Motorsport eNews Issue 149 - April 6-12, 2010 by V8 Sleuth

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Issue No. 149 April 06 -12 2010

Fiore’s Formula1 Coup Triple F Racing signs former F1 podium finisher for Gold Coast

WILL POWER

EXCLUSIVE: I can win this year’s Indy 500

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ast year the Dakar Rally made the cross-continental trek from its former Africa/Europe base to its new home in South America. Shifting this iconic frontier motorsport event to Argentina and Chile has seen it take on a whole new flavour – but if anything it’s an even tougher challenge than was the former Dakar. As usual the bikes, cars and trucks encountered all manner of different conditions, and like any Dakar

in any year there were countless adventures and stories of skill, courage and dogged endurance. It was Volkswagen which took the honours with its amazing turbo diesel Race Touareg – but this time with former World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz finally scoring the Dakar win that has eluded the Spaniard for so many years. The film footage of the event is extensive and spectacular; this is the world’s greatest off-road racing event.

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Issue No. 149 | 06-12 Apr 2010

news 4 V8 Supertalian ex-Ferrari driver for V8s 7 Ambrose eyes Watkins Two N’wide outings for MA 8 Proton Accelerator Atko FINALLY gets a gig 11 The Darkness AGP start moves forward 16 Stroke or Ambrose? Drewer plays Golf

chat 20 Five Minutes With ... Will Power

comment 22 Branagan race 24 Karting Nationals 28 Easter Trail 32 Easter @ Bathurst

trade 40 Classifieds

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MORBIDELLI

It’s been more than two years in the making, but V8 SUPERCARS

IANNI Morbidelli is the latest international driver to be confirmed for the SuperCarnivale on the Gold Coast later this year. The Italian will team up with Dean Fiore in the Bing Lee-backed Triple F Racing Falcon, realising his longheld ambition to break into the V8 Supercar Championship Series. Back in June 2008 (Issue #059), eNews reported that the former Formula 1 driver was on the hunt for a V8 Supercar drive. He had seen the V8s at Bahrain while racing in the Speedcar Series, and was so

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Who will be the best international on the Gold Coast this year? Tweet us @motorsportenews!

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IDELLI REALISES V8 DREAM

t finally the former Ferrari F1 pilot has found a place in the V8 Supercar field impressed with what he saw he started a campaign for a ride. “I was watching the series and I thought it was very good,” he told eNews at the time. “I have seen every category, from Formula 1, to Sportscars to Touring Cars. I was very impressed. The series was very nice – the level of organisation, the level of drivers, the level of the cars.” It’s taken two years, but Morbidelli will now get his V8 chance with Fiore and Triple F. eNews understands that the deal came about thanks to an existing management link

between Aussie F1 hopeful Daniel Ricciardo and Morbidelli. Triple F’s co-driver Michael Patrizi is a family friend of Ricciardo, and sources are suggesting that it was through the former Wilson Security Racing driver that the initial contact was made. eNews contacted Fiore, but he was unwilling to comment. Australia has been a happy hunting ground for Morbidelli. His first points-paying finish in a Formula 1 car came at Adelaide in 1991, where he finished sixth while driving for Ferrari. In 1995, he scored his first, and only F1

podium in Adelaide, finishing third in a Footwork. Since retiring from Formula 1, Morbidelli has become a gun tin-top racer. He has raced in the British, European and World Touring Car Championships, as well as the FIA GT Championship. In 2007, he won the Italian Superstars Championship, in an Audi RS4, backing up with another title in 2008. He also won three races in the inaugural Speedcar Series in 2008, and won the series in 2009 – as well as his third consecutive Superstars title, this time aboard a BMW M3.

He will race an M3 again in this year’s Superstar Championship, for RoalMotorsport, and finished third at the season-opener at Monza at the end of March. Being an Italian has also helped Morbidelli’s cause. With Tony Cochrane wanting drivers from 14 countries, Italy can now join a list that already includes Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America, Portugal, Scotland, Germany, Brazil, Canada, France and England. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Italian Stallion: Morbidelli is currently racing a BMW in the Italian Superstars Touring Car Championship, left, and will jump aboard Fiore’s FG Falcon on the Gold Coast later this year, bottom left. And we predicted it all – two years ago! – with an exclusive cover story, below.

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Van Giz’s Home Fires V8 SUPERCARS

on the #9 car are from New Zealand as well. This is undoubtedly a huge weekend.” But while he isn’t playing down the weekend’s importance, he is quick to

point out that he’s not feeling the pressure. “I wouldn’t say there’s any extra pressure. There probably actually is, but it’s not something that, as a team,

we’re worried about. We’re more excited about getting out there, having some fun, and hopefully bringing home a great result.” – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Steve J hits 150 V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

Phil Williams

SHANE van Gisbergen has no concerns over the pressures of racing in front of his home crowd at the next round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Hamilton, New Zealand. The young Kiwi is currently enjoying a break-through season, sitting fourth in the standings after the first six races. And with a maiden win seemingly just around the corner, he says the ITM Hamilton 400 will be an important weekend. “It’s not just the most important of the year for me, but for the whole team,” he told eNews. “Jim and Ross [Stone] always want a great result at home, and all of the guys working

STEVEN Johnson will turn 150 in New Zealand during the ITM Hamilton 400. The Jim Beam Racing driver will start his 150th V8 Supercar/Australian Touring Car Championship ‘event’ on the streets of Hamilton, becoming just the 13th driver to reach the significant milestone. Since debuting in 1994, Johnson has actually started 337 races, but with rounds being abolished in favour of races last year, his record in now

measured in events. “It does make me feel old,” Johnson said. “I haven’t thought about it too much, but I’m pretty pleased to have been around for so long. “I look at photos of the cars from the last 10 years and I’m amazed at how far the category has come. The standard of competition is so high these days that you have to work harder than ever for results, which makes it all the more satisfying when you have a good finish.”

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N’Wide for MA NASCAR

LEE: READY TO WIN V8 SUPERCARS

LEE Holdsworth is ready to drop the quiet achiever tag after the opening six races of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series, and go after some race wins in his bid to win a maiden title. Holdsworth is currently sitting sixth in the points, after a consistent, yet quiet, start to the season. But with a few street tracks coming up, at which Garry Rogers Motorsport are traditionally very fast, Holdsworth says his time is coming. “To tell you the truth, at the start of the season we didn’t expect to be strong,” he said. “We never do too well at the Middle East, because fast, flowing circuits don’t tend to

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Phil Williams

MARCOS Ambrose is likely to contest a pair of NASCAR Nationwide Series races this year. The JTG Daugherty driver looks set to race in August’s two roadcourse races – Watkins Glen on August 7 and Montreal on August 29. Watkins Glen would become a double duty weekend with Ambrose’s Sprint Cup ride, while Montreal is a free weekend. Ambrose has won the last two Nationwide races at Watkins Glen, but has fallen just short in Montreal in the last two years.

suit our cars. We were just hoping for some Top 10s, and it worked out better than we thought. We stayed out of trouble and got some good points. “Now, we’re really confident about the upcoming races. We have Hamilton and Townsville soon, which we’re always strong at. And while Queensland Raceway has never been great for us, we are strong on the sticky tyres, so that should be good. “I’m confident we have a chance of winning the next few rounds.” And Holdsworth isn’t the only GRM driver in the hunt; Michael Caruso is currently ninth in the points, capping off a solid start to 2010 by the Fujitsu-backed squad. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Erickson gets USA chance AUSSIES OVERSEAS DANIEL Erickson is making a flying visit to the USA to contest next weekend’s opening rounds of the F2000 Championship Series at Virginia International Raceway.

The 22 year-old Sydney driver brokered a last-minute deal in the ‘development’ openwheeler series with prominent American racing identity Jon Baytos. The following weekend, Erickson will attend the IndyCar round at Long Beach in California to speak to teams

in the Indy Lights ‘feeder’ series. “This visit is an opportunity for me to test the waters in America now that the racing season is underway, which I couldn’t do when I was there during the off-season,” he said. “Although I had hoped to do the US Star Mazda

championship this year, the F2000 Championship is still a very competitive ‘development’ series with more than 30 drivers entered at Virginia. “To be honest I don’t know how I’ll go on a circuit I’ve never driven before, but a top 10 result would be great.”

three corners, so it shouldn’t be too hard to be on the pace, it should be a close and competitive weekend.” Tasmanian Josh Burdon will make his F3 debut, the former Aussie Racing Car driver stepping into R-Tek Motorsport’s second F304 Dallara alongside, while Jesse Wakeman will return in the ex-

Tim Macrow F301 Dallara. The field at Symmons will be up on the season opener at Wakefield Park, with eight cars expected. Currently second in the standings, Ben Crighton will miss the round due to work commitments, but is expected to return for Round 3 at Phillip Island. – MITCHELL ADAM

FORMULA 3 ANDREW Waite will make his Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship debut at Symmons Plains this weekend. Waite will step into Mitch Evans’ Team BRM D307 Dallara. The New Zealander has previously raced Formula Ford in Australia and New Zealand, and finished fourth in the 2009/2010 Toyota Racing Series. Waite will be one of four drivers joining the grid at Symmons. Former Formula Ford front-runner Kristian Lindbom will have his second

F3 hitout, racing Astuti Motorsport’s F307 Dallara. Lindbom raced with Astuti in a National Class F304 at Sandown’s season finale last year, pictured. “It’s a better car and I know a bit more than I did going into Sandown,” Lindbom told eNews. “From what I’ve been told, there’s a bit of difference between the ’04 and the ’07. The brakes are better, but the biggest difference is the aero; Symmons Plains doesn’t have any fast corners, though, so we’ll have to take it off anyway. “Symmons is really just

Dirk Klynsmith

Waite and Lindbom join F3 in Tassie

Atko in at Proton RALLY

Redline Photographics

CHRIS Atkinson has a full-time rally drive, in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship. The Aussie, who has been looking for a permanent ride since Subaru withdrew from the world rally championship at the end of 2008, will join the Proton MEM team for a crack at the Asia Pacific Rally championship. His team-mate will be Perth-domiciled Scot, Alister McRae. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to drive the next generation of rally car,” Atkinson told the rallybuzz.com website. “I’m

really excited about the year ahead. “I’ve tested the Satria Neo S2000 briefly in Britain and it’s a very, very good car. I’m looking forward to working with Proton and Alister in the year ahead. To be honest, I can’t wait to get started on the first event.” Atkinson, who drove in the Irish WRC round with the Citroen Junior team last year, will reunite with co-driver Stephane Prevot for the Proton program. The first event of the Asia Pacific Rally championship will be held in New Zealand on July 3-4.

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Mitch’s Italian Job FORMULA 3

John Morris / Mpix

CHAMPIONSHIP leader Mitch Evans will miss this weekend’s second round of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship. The 15-year-old will head to Italy on Thursday to test a Formula Arbath car at Misano next Tuesday, April 13, as he begins to look at options for 2011. The class was formerly known as Formula Azzurra and uses Tatuus chassis’. Evans will miss the Symmons Plains F3 round this weekend, but be back in New Zealand to contest the Toyota Racing Series’ support races at Hamilton’s V8 Supercar round, and will return to F3 at Phillip Island. “It’s an Italian class, the cars

are similar to Formula Toyota and they’ve got a FIAT engine,” Evans told eNews. “The trip was planned before the TRS season finished, it’s the official test day for the championship; so it’s a pretty big test. “It’s unfortunate that I’m going to miss Symmons Plains, but that’s the way things go – I’m looking forward to getting back in the F3 car at Phillip Island. “I’m testing for a big team, it’s a bit of an evaluation for me. “If it’s successful, hopefully a good path will come from it.” Evans’ seat with Team BRM this weekend will be filled by Andrew Waite, see separate story. – MITCHELL ADAM

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No Ride Height toys, and no Bull Bulls cleared in Malaysia, as team boss Horner refutes ‘active’ talk FORMULA 1

height that will accommodate up to 200 litres of fuel load, despite a car running on perhaps 10 percent of that during qualifying. Horner, left, has backed recent suggestions that the FIA is now believed to be considering an exception to its parc ferme regulations that would permit a change to ride heights between Saturday and Sunday. “I would support it, as it would probably save us a bit of money,” he told ESPN. Any such change would require the unanimous support of all of the teams.

Red Bull Racing

P/ G o t o M / 1 For full F rage/news, e WRC cov RE to get to E CLICK H k magazine! G10PWee week.com www.gp

Red Bull Racing

RED Bull Racing has denied it is running any kind of ride height adjustment system. am has developed any sort of ride height adjustment system and that if McLaren runs with one in China, as is rumoured, they will protest it. The two Renault-powered RB6s of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber cleared postqualifying scrutineering at Sepang on Sunday without any problems. “We haven’t got one, it is as simple as that,” Horner told ESPN.

“If McLaren have one in China we will protest them, because theoretically they are illegal. The FIA had a good look at our car [in Malaysia] on Saturday night and they are happy with it – they will struggle to find anything because there simply isn’t anything there.” Suggestions of a ride height system started in Bahrain, when Vettel’s car was reported to be sparking on the track in qualifying. Other cars were not doing that because the ride height of the cars cannot currently be adjusted between qualifying and the race. Hence, the cars need to run a ride

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Melbourne joins The Dark Side FIA reports it was too dark to race FORMULA 1 IF you thought that conditions at the Australian Grand Prix were a bit on the dark side, the FIA agrees with you. Light tests conducted by the sport’s governing body have revealed that the Albert Park circuit failed to meet even the minimum standard demanded for night race conditions. The race started at 5pm and was conducted in overcast and grey conditions. Even Jenson Button, who, who won the event, struggled to see in front of him. www.mnews.com.au

“One thing that was pretty tricky in this race was the light,” the World Champion, above, said after the race. “I had a clear visor and at the end of the race I was struggling to see on the last few laps.” According to autosport.com, the FIA will recommend that the start time for the race be moved forward by up to an hour for the 2011 race. The 2008 event started at 3:30pm, and the last two years’ races at 5pm because of a preference of Formula One Management to fit the broadcast of the race into a more viewer-friendly timeslot in Europe and the UK.

LA DOLCE VITA FORMULA 1 OKAY, so the missus is bleating about an overseas holiday, a Broadway musical is not your style and the car insurance is due. What to do? Pay the insurance, and take in an Italian GP. Or two. Shannons is offering a lucky couple the trip of a lifetime, with return airfares, the keys to an Alfa Romeo GT Coupe and $1500 in spending money. And the best part is, tickets to the San Marino MotoGP on September 5, and for the Italian Formula 1 GP a week later at Monza. To enter, all you need to do is get a quote for insurance for your car, bike or home before June 30, or ring 13 46 46 (that’s 13 Valentino, Valentino!) or visit www.shannons.com.au/italiangp for more details. 11

I feel the knee, the knee for Speed NASCAR SPRINT CUP

INDYCARS WILL Power’s second straight IndyCar win has prompted some IndyCar owners to question whether the Penske team might have an illegal advantage. Power added the Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg victory to his season-opening Sao Paulo Indy 300 win, and the word around the paddock is that the Penske team might be utilizing a third shock system that aids the performance of the car, especially on temporary street courses. A few vocal IndyCar owners fear that the Penske team has received prior approval from the IndyCar officials for such a device. Evidently, they don’t realize just how fast Power is. And, the way team-mate Ryan

Honda Racing

Two wins for Power, tongues wagging in pitlane

Briscoe was able to climb from 19th on the grid at St. Petersburg to third, was by pure heads-up strategy, pitting a few laps earlier than necessary and before the field ran out of fuel, which cycled him to the front when they all pitted. During the 1990s Penske and Ganassi were both accused of having illegal traction control on their cars. The argument came to a head at the Houston street course years ago when the Ganassi car left intermittent tyre markings on pit lane. – MARY MENDEZ sutton-images.com

LOSING can be a pain in the backside, but winning can be a pain in the knee. Danny Hamlin’s recent raindelayed win in the Martinsville Sprint Cup round delayed surgery to his anterior cruciate ligament, injured in a friendly game of basketball pre-season. Joe Gibbs Racing’s first win of the season forced Hamlin to put back corrective surgery by two days but, according to the team, all went well when Hamlin went under the knife last Wednesday. “Denny had his surgery this morning and everything went well,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He will start rehab immediately and now we can concentrate on getting his knee back to the full strength. The doctors tell us it will improve with each passing week and that he cannot damage it by driving. We expect him to be in the car in Phoenix, but we’re fortunate to have Casey Mears standing by in case he would need to come out of the car for any reason.”

Second thoughts

Captain calls for Status Quo INDYCARS

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Toyota Motorsports

NOT all IndyCar team owners are in favour of introducing an allnew car to the sport – including Roger Penske. “I’m all about saving costs right now for all the teams,” Roger Penske told AutoRacing1.com, finding his team in the rare situation of still looking to replace 20-year long sponsor Marlboro. “There’s nothing wrong with the sport right now. I’m not sure that if we changed engines in the cars right now that it’s going to put 50,000 more people in the stands. We need to promote the drivers

and the teams and the sponsors.” If the new committee, ICONIC, doesn’t make a decision on the chassis constructor until sometime in June, it may be too late for any constructor to design, build, and mass produce the chassis in time to deliver cars to teams by December 2011. And, fans are hopeful that there will be more than one future chassis competing, which should help control costs. – MARY MENDEZ

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BAT-mobile!

Latest IndyCar design breaks cover: yep, it looks weird INDYCARS BAT Engineering has become the latest racecar manufacturer to show its wares for a future IndyCar. The new company created to provide the next chassis for the IndyCar Series in 2012, made up of three Indianapolis 500-winning designers, Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens and Tim Wardrop, released their new concepts. Ashmore recently met with Randy Bernard, the new IRL CEO. Thanks to the new committee, Ashmore doesn’t feel the current chassis, Dallara, will have any advantage in the selection process. “The ICONIC Board is exactly what we were hoping for and we are extremely pleased that IndyCar has taken this professional step,” Mertens stated. “The Indy Racing League is doing a great job, and by adding this level of protection for the fans and teams then we are assured that the design chosen will have succeeded the toughest possible process.” – MARY MENDEZ

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ANDRETTI Autosport has announced a fifth entry into the Indianapolis 500 – and he has a familiar name. John Andretti will make his 11th Indy start for his cousin Michael’s team in collaboration with racing legend, Richard Petty. John Andretti will tune up his oval open wheel skills by competing at the race preceding the 500 on the 1.5-mile oval at Kansas Speedway May 1. The team, under its prior name of Andretti Green Racing, most recently ran five cars at the Indy 500 in 2007, with Dario Franchitti taking the victory. AGR also won the 500 in 2005 with Dan Wheldon. – MARY MENDEZ

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THE revolutionary DeltaWing IndyCar will undergo its first windtunnel test this week. The chassis, designed to reduce the current Dallara’s drag by 50 percent, was due to undergo

INDYCARS

Patience rewarded

INDYCARS

Game time for DeltaWing INDYCARS

The Cousin and The King join forces

testing with a full-size model in the Windshear wind tunnel today, Tuesday April 6, in Concord, North Carolina. Windshear’s tunnel features a 300kmh rolling road which will allow the DeltaWing technical team to corroborate the

computer simulation work they have been conducting over the past year. – MARY MENDEZ

LAST year Bruno Junqueira stood aside after qualifying for the Indy 500 and the man who replaced him, Alex Tagliani, will pay him back next month. The Canadian’s FAZZT Racing team will expand to a two-car team for the May classic. “Because we have enough sponsorship to run a second car at Indianapolis, we felt it important to give that chance to Bruno,” explained Tagliani. “Last year with Bruno as the second driver in the team I was at, he let his spot in the field go after I had a mishap in qualifying. And it turned out I had a pretty good race at the Indy 500. So it is nice way to say thank you to Bruno for what he did for me last year.” Currently without a full-time ride, Junqueira is no stranger to The Speedway and has competed at the Indy 500 on five occasions, earning the pole in 2002 and finishing a respectable fifth twice. – MARY MENDEZ

Ryan Schembri

BRIEFLY... n Australian Formula Ford Championship frontrunner Andre Borell will represent Australia in this year’s World Triathlon Championships. Borell will head to Budapest, Hungary, in August as part of the Aussie team. n The Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix kicked a goal for ONEHD on Sunday night. OZTAM ratings data recorded a five city, metropolitan audience of 327,000 for the live race broadcast, industry website tvtonight.com.au noted. It was the 24th mostwatched show in Australia of the day and helped ONEHD score a 6.3% audience share – higher than SBS and the best of the digital channels. n CAMS has announced a new award – the Peter Brock Medal. In conjunction with the Brock family and Peter Brock Foundation, the medal is set to be awarded annually, to a junior driver – aged between 14 and 19 – competing at a national level, who displays outstanding skill and sportsmanship. “Peter was a superstar and a role model both on and off the track, with a personality that was second to none,” CAMS CEO Graham Fountain said. “If we can find even one driver each year who emulates the same characteristics as Peter did, then motor sport will be all the richer for it. “Peter’s attitude and personality made him both the determined and tenacious driver on the race track and the likeable, friendly face within the community.”

DA down and out? DRIFTING THE future of national-level Drifting is in limbo, following the cancellation of the 2010 Drift Australia Series. After purchasing the series and putting on a single event in 2009, Ninety Degree Entertainment said in a statement that it has “been regrettably forced to cancel the current 2010 series format and postpone the Drift Australia events for 2010. “Ninety Degree Entertainment and all the teams are still committed to delivering a national drift series. “During this time, a new series format will be

developed to a more feasible platform for all competitors and stakeholders with the view for long-term sustainability. The series organisers and all teams will be collectively communicating new ideas and strategies for a stronger return in the near future.” However, there are doubts as to whether Drift Australia will return in any form, and the viability of a national series has been questioned, despite the strength of club and statelevel drifting in most states. Event promoters are biding their time for further information on the status of Drift Australia. Among them, Mallala Motor Sport Park will

host its second Drift Supercup next weekend, April 17-18. With entries closing later this week, the Pro Class has attracted 25 entries, with 2008 Australian Drift Champion Leighton Fine leading the strong South Australian contingent. Event Manager Rob Curkpatrick used the template to hold a second event at Tasmania’s Baskerville Raceway late last year under the OzDrift GP banner. A planned event at Wakefield Park with the Shannons Nationals in March was cancelled, and Curkpatrick told eNews that he was unsure whether additional events would be held this year. – MITCHELL ADAM

Two-wheels in a rally – no, it’s not a Kimi crash story RALLY THE Australian Rally Championship is going 2+4. This month’s QUIT Forest Rally in Western Australia – Round 2 of the ARC – will feature a two-day Moto event; a navigation rally for motorcycles, similar to the Australian Safari. All categories of off-road bikes will be welcome, including quads, and

the bikes will cover the same stages as the rally cars. “The 2010 Quit Forest Moto is going to be a fantastic addition to the event,” said Ross Tapper, Forest Rally’s Clerk of Course. “The fact we can offer spectators the chance to see Australia’s best rally drivers alongside some of the best motocross riders in the country will be a huge boost,

and I can’t wait to see it myself. “Our aim is to provide a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, which caters for riders of all skill and experience levels, while providing an emphasis on safety, fun and the satisfaction of navigating your way through some fantastic West Australian scenery.” The rally kicks off in Busselton on Friday April 16. motorsport news

news Marshall Cass

Greg and Sam tag in PRODUCTION CARS TASMANIANS Greg Crick and Sam Walter will make cameo appearances in the Australian Manufacturers Championship at Symmons Plains this weekend. With the Production Car category’s 2010 format welcoming co-drivers for the two, one-hour races, Crick will join reigning AMC Champ and

dual 12 Hour winner Garry Holt. John Bowe will share the BMW 335i with Holt in Round 3 at Phillip Island in May. Having stepped out of the Fujitsu Series at the end of 2009, Walter will be Kurt Wimmer’s co-driver in the Wilson Brothers Racing Subaru WRX STi, pictured. Wimmer switches from WBR’s V8 Ute to WRX, with Lee Castle – who raced the car in ‘08 and ‘09 – to be his co-

driver for the remaining rounds. “It’s nice to have a break, but I’ve had quite significant withdrawal symptoms, so it will be great to get back behind the wheel at a track I really enjoy,” Walter said. “ It will be my first time racing a four wheel drive car, but I don’t think that will be much of an issue, the Subaru is a pretty good package.” A field of 14 is expected at

Symmons. Team Mitsubishi Ralliart will run a pair of Evo X Lancers for Stuart Kostera and Inky Tulloch, while Richard Gartner will race the Class D Renault Clio 197 he debuted at the Bathurst 12 Hour. The AMC and F3 will be joined by the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge and Shannons V8 Touring Cars in Round 2 of the Shannons Nationals. – MITCHELL ADAM

Audi’s new R15 LE MANS AUDI will unveil a new-look R15 Plus endurance racer in France this weekend, but only after an exhaustive and slightly trouble testing buildup. The crack team will field a crack squad of Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish in the Le Castellet 8 Hour race, the season opener of the 2010 Le Mans Series. The new car features a number of improvements over the previous model, and after being rolled out a Audi’s Neustadt test track five weeks ago, has completed 5500km of testing at Sebring. However, that was not without incident, with unconfirmed reports that the car was crashed heavily at the famed Florida track’s Turn 17 by Mike Rockenfeller. The rest of the test progressed “without any technical problems worth www.mnews.com.au

mentioning”, according to a team statement. The French race will not feature a huge grid, but there will be quality. Factory Peugeot driver Stephane Sarrazin is a surprise guest driver for the Team ORECAMatmut Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. The French ace will join countrymen Olivier Panis and Nicolas Lapierre on the Paul Ricard circuit. Sarrazin replaces Loïc Duval, who will prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours in private testing in April as well as in the SpaFrancorchamps 1000kms in May. Other entries include the Lola Aston Martins of Adrian Fernandez/Harold Primat and Pierre Ragues/Franck Mailleux; Nigel Mansell and sons Leo and Greg in a Ginetta-Zytek; and the Rebellion Lolas of Nicolas Prost/Neel Jani and Andrea Bellacchi/Jean-Christophe Boullion/Guy Smith.

MINI quads MINI CHALLENGE THE Hertz MINI Challenge will introduce a new race format for their first visit to Queensland Raceway next month. In a change from their regular, three-race weekends, Round 3 of the 2010 series will consist of four races at the Ipswich circuit.

“It is great to see a four-race format for the first time in our series,” MINI Challenge Category Manager Ted Toleman said. “We have seen some incredibly close racing over the last two events (the Clipsal 500 and AGP) and now the fans in Queensland will be treated to even more of this exciting racing.” 15

SPRINTCARS WORLD Series Sprintcars organisers are aiming to make the 2010-22 season their biggest ever. At a recent meeting in Adelaide, a number of items were on the agenda, including the television package, a review of nightly points structures, additional rounds and increased feature race fields. Planning is well underway and WSS Group Chairman Geoff Kendrick can see no reason why the season ahead wouldn’t be huge. “We have had a lot of expressions of interests from tracks,” Kendrick said. “The reaction has been positive with most of the tracks already indicating they will take a WSS round next year. We are now preparing contracts and sending them out soon which will lock them in.” The schedule is set to expand, with more people gaining access to the nation’s biggest Speedway series. Western Australia already has three extra nights pencilled in for racing. WSS competition will return to Bunbury after a long absence

and the series will also race in Manjimup for the first time. Tasmania may also gain, with the series possibly returning in December. “There could up to 20 nights of racing on the schedule next summer which means we will be watched by more people and we are really looking forward to that,” Kendrick said. The series will start in Brisbane and follow a similar trail to last year, finishing with the grand final and presentation dinner in Perth. “The series follows all the big races around the country and it makes it a lot better for the competitors,” Kendrick said. “We had a huge response from that last year from the drivers and we need to make sure we keep listening to them.” More than 30 teams have already expressed an interest in earning a WSS contract. “This is a really big increase and it is a lot better than the six we had only a few years ago, so we are really happy with that,” Kendrick added. “The only downside is that we have to now make the hard decision to cut the number of teams.” Over the next two weeks the list will be assessed and trimmed to 16 and eventually

WSS aims high

cut to the final contracted 12 plus two reserves. “The quality of the field is excellent ... we have the best drivers in the country vying

for a spot and we are also looking at having a couple of Americans in the field full-time as well.” – GEOFF ROUNDS

there are many firsts this weekend. It will be the first race for the new VW Mk6 GTI, my first time with APR, my first race at Barber, and my first

weekend in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Hopefully we can add another first to the list by the end of the weekend.”

Drewer to work on Golf game AUSSIES OVERSEAS TOM Drewer will make his debut in the GRAND-AM Continental Tyre Sports Car Challenge this weekend. The South Australian has been signed by APR Motorsport to debut the sixth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTi at Barber Motorsport Park, supporting Indycars. Drewer will share the car in the Street Tuner class – similar in specifications to Australian 16

Production Cars – with American Stephen Hooks in a 2.5 hour race. “I feel very honoured to be given the responsibility of the world racing debut of the new Mk6 Volkswagen Golf GTI. It’s a very high profile event and the race has full TV coverage in the USA, so it’s great to have been selected”, Drewer, who has spent the last two years racing IMSA Sportscars, said. “You could say I’ve been thrown into the deep end-

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ENews 149

Magazine Only: Motorsport News

Luke Nieuwhof

DRAG RACING THE countdown to the next ANDRA Pro Series event is on, with rounds of Top Fuel, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Bike to be held at Willowbank Raceway on April 17 and 18. Each one has an interesting championship in progression. One of drag racing’s most intense rivalries is in full swing in Top Fuel, where Phil Lamattina currently leads the points in his Fuchs dragster. He is ahead of Martin Stamatis

The heat is on!

and Phil Read, both driving for Jim Read Racing, who want nothing more than to overhaul Lamattina at this event. The last round in Sydney was rained out, but not before controversy; with arguments over an early run Phil Read did as part of a media launch and whether it or not it gave the team an unfair advantage for qualifying. With the weather deciding the weekend, it didn’t affect competition at all but left the rivalry simmering between the

O’Rourke finds comfort in Funny Car

Luke Nieuwhof

two camps. In Pro Stock, the season has been an odd one with the Sydney rain-out meaning no eliminations have been run since October in Perth. Team Mopar driver Lee Bektash is holding on to the lead in the Pro Series over Aaron Tremayne and Nick Xerakias. In the time since the last round, Team Mopar has added another Dodge Stratus to the stable to be driven by Andrew Stavroulakis, providing them with more ability to gain data

as the two-car Tremayne team has been able to do. Pro Stock Motorcycles has been a mixed bag so far this season with no one rider proving dominant. Phil Howard and his Kawasaki have a small seven-point lead over Andrew Badcock riding for the Dutch Master team. Michael Gilbertson is lurking with his Hog’s Breath Cafe Suzuki however and the reigning champion has a comeback in mind. – LUKE NIEUWHOF

DRAG RACING

we’ve done some research and development work and I think that has paid dividends.” The hard work has seen O’Rourke reach fifth position in the Top Comp points standings out of 30 drivers. O’Rourke said that it has been helpful to have a car built around her, rather than having to change her own driving style to suit the car. “It has made a big difference to have everything in the cockpit made for me, with 2500 horsepower you need to be comfortable and make sure everything is second nature,” she said. – LUKE NIEUWHOF

AS the WA state series draws to a close, Debbie O’Rourke is taking away many positive aspects from her season in the O’Rourke Motorsport Funny Car. Among the highlights have been a consolation final win and becoming the first woman in Australia to run a five-second pass in a Funny Car. “It’s been great to mix it up with the boys in one of the toughest drag racing categories in Australia,” she said. “I know that each time we go out on to the track now we have a chance at winning;

ANDRA Pro Series news is proudly presented by:

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ANDRA goes fourwide in North Carolina DRAG RACING THE team from the ANDRA Pro Series’ sponsorship and marketing agency, DBC, along with Peter Henry from major sponsor Auto One attended the Four Wide Nationals at Z-Max Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina as part of an evaluation tour. The event, a worldwide first, saw all professional categories in the USA’s Full Throttle Drag Racing Series compete across four lanes. The Z-Max Dragway is the only homologated, four-lane drag racing strip in the world at present, but with the huge success of the inaugural event, plans have been announced

to convert the track at Las Vegas to the four lane format as soon as next year. “To have the privilege to attend the first ever running of four lane drag racing was just incredible. There are no words that can describe the intensity of 32,000 horsepower of four Top Fuel Dragsters setting off at the same time,” DBC’s Dale Brittain said. “We have four lanes planned for our Melbourne venue, so let’s hope that Australian drag racing fans can experience it soon.” The team from DBC attended the Four Wide Nationals to experience, first-hand, how the NHRA

Left to Right: Auto One’s Peter Henry, DBC’s Maryann Vitelli, Top Fuel pilot, Antron Brown, DBC’s Dale Brittain

and the professional teams leverage their sponsorships, in particular how they interact with fans at events. “The ANDRA Pro Series has really only developed a sponsorship platform two years ago and while we have been very successful in securing a number of blue chip sponsors to our sport,

we are still very young in sponsorship management terms,” Brittain said. “We set ourselves a mission two years ago for the ANDRA Pro Series to become the industry leader in servicing of its sponsor base, so where better to get ideas on how to help our partners get more than the NHRA?”

Next ANDRA Pro Series Round: ENZED Top Fuel Championships, Willowbank Raceway, April 17-18 www.mnews.com.au

Five Minutes with ...

WILL POWER The Queenslander is the man to beat in IndyCar racing and so far this year, nobody has managed to do it. He told PHIL BRANAGAN that Long Beach, and Indy, are next ... MOTORSPORT NEWS: The start of the IndyCar season could not have gone any better for you; two out of two, what a great start. WILL POWER: Yes, it is a fantastic start. It is just that we have not changed anything. Penske is the best team, I have been in the same car for the last couple of years, and it is all coming together. Like you said, a great start; but, as you know, this is a long championship.

I guess one thing that demonstrated that is Ryan Briscoe coming from the back at St Pete to third. How good is this team at managing its assets? That is the beauty of racing an IndyCar on a street course. You can qualify absolutely nowhere and go off-strategy, and if that happens at the right time, you can end up going from the very back to the very front. That is what happened to Ryan in Florida, and the same thing happened to me in Brazil. I went back to 19th and ended up winning the race. At the end of the day, that is what Ryan did at St Pete. He went away early [on strategy] and then he came up the field on yellows. Was the 24-hour delay due to weather any problem for you, or for the team? Not at all. To be honest, we were quickest in every session, all weekend, and we 20

Honda Racing

It is. But are these results coming as a matter of being so comfortable with the team, and making sure that you execute? Exactly, that is it. Basically, you need to execute every weekend and be mistakefree. The way we go racing is the way to win a championship. There are so many mistakes that you can potentially make on road courses and so you need to be smart. And that is exactly what I did in the first two races; each weekend, we did not make any mistakes. Obviously, you need to be very quick as well, and we have the package just right, to be able to do that at the moment.

started on pole. There was nothing bad for us, and it was straightforward for the race. It would not have necessarily been good, for me I mean, to race in the rain, so I was glad that they waited for the dry. Does that mean that anything less than a win next time out at Long Beach is a dud result? No. You never want to think that you will settle for second, but after last year, not getting the win because we had a radio problem with the car, we had the car to beat. I am going back this year, definitely, to win it. You know how it is, and it would be great to win in Long Beach again. Are you a little surprised about where the opposition is coming from this season? Not so much of the Ganassi guys on your tail, or the Andretti cars, but Justin Wilson in the Dreyer [& Reinbold] car, Tag [Alex Tagliani] fast. Is that a little surprising? No, not really, I really expected that the guys who raced in Champ Car will hook it up and be fast on the street courses. Tag was really fast and, in my opinion, Wilson is one of the best drivers in IndyCar. No surprise at all. I think that all of the teams have caught up, compared to where it has been. It is so tight, especially in qualifying, and you need to get every

little detail right to be on the podium. There has been some finger pointing going on it pitlane. Some people are saying that the Penske cars have some tweak that the other teams don’t have. That has been totally disproved. Penske is running nothing different to anyone else. That is just bullshit, stirred up in pitlane, on Saturday when I happened to be seven-tenths clear of the field. There is nothing special on the Penske cars; they just do their homework and this is just a shit-stirring, to be honest. One thing you do have is better mobile phone coverage than the other teams ... Exactly! We all know that Verizon Wireless has the best coverage in America! One more thing; at this time of year, everyone asks about the Indy 500. Is that a winnable race for you this year? Most definitely. Our team has a real chance to win, but it is not a race where you can sit back and think, ‘I will try to win it’. It is such a long day and all you can do is to be running in that front bunch all day. But it is definitely on my mind. It is the biggest race for us in the series. Man, if you win that one, you are set for life. And you get to go on Letterman. I want to be on Jay Leno, not Letterman! motorsport news

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Honda Racing

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Some Bright Thinking

KAY; it didn’t rain in Malaysia. I mention this because, for all of the days preceding the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix, and for damn sure in the middle of the 2009 race in Sepang, it rained. And rained, and rained, and rained. There are some things you cannot control and rain, or the lack thereof, is one of them. But you can control light and dark – or, to be more accurate, the effect that those things have on events like the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. Did anyone else spot the irony last week? Among all the hysterical bleatings in the general media about Mark Webber’s comments – and I am not going to repeat them here because, so far as I can discover, they were said at a private function, so should remain private – he and 23 other F1 pilots were required to drive their cars, at speeds over 300kmh, in conditions approaching darkness. Even Jenson Button commented postwww.mnews.com.au

race that it was getting a murky out there towards the end of the race. If you have leapt to the assumption that the current World Drivers’ Champion is likely to have fairly good eyesight, you are forgiven. All this, and a great expense to the Victorian taxpayer, is for a ‘better’ viewing time for European TV viewers. I write this not to grizzle, but to praise the FIA. [No, I cannot recall me ever writing that before, either]. It seems that the governing body had folks with light meters at Albert Park, and having tabulated the data, made the affirmation that it was getting a bit on the dark side in terms of motor racing and that, perhaps, an earlier start time would be a good idea. Do I need to remind anyone that, nannies or otherwise, there are a fair few OH&S issues in play in motor racing these days? Heck, that was one of the reasons given recently for the DNS status of the Barbagallo round of the V8 Supercars Championship Series.

Opinion

Phil Branagan – Executive Editor

More power to the FIA. If we must have OH&S issues, and safety police, and other ‘benefits’ of life in the 21st century, let’s have the upside as well. If Europeans want to watch the Melbourne race, live, do what we do and either set your VCR or the alarm. This is a World Championship, dammit, and the World is a big place. Maybe running the Malaysian GP, in April, at a time of day when the odds are that it is going to pour, is not such a great idea. And ditto for the idea of wasting a day’s worth of Melbourne daylight, to race F1 cars in dull and, potentially, more dangerous conditions, for a Euro sleep-in. 23

NATIONAL SPINT KART CHAMPIONSHIPS PUCKAPUNYAL, VICTORIA

PUCKER UP!

A third title for James Sera, a double for Joseph Mawson, and a veteran winner in Clubman Heavy. Yep, it all happened at the 2010 Sprint Kart Nationals

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Ash Budd

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Ash Budd

T was billed as one of the toughest Nationals in a number of years, and the 2010 National Sprint Kart Championships at the Hume International Raceway in Puckapunyal, Victoria, certainly lived up to expectations. With over half of the 10 championship finals decided on the last lap, the action came thick and fast. V8 Supercar driver Shane Price and Zeke Edwards set the tone for the weekend during qualifying in the Clubman Heavy category. The pair posted exactly the same time, forcing officials to revert to the pair’s second fastest time before giving Edwards the nod as the fastest qualifier. The pair, along with 2008 National champion Shayne Piper, appeared to be the pace-setters throughout the heat races. But Piper outpaced his younger rivals on his way to victory in the final. The 41-year-old was engaged in a titanic battle throughout the 16-lap journey with Edwards and Price. After several changes at the front throughout the race it was the veteran

who prevailed, crossing the line two-kart lengths clear of Edwards. Price finished 0.003 seconds behind Edwards in third place. Defending national champion Matthew Wall charged his way from 16th on the starting grid to be in fourth place at the finish. Cousins James and David Sera, and young local lad Jordan Ford, put on a classic race in the final of Clubman Light, with James Sera, the elder statesman of the trio, taking the win by a slim margin in a three-way dogfight. David Sera led the early stages, and mid-race it looked as though Queenslander Chris Hays was a chance, catching the leading trio in his Vodafone-backed Tony Kart. But after racing James Sera hard for several laps he dropped back, leaving the three Victorians to fight for the win. The last lap was a cracker with all three drivers having a chance at victory. Both Ford and David Sera looked to go down both sides of the leader’s Azzurro kart through the final few corners, and it was a gallant effort for James Sera to keep them at bay and claim his second Clubman Light

Australian title. David Sera’s hope of moving into second place overall on the all-time winners list of Australian karting at the event also evaporated when an exhaust header cracked on the start line in Leopard Light. The demise of Sera allowed Dean Foster and Adam Hughes to fight it out for the victory. After an intense 16 laps around the 1064 metre circuit, a last lap pass by Foster in his Master Karting Kosmic kart proved to be the winning move. Sydney’s Joseph Mawson was victorious in both Junior National Light and Junior Clubman. As a result of his victories, the Arrow driver became the first junior driver since Ashley Walsh in 2003 to take two titles at the same event. Of the 10 championship finals, eight drivers broke through for their maiden national championship, including Jordan Nicolaou (Junior National Heavy), Aaron Johnstone (Senior National Heavy), Dale Beaton (Senior National Light), Ben McKinlay (Clubman Super Heavy) and Lee Mitchener (Leopard Heavy). motorsport news

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Ash Budd

Pucking Good Easter: Shane Piper was an elated Clubman Heavy winner, far left, while young Joey Mawson took two green plates home, left. James Sera, David Sera and Jordan Ford made it a star-studded podium in Clubman Light, above, and Lee Mitchener overcame a tough Leopard Heavy field to win the title, below.

Ash Budd

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EASTER SPRINTCAR TRAIL AVALON/BORDERLINE/PREMIER

THANKYOU LINES-MAN Steven Lines was in a class of his own at the Easter Trail in South Australia and Victoria. GEOFF ROUNDS watched the domination

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Geoff Gracie

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Geoff Gracie

TEVEN Lines was almost flawless in winning the 2010 Easter Sprintcar Trail. The three-time South Australian champion, who hails form Mount Gambier, grabbed two victories and a fourth during the three consecutive nights of racing over the Easter break. The 25 year-old therefore won the overall trail aggregate from the Northern Territory’s Danny Reidy, and Warrnambool’s Jamie Veal. Lines commenced night one the trail in fine form with a win at Avalon International Raceway on Good Friday. He led home Max Dumesny and Reidy after setting quick time, and was never headed. “I knew the start was going to mean a lot,” said Lines. “We got it and that made the rest of the race a little easier. “It means a lot to bring the car home in first place for Dave and the Camden Neon Signs team, being that Camden Neon sponsor the Easter Trail as well as our team.” Lines’ efforts were similar on night two at Borderline Raceway, Mount Gambier, with another top showing after qualifying third in time trials, behind Melbourne driver Nick Lacey. A heat win and a third place were again enough for Lines to come off the pole for the feature, and like at Avalon he was never headed, winning from Sydney driver Jeremy Cross and Reidy picked up another third. The final leg of the Trail was at Premier Speedway, Warrnambool, and Lines would have to settle for second in time trials behind Adelaide’s Carl Dowling. But Lines would eventually finish fourth in the feature, behind Western Australia’s Ryan Farrell, who won from Reidy and Robbie Farr. Lines attributed his weekend’s efforts to his mother, Raelene. “Obviously, she has been an awesome support since day dot,” Lines said of his mother. “She has backed me whenever I’ve been down and helped me up again.”

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Geoff Gracie

Crash, Bang: The A-Main at Avalon started with fireworks, above, while Daniel Newham and Jason Loveday got up close and personal for Easter, left. The best wheelie of the weekend went to Jamie Stark, below.

Geoff Gracie

www.mnews.com.au

FESTIVAL OF SPORTING CARS MOUNT PANORAMA

Bathurst comes alive The Festival of Sporting Cars took over Bathurst at Easter again this year. BRUCE MOXON reviews the variety-packed weekend

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James Smith

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All pics: James Smith

HUGE fields, great variety and interesting racing marked the third visit of the Festival of Sporting Cars to Mount Panorama. Racing for the sake of racing, with no prizemoney or even trophies, the FOSC generated enormous competitor interest and evoked a different time. Held over Easter, the event attracted in the order of 850 entries! Gary Collins (VL Walkinshaw Commodore) dominated the

Group A & C races. Collins took a clean sweep of all four races, plus fastest lap in each race. Behind him, though, there was action aplenty. Wayne Clift backed his VK Group A Commodore into the wall in the Esses in Race 1, bringing out a red flag and giving himself a day off to repair the damage. With the results wound back one lap, Clift still took second, from Chris Collins (VC Commodore).

Spirited battles were the order of the weekend. David Towe (BMW M3) qualified way back in 14th after brake issues, but moved up progressively during each race. Steve Perrott (A9X Torana) took second in Race 2, from Chris Collins and Mark Taylor’s VL Commodore. Perrot was second again from Chris Collins, ahead of Towe and Ed Singleton (VH Commodore). Towe was best of the rest in the final race,

second from Perrott, Chris Collins and Stuart Hayes in the Bob Morris A9X. Historic Touring Cars (Group N) had four great races, with honours being shared. Grant Wilson (Camaro) took out Race 1, from Cameron Tilley (Pacer) and Darryl Hansen (Mustang). Wilson took Race 2 with Hansen and Tilley’s order reversed. Race 3 was Hansen’s from Tilley and Wilson, while Tilley broke through to win the final

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Grant Wilson, opposite page, led the way in Group N before his engine expired. Ian Pretty and David Mackie fought it out in Marque Sports, but Pretty found the wall at The Esses in Race 2. Geoff Morgan, above, had no such troubles, taking a clean sweep in Group S.

race from Hansen and Colin Warrington (Camaro). Historic Sports Cars (Group S) was another clean sweep; this time it was Geoff Morgan winning all four races in his Porsche 911. Terry Lawlor took second in the first three races before failing to finish the last event. Stephen Borness (911) was third in Race 1, Bryan Taylor (911) took third in Races 2 and 3 and second in Race 4, with yet another 911, Bob Fraser’s,

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taking the final third place. Marque and Production Sports cars was a mix of old and new, with cars ranging from Loutus’s Exige, PRB Clubmans, Porsches, Alfasuds and Iain Pretty’s GT40, which took the first two races. Keeping Pretty honest was Glen Taylor in his MG-B GT V8, second in the first race from Tim Mackie’s Exige. Taylor retired from the second race and didn’t return to the track, leaving Mackie

to take the battle to Pretty. Pretty was too good again, using the long legs of the Ford V8 to good effect on the long straights, while Mackie kept him busy on the bendy bits. Mackie took Race 3 from Pretty and David Mackie (Exige). Pretty had it all go wrong in the last race, crashing heavily in The Esses and doing great damage to the beautiful coupe. The Mackie brothers took first and second, Tim beating David, from Craig

Drury, making an Exige trifecta. Mark Short (Datsun 1600) won all four races for Improved Production / Combined Touring Cars. Other podium places went to Bruce Cook (Escort) and Franck Donniaux (WRX) in Race 1, Donniaux and Colin Ward (Skyline in race two). Race 3 saw Adam Allan (Bluebird) head Clint Sharp’s Corolla over the line and finally, Graeme Watts (RX7) followed Allan over the line.

EASTER HISTORICS MALLALA

Old school

PHIL WILLIAMS sampled the action as Mallala hosted its annual Easter Historics event

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Left: Tim Kuchel leads a pack in Groups Q&R. Bradley DeLuca, above, was the pick of the Group N field in his Falcon Sprint. Ron Towney took his Lago Talbot, below, to top spot in the open-wheel regularity, while John Payne in his MG J2 Special, bottom, was a Group K contender.

All pics: Phil Williams

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PYE’S GREAT START BRITISH FFORD

AUSSIE young gun Scott Pye won two of the three races at the opening round of the British Formula Ford Series at Oulton Park last weekend. Racing for the front-running Jamun Motorsport team, in a Mygale chassis, Pye started his British campaign in perfect form, winning the first race of the weekend from pole position.

But his weekend took a turn for the worse in Race 2, when his Jamun teammate Josh Hill spun at the first corner, taking Pye out of the race with him. Scott Malvern won that race, setting up a thrilling battle of the Scotts in the final. A solid start from Pye gave him a lead he wouldn’t lose, despite intense pressure from Malvern. “The car was perfect and my times were consistent,” said Pye.

“But Scott was right on my gearbox, so I had to make the car as wide as possible. “I was confident that I could keep a gap in the high-speed stuff, so it was just about defending the rest of the lap. “I’m ecstatic. Obviously, it was a goal to win all three races, and you’re never happy with a DNF, but to come back like this is sending me home on a high.” Malvern leads the points after three races, 23 clear of Pye.

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Vergne keeps Carlin on top FORMULA 3 IT seems that nothing much changes in the world of British Formula 3 ... Last year, Daniel Ricciardo did a lot of winning in a Red Bull-backed Carlin Dallara. This year, Jean-Eric Vergne has picked up where Ricciardo left off, taking an early lead in the 2010 British Formula 3 Championship after the first meeting at of the season at

Oulton Park last weekend. The Frenchman took two wins from three races across the weekend, the best coming on Monday’s 40-minute feature race. Vergne spent the race involved in a tense battle with Oli Webb, with never more than a couple of seconds separating the pair. But in the end, Vergne was good enough to hold on for the win, and an early lead in the points.

“It was a really good race,” said Vergne. “I pushed hard until the middle of the race, and then eased off and tried hard not to make any mistakes. It was enough and I’m really happy.” After the race, Webb rued a small “moment”. “If I hadn’t had the moment I did on Lap 4, which caused a massive gap, we could have challenged for the lead,” he said.

“We definitely had the quicker car. The problem was I was trying a bit too hard and got on the kerbs, and lost a bit of time.” Vergne’s two wins were split by his team-mate, Briton Rupert Svendsen-Cook, who claimed his maiden F3 win. He had to overcome Double R Racing’s Daisuke Nakajima for the win, and now sits third in the points behind Vergne and Webb.

Martin takes third in SL race SUPERLEAGUE

JOHN Martin has started his 2010 Superleague Formula campaign with a podium finish at Silverstone. The young Aussie, driving for the Atletico de Madrid football club, finished third in the second race, which started with a reversed grid. He held off Race 1 winner Craig Dolby late in the race, finishing behind ex-Formula 1 driver Sebastien Bourdais, and Kiwi Chris van der Drift. Dolby, racing in Tottenham Hotspurs colours, capped off his Race 1 win with another victory in the Superfinal, bagging 100,000 euros in the process. “It was my birthday on Wednesday, so this a fantastic late present!” said Dolby. “We’ve had a great weekend, and although I was confident coming into the races, I have to admit that I was surprised by quite how fast we were. It’s a very long season though, and the other guys will push us hard, so we won’t be getting carried away just yet.”

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Get it seen! Get it sold!

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Regrettable sale – AS NEW build just completed. PWRC/ M2 Tarmac Spec, New shell, FIA cage, AutronicSM4, 6-Speed, STi Diff’s, Motec DCCD , REIGER Suspension, Brembo’s, Prodrive H-Brake, TRS Harnesses, Alloy Firebomb & Handheld. This will be OUTRIGHT competitive in any Aus tarmac rally. $POA. Call Sam 0439 434 591.

1995 BMW Super Tourer, Ready to race. Still as quick today as ever. 98 spec engine, under 300km on engine. Many spares available. $125,000. Call David 0419684866.

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rear of grid

While we were scoffing eggs ... Most of the world was on holidays over the weekend, but the highs and lows of motorsport kept on coming. Here’s a few highlights

t o p S d d O

Geoff Gracie

Happy Easter, Nick: John Vogels gave Nick Lacey a good hit instead of choclate, above, while Craig Dobly was flying high after winning 100,000 Euros in the Superleague final, below left. In Jordan, Michal Kosciosko spent about 100,000 Euros went he sent his Ford Fiesta on its roof, below right.

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