Motorsport eNews Issue 122 - September 15-21, 2009

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Issue No. 122 September 15 - 21 2009

snatch & grab HRT’s last lap Island triumph

! l&H 500 E G U H

coverage inside

fired up!

Spectacular

drag nationals

v8s to stand alone?

A1GP Series in the balance

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. 122 | 15 – 21 September 2009

news 4 International Rescue? A1 rumours swirling 6 Winter of Content 11 Take that, Poms!

12 American bewdies 18 Aces and Chasers

chat 20 5 minutes with ... opinion 22 Larkham race 24 PI V8 Supercars 32 MINI Challenge 34 PI FFords 36 Drag Nationals

trade 46 Classifieds

2-month break confirmed Ricciardo takes F3 title 12 Hour Mustang, Camaro We preview NASCAR Chase Nick Percat Analysis of a sneaky win HRT at the last gasp Caratti wins. But ...

Nick takes the title Pommy Read-ing

An HRT win at Phillip Island may have been a shock to most people, but it looks like the team had the result sussed before the start. Wonder if the boys in red had a bet on?

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

Mounting doubt surrounds the future of the A1GP circus and its

Is A1 Grand Prix in V8 SUPERCARS THE V8 Supercar Championship Series is looking increasingly likely to have to provide the sole headline act for next month’s Nikon SuperGP, with ongoing signs that the A1GP openwheeler series is in financial trouble and will struggle to assemble in time for the Gold Coast event.

Word out of Europe continues to centre around a financial stand-off with (car and engine) suppliers Ferrari, with teams yet to gain access to engines (currently locked in

storage) and awaiting 2009/10 update packages for the cars, which includes a redesigned side-impact section which also needs to undergo FIA tests.

According to our UK sources, literally as eNews went live, a deadline last Friday for financial matters to be resolved has been replaced by a delayed deadline this coming Friday, just four weeks before the field is due to assemble in Queensland.

Logistically alone, it is becoming a nightmare.

While the organisation has constantly maintained that all is progressing as normal, the

traditional pre-season UK test has already been abandoned in favour of a last-minute work-out on the Monday prior to the (Gold Coast) scheduled opening event, at Queensland Raceway.

The world-wide economic downturn has, we hear, not been kind to participating teams with reports of as few as eight confirmed starters as recently as a week ago.

A1GP was signed to the Gold Coast bill following the breakdown of negotiations between the promoters and IndyCar, which would have seen the continuation of the US-based top open-wheeler

category as the international act at the Surfers event.

The backing of the Queensland Government for the event has been conditional upon international content and so, despite the fact that V8 Supercars have assumed top billing over recent years, a replacement was necessary.

What complications this would involve if, indeed, A1GP is a last-minute scratching is unknown.

Surfers is a superb V8 race/ holiday venue and, while the lack of an international element would be disappointing, it is unlikely to hit attendances

FOR F1, MOTOGP AND WRC NEWS, OPINION AND ANALYSIS CLICK HERE TO ACCESS GPWE

news

Dirk Klynsmith

Oil giant confirms Ford Performance Racing withdrawal

Castrol seeks ‘full’ deal V8 SUPERCARS

Surfers Paradise series opener

Mick Fishburn

n the wall?

CASTROL has confirmed our report from last week that it will not renew its sponsorship with Ford Performance Racing beyond this year, but is actively looking for a continued V8 Supercar involvement.

The company issued a statement late last week confirming the move, fundamentally because its marketing arm and senior management are demanding a ‘full livery’ deal –as back in the Perkins/Longhurst era – which FPR, thanks to Ford’s ‘predominantly blue’ policy, can not offer.

“It is that simple,” company spokesman Sue Dilger told us.

“They want a full-livery, full stop.”

Needless to say, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since.

“You’d be surprised who’s been on the phone!...” quipped Dilger.

The company will apparently take a few weeks to consider the options, but is keen to remain in V8s – as long as it is with a full-car livery option.

However, despite apparent conflicts with other Castrol retailers (Repco, Autobarn etc), eNews believes, as speculated last week, that a Castrol-liveried PMM car, running alongside Russell Ingall’s Supercheap Commodore, remains the likely outcome.

Castrol will need a front-running driver under this scenario, and that too could provide some interesting candidates.

Other non-Ford teams which could theoretically offer what Castrol is looking for include Kelly Racing, Brad Jones Racing, or possibly Sprint Gas Racing, although the latter does have existing Fuchs oils backing.

significantly.

EEK MAGAZINE, THE WORLD’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL MOTORSPORT MAGAZINE

Phil Williams

Winter break for 2010 Big mid-season break, two Middle Eastern races, and date changes for Perth, Tasmania and Sandown revealed in calendar RACE V8 SUPERCARS A NINE-week mid-season break that no one predicted is the surprise element of the 2010 V8 Supercar calendar, confirmed on Sunday.

The break splits the championship into Autumn and Spring sections, takes Tasmania’s and Sandown’s rounds out of potentially inclement mid-winter conditions, and results in tighter scheduling of races – most two, or three, weeks apart.

The series will start, as widely

anticipated, with a two-race Middle Eastern flyaway trip in Mid-February, with the mid-season break starting after the Townsville event, on July 11.

If it works logistically for them, teams can also move their cars in one long June/July road trip, encompassing Perth, Darwin, and Townsville.

V8SA has labelled both the Queensland Raceway and Perth rounds as ‘provisional’ for now, pending final discussion with the two respective promoters.

2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series 18 – 20 Feb

Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi 25 – 27 Feb Desert 400, Bahrain 11 – 14 Mar Clipsal 500, Adelaide* 26 – 28 Mar Aus Grand Prix, Albert Park 16 – 18 April ITM Hamilton 400, NZ 30 Apr – 2 May Qld Raceway* 14 – 16 May Winton* 4 – 6 June BigPond 300, Barbagallo 18 – 20 June Skycity Triple Crown, Hidden Valley 9 – 11 July Dunlop Townsville 400*

MID SEASON BREAK 10 – 12 Sept L&H 500, Phillip Island 7 – 10 Oct Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama* 21 – 24 Oct Nikon SuperGP, Surfers Paradise 5 – 7 Nov Falken Tasmania Challenge 19 – 21 Nov Norton 360 Sandown Challenge* 3 – 5 Dec Sydney Telstra 500* * Denotes Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series

opinion

calendars are always an Chris Lambden easy target mNews Publisher for armchair critics and the like, but there is overall sense in what is proposed for the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship series.

Squeezing the events into two distinct blocks, with most races just two, or three, weeks apart does remove the current randomness and disjointed schedule, which race fans tell us pisses them off most, so yes, a tick.

Whether you are a philosophical fan of overseas races or not, locking the flyaway double in to February may have advantages. Think about what major sport is on in Australia in midFebruary. Yes, that’s right, not much – certainly not in the evening. A little bird is suggesting that Seven may well, therefore, take the plunge and go live at prime time Saturday night (9pm?) with the Middle Eastern double. It could be a highprofile TV start to the season. Tick.

Having hosted an early round this year, Tasmania gets a financial year off with its 2010 race in November, but it is likely to be far more climatically appealing. Tick.

Yup, be picky if you like, but this time around, they’ve nailed it.

news

My island home ... again!

V8 SUPERCARS PHILLIP Island will be confirmed later this week as the host of the replacement V8 Supercar round for the postponed Bahrain race.

V8 Supercars said at the L&H 500 last weekend that the replacement for the Middle East race will be confirmed soon. In the meantime, a number of teams have already arranged accommodation in the region for the November 7-8 weekend. eNews expects that the format of the weekend will be two 150km races, to be held over a two-day race meeting, with practice and qualifying for a race each on Saturday and Sunday.

Winton already has a round of the Victorian State Series scheduled which, together with the VACC Historic Sandown, means that there are now three race meetings scheduled on the same weekend, in the same state.

Whether this creates a shortage of officials, and possibly a postponement of one or more of the events, remains to be seen.

Dirk Klynsmith

BRIEFLY... n The Bathurst 12 Hour Showroom Enduro has had an update. The 1214 February event will be helping mens’ health, after naming the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia as the official charity for the production based motor racing endurance event to be held 2010.

The Foundation funds research into the cause, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. There will be a number activities run over the weekend including a free health check.

Guess who is playing a

Legendary band Cold Chisel reform to headline co

n The recent coverage of Repco Rally Australia featured a number of protesters hurling debris onto one of the stages.

A post-event study has, according to the organisers, revealed that no koalas, or any other threatened species, were killed or injured during the three-day event. n Ford is taking steps to turn around its tough Sprint Cup season. The company will trial a new engine in the Charlotte race next month, though it appears that it will not risk the motor by allowing either of its two ‘Chase’ drivers, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, to use it. n IndyCar’s TV audience is likely to be reduced next season, with news that major satellite provider DirecTV did not renew its contract with VERSUS earlier this month. VERSUS claims to reach 75 million households expected to fall by as much as 14m in 2010. VERSUS broadcasts 12 of the 17 races this year, with a audience of between 200,000 and 300,000 per race.

– MARY MENDEZ

New mould a factor?

V8 SUPERCARS A NEW mould was used to create the Dunlop control tyres that debuted at Phillip Island’s L&H 500 last weekend, and they were met with mixed reactions.

While the construction and compound is identical to the former tyres, according to some drivers, the new mould changed the balance of their cars.

“It’s hard to say if it was different, no one has

been able to back-to-back them with the old tyre,” GRM’s Lee Holdsworth said, who qualified his #33 Commodore in 13th.

“We weren’t able to get as much of a gain out of the tyre that we would usually on a brandnew set, but in saying that, we couldn’t get a green tyre gain at Queensland Raceway either.

I’m not too sure, but it does feel like there’s a slight difference.”

For the endurance races, 28 tyres are allocated to each car.

news

at Homebush?

oncerts at Sydney Telstra 500

V8 SUPERCARS JIMMY Barnes may have once driven a foreign car – and even smoked a Danneman cigar – but he will be in Holden versus Ford territory on December 5.

Barnesy will join former bandmembers Ian Moss, Phil Small, Don Walker and Steve Prestwich in a one-off reunion for legendary rock band Cold Chisel at the Sydney Telstra 500. The band, which split up in 1983, will be supported by The Living End and Grinspoon in the Saturday night show, one of two concerts over the weekend.

Barnes said that it was a matter of timing, not money, that made the reunion a possibility.

“Although it is great to make a pile of money, it’s got to be the right thing to do,” he said.

“We’ve had other big offers where we’ve just gone ‘Nah, the time’s not right, or the event’s not right’. But this happens and everything came together at once.”

On Friday night, the concert will feature The Presets, Sneaky Sound System and The Potbelleez.

Australia 300, Poms 0 V8 SUPERCARS THE four international drivers at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island last weekend were not eligible for championship points.

Andy Priaulx, Allan Simonsen, James Thompson, above, and Ben Collins were illegible for series points as they all run on their respective international racing licences and the Phillip Island meeting is not an

international event.

The four drivers will all be eligible for series scores at Bathurst, as that is classified by the sport’s governing body (the FIA) as an international race.

Despite the fact that the four foreigners couldn’t score themselves, the points they would have accumulated still count towards the Team’s Championship.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Ricciardo White guy for the job V8 SUPERCARS DAMIEN White has been appointed as V8 Supercars’ Operations Coordinator.

The former Fujitsu V8 Series driver replaces Jason Millington who left V8SA after the Queensland Raceway. Part of White’s role includes him being the Operations Manager of the Fujitsu Series.

The Fujitsu Series has struggle for grid numbers this year, recording all-time low entries. White’s role isn’t about finding new competitors, but with his experience as a driver/

manager, he hopes to inject some fresh ideas.

“It’s fair to say that the Fujitsu Series is struggling for numbers, but every category around the world is in the same position,” he says.

“My job isn’t to actively find new competitors. While I can assist in that, I’m primarily there to service the competitors.

When I was driving, Michael Masi was the Operations Manager and he had the ability to be firm but fair with the teams. He was very good at his job and that’s given me an idea of what is required.”

V8SA Operations Manager Kurt Sakzewski says that White’s understanding of the sport will benefit all.

“With Damien coming on board, we’re looking forward to his experience as a competitor, not just on the Fujitsu Series, but in other national categories in Australia,” he says.

“He has experience in team management and sponsorship relations and it’s about bringing a fresh approach to the Fujitsu Series so we can help it grow.”

– GRANT ROWLEY Wayne Maxwell was the big winner at the Australian Superbike Open at Phillip Island on the weekend, winning the first race, and finishing third in the second race. Craig Coxhell was the other race winner, while a pair of seconds went to Joshua Waters.

Marshall Cass

10

news

do: British Formula 3 Champ!

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

sutton-images.com

DANIEL Ricciardo is the 2009 British Formula 3 Champion.

The West Aussie only needed to be near the front at last weekend’s 17th and 18th rounds at Algarve in Portugal, and he did exactly that, scoring enough points to secure the title.

He is the fourth Australian driver to have won the prestigious series, joining Tim Schenken (1968), Dave Walker (1971) and David Brabham (1989).

“This is everything I’ve wanted since the start of the season, and for it to come around a bit early makes it a bit sweeter,” he said.

“It still hasn’t quite sunk in, but I’m sure that by the end of tonight I’ll realise it and party hard.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to have won the title, and [it’s] a big relief. It’s great when you have worked so hard for something when it pays off.

“A big thank you to every one at Carlin, and my engineer Mike [Lugg] has worked so hard this season. It’s good to be able to head to the last round at Brands with nothing to lose and everything to gain, so I’m just going to go out there for the wins with no pressure at all.”

Carlin team boss Trevor Carlin was equally delighted with Ricciardo’s title win.

“I am absolutely delighted for Daniel, who has worked so hard and has never taken the possibility of winning this championship for granted,” he said.

With strong links to Red Bull, a promotion to Formula 1 is now on the 20-year-old’s mind – although he isn’t sure it will be next year, despite last year’s British F3 Champ already finding himself in a full-time F1 seat.

“If I can now follow in Jaime Alguersuari’s footsteps that would be great. I’m not saying I’ll be in F1 next year, but I’d like to be there in the near future. That’s my dream.”

11

Teams look at Ford and GM giants for Bathurst 12 Hour

Mustang v Camaro at Bathurst?

BATHURST 12 HOUR COULD a Mustang and a Camaro go headto-head at Bathurst? It sounds like a tasty proposition, and it could happen next year.

There are plans in motion with two Victorian teams to import two of the world’s hottest road cars to compete in the Invitations class in the 2010 Bathurst 12 Hour. Marcus Zukanovic is eying a GT500 Shelby Mustang, while Greg Murphy Racing is seriously investigating securing a Camaro 2SS RS. Zukanovic spent some time in the United States recently, looking at ways

12

of getting one of the supercharged 5.4 litre Shelbys to Australia and is currently weighing up his options.

“It’s an idea we’ve got at the moment and we’re summing up our budget.

“We haven’t got a car yet, but we’ve got a go-ahead from the 12 Hour committee.

We’re also trying to work out on paper if the car will actually be good enough. We don’t want to do it if it’s not going to be as competitive as the (Mitsubishi) Evos. We want it to be as quick as them.”

On the other side of the fence, the 6.0 litre Camaro 2SS RS is also a possibility of making the 12 Hour grid, with West Australian racer John O’Dowd keen to get hold of one of the cars for the race.

O’Dowd has spoken to Greg Murphy

Racing’s Dean Lilley about the logistics of building the car, and with the cars being available through Queensland company Performax (who are converting them to be legal for Australian road rules), there’s a good chance it could happen.

“I think it’s capable of being an outright contender,” Lilley says.

“We’ve been building these cars for a while now. Really, it’s just a different Commodore. We know how to make them go fast and make them last. I think we can make a really fast car that can survive, and if we can get a hold of a couple of very good drivers, we could be in with a good chance.”

In other 12 Hour news, Supplementary Regulations for the 12 Hour will be released by CAMS in the coming week.

– GRANT ROWLEY

news

MINI confirms two-driver WA race MINI CHALLENGE

Dirk Klynsmith

MINI Challenge has confirmed that the penultimate round of its series at Barbagallo Raceway will allow two drivers per car.

The format was trialled at the Townsville round in July with moderate success, and with a large contingent of West Australian drivers keen to compete in front of their home crowd, it has been decided to accept two-driver entries again.

The format for the round will mirror the Townsville event – one short race per driver, with a longer third race with a timed compulsory pit stop. Single driver entries are still permitted.

One team set to expand to allow for the influx of West Aussies is Hi Tech Motorsport.

The New South Wales-based

team is looking at running as many as five MINIs in the race.

According to team owner John Pachos, the ideal scenario will see Grant Johnson/Clint Harvey, Malcolm and Brett Niall, and Allan Letcher/Nathan Callaghan pair up, with David

Turner and Nathan Caratti set to run a car each.

“The class is trying to get a bunch of WA guys involved, and we’ve received a lot of interest,” Pachos said.

“We’re trying to get five cars together for that meeting.

“It’s good for everyone in the class. Hi Tech Motorsport specializes in this class and the Utes – you turn up and drive.

You pay a set price a you go racing, and that’s the way of the future.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

13

German F3 for Foster – now FORMULA 3

14

FORMULA FORD

NICK Percat is eyeing a future in V8 Supercars after wrapping up the Australian Formula Ford Championship last weekend.

The most likely future for him will be in the Fujitsu V8 Series, providing suitable backing to make the step up.

Percat, 21, has enjoyed a sponsorship and management agreement with Walkinshaw Racing for the past two seasons, and he wants to keep that relationship going.

“I want to stay with Walkinshaw’s,” he said.

“It’s not really an opportunity that I want to let go. They’ve got a path in mind for me, so I’ll sit down with them in the next few weeks to discuss the future and see where that ends up.

Ideally, it will be in V8 Supercars with those guys.”

WR CEO Craig Wilson told eNews that he’s keen to see Percat step up to the next level.

“He’s capable of achieving a lot of things,” Wilson said.

“We haven’t actually sat down and discussed anything specifically about next year. All of our discussions been centred around him winning the Formula Ford Championship.

“We’ll sit down with him in a few weeks time and discuss what options are around for the future.”

Wilson has been pleased to see Percat continually improve over the past seasons.

“We’ve helped support Nick for a couple of years now and we are very pleased to see him achieve the objectives he’s set for himself,” he said.

“His determination and focus to win the championship has been very good and we’re very happy for him. From a sponsorship point of view, we’re very pleased with what he’s done and how he’s done it, but also from a racing and development point of view, we couldn’t be happier with what he’s achieved in the last couple of years.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

Marshall Cass

JOEY Foster will return to European racing in a one-off drive with in the German Formula 3 Series this weekend.

Foster, who is currently second in the Australian F3 title, will drive for Performance Racing at the Sachsenring.

“They had a car available and I have a good relationship with them so they called me up, and asked how about it,” said Foster, who races here with Team BRM. “It’s a good chance to get out there and race against my old team as well – HS Technique.”

Foster has never driven at the Sachsenring before but is looking forward to the challenge.

“From what I’ve seen on TV, it’s real quick, real fast and the barriers are close and it looks like a challenge.

“I want a podium finsih. I think I’ll be able to run at the front. I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to. Obviously, I don’t know the car and its performance against the others, but from what I’ve seen, Performance Racing has had some pole positions this year so there’s no reason why we couldn’t be up the front.”

Co-incidentally, New Zealander Richie Stanaway, who drove in the first part of the Australian Formula Ford Championship with Team BRM, will be at the Sachsenring, racing in the Formula ADAC Masters.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Fujitsus a chance for Nick the Quick

news

RAYMO’S SOMETHING

Raymond wants Gp N car for ARC ... but not sure what ARC

FORMULKA FORD

Joel Stricklamnd

GLEN Raymond will drive a different car in next year’s Australian Rally Championship.

The privateer has been running an ex-Neal Bates Group N(P) Toyota Corolla for the last two seasons, but while the car is competitive in ARC terms, Raymond was forced into an unfamiliar car for the recent Repco Rally Australia as the Corolla doesn’t have FIA homologation. The last-minute move to a Lancer Evolution impacted Raymond’s chances of winning the Pirelli Star Driver award, which instead went to New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon.

“We had to lease a car that I’d never driven before; I’d actually never driven a Lancer before, let alone that particular car,” said Raymond.

“Next year I’ll run the ARC in a car that is eligible under FIA rules. That means when we do the PSD, we can be amongst it straight away.”

But while Raymond and his family team are committed to running a different car, they are yet to settle on what exactly the new piece of kit will be.

“We’ll have a new car, that’s a definite,” he added.

“It will be something fast.

I’m not saying that to cover anything up, I really don’t have any idea at this stage.

“After driving the Lancer, I’m sort of leaning that way, but the Subarus are good things as well.

“So, the Corolla is for sale.”

Raymond finished second in this year’s Australian Rally Championship, losing out to Simon Evans at the last round in South Australia.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Walsh returns for more FF

World Wide Pye when he is in England next month competing in the SCOTT Pye will make a Formula Ford Festival at serious play at an overseas Brands Hatch. future in 2010.

“None of this is locked in, The CAMS Rising Star will but that’s how it’s likely to go,” leave the Australian Formula Pye said at Phillip Island.

Ford Championship at the “Formula 3 is the absolute end of this season – his preference, because there second in the national series – are a lot of similarities in pursuit of a future in wings- between TRS and Formula and-slicks cars.

Renault, and by that stage I His first stop will be New will have done two seasons Zealand right at the start of TRS. It will be time to make of the year, where he will the step up.” have his second crack at the At the Formula Ford Toyota Racing Series with Festival, Pye will be reunited Trevor Shuemack’s European with Daniel Erickson, who Technique team. was his team-mate in the Then, Pye is likely to tackle CAMS Rising Star program either Britain’s Formula last season. Erickson now Renault series, or, preferably, races in the British FFord the British Formula 3 series for Kevin Mills Racing Championship. Which of – the team for which Pye will those series he will race in race at the Festival. will depend on meetings – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

FORMULA FORD

ASH Walsh will make a full-time return to the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2010.

The Queenslander made his return to the series at Phillip Island last weekend, after an 18 month absence from racing in Australia.

Having spent 2008 racing Formula Renault in Europe, Walsh has been on the sidelines this year, until the comeback with Borland Racing Developments last weekend. And, at Phillip Island, Walsh confirmed that he would also race at the season finale on the Gold Coast, and that it is a toe-in-the-water exercise for a full-time comeback next season.

“Ideally I would like to be in a V8 Supercar, but realistically the plan is to run Formula Ford again next season and see how I go,” said Walsh.

He also confirmed it would be with BRD, the team that ran him in 2007.

“I’ve already worked with them before, and it’s a good working relationship,” he added.

Walsh last ran FFord back in 2007, when he finished second in the championship to Tim Blanchard after he stripped fourth gear during the final round of the season, which was run at Phillip Island.

Ironically, the same failure dogged his return last weekend, Walsh finishing 12th for the round after running as high as third in the first race.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

15

The Blue Oval King

INDYCAR RYAN Briscoe is in prime position to win the IndyCar Championship – and his ace could be Helio Castroneves.

With only the two 1.5-mile ovals at Motegi and Homestead to go, Briscoe (550 points) leads Ganassi teammates Dario Franchitti (525) and Scott Dixon (517) and there are still 106 points available.

“We’ve seen how quickly it can turn around,” said Briscoe,

assume that Petty will close its ‘Evernham Engines’ shop, further adding to the NC racing unemployment line. Both would cut costs NASCAR’S mergers continue, with news that considerably over the self-built cars and Richard Petty Motorsports will merge with engines RPM produce in a multitude of large Yates Racing for the 2010 season. facilities.

In a move few saw coming, the combine will With the organisation fielding four cars, the campaign four Ford teams, with horsepower Sprint Cup Series affectively lose two teams provided by Roush Yates Racing under the – and more employees. Yates currently field Richard Petty Motorsports banner. two cars, one for Paul Menard and the other “This is a pretty big deal for us,” commented for Bobby Labonte/Eric Darnell. RPM field Richard Petty, who merged his beleaguered Dodges for Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, AJ Petty Enterprises with Gillett Evernham Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson. The 2010 Motorsports last winter. lineup will apparently comprise Kahne, Sadler, “We’re thrilled to partner with Ford. We’ve talked with a lot of folks, but in the end it came Allmendinger and Menard, although eNews hears, that could be subject to change. down to the success the Gillett’s and I think we Kahne has a rocky history with Ford. When can achieve with Ford Racing. Right now this he joined Evernham Motorsports in 2004, Ford deal is real new. There are lots of details still would not release him from the contract he left to be ironed out so we don’t have a lot of had with – surprise! – Robert Yates Racing in answers for anyone right now.” the Nationwide Series. Evernham wanted to The shock is the Ford factor. There had been move Kahne, then 23, straight to Sprint Cup; rumours that with Chrysler on rocky ground Yates wanted him in the lesser division for and RPM owned by George Gillett, Petty and another season. Dodge paid Ford and Kahne minority partner Ray Evernham would switch found himself in a race-winning Dodge. to Toyota. Those rumours faded when Red Bull Many do not realise Petty has left the Racing elected to stay with Toyota for 2010 and Chrysler fold before. In 1969, he switched from not switch to Chevrolet, Toyota having made Dodge to Ford and won 10 races in a Torino, it known that they did not want to support below, a car ‘The King’ believed to be superior more teams. So the Ford news blindsided all than the Plymouth he was told to drive. Petty NASCAR insiders, but many details have yet to Enterprises moved back to Chrysler the be worked out. following year with the release of the famous We can only assume RPM will move into winged Plymouth Superbird, in which he won the Yates facility in Concord, North Carolina, 18 races in 40 starts. adjacent to Roush Fenway Racing, which – MARTIN D CLARK currently supplies Yates chassis. We can also

NASCAR

Briscoe’s

Fernande

Ford Racing

16

about retaining the lead in the IndyCar championship which has changed 13 times after 15 events.

“I’ve just got to stay focused.

Japan and Homestead are going to be tough races. I’m going to try to hang onto the lead. I think we’re going to be very competitive. The car’s been good at all the mile-anda-half ovals this year. And, I really love the track in Japan. I haven’t had the best success there yet, but I really enjoy the

circuit. So I’m looking forward to going there.”

Penske team-mate Castroneves is committed to doing what is best for his team. He certainly could be the deciding factor helping Briscoe as a drafting partner on the remaining one-and-a-half mile ovals.

“Scott and I are very much in contention for the IndyCar championship with two races to go,” Franchitti said. “We’re trying everything we can to

make that happen. Having a team-mate like Scott, just every week, if you’re just a little bit off, he’s making me look foolish. He definitely keeps me honest. We’re both scoring points consistently. Ryan has got the luxury of Helio being out of it, so he can help him a little bit. I don’t know if we’ll end up backing one horse; Chip (Ganassi) will make that decision. As of right now we’re both still going for it.”

– MARY MENDEZ

No more Free Indy Rides INDYCAR

s secret weapon: Helio

sutton-images.com

ez Team calls time on ALMS ALMS

sutton-images.com

ADRIAN Fernandez has pulled the plug on his own team.

The former IndyCar driver will not compete in either ALMS’s LMP2 series or IndyCars next season. His Acura support has ended and Mexico’s national hero has decided that at 44, he is too old to return to the open wheel cockpit, even if major sponsor Lowe’s returns.

“It’s been a good run but we’re between a rock and a hard place and our poker hand didn’t come up so good this time,” Fernandez Racing’s team co-owner, Tom Anderson, told SpeedTV. com.

TEAMS that transitioned from Champ Car to IndyCar at the beginning of 2008 were offered two chassis for two seasons and a oneyear free engine lease.

Last week Brian Barnhart, IRL’s President of Competition and Racing Operations, sent emails asking for payment of US$100,000 per chassis to Conquest, Dale Coyne, Newman-Haas-Lanigan, KV and HVM Racing. Teams can choose to reduce their Team Support Package payment, set up a payment plan, or return their free chassis by mid-January.

“The original agreement wasn’t a forever free deal,” explained Walker Racing’s owner, Derrick Walker, to SpeedTV.com, who lacks funding to compete “In fairness to the league, it gave the teams free cars for two years. It may be a bit naughty to ask for it at the end of the year instead of the beginning but, obviously, with the economy and new management, the IRL is saying ‘Hey boys, we can’t afford to carry this debt any longer.’”

– MARY MENDEZ

“I told our guys that we didn’t have anything that’s even close so they all needed to go look for jobs and look hard.”

“Ideally, the cheapest deal would have been to stay in sports cars because we’ve got our car and could lease an engine from Acura, probably doing the season for $3-3.5 million. After that, we thought Indy cars made the most sense but it’s really tough right now to find anything.”

Fernandez, along with Luis Diaz, has locked up the LMP2 driver’s championship with two races remaining. Effective October 30, unless a saviour appears, the team doors will close and all equipment is for sale for a cool US$1million.

– MARY MENDEZ

17

NASCAR THE field is set for the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup after a gripping finale to the ‘regular season’ at Richmond.

During Saturday night’s race, 11 drivers were racing for eight spots, to complete the 12 entrants that make up The Chase final 10 races of championship. No one in the top 11 slots suffered issues so the battle was for the 12th slot, which was eventually seized by brian Vickers, at the expense of Kyle Busch.

The other shock exclusion was that of Matt Kenseth, who will miss the Chase for the first time after he finished a dismal 25th at Richmond. After starting out the season winning the Daytona 500 and the next race at California, his year fell to pieces.

The seeding, which allocated each driver with the same points, and bonuses for each race win, has shaken up the pecking order. With four wins this season, veteran Mark Martin moves to the top (from 10th) in his Hendrick Chevrolet for the championship battle. Martin With four runner-up positions in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 he has the experience, but at 50, time is not on his side. Without doubt, he is the best driver to have never won the Cup championship, to date.

Three wins, 13 top-fives and 18-top 10s see Tony Stewart second in points, just 10 behind Martin, but his Stewart Haas Racing team will have to put their game

18

face on after some sloppy results of late if Tony is to capture title number three.

Three-time Champ Jimmie Johnson’s three wins and nine top-fives see him third with the same points as Stewart and although his momentum is off compared to previous years, don’t rule out four in a row for the Hendrick driver.

Denny Hamlin, 28, will start the playoff’s fourth after two wins and nine top fives.

Keep your eye on this Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pilot the win at Richmond and some strong runs of late see momentum on his side and he could well be a sleeper for the title.

Kasey Kahne is fifth with two wins and five top fives, but consistent he hasn’t been. With the Richard Petty Motorsports merging with Yates Racing and Ford next year, this could put a damper on his title hopes.

Jeff Gordon scored just one win this season (his first at Texas) but a hefty 12 top five results including six seconds see him hunting a fifth championship. Don’t be surprised if he pulls it off one last time before his twilight years approach.

Seeded seventh is Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch, the second Dodge in the title chase with one win and seven top fives. However the 2004 champion will loose his crew chief Pat Tryson at the end of the season, which could dampen his chances.

First time ‘chaser’ Brian Vickers came on strong in the last few events securing Red Bull Racing’s first time in The Chase

NASCAR Media

The Chosen Few

with one win and four top fives. His performance in Richmond jumped him ahead of Matt Kenseth and into the 12th and final spot. Although RBR has improved this season, I see him as no better than eighth at year’s end.

Carl Edwards has had a disappointing season with zero in the win column along with his Roush Fenway team-mate Greg Biffle who comprise the only Ford’s in the field. The pair will both have to pull something off to contend for the title although Edwards can’t be counted out broken foot or not.

Ryan Newman will begin The Chase 10th in the second Stewart Haas-owned Chevy and this is the first time in three years he’s been back in title contention in what is essentially the fifth Hendrick-built and powered car.

Juan Pablo Montoya is the second first time ‘chaser’ and he will start the final ten events in 11th place 40 points from Martin.

The Columbian ex-F1 star is approaching the sport a little differently these days and it appears to be paying off with some consistent results, especially on the 1.5 mile speedways, but it has to be said he’s improved all-round. Not a title contender I see him no better than sixth.

The action starts this weekend at New Hampshire. Joey Logano won there in June, so a Gibbs car might just have an edge. Ten races remain, and there is plenty to play for …

– MARTIN D CLARK

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5 Minutes with ...

NICK PERCAT

Nick Percat wrapped up the 2009 Formula Ford title with a round to spare last GRANT ROWLEY weekend. Now, it’s onto the world of V8 Supercar ...

You had the speed to win last year’s title, but a few mistakes and things not going your way left you second in the title. What did you change for your attack this year?

I didn’t change the way I drove the car – we knew I had the speed, so it was about being a bit more relaxed and not letting other people fluster me or get under my skin.

I pretty much did my own thing this year and just went out there and focused on being up the front. If anyone wanted to get past, they’d have to pull their finger out.

Your team-mate Mitch Evans has given you a run for your

20

Marshall Cass

MOTORSPORT NEWS: You wrapped up the Australian Formula Ford Championship last weekend at Phillip Island with a round to spare. It’s something you’ve worked at for a few years. Is it a relief to tick this box?

NICK PERCAT: This is the exact result we wanted coming into this year.

At the start, I sat down with Craig Wilson (Walkinshaw Racing CEO) and set out a plan of what we wanted to achieve and we’ve ticked off pretty much every box that we set out to.

We’ve got the job done now, so the plan is to concentrate on the rest of my career.

My plan was to dominate the year and I think we’ve achieved that. If we went out and finished second or third, it wouldn’t be wrapped up yet.

We knew we had the speed, so it was about being a bit more relaxed and not letting other people fluster me or get under my skin. what nick percat did to turn around his fortunes in 2009 money over the past two rounds. For a young bloke, he’s turning out to be a very competent driver. What are you thoughts on his ability?

Mitch has come a long way in the last half of the season. He’s definitely got a lot of talent and by the way he’s going, I think he’ll end up wherever he wants to, whether it’s in Europe or V8 Supercar.

You wrapped up the title in Race 2, and to celebrate, you threw your car off the road in the damp Race 3! It’s the first time we’ve seen you do that all year!

Yeah, that was pretty interesting! I’m not quite sure what happened there. I came around Siberia and thought there was a bit more grip on offer. I think I paid the price for getting a bit greedy.

So, now is the time to talk about the future.

You’ve got an on-going relationship with Walkinshaw Racing. Does that mean your future is in V8 Supercars?

That’s what I want to do. I want to stay with Walkinshaws.

It’s not really an opportunity that I want to let go. They’ve got a path in mind for me, so I’ll sit down with them in the next few weeks to discuss the future and see where that ends up.

Ideally, it will be in V8 Supercars with those guys.

The international dream is over then?

It would have been good to go overseas and have a crack at Formula 1, but the deal I have with Walkinshaw, the best bet is to try and

stay here and get a drive in the main V8 Supercar Championship.

Besides your championship win, you’re also celebrating your 21st birthday today (Monday). How do you celebrate these two milestones?

Last night, I went out with the Sonic boys, Lucas Dumbrell, my girlfriend and my teammate from last year (Kristian Lindbom).

The feeling probably didn’t really set in until early this morning, so it feels pretty good.

I’m in Adelaide now to have dinner with the family and then tomorrow I’m having a bit of a celebration, going overseas with Lucas and a few other people for a bit of a post-season ceremony.

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

21

T

HE last stint between Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander is something that I indentify as an absolute highlight of the Phillip Island weekend.

What a lot of people probably didn’t realise is that we saw two of the best drivers in two of the absolute best pieces of machinery that this category has ever produced, racing on a knife’s edge around one of the best pieces of tarmac in the world – and they were fighting for the race lead. I’d say to the

people at home that if you’ve got it on tape, go back, have another look and appreciate it.

Those guys were at 11-tenths. It just does not get any better.

From a category point of view, there’s a message in there as well. We often talk about finding ways to improve the racing. What you need is cars on the track at the same time travelling at different speeds and because Lowndes’s car wasn’t good early in the stint, it used its tyres better later in the stint, so those two cars were actually travelling at different

speeds during the same stint – and look at the spectacle that it provided ...

The thing that this produced was an extremely tense finale.

Craig Lowndes is a good clean, fair racer, but he doesn’t mind giving his opponents a little touch-up, and Jamie Whincup, by his words, is acutely aware of that – and he was pretty nervous.

Watching it from a driver’s point of view, what Craig showed us was the way he is able to continually stick it down the inside but has the ability to

pull out of the pass if he has to.

He’d put his car right up to Garth’s rear door and get to a point where the brakes are up to about 900 degrees, his tyres giving him everything they’ve got. He had it up the inside of Garth about five or six times, without being able to pass, and without much more than a few rubs – in my opinion, that’s outstanding.

The feel through the brake pedal and feeling the lack of grip at that point is outstanding talent. When he’s doing that, it’s right at the end of his braking

Peter Bury

AB Letters

Superbike Superfan I was at Phillip Island at the weekend and I was pleased to see that the Superbikes were on the support program.

I am old enough to remember when they were a regular feature on what was called the Shell Series back then. In fact, I think that Troy Bayliss used to race in that series back then, maybe back in the mid-1990s.

This year, the fields were not as big as I remember, but can you tell me if the bikes will be a regular support category for the Supercars next year?

Trevor Jones Via email

22

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

ED: You are right, Bayliss did ride in the ASBK in those days, aboard a Suzuki.

As for next season, we hear that the ASBK promoters are in the process of sorting out next year’s arrangements, but it is too early to say whether they will race with the Supercars again.

Cheap Wine, etc Last week’s news that Cold Chisel will be playing at Homebush is great news!

I was thinking that Christmas is too close to the race, and that I would not be able to afford to do both. But now, I think that a ticket to the race will be just the thing. As a matter of fact, I was thinking

that a ticket to the race would make an ideal (early) Chrissie present?

Can you give me an idea about what the tickets will cost, and will the Chisel concert cost extra?

Name Withheld (so the wife is surprised!)

Via email ED: The Chisel concert is an integral part of the Sydney 500, so if you buy a race ticket, you get into the show – though we believe that there is a limit of 22,000 fans to the concert for H&S reasons.

Ticketek is doing the tickets, and check here for details; http://www.v8supercarevents.com.au/ sydney/default.htm

opinion

zone, where the car has been consumed and used. I thought that was fantastic.

In some ways it’s a shame that Lowndes didn’t win. I had a look at the tyre that cost him the win at the podium and he’s had a couple of lock-ups and that’s pinched the very inside edge of the tyre. As a consequence, it had started delaminating all the way around. When I put my hand under the car at the end

of the race, it was in quite bad shape, so he did pretty well to get it home.

Not that you can take anything away from Tander.

When Craig passed him at Turn Three – for what looked to be the lead of the race – it showed me why Garth Tander is always a championship contender. He knew if he were braver than he was smart, he would have been running in the greasy line.

If you go whistling down there, you end up in the boonies.

It would have been very hard for him to bail out of it, but to his credit, he did, and to me, that’s why he’s capable of winning championships.

This all goes to prove why these two cars and these four drivers are not only leading the championship, but making the rest of the field look third-best.

opinion Mark Larkham Pitlane commentator And this is a clear warning for all Ford teams next year. We may have seen these guys battling at the front in different brands at Phillip Island, but next year, you’re going to see them battling in Holdens for a lot of next year ...

BATTLE TO REMEMBER eLETTER OF THE WEEK I have thought for some time about the dangers of Turn 1 at Philip Island, and my worst fears were realised with McConville’s off at that point on Sunday.

I cannot believe that one of the fastest corners in Australia has nothing to stop a wayward vehicle recrossing the road at another part of the circuit. How in these days of track safety can something like this be overlooked?

Thankfully no-one was hurt and there

can be something done about this before someone does.

Brent Edwards via Email ED: We believe that the Island track has had a substantial number of upgrades of late, including the area you mentioned.

Safety is always a high priority, and you can bet that any changes will have been designed and implemented with the approval of CAMS.

Brent Edwards 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

V8 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACE 17, L&H 500, PHILLIP ISLAND

Don’t Blink

24

race

Marshall Cass

Once again, Phillip Island was a showdown between TeamVodafone and HRT – and on the last lap, everything changed.

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports 25

John Morris

Y

OU might expect a 500 kilometre endurance race – on a tyre sensitive circuit like Phillip Island – to be won through well calculated strategy.

But nope, this year’s L&H 500 was decided by a good old fashioned dog fight and some last lap drama.

On paper, it might seem like a boring race; the race favourites Garth Tander and Will Davison leading home the equal race favourites Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.

But, like a football match between the two top teams being decided by a goal, this was a cracker – the four best drivers in the game going at it for 500 kays. Cars #888 and #2 ran exactly the same driver strategy (Whincup and Davison started, then handed over the reigns to Lowndes and Tander on lap 54), never pitted more than a lap apart, and were very rarely separated by much more than a second here and there.

That culminated into a thrilling final stint, after each car had made its final stop on laps 82 and 83. As was typical during the race, the HRT car was super quick on full tanks, and with Lowndes complaining of a lack of balance and a lack of shift cut, Tander reeled him in soon after the stops. On lap 87,

26

Tander made the move, taking the lead for the first time down into MG corner.

Tander pulled a small gap, but then, also typical throughout the race, the TeamVodafone car started to come good with as it settled into the stint. By lap 88, Lowndes was starting to apply the pressure, something he continued to do until a thrilling passing move on the run to Honda corner on lap 98. It seemed like a game sealer.

But, with a lap to go, the game changed again. Lowndes’ front right tyre had started to vibrate with a few laps to go, and went close to exploding on the final lap. Tander fired past at Honda, taking a remarkable race win.

“With about three laps to go I had to save fuel, but when I started the last lap the team got on the radio and told me to go as hard as I could and see what happened,” Tander said.

“I knew [Craig would] defend at Honda, so I actually thought it would be later in the lap when I’d slip by. I’m sure it looked good on TV.” ”It is a bit of a shame,” added Lowndes.

“At about five laps to go there was more understeer on left handers. With a lap to go I

couldn’t turn left, really. We couldn’t defend because there are too many left handers [at Phillip Island].”

Behind all the commotion, pole-sitters Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards raced to a lonely third place. The car lost most of the time to the leaders early in the race, although a roll centre change at the final stop turned it into one of the quickest cars going. Still, it was too little, too late.

“They had raw speed today,” said Winterbottom of cars #888 and #2, “and we were that little bit behind.”

Jim Beam Racing’s James Courtney and Steve Johnson were fourth, making the results read like an exact Bathurst form guide …

As usual in the longer races, there were some hard luck stories. The first was Dean Fiore and Troy Bayliss; their alternator shed a belt on the warm up lap, meaning the threetime World Superbike champ didn’t even get to turn a racing wheel.

Next to go was the Wilson Security Racing entry of Fabian Coulthard and Michael Patrizi. They started fourth, and looked as fast as their front-running company, before the motor let go in a big way on just the fifth lap.

race

Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

Fight to the end: Tander chased hard, and it paid off on the last lap in a fight against Lowndes, above. The fight for the minors was entertaining, with Ingall chasing Kelly, chasing Courtney, right.

Wild Ride: Lee Holdsworth was out early in the race after a scary ride off the track at Turn 1, left.

The Jim Beams showed speed to burn, with James Courtney and Steve Johnson putting themselves in considerations for Bathurst, bottom left.

Mark Skaife returned to the cockpit in the Sprint Gas Commodore, but he left the bulk of the driving to Greg Murphy, below right.

John Morris Phil Williams

Peter Bury

27

Driver A Race

The New Black

Todd Kelly took his team’s first win with a strong performance TODD Kelly was back in the race winner’s circle at Phillip Island – before the L&H 500 had even begun.

Kelly took his Jack Daniel’s racer to victory in the first of the 14-lap qualifying races, backing up the strong pace he showed in the qualifying session for the qualifying race, in which he was second. It was technically the first race win for Kelly Racing, although the race is officially an extension of qualifying, not a race.

But whether it was a race win or a provisional pole position, it didn’t come easily. Having jumped surprise pole-sitter Paul Dumbrell at the start, Kelly sprinted into a comfortable early lead. Trouble was,

Triple Eight had tuned whatever problems the lead TeamVodafone entry had suffered in practice and the qualifying sessions (as opposed to qualifying races), and Craig Lowndes was on an absolute charge from eighth on the grid.

By Lap 3 Lowndes was third; by lap four he was second. It seemed that hauling in the Jack Daniel’s car and taking the 50 points was going to be a formality for #888. But Kelly held his nerve, controlling the gap for middle stint of the race, and withstanding the pressure when Lowndes had a final push with just a couple of laps remaining.

Will Davison was third, right where he started and just ahead of Shane van Gisbergen. The Giz’s drive was as impressive as Lowndes’, the SBR youngster storming from 12th on the grid to

fourth place, each passing move in van Gisbergen’s typically flamboyant style.

Russell Ingall was fifth, ahead of Dumbrell, David Reynolds, and impressive part-timers Dean Canto, Steve Owen and Allan Simonsen.

The race should have been more about the Jim Beam Racing cars, with Steven Johnson and Warren Luff starting fourth and fifth respectively. But both cars stuttered off the line, losing a bunch of places. Johnson opted to pit, taking that obligation off James Courtney for the second qualifying race.

Other high profile entries to get the one compulsory pit-stop over and done with in the ‘A’ driver qualifying race included Cameron McConville, Mark Skaife, and, very importantly, Steven Richards. The lead FPR car finished the first race 14th, safe in the knowledge that Mark Winterbottom would have clean sailing from the front of the gird in the ‘B’ driver qualifying race ...

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Peter Bury

28

race

Dirk Klynsmith

Driver B Race

Winter Wonderland

FPR showed a fast car, and a clear plan, pays dividends was an eventful race for Tander, who was forced into contact with Alex Davison at the stops when Stone Brothers released car #9 into the side of the HRT car.

Just to make the second qualifying race even tougher for Kelly Racing, a couple of the team’s other cars crashed into each other. Nathan Pretty – who was out-performed by virgin international Ben Collins in qualifying, clashed with Tony Ricciardello, leaving both cars out.

But they weren’t the only team-mates to rub doors; Sprint Gassers Greg Murphy and Jason Bargwanna spent the first couple of laps side-byside, Murphy eventually spinning as a result of contact.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

On Edge: Mark Winterbottom stormed to a Race B win, after co-driver Steven Richards took the mandatory pitstop in Race A. In the same race, David Besnard brought back some memories with a fine fifth place.

Todd Kelly held out Craig Lowndes for the first win, opposite.

Marshall Cass

NEVER has a pole position looked so convincing.

Mark Winterbottom hadn’t a worry in the world when the second qualifying race started.

His FPR team-mate Steve Richards had looked fast in the first qualifying race, and taken the hit of the single compulsory stop, meaning ‘Frosty’ had pole, a fast car, and no trip down pit lane to concern himself with.

And he made serious hay, taking the lead at the start and leaving the field for dead. As a result, he and Richards were awarded pole position for the main race.

Their strongest fight was going to come from the Jack Daniel’s car of Rick and Todd Kelly, after Todd had won the first qualifying race. Anything better than 14th, with the extra factor of a pit-stop, would have been put the Kellys on pole, but by the ninth lap of the race there was heartache for the men in black. A part of the exhaust worked its way loose, creating a tail of sparks for a couple of laps before the officials called them into the pits. Rick rejoined, and while he finished last the pair still earned themselves sixth on the grid, but it was a big case of ‘what might have been’.

Fabian Coulthard was second for the race – right where he started – but never looked capable of running with Frosty. Still, #111 was left with fourth on the grid, a worthy result for Wilson Security Racing.

Jamie Whincup didn’t seem to get the same pace out of #888 as his team-mate did in the first race, but 18th was enough to get the lead Vodafone car on the front row for the main race.

Garth Tander was 19th, again enough for third for he and Will Davison in the lead HRT entry. It

29

Qualifying: Nothing beats Track Time

What happened? I had my eyes shut opinion

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN WHEN properly understood, the qualifying format for the L&H 500 is actually very good.

The concept of racing for a grid position is great. At the end of the day, as exciting as some punters might find watching a balls-out quali lap, most of the race-going fans want to see racing. And the two-race qualifying format provides plenty of that.

It also gives Saturday some real substance. The single race format races can leave Saturday a little dull, once the shoot-out is done and dusted.

Under the L&H 500 system, there are two qualifying sessions, and then two races – heaps of track time, heaps of door-to-door racing. The fans win big time.

The problem is, it is undoubtedly hard to follow for fair weather supporters.

I mean, it must have been hard work for the general news services out there. Even for us, writing the qualifying report is hard – because Mark Winterbottom essentially started from pole position after qualifying, to win the qualifying race, which means he qualified on pole for the race. Well that makes sense. No wonder Friday night’s edition of Sports Tonight led off with Robbie Maddison throwing a MINI off the road instead of the qualifying race results …

It does actually make sense, but you need to understand the sport on a fairly intimate level to get it. Still, the positives outweigh the negatives. Because nothing beats track time.

30

IT’S probably the wildest ride we’ve seen in the V8 Supercar Series this year – and it’s not something that I like having my name attached to.

When I climbed over Steve Owen’s wheel at the end of the front straight, I hadn’t actually braked at that stage so I was still wide-open throttle when it shot in the air. Then I tried to brake and it ripped the front brake line so it only had rear brakes – that’s why I didn’t slow down in a hurry.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone ever cross the circuit like I did (going across the grass from turn one to the straight between turns three/four). I shut my eyes at the point that the car went across the track. It leapt across the bitumen.

But it was an incident that just didn’t need to happen.

Steve Owen is obviously trying to prove some point. He was blocking down the inside for five laps and I got a good run on him down the front straight, pulled out of the slipstream, got alongside him and he started driving down the inside.

We still had 100 laps to go ... for P15.

I’ve had a couple of run-ins with Steve over time. I don’t think he’s high on my ‘mate drivers’ at the moment ...

An Endless Webb of Lu

WARREN Luff was the highest-placed nonregular finisher at Phillip Island last weekend, placing sixth with Fujitsu V8 Series leader Jonathon Webb.

The last time Luff made a V8 start was at Bathurst last year with Jim Beam Racing, and right from the first practice session at Phillip Island last weekend, you could be forgiven for thinking that the New South Welshman was a series regular.

But what was the key to his fine form? It’s not like Luff is new at this game. He’s been in every endurance race since the start of this decade.

What’s changed?

“For whatever reason, these cars seem to suit my

driving style and really get the most out of the car and the most out of myself,” he says of the 2009spec T8-built rigs.

“Sometimes you get that really good blend where everything clicks and gels together.

Obviously we’ve got fantastic guys here which makes my job a little easier. Whatever it is, these cars agree with me.”

Last year, Luff drove with the Jim Beams in the team’s six-year old Falcons and he recognizes that these new cars are a major step forward.

“These cars are a quantum leaps ahead of the cars that I drove last season. Not that those cars were bad, but these cars are just that little bit

race

PERSONAL CAM McCONVILLE Team BOC

Dirk Klynsmith

uff

better, a little bit easier and a lot more consistent.”

Now for Luff, it’s time to focus on Bathurst.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend, I couldn’t have asked for any better,” he said.

“We’ve been right towards the top of the time sheets and our race pace showed that, come Bathurst, Jonathon and I should be a force to be reckoned with.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

THINGS can move pretty quickly in the television world, so after some changes in recent races, we kind of had to get used to the new set-up on Seven.

After some shuffles caused by his Dancin’ commitments, Matty White was back on deck, and Mark Skaife has other things to do that involved the #51 Sprint Gas Commodore. So the dynamic looked and sounded a little different to recent races, and it took some adjusting to. White was a little behind his usual polish on Saturday but sounded more like he was back in stride come Sunday.

There were some glitches, but nothing major, and some tricks. I particularly noted that the Sunday ‘cross’ from White and Neil Crompton at the desk to Skaife in the Sprint Gas garage. Having been in the garage, I reckon that the distance between the two points was not much more than a couple of metres!

Also, there was a timing issue when Briony Ingerson was showing us Leanne

FROM THE COUCH PHIL BRANAGAN Tander’s seat insert – or rather, not showing us. Given the immediate nature of televised sport, not everything that is intended to go to air actually does. One to save for Bathurst, perhaps?

And, speaking of Bathurst ... Some complain about the fact that a V8 Supercar race starts ‘live’ and then lags a behind, then a little more, then a little more. The idea is that the ad breaks do not interfere with the actual races, and I do not argue with that.

But ... Bathurst is a sacred site, and that race should be sacrosanct. Please, keep it live all the way through to lap 161.

Anything else would be short-changing the fans.

Otherwise, nothing to complain about.

And, Mark Larkham; you naughty boy ...

V8 Supercar | RACE 17, L&H 500, PHILLIP ISLAND Pos # Driver 1 2 W.Davison/G.Tander 2 888 C.Lowndes/J.Whincup 3 6 S.Richards/M.Winterbottom 4 17 J.Courtney/S.Johnson 5 7 R.Kelly/T.Kelly 6 18 W.Luff/J.Webb 7 39 R.Ingall/T.Slade 8 22 C.Baird/P.Dumbrell 9 5 D.Canto/L.Youlden 10 9 A.Davison/S.Van Gisbergen 11 51 G.Murphy/M.Skaife 12 10 S.Owen/S.Price 13 34 D.Besnard/G.Ritter 14 11 J.Perkins/D.Wood 15 55 T.D’Alberto/A.Thompson 16 24 A.Priaulx/D.Reynolds 17 4 D.Gaunt/J.McIntyre 18 15 B.Collins/N.Pretty 19 333 L.Tander/D.Wall 20 13 A.Fisher/D.Sieders 21 88 A.Simonsen/J.Thompson 22 16 M.McNally/T.Ricciardello 23 21 D.Assaillit/B.Lowe 24 23 T.Douglas/S.Walter DNF 25 J.Bright/K.Reindler DNF 14 A.Jones/B.Jones DNF 67 O.Kelly/P.Morris DNF 3 J.Bargwanna/M.Noske DNF 33 M.Caruso/L.Holdsworth DNF 8 Cameron McConville DNF 111 Fabian Coulthard DNS 12 D.Fiore/T.Bayliss

Team/Car Race Time Q 1 Toll HRT Commodore VE 3:09:47.8436 3 19 TeamVodafone Falcon FG 3:09:50.5165 2 18 Ford Performance Racing Falcon FG 3:09:58.1831 15 1 Jim Beam Falcon FG 3:10:01.1871 19 4 Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE 3:10:39.8538 1 30 Jim Beam Falcon FG 3:10:47.7280 17 9 Supercheap Auto Commodore VE 3:10:56.3564 5 23 Toll HRT Commodore VE 3:10:59.2325 6 24 Ford Performance Racing Falcon FG 3:11:02.7487 8 25 SP Tools Falcon FG 3:11:05.1013 4 20 Sprint Gas Commodore VE 3:11:05.8291 21 13 Autobarn Commodore VE 112 laps 9 22 Valvoline GRM Commodore VE 112 laps 22 5 Dodo Commodore VE 112 laps 23 12 Bottle-O Commodore VE 112 laps 26 7 Bundaberg Red Commodore VE 112 laps 7 28 Irwin Racing Falcon FG 112 laps 20 8 Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE 111 laps 13 DNF Wilson Security Falcon BF 111 laps 27 17 Jesus Racing Falcon BF 111 laps 29 15 TeamVodafone Falcon FG 111 laps 10 26 Hi-Tec Oils Commodore VE 101 laps 12 DNF Fujitsu Falcon BF 93 laps 31 14 Greg Murphy Racing Commodore VE 92 laps 28 16 Fujitsu Falcon FG 92 laps 30 DNF WOW Commodore VE 80 laps 11 27 Supercheap Auto Commodore VE 62 laps EXC 21 Sprint Gas Commodore VE 46 laps 25 6 Valvoline GRM Commodore VE 31 laps 18 11 Team BOC Commodore VE 20 laps 16 10 Wilson Security Falcon FG 4 24 3 Triple F Commodore VE 14 29

Fastest lap: Whincup on lap 2, 1:34.8224.

Phil Williams

Points: Whincup 2254, W. Davison 2083, G. Tander 1738, Lowndes 1725, Johnson 1590, Winterbottom 1574, Courtney 1370, Ingall 1364, R. Kelly 1336, Holdsworth 1310, S. Richards 1253, Dumbrell 1218, Caruso 1175, Coulthard/Van Gisbergen 1170, T. Kelly 1095, J. Richards 1064, McConville 1062, A. Davison 1038, Bright 903, Reynolds 880, Murphy 807, Patrizi 706, D’Alberto 691, Slade 690, Perkins 653, Bargwanna 644, Fiore 519, Wood 452, Marshall 351, McNally 231, Luff/Webb 182, etc.

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MINI CHALLENGE ROUND 5 – PHILLIP ISLAND THIS time, no one will be able to strip Nathan Caratti of his maiden MINI Challenge round win, or will they?

The West Australian was denied of the round win at the last round at Sandown due to a technical infringement after dominating at the meeting. At PhillIp Island last weekend, he scored pole position, took all three race wins and totally dominated proceedings. It should have gone down in the record books as his first round victory

in the one-make category, but at postweekend scrutineering, it’s alleged that the MINI of Caratti’s did not contain a catalytic converter. The results will be heard in a meeting with CAMS at the next round at Surfers Paradise.

While Caratti was the first to cross the finish line in all three races, there was another major story unfolding. DecoRug Racing’s Grant Denyer shadowed Caratti in each of the three races, finishing second.

The big upshot for Denyer was that he’s now the leader of the championship after his team-mate Paul Stokell had an Island weekend to forget. Stokell failed to finish Race 1 with an electrical problem, and didn’t add any points to his series score when he shot off the road with an ABS issue.

He scampered up the field in the final race, only to be involved in a clash, dropping to ninth. Before Phillip Island, Stokell had a sizeable series lead. Now, with just three

Cat Fight coming up

The results of the races on the track were clear – but happenings after the race will take some time to be decided. GRANT ROWLEY reports

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race

rounds remaining at Surfers Paradise, Barbagallo and Homebush, he has lost the title lead for the first time this year, setting up a mega finale.

Former Fujitsu V8 Series driver Robert Jones made a huge impression in his debut in the class. The Recar-backed driver finished third for the round after taking third place in all three races. He was involved in some panel-damaging racing

in the final event but kept it on the track to secure an overall podium on debut.

Chris Alajajian finished fourth overall (including being excluded from Race 1).

Scott Bargwanna was fifth ahead of Beric Lynton and Scott Manson.

UberStar driver and regular stunt bike star Robbie Maddison improved over the weekend, taking eighth place in the final race after adapting to the style of racing

quickly over the weekend.

Only 12 cars entered the Phillip Island – disappointing on all accounts – but there are plans in place for the class to boost its grid numbers with the upcoming ‘MINI Roadshow’ being run at Sandown, Oran Park and Queensland Raceay, plus the confirmation of the dual driver races at Barbagallo in November (see news pages).

Marshall Cass

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FORMULA FORD ROUND 7 – PHILLIP ISLAND

The Dream Factory Chaz Mostert broke through for his maiden round win at Phillip Island – but it was Nick Percat who sealed the 2009 title. By ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN NICK Percat wrapped up the 2009 Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship at Phillip Island last weekend, but despite winning two of the three races, he lost the round to Chaz Mostert.

The first couple of races were formalities for Percat and the Sonic Motor Racing Services squad. In dry conditions for Race 1, Percat and team-mate Mitch Evans locked out the front row, and spent the first couple of laps slipstreaming together to leave the rest of the field for dead. The gap was only 0.1s in Percat’s favour at the finish, but with a chance to lock away the title a round early on the line, and a huge gap back to the rest of the field, it’s hard to imagine Evans was ever going to force the issue …

Still, the pair put on a good show, particularly in semi-wet conditions for Race 2. Again Percat and Evans worked together

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to gap the field in a matter of corners, although this time Evans had a serious crack at the lead coming into MG on the final lap.

Percat held on around the outside of the final turn – in greasy conditions – to take the race win, and the title, with a round left to run on the Gold Coast next month.

“It’s such a relief to finally secure the championship,” Percat said.

“We’ve worked really hard this year for this moment, so it’s a great reward for the team.

I learnt a lot after coming so close last year – just to drive smarter and the importance of consistently earning points.”

As soon as the title was won, Percat had his first proper lapse in concentration of the year. Leading a wet/dry final race, Percat was completely devoid of pressure, with Evans having already dropped back thanks to losing fourth gear. But a couple of corners after a Safety Car restart – following

an all-Minda Motorsport Ben Walter, Nick McBride and Caleb Rayner crash – Percat drove off the road, dropping right back into the field.

What followed was one of the best passages of motor racing of the year. Scott Pye inherited the lead, but he too threw it off the road. That left fellow CAMS Rising Star Nathan Morcom in the lead, a first in his national FFord career. Within a lap the third Rising Star, Luke Ellery, stormed into the lead, having spun while behind the Safety Car. He held the lead until the final lap, when, on an almost dry circuit, Mostert stormed past at Honda, taking his first race win of the year.

“Finally, [I] bagged a win,” Mostert said.

“It’s been a long time coming after so many could of, should of, and almosts.

Hopefully I can keep it going when we get to the Gold Coast.”

race

Phil Williams Marshall Cass

Fighting like Percats and Perdogs: Percat and Evan led the way but mayhem in Race 3 saw Mostert, main pic, come through to take the round.

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ANDRA PRO SERIES FUCHS AUSTRALIAN NATIONALS

Upset Nationals

There were stories of hard luck, triumph and surprise at the 2009 Fuchs Australian Nationals

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race

Dirk Klynsmith

John Bosher

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John Bosher John Bosher

Winners and bangers: From Top, Dean Oakey, Robin Judd and Kym Stevens were all pronounced Australian Champions with victories in their respective classes. Right, Steve ‘Pommie’ Read took his first Nationals crown.

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John Bosher

T

HE 2009 Fuchs Australian Nationals was run and won last weekend at Western Sydney International Dragway with some upsets, tight race finishes and records established, leaving some observers to dub the meeting the ‘Upset Nationals.’

In Top Fuel, Steve Read turned around a disastrous 2008 Nationals effort (where he crashed at over 500kmh) to become this year’s Champion.

Read won after his win in a side-by-side 4.779s to Martin Stamatis 4.879s.

“I have to thank my crew and our supporters for making it back,” Read said.

“We did come in claiming we could win, but all the same it’s a fantastic effort to actually achieve it.”

While Read was the victor, there were some hard luck stories. Bob Shepherd had a spectacular blow out (see pic previous page), while Phil

Lamattina blew a tyre after pushing out a head gasket and the subsequent debris blew one of his rear tyres.

Dean Oakey carried the ‘upset Nationals’ moniker to the fore, producing a popular Top Alcohol victory over Wayne Newby, 5.628s to 5.709s. It was Oakey’s return to ANDRA Pro Series Top Alcohol racing, and he did it in style.

In Top Doorslammer, Robin Judd finally turned the tables on his West Australian rival

John Zappia to take a big win. It took the quickest side-by-side Doorslammer race in the world (5.850s to 5.875s) for Judd to finally turn the tables on his fellow West Australian.

“That little (Zap’s) Rat car has been beating us up pretty bad for some time, it took a race like that to finally beat him,” Judd said.

“I have to thank Stuart Rowland and the entire team for this win.”

In Top Bike, the pre-event

race

John Morris/Mpix

pundits fancied the like of Chris Matheson, Leonard Azzopardi and Jay Upton, but that trio all fell short to the superb consistency of Kim Stevens on his Nitro Harley Davidson.

Pro Stock racing at the 2009 Fuchs Australian Nationals was as good as it gets in ANDRA Pro Series action. A 16-car race day field was justified in qualifying with tight spreads and what would have been the quickest field in history from positions one through eight on the

qualifying sheet.

Pro Stock stepped up the intensity on Sunday, with upsets, hole-shot wins aplenty and excruciatingly tight finishes, before Nick Xeriakias upset the field to secure the win.

While there were some memorable moments in all categories, the 2009 Fuchs Australian Nationals might be remembered for the true return to the ANDRA Pro Series for Pro Stock Motorcycle.

A full field fronted up for this

event and in tribute to the fierce racing, Maurice Allen managed to carve a path to the final after qualifying in position eight earlier.

“We changed gearboxes overnight and borrowed one from Trevor Birrell and that really turned our team around,” explained Allen.

However, it was fellowreturnee Andrew Badcock on the Birrell bike that delivered when it counted – just – with a four thousandths of a second

win margin over Allen in an epic final.

In the Rocket Allstars Sportsman Drag Racing, Murray O’Connor took the win in the final of Competition Eliminator, producing a 6.167s in the final, with the Supercharged Falcon running in AA/AP trim. O’Connor actually lost the race though to Victorian Jason Maggs.

The next ANDRA Pro Series event at Western Sydney Dragway is the Summernationals next February.

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 26 – CHEVY ROCK & ROLL 400, RICHMOND, VA

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American Express Denny Hamlin had never won at home in Virginia – until last Satuday night, which also set up an exciting Chase.

By MARTIN D CLARK

All images: Toyota

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A

NYONE needing further proof that motor racing is a tough business only had to watch the Richmond Sprint Cup race on Saturday night.

Denny Hamlin won. It was his second win of the season, and his first win on home soil was wellreceived, given that he is from nearby Chesterfield, VA – about 25km away. It was something of a revenge victory; in the Spring race of ’08, Hamlin led 381 of the 400 laps, only to be robbed of the win by a flat tyre.

“These are the times I get so excited,” said a remarkable unexcited-looking Hamlin. “I made sure that I did everything I did at Pocono; I only wore this hat two times, the other time was at Pocono.

I made sure I had my gold hat shields on. Everything from Pocono.”

Hamlin deserved to win; he was fast throughout the race win, and looked in top for. But in the latter half of the race, he was not the story. Neither was Kurt Busch, who finished second, or Jeff Gordon, who was third.

The story of the race was the Bull and Busch story. Pre-race, four drivers were locked into the chase; 11 drivers were in contention for the other eight spot and, with Kyle Busch recognised by many as the fastest man in the sport, he looked a good bet to make it into the dozen drivers who will score series points over the last 10 races.

Matt Kenseth was also in contention to make the Chase, as he has done each year since its inception in 2004, but he quickly fell away, leaving the Toyota of

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Brian Vickers to fight it out with the Gibbs. Fight they did, and Busch took the advantage in the final round of pitstops and picked off Clint Bowyer to finish the race fifth.

But Vickers was two slots back, and beat Busch into the Chase by eight points.

Not long ago, the two were making less-than-kind remarks about each others’ driving. Postwar, there were no such antics, Busch congratulating his rival in the media centre with a handshake.

“We’ll live to see another day, we’ll go on and race the rest of the year,” Busch said. “It’s not just one night.

It’s a slew of bad races.”

“We picked a good night to figure this place out,” Vickers smiled.

Poleman Mark Martin was fourth and leads the field into the Chase, while Sam Hornish Jr was eighth.

Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman rounded out the 10.

Marcos Ambrose was 22nd after starting 1 "It was an up and down weekend for us but not too bad a day really," said Ambrose.

“We worked really hard on it in practice, then had a surprisingly good qualifying,” he said.

“For the race we started out not too bad, but lost our way a little in the middle there.”

And, just to rub salt in into Klye’s wounds – though that was surely not his intention – Hamlin is confident that his Joe Gibbs racer will be a factor in the last 10 events.

“They better watch us,” he vowed, taking of the Chase.

“I am telling you, this team is dangerous.”

Not what Kyle wanted to hear, probably, at this point ...

Edwards wins by one foot NATIONWIDE

SPRINT CUP | CHEVY ROCK & ROLL 400 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 2 24 5 18 33 83 77 29 39

Denny Hamlin Kurt Busch Jeff Gordon Mark Martin Kyle Busch Clint Bowyer Brian Vickers Sam Hornish Jr Kevin Harvick Ryan Newman

Toyota Dodge Chevy Chevy Toyota Chevy Toyota Dodge Chevy Chevy

Joe Gibbs/FedEx Penske/Miller Lite Hendrick/National Guard Hendrick/Carquest Joe Gibbs/M&Ms Childress/Cheerios Red Bull Racing Penske/Mobil 1 Childress/Shell Stewart Haas/US Army

Q3 13 7 1 8 18 6 33 19 21

NASCAR | DRIVER’S points Martin 5040, Stewart/Johnson 5030, Hamlin/Kahne 5020, Gordon/ Busch/ Vickers 5010, Edwards/Newman/Montoya/Biffle 5000, Ambrose 2830 (15th).

Guitar Hero II: Denny Hamlin was a happy man after winning on home turf, opposite. Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch, top, stage a battle for the final spot in the Chase. It was a happy Red Bull Racing crew when Vickers made it by two race positions.

Marcos Ambrose, above, carried some charitable colours on the weekend, but finished in the 20ths with some handling hiccups.

CARL Edwards took win number four in the Nationwide Series this year with a late victory over Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch at Richmond Raceway.

Edwards celebrated without his customary back flip due a broken right foot sustained when playing Frisbee two weeks ago.

Edwards started 39th due to spark plug issues in qualifying and took the lead from Harvick on pit road with 26 laps remaining.

Prior to that he and Harvick had battled for the lead, but local star Denny Hamlin headed the most laps (101) until he got loose outside Harvick during a superb battle.

The pair made contact almost spinning, but Hamlin’s left front tyre was cut and his race was run with 200 of the 250 laps completed, he would end his day a frustrating 17th.

Rookie Trevor Bayne continues to impress with seventh while Steve Wallace finally recorded a trouble-free finish in ninth.

– MARTIN D CLARK

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Ricciardo is the Champ

FORMULA 3 Daniel Ricciardo secured the British F3 title on Sunday in the Algarve allowing him to head to Brands Hatch this weekend pressure-free.

Race 1 fell to Invitation Class driver Jules Bianchi, the Formula 3 Euro Series leader making the best of a rapid lights sequence to vault into the lead from Renger van der Zande. However,

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the race was run in cooler conditions than qualifying and some drivers were struggling for grip as a result. One was Valterri Bota,s who spun and was collected by class returnee Sam Bird. That brought out a Safety Car and although van der Zande led on the restart, he ran over debris left by the Bottas crash and was powerless to stop Bianchi powering past. Bianchi’s team-mate Esteban Guttierez

took second with Ricciardo third to move him a step closer to the title.

Ricciardo and Bianchi clashed on the opening lap of the second race with the Perth driver suffering a damaged front wing. Ricciardo took seventh but was the fourth of the British series points-scorers which was enough to secure the title.

– DAVID ADDISON

race

Variety rules at Mallala SOUTH AUSTRALIA ADELAIDE’S racing faithful were treated to a healthy variety of Motorsport for the third round of the South Australian Motor Racing Championship Series at Mallala last weekend.

The Historic Touring Cars category drew the strongest sedan count with 18 competitors.

Graham Jarrett’s Chevrolet Camaro proved too strong, claiming three wins and a second while the Ford Rallye Sprint of Sergio Deluca claimed a win and a second. Mark Blyfield claimed three thirds and a second in the final.

The 16 other Improved Production competitors were all out-paced by Tony Wallis with his Boostworx Mazda 808 proving to be the dominate weapon, topping the qualifying sheets and clean sweeping all four events.

Stratton Limberis claimed three thirds and Shaun Dunns a single runner up placing aboard his Mazda RX3.

Saloon Cars combined with the MGF Series competitors. Wayne King showed the field a clean pair of wheels to claim all four races. Peter

Holmes was the best of the Commodore brigade claiming three seconds and a third while Chistopher Aberley won the MGs. The Sports Cars, Sedans and Tarmac Rally section saw Simon Gardiner and Keith Wong each trading two wins and two seconds.

The HQ Holdens saw Neil Corey claim an unbeaten record over the four events. Graham Mason also claimed a succession of seconds, almost winning the final event before being caught out by the rain.

Twenty two Formula Vee’s were dominated by Asher Johnston, taking four victories while Bo Jensen tried his best to take up the challenge, netting him a clean sweep of seconds. Neil Richardson claimed two wins in the 1200cc category.

Roger I’Anson remained undefeated in class to claim the Formula Ford (Duratec) category.

Michael O’Donnell and Matt Roesler each claimed second and third respectively. Luban Trbovic powered home to three class wins and Jesse Wakeman a single in the Sports category.

– PARIS CHARLES

sutton-images.com

Hays goes the double

Ash Budd

Queensland driver Chris Hays secured the Junior Clubman double at the Junior Sprint Classic held at the Hume International Raceway in Puckapunyal on the weekend.

Chris fought of a hard charge by West Australian Adam Majoram to take the win in the Champion of Champions race by 0.083s. Other winners at the Juniors Only meeting were Lauchy McHugh, Liam Morey, Luke Walker, Michael Brennan,Shayla Golding, Jaymee Frampton, Thomas Bennet and local driver Mason Thomas.

– ASH BUDD

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rear of grid

Holden’s Time Machines

FORTY years is a long time in motor racing, and some cars just get better with age.

Take this Holden. No, not the shiny Holden Racing Team Commodore VE on the right, but the HT Monaro next to it. This is a significant car; it is the first Holden to be backed by the company, in

this case, racing for the Holden Dealer Team.

It was 40 years ago – today, kids, today – that Spencer Martin and Kevin Bartlett raced the Munro GTS350 in the (wait for it) Datsun Sandown 3 Hour at Sandown Raceway. The car crashed and burned, and Ford took a 1-2-3 in the race, which

set up a spectacular Bathurst 500 a few weeks later. [For more on that race, grab Motorsport News at your newsagent next Wednesday, September 24.]

The HDT Monaro, now owned by Rob Coulson, was driven to Calder for the appearance, just as it was all those years ago. Can’t do that these days ...

Odd Spot

John Morris

WE could not let this go without a comment.

Phillip Island’s MINI Challenge races might have lacked huge grids, but they made up for it in Guinness Book of Records-style firsts. It seems that there was

an accident between Brendan Cook and Brendon Cook – who, to avoid confusion, races under the moniker BJ Cook.

One is a Queenslander, one from New South Wales, and they are not related to each other.

We had headlines, but we could not decide between ‘Too Many Cooks’, ‘Your Goose is Cooked’ or ‘Cooking up a Storm’.

Confused? It could be worse. Imagine if they drove together at Bathurst, for the Stone Brothers – or Brad Jones Racing ...

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