Motorsport eNews Issue 124 - September 29-October 6, 2009 by V8 Sleuth

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Issue No. 124 September 29 - October 6 2009

s t s e t t h g i Br FALCON CR P and what

r u t u f e h t r o f n t h is c o u l d m e a

Show us your colours new bathurst warpaint for GRM, Kelly

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

Australasian

The ‘A’ Team

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MD / Publisher

Chris Lambden publisher@mnews.com.au

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

Photographers Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Marshall Cass, John Morris/Mpix, AF1 Images, James Smith, Peter Bury, Neil Blackbourn, Chris Carter, Coopers Photography, Geoff Gracie, Paris Charles, Neil Hammond, Joel Strickland, Ash Budd, Mike Patrick (UK)

Issue No. 124 | 29 Sept - 05 Oct 2009

news 4 Bright Switch

6 Mix ‘n’ Match 9 Battling the Best 12 Danica’s Done Deal 17 Caps Lock

chat 18 5 minutes with ... opinion 21 Branagan race 22 Good/Bad News

26 NASCAR 30 Rotax Nationals 34 World Superbikes

trade 38 Classifieds

Brighty tries T8 Falcon New colours for GRM, KR J-Dub ROCs the bird’s nest Fast femme sticks with IRL ACT out of the ARC Lee Holdsworth When ‘huge’ isn’t enough A special eNews feature! Magic Johnson Old faves out front Ducati Dominance

Typically hard-working eNews snapper John Morris decided against some deserved time off before Bathurst, and went to Singapore instead!

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

Could Bright/Cruickshank team up in 2010?

Bright tests PCR Falcon V8 SUPERCARS IS Jason Bright’s future linked to Paul Cruickshank Racing? Bright had his first taste of a PCR Triple Eight-built Falcon at Queensland Raceway yesterday (Monday), driving Fabian Coulthard’s #111 Wilson Security Racing Falcon FG. Due to testing rules, the 1998 Bathurst winner was only permitted to do 10 laps in the WSR Falcon, but his appearance in the car immediately poses some questions – and there are a number of reasons why a future link between PCR and Britek makes a great deal of sense.

Cruickshank currently leases one of Bright’s two V8 licences, while it was Wilson Security CEO John McMellan who brokered the deal for Karl Reindler to join Bright’s as his endurance race partner for this year. There is a clear and distinct relationship already formed between the two parties, and there is a strong chance that a partnership could be formed in the near future. Cruickshank has been keen to expand his racing business for some time, and told eNews back in May this year that he saw ‘merged’ teams as the way forward. Five months down the track, Cruickshank’s view has not changed:

“We’ve got a relationship where we lease one of his (Bright’s) licences and we’re exploring all the opportunities for the future,” he said. “We’ve got to know each other through the year and the focus now is to get our stuff for next year done. Obviously we’ve got Bathurst coming up which takes a lot of time, but the key is the future. “He did a good job in the test. He enjoyed driving the car. In that brief run, his times were just about bang on with Fabian.” If Bright and his Britek team were to link with PCR, one likely scenario could see Bright simply take the license he

currently uses as a customer of Stone Brothers Racing to PCR to run a third entry. Bright told eNews recently that both he and his loyal sponsor Fujitsu want to return to a two-car team – a deal with PCR would be one way of achieving that. Cruickshank says that he would like to sort his future plans as soon as possible. “We’ve got to see what everything looks like. Anything can be done if you’ve got the budget and resource to do it,” he says. “With the way things are heading, if you don’t look at every possibility, you’re not doing your business justice at the moment.” – GRANT ROWLEY

The calm before the pink V8 SUPERCARS

MP Photographics

WILSON Security Racing tested at Queensland Raceway yesterday (Monday) with only a partial livery on its pair of Falcons. The Queensland-based team will sport new colours for the

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, showing its support for the McGrath Foundation. The team’s new hues will feature pink stripes and will be revealed later this week. Click back to eNews next week to see the new design in the flesh ...

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

news

Dirk Klynsmith

Deal saves A1GP

DOUBTS over the appearance of the A1GP ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ at next month’s Nikon SuperGP appear to have been answered following a major announcement by A1GP in the past few days on funding. A1GP Chairman Tony Texeira announced on Friday that he has secured a re-financing deal for the four year-old series which will overcome the reported financial shortfall, and guarantee its growth into the future. “I wanted to announce this re-financing a long time ago,” Teveira said, “but the reason it has taken longer thatn I planned was the size of the package. I could see no reason to lok for a one-year deal – it had to be for at least three to four years until such a time as the series is independent.” A1GP has also announced a new deal with IMG Sports Media to market its worldwide media rights (read TV) for the next three years as well as the 2009/10 calendar. Texeira expects to settle all outstanding creditors prior to next week’s (Oct 6) liquidation hearing into A1 Grand Prix Operations, its UK-based operating company. On the face of it, it has been a closerun thing, but Australian fans can now realistically expect the A1GP grid to form up as planned in three weeks time. A pre-race test is also still scheduled for the preceding Monday at Queensland Raceway. The outcome will come as a major relief to SuperGP promoters IMG, who have been faced with unwanted negative press in the local media while A1GP’s trials have played out.

Dirk Klynsmith

TWO people also pleased that SuperGP will have its full as-planned programme are Adelaide reader Jeff Bowden and 11 yearold son Matthew Italiano. Motorsport News subscriber Jeff was the lucky winner drawn in our Nikon SuperGP Subscriber promotion – he and Matthew will be flying to the SuperGP, with four nights’ accommodation, grandstand seats and pit walks, courtesy of the Nikon SuperGP. Clipsal 500 regulars, the pair haven’t been to the Gold Coast event before, and are thrilled – that’s after Matthew glues himself to the TV in support of his number one team, the Kelly Brothers, in that other big race in two weeks’ time … It pays to subscribe to Motorsport News, doesn’t it!

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

Holdsworth and Caruso’s striking new Bathurst look

Red cars go faster! V8 SUPERCARS LEE Holdsworth and Michael Caruso will sport a new look for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. The red and blue flashes will adorn the sides of the #34 Holden Commodore VE, as a way of promoting Valvoline’s raditator additive brand Zerex. Traditionally, GRM rarely changes it colour schemes, sticking with very similar design concepts for

consecutive years. In fact, since the inception of the V8 Supercar formula, the team has campaigned just two different schemes, with minor modifications made each season. According to team boss Garry Rogers, the colours will remain on at least one of the GRM Commodores for the “next handful of rounds. “Commercially for us, it’s a chance to expose Valvoline’s other brands.

“Everyone knows us, basically, as Valvoline, but this gives us a chance to show that Vavoline isn’t just about oil. They make a lot of other products, like brake fluids, coolants and all sorts of things for the mining industry as well and we are going to be doing a lot of this activity over the next couple of years.” Team driver Holdsworth loves the new look and is confident heading into the famous 1000km race. “I think it looks great. I wasn’t

sure of it when I first saw it on paper because I thought it might look a bit busy in real life, but I reckon it has come out great,” he said. “I saw it today at the workshop and I reckon it looks fantastic ... It’s going to look great at the front of the pack at Bathurst.” – GRANT ROWLEY For more with Holdsworth and his thought’s on GRM’s Bathurst 1000 chances, click to page 18.

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New sponsor, paint for Perkins/Wood Bathurst combination

Always bet on green (and white) V8 SUPERCARS KELLY Racing has unveiled a new colour scheme and sponsor, kicking off at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. Jack Perkins and Dale Wood will drive the Bet 24 7 Holden Commodore VE, replacing the predominantly black Dodo colour scheme with striking new white and green hues.

The entry also sees a change in number from the famous #11 to #247, to coincide with the sponsor’s name. After Bathurst, Perkins will continue to run the Bet 24 7 sponsorship for the remaning four rounds of the season, but will revert back to #11 from the Nikon SuperGP in late October. BET 24 7 is a newlylaunched online betting

agency, offering odds on sports from around Australia and across the globe. Perkins and Wood, who are both involved in the sticker application at Kelly Racing, are excited about their car’s new feel. “The Bet 24 7 Commodore looks awesome,” Perkins said. “It’s the first time I’ve driven a white car and it looks different to all the other cars

in pit lane. It looks really cool and I can’t wait to drive it at Bathurst. “Both Dale and I work in the signwriting shop at Kelly Racing and we’ve basically started from scratch to sticker the car up with the new livery. It’s good fun and I really enjoy it. You get to play around with different stickers, designs and colour schemes and work towards the best outcome.”

Esses get a make-over V8 SUPERCARS DRIVERS and spectators will note a marked change to the Esses at Mount Panorama this year. The notorious gravel trap at the Esses after Skyline has been removed, replaced by tarmac in an effort to reduce the gravel that has found its way onto the circuit during the races. The gravel trap in the Esses was introduced to the circuit for the 1980 race, replacing the part armco fence (which was the only thing stopping cars from falling off The Mountain!). The last time that the Esses changed was in 1996 when the Dipper had a concrete wall placed on its apex. Now,

the circuit’s famous Esses evolves again … “It’s a change that I welcome,” said former Bathurst 1000 winner Jason Bargwanna. “It’s a discussion that has been going on for a while. If you do get into trouble over Skyline, the new surface gives

you an opportunity to pull it up before you end up in a fence somewhere. “It’s a blind part of the circuit, and the worst part about that was that you arrive there to see gravel spread across the track. “People would generally

make it through the sand trap and continue without hitting the fence, but the cars that come through arrive on the scene with the track covered in gravel. That’s the element of safety that I think where we’ll see the most benefit.” – GRANT ROWLEY

John Morris/Mpix

Spectactors the big winners at return Island bout V8 SUPERCARS SPECTATORS will be allowed on the grid prior to the start of the two races which make up The Island 300, the replacement event for the Bahrain V8 Supercar race, on November 7/8. The first-time decision to

allow spectators onto the actual circuit prior to each race is allied with reduced ticket prices, more so for pre-purchase, via the usual ticketek.com outlet. At this point, despite attempts to lure Muscle Cars away from the same-weekend Sandown Historic meeting,

there is unlikely to be a supporting programme – it’ll be V8s and V8s only at the Island. The clash with one of the major Historic events has, however, resulted in a potential problem in terms of officials available to each event ...

Saturday will offer a short practice session, 20 minutes of all-in qualifying, a Top 10 Shootout, and a 22-lap (100km) race, with Sunday scheduled with practice, a 20minute all-in grid-deciding qualifier, and a 44 lap (200km) race.

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Mark Webber won’t be his team-mate, but ...

Whincup locks in Race of Champions V8 SUPERCARS AUSSIE F1 star Mark Webber won’t be joining V8 Supercar racer Jamie Whincup at the Race of Champions event when it takes place in Beijing in November. Webber was set to team up with Superbike star Troy Bayliss for last year’s event, but then broke his leg during the now infamous mountain bike crash during the Mark Webber Challenge, in Tasmania. And it is the residual repair work from that injury that will keep the Red Bull teamster out of the 2009 ROC – Webber is expected to have the titanium rod which remains in his leg removed at that time, straight afer the Abu Dhabi GP, to give maximum time to prepare, physically, for 2010. Whincup has been invited to represent Australia, although his final acceptance is down to T8 team boss Roland Dane – the ROC is scheduled for November 3 and 4, the Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Phillip Island’s penultimate round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. Regardless, Whincup is honoured to have been selected to represent his country in the popular racing shoot out.

“I have always wanted to look at the possibility of doing one-off events providing they don’t interrupt our program and preparation at TeamVodafone,” said Whincup. “Initially I felt the Bahrain event would restrict my chances but when it was cancelled it opened up the opportunity once more. “It’s going to be an awesome event. I will get to race some amazing cars against

the likes of (Michael) Schumacher and (Jenson) Button which is incredibly exciting. “It will be great to mix it with these guys and find out what makes them tick. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not out there to fill in for (injured driver, Felipe) Massa at Ferrari, it’s all about having fun and hopefully I can help to further raise the profile of V8 Supercars and Australian motorsport in the process.”

Cancer charity to benefit from helmet auction V8 SUPERCARS

JIM Beam and DJR driver James Courtney are combining to host an online auction aimed at raising funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. From October 8 to 18, Beam’s ‘The Auction’ website is handling bids for Courtney’s one-off helmet, designed especially for this month’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. If the final bid exceeds $10,000 (which it is expected to do) the successful bidder will be flown in to meet James and receive the helmet from him personally. To check it out, go to http:// www.jimbeamauction.com.au

... also in DJR helmet land

STEVE Johnson has announced two new personal sponsors joining his assault on The Great Race. Global equipment manufacturer TORO and sports performance product producer Polar have both thrown their support behind Johnson. Logos of both companies appeared for the first time on Johnson’s helmet at the recent

Taking Care of Colin FUJITSU V8s COLIN Sieders will give NRMA CareFlight the ultimate ‘thanks’ by running a special livery on his Ford Falcon BA in next week’s Fujitsu V8 Supercar round at Bathurst. Sieders was involved in a road accident in 1997 at the age of 14 and was airlifted by the CareFlight group to the local hospital. Since then, Sieders has been an active fundraiser and supporter of the CareFlight charity, and at Bathurst, he’ll will give them the most exposure possible. Sieders hasn’t contested a round of the Fujitsu V8 Series this year, and says there is no better place to make his return.

“I’m excited to be getting back in the car at Bathurst,” he says. “I don’t mind if I miss out on competing at the other tracks, but this is one that I’d hate to miss. “And it’s great to do it with CareFlight on the doors of the car. There’s been a lot of people come together to make this happen, and all the people have some advertising space on the car. Whether it’s the smash repairer, the sigwritter, the design company. They’ve all contributed to this.” The ex-Britek Motorsport Falcon BA is the car that Colin’s brother David has driven in selected rounds this year. Colin was originally scheduled to contest the Supercheap Auto Bathurst

1000 with his brother, but was forced to withdraw when he found a hernia in his lower abdomen. He was then meant to get have an operation in early September but was it was cancelled when he was infected by a common cold. The operation has been rescheduled for late October, allowing him to drive in the Fujitsu races at Bathurst.

Barbour’s V8 test, future FUJITSU V8s VICTORIAN Eliot Barbour tested a V8 Supercar for the first time last week and has his eye on a future in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. The Victorian state Porsche 944 contender drove a Jay Motorsport’s Holden Commodore VZ at Mallala in wet conditions before the test was called off early. He plans to go back in November to get more seat time. The 18 year old told eNews that he has his eyes firmly

set on competing in the Development Series. “I only got six laps before it started bucketing down, so I was just starting to adjust to it, but it’s a totally different world compared to a left hand drive Porsche,” he said. “I want to do the Fujitsu Series, but it depends on sponsorship at the moment,” “V8s is my career goal. It’s one of the toughest classes in the world. Compared to other Sportscars overseas which have paddle shift and traction control, these cars don’t have

them, so driving wise, V8s would have to be one of the toughest classes.” Barbour says that he’d like to set-up his own V8 team to contest the Fujitsu Series. “I’d like to buy a car and do it with the blokes that have helped me over the past two years with the Porsche,” he said. “If I can get the money to do it, I’d like to do it with them. I don’t have a preference for what type of car. Really, it’s what ever the best package that is available.” – GRANT ROWLEY

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Minda Motorsport secures Rising Star three-year contract

Rising Star changes hands FORMULA FORD MINDA Motorsport will replace Borland Racing Developments as the provider of services for the CAMS Rising Star Program for at least the next two years. Since the concept was devised six years ago, BRD, the builders of the Spectrum Formula Ford chassis, have also run the cars for the young drivers selected to be part of the program. But a recent tender has seen Minda, a BRD satellite team, elected as the new provider of racing services for

2010 and 2011. That means the Stars will continue to use Spectrum chassis, although they will be run under the direction of Minda boss Bruin Beasley. “Minda has demonstrated the ability to nurture young talented drivers via its talent identification programs in a professional team environment,” said Australian Motor Sport Foundation General Manager Martin Stillman. “The drivers selected to participate in the 2010 CAMS Rising Star Program can be assured the AMSF and CAMS will work tirelessly with Minda

to ensure young drivers are given every opportunity to reach their ultimate potential through the elite driver program.” “We are extremely excited to be awarded the AMSF contract today,” added Beasley. “Minda has always been focused on young driver development and can now take this to the next level with the CAMS Rising Star Program. “There have been a lot people that have worked very hard in our organisation to get us to this level, and we thank them very much. We look forward to continuing

to work closely with Borland Racing Developments and running the Spectrum chassis in 2010 and beyond.” There were four applications in total, with BRD, Team BRM and Sonic Motor Racing Services all tendering for the job. Sonic was tipped as an early favourite, given that its 2009 season has included winning the AFFC with Nick Percat, and uncovering one of the year’s best young talents in Mitch Evans. However, it has been rumoured that the team’s use of the French Mygale chassis, not the Aussie Spectrum, cost them the chance.

John Morris/Mpix

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Patrick stays in IndyCar INDYCAR ALTHOUGH yet to be announced officially by Andretti Green Racing, the Indianapolis Star has reported that Danica Patrick signed a new threeyear contract during the Motegi race weekend to remain in the IndyCar series. That explains why Patrick, 27, blew off talking to any media at the customary post-qualifying bullpen. While her interest in competing in

NASCAR is well documented, Patrick revealed she was encouraged to remain at AGR under the announced change in ownership to only Michael Andretti, improving the atmosphere and potential for success within the team. During the summer, Patrick had been rumored to be moving to Target Chip Ganassi Racing, with an opportunity to gain some NASCAR experience in a format below the Cup series. But that team was unable to match the Target

IZOD IRL? INDYCAR

TERRY Angstadt, President of the IRL’s Commercial Division, has told the IndyStar that the series is close to signing a title sponsor for 2010 and beyond, which is a major consumer brand. Speculation is that the company could be Phillips-Van Heusen, the parent company of IZOD. In the past year, IZOD, as the IRL’s official clothing company, ran an advertising campaign reaching the mainstream public promoting the IndyCar series, including a TV commercial featuring driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. Menards, a hardware store chain located in the mid-west of the USA, has also been indicated as a potential title sponsor, but funding was only a couple million dollars per year, unaccepted by the IRL. “The on-track product is good,” said Penske Racing President Tim Cindric to the Indianapolis Business Journal. “It comes down to promotion and perception. We need someone in the mainstream who believes in the series, and I think the perception will change. The popularity of any sports property has a lot to do with the marketing dollars behind it.”

budget to expand to a third IndyCar. Motorola committed sponsorship to AGR contingent on Patrick remaining, and the IndyCar series negotiated with her IMG representatives to keep her in the series. “She’s great for our series,” Jeff Belskus, the new CEO of the Indy Racing League, told Associated Press. “My hope is she’s going to continue being a part of our series. She has said winning the Indianapolis 500 is important to her, [it’s a] lifelong dream to win that race.”

Honda commits to 2011 INDYCAR THE IndyCar series has signed a two-year extension through to 2011 with Honda to remain as its sole engine supplier. Recently, Honda met with League officials asking for the new rules to be formalized by the end of 2009. “My anticipation continues to be for the package to roll out in the 2012 season,” said Brian Barnhart, President of Competition and Racing. “We have four manufacturers that have expressed an interest. We are continuing our dialogue with them and hope to have the final word from them in the next couple of months.” Two round table discussion meetings with engine manufacturers during the summer of 2008 resulted in interest from Audi (Porsche/ Volkswagen) and Fiat. But a bleak economy a year ago postponed their involvement. There must first be agreement on the size of the engine; Honda desires

a six-cylinder engine, but Audi and Fiat prefer a four-cylinder, all agreeing on a turbocharged formula. Another issue is how to avoid Honda outspending any other manufacturer. “One of the issues in discussion is how to control the costs for each manufacturer,” explained Erik Berkman, President of Honda Performance Development. “I believe that can be achieved by limiting the number of changes to the engine in a season. “We need to have the rules determined now because we will start with a clean sheet of paper. It will take us two years to design, build, test, and be ready to race a new engine. “We are waiting upon the League to tell us when we can have discussions with other manufacturers. Otherwise, if, for example, we meet with Audi, any other potential manufacturer may feel at a disadvantage if not included in our discussions. We don’t want to discourage any fellow competitors.”

AGT: Varying compounds for 2010 AUSTRALIAN GT

cars. Some of the lighter, rearengined cars are far better on their tyres than what the bigger cars, so it’s a safety issue. “It was discussed at our recent competitor meeting and that’s why we are doing it. “It’s just another thing to tighten it all up, make it a bit fairer. The control tyre issue for us is different because of

the varying tyres of cars that we have. The tyre doesn’t do exactly the same thing for every car.” Michelin is currently gathering information from Europe, and its findings will be presented to the competitors soon before making a ruling for the start of the 2010 season. – GRANT ROWLEY

James Smith

AUSTRALIAN GT competitors may run different compound tyres in next year’s championship. The Sportscar class currently runs on a control Michelin tyre, but with different cars suiting certain tracks and weather conditions, the

GT administrators plan to allow a combination of new compounds to be run to even up the class’s parity. Category boss Terry Little told eNews that “Tyres may become a parity item next year,” he said. “The option is to bring it exactly into line with the FIA GT3 class. It has different tyres for different tracks and

Title leader’s chances restricted! AUSTRALIAN GT

Dirk Klynsmith

DAVID Wall’s Porsche 997 Cup S has received another parity adjustment ahead of next week’s penultimate round of the Australian GT Championship at Bathurst. The championship-leading Porsche has been hit with a further 2mm reduction of the restrictor. Other parity changes include variations of weight and ride height adjustments for the Mosler, Vipers and Lamborghini competitors at Bathurst. To off-set these changes, some entries will be

permitted a softer tyre than other competitors. GT administrator Terry Little says that the parity adjustments are minor. “It’s based on the overall performance of the car,” Little said. “We’ve been working slowly to get it to an even level. At the moment, the parity is a razor blade. It’s very, very close, so we think that this will be the final adjustment of the car.” Wall leads the champions on 406 points over James Koundouris (337.5), Mark Eddy (334.5) and Jim Richards (319). – GRANT ROWLEY

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Holdsworth wants Porsche future Commodore Cup leader looks at his next career move AUSTRALIAN GT

package – TV, behind the scenes support and all that.” Holdsworth was penciled in as a starter in next week’s Fujitsu V8 Series race at Bathurst, but will not be contesting the round. However, he still has a desire to compete in the endurance races one day. “The guys who come out of

Porsches seem to be able to adapt to V8s as well,” he said. “I still have the long-term goal of racing in the endurance races, so if I can step into something like that, it could give me an opportunity to step into a Supercar a bit further down the track.” – GRANT ROWLEY

Dirk Klynsmith

BRETT Holdsworth is looking at a future in Sportcars next year. Holdsworth, who leads this year’s Commodore Cup series by 35 points over Tony Bates, wants to make the step out of the all-Holden class and move into a local Sportscar class – either GT3 Cup Challenge or the Australian GT class. While the former Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driver would like to race in the V8 development series, he says that the cost and value factor of that series will prevent him from returning. “I want to move into something different next year outside of Commodore Cup,” he said. “I want to try and wrap up this year’s series and then move on. I’m not real sure what I’m going to do, but I’m just exploring the options. “I’m looking at GTs or the Porsche class. The Porsches are

becoming very affordable now. There aren’t that many options now, and you’ve really got to think about where you go. The Development Series, for me, is out of the question. It’s too expensive and you don’t get what you pay for. When you’re spending that much money, you should get a better

Samadi boosts Mosler numbers AUSTRALIAN GT

Dirk Klynsmith

ASH Samadi will campaign a Mosler MT900 GT3 for Corse Motorsport in next year’s Australian GT Championship. Samadi has contested many different classes of racing in recent times – from Carrera Cup to Formula 3 and V8 Supercars. Corse Motorsport’s Mick Mitchell said that he’s looking forward to competing with the Mosler in the GT Championship. “Since the end our involvement with Carrera Cup, we have been contemplating

an alternative category to contest,” he said. “We have selected the Australian GT Championship due the diversity of the calendar, the depth and quality of the field, and the enormous interest that the category has generated “From our perspective, there are advantages and disadvantages with each

eligible GT marque and we had to commit to what was available, but we are very happy with the Mosler and are looking forward to our first test day.”

Half century targeted for 12Hr 12 HOUR

Dirk Klynsmith

THE Bathurst 12 Hour Showroom endurance race is targeting 50 entries following release of the regulations for the annual race last week. Supplementary regulations, class listing and vehicle eligibility have been sent to all potential competitors with a number of new cars already under construction. New vehicles eligible for the 2010 event include the 2010 SS Camaro, Ford Mustang GT, Audi S4, S5, Lexus IS-F and the Nissan 370Z. Event Promoter James O’Brien is confident the new regulations will see the race go to the next level. “The race is growing in credibility and support every year with early indications again showing strong competitor support for the 12 Hour concept,” O’Brien said. “There are no major changes to the overall philosophy of the race. The class structure has been tweaked to reflect that of the Australian Production Car Championship with some additional models eligible. An Invitational class has also been added for vehicles that do not strictly meet Group 3E Production Car Regulations however are within the broad philosophy of the event. They will add

some flavour without making any of the existing front running cars uncompetitive.” The Invitational class is includes the Camaro and Mustangs which could make an appearance in the hands of Marcus Zukanovic (Mustang) and Greg Murphy Racing (Camaro). “Both the Camaro and Mustang are now sold new under license in Australia, and can be road registered with full new car warranty,” O’Brien said. “When you consider much of the design

work of the new Camaro was actually done by Holden, it’s a perfect fit to take up the challenge to the race winning BMW 335i and Mitsubishi Evos.” Nine classes will make up the field with the outright honours expected to be fought out between the BMW 335 and 135, Mitsubishi’s Evos, the Nissan 370Z, Subaru WRX Sti, Ford, Holden and the new Camaro. The 2010 Bathurst 12 Hour will be run on Fenruary 12-14.

Queenslanders galore at Gold Coast FORMULA FORD JAMES Mann will make his Australian Formula Ford Championship debut at the SuperGP on the Gold Coast next month. The Queenslander, 22, will jump into the ex-Nick Foster Van Diemen RF04 for the Gold Coast meeting, finally making his national series debut after a still born crack at the championship this year. “I wanted to do more national series this year, but we did some testing and we pretty much ran out of budget just doing that,” said Mann. “Lucky enough Nick Foster

has leant us his spare car for this meeting. Realistically, to finish top 15 would be great, but I’m not going there for results. I just want to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to race on the Gold Coast circuit, because it’s been a long time since Formula Ford has raced there.” Foster himself will also re-join the AFFC for the Gold Coast round, jumping back behind the wheel of the Steeline Mygale. John Magro is another returnee for Team BRM, as are fellow Queenslanders Martin Swindells and Jon Mills. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Rally of Canberra out ... ... and Rally of Melbourne back in for 2010 Australian Rally schedule AUSTRALIAN RALLYING THE Australian Rally Championship will feature a new-look schedule in 2010, including the return of a season finale in Victoria. Like in 2009, the championship will kick off with the all-tarmac Rally Tasmania (February 26-28), then Western Australia’s Forest Rally (March 27-28), Coffs Harbour (May 15-16), Rally South Australia (June 26-

27), the Asia-Pacific round in Queensland (July 31-August 1), and a finale somewhere in Victoria, currently scheduled for the weekend of October 13-14. But while Victoria is on the schedule, the exact location and format of the rally is yet to be finalised. “We’re very happy to have Melbourne back on the schedule, because that is an important demographic for us,” said ARCom’s deputy

chairman Ben Rainsford. “What we know is that it will either be on that date in November, or in October, and we are close to having a promoter which can do the job for us. We also plan for it to be different from the standard two-heat format.” A new Rally of Melbourne has also come at the expense of the longstanding Canberra round, which won’t be run at all in 2010. According to Rainsford,

the event isn’t lost forever, just on hold to help get Victoria back in the fold. “We are mindful of the fact that six events is a good number for our championship at the moment, it keeps us in a good spot. Obviously there are always concerns over the costs of doing rounds like Tasmania and Perth, so we didn’t want to expand at this point.” – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Joel Strickland

5 Minutes with ...

LEE HOLDSWORTH

Can a fresh lick of paint give Garry Rogers Motorsport its first win at Bathurst since GRANT ROWLEY 2000? Lee Holdsworth says “yes” ...

What’s your opinion on the new look? I think it looks great. I wasn’t sure of it when I first saw it on paper because I thought it might look a bit busy in real life, but I reckon it has come out great. I saw it today at the workshop and I reckon it looks fantastic … It’s going to look great at the front of the pack at Bathurst. Holdsworth: I can win Bathurst! While yourself and Michael Caruso aren’t the favourites, a win in The Great Race isn’t totally unrealistic. I certainly think that it’s realistic. We’ll go there with a top five expectation and I think that a podium is definitely on the cards. We all know that that race is anyone’s if everything falls their way. We just need to have no drams and run a consistent race. If we can do that, we’ll be in with a shot at the end if it all goes to plan.

Peter Bury

MOTORSPORT NEWS: A new colour scheme won’t make your car go faster, but is it nice to have a fresh look for Bathurst? LEE HOLDSWORTH: Yeah, it’s always good to have a bit of a change, especially at GRM – we don’t change our colour schemes very often. The team has had the same sponsors for a long time, and I think that Valvoline and Cummins will get a lot of different exposure with the change before Bathurst, so I think this gees us up a little bit more for the race.

We’ll go there with a top five expectation and i thinkl that a podium is definitely on the cards. lee holdsworth has high expectations for this year’s b1000 What’s the biggest strength that your entry takes into the race, compared to your rivals? The biggest thing that I think we have over anyone else is that Michael and I are so keen to win races, not just Bathurst. We’re just so hungry to win, and so is the team. We’re all a young group, enthusiastic, and we want this as much as anyone, if not more. Also, Michael and I have been good mates, and I think that also helps when we’re out on the track, getting the most out of each other, while still having fun with it. We speak to each other on the radio, have a bit of a joke and keep each other calm. What’s the key going to be to win this year’s Bathurst enduro? Is it the new

E85 fuel and the strategy implications? Oh, the fuel and strategy will definitely play a huge part this year, more so than in previous years. We’re going to have more stops, but as long as you can remain on the lead lap and stay in the top 10 during the race, be inside the top five for the last stint, I suppose it becomes anyone’s race. Dealing with the new strategies is going to be difficult, but as long as you don’t go down a lap during the race and minimise the mistakes, you’ll be in with a shot. The drivers of your second car – David Besnard and Greg Ritter – did an outstanding job at Phillip Island a few weeks ago. They

have a lot of experience in these cars, and even though they aren’t series regulars, what can you learn from them? It was hard to compare at Phillip Island. They went there with a whole load of new components for the car and we weren’t confident in running them in our car because we hadn’t ‘lifed’ them. For me, their car was better than our car at Phillip Island. Sure, they drove an excellent race and they are both very quick but it’s hard to take anything away from it. We can’t compare data because the cars were totally different. We’re heading to Bathurst though with fairly similar cars and we’ll be able to work better as a team, rather than two one-car efforts.

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John Morris/Mpix

When ‘huge’ is not enough

opinion

ROM a distance, it is easy to Phil Branagan assume that Executive Editor the major sporting rivalry in the United States is East v West. Or, at a pinch, North v South. It’s neither; it is New York v Boston. Any time sporting teams from the two dominant cities in the north-east of the country face off, it makes headlines, before, during and after the game. There has been plenty to watch in the last two weekends. First, Tom Brady led the New England Patriots into NYC to take on the Jets in what Americans somehow interpret as ‘football’. Then, the Yankees hosted Boston’s Red Sox in three Major League Baseball games. Both spectacles dominated the media. No other sport got a look-in – except for one. NASCAR did; aided by the fact that the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup was in New Hampshire (about as close as NASCAR gets to either city). It was all about Mark Martin and Tony Stewart and NASCAR’s Playoffs gained an impressive amount of attention. Of course, the day before the first Chase race, IndyCar put on its penultimate race in Japan. Scott Dixon took the lead in the series with his win, but the race received no coverage – none. I am not saying IndyCar is a mere blip on the American sports radar, it is nowhere near being on the radar. To see with your own eyes, or rather not, the coverage it does not get was staggering. Of course, conducting rounds of what is really a domestic racing series half a world and a bunch of time zones away from fans and sponsors would tend to kick an event into the ‘Who Cares?’basket – even if it is done for what I would imagine are commercially sound reasons ... Many moons ago, what was then CART ran NASCAR fairly close for action and attention. In 2009, it is truly amazing to see what, on one hand, the France family and, on the other Tony George, has achieved in little more than a decade. How big is NASCAR? A few days after the New Hampshire race, business network CNBC ran a story on how the sport is weathering the Global Financial Crisis – a full hour, in prime time. Every Burger King, Lowe’s and Home Depot is festooned with racing paraphenalia. The video news ticker in Times Square ran an item about criticism of the last-lap yellow in NH, with quotes attributed to ‘Jimmie’. No last name was required because, even in the Big Apple, folks know that ‘Jimmie’means Jimmie Johnson. Do we think everyone in London knows ‘Lewis’ is Lewis Hamilton? Even in what are supposed to be tough times, NASCAR is riding the times well. When things get back to normal, and there are signs that process is underway, it is going to get back to being the sporting monster it is. ‘Huge is not a big enough word; we might need a new one.

opinion

Phil Branagan is currently in New York ...

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enews feature

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e e s o t e v lo s m ea t d n a s r e v i r d , e es h t m i n t i e s r m e o y S la . p g n e i h c ft o e otor ra m o s d e z z i u q e W . ’t n o d y e h t times . . . t o n ld u o w y nd the story the

DAVO SCORES VOTED HOTTEST RIDE FERRARI MAN ALIVE!

WILL DAVISON, V8 SUPERCAR DRIVER Best news story: ‘Bathurst win leads to Ferrari call-up’ Worst news story: ‘Davo: Career cut short. What next?’ It’s a case of career paths colliding for Davo. Once upon a time he was an aspiring Formula 1 driver, and now he is totally focused on his career in Australia. So, imagine if he could combine winning Australia’s biggest race with driving for the world’s biggest team. Perfect. As for his worst new story, well, let’s just say eNews suggested the front cover would have a photo of a Centrelink building in the background. However, the thought of Davo getting flung is more far fetched than the Ferrari idea ... JONATHON WEBB, FUJITSU V8 DRIVER Best news story: ‘Webb signs with Triple Eight for 2010’ Worst news story: ‘Webb to spend 2010 on the sidelines, watching everyone else’ You could never call Jono Webb biased. While his first headline option named Triple Eight as the squad he’d like to sign with, he was lightening quick to add “or with HRT, I’m not really fussed.” Unfortunately for Jono, he’s not all that likely to sign with either of those teams next year, if for no other reason than the fact that they have four pretty handy

blokes between them already. But, with this year’s FV8 title almost in the bag, he’s not likely to be a spectator in 2010 either. BEN BRAY, DRAG RACER Best news story: ‘Ben Bray voted the hottest man in world motorsport’ Worst news story: ‘Ben Bray retires’ The silky smooth curves of Ben Bray have locked him in as Australian Motorsport’s sexiest man. Ladies simply find him irresistible and, let’s face it, what woman couldn’t resist a man capable of driving a car 400 metres in less than seven seconds? Bray says that the worst news story about himself would be his retirement. “I just don’t want to ever retire. I enjoy it too much.” Sorry Ben. Eventually, everyone retires from racing, and if you’re lucky enough, you get to retire from racing before you retire from life ... MARK WINTERBOTTOM, V8 DRIVER Best news story: ‘Frosty wins Bathurst; wraps up 2009 Championship’ Worst news story: ‘FPR repeat 2007 Bathurst SNAFU, Frosty spears off’ He’s a selfish little so-and-so, that Mark Winterbottom. Not only does he want to win Bathurst, but he wants to be tie up the championship on the strength of the win. The bad news for Frosty is that only the Bathurst part of that wish is at all possible.

The good news is that winning Bathurst seems to get more likely by the day for he and FPR – especially after Phillip Island. But then there’s the option of Frosty’s worst headline prediction coming through – although he seems like a fast learner, and ’07 would have been a harsh lesson. ELI EVANS, AUSSIE RALLY DRIVER Best news story: ‘Eli Evans gets a paid drive’ Worst news story: ‘Scandal ruins young star’s career’ Mark Winterbottom might be selfish, but Eli Evans isn’t. After he delivered his best case scenario headline, eNews asked him what team he’d like to be driving for. He clarified that the World Rally Championship would be great, but he wasn’t worried about the team. As for the worst headline, well, that’s an interesting answer – and it’s eNews’ very own ‘family sensitive’ version. Apparently Eli’s brother Simon works him pretty hard in the family business, so we think he grabbed the first embarrassing answer that came to him. RICK KELLY, V8 SUPERCAR DRIVER Best news story: Kelly Racing becomes the ‘team to beat’ in V8 Supercars Worst news story: Rick unable to continue to race because “I’m not good enough” Forget Triple Eight, if you want to win a V8 Supercar race, Kelly Racing is the team to

enews feature

Mrs TANDER: PMM’s MEGA

HOW I WON BATHURST

be with. While this may be a’ fantasy’ article, there’s nothing to suggest that this scenario might not come true one day soon. In its first year in the sport, Kelly Racing has turned heads, and with the biggest race of the year on our doorstep, the Kelly brothers might be able to crack a massive result. But while the immediate future might look bright, Rick already has long-term fears. He simply never wants to be “not good enough.” Don’t stress Rick, you’ve got a few years left in you ... NICK PERCAT, FFORD DRIVER Best news story: ‘FFord title rewarded with Ferrari drive’ Worst news story: ‘Percat wins 1200th FFord race’ It looks like the battle to drive for Ferrari is going to be between almost team-mates. HRT’s Will Davo wants a Bathurst win to earn him a Scuderia seat, and Walkinshaw Racing-contracted Percat wants his 2009 Aussie Formula Ford title to be the key to Maranello. Good luck, boys! Percat’s worst news story is tongue in cheek. He is already the record holder for FFord race wins, and what he means is that, having spent three years in the AFFC, it’s time to move on in the world of motor racing. However, if he is able to win 1200 FFord races, that wouldn’t be a bad effort!

PLAYBOY DEAL

CAMERON McCONVILLE, V8 DRIVER Best news story: McConville to test championship-winning Brawn GP001 Worst news story: V8s announce 10 round calendar, five at Wakefield Park, five at Winton Cameron McConville is no stranger to testing Formula 1 cars, and while he was at Singapore for his F1 coverage commitments, Jenson Button gave him a tour of his Brawn GP001 in the team’s garage. “He said to me if you liked the Honda, you’ll love this even more,” McConville says. Well, it’s no surprise that McConville would like to see his backside back in an F1 car – and possibly, a championship winner – and what’s more it could happen! ... But what McConville doesn’t want to see is a bunch of extra rounds of the V8 Supercar Championship run at Wakefield Park and Winton. It would be a good story for rural race tracks, bad for everyone else! COLE HITCHCOCK, V8 MEDIA MANAGER Best news story: Leanne Tander wins Bathurst 1000 Worst news story: All overseas freight, including cars, seized by sea pirates en route to debut V8 Supercar event in Somalia Leanne Tander is contesting this year’s Bathurst 1000 with David Wall in the #333 Wilson Security Racing Falcon, and with

a little help from V8 Supercar’s media manager Cole Hitchcock, she is going to win! If Mrs Tander can win (or even finish on the podium), it would truly be a great story for the event, the sport – and Paul Cruickshank would be pretty pleased too ... Hitchcock’s worst nightmare though is genius! What better way to get publicity for the V8 series than to have all of its freight stolen by sea pirates! If that doesn’t make the front cover of the daily papers, then what will? PAUL MORRIS. V8 TEAM OWNER Best news story: Playboy magazine signs a 10-year sponsorship deal with PMM! Worst news story: Supercheap Auto Racing team members ‘come out of the closet’ Playboy for V8 Supercars! This is one magazine the team at Motorsport eNews would love to see involved in the sport. For the feature articles, of course! It wouldn’t be the first time that Playboy has sponsored an Australian touring car, though. Rod Wilson and Rodney Forbes entered the AMP Bathurst 1000 in a Playboy-sponsored BMW 318i, above. Where there’s history, there’s hope. As for ‘The Dude’s’ worst news story, statistics say that, on average, at least one or two of his team members may well find the same sex more appealing that their opposite. To quip Seinfeld, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that!”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 28 – AAA 400

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Here comes Jimmie! Mark Martin would never have though Jimmie Johnson was going to give him an easy run in The Chase, but just in case there was any misunderstandings, Johnson went and smashed the field at Dover

Jimmie The Jet: Johnson was unstoppable at Dover, left, just as Clint Bowyer was in the Nationwide race, above. Joey Logano’s car looked second hand after a nasty shunt, below.

HE AAA 400 at Dover was a real clash of this year’s NASCAR titans, but unfortunately for Chase leader Mark Martin, it was Jimmie Johnson who came out on top. Johnson, famous for his form in The Chase, was unstoppable on the Monster Mile. Having qualified fastest, he followed Kurt Busch around for the first 99 laps before snatching the lead and driving into the distance. He relegated Martin to second with a devastating 225 lap run home as leader. “As far as sending a message, I hope it does,” Johnson said. “I hope people talk about it. I hope people are worried. I hope people are talking about the fact that we tyre tested and it was wrong. All these people can get wound up about stuff that really doesn’t matter. And we’ll keep our heads down, we’ll keep our blinders on and we’ll go to work. “At the end of the day, all the talk means nothing. We’ve still got to show up at Kansas and run that race. That’s what we do a really good job at, staying focused.” The win puts Johnson within 10 points of his team-mate Martin, with eight races remaining in The Chase. “I think first and second’s a great way to come out of the gate, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Martin said. “Anything can happen. I still say there are 12 in it, and 12 that can win it. It might be a challenge for a couple of the ones in the back right now, but you just don’t have any concept at how much racing eight races is. It’s a lot of racing. A lot of things can happen.” As for the other Chase contenders, Juan Pablo Montoya moved into third place after finishing fourth behind Matt Kenseth, another solid outing. Tony Stewart also made a place, moving from sixth to fifth, although he was hoping for more than a ninth place finish with a late-race tactical move onto fresh tyres. The biggest loser of the Chase contenders

was Denny Hamlin, who dropped a lap before half distance, and never got it back. He’d been tied with Johnson for second place going into the Dover round, and dropped to sixth by its conclusion. But while that might seem like a bad day, it was nothing compared to what Joey Logano went through. The young gun was hit in the back by Tony Stewart on just the 30th lap, sending him into the wall, before Reed Sorenson hit him again, sending the Home Depot entry into a seven-roll flip. Marcos Ambrose finished on the lead lap in 14th position, having run just outside the top 10 for most of the day: “We started off a little tight,” Marcos reported, “but overall the car was good at the beginning of the race. “As the race went on, we lost rear grip and at the end it was a bit of a handful.”

N the Nationwide Series, Richard Childress Racing’s decision to bring Clint Bowyer into the team for a three-race stretch starting at Dover paid immediate dividends, Bowyer taking the win. He led home Mike Bliss, after leading the final 83 laps of the race. Brad Keselowski was third, while title contenders Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards were fifth and sixth. The biggest controversy of the race came on Lap 190, when Keselowski and Denny Hamlin made contact, sending Hamlin into the wall. The pair then staged a shoving match on the pit apron at the end of the race. “I wanted to talk to him,” Hamlin said. “He obviously needs some sort of guidance on what he needs to do to make it.” “I was just there,” retorted Keselowski. “I was underneath him. Earlier in the day when he got underneath me in the same scenario I gave him room. I paid him a favour, and I expected the same favour to be returned. He didn’t; I held my ground.”

SPRINT CUP | AAA 400 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

48 5 17 42 2 24 44 9 14 39

Jimmie Johnson Mark Martin Matt Kenseth Juan Pablo Montoya Kurt Busch Jeff Gordon AJ Allmendinger Kasey Kahne Tony Stewart Ryan Newman

Chevy Chevy Ford Chevy Dodge Chevy Dodge Dodge Chevy Chevy

Lowe’s Kellogg’s Dewalt Polaroid Miller Lite DuPont Super 8 Budweiser Burger King US Army

Q1 14 23 2 16 7 19 6 22 3

NASCAR | DRIVER’S points Martin 5400, Johnson 5390, Montoya 5335, Kurt Busch 5325, Stewart 5294, Hamlin 5292, Newman 5290, Gordon 5287, Biffle 5262, Vickers 5249, Edwards 5247, Kahne 5211.

ROTAX NATIONALS EASTERN CREEK, NSW

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Four from Five

David Sera is making a habit of winning Rotax National titles, taking his fourth in five years at Eastern Creek last weekend

Ash Budd

AVID Sera secured one of the hardest fought victories of his karting career during the Rotax Nationals at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway last weekend. The 21 year-old Victorian fended off a number of challenges from local driver David Whitmore, who was the pacesetter all weekend in

his Kosmic Kart, along with Queenslanders Tyler Greenbury and Jessica Golding to take the win in the 28-lap Rotax Light final. “That was undoubtedly the hardest race that I’ve ever competed in,” said Sera. “This track is very physical and when you do 28 laps around here it certainly works your body over. I made a couple of

errors late in the race but luckily it seems so did the other guys and I was very relieved to have taken the win.” Whitmore claimed second behind the Arrow kart of Sera while Ryan Rannard emerged third from a frantic last lap ahead of Golding and Shae Davies. Greenbury dropped from first to sixth in the final lap. Sera’s victory was his fourth

win from five attempts at the Rotax Nationals and the ninth national karting championship of his career. It was also a good day for another Australian karting veteran – Matthew Wall. The fellow Victorian broke the dominance of the Queenslanders, who had won the last six titles in the Rotax Heavy division, when

Ash Budd

he won his eighth national championship. Wall, who was making only his second ever career start in the Heavy division, started on the outside of Jason Pringle for the final, which had to be restarted following a lap one rollover by Jonathan Dwyer. Pringle jumped into the lead at the start but it wasn’t long before Wall moved into the lead

aboard his J&A Tuning Arrow and despite the close attention of the pack, built a small margin to win ahead of Daniel Baker, who passed Pringle for the runner-up spot on lap 26 of the 28 lap encounter. Queenslander Ben Jurczak won the inaugural Formula JMA Championship crown. Only an electrical issue in Heat 3 halted Jurczak from taking a

National champions: Above, the Formula JMA class podium. Left, Matthew Wall’s second Australian title for 2009. Far left, the JMA final was eventually dominated by Ben Jurczak.

clean sweep of the weekend. He was consistently lapping over two-tenths faster than his opposition in the 28-lap final on his way to victory. The battle for second was intense between Luke Rochford and Jack Howard with the pair swapping the runner-up spot on a number of occasions.Howard made a last lap pass aboard his Intrepid kart to claim second while Macauley

Jones benefited from the move by Howard to move into third, relegating Rochford back to fourth. Tobias Bellbowen crossed the line fifth, narrowly ahead of fellow Tony Kart pilot Chris Hays. In the support classes Gerry Brookes claimed the win in Rotax Over 35s and Brinley Gread won the Open Performance (DD2) class.

world superbikes ROUND 12 – iMOLA

Just when you thought Championsh

Ducati fi

t that the 2009 World Superbike hip was run and won ...

ights back

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apan’s Noriyuki Haga has seized back the lead in the 2009 World Superbike title from Ben Spies as the championship made its return to the historic Imola circuit in Italy. Haga was magnificent, claiming victory for the first time in over four months in Race 1 after passing Max Biaggi (Aprilia) late in the race. Haga backed it up with a second place in Race 2 behind his factory Ducati team-mate Michel Fabrizio, pictured left. While Haga found great fortune, Spies was a magnet for trouble. The American could only manage fourth and fifth places in the two 21-lappers. As a result, Haga turned around an 18 point deficit into a three point lead with four races still remaining. “Over this weekend we have gradually improved and I am especially happy with the result because my father has travelled to Europe for the first time to see me race,” said Haga. “For Race 2, I unfortunately had to go out on the second bike as we had problems with the first and we couldn’t get it fixed in time. It was a hard race and I am very tired at the end of it all. Spies branded his second race at Imola “messy”, and also had a dig at Honda’s Jonathan Rea for some over-exuberance. “In Race 1 we ruined our chances with the electronic side of the bike, we didn’t have enough power coming out of the bike and we struggled with grip a bit as well, it was a rough race,” said Spies. “The second race we had the pace for sure to battle for the lead, but a combination of things held us up. Rea got pretty greedy early in the race, passing me in the gravel trap three different times. “I felt bad for him as I knew he had the pace to run up front, but you’ve got to know when to calm down and when to take it easy for a couple of laps and let the race come in; you can’t push on every corner. Fabrizio, who started from pole position, was a one-man show in Race 2 with a resounding victory. Australia’s Troy Corser (BMW) suffered brake problems, dropping down the order to finish 11th in Race 1 before pulling out of the finale altogether after just four laps. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki) was 10th and 15th, with Karl Muggeridge (Suzuki) 13th and 14th. Points: Haga 391, Spies 388, Fabrizio 330, Rea 363, Biaggi 257, Haslem 219, Checa 183, Sykes 176, Smrz 155, Byrne 149.

Peugeot wins wet Petit Montagny and Sarrazine score Peugeot’s second protype win for the season AMERICAN LE MANS Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin gave Peugeot its first American Le Mans Series victory last weekend, winning a weather-shortened 12th annual Petit Le Mans. Race officials, citing hazardous conditions due to torrential rains that fell at the Road Atlanta circuit just past the four-hour mark, called the race at eight hours, 44 minutes running. Peugeot’s two diesel-powered factory prototype coupes finished 1-2, with the pole-sitting 908 HDi of Pedro Lamy and Nic Minassian in second. The Audi Sport Team Joest’s Audi R15 TDIs driven by Allan McNish and Dindo Capello placed third.

The Peugeot-Peugeot-Audi finish opened and officials parked the cars in mirrored the end result at the 24 Hours pitlane. of Le Mans in June, and it ended Audi’s “We started in the wet and it was nine-year unbeaten streak at Road difficult with a dry set-up,” Sarrazin said. Atlanta. “We were very far behind. But in the dry “We only did three races this year,” we could push very hard and make up Montagny said. time. I could catch the two Audis and it “We missed Sebring by only 22 seconds, was not too hard to overtake them. But and it was a win for the Peugeot team at in the big rain it was just OK. We did our Le Mans and a win here. I think if we had best in the time we had and the team a full time we really would have battled it did a great job.” out with the Audis.” There was also some success for McNish and Capello dominated the Australian driver Tom Drewer, who race before the rains fell and led all claimed a second place finish in the L2 but five of the first 168 laps. The two category. Peugeots got past McNish under yellow The final race in the 2009 American Le when the Scot looped the Audi under Mans Series is the four-hour Monterey wet conditions barely past the two-hour Sports Car Championships at Mazda mark. A few minutes later, the skies Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey.

sutton-images.com

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Aussies chances spoiled by broken Swift

Fuel pump failure costs Taylor RALLY

MOLLY Taylor’s assault on the Swift Sport Cup title in Britain came to a bitter end at the International Rally of Yorkshire on Saturday. Starting the event as one of three drivers in with a chance to take out the coveted title, Taylor blasted out of the blocks and took the first stage victory. She was a massive 30s faster than fellow championship contender Luke Pinder while the other driver in with a chance of the title, Gordon Nichol, rolled on the

opening stage. The battle then came down to a duel between Taylor and Pinder, and by the end of the fifth stage, the young Aussie had increased her lead to 35s after a controlled drive. With just three stages to go, disaster struck when a fuel pump failure halted her Suzuki Swift, and despite her best efforts to fix the problem, she was forced to retire from the rally. “It’s a tough end to a fantastic year,” Taylor said. “This sport sure is character building!”

Conditions favour the brave at Phillip Island VIC STATE SERIES IF you were at the final round of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships at Phillip Island, you were cold, you were wet and you would have seen the southerly busters blow everything but the cheese from King Island. But while the conditions made you wish you were anywhere but at Phillip Island, the on-track action was hot. Formula Fords saw Jesse Fenech win a slippery battle for the 1600 championship against rival Jonathon

Miles. Fittingly, Luke Ellery (who owns the Spectrum of Fenech) took out the Duratec championship thanks to the absence of many of his rivals. The Saloon Cars and the BMW E30’s saw both Simon Tabinor and Craig Munro end their weekends on the top step of the podium. It was also the only category lucky enough to race under completely dry conditions in Race 1. Jack Le Brocq meanwhile was the rain master in Formula Vee, making the most of the adverse conditions to

sprint away from the pack. But, Le Brocq was unable to do anything about Andrew McFarland, who safely secured the championship honours. Young Adam Bywater in the HQ Holdens came up with the goods in Race 3, while his rivals failed, coming through for his first win, and at that, first round win. In Improved Production, it was the battle of the Mazda RX-7. But eventually it was Daniel Vereker who outclassed Ben Schoots in the rain. While his opponents

struggled for traction in Sports Sedans, Dean Camm brought his Corvette home with ease over the Falcon of Rod Smith. The Sports Cars saw Lyndon Punshon in his Robnell Cobra made the most of the DNF from Ross Lilley, coasting past the chequered flag for the round honours. And a red flag in Race 3 of the 944s saw Robert Lange scrape through for an early round win after he showed impressive pace in the wet/ dry conditions. - CALLUM BRANAGAN

rear of grid

VALE: Holden’s first Bathurst winner

BRUCE McPhee, who in 1968, in his privatelyentered Wyong Motors HK Monaro GTS 327, took Holden to its historic first Bathurst 500 pole position and race win, passed away at his home on the NSW Central Coast last week at the age of 81. McPhee out-smarted both Holden and Ford’s factory squads and famously drove the entire 130 lap, 500 mile (800km) race distance solo – except for one lap by co-driver Barry Mulholland, to comply with the need for a ‘driver change’ as demanded by the race rules at the time. McPhee’s funeral will be conducted at 11.30am this Thursday (October 1) at the Hillside Chapel, Palmdale, NSW.

Odd Spot

Bayliss gets busted by the box! TELEVISION teaches us all sorts of wonderful things. Just ask Dean Fiore. As last week’s issue of Motorsport eNews reported, Fiore and the Triple F team were hoping Troy Bayliss would spend yesterday (Monday) testing at Queensland Raceway, logging some much needed miles after car #12 failed to make the start of the L&H 500. But it all hinged on Bayliss being able to get back to Australia in time after a Ducati

function in Europe last week. So, before Dean boarded his plane from Perth to Queensland on Sunday, he sent the former World Superbike Champ a text message to get a progress update. He needn’t have bothered, because within minutes of starting the Brisbane-bound voyage, Virgin Blue’s in-flight Foxtel system provided the insight. “When I was on the plane I started watching the Superbikes round at Imola,”

said Fiore, “and they focussed in on Troy sitting in pit-lane, and the commentators started discussing his potential switch to four-wheels. I thought, ‘well that answers that question!’” He can’t be the first to be caught out by TV. Surely a few workers have been busted by their boss taking a sneaky day off to go to a Test Match, and catching a six off the middle of Ricky Ponting’s Kookaburra ...