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Issue No. 106 26 May – 1 June 2009
The G I T S for ? st r u h t a b protests to fly in taSsie
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
Australasian
The ‘A’ Team
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MD / Publisher
Chris Lambden publisher@mnews.com.au
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)
Issue No. 106 | 26 May–1 June 2009
news 4 Collins at Bathurst? When Stigs fly ... 6 Dam Busters! 8 Euro Racing Cars 12 Fabs set to Wall it 16 Type AARGHHH!
chat 20 5 minutes with ... opinion 22 Oliver
More T8/splitter protests Accord tipped to join Aussies David Wall, that is Honda eye ARC comeback Rick Kelly
23 Branagan
The deep, deep South Politicians and Politicking
28 NASCAR 30 Nurburgring 24Hrs 32 Formula Renault 3.5
Helio gets calcium fix Rain, rain, go away Porsche wins. No, really. Martin, Monaco, Mega!
race 24 Indy 500
trade 36 Classifieds
Hey Helio, look over there. I’m completely serious. You should turn around right now! Yoink ...
Motorsport eNews is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Copyright: Material published in Motorsport eNews is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Freelance contributions are welcome, and while all care will be taken, Motorsport eNews does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted. Opinions expressed in Motorsport eNews are not necessarily those of Australasian Motorsport News or its staff.
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EXCLUSIVE
Dirk Klynsmith
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Top Gear’s White Knight believed to be preparing for his V8 race debut
Is The Stig Bathurst-bound? V8 SUPERCARS
After the Winton test, the HRT crew reported that THE Stig for Bathurst. It Collins did a “exceptional” job sounds like a gimmick, but behind the wheel of the VE it is set become a reality this Commodore, offering good year. feedback. eNews understands that While there are no The Stig’s alleged alter-ego, endurance spots remaining UK driver Ben Collins, is being at HRT or Walkinshaw Racing, touted as an endurance driver there are two at Kelly Racing for the Jack Daniels Racing – the only Holden-supported team at Phillip Island and team yet to formally lock in its Bathurst this year – out with endurance drivers. the white suit, into a black eNews understands that 34one? year-old Collins has been in The Stig is the name given to contact with the Melbournethe anonymous racing driver based team ... on the ultra-successful BBC If Collins were to make it television show Top Gear. onto the grid at Phillip Island, Collins was in Australia in it would be his V8 Supercar February and completed a race debut. test session with the Holden But who would partner him? Racing Team at Winton Motor There has, of course, been Raceway for British motorsport paddock chat for some time magazine Autosport. that recently-retired star Mark Was this V8 taste enough to Skaife could race in ‘black’ entice Collins to come back for this year, as his commitment more? It seems so. with V8s broadcaster Channel
OUT WITH THE WHITE SUIT, into a black one? 7 is for only 12 of the 14 championship rounds, leaving Phillip Island and Bathurst as potential ‘free time’. The idea of Collins and Skaife paired for those races is intriguing. Skaife – who recently appeared on Top Gear Australia – would obviously take lead driver role, and his unrivalled knowledge of the cars and circuits would be a major help to Collins. A Skaife/Collins line-up in #15 JDR car would leave team owner/drivers Todd and Rick Kelly to combine in the #7 entry, while Nathan Pretty could partner Jack Perkins leaving Dale Wood to
contest the enduros with Tony Ricciardello. Collins’ most recent claim to fame has been through his appearances on the Top Gear program in various testing roles, while British newspaper The Daily Telegraph claimed in January this year that Collins is one of the secret faces, if not the hidden face of, the helmeted Stig. Collins is an accomplished racing driver in his own right, starting his career in junior open-wheel formulae, finding success in Formula 3 and has since become a regular in the European Sportscar scene. – GRANT ROWLEY
FOR FORMULA 1, MOTOGP AND WRC NEWS, OPINION AND ANALYSIS CLICK HERE TO ACCES
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SS GPWEEK – THE WORLD’S FIRST ‘VIRTUAL’ INTERNATIONAL MOTORSPORT MAGAZINE ...
Protest drags air-dam contro V8 SUPERCARS THE controversy surrounding the mounting of the front air dams on a number of Falcon V8 Supercars looks set to stretch across this weekend’s V8 Supercar round in Tasmania. Five teams have now lodged a joint protest with CAMS over the judgement (at the Winton round) which concluded that the mounting system on the Triple Eight Racing Falcons (and several customer cars) was legal. The protest was lodged last Friday – interestingly, just before a four-page report to teams on the matter by V8SA Technical Director Campbell Little was sent to teams, along with a covering note from V8SA Chairman Tony Cochrane, which optimistically concluded “I trust this brings this matter to an end …” While the protest covers the technical interpretation of the existing rules, eNews understands it also challenges the conduct of the matter to date by Little – a former Triple Eight engineer – who, nevertheless, had disqualified himself from the Winton decision in order to avoid that very conflict. The matter was subsequently handled by his assistant Frank Adamson. Little’s four-page report, sighted by eNews, outlines the events of May 2/3 at Winton, confirms the wording of the regulation as “ shall be firmly fixed whilst the automobile is
in motion” and Adamson’s verdict that the front splitter in question was indeed ‘firmly’ fixed. The report goes on to say that in light of no team manager or owner having subsequently asked to examine the parts in question, and that no protest having been received in relation to the judgement, the matter should be considered closed. It also suggests a revision of the rule to more clearly define the mounting and its effect. However, even as the report was being communicated to teams (along with Cochrane’s plea), the five-team protest was being lodged at CAMS. The governing body had earlier rejected a more informal request to get involved, suggesting that a formal protest was required for it to do so, and now it has just that. The category’s two permanent Stewards – Steve Chopping and Peter Drew, along with event steward Brian Richardson – will sit on Friday morning, at Symmons Plains. Their first decision will be whether the protest – well outside the time frame for normal protest – warrants special dispensation to be heard. If that is granted, then the protest itself will be heard. If the Stewards concur with the decisions made at Winton, that should be the end of it; if they don’t, then look out – temperatures up and down V8 pit lane will rise …
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oversy to Symmons
Two stops for Tas V8 SUPERCARS THIS weekend’s V8 Supercar races at Symmons Plains will take on a new look, with Sunday’s Race 8 becoming a two-stop mini-enduro. The race regulations stipulate that Saturday’s race will feature the same 50-litre fill single stop format as recent events, but Sunday’s race will have two mandatory stops. But the other wrinkle is that teams will be able to decide how much fuel will go into the cars at each stop, so long as the 100 litre
minimum is met. That could see teams start the race on the option Sprint tyre, make a long pitstop and take on, say, 99 litres and then fulfil their second stop with a splash-ndash late in the race. Conversely, it may also see a long stop early and two sets of prime tyres, followed by a rapid 10s stop for a minimum of fuel and four Sprint tyres to charge to the end. The tyre allocation is unchanged, with 12 prime tyres and four Sprints, the latter to be used at any time during Race 7 or 8, but not in qualifying.
opinion Chris Lambden mNews Publisher If my memory serves me right, this is the first time the decision of a V8 Supercar official has been formally protested in the modern V8 Supercar era – and, for me, there’s a bit too much of a personal element to it. Too much is being made of Chief Technical Officer Campbell Little’s former job – as a Triple Eight Racing Engineer. The non-toosubtle suggestion is that his handling of the case has been compromised by his former role with the team. Well …. no! In fact, rubbish. As should be the case in this sort of situation, Little removed himself from the decision-making process at Winton – similar situations happen quite often at V8 Board level. Subsequently, he has made a reasonable ruling that the mounting system under discussion is, under the current rules, legal. Those who wish to dispute that should do it based purely on the facts as they see them alone. Little has been hired on the smart basis of ‘It takes a thief to catch one’ – ie the best individual to police race engineers is a race engineer! Like Driving Standards Observer Tomas Mezera before him, he is being put under pressure early on – like Mezera, he is a straightforward individual and eminently qualified for the gig’ He will, if there is justice, see this issue off and things will settle down. And some of the critics should, on reflection, recall another old saying … something about glasshouses and stone-throwing … and then they should go about figuring out how to beat the Triple Eight cars on-track, rather than off …
John Morris/Mpix
Honda’s Aussie Chance AUSSIE RACING CARS
John Morris/Mpix
THIS could be the next Aussie Racing Car to hit the track. Honda Australia is considering an entry in the popular Aussie Racing Car category, using its Euro model as the base style. Phil Ward and his Aussie Racing Car team have submitted the proposal to Honda, which includes the use of a Honda Blackbird engine, which is the powerplant used in the CBR1100XX Super Blackbird. The Blackbird packs 153 horsepower in stock form, approximately 23hp more than the Yamaha engine which is, to date, the control engine of the class. The Honda also packs a six-speed gearbox, one more than that Yamaha. Honda is said to be seriously considering the entry into the class, but only if the Japanese manufacturer can use its own powerplant. While the Blackbird is more powerful, Ward says that restrictors would be used to ensure that parity is achieved in the controlled class. “We’ve done all of our submissions based on using
Honda engine,” Ward told eNews. “All the preliminary tests complete. The advantage I can see is that the Hondas would have their own character. They would sound different to the Yamahas, but their performance will be equalised with our regular parity systems. “Getting parity wouldn’t be problem. We would run different restrictors in the car, just like we do in the Toyotas.” The Honda Euro-styled body has been designed in-house by Aussie Racing Cars using the latest CAD designs. As the drawing above shows, the Euro has been given a DTM-flavour,
with flared guards and boxstyle side skirts to ensure that if it ever hits the race track, it will have a unique appearance in the market. “It looks pretty fat,” Ward said. “We’ve given it a DTM flavour just to give it a unique look. “Manufacturers see Aussie Racing Cars as a cost effective alternative to any other form of motorsport. They can promote their product in a myriad of different ways. “We’re actually talking to other manufacturers as well, and to have Honda involved would just be another endorsement of the Aussie Racing Car product as a serious
player in the Australian motor racing scene. “In this tight economic climate, a car can be campaigned for a season for the cost of a city-based newspaper advert campaign! It makes sense for them to consider it.” If the Honda does decide to join the pint-sized Aussie Racing Car fray, it would make its debut for the start of the 2009 season. And if Honda does join, it will start re-ignite the famous ‘Honda verses Toyota’ battle that has raged in Japan since the pair started racing cars. – GRANT ROWLEY
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Rick turns 100 ... V8 SUPERCARS ANOTHER record will fall to Rick Kelly this weekend, when he becomes the youngest driver to ever make 100 starts in V8 Supercar or Australian Touring Car Championship racing. The Jack Daniel’s Racing driver Rick Kelly will click over the century at the age of 26 years, four months and 12 days. “It is not something that you think too much about,” said Kelly. “You focus on your racing and how you are going
about it, and not too much on the statistics or figures that go along with that. So, someone mentions it to you, and you think that it has come up quickly.” Kelly made his V8 Supercar debut at the Queensland 500 in Ipswich in 2001, partnered with Nathan Pretty in a Kmart Racing Holden Commodore VX. He became a full-time driver in the series the following year, and is already the youngest ever event winner and youngest Bathurst winner, winning the endurance classic at aged 20.
... but isn’t a World Record holder V8 SUPERCARS RICK Kelly had a setback last week when his attempt at a Land Speed Record came up short. Kelly made the attempt with a remote-controlled Mojet T40, a hand-built carbon fibre 1:10 scale replica of the Thrust SSC. The Red Bull-liveried beast was let loose at Holden’s Lang Lang Proving Ground, with Rick following in a Holden road car driven by his brother Todd. The team was targeting a speed of 150kmh to set the record for a jet-powered remote control car, but fell well short due to handling problems.
“It did not look too fantastic on the day but I certainly enjoyed building the car,” he reported. “I learned a lot about jet engines and thrust. I hope that on our second track day, we will be able to get the car to handle better than it did then. It was extremely overpowered, every time we went to increase the trust, it tried to spin the car around.” The car flew over the banking at high speed, and will now be rebuilt for another crack at the record. “Our aim was to either set a record or get a big crash, so at least we achieved something,” said Kelly.
Wanted: A Few Good Drivers FORMULA FORD NOMINATIONS are now open for young aspiring drivers to be apart of the 2010 CAMS Rising Stars program. The Australian Motor Sport Foundation is again undertaking registrations by its self-nomination process, where drivers must meet specific assessment criterias including age (14 years and above), past driver performance, and the demonstrated ability to provide the balance of an operational racing budget. Current CAMS Rising Star Scott Pye says the program has been extremely beneficial to his career thus far. ”The CAMS Rising Star Program has been an enormous benefit in developing my
skills and abilities,” said Pye. “It has enabled me to maximise my opportunities in achieving my ultimate goal of Formula 1, and has taught me much more than just motor racing. “I have really enjoyed the team atmosphere that the program provides, as well as the expert knowledge that the AMSF Board has to offer.” The successful nominees will compete in either state or national level Formula Ford in 2010. The 2010 program will consist of a continued focus on fitness. With fitness and development camps planned at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), team members will be able to train and learn at the world-class facilities in Canberra.
“The CAMS Rising Star Program has demonstrated over recent years to be the leading driver development program in the country,” said AMSF General Manager Martin Stillman. “Drivers selected will benefit from expert training and advice in pursuit of their motor racing aspirations and goals.” Once a short list of candidates is established, nominees will be interviewed by an AMSF selection panel. State level candidates will also be required to attend an evaluation camp at the AIS and an ontrack evaluation day at a Victorian circuit in late August. The deadline for nominations is Friday 10 July 2009 before the successful candidates are announced in mid September 2009.
Dirk Klynsmith
(... and a good Team as well) FORMULA FORD WHILE the Australian Motor Sport Foundation is publicly seeking submissions for the 2010 CAMS Rising Stars program, it is also tendering for a team to run the local Rising Stars team. Borland Racing Development’s three-year
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contract expires at the end of this season and, after five years as the provider of the development program, the Braeside, Victoria-based team is keen to hold onto the deal. However, a number of other teams, including Sonic Motor Racing Services, Team BRM, Synergy Motorsport and Minda Motorsport are all believed to
be considering tendering for the prized job. BRD’s Paul Zsidy told eNews that he wants to remain involved in the development of Australia’s future Formula 1 stars. “We want to retain the contract because we believe in the program and what it’s trying to achieve,” he said. “We’ve been involved in the
Rising Stars since its inception and it would be very pleasing and rewarding to remain involved and see it deliver on some of the potential that we’ve been able to deliver in it.” Expressions of interest for the running of the CAMS Rising Stars team are now being received by the AMSF. – GRANT ROWLEY
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A1: CHANGES FOR 09/10
New Teams from Russia, Venezeula and Spain – and a street race in Dublin!
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A1GP THE World Cup of Motorsport – A1 Grand Prix – is currently in its off-season, but there are positive noises emerging from the ranks about the future of the class, including new teams and new circuits. eNews understands that negotiations are taking place between the Republic of Ireland government and A1GP officials about a street race through the country’s capital in Dublin. Ireland and team driver Adam Carroll won the 2008/09 A1GP season, and on the back of country’s success, a street race for
the upcoming season is being mooted. While a street race in Dublin is considered, three new teams are set to join the fray for the 09/10 season, including Venezuela, Russia and Spain. The amount of team is also going to be capped for upcoming championships, restricting the amount of competing nations to 22. There is also a chance that the A1 circus could head to more iconic racing circuits around the world, including a possible appearance at San Marino’s Imola track. Confirmed for next season’s calendar is a move of the Holland round from Zandvoort to Assen.
The 2009/10 season is likely to kick off at Australia’s ‘SuperGP’ round on the streets of the Gold Coast, and Australian A1GP seat holder Alan Jones told eNews that punters will be “pleasantly surprised” with A1’s maiden race on the Gold Coast. “They are going to be quicker than the IndyCars, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “The racing will be closer, there will probably be more shunts, and that’s what the punters love. I think that a lot of people are going to be pleasantly surprised.” – GRANT ROWLEY
Hacking answers the Call WORLD SUPERBIKES
MotoGP.com
THE World Superbike Championship’s merry-goround of substitute racers continues this week at Miller Motorsports Park, with Jamie Hacking joining the Paul Bird Motorsport Team. Hacking, 37, will join Aussie Broc Parkes in the Kawasaki team as regular rider Makoto Tamada continues to heal from a wrist broken at Monza.
Hacking has become something of a specialist in making one-off appearances. He became the oldest rider to ever make his GP debut last season when he finished 11th at Laguna Seca’s MotoGP round, and is expected to shine at the Utah track, where he pushed Mat Mladin hard in last year’s AMA Superbike round. “I rode World Superbikes back when I first started racing at Laguna Seca,” said Hacking.
“Obviously a lot has changed and I have more experience. I can’t really say what a realistic expectation would be without riding the bike, but Miller does seem to suit my style. Last year, it was our best track on the ZX10R and I hope that we can try for a top 10.” The green team resembles a hospital ward at the moment, as Parkes continues to recover from a shoulder injury suffered in a testing fall.
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James Smith John Morris/Mpix
Proving Ground V8 SUPERCARS DAVID Wall and the Wilson Security Racing team is trying to sort a Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series drive in the lead-up to the ‘Season of Endurance’ at Phillip Island and Bathurst in September/October. Wall is being considered for the prized ride alongside Fabian Coulthard in the #111 Falcon FG, despite the fact that this will be Wall’s maiden stints in the V8 endurance races. The Porsche regular will take part in this Friday’s half hour endurance driver session at Symmons Plains (available to all teams) in Coulthard’s #111 Falcon. Wall also has a V8 rookie day up his sleeve, but the desire still remains to contest a Fujistu Series round – perhaps even at Bathurst – to gain more miles in the category. “It would obviously help me a bit, but only as long as I am able to do it in a good car,” he
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said. “As long as we can get the budget and get a good competitive car that we can get value for miles, then I think we’ll try and do it. “Doing it in a bad car might do you more harm than good. If you got something in good condition and close to what we will race in, it will be a big help.” The Wilson Secruity driver line-up (including Coultard, Wall, Michael Patrizi and Leanne Tander) is yet to be finalised. Size-wise, Wall and Coulthard are very similar, but that doesn’t guarantee him a spot alongside the fast Kiwi. “I’d love to do it with Fabian, but I have to make sure I have proved myself, in testing and in racing, and if I do that, then I’ll be comfortable,” he said. “The height factor between us is a good thing, it would be easier to go down that path, but if I don’t drive with Fabian I’m happy racing in either car.” – GRANT ROWLEY
V8 driver set to take on the Superkart
Price’s Superk SUPERKARTS FUJITSU V8 Supercar driver Shane Price will contest the Australian Superkart Championship this year. The two round title will be held at Mallala (June 6-7) and Eastern Creek (July 18-19), both as part of the Shannons Nationals. Price, a former Australian Sprint Kart champion and now Walkinshaw Racing V8 Supercar endurance driver, will race an Anderson chassis, using a SAFE engine. But this isn’t Price’s first foray into Superkarts. He contested (and won) this year’s New Zealand Superkart Championship and says that he is looking forward to Mallala – and the chance to race against long-time friend, co-worker and reigning
Australian Superkart Champion Darren Hossack, above. “New Zealand was my first race, and I loved it, it was really good fun,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out there and race against Darren. I work with him and have grown up with him helping me so it will be good to get out there and have a race. I have to say thank you to Dean (the kart’s owner) who has been good enough to let me drive it instead of himself!” Price said that the braking of the Superkart is one of the major differences between it and a normal kart. “Superkarts are faster than a Sprint Kart, obviously, but they are quite similar to an ICC shifter kart,” he said. “With the braking, you don’t have to jump on them until 20
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Entries far and wide for Wildcard slots V8 SUPERCARS
Ash Budd
t heroes at Mallala and Eastern Creek
kart tilt
Aston’s three up SPORTSCARS
Ash Budd
metres before the corner so compared to a racing car, you come up to a corner, watch the braking markers on the side of the track go by and then you brake just before the corner. It’s unusual to drive a Superkart on a racing kart track. You’re going so fast, it feels unbelievable.” Adding to Price’s upcoming racing duties is co-driving duties alongside Commodore Cup championship contender Nick Parker in the endurance meeting at Winton at the end of June. “It’s great of the Parkers to let me have a steer of their car for that race,” Price said. “I’ve driven a New Zealand Touring Car, and an old Sports Sedan in Darwin, so I think I’ll be able to jump in an adapt to it.” – GRANT ROWLEY
ENTRIES for the four available V8 Supercar ‘Wildcard’ entries close next Monday, and there are some interesting teams ready to submit for the chance to be involved in the 2009 Season of Endurance. Heading the list is Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series regulars, including the likes of Sonic Motor Racing Services, Matthew White Motorsport, Howard Racing and Dick Johnson Racing. All four teams have expressed a desire to add a car into the Phillip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000 races. V8 Supercars Australia has outlined a couple of items that is highly desirable, including the nominated driver must have some V8 Bathurst experience under their belt. Also, a vehicle that usually
races in the FV8 races shouldn’t be taken out of that series to be entered in the enduros. V8SA wants to ensure that the ‘Wildcard’ cars do not thin the regular Fujitsu field. Regardless, Team Sonic will submit its case to race one of its current ex-Triple Eight cars. MWR has a number of cars to choose from, and could even lease a current-spec car from Ford Performance Racing. Howard Racing has a spare BF chassis at its Gold Coast base, while DJR also has the luxury of spare (and for sale) Falcons. Other Fujitsu V8 teams looking at submitting for the wildcards are West Coast Racing (Mark McNally), Sieders Racing Team (Colin and David Sieders), Jay Motorsports (Jay Verdnik) and Fastaz Motorsport (Taz Douglas). – GRANT ROWLEY
ASTON Martin has added a third entry to its Le Mans assault, with three new drivers joining the British squad. Brits Ant Davidson and Stuart Hall will be joined by Dutch ace Jos Verstappen in a third Lola-chassied entry in the race. The exact driving combinations of cars 007, 008 and 009 will be made shortly before the June 13-14 race. Davidson has already tested the LMP1 prototype in Portugal, and had previously raced with the Aston Martin team in the GT class at Le Mans, as well as Sebring and the Petit Le Mans events. Hall, 24, finished fourth at
Le Mans in 2007 in a Juddpowered Pescarolo entered by Rollcentre Racing. Verstappen, 37, made his Le Mans debut last year, winning the LMP2 class in Van Merksteijn Motorsport’s Porsche RS Spyder.
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NASCAR’s Nightmare Seaso
Owner/Driver Carl Long, crew chief suspended and fined NASCAR SPRINT CUP ANOTHER owner-driver has been suspended – but this time, it is over a big motor. Independent Sprint Cup car owner-driver Carl Long and his crew chief Charles Swing have been a fined $200,000, suspended for 12 NASCAR races and penalised 200 points when his primary engine for the Sprint Showdown at Lowe’s Motor Speedway was found to be oversized. To make matters worse, Long detonated his secondary engine in major fashion when a mechanic installed the inline oil filter the wrong direction. Swing was also admitted to hospital with heart conditions during last week.
“We purchased an engine from a reputable builder at the beginning of the season,” said Long, right, who will appeal the infringement with the national stock car commission. “We overheated the engine in practice and had to change it. We had the option to withdraw and go home before admitting it to inspection. Trusting that our blown engine wouldn’t have any problems passing NASCAR tech, we submitted it and put our other motor in the car to get ready for the Showdown. As everyone knows, it didn’t pass tech. The rules are 358 cubic inches and ours is 358.17 cubic inches. The .17 is as wrong as if it would have been 400 cubic inches. “This engine is 50 horsepower less than top teams but it was all that could be afforded. I would have never
The Smartest, not Fastest Now, It’s
Mayfield hires G
NASCAR Media
NASCAR SPRINT CUP THE rescheduled Coca Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway may not be won by the fastest car or driver, but by the team that adapts the best. Kurt Busch, who was to start the marathon 600-mile 17th in Roger Penske’s Miller Lite
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Dodge, says that the shift in race time from night to midday would be a critical factor in the outcome of the race. “Everyone was set up for racing at night,” Busch explained. “This will really have everyone scratching their heads, that’s for sure. We were hoping to have an adjustable set-up
here tonight. Running here tomorrow will definitely put a bigger premium on the adjustability factor. “I know everyone will be really loose at the start of the race because all the rubber got washed off the track. It’ll get tighter as the race goes on and that’s where the adjustability comes in. “
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on Continues
AUSSIE NASCAR STAR MARCOS AMBROSE WRITES FOR MOTORSPORT eNEWS
d for oversized motor
NASCAR Media
knowingly went to the race track with a big engine! This suspension has not only stopped me from racing, it has also hurt me with my everyday job (car chief at Front Row Motorsports). It’s hard to make a living working at the racetrack when NASCAR will not let you in. “I can only hope that the appeal board will see things differently than the ones that came up with this penalty. I don’t consider myself a cheater. I am addicted to the worse drug ever ... racing! Every dime we have been able to scrape up, we use to race, because we love the sport. It takes about a half million in equipment to be able to build an engine, so I have to rely on other people and this time it bit me.” – MARTIN D CLARK
s a Big Diehl
Gun lawyer, may sue NASCAR NASCAR SPRINT CUP JEREMY Mayfield has taken a big step towards a possible suit against NASCAR by hiring highpowered veteran Charlotte attorney Bill Diehl to represent him. NASCAR continues to keep mum on what banned substance Mayfield used, and Diehl, who has also refused to comment, will decide this week whether to moved forward in an effort to get Mayfield’s indefinite suspension lifted. “Jeremy doesn’t believe that he’s done anything that supports his suspension for the use of drugs,” commented Diehl. “We’re contesting everything that happened [and] we hope that it’s a mistake.” “I would agree the meeting was cordial,” commented NASCAR spokesperson Ramsey Poston. “We laid out the process. They want to get Jeremy back in
the car and there is a very welldefined program to do that. Jeremy needs to meet with Dr. Black and work that out, and if he is successful in that, he can get back in the car.” Meanwhile, NASCAR will have a mandatory meeting with all Sprint Cup drivers and team owners on Tuesday at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord. Although NASCAR would not reveal the agenda of the all day meeting, the confusion over Mayfield’s indefinite suspension over the substance-abuse policy and to discuss the decline in TV ratings and fan attendance at the racetracks are likely to be hot topics. The state of restrictor plate racing following the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski-Ryan Newman last lap wreck at Talladega will possibly also be discussed. – MARTIN D CLARK
Rainy Sundays IT’S a frustrating feeling when these races have rain delays but there is not much you can do and I have to say that I’m a bit more used to it now. You’ve got to relax along with your crew guys and just talk about life, I guess. There is no real secret to passing the time. From a selfish point of view, if there is one race that had to be rained out this would be it – only because we are all in our hometown so we don’t have to extend the hotel bookings, etc. But I do feel sorry for the fans. It’s a public holiday for Memorial Day Weekend in the US tomorrow so hopefully most of them can come back again. When we were sitting back in the haulers waiting for the track to dry, it was amazing to grab an umbrella and have a look down the front straight. There were still thousands of people sitting there waiting for us to get the show going and who knows how many more hiding under the grandstand. That takes serious dedication. The Charlotte race definitely has a home race feel. We had a lot of sponsor representatives and people I’ve come to know well with
i-marcos
Marcos Ambrose Australian NASCAR driver us, and even some family over from Australia. In terms of the car, we were working on it and getting it going reasonably well, but at Lowe’s it doesn’t mean much because the track changes an enormous amount over the course of a night race, especially a 600 mile night race. Lowe’s is a tricky track and changes a lot depending on the conditions, and all this rain (not just on Sunday night, but the whole weekend) has made the entire weekend a bit of a guessing game in terms of set-up. You’ve really just got to do your best and trust that you will be able to work on the car during the race and keep up with the change in grip as the track gets faster. If we go the full 600 miles tomorrow, there’s more than enough time for a few changes. By entering ‘PR-AMBROSE’ as the promotional code when joining iRacing.com, you can get a three-month trial subscription for just US$25.
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AUSTRALIAN RALLY BRENDAN Reeves is determined to have as much seat time ahead of the Pirelli Star Driver-deciding Rally Australia later this year, and is even going to New Zealand for the third round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship in a little under a fortnight. The young Victorian earnt a spot in the regional final at the recent APRC round in
Queensland, meaning he and Eli Evans will take on a couple of other under-27 year old drivers in northern New South Wales this September. The prize is six fully-funded rounds of the 2010 Production Car World Rally Championship. But with the upcoming Coffs Coast rally being delayed due to the rain in the area damaging the roads, Reeves will instead tackle Rally of Whangarei in a bid to maximise
pre-Rally Australia seat time. “We want to get as much practice in as we possibly can,” he told eNews. “With Coffs being cancelled, we have the chance to go back to New Zealand and have a big go. I hope we can be up there. We’ll have good road position, and I’m running my own driveline, so I know how it all works.” Reeves will drive the 2007spec Subaru that has been
REDLINE
REEVES A-PACS HIS BAGS
vacated by Emma Gilmour, who has moved to championshipwinners Motor Image. Ironically, Reeves regular co-driver, his sister Rhianon Smyth, is contracted to Gilmour for the event, meaning Glen Weston will read the notes for Reeves as in Queensland. This will be Reeves’ second visit to NZ; last year he rallied a Fiesta Cup car at the Kiwi WRC round. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN
Open wide and say AUSTRALIAN RALLY
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Honda
LOOK for Honda to compete in the Australian Rally Championship next season. eNews believes that a number of teams were approached at the recent Rally of Queensland to seek the level of interest in running a Civic Type R in the series next season. Sources have told us that expressions of interested were gauged from a number of teams, who are assessing their programs for the future.
It is not known whether the deal would be that Honda Australia provides a car prepared to competition specification, or whether the teams would be responsible to converting a road car. A Honda Civic Type R competed in selected rounds of the ARC last season. Guy Wilks drove a car prepared by JAS Motorsport in Queensland and at Coffs Habour, taking second place in the latter’s first heat before the car was all but destroyed in a crash on Sunday.
Hell, back and beyond In this month’s edition of
Australian Touring Car legend Dick Johnson reveals; – How he survived the financial fight of his life – Why his Jim Beam Racing team is heading back to the top – His ‘never say never’ future with the Ford Motor Company
Available Wednesday from all good newsagents Subscribe now or click here 17
John Morris/Mpix
More TV time for Australian Drag Racing
Prime Time Rewind DRAG RACING
THE broadcasting relationship between ANDRA Championship Drag Racing and ONE has taken another major step forward, with the announcement of a new, additional 8:30pm Friday slot for all Drag Racing shows that will commence after this Sunday’s Top Doorslammer show from the Karcher Nitro Champs in Sydney. The new Friday slot will be known as ‘Prime Time Rewind’, a replay of the Television program from the previous 1:30pm Sunday show. That means the 1:30pm Sunday slots will remain as
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the first run of all ANDRA Championship TV shows. The following Friday Night will be a repeat of this show was a Prime Time Rewind (Replay) of their shows in their entirety. In further exciting news, it has been announced that two of the ANDRA Shows will be telecast on Network TEN, NOON Sundays in July, as well as the expanded coverage on ONE. Already the industry is abuzz with the quality of the shows, created in-house by ANDRA Drag Racing TV, Executive Produced by Nathan Prendergast, Produced and presented by Dean Neal, with
Chad Neylon as co-presenter. Well renowned Senior Editor Phil Taylor has also been waving his magic wand over the shows that left Television officials describe the content so far as “spectacular and brilliant to watch, particularly in full High Definition, the shows are a credit to the sport.” The TV industry is abuzz as ANDRA Championship Drag Racing will go down in history as the first Motorsport in Australia to go full High Definition in broadcast. For a full list of upcoming TV dates, check www.andra.com. au for details (right hand side of home page).
news
Nitro’s special Willowbank apperance DRAG RACING Willowbank Raceway’s Castrol EDGE Winternationals will play host to a two-car Nitro Funny Cars exhibition in two weeks. And the event could be the first four second Funny Car pass for an Australian driver. American competitor Gary Densham ran two four second passes at the track during the ENZED International Nightfire New Year Series in January, however the closest an Australian has come to reaching the four second barrier is 5.02s – set by West Australian Mark Sheehan. When Damien Harris and the local Ashley
Bailey take to the track for three exhibition runs over the Friday and Saturday of the event, the pair will be looking to break that record. “When it comes to the first four second pass by an Australian we would definitely like to be the first to do it,” said Harris. “The car is relatively new with only a handful of passes on it, and although we had some issues at our last run in Perth we were able to run low to mid fives so the car certainly has the potential.” Local Bailey brothers Ashley and Rod (Ashley drives while Rod is crew chie) are true stalwarts of the category and are not
shying away from the challenge represented by the so far elusive four-second barrier. “We would really like to chase it and while the other guys (Shackleton and Harris) are real serious contenders for it at the moment we don’t think we are a mile away,” said Rod. “Harris and Shackleton are really in the hunt, but depending on how we test on Sunday (during the Winters Warm-up), I think we can do it.” The Nitro Funny Cars will complete a pass on Friday night and at 1.25pm and 3.55pm Saturday. Their Saturday runs will be followed by the V8 Supercar shootout between Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.
Lamattina’s Top Fuel crown: All-but won DRAG RACING
John Morris/Mpix
With one round left to run in the ANDRA 2008/2009 Top Fuel Championship, season standout, Phil Lamattina is keen to add the Champions Gold Christmas Tree to the Lamattina mantle piece. “There was extra pressure in Sydney to finalise the championship with one event remaining, but first of all we needed to get through qualifying to move forward. We did that.” All Lamattina has to do is make the field at the Castrol EDGE Winternationals to wrap up the season. The entire Lamattina crew was elated with the event result in Sydney. “Congratulations to WSID on preparing the best track we have run on at their venue. Conditions were ripe for Top Fuel to blast out some great passes, and fortunately the state of the track enabled us to do so.”
Although bowing out of the event earlier than expected, Lamattina is always sporting in his approach. “Congratulations to Darren Morgan on taking out his first round win since taking on the roll of team owner and driver. They showed great consistency on the weekend and did a top job to take the win against Dobbo in the final.” Another person who also got a wrap from the Wemen based Top Fuel pilot, was his Crew Chief. “I can’t thank Theo and the crew at Pavtek enough for what they have done this season,” he said. “Theo’s level of commitment and his ability to get the Fuchs Top Fuel Dragster down the track consistently fast and reliable has enabled us to build a large points lead. We rate Theo as one of the best tuners in pit lane and we look forward to adding another Top Fuel Championship to his impressive.”
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5 Minutes with ...
RICK KELLY
Kelly II scores a century at Symmons Plains this weekend. And he has his own jet car ... MOTORSPORT NEWS: Did you realise that you were coming up to 100 starts in the series? RICK KELLY: I knew it was coming up. Todd did his 100th a year of so ago, so I asked the question and it came out that it would happen at Symmons Plains. I only thought about it a couple of rounds ago. I knew that it was getting quite close. It is not something that you think too much about. You focus on your racing and how you are going about it, and not too much on the statistics or figures that go along with that. So, someone mentions it to you, and you think that it has come up quickly. It doesn’t feel like 100 – it feels like it is a lot less than that to me. I am still learning every time I hit the track. I feel like I have another hundred in me! How are you finding your role in the team? Are things starting to settle down a bit? They really are. I am really enjoying it and we are really excited. At the start of the year, the initial aim was to get into the top five in the points. We were the ones getting things together and looking to improve our speed, so we have been lucky to be able to achieve that. I certainly think that we should be setting new aims now – we need to build ourselves stronger as a team. We need to work towards bringing a few trophies home, and then we need to work towards winning a race. The way that we are moving forward now, we could achieve that before the end of the year,
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maybe in the endurance races. Do you make comparisons between the experiences you have had in the past and what is going on now at Kelly Racing? It is a different environment, but the team that I have worked with in the past was a successful operation and a wellestablished one. That means that there is improvement to be had in a team that started small and has room for growth. We are very young, and we had a good base to start from. There has been some success in the past with Larry, which is great, but there are still a lot of things that we can improve on. When we do identify where we need improvements, we are able to do them extremely quickly. We sit down and look for the best way to go about it, and implement that. That is something that is quite exciting for me, to be able to help out with the ideas and see what ideas get thrown onto the table from other people as well, and to implement them. Fresh ideas are good. What are your memories of when you came into V8 Supercars? You were 19 years of age – what were your expectations? I guess I was a bit stubborn in some ways. I would have to say that I am completely different now, compared to how I was when I first came into the category.
I have learned a lot over these 100 rounds. Everything is different; how to approach the weekend, how to supply feedback to our engineers, how we talk within the team and how we treat the car. Importantly, I have learned about the way we go about driving the car and how you handle things on the track. There would not be too many people who say that I approach things now the way I used to. All those people who might criticise me for how I drive, saying that I have less of a go these days are entitled to their opinion, I suppose. What happens when you do your job, get a result and bring home points? That is how you get the most our of yourself, your car and your team. I have been able to do that, I think. I have been able to win a championship, and that was my goal. When I am on the track, when there is a passing opportunity, I always have the championship on my mind; if it is going to have an effect on the championship. What are you better at now than you were when you started in V8 Supercars? I always think that I make better decisions on the track now. You step back and look at yourself, at how I was then and how I was now. As a team owner, I would much prefer to hire myself now. I know that I would not be, probably, as competitive as I might have been a few
years ago but that is a part of not having the car that I had then. I think that I would be a better investment for a team now. I work towards the bigger picture now, and that I am better with the car set-up, and at working with the team to achieve more. That comes with experience. Sooner or later, you reach your full potential. I don’t think that I have reached my full potential in this sport yet. Is there going to be an ongoing assault on the Land Speed Record front? Absolutely! That was a whole lot of fun! It did not look too fantastic on the day, but I certainly enjoyed building the car. I learned a lot about jet engines and thrust. I hope that on our second track day, we will be able to get the car to handle better than it did then. It was extremely overpowered, every time we went to increase the thrust, it tried to spin the car around. But it was a good learning curve. It gives you a lot more respect for the people who built the Thrust, and who drove it. People enjoy their different hobbies. I enjoy going do to the workshop and making things, grinding things, making bits and pieces. On the day itself, the car did not handle that well. But I really enjoyed taking it back to the workshop and pulling it apart. We are learning how we can improve it and fix it.
SOONER OR LATER, YOU REACH YOUR FULL POTENTIAL. I DON’T THINK THAT I HAVE REACHED MY FULL POTENTIAL YET LONG WAY TO GO FOR RICKO
chat
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It’s Tas-mania Time! opinion Barry Oliver Tasmanian Legend THE V8 Supercars hit Symmons Plains this weekend, and as ever, I am looking forward to it. Without sounding biased, it would be good to see the Holdens come up. The Fords have had a good run, and the Holdens need to get their act into gear. There is also the ongoing issue of the front spoiler to be sorted and, whatever happens with the protests, that is going
to be a talking point. V8 Supercars determined that we had to have this meeting at the end of May and that could mean that the weather is going to be inclement – and that could play a role in deciding the weekdend. With the introduction of the soft compound tyre, that is going to play an important role, and the second appearance of the tyre will be fascinating. If a driver can figure out how to make them last and use them twice, like they did at Winton, that could be a telling factor.
The other thing is the Sunday race with two fuel stops. Strategy will be all-important. Putting aside the weather, we have the shortest lap time of the series of pitstops become critical. If there is a slight delay, that could see somebody going a lap down. The other thing I am looking forward to is too see the races for the Targa Invitational class. There are four races over the course of the weekend, with everything from a Lamborghini to a V8 Ute, racing all at the same time. Should be fun, I am really looking forward to it.
John Morris
The Po of ... P
Letters
Have your say – email us at mail@mnews.com.au. TV Talk X 2 I would just wish to thank Channel 7 and V8supercar for once again showing that they don’t care for us motorsport fans in South Australia, by putting on the v8 Supercars on at 10:30 at night again. I for one will be watching
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the bikes on ONE HD, as the quality of coverage of v8 supercars just keeps on going down. John Jansen piejohn86@yahoo.com.au My mum told us never to be jealous of each other, but it is
hard to feel like that now. My brothers live in Sydney, and we are all Formula 1 fans. So I was right p---ed off when I got an SMS from one of them on Saturday night, telling me that his pick, Jenson Button, got pole position at Monaco. I was watching ONE HD in
Melbourne and the qualifying broadcast was just starting. Turns out that Sydney got qualifying live, while we poor idiots in Melbourne had to wait an hour. Why? Because the football was on ONE – just as it was on 10!
opinion
opinion Phil Branagan Executive Editor
All those Freeview TV ads tell us how great it is going to be to have all those channels to choose from. But what is the point on showing the same program on both channels? Look, I really liked the Honda F1 drive program on Sunday, and I hope that there are more things like that. But please, leave the footy on the main channel and give us something to watch on ONE! Peter Egan Email address withheld
Marshall Cass
Politics Politics
YOU gotta love politicians. Because, for a number of what I am certain are very good reasons, we are not allowed to shoot them. Take Andrew Stoner, for instance. No, he is not related to Casey Stoner, nor is he a literacy-challenged cousin of Ross and Jimmy Stone[r]. The Hon Mr Stoner has the odious task of leading the National Party in the New South Wales Parliament, and is the Shadow Minister for a bunch of things. Anyway, the reason you are reading about him in a motor racing publication is that last Monday, he leapt to the defence of the Bathurst 1000. Mr Stoner – or, more probably, one of his spin team – picked up on the fact that one or more V8 Supercar drivers opined that the Sydney V8 Supercar race could become “bigger than Bathurst”. That came from report in a Sydney daily, which featured some pro-race hoopla coming from a variety of drivers. The Hon turned this into an attack on the Rees government, as if that does not face enough challenges at the moment. “The Bathurst 1000 is a great source of pride in the area and nobody wants to see its status diminished,” Mr Stoner said. “Unfortunately the Rees Government has failed to invest in Mount Panorama, instead preferring to spend $30 million on a new marquee V8 race at Homebush. “The decision to spend millions of dollars on a new race in Sydney at the expense of Mount Panorama in Bathurst is an example of Nathan Rees’ misguided
priorities.” Furthermore, Mr Stoner then went on to criticise Gerard Martin, who for the last decade has been the member for Bathurst in the state’s Legislative Assembly. Seems that Mr Martin voted with this government cohorts to authorise the $30m spend on the Homebush event. Mr Stoner’s inference is that Mr Martin has deserted his constituents, and sent the money off to the Big Smoke. Look; it’s election season in New South Wales. Heaven knows, there is news in the media most days about the fact that Nathan Rees and Team Labor Racing faces a tough job getting re-elected. But dragging Bathurst into it? Come lads, there are some sites that are … sacred. Here is the part I like – again, from Mr Stoner’s media release; “Mount Panorama is the home of motorsport in Australia and everybody knows the Bathurst 1000 is the premier V8 race in New South Wales, and it should remain that way.” At last, folks, motor racing has hit the political mainstream, and the reasoning is black and white. If you are a latte-sipping, city-loving street race person, Labor looks the goods. If you love Hell Corner, Skyline and The Dipper, the coalition is calling you! Forget health, education and transport. Who knew politics was so simple? I do not live in NSW, so I have no stake in any election there, nor am I telling anyone how to vote. But if this is how the pollies behave there, all I can say is, thank goodness for the Murray River.
eLETTER OF THE WEEK From next week, the eLetter of the week will get a great prize – the DVD Transporter 3, starring Jason Statham, compliments of Icon Film Distribution Australia. Send yours to mail@mnews.com.au, or Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186 23
INDYCAR SERIES ROUND 4 – 93RD INDIANAPOLIS 500
ONLY IN AMER
Honda Indy Racing
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RICA
race
Helio Castroneves had been facing the prospect of prison food – instead, he got to drink the milk for the third time after winning the 2009 Indianapolis 500
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Honda Racing
I
F somebody wrote the story, you would not believe it. Just over a month ago, Helio Castroneves faced an uncertain future, possibly involving jail time over tax evasion charges in a Florida court. But after he was cleared of the allegations, he charged back into his racing life like a runaway train. Even so, it does seem an unlikely tale, to score pole at the 93rd Indianapolis 500 and take his third win. “This is the best month of May ever, thank you very much, I’m honoured to be part of this team,” he sobbed after the race. “Three [Indy 500 wins], I can’t believe it.” “What a great team. I just have to thank the Lord first of all for giving me this opportunity, to be strong, to give me the family I have, Roger Penske and my guys because they gave me my life back. I’m here today because of those guys, and obviously the fans. You guys don’t understand, you kept me strong. Thank you so much, I’m honoured to have fans like you, thanks you much. Let’s celebrate now.” There was a lot to celebrate. The Penske pilot did not look like the fastest driver for the whole race; during the middle stint, it looked like Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon were going to feature. But
clever pitwork got Castroneves back in front and, with the cars behind running flat in the final laps, there was no way he could lose if he didn’t make any mistakes. And he didn’t. Second was Dan Wheldon, the Brit somewhat vindicated by beating both Ganassi drivers, with Danica Patrick taking third. She felt that she had a winning car and, possibly, more fuel on board than Castroneves, but a late-race yellow flag cause by a collision between Raphael Matos and Vitor Meira allowed the leaders to cruise and save fuel. Townend Bell was fourth, his best ever finish in the race, while Will Power played a starring role, running with the leaders in the latter part of the race but dropping some places as the race unfolded. “I think it was a good result,” he said.
“I could see the win there within our reach. That certainly would have made my situation easier. I think Roger (Penske) will be happy with a top-five. I'm not hitting the wall all month and all that stuff. I'm happy.” Ryan Briscoe looked to be in contention to be the first Australian driver to drink the milk, but he lost track position with a bad set of tyres and a strategy gamble failed to pay off. His team short-filled him to gain track position but he was forced to pit for fuel late in the race, dropping him to 15th. Rookie of the Year honours went to Alex Tagliani. A week after missing out on making the race by the barest of margins, the 36-year-old Canadian swapped seats with team-mate Bruno Junqueira to take the final spot in the field, taking 11th at the flag.
INDYCAR | INDIANAPOLIS 500, INDIANAPOLIS, IN 1 3 2 4 3 7 4 8 5 6 6 9 7 10 8 20 9 15 10 27 15 2
Helio Castroneves Br Dan Wheldon GB Danica Patrick USA Townsend Bell USA Will Power Aus Scott Dixon NZ Dario Franchitti GB Ed Carpenter USA Paul Tracy Can Hideki Mutoh J Ryan Briscoe Aus
Team Penske Panther Racing Andretti Green KV Racing Team Penske Target Ganassi Target Ganassi Vision Racing KV Racing Andretti Green Racing Team Penske
INDYCAR | pointS Franchitti 122, Castroneves 117, Briscoe 114, Dixon 111, Kanaan 110, Patrick 109, Wheldon 106, Power 99, etc.
Q1 9 3 24 12 5 3 17 13 16 2
Honda Racing IndyCar Media
Honda Racing
From top: Helio Castroneves ended his day with milk, after taking the lead from the start. Dan Wheldon, #4, was second. Paul Tracy, #15, returned with KV Racing. Will Power, 12, was a strong fifth, while Danica Patrick, below, was helped by good strategy to take third place.
IndyCar Media
Honda Racing
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NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 12 – COCA COLA 600, LOWE’S, CONCORD, NC
Rain
Chevy takes eighth
NASCAR Media
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RAIN has ended any hopes of completing the USA’s biggest motorsport day of the year, with the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte postponed by rain until tomorrow (Tuesday Aussie time). After showers swept through the Charlotte area Sunday night, the race was first delayed an hour, then again, and finally rescheduled for Monday at noon, Charlotte time. The race will start with Ryan Newman on the pole for the eighth time at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He will be trying to continue the brilliant week for Stewart Haas Racing, after his owner Tony Stewart grabbed the million dollar All Star win at the same track last week. Alongside Newman will be Kyle Busch’s Toyota, with a number of surprises following that pairing. Nationwide winner Mike Bliss is seventh and Bill Elliott 10th, meaning that proving rain does not force promoters to cancel the race, the 1988 Winston Cup champion will make his 800th start in the premier series. That will make his the seventh man in the history of the sport to achieve that milestone. eNews will carry a report of the race in next Monday’s edition.
Newman
h pole at Lowe’s – but then, it
It’s Blissing Down NATIONWIDE
MIKE Bliss came out on top in a rain-delayed, rainshortened Nationwide Series race at Lowes Motor Speedway, Charlotte that saw the Phoenix race team out front when the rains finally halted proceedings on lap 170 of the scheduled 200. Kevin Hamlin slapped the wall on lap 152, airing the fourth caution and leaving veteran Bliss as the last car on the lead lap as all others had pitted at that point. Ten cars were on the tail end of the lead lap, with Brendan Gaughan getting the free pass, so when the rains came, Bliss
and Gaughan were the front two in the race. When the race was called, Bliss had his second Nationwide win, his first also coming at Charlotte in October 2004 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, Kyle Busch had dominated, leading three times for 98 laps after starting at the rear of the pack after an engine change (like Bliss) and taking the lead on lap 40. Final result; Bliss (Chevy), Gaughan (Chevy), Busch (Toyota), Vickers (Toyota), Logano (Toyota), Leffler (Toyota), Ragan (Ford), Keselowski (Chevy), Burton (Chevy), Edwards (Ford).
NASCAR Media
NASCAR Media
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NURBURGRING 24 HOURS NURBURGRING, GERMANY
Four in a row
Porsche continues Nurburgring 24Hr dominance while Aussies finish inside top 10 NURB 24 HOUR Manthey Racing’s Timo Bernhard, Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas and Marcel Tiemann have won last weekend’s Nurburgring 24 Hours. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
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squad held off an epic battle with the leading Audi R8 LMS contenders of Christian Abt, Jean-Francois Hemroulle, Pierre Kaffer and Lucas Luhr from the Abt Sportsline team. It was Manthey Racing’s fourth consecutive victory
at the classic German race at ‘Green Hell,’ while it was also Tiemann’s fifth 24h race win, making him the most successful driver in the history of the classic endurance-racing event. Allowing the R8 Audis to enter the event was a pre-race
talking point, and Tiemann is well placed to comment on the toughness of last weekend’s race. “I reckon that this one was the toughest of all my five wins because beating the works Audis is something different
race
indeed,” he said. “The Audis kept the pace at a very high level. At the end, we did lap times like we did last year, in spite of the changed regulations. In terms of speed, we had to step up a little bit to catch up with the Audis. The regulations are heading into the right direction. Maybe there are still some bits and pieces that need fine tuning.” The second Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S of Emmanuel Collard, Wolf Henzler, Richard Lietz and Dirk Werner finished third. Australia was well represented at the classic race. Grant Denyer, Tony
Quinn, Klark Quinn and Craig Baird finished ninth outright in their Porsche 997 RSR. The VIP Petfoods-backed team started from position 32 on the grid after missing qualifying 1 due to gearbox problems on Lap 2. The Porsche ran strongly during the entire race, though, with only minor gearbox issues hampering their efforts towards the end. The foursome managed to bring the car home inside the top 10. The Holden Commodore entry of Mal Rose, Peter Leemhuis and Tony Alford had dramas, spending much of the race in pit lane.
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WORLD SERIES BY RENAULT MONACO, MONTE CARLO
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race
The Full Monte
Martin scores 12th in Monaco street track debut RENAULT 3.5
Renault Sport
John Martin survived a mixed weekend, finishing 12th in his debut on the famous Monaco street circuit. Driving in the Formula Renault 3.5 class, the regular Team Australia A1GP driver put a major qualifying crash behind him to storm through the pack in the 25 lap race and take a respectable finishing position. Martin had set a 1m28.233s in qualifying, which would have given him 14th, however his accident at the notorious Swimming Pool chicane brought out the red flags and saw his fastest time of cancelled. Instead he was credited with his next best lap, 1m29.503s and started the race from 20th. Martin made spots on the opening lap in his Comtec Racing Renualt, passing the cars of Greg Mansell (son of the 1992 Formula One World Champion Nigel) and Filip Salaquarda to move up to 18th. Meanwhile Mihai Marinescu and Daniil Move tangled to bring out the Safety Car. The hard to pass nature of the Monaco track made making places hard for Martin, but he took advantage of a mistake from Fairuz Fauzy on lap 2, followed by the retirement of Martin’s team-mate Marcos Martinez. An electrical fault for then Pasquale DiSabatino on lap 12 elevated Martin to 14th, and two laps later, Kiwi Brendon Hartley handed him 13th position when he copped two drive through penalties for shortcutting the chicane. Martin eventually crossed the line in 13th place, but a 25s penalty handed to Marco Barba for shortcutting the chicane meant
that Martin finished 12th of the 26 runners. “With every lap I was learning more about the car and the circuit,” Martin said. “At one point I backed off from Pentus because I was stuck behind him, and I looked for clean air then just pushed and backed off and pushed again because you just can’t pass.” “Then I brushed the wall with two laps to go and bent the toe adjuster. But I managed to hang onto it and score Comtec its first points for the year so they are happy. “If I hadn’t crashed in qualifying it could have been a perfect weekend. The car was good, the team was good. But I didn’t do as well as I could have. It was pretty good though considering how steep a learning curve I was on.” The race was won by pole-sitter Olivier Turvey, driving for Carlin Motorsports The next race for Martin is his Superleague Formula debut with the Glasgow Rangers at Magny Cours, France on June 27/28.
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Crash Mars Vic State
Kiwi wins – Davi
Robert Lang
VIC STATE AN accident on the opening lap of Race 2 of the Sports Sedan class dominated headlines at Round 2 of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships on the weekend. The calamity began just seconds after the green light when Chris Muscat and Terry Wyhoon clipped wheels, sending the RX7 of Muscat into the fence and causing a multi-car accident. The action on track however was just as hot, with Rod Smith
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capitalizing on a mechanical failure on the Corvette of Dean Camm, easily claiming the Sports Sedan round win. The Formula Ford 1600 category became a twoman battle between Jesse Fenech and Jonathan Miles. In the end, Fenech was too strong and took the round honors. Sharing the track with the 1600s were the Duratec Formula Fords where Mitchell Evans won the round. Ross Lilley dominated Sportscars, winning all three races in only his second outing in his Porsche GT3 Cup S.
Red flags cut the final two Formula Vee races short as Jack Le Brocq triumphed over rival Andrew McFarland. The HQ Holdens sported a 33 strong field with Rodney Raatjes fending off a late charge from Kevin Stoopman for the round win. Rick Newman came through for the Improved Production round win, while Jed Comand charged to Porsche 944 honors. In the MG category, Robin Bailey won three from three in the MGs category. – CALLUM BRANAGAN
Davo’s s VIC STATE NEW Zealand driver Wade Cunningham collected a cool $40,000 by claiming the Firestone Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, supporting the famous Indianapolis 500. Cunningham led the majority of the race, electing at one point to surrender his lead to build momentum towards his tilt at the race win. His plan worked out perfectly. “The whole race was to and fro,” he said. “I got to the front early and knew
race
Nine Alive VIC STATE
IndyCar Media
ison takes sixth place at Indianapolis
solid Indy run I couldn’t lead all 40 laps, so I fell back because I didn’t want to be leading at the end. I knew I had a fast car, and it was a matter of being at the right place at the right time.” J.R. Hildebrand finished second having led for a number of laps. Mario Romancini took third from Jay Howard and Sebastian Saavedra, both of whom had a turn at leading the race. Australian contender James Davison finished sixth and was happy with bring the car home. “A sixth-place finish is definitely nothing to be ashamed of,” Davison said post-race.
“You know, you could have ended up in the wall with a 20whatever finish. Thanks a lot to the George family, People’s Liberation, Charlotte Russe, sponsors on the car. Hopefully we at least got their logos up front.” Davison’s result moved him to 10th in the title chase. Daniel Herrington was seventh from Jesse Mason, Pablo Donoso and Junior Strous.
FOLLOWING a rough month of May, Joey Saldana blew by point leader and current champion Donny Schatz with 10 of the 30 laps remaining and holding on through a caution for his sixth win of the season at the Dirt Track at Lowes Motor Speedway, Charlotte last Friday. “This is unbelievable,” said Saldana, below. “This whole month of May I wanted to erase, but to come here, it’s the biggest crowd and the best place to race. I am speechless; I don’t know what to say. Last week we took a provisional and then came here and won. This is huge.”
It was a battle of the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers with Saldana driving for Kasey Kahne and Schatz for Tony Stewart. Schatz the Dash winner and polesitter made a rare mistake allowing Saldana by with Jason Sides taking second on the final lap. Daryn Pittman and Steve Kinser were the front five. Saldana continued his winning ways the following evening at Virginia Motor Speedway leading from pole and dominating the event over Sam Hafertepe Jr. who ran second followed by, Saldana’s team mate Craig Dollansky, Jason Myers and Lucas Wolfe fifth. Schatz in an off night finished seventh. – MARTIN D CLARK
Points: Hildebrand 158, Saavedra 153, Summerton 148, Strous 146, Cunningham 135, Hinchcliffe 130, Herrington 130, Romancini 126, Howard 123, Davison 115.
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rear of grid
Odd Spot
Phil Williams
WE could not let this pass without a pic … Last Monday, all 33 drivers who qualified for the Indianapolis 500 took part in a drivers’ photo in New York City. They literally stopped traffic, in Herald Square, right outside Macy’s department store. The drivers lined up in grid order, which means that Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti were on the front row of the grid – and, presumably, had the first crack at the bargains to be had in the Men’s Footwear department (up the famous wooden escalator). The promotion was backed by Izod, the clothing brand that is one of the platform sponsors of the IndyCar series. Of course, anyone who thinks that the 500 is the greatest spectacle in racing has never gone elbow-toelbow when Macy’s doors open for its big Thanksgiving Sale …
IndyCar Media
The Red Light Specials
TRIPLE Eight is not sponsored by Ford. That’s not new news. Sorry, all the new news is at the front of this eMagazine. The reason for this column here is to point out one of Ford’s marketing ploys in its recent quest to sell some of its XR stock.
According to the television advert, you can buy a fancy Falcon for $32,888. Or, as they say in the advert – ‘Thirty two triple eight.’ Coincidence? Clever marketing? Or did Ford do that just so it would get its place in our Odd Spot?
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