Motorsport eNews Issue 128 - October 27-November 2, 2009

The world of MOtorsport Directly to your desktop

Issue No. 128 October 27 - November 2 2009

! s n a F n e d l o H e ic Rejo

g n i y a t s Murph l l a l a e v e r e w

E X POSED

Fujitsu’s new home

Editorial 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. 128 | 27 Oct – 2 Nov 2009

news 4 Cheap Area 51

6 DJR, 4 for 17 8 V8SA and IMG 10 Rally Rubber 14 Spectrum World

chat 20 5 minutes with ... opinion 22 van Leeuwen 23 Branagan

race 24 The Golden 600 32 Bump and Grind 38 Denny and Jimmie 42 Bye Bye Benny

trade 44 Classifieds

Murph, SCAR deal for ‘10 Team wants to expand Both wants to run GC race Control tyres for ARC Aussie car for USA FF2000 QLD Premier Anna Bligh We already have a Masters When ‘great’ means ‘OK’ Frosty hands out medicine Late action in FFs Martinsville Shootout Spies pinches WSBK title

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.

Dirk Klynsmith

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

COVER STORY – EXCLUSIVE

MURPHY TO JOIN SUPE

NZ’s favourite son stays at Holden, and will join Ingall in T8 Commodore V8 SUPERCARS NEVER fear, Holden fans, Murph is going nowhere!

Despite fanciful rumours elsewhere connecting Murph to a potential Ford team, Murphy is remaining a Holden man, and will race for Supercheap Auto Racing from next season.

Murphy, who drove in the colours of the national automotive retail brand in 2005-06, main pic, will join Russell Ingall in a pair of Triple 8 Race Engineeringbuilt Holden Commodore VEs at Paul Morris Motorsport. The deal, which eNews believes is yet to be formally signed, was agreed by all parties in Queensland at the weekend, and brings to an end a period of uncertainty, and oddball speculation, about the mercurial Kiwi’s future.

Murph’s future – and the second seat at SCAR – has been the source of much speculation of late, some ‘informed’, some less so. On top of the Ford rumour, internet speculation last week even connected Troy Bayliss, who made a lowkey V8 Supercar debut at Bathurst earlier this month, with the prized SCAR drive. eNews believes that the MurphSCAR deal has come about with the cooperation of – indeed, at the insistence of – Holden itself. The long-time Commodore man was marked as a wanted man and Holden’s Simon McNamara flew to the Gold Coast on Thursday with the express mission of securing Murphy as a Holden man – or, as our source commented jovially, “Keeping him away from the Dark Side [ie, Ford]”. eNews approached Murphy for comment in pitlane on the Gold Coast last weekend and was met with a firm “no comment”. In spite of this, our trusted sources tell us that the deal will go ahead and that the final details are being ironed out with some determination.

For more than a decade, Murphy has been an iconic figure in Holden’s racing plans and, and even while he does not currently have a personal deal with Holden in Australia, he has one with Holden Special Vehicles. Indeed, he features prominently in HSV’s new advertising campaign, along with Bathurst winners Garth Tander and Will Davison, right.

Any rumoured move by Murphy to Ford was, clearly, seen as too big a loss

by Holden, particularly on the other side of the Tasman where, for years, he has been seen as one of the country’s leading sporting figures, even after a tough time over the last few seasons. It is also a major boon for Supercheap Auto, which is in the midst of a large expansion program in New Zealand.

We would expect Murphy to feature in a series of TV commercials on both sides of the divide – though we understand that Ingall, who has raced for the team for the last two seasons and who recently signed on for two more, will continue to be the brand’s ‘point man’ in Australia.

The move represents reunions on a number of levels for Murphy, who is close friends with Ingall – in fact, the two have already raced a Triple Eight car, a Vectra Super Tourer, together at Bathurst in 1998.

Murphy is a man familiar with winning in Supercheap colours, having carried them to an emphatic Pukekohe win during his spell with PWR. Given the performance potential of a T8-built Commodore, the recent form of SCAR with their existing cars and the likelihood of a strong relationship with Ingall, it would be a brave man to argue against the predition that, particularly in his homeland, Murphy faces a fruitful, and successful, few years.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

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

news

ERCHEAP for 2010

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

BRIEFLY... n CAMS has saluted the victory of Jean Todt in last week’s FIA Presidency election.

“We believe that under Jean’s leadership, there are many opportunities for the truew potential of the Asia Pacific region to be released,” said CAMS President, Andrew Papadopoulos.

The media release also revealed that CAMS voted for Todt, who won the election with 135 votes. Ari Vatanen polled 49 votes. n Peter Gumley lowered Collingrove’s outright record to 28.95s on his way to the 2009 South Australian Hillclimb Championship.

He won the Peter Lehmann Wines $1000 in the process.

Second went to Brett Hayward from Victoria, and third place went to South Aussie Andy Mitchell.

n SuperGP organisers claimed a four-day crowd of 205,260, with 57,355 attending on Sunday. n Event sponsor Strike was promoting an interesting product at the SuperGP – the Parrot MKi9200 iPhone car kit. The device is the first iPhoneapproved of its type, and uses bluetooth technology to make the phone safe to use while driving. It has been devised to comply with new road laws banning using your mobile phone on its speaker function while driving.

V8 SUPERCARS

DICK Johnson Racing is still on the hunt to expand to four cars in 2010, and is likely to play a part in what will be a hectic re-shuffle in the V8 Supercar paddock.

The Jim Beam-backed squad has been vocal during the year about wanting to expand, and with the silly season hitting overdrive at the Nikon SuperGP, DJR is waiting to see where they will fit in to

the mix.

“We are definitely looking to run another two cars, yes,” confirmed DJR co-owner Charlie Schwerkolt. “We’re looking at all models for the business, and we can see a model that fits.

“We’re sort of independent with our two cars out there, and yeah, we’d like to take that option.”

But while the team has been linked with various other teams – including fellow

Triple Eight customers Wilson Security Racing – Schwerkolt was quick to point out that he couldn’t comment to eNews about possible alliances.

“No, because we don’t really know,” he said.

“There are so many balls in the air. We’re waiting for people who we’ve given prices and options to, to decide where it all goes. We’re waiting for people to act.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

John Morris

n New Zealand racing driver Matt Halliday will rejoin the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Championship for the final two rounds being held at the amazing new Yass Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi (UAE) this coming weekend.

DJR wants 4 – Now!

Confusion reigns in ‘reset’ race V8 SUPERCARS CONFUSION about the reordering of the field behind the Safety Car during the fourth and final V8 Supercar race at Surfers Paradise on Sunday may be down to a case of misunderstood communication.

Race Director Tim Schenken told Motorsport News that there was considerable warning about the possibility of, effectively, hitting a ‘reset’ button on the race, should there be a drama at the opening chicane.

“It was discussed at the drivers briefing, there were questions about it and it was talked about at length,” said Schenken on Monday. “I am surprised that there is

confusion about it.”

The unprecedented action was taken after discussions between Schenken, Driving Standards Observer Tomas Mezera and race stewards prior to the weekend.

“What we had actually Tomas come up first with the view that we have had so many incidents on the first chicane, when people see a problem they straightline the chicane and floor it, while others get trapped. Some go straight on and take a considerable advantage.

“The way we thought best to sort that out, if that was to happen, in our opinion, was to put the Safety Car out and put the cars back in grid position.

It would have been better to put the cars back in the order

in which they went into that chicane but we cannot freeze the screen and capture that order.

“We discussed all this, in the drivers’ and team manager’s briefing and there were a few questions about it, and we answered. I think what is disappointing is that there was no one there from V8 Supercars Media, or from TV commentary, or [V8 Supercars track commentator] Chris Jewell.”

As for why it happened in the final race of the weekend, Schenken replied, “I was surprised that it took to the fourth race for this to happen. It seemed to us that this was the best way to sort this out, but in the first three races, it was not needed.”

news

GRM takes out Fujitsu race Rogers greens up the neighbourhood in 2010: Fujitsu renews for V8 Series too V8 SUPERCARS GRM has won the race to carry the colours of Fujitsu in the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship.

Garry Rogers Motorsport, which has been associated with Valvoline oils since before it entered the V8 series in 1996, will carry the green colours of the electronic brand in what has been described to eNews as a “multi-year” deal. The deal is expected to be announced in the next two weeks, and Valvoline, which agreed

to a new three-year deal in August, will continue as a secondary sponsor.

A number of teams were interested in, and pitched proposals for, the deal, which the company preferred to be a title sponsorship for a two-car entry. We believe that Jason Bright, who has been identified with the brand over the last five seasons, also pitched for the deal (in spite of the fact that he thought it unlikely he could pull together a two-car entry) and was told by the company that he was unsuccessful a week ago.

Dspite rumours suggesting he would move on at the end of the current season, Lee Holdsworth has vowed to honour his contract with the team until the end of 2010, and Michael Caruso will stay in the other GRM car.

GRM will continue to run Commodore VEs built in its Melbourne shop, with engines supplied by Walkinshaw Racing.

Fujitsu has also renewed its title sponsorship of the V8 Supercars Development Series, which it has backed since 2006.

One Day, Lee, One Day ...

Holdsworth fined over stunt V8 SUPERCARS

The Race for Indy

V8SA, IMG both want to run future GC events SUPERGP

THE battle for who will control the Gold Coast’s motor racing event in the future started on the weekend, with both V8 Supercars Australia and IMG stating their cases to run the event.

Last Thursday, V8SA Executive Chairman Tony Cochrane stated his organisation should run the event and encouraged the Queensland government to hand control of the event, now known as the Nikon SuperGP, to V8 Supercars Events, which already runs six of the 14 rounds of the championship.

Cochrane made the comment on the eve of this year’s race, which was to feature A1GP until that category pulled out the week before the race. That was the second withdrawal of the turbulent event, which was forced to sever a deal with its original title sponsor, the littleheard of energy drink, Nitro.

“In all honesty, of course we would love to have it (complete control over the event),” Cochrane told assembled media.

“We are a very stable organisation that does deliver what we promise.

“If we got the opportunity,

we would deliver on what we promised and it would turn into a very successful and stable event going forward for many years to come.

“This event has 19 years of history. It has been through some tough times and it has been through some great times.

“I believe it has got a fantastic future on the Gold Coast.”

On Saturday, Martin Jolly, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of IMG Asia Pacific, struck back, pointing to his company’s investment in the event.

“IMG has been in partnership with the Queensland Government for the past 15 years and through this period has together created Australia’s biggest motorsport festival,” said Jolly, who told eNews that IMG was contracted to run the event until December, 2013.

“Annually the event has attracted on average 280,000 spectators to the Surfers Paradise circuit, beams images of the Gold Coast to a worldwide television audience and injects $60.9 million into the local economy each year.

This event employs in excess of 25 permanent staff, who work year round on the event and

Dirk Klynsmith

LEE Holdsworth was the recipient of a bizarre stewards penalty on the Gold Coast last weekend, the GRM driver copping a $2000 suspended fine for wearing inappropriate clothing during driver introductions.

Holdsworth taped his driving suit to the front of his body to give the impression he was wearing it, before turning around to expose his boxer shorts.

He says it was harmless fun, and the penalty was unfair.

“It’s very unfair,” he told eNews. “It’s almost like [V8 Supercars Australia] want us to be puppets. They keep saying they want controversy and publicity, but when we try they shut it down.

“It was just a bit of fun, and everyone thought it was fun … except them.”

V8SA media manager Cole Hitchcock’s response was that the fine wasn’t about censoring the drivers, but making sure they understood the limits of what is acceptable.

“We’re more than happy for drivers to show their personalities,” he said, “but we have to be conscious of the image we are projecting to the wider audience.”

The driver introductions have been a feature of the on-track coverage of V8 Supercar races this season.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

furthermore generates just over 550 casual full-time jobs for contractors each year for Gold Coast and Queensland residents.

“In the early years of the event, prior to IMG’s involvement, the race had suffered considerable losses. When IMG assumed full responsibility for the management, commercial activation and promotion of the event, it resulted in the Queensland Government’s contribution being capped each year and for 2009 was $11.6 million,” he pointed out.

Jolly also added, “That IMG acts as the sole underwriters for the race.”

The Queensland government is expected to conduct an inquiry before a decision regarding the event’s future is made. The state’s Premier, Anna Bligh, told the media at the race that the government was committed to seeing the event continue.

“Obviously, after this race, we will have to sit down and have a look at what’s happened over the last couple of weeks and months,” she said, “but what we want to see here again this weekend is a very successful event and there will be a race here next year.”

news

Dean to FFFord?

V8 SUPERCARS

V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

TRIPLE F Racing is poised to become a Ford team in 2010, with Dean Fiore looking at racing an ex-Triple Eight Falcon in the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Fiore recently purchased all of the assets from the failed Team IntaRacing, which ran a car for Marcus Marshall in the early part of the 2009 season. That included an ex-T8 BF Falcon, the very car in which Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup won the 2007 Bathurst 1000.

While Fiore wouldn’t run that car in the series, eNews believes he is assessing the idea of marrying some of the parts he bought with one of the current TeamVodafone cars – and having front-running Fujitsu Series team

Sonic Motor Racing Services run the show.

That would provide Sonic boss Michael Ritter a perfect entrance into the main game, and would further Ritter’s already strong relationship with T8 boss Roland Dane, with Sonic currently running ex-T8 Falcons in the Fujitsu Series.

It would also take Fiore out of the ‘third-wheel’ scenario, giving him a team solely dedicated to running his car, not providing satellite support.

While Fiore admitted that the option is on the table, he was quick to point out that nothing has been signed, and it isn’t a lone option.

“We honestly haven’t got anything sorted for next season,” he confirmed.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

New Board on Board V8 SUPERCARS Australia has elected its new board, the first without even representation from Holden and Ford.

Ford Performance Racing’s Tim Edwards and Supercheap Auto Racing’s Paul Morris have maintained their positions.

They are joined by Ross Stone of Stone Brothers Racing and Roland Dane, both of whom are previous board members.

Alternate members are Brad Jones and Sprint Gas Racing’s Tim Miles. The non-team board members remain unchanged, with SEL represented by Tony Cochrane (who remains Executive Chairman) and James Erskine, and Independents Roger Cook and Mark Skaife.

ARC Under Control

Kumho gets control tyre deal for National Series AUSTRALIAN RALLY KUMHO will supply a control tyre to the Australian Rally Championship in 2010.

The ARC has been discussing the prospect of a control tyre over two years, and recently applied for expressions of interest from tyre manufacturers. There were four responses, with Kumho’s judged as being the best.

“The championship wanted to find partners that wanted to use the ARC as part of their marketing,” said ARCom’s deputy chairman Ben Rainsford.

“Kumho also elected to invest some of their marketing

budget into our championship, which is a very good thing.

The standout part of their pitch was that they wanted to create their own circus around our championship, which is good as far as the spectacle goes. The service parks have looked much different since the likes of Subaru and Mitsubishi were there promoting a product, so this is a way back to that.

“The other really strong thing in their pitch was that they want to have the same prices available through all levels of the sport. Competitors will pay the same price when they enter a club event, and they’ll pay the same price when they

enter a state event.

“They’ve also got a program that will recognise success and talent. We haven’t worked out exactly how that will unfold, but it could involve free tyres at each round for someone who’s come up from the state series and done particularly well at a home event or something. In that respect it is recognising people that are on the cusp of competing in the ARC, but don’t have the finances to do it.”

Jon Mills, who imports Kumho tyres into Australia, says the brand is excited about the new venture.

“Kumho is really excited about this, and they’re 100

percent behind it,” he said.

“I’ve been talking at length with ARCom and Kumho about the direction of the ARC, and it’s going through a change period at the moment, and it’s something we all want to be involved in.”

While the exact makeup of the available compounds is yet to be decided, there will be different compounds and patterns available at each round.

A standard 195/65/15 tyre will be capped at $220 per unit, with that price available to all rally competitors, competing at any level.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Toll re-signs with HRT V8 SUPERCARS TOLL has re-signed as title sponsor of the Holden Racing Team.

The logistics and transport giant agreed to remain with the iconic Holden factory team following its recent victory at the

10

Bathurst 1000.

Rumours had suggested that a business downturn, a drop in share price after Toll separated from several partnership, including its stake in Virgin Blue, and the possibility of a deal between HRT and Fujitsu, threatened to see the deal come

to an end. But recent strong growth in Toll’s share price, together with the team’s recent successes, have seen the partnership extended.

Toll joined HRT for the 2008 season, after previously backing the HSV Dealer Team and, prior to that, Anthony Tratt.

news

No Change on co-drivers V8SA Board still working on whether to split star drivers in enduros

PD’s up for the ‘stache for cash V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS

Since 2003, only drivers racing in the series full-time have won the Bathurst 1000, and the last non-regular driver to win a race of any description was Yvan Muller, who partnered Craig Lowndes in their 2005 Sandown 500 victory.

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS has taken no action to tie drivers to a single entry, even for endurance races, next season.

V8SA’s board discussed the matter at its meeting last week but has determined that

further discussion is required before any change is made.

If the move goes through, teams will not be able to ‘pair’ its regular drivers, as have been the case with such teams at TeamVodafone and the HRT, and each driver would have to find a new co-driver.

PAUL Dumbrell loves a good moustache, to the point where his Movember campaigns usually run well into the middle of month of December ...

This year PD will be at it again, and made his intentions to grow a killer mo known at the Gold Coast race last weekend, running some special ‘Movember Ambassador’ logos on his Autobarn racer.

We look forward to seeing how it goes ... sort of.

11

Ford Racing

Will Indy make it to Brazil?

INDYCAR

INDYCAR’S 2010 season opener could be in doubt.

The first event slated for Brazil on March 14 has yet to be confirmed. Prior to 2008, the IndyCar series only left the U.S. to race in Japan as a condition of Honda’s engine supply. Officials have made numerous site visits to several cities to find a suitable temporary street circuit.

Oops! The Indy Racing League’s website briefly posted a story last week announcing their first Brazilian event to be held in Rio de Janeiro but then pulled

it. Terry Angstadt, the IRL’s President, Commercial Development, said, “We have a major announcement expected next week and we also plan to confirm our race in Brazil.”

When CART raced in Rio de Janeiro from 1996 to 2000 at the Jacarepagua permanent circuit, there were at least eight Brazilian drivers competing regularly in the series. But there were financial problems, including last minute construction of corporate suites mere hours before the race. Currently, the IndyCar series has four full-time drivers and the support of ApexBrasil, a major marketing company of

Brazilian products that is strongly behind the event.

While other IndyCar venues have already started selling tickets for next year, there is concern there won’t be enough time to construct a street circuit, especially with the customary long Brazilian holiday for Christmas during December and January, followed by February’s Mardi Gras. With the chosen location announced so late, it could hinder promotional efforts for corporate sales and attendance. The Jacarepagua circuit is being redeveloped as a training center for the 2015 Olympics.

– MARY MENDEZ

The Blue Oval’s new Oval Eater NASCAR

Ford Racing

12

FORD may have had a tough season on the ovals of NASCAR Sprint Cup series but its new motor may turn the tide.

The new Ford FR9 engine will make its debut at Talladega this coming Sunday, with nonchasers Matt Kenseth and David Ragan from the Roush Fenway camp being the two guinea pigs to test the unit.

The new design engine was expected on track in early summer, but supplier issues hampered its debut.

On another Ford note, AJ Allmendinger and Elliott Sadler will drive Fords in some of the final four races of the

year, as part of the merger talks underway between Yates Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports. Sadler, who raced a Fusion for Robert Yates before he moved to Petty’s drives a Ford this weekend, while Allmendinger will race a Fusion in the final three races of the season.

RPM team-mates Kasey Kahne and Reed Sorenson will remain in Dodge’s, with Petty stating recently that even if a merger is not completed, the team will run Fords in 2010.

Yates and Petty have been exchanging and analyzing equipment over the last few weeks in a effort to combine the best on-track product.

– MARTIN D CLARK

news

The Hunt for Blue October

Rossi, Spies and Crutchlow deliver Yamaha a unique triple – on the one day!

MOTORCYCLE RACING

Yamaha Racing

YAMAHA has scored an astonishing Triple Crown in motorcycle racing – and done it within a few hours on what will go down in history as Super Sunday.

It started with Valentino Rossi taking third place in the Malaysian MotoGP, securing his crown with third place. The championship is Rossi’s ninth, and seventh in the premier 500cc/MotoGP category.

But more came a few hours later in Portugal. Ben Spies scored the first win at Portimao after arch rival and friend Noriyuki Haga fell from his Ducati, giving the Texan a 15-point buffer in the fight for the World Championship. Spies duly cruised around in the second race, finishing fifth while a frustrated Haga gave best to his team-mate, Michael Fabrizio, in a meaningless Ducati 1-2.

Ironically, Spies’ championship, in his maiden season on the world stage, is also the first for Yamaha in 21 years racing in the category – and comes at the expense of Haga, the marque’s most faithful servant until he was recruited by Xerox Ducati to replace the retiring World champion, Troy Bayliss.

In between the two Superbike races, Yamaha scored another world title. While Rossi has scored three of his titles on Yamahas, and Spies’ title (the fourth different marque to win it in five years) is a massive bonus, World Supersport has been dominated by Honda, Ten Kate’s 600s winning every title since 2002. But Cal Crutchlow ended that streak with a safe fourth place to frustrate Honda’s Eugene Laverty.

Only Rossi is staying put for next season (unless those zany Ducati rumours are true). Spies will ride for Tech 3 Yamaha alongside fellow Texan Colin Edwards, while Crutchlow will replace Spies on the factory R1 next season. Another string of titles on the same day looks unlikely – but, never say never ...

Yamaha Racing

Yamaha Racing

13

Aussie FFords grow taller

Australian Formula Ford to adopt British bodywork regs in 2010 FORMULA FORD THE Australian Formula Ford Championship will make a change to its bodywork regulations next year, to bring them in line with those used in the British Formula Ford Series.

The cars in England are allowed to use a higher engine cover, which fits the different inlet manifold that the Brits use for the Duratec power plant.

While the Aussie manifolds won’t change, the height regulations for engine covers will. In an area measuring

14

450mm from the leading edge of the rollbar, and 150mm either side of the centre line, the standard 900mm high won’t apply.

The change will affect the two leading manufacturers used in the AFFC – French-built Mygales and Aussie-built Spectrums – in different ways.

Mygale will launch an update to the Aussie market next year, and according to importer Greg Woodrow, the higher engine cover used on the Mygales in England is part of the new package.

“One of the problems we had is that

our drivers sit higher in the car than the Spectrums,” said Woodrow. “It will make the Mygale faster because we can get the same airflow to the engine without compromising how low we have to sit the driver in the car.”

Spectrum will launch a whole new car in 2010, and it has a re-designed engine cover complying with the regulations.

“We’ve taken advantage of the regulations,” confirmed Spectrum’s Paul Zsidy. “The new engine cover will take in all of the roll hoop.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK

SJ10a breaks cover FORMULA FORD

MYGALE importer Greg Woodrow has recently returned from France where he had his first glimpse at the Mygale SJ10a – and he liked what he saw.

The car, which is designed and built purely for use in the Australian Formula Ford Championship (hence the ‘a’ on the end of the build code), will give the leading Mygale team, Sonic Motor Racing Services, some fresh ammunition for the 2010 AFFC. And it is a timely update, with Spectrum also releasing a new car for next season (see separate story).

The new car features lower side pods, smaller radiators with a slimmer duct, a new airbox, and a fully flat floor. The engine cover is also higher, making it the same as what is used on the Mygales used in Europe.

“Basically the changes are all aero,” said Woodrow.

“[Sonic boss] Mick Ritter and I have been heavily involved. We sat down and worked out what we wanted, and then we worked with the factory. We had some questions that couldn’t be answered on the phone, and that’s why I went over to France.

“I’m super excited. The car will be superb. There is no doubt it will be faster in a straight line.”

There will also be a host of lightweight bits available to the car, although Woodrow won’t reveal exactly how much weight will be saved.

“We’re taking a lot out of the rolling weight,” he said. “They’re still got the strength of the car in mind, but it’s been over-engineered for Australian Formula Ford. Our cars will have some lightweight parts made specifically for them.”

The full range of updates will be available as a package, for people to upgrade their existing Mygale chassis.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

New Spectrum nearing completion FORMULA FORD BORLAND Racing Developments is close to completing its 2010 version of the Spectrum Formula Ford chassis.

The Spectrum 011E or 012 (a final decision on the name is yet to be made) has already started track testing, and the final bodywork is expected to be finished this week. And according to BRD sales and

marketing manager Paul Zsidy, the car will be a significant step forward from the 2009model Spectrum 011D. “I suppose it’s an evolution, but there are some exciting new features on the car,” he said. “For starters, we’ve opted for more room in the cockpit.

We haven’t extended the wheelbase or anything, we’ve just made the car more userfriendly for taller drivers.

“The bodywork will also

change. It’s very Formula 1 in its styling; the cockpit surrounds are higher around the helmet, and fall away, so you’ve got vision and head protection.

“We’ve never been happy with the engine cover either, so Mike (Borland, BRD boss) has re-designed that. It fits much tighter around the engine, with little bumps for clearance. It will improve airflow to the engine, and over

the engine.”

The new cars will be distributed among the Spectrum teams, including 2008 AFFC title winners Synergy Motorsport, and Minda – the team that will service the CAMS Rising Stars contract next season. New cars will also be sent to England for the British Formula Ford series, with as many as six likely to head overseas.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

15

THE UNITED STATES OF LUKE

Dirk Klynsmith

FORMULA FORD LUKE Ellery will kick start a career in America next year, with a program in Formula Ford 2000.

Ellery has competed in the Australian Formula Ford Championship this year as one of the CAMS Rising Stars, and has opted to begin his wings-and-slicks career in America, rather than Europe. He has settled on running the first round of the series in April 2010, and will hopefully continue on for the remainder of the year.

The program will be supported by Bahraini company National Lube, which featured on Ellery’s Spectrum at the Gold Coast meeting last weekend.

“It’s a good way to make my wings-andslicks debut,” Ellery told eNews.

“We’ll lock in the first round in April, and then see if we can make it happen for the whole season. America is the goal now.

There is no point staying in Australia when the dollar is how it is; we can be spending almost exactly the same and racing overseas.

The concept dovetails ideally with Spectrum chassis builders Borland Racing Developments, which has recently been working away on a FF2000 chassis to export to America.

Ellery has been racing a factory Spectrum FF Duratec this year, and with some FF2000 experience under his belt, would be likely to undertake testing duties for BRD later this year when its two-litre car hits the track prior to production versions being built.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Morcom wise to Synergy move FORMULA FORD

NATHAN Morcom will race for Synergy Motosport in the 2010 Australian Formula Ford Championship.

The New South Welshman raced for the factory Spectrum team as one of the CAMS Rising Stars this year, but will switch to the satellite

16

Spectrum team for next season.

Synergy is based in Morcom’s native Sydney, and won the 2008 AFFC title with Paul Laskazeski.

“I want to finish in the top three for the championship and be a regular podium finisher” he told eNews.

“Synergy was a good option because I’m used to the

Spectrum cars, and with the new chassis coming on line next year it should be great (see separate story). I’m six-foot tall, so I’m looking forward to the extra room in the new car.”

Morcom will be teamed with his old karting pal, 2009 Synergy driver Chaz Mostert.

“I’ve known Chaz since we were kids racing karts, and

we’ve been mates ever since.

It will be good to work with him again, and I think [Synergy boss] Justin Cotter has a good slant on things.

“This year was my first year in the national series and I learnt a lot; next year I want to put it all together.”

Morcom finished 13th in this year’s AFFC.

news

Borell: End of Van Diemen?

FORMULA FORD

FORMULA Ford will be even closer to a two-make series in 2010, with Andre Borell confirming he will switch from a Van Diemen to either a Spectrum or a Mygale.

Borell has run a Van Diemen RF06 as a privateer in the Australian Formula Ford Championship this year, but has struggled to keep up with the field, due to the freeze

on development for the once mighty English chassis. The situation isn’t lost on Borell; the Queenslander is currently weighing up his options for 2010, and is in talks with Greg Woodrow about running a Mygale, and Synergy Motorsport about partnering Chaz Mostert and Nathan Morcom in a Spectrum.

“We underestimated the challenge of running the series on our own this year,” he told

eNews.

“I’m behind the eight ball, and there is a bit in the chassis, a bit in the engine, and a bit in myself.

“But to make up the bit that’s in myself, I need some data to work with. That way I can work out where I need to be finding time.”

While Borell is yet to make a decision on who he’ll race for in 2010, he confirmed he will be back for a second full year in

the championship.

“Absolutely. My sponsors are happy, even though we’ve had a tough year.

“They feel we’ve given them good value for me money, and they’ve given me the opportunity to have another go next year.”

Borell will tackle a new challenge soon – a one-off test in a Sprintcar at Archerfield Speedway.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Dirk Klynsmith

Sykes and Superbikes WORLD SUPERBIKES

Yamaha Racing

CHRIS Vermeulen has a partner for next season – Tom Sykes.

The Briton, who rode for Sterilgarda Yamaha for the last time in Portugal at the weekend, will race alongside the Queenslander on a factorybacked PBM Kawasaki in

the 2010 World Superbike Championship. Sykes, now 24, raced for PBM pricipal Paul Bird in the 2007 British Superbike Championship, when he was a regular podium finisher.

“The team has big plans for World Superbikes next year so I’m really looking forward to being part of them,” said Sykes.

“The big factor for me was

that I have worked with the team before and know how good they are, they’re one of the best teams I’ve ridden for and I’ll have the same crew chief as I had in my rookie season in BSB.” PBM is expected to name its title sponsor for the 2010-11 seasons within the next few weeks.

17

Goodbye, Oran Park

ORAN PARK THERE will be another ‘final’ at Oran Park this weekend, with the last-ever NSW State Championship round at the Narellan circuit.

The famous New South Wales track will be demolished soon, with the land being redeveloped as a housing estate.

But this weekend it will have a final fling as a race track, with the NSW state series competitors lining up for the last time.

“It will be a huge event,” NSW Road Racing Club President Kerry Butchers said.

“There are over 300 cars entered across all the categories, and we have fields of around 40 entries for some classes.

“I think the main attraction will be

18

the Kerrick Sports Sedans, which will feature the national series competitors like Darren Hossack and Tony Ricciardello, and also the State Sports Sedan drivers.

“On the Sunday evening, we’re holding a big presentation for all the drivers, so it will be a fitting way to celebrate the end of an era, and a great way to farewell Oran Park.”

Categories on the program include the Kerrick Australian Sports Sedans, as well as Combined Touring Cars, Improved Production, Formula Ford, Formula Vee, Production Sports Cars, Sports and Racing Cars and HQ Holdens, most of the categoriesd with long histories with the circuit.

Tickets for adults cost $15 for a twoday pass, while admission is free for children under 16.

news

Cracking NZ Porsches

NEW F3 FORMAT

PORSCHE GT3 CUP CHALLENGE

Dirk Klynsmith

FORMULA 3 THE final round of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship at Sandown next month will feature an all new format, as the series looks to boost competitor numbers for 2010.

The meeting will be known as the Superprix, as the last round in Tasmania has been known for the last two years. But there will be more than a change of venue for the 09-spec Superprix.

As usual, qualifying will be split in two – one session for each race. But the second session – the one that will decide pole position for the Superprix – will feature an IndyCarinspired ‘Fast Six’ format, where after the first 15 minutes all but the fastest six cars will be knocked out, with a 10 minute shoot-out for pole.

The first race will be 12 laps, with the Superprix covering 22 laps.

Organisers are expecting a field of 16-18 cars.

“It’s something different, and it’s a chance to investigate options for 2010,” said F3 board member Richard Craill.

“We’ve been using the standard two-race format for some time now. Doing some longer races will bring us more in line with Europe; they tend to favour 40 minute races in Formula 3 over there.”

Just four points separate 2007 champ Tim Macrow, and British import Joey Foster.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

NEW Zealand’s 2009/10 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge is shaping up to be a cracker, with four of the nation’s top drivers lining up in the two top teams.

Triple X Motorsport will retain the same line-up from last season – former Aussie Carrera Cup champ Craig Baird and Fujitsu Series regular Daniel Gaunt – while International Motorsport will field cars for Matt Halliday and Jonny Reid.

While Triple X’s drivers have experience in the class, particularly Porsche-specialist Baird, Halliday and Reid are new to the class.

According to Gaunt, Baird will be the toughest to beat.

“Bairdo will definitely be the guy we’re chasing,” he told eNews.

“It’s purely though the miles he’s done in the cars, although he hasn’t done as many as he usually does this year. But hopefully having done the V8 enduros with Stone Brothers has sharpened me up a bit. I was third in my first year and second last year, so maybe I can go one better.”

In the 996 sub-class, Hugh Gardiner will be back to defend his title.

The series will also feature a new race format for the coming season. Each meeting will still have three heats, but the first will be a 100 kilometre pit-stop race, and the last will feature a reverse top six grid.

The first round is at Pukekohe in two weeks.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

The Family Business Three generations of Brabhams at Historic Sandown HISTORICS

Peter Bury

FRESH from their SuperGP 1959 US F1 GP re-enactment, all three generations of Australia’s first family of motorsport will be on track at this year’s 18th Nationallube Historic Sandown, on November 6-8.

Two of the Brabhams will fight it out in a unique speed comparison – Geoff at the wheel of a current model V8-engined BMW M3 coupe will be pitted against his

15 year-old son Matthew in a current model Spectrum Formula Ford, while four-time Australian champion and fellow Bathurst winner John Bowe will drive a race-prepared GT40 replica.

Geoff’s father and Matthew’s grandfather, Sir Jack Brabham, will drop the starter’s flag. It will, according to the promoting club, be the first time that Geoff and Matthew Brabham have raced against each other on a circuit.

As always, the Historic Sandown

meeting has attracted a massive entry of more than 400 historic racing, sports and touring cars spanning five decades.

It includes a thundering field of up to 35 pre-1974 touring cars contesting the final round of the immensely popular 2009 Biante Touring Car Masters, with two series titles going down to the wire.

For more on last weekend’s F1 GP re-enactment see page 47

19

5 Minutes with ...

THE HON ANNA BLIGH

The Queensland Premier visited the SuperGP twice on the weekend, and spoke to the media. Here are some of the things she talked about regarding the future of the race ON FRIDAY, SHE SPOKE TO THE ASSEMBLED MEDIA – BEFORE QUESTIONS TURNED TO STATERELATED, NON RACING MATTERS

Will there be an event here next year?

Obviously, after this race, we will have to sit down and have a look at what’s happened over the last couple of weeks and months, but what we want to see here again this weekend is a very successful event and there will be a race here next year.

We will have a look at how this event goes [inaudible] all the

20

Dirk Klynsmith

If you think about how this even was looking last Friday, compared to where it is today, it is a great credit to everyone involved in the last week, that we are here. We have got up and running, we have got a very professional operation here, and I think that it is going to be a terrific weekend was racing.

Of course, I am disappointed with the circumstances leading up to this weekend but I couldn’t be more pleased with what is happening out here on the track.

We are getting very good reports from all of the major accommodation providers, they are saying there is a real surge in bookings and the event is seeing a strong uptake in tickets. For every one cancellation we are seeing … [a pause as an F-111 flies over] we are seeing 15 ticket sales.

That is a pretty good indicator that people want to see this event.

that sort of crowd.

I have nothing but praise for the people associated with this event. Given some of the problems, that is a terrific result. We have seen all the accommodation as close to full as we could get it, we have seen people out, having a good time at the event and afterwards. It is still a wonderful event for the Gold Coast.

I HAVE NOTHING BUT PRAISE FOR THE PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS EVENT. GIVEN SOME OF THE PROBLEMS, THIS IS A TERRIFIC RESULT. THE PRMIER IS HAPPY WITH THE 200,000PLUS SPECTATORS – PLUS, ONE KNIGHT circumstances leading up to this event, and we will come out with recommendations about how we can make another race here next year an even bigger success.

ON SUNDAY, SHE SPOKE TO THE MEDIA IN PITLANE We have seen a great event here this weekend. We are ontrack to have a crowd of more than 200,000 people, and there are not many sporting events that attract that many people.

It is a credit to everyone involved, and their efforts have

made a great event here this weekend. Well done.

Though that is down on last year [pause for FFs] …

Q: So, it has been a success in your eyes?

We are on-track to see more than 200,000 people here this weekend. That is a bit down on last year but, given the Global Financial Crisis, and some of the problems, this is a success, given the circumstances. Well done to everybody, they pulled out all stops.

You know, there are very few sporting events that attract

Q: Is it good enough, though, for the event to stand on its own two feet?

We are still yet to see all the final numbers, we will be having a full review and I will not be making any judgements on what we will be doing next year. We need to make sure that there is a great car race here in 2010.

Q: The suggestion is that you do not hold inquiries unless you know the outcome, do you have any plans at this stage?

Our plan for next year is very clear – we are going to have a great motor racing event here.

Q: Premier, do you have a deadline for deciding what format the race will be next year, and which partner you may choose to organise the event?

Look, I do not have a firm, artificial deadline. But what is clear is that we will have to have an answer in time to organise a new event. But I don’t want that to jeopardise a vigorous and comprehensive inquiry, the taxpayers are entitled to answers and that is what I want.

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

21

opinion

T

Andrew van Leeuwen Editor eNews

HERE was some chat around the Gold Coast paddock that the Legends display last weekend was the first step towards the ‘Indy’ meeting taking on a more historic theme.

I’m sorry, but that’s just a terrible idea. Sure, the Legends concept worked okay last weekend, and thank god it came together to fill the whole left by A1GP – sort of.

But making it a permanent fixture, and a headline act? No way.

There are three very good reasons why it is a bad idea.

Firstly, think about the mixture of old cars, high ambient temperatures, and a lot of concrete barriers. You don’t have to be a genius to realise that right there you have a dangerous combination. After all, Dick Johnson’s old XD Falcon didn’t make it through day one at the weekend.

Secondly, the Gold Coast street track isn’t exactly oozing with Australian motorsport history. It’s surrounded by ugly apartment blocks painted in terrible colours.

There aren’t too many grainy

black-and-white photos of Norm Beechey skidding around with the ‘Imperial Surf’ serviced apartments in the background.

And thirdly, the Surfers Paradise race isn’t for hardcore motor racing fans. It’s for people who want to party, have a great time, and have some noisy cars fanging around in the background. To waste the gorgeous machinery that makes up the history of this sport here and overseas on the event would be a crying shame.

If the organisers of the Gold Coast race want a Goodwoodstyle event, they are dreaming.

For starters, you’d have to get rid of V8 Supercars; there isn’t a modern F1 race on at Goodwood before the Tourist Trophy.

Secondly, we already have a great historic race meeting, the Muscle Car Masters. That’s where purist motorsport fanatics go to see the cars from yesteryear, and the stars that made them so popular.

The Gold Coast race needs an international class; IndyCars, Formula 3, American Le Mans; anything! (except A1GP). That’s what the success of the event has been built on, and that’s what appeals to the people that go. Let’s leave historic motor racing out of it, and concentrate on getting a new headline act from overseas.

Letters Whindy It seems as thought Gold Coast race officials are massive Whincup fans and I’m sick of their stupid, sometimes outright ludicrous interference.

And who the bloody hell made the call at the beginning of Race 20 leg 2?

Lowndes said the exact truth, “Well they’ve made a mockery of this.” Whoever made the decision to restack the grid needs to be sacked immediately!

Ok, so now we’ve restacked the grid and effectively said that race start never happened, now let’s penalise Lowndes for his part in an incident that “never happened” ... that has “I need to be sacked”

22

History, and Bigger Proble

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

written all over it.

On a positive note, well done Lowndes, great driving by Murph all weekend, congrats to Bargs on his pole, brilliant Saturday racing by Frosty and the Big Man Tander ... good clean racing all weekend, and an absolutely fantastic effort by Frosty to come out with a big points haul while sick as a dog.

Darren Surname withheld by request eNews for iPhoneys?

Love reading eNews every Monday night when it appears in my inbox.

I’m not sure what you guys have in

the pipeline for the future, but I am sure there would be a lot of other readers that would agree with me when I ask, is there the possibility that eNews may also be designed for viewing on an iPhone? In its current configuration it’s impossible to read on the screen. Thanks guys, keep up the good work.

Steven Rosevear Sydney ED: Good idea, I floated it. The Exec Ed said, ‘Yep, but we need staff, not more stuff to do!’ The Publisher said, ‘What is an iPhone?’ It’s on our to-do list, it really is, and we’ll get there as soon as we can.

Dear Premier Bligh,

Dirk Klynsmith

ems

opinion

Thank you for coming to the race on the weekend, and for taking the time to speak to the media on Sunday. I am not that accustomed to political media rucks, so the other journos in the pack may have been less ticked off than I was about the fact that the site chosen for the chat was pitlane. Just as it started to rain. During a Formula Ford race.

Some points I would like to make; The crowd you mentioned, 200,000, was okay. At a pinch, it was good. In the context of the event, it was not “great”, a word you said many times.

You also mentioned that there are “very few sporting events that attract that sort of crowd”. Fine; except that among those “very few” are, pretty well, every other race meeting previously conducted on this track.

And, the 200k crowd disguises a bigger problem than A1. If the report that less than 100 ticket buyers requested refunds is accurate, marvellous. But that means that the event had a problem long before A1GP pulled the pin, just under a week out from the event. Thousands of fans were not buying tickets for a log time, A1 or not.

Next, the hotels were nowhere near full. Here at MNews, we use the odd website to book rooms for various events we attend. We got a few ‘mayday’ email offers during race week, one offering 50 percent off the

opinion Phil Branagan Executive Editor normal rate – on Thursday. Note, not the inflated, pillage-the-masses lateOctober rate, the normal rate.

Ditto, for restaurants. We ate at a usual haunt, very close to where the masses congregate, and at its peak, it was half-full. At 9pm, apart from we two eNewsers, it was empty. The boss said it was the worst he has seen it during race week.

The Global Financial Crisis may have taken its toll on the crowd, it may be other matters, relating to noshow international open-wheelers.

They need sorting and identifying, and quickly. Not setting a deadline for sorting out the mess may be politically astute, but I bet the punters would like to see the event sorted and backed, soon, so they can regroup and plan for 2010. Ask the questions, find out who did what, make the changes deemed appropriate and clear the air, as soon as is practical.

And please remember; the event has its own tradition, and history.

It does not need to appropriate someone else’s, and its history includes international racing, of some description. Please, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Indy can be a great event again; right now, it is not, so please, stop pretending it is. Fix it, back it, move on. If you do, maybe, just maybe, they will come.

eLETTER OF THE WEEK Andrew van Leeuwen’s idea for a Gold Coast F3 Festival is spot-on.

The success of the Macau event as it has evolved over the years should be carbon copied for the Surfers Paradise event.

Match an internationally recognised openwheel formula with spectacular touring cars on a tight and twisty street course.

Great for TV and showing which drivers have the ‘right stuff’.

If both events are positioned correctly in regards to the international F3 calendars,

we could have ex-pats like Dan Ricciardo returning after wrapping up the British F3, or get top notch teams like Carlin and Litespeed dropping in on the Gold Coast.

The local support is there in the F3 ADC; maybe CAMS and F3 could look at awarding the CAMS Gold Star for the single meeting, to give it additional status.

So, Andrew, have you been contacted by IMG or the GCMEC yet?

Dave Stillwell Via email

Dave Stillwell is this week’s winner of the Mark Skaife: The Racing Years, a pictorial biography of Skaife’s career.

Send your letters to mail@mnews.com.au, or Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186 23

V8 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACES 19-20, GOLD COAST

24

race

FACTORY FEAST

It was ‘one all’ at the end of the two ‘events’ on the Gold Coast for the Nikon SuperGP, with factory Holden driver Garth Tander taking a win, and factory Ford driver Mark Winterbottom levelling the score.

PHIL BRANAGAN braved the heat to bring you the action

Dirk Klynsmith

25

26

Dirk Klynsmith

V

8 SUPERCARS took on the role of the headline act on the streets of the Gold Coast and there was plenty to distract the punters on and off the track over the weekend.

Which is just as well. Because, if anyone went to the circuit expecting to see great motor racing, they would have come away feeling shortchanged. Yep, there was action, cars spinning, expiring and otherwise ending their

winning chances in a variety of ways. But if anyone wanted to witness actual, door-to-door racing for the lead, they would be better off watching the jets fly overhead, burnout from a vast array of (usually) loud cars, or keeping an eye open for a variety of scantily clad ladies.

In three of the four races that made up the latest incarnation of what people still refer to as ‘Indy’, the driver who made it into the first chicane in the lead was there for the win, 34 laps, many Safety Cars and lots

of incidents later.

But that stat hides a fair bit of drama, as the title was definitely in play. Jamie Whincup was starting to look like the new Craig Lowndes on Sunday morning, as Lowndes toured around the streets of the Gold Coast with plenty of speed and no apparent effort, Whincup was in P5, secure in the knowledge that Will Davison was stuck back in the pack after a tyre stack bent his steering, and sent him to the pits.

But then, JDub stuck it in the wall, failed to finish the race and dragged Davo back into close title attention.

The attention was outside the title contenders, and the good news for Ford Performance Racing that the Bathurst barbecue was put to rest with a best-on-ground performance from Mark Winterbottom. Putting what appeared to be glandular fever behind him, Winterbottom won the start of the morning race, held

race

Dirk Klynsmith

27

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

28

the potential to turn the event into a high-speed procession.

That was not the talking point; Whincup was. In R1A, he was battling for position on lap 4 (there had already been a Safety Car, on lap 1) when Jason Bright gave him a tap, cut down and tyre and put championship doubts in motion. The car JDubbed its way around the track, Dunlop remnants flailing, for a new hoop; Jamie resumed and, showing speed similar to that of the leaders, worked his way

James Smith

under bright and hot skies, held out Tander at the first chicane, and managed to maintain the gap for the rest of the race, despite the interruptions of a few Safety Cars.

In the afternoon, it was much cooler, and the race was a mirror image; GT won the start, Frosty did not have the line at the first chicane and he slotted in behind. The idea of doubling the number of races made necessary by the exit of A1GP simultaneously doubled

forward through the pack to 13th.

From where, of course, he started R1B. Again, there was no huge speed differential between car #1 and the leaders, it was all down to track position. In the afternoon, he made ground to finish eighth, on the tail of Shane Van Gisbergen, and therefore limit the damage and Davison’s points gain. By the time the drivers climbed from the cars to consider their Sunday setups, Davison had reduced the

gap to 41 points.

The turning points where that Winterbottom did not fight it out at the chicane, due to not having huge confidence in fresh brake rotors and, from then on, did not get close enough to threaten the red car. By the same token, he felt like he had the battle for third covered; “It’s a game of see-saw,” he said, “they get close, their brakes go away, and then they fall back.”

At the same time, Davison

race

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

The crash that started the controversy: Lowndes got into the bacl of Ingall at the start of the fourh race, above sequence, causing a confusing ‘race reset. James Courtney spent too much time under tyre bundles throughout the weekend, far left, while Frosty just looked under the weather, middle left – despite his white hot form on the track. The championship battle was on in the first race, with Davison letting Whincup know he won’t go down without a fight, left.

Peter Bury

was feeling friendly fire from Lowndes, but the huge attack never came, even if Will was waiting for it.

Sunday dawned equally hot and heavy, and it was more of the same. Lowndes chugged around after Bargwanna’s challenged defused (see breakout) and Winterbottom held out Tander. In cooler conditions in the afternoon, Frosty won after Lowndes was loony at the first chicane and punted Ingall out of the way, earning himself a well-deserved drive-through penalty.

In the chasing peleton, Whincup made it up to sixth and Davison to 10th. The gap

between the pair has shrunk dramatically, and the coming rounds will definitely test their long-established friendship …

The other talking point of the weekend was the apparent decision to hit the ‘reset’ button on lap one of the fourth race, and reorder the cars to grid order, thereby negating any potential gains (Whincup had made spots by the handful) or losses.

During and after the race, all manner of team personnel, including drivers, voiced alarm at the move – which appears to suspend what motor racing is supposed to be about. See the news pages for more.

29

“The we from he

Dirk Klynsmith

THERE is a fair bit of respect for Jason Bargwanna inside Sprint Gas Racing.

It showed on Sunday morning, when Elroy Jetson secured pole for Race 2A, and a team member was quick to point out that he had had a potential topfive lap derailed by an ill-timed yellow flag on Friday. Of course, Bargs has one sufboard in his trophy collection already, having won at the track in 2002.

The ’09 race turned to heck immediately, a plug lead rubbing on the exhaust system and melting, leaving it to arc and reduce the car to seven cylinders. Bargs nosed it into the garage, resumed on all eight pots and, aided by some Safety Cars and incidents, motored through to ninth.

The afternoon race was looking like providing another top-10 result when Bargs get a clang from Jamie Whincup.

That forced Bargs into Steven Richards, putting them both out.

“A day in the life of Bargs Racing,” he said. “Unfortunately, Jamie ended our day again.”

The ‘again’ part refers to Bathurst.

Bargwanna is not happy about what happened at that race, and is looking for a change of luck …

30

PAUL Cruickshank went home on Sunday night with one thing in mind; reading his son a bedtime story.

It has been a tough month for his racing team. A result at Phillip Island went west with an engine problem; at Bathurst, a similar thing happened. The car speed was there on the streets, but incidents on Sunday morning meant that neither Fabian Coulthard nor Michael Patrizi bothered the scorers in the afternoon.

“You can actually call it the weekend from hell,” said the Kiwi on Sunday night. “That’s the biggest reality check we’ve had since, well, Bathurst 2006 was a pretty bad weekend, but as far as disappointment goes …

“We were going to use this weekend

Bargs cops the highs and

race

eekend ell”

Telling it like it is – credibility-plus YOU often get the impression when watching a TV broadcast of any sport that the commentators often have to bite their tongue.

They are generally employed by the network on which they are appearing, and their salaries are, directly or indirectly, coming from the sport on which they are commenting.

Rare then, to hear much that amounts to serious criticism of any sport on the box by its live commentary team. The boys behind the mike generally like to present a bestcase scenario.

In motorsport, Martin Brundle occasionally has the odd rumble on F1 broadcasts.

Nothing too brash.

So, how refreshing and illuminating to hear both Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife spare no blushes at all on Sunday when Race 4 and the Restart Farce unfolded.

Couch inhabitants were left in absolutely no doubt; this was a joke, this was rubbish.

to put our championship back on track, but we feel like we’re out of aces.

“The thing that is annoying me the most is that the car speed is there when we get it right, and it looks like we’re not putting anything into the cars. The cars are getting as many new bits as they had at the start of the year, and everyone knows we’ve been through a difficult period, but it looks like we’re not paying any attention to the cars, which is so untrue.

“That’s what frustrating me the most. This is our fourth year in the championship, and we normally don’t have failures. So to have accidents and failures here, I’m devastated. I’m upset for the guys, because the effort they are putting in is high effort, and they’re getting no reward for it.”

FROM THE COUCH CHRIS LAMBDEN There was genuine anger in Crompton’s voice. He loves his motorsport, but some of the things that happen behind the scenes leave him shaking his head. Usually that’s it – you don’t see or hear it on the Teev, but this time, it was clearly too much to contain the anger.

It should be applauded. There are times when you simply can’t gloss it over. Crompton and Skaife are media commentators every bit as much as they are V8 Supercar/Network 7 commentators, no different to the journalists whose work appears in Motorsport eNews, and there is an issue of credibility.

Well done boys, and let there be more of it.

V8 Supercar | RACEs 19-20, NIKON SUPERGP, GOLD COAST

d the lows

Pos # Driver 1 5 Mark Winterbottom 2 2 Garth Tander 3 888 Craig Lowndes 4 22 Will Davison 5 51 Greg Murphy 6 17 Steven Johnson 7 9 Shane Van Gisbergen 8 18 James Courtney 9 15 Rick Kelly 10 6 Steven Richards 11 1 Jamie Whincup 12 25 Jason Bright 13 10 Paul Dumbrell 14 3 Jason Bargwanna 15 4 Alex Davison 16 24 David Reynolds 17 39 Russell Ingall 18 8 Jason Richards 19 55 Tony D’Alberto 20 7 Todd Kelly 21 67 Tim Slade 22 11 Jack Perkins 23 33 Lee Holdsworth 24 34 Michael Caruso 25 12 Dean Fiore 26 16 Mark McNally 27 14 Cameron McConville 28 333 Michael Patrizi 29 111 Fabian Coulthard

Team/Car R19A R19B R20A R20B Points Orrcon FPR Falcon 1 2 2 1 288 Toll HRT Commodore 2 1 3 2 278 TeamVodafone Falcon FG 4 4 1 13 228 Toll HRT Commodore 3 3 21 10 190 Sprint Gas Commodore VE 6 5 14 7 187 Jim Beam Falcon VE 10 11 6 5 182 SP Tools SBR Falcon FG 5 7 19 11 164 Jim Beam Falcon FG DNF 16 5 3 150 Jim Beam Commodore VE 12 9 20 9 142 Castrol FPR Falcon FG 7 6 12 134 TeamVodafone Falcon FG 13 8 DNF 6 129 Fujitsu SBR Falcon FG DNF 20 8 4 128 Autobarn Commodore VE 8 22 11 20 124 Sprint Gas Commodore VE 11 10 9 DNF 117 Irwin Tools SBR Falcon FG 16 17 16 17 112 Bundaberg Red Commodore VE 15 18 7 DNF 104 Supercheap Commodore VE 9 DNF 4 DNF 102 BOC BJR Commodore VE DNF 24 10 8 101 Bottle-O Commodore VE 20 25 13 16 100 Jim Beam Commodore VE 19 23 18 15 98 Supercheap Commodore VE 17 21 17 21 96 Bet 24-7 Commodore VE 14 15 DNF 18 88 Valvoline GRM Commodore VE DNF 14 22 12 87 Valvoline GRM Commodore VE DNF 12 DNF 14 67 Kitten/TF Falcon FG DNF 28 15 19 65 Hi-Tec Oils Commodore 21 27 DNF 22 53 WOW BJR Commodore VE 18 19 23 DNS 50 Wilson Security Falcon BF 22 26 DNF DNS 34 Wilson Security Falcon FG DNF 13 DNF DNS 33

Dirk Klynsmith

Points: Whincup 2605, W. Davison 2573, Tander 2316, Lowndes 2175, Winterbottom 1862, Johnson 1838, R. Kelly 1658, Holdsworth 1655, Courtney 1586, Ingall 1586, Caruso 1500, Van Gisbergen 1466, J. Richards 1441, Dumbrell 1426, McConville 1388, S. Richards 1387, T. Kelly 1373, A. Davison 1282, Murphy 1234, Coulthard 1203, Bright 1175, Reynolds 1122, Slade 978, Bargwanna 965, D’Alberto 947, Perkins 867, Patrizi 740.

31

AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 8 – GOLD COAST

32

race

Ash avoids the smash Keeping out of trouble earned Ash Walsh the Formula Ford round win at Surfers Paradise, in just his second meeting back. ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports FORMULA FORD

A

SH Walsh has come out of a hectic SuperGP with the final round win of the 2009 Australian Formula Ford Championship.

Winning the weekend should have been a formality for Mitch Evans. The fast young Kiwi was way too good for the field for the majority of the weekend, topping both practice sessions (despite a massive crash in the second), qualifying, and easily winning the first two races.

But a poor opening lap in the final saw him drop to fifth, before he spun in greasy conditions, dropping the rear of the field and throwing away certain round honours.

That left Richie Stanaway and Walsh fighting for the race win. But Stanaway also spun, leaving Walsh way out in front.

Stanaway did recover to have one more crack at the round win, which would have been his if he’d been able to sneak past Scott Pye for second place late in the race. But he and Pye clashed, repeatedly and comically, as they both endeavoured to make sure the other didn’t finish the race.

And that was what Walsh, who has only done two rounds this year, needed to steal an unlikely round win.

“It was pretty intense out there,” Walsh said.

“I hope the spectators enjoyed that because we were really on the edge in those opening laps. Mitch and Richie

were charging but I had some great car speed. [Mike] Borland’s really put together a brilliant car this weekend so I knew I had the tools to get the job done, it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time and trying to stay out of trouble – which thankfully I managed to do.”

Despite both having a disastrous final race, Evans and Stanaway managed to lock away second and third for the round respectively.

Recently crowned Champion Nick Percat had a quiet weekend, keeping out of trouble to finish his year with two fifth places and second in the final race.

Evans locked away second for the championship, making it a Sonic Motor Racing Services whitewash in 2009.

John Morris/Mpix

James Smith

Dirk Klynsmith

Camber, rake and toe-in: There were some funy suspension geometries going on at Surfers, such as Richie Stanaway’s three-wheeling efforts in the final race, above.

Nick Simmons had some rearwheel-drive issues as well, left.

33

Stokell back on top Consistent performance hands Paul the series lead MINI CHALLENGE SERIES Leader Paul Stokell may not have had everything his own way, but didn’t let that prevent him claiming a stunning victory as the Gold Coast played host to Round 6 of the 2009 MINI Challenge, delivered by Pizza Capers.

Series first-timers Glenn Seton, John Martin, and Ryan Hansford all had commendable performances, mixing it with regulars such as Chris Alajajian and Nathan Caratti, but Stokell would prove to be the benchmark for the weekend as the concrete walls of the challenging circuit caught out both young and old.

After qualifying fastest and taking Race 1 honours, finishing runner up to Alajajian in Races 2 and 3 would be enough to secure Stokell first place for the round. However, it was debutant Hansford, inset, who was the surprise packet for the day, taking third place in his maiden outing in a MINI. Alajajian managed to resurrect his weekend after mechanical problems in qualifying left him languishing in 17th

34

position on the grid to start Race 1, then clawing his way to finish the race in sixth, before finishing the second and third races in first.

John Martin may have had a fairytale turnaround from spectator to competitor for the weekend, but his MINI Challenge debut was without the requisite happy ending. The Team Australia A1GP driver was left with a sprained wrist and dented pride after he tagged a concrete wall and came to rest, quickly putting an end to a promising weekend.

Grant Denyer experienced a similar fate, failing to finish Race 1 after pirouetting into the concrete at Turn 3, and then struggling to find form for the rest of the weekend.

The round win ensured Stokell reclaimed the series lead with his win, after his primary challenger Denyer suffered through a testing weekend.

The MINI Challenge now heads west to Barbagallo for the penultimate round of the championship, before the 2009 series wraps up at Homebush in December.

– REBECCA WYATT

race

Marshall Cass

Marshall Cass

Final fling for Clews AUSSIES RACERS

Marshall Cass

Marshall Cass

IT’S never over until the final chequered flag has fallen, and it was the fourth and final race that would decide the winner of Round 6 of the Aussie Racing Cars Super Series on the Gold Coast.

After a weekend dominated by David Lawrence, the concrete walls of the Gold Coast circuit claimed him as a victim, opening the door for Kyle Clews to take the round win. A talented and varied field contested the round, with special guest appearances from David Besnard, replacing Channel Seven commentator and former V8 Supercar driver Neil Crompton; and newlycrowned 2009 Australian Formula Ford Champion

and 2006 Aussie Racing Car Series competitor Nick Percat.

Lawrence, the series leader, enjoyed a perfect start to the weekend after qualifying fastest and winning the first, second and third races. It was Clews sharing the front row for Race 1, and he would spend the first three races of the weekend playing bridesmaid, with Brad Ward, Percat and Maurice Masini taking turns to fill the final spot on the podium.

Race 4, however, saw a turning of the tables, with Clews shaking the bridesmaid tag to claim round victory after a heated battle with Lawrence, Adam Gowans and Besnard. The lead bunch provided entertaining racing, often travelling through the

corners two abreast and saving the closest racing for the last lap, where Lawrence fell victim to the concrete at the second chicane where he ended up in the wall, going on to finish 12th.

Gowans claimed the race win, from Clews and Besnard.

The weekend elevates Gowans, above, into the lead of the 2009 Championship standings, heading into the seventh and final round around the streets of Homebush at the Sydney 400 in December.

– REBECCA WYATT

35

WHAT LEGENDS ARE MAD When A1GP decided not to show up, the Pirtek Legends filled the gap in the program ... and it was a treat for motorsport fans of all ages

Peter Bury

Kevin Bartlett’s Channel 9 Camaro was one of the stars of the show.

The Dick Johnson Sierra was a last-minute addition, drafted in when the Tru-Blue Xd Falcon expired on Thursday.

The Norm Beechey Monaro turned heads in pit-lane.

John Morris/Mpix

John Morris/Mpix

36

race

James Smith

ADE OF

Dick’s green Falcon proved tougher than its blue counterpart, lasting the whole weekend.

Marshall Cass

James Smith

No Legends parade would have been complete without a Peter Brock Torana.

Jim Richards’ BMW proved it wasn’t all about Aussie and American muscle ...

37

NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 32 – TUMS FAST RELIEF 500, MARTINSVILLE

Back Ho

Contact Oriana Ruffini: Oriana@mnews.com.au

38

ome again in Virginia Denny Hamlin was the fastest man at Martinsville – but Jimmie Johnson finished second and has a fourth Sprint Cup title in a headlock.

NASCAR Media

39

NASCAR Media

H

ERE is a headline: Jimmie Johnson did not win Sunday’s NASCAR race.

Okay, we are over-reacting.

Johnson is in red-hot form in The Chase, and he has won five of the past six races at Martinsville Speedway. Denny Hamlin, who won the one that JJ did not win, last spring, was the man to finally put a whupping on Johnson on the half-mile track, winning over Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Final pit stops occurred under the green flag with Hamlin’s stop was 3s faster than Johnson’s. But the 12th

40

caution flag with 58 laps to run, when Elliott Sadler spun John Andretti, eroded the advantage and Hamlin had to fight with Johnson on that and two more restarts before the culmination of 501 laps.

“I knew Johnson was going to be strong on the restart, but our car was so good,” said Hamlin of his third 2009 win and second in his home state of Virginia.

“The crew kept adjusting on the car and getting it better and better on every stop, our car really good on the long run, I was kind of worried about the short run at the end. But we were able to survive it.”

Johnson bumped Hamlin

wide with 16 laps to run in the spring Martinsville race, but he didn’t give Hamlin too much grief this time.

“Jimmie gave us a lot of respect there toward the end,” continued Hamlin, who started 17th.

“He knew we had a faster car and decided to protect his points lead, we’re kinda racing for nothing and he’s racing for a championship.”

Johnson gained 28 points on Mark Martin and now leads by 118 points after Martin finished eighth. Gordon finished third and maintain that spot in The Chase.

Marcos Ambrose qualified

a disappointing 34th and was involved in the first incident when Matt Kenseth slid up into the Aussie’s Toyota on lap eight, the pair spinning and causing front end damage to the JTG Daugherty Toyota.

Unfortunately Ambrose couldn’t rebound, to finish 27th two laps off the pace and he remains 17th in the standings.

One thing to keep in mind as we head to Talladega this Sunday; the April race at the Superspeedway was the only DNF Johnson has recorded all year. So, even it a fourth title looks to be his for the asking, maybe The Chase is not over yet?

SPRINT CUP | TUMS FAST RELIEF 500 1 11 2 48 3 42 4 18 5 24 6 26 7 39 8 5 9 14 10 29

Denny Hamlin Jimmie Johnson Juan Montoya Kyle Busch Jeff Gordon Jamie McMurray Ryan Newman Mark Martin Tony Stewart Kevin Harvick

Toyota Joe Gibbs/Fedex Q17 Chevy Hendrick/Lowe’s 15 Chevy Earnhart Ganassi/Target 21 Toyota Joe Gibbs/M&Ms 41 Chevy Hendrick/DuPont 2 Ford Roush Fenway/Crown Royal 23 Chevy Stewart Haas/US Army 1 Chevy Hendrick/Kellogg’s 4 Chevy Stewart Haas/Old Spice 13 Chevy Childress/Shell 10

NASCAR | DRIVER’S points Johnson 6098, Martin 5980, Gordon 5948, Stewart 5906, Montoya 5898, Kurt Busch 5858, Newman 5786, Biffle 5748, Hamlin 5746, Edwards 5685, Kahne 5659, Vickers 5568.

NASCAR Media

Keselowski is walkin’ in Memphis NATIONWIDE

Fed of the Class: Denny Hamlin celebrated his second career win on his home track. Jeff Gordon fought off Juan Montoya for much of the race while in Memphis, Brad Keselowski won a points bonus – and celebrated.

NASCAR Media

BRAD Keselowski was the deserving winner in an exciting Nationwide race at Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday, taking the lead with a three-wide move late in the going and holding off a charging Kyle Busch.

A shove from point leader Busch sent Keselowski sideways in the final turn was that was still not enough to unseat Keselowski who was involved in three earlier aggressive incidents the last coming when he spun Carl Edwards.

Keselowski’s winning move came on a restart with 12 laps

to run when he dove under the lead pair of Tony Raines and Michael Annett. Stephen Wallace was spun by Matt Kenseth with two laps to run setting up a green, white, checker finish, for the young Wallace it was the second race in a row he was spun late while running up front. A frustrated Wallace was restrained by officials post race when he had words with Kenseth.

Jason Leffler finished third in his Braun Racing Toyota with Mike Bliss in the CJM Toyota fourth and Brendan Gaughan, Wallace’s Chev team-mate good for fifth and Edwards sixth.

– MARTIN D CLARK

41

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 15 – POTIMAO, PORTUGAL

ONE HIT WONDER Ben Spies will take the World Superbike title with him to MotoGP next season, after a tense season-long battle with Noriyuki Haga

42

Yamaha Racing

B

Yamaha Racing

EN Spies will, in all likelihood, never race a Superbike again.

And, after just one season doing so at World level, he doesn’t need to.

The Texan will head to MotoGP and heaven-knows what thereafter with the 2009 World Superbike Championship tucked under his arm, having given Yamaha its first-ever title with a heady performance in Portugal.

The die was set in Race 1. Spies won, Haga crashed, and that gave Spies a 15-point buffer for the final race. That turned into a Ducati 1-2, Michel Fabrizio taking the win from Haga, while Spies cruised around to a safe fifth to take the crown.

“It was actually a really tough race,” Spies said of Race 1, “at first I was just going for the win, getting to the front and not worrying about anything.

Then when Haga was out I had to win to get as many points as possible for Race 2.

“Once you have a gap, you don’t want to be stupid and throw it all away.”

So, Yamaha wins the title for the first time, ironically, after a big challenge, but a final stumble, from one of its most loyal servants.

Jonny Rea maintained his lateseason surge with two podiums on his Honda, while Max Biaggi continued his competitive form with another podium result.

Final Points: Spies 462, Haga

So long, farewell, amen: Ben Spies had plenty to celebrate at the end of his only season in the WSBK. His win and fifth ensured that Yamaha took out its first Superbike crown – on the same weekend it sealed the MotoGP and World Supersport titles.

456, Fabrizio 382, Biaggi 319, Rea 315, Haslam 241, Checa 209, Byrne 192, Sykes 176, Smrz 169.

JUST as Spies cruised to a title, Cal Crutchlow ensured Honda’s Supersport dominance ended when he took the title with a safe fourth place.

Crutchlow followed home Eugene Laverty, Kenan Sofuoglu and Garry McCoy, the Aussie scoring his second podium finish of the year for Triumph. Mark Aitchison was fifth.

Points: Crutchlow 243, Laverty 236, Sofuoglu 189, Lascorz 163, Foret 123, Pitt 119, West 117, McCoy 98, Aitchison 93.

43

Timo wins his second title DTM

44

sutton-images.com

GARRY Paffett might have won the final DTM round of the season at Hockenheim last weekend, but it was Audi’s Timo Scheider who was the big winner, taking his second crown with a reserved second place.

Scheider played it safe during the race, letting Paffett and Mattias Ekstrom fight it out in the early part of the race, before inheriting second when Ekstrom retired with damage from the fierce scrap. He didn’t even try and challenge Scheider in the latter stages, preferring to wrap up the title with second.

“Today, I didn’t want to take any big risks,” he said.

“For me, it was just about bringing it home. All in all, I am very happy.

This is a moment in my life that I can only hardly describe. I owe all this to my team, to Audi and especially to my family, and that makes me really proud.

“I had a lot of pressure and expectations resting on my shoulders, particularly the fact that I was defending the title. Gary was a hard, but fair rival and would have deserved the title, too.”

Paffett was gracious in victory, and defeat.

“I am very happy to have achieved my fourth win of the season and I thank my team – again they gave me a perfect car. Unfortunately, I missed the championship win by five points, but I want to congratulate Timo, he was more consistent and deserved to win.”

race

Daniel’s Day in Tassie FORMULA VEE

KARTING NEWCASTLE’S Hayden McBride has claimed the 2009 Australian CIK Karting Championship, after finishing runner-up at the final round held in Queensland over the weekend.

Originally scheduled to be contested at the Ipswich circuit, the final day of competition was moved to the nearby

Toowoomba circuit after track conditions were deemed unsafe on Saturday afternoon.

Throughout Sunday’s action, McBride battled with tyre issues, believed to have been instigated by the condition of the Ipswich circuit yesterday, and finished well off the pace during the heat races.

But luckily for him, he was able to take advantage of the second set of allocated Dunlop

Ash Budd

Being McBridesmaid will do

tyres, and showed some strong pace to finish runnerup to his Gillard team-mate John Grother in both finals.

“It is a big relief to get through and win the championship,” said McBride.

“My tyres were pretty much worn out after qualifying and the opening heat, I think due to the Ipswich track surface torturing them. I’ve never seen a track like we saw yesterday.”

WHILE the rest of the motorsport world soaked up the sun of Surfers Paradise, the eyes of the National racing circuit turned to Baskerville Raceway in Tasmania for the running of the 2009 Formula Vee Nationals.

With prize money and national pride on the line, along with weather variability to add another challenge, drivers from Australia and New Zealand battled for supremacy.

After a closely contested weekend in all conceivable weather conditions, the ACT’s Daniel Reynolds claimed the National Championship trophy, comfortably ahead of the duelling pair of Novocastrian Dylan Tomas, and Tasmanian Sam Walter.

– REBECCA WYATT

Family team claim another off-road crown OFF ROAD WARRNAMBOOL father and son combination Shannon and Ian Rentsch have won their fifth Australian OffRoad Championship.

The duo headed into the fifth and final round of the series at Goondiwindi last weekend level on points with as Adelaide’s Dave Burrows.

They got their weekend off to a trouble-free start winning the allimportant prologue and the top-10 shootout. It enabled them to be the first to start Saturday’s two-lap race, which covered 150 kilometres.

“It is really important to get a good prologue,” Shannon said.

“That way you can stay out of the dust and try and stir it up.”

The father-son team took a comfortable lead into the last race on Sunday, which consisted of just a single lap.

“We ended up winning by 28 seconds,” Shannon said.

“It was a really good feeling.

“After all the effort we put in, this is the reward.”

– GEOFF ROUNDS

45

46

rear of grid

A Chip off the Old Black Jack Top Spot

James Smith

THERE have been a fair few anniversaries celebrated during 2009, but this is one of our favourites.

Earlier this year, at Sebring,

David Brabham re-enacted his father’s famous championshipsealing moment when he pushed a Cooper GP car across the line. Fifty years ago, Black

Jack ran out of fuel, and had to hop out of the car and leg it, to prevent Tony Brooks pinching the World title.

With plenty of track time to

Dirk Klynsmith

fill in at Surfers at the weekend, the Brabhams were it again.

Sir Jack waved off a Cooper – now driven by his grandson Matthew – and the 15-yearold toured the track, having a marvellous time, until the car mysteriously stopped about 30 metres shy of the flag.

Out he leapt, pushing the car across the line, and the two were joined by Geoff Brabham for pics and chats.

Great car. Terrific family.

And, we reckon the photo left is pretty much the best grandfather-grandson image we have ever run in eNews.

OK, it is the first of those such images, but it is we still think it takes some beating. The chip and the old block – and doesn’t Jack look like he is about to bust with pride?

If we have to go without A1GP cars to have a moment like this, that’s one sacrifice we are prepared to make …

47