Motorsport eNews Issue 154 - May 11-17, 2010

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Issue No. 154 May 11-17 2010

Howzat!

Webber tames Spain.

Next stop, Monaco

Will Davison Back to Square 1 www.mnews.com.au

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Issue No. 154 | May 11 - May 17 2010

news 4

Webberrrrrrrrr!

Raging Bull has wings 6 Rewind Davo goes back to basics 8 Choice, bro V8s step in at Hamilton 12 Thinking Green PT gets a familiar face back 14 Jack and JAX Winton FV8 field sorted

chat 22 Five Minutes With ...

Russell Ingall

comment 24 Adam: Grip is good Wheeler: Life at Sector #6

race 26 NASCAR 30 World Superbikes

trade 36 Classifieds

NEXT STOP, MONA

Webber reigns in Spain, and heads to Monte Carlo on a Red FORMULA 1 MARK Webber heads to Monaco this weekend as favourite to win on the famous streets, but is trying to downplay the speed of the Red Bulls.

After blowing the field away at Barcelona, the Aussie heads to the Municipality fourth in the World Championship, to a circuit on which he has shone but never won: “We know it is a special venue,” said Webber after his 24s win in Spain.

“It is a one-off on the calendar.

It is a sensational challenge for the drivers. We all like going there. You certainly couldn't have a track like it now if you wanted to design and build one.

It is a little bit on the edge. We know that but we will go there and give is our best shot. It is a different type of weekend with running on Thursday and a bit of a break on Friday. The whole atmosphere is good and it is a special Grand Prix. We all know that front row will be king there as well.”

The last remark is particularly telling. Red Bull’s Renaultpowered RB6 was untouchable in qualifying, Webber taking pole position by 0.1s from team-mate Sebastian Vettel. But the two blue cars were more than 0.7s clear of the rest of the field, and such was their speed that drivers such as World Champion Jenson Button had conceded them the front row before qualifying even started on Saturday.

After taking his third GP win in the last 14 races, Webber was sure to dampen down suggestions that the Red Bulls could reign on the harbour circuit.

“We know there are some very competitive cars, in particular Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren and there are some pretty decent drivers as well, so there is a long, long way to go. We need to see how the car performs at different venues. The cars are pretty sensitive to different tracks, so there is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet in terms of how this will shake out in the next five or six months.”

The encouraging part of the weekend was that many of the teams had their first round of 2010 updates in use for the first

time but, if anything, the Red Bulls’ updates appear to have taken them further ahead of the field than in the first four races. Of particular interest was the fact that the Red Bull cars were almost as slow through Barcelona’s speed trap as some of the Cosworth-powered newcomers at the back of the grid.

On the other hand, McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh said over the weekend that his cars were 20kmh slower through Turn 9 than the Red Bulls, suggesting that the RBs love corners. Even if most of the corner speeds in Monte Carlo are slower than the ones in Spain, the lack of straight lines is only going to do Webber and Vettel a favour.

“It’s a little bit on the edge. We all know that the front row will be king there, as well” Mark Webber on Monaco

motorsport news

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ACO!

d Bull high

sutton-images.com

The other point in his favour is the fuel consumption of the Renault V8. While not possessing the peak power of the MercedesBenz and Ferrari-powered cars, the French motor is more efficient and the Red Bulls and Renaults do enjoy a startline weight advantage of as much as 15kg over the opposition come Sunday afternoon.

With overtaking nearly impossible on the track, the Red Bulls’ Saturday speed and Webber’s previous form on the circuit – his best result at the track came in 2005, when he was third – it would be a brave man who would bet against him joining Sir Jack Brabham as the only Australian winner of the GP. The three-time World Champion scored his maiden GP win there, in a Cooper, 51 years ago today.

Webber’s win is Great News [Unless your name happens to be Kimi Raikkonen]

AUSTRALIAN F1 GP WINNERS Jack Brabham 13 poles, 14 wins Alan Jones 6 poles, 12 wins Mark Webber 3 poles, 3 wins

MARK Webber’s domination – in particular of his team-mate, the much-lauded Sebastian Vettel – at Barcelona on Sunday, may well be the ingredient which will prolong the Aussie’s F1 career.

Currently on a one-year contract, suggestions that Red Bull might look elsewhere (in particular fanciful rumours about a Kimi Raikkonen F1 comeback), are looking pointless after Webber’s third GP win – but more importantly, one in which he dominated ‘Baby-Schumi’, as the talented German is known, all weekend.

Webber topped all three qualifying sessions, including the vital Q3 for pole, and was never threatened after Turn 1.

Indeed, the Aussie drove away from Vettel at two, three, or four-tenths of a second a lap. The rest of the F1 grid was left wondering how Red Bull appeared to have increased its margin over them. eNews believes that Raikkonen had said recently that he will have his future, in either Formula 1 or the WRC, settled by June. Given Webber’s performance in Spain, if the Finn had ideas of partnering Vettel next season, he may be leaving things a month too late.

sutton-images.com

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Under Control V8 SUPERCARS STANDARD ‘control’ camshafts will, as planned, become compulsory as of the Darwin round of the V8 Supercar series.

Testing has resulted in a camshaft profile which will reduce valve lift by around 25 percent (down from around 800 thou to 600), with obvious reliability and valve train life gains.

The Chev and Ford specs are fundamentally identical – the increased length of a Chev camshaft and the slightly differing valve placements of the two brands the only physical differences.

According to the engineers MNews has spoken with, the power loss is as little as 10-15 hp.

Among the first teams to test a standard-spec camshaft engine was FPR, which ran James Moffat’s Fujitsu car at its last test day, and then at the Queensland race, in the new spec.

“Frosty did a couple of laps in the car at the test day, and reckoned he couldn’t feel any difference,” FPR’s Tim Edwards told us.

“I don’t think anyone will notice the difference – certainly not the fans – and the reliability gains are obvious.”

Davison: Back to Ba

HRT Star back to Square 1 in search of speed V8 SUPERCARS WILL Davison’s plan to turn around his tough 2010 season hits the ground at Winton Motor Raceway this weekend.

The Holden Racing Team driver is planning to turn around his years, which to this point has failed to live up to the pre-season experts, who predicted he would be a big threat to defending Champion, Jamie Whincup. Davison, last year’s runner-up, currently lies 14th on the Drivers’ Points table.

Davison points to his preseason form at the team’s test track, and says that, and not

A celebration of Australia’s Muscle Car heritage and a tribute to the drivers that raced

the rounds to date, are what he is focusing on.

“We had the best test at Winton that we have ever had,” he said on Monday.

“We went fast, but a lot of drivers went fast, so that it not it. We nearly have to go back to Square 1, we are going back to basics.”

Last year was Davison’s first in HRT red, and to do so well alongside the team’s established star driver Garth Tander marked him as one of the revelations of the season.

But the chemistry that saw the team work so well, and score Tander and Davison wins at the Phillip Island and Bathurst

enduros, is still there.

“It doesn’t feel any different,” said Davison.

“Last year, everything made a lot of sense, and it all clicked.

This year, we have been down our own path a bit, but I have not been able to make it work like he [Tander] has. We have probably been trying too much stuff at one time, rather than making a small change and working that through. But that is what you tend to do, when things are not happening as you like.”

One change this year was that the drivers ‘swapped’ engineers, with Alistair McVean now on Tander’s #2 entry and

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Holdsworth gets new car, Bezzy

asics Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

Matt ‘Techo’ Nilsson moving to the #22 Commodore. That has not been a drama, Davison says, so, what is missing?

“I don’t have an answer. We are all getting on well, we are

GRM will make a big enduro push V8 SUPERCARS

still very positive.

“I don’t feel like I have forgotten how to drive, for any reason. I just have not had the car working as it did last year.

We have struggled for balance.

We have had the odd race where it has been alright, but we have not been on top of it on a consistent basis. “[QR] was the most disappointing point of the whole year. But we are coming back, I am more motivated than ever.”

“I am confident that we can get all the pace back. Believe me, it’s no fun, not being competitive.”

LEE Holdsworth will get a new Fujitsu Commodore at Phillip Island.

Garry Rogers Motorsport is currently building a new VE, with Holdsworth next in line to get a new car for the team.

Following the mid-season break, he’s set to race it for the first time at September’s L&H 500.

“The car’s currently being built and that’s the plan from here, that Lee will debut the car at Phillip Island,” team manager Kevin Shawyer told eNews.

Meanwhile, look for David Besnard to share the new

car with Holdsworth in the enduros, and Greg Ritter to team up with Michael Caruso.

Besnard and Ritter were snapped up early by GRM, having raced with the team in 2009, and turned laps in last weekend’s co-driver session at Queensland Raceway.

“More than likely, that’s what we’ll be doing,” Shawyer said.

“The drivers were happy to drive with either of the codrivers, so we’ve paired them up on height and everyone’s happy with that.

“It’s probably the easiest decision I’ve had to make all year.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

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BRIEFLY...

n Non-gearbox Superkarts have withdrawn from next weekend’s Shannons Nationals round at Mallala. A lack of entries is behind the demise of the Non-Gearbox Nationals for the second year running.

The Australian Superkart Championship is unaffected, and remains a two-round series, with the recent Phillip Island round joined by Morgan Park in August.

Hamilton Safe till 2017 V8 SUPERCARS HAMILTON will stay on the V8 Supercar the new partnership.

Championship Series calendar for the next “The city has already shown it is capable seven years. of staging the V8 Supercars, which is no The race will be run from 2011-2017 by V8 mean feat, and having V8 Supercars now Supercar Event and the Hamilton City Council, running the event means it is well positioned which will jointly manage the event. Former to go from strength to strength,” he said. promoters Steve Vuleta and Dean Calvert, who The event is expected to incorporate a ran the previous three Hamilton events, have list of new features to attract patrons to the stepped aside.

2011 race, including V8 Supercars’ ‘rock’n’race’ As part of the agreement, V8 Supercars format which will see concerts held in either Australia will underwrite the ITM400 across Seddon Park or Waikato Stadium. the seven years and assume all financial V8SA reported that the 2010 race attracted risk, as well as provide the infrastructure to “more than 100,000 people”, after a claimed manage the event. V8SA will secure key local attendances of “more than 175,000” in 2008 staff, suppliers and contractors, with hiring and 121,000 to the 2009 event. It claimed expected to start soon. a crowd of 132,000 at the final event at Hamilton Mayor Bob Simcock welcomed Pukekohe in 2007.

Is this the end of the Chicane?

V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

n Ford Racing will host a fan night at FPR’s Race Centre tonight (Tuesday May 11). Blue Oval racers Mark Winterbottom, Shane van Gisbergen, Steve Richards, Alex Davison, Paul Dumbrell, Tim Slade and James Moffat will all be present. There’ll be workshop tours, a free sausage sizzle, door prizes and 15 percent off all merchandise. It runs from 5:30pm to 8pm at FPR’s Race Centre at 4/40 Glenbarry Road, Campbellfield, Victoria.

Dirk Klynsmith

n Daniel Erickson is confident of returning to the USF2000 Championship in the near future.

The Sydneysider elected to sit out last weekend’s round at Road America, with his team, Primus Racing, in the midst of a move to new facilities.

“Naturally I’m disappointed not to have been at Road Atlanta last weekend, but even though I had just enough money for the trip there were good reasons to stay in Australia for a while,” Erickson said.

“First and foremost, Jon Baytos, who owns Primus Racing, is relocating the team and his family at the moment. Under the circumstances it would have been unfair to ask Jon to prepare the car and get everything organised for Road Atlanta.”

THE promotional take-over of the Hamilton V8 race by V8 Supercars Australia, could well coincide with the final demise of Hamilton’s controversial back straight chicane.

Every effort will be made to ‘spice up’ the circuit – and removal of the chicane will certainly turn the following right-hander into a corner of ‘significance’ – despite some concerns from teams/drivers over run-off at the corner.

There is, however, room enough for a substantial number of tyre row barriers and we hear that will likely be deemed sufficient to allow the change (and the changed layout will be no more dangerous than elements of other existing circuits such as Adelaide, Bathurst and … Surfers). motorsport news

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v8supercars.com.au www.mnews.com.au

FORMULA 1 IT was just like old times in the Spanish Grand Prix as Michael Schumacher not only outpaced his team-mate for the entire weekend but also found himself on the receiving end of criticism from other drivers over the Mercedes driver’s forceful driving style.

Fourth place in Spain for Schumacher was easily the best result so far in his return to Formula 1 and will go some way to silencing the critics who are already dismissing his comeback as a failure.

It came after a near race-long battle with Jenson Button that left the defending World Champion frustrated and accusing Schumacher of dangerous driving.

After the race Button was ‘disappointed’ with Schumacher’s move around the outside of the McLaren while Button was rejoining the track after a pitstop.

“I didn’t really know where Michael was on the outside of me,” Button said. “He turned in and if I didn’t back out of it we would have crashed.

“So he didn’t really give me a lot of room there. There you go, you’d think with his experience he would know. It wasn’t really the right move.”

It was the decisive move in the battle between the two drivers, however, with Schumacher managing to successfully defend his position from the McLaren for the rest of the race.

“It’s tough to overtake here,” Button observed, “and Michael’s not silly. He

sutton-images.com

Schumi leaves Button unfastened

knows where to put his car, so on a track like this you’re not going to overtake him.

“He was putting it on the inside, and I couldn’t pass on the outside because he just pushed me wide every time. He didn’t make a mistake, so it was very frustrating.

Schumacher, for his part, was unapologetic.

“I’m pretty sure it’s been rather frustrating for him and exciting for me,” the seven-times world champ was quoted on Totalf1.com.

Meanwhile former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan was a bemused observer, criticising Button’s ‘lack of aggression’ on the BBC television broadcast.

“I am a Button fan,” Jordan said, “but cannot help but feel he could’ve been a bit ballsy and racier in return ...”

FORMULA 1

SUTTONS

Monaco:

no split Qual

10

A PROPOSAL to split qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix into two groups of 12 cars was rejected at a meeting of the Formula One Teams’ Association during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.

The plan to split the field in two groups was aimed at avoiding the potential traffic problems which could eventuate with up to 24 cars on the tight, twisty street circuit at the same time.

With the proposal not being agreed upon unanimously, the qualifying format at Monaco this weekend will remain unchanged.

Lotus boss Tony Fernandes was among those against the idea of splitting the drivers.

“There was talk today at FOTA of having a split qualifying, going into a hat with 12 in one and 12 in another,” Fernandes told Reuters. “I said no. We want the race to be exciting, we want to be unpredictable so let qualifying be the same as well.

“I have been in Formula 1 for seven months now and these guys are very good drivers and they are paid to drive well.” motorsport news

F-Duct …Fcut IT was a Formula 1 technical innovation so ingeniously simple that the only really amazing thing about it was that no one had ever thought of it before.

However, the so-called FDuct looks set to disappear from F1 just as quickly as it arrived, with teams having agreed to ban the blown wing concept for 2011, following a meeting of the Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA) on the Sunday morning of the Spanish Grand Prix.

While McLaren, the team which first developed the FDuct to F1, argued in favour of the device, a majority of

teams voted for it to be outlawed for 2011.

The F-Duct’s purpose is to provide a speed advantage by ‘stalling’ the rear wing on straights. This is achieved by the driver pushing against the inner section of the monocoque to open or close an air duct running through the car.

The F-Duct was an integral part of the McLaren chassis design. However, such was the straightline speed advantage it offered McLaren that the other teams were

sutton-images.com

FORMULA 1

forced to try to incorporate an F-Duct in their existing hardware.

While some have been successful in copying the McLaren innovation, the consensus in Spain was that the concept might get out of control in 2011 on both cost and safety grounds.

The question of safety related to the monocoque structure but also the style of driving required to get the most of the concept.

Footage from Fernando Alonso’s in-car camera revealed the Ferrari driver spent an alarming part of the lap with only one hand on the wheel while the other operated the F-Duct.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner was one team boss who expressed safety concerns. “ ... some of the solutions this weekend look a bit marginal when you see drivers driving with finger tips and no hands,” he said.

“So I think there is a safety issue and a cost issue to take into account.”

Dark clouds Bridgestone back in 2011? over Barcelona FORMULA 1 THE black cloud of the Icelandic volcano ash threatened to once again throw F1 team and personnel travel plans into chaos following reports that flights across southern Europe over the weekend had to be grounded due to a return of the volcanic ash cloud.

More than a dozen Spanish airports were closed on the Saturday of the Spanish Grand Prix because of the ash.

European aviation officials expected more flights to be cancelled later this week. It’s lucky for the F1 fraternity that the World Championship has now reached the motorhome leg, and that Monaco, where they’ll race this weekend, is just 700km from Barcelona by road ...

For full F1/MotoGP/WRC coverage/news, CLICK HERE to get to GPWeek magazine www.gpweek.com www.mnews.com.au

FORMULA 1 THERE was a time when the main concern over Bridgestone’s decision to withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of this year was whether or not a suitable replacement tyre maker could be found for 2011.

Such fears were soon dispelled, though, as before long it emerged that Michelin was considering a return to F1, and that Avon was also interested.

And then, as teams began to consider the respective merits of the Avon and Michelin proposal, Pirelli threw its hat into the ring.

Now, however, on the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix, believed to be the target date that has been set to decide the F1 tyre supplier into the future, there is speculation that

Bridgestone itself is back in the race and may not withdraw from F1 after all.

This was the topic of discussion at a meeting between Bridgestone representatives and FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Whitmarsh told MotorsportMagazin.com that any new tyre manufacturer coming into F1 represented a ‘risk’.

“Bridgestone has done a great job in F1,” he said.

“We would be happy if we could persuade them to stay.”

At the same time, though, he was stressed FOTA was not keen on creating the conditions for another tyre war by allowing two or more tyre makers into F1. It is Michelin’s preferred option that the way be left open for more than one tyre company to be involved in F1.

11

INDYCAR GRAHAM Rahal will drive for his father’s team in this year’s Indianapolis 500.

Rahal, 21, will race for Rahal Letterman Racing, co-owned by his 500-winning father Bobby and talk show host, David Letterman.

This will be Rahal Jnr’s third Indy 500 start and the first IndyCar race for the team since last year’s 500.

“I am extremely excited to be racing with my father and with this team,” Graham Rahal said.

“I have known a lot of the guys on this team since I was very young, and to go after the dream of winning Indianapolis with them means a lot to me and my family. I know we can put together a quality effort, and we expect to be competitive.”

Rahal is the youngest driver to win an IndyCar race, taking the 2008 St Petersburg win at 19. Father Bobby won the 1986 Indy 500 and the team’s last 500 victory came with Buddy Rice in 2004.

– MARY MENDEZ

INDYCAR INDYCAR’S already tight testing schedule was further restricted last week when the second test of the season, at Kentucky Speedway, was called off on account of a wet track.

The 14 drivers sat and watched as rain from the previous day created weepers – water leaking onto the racing surface – which made the 1.5-mile oval unsafe for IndyCars.

“It’s disappointing to not be able to drive the Verizon Team Penske car, but if you can’t run safely it’s not worth running,” said Will Power, the points leader.

12

“I don’t think the running we would have done here would have translated to Indy. But it would have been more experience for me and it would have been good to get some oval testing in.”

The only other open test provided by the IRL was pre-season in lateFebruary, when drivers were scheduled for two days on the Barber Motorsport Park circuit, a permanent road course. However, abnormally cold weather cut their track time in half as temperatures were below the tire safety limit.

– MARY MENDEZ

Tracy goes

Green INDYCAR

PAUL Tracy will reunite with former mentor Barry Green for this month’s Indianapolis 500.

The Canadian veteran has recruited the former Team Kool Green co-owner to be his race strategist to contest the 94th running of the race.

The West Australian-born Green won the 1995 Indy 500 with Jacques Villeneuve and coached Michael Andretti to third in 2006.

“The Indy 500 is such a great challenge,” Green said. “I’ve missed IndyCar racing dearly. Paul called me.

When we first chatted about it, I had a bit of a conflict. But once Paul laid out what [KV Racing Technology co-owner] Jimmy [Vasser] had lined up, I thought these guys are really serious. It’s a great opportunity to work with Paul again.”

Tracy drove for Green in the race in 2002 ,above, and crossed the line first but was penalised for what the Canadian veteran saw as an improper call by race stewards.

“I have a great chance this year,” said Tracy, who has been training the last eight weeks and dropped 16kg. “I was wronged out of the 2002 victory. Barry spent US $110,000 on attorney fees for an appeal of the results. A month later they announced the victory was not appealable. Deep down I felt I got screwed. My whole life is full of second places.

That’s the first loser in my eyes. I’m not concerned about championship points. I’m out to win this race.”

Tracy, who is now 41, will drive a fourth KV entry for in the race.

– MARY MENDEZ

INDYCAR media

Kentucky rain keeps falling down …

INDYCAR media

INDYCAR media

INDYCAR media

Rahal and son

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Daytona resurface NASCAR

NASCAR media

DAYTONA International Speedway will be repaved following the July 3 running of the Coke Zero 400.

Workers will start removing the existing asphalt down to the original rock base on July 4, with a scheduled completion date of 1 January, next year. The decision to completely repave the famed 2.5-mile superspeedway was made after the surface broke up in the turns during the February running of the Daytona 500.

The 2.5-mile track have been repaved only once in its 52year history, in 1978. The infield Lake Lloyd was made with the original dirt used for the 31 degree banked turns.

– MARTIN D CLARK

Whiff of change at Stewart-Haas NASCAR Mike Norton, Old Spice Brand spokesman, said in a statement.

Old Spice and Office Depot alternate as the main sponsor on Stewart’s #14 Chevy, with Old Spice up front in 14 races this season. Office Depot is expected to remain in place.

In other NASCAR sponsor news, FedEx is expected to continue sponsorship of Denny Hamlin. The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team is expected to agree to a long-term deal with the international logistics company soon.

NASCAR media

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NASCAR media

TONY Stewart may smell a little different next year, with confirmation that his team will end is association with Old Spice.

The men’s toiletries range, a brand of Procter & Gamble, confirmed on the weekend that it has decided not to renew its sponsorship.

“Based solely on a change in our marketing strategies, the Old Spice contract with Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing will expire at the end of 2010 and will not be renewed,”

Phoenix for sale NASCAR AFTER 22 years in racing, James Finch has put his Phoenix Racing NASCAR team on the market.

The asking price for the nine-acre parcel in South Carolina that includes his 6500m3 raceshop, two adjacent houses, 40 cars and all shop equipment and trailers is US$12 million.

Finch, who owns Florida commercial building company Phoenix Construction, has spent around $2m of his own money since the beginning of the season when the team lost its primary sponsor, Miccosukee Resort and Gaming. The Florida Miccosukee Indian Tribe elected a new chairman who pulled the plug on the racing sponsorship.

The team will complete the season in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series with drivers Mike Bliss in Cup and James Buescher in Nationwide. Phoenix’s last win came with Brad Keselowski at Talladega in April ’09 when he beat Carl Edwards to the flag in a controversial finish that saw Edwards airborne and into the catch fencing. Finch, above left, gave Keselowski all the $312,000 for the winning the race to help his family, who are struggling to make ends meet in Michigan.

– MARTIN D CLARK 13

Jack’s back, JAX enter FV8 with McConville FUJITSU SERIES

JACK Perkins will run in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at Winton again this weekend.

Perkins returned to the series at Queensland Raceway 10 days ago in Tim Slade’s 2009 SuperCheap Auto VE, which is owned by James Rosenberg.

He finished second for the weekend, including a strong win in Race 3, and will be back on the grid at Winton this weekend.

Cameron McConville’s Fujitsu Series debut, revealed by eNews a fortnight ago, will be aboard the Walkinshaw Racing VE owned by Ben Eggleston.

McConville, a JAXQuickfit Tyres franchisee, will carry the company’s colours at Winton and Townsville, pictured, ahead

of his Walkinshaw Racing endurance drive.

Another enduro pilot getting race miles is Owen Kelly, who’ll again drive Kelly Racing’s Commodore after returning to the series at QR.

Bargs cracks 150 V8 SUPERCARS JASON Bargwanna will join V8 Supercars’ 150 Club this weekend.

The Rock Racing driver will log his 150th start in the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Winton Motor Raceway, a track on which he has won twice.

“It’s amazing that this comes at what has been my most successful circuit,” said Bargwanna.

“I’m fired up for my 150th round. It’s something that you don’t really think about. You 14

look towards the next race all the time but when you look at all the years you’ve been doing it and all the rounds that you’ve done, it just comes up so quick and it’s very exciting.

“For me, I’m so focused on trying to look towards the next race, getting the car right, making sure that the set-up is right, understanding the race strategy, making sure you manage your tyres and making sure you get to be more competitive, you forget how many times you’ve actually done all of this.”

From a 27-car entry list, 25 cars expected at Winton, with Jay Motorsport withdrawing their second entry and Terry Wyhoon’s Image Racing unable to finalise arrangements to run their BA

Falcon.

BA Falcons and VY Commodores are now eligible for the series again, with Eggleston to run his ex-Team Dynamik VY in his first start of the season.

Morgan new CAMS CEO INDUSTRY CAMS has appointed its new Chief Executive Officer.

David Morgan, currently a consultant in the Mining Services industry, will replace Graham Fountain, who left CAMS in March.

Morgan, who will start his role in June, was previously the General Manager of Chemnet Australia, Australia’s largest chemical trading and distribution business.

He has spent more than 20 years in various roles at Orica (formerly ICI Australia) of which Chemnet is a business unit.

CAMS President Andrew Papadopoulos said in a statement that Morgan is the right man for the job.

“David Morgan brings to

CAMS a wealth of experience in dealing with complex and time-critical relationships, project management and problem solving.

“He is the perfect person to lead the organisation through its next stage of development.” motorsport news

Fujitsu tyre swap complete FUJITSU SERIES FOLLOWING Queensland Raceway’s ‘switch-over’ weekend for Fujitsu teams to move from the 2009-spec Dunops to the 2010 Main Game tyres, both categories are now fully integrated into the latest rubber.

Each Fujitsu team was allocated one set of the olderspec rubber – produced on the older-tech two-piece mould – along with their new-spec, segmented mould, allocation. It did provide an interesting comparison among those teams who knew of the difference. It almost created a ‘primary’ and ‘option’ tyre situation, with the older spec Dirk Klynsmith

FORMER Bathurst winner Tony Longhurst is reportedly recovering well after a heart scare while holidaying with friends in Bali.

Longhurst, 52 – a lifelong fitness freak, and non-drinker – was flown to Singapore, where

RACE

stent surgery was successfully completed.

Since retiring from dayto-day racing, Longhurst has become a regular in the growing world of tarmac rallying, and won the 2007 Bathurst 12 Hour.

SUPERSPRINT

CJ OUT OF LE MANS AUSSIES OVERSEAS CHRISTIAN Jones’s drive in the Le Mans 24 Hour race appears to have vanished.

The 30-year-old was entered as one of three drivers in the Team Hong Kong Racing Aston Martin Vantage in the GT2 category in the French classic. The car, with Marchy Lee and Philip Ma co-driving, was entered as a Reserve

Longhurst on the mend

rubber actually some tenths quicker, and thus an interesting turn-around depending on which race teams ran the various rubber ...

The run-out of the older spec is now completed, meaning that both main and Fujitsu series cars are on the same rubber from here on.

“It caught a few out,” confirmed Greg Murphy Racing boss Kevin Murphy.

“We elected to run the newspec in the later race, and it made a noticeable difference – probably six-tenths or more slower ... it looked like we’d dropped some pace but (and it worked in reverse for others) it was simply the difference between the tyres.

TARMAC RALLY & TRACK DAYS

but, when race organisers ACO recently revised its list and graduated some reserve entries to the main entry list, the team was not among them.

Should Jones not secure a replacement seat, it means that David Brabham will be the only Aussie entered in the race. The 2009 winner is down to share an Acura ARX.01 with Marino Franchitti and Marco Wener.

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Tough Luff MINI CHALLENGE WARREN Luff could be a more permanent fixture in the Hertz MINI Challenge, after making his debut at Queensland Raceway.

Luff stepped into one of McElrea Racing’s cars in the third round of the series, taking the round honours on debut. Team owner Andy McElrea told eNews that he may return, and that his team is aiming to work with Luff fulltime in 2011.

“I’ve always wanted to do something with Luffy, when I started this team last year, it was to run him in Carrera Cup,” he said.

“He’s come on board this

TC MASTERS ELLIOT Barbour will make his debut in the Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn at Winton this weekend.

The 19-year-old will have his first hitout in a 1972 Falcon XY

weekend in the MINI and we’ll see how it goes from there.

“Ideally, we’d like to look at running him in the Fujitsu Series or Carrera Cup, if that comes back next year. We run Carrera Cup in Asia, so we’ve got experience with the 2010 cars.”

Meanwhile, McElrea Racing

will expand to three cars in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge later this year. Queenslander Rob Knight will drive the exBob Thorn 997 Cup Car for the team, making his debut at Morgan Park.

The team already runs Yuey Tan and Danny Chu. “He’s purchased Bob Thorn’s

car and we’ll have him on a driver-training program before he makes his debut at Morgan Park,” McElrea said.

The team has also taken over the reins of Darren Berry’s GT Championship Ascari, which is almost fully repaired following its accident at the AGP. – MITCHELL ADAM

GTHO, before stepping into a 1972 Chrysler V8 Charger, which is currently under construction.

Barbour has previously raced HQs and in the Victorian Porsche 944 Series.

“Joining the TCM series is a really good opportunity for

me. The publicity and fans the series attracts will hopefully lead on to bigger and better things,” he said.

“There was a rolling Falcon chassis available from Wayne Mercer who I raced against in the Porsches, and Rod Smith Racing offered to prepare it if

I wanted to race it while the Charger is still being built.

“So we’ll start in the GT Falcon for Winton and I’m hoping we’ll have the Charger on track at Darwin. I’m looking forward to that; I think it should be capable of sticking with the front running guys.”

Elli Barbour and more than 40 horses

STANG FOR GT? NATIONAL THE future of Marcus Zukanovic’s Ford Mustang is still up in the air.

Following its maiden run at the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour in February, the car has been sitting in Action Racing’s Melbourne workshop. The car’s fuel tank is in England being rebuilt, and Zukanovic isn’t sure when it’ll next turn a wheel, while he concentrates on his Fujitsu Series campaign.

One option, though, could

16

see the car become eligible for Australian GT’s Production Class “We don’t really know what we’ll do with it yet, we’ve really been focusing on getting the V8 back up and running,” he said.

“I spoke to [12 Hour promoter] James O’Brien and [GT Director] Terry Little at the Grand Prix about the possibility of getting it homologated to run in Australian GT, so we’ll see what comes from that.

– MITCHELL ADAM motorsport news

news

Jolly good GT3 CUP CHALLENGE

Rob Lang

Sager Megadrive Another Rising Star to debut at Winton FORMULA FORD

“Gary and Liam our State Rising Stars, neither of them are doing a whole National program,” he said.

“Garry wants to focus on the Victorian state round next weekend, and it’s Liam’s test track, so he’s going to have a go. It’s a toe in the water program.

“Liam will probably do Townsville as well, as it’s his home round. They both want to keep their rookie status, so we’ll suck it and see from here.

– MITCHELL ADAM

James Smith

LIAM Sager will make his Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship debut at Winton this weekend.

Sager, 15, will step into the CAMS Rising Star Spectrum campaigned by Garry Jacobson in the opening two rounds of the 2010 season.

Team boss Bruin Beasley told eNews that the pair will share the seat for the remainder of the year.

SALOON Car stalwart John Goodacre is switching to the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.

The South Australian will make his debut in the Mission Food-backed series at his home round at Mallala next weekend, May 29-30.

Goodacre has purchased a 996-model Cup Car from Bruce Hibbard, which he briefly drove for the first time yesterday [Monday] at the circuit.

“I’m going to do Mallala, and hopefully the rest of the

season,” Goodacre said.

“From here, we probably won’t do any more Saloon Car racing.

“I’ve never raced anything like the Porsche, but I’ve driven one before at Mallala.

I enjoyed it, so I’m going to get into the series and see what happens.”

A 21-car field looks likely for the third round of the 2010 GT3 Cup Challenge, which will be the second anniversary of the series’ inaugural round, at Mallala in 2008.

– MITCHELL ADAM

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17

V8 UTE SHUFFLE

Pither back, Crambrook out Johnson uncertain

CHRIS Pither will return to the Yokohama V8 Ute Series this weekend at Winton.

The NZ V8 Ute Champ will step into the Ice Break Coffee Ute, which Layton Crambrook was scheduled to campaign this year. Crambrook drove the car at the Clipsal 500’s season opener, but Pither will now assume the driving duties for the remainder of the year.

“I’m looking forward to being back in the Series, I’ve been out for a while now but it was

good practice against the guys at Clipsal and then again at the Trans Tasman Challenge and I think I have what it takes to run up the front,” he said.

“It will be nice to be racing in the Ice-Break Racing team alongside former Kanga Loaders teammate Gary MacDonald.”

Crambrook declined to comment on the situation and his prospects of remaining in the series when contacted by eNews.

said.

“I don’t know if it’s just the sign of the times, or if we’ve been unlucky, but we’ve had a lot of guys show interest and basically got to the final stage where they were going to help us out, and for one reason or another it’s been held back.

“So we’re still hopeful we’ll get something post-Winton, but if that doesn’t come off, I don’t think we’ll be doing the whole series.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

RALLY

sixth in the ARC, with their Evo X Lancer to debut SACHS branding at this weekend’s third round in Coffs Harbour.

“It’s great to have Sachs on board for the year, not only is it a boost for the team, but I think it’s a real vote of confidence for the Australian rallying scene,” Shepheard said.

Dirk Klynsmith

GRANT Johnson will line up at Winton this weekend facing an uncertain future.

The ‘07 Champ has been searching for a major sponsor for his Commodore following the withdrawal of Grove Fruit Juices in the off-season.

Johnson will race at Winton, most-likely without major backing, but his participation beyond that is in doubt.

“We still don’t have anything for Winton, we’re not looking good at all, to be honest,” he

Shepheard signs major backer

18

STEVEN Shepheard has signed clutch and shock absorber production company SACHS as his naming rights sponsor for the remainder of the Australian Rally Championship.

Shepheard and co-driver John McCarthy are currently

motorsport news

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19

ENEWS154

Shannons’ Top surprise DRAG RACING ANDRA Pro Series major sponsor Shannons held a surprise competition at the Nitro Champs.

The prize was to start up a Top Fuel racer, with the competition open to anyone who took a quote out with Shannons at the event.

The winner of the Shannons Start-Up competition was ecstatic and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity.

The rewards from Shannons continue with the sale of Shannons Top Fuel Shootout memorabilia selling exclusively on the Darren Morgan website.

Their t-shirt and cap

package, available for $20, has been selling hot with fans keen to gear up for the Winternationals in June, which will see the final round of the Shannons Top Fuel Shootout with a grand prize of $25,000 for the winner of the three-stage tournament.

Tynan’s mechanical terrors DRAG RACING NEW Zealand racer Chris Tynan has certainly chosen a tough battlefield in ANDRA Pro Series Top Doorslammer.

His latest event at the Nitro Champs proved difficult with a variety of mechanical issues hampering the long-time competitor.

“I had some fuel system changes suggested by

(Australian ex-pat racer) Troy Critchley that I was keen to try.

On the (first) launch, however, the transmission failed,” he said.

“Maurice Fabietti offered replacement parts and we had overnight to repair, so we thought we had nailed the bad run early and were looking forward to Q2.”

After a long burnout, transmission dramas reared

their head again when Tynan could not engage reverse.

“The reverser, which we tested in the pits, obviously had some damage as well,” he said.

“When I tried to reverse back I got nothing.”

With one last opportunity to make the field, the car mysteriously ran on only six cylinders through the run.

“It appears that one and

then two spark plugs quit,” Tynan said.

“We’re not sure why, as they were brand new, but they just stopped working.

To say the team are frustrated is an understatement, but we are also aware that the race car needs track time.

“Once we work through the mechanical issues we are confident of going faster.”

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

ANDRA Pro Series news is proudly presented by:

20

motorsport news

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John Bosher

Fab’s fab fightback DRAG RACING TOP Top Doorslammers in the ANDRA Pro Series are fighting tooth and nail for any gain on the competition, and it was Maurice Fabietti who reigned supreme at the recent Nitro Champs, taking the win over John Zappia.

Both closed the gap to points leader Robin Judd with just one round remaining – the Winternationals. Fabietti did not think he stood a chance of making it to the event just months ago when he crashed in Mildura, but his fortunes turned around in dramatic fashion.

Coming back from a dramatic accident, such as the one he had in the Holden Trade Club, requires concentrating on the job at hand.

“I was nervous for sure, you’re always anxious after an accident and a cold track only added to the nerves,” he said.

“We were the last car in the staging lanes and watching all the other racers struggle to get the power to the ground didn’t do anything to help.”

Fabietti qualified into the field and then proceeded through the rounds with fivesecond passes consistently coming up on the boards, as well as a big 248mph top

speed in qualifying.

“To win this meeting, to run a 5.87 pass, to be awarded top speed of the event and to get back a fantastically handling car shows the dedication of the hard working crew, friends and supporters and to them we extend our heartfelt thank you,” he said.

“It gives the team a renewed enthusiasm for the final round of this ANDRA Pro Series; the nerves are gone and I can’t wait to get back into my race car.”

Zappia, who knows what it is like to climb back into a race car after a very similar accident to Fabietti’s earlier this season,

is excited by the set up for the final round the Nitro Champs has produced.

“The track temp started to go away as we waited in the staging lanes and after Fab beat me on the tree, the Striker Monaro shook and rattled and I had to fight the wheel and use up most of the track to try and catch him – but he had the perfect setup for the run,” he said.

“We are confident we have what it takes to make it three championships in a row – but as we know in racing, anything can happen on the day, and on any of the runs.”

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

Melbourne fan quenches thirst DRAG RACING AUTO One, a major sponsor of the ANDRA Pro Series, recently held a competition at Motorvate Melbourne, called ‘Startline Madness’, as part of their Oi Rev Head promotion.

The prize, two VIP tickets and travel last weekend’s Nitro Champs at Sydney

Dragway, was won by Melbournian Sonia Lazarevska.

Presently, Melbourne does not have an ANDRA Pro Series drag racing venue.

Melbournians, who for years have been starving for drag racing in the city, attended public rally Motorvate Melbourne in February in masses, to fund the venue

ANDRA Pro Series on

and to show the Victorian Government the great amount of interest that exists for drag racing.

The Motorvate Melbourne event had over 16,000 people in attendance and was featured on the front page of the Sunday Age. “I thought the event as a whole was awesome and the atmosphere was great,”

Sonia Lazarevska, winner of Auto One’s Startline Madness competition, said “The Top Fuel event was mind-blowing, I definitely feel that Melbourne needs a track. We go to Coulter Park a lot and Easternats but they aren’t regular or dependable enough. Melbourne fans are loyal drag racing fans and deserve a decent venue.”

Wednesday May 12, 6:30pm Pro Stock, Willowbank Friday May 14, 10:00pm Pro Stock, Nitro Champs

Next ANDRA Pro Series Round: Castrol EDGE Winternationals, Willowbank Raceway, June 10-13 www.mnews.com.au

21

Five Minutes with ...

RUSSELL INGALL The Enforcer had his best Sunday of the season at Queensland Raceway, and told PHIL BRANAGAN that he is looking for more Sprint tyre results this week at Winton MOTORSPORT NEWS: It looked like you had a bit of a plan over the QR weekend.

You kept a spare set of tyres from Saturday, didn’t you?

RUSSELL INGALL: Yep, but it was a changeable plan. Mainly because we were taking a bit of a swing at car set-up. We were not totally confident, so I said that we will see how we go with a couple of sets of tyres. If we are not comfortable, we will not do it. There was no use blowing it.

22

Did you make the decision to burn some of your tyre grip in the middle of the Sunday race while you had track position?

We made the call on the fly.

The boys said that they were ready for me at any time, we were behind Lowndesy and Tander started propping up a little bit.

It was only a matter of time before we got jammed up, and I had a feeling that they were going to run a little bit longer than me. So I thought, ‘let’s just do it, punch in a few good laps and dive into the pits’.

I knew that I was going to pay for it later, but I did not realise it would be by that much! I thought that even if I was struggling to hold those dudes off with five laps to go, I could throw the doors out.

They were starting to show that they were wounded as well, but I did not predict that the wear would be as bad as it was at the end of the race.

But, you need to take a punt. We probably went five laps too long there

at the end. But I had a good ride, we had some good duels out there and it was good to be back at the pointy end, with the good guys.

At Winton this weekend, you will have the same tyre to go racing on.

Yep, exactly the same. I know Winton, I have done plenty of laps around there before and we have had car speed there before. I am definitely a lot more confident than I was.

The Tanders and the Winterbottoms will be quick on their test track. But in saying that, we have spent a bit of time there, and home advantages have not always materialised. Usually, it has been a ‘foreigner’ who has come through and taken the win. It may do the same thing.

I am old enough to remember you being on pole at Winton, Russell.

The One and Only! I feel sad, really. It’s an indicator of my whole life in this category; qualifying. If not for that, I might have a few more championship trophies here.

I don’t know what it is; the engineers keep scratching their heads too. In openwheelers, I used to always be on pole, or near the front. I don’t know why in taxi cabs I don’t punch them out!

Anyway, it looks better coming from the back. The crowds seem to like that!

Dirk Klynsmith

Did you change the car much for Q on Sunday.

Yes, we did. We had an educated swing, we did the same thing at Hamilton. We know now which direction to go in, and that is more towards the things that we did on Sunday.

We still have some issues; it was a little bit harder on the tyres than we would have liked, but the way that we have gone on the set-up, we knew that was going to be the case. But I would rather have that than to have no speed. That is what we have had all year; no speed. We have reasonable race pace, not electrifying but enough to run, probably, just outside the top 10. But we are not there in qualifying; where I qualified on Saturday is the worst that I have ever had, unless we have had an issue. That was probably demoralising.

We need to find some one-lap speed in the car. We have found a little of that now but there it has come at a cost of some race pace. We need to find a way to dial that out. We’ll find it.

This is a new toy. This has, probably, been the toughest three years that I have had since I came into the category. Most of the times in the past, through the Larry Days and the SBR Days, we have carried over, pretty well, the same car, year after year. Triple Eight and HRT and, even, Jim Beam have carried over their cars, with a bit of tweaking, plenty of information. But when I cam here, with Paul, we have rolled out, every year, a new car; the first year was a revamp of what the team had the year before; the second year was a completely redesigned car; and this year, we have got

a new chassis. We are not making life easy for ourselves; every year, we are starting off with a clean slate, which is a big ask.

Look at the qualifying at QR; it was ridiculously close. A couple of tenths is worth 10 or 12 spots. That is just the way it is. We need to do that, get on with it, and fix it.

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chat

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

23

The View fr Dirk Klynsmith

More Grip?

Let ‘er rip! ‘

T

HIS weekend, Winton will host the second and last all-Sprint Tyre round of the V8 Supercar season.

The Sprint Tyre was a successful initiative last year, as the concept has been for other categories previously. Having two events, where the option tyre was the only tyre, though, was unchartered territory this year.

I have to tip my hat to Dunlop and V8 Supercars for making it happen; it was a punt, it looks like it’s paid off and hopefully we see more of it in the future. At Queensland Raceway, it made the races pretty entertaining. Sure, James Courtney had Harlem Globetrotters-spec dominance, but elsewhere in the field, it was good to watch.

I think I saw more overtaking in one weekend than I’d seen in every other dry event at QR I’ve watched combined.

Strategies actually meant something and made a real difference, with cars coming on and going off at different phases of the race.

In terms of V8 Supercars as an entertainment product, it’s a definite win. However a number of people I spoke to 24

Opinion Mitchell Adam, Asst Editor expressed concern that it was a little bit gimmicky and artificial for V8 Supercars as a sport.

Perhaps there’s something in the middle, somewhere between the Sprint and the Control tyres, which could become the tyre for V8 Supercars. A compound that gives drivers the grip and confidence to have a crack – yes, drivers, I know you’ve been saying that for years – and brings tyre wear and strategy into the equation, without being overly artificial.

This is a good opportunity for the series to evolve. Just as race formats have changed over the years to improve the show, why not keep working with the tyres?

If not, let’s have some more all-Sprint Tyre rounds next year anyway. motorsport news

comment

rom Flag Point #6 W

Marshall Cass Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

HY do I do this again?

It’s a question I usually ask myself as I stand trackside in pouring rain during the corporate rides that are adding an hour to an already long day.

But last weekend is the first time I have thought about trying to answer it seriously and not with the usual flippant remarks along the lines of my being a crazed adrenalin junkie.

The incident on Saturday of the MINI crashing into the spectator area has given me pause and a need to really think this all through.

I use up all my Rec Leave and spend a few thousand dollars each year on travel, accommodation and food, all on a voluntary basis. My fiancé and I plan our lives (including our fast-approaching wedding) around major motor racing events, to ensure we don’t let the team down by not being available. Being a volunteer trackside marshal is definitely not for everyone but there is something that keeps bringing me back.

I’ve been abused by spectators for asking them not to stand on the wheelie bin for a better view or not to sit little Johnny on the chain link fence just in case something bad happens, or just for where I choose to stand to watch a race.

Promoters have run out of water, lunch has only been a sandwich and an apple, there aren’t enough programs or pins for all the volunteers or there hasn’t been a Portaloo trackside.

I’ve raised concerns over safety for myself and other marshals only to have them brushed aside or seemingly ignored all together.

I’ve had ant bites, heat stress, migraines, fallen over on track

and been treated in the medical centres of Qld Raceway, Indy, Bathurst and the Grand Prix.

At my first Bathurst as a Sector Marshal, I watched my favourite driver have a massive crash in my Sector, the day after a fatal accident and just hours after an emotional farewell tribute to my other all-time favourite driver.

I’ve had days when it has felt like Race Control is just not listening and keeps asking me to repeat things I have already said. There have been times when they don’t seem to trust me to do my job and question why I have done something a particular way.

In spite of these negatives (and a few others that I won’t share here) I keep coming back for more and I’m asking myself: why?

I

remember my very first race meeting with two crazy guys cracking jokes and making me laugh but also teaching me that, when they move away from the wall, I should probably follow them.

I remember my first time on Comms, getting so tongue tied and mixed up that I was sure I’d never be given a radio again only to have the other Communicators tell me what a great job I did for a first-timer.

I remember turning up to a V8 meeting at QR, getting my first Sector Marshal hat when I had never done the job before and being told they trusted I would do the best I could.

(Funnily enough that was Turn 6 at Queensland Raceway, the very corner that started all this thinking!)

I remember road trips to Bathurst and all the crazy stunts, bad puns and silliness that help pass the time spent travelling.

I remember all the people I have met since becoming

Opinion Toni Wheeler, Flag Marshal involved in marshalling, especially the fact that I have met the man I am about to marry.

I remember the care and concern shown for myself and others involved in the three major incidents by everyone at the track this weekend.

That is when I realise I have had my answer all along and it comes down to this – I love the people who, in spite of all the adversity and negative things that sometimes happen in our sport, keep coming back and committing themselves to get the job done. We may not share the same political or religious views and may not mix socially but we are all part of the ‘Flaggie Family.

I wish the public knew of the dedication these people show and what they go through on a regular basis. I wish TV commentators would have a go at the job first before critisizing the efforts they see on camera. I wish drivers, including so-called stars, would spend more than their compulsory time trackside to really understand what goes on. I wish that promoters and circuit owners would stop taking advantage of the love we have for motor racing and treat us with the respect and dignity that we deserve.

More than any thing else I wish marshals at all levels would start realizing that we are fabulous people who deserve better treatment than we are allowing ourselves to accept!

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NASCAR ROUND 11 – DARLINGTON, SC

Darlin

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ngton double Barely a month after knee surgery Denny Hamlin seems to have found the perfect rehab exercise – winning races. Victory at Darlington was his third Sprint Cup win for the year and it came a day after he won the Nationwide race T’S the speedway famously known as ‘too tough to tame’, but the wild old 2.1km egg-shaped Darlington was suitably restrained in 2010 as Denny Hamlin claimed the Nationwide race before backing up the following night to take honours in the Southern 500 Sprint Cup event.

It was the first time anyone had scored the double at Darlington since Mark Martin’s pair of wins in 1993.

Hamlin’s Sprint Cup win was as deserved as it was well-earned, the Joe Gibbs Toyota driver running at or near the front for most of the 500 miles.

It wasn’t as though he faced no opposition. Jeff Burton had looked threatening after jumping Hamlin for the lead at a restart 26 laps from home, but Hamlin had something left for his challengers at the end. At the penultimate

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stop, Hamlin’s crew had opted for four tyres while most of his opposition took only two, the fresher rubber giving Hamlin the grip he needed when it counted most.

“You can’t put this in words,” Hamlin said after his third Cup win of the season.

“Just an unbelievable night. Pit road did a phenomenal job getting me back on the track first, and that’s what led to this win.

We went back and forth all night and finetuned it to perfection at the end. Right there at the end, it was the best it’s been all night. That’s all you can ask for.”

Ultimately, Jeff Burton’s challenge faded after the Childress Chevy driver copped a

penalty for running over an air hose in the pits. Likewise, a pitlane miscue put paid to what might have been Jeff Gordon’s first win of the season. The Hendrick Chevy driver ran strongly for most of the race and led more laps than anyone else, but Gordon missed the pit entry at his final stop. Fourth place was the result.

“When we were ready to come in and pit a little early,” Gordon said. “I just didn’t signal the guys behind me in time and I was going to get run over. My fault. I don’t like making mistakes like that.”

Amid the various pit dramas Hamlin was able to keep pole sitter Jamie McMurray

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Full House: Not a spare seat in the crowd as Jamie McMurray leads them away at the start, right. Lady In Black: Trademark Darlington black tyre marks that give it the nickname. Second placed McMurray heads winner Denny Hamlin, above. Tough Brake: The Hendrick crew survey the damage to Jimmy Johnson’s Chevy after it was wiped out by the brakeless AJ Allmendinger, below.

NASCAR Media

at bay over the closing laps. It had been a handy effort from McMurray, who led 70 laps as the Earnhardt Ganassi team opted for a different tyre strategy from Hamlin and most of the frontrunners.

“Track position was just key,” said McMurray. “It seemed like left side tyres didn’t make a big difference and we had to put four and got back in the pack a little bit and could only get back to fifth or sixth.”

By contrast, Kurt Busch was solid and consistent all day to claim fourth place, despite the Penske Dodge driver failing to lead a single lap.

Juan Montoya beat points leader Kevin Harvick into fifth place, but for defending champion Jimmy Johnson it was another bad day, his third DNF for the season coming after a bizarre clash with AJ Allmendinger. It had already been a bad night for Johnson after two substantial scrapes with the wall, but it was all over when the Hendrick Chevy got collected by the brakeless and outof-control Allmendinger.

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Results :: Showtime Southern 500, Darlington, SC Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

No. 11 1 2 24 42 29 18 31 39 83

Driver Denny Hamlin Jamie McMurray Kurt Busch Jeff Gordon Juan Pablo Montoya Kevin Harvick Kyle Busch Jeff Burton Ryan Newman Brian Vickers

Make Toyota Chevy Dodge Chevy Chevy Chevy Toyota Chevy Chevy Toyota

Team Joe Gibbs Earnhardt Ganassi Penske Hendrick Earnhardt Ganassi Childress Joe Gibbs Childress Stewart Haas Red Bull

Sponsor Qual.

FedEx 8 McDonalds 1 Miller Lite 14 DuPont 2 Target 15 Shell Pennzoil 35 M&Ms 43 Caterpillar 11 Haas Automation 6 Red Bull 3

Top 10 Points: Harvick 1622, Johnson 1512, Kyle Busch 1509, Gordon 1475, Kenseth 1472, Hamlin 1458, Biffle 1431, Kurt Busch 1420, Burton 1394, Martin 1357.

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WORLD SUPERBIKES ROUND 5, MONZA

I-TAL-IA! I-TAL-IA! The Italian Tricolore flew high, with Max Biaggi taking a double win in front of a massive crowd at Monza

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race THE recipe for success at Monza is simple; be Italian.

Max Biaggi dominated on home soil, taking pole position and both wins at the famed track. It was a brilliant performance, aided by the fact that the local hero’s Aprilia RSV4 was timed at 203mph on the straight in qualifying.

“Race 2 was the fantastic conclusion of an exceptional weekend,” Biaggi. “If anyone had ever asked me to think of the perfect race, the result would be very similar to what happened today.

“I must thank the team, there is great understanding and affection with the guys, everything functions wonderfully and we work well.”

Britain was Italy’s biggest challenger, with James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow taking second and third in Race 1 on their Yamahas, metres clear of Leon Haslam’s Suzuki. Biaggi changed his rear suspension settings and dominated Race 2, with Haslam second.

But the big news for Aussie fans was the other face on the podium. Troy Corser was eighth in the opening race, and avoided an opening lap Race 2 melee that involved Toseland, Jonathan Rea and Xaus . From there, he held his position to finish third, and give BMW its first podium finish since entering the WSBK last year.

“I knew that a podium was possible after Assen,” said Corser.

“The bike has been working better for me recently and I expected a podium here or at the next round. I’m extremely happy with the bike’s performance today, particularly in the second race. I was able to race the track and not think about what I was doing.”

If the Aprilia team went home happy, Ducati did not, with Noriyuki Haga’s sixth in Race 2 the best result, after problems with grip and top speed.

Jonny Rea crashed in Race 1, but came back unharmed in Race 2 – only to fall again in a frustrating day for the Irishman.

Points: Haslam 181, Biaggi 178, Rea 110, Checa 110, Toseland 106, Haga 100, Corser 9, Camier 72, Guintoli 70, Crutchlow 65.

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All Max, all the time: Max Biaggi led a four-bike train home in Race 1 but smoked the field in Race 2. Troy Corser fought off Cal Crutchlow, left, to take a maiden podium finish for BMW.

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Top end Tres KARTING KEL Treseder scored a maiden CIK Stars Of Karting victory in Pro Gearbox to take the lead of the series in Round 2 at Ipswich, Queensland, last weekend.

Treseder started the second final alongside Chris Hays, who won the opening final. Hays, however, made a bad start and was forced out on Lap 2 after a collision with William Yarwood. Out at the head of the field, Treseder had no such

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problems and went on to take a one-second victory over Troy Woolston.

“After finishing second in the opening round I came into this weekend with some confidence, I had some good speed all weekend, so it is good to transfer this speed into a win,” Treseder said.

“It was disappointing to see (Chris) Hays on the sidelines as he was certainly been one of the pacesetters all weekend, it would have been good to have enjoyed a battle with him.

“Full credit must go to Troy (Woolston) he kept me honest in the final, it wasn’t easy out there. I feel as though I’m really coming to grips with this Gearbox kart, I’m continuing to improve everytime I hit the track and having more fun than I’ve ever had during my karting career.”

Queenslander Kyle Ensbey was third on debut in the series, ahead of Matthew Wall and Jordie Lindstrom, while Yarwood eventually finished sixth.

Cian Fothergill won both finals in Pro Lights for the second-straight round. He held off challenges from Hayden McBride and Joel Smith in the 25-lappers to extend his championship lead.

Like Fothergill, Pierce Lehane made it two-from-two in 2010, after splitting the Pro Junior finals with Brock Plumb.

Other winners included Ben Stewart (Clubman), James Foster (Junior National) and Matt Greenbury (Queensland Formula 100 Cup).

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Hot Pye AUSSIES OVERSEAS

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(l-r) Woolston, Treseder and Ensbey celebrate their Pro Gearbox success, above, while Fothergill, below, cleaned up in Pro Lights.

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SCOTT Pye has continued his winning form in the British Formula Ford Championship.

With a pair of wins at Knockhill, Pye now has four wins from six races so far this season, however he sits second in the points after suffering another DNF. Pye was forced out on the opening lap of Race 1 with a gearbox problem. It let his Jamun Racing team-mate Josh Hill take his maiden Formula Ford win, leading home Scott Malvern.

The South Aussie bounced back in Race 5, though, passing Hill mid-race to take the lead and going on to claim a comprehensive victory ahead of Hill and Antti Buri, while Malvern dropped well down the order lacking power.

“It was one of the hardest races I’ve ever done,” Pye said.

“It was so close from the start until I managed to get the lead and pull a bit of a gap. From then on I was able to get my head down and conserve the car. Race 1 here was a bit of a disappointment but so far this year every race I’ve finished I have won.”

Pye led home another Jamun 1-2 finish in the final race, although this time the victory margin was just two-tenths of a second after a close, race-long battle. Behind Hill, Malvern bounced back from his earlier dramas to finish third.

“I think Jamun has really improved this weekend,” Pye said.

“We’ve won all three races and then to top it off with a 1-2 at the end was great.”

Malvern continues to lead the series with 146 points, 23 clear of Pye in second place.

The next round is at Zandvoort on June 5-6.

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UN-DEUX SPORTS CARS IN a dress-rehearsal for next month’s Le Mans 24 Hour and the first showdown between Audi and Peugeot of the year, Peugeot has taken out a chaotic Spa 1000km.

Rain started falling just before the start of the formation lap, and when the race got underway, polesitter Pedro Lamy spun in the Peugeot he was sharing with Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud, dropping to ninth. It was among a number of early incidents, while the race was stopped for about 30-minutes, two hours in, after power went down at the circuit.

The stoppage was just what the second Peugeot team ordered, after the Frank Montagny, Stephane Sarrazin and Nicholas Minassian entry sustained damage with Montagny behind the wheel.

It saw the team only one lap down when racing resumed.

Meanwhile the pole-sitters were making strong progress, with Bourdais taking the lead on Lap 71 and Pagenaud bringing the 908 HDi-FAP home by over a minute

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after completing 139 laps. It was Bourdais’ first win with Peugeot, while the team remains unbeaten at Spa since 2007.

“It was a very close race and the conditions were very difficult, although they were more complex for my teammates than they were for me,” Bourdais said.

“Our car was vey nicely balanced, and they succeeded in keeping it on the track.

After finishing second at Le Mans and at Sebring, it’s great to have won at last with Peugeot.

“I hope that’s a good sign ahead of Le Mans. Pedro and Simon both did great jobs in what were very challenging conditions.”

Rain in the final hour saw the lead Audi of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello gamble with intermediate tyres. The rain quickly passed, and they were overtaken by Sarrazin for second.

The Sebring-winning combination of Marc Gene, Anthony Davidson and Alex Wurz were fourth, after a late mistake by Gene in the final half-hour.

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GP2 & GP3 kick off GP2 / GP3

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sutton-images.com Peugeot Sport

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CHARLES Pic and Fabio Leimer shared the wins in the opening round of GP2 at Barcelona.

Frenchman Pic claimed his maiden GP2 win in Saturday’s Feature Race, after avoiding the opening lap mayhem and rising from sixth to second. He had settled in behind Sergio Perez, but when Perez had a slow pitstop, Pic took the lead.

He held out Giacomo Ricci to take victory, with Dani Clos third ahead of Perez.

“I made a very good start, but was a little bit lucky at Turn 1,” Pic said.

“I managed to avoid a multicar accident and emerged from the corner in second place.

After that I just stayed focused and pushed as hard as I could.

I was unable to catch Sergio Perez, but then our mandatory tyre stop went very well and he had a problem during his, which dropped him down to

fourth.

“Once I was in the lead I just thought, ‘Push, push, push’. I was aware that Giacomo Ricci was catching me during the middle part of the race, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to pass if I didn’t make a mistake.”

Rookie driver Leimer was eighth, which earnt him pole for the Sprint Race on Sunday.

He took full advantage, leading from start to finish to claim victory over Luiz Razia and Pastor Maldonado.

Pic, who was seventh in the Sprint, leads Leimer and Ricci by two points in the standings.

The weekend also saw the

debut of the new GP3 class, with Pal Varhaug and Alexander Rossi the series’ maiden winners.

Varhaug, inset, was too good in the opening race on Saturday, claiming victory over Robert Wickens and Esteban Gutierrez from pole.

Rossi benefited from the reverse Top 8 for the Sprint Race, having come from 28th to eighth in Race 1. He streaked to an 11-second win over Lucas Foresti, with Gutierrez third.

Varhaug was eliminated in an opening-lap incident, while Wickens leads the series after taking fourth on Sunday.

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Get it seen!

Get it sold!

Nissan R35 GTR RACE/RALLY USE ONLY- RALLY REG AVAIL. BASICALLY A BRAND NEW CAR. $75,000.00. Ben Stack 0402 317 513. www.my105.com/96381

Transporter for sale Honda Type R Log bkd 3J, road regstd, exTarmac Rally, Motec ECU, 2L Hi spec eng, lghtwght s/s extrctr & exhaust system,”Exedy” clutch, hydrlc hndbrke,17in whls, full Cro-moly welded cage. ready to race, nothing to spend. all the works been done.

Regretfully, finally decided, yes we do need to sell it. $24,900 ONO. Laurie 0428 909035 .

Isuzu FSR500, cd player, 4 new tyres, hydraulic tailgate, 240v lighting & outlets throughout, storage racks, belly locker,tyre rack holds 12 tyres,bench & draws, drill, vice, fridge, 12v winch, fits large sedan, 2000kms since major sevice, inside pantech just repainted. $18,000 or swap for enclosed trailer. $18,000 ONO. Matt OBrien 0411600280.

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Maserati Trofeo 1963 Chevy Nova SS Drag Car SS Nova with fibregass front clip, chrome molly tube frame by Andy McCoy Racecars USA. 414SB AJPE engine with 1471 Kobelco Supercharger. Andy McCoy sheet metal diff with strange ultra-case centre. Beadlock wheels. Runs straight mid 6 second passes. V300 Racepak Datalogger with MSD 2 step ignition. $120,000 Neg. Fred Watson 0418916500.

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Factory built Trofeo Race cars delivered new to Aust in 2003/4, updated to gransport spec.

Outstanding cars to drive highly competitive for State series or GT Championship production class. Can arrange prep and managment at events if required, bargain at $85,000 AU each, spares available. . $85,000.

Rod Wilson 03 97352588.

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Ferrari 360 Challenge

Toyota Sprinter AE86

Ferrari 360 Challenge ready to race at the Australian Grand Prix. Very competitive car with a number of podium finishes in 2009 with amateur driver. Near new engine with less than 10,000kms. Internal air jacks. Auto fire bomb kit. Ohlin shocks. Best car available for GT Challenge series. $153,000 ONO. Andrew Barlow +61398675500.

1983 PRC Production Rally Car. Excellent Condition. Now dismantling. Call or email for price list. Perth, WA. Call Tom Van Kann 0417939070.

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GT3 Dodge Viper

Farrelll Clubman 1972 Group Q Farrell Clubman 1300cc Datsun, Current cod Immac condition, Very Quick Front Running car, extensive spares package inc panels, Moulds, Jigs, G/Box, Engine Spares Well sorted nothing to spend Fully enclosed Trailer included. $36,000 Luke 0429981452.

2008 Dodge Viper GT3 race car in excellent condition. A current posistion in the Australian Gt championship and is a front running car. It is the newest of all the five Vipers currently runing in the Aust. It is a one owner car with full history and data. Must go to make way for new arrival. $335,000.00. Jocaro Motors 03 9587 5664.

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t o p S d d O

! r e t a e s t h ig e w e Ferrari’s n Ferrari has given new meaning to the term ‘ride car’ with the unveiling of the 240kmh Formula Rossa. No, it’s not going to be cutting laps at Fiorano, instead, it’ll be a main attraction at the new Ferrari World theme park in Abu Dhabi.

One of the fastest roller-coaster rides in the world, Formula Rossa promises to mimic “the acceleration, cornering forces and top speed of a Formula 1 car.”

Ferrari World opens in late October. Start saving, kids. Obviously Fernando has already called shotgun ...

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