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Issue No. 158 June 08-14 2010
FIGHT BACK!
New car, new attitude for Triple Eight in Darwin www.mnews.com.au
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Issue No. 158 | June 08 - 14 2010
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Eight by three is ... Will new VE win in Darwin? 6 It gets Kellier and Kellier FV8 turnaround at KR 9 Mark Skaife .... Can-berra! Not quite, but Sunday Night 10 The truth, or more Bulls Hit? Seb and Web, friends again 12 Joey vs The Volcano Now, this is more like it!
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comment 24 Branagan: Best Western Adam: Bands on the Run
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DANE: LESS MISTAKES AND A NEW CAR THE KEY V8 SUPERCARS
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EAMVODAFONE is looking to get back to the business of winning races in Darwin next week – and there is no panic within the team. Team boss Roland Dane said this week that rather than look for any shortfall in performance over the last two rounds of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, which have seen James Courtney score four wins and take the points lead, the team would concentrate on an error-free weekend at Hidden Valley. “We have almost been there over the last two weekends at Winton and Queensland Raceway,” he told eNews. “Craig [Lowndes] would have been on four podiums in those races, but we screwed his pitstop. We know what is in Courtney’s package, and we just have to
focus on doing the job a little bit better.” Part of the mix for the NT race will be a new car for Jamie Whincup. The defending Chamion will shake down the third Commodore built for theT8 team at Queensland Raceway this Thursday, but while the car does feature some changes, it is all part of the way that Triple Eight Race Engineering goes about its business. “We want to have four cars to rotate through the season,” Dane explained. “The best way to do it is to have the cars ready and to use them all. That way, you can iron out any of the little issues that may come up.” Whincup’s new car does feature a few upgrades, but Dane added, “there are always new parts on our cars, every time we race. We are always fiddling with things, to improve the cars.”
Whincup agreed that there was no panic in the team, and said that while the new car was always planned, it certainly won’t hurt the team’s quest to get back on top. “We’re not too concerned about not leading, but I’m not exactly happy, either,” he told eNews. “We set out to lead and to win; that’s what we’re here for. “The new car was always planned for Darwin, right from the start of the year, but it’s good timing. There’s nothing like a new car – it’s like a fresh pair of socks and jocks!” While the team will face a consistent Jim Beam Racing, T8-built Falcon in Darwin, among the opposition will also be two new Holden Racing Team VEs for Garth Tander and Will Davison, which tested at Winton yesterday (Monday).
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Dirk Klynsmith
A DIFFERENT ‘KELLY TO NASCAR’ STORY NASCAR
Dirk Klynsmith
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OWEN Kelly could make his NASCAR Nationwide debut this year. eNews has learnt the Tasmanian is working towards a deal to contest the three road course events, at Road America, Watkins Glen and Montreal. Kelly has spent recent years in America, racing Late Models and co-owns a Late Model team with Marcos Ambrose. He will join Kelly Racing for this year’s
V8 Supercar endurance races, and raced with the team in the Fujitsu Series at Queensland Raceway. The first of three Nationwide road courses is Road America next weekend, June 19, before Watkins Glen and Montreal in August. “I’m trying to put a deal together to do some races,” Kelly, who is currently in the US, confirmed. “I’m working on stuff all the time, but there’s nothing concrete at the moment.” – MITCHELL ADAM
FIORE FINANCED UP V8 SUPERCARS DEAN Fiore has secured a new major backer for the upcoming Skycity Triple Crown in Darwin. The Triple F Racing FG Falcon will feature major signage from Argus Apartments Darwin, a holiday resort in the North Territory’s capital. According to Fiore, the oneoff sponsorship makes the longhaul events much easier. “It definitely does ease the pressure,” he said. “Argus were involved on a smaller scale last year in Darwin, and its good to see that this year they want to ramp things up. “We’re looking good sponsorship-wise for Townsville as well. These couple of rounds should be good earners for us, and that is very timely, with the break coming up. We’ll be able to settle ourselves nicely before the endurances races.”
A celebration of Australia’s Muscle Car heritage and a tribute to the drivers that raced
Meanwhile, Todd Fiore, pictured, will have his second Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series outing in Townsville next month for Triple F Racing. While the Far North Queensland round should have seen Paul Fiore behind the wheel, his younger brother will instead be on driving duties, with Paul returning from an overseas trip just days before the round. At the following round at Bathurst, Triple F Racing is still planning to field cars for both Todd and Paul, as first reported by eNews. The plan will depend on the availability of cars, with the team’s VE Commodore currently for sale. If the Commodore is sold prior to Bathurst, a replacement will be needed to partner the ex-Triple Eight BF Falcon that is currently the team’s spare car. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN
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PERCAT: WR DRIVER? V8 SUPERCARS
Dirk Klynsmith
NICK Percat is firming up as the driver most likely to fill the ‘missing’ enduro spot at Walkinshaw Racing for Phillip Island this year. WR is short one driver across its two teams (Toll Holden Racing Team and Bundy Red Racing) for the Bathurst lead-up race at Phillip Island, with IndyCar star Ryan Briscoe only able to race at Bathurst and the Gold Coast. Percat, a Walkinshaw Racing-back Fujitsu Series competitor, has been testing regularly for the team this year, and was present at the team’s Winton test yesterday, firming him up as the likely fill in for Briscoe at Phillip Island. Percat’s inclusion leaves an interesting situation for pairings. Cam McConville is expected to be suited in HRT colours for all three endurance events, and with Garth Tander likely to be closer to championship contention than Will Davison, come enduro time, a Tander/ McConville combination is probable at Phillip Island, Bathurst and the Gold Coast. Briscoe is also set to be in HRT red for Bathurst, as he is obligated to drive either car #2 or car #22 on the Gold Coast. Therefore, it would make sense for the team to put him in a HRT car, most likely Davison’s, for Bathurst as well, to give the duo extra miles as a team. That leaves the team options for the postPhillip Island shuffle. If Percat does join the team for PI, he is expected to do so with Andrew Thompson in the second Bundy Red car. That means either Craig Baird or David Reynolds would partner Will Davison at Phillip Island, and then switch to BRR colours, with either Fabian Coulthard or Thompson, for Bathurst. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN
RACE
SUPERSPRINT
KR out of FV8 for FNQ FUJITSU V8s
KELLY Racing won’t enter a car in the Fujitsu Series at Townsville next month. The Main Game outfit ran their fifth chassis for Owen Kelly in Round 2 of the series at Queensland Raceway, and Kelly was entered for Winton before he was eliminated in a practice crash. Rather than running the car at Townsville, the team has elected to enter it at Bathurst. “The sponsor for the car, Metaland, is putting on a big corporate display at Bathurst, so makes sense to put on a show there, rather than Townsville,” Todd Kelly told eNews. “With the rules, you can’t put one of [your endurance drivers] in, unless Owen does a couple more rounds. We’ve got two guys we’re looking at
TARMAC RALLY & TRACK DAYS
putting in the car who aren’t in the series, so we’ll see how that goes.” Meanwhile, the team remains close to finalising their endurance driver lineup. Glenn Seton and Owen Kelly have been named, with the remaining two drivers and pairings yet to be finalised. Jonny Reid and Dale Wood are the front-runners for the vacant seats, having tested last week at Winton. “I was going through that again today (Monday),” Todd said. “We wanted to have it done before Darwin. I’m not sure whether we will, but we’re a good chance.” Also in Kelly Racing land, work has commenced on the expansion of their Braeside headquarters, due to be completed next year. – MITCHELL ADAM
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Dirk Klynsmith
BEACH BOYS
V8’s injury list V8 SUPERCARS IT’S been a week of carnage in the ranks of V8 Supercar drivers. Jason Richards is going to Darwin next week with a renewed proboscis. It seems that the BOC Gases Commodore pilot was cavorting with the kids in a Melbourne playground when he made contact with a metal structure, breaking his nose. Now, anyone who has had a broken nose knows that the claret can tend to flow, and Richards’s wife Charlotte is not great at the sight of blood. So, it seems, when she felt queasy, JR had to pilot the car to the kerb, from the passenger’s seat. Once at the hospital, medical teams split into two groups, one to treat Jason and one to treat Charlotte. Next cab off the rank – or maybe the handicapped parking spots – was Steve Johnson. While in Fiji for a friend’s wedding, Stevie J missed a step and rolled his left angle, fracturing a couple of small bones and damaging a ligament in his left ankle. The Jim Beam pilot has been undergoing physiotherapy in a bid to be fit in time for the Hidden Valley rounds of the championship. Johnson is on crutches at present, but it would have been far less comfortable if the Barbagallo rounds of the V8 Supercar Championship Series had gone ahead as originally planned …
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OYS SIGN ON FOR GC V8 SUPERCARS THE Beach Boys will be the headline musical act at the Armor All Gold Coast 600. The American band, which was formed in 1961, will lead three nights of musical entertainment, and play on one of two stages set up at the Broadwater Parklands. Other acts to feature will include The Baby Animals, Noiseworks, The Angels, Mondo Rock, James Reyne and Richard Clapton. Mike Love, one of the band’s two remaining founding members, said they couldn’t wait to get onto the Gold Coast come October. “We’re really excited about coming back to Australia,” said Love, now 69. “There is going to be a lot of great music, as well as great racing – the Rock and Race format is going to be exciting and we’re really happy to be headlining Saturday night.” Tickets for the October 2224 event are now available through Ticketek.
Skaife’s Current Affair TELEVISION MARK Skaife, racing driverturned-commentator, will turn into a hard-hitting reporter on Seven’s Sunday Night program this weekend. Skaife will report on the state of road safety overseas, after a lightning visit to Germany last week. Part of the story will focus on safety initiatives in place in Europe and how they might be applied to Australia. Our advice to a new member of the media is to go hard – and we cannot help but wonder what brand of car he might be driving in the story. Something silver and German, perhaps?
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All smiles as Red Bulls reconcile “It’s a shame for the team,” said Webber, “as we lost a good opportunity to win RED Bull Racing headed to the race. It’s sport and these Montreal for the Canadian things can happen, but it Grand Prix confident that a shouldn’t have done. I feel for line has been drawn under everyone at Red Bull, at the the incident between teamfactory and everyone involved. mates Mark Webber and Seb and I will make sure it Sebastian Vettel at the Turkish doesn’t happen again and Grand Prix. will continue to work openly Last Thursday the team held together, no problem. We have talks between Webber, Vettel, talked enough on it now, it’s team boss Christian Horner, done, we’re looking ahead designer Adrian Newey and and I’m focused on the race in Red Bull motorsport consultant Canada next week.” Dr Helmet Marko. The meeting Significantly, the views of was described in a Red Bull Marko and Horner appear Racing media release as to have softened. Initially ‘positive’. Marko laid blame for the “The team had got us into clash between the two Red a great position and it wasn’t Bull drivers at Webber’s feet – good for them what happened,” prompting a flood of responses the release quoted Vettel. “So on the team’s website in I’m sorry for them that we lost support of Webber. the lead of the race. Mark and “Ultimately we win as a team I are racers and we were racing. and we lose as a team and We are professionals and it on Sunday we lost as a team, won’t change how we will as a result of our two drivers work together going forward. having an incident, ” Horner was We have a great team and the quoted in the team statement. spirit is very strong. I’m looking “Having looked at all the forward to Canada.” information it’s clear that it was
FORMULA 1
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a racing accident that shouldn’t have happened between two team-mates. After looking at all the facts that weren’t available immediately after the race, Dr Marko also fully shares this view.” Horner said the team’s priority is finish first and second, with the order being irrelevant. “What we expect from our drivers, as team mates, is that they show respect for each other and allow one another enough room on the race track. Unfortunately neither driver did this on Sunday and the net result was an incident between the two. During the previous six one-two finishes we have achieved, there have been many incidences of close
racing between our drivers and they have previously always abided by this understanding.” On the matter of Vettel’s postcrash twirling finger gesture, implying stupidity on Webber’s part, Horner said: “The adrenaline was flowing and obviously there’s a great deal of frustration when you’ve just crashed out of a race. It will be discussed and I am certain that the air will be cleared before Canada.” Against what is expected to be a strong showing from the resurgent McLaren on the lowdownforce Gilles Villeneuve circuit, Red Bull might well not get to enjoy the luxury of fighting it out amongst themselves.
For full F1/ MotoGP/ WRC coverage/news, CLICK HERE to get to GPWeek magazine www.gpweek.com motorsport news
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Bernie talks Turkey FORMULA 1 THE future of the Turkish Grand Prix is in doubt after Turkish government officials rejected a demand from Bernie Ecclestone for a doubling of US$13m the fee to host the race. Turkish media reports that unless a compromise is reached, the event will not continue beyond next year, when the current contract expires. Ecclestone met with Turkish officials during the recent Turkish Grand Prix negotiations broke down over the 100 percent fee increase. Ironically it is Ecclestone who owns the promotional and operational rights to the circuit. “Turkey is definitely fond of hosting these races, and all this haggling is taking place for this,” Youth and Sports Director Yunus Akgül said. “After these talks, both sides understand the positions of all involved, and the process will be concluded within two months. However, paying US$26 million for this organisation every year is a big burden. The figure is very high. “We’ve approached the deal from a different angle. Our last offer was that he relinquish the operating rights to Istanbul Park, and we guaranteed that the track would be reserved for the organisation for three weeks before and during the races. In return, we wanted him to come up with a new offer.” With MotoGP no longer visiting Turkey, Istanbul Park is mostly only used for private ride days outside of the F1 event.
Korean GP fears FORMULA 1
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HERE is growing speculation that this year’s inaugural South Korean Grand Prix may not take place. For some months it has been rumoured that construction of the 5.62km permanent facility has fallen significantly behind schedule. Complicating matters is the fact that political tensions between South Korea and its communist neighbour to the north have escalated to a unprecedented level following the North’s sinking of a South Korean naval vessel. “If there is [war] we won’t be there obviously,” F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone told reporters in Istanbul during the Turkish Grand Prix weekend. Adding to the rumours that the Korean race is in jeopardy are reports that FOTA is yet to lock in its freight arrangements for the late October event, and that few teams have booked airline tickets and hotel accommodation.
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29 into 20 goes twice NASCAR SPRINT CUP
JOEY Logano was involved in some fireworks at Pocono on Sunday and could have some more next week. Logano clashed with one of NASCAR’s hardest men, Kevin Harvick, in the waning laps of the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500, but that was just the start of the fuss. After being spun out of position, Logano parked his Toyota alongside Harvick’s Chevy in pitlane, and the fireworks started. On his radio after the race,
Logano told his crew, “You better be with me here. That’s all I’ve got to say. I’m going to [expletive] kill him.” The youngster marched right into a group of Childress mechanics, and had to be restrained from getting to Harvick. On TV later, the 20-year-old served Harvick a solid sledge. “I don’t know what his problem is with me, but it’s probably not his fault,” Logano said. “His wife wears the firesuit in the family and tells him what to do. It’s probably not his fault.”
[Harvick’s wife, DeLana, who co-owns their Nationwide team, wears a Richard Childress Racing firesuit on pit road during her husband’s Sprint Cup events.] “He let me go in the middle of the straightaway and then decided to dump me in the next turn,” Logano said. Harvick had a different view of the clash. “I got into him there going into [Turn] 3 and he just races with not giving people any respect and not much room. So, we just wound up getting together. It’s unfortunate, but
that’s the way it goes.” The two already have a rivalry, with Harvick spinning Logano in a Nationwide Series race at Bristol in March. Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs met with NASCAR officials and said he didn’t expect the Harvick-Logano feud to continue. “The whole team was frustrated – they felt like Kevin backed out [of the gas] and went again,” Gibbs said. “We were running so well. That’s part of life. You’ve got to move on. I think they’ll be fine.”
NASCAR Media
Jacques gets Brauny NASCAR NATIONWIDE
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JACQUES Villeneuve will tune up for his V8 Supercar debut in October with a pair of road course events in the NASCAR Nationwide series. The 1997 Formula 1 World champion will rejoin Braun Racing in the Bucyrus 200 at Road America on June 19 and in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal on August 29. “It’s great to be back driving with Braun Racing and Dollar General,” Villeneuve said in a news release.
“Racing again after an exciting and fun race last year in Montreal, and now to also be doing the race at Elkhart Lake (Road America) where I won my first Indy race is going to be full of good memories! I am very much looking forward to it!” The 39-year-old Canadian may also be seen in Australia between his two Toyota drives. eNews understands that Villeneuve may visit Townsville’s Armor All 400, as part of the promotional effort going into the Gold Coast race, in which he will drive the Bottle-O Falcon with Paul Dumbrell.
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INDYCARS BACK TO TURBOS 2.4-litre engines, fours or V6s, to power US racers from 2010 INDYCARS TURBOCHARGED engines will return to IndyCar racing in 2012. Upon recommendation of the ICONIC Advisory Committee, the IndyCar has chosen engines with a maximum of six cylinders and displacement of 2.4 litres. These turbocharged, ethanol-fueled engines can produce between 550 and 700 horsepower Currently the IndyCar series is solely powered by Honda’s 3.5 L V8s. “The ICONIC Advisory Committee has researched future engine platforms with manufacturers, teams, drivers and fans, and they felt this strategy best highlights key attributes of the sport – speed, competition and diversity,” said Randy
Bernard, CEO of the Indy Racing League. “We feel this open and all-inclusive platform will make our sport an attractive option to engine manufacturers, while allowing development of a relevant and innovative platform to the current and future automotive industry by highlighting efficiency, performance, durability, quality, environmental responsibility and safety. We truly want to challenge manufacturers to once again make our sport a proving ground and a platform to showcase technology that will benefit the future of their industry.” This new engine strategy will require that the IndyCar Series adopt rules
that can accommodate various engine architectures and explore new and relevant technologies such as energy recovery, hybrids, fuel conservation, and other developing green initiatives. “We will continue to evaluate rules that will keep a level playing field across the board with the various engines that could enter our sport,” said Brian Barnhart, President of Competition and Racing Operations. “We could see a V-6 competing against an in-line 4 at all IZOD IndyCar Series events in the future. We will require reference engines as a benchmark in performance while looking at sonic air restrictors, fuel flow restrictions and more as key criteria for competition.” – MARY MENDEZ
Honda Racing
Scheckter returns – but for how long? INDYCARS
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Honda Racing
TOMAS Scheckter is the substitute driver for Mike Conway – but he may not keep the gig. Conway, who was involved in a horrific accident in the final laps of the 94th running of the Indy 500, was released from Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on Friday. The Brit made wheel-to-wheel contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport, who was conserving fuel. Conway was sent airborne into the catch fence. Although Conway was lucky to escape with only left leg fractures and a thoracic vertebrae
fracture that will require him to wear a brace for a few months, he will likely miss the rest of the season.
The Dreyer & Reinbold team signed Scheckter, who drove for the team part-time last season, as Conway’s replacement for the Texas Firestone 550K event, in which he finished 13th. The South African finished 15th driving for Dreyer & Reinbold at the Indy 500 last weekend. But Scheckter may not keep the drive for the 10 remaining races this season. The team could also be considering Ryan Hunter-Reay, who is out of sponsorship at Andretti Autosport after Texas, or Graham Rahal, who drove for his father’s team in the Indy 500. – MARY MENDEZ 13
BRIEFLY... n Craig Lowndes has been named as a brand ambassador for Suzuki Motorcycles. “Motorcycles have always been an important part of my life ... I use a motorcrosser for fitness training every day on my farm and I love attending ride days to unwind, so I am super excited to be onboard with Suzuki,” he said.
Scott Jennings will make his 100th V8 Ute start at Hidden Valley next weekend. Jennings made his debut in the series in 2005. “It’s a fairly big milestone for me,” Jennings said. n
n There will be even more incentive to go fast at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway, with $6000 on offer to the first Sprintcar driver who can break the elusive 10 seconds barrier at the venue during the 201011 season. Ian Grant, in conjunction with the Premier Speedway Club, is offering the cash and it will continue to climb by $1000 each season, until someone achieves the lap in qualifying. The current one-lap record holder is Nick Lacey with a time of 10.212s. n John Bowe may not quite be Gen Y, but the former V8 champ now has his own website! www.johnbowe.com.au will update you on all the latest goings-on in JB-land ... – STAFF / GEOFF ROUNDS
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Rob Lang
n Major MINI Challenge sponsor Pizza Capers is teaming up with Nextgen VIP to give away a MINI Cooper valued at over $43000. In a fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland, tickets are available through www. nextgenvip.com.au for $10.
Howards to go national FORMULA FORD SAM and Jack Howard will make their Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship debut in the coming rounds. The pair, sons of former Fujitsu Series racer Mark Howard, are currently contesting the Victorian Formula Ford Series, and will contest selected remaining rounds of this year’s national championship. First up will be Sam, who’ll
make his debut at Hidden Valley next weekend in one of the team’s Spectrums, with Jack to follow at Townsville. “They’ll do a few national rounds,” Howard Racing team manager Warren Davis told eNews. “At this point, Sam will do Darwin, Townsville, Gold Coast and maybe Sandown, and Jack will do Townsville and Gold Coast.” Both are likely to do the full national championship in 2011, which Howard Racing
having previously entered in 2008. “We’re aiming for next year,” Davis said. “This whole year is about getting miles and experience under the radar. It’s going well, considering they only got their licences at the start of the year.” Sam Howard will be part of a 22-car Formula Ford field at Hidden Valley, well up from the 16 who headed to Darwin last year. – MITCHELL ADAM
HQs band together for Dallas Crane HQ RACING HQs will contest the Dallas Crane Challenge at Winton’s Shannons Nationals round at the end of the month. The meeting will be a round of the Victorian State Series, and the class hopes to attract interstate competitors to show support for Dallas Crane, a long-time HQ competitor who is currently battling cancer. Cars will run ‘DALLAS’ on the windscreen banners for the
weekend. “Dallas has been in HQs since day one, and has been on the committee and involved in the club for the last 20 years,” Keven Stoopman from the Victorian HQ Racing Association said. “He’s a bit of a legend of the series, there probably isn’t a bloke in the field who hasn’t benefited from him in some way. “It’s a round of our Victorian State Series, but we’re hoping to get some more cars from
around Australia. The grid capacity is 40 cars, so we’re hoping to get somewhere between 30 and 40, with a full field of Victorians and some from New South Wales and South Australia. “Hopefully it’ll be a pretty big event and we can show our support for everything he’s done.” The races will be part of Round 5 of the Shannons Nationals on June 26-27. – MITCHELL ADAM motorsport news
news FORMULA 3 THE Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship has revised its calendar for the remainder of the 2010 season. In an effort to focus on a stronger second-half of the season after a tough opening four rounds, the championship has opted to cancel its upcoming round at Winton and become a seven-
round season. It has, however, announced that it will link the remaining three rounds in a newly-created ‘East Coast Shootout’. Points from the final three rounds at Morgan Park in August, Eastern Creek and Sandown will combine for the mini-series, with prize money and backing currently being sourced. “We are always assessing
our position and doing what we can to offer value to those competing and to those looking to compete within the series,” Formula 3 Australia Chairman Ian Richards said. “It was clear that we needed to shake up the establishment and be more proactive to ensure a strong finish to the year and this is just the first part of that effort. We have never been so busy following
opportunities for potential growth for Formula 3 racing in this part of the world. “The numbers on the circuit may not reflect this at the moment however there must be a longer term, broader approach to this and that is what we are putting in place. There is a strong, viable future for Formula 3 racing within Australasia and we continue to work to that goal.”
state round at Eastern Creek in the coming weeks. The New South Welshman has raced a 130i-model BMW in the championship in recent years, in a two-car team with Allan Shephard. The two cars will continue to run, with
Shephard to be the lead driver in his entry. In another combination for the July 18 race, Class C giantkiller Jake Camilleri has once again enlisted regular codriver Scott Nicholas for his Mazda 3 MPS.
F3 drops Winton, adds East Coast Shootout Phil Williams
JB JOINS TEAM GWS! PRODUCTION CARS JOHN Bowe will join Peter O’Donnell in July’s Australian 6 Hour at Eastern Creek. In one of the first confirmed pairings for the new event, O’Donnell has signed Bowe to share the GWS Personnel BMW 335i he purchased from Garry Holt in April. The car has won a pair of Bathurst 12 Hours – including February’s event with Bowe as one of the drivers – and two Australian Manufacturers Championships under Holt’s ownership. “I am looking forward to the Six Hour race,” Bowe said. “I believe production car racing has a really important www.mnews.com.au
part to play, after all, that’s how Bathurst became famous. “After Garry Holt sold his BMW, I thought I had missed out on the Six Hour, but Garry ‘sold’ me to Peter O’Donnell who purchased the car, so I will be in it after all. “Pete is a top bloke and driver, and I’m happy [car preparer Garry] Mennell is looking after the car and is a good operator. “I don’t reckon we can match the Evo rockets for sheer pace, but the car is strong and good on fuel. We will keep them honest!” O’Donnell tested his new car at Wakefield Park recently, and will contest a
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Aussies feel pain in Spain MINI CHALLENGE PAUL Stokell and Chris Alajajian are on their way back to Australia after a tough, one-off weekend in the MINI Challenge Spain. A reward for finishing first and second in last year’s Australian series, the pair
contested the second round of the Spanish circuit at Jarama. The Australians struggled with setup, and Stokell copped a hit in his sprint race which saw him finish 19th after pitting to replace a tyre. Alajajian claimed a strong fourth in his sprint race, from
eighth on the grid, but the 50-minute, two-driver final brought more frustration. Stokell was reportedly hard done-by to receive a drivethrough for an early incident, before a Safety Car period delayed their driver change. Alajajian eventually got into the car, with the pair finishing
11th. “The team - Drivex, MINI Spain and the MINI Challenge organisers were all very friendly and helpful and while we’re disappointed in the result it was a great prize and a great experience which both Chris and I have learnt a lot from,” Stokell said.
... MINIs locked in for GC MINI CHALLENGE THE Hertz MINI Challenge has been confirmed on the bill of the Armor All Gold Coast 600. After making their Gold Coast
debut in 2009, the one-make series had Surfers provisionally listed as a round of their 2010 calendar. Arrangements have now been finalised for the sixth round of the season.
“We are proud to once again be invited to the Gold Coast event for the second year running,” Category Manager Ted Toleman said. “The new circuit and great
entertainment planned by V8 Supercars is going to make for a fantastic show in October and the category is pleased to be able to support one of the country’s most iconic races.”
“There’ll be a lot of development needed to get her going hard and fast. We already have modifications planned for the next round, but for now we just want to get out there and start circulating
and improve as we go. “We’ll be easing in to it and going gently for her first time. We’ll be doing our best to look after her and get her home in one piece - for the first meeting anyway.”
Middleton Camaro ready for action TC MASTERS BOB Middleton’s 1970 Chevrolet Camaro will finally debut in the Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn at Hidden Valley. Middleton had aimed to debut his new car in the season-opener at the Clipsal 500, but that has been pushed back by shipping delays from New Zealand, and the time taken to convert the car to meet TCM specifications. It’s ready to go now, though, 16
and will be the first ’70-spec Camaro in the series. He’ll join team-mate Andrew Miedecke in the Hidden Valley field. “It’s been a long time coming and I’m looking forward to getting settled in to her and sorting her out,” Middleton said. “We’re sure to have some teething problems – we won’t have a chance to do any testing prior to the round, so when we hit the track in Darwin she’ll definitely be a virgin, no doubt about it.
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John Morris / Mpix
McFadden to do full WSS schedule SPEEDWAY NEWLY-crowned Australian Sprintcar Champion James McFadden has confirmed he will compete in the 2010/11 World Series Sprintcars season. McFadden, who took out the prestigious Australian title in Darwin last week, has been named as one of the
contracted drivers for the next WSS, which kicks off in November and runs through to February in 2011. And he says being the new Aussie #1 will make him a force to be reckoned with. “I am going to come in with a bit more confidence, and I think we will give the series a good shot,” he said.
“You have got the 12 contracted drivers, and everyone doing WSS is a contender to win. We have so many good cars out there, that whoever makes the A Main these days will have a chance of winning the show. “It will be hard to overlook Brooke [Tatnell], Robbie [Farr] and Max [Dumesny], and we
will have Americans Jason Johnson and Tyler Walker coming over, then you have got all the extras during Speedweek.” For more with James McFadden, there will be an exclusive in the next issue of Motorsport News magazine, on sale June 23.
SPEEDWAY CITY GETS 2012 TITLES SPEEDWAY SPEEDWAY City in Adelaide will host the prestigious 50th Anniversary Australian Sprintcar Championship in 2012. The titles are scheduled for January 25-28 and delegates of the SCCA (Sprintcar Control 18
Council of Australia) accepted the Speedway City proposal over other South Australian venues Murray Bridge Speedway and the Borderline Speedway located in Mount Gambier. “It is great for Speedway City and hopefully it will help them build on their successful
season and World Series Sprintcars round on Boxing Day,” SCCA General Manager Ross Allen said. Speedway City promoter Wendy Turner said she was looking forward to hosting the prestigious championships for the fourth time.
“When Peter (Mitchell) from the SCCA rang to tell me the news I was absolutely delighted. “We are a Sprintcar track ... and we have always supported the 360 [cc] Sprintcars so we promote them very well,” Turner said. – GEOFF ROUNDS motorsport news
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Rapisarda expands team with ex-Prudhomme flopper
SANTO’S FUNNY CAR
DRAG RACING
AUSTRALIA’S Funny Car ranks will swell this coming season, with news that Rapisarda Racing is set to race a Nitro flopper. The team’s US-based crew chief, Glenn Mikres, has overseen the purchase of an ex-Don Prudhomme Racing, 2008 Monte Carlo NHRA car. Mikres will prepare the McKinney car, which raced
in the US in the blue colours of Skoal, alongside Santo Rapisarda’s two Top Fuel cars. “It is a 2008 car, so it is a few years old, built just before the new big tube cars came out with all the updates,” said Mikres. “Santo said he wanted to buy a Nitro Funny Car and asked me to find a good US car for him. “There are quite a lot of good cars on the market
[in the US] and I knew that Don Prudhomme wanted to sell his stuff, so I phonedup and talked to the guys at Prudhomme Racing and then send Ryan [Elliott] – a USbased Rapisarda Racing crew member – to have a look at the car and all the parts. “Ryan said everything looked okay so I went to Prudhomme and did the deal. It is actually a very nice car.” The multiple championship-
winning team, which runs TF entries for Mark Mariani and Alan Dobson, received the car in mid-May, and plans to debut the Funny Car at the Sydney Dragway, Australian Nitro Funny Car Gold Cup event on July 31 and August 1. No driver has been named. “I am not sure who will drive the car,” said Mikres. “It may be an existing Rapisarda driver or it may be someone from the US.”
KARCHER SHOOTOUT TO WRAP UP DRAG RACING TOP Doorslammer Shootout competitors are counting down the hours to the Karcher Top Doorslammer TriState Shootout final. Leading the way is John
Zappia who blasted his way through to number one position, just ahead of Robin Judd. Before Round 1 of the Karcher Tri-State Shootout, initial bonus starting points were drawn from a driver-
picked ballot, with the points ranging from five to 55. After two sensation rounds, this weekend’s final round is bound to have fans on the edge of their seats to see who will take out the $2o,ooo grand prize.
ANDRA Pro Series news is proudly presented by:
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Ridgeway runs Hot DRAG RACING FORMER Australian Pro Stock champion Peter Ridgeway’s return to the sport has been making lots of headlines, in a mix of right and wrong reasons. The team arrived to test at Willowbank Raceway to find a smoking transporter. “We had 200 litres of race fuel and 40 litres of race oil and all sorts of flammable stuff in there and it was burning pretty good,”
Ridgeway said. “We dumped an extinguisher in there and had a hose going on it and we ended up going through the front of the truck to drag the fuel out of it. “We called the fire brigade to come three-quarters of the way through the fire and they put it out. “We couldn’t open the back door to get the race car out because the hydraulic ram won’t work unless the generator has power. The car was trapped so we were
pretty lucky we saved it all.” It made for some hot performances on the track, with the new Monaro’s first full pass a very respectable 7.10s. he whittled the time
down to a 7.09s by Sunday. “So far we’re happy with our performances, testing has gone extremely well,” Ridgeway said. – LUKE NIEUWHOF
That Edgy feeling at Willowbank DRAG RACING
ONE of the biggest motorsport events in Australia, the Castrol Edge Winternationals, gets underway this Thursday with almost 500 competitors competing over four days at Willowbank Raceway. The scene has been set for a number of exciting conclusions to championships. Top Fuel has been close all season, with Martin Stamatis currently in the lead over Phil Read and reigning Champ Phil Lamattina.
Stamatis is chasing his first championship in the Billview dragster. “This is so close you just can’t call it, and that is exciting,” he said. “Talking to the team, I have been trying to focus them on thinking of this event as just another race meeting – it is very important that we stick to our routine, and not cloud our judgement with all of the championship hype.” Top Doorslammer sees another close contest in which Robin Judd has a narrow lead over John Zappia, while Maurice Fabietti also lurks as a potential
threat to take the crown. With 20 cars entered, just qualifying will be a big achievement. “I know all the possible scenarios,” he said. The facts are we have to finish in front of Zap (Zappia) to win the championship.” “But our goal, planning and focus is on winning the Winternationals and if that happens, the championship will be ours plus the Karcher Shootout, making it a clean sweep.” – LUKE NIEUWHOF
FUELING UP FOR SHANNONS SHOOTOUT FINALE DRAG RACING DRAG racing fans are gearing up to witness explosive action at the final round of the Shannons Top Fuel Shootout series this weekend. Following the second round at the Nitro Champs held at Sydney Dragway in May,
ANDRA Pro Series on
Shannons is back and this time with a grand prize of $25,000 on offer for the winning team to be determined at the Winternationals. The favourite to win is Mark Mariani who is currently dominating the Shannons Shootout leader board after Round 2, followed by Martin
Stamatis and Phil Read who still have a good chance to prove to be tough competition in the final round. What started at the Perth Motorplex back in December, continued on in May at Sydney Dragway and will conclude this weekend at Willowbank Raceway.
Tuesday June 8, 6:30pm Top Doorslammer, Nitro Champs Friday June 11, 10pm Top Fuel, Nitro Champs
Next ANDRA Pro Series Round: Castrol EDGE Winternationals, Willowbank Raceway, June 10-13 www.mnews.com.au
21
Five Minutes with ...
JONO WEBB
The main game isn’t always a happy hunting ground for Fujitsu Series Champions, but Jono Webb looks to be the exception to the rule. By ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN MOTORSPORT NEWS: You’ve got a few miles under your belt as a main series driver now, and 13th in the series is pretty impressive for a rookie. Are you ahead of where you thought you’d be at this early stage? JONO WEBB: Yeah, I am. Our expectation coming into the year was to be consistently inside the Top 20, and we’re probably doing a bit better than that in most cases. Winton was a bit of a bad run for us, and things didn’t quite go as well as they should have, so we should actually be 11th or 12th in the championship, which is pretty good. That’s a pity, but other than that, it’s really going to plan. The team is having a golden year; do you feel you’re fitting in with that winning vibe? Absolutely. The thing about that team is that I settled in from day dot. I fell straight in and I was part of the team. Obviously having James [Courtney] doing so well has the team really on the up, and they are all working extremely hard to keep progressing and keep setting the pace. It’s helping all three of us drivers. How are you finding the step up from the Fujitsu Series? Traditionally, drivers have struggled with it. But you’re making it look easy ... It’s not easy, I’ll tell you that much! It really helps to be in a good car and have a good team behind me, and with James at the front of the field it gives me the confidence that I have the equipment under me to do it. It’s as simple as it being up to me to get out there and put it all into action. The downside of James’ success might be that it puts more pressure on you. If your team-mate is winning, you have no excuses. Do you feel that? That’s exactly right. I know that both of the other cars are probably going to be in the Top 10, and will probably be right near the front, so I know that what we’re working 22
with is capable of that. It puts the pressure on me to make sure that I’m working towards that Top 10 mark too, and when that’s not happening, the onus is on me to make sure that I’m working even harder at it. But you see that as a good situation to be in ... Absolutely, I do. If I was the top of our three drivers, and other guys were behind me, it would be hard for us to press forward because I am a rookie. But the other guys are ahead of me, and it gives me something to push for and some great data and great feedback to work off. That really helps; it speeds up my learning curve. So the feedback you get from James and Steve [Johnson] has been good? They are helpful team-mates? Yeah, they are. I’ve got a good engineer this year, so couple that with some good data and feedback from those guys, and it’s a good situation to be in. And if I can’t understand the data that we’re reading through, the other drivers are more than happy to sit down, have a chat and sit me through it. That will be priceless when you get to
Darwin, a new track for you. Well I’ve been to Darwin, but not in a V8 Supercar, only in a Porsche. It’s also not the first time I’ve been to a new circuit this year either, but knowing which way the track goes isn’t always enough. It’s always different when you jump into a V8 Supercar. So looking at all the data and all the footage from years gone past really helps. It’s nice to have as much information as possible when you arrive for practice on Friday. Finally, the Sprint Tyre seems to be playing into the hands of guys with Carrera Cup experience, because of the extra mid-corner grip. Are you finding that you’re drawing on your Carrera Cup experience to get the most our of the softer tyre? Definitely. Its actually tough to go back, because I’ve worked so hard over the last few years to learn to drive a car without as much grip. I’d just come to terms with that and they give us a tyre that has more grip. But it does help to go back to that experience. What helps even more is that the team has worked really hard on getting the car right for that tyre, and that’s been the key for us. motorsport news
chat
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The Sun is not setting on the West, just yet
W
ESTERN Australia has been on my mind this week. No, not for the usual reasons, which often involve Editor Van Leeuwen, who is from the left side of the country, barking on about what a wonderful place it is over in The Land Where The Sun Goes. Or, because of the alarmingly immodest captains of the Mining Industry (title case, apparently), who are in, on and over the media at every opportunity, telling us that if it was not for them (and only them) we would all be sitting in the dirt, dressed in hessian, eating weed and cockroach salads and that we should be grateful to Them, and give them free rein to pillage our (note, fat boys: our, no ‘y’) natural resources.
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Y’see, we were supposed to be in the West this week. The unnatural hole in the V8 Supercar calendar was not planned, it was the time when we were supposed to be at Barbagallo Raceway. But because of what are, I am assured, are valid reasons, we are not. Well, some of us are not. Any number of V8 Supercar drivers have been in an out of Perth all week, doing this appearance, that drive-day and so on. Because of that, they have been a bit hard to reach. Good for them, tough luck for us. Here’s the thing. We will go back to Perth. Yep, I acknowledge that V8 Supercars Australia is a private, not public, organisation, and that the V8SA Board will make its decision based on what it determines is best for its shareholders. The Board also acts with annoying (to the media) discretion; for all I know, the next race in the sketching-on-whiteboard stages may be an around-the-houses street festa in Timbuktu, or in the Bainimarama Republic of Fiji. But I doubt it.
Opinion
Phil Branagan – Executive Editor
Common sense usually prevails, even in motor racing. And such is the desire to have the series return in the west that I am willing to bet that one day, in the not-toodistant future, we will be heading back cross-country to Perth, or just outside it. Maybe next year, maybe the one after. I will bet a Danni Minogue CD on it. In the meantime, WA sits in a kind of Neverland, where there are V8 Supercar drivers, even the occasional V8 Supercars themselves, but no V8 Supercar races. So, to our cousins west of the 129th meridian, sit tight, keep the faith. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and there are people on this side of the big brown land, even the ones born and bred Over East, who are missing you already.
motorsport news
opinion
TALKIN’ ‘BOUT MY GENERATION
Dirk Klynsmith
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I
’M a 25 year-old male, and I don’t bands like the Beach Boys is about want to see any of the bands trying to tap into new markets. playing at the Amor All Gold 600. The likes of Cold Chisel and AC/DC I haven’t heard of some of them, (sorry, we don’t have a lightning bolt and I still can’t tell you anything about character) are a glove-like fit with the The Potbelleez; despite the fact they’re primary V8 Supercars demographic, seemingly booked for every Australian but the Beach Boys – and the whole, motorsport event there is. golden oldy-spec Saturday night bill – But that’s OK. At the risk of sounding should put the event on the radar of like a music snob, the bands I listen an, um, older audience. to wouldn’t really draw a mainstream They’ve left Friday and Sunday crowd. And mainstream is what this is night for the youngsters to get their all about. glowsticks out, and – as best I can tell Like the AFL signing Karmichael – the bands seem like a reasonable fit Hunt and Israel Folou to their new for both the event and the Gold Coast. teams in South-Eastern Queensland And, on the topic of the Sunday night, and Western Sydney, bringing in it’s good to see they’ve got something
Opinion
Mitchell Adam – Deputy Editor on. It’s a no-brainer from a tourism perspective; hopefully V8 Events do the same for Homebush this year. Either way, though, it’s all of little consequence to me. If I end up on the Gold Coast for the event, I’ll probably be out trying to find a decent place to have a drink. 25
IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ROUND 7, TEXAS
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RYAN RUNS HOT Ryan Briscoe hasn’t had the best start to the 2010 season, but if the Firestone 550K at TMS is any indication, he’s back in a big way
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R
YAN Briscoe is finally on the winner’s list for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series, with a stunning victory at Texas Motor Speedway on the weekend. After a slow start to the season, the Penske pilot was in near untouchable form in Texas, qualifying fastest and then streaking away to victory. Surprisingly, the person closest to beating him was Danica Patrick, another driver who has struggled to get up to speed in 2010. Having led the early part of the race from Dario Franchitti, and then Will Power, Briscoe found himself back in fifth mid-race when a caution didn’t go his way. But Briscoe’s speed was too good, and in the second last stint he and Patrick hit the front of the field again. Patrick even snuck through for the lead at one point, having made her final stop earlier than Briscoe, but the Aussie was strong enough to reclaim the lead and take his first win of the season. “We always come here with confidence that we have good cars, and the stats show that,” said Briscoe. “This is a huge win, not only for winning, but to get this championship rolling for the number six car. It’s been a really difficult start to the season for this team. It’s so competitive this year. It’s not easy to run consistently in the top three or five.” Patrick was similarly relieved to get a result, especially with her team-mate Marco Andretti coming in third, a welcome sight for the Andretti Autosport team. It was a good weekend last weekend in Indy and it was a good weekend here in Texas,” she said. “Sometimes, the little victories that I have throughout the season are not necessarily obvious on the track. Maybe they’re in other aspects of what I’m doing, winning little victories here and there to get everything inline to perform from top to bottom on race day. “I’ve been working hard all season. It’s just really nice to have a result to show how hard I’ve been working and how hard the team has been working as well.” Power had an up-and-down race. After running with Briscoe early, Power picked up debris from a crash and fell down the field thanks to repairs. He then fought his way back up to third, only to need a late splash-anddash when a much-needed caution period never came, dropping him to 14th. As a result, Franchitti was able to snatch the title lead with his fifth place. As usual for Texas, there was some carnage. First it was Simona de Silvestro, who suffered burnt hands in a fiery crash mid-race, which was the cause of Power’s debris problem. And then, Mario Moraes squeezed an unimpressed Helio Castroneves into the wall, collecting Bertrand Baguette in the process and ending all three drivers’ day. Moraes was apologetic for the incident, saying his misheard his spotter. “I couldn’t hear my spotter say anyone was on the outside,” he said. “Then I got hit and started spinning. I thought I was by myself.” As a result of the win, Briscoe has jumped from seventh to fifth in the standings, just 38 points behind Franchitti. 28
motorsport news
race
Doing what the Socceroos couldn’t: Ryan Briscoe held out American Danica Patrick, above, after a tight battle for the lead. Marco Andretti had his best result of the year with third, left, while night racing was as spectacular as ever, below.
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NASCAR Round 14 – Pocono, PA
Federal
Pocono Express
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motorsport news
race
First it got rained out, then the track broke up – but none of that could get in the way of Denny Hamlin delivering a race-winning performance at Pocono
TOYOTA Media
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Results :: Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500, Pocono, PA Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No. 11 18 14 29 48 2 31 42 33 43
Driver Denny Hamlin Kyle Busch Tony Stewart Kevin Harvick Jimmie Johnson Kurt Busch Jeff Burton Juan Pablo Montoya Clint Bowyer AJ Allmendinger
Make Toyota Toyota Chevy Chevy Chevy Dodge Chevy Chevy Chevy Ford
Team Joe Gibbs Joe Gibbs Stewart Haas Childress Hendrick Penske Childress Earnhardt Childress Petty
Sponsor FedEx M&Ms Old Spice Shell Pennzoil Lowe’s Miller Lite Caterpillar Ganassi Cheerios Coleman Foods
Qual. Q5 1 6 22 25 4 13 7 2 17
Beaten Busch: Kyle Busch, below, was second to team-mate Denny Hamlin – which can’t have pleased Kyle after their clash in the All-Star race a Charlotte ...
Top 10 Points: Harvick 1898, Kyle Busch 1869, Kenseth 1781, Gordon 1760, Hamlin 1732,
Kurt Busch 1726, Johnson 1694, Burton 1657, Biffle 1648, Martin 1635, Edwards 1602, Newman 1547.
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I
NASCAR Media
blocking Kasey Kahne on the back stretch, the red car gripped up with two right-side tyres and diving low. Allmendinger saw him coming and took him to the grass, from where Kahne was a passenger. The Ford spun right and back into traffic, leaving Greg Biffle and Mark Martin nowhere to go. A number of other drivers were caught in the melee, including Ryan Newman and Marcos Ambrose. Allmendinger later apologised for causing the carnage. Yes, Sebastian and Mark, you are right; Allmendinger and Kahne are team-mates. AJ was classified 10th, one spot behind Clint Bowyer, who dominated the first half of the race and who looked to have pace to spare. But Hamlin took over that role mid-race and, when David Ragan and Jamie McMurray crashed with 33 laps to go, all the fuel-saving strategies went out the window. In the race to the flag, Hamlin had the fastest car, the crashes happened behind him and that was the story of the race. As for the story of next week’s race, it might just pay to watch out for Logano versus Harvick, or for Allmendinger versus Kahne ...
NASCAR Media
T was an action-packed day at Pocono and, when the smoke cleared – literally – Denny Hamlin was the man standing tall. The Joe Gibbs driver took his fourth win at the Pennsylvania track, in a race delayed first by rain and then by a pothole that forced NASCAR and track officials to work on their hands and knees to get the circuit race-ready for the start. “I literally just kept focusing on that white [flag],” said Hamlin after his fourth win in the last nine races. “I was sort of backing off just in case we needed fuel mileage.” Hamlin drove a smart race, scoring the third win in the car JGR brought out for him earlier this year. In fact, the only problem he has had in the car – which has only done three races – is that he bent the front suspension doing a burnout. Kyle Busch made it a Gibbs 1-2 ahead of Tony Stewart, while Kevin Harvick was fourth after a controversial clash with the other Gibbs driver, Joey Logano [see news pages]. Jimmie Johnson returned to form with fifth ahead of Kurt Busch. This time, the big crash came after the white flag. It was triggered by AJ Allmendinger
TOYOTA Media
TOYOTA Media
Rainy days: The big race was rain-delayed, top. An incident between Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano, centre, created a greenwhite-chequer finish and more ill-feeling between the two. It was joy only for Denny Hamlin, though, right.
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CLOSER AND CLOSER FRENAULT 3.5 DANIEL Ricciardo is now just three points shy of leading the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Championship, despite an average weekend at Brno. The West Aussie failed to score in the first race, before recording fifth in the second race, after an intense battle for third with Filip Salaquarda and Walter Grubmuller. But with early championship leader Mikhail Aleshin having an absolute shocker of a weekend, Ricciardo is now hot on his heels at the mid-point of the season. “We had a better result today,” said Ricciardo. “It was good to finally get some points on the board. My race pace was actually quite good today, and I was able to gain some places at the start and during the pit-stop window by putting the guys in front under pressure. “We still weren’t where we should have been, though, and we’ll be working hard tomorrow [during testing] to try and find some answers. It wasn’t the weekend it shouldn’t have been for us, so it’s positive that we’ve been able to close the gap in the points standings despite that.” To make matters even better for Ricciardo, Esteban Guerrieri, who won both races, is struggling for budget, has already missed one round, and might not make it to the next. Therefore, he is practically out of title contention. Ricciardo was due to test back at Brno yesterday (Monday), with the next Formula Renault 3.5 round at France’s Magny Cours in a fortnight’s time.
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motorsport news
race
Bottas the Master of Zandvoort ... again FORMULA 3 VALTERRI Bottas has become the first two-time winner of the Formula 3 Masters, successfully defending his title at Zandvoort on the weekend. Rain made the early stages of the race very interesting. Despite a downpour just moments from the start, most of the frontrunners started on slick tyres, allowing the lone grooved-shod car of Roberto Merhi to shoot into the lead. But soon the track was dry, and the cars on slicks caught and passed Merhi, with Bottas and Alexander Sims fighting it out for the lead. In the end Bottas was too good, winning from Sims and Marco Wittmann. “It was a tough race, but now I am really happy,” said Bottas. “Winning the Masters for the second time was my goal for this weekend. “Before the race, we opted for slicks, which turned out to be the right choice. It was close once or twice while lapping other drivers, but that is part of the game.”
While Pye struggles with tough qualifying BRITISH FFORD A PROBLEMATIC qualifying session made life hard for Aussie Scott Pye at Rounds 7 and 8 of the British Formula Ford Championship at Zandvoort in Holland. With a rear-of-grid start for both races, a 33-car field, and atrocious weather conditions, Pye was up against it in The Netherlands. Still, he salvaged two respectable results, finishing 10th in Race 1, and 14th in Race 2. At the front of the field, Daniel Cammish and Dennis Lind shared the wins, after pole-sitter Josh Hill threw his car off the track in both races.
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JUHO. THAT’S WHO Hanninen wins, crashes claim Meeke and Wilks IRC JUHO Hanninen spoiled a local fairytale by taking a dramatic IRC round in Sardinia. Hanninen went into the final day with a slender lead over Kris Meeke, who was within 4s. But the current IRC Champion Kris Meeke rolled his Peugeot on SS10, and after two stage wins, his Peugeot was out of the event. Into the breach stepped local driver Paolo Andreucci and, while the pair swapped fastest stage times, it was not enough. Hanninen’s Skoda ended the event with a 35s buffer over the Peugeot, with the Fabia of Jan Lopecky third, after bashing a rock. “I’ve never had to really go on full attack on this rally, which was a good thing because it would have been hard to find more pace on these difficult stages,” said Hanninen after his second
IRC victory of the year. “There have been no mistakes all weekend and it’s a very good result for the championship. I am not so confident for Tarmac so to win here is important for the rest of the season.” SS10 also claimed another big name. PG Andersson, who was on a charge after an accident on Saturday, stopped when his Mitsubishi suffered a differential failure. It was a sad end to his one-off drive in the JRM Evo X, which was looking good for Group N honours. Sebastien Ogier’s celebration of his maiden WRC win was brief, his Peugeot breaking down at the start, while Guy Wilks was hospitalised with two broken vertebrae after crashing on Saturday’s first stage. Points: Hanninen 42, Kopecky 31, Wilks 26, Malgalhaes 17.
sutton-images.com
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motorsport news
GANASSI ROLLS ON AT GLEN GRANDAM
SCOTT Pruett may not live at Watkins Glen but, so far as trying to beat him at the circuit, he might as well. Pruett and Memo Rojas won the Six Hour race at the famed GP track for the third year in a row, the first drivers to do so and, at the mid-point of the GrandAm season, stretched their points lead to a firm 18. “Chip’s reaction will be incredible,” said Pruett after taking the win in Chip Ganassi’s and Felix Sabates’s BMW Riley.
“When we have victories, everyone shares in them, and it is incredible what he has been able to do with this organisation.” The pair finished 1.6s clear of Max Angelelli/Ricky Taylor, with the Daytona Porsche Coyote driven by Spain’s Antonio Garcia and Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice third. Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly and Bob Doyle took GT honours after starting 28th in their TRG Porsche. It was a particularly good result for Doyle, who only started racing on four wheels after giving up
racing on two when he turned 40. The SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 of Sylvain Tremblay and Jonathan Bomarito took second place followed by the Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8 of James Gue and Leh Keen. In his GrandAm debut, Melbourne’s James Davison finished seventh in the BMW Riley he shared with Ryan Dalziel and Mike Forest. Points: Pruett/Rojas 155, Dalziel 148, Frissell/ Wilkins 135, Angelelli/Taylor 134, Forest 132, Law/Donohue 127.
Neal and Deliver BTCC sutton-images.com
Bruno leads Benz Blitz DTM BRUNO Spengler got his first win of the 2010 DTM season at Lausitz, but it took some illfortune for him to get it. Paul di Resta started from pole position and looked set to emulate his cousin, Dario Franchitti’s efforts at Indianapolis the previous weekend. But the Scot’s second pitstop did not go to plan, allowing Spengler to take the
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lead, which he extended in the final stint of the race. Jamie Green was third, in the best of the older-spec Mercedes Benz C-Classes, while Mike Rockenfeller took the honours among the Audi drivers, with fourth place. There were some big names involved in clashes during the races. Mattias Ekstrom warmed up for his NASCAR debut with some panel work with Alexadre Premat. The spinning
Swede was then collected by Timo Scheider and David Coulthard. The big beneficiary was Susie Stoddart, who took seventh in her Mercedes behind Gary Paffett and Martin Tomczyk. The results mean that Rockenfeller was the only German er in the top seven in the race. Points: Spengler 26, Di Resta 17, Paffett 16, Ekstrom 13, Green/ Rockenfeller 12, Scheider 8, Premat 6, Tomcyzk 3, Stoddart 2.
MATT Neal is back in the lead of the British Touring Car Championship after three hectic races at Oulton Park. The lanky Brit took his Honda from eighth to win the final race after fighting off Tom Boardman’s Seat. The two made contact on lap 14, and Boardman retired shortly after with a broken wheel. Ford Focus driver Tom Onslow-Cole won the first race after fighting off Honda’s Gordon Shedden, while Jason Plato, who was bundled off the road in Race 1 by Mat Jackson, fought back hard to take Race 2 after starting 10th. Points: Neal 98, Plato 90, Kane 82, Onslow-Cole 76, Jackson 73, Shedden 64, O’Neill 57, etc.
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STATE RACING MALLALA went back to the 70s when it hosted its annual HQ Enduro on Saturday. 21 of The General’s finest from the decade that fashion forgot contested a pair of 60minute races, with the starting order of Race 2 determined by the finish order of the first – even though there would be no chequered flag but a Safety Car which would be deployed at the end of the hour. Graham Mason set fastest time in qualifying ahead of
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Bruce Heinrich and Neil Corey, but when the field gridded up for the first leg, Mason was missing and had already loaded his car onto the trailer and headed home. Heinrich led early, before Corey moved into top spot at the Esses. Corey’s race, though, ended shortly after in the pits, as Heinrich simply set about extending his lead and never looked like giving it up even though Jenkins was chasing hard. Heinrich maintained the upper-hand at the end of the first leg.
There was more of the same in the second leg, with Heinrich in front. With less than 15 minutes remaining the Safety Car was called for when Rob Black buried his mount deep in the sand trap at the Northern Hairpin. What looked like a sixlap dash to the finish was interrupted within another flying lap, following an incident at the start of the Esses. When racing resumed there was time for three laps, with a fast-finishing Graham Boulter applying pressure to Heinrich.
Phil Williams
Heinrich’s double
While it looked as though Boulter could and would manage to make a pass on the final lap, Heinrich was up to the task and held on for the win, with Darren Jenkins third. Jim Myhill took his Magna to three wins from four in the combined Improved Production & Saloon Car races, with Saloon Car river Wayne King claiming the other. Rob Surman took out the Formula Vee races, with Bo Jensen, Rob Short and Daniel Westcott sharing the remaining placings. – PHIL WILLIAMS
motorsport news
race
Tatnell back in WoO winner’s circle WORLD OF OUTLAWS A two-year wait has ended for Brooke Tatnell, who landed his first World of Outlaws win since 2008 with victory at the famed Knoxville Raceway. Tatnell started on pole and led the entire 40 laps to pocket $10,000 for his efforts in winning from a fast-finishing Jason Meyers and Sammy Swindell last Thursday night. The win was the 10th of his Tatnell’s career on the tough Outlaws tour which is currently
led by Joey Saldana, while Meyers’ second placing moves him back into the second spot in the championship standings as he chases his first title. “It was definitely a good run and I’m really, really proud of all of these guys,” Tatnell said. “We are a little team and anytime that a team that doesn’t run week-in and weekout with the Outlaws gets up for a victory is pretty special.” The Friday night WoO main was won by Jac Haudenschild in the inaugural Hall of Fame
HAMPEL ON TOP IN DENMARK FIM SPEEDWAY GP POLISH rider Jaroslaw Hampel claimed his first-ever FIM Speedway Grand Prix win, in the FIM Dansk Metal Danish SGP. Hampel led home countryman Tomasz Gollob to win the fourth round of the season and take the lead of the series, after Kenneth Bjerre was eliminated in the semi-finals. With a maiden victory now under his belt, Hampel is aiming to become Poland’s first SGP World Champion since Jerzy Szczakiel in 1973. “It’s very important because right now I know I can stay in first place. I am stronger,” Hampel sald.
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“I feel great this year. I prepared everything very carefully before this season and it’s working very well at the moment. “It’s a great feeling to be here and stand in first place. I’ve worked very hard this season and it’s not that easy. But everything is on the way and I’ll try and keep up my good start later in the season. This was terrific.” Brit Chris Harris was third, his first podium finish since winning at Cardiff in 2007. Aussie Jason Crump was eliminated after finishing third in his semi-final, and is fourth in the standings. The next round is on Hampel’s home turf, in Poland, on June 19.
Classic, which was a special inverted race of the Top 20 finishers from Thursday night’s shootout. Steve Kinser, driving for Tony Stewart Racing, lies third overall and Jason Sides moved into the fourth spot in points after a fourth-place finish on Thursday night, with four-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz currently fifth. Steve Kinser came home sixth in the Bass Prop Shops Maxim to score his series-
leading 21st Top-10 finish, with Danny Lasoski seventh aboard the Casey’s General Store JEI. Lance Dewease was eighth in the Advanced Development Services J&J, ahead of Kerry Madsen in ninth piloting the Halls Haulage KPC. Craig Dollansky came all the way from 24th to 10th after switching to a backup car before the main event to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award in the Big Game Treestands Maxim. – GEOFF ROUNDS
SHAPANG! Thorley AUSSIES OVERSEAS QUEENSLANDER Chris O’Shannessy was part of the winning team in the second 1000km Endurance Race at Sepang Circuit. O’Shannessy, an Improved Production regular, shared a 1600cc Toyota Levin with Kenny Lee and Hsiao Tung Wei for Team Ultra Racing. The trio upstaged higher-capacity cars in the 70-entry field to win by a lap from the Honda Civic of Boy Wong Yew Choong, Soh Kee Koon and Tek Kean Kang. Another Australia, Kosi Kalaitzidis was fourth in a Proton Satria GTi with S. Velumani.
claims QLD title SPEEDWAY PETER Thorley had to wait until the final race to claim a round win in the Queensland Speedway Spares Series, and victory was made even sweeter as he grabbed the QSSS Drivers Championship at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway last Saturday night. Thorley won the series by 29 points from Richard Morgan and Peter Lack. The 2010/2011 season kicks off on September 18. – GEOFF ROUNDS
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motorsport news
SHHHH, ! S N E P P IT HA
rear of grid
Odd Sp ot
Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel have urged people to stop talking about ‘Turkeygate’ with this hilarious ‘what can you do?’ style photo from the RBR factory.
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