todd Kelly lost one at the start of Race 5, and Fabian Coulthard had his go on him during Race 6 – while he was racing on the older, harder tyre.

“It’s an odd one,” Coulthard said.

“Usually it happens at the start when the loads are high. It’s a bit bizarre, but I’m sure we’ll fight on for another day.”

Team boss Paul Cruickshank suggested that there was some work to be done to fix the problem.

“New car this year, so we haven’t done that many kays,” he mused.

“It would usually be good for at least 3000 kays, so we will have to look at that.”

– PHIL BRANAGAN

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Great changes to the regulations, but has V8s gone too far?

We now have more options than ever

T

HERE were a couple of things which emerged over the weekend –the first that going out on a limb with a wild strategy, hoping that the soft tyre was going to bring you home and blaze through the field didn’t eventuate.

There was a lot happening over the two days, but there’s no real surprise that car speed still comes out the winner.

Particularly those teams in the middle of the field – while the tyre may have worked for them, I think they still need to focus entirely on car speed. That’s not saying they aren’t, but I was almost a little disappointed – I thought more things would pop out.

We have to be mindful that Winton isn’t notoriously tough on tyres. When we get to some of the other circuits with shorter laps or harder surfaces, then it will be interesting. At Barbagallo, we’ll see the tyre peak even more so, but the degradation will be triple what we saw at Winton.

I was surprised at the ability of some

opinion Mark Larkham V8 pit commentator teams to run 30-35 laps – and if you drove the car well, like Jamie Whincup did, then there was still a millimetre of meat on there. Maybe the Sprint tyre needs to be the regular tyre and we need a softer one again!

A

nother question that was raised over the weekend was the 100 kilometre tyre and fuel race on Sunday. There’s a possible argument looming that there’s a lot going on in the race – possibly too much.

The Saturday race was extremely busy and very difficult to follow. There was just so much going on. I expect that to compound in a shorter lap at Symmons Plains.

I’m not really saying that’s a problem, but it means we’ll have to be on our toes to keep

on top of what’s happening in the race.

With my role with Channel 7, being on the pit wall, it can be difficult to follow the race anyway. I’m only ever peeking over the shoulder of people to view the screens, not engaging in the whole race.

But the race isn’t about me – it’s about the people at home. They need to be able to grasp quite simply what’s going on.

But over-all, this is all good stuff. At the end of the day, we’re not having a discussion about processional racing and what can be done about it. We are in a great position now with the sport.

I think we’re going to come out of this year with a greater menu of options, moving forward. We’ve got questions like softer rubber?, Less tyres? Do we have more fuel, less fuel, than any time in the past?

Full credit has to go to V8 Supercars for having the balls to charge out into the season with three or four major changes, including the qualifying change, purely in pursuit of the entertainment value of the sport that we hang off …

33

FUJITSU V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 2 – WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

Fourth + Third + Third = It’s an odd equation, but it’s exactly how Jonathon Webb won the second round of the Fujitsu V8s at Winton.

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN did the maths

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race

= First

Dirk Klynsmith

35

T

HERE were three different race winners at the second round of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at Winton last weekend, but round winner Jonathon Webb wasn’t one of them …

Winning the round was an odd end to an odd weekend for Webb.

The experienced development series drive scored pole position in qualifying, but only after Shane Price was excluded thanks to an irregularity in his engine’s timing.

Then, when Race 1 started, Webb led early, dropped back in the field after being shuffled out the way

by James Moffat, and then finished fourth thanks mostly to carnage. He then raced to an innocuous third in Race 2, and by the time Race 3 rolled around, another third place was enough to seal the round win.

“I couldn’t be happier, because we had a really tough start to the weekend,” he said. “The car was terrible in practice. We kept tuning it, and this is a hard track to find speed on, but we got there in the end.

“I would have loved to have won that last race, though. That was my

36

plan, and we had the speed to do it, even though a header broke and it was probably costing me 80-odd horsepower.”

The Winton win was technically Webb’s first in the category, although he did finish even on points with Dean Canto in last year’s Bathurst round. But because Canto won the last race, he was classed as the winner.

So if Webb didn’t win any races, then who did? Well the first race of the weekend went the way of Damien Assaillit. The Fujitsu-backed driver looked sublime in Saturday morning’s outing, barging past early leader Moffat (who struggled with a slipping clutch) and running away with the win. Race 2 was David Russell’s turn, the series leader making the most of the reverse top 10 to rack up his second win of the year.

And then, in the final, Grant Denyer took his first proper win (that being a race that didn’t start with a reverse grid) after vaulting around Russell into Turn 1 at the start. He didn’t get to enjoy the post-race festivities though; Denyer

was airborne before the press conference started, jumping aboard a helicopter to get home in time for the Logies …

The Denyer/Russell fight in the final was actually the turning point of the weekend. The Clipsal round winner showed no speed in qualifying, and like Webb found himself in the hunt thanks to the likes of Moffat not finishing the first race. But once near the front, he was as fast as anyone. Had he passed Denyer in the final race, he would have won the round. But it wasn’t to be …

The unluckiest driver of the weekend was Sam Walter. He finished second in the first race, his best result in a V8 Supercar, and loked the goods doing it. But any chance of a good result went out the weekend in Race 2 when he was tagged by Taz Douglas heading into Turn 1, earning the Fastaz entry a drive-through, and leaving Walter out of touch with the front-runners.

Points: Russell 536, Webb 510, Price 421, Denyer 410, Moffat 403, Walter 373, Douglas 344, Brad Lowe 312, Assaillit 300, Daniel Gaunt 298.

race

Dirk Klynsmith

His future is Bright: Jason Bright’s protege Damien Assaillit, far left, looked the goods in Winton, winning his first race. There was a first win of sorts for Grant Denyer too, who took his first win in a conventional race, left. David Russell survived a few moments, above, to leave Benalla with his title lead well in tact, and that was thanks mostly to a costly shunt between Daniel Gaunt and James Moffatt, below.

James Smith

Dirk Klynsmith

John Morris/Mpix

37

AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 – WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

Easy does it!

Formula Ford racing never looked as easy as it did when Nick Percat won all three races at Winton. Is this one a forgone conclusion? ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports

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Dirk Klynsmith

N

ICK Percat made motor racing look easy at Winton, clean-sweeping the second round of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship last weekend.

On the circuit he and the Sonic Motor Racing Services team call home, Percat was in a class all by himself. He qualified on pole and proceeded to lead every single lap of the weekend. The only box he didn’t check was snatching Jamie Whincup’s long-standing lap record in the final race, Percat’s best still half a second shy of the V8 Champ’s benchmark time set in 2002.

Regardless, it was a great weekend for Percat, and backing up his two wins from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, things don’t look good for the rest of the field …

“I think the most satisfying part of the weekend was the pole,” Percat said

afterwards.

“Some people didn’t think we’d be that fast this weekend, but we came out and smashed them. Hopefully we can take the same performance to Tassie and make it three in a row!”

Second for the round was Chaz Mostert, the Synergy Spectrum driver the only guy in the field to look even remotely in touch with Percat.

But while he could follow the Sonic Mygale at a distance, Mostert lacked the final few tenths to launch a realistic challenge on the leader.

In the final race Percat’s teammate Mitch Evans jumped Mostert, a position he wouldn’t get back until the first corner of the final lap.

Evans finished third for the round ahead of AMSF Rising Star Scott Pye, and the third Sonic car of Geoff Uhrhane, who had the best weekend of his short Formula Ford career by far.

The hardest working crew of the weekend was that of Kiwi Martin Short. Led by former Formula Ford ace Jason Leifting, the team did a Saturday evening dash back to Melbourne to collect a new bellhousing, before spending most of the night fitting it.

Then, on Sunday, they undertook the massive job of converting the car from a twin-shock configuration to monoshock – between Races 2 and 3. It was all to no avail; Short was taken out of the last race while running 12th …

Another honourable mention should go to another young Kiwi, Team BRM’s Richie Stanaway. On a weekend when the Formula Ford racing wasn’t as frantic as it usually is, Stanaway created some excitement when he drove from 13th to 6th in the second race.

Points: Percat 102, Mostert 76, Evans 70, Pye 56, Stanaway 38.

39

John Morris/Mpix

The Jack is Back

Jack Elsegood won the Winton V8 Utes Series war and threw himself right into contention for the title V8 UTES

J

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Marshall Cass

ack “The Hustler” Elsegood claimed two race wins and the round glory in Round 2 of the Yokohama V8 Ute Series at Winton Raceway last weekend.

Elsegood, now second in the series, took the first race win before securing the overall win with victory in a nail-biting Race 3.

Also making the headlines was West Australia’s Glenn McNally who scored his maiden V8 Utes race win.

In Race 1, Elsegood beat home Gary Baxter, George Miedecke and Andrew Fisher.

McNally’s win in the reverse grid Race 2 was ahead of Layton Crambrook and Charlie Kovacs.

Reigning class Champion Crambrook battled down in sixth place in Race 1, but his second place in Race 2 gave him a great chance at overhauling Elsegood in

the final. The pair enjoyed a spirited battle, but couldn’t make significant inroads on the former Rugby League star. Crambrook settled for the runners-up spot and took second overall for the round.

Baxter claimed fourth in the final race and third for the round.

Grant Johnson was fourth for the round, carding a consistent fifth, 10th and third in the three races. While most expect Johnson to be challenging for wins, it was a solid comeback after his massive Clipsal crash in March.

Miedecke was fifth outright after suffering a low finish in the second race. His pace, though, was there for all to witness.

Behind Miedecke was Yanis Derums, who was one of the most consistent runners in the pack.

The Trading Post’s Kim Jane was seventh for the Winton round but remains in

contention for the title.

Eighth was McNally, who was rapt to secure his first Utes win.

“This is my first win in the Utes and is a great feeling,” he said.

“I just went out hard at the start and focused on the finish.”

Rounding out the top 10 was Stephen Robinson and Ryal Harris, who was edging towards another strong result to back up his success at the Clipsal event, but the Global Trading Schools Holden slowed with engine overheating problems in Race 3, pushing him back to 22nd for Race 3.

After finishing fourth in Race

1, Andrew Fisher’s was unlucky, having engine problems in Race 2 and forced to watch from the sidelines in Race 3.

George Elliot was also in the same situation.

Baxter continues to lead the series from Elsegood, Miedecke, Jane, Harris and McNally.

The next round of the Yokohama V8 Utes Series will be held at Symmons Plains at the end of May. Points: Baxter 249, Elsegood 248, Miedecke 216, Jane 213, Harris 213, McNally 186, Robinson 179, Kovacs 177, Johnson 175, Crambrook 174.

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The Bowe and Bullas Show

Dirk Klynsmith

BIANTE TOURING CARS Defending class Champion Gavin Bullas claimed his second-consecutive round win in the 2009 Biante Touring Car Masters Round 2 at Winton Raceway last weekend.

Scoring a trio of second places, Bullas unexpectedly triumphed over main series rival, John Bowe who took victory in the opening two races.

Racing legend Bowe claimed pole from the Bullas, and with all eyes on the Bowe/ Bullas battle in Race 1. The pair exchanged the lead on a few occasions, with a Bullas error ultimately costing him victory, leaving Bowe a clear run to the chequered flag.

Series newcomer, Bernie Stack led the Group 2 cars to the finish line in Race 1, impressively steering the Gawler Self Storage Porsche 911 RS to sixth place.

However, his car was later deemed 3kg underweight and disqualified from the race, elevating Graeme Cook’s Porsche to the top Group 2 spot in eighth overall.

In the reverse top-eight Race 2, it only took Bowe five laps to head the pack with Bullas in hot pursuit. Bullas couldn’t reverse Race 1’s finishing spot, with Brad

Tilley rounding out the top three.

Cook was once again the man to beat in the Group 2 class, closely followed by Trevor Talbot.

Before Race 3 started, there was drama, with podium contender Tilley pulling out after he broke his belt housing in the previous race.

Bullas took an early lead in the 12lap decider, but was unable to hold the advantage, coming under fire from the #14 Camaro of Alastair MacLean who assumed the race lead with Marget in second followed by Bullas and Bowe.

A Safety Car for Tony Karafilovski’s stricken Tifs Alfa Romeo then brought out the Safety Car, compressing the field and setting up a climactic final dash to the chequered flag.

At the restart, Bullas made the most of the Boss Mustang’s horsepower and pulled a quick gap on Bowe and Marget, but his advantage was short lived as the race lead switched rapidly between Bowe, Marget, Mason and Bullas.

In the end, Marget took the win from Bullas (who slowed when he thought the race was over!), Steve Mason, Tony Edwards and Bowe, who accidentally switched off his fuel pump and drifted

back down the order in the dying stages of the race.

Bullas was disappointed with the Race 3 result, but on the other hand, happy with the weekend.

“I was told on radio that lap 10 was the final lap, so I backed off,” he said.

“The sun was sitting so low I couldn’t see if the chequered flag was out – I thought we had the win and then Drew went past me at full noise and we realised it wasn’t over and got back on the gas, but by then we couldn’t catch him.”

Talbot’s Dukes Body Works Torana XU-1 scored the final Group 2 race win. Talbot and Cook scored equal points for the round with the victory awarded to Cook on countback, with Talbot in second and Rory O’Neill rounding out the top three.

Bullas maintains his strong championship lead from Marget and Bowe.

The Biante Touring Car Masters is will reconvene at the Top End for Round 3 at Hidden Valley Raceway on June 19-21.

Points: Bullas 348, Marget 276, Bowe 273, Mason 257, Rod Wilson 225, Steve Makarios 189, Tilley 183, East 168, Edwards 162, Alastair McLean 162.

41

ANDRA DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS NITRO CHAMPS – WSID

o h w w o You kn

John Morris/Mpix

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o!

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result at the Nitro g bi r he ot an up d ke al ch ia West Australian John Zapp eekend, while w st la ay gw ra D l na io at rn ey Inte t the big news Champs at Westerm Sydn Bu . ls oi sp r he ot e m ho ok Phillips to Darren Morgan and Gary was that it didn’t rain ...

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F

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Shepherd’s Top Fuel Dragster turned into the Skips Fire Service Fireball as she tried to pedal the car into the eightcar field, but fell short as the engine exploded.

Shephard would not be a factor in the outright Top Fuel results – that honour was left up to Darren Morgan who defeated Alan Dobson in the final.

Reigning ANDRA Top Fuel Champion Phil Read paced the field in qualifying, posting a 4.565 ET, that fell just 2 thousandths short of his own National record.

Read hoped to narrow the gap on Phil Lamattina in the championship chase, but both were eliminated in their respective first rounds.

In Top Dorrslammer, West Australian John Zappia

continued his stunning winning streak and run of 5seconders intact, producing a 5.828s National record to win the final against Ben Bray.

Top Alcohol saw Gary Phillips kept his ANDRA Championship hopes alive in his Lucas Oil Funny Car by claiming the win over fellow contender Steven Reed.

Phillips and Debbie Reed also delivered the quickest side-by-side Top Alcohol pass in history during Qualifying 1.

The flying Kiwi Athol Williams locked away the ANDRA Top Bike Championship by setting a new elapsed time record (6.169s) and speed record (238.51mph). In fact, Williams’ speed mark makes him the

John Bosher

OR the first time in 12 months, a drag race at Western Sydney International Raceway went ahead without rain delay, and the 2009 Karcher Nitro Champs, presented

by Shannons, produced the usual rollercoaster ride of action.

ANDRA National records took a pounding in several eliminators and in the professional categories as well, as the cool May air and a very good racing surface produced some fast times and speeds.

There were some wild moments too throughout the event, highlighted by Jay Upton’s scary 350kmh high speed exit off his Honda machine on Friday.

More drama continued on Saturday, when Amanda

fourth fastest motorcycle Drag Racer in world history.

Pro Stock qualifying was the tightest in history, with the eight car field separated

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John Morris/Mpix John Bosher

John Bosher

by 0.059s! And to round out the highlights, John Barbagallo set a new national record ET – with a brilliant 7.042s effort.

Pro Stock Motorcycle was all about South Australian Phil Howard who set a personal best run of 7.360s to win an ANDRA Gold Tree. It was a great reward for Howard, who was riding a motorcycle that had been stolen – and then found just weeks earlier!

In the other ANDRA group classes, victory went to Rodney Rehayem (Super Compact), Greg Leahy (Competition), Paul Beauchamp (Super Stock), Kevin Gummow (Competition Bike), Geoff Gradden (Supercharged Outlaws), Ken Stewart (Modified Eliminator), Steve Fowler (Super Sedan), Terri Sander (Super Street), Jason Hammelswang (Modified Bike) and Darryl Stephen (Super Gas).

Western Warriors: Left, Phil Howard powered to victory in Pro Stock Bike. Above, Gary Phillips dominated the Top Alcohol class. Above, Darren Morgan was the big winner in Top Fuel, and opposite left, Athol Williams broke all the records to claim the Top Bike class.

45

2009 TARGA TASMANIA Tasmania

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Quin

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inn is The Top Dog After a decade of letdowns and near-misses, Tony Quinn has claimed his first Targa Tasmania victory. But it took a dramatic last-day charge to do it

Joel Strickland

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I

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Photowagon.com

T’S a fair distance from Queensland to Tasmania, but Tony Quinn will be making the trip with a large trophy after winning the 2009 Targa Tasmania.

The pet food king and navigator Naomi Tillett piloted their Nissan GTR to a six-minute win over Jason and John White’s Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, with Jamie and Simon Vandenberg third in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. “Our strategy was always to keep up with the others and if we got the wet weather over the last day or two, just to have a lunge for it,” Quinn said after taking his first Targa victory in 11 attempts.

“I’ve always been bridesmaid to Jim [Richards] or the Whites or somebody else, and we’re very pleased to finally win it. It hasn’t sunk in yet and it feels like it’s been the toughest and most competitive week there’s every been in Targa.”

The last day could hardly have been more gripping. It started with Kevin Weeks holding a slender 8s advantage over Quinn, but in damp conditions, the Nissan soon turned that into a 3s lead by winning the opening stage at Strahan. Weeks was out of luck, and out of the event, on the very next stage when he crashed his Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera into trees near the end of the Queenstown stage. Medical crews were quickly on the scene and Weeks and co-driver Bec Crunkhorn were transferred to hospital for treatment.

The event had already claimed Jim Richards/Barry Oliver, the eight-time winners crashing out contention on Friday.

Victorian Rex Broadbent made it a hat-trick of wins by winning the Classic category in his 1974 Porsche 911RS to a clear win over the similar car of Bill Pye, while Mitsubishi scored some consolation with a 1-2 result in the Showroom class, locals Greg Johnston/ Mike Stoneman leading Tony Warren/Natasha Deniese in a pair of Evo IXs. Ric Shaw steered his Mazda RX7 – what else – to take out the Early Modern category with James Parish, beating Jeff and Nerida Beable’s Nissan GT-R by three minutes, while Paul and Mike Batten won the Early Classic category in their Volvo PV544.

Flame Out: From top, the Whites finished second; defending Champ Steve Glenney lost time with gearbox and electrical problems; a crash claimed Jim Richards, who won the Prologue, and Jon Siddens in the Datsun; Klaus Bischof brought another gem from the Porsche Museum; Kevin Weeks crashed out on Sunday and Rex Broadbent took the win in the Classic category.

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Redline

Joel Strickland

Joel Strickland

Joel Strickland

Joel Strickland

Redline

49

NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 10 – THE RUSS FRIEDMAN 400, RICHMOND, VA

FOR HE’S A JOLLY GOO

The tight confines of Richmond were just the right place for Kyle Busch to invite a few friends over to celebrate his 24th birthday in winning style.

By MARTIN D CLARK

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OD FELLOW

Toyota Motorsports

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NASCAR Media

Toyota Motosports

K

YLE Busch turned 24 at the weekend. So winning both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Richmond seems a sensible way to celebrate.

“It’s exciting for us to come out here and not only win on my birthday, but to have the teams enjoy it as much as I do,” commented Busch, who became just the second driver to win a race on his birthday.

Busch, who started 14th, took the lead for the final time on lap 352 of 400 to the outside of

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Jeff Gordon for this third win of the season after a dry spell that saw him finish no better than 17th in the last four events.

After a rain-delayed start, polesitter Brian Vickers led the first six laps under green and yellow flag conditions before Jeff Gordon took the point to lead 62 laps. Then local hero Denny Hamlin led 148 laps until trouble with the front wheel nuts on pit road put him back in the pack, from where he would never recover.

Jimmie Johnson, who had

NASCAR Media

24 Today: Kyle Busch (#18) won; Tony Stewart (#14) built on a great season with second; Mark Martin (#5) somehow finished fifth. won three of the last four Richmond races, got nabbed for speeding on pit road and later suffered brake issues and the wrath of NASCAR, again, for failing to line up in the correct position on a restart. He ended his night 36th while Hendrick team-mate Gordon fought his car all night, his crew electing not to pit when others did with 89 laps to run and he held on to finish eighth, taking the point lead back from Kurt Busch.

After all that, Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton were second

and third, Smoke’s night made even better with team-mate Ryan Newman fourth. Sam Hornish took a career-best sixth ahead Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears. With a record 15 cautions, many front runners either caused wrecks by sliding into other drivers or were on the receiving end. Most carried on including Jeff Burton and Mark Martin, who finished in the top 10, and those who did not; Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards David Stremme and Martin Truex Jr.

Playing in the First 11 Toyota Motosports

Friday Busch NATIONWIDE SERIES

Toyota Motosports

YOU could not get a bigger contrast in tracks between Talladega and Richmond but Marcos Ambrose carried his form into the confines of the small track and finished 11th.

But it was not all smooth sailing. While he was running 14th, contact from a pushing Sam Hornish sent Ambrose into the turn two wall. Following brief repairs to the left front and rear sheet metal on pit road, he stayed on the lead lap and with fresher tyres than many forged forward to finish 11th, after passing Kurt Busch for 11th in the closing laps.

“It was a long night – really long,” said Ambrose.

“I thought it was never going to end, but we had a good car and ran well. When the sun went down, we lost the handling on the car, but we kept at it. We got damaged with a spin and a crash and we had to fight our way back through. I’m really proud of our team to be able to bounce back.

We’ll take 11th place. One spot more would have been fantastic, but we have got to be happy with that.

“We’re doing it every week. I’m thrilled. Even though it was a tough night we still had a decent finish.”

He continues to hold 19th in the title chase, one slot behind Dale Earnhardt Jr, who ended his night on the lead lap in 27th.

The Bush Era: Running in ‘Saturday’ colours of Bush’s Baked Beans, Marcos Ambrose played hard and fast to take 11th place.

SPRINT CUP | RUSS FRIEDMAN 400, RICHMOND 1 18 2 14 3 31 4 39 5 5 6 77 7 26 8 24 9 07 10 42

Kyle Busch Toyota Tony Stewart Chevy Jeff Burton Chevy Ryan Newman Chevy Mark Martin Chevy Sam Hornish Jr Dodge Jamie McMurray Ford Jeff Gordon Chevy Casey Mears Chevy Juan Montoya Chevy

Joe Gibbs/Combos 14 Stewart Haas/Old Spice 16 Childress/Prilosec 5 Stewart Haas/Prelude to the Dream 10 Hendrick/CarQuest 7 Penske/Mobil 1 28 Roush Fenway/Irwin Tools 27 Hendrick/DuPont 2 Childress/Jack Daniel’s 41 Earnhardt Ganassi/Target 29

NASCAR | DRIVER’S points Gordon 1441, Kurt Busch 1431, Stewart 1402, Hamlin 1321, Kyle Busch 1314, Johnson 1290, Burton 1257, Bowyer 1212, Edwards 1204, Newman 1198. (Ambrose 19th 1067).

KYLE Busch drove his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to his third 2009 series win at Richmond.

“I love winning here at Richmond,” commented Busch, “we’re in championship form we’ve just got to keep digging.”

With the front four cars staying on track during caution eight with 30 laps to run, Busch took the lead to the outside of Carl Edwards’s Roush Fenway Racing Ford on the restart with 21 laps of the 250 remaining and held off through cautions nine and 10 for wrecks.

Matt Kenseth took pole, headed the first thee laps and brought his Roush Ford home third, from Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick.

In his one and only Nationwide Series race of the year Mark Martin came home seventh after some fuel pick up issues.

– MARTIN D CLARK

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A1 GRAND PRIX BRANDS HATCH, ENGLAND

Adam Carroll dominated at Brands Hatch, taking two wins and delivering Team Ireland the A1GP title for 2008/09

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hours in the pit lane, that says it all.”

In the final race, Carroll finished 10s ahead of Jeroen Bleekemolen of Team Netherlands, with Neel Jani in third place. The result ensured that the Swiss team held out Portugal to take second in the series.

To add to the Irish smiles, Carroll had also taken out the Sprint Race, from India’s Narain Karthikeyan and Salvador Duran of Team Mexico.

It was a consistent weekend for Team Australia. John Martin was seventh in the Sprint Race and eighth in the Feature, hauling the Aussie team into a tie for seventh in the overall standings. Dan Clarke pulled off the passing move of the

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O win a championship is exciting enough. To win one in the final race of the season, from pole position, is … special.

Adam Carroll was special at Brands Hatch. The Team Ireland was never headed in the final race of season four of A1GP and, with the scheduled final round of the season in Mexico City iced because of Swine Flu, the men in green took home the title in style.

“The team are just unbelievable,” said an ecstatic Carroll, “they are the best team on the face of this earth in motorsport and I believe that fully. Their commitment is second to none and we are the best in this pit lane. These guys left on Friday night after 29

When Irish Guys are Smiling: Adam Carroll was the class of the field at Brands and took two dominant wins. It would have been a big night on the Guinness at the Octagon, no doubt ... weekend, and one of the best of the season, when he passed the Team Oz car at Paddock Bend. Trans-Tasman bragging rights will have to wait another year …

Points: Ireland 112, Switzerland 95, Portugal 92, Netherlands 75, France 47, Malaysia 43, New Zealand and Australia 36, Monaco 35, GB 28.

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Swiss podium: Neel Jani, left, secured second overall for Team Switzerland; John Martin, above, took an eighth and a seventh for the Aussies; Clivio Piccione, below, had an exciting weekend for Team Monaco, including some Rallycross action ...

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Formula Ricciardo West Aussie continues domination of British F3 International Series BRITISH F3

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FORMULA Ricciardo continued in Britain on Sunday as West Australian Daniel Ricciardo notched up a third win in the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series.

Win number three in four races came in Silverstone’s second race after he made a bold pass to get the lead from Max Chilton in the closing stages. With his gearbox failing to change down, Chilton was powerless to stop ‘Dan the Man’ from powering around the outside at Stowe Corner to grab the lead.

It was the perfect end to a weekend that started badly when Ricciardo outbraked himself at Copse in qualifying and put the Carlin Motorsport Dallara in the gravel. He started race one from 11th on the grid but made early progress to finish fifth, while his Race 2 drive was eased by Chilton’s problems, his winning margin was just 1.9 seconds after 30 minutes of racing.

The next stop for the Red Bull-backed steamroller (and the rest of the British Formula 3 field) is Rockingham at the end of May. – DAVID ADDISON

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Richard Craill

No Sprint Tyre needed here!

SOUTH AUSTRALIA STATE ROUND 2 of the SA State Motor Racing Championships didn’t need an alternate tyre to help spice up the action - strong fields and competitive racing again the feature at Mallala at the weekend.

With state-level motorsport weathering the financial storm well, the biggest grid of the weekend (at 23 cars) was the always hot SA Formula Vee series that threw up three different winners from five races. Scott Blake broke though for wins in Saturday’s two races whilst former State champion Asher Johnston won two of Sunday’s three encounters. Cameron Waters won the final and finished on the podium in all races, bar one.

In Formula Ford it was Roger I’Anson who swept the weekend in his Duratec Van Diemen, Bo

Jensen and Jason Ratch amongst the winners in the Formula Ford 1600cc ‘race within a race’.

Mark Krashos made the local debut of his recently purchased ex-Dean Fiore 997 GT3 Porsche in the Sports Cars, winning the weekend ahead of Lyn Punshon’s thundering Cobra.

Tony Wallis dominated a huge Improved Production field in a weekend that was a Mazda benefit, Mark Sutton and Adam Allan both regulars on the podium in all five races. Also notable was Torana driver Graham Stewart, who held out the more powerful V8s in the Historic Touring Cars. Graham Mason was the pick of the bunch in the HQs while Wayne King and Peter Holmes fought closely in Saloon cars with the latter coming out on top.

The unique-to-SA MGF series continues to grow, Chris Aberley the pick of a strong grid.

– RICHARD CRAILL

Silencing their Sportscar critics

Ryan Sharp and Karl Wendlinger confounded the sceptics by winning the opening round of the FIA GT Championship in their Saleen S7R, run by new team K plus K Motorpsort.

The Saleen was dominant despite the best efforts of reigning champions Andrea Bertolini/Michael Bartels in the Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12 which finished a distant second. GT2 honours fell to the Porsche 911 GT3RSR of Richard Westbrook/ Emmanuel Collard.

– DAVID ADDISON

Worsham’s weekend of 2009 NHRA firsts NHRA DEL Worsham raced to his first win of the season and first victory with the Alan Johnson/ Al-Anabi Racing Team at the 13th annual O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway, just outside of St. Louis.

Worsham drove the Al-Anabi

Racing Toyota Solara to a 4.13s run at 302 mph to defeat the 4.12 at 310 from number one qualifier Ron Capps on a holeshot. For Worsham, it was his first win in over a year, his last coming at Houston Raceway Park in 2007.

The Top Fuel final was a rematch of the season’s second event, in Phoenix, and the

result was the same as it was in February with Antron Brown collecting the win, his fourth in the class and 20th overall.

Brown in the DirecTV dragster defeated Brandon Bernstein with a 3.85 at 318 mph, the fifth fastest speed ever at 1,000 feet, to stop Bernstein’s 3.88 at 310 mph.

Jeg Coughlin defeated a

redlighting Jason Line in the final round, 6.58/208 to 6.57/210. Coughlin raced to his third victory of the ‘09 season by earlier besting Tom Hammonds, Kurt Johnson, and Justin Humphreys.

The Pro Stock Motorcycle final pitted the series’ two most recent winners, Atlanta champ Eddie Krawiec and Houston

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Zoology, Winton style ...

WHEN David Reynolds made his charge through the field late in the second race at Winton, there was a bear in there that was very excited …

And why wouldn’t the young fan be excited? After all, there is no doubt that what you see on that Bundy sign is a genuine Reynolds autograph, complete with the laid back Alburians ‘Thanks Champ’ sign off.

There were some other odd mascot happenings at Winton, as well. On Saturday, the Dodo bird knew an awful lot about Formula Ford, and was spotted waltzing into the Super Cheap Auto Racing garage rambling something about seeing his brother.

And the funny part is, Ben Small was nowhere to be seen.

The worst part is, as the Formula Ford race reporter for the weekend, Dep Ed Van Leeuwen had to stand, in full view of the paddock, and interview a giant blue bird …

Odd Spot

THERE’S been a bit of a paddock view for a while that V8 Supercars Australia don’t really care for much Australian touring car history pre-1997 when Tony Cochrane and his men came onto the scene.

And judging by something which caught our eye over the Winton weekend, there might some weight to that pitlane chat.

Eagle-eyed historians would have been stunned to see the list of Bathurst winners signwritten on the side of the V8 Supercar bus.

It has Dick Johnson and John Bowe as the winners of the 1995 Great Race, and Larry Perkins and Russell Ingall as the 1996 Champs.

We’re not going to re-iterate who the real winners were – most of you would be able to tell us right off the top of your head.

Expect the bus to have fresh signwriting at Symmons Plains ...

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