Motorsport eNews Issue 121 - September 7-14, 2009

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Issue No. 121 September 7 - 14 2009

OILS

AIN’t

OILS

• Castrol / FPR spLIt • who will the oil giant lubricate in 2010 ?

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

Production Graphic Design & Web: Jayne Uthmeyer design@mnews.com.au

Advertising National Sales Manager: Oriana Ruffini oriana@mnews.com.au P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030

Administration 357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, VIC, 3187 (PO Box 7072, Brighton, VIC, 3186) P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030 admin@mnews.com.au

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. 121 | 8 - 14 September 2009

news 4 Who’s squeakiest?

6 Sweet 16 10 Not again ...

16 Less isn’t Moore 18 Secret Agent

Where will the Castrol go?

More events confirmed TKR’s failed Bathurst bid Moore is more for FFord Yamaha stick with Spies

30 NASCAR 34 World Superbikes 37 SuperLeague

The Kahne Train Spies takes the lead Bourdais bounces back

chat 20 5 minutes with ... James Thompson Jason, not Jim. Or Steven. opinion 22 Richards race 24 Muscle Car Masters Cars = Stars trade 40 Classifieds

Mirror Image: Check out the side mirrors and window sill signage on this nifty ‘official’ artist’s impression of next year’s T8 Commodore, and then head to Pages 4 and 5 ...

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.

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

The G (and bad V8 SUPERCARS FORD Performance Racing is facing a Castrol-less future, after the shock news that the team and sponsor will go their separate ways at the end of the season.

Rumours of the split between Ford’s factory team and the oil giant swirled late last week, and FPR’s director of business operations Mark Roworth confirmed the split to eNews on Monday: “It came as a bit of a shock,”

he said, “but it is true. Castrol was contracted until the end of the season.

“That’s how it is, and we are already working on some new projects for next season and beyond.”

Roworth would not comment on the reason for the split, but eNews believes that the main reason is – once again – Ford’s insistence that its factory-backed team run with blue colour schemes.

Castrol, which backed cars in its own colours for more

than a decade, prefers to see its ‘own’ branding on the racetrack – the Castrol car, in effect, than to see its brands on another team’s cars – a Castrol Edge-backed, Ford Performance Racing car.

Motorsport eNews sought comment from Castrol but, at the time of this edition going live, we were unable to contact a company spokesperson.

There is no indication that the sponsor intends to leave the sport, having enjoyed an

involvement of which goes back to the inception of the category in the early 1990s – indeed the industry story of the week is now “Where is Castrol Going?”

As quickly as the news came out, speculation connected a number of teams with the sponsors, the first mentioned being Kelly Racing.

“News to me,” said Todd Kelly on Monday.

“We have not been talking to them, but that does not mean that the door is not open.”

FOR FORMULA 1, MOTOGP AND WRC NEWS (INCLUDING COMPREHENSIVE RALLY AUSTRA

news

Dirk Klynsmith

Taking a closer look ...

LAST week, Supercheap Castrol wants ‘its own car’ Auto Racing confirmed just as it previously had with its new tie-in with Triple Larry Perkins, Tony Longhurst Phil Branagan Eight Race Engineering and ... who was that other fella?

Executive Editor (see next page) and that Oh yes, Russell Ingall, pictured Russell Ingall was staying below in 2002. on-board for the next two seasons.

While Castrol and other oil-branded teams But the devil was in the detail; rather, have had intermittent success this season, the news appears to be in what was not TeamVodafone has consistently been the written at the time. The media release team to beat. Do you see any substantial oil confirms that Ingall and Supercheap are sponsorship on the TeamVodafone cars? No, staying for two new seasons, and that neither do we. [In fact, the team currently Paul Morris Motorsport is going to run carries ‘underbonnet’ Castrol signage.] two T8-built Commodores. But nowhere We reckon; Car #39 Russell Ingall – does it mention that the cars will both be Supercheap Autos Holden Commodore Supercheap-sponsored.

VE (built by T8); Car #67 TBA – Castrol So, eNews presents this Entirely Holden Commodore VE (built by T8); and Unconfirmed Speculation on why and how TeamVodafone appears with more significant this deal could well progress in 2010: ‘secondary sponsor’ Castrol signage (see T8 Castrol has a long history in V8 Supercar artwork page 3!). racing and it is not reasonable, at all, that a Yes, there could be complications, as company with that much experience makes Castrol brings guests to races who are from Move A without knowing what Move B (and retailers other than Supercheap, and that C, D and so on) will be. may mean partitions between the two So, even if the decision (for Castrol to move garages. But, Castrol gets Craig Lowndes and on from FPR) came as a surprise to those at FPR, Jamie Whincup to haul up to corporate suites, there were parts of the puzzle already sorted smile for the cameras and banter with Ingall. before Castrol made its decision known.

Just like the Good Old Days, when Rusty was For some time, it has been widely the man in the Caltex car, and the two T8 acknowledged by all concerned that drivers were also ... Caltex men.

Supercheap’s involvement with V8 Supercar It’s a win-win situation for everyone, except teams has been in partnership with and, to a FPR. And it may even work out well for them, degree funded by, Castrol, as Supercheap is depending on what happens on the new Castrol’s largest retail outlet in this country. sponsor front.

Ingall is the face of Supercheap Autos, on As for the driver of the Castrol car, heaven and off the track. Whoever is in the other car knows – but a T8-built, PPM-run, Castrolwill be included in some way but, let’s be sponsored Commodore becomes an awfully honest, it is The Enforcer, daylight, and the good seat to fill … other guy. [For the record, we acknowledge Anyway, that’s our take on it all. that is currently Tim Slade.]

As they say, watch this space ...

opinion

Good d) oil

Mick Fishburn

The other question is the fate of Steven Richards, a driver long associated with Castrol, in whose colours he raced for the Larry Perkins-owned team for four seasons. Speculation had suggested that wherever Castrol went, Richo would follow, but Roworth confirmed to eNews earlier this season that both of the team’s drivers, Richards and Mark Winterbottom, are under contract until the end of the 2010.

So, what could be going on …

– PHIL BRANAGAN

ALIA COVERAGE), OPINION AND ANALYSIS CLICK HERE TO ACCESS GPWEEK MAGAZINE

BRIEFLY...

n The Wilson Security Racing Falcons will have a distintive ‘pink’ look about them at Bathurst this year.

The #111 and #333 Falcons will show their support for popular charity ‘the McGrath Foundation’ which raises funds for Australian breast cancer suffers. eNews understands that the fluoro green on the WSR Falcons will be replaced by a fluoro pink, along with a special range of merchandise and other promotional activities. n V8 Supercars is to feature in the console game Forza Motorsport 3.

The V8 Supercar website reports that eight V8s, including the cars of Garth Tander, Lee Holdsworth, Russell Ingall, Greg Murphy, Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom, Shane van Gisbergen and Jason Bright and #25 Britek Motorsport Falcons will be depicted in the game.

Forza Motorsport 3 is exclusive to Xbox.

Make that 15!

Marshall Cass

n Holden By Design’s Peter Hughes will host a design display at the upcoming Toll Holden Racing Team Family Day. Hughes is responsible for many of the Holden V8 Supercar liveries, including the factory HRT’s extremely popular, current day-glo scheme. Also on display with be Holden’s mind-blowing concept car, the Holden Efijy, making an extremely rare public appearance. The stunning coupe was built in 2005 and since its launch tour has rarely left Holden HQ in Fishermans Bend, Port Melbourne.

The HRT Family Day will be held at the team’s headquarters at 125 Rayhur Street, Clayton, on Sunday, 20 September, between 10am and 3.00pm.

V8 boss confirms additional race V8 SUPERCARS

THERE will be 15 events in the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series V8 Supercar Australia Executive Chairman Tony Cochrane today confirmed that there will be a new event added to the 2010 calendar, which will be confirmed at Phillip Island this weekend.

As Motorsport eNews revealed last week, this is expected to be the doubleheader in the Middle East in

February, prior to the first local race, the Clipsal 500, in mid-March.

Following some ‘in/out’ chat in regard to the existing WA round of the series, today’s confirmation of 15 championship rounds would suggest that Barbagallo is in.

The 16th race weekend is of course the non-points races at Albert Park’s Australian F1 GP. “This is a time of incredible growth and boom conditions for V8 Supercars,” Cohrane said in a statement.

“We continue to add new events, secure new sponsors and have current partners either adding to or extending their current arrangements.”

The statement also referred to “new international television opportunities to be announced in October” – which we presume to be at Bathurst.

The introduction of the opening double-header for 2010 is also expected to result in the cancellation of this year’s Bahrain race, to be replaced by one at Winton ... or PI.

Brock: Three years on ...

PETER BROCK PETER Brock will be remembered via a dozen of his race cars at December’s Telstra 500 V8 Supercar race at Homebush.

Today (Tuesday) is three years to the day since the

racing legend lost his life and, while it is expected to pass without any major fanfare, eNews has learned that the Performance Products Supershow, planned to take place alongside the Homebush race, will feature a dozen of Brock’s cars – including some

not often seen – from Peter Champion’s Brock Exhibition.

Among them will be the Harry Firth Torana Supersedan, known as ‘The Beast’, and the original 1969 Monaro.

For more ‘Brock’ news, see page 41 ...

news

Ingall, Supercheap and T8 equipment confimed at PMM

Ingall re-signs, T8 confirmed DRAG RACING RUSSELL Ingall is Cheap – and getting Cheaper.

The former V8 Supercar champion will remain in the colours of Supercheap Autos for the next two seasons – and, as first reported in Motorsport eNews, will race a Triple Eight Racing Engineering-built Commodore VE next season.

The re-signing of the multiple Bathurst winner, the team’s sponsor and the T8 link was confirmed in Queensland last week.

Ingall was joined at the event by Paul Morris, T8 principal Roland Dane and Supercheap Auto Brand Manager David Bauer.

“I may be the oldest bloke going around on the V8 Supercar grid but I’m as determined as ever to win races for Supercheap Auto Racing,” Ingall said.

“Racing is what I love and I can’t think of anything better than having the chance to continue with the team at this exciting time.

“The team is now betterequipped than ever to be competitive and I’m looking forward to giving some of the ‘big guns’ a few scares over the next two years.”

However, as reported on the previous pages, the identity of Ingall’s team-mate remains unknown. We expect the former Castrol driver to be joined by a new Castrol

driver, in a PMM-run, T8-built Commodore in the familiar hues of the oil company that Ingall carried to Bathurst 1000 wins in 1995 and ’97.

Supercheap has over 25

stores in Australia and New Zealand. Ingall is eighth in the V8 Supercar Championship Series, and will be partnered

by Morris in this weekend’s L&H 500 at Phillip Island.

D’Alberto hunt for licence V8 SUPERCARS ROD Nash Racing and Tony D’Alberto Racing will split at the end of this year.

Nash and D’Alberto has been together since 2008, and with their current deal expiring at the end of this year, the parties have decided to go their separate ways.

The TDR team, which won the 2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, is now on the hunt for its own licence to compete in the 2010 V8 Championship.

“Our aim is to get a licence and run our own show,” said team owner Al D’Alberto.

“At this stage, one car is the only scenario I’ve been thinking of. I’m not think of running two cars. If we did, that’s taking two steps, and if we want to hang in for the long haul, we don’t need to put ourselves in a vulnerable position.

“So our next step is to find a

licence for next year.”

With V8 Supercars Australia keen to see the number of active licences reduced to 28 (from its current position at 29), securing a licence may be more difficult than anticipated.

Amongst an increasing frantic silly season, eNews sees one of TDR’s likely options to securing a licence being with Tasman Motorsport. Tasman has been rumoured to be changing its direction next year – either by expanding or decreasing.

As reported by eNews (Issue #118), Rod Nash is believed to be in discussions with a number of teams, including Ford Performance Racing, about running his licence next season. A key factor to the RNR deal is that it comes attached with sponsor The Bottle-O, which has signed with RNR until 2011.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Happy B/day, Jack!

Jack Daniel’s Racing will sport a one-off bonnet for the L&H 500 at Phillip Island this weekend.

To celebrate ‘Jack’s Birthday’ the two JDR Commodores will run a special bonnet, above.

This will be only the second time in their careers that the Kelly pair will team up for a V8 Supercar endurance race. The one and only time they drove together was in the 2006 Bathurst 1000 where they finished second.

Richo and friends to the rescue!

SPEED ON TWEED STEVE Richards and Castrol joined together to help a competitor-in-need at the Speed on Tweed in Northern New South Wales last Saturday.

Queenslander Daryll Searle, who was competing at the event aboard his Amaroo Clubman, arrived at the circuit

on Saturday morning only to find someone had stolen his toolbox and various other equipment.

When hearing of the Searle’s loss Richards, who was competing at the event aboard his Ford Escort, joined with Castrol FPR Falcon to assist his fellow competitor, presenting Searle with a $1000 voucher on behalf of

Castrol to replace the stolen goods.

“Saturday was certainly a day of mixed emotions for me and I can’t thank Richo and Castrol enough for putting a smile back on my face after what started out as a very disappointing day,” said Searle.

“I am very humble for the support shown towards me in these trying circumstances.”

news

Castrol down one flank, Orrcon down the other

Split down the sides V8 SUPERCARS FORD Performance Racing has undergone a mid-season livery change to coincide with the ‘Season of Endurance’ – starting this weekend at the the L&H 500 at Phillips Island The split livery sees Castrol Edge stickered down the right hand side of the #6 Steven Richards/Mark Winterbottom Falcon FG, and Orrcon Steel displayed down the left hand side, see graphics above and below.

The livery will be shared by the

second FPR Falcon of Dean Canto and Luke Youlden, only in reverse order (Castrol on the left and Orrcon on the right).

The new design also sees a slight, yet sharper, revision of the cars. These new colours are expected to remain the same for the remainder of the 2009 V8 Supercar season.

– GRANT ROWLEY

V8 SUPERCARS

THERE will be no Team Kiwi Racing at Bathurst next month, despite a last-minute attempt to resurrect the team for The Great Race.

A statement from TKR principal David John in New Zealand at the weekend suggested that the team, which raced in the V8 Supercar Championship Series up to the Hamilton round last April, was aiming to secure the use of the third ‘wildcard’ entry for the race.

John claimed that he had “a competitive car available and two outstanding kiwi drivers to take up a wildcard spot in the SuperCheap Auto Bathurst 1000 on October 911”. The drivers were named as Matt Halliday and Jonny Reid (whose involvement was subject to “a potential clash of racing commitments”), while the car was the Stone Brothers Racing Falcon BF in which James Courtney and Dave Besnard finished third in the race last year.

“Right now my focus is to see

the TKR flag flying again on the international stage,” John said in a statement. “Bathurst would make 10 years since TKR entered the V8 Supercar Championship – and that was one of our core aims when we started. We owe it to our sponsors and our fans to get back on the track.”

However, V8 Supercars Australia has confirmed that the wildcard entry, which was to be filled by Sonic Motor Racing Services before they withdrew last month, will not be used.

Marshall Cass

No Team Kiwi for Bathurst

V8SA pointed out that the wildcard entries were for two events, this weekend’s L&H 500 at Phillip Island and Bathurst, and not just the Mount Panorama classic.

MNews also believes that this was not the first attempt to refill the vacant ‘Sonic’ entry.

Team Kiwi Racing competed in the series from 2000 to this year, using Fords from 2006 until forming an assocation with Paul Morris Motorsport.

The licence TKR raced under has subsequently been used

by Triple F Racing.

Nikon back for more V8 SUPERCARS

10

For your chance to go to the Nikon SuperGP, check out our Subscription promotion on page 2 of this issue of Motorsport eNews.

Daniel Kalisz

NIKON has been confirmed as the replacement title sponsor of this year’s Gold Coast SuperGP. This news comes just over a week after the dissolving of the original sponsorship agreement with Nitro Energy Drinks.

Nikon was the title sponsor of the 2008 Gold Coast race, and SuperGP General Manager Greg Hooton welcomed the return of the blue chip company.

“The speed at which the IMG

sales team was able to re-engage Nikon’s involvement is testament to the strength of this iconic event,” he said.

“Nikon is globally recognised for setting new standards in product design and performance – a perfect fit for our world-class event, which was proved in 2008 and will again be proven this year.”

news

Extortion bid ends in court GENERAL

sutton-images.com

THE father of former open wheeler driver Sam Abay has been jailed for extortion, as he tried to fund his son’s career.

Michael Abay has been sentenced to three years’ jail, with 27 months of that sentence suspended, for attempting to extort $50,000 from each of two men. Abay, 61, will serve nine months of his sentence.

Abay attempted to extort the $100,000 from prominent Melbourne surgeon Leo Rozner and Toorak neighbour Harvey Bierman by, according to police evidence, sending them notes threatening their lives, and those of family members, unless they paid the money. Abay followed the notes with phone calls from public phones, with instructions on how to confirm that they would pay.

But when he responded to classified ads in Melbourne papers that confirmed their intent to pay, Abay was trapped. The ads were placed with the knowledge of Victoria Police, and he was arrested on

November 20.

“Your offending, in my view, was wellplanned and executed and you persisted over a number of months,” Judge Joe Gullaci said in sentencing Abay.

The judge noted that Abay had suffered a number of setbacks, including the

loss of his business and break-up of his marriage, which led to depression and other problems.

Sam Abay, 22, raced in the British Formula 3 Championship last year with Carlin Motorsport, but has not raced since returning to Australia at the end of 2008.

Townsville bigger than expected Even QLD government surprised ...

V8 SUPERCARS THE Dunlop Townsville 400 was a bigger success than many anticipated – perhaps even the Queensland government.

According to the Townsville Bulletin, the race brought an economic return to the Townsville region twice as big as anticipated.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has reported that the economic boost to the economy of $19.34 million.

“We predicted the economic benefit to the Townsville region would be in the vicinity of $10 million,’” Ms Bligh said.

‘’It represented a return of close to eight times my Government’s annual investment of $2.5 million.

“This level of spending equates to some 266 jobs for Townsville during the race, not to mention the 130 jobs generated in the construction of the precinct through the capital contributions made by the Queensland and Federal governments and the Townsville City Council.”

Townsville MP Mandy Johnstone said the race resulted in more than 95,600 hotel visitor nights, with 88 per cent of these occurring in Townsville.

11

sutton-images.com

Grand Ambitions?

Test a success – but are there plans for a Brickyard Sportscar race?

GRANDAM

12

sutton-images.com

THE Grand-Am Rolex Series could be heading to the Brickyard.

Four days after the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, five Daytona Prototype and four GT cars ran the 2.534-mile, 13-turn F1 circuit and the MotoGP circuit. Both tests were run clockwise, the opposite direction of the oval events.

“The speed – we were just doing about 190 (mph), so that itself is pretty awesome,” Target Chip Ganassi driver, Scott Pruett, said.

“The kerbs need to be taller; we’ll be tempted to go over the top of the kerbs onto the grass. Other than that, the layout is pretty good.

I’m pleased with the flow and the

speed. Indianapolis is the epitome of motorsports. It’s the centre of everything that happens, and I’m proud to be back.”

This test fueled speculation that NASCAR, or rather ISC (International Speedway Corporation), may have an interest in purchasing IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway). Fred Nation, Executive Vice President of Pubic Relations, has denied that the Hulman George family has any interest in selling the world famous facility. He also indicated it is unlikely a fourth event will be added to the current three at the Speedway, the Indy 500, the Brickyard 400, and the MotoGP. Still, Stock Cars tested at the famed facility and that led to the Brickyard 400, so you never know …

– MARY MENDEZ

Gentlemen ... Could we see drivers like Scott Pruett, top, return to Indy in a GrandAm Sportscar?

news

INDYCAR KOSUKE Matsuura returns to the IndyCar cockpit with Conquest Racing at Motegi, Japan, with sponsorship from CLICK Securities.

Matsuura earned Rookie of the Year status at both the Indy 500 and for the 2004 season.

The Japanese driver has competed in 64 IndyCar events but has been without a ride the last two years.

“I am very happy to be able to announce my entry in the Indy Japan 300 with CLICK Securities Inc. and Conquest Racing,” said Matsuura, whose team has never competed in Japan.

sutton-images.com

Third local Hero for Motegi

“It’s been two years since I last raced in the IndyCar Series but I will be 100 percent prepared and put in my best performance during the 200 laps.”

– MARY MENDEZ

Lloyd NHL sutton-images.com

INDYCAR ALEX Lloyd is to join Newman-Haas-Lanigan The 2007 Indy Lights Champion will drive NHL’s second entry at the IndyCar Series season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 9-10.

Lloyd, 24, is under contract

to Chip Ganassi, and competed in the 2008 and 2009 Indy 500, but has otherwise been on the sidelines hoping for a chance to drive. The Brit terminated his contract with Ganassi last June, hoping to find a seat before the IndyCar season ended that would lead to a full-time ride next year.

– MARY MENDEZ

13

The Chase: It’s a Bullfight 10 drivers in contention for six ‘Playoff’ spots with two races remaining NASCAR SPRINT CUP THE Chase to The Sprint Cup is the closest in its short six year history and the focus in Atlanta was on those drivers outside the top six in series points with those inside all but locked into The Chase with just two races remaining.

Entering Atlanta there were just 210 points blanketing 10 drivers – six of them inside the all important top 12 and four outside. With a swing of 150 points possible in each of the remaining two races, Atlanta was an important race, to say the least.

Currently, 16 drivers can make the Chase. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards are locked in. Denny Hamlin

seems a lock but Atlanta winner Kasey Kahne made the most ground, moving up five spots to sixth. Kurt Busch is seventh; after winning the spring Atlanta race, ‘Big Busch’ lost control of his loose Penske Dodge, hitting the wall finishing 38th.

Juan Pablo Montoya is eighth after taking third at Atlanta, ahead of Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle (who dropped three spots with 10th at Atlanta and Matt Kenseth, the only driver apart from Johnson to qualify for all of the Chases – and his chances looked gone when he clobbered the wall hard on lap 15 and dropped to the rear of the field before his Roush Fenway crew made repairs and he battled back to finished a commendable 12th.

There are two just on the outside looking in. Brian Vickers, below,who has never made The Chase, has six top 10 finishes in the last eight races. Kyle Busch can win any given race, David Reutimann has shown great speed in Michael Waltrip’s Toyota, and Clint Bowyer, who rallied back from a lap down early at Atlanta before a loose wheel put him down for good. He needs a Hail Mary to be Richard Childress Racing’s only driver in The Chase in 2009.

Vickers, Busch, Martin, Kenseth, Reutimann were all fighting for sixth place at one point during the race, making the race for The Chase all the more important. We can expect fireworks at the Richmond short track this Saturday night.

Toyota Motorsports

14

news

Stewart-Haas courts Danica Patrick

INDYCAR-NASCAR NASCAR is firmly on the agenda for Danica Patrick.

Although she is expected to sign a contract extension with Andretti Green Racing in the coming weeks, she will embark on a part-time NASCAR career next season. The path to taxi cabs is likely to involve Tony Stewart, whose Stewart Haas Motorsports facility she’s

visited more than once in recent times.

“I can pretty much guarantee you that at some point she’s going to be over here,” Stewart said on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“I know that’s what she wants to do. She looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘This is what I want to do, it looks like fun. It looks like a lot of work, but it looks like fun.’ I don’t

sutton-images.com

NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE? think she has some misguided idea that it’s going to be easy doing it. She wants to do it the right way. She has he intentions of doing everything right. She’s kind of come to us to see how she should go about it.”

It’s likely Patrick will follow the same road to Sprint Cup as Stewart who, don’t forget, is himself is a former IndyCar driver, winning the title in 1997

before he moved to NASCAR. That road was a combination of Nationwide, Truck and ARCA Series races, depending on existing IndyCar commitments.

Stewart has no involvement with any of those series with his teams, but a project could be farmed out to Kevin Harvick Inc or JR Motorsports, both of which compete in all three divisions.

– MARTIN D CLARK

Talladega this season.

“I was playing Frisbee with a couple of buddies and we both went for the Frisbee at the same time. I put my foot on it, my friend dove for it, and the next thing you know we all heard a pop. I knew it was broken and we all kind of looked at each other in disbelief that of all things, I would break my foot playing Frisbee.”

Meanwhile, Bill Elliott was not behind the wheel of the Wood Bros Racing Ford at his home track. Veteran Elliott

broke three ribs in a dirt bike accident during the week, forcing him to hand the #21 Ford over to David Gilliland.

Bobby Labonte replaced Gilliland at TRG Motorsports after Labonte was released for seven of the remaining 12 races due to a lack of sponsorship at Yates Racing.

Labonte has been replaced in those races by Roush Fenway Racing Nationwide Series driver Eric Darnel and sponsor Northern Tool and Equipment.

– MARTIN D CLARK

Frisbee, dirtbike plague strikes NASCAR NASCAR

NASCAR Media

INJURY caused a number of concerns at Atlanta last weekend.

Carl Edwards drove both the Atlanta Nationwide and Sprint Cup events with a broken right foot after an accident playing Frisbee the previous Wednesday.

“I know this probably sounds ridiculous to a lot of people and I could hardly believe it myself,” commented Edwards, who walked away unhurt from a fence-crushing incident at

15

Dirk Klynsmith

Challenge is set GT3 CUP CHALLENGE GT3 CUP Challenge has announced its 2010 racing calendar.

The all-Porsche class will conduct six rounds, with the series kicking off at the Bathurst 12 Hour event at Mount Panorama in February. More than 40 cars took the starter at the iconic circuit this year, making it the class’s unofficial hallmark event.

The remaining five rounds of the GT3 Cup will be run in conjunction with the Shannons Nations, starting with a return to Symmons Plains Raceway. The Tasmanian round will also mark the 50th anniversary of motorsport at the Symmons Plains circuit and, with all five core Shannons Nationals categories set to be present at the Launceston circuit, a big event is ensured.

South Australia’s Mallala Raceway will host Round 3, followed by a return to Morgan Park, Eastern Creek and Sandown Raceway.

“We are very pleased to lock away our 2010 calendar so early to give our competitors plenty of time to prepare,” Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia Series Category Manager Jodi Zylstra said.

“For next year we have allowed for a more balanced schedule with more time between rounds, and a much earlier finish than this year given we start our season in early February.

“There is no racing in June or July which avoids the predominantly cold and wet winter months but also allows for our competitor base, a majority of whom are self-funded businessmen, to focus on end of financial year commitments without having to squeeze in a round or two.“ Next year’s GT3 Cup Challenge will be the first year that the 997 Porsche will be eligible for outright points.

2010 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Schedule: R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6

16

Bathurst, NSW Symmons Plains, Tas Mallala, SA Morgan Park, Qld Eastern Creek, NSW Sandown, Vic

February 12-14 April 10-11 May 29-30 August 14-15 September 11-12 October 23-24

State high flyer for A FORMULA FORD

WEST Aussie Formula Ford front-runner Bryce Moore will make his Australian Formula Ford Championship debut at Phillip Island this weekend.

Moore has been racing an Edith Cowan University-backed Van Diemen for Fastlane Racing in the WA State Series, but will

switch the a Spectrum chassis and Duratec power for the first time at The Island this weekend, running with Minda Motorsport.

At this stage, the outing is a oneoff, designed to give Moore a taste of the national series.

“He’s going to be having a skid around with no expectations,” said Minda boss Bruin Beasley.

“Bryce hasn’t done any miles

Hampton Downs to be ne A1GP NEW Zealand circuit Hampton Downs will kick off the 2010/11 A1 Grand Prix season.

The new track, situated in the south of Auckland, was initially due to host a round of this year’s series in January 2010, but both A1GP and Hampton Downs circuit management have made a joint decision to instead hold the first event at the new 3.8km track until October 2010.

The result is that the circuit will now host the opening round of the 2010/2011 A1GP/World Cup Of Motorsport, which will be followed by Round 2 at the Surfers Paradise street track on the Gold Coast.

“October, as opposed to January, is a preferred period in both the international and national sporting calendar with fewer clashes with other major sporting events,” Hampton Downs CEO Jamie Kett said.

“There are also several positive commercial benefits. The later

date gives us more time to finalise financial support from government while television programming is lacking content at that time of year and inventory costs are very cost effective.”

The Hampton Downs

news

Brian White Media

NZ’s shining star ...

Hayden Paddon beats Aussies to Pirelli Award at Rally Oz

AFFC debut

ext A1 opener

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WORLD RALLYING HAYDEN Paddon will drive in six rounds of the 2010 Production Car World Rally Championship, having been named the Asia Pacific regional winner of the Pirelli Star Driver program.

The promising Kiwi, 22, competed in last weekend’s Repco Rally Australia as one of the young hopefuls looking for a place in the development program. And he managed to take maximum points on the stages, and impress the judges sufficiently in the media and presentation evaluations, to earn the place for 2010.

“That’s what we set out to do, so it’s always satisfying to get the job done,” Paddon told eNews. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet, but it’s an amazing thing to have achieved.”

Paddon now faces an off-season of not knowing exactly what events he’ll compete in next year, only that he’ll have a Mitsubishi Evo X at his disposal for the overseas outings. But he says the mental and physical preparation will keep him occupied.

“First things first, I’ve got the New Zealand national championship to try and wrap up in a couple of weeks,” he added. “Then I’d usually have a quite few months, but this time I’ll be working hard to be mentally and physically ready for this chance. Getting the chance is one thing, but actually making the most of it and using it as a springboard into the World Rally

Championship is another.”

By winning the PSD, Paddon denied Aussies Eli Evans, Nathan Quinn and Glen Raymond of the chance, as well as China’s Chaodong Liu. Victorian Brendan Reeves had been favourite for the prize, but a big crash in last month’s Rally SA left him out of the running before Rally Oz even started.

“It would have been good if Brendan had been there, but with guys like Eli running it was hardly ever going to be a one horse race,” said Paddon.

“I’m sure Brendan and Eli will have another chance at this.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Motorsport Park is scheduled to open in October of this year, and is set to instantly be New Zealand’s best motorsport facility. The 3.8km clockwise circuit features nine corners, top class facilities and is situated 68km from central Auckland.

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in a Duratec car, but he ran Island Magic last year, so he’s been to Phillip Island. It will be a learning experience, and like I said there will be no expectation, but he should do a reasonable job.”

Moore joins Tom Williamson on the newcomers list, who will drive a Brad Jones Racing-run Mygale, while Ash Walsh will be back as well.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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news

Yamaha Spies with its little eyes ...

But how long before Ben is on a Grand Prix bike?

WORLD SUPERBIKES

LOOK for Ben Spies to be a Yamaha man for the next two years.

The mercurial Texan, who moved to the brand after successes in the USA with Suzuki, will stay in blue for 2010 and 2011 – and he may move to MotoGP as soon as next season.

Yamaha would only confirm that it wants to see the American win the World Superbike title before he makes the move to the highest level, with Yamaha’s Tech 3 satellite team. Given that he took the lead in the WSBK in Germany on Sunday, that may happen a year ahead of schedule.

“I am very happy to say that I will remain a part of the Yamaha family and will continue in the World Superbike Series for 2010,” Spies said. “This is an exciting period of my racing career and I look forward to even more.

Yamaha has been great in the warm welcome that I have received entering the world level and I want to thank them for all they have done, and giving me their trust for a next career step into MotoGP in 2011.”

With Valentino Rossi expressing his frustration with Yamaha over its decision to re-sign Jorge Lorenzo (see www.gpweek.com for details), Yamaha might have just secured the post-Rossi era …

John Bosher

Final test for Drags DRAG RACING A FINAL test and tune session was held at Eastern Creek’s Western Sydney International Dragway last week in preparation for this weekend’s Australian Nationals.

Top Fuel contenders Phil Read, Martin Stamatis and Terry Sainty were out getting some pre-meeting data. Most were

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simply conducting launches before shutting off at 300 feet.

In Top Alcohol ranks, Wayne Newby was out testing his dragster with new gear ratios and tyre combinations.

Jason Grima, Anthony Selva and Joe Polito had their Pro Stockers out for the day as well, hoping to get the edge on their rivals before the weekend’s racing.

– JOHN BOSHER

5 Minutes with ...

JAMES THOMPSON

TeamVodafone’s latest endurance driver is a man with a mixed CV – four different PHIL BRANAGAN cars with four different teams. And that is just this year ...

People often come here with preconceived notions about the cars. Did driving a V8 Supercar match what you thought it would be like?

Not really. I tried to keep an open mind.

I was team-mates with Yvan Muller for many years, Yvan came out here and he was very enthusiastic about the cars and so on. Everything is, obviously, different but at the end of the day, there is no substitute for mileage. What makes it difficult is to go from Europe and Britain, and a 2-litre front-

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MOTORSPORT NEWS: By now, you have had a couple of test sessions in a V8 Supercar.

What are your impressions, before you go to Phillip Island?

JAMES THOMPSON: Really good, actually. I have to say that I was a little bit apprehensive about coming here. Apprehensive, and excited.

There is a lot to learn from my side. I have done my racing in Europe, for some many years and, as you know, it is different; different tracks, different types of cars. Then I have to come here and try to learn the car, learn the pitstops, then the tracks – and that is in a short space of time.

You leave yourself open to underperforming.

But I have to say that I have really enjoyed the couple of days that I have had at Queensland Raceway. I have been trying to get my head around the car and we will go to Phillip Island and try to get my head around the circuit and the car.

wheel-drive car, when you have a big thumping V8 and rear-wheel-drive. It’s chalk and cheese.

Like anything, the more mileage you do, the better adapted you are going to be. I think it is like anything; initially, there is a shock, because it is so different to what your comfort zone is. Then you just get on with learning the car, and figuring out what makes it tick.

You mentioned ‘adapting’.

You have had to do a fair bit of that over the last few years.

I have. I have changed my cars as many times as I have changed my suits, recently! I had an Alfa Romeo one year, then the N.Tech Honda, then the Seat …

For four years, for one reason or another, I changed teams every year. Either the program stopped, or a new program started, and even the associations I have this year are different. The Honda I drive in the UK is right-handdrive; the Honda I drive in Denmark is left-hand-drive; so is the Lada I drive in the World Championship (above). Already

this year, I have raced three different types of car and now, there is a fourth.

This one is definitely out of my comfort zone. I am trying to forget the 16 years that I have spent in touring cars and approaching this like I am starting afresh. I feel like a beginner again and I am trying to adapt from there.

TeamVodafone is a very good team. Is that a doubleedged sword? You will have a great car to drive but, inevitably, people will compare you with the jokers in the other car.

For sure. You are up against it. The nice thing from my position is that I am working with Roland [Dane], who I have worked with before with Triple Eight in the UK, and he would not have asked me out here is he was not confident that I could contribute.

The nice thing about the atmosphere in the team is that not only are they willing to help you perform, their expectations for you are quire realistic – while obviously they want you to contribute to the two championships that they

are chasing.

The team has been really good to me, but you do know that you are not over here for a holiday. You are across her to try to get a job done and from my side, you put a bit of pressure on yourself to try to get a result. You need to do these things step-by-step, and in the correct manner.

What do you know about Phillip Island?

Absolutely nothing. I have seen it on TV, I watch MotoGP and I have seen some in-car footage.

But that is basically where my knowledge of it stops.

There will be some other internationals at Mt Panorama, do you measure yourself against those guys?

Is there a battle within a battle?

I don’t know, to be honest. I haven’t tried any expectations on that.

Everyone knows that it is my first time here and whenever you talk to anyone – [Andy] Priaulx, Yvan, whoever – they all say that the second or third time is a lot easier. You know the track and you are familiar with the car.

I guess that is no different for me but I am also realistic. This is the best team to be with and they are going to give me a car that is just as good as anybody else’s. With that comes the expectation that you need to get on with it, and get results.

If I get asked back next year, I will be a long way ahead of where I am at the minute. I need to put that out of my mind and get one with doing the job.

chat

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Letters Sticking with soft tyres In response to last week’s letter about the Sprint tyre, the reader does have a point about cars that don’t use their softs on Saturday having an advantage on Sunday, but I think he needs to pay some more attention to what tyres some teams use on Saturday.

I work for a team, and I know how much thought goes into what tyres get used in what race; we usually know what tyres we will use in both races, on both cars, well before the start of the first race. A lot of the tyre choices depend on qualifying positions, and what you think the cars around you on the grid may do.

As for having to surrender a set of tyres

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Have your say – email us at mail@mnews.com.au.

for having not finished Race 1, I think that is out of the question; at least by having some good tyres for Sunday the teams may be able to qualify well and hopefully have a better race than the day before.

That way it helps get coverage for the sponsor, the driver, and the team that work so hard to make the whole show happen.

Grant Mills Via email Can the Kellys be Big Dogs?

The Season of Endurance is upon us and I like to look at the list of entries, nominate the cars who will win and then pick the underdog that I want to see win.

This year, I’m picking the Kelly brothers.

Of all the underdog contenders, this one stands out to be the best.

Normally, I would have said that Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso are the best underdogs, but I think they’ve stepped up to the next level.

The Kellys, for me, have been slowly improving over the year and it would be great to see a new team get a big result.

They both know how to win big races and they’ve got a lot of experience. It may need to rain, and there may need to be a big shunt involving Lowndes, Tander, Courtney and the other hot-shots, but the Kelly’s are my 2009 underdogs.

JC Ordan Adelaide, SA

opinion

Stepping back in time ...

James Smith

I DID the very first Muscle Car Masters back in 2005, and it was a real success.

It was pouring with rain that day, and I still really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, over the last couple of years, it hasn’t been able to hook up. So it was good to do it again, because it’s just fun.

Obviously racing is my job and, while I thoroughly enjoy it, there is a lot of pressure. To be able to go away racing and be relaxed is great. There’s no doubt I’m still competitive about it, but I don’t have to be extracting the last ounce of performance out of everything all the time.

The thing with V8 Supercars is that it’s so intense, because you have to be performing the whole time. There is so much pressure. When you’re doing this, you can muck around, and have a few jokes, and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.

The main objective is putting on a show; winning was just a bonus at the end.

Paul Stubber has built a new Camaro for the New Zealand Muscle Car series, so I had a skid in that on Friday. I was just trying to help him sort it set-up wise. Then I drove his Torana A9X on Saturday and Sunday, although I jumped back in the Camaro for the Trans Tasman race against the Aussies.

Paul’s Camaro is the New Zealand equivalent of, say, the Camaro that John

opinion Jason Richards V8 Supercar driver Bowe races in the Touring Car Masters here in Australia. I think John was actually quicker in qualifying than the New Zealand-spec cars, so they are pretty well matched. There’s no doubt the New Zealand cars have a bit more power, and a bit more freedom in the rules, but there isn’t much in it.

In comparison, V8 Supercars are perfect; they are light, and steer well, and the brakes work perfectly. Back in the old days the cars were all about compromise. For instance, you can’t just slam on the brakes, because the rear wheels will lock up. I was talking to John Harvey about it on the weekend, and he said that they had that exact problem back in 1977.

The cars aren’t allowed to be modernised, so those sorts of problem still exist. Like the fact they have a synchro dog box, so it’s really easy to miss gears if you try and change too fast. It’s easy to make mistakes, and with no power steering the cars are physically much more demanding than a V8 Supercar.

The biggest difference is that when you’re racing a V8 Supercar, you have to

drive 100 percent, on the limit, the whole time. Back then you didn’t drive like that, because the cars wouldn’t cop it. You’re always compromising the car, especially the brakes, which are the biggest weakness.

Would I want to go back in time? Well, I did enjoy the fact that there was a difference in performance in the cars. We were racing Group A cars as well as Group C, so I was battling with Glenn Seton in a BMW M3 and some Skyline GT-Rs. And the Torana just absolutely smoked them off the line, and then the M3 would be so fast into the corner. Some cars are fast down the straight, some are slow; some are fast into corners, some aren’t; it’s so random, and there’s a lot of passing just because of the nature of the cars.

Maybe the racing in V8s could be spiced up by something like that …

It’s just such an enjoyable weekend.

It’s for real fans of racing. I think there is some crossover from V8 Supercar fans, but there’s a lot of people who turn up with their fathers to enjoy those old cars.

The cars are the stars, and the public are able to access them really well. There are people wandering through the garages taking photos; its so accessible.

It really is an incredible event to be at.

Anyone who enjoys motor racing from the last 10 to 30 years, it’s a must do.

eLETTER OF THE WEEK As an automated news machine once said on The Simpsons, ‘what a bunch of clowns’.

I’m referring to the protesters who did their bit to ruin Australia’s return to the World Rally Championship calendar on the weekend. I mean, throwing rocks on stages? Nothing shows you care for the environment like purposely trying to cause a rally car to barrel roll through the bush and destroy all the flora and fauna in its path. Surely, the environmentally sensitive out there should have been hoping the cars

would stay on the roads …

It’s pretty obvious these people don’t understand the sport at all. Very few plants and animals are likely to perish during the running of a WRC event, but the tourism dollars potentially generated by a successful worldwide event might just help things like conserving rain forests.

But some people like to cause a ruckus for the sake of it, don’t they …

Norm Peterson Via email

Norm Peterson is this week’s winner of 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

MUSCLE CAR MASTERS EASTERN CREEK, NSW

Father Figures

A huge crowd, Sydney sunshine and the finest collection of yesterday’s racing hero 2009 Muscle Car Masters an event to remember. JOHN MORRIS reports

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Dirk Klynsmith

John Morris/Mpix

oes made the

race

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T

he Australian Muscle Car Masters has been something of a phenomena since its debut in 2005.

Large entry lists and huge crowds appear to defy the economic conditions that have affected every country in the civilised world. The 2009 Muscle Car Masters continued that tradition.

In addition to the massive entry of historic and replica touring cars, the Biante Touring Car Masters were running a round of its series and the NZ Muscle Cars had returned as well.

Joining the field of historic

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cars, were some of the driving legends; Harry Firth, Alan Moffat, Leo Geoghegan, Bob Holden, John French, Bob Morris, John Goss, Fred Gibson, Bo Seton and Allan Grice, were joined by young guns of the historic era, such as; Jim Richards, David Parsons, John Bowe and Glenn Seton.

A quick search of the entry list also showed the odd current V8 Supercar driver, with Jason Richards driving a HRT A9X and NZ Camaro.

However, it was a modest tribute which truly brought home the significance of the event. During the afternoon a parade was held for Frank

Gardner, who passed away just last week. Two JPS BMW’s lead the Longhurst Sierra in a lap of the track, the drivers discarding their race helmets for Frank’s traditional ‘bucket’ hat. It was at this point that one realised that, though the cars of the era can be restored or reproduced in replica form to pristine condition, time is not so kind to the people who created the sport’s history.

Perhaps that explained the level of respect shown to these legends by the general public.

Autographs were requested not demanded, with a orderly queue. Drivers were told stories of a young child’s first

introduction to the sport 30odd years ago at racetracks that have long since vanished, consumed by the urban sprawl, and conversations ended with a grateful thanks.

The racing also replicated past times as cars were pushed to the limits, and beyond.

Matt O’Brien’s Biante Monaro literally scorched the main straight and Karanfilovski’s Alfa autographed the turn 2 wall.

The NZ Muscle Cars also had their share of dramas, while the Alan Moffat Mazda shed a wheel during the Heritage Hot Laps.

The Biante Touring Car Masters provided a different

race

James Smith

CAT power: John Bowe, above, stormed back from a penalty in the Biante Touring Car Masters to take fifth in the final race.

James Smith

Robert Lange

Who said Historic cars don’t race for keeps? The New Zealand Muscle Cars proved that accidents can (and do) happen, and the Allan Grice Chickedee Commodore replica copped a big hit, above.

Below, the handling of this NZ Javelin is sure to be different to the way Jim Richards sets up his version of the car next year ...

James Smith

worked hard to hold off Brad Tilley and Jim Richards. Bullas almost lost his lead at turn nine when he got crossed up on the exit.

However Bullas managed to hang on for the win from Richards and Tilley. Bowe drove back from the tail to finish fifth behind Steve Mason.

Other winners for the weekend included Glenn Seton in the GpNc class and in the Group A trophy race. Greg Toepfer was successful in Group 2, while David Holc and Terry Ashwoon shared the wins in the Group AC races.

Finally Jason Richards upheld the honour of the historic’s Generation X with a win in both Group C and NZ Muscle Cars.

James Smith

winner for each of the three races.

John Bowe accounted for the first race from Gavin Bullas and Steve Mason, while Jim Richards struggled in the Ford Falcon Sprint with a misfiring engine.

Race 2 saw Jim Richards take advantage of a reverse grid format to grab an early lead, only to see the field closed by a Safety Car period while the singed Monaro of Matt O’Brien was removed from turn one. Richards remained in front from the restart to hold off the GTHO of Brad Tilley, 2008 Champion Bullas and Bowe.

Race 3 belonged to Gavin Bullas, the win somewhat aided by a drive-through penalty for John Bowe for a jumped start. Bullas

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9 0 0 2 E H T M O R F S IMAGE John Morris/Mpix

Robert Lange James Smith

John Morris/Mpix

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History repeating: Above left to right, classic Allan Moffat machinery, from Falcons to Mazdas (on a ‘vulcture carrier!) and Sierras. Left, the Group A and C Touring Cars – plenty of familiar colours. Below, the wild New Zealand Muscle Cars.

race

John Morris/Mpix John Morris/Mpix

S R E T S A M R A C E L C 9 MUS John Morris/Mpix

John Morris/Mpix

John Morris/Mpix

The Brock Factor: Three years after his passing, Nine-times Bathurst winner Peter Brock is still held close to the hearts of most motor racing fans. Above, two of the Holden Dealer Team Cars from the 70s and the 80s. Left, John Bowe takes time out with a young James Courtney fan at the Biante Models stand.

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 25 – PEP BOYS 500, ATLANTA, GA

KK scores a KO

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O

A bad result and Kasey Kahne would have been in danger of missing The Chase. With a win, he all but assured his place in the late-season play.

By MARTIN D CLARK

NASCAR Media

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NASCAR Media

K

ASEY Kahne took his second win of the year by taking the spoils late in the first-ever night race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday evening, leading six times for 60 laps in a highly competitive race.

Kahne prevailed over Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya, and Harvick was the story of the race. After a hard year, he led a race for only the second time this season, opening up a six-second lead at one point in a car he’s raced in four of the last six races – a rarity in Cup racing. Without doubt, Harvick had the car to beat on long runs – but when the final caution came out when his RCR team-mate Clint Bowyer spun with 16 laps to run Harvick’s, lead was doomed.

Harvick left pit road first but Kahne passed him to the outside on the restart with 11 laps to go and never looked back.

“We had a great car throughout the race,” said Kahne, who started second and who moves up five spots to sixth in the title race.

“We fell back a little bit when we

got too loose, but early in the run the car was unbelievable. As the run would go I would get a little too loose to hang with Harvick and Montoya, but this thing was quick all night and the pit crew was incredible. It feels good; we need the points and need to make The Chase so this is a great step.”

Three of those locked into The Chase had issues. Tony Stewart went down a lap with a penalty for a missing wheel nut, although he did get it back. Jimmie Johnson fought a loose Hendrick Chevy all night before he broke an axle shaft and differential on pit road to finish 36th, while Carl Edwards holed an oil cooler and finished 37th.

Marcos Ambrose qualified 11th and bounced around the 20s, losing a lap during a long green flag run around halfway when Harvick had the dominant car leaving just 23 cars on the lead lap. With a 23rd place finish Ambrose, holds onto 17th in series standings, 344 points in arrears of the all important 12th spot, mathematically not with a shot of making The Chase.

Too Good NATIONWIDE

NASCAR Media NASCAR Media

SPRINT CUP | PEP BOYS 500 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

9 29 42 00 5 11 83 24 39 16

Kasey Kahne Dodge Kevin Harvick Chevy Juan Montoya Chevy David Reutimann Toyota Mark Martin Chevy Denny Hamlin Toyota Brian Vickers Toyota Jeff Gordon Chevy Ryan Newman Chevy Greg Biffle Ford

RPM/Budweiser Childress/Shell Earnhardt Ganassi/Target Waltrips/Aaron’s Hendrick/Carquest Joe Gibbs/FedEx Red Bull Racing Hendrick/National Guard Stewart Haas/US Army Roush Fenway/3M

2 18 22 28 7 10 8 4 23 26

NASCAR | DRIVER’S points

The Winner is ... ATALANTA! Martin Truex Jr led the field away for Atlanta’s first race under lights, top, but it was the Dodge of Kasey Kahne that saw the flag first, opposite.

Kevini Harvick looked to be the fastest man on the 1.5-mile track, top, but had to settle for second. David Reutimann, #00, was the best of the Toyota drivers in fourth place.

NASCAR Media

Stewart 3694, J Gordon 3457, Johnson 3404, Hamlin 3296, Edwards 3162, Kahne 3153, Kurt Busch 3152, Montoya 3145, Newman 3138, Martin 3126, Biffle 3125, Kenseth 3077, (Ambrose 2733 17th).

KEVIN Harvick took his own Chevrolet to victory lane on Saturday evening at Atlanta Motor Speedway, taking the win over Kyle Busch’s Joe Gibbs Toyota and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Harvick dominated to lead 131 of the 195 laps and he and Busch entered the pits for the final time with 14 laps remaining, while Junior and his JR Motorsports team-mate Brad Keselowski elected to keep their Chevs on track and gamble on fuel.

Although Busch’s last pit stop was faster than Harvick’s, the winner had a healthy seven second lead over Busch when he entered pit lane that final time and the four tyres the pair fitted were instrumental in nabbing the top two positions.

The good news for Earnhardt and Keselowski was their gamble on fuel paid off.

The bad was that Harvick overwhelmed Keselowski for second with six laps remaining and Junior for the lead and the win with just two laps to run and the pair finished third and fourth. Jeff Burton came home fifth.

– MARTIN D CLARK

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WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 12 – NURBURGRING, GERMANY

Noriyuki Haga was fit to race in Germany – but a fall handed Ben Spies the lead in the World Championship

German Spies 34

Ducati Corse

Yamaha Racing

JUST when Noriyuki Haga didn’t want to fall off, he fell off.

Ben Spies left Germany leading the World Superbike Championship for the first time, after the Ducati ace fell at Turn 1. The American had already closed the gap to two points by beating Haga in Race 1 to take his 12th win of the season, and second place behind Jonny Rea in Race 2 put the Texan in the lead.

“The difference in the second race was that the track was cooler and everyone was turning in quick laps,” explained Spies, the first American to lead the WSBK since Colin Edwards seven years ago.

“Once I came to the front I found I didn’t quite have the

rear grip that I needed to make a move on Jonathan. He was riding strong and I congratulate him on a great ride and win.”

Haga was confident that changes to his Ducati would have paid off towards the end of Race 2 but he never got to test them.

“Just I started to push to catch [Carlo] Checa, Rea came up fast on the straight and hit me,” he said. “There was nothing I could do and I couldn’t restart the bike. I’m angry as it is the second time this has happened; I guess the only consolation is that I’m not hurt.”

The Nurburgring was a happy hunting ground for Honda, with Checa third in Race 1 from Rea, and Checa backed up the Irishman in Race 2, taking third

Texas leads: Ben Spies took top points from the Nurburgring to take the lead in the World Superbike Championship for the first time.

Noriyuki Haga took Superpole but a Race 2 fall puts him in second place, with six races remaining.

behind Spies. Max Biaggi had a solid weekend with fifth and fourth in the two races, while BMW’s Troy Corser was solid with eighth and sixth.

Points: Spies 364, Haga 336, Fabrizio 289, Rea 244, Biaggi 224, Haslam 201, Checa 177, Sykes 165, Byrne 140, Smrz 140.

CAL Crutchlow crushed the opposition in Supersport, such as it was.

The Yamaha man had 10 seconds up his sleeve by the chequered flag, with Eugene Laverty and Joan Lascorz filling the podium spots. Mark Aitchison was the best of the Aussies in sixth, just ahead of Andrew Pitt and Garry McCoy.

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Bourda

Erickson’s Indy Fever

Top fives and a near miss makes an up and down weekend FORMULA FORD AUSTRALIAN racer Daniel Erickson had another up and down weekend in the three British Formula Ford Championship races at Brands Hatch last weekend.

The New South Welshman finished two of the three races inside the top five, but a collision with championship challenger Josef Newgarden

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saw him fall to the back in the last race.

Erickson started from third place in Round 19 (the first race of the weekend) in his first-ever race on the ‘Indy’ circuit. A less than perfect getaway by the CAMS International Rising Star allowed Dutchman Rogier de Wit and Briton Chrissy Palmer past on the first lap.

Erickson repassed Palmer before the chequered flag, but

by then de Wit had scampered away.

The race was won by American Newgarden, with de Wit second and championship points leader James Cole third.

Erickson placed fifth in Round 20, and was set to record the same result in Round 21 when an incident with Newgarden caused him to spin off the track. He recovered to 11th at the finish.

SUPER LEAGUE Sebastien Bourdais netted Spanish club Sevilla a 100,000 Euros by winning the Superleague Formula ‘Super Final’ on his championship debut at Estoril.

The Frenchman, who recently lost his place on the Formula One grid with Toro Rosso, bounced back in the best possible fashion, taking second place in Race 2 before going on to win the final.

“This feels pretty good!” he said

race

ais takes Superleague win

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after the weekend.

“It’s nice to be back on the top step of the podium again.

This has been a rollercoaster weekend with lots of ups and downs.”

Starting from fourth in the five-lap six-car Super Final, he dived past Anderlecht into turn 1 to take third and was into second when Corinthians driver Antonio Pizzonia slid wide and out of the lead in turn 4.

With just Liverpool standing

beaten him and a debut victory, Bourdais sliced up the inside of Adrian Valles’ car before the end of the lap and never looked like losing his lead from thereon.

Olympiacos’ Esteban Guerreri, who earlier took a superb win in Race 1, followed Bourdais past Liverpool for second, having started from fifth, with Valles holding off Anderlecht driver Yelmer Buurman for the final podium spot.

Ranging up on them: John Martin, above, is getting better at the Superleague Series, while Bourdais, top, won on debut.

Australian driver John Martin finished in eighth place in Rangers entry, and left the Estoril track with

his biggest haul of points since entering the category.

Martin’s weekend highlight was qualifying fifth.

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Saftey first for di Resta Two late Safety Cars could not come between di Resta and his first win for 2009 DTM PAUL di Resta scored his first win of the season in the DTM with an impressive drive at Brands Hatch last weekend.

In a race with two late Safety Car periods, it was a cat-andmouse battle between the two marques Mercedes and Audi.

Di Resta led from pole position, chased by the Audi of Timo Scheider and Bruno Spengler (Mercedes.) Tom Kristensen chased but suffered damage from a clash with Spengler at the first corner which delayed the Dane and allowed Martin Tomczyk to close. TK slowed to let the quicker Audi by and Tomczyk then sped onto the tail of

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Spengler who made the Mercedes remarkably wide.

Scheider lost track position on the first round of pit stops but was allowed past Tomczyk.

It left him seven seconds adrift after the second stops.

Di Resta looked assured of the win but then came two neutralisations: the first was after Mathias Lauda had crashed his Mercedes, the

second when Kritstensen was attacked by Spengler and ended in the gravel.

Just two laps remained when the Safety Car withdrew and di Resta was just able to fend off the championship leader.

Third fell to Tomczyk after an

impressive drive, while Gary Paffett took fourth for Mercedes. Fifth, after a poor qualifying, went to Mattias Ekstrom (Audi) who ran a long first stint to gain track position ahead of Spengler.

– DAVID ADDISON

race

sutton-images.com

Priaulx breaks BMW’s losing streak WTCC BMW scored its first WTCC win in 15months at Oschersleben as Andy Priaulx bagged a victory in a dramatic first race with fellow BMW driver Augusto Farfus taking the second.

Priaulx had qualified 14th but avoided a first corner accident between Farfus and Alex Zanardi (BMW) and gained ground as a result before picking off Tom Coronel and Gabriele Tarquini for the win.

Tarquini finished second and assumed the lead of the championship as rival and team-mate Yvan Muller clipped a tyre stack and broke his front suspension as he was passed by Farfus. SEAT sport protested the move ...

Jaap van Lagen drove heroically in the new LADA, running fifth until Nicola Larini’s Chevrolet shoved him into the gravel.

Farfus finished sixth and hence was gridded third for Race 2. He picked off

the BMW of Stefano D’Aste on lap one and then moved past the similar car of Franz Engstler.

Heading for a win, Farfus was also heading for the championship lead until D’Aste copped a drive-through penalty and Engstler suffered a mechanical failure.

That promoted Tarquini to third (behind a charging Priaulx) and gave the Italian the championship lead.

– DAVID ADDISON

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rear of grid

Rare Holden on display IF you were thinking about going to the firstever Toll HRT Family Day on Sunday, 20 September but you were put off by the lack of Holden Efijy show cars, fret no more.

The famed concept car, which put some jaws on the floor when it broke cover four years ago, will make an extremely rare public appearance at the open day at HRT’s Clayton bunker. The Efijy rarely leaves Holden’s HQ in Port Melbourne, so get the Instamatic ready and visit www.hrt. com.au <http://www. hrt.com.au> for more details.

Odd Spot

BEING sun smart is one thing, but looking like a bloke in a bad hat is another.

And then there’s the new range of headwear being modelled, left, by fashion guru David ‘Skippy’ Parsons!

The third anniversary of Peter Brock’s untimely passing is today (Tuesday), and fans will have the opportunity to remember one of his most famous wins – the 1979 Bathurst 1000 – with a wide-ranging collection of Brock Foundation-endorsed retro 70sstyle apparel that will be available for sale on-track at this year’s race.

Brock, along with his 1979 co-driver Jim Richards, simply smashed the field in the race, winning by six laps, with Brock setting the fastest lap on the very last lap of the race.

It will probably be remembered as Brock’s most crushing victory and, perhaps, his most memorable – there’s probably no better way to celebrate the 30th anniversay of the race than to check-out the merch, and even buy one of these hats. If you can’t do that, then maybe you can laugh at someone who has!

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