Motorsport eNews Issue 129 - November 3-9, 2009

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Issue No. 129 September 3 -9 2009

f o h t r i B a new v8 team

m a e t r e v e t s e g youn 8 v r o f t e s s s bo supercar racing

Rogers, fpr confirm ‘10 deals

Editorial 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. 129 | 03 - 09 Nov 2009

news 4 Back in the Game

6 Told you so ...

8 Dani Done Good 14 FF-French 17 Mitchin’ for a drive

chat 18 5 minutes with ... opinion 20 Lambden 21 Branagan

race 22 NASCAR 26 NSW State 30 Speedway

trade 36 Classifieds

Lucas to be a team boss Bottle-O for FPR x 3 Ricciardo signs for FR3.5 New Mygale revealed Evans joins F3 for Sandown Mitch Evans Decisions, decisions Talking Cogs Crazy, crazy stuff ...

Once more for the road Farr out, not again!

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

Lucas Dumbrell Racing!

V8 SUPERCARS

L

UCAS Dumbrell is poised to become the youngest team owner in V8 Supercar racing next year, should current plans come to fruition. eNews believes that Dumbrell, who raced Formula Ford until a bad crash at Oran Park last December, and who turns 20 next month, will become the team principal of his own one-car team next season and that Jack Perkins, pictured, may be his driver.

We believe that Dumbrell, brother of Autobarn Racing driver Paul Dumbrell, has done a deal to acquire a licence from Tim Miles of Tasman Motorsport, and that licence will be used by a new stand-alone team, Lucas Dumbrell Racing, which will acquire a Walkinshaw Racing Holden Commodore VE, to be run from Marty Brant’s workshop.

Sponsorship is currently being discussed and, while assumptions that backing would come from the Automotive Brands Group, which has links with the Dumbrell family, our sources also report that there

is a new sponsor to V8 Supercar racing “in the mix”.

Perkins, who currently drives for Kelly Racing, was cautiously reluctant to speculate on the drive when contacted by Motorsport eNews.

“I don’t have anything to say on that; I have no comment. I have three races coming up for Kelly Racing, and I’m concentrating on those.”

We have also been told that there are drivers other than Perkins under consideration but that “he is probably the favoured choice at present.”

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

news

IT”S ONLY A RUMOUR BUT ...

Skaife on the comeback trail?

Intriguing, but stranger things have happened ....

V8 SUPERCARS COULD Mark Skaife return to full-time racing in 2010?

That appears to be an option following (unconfimed) rumours that have passed by the eNews office in recent days.

The suggestion we are hearing is that the ex-HRT racer may have had a couple of full-time drive offers since his impressive co-drive stint alongside Greg Murphy, at Phillip Island and Bathurst.

As we understand it, Skaife is fundamentally a free agent.

His ‘independent’ position on the V8 Supercar Board implies no direct link with Holden – or Ford for that matter. Certainly there is no HSV ‘Ambassadorship’ which was loosely discussed at the time of his retirement announcement.

Where could he go? Well, again completely speculatively, there are limited options at this stage.

On the ‘red’ side of the fence, excluding ‘Clayton’ (unlikely considering the less-then cuddly nature of his departure) most drives are locked in – with the exception of Kelly Racing.

Could Skaife jump the fence?

In theory, there is no reason why not. It adds additional spice to an already interesting V8 Silly Season.

As we published, we were unable to contact Skaife for comment.

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

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

CONFIRMED

FPR/Rod Nash Racing join As revealed in Motorsport eNews, a Bottle-O Falcon will make three at FPR in 2010

Evans has his first taste of a V8 V8 SUPERCARS

For more with Mitch Evans, check out ‘Five Minutes With …’ on page 18.

Marshall Cass

MITCH Evans has had his first taste of a V8 Supercar at Winton today (Monday), during an evaluation day with Kelly Racing.

The 15-year-old Kiwi became the youngest person ever to drive a V8 Supercar, when he jumped aboard Kelly Racing’s Hi-Tec Oils car, joining Fujitsu Series front-runner David Russell, and karter David Sera at the rookie day.

Evans, who had never driven a racecar that had a roof before, was happy with how the test went, getting within three seconds of a benchmark time set by 2006 V8 champion Rick Kelly. But, being a typical racing driver, he was a little disappointed not to have been closer, despite his lack of experience.

“I didn’t really know what to expect or how I’d go, because I’d never driven a Touring Car before,” Evans told eNews.

“But I got within three seconds of

Rick, so I was pretty pleased with that.

Still, it could have been better.

“But I only had a handful of laps. It was just a case of letting me see what it’s like. If I get another opportunity, I’d know exactly what to expect.”

Todd Kelly was impressed with how the youngster equipped himself in a V8.

“I’ve noticed Mitch’s performances in Formula Ford this season, and for such a young guy, he’s very impressive,” said Kelly.

“He has to return back to New Zealand as he’s got some school exams this week – you don’t hear that from a racing driver very often.

“Seeing a guy so young thrown in the deep end at his first V8 test reminds me of when Rick and I started off in this sport, so it was a really enjoyable day for us from that perspective.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

forces

V8 SUPERCARS AS exclusively revealed in Motorsport eNews two weeks ago (#126), Rod Nash Racing and Bottle-O will be part of a three-car Ford Performance Racing team in 2010.

The announcement was officially made early last week, confirming that Nash would part ways with Tony D’Alberto Racing, and move to FPR next season.

“RNR has competed in V8 Supercars for the past 12 years using a variety of running options,” said Nash.

“Securing The Bottle-O sponsorship has given us a boost to pursue greater competiveness, both on and off track, to better service our team and bring in the results.

“With the recent measures to reduce staff you’ve got to be smarter with how you spread your resources and levels of personnel. We needed to better utilise that, especially with engineering, and running three cars makes that possible. “[FPR team manager] Tim Edwards and I discussed all these points and decided an association to operate as a truly competitive three car team just made the best sense.”

The preliminary artwork of the car revealed with the announcement features a secondary

sponsor – Perth-based company Fastr Car Insurance. But while the rumour mill went into overdrive about whether that sponsor was linked to a driver, and if so, who that driver was, Nash remains adamant that no one has been signed. He did, however, confirm that he spoke to Andrew Thompson on the Gold Coast last week, just to “keep him interested.”

One person Nash did rule out of the running was Paul Dumbrell, who was linked to the drive by a website earlier today (Monday).

When asked to comment on whether Dumbrell was in the frame, Nash said “no, I don’t even know if Paul is available. I’m learning about ews, October 18 this through the Motorsport eN media, and as far as I’m concerned, Paul is tied up with Clayton.”

An announcement on the driver is expected some time next week.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Dirk Klynsmith

Jamie doesn’t want to ROC V8 SUPERCARS

JAMIE Whincup’s horror Gold Coast weekend has prompted him to withdraw from the Race of Champions in Beijing.

The defending V8 Supercar Champion, who goes into this weekend’s Phillip Island round of the championship with a 32-point lead over Will Davison, has put his chase for a second title first. He will be replaced

by Supercross racer, Chad Reed.

“V8 Supercars are my focus, we’ve worked very hard to get where we are and I’ve made the decision to withdraw from the Race of Champions in order to concentrate on rebuilding my points lead,” said Whincup.

“I am extremely grateful that Chad has been able to take my place and I am certain he will do a very good job for Australia.”

Reed will partner Mick Doohan in

the event at the ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium, which means that the Australian team will take on the likes of World Champion Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher and Tom Kristensen without any significant race car experience ... in other words, it could be a tough ask.

The Nations Cup part of the event starts tomorrow night (Tuesday), with the Race of Champions taking place on Wednesday night.

Br

news

CONFIRMED

GRM nabs Fujitsu cash V8 SUPERCARS AS first reported in eNews last week, Fujitsu will become the naming rights sponsor of Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2010.

After years of having Valvoline as the main sponsor on the GRM cars, Fujitsu will take over, in what is a three-year sponsorship arrangement.

The air-conditioning giant jumps ship from Jason Bright’s Ford squad, after a five-year involvement as the naming rights sponsor of

Britek Motorsport.

The news leaves Bright’s 2010 plans as an even bigger unknown (see separate story).

Valvoline stays on as a secondary sponsor, while, as expected, Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso will continue to drive the two cars. That news come after persistent rumours that Holdsworth would leave the team.

GRM will also debut a brand new Commodore, at some point early next season.

right: Looking at “options” V8 SUPERCARS

Peter Bury

JASON Bright has “options” for his V8 Supercar future – and they may include not continuing as a team owner.

Bright is still some way from settling his plans for 2010 but the loss of long-time sponsor Fujitsu did not come as a shock.

“I had been working on something different for some time,” he said on Monday.

“I found out before Indy [the recent Gold Coast race], so it wasn’t really a surprise.”

Bright said that there are several options in front of him at present and that he expects to have something sorted out “between Phillip Island and Perth”.

sutton-images.com

It’s the Bledisloe Cup of Renault 3.5!

Ricciardo joins Hartley at Tech 1 for 2010 F RENAULT 3.5

sutton-images.com

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shared driving duties between his F3 team Carlin Motorsport, and his FRenault 2.0 team SG Formula.

The F1 feeder series won’t be completely unknown territory for Ricciardo; he did a one-off FR3.5 series race for Tech 1 earlier this year at Portimao.

According to team manager Simon Abadie, Tech 1 is delighted to have Ricciardo, top right, on board.

“He’s a great guy and we’re delighted to welcome him into our team,” he said.

“Next week, he’ll get to grips with his car during the collective test session on the Catalonian circuit near Barcelona.

“It’s all very simple; we’ve got the best drivers. Both Brendon and Daniel have the talent to get into F1 and score victories.

We’ve got to be the best so we can win together.

“It’s a real sign of recognition for the team to have been chosen by Dr Helmut Markko

sutton-images.com

DANIEL Ricciardo will graduate to Formula Renault 3.5 in 2010.

The West Aussie, who was recently crowned the 2009

British Formula 3 Champion, will join fellow Red Bull junior Brendan Hartley, bottom right, at Tech 1. The news came part the way through last week’s open FR3.5 test at Motorland Aragon, where Ricciardo

to defend the Red Bull Junior Team colours.

“In addition, we’re really lucky to be able to announce our 2010 drivers so early on. That’ll help us to do a great job this winter to arrive at Motorland Aragon perfectly prepared for the opening round of the season next April.”

news

ONCE MORE. NO, TWICE ...

ORAN PARK SUNDAY’s last ever NSW State Championship race meeting at Oran Park may – like a

Farnham Farewell concert – not quite be the last.

While surrounding houses get closer and closer to the picturesque NSW circuit,

there are suggestions that it might just be possible to squeeze in the opening round of the 2010 NSW State series, in January, before the

doors close for good.

In the meantime, a Six Hours club event is also scheduled for later this month.

Dirk Klynsmith

TV/event timing for PI 300 V8 SUPERCARS HORSE power will be front and centre on Channel 7 this Saturday – but you better like horses ...

V8 Supercars’ Phillip Island round will clash with the final day of Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival, which is also telecast on Seven, so V8 Supercars Australia is working on making live streaming available to all viewers on Telstra BigPond. The address to watch is :

http://bigpondvideo.com/v8tv Seven will replay Saturday’s 100km Race 21 twice, starting at midnight to 1am on all stations except Perth, where it is on Saturday between 5pm and 6pm.

Sunday’s five-hour broadcast will kick off at midday, with another replay of Race 21’s Top 10 and the race itself, followed

by Race 22 qualifying and the 200km race.

Support events at the round will be for Targa Invitational cars and Saloon Cars.

V8 Supercar Schedule Phillip Island 300

Saturday 10.00 – 10.30 12.15 – 12.35 12.50 – 13.20 15.35 – 16.25

Practice Qualifying Top10 Shootout Race 21, 22 laps

Sunday 10.35 – 10.55 14.05 – 15.45

Qualifying Race 22, 44 laps 11

NEWMAN BLASTS NASCAR

NASCAR RYAN Newman stepped out of his destroyed Stewart Haas Racing Chevy at Talladega and blasted NASCAR officials for its restrictor plate racing policies.

Newman was left hanging, literally, when his #39 car came to rest on its roof after a high-speed barrel rool, after being bumped from behind by Marcos Ambrose. Newman’s car flipped, landed on the bonnet of Kevin Harvick, and turned backwards and flew into the air before coming to rest, upside down, on the grass.

Newman was unhurt in the crash, but remained in the car while Safety Crews righted the car and then cut its roof off.

12

“I’m just really disappointed,” Newman said. “We had a race back here in the spring and complained about cars getting airborne and now, ironically, I’m the guy who gets upside-down, have the roll bars down on top of my helmet and stuck upside down. I wish NASCAR would do something.”

“When I hit the roll cage and landed on my head, I was a little worried. I was happy to be able to walk out of that, in a roundabout way.”

Newman is clearly dissatisfied with the follow-the-leade racing, and NASCAR’s policy of warning the drivers not to bump-draft. That led to less overtaking and lead changes during the race, which was won by Jamie McMurray.

“It’s not even a good race for the fans – that’s the bottom line – that’s who we’re trying to service is the fans. They can stand up and cheer when there’s three [laps] to go with a green-white-checkered [finish], but that’s not racing. You’re supposed to be racing all day long. And I think we’ve lost a little bit of that lustre.”

“It’s just a product of this racing and what NASCAR’s put us in, in this box with these types of cars, with the yellow line, with no bump-drafting, no passing,” Newman said. “Drivers used to be able to respect each other and race around each other – Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison – all those guys have always done that. I guess they don’t think much of us any more.”

news

Dodge’s NW Challenger

... and works backing for Penske in 2010 “As the performance brand of our new company, we are excited to expand our relationship with Penske Racing and introduce the iconic Dodge Challenger as our entry into the NASCAR Nationwide Series,” said Ralph Gilles, president and CEO, Dodge Car Brand.

“Motorsports are a significant part of the Dodge brand’s legacy. Penske Racing has such a rich tradition in motorsports, and our partnership in the Nationwide Series will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the Challenger and offer our loyal Dodge enthusiasts plenty of excitement in this very competitive series next year.”

As previously announced,

NASCAR Media

NASCAR’s Nationwide category is going to the ponies.

Dodge Motorsports revealed its new car for the Nationwide Series ‘Car of Tomorrow’ program, and it will be the Challenger. The news comes a month after Ford confirmed it would brand its NW car as the Mustang.

Penske will enter two teams, the #12 to be driven by Justin Allgaier, right, while Brad Keselowski will race the #22.

Dodge also announced that it was extending its partnership with Penske Racing beginning in 2010.

In addition to Penske’s two NW entries, it will sponsor the team’s three Sprint Cup entries.

the Challenger will be used at the four new car races NASCAR has designated, starting at Daytona in July.

At the other 31 events will see Penske field Dodge Chargers.

NASCAR is expecting full integration of the new car in 2011.

NASCAR Media

sutton-images.com

13

New Mygale breaks cover After last week’s ‘spy’ shots, Mygale properly reveals its new Formula Ford

FORMULA FORD THIS is the first proper picture of the Mygale SJ10 Formula Ford.

While this is the British version of the car (complete with slick tyres), it is the exact same bodywork as will be seen on the Australian version – the SJ10a – and the same basic design as influenced by Aussie Mygale importer Greg Woodrow, and Sonic Motor Racing Services boss Mick

Ritter.

“The team at Mygale have found significant improvements in straight line speed with the new aero design,” said Woodrow.

“Over the past four years Mygale have been constantly in the wind tunnel with their Formula 3 project, and have taken that from a new car with no results to a race winner and championship contender.

“During this time we have been testing bodywork for

the Formula Ford project, and the bodywork you see in the pics is the end result. It’s aero efficiency is greatly improved and we have taken advantage of Mygale’s experience to build not only a sleeker car, but one that does not upset the air off the rear of the car, resulting in a reduction in the ‘tow’ the car offers to its competitors.”

The unveiling of the new car caps off a great year for the French manufacturer in Formula Ford. Mygales won

83 percent of the races in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, 84 percent in the British Series, 100 percent in the Benelux series, and finished first, second and third at the Formula Ford Festival.

In other Mygale news, Mark Zellner has been appointed the sales and marketing manager of Mygale Australia.

He joins Mygale after stints at Revolution Racegear in Melbourne, and CAMS. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Armor All backs 12 Hour for 2010 BATHURST 12 HOUR ARMOR All will be the naming rights sponsor at next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

The car care company has a big presence in Australian motor racing now, sponsoring the pole position award for both the V8 Supercar Championship Series, and the V8 Ute Racing Series.

And now it will sponsor the 12 Hour, which is entering the fourth year of its

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current stint as the first major event of the Australian motorsport calendar every February. The 12 Hour is run by Spherix, the same company that runs the V8 Utes.

Armor All replaces WPS as the title sponsor, the financial company fronting the event for the last three years.

There are already some confirmed entries for next year’s 12 Hour. Team Mitsubishi Ralliart has entered one official Mitsubish Evo X, but is yet to

name any drivers. Scott O’Donnell, Bob Grove and Alan Dippie will share a BMW 130i, while the father/daughter team of Lauren and Michael Gray will share a Toyota Corolla. Matthew Windsor, Paul Newman and Steven Sheils have confirmed an entry in a Subaru Impreza, with Justin Matthews, Bob Holden and Craig Bradshaw lining up in a Toyota Yaris.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Dirk Klynsmith

V8 Utes want Hamilton V8 UTES

THE V8 Ute Series may visit New Zealand again in 2010.

Series organisers are currently working on a deal that would see the Utes race at the Hamilton street track during the ITM Hamilton 400, with a three-test NZ versus Oz race format.

The trans-Tasman race is yet to be confirmed.

The rest of the calendar has, however, been confirmed. The season will kick off at the Clipsal 500, and features other marquee events such as the Townsville 400, the Phillip

Island 500, and a return to the streets of the Gold Coast for the October street race – whatever it will be named by then.

“We are extremely happy with the calendar and grateful to V8 Supercars for their continued support,” said Spherix’s Bill West.

“I think it shows how far the V8 Utes have come as a category and it’s great to know we are welcome back to our favourite tracks. We wish we could go all over Australia, but unfortunately with only eight rounds we can’t be everywhere, and this calendar reflects the Shareholder’s wishes.”

Cribbo/Dunn share Ute

2010 V8 Ute Series calendar 1 Clipsal 500 Adelaide NC ITM Hamilton 400* New Zealand 2 Winton Victoria 3 Hidden Valley Darwin 4 Townsville 400 FNQ 5 L&H 500, Phillip Island Victoria 6 Bathurst 1000 NSW 7 Gold Coast Queensland 8 Sydney 500 Sydney * Pending confirmation

V8 UTES

James Smith

COLIN Dunn and Denis Cribbin have bought Stephen Robinson’s V8 Ute franchise.

Dunn, who this year shared a car with his son Ben, has gone halves with Cribbin in the car and franchise, and under the technical guidance of Wayne Williams, the pair will share driving duties in 2010.

That will allow Ben to complete the full 2010 season on his own, giving him a more realistic shot at the title.

“I don’t want to do a full season’s worth of racing these

days, so this year Ben did the right thing by his old man and gave me a couple of drives,” he said.

“I was talking to Denis and he said he didn’t want to do a full season either. When Robbo’s car came up he said ‘if you want to go halves, then I’d be happy with that’.

“It worked out perfectly. We worked out which meetings we like the most and we share the costs. We’ll be happy running in the 12-20th group, because the top 10 are pretty competitive now. It’ll be really good fun.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

15

No Spies. No Sykes. Can Yamaha keep winning in the WSBK?

Just say ‘CC’ FORMULA 3

Kwik Kiwi Kid joins BRM

Dirk Klynsmith

BEN Spies may have left the building so far as Yamaha’s World Superbike Championship is concerned, but there are signs that the big blue is going to be a title contender again next season.

Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland have come to grips with Yamaha’s R1 quickly, and while Jonny Rea topped the Portimao test for Ten Kate Honda, the indications are that the British due will be right on the pace.

Crutchlow, the new Supersport World Champion, showed that he is far from overawed with the big-big bike, right, getting within 0.3s of Rea’s Honda, despite what he described as “a stupid crash” on the first morning of the twoday test.

There was a ‘first day of term’ feel about the test in Portugal,

as riders such as Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati), Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli (Alstare Suzukis) and Max Neukirchner (Ten Kate Honda) got accustomed to their new mounts. Also present was Chris Vermeulen, who joined Kawasaki and his new teammate Ton Sykes at the test, but only as a spectator. The Aussie was not permitted to ride as he is still under contract to Suzuki’s MotoGP team.

In other Superbike news, Shinya Nakano has announced that he has retired from professional racing. Nakano, runner-up in the 250cc World Championship in 2000, had a tough season with Aprilia, breaking a collarbone in Spain and suffering a neck injury in Germany.

The Japanese finished 14th in the 2009 WSBK points, with a best result of fourth in the season opener in Qatar.

He doesn’t look 35: Cal Crutchlow came to grips with Yamaha’s R1 very quickly in Portugal, setting competitive times from the start. The other CC, Carlos Checa, slapped his #7 on an Althea Racing Ducati.

FORMULA 3

Althea Racing

16

MITCH Evans will make his wings-and-slicks race debut at the Sandown SuperPrix later this month, the final round of the 2009 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship.

The 15-year-old Kiwi has made his single-seater career plans perfectly clear, and finished second in this year’s Australian Formula Ford Championship, behind Sonic team-mate Nick Percat.

And with a Toyota Racing Series program coming up in his native New Zealand this

summer, Evans has opted to race at the SuperPrix, in a bid to gain experience in wingsand-slicks cars. The news comes off the back of Evans’ first drive of an F3 car, at the recent driver evaluation day at Winton.

Evans will drive for Team BRM, using the same Dallara F307 that James Winslow won the title in last season.

Percat was also tipped for a drive at the SuperPrix, but indicated to eNews late last week that he was unlikely to take part.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

Peter Holinger

Yamaha Racing

Rodgers splits from WSS SPRINTCARS DALE Rodgers has parted ways with Sprintcar Racing Pty Ltd. Rodgers was involved with the instigation of the company that will be heavily involved in the running of World Series Sprintcars from now on, but has decided not to renew his consultancy contract, citing his own business concerns as the reason.

“I feel the series has come a long way in a very short time” Rodgers said.

“However my own business has grown quickly, particularly in the motor sport management arena, and I cannot continue as a part time consultant to Sprintcar Racing and WSS. The WSS gig is a really a full time roll, and the sport needs to recognize that it needs a person in place 12 months of the year to run the $1m series.”

The WSS kicks off in Brisbane later this month.

AUSTRALIAN motor racing has lost one of its great innovators, and true characters, with the passing of Peter Holinger.

The Melbourne-based engineer, known for generations as one of the world’s foremost gearbox constructors, died on Saturday, a week shy of his 77th birthday.

Holinger was a lifelong enthusiast of all things motor racing, and was a part of the team that developed the famed Repco Brabhams that won Formula 1 titles in the 1960. He established Holinger Engineering to supply Repco with specialised parts, and when that project wound down, moved on to other customers.

Peter was also a keen competitor, first taking to the hills with a Vincent motorcyclepowered car of his own design in the 1960s. He won four Australian hillclimb titles in his cars of his own design – which resembled large go-karts with wing at each end, and a 5-litre version of the Repco V8 in between.

But it was gearboxes where Holinger’s name became an international byword for excellence. His company supplied units to such factory teams as Nissan (for Series – source their units the Godzilla GTR) and BMW, from a relatively anonymous whose fleets of racers, dating engineering shop in the back to the height of Super Melbourne suburb of South Touring in the 1990s, all left Croydon. the company’s motorsport Such was Holinger’s HQ fitted with the Aussie-built standing in the sport that he units. is one of only three recipients Of course, it goes without of CAMS’s Phil Irving Award, saying that Holinger ’boxes presented to him in 1994 for are standard issue in V8 his outstanding contributions Supercars, but one must add to engineering excellence in to that the fact that teams motorsport. and series around the globe Quite apart from his – such as the German V8 Star

achievements, Holinger maintained a quiet enthusiasm for racing and was a source of advice and help for many in the sport, over a fivedecade span.

Peter Holinger and his wife of 50 years Beverly have a son and a daughter and five grandchildren. To the Holinger family, and their many friends inside and outside the sport, Motorsport News extends its deep sympathies.

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5 Minutes with ...

MITCH EVANS

Many 15-year-olds are wondering how to get a new bicycle. Not Evans, who tested a V8 Supercar at Winton on Monday – and came away pretty impressed with the power ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN MOTORSPORT NEWS; Well, you’d have to be the youngest ever person to drive a V8 Supercar – what are your thoughts on jumping straight in the deep end from Formula Ford?

MITCH EVANS: To be honest with you, it’s something that I never thought would happen.

It’s a complete surprise, but nevertheless it’s fantastic; a great opportunity.

How did the car compare to how you thought it would be like to drive?

It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, based on what I’d heard. But it was definitely harder to drive – actually, it was more that it was different, not harder. In some areas it is much harder, but for the most part, it’s just different.

It’s hard to explain.

I think the tyres are completely undergripped given the power and the weight of the car, so it was a lot different to what I expected – but it was fantastic.

Were you happy with where you ended up at in terms of the stopwatch?

Well, Rick went out first and posted a lap time for us to chase, but I didn’t really know what to expect or how I’d go, because I’d never driven a Touring Car before. But I got within three seconds of Rick, so I was pretty pleased with that.

Still, it could have been better.

But I only had a handful of laps. It was just a case of letting me see what it’s like. If I get another opportunity I’d know exactly what to expect.

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IT’S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SEE HOW I STACK UP AGAINST THE LIKES OF JOEY AND TIM EVANS IS RARING TO GET HIS HANDS ON A FORMULA 3 CAR Did you spend much time working with Rick and Todd?

They are very experienced blokes, not just when it comes to driving these cars, but driving racing cars in general …

They were very helpful. Todd took us for a run around the track in a road car, and pointed out how to drive a V8 Supercar around Winton. It’s obviously a completely different line to what you’d take in a Formula Ford or a Formula 3 car.

It was a really good experience.

I’m really thankful for what the Kellys have done.

That’s really what the plan is. I’m hoping to go over to Europe, but if that doesn’t succeed, V8 Supercars is such a great back-up plan to have. It’s a genuinely great way to make a career as a racecar driver.

It’s also good because it is nice and close to home, and there is that Kiwi/Aussie connection too, which is great.

I hear you’re doing the Formula 3 SuperPrix at Sandown later this month as well; that will obviously give you a good bit of wingsand-slicks seat time before You’ve made your overseas the Toyota Racing Series ambitions pretty clear; has season kicks off in a couple of that changed at all after months. this test? Do you see the V8 That’s the main reason we’re Supercar thing as a good back- doing it, just to get some up now you’ve driven one? experience in that kind of

car before the Toyota Racing Series starts up. It’s also a great opportunity to see how I stack up against the likes of Joey [Foster] and Tim [Macrow]. I can’t wait to race.

What about next year? Can we make it a hat trick of Mitch Evans stories and reveal something about your plans for 2010?

Ummm next season, well obviously I’m doing the Toyota Racing Series back home. But apart from that, we’re not sure, to be honest. We’ll see what our options are, and see if we can come up with the right budget. I’m hoping to either come back to Australia, or even go further, to Asia or somewhere like that. We’ll just see how it goes.

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

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Dirk Klynsmith

opinion

T

Chris Lambden eNews Publisher

Decisions, decisions

HERE are decisions to be made this weekend if you live in Melbourne, decisions that should not have to be made.

You see, with the cancellation of the Bahrain V8 race, and its replacement with a two-race round at Phillip Island, there are now two major motor sport events within 100km of each other this weekend.

Sandown’s traditional Historic race meeting, a brilliant day out, with over 400 entries, also takes place this weekend. It was scheduled a year ago but finds itself

up against the big drawcard V8s through no fault of its own.

Years ago, CAMS had rules about this sort of thing. You couldn’t run anything of significance in the same state if it clashed with already-on-the-calendar major events. I guess there are questions there about the shift of power in the running of motorsport, and who’s running the shop these days, but you have to feel for the Historic promoters.

But what about the motorsport junkies?

What to do? Melbournites will pretty much

Letters The Secret to Happiness: Subscribe Just a quick email to thank everyone at Motorsport News for a fabulous weekend at the SuperGP event on the Gold Coast after winning your recent subscribers competition.

The atmosphere was great, despite the A1GP no-show (I don’t think anyone missed them, to be honest) and the V8s put on just a fantastic show, as always.

I also appreciated seeing some iconic touring cars from the past in action over the weekend – brought back memories from my childhood.

Speaking of children, Matthew spent

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have to drive past Sandown on their way out of town to the Island.

It occurs to me that a bit of really smart thinking at the time might have resulted in a V8/Historic combined event. Would have been a blockbuster.

My guess is that the Under 40s will drive furthest; the oldies will only get as far as Springvale. Either way, it’s a split grid.

Hey, here’s an idea – why not Sandown on Saturday, The Island on Sunday? That’s it. Compromise. If only there were more of it around …

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

most of the weekend hanging over the fence cheering on his favourite drivers, the Kelly boys at the top of his voice (he also felt every bump with you Todd!).

We had a great time and would once again like to express our sincere thanks to both everyone at Motorsport News for running such great competitions for your subscribers and to Molly Dunn at IMG for arranging everything for us.

Jeff Bowden & Matthew Italiano Via email Getting away with it?

I would just like to know; is Tomas Mezera,

the Driving Standards Officer, being paid

by Ford-888?

I have never seen a team and a driver get away with so much. Whincup has taken out three drivers this year alone and has gotten away with it. There seems to be one rule for some drivers and one rule for others.

Let’s hope that when Holden do the same that the standards are the same, although I am sure they won’t be. Maybe Tomas Mezera needs to stand down if he can’t treat all the teams and drivers the same!

Mark Behenna Email

opinion

So long, Mr Holinger

I

AM saddened by the passing of Peter Holinger.

I only met the wizard of gearboxes on a couple of occasions, but I was quite taken by the fact that when it came to talking about racing cars and engineering, he took on the demeanour of a big kid.

As a freelancer, I remember ringing him, and asking if I could come out to his shop to have a chat, for a feature I was writing for a monthly magazine. This was in the middle of the week, and he suggested Saturday morning.

So, I found the place on Saturday morning, and there was Holinger. We were the only people in the factory; everyone else was, well, doing what people do on a Saturday morning, but here he was, playing with his toy set, happy as Larry.

A tour of the place was fascinating.

All the CNC machines, lathes, gizmos,

PERSONAL Phil Branagan Executive Editor

and rack and racks of impressive items.

Holinger Engineering was in the process of completing a job to supply complete gearboxes to BMW Motorsport, so there were 25 or so of completed units sitting, ready to be despatched to Germany. I was taken by the art of the units, and the precision that extended even to how exactly they were stacked on shelves.

I asked him a question; “Why gearboxes?”

He thought for a moment and said, “I like the precision of them. I like cutting gears”.

That fitted perfectly with a man who won four Australian Hillclimb titles. Think about it for a minute; one man, one car, one hill. Nobody trying to take your apex, steal your line or otherwise interfere with what you are doing. It’s about precision, and not making any mistakes.

Then, he showed me his road car; a Holden Commodore. But, this Commodore

had two push buttons on the steering wheel, and a Holinger gearbox. It was an early version of a paddle shift box, as had just appeared in Formula 1.

I was wowed; he wasn’t. Simple engineering, he explained with a shrug.

Nothing to brag about, as he spoke of actuators, pressure and so on.

‘Holinger’ is now a term for engineering excellence, talked of in the same tones as ‘Hewland’, ‘Xtrac’ or ‘Ricardo’. I am sure that Holinger would point out that the developments made over the years in Melbourne outer-eastern suburbs have been a team effort, but the name on the door is that of the man himself.

I did not know Peter Holinger well, at all, but what little I did know, I liked. Holinger was a one-off, but many have been inspired by his efforts. The man may be gone, but he leaves one heck of a legacy.

eLETTER OF THE WEEK Why does Mr Cochrane keep on pushing for street races?

The Nikon race would have had to be the biggest stock car race I have witnessed in my time following Australian motor sport, which spans 40years. Every year the cost to the teams at Surfers must be terrible and this year would have to be the worst.

They talk about reducing costs in the sport. I would have to say doing away with this race would be a great start.

In these hard times, I can’t understand the reason for a street race in Sydney when you have Eastern Creek sitting there ready to go.

Just turn the key and go.

I hope the final round proves me wrong and is not more carnage of expensive equipment on a temporary race circuit.

P Pascoe NZ

Mr Pascoe 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 21

NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 33 – AMP ENERGY 500, TALLADEGA, AL

IT’S TOOL TIME Jamie McMurray ended a long drought at Talladega but, post-race, all the talk was about crashes and restrictor plate racing.

By MARTIN D CLARK

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Ford Racing

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J

AMIE McMurray took his first win in 85 races at Talladega on Sunday in what was pretty much a non-event, thanks to lower horsepower restrictor plate racing that caused two late-race cautions and put paid to any form of race that would end under normal conditions.

NASCAR issued a warning in the pre-race drivers’ meeting, and during the race through radio transmissions, that bump drafting (or pushing in the corners) would not be tolerated, including on the final lap. NASCAR made an example of Michael Waltrip during practice last Friday for aggressive bumping of Jimmie Johnson’s car in the turns, ‘parking’ Waltrip in the second session. This warning made the racing mundane, with cars just ‘riding around’ until the final laps when the two big wrecks occurred.

McMurray gambled with a two-tyre stop late in the race giving him track position and the lead on lap 154 of 188 staying up front and claming it for good on lap 174.

“You have a 50-50 shot at finishing these races at Talladega,” said McMurray.

“We rode around the back there at the beginning and then, with 80 [laps] to go, we made our way to the front.

When the cars would get two and three wide, it was very hard to make any progress and I got really lucky that I just happened to get in the right lane a couple of time and I was able to get to the front.”

With five laps to run, Tony Stewart slowed and his team-mate Ryan Newman dived left to avoid him, and was hit from behind by Marcos Ambrose. Newman became airborne and landed on Kevin Harvick, while Ambrose pirouetted and nosed the

outside wall.

Following a 12 minute red flag, several cars then ran dry of fuel including Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya. McMurray led on the eventual restart before the next ‘big one’ as they approached the white flag when it appeared Brad Keselowski pushed Kurt Busch into a spin, and all hell broke loose. Title contender Mark Martin rolled and landed back on his wheels, and also involved were Gordon, Montoya and dozen or so a host of other top flight cars.

With Martin finishing 28th, Gordon 22nd and Montoya 21st, Jimmie Johnson, who rode at the back of the pack all day and was running one car in front of the final lap wreck, extended his point lead in The Chase. Johnson has a fourth consecutive title in his grasp with a 181 point lead over Martin, almost a race worth of points.

With qualifying rained out Ambrose started in his points position of 17th and soon moved into the top five, but front end damage from bump drafting tightened the car up. Ambrose led lap 98 under a pit stop sequence his car showing left rear quarter damage, again from bump drafting. The crew was able to patch the damage under the third caution on lap 105 with Ambrose back in 30th at that point and moving back into the top five and even leading as the laps wound down, but as recorded earlier was swept into the melee that aired caution five and he would finish 34th. Ambrose dropped one slot to 18th in points 20 points in arrears of Jeff Burton who recorded a fifth place result.

CLICK HERE to view one of the biggest NASCAR shunts of the year!

Contact Oriana Ruffini: oriana@mnews.com.au

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SPRINT CUP | AMP ENERGY 500 1 26 2 9 3 20 4 16 5 31 6 48 7 55 8 09 9 19 10 171

Jamie McMurray Kasey Kahne Joey Logano Greg Biffle Jeff Burton Jimmie Johnson Michael Waltrip Brad Keselowski Elliot Sadler Bobby Labonte

Ford Roush Fenway/Irwin Tools Dodge RPM/Budweiser Toyota Joe Gibbs/Home Depot Ford Roush Fenway/3M Chevy Childress/Caterpillar Chevy Hendrick/Lowe’s Toyota Waltrip/NAPA Auto Parts Chevy Phoenix/Miccosukee Ford Roush Fenway/Stanley Chevy TRG/Taxslayer.com

23 11 20 18 18 1 33 36 26 24

NASCAR | DRIVER’S points Johnson 6245, Martin 6064, J Gordon 6050, Montoya 6003, Stewart 5969, Kurt Busch 5936, Biffle 5908, Newman 5846, Kahne 5834, Edwards 5814, Hamlin 5800, Vickers 5703.

Talladega Days: It was typical restrictor plate racing at Talladega, left. The field lined up in points order after qualifying was rained off, below, and Kurt Busch was just one driver to take to the grass, bottom. Jamie McMurray was a happy man after the race, below.

Toyota Motorsports Ford Racing

NASCAR Media

NASCAR Media

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SPECIAL COVERAGE ORAN PARK - THE FINAL ROUND

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race

Last Time ‘Round With building sites looming in the background, Oran Park hosted its final NSW state meeting last weekend.

LACHLAN MANSELL was there

John Morris/Mpix

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NSW STATE RACING

N

EW South Wales drivers said goodbye to Oran Park at the final round of the State Championship last weekend, with all categories represented by large fields, as everyone took the opportunity to farewell the great circuit.

The Kerrick Australian Sports Sedan series provided some of the most intense racing of the weekend, with the national series drivers running alongside the state championship competitors in a combined event. Kerry Bailey came up with the overall round honours, despite not winning a race; in Race 1, he was third behind Tony Ricciardello and Darren Hossack, in Race 2 he was second behind Chris Jackson, and second again in Race 3 behind Des Wall.

Wall finished second overall with an eighth and a third to go with his race win, while Jackson was third overall, best of the state competitors, and stoked with his first

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race win at a national level.

Meanwhile, regular front-runners Ricciardello and Hossack experienced a variety of problems in the last two races.

Ricciardello spun in Race 2, while Hossack retired with a front-left steering-arm failure, which was not able to be repaired for Race 3. Ricciardello looked set to capitalise in the final, until the engine in his Alfa Romeo expired spectacularly on the penultimate lap. As a result, Wall leads the series heading into the last round at Phillip Island.

The Production Sports car category held a one-hour endurance race, with a number of teams making the trek interstate to compete at Oran Park for the last time. Tim Mackie controlled the race initially until his Lotus developed a mechanical problem, handing the advantage to Iain Pretty in his Ford GT40. However, Pretty missed the compulsory pit-stop window and withdrew from the race soon afterwards, allowing Shane Smollen to win the race from Simon Hogg and Angelo Lazaris.

Tony Virag won the Combined Touring Car round, which was marred by a massive barrel-roll from Rod Thorpe in Race 1.

Jim Pollicina clinched the Combined Touring Car championship.

Bob Jowett cleaned up in Under 2-Litre Improved Production, but three consistent finishes were enough for Graeme Cox to claim the title.

In Over 2-Litre Improved Production, Ryan Brown won yet another round, continuing his dominance in the category.

Aaron Steer won all three Sports and Racing Car races from his West team-mate Mark Laucke, while Ben Porter and Leigh Burges were unbeatable in Formula Vee and Formula Ford, winning all the races in their respective categories.

Keven Stoopman made the journey north from Melbourne to compete in the last-ever Oran Park HQ Holden races and took victory in all three events, much to the annoyance of his NSW rivals. Greg King claimed the title.

race

John Morris/Mpix

John Morris/Mpix

Clash of the Titans: Sports Sedan heaveyweights Tony Ricciardello and Darren Hossack both had shockers at Oran Park, above left, while Ben Porter was untouchable in Formula Vee, above. Shane Smollen fell into the Production Sports win, left, and Victorian Keven Stoopman upset the locals with a win in HQs, below.

Bottom: things got heated in the Sports & Racing category ...

John Morris/Mpix John Morris/Mpix John Morris/Mpix

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Farr makes it two in a row Robbie comes from the back to win his second TPCR feature of the season SPEEDWAY

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John Morris/Mpix

ROBBIE Farr repeated his Parramatta season opener victory with a sensational win in last Saturday night’s feature race.

With the fastest coming from the rear, Farr’s machine started back in position 13, blasted forward, and after having a great battle with Darwin’s Danny Reidy, stormed into the lead late in the 30-lap A Main. Farr was then unchallenged to score his second victory of the summer, leaving an impressive Glen Saville second, Craig Brady third with Ian Loudoun, Martin Lawes and Marty Perovich completing the top six.

Fast Parramatta regular James Thomson looked to have the race in his sights after jumping away from pole and leading.

Unfortunately for him, he got involved with a lapped car and flipped over, being an instant retirement. With eight to run Reidy was now leading, but after a fast finishing Farr had taken control, Reidy got tangled up with third placed Saville and crashed into the Turn 3 wall.

“We were too tight early, then the track came to the car and we took off,” said Farr.

“I got to the top, the car was working well and ran around there. It was tough to come from that far back, but I was confident to get around Reidy around the top, but just as I did the yellows came on and I had to do it again.”

While Farr was the sensation, both Max and Mitchell Dumesny didn’t have a good run through the traffic. Max finished

seventh after passing his son late in the A Main, leaving Roddy Bellbowen eighth and the TPCR track Champion Mitch Dumesny home in ninth.

While most of the night was incident free, Adrian Maher, after having to qualify from winning the C Main and fourth in the B Main, crashed thanks to a steering box failure late in the A Main.

Earlier in the night Farr set quick time in qualifying, with Reidy and Perovich the top three in the 45-car field. Heats were taken out by Gavin Black, Reidy, Mitch Dumesny, Steve Caunt (two wins), Gary Rooke, Gary Hann and Dean Thomas, while Warren Ferguson was the other winner on the night.

– GREG BOSCATO

race

Dave Ostaszewski

Hight of drama in Las Vegas DRAG RACING ROBERT Hight all but locked up his first Funny Car title, when he drove to victory at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.

Hight was joined in the winner’s circle by Top Fuel winner Spencer Massey, Larry Morgan, who took Pro Stock honours, and Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Hight’s Auto Club-backed Mustang was the class of the Funny Car field on Sunday, running low ET in

every round. In the final, he powered to a 4.12/304 to defeat Jack Beckman, who trailed at 4.15/303.

The win is the third of the season for Hight, all of which have come during the Countdown to One playoffs. His day got off to a high-pressure start when he stopped second-place points runner and team-mate Ashley Force-Hood. Hight then defeated his boss John Force, who smoked the tyres and crossed the centerline.

Hight advanced to his fourth

final of the year when he trailered Tim Wilkerson.

Massey may very well have locked up the 2009 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award when he drove Don Prudhomme’s U.S. Smokeless rail to his second win of the season, stopping a tyresmoking Larry Dixon, 3.82/314 to 5.50/174. Massey advanced to his fourth career final round ousting Shawn Langdon, then clocked 3.87 and 3.84 passes to defeat Steve Torrence and Brandon Bernstein.

Morgan snapped a dry spell that dated back to Sonoma 2002 when he defeated Rickie Jones in the Pro Stock final, 6.72/205 to 6.79/203, to claim his 10th career win, while Hines was mathematically eliminated from championship consideration in the semifinals, but he gave his team-mate Eddie Krawiec a big boost in his bid to win back-to-back titles when he defeated a red-lighting Hector Arana in the final.

– DAVE OSTASZEWSKI

Surprise! Wall and Sera win kart races!

KARTING THE two titans of Australian karting – David Sera and David Wall – shared the wins at the Formula 100 Nationals in Melbourne last weekend.

Sera’s Formula 100 Light win was his

10th national title.

“After qualifying on pole position at this event for the past two years it is great to finally break through and win,” said Sera. “Today’s win certainly ticks another box that I’ve wanted to tick in my karting career, now I’m going to be setting my

sights on the KZ2 Championship in 2010.”

Meanwhile, Wall took out the Formula 100 Heavy title, although he was lucky.

A broken water pump almost de-railed his chances in the final, but Wall was far enough ahead to conserve his engine and still win the race.

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rear of grid

It’s official:

Mo Wars :: Dumbrell vs. van Leeuwen

Odd Spot

A

WAR has broken out, but unlike the wars that involve guns and tanks, this one is all for a good cause.

Some gentle nudging from some mates after a golden throat charmer or two has seen eNews editor Andrew van Leeuwen join the ‘stache for cash month of Movember, as part of the ‘Studio 18 Mo Grow’ squad.

The problem is, Paul Dumbrell thinks he’s the sheriff of Mo Town in the motor racing world, and his team – Dumbrell’s Mo Bro’s – decided to issue a challenge to van Leeuwen and his mates. And let us tell you, it’s on.

“Is there a better race? eNews versus me? I don’t think so, and I am confident enough of winning that I will donate $100 to the Studio 18 Mo Gro team if the readers of eNews vote that they did a better job of their Mos,” said Dumbrell.

“Getting behind Movember is a great way to get men talking about their health.

We traditionally visit the doctor as often as we get our hair permed (I hope never), and with over 16 million dollars donated last year, I am certain we are in for another record-breaking year.

“Get on board and support Dumbrell’s Mo Bro’s and Studio 18 Mo Gro!” Unsurprisingly, AVL and his team have accepted the challenge.

“In a way men’s health will be the winner, because this is all about raising money and awareness more men’s depression and prostate cancer,” said van Leeuwen.

“But in another, more accurate way, either myself or PD will be the winner – and I want it to be me and my team. I have the likes of Scott Smith and Paul Boyton in the Studio 18 Mo Grow corner, good mates

in it for a good cause. I’m confident we can beat Dumbrell’s Mo Bro’s.”

So there you have it – there will be weekly updates right here throughout the month of Movember, and at the end of it all, eNews readers can pick the winner and decide who has to stump up a hundred bucks.

In the meantime, click on the button links to donate money to either, or both, of the teams. By the way, one of the above photos is digitally enhanced. But there are no prizes for guessing which.

CLICK HERE

To donate to Andrew van Leeuwen

CLICK HERE

To donate to Paul Dumbrell 33