Motorsport eNews Issue 168 - August 17-23, 2010

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Issue No. 168 August 17-23 2010

SINGAPORE:

V8s NEXT YEAR!

SPIDERMAN’S COMING HELIO A LATE INCLUSION ON THE GC600 LIST

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A celebration of Australasian Muscle Car heritage and a tribute to the drivers who raced FATHERS DAY SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2010 Eastern Creek Raceway - Sydney - Australia AMC’s annual Father’s Day celebration of Australia’s unique muscle car heritage returns to Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway. 2010 marks 50 years since the creation of the Australian Touring Car Championship, so we’re gearing up for a very special ‘50 Years of Touring Cars’ anniversary bash!

For all ticket bookings, Legends Dinner reservations, trackside hospitality bookings and event info, check out

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Subscribe to Australian Muscle Car Magazine If you’re into muscle cars we’ve got you covered with Australia’s finest and most authorative publication. Australian Muscle Car magazine brings to life the rich heritage of our unique home grown high performance car industry, with in depth feature stories on Australia’s legendary road and race cars from decades past and the men who designed, built and raced them.

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Editorial Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen Executive Editor: Phil Branagan National Editor: Mitchell Adam Publisher: Chris Lambden

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Contributing Writers US: Martin D. Clark, Mary Mendez National: Lachlan Mansell, Mark Jones Speedway: Greg Boscato, Geoff Rounds, Darren Sutton Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski (USA), Ken Ferguson, John Bosher, Luke Nieuwhof

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Sixty years is a long time to be involved in motor racing – and that is the milestone that the Wood Brothers Racing reached on the weekend. Leonard Wood, Eddie Wood and Len Wood were present at Michigan International Speedway when a plaque marking their achievement was unveiled by MIS President Roger Curtis on Sunday.

Photographers Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Marshall Cass, John Morris/Mpix, AF1 Images, James Smith, Peter Bury, Geoff Gracie, Joel Strickland,

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Issue No. 168 | 17 - 23 August 2010

news 5

Hello, Helio, Hello!

Castroneves gets GC600 seat 7 HRT story #1 Wanna buy a red rocket?

8 Siedersless Wildcard gives up slot 11 Rossi set – but Burgess?

Where will JB end up?

13 HRT story #2 Klien in for Hispania

chat 20 Five Minutes With ...

Ben Barker

comment 22 AVL: Rossi in Rosso 23 Normoyle: A plan for WA

race 24 Morgan Park Shannons 30 NASCAR: Harvick wins 34 Knoxville: I think so, Tim!

trade 40 Classifieds

SINGAPORE IN FOR 2011 V8 SCHEDULE! V8 SUPERCARS

A NON-CHAMPIONSHIP event in Singapore looks like being the highlight of the 2011 V8 Supercars calendar.

International sources have told eNews that approval for a V8 Supercar support event is close, and that the cars will race at the Marina Bay circuit on September 23-25.

The V8s will be the headline act on the 2011 Singapore F1 Grand Prix support program, which this year features Carrera Cup Asia and Formula BMW. Further, we have been told that the 2011 race will be the first of a lucrative “multiyear deal” which may, from 2012, feature championship rounds of the series.

There have also been suggestions that an announcement could be made either at this year’s Singapore GP race, or immediately after.

Next year’s V8 Supercars calendar will be announced in October, and will feature some changes to this year’s calendar.

V8 Supercars Australia confirmed last week that the 2011 schedule would most likely be unveiled at around Bathurst time – later in the season than has been the tradition in some previous years.

V8SA CEO Martin Whitaker was quoted as saying that “the later calendar release would enable the sport to finalise discussions with CAMS and the FIA on several levels that are integral to the future growth of the Championship.” eNews has been told that the eightweek mid-season break is also being assessed by the V8SA board at its next meeting, and there appears to be wide expectation that it will be shortened next year. To date, eNews has not been able to garner any positive comments regarding the current eight-week break from drivers, team principals or others involved in V8 Supercar racing.

Should the Singapore deal go ahead next season, it would in all likelihoodresult in the traditional lead-up event to Bathurst, the L&H 500 being moved

forward in the calendar by at least a week.

We believe that the Middle Eastern double header at Abu Dhabi and Bahrain will start the season a week earlier than this year. If that is the case, it would mean that the cars would take to the track on Thursday February 10.

There are a number of dates locked in to certain spots in the calendar. The Australian GP is tied to the introduction of Daylight Saving Time in Britain, which is March 27. The Clipsal 500 would almost certainly be two weeks prior to the Albert Park event, while the Barbagallo race, which returns to the calendar next season, will more than likely resume its traditional May date.

Other events to take their traditional dates would appear to be Hamilton (April), Hidden Valley (mid-June), Bathurst (early October) and the Gold Coast (late October).

It appears that the Homebush race will once again be held on the first weekend in December.

sutton-images.com

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HELIO SIGNS ON FOR GC600 V8 SUPERCARS HELIO Castroneves has received a late call-up for the Gold Coast 600, replacing Heinz-Harald Frentzen at Wilson Security Racing.

Frentzen, a three-time Grand Prix winner from Germany, has apparently quit all forms of competitive motorsport, opening the door for threetimes Indy 500 winner Castroneves to head downunder for the race.

The inclusion of Castroneves will make the Gold Coast 600 field very IndyCar heavy. In fact, all of the top six from the latest IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio will take part in the race – Dario Franchitti (Dick Johnson Racing), Will Power (Ford Performance Racing), Castroneves, Alex Tagliani (Kelly Racing), Scott Dixon (Kelly Racing) and Ryan Briscoe (Holden Racing Team).

“The Gold Coast holds some fantastic memories for me as one of the world’s great motorsport events,” said Castroneves.

“When the concept for the Gold Coast 600 was announced I was disappointed I could not make it, but the withdrawal of Heinz-Harald has given me another chance to accept an invitation, and I am very excited.

“I loved watching the V8 www.mnews.com.au

Supercars when we were down in Australia in 2008 and I watch as many races as I can on [the] SPEED Channel here in the US. “The Gold Coast 600 is going to provide a unique challenge for all the international drivers, and one which I am sure is going to be taken very seriously by each one of them.

“Linking with a young talent like Tim Slade means we will be competitive – especially with preparation from Stone Brothers Racing, which obviously did a great job for Marcos Ambrose a few years ago.”

Slade is equally excited about the latest development.

“Are you kidding me? A threetime Indy 500 winner! Helio is one of the fastest guys on the planet and it will be a pleasure to have him as part of our team for the Armor All Gold Coast 600,” said Slade.

“Obviously the V8 Supercars are going to be different to most of the stuff currently driven by all the international drivers, but it should not take them too long to get up to speed.

“Helio is known for his signature victory celebration of climbing the fence after taking the checkered flag. It would be great if we could be both climbing the fence on the Gold Coast in October.”

NEWS ANALYSIS with ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

HEINZ-Harald Frentzen not coming out for the Gold Coast race is a mixed blessing, in a way.

I for one was looking forward to seeing the German in action. I vividly remember the 1999 F1 season, and I always had a soft spot for the Frentzen and the bright yellow Jordan cars. The following season was the one where I became an avid F1 fan, and I remember the drop in form from the Buzzing Hornets being a great disappointment to me.

But, to the credit of the GC600 organisers, the event has managed to lose a three-time GP winner and not lose any of the depth of talent in the field. Helio Castroneves is an exciting driver, both in and out of the car, and seeing him in a V8 Supercar will be fascinating.

We know he’s quick – you can’t win the Indy 500 three times by accident – but what’s really interesting about Castroneves is that he’s 100 percent open-wheeler. There’s no tin-top history there, so we have the prospect of a fast, furious driver with next to no Touring Car experience, fanging around the streets of the Gold Coast. I’m looking forward to seeing that!

WOOD BACK FOR ENDUROS? V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

DALE Wood is firming as the favourite to partner Todd Kelly at the Phillip Island and Bathurst endurance races this year.

Kelly Racing has been one of the last teams to sign its endurance drivers, with a spot still officially up for grabs.

Owen Kelly and Rick Kelly is a lock, as is Glenn Seton partnering Jason Bargwanna and Taz Douglas with Tony Ricciardello for Phillip Island, Bathurst and the Gold Coast.

That leaves Todd’s partner up in the air, however eNews sources are suggesting that Wood will fill that spot at The Island and Bathurst. Wood currently works at Kelly Racing, and drove for the team as a fulltimer for part of last season.

He also shared the team’s fourth car at Phillip Island and Bathurst last year.

An announcement on the complete Jack Daniel’s Racing line-up is due at the end of this week.

Should Wood join the team as the fourth enduro driver, it would all but lock Scott Dixon in with Todd at the Gold Coast 600, with O Kelly to stay on with Rick for the third endurance race.

NEW MANAGER FOR GRM V8 SUPERCARS

Peter Bury

GARRY Rogers Motorsport will have a new team manager when it takes to Phillip Island for the L&H 500 next month.

Long-time manager Kevin ‘Shirl’ Shawyer will no longer hold the reigns of the Fujitsubacked team, after stepping aside from the role. He will, however, remain part of Rogers’ group of businesses, having started at one of Rogers’ car dealerships when he was still a teenager.

In his place will step Chris Harris, who has been with the team for two years, and has engineered both Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso’s cars in that time. motorsport news

news

John Morris/Mpix

TITLE WINNER FOR SALE V8 SUPERCARS TWO V8 Supercars with significant history will soon be on the market.

Tony D’Alberto Racing is close to finishing complete rebuilds of two Commodore V8 Supercars, one being the VZ Model Toll HSV car that

Rick Kelly won the 2006 V8 Supercar title in, and the other being the VY that Peter Brock and Jason Plato raced at the Bathurst 1000 in 2004.

Both cars will be restored to the original livery of their most historic races (Phillip Island 2006 for the VZ, and Bathurst 2004 for the VY), and will be on sale, preferably for a collector.

“We want to sell them to collectors, because the Fujitsu Series guys aren’t too interested in VZs anymore,” said D’Alberto.

“We have always bought cars with history, because it does give us this option when we’re finished with them. We can rebuild the cars, paint them in historically relevant colours,

and recoup some of the original costs.”

The VE Commodore that D’Alberto is currently racing in the V8 Supercar series also has historical relevance; it is chassis WP001, the prototype VE Commodore used for the original homologation back in 2006, and raced by Mark Skaife in 2007.

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James Smith

Sieders hands back wildcard entry V8 SUPERCARS THE number of V8 wildcards for the endurance races is down to two, following the withdrawal of Sieders Racing Team.

After running as a wildcard in 2009, the Sydney team gained another wildcard for this year’s L&H Phillip Island 500 and Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. SRT were working towards having David Sieders and Andrew Fisher on the grid, but have elected to withdraw their entry.

“Things weren’t stacking up and aligning properly,” David Sieders told eNews.

“There’s no point going there and looking silly and making V8 Supercars look silly. We

don’t want to jeopardise what V8 Supercars has put in place for the wildcard program and the opportunity to be a part of it in the future.

“We had options to try and push on, but we figured we were better off pulling out now, rather than late in the piece.

The team is aiming to have a V8 presence at Mount Panorama alongside their V8 Utes, with Colin Sieders working towards racing in the event’s Fujitsu Series round in the team’s BF Falcon after racing at Townsville.

“He’s looking at it, it’s not 100 percent,” David Sieders said.

“It’s very high on his radar, to race there in the Fujitsu Series.

We’ve got a bit of time before

the race there, so hopefully we can get him out there for it.”

Meanwhile, Matthew White Motorsport and Greg Murphy Racing are working to finalise their driver line-ups for their second crack as wildcards.

When contacted by eNews yesterday, Monday, White confirmed his team was “close” to having the two drivers for their ex-FPR BF Falcon in place.

Meanwhile, GMR is in discussions with a number of drivers for their remaining spot alongside Geoff Emery, in the VE Commodore raced at Bathurst last year by Greg Murphy and Mark Skaife.

“We’re talking to a number of people,” team boss Kevin Murphy said, “nothing’s across

the line yet, but we’ll get there.”

Murphy confirmed his team could have a different driver alongside Emery for each of the two endurance races, with experience part of the criteria for Bathurst.

“We’re talking to people on both counts; to do both races or splitting the drivers between Phillip Island and Bathurst,” Murphy said.

“We’re looking for someone with previous V8 Bathurst experience, not necessarily in the Main Game, to be in at Bathurst. But that’s not as important at Phillip Island, so it’s one of the things we’re looking at. We just want to explore all of the options.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

Barker for Bathurst?

FUJITSU SERIES A ONE-OFF appearance in the Fujitsu Series this year could be the cards for new Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship leader Ben Barker.

With a pair of wins and a second, the Englishman moved into the lead of the Gold Star standings at Morgan Park, and sits just two points ahead of Tom Tweedie and a further two ahead of Mitch Evans.

Barker has two rounds

remaining of the F3 season, but is keen to add a Fujitsu Series start to his program. The 19year-old has two Supercar tests to his name, one with Greg Murphy Racing late last year, and one with Jay Motorsport in April.

“It’s still on the cards to do a round this year,” he told eNews.

“I’m thinking maybe Bathurst, I’m speaking to a few guys, I think it would be great.

“Even if I don’t end up coming back next year, to get a round under my belt in a V8 – even if

I head back to Europe and do GTs or whatever – would be a good thing.

“To do it at Bathurst would be amazing. It’s obviously a big step to learn the track and be comfortable with the cars, but there’s no reason not to do it. As I say, if I don’t come back, at least I’ll have had the experience in a V8 around Bathurst and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

For more with Barker, check out 5 Minutes With on Page 20.

– MITCHELL ADAM motorsport news

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Dirk Klynsmith

James Smith

EVANS SET FOR BORELL MW ARDEN IN ‘11 THINKS FV8s KIWIS OVERSEAS

A SEAT with Mark Webber’s MW Arden GP3 team remains Mitch Evans’ most-likely step into Europe for 2011.

The 16-year-old Kiwi will embark on an international career following this year’s Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, in which he’s currently third. With Webber as his mentor, an MW Arden drive has long been touted as a logical outcome.

“There’s a high chance that I’ll be doing GP3 next year with Mark and the MW Arden team, but we’re obviously going to look at other options,” Evans said.

“GP3 is looking like a strong option because it’s got such a great pathway and it’s something that I want to do as well. We’re looking down that way, nothing’s set in concrete at the moment, but we’ll start making those sorts of decisions over the next couple of months.”

As a prize for winning the 2009/2010 Toyota Racing Series, Evans will head to Spain in October to test a Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series car. He’ll drive at Barcelona on October 11-12, just after the season finale, while he could spend additional time in Europe later in the year with GP3 testing.

“The Formula Renault test is in Spain after one of the World Series rounds, so that’s really cool,” Evans said.

“There’s some GP3 testing at the end of the year, too, and it’s possible that I’ll go over and maybe join a couple of them. It’ll really depend on what we decide over the next few months with what we’re going to do.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

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FUJITSU V8s

ANDRE Borell may step up to the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series in 2011.

The Formula Forder has had a tough year with the Evans Motorsport Group, but might not have a chance to redeem himself at Formula Ford level, with a potential move to FV8s on the card.

Borell, who is supported

by Master Electricians and SIM Pro, told eNews that the Fujitsu Series could be a more attractive proposition for his sponsors.

“I’m not 100 percent sure what we’ll do next year at the moment. It’s either Formula Ford or the Fujitsu Series – they’re the only two categories that I’d consider.

Nothing else would be a progression from what I’m doing at the moment.

“With the type of corporate sponsorship that I have at the moment, the Fujitsu Series has its appeal because you can do ride days, and rides at the race meetings.

So commercially, that could be the way to go. But I still feel like I have unfinished business it Formula Ford. It would be a bit disappointing to walk away after a season like this.

“It’s the same old story – the broken record – it comes down to funds. But they are the two options we have on the table.”

With Formula Ford on a break until the Gold Coast 600, Borell will next week head to Budapest in Hungary, where he will represent Australia at the ITU Triathlon World Championship.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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RICHO WHAT WILL BURGESS DO? BACK FOR T-WEST AFTER official confirmation of the split between Valentino Rossi and Yamaha, the biggest question in motorcycle racing is now – will Jeremy Burgess leave as well?

The legendary Australian engineer, who has been the key man in the corner of the Italian for a decade, is not necessarily expected to follow his rider to Ducati and could, in fact, return to Honda, where he made his name with riders such as Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner. Speculation is high that Burgess could move to HRC and join countryman Casey Stoner, in a bid to win again – and in doing so, beat Burgess’s former charge Rossi, and Stoner’s former team Ducati.

Several sources, including the high-profile Spanish website solomoto.es, are reporting that the veteran tuner is a wanted man by Honda, which has been stung by failure since Rossi departed for Yamaha at the end of the 2003 season in what they saw as tantamount to an act of treason. Since the mercurial Italian, and Burgess and the core of the team that won three premier class titles on Hondas, left, Yamaha has won four titles to one for Honda (Nicky Hayden’s 2006 crown).

Burgess’s history shows that he usually

parts company an established rider after a successful campaign to work with a younger one, and in moving to Honda and Stoner, he would continue that pattern. On the other hand, he would also face that opportunity should he choose to stay at Yamaha, where he could work with Ben Spies. The mercurial Texan is expected to move to the factory team to replace Rossi, and is having an impressive rookie season at the Tech 3 team.

Prior to Sunday’s confirmation of first Rossi’s split with Yamaha, and later of his two-year Ducati deal, there were comments from Burgess that he would be pleased to stay with Yamaha regardless of whatever Rossi decided to do. It appears unlikely that he would move to Ducati, which has always relied on Italians to run its engineering department and which would, therefore, need to undergo a substantial culture change to accommodate Burgess and his key men – even if they do arrive with Rossi.

On the other hand, winning a title on an Italian motorcycle remains the last unclaimed prize in what has been an extraordinary career and Rossi and Burgess may well decide that one final battle, together, may see both men complete what would be CVs unparalleled in the sport’s history.

JEREMY Burgess is not giving anything away about his future plans – and neither does anything he has said in the past about switching teams, with Rossi, seven years ago.

“I think Motorcycling will never be the same because Valentino Rossi showed that he could win on a Honda that other riders could win on, and he could then take the Yamaha machine that no other riders could consistently win on and win on it,” Burgess told motogp.com in 2009.

“I couldn’t go into Yamaha and scream and

yell and change the way they did things, it was necessary to work together with Valentino and the Yamaha Engineers to solve the problems they had. We had to take a step back and analyse why we at that time, or they at that time, had not been as competitive as their opposition. We had to diplomatically change the direction without making anybody look as if they had been making mistakes.”

Whoever does get the Adelaide’s Crows fan’s services for 2011, it is going to make great viewing for motorcycle racing fans …

MOTOGP

TARMAC RALLY JIM Richards will head the entries for this year’s QUIT Targa West, returning to the shires of outer-Perth after missing last year’s event.

Richards, along with codriver Barry Oliver, will add to their long list of tarmac rally starts, with the count now being well over 50.

They will once again line up in a Porsche GT2.

“Both Barry and I are really looking forward to it, the last event we did was Targa Tasmania so it’s been a while between rallies for us,” Richards said.

“Each time we’ve come over to Perth we’ve had great time and really enjoyed ourselves so we’re looking forward to competing again.”

Richards’ strongest competition will undoubtedly come from WA’s own Steve Jones, who is going for a hat-trick of wins in 2010. Jones will once again compete in Nissan GT-R R35, but will have a new co-driver this year, Ben Searcy.

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MercedesGP Media

Ironman

Nico

FORMULA 1

T

irst it was Jenson Button, but now Nico Rosberg has donned the lycra to prove that F1 drivers can swim, run and cycle with the best of them.

Like Button, the Mercedes F1 star is now a triathlon aficionado, having completed a world championship triathlon round in Kitzbuhel, Austria. The event, running the full Olympic distance, consisted of a 40km cycle, 5km swim and 10km run.

Rosberg placed 44th overall, 13th in the under 29 age section. His time of two hours and seven minutes was seven minutes faster than the time recorded by Jenson Button recently in the comparable London triathlon.

According to reports, the F1 star was nearly disqualified at one point for a helmet infringement during the 40km cycling stage.

“I’ve never done it (a triathlon) before,” Rosberg told DPA news agency. “It was a great event – very hard, but I had a lot of fun. In the last five kilometres, I had no energy left.

How people can do it is amazing.

“This is a new passion for me.”

exas could host the US Formula 1 Grand Prix for the next 40 years, according to the man at the helm of the bid to bring the event back to America, Tavo Hellmund.

Speaking on the official Formula 1 website, Hellmund said his proposed venue at Austin, Texas, would finally end F1’s decades-long search for a permanent US Grand Prix home.

“I considered Austin as the ultimate place and I went to Bernie with this idea,” he said.

“Austin has developed immensely over the last 15 years in every aspect - so for me there was no better place to hold the United States Grand Prix.

“The State of Texas has developed into the 11th biggest global economy and many of the Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters here. And Austin is the capital.

“Think of the ideal location of the city: my fellow countrymen can reach it easily, as well as fans from central and South America. In this respect it’s perfectly central.

“My philosophy is that you will succeed if you are at the right place at the right time - and for a grand prix in Austin, Texas, I considered it to be the right time. We have a contract for the next 10 years, but if you ask me we could race here for the next 40 years!”

Hellmund’s Texas venue will host the 2012 United States Grand Prix on what is expected to be a mid-year date so the race can be held on consecutive weekends with the Canadian Grand Prix.

Berger defends strong-arm Schumi FORMULA 1

M

ichael Schumacher’s defensive move against Rubens Barrichello at Hungary, in which the German ran the Brazilian up against the concrete wall, was a commonplace manoeuvre in the 1980s and ‘90s, according to former F1 star Gerhard Berger.

Berger told Austrian newspaper Tiroler Tageszeitung that Michael’s tactics were

no different from what drivers regularly employed during his own 200-grands prix career.

“We drove harder and more brutally,” he said. “Three times a lap we drove each other into the walls without complaining.

This was just part of it.

“We would have thought nothing of an action like Michael’s against Barrichello.”

The outspoken Austrian also made an assessment of Schumacher’s comeback thus far, revising an earlier judgement

that the German would return to claim an eight world title.

“Before the season I would have answered this question with a resounding yes. Today I have to say no.

His team-mate Nico Rosberg clearly has his nose in front. Michael is trying to counter Nico’s youthfulness by pulling tricks out of his bag of experience, but it’s not working.

“His team-mate is faster, and he has to learn how to deal with it.”

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sutton-images.co m

FORMULA 1

F

Texas F1 on track

Klien start FORMULA 1

C

season – but that didn’t stop the team from resting him at Silverstone so that Yamamoto could drive.

Klien, meanwhile, originally brought into HRT to help with testing duties, remains hopeful of making his first F1 start since 2006.

“It’s hard to say,” he told Austrian media, “All four drivers in HRT are equally placed. It depends entirely on the team. I will try to be in the car as much as possible to accumulate experience.

“I get along very well with the team’s people and also the boss (Colin Kolles). I am also speaking with other (F1) teams.”

Klien, who came into F1 as team-mate

Pirelli tests begin FORMULA 1

P

irelli’s Formula 1 track testing programme starts tonight, according to reports in Spanish newspaper, Diario AS. The first test of Pirelli’s F1 rubber is set for the Mugello circuit, where it is expected Nick

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Heidfeld will vacate his existing role as Mercedes’ test driver to drive a Pirelli-shod 2009 Toyota. The initial Mugello test is said to be a threeday affair, and will be followed by more tyre test days at Jerez, followed

by Monza, Le Castellet and then back to Mugello.

to Mark Webber at Jaguar (now Red Bull Racing) in 2006, is a veteran of 48 grands prix but more recently served as test driver at Honda and BMW.

sutton-images.com

hristian Klien looks set to join the queue of drivers passing through the revolving door that constitutes a race seat at the backmarker HRT F1 team.

The Spanish team has already been forced by financial pressures to make changes to its driver lineup, with well-funded Sakon Yamamoto having replaced original driver Karun Chandhok for the balance of the season.

Bruno Senna meanwhile maintains his contract secures his tenure in the other car for the remainder of the

at HRT

For full F1/ MotoGP/ WRC coverage/ news, CLICK HERE to get to GPWeek magazine -

www.gpweek.com

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP KASEY Kahne will drive a Red Bull Racing Toyota in 2011 – but the identity of his team-mate remains in the air.

The man most likely to race alongside Kahne’s #82 Camry is Brian Vickers, providing he’s cleared to return by doctors from his blood clot issues. It looks highly unlikely Scott Speed will return to the team next season, an official decision on this is to be announced in the coming weeks.

But there is also a chance that the team may shock the racing world and place Mattias Ekstrom in the team’s ‘blue’ Toyota.

The Audi DTM star, who drove for the team at the Sonoma Sears Point road course in June, tested at the half-mile Gresham Motorsports Park oval in Georgia last week and was reportedly very impressive. The Swede has no oval experience, but has adapted from the light, high-tech DTM racers to the heavy, no-tech Sprint Cup cars with considerable aplomb.

The news means that Kahne, who is

contracted to replace Mark Martin in the number five Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in 2010, will race NASCAR’s four marque’s in successive years; Dodge with Gillett Evernham last year; Ford with Richard Petty Motorsport this season; RBR’s Toyota next season; and Chevys with Hendrick in 2012.

Although not announced, team insiders say Kahne will take with him long-term crew chief Kenny Francis from Petty Motorsports.

– MARTIN D CLARK

Red Bull steps in on one year deal – and tests Ekstrom on an oval!

Toyota M otorspor ts

Kasey gets Bullish

Toyota Motorsports

NASCAR SPRINT CUP RICHARD Childress Racing has confirmed that Paul Menard has signed a multi-year deal with the organisation, and that it will field four cars again next season.

“Paul has developed into a very good race car driver, and we see his move to RCR next year as an opportunity for him to continue that progress,” said 14

team owner Childress, whose team is the most improved team of the year by far.

Menard is now driving for his third team in his brief NASCAR career, having started out with the now-defunct Dale Earnhardt Inc before moving on to Yates Racing – which by default became Richard Petty Motorsports.

For any team, having the Menard DIY store chain money,

NASCAR Media

RCR confirms Menard

said to be one of the best packages in the garage area, is a major shot in the arm for the balance sheet.

We expect that RCR will have further sponsorship news – including its 2011 Budweiser sponsorship of current points leader Kevin Harvick and this year’s Sprint Cup title favourite – confirmed in the coming weeks.

– MARTIN D CLARK motorsport news

Jack Back NASCAR SPRINT CUP Honda Racing

A NICE PROBLEM

IndyCar tweaks rules for 29 starters in next race INDYCARS WHILE many series around the world have featured shrinking grids in these tough economic times, IndyCar faces, temporarily at least, the opposite problem.

The IndyCar rule book, which only allows a maximum of 28 drivers, is going to be modified for the upcoming race at Chicagoland Speedway, which has 29 entries for its August 28 event. Davey Hamilton returns in a second car driving for de Ferran Dragon Racing, as does Graham Rahal in a second

Newman-Haas entry. Sarah Fisher Racing has entered herself and her team-mate, Jay Howard and Ed Carpenter is driving for a collaborated Panther/Vision Racing effort.

Rule 8.1(E)(5)(f ) caps the starting field at 28 cars with two positions using provisionals.

That allows a successful driver who has a bad qualifying run or a mechanical issue to still have a chance to compete in the race. Because of the increased entries for Chicagoland, the rule has been modified to allow any non-qualified cars beyond 27 starters to use

provisionals to participate.

A provisional starting position is awarded first to the 2009 IndyCar Series Champion (Dario Franchitti), then the 2008 champion (Scott Dixon), the 2009 Indy 500 winner (Helio Castroneves), the highest ranking driver in championship points, the best practice lap by a Leader’s Circle member, and finally, the next best lap time posted during qualifying. Being a 1.5-mile oval, there should be no issues with sufficient pit box space to accommodate all 29 cars.

– MARY MENDEZ

JACK Roush has returned to NASCAR earlier than anticipated.

The Roush Fenway Racing owner visited Michigan Speedway over the weekend, his first visit to a race track since his air crash in Wisconsin.

The 68-year-old was injured on July 27 when the executive jet he was flying rolled down the runway. While he managed to step unaided from the wrecked plane, he broke his jaw, injured his left cheek and back in the crash, and has permanently lost the sight in his left eye. A female passenger was uninjured in the crash, while Roush has spent two weeks in hospital, recovering from his injuries.

The experienced pilot and aviation enthusiast, whose collection includes a Mustang P-51, expects to fly himself again.

– MARTIN D CLARK

Carpenter back for 3

American returns with help of Vision and Panther INDYCARS

Honda Racing

www.mnews.com.au

ED Carpenter will return to IndyCar racing, Carpenter, 29, will race at three 1.5-mile ovals at Chicagoland, Kentucky, and Homestead. The Indiana native, who lost a thrilling battle by inches with Ryan Briscoe at Kentucky Speedway last year, will drive the #20 entry in a collaboration between Panther and Vision Racing, with sponsorship from Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka.

Earlier this year Carpenter competed at the Indy 500,

making his 100th career start as team-mate to Dan Wheldon in the #4 Panther entry.

“Ed worked very well with (Dan) Wheldon during Indianapolis and I’m sure their relationship will continue to help our team get back into victory lane,” said John Barnes, Panther Racing’s Managing Partner and CEO. Carpenter, leading 34 laps, earned his career best finish in second last year behind Briscoe by just 0.0162 seconds, the closest finish at Kentucky Speedway.

– MARY MENDEZ 15

New CEO at AGPC FORMULA 1

John Morris

ANDREW Westacott is the new man at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, after the sudden resignation of Drew Ward last week.

The CEO handed his resignation to AGPC Chairman Ron Walker after returning from a three-week holiday last Monday. Ward says that he will remain in Melbourne to take on a new role.

Ward, who joined the Corporation in late 2007 at the age of 41, has an extensive background in major sporting events. He was Group Manager of Project Planning and Special Tasks at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and General Manager of Operations for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games before he joined the AGPC. Ward, below with his wife Prue, holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Adelaide University.

Internationals to invade NZ’s TRS TRS

sutton-images.com

NEW Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series looks likely to experience an international invasion this summer.

The open wheel class has announced a five-round series between January and March 2011. Within it, there will again be a four-round International Series held across five weekends from mid-January to mid-February.

Last summer, Estonian driver Stan Pentus finished third

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

in the International Series in preparation for the World Series by Renault, which he’s currently sitting in third place.

According to TRS Category Manager Barrie Thomlinson, Pentus’ performances have raised the profile of the class and interest from potential international competitors.

“We’ve had strong international interest at this early time,” he told eNews.

“We’ll probably have a similar turnout of New Zealand drivers as last year, but there could be

a lot more internationals. “[Stan’s] result has highlighted the benefits in doing racing miles over the off-season rather than testing. Stan went from here to Motorland and won a race in the opening round of the World Series.

“His team (Fortec Motorsport) has been talking about sending a number of their drivers over here for off-season.

It works well for people out of Europe and South America.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

AUTOBARN TOURING CAR MASTERS GROUP N HISTORIC TOURING CARS (Pre-1973) GROUP C HISTORIC TOURING CARS (1973-84) GROUP A HISTORIC TOURING CARS (1985-92) MASTER BLASTS BEST OF THE BEST HERITAGE HOT LAPS ULTIMATE RACE REPLICAS

FATHERS DAY SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2010 CHECK OUT: www.musclecarmasters.com.au or 02 9672 1000

16

motorsport news

news

THUMBS UP

Tony gets more ponies TCM

SHANNONS NATS THE newly-extended Morgan Park Raceway has received a positive reaction from competitors racing at the Shannons Nationals event at the weekend – but the new 700m of bitumen did not escape unscathed from its first real test under racing conditions.

A several-metre long section of the circuit just before the new Turn 11-12 chicane broke up midway through Sunday’s racing, causing the schedule to be delayed by almost an hour as series officials and the circuit staff worked on a solution to allow racing to continue.

The area of circuit was clearly marked with witches’ hats and placed under permanent yellow flag conditions, allowing racing to continue unimpeded and complete a successful second visit by the Shannons Nationals to the rural Queensland circuit.

“Any new track is going to have teething dramas, so despite the issues on Sunday afternoon I think it was a brilliant weekend,” Warwick District Sporting Car Club president and event promoter Bill Campbell said.

“The track surface issue wasn’t as bad as we

James Smith

New Morgan Park layout meets with approval

initially thought and it will be back in action very quickly. Everyone got together to resolve the issues quite quickly and got the racing going again so it all worked well in the end.

“I think the weekend was a great success.

Crowds were up significantly on last year and there was a great atmosphere amongst spectators and competitors all weekend. We are very pleased.

“The last thing Rob Curkpatrick from the Shannons Nationals told me before he left was ‘book us in for next year’.”

The new layout – adding five high-speed corners to a formerly tight layout – received almost universal praise from drivers.

“It’s an awesome track, they’ve done a great job with the design of the new section,” said Tom Tweedie, the F3 points leader prior to the round.

“There are some pretty big bumps out there, especially where the circuit joins up with the old track, so you have to be pretty smart picking your race lines.

“It’s also very quick. The new section has really changed the character of the track and it’s one of the quicker circuit’s we go to now.”

– RICHARD CRAILL

TOURING Car Masters presented by Autobarn competitor Tony Karanfilovski will step up in the power department next year.

Karanfilovski currently leads Group 3 in the series, driving an Alfa Romeo GTAM 105, but has purchased the ex-Gavin Bullas Ford Falcon XY GTHO, which he’ll start racing and join Group 1 with in 2011.

“At the moment, I’m still very focused on winning the Group 3 title this season; I’ve really enjoyed racing the little Alfa, and I’d like to finish with it on a high,” he said.

“I’ve had my eye on the Group 1 cars for a while now and the opportunity came up to buy the Falcon and it all just fell into place. I’ve never raced a big, powerful car like the XY before, so I’ve got a really good challenge ahead of me, next year.

“Mechanically, I don’t plan to do too much to the car before next season. I need to get familiar with it first before I start making too many changes. We intend to give it a good freshen up, and then next year we’ll see where I’m at and where the car’s at and start development from there.”

Legends Dinner Invitation Tall tales and true stories from the legendary past.

Guest speakers include:

Kevin Bartlett, John Harvey, Allan Grice, Glenn Seton & John Bowe up front on stage reminiscing about 50 years of Australian Touring Car racing.

You are invited to the 2010 Muscle Car Masters Legends Dinner, proudly brought to you by Valvoline

LEGENDS DINNER SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2010 FOR BOOKING DETAILS: www.musclecarmasters.com.au or 02 9672 1000 www.mnews.com.au

17

MORE FOR GILMOUR FORMULA 3

Richard Craill

CHRIS Gilmour is set to add the final two rounds of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship to his partial campaign.

The Queenslander had his second hitout of the season in at Morgan Park last weekend, bagging two thirds and a fourth in his new F307-model Dallara.

With Morgan Park the first leg of the threeevent East Coast Shootout to wrap up the season, Gilmour will contest the next round at Eastern Creek in September, and is likely to do Sandown’s season finale in October.

“It was great to be back in the car,” he said.

“I’m definitely in for Eastern Creek, and I think we’ll be there for Sandown as well. The last time I was at Sandown, I got pole and won both races, so I enjoy the track and it’s good to support F3 with another car out there.

“My last run at Sandown was six years ago!

It’ll be interesting to see how it goes with the new car, I’m still coming to grips with it.

“I finished last year in August with a crash, then did Phillip Island in May and Morgan Park, without any testing. We rocked up on Friday with no set-up and no gearing, so I’m pretty happy with how we went, and we should be closer to the front at Eastern Creek.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

Dollansky’s great start KNOXVILLE NATS

18

Daniel Beard

CRAIG Dollansky’s Knoxville National’s campaign started in superb fashion when he won the annual Premier Chevy Dealers World Challenge Invitational.

Coming from seventh to first by lap 11 of the 20-lap race, Dollansky worked with ease to grab the lead and was never headed, winning from Australian Max Dumesny, with American Lucas Wolfe taking third in the 17th running of the event.

The US$10,000 win made up for the Chevrolet motor that Dollansky blew during Wednesday night qualifying and the man dubbed ‘The Crowd Pleaser’ said the it was all about perseverance.

“You’ve just got to keep digging,” Dollansky said.

“Just a great team effort, I wish we’d had that motor in on Wednesday night, as that motor there runs good.”

Dumesny saiD he really

wanted to win this highlyranked race, which is held at various qualifying races around the world, Australia, at the Warrnambool Classic and also in Canada and the USA. “[I] would have loved to win this today, but couldn’t quite make it,” Dumesny said.

Final results: 1. Craig Dollansky-USA; 2. Max Dumseny-Aust; 3. Lucas Wolfe-USA; 4. Trevor GreenAust; 5. Jonathan AllardUSA; 6. Kerry Madsen-Aust; 7. Paul McMahan-USA; 8.

Joey Saldana-USA; 9. Brooke Tatnell; 10. Ian Madsen-Aust;

11. Jason Johnson; 12. Lynton Jeffrey-Aust; 13. Jason SidesUSA; 14. Ricky Logan-USA; 15. Skip Jackson; 16. Mitchell Dumesny; 17. Toni Lutar; 18.

Colin Entwisle; 19. Jamie Veal; 20. Domain Ramsay; 21. Paul Jeffrey; 22. Bruce White.

– GEOFF ROUNDS motorsport news

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19

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Super Combo – Motorsport News (12 monthly issues) PLUS Motorsport eNews (50 issues)

Five Minutes with ...

BEN BARKER

A pair of wins at Morgan Park has put Briton Ben Barker right in the thick of the fight for the Australian F3 title. He spoke to MITCHELL ADAM MOTORSPORT NEWS: So, two wins and moving into the championship lead ... it was a good weekend up at Morgan Park for you.

BEN BARKER: It was really good. Obviously keeping the ball rolling from Mallala was a good thing. Unfortunately Mitch [Evans] got a penalty for jumping the start, very similar to my very tiny roll at Phillip Island, which was unfortunate for him but kind of fortunate for me. I managed to win the first race and then in the second one Tom [Tweedie] got my off the line and he drove a good race.

I was putting pressure on him the whole way through, but it’s such a hard track to try and find a place to overtake, especially with his car, the ’04. There’s such a long back straight and his straight line speed is slightly faster with the ‘04’s aero.

That was a good race and then in the last one, I was pole anyway because they add the points up from the last two races, and I think Tweedie had a problem with his car and couldn’t get it started, so he started from the back which was unfortunate for him again, but fortunate for me in the championship stakes.

I got off the line reasonably well and held the lead. Mitch drove a good race, he put pressure on me the whole race, it was all about keeping a calm head, staying on top, putting some consistent laps in and coming out on top which we did, which was great.

As it stands, I think you’re a couple of points up in the championship now and there’s only a couple of points back to Mitch in third. It looks really close heading into these last two rounds.

Yeah, obviously we’ve caught back up from a bit of a gap and taken the lead.

There’s four points between the three of us and six races left, it’s going to be really close.

The championship is really on from now, to be honest and the pressure is going to keep building up. It’s all about maintaining it and I think we should, so we’ll see how it goes. It’s going to be a good end to the season.

You mentioned Mallala before, that was the weekend where it looked like everything came together and you started the roll you’re on now – was that the first weekend where you felt really comfortable in the car?

Yeah, definitely. From then, I don’t know what it is mate, but I think you just click and gel with a car at some point in your career and hopefully it’s that point.

I feel really comfortable driving in general at the minute and I think we should hopefully find that the more experience I get, the better. From then, I found the way I like the car, so we’ve kind of kept it like that and made small changes in between and felt really comfortable, so it’s good.

I spoke to Mitch last week for our monthly magazine and he said you guys are really working well together and pushing each other along. That can only be a good thing for both of your careers, moving forward.

Definitely. Mitch and I get on really well.

We go through data together and kind of help each other find speed. As we’re both on a learning curve, the more we can learn the better. So if we can help each other out, it’s only going to be for the better.

That’s what we’re doing and it’s going great at the minute and I’m sure will do.

The championship’s going to be close for the last six races; we’re going to have to be sensible about it and don’t make any stupid moves, but at the same time go for it.

The next round’s at Eastern Creek – did you test there the other week?

Yeah, Mitch, Zhang and Tweedie tested there last week on the Wednesday (August 2), which went well.

You’re living in Sydney this year, so it’s pretty much your adopted home round.

Yeah, I’m doing a lot of work there for Driving Solutions. We tested there last week, which was my first time in an F3 car there. It’s a great track, one of my favourites, I think.

We did well. Mitch and I were within onehundredth of each other, we’ve been close all year, time wise. We both did a good job and feel comfortable with the circuit and the car.

A couple of months ago, you tested a V8 Supercar with Fujitsu Series team Jay Motorsport at Winton. Is there anything else like that in the pipeline at the moment, as you look to crack into V8s in the coming years?

Testing with Verdnik was great to get an insight into V8s. It’s still on the cards to do a round this year. I’m thinking maybe Bathurst, I’m speaking to a few guys, I think it would be great.

Even if I don’t end up coming back next year, to get a round under my belt in a V8 – even if I head back to Europe and do GTs or whatever – would be a good thing.

If it ended up being Bathurst, that’d be a pretty out-there place to make your debut in one of those cars ...

Definitely, to do it at Bathurst would be amazing. It’s obviously a big step to learn the track and be comfortable with the cars, but there’s no reason not to do it.

As I say, if I don’t come back, at least I’ll have had the experience in a V8 around Bathurst and there’s nothing wrong with that.

“MITCH EVANS AND I WERE WITHIN ONE-HUNDREDTH OF EACH OTHER” If they are that close in testing at EC, the final round will be a belter ...

20

motorsport news

chat

John Morris/Mpix

www.mnews.com.au

21

OPINION Andrew van Leeuwen – eNews Editor

I

DON’T support either the Essendon or Collingwood footy teams, but I’m someone who believes they should always play the traditional ANZAC day match.

Is it unfair on other clubs that two teams should monopolise a money-maker like that? Maybe, but there are times when tradition is more important. The Dons v Pies tradition might only date back to 1995, but long-standing traditions have to start somewhere.

I realise that this is an odd way to start an opinion piece in a motor racing magazine, but I have a point, and I am getting to it.

Valentino Rossi signing for Ducati is a sign that a sense of history and tradition 22

has not been lost in world motorsport.

Okay, at a reported AUD$18m over two years Rossi will financially benefit from the move, but Italy’s greatest ever rider, on a bike that is symbolically Italian, has a beautiful sense of symmetry.

Clearly, somewhere on Rossi’s career wishlist was riding for Ducati. If he wanted to keep winning championships at will, he’d have been better staying at Yamaha or returning to Honda, given current form. But whether or not Ducati can offer him a title-winning bike (and maybe they can) doesn’t seem to matter.

He wants to compete for titles on an Italian bike, and I applaud him for taking that risk.

There’s precedent in motorsport. In 1991,

sutton-images.com

PASSION MATTERS

Jean Alesi chose to drive for Ferrari over Williams, because he had always loved the Italian squad. Williams won five titles between 1992 and 1997, and Alesi won just a single race.

Even our own Mark Webber went through a similar quandary. In 2005 he chose Williams over Renault because of a long-held dream to drive for Sir Frank, and Renault went on and won the driver’s titles in 05 and 06 ...

Will these decisions hurt these driver’s in the stat books? Probably. But the sport needs passionate people, following their dreams, to give it human interest.

If there’s one thing a technologically heavy sport like motor racing needs, it human interest. motorsport news

comment

WAY OUTSIDE THE SQUARE

T

HAT Barbagallo Raceway is back on the V8 Supercar calendar for 2011 is fantastic news. Not just because it means that the fans in Western Australia won’t be overlooked again next year, but because the 2.4km Perth venue is just a great little circuit – a favourite among the drivers and a just terrific place to watch motor racing.

With its twists and turns, and its trademark roller coaster ride down the hill out of Kolb Corner, it looks great on TV – so great, I reckon, that it’s the one venue you wouldn’t ever want to drop off the V8 calendar.

It’s interesting that they’ve opted for a three-race event next year, instead of the longer pair of races that will serve at most other venues. But I agree with Garth Tander’s comments in last week’s eNews – Barbagallo is that kind of track that lends itself to shorter races.

The prospect of more V8 Supercar sprint races at Barbagallo in 2011 reminds me of a Touring Car event the WA Sporting Car Club used to run there in the late 1970s and early ’80s. The Wanneroo 300 (for those of you under 40, Wanneroo was the venue’s original name) was a 300km event for ‘Street Cars’, which was Touring Cars WAstyle: more or less Group C Touring Cars but running on standard road tyres.

But this was no normal 300km race.

It was around this time that CAMS was phasing out the old fuel churn method of refuelling cars in endurance racing and making dry-break fuel systems a minimum safety requirement.

This was a problem for the Wanneroo 300, But it would certainly be something because the WA Street Car competitors different, and it would give us the added weren’t keen on forking out for expensive drama of five standing starts in one race. dry break systems for just one race a year.

You’d likely get a better cross section of So someone at the WASCC came up with TV exposure for the teams, too – with five an alternative that would allow refuelling separate starts and pitstops spread across without everyone needing dry-break the four breaks, pretty much every car in systems. the field would be at or near the front at To get around not having dry-break some stage. systems, they divided the 300km journey More importantly, it would open up a into five half-hour segments, with 10whole new range of possibilities for the minute breaks in between. television broadcast.

When racing stopped at the end of each Imagine this: the commentators doing half-hour, the drivers had the choice of on-the-grid driver interviews during the either going to the pits for fuel and tyres breaks – viewers would get the drivers’ (which could be done in a safe and leisurely reflections on the half-hour ‘race’ just past, fashion during the 10-minute breaks) or and what they were expecting in the next simply heading directly to the grid, where ‘race’, set to start in a few moments time. they could park their cars on the grid. How It would make it a little bit like AFL footy, they lined up would be the grid order for an event that evolves over four quarters the start of the next half-hour ‘race’. Those with breaks in between. making their pitstops would rejoin at the And with four 10-minute breaks, we’d tail of the field. likely get to see more of the action, In this way the drivers of the smaller, because the telecaster would be able to more fuel and tyre efficient cars could package up the ad breaks to coincide with grab an advantage by staying out longer. It the intervals between ‘races’. turned the 300 into a fascinating game of Maybe even it would be a nice a way of chess. differentiating the Saturday race from the Let’s for a moment imagine a V8 Supercar Sunday one. event running to this format. Sure, the It’s just a thought … strategic intrigue that made the Wanneroo 300 work wouldn’t be a factor, because the cars are essentially identical in terms of fuel consumption and tyre Steve Normoyle – life – they’d all end up on similar pit strategies.

Special Projects Editor

OPINION

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

23

SHANNONS NATIONALS ROUND 7, MORGAN PARK

Bite as good as his Bark

Ben Barker moved into the lead of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship as the Shannons Nationals gave Morgan Park’s extension its maiden hitout.

MARK JONES and RICHARD CRAILL covered the action 24

motorsport news

race

Richard Craill

www.mnews.com.au

25

Richard Craill

BRITISH Team BRM driver Ben Barker stepped into the championship lead of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship for the first time as the F3 Dallaras christened Morgan Park Raceway’s extension in a surprisingly dramatic round of ups and downs, as fortunes swapped between Barker and Tom Tweedie.

Barker led team-mate Mitch Evans to victory in the third race of the weekend after pole sitter Tweedie was left stranded on the formation lap with a mystery electrical problem.

Tweedie got the Team Tom F304 Dallara re-fired but was unable to put pressure on the Team BRM duo and his hard fought three-point lead has become a two-point deficit to Barker, with Evans just two points behind.

26

“It’s on from here,” said Barker.

“It took me a few rounds to get up to speed driving a Formula 3 car, but since Mallala it’s been brilliant.

“Obviously leading the championship has been the aim all along but now the pressure only gets more intense, just as it was today when Mitch was chasing me down.”

For his rivals, the weekend was one of frustration. Tweedie chased Barker to the line in Saturday’s preliminary, picking off the fast starting local Chris Gilmour, before out launching Barker to race clear and win Race 2.

“We were right on the pace of the ‘07s, in that respect it was an awesome weekend,” Tweedie said.

“The last race was a bit of a dampener. We had a problem

on the start line, getting the car started, with a mystery electrical problem. We don’t know what it is, luckily we got it started.

“I didn’t have a problem driving through the field until I got to one of the BRM drivers, Zhang [Shan Qi]. He was getting bad runs out of corners, our car was about 1.5 seconds quicker, he decided to wheel bang with us and try and push me off the road. At 220 km/h it was pretty exciting going down the back sweepers.

“We worked our way up to Gilmour, and I got inside and we went side by side through Turns 4 and 5, and went into 6. He braked really late and I’ve tried to go up the inside, decided I wasn’t going to make it and locked the rears trying to pull out at the last minute.”

Tweedie recovered from the

half spin, but third was gone.

He got going before Shan Qi arrived.

Evans took pole position on Saturday but all of that work was ruined when the New Zealander was issued a drivethrough penalty for a jumped start in Saturday’s opening race. Evans fought back to fifth but ran out of laps to challenge team-mate Shan Qi for fourth behind Barker. The remainder of the weekend had Evans fruitlessly chasing Barker, resulting in a third and a second in the main Sunday race.

Gilmour was best of the rest throughout the weekend, mixing it up with Tweedie and the BRM drivers, taking a third, fourth and third. Gilmour, who, began his career in Formula Fords at Morgan Park, was consistently two to five tenths motorsport news

race

James Smith

Tom Tweedie, left, and Mitch Evans, above, both had startrelated issues which saw Ben Barker take the championship lead. Chris Gilmour, right, was the best of the rest, while Josh Hunt, bottom right, was sixth in each race in his F3 debut.

Richard Craill

www.mnews.com.au

Richard Craill

faster than Shan Qi in the third Team BRM Dallara, who took a fourth and two fifths from the weekend.

Apart from Gilmour, four Queensland drivers bolstered the grid with former Formula Atlantic driver Josh Hunt being the pick. Stepping into one of the R-Tek Dallaras at short notice, he took sixth in every race.

Roman Krumins had the better of his fight with Formula Ford racer Jimmy Mann, driving Jon Mills’ car, until Mann turned to table in the final race. Ben Gersekowski had pace on both Krumins and Mann but could not exploit it until the final race after a small crash in the first race put him out of the second.

– MARK JONES Points: Barker 161, Tweedie 159, Evans 157, Shan Qi, 80, Ben Crighton 60, Gilmour 51.

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James Smith

Sera’s SAAB Sports Sedan success MORE often than not, a new circuit will provide unpredictable racing and a chance for new drivers to get themselves a result – and for the most part this was the case in several categories racing at the Shannons Nationals event at Morgan Park last weekend.

Morgan Park’s new layout certainly threw up some unpredictable results, whilst others more followed the 2010 form guide.

The Kerrick Sports Sedan Series was the most open of them all, with mechanical dramas for several leading contenders throwing the title race wide open.

James Sera – in just his second ever car race meeting – broke through for his first round win after Darren Hossack had an engine failure curtail his weekend in the first of three races. With the Audi out of the way, Sera won all three races at a canter and rocketed his way up the standings and into title contention.

Trent Young was another to fall at the first hurdle, a broken half shaft in his rear suspension forcing him out of the race and the weekend, and costing him 28

second place in the standings to boot.

Former champion Kerry Bailey struggled to get his Nissan 300ZX on the pace following its Mallala crash, but still managed to finish second overall to consolidate his title position.

If his recent domination of the Australian Six-Hour wasn’t enough, Stuart Kostera ensured that TMR Australia continued their winning ways in the Australian Manufacturers Championship by sweeping both one hour races contested at the weekend.

Kostera crushed the field – the only time someone got close was when team-mate Inky Tulloch qualified second.

Kostera beat Tony Quinn’s VIP Petfoods Mitsubishi to the win in Race 1 with Jake Camilleri scoring the final podium slot.

The Mazda driver went one better in race two, scoring second when Mark King’s Pro Duct Mitsubishi ran out of fuel on the last lap.

Two top five finishes ensured Garry Holt continued his charge to back-to-back titles, now driving the Holden Astra turbo, though Kostera’s domination ensured his advantage was reduced.

Whilst Kostera dominated in the AMC races, Matt Kingsley did the same in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented

by Mission Foods.

For the second year in a row the Gold Coaster was untouchable at Morgan Park, seemingly cruising to pole position and all three wins. The Action Tyres driver was only headed for one lap of Race 1 and half a lap of another – both times by Roger Lago – before he reasserted his dominance to lead the field home.

Lago finished second overall and won the 997 class whilst Jeff Bobik fought his way through to third overall after a miscue in Race 1 dropped him to the bottom of the Top 10. With his regular aplomb, the Victorian worked his way forward to end the weekend on the podium.

Kingsley naturally won the 996 class, however behind him a massive battle was being waged between fellow 996 drivers Terry Knight and John Goodacre. Anthony Skinner returned to clinch class A, whilst Indiran Padayachee, as the sole entrant, won class D. The topsy-turvy battle for the Australian Saloon Car series

continued with Tim Rowse producing a consistent round to assert his position at the top of the standings – but it was local ace Kris Walton who dominated proceedings.

Walton took his Falcon to all three race wins after the exit of long-time rival Shawn Jamieson, who was forced out of the event after a broken gear leaver in Race 1 was followed by more terminal engine issues later in the day.

The South Australian had taken pole position and led the early stages of the race before his issues struck.

Rowse and the impressive Grant Gatland completed the podium and offered regular challenges to Walton’s supremacy.

There were sensational scenes at the end of the Rockpress Australian Superkart Championship’s final race, with the title decided by a countback between Darren Hossack and Warren McIlveen.

With previous title leader Gary Pegoraro failing to finish an earlier heat race, McIlveen won three races, but victory in the final race was enough to give Hossack the national title in extraordinary circumstances.

– RICHARD CRAILL motorsport news

race

Richard Craill Richard Craill

Stuart Kostera, top, and Matt Kingsley, above, dominated the Australian Manufacturers Championship and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge races respectively. Kris Walton, below, won the Saloon Car round, while Tim Rowse, below right, extended his points lead. Darren Hossack, bottom, won the Australian Superkart Championship on a countback.

James Smith

James Smith

James Smith

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NASCAR Round 23 - MICHIGAN, MI

Kev

Ove NASCAR Media

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motorsport news

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vin

NASCAR Media

er-11

At Michigan it was Kevin over the 11 car as Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick claimed a bold victory that guaranteed him a spot in the Chase.

I

ncumbency doesn’t guarantee success – something which Prime Minister Julia Gillard might discover this Saturday night. But when harnessed properly, the power of incumbency can be very hard to resist.

Take the example of Kevin Harvick. Sitting pretty

on top of the Sprint Cup points table, and looking set for another solid haul of championship points at Michigan as the Carfax 400 neared its end, there was no need for the Childress Racing Chevrolet driver to take any risks.

But Harvick did not take the safe option.

At the final restart, the strategy choices were clear: to fit or not to fit new tyres for the remaining 33 laps of the 3.2km Michigan Speedway.

Race leader Denny Hamlin opted to go for broke and stay out on old tyres, and Harvick chose to go with him. The points

leader then stalked the Joe Gibbs Toyota until finally, as Hamlin’s tyres started to fade with 10 laps remaining, Harvick was able to take Chevy Chase: With his win at Michigan, main, Kevin Harvick becomes the first driver to gain a Chase berth in 2010.

NASCAR Media

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NASCAR Media

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motorsport news

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TOYOTA Media

the lead on the high side through Turns 3 and 4.

“The biggest concern I had was the tyres,” Harvick said of the final restart. “Once we got through those first three or four or five laps, the new tyres kind of evened out. Our car was so good up on the top. We were a little off on the restarts, but what a great day. This hasn’t been the best track for us.

“It’s really been a great weekend all around and a great year, for that fact. It’s a lot of fun to come to the racetrack right now. Everybody is doing a great job of not only continuing to press but to put better things on the racetrack and put things together correctly and just do a great job at the shop.

“That’s really all you can ask for right now is to have a chance. You’re going to have the flat tyres, the miscues, stuff

happen. It’s just a matter of how you rebound. Today we didn’t have to do anything. We were able to take advantage of a really fast racecar and put it where it was supposed to be, and that’s in Victory Lane. So a good day.”

What made it even better was that it was also Harvick’s first win at the Michigan venue, but more importantly it was a result which makes him the first driver to secure a place in the all-important Chase that will determine the Sprint Cup champion at the end of the season.

Hamlin admitted later that the decision to stay out on the old tyres was a big gamble.

“We didn’t know whether the guys with four tyres were going to eat us up or not,” Hamlin said.

“I think five laps into that [run] when me, Harvick and Tony

started pulling away, I realised it was a three-car race for the win at that point.

“But really it just seemed like whoever could get their car up front was pretty strong. You lose one spot, next thing you know your car handles a little worse and you lose more. It’s a tough balance out there to try to get track position, but you got to have everything working right for you to get that track position. Once you get it, obviously the fastest car won [Sunday]. So it was at least good to see that.”

Monster Michigan: Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson lead them away at a restart on the monster 3.2km Michigan, main. Second placed Denny Hamlin inside David Reutteman, inset right.

Randy Newman and Joey Logano had words after this, inset left.

Results :: Carfax 400, Michigan, MI Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 FORD Media

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No. 29 11 99 16 17 14 42 56 19 20

Driver Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Carl Edwards Greg Biffle Matt Kenseth Tony Stewart Juan Montoya Martin Truex Jr. Elliott Sadler Joey Logano

Make Chevy Toyota Ford Ford Ford Chevy Chevy Toyota Ford Toyota

Team Childress Joe Gibbs Roush Fenway Roush Fenway Roush Fenway Stewart Haas Ganassi Waltrip Petty Motorsprot Joe Gibbs

Sponsor Qual.

Shell/Pennzoil 8 FedEx Express 33 Aflac 24 3M 6 Crown Royal 7 Office Depot/Old Spice 4 Target 5 NAPA Auto Parts 9 Henry Ford Museum 23 The Home Depot 27

Top 10 Points: Harvick 3210, Gordon 3025, Burton 2895, Kurt Busch 2892, Johnson 2882, Hamlin 2872, Kyle Busch 2866, Stewart 2865, Edwards 2821, Kenseth 2806, Biffle 2743, Martin 2641.

33

KNOXVILLE NATIONALS KNOXVILLE, IOWA

LAST LAP HERO

Shaffer shines late in the race to take out the 50th running of the Knoxville Nationals.

GEOFF ROUNDS reports

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motorsport news

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Daniel Beard

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Daniel Beard

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ENNSYLVANIA’S Tim Shaffer executed a history-making pass on the final lap of the world’s biggest and most prestigious Sprintcar race to win his first Goodyear Knoxville Nationals, defeating the defending champion Donny Schatz in the 50th running of the event.

In front of the biggest-ever crowd at Knoxville Raceway, Iowa – 28,000 spectators – Shaffer, in his 17th season of racing and 11th appearance at the Nationals, charged from seventh to win the 50-lap race and pocketed the sport’s biggest payout, US$150,000, and his first Nationals crown.

Long-time race leader Sammy Swindell’s wrecked his car on lap 47 when he blew his right rear tyre after leading the entire race, this allowed Schatz to inherit the lead briefly but Shaffer was pressing with three to go.

But Shaffer bolted out of a late restart and blew past four-time Knoxville Nationals champ Schatz, with Shane Stewart finishing third, Craig Dollansky from 24th to fourth, and Australian Kerry Madsen in fifth.

Madsen raced from his starting position of 11th and was the only Australian to finish, as Skip Jackson retired on lap 11 after starting 12th, and was eventually placed 23rd, while former Sydney resident Lynton Jeffrey finished 21st after starting in his first Nationals A-Main.

Shaffer, though, fulfilled a dream he had wished for as a boy.

“It’s incredible, it’s hard to explain,” Shaffer said.

“To be up here is a dream, this is just awesome, I never thought I’d come close enough to achieving this.

“The car kept coming in, and I watched Donny and Sammy mixing it

up and I just didn’t want to get tied up with them. When Sammy blew the tyre I was just scared I was going to get tied up with him. But being in second, it was like, wow, this is for real now. You’d better make something happen. ” Swindell was the story of much of the race, and was seeking his second Knoxville title and first in 27 years after starting on the front row with polesitter Brian Brown. After racing to the lead, Swindell opened up a sizeable gap over Schatz, who was giving chase until his charge ended when the race was stopped after 25 laps for the fiveminute fuel stop, where crews could tweak the cars, change tyres and add fuel in their run to the finish.

At the restart, Swindell re-established a healthy edge over Schatz who made another strong push for the lead with 15 laps left. Schatz did grab the lead for a split-second, but Swindell maintained the edge until Brown hit the wall with a blown tyre, with six left, this prompted another caution.

Then it was a race of two, so many thought, as Swindell and Schatz swapped the lead over the next few laps until Swindell’s night came to an end when his tyre exploded and he was sent end-to-end into the wall.

Schatz was then handed a golden shot at tying the record of five-straight Nationals titles that his team-mate Steve Kinser won from 1991-95. But with smoke coming from Schatz’s car in the dying moments, Shaffer slid under to race to the chequer and win, leaving Schatz to lament what could have been.

“I ran the hell out if it, I just ran it too hard,” Schatz said.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword.

We were racing with Sammy, and he blew a tyre and that gave us the lead.

motorsport news

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Daniel Beard

Hot Schatz: Donny Schatz, right, started near the front, but could only manage second for the night.

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Daniel Beard

But I hurt the motor at the same time.

It is what it is. But to come second here isn’t bad and we’ll be back again.”

For the record number of 12 Australians who competed at this year’s Knoxville Nationals, the final results were as follows – A-Main: Kerry Madsen (5th), Lynton Jeffrey (21st), Skip Jackson (23rd). B-Main: Ian Madsen (8th). C-Main: Trevor Green (18th), Max Dumesny (20th), Jamie Veal (21st), Brooke Tatnell (22nd). D-Main: Mitchell Dumesny (4th), Paul Jeffrey. E-Main: Domain Ramsay, Bruce White (9th).

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Justin Collins

Winton hosted its annual Festival of Speed last weekend, with a big turnout of historic machinery. Among them, Simon Gardiner braved the wet track on slicks to win the Groups Q & R Racing and F5000 class in his Lola T560.

QLD WINS STATE OF ORIGIN ... AGAIN THE return of State of Origin Wild Bunch racing highlighted the 2010 Nostalgia Nationals held at Willowbank Raceway on Saturday and Sunday.

Wild Bunch racing faded in the early ‘90s, when Top Doorslammer took over as the class for Supercharged Sedan racing. The New South Wales versus Queensland action saw a fierce battle between some of the older original racers, as well as quite a few new younger competitors joining the fold.

New South Wales captain Ben Gatt returned to

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Willowbank with his trusty XA Falcon Coupe, to lead the ‘Cockroach’ contingent in a very tight battle. Points were allocated for wins and losses throughout the three-round Chicago Shootout battle to determine the winning team.

Although Gatt led from the front and scored three races wins from three, it was not enough, as QLD took a twopoint win which came down to the last race of the three-round battle.

For the Queenslanders, captain Garth McIntyre took a solo win after a breakage by his NSW opponent. A final

Ken Ferguson

DRAG RACING

between the two racers with the most points accrued was held to determine the ‘Last Man Standing’, and it was Queenslander Tim Caswell, pictured, giving Gatt a touch up to rub salt into the wound.

A crowd-voted award for the Man of the Match went to QLD racer John Loy in his LX Torana, while Top Qualifier for the class went to NSW driver Frank Mamone, in his stunning ’67 Chevy Nova, with a best of 6.91 at 204mph.

Winners in the other classes on Sunday were Brian Trott in Nostalgia Outlaw, Andrew Wagstaff in Gas Eliminator, Kerry Boyde in Junior Fuel, Peter Duffy in Slingshot, Jeremy Boskovich in Hambster, Kevin Brown in Vintage Gas, Charles Cameron in Hot Rod, Andrew Milford in American Muscle, Brett McIlveen in Aussie Muscle, John Kreis in Classic Motorcycle, Shane Ball in Outlaw Bike and Andrew Dunett in Six Banger.

– KEN FERGUSON

motorsport news

race

Another win for Pye at Silverstone BRITISH FFORD THE gap at the head of the British Formula Ford Championship between Scott Malvern and Australian Scott Pye remains the same, after Rounds 13, 14 and 15 at Silverstone.

Malvern and Pye each scored a win, a second and a fourth-

place finish from the three races. As a result, Malvern leads by 38 points with 10 races remaining in the season.

While Pye didn’t get the jump from pole, he recovered to win the opening race by 2.498s over Malvern in a strong drive, his seventh victory of the season.

“I didn’t get the ideal start and

Scott had good pace early on, but I held on for the win, and to get it by such a big margin at the end was fantastic,” he said.

Pye had pole again in the second but ended up in the midst of a multi-car battle for the lead and eventually finished fourth, as Malvern took his first win since the opening weekend of the

season in April.

At the circuit his father Damon operates through the British Racing Drivers Club, Josh Hill took a comfortable victory in the final, leading home Pye by 4.804s. Emil Bernstorff was third, with Malvern fourth.

The championship continues at Snetterton in a fortnight.

Vergne wins BF3 Crump in the mix BRITISH F3 FRENCHMAN Jean-Eric Vergne has sealed the 2010 British Formula 3 Championship with two events remaining.

Vergne has been the dominant force all year, and wrapped up the title at Silverstone over the weekend.

The Red Bull junior, driving for

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Carlin Motorsport, was second in the opening race and third in the second, before securing up the title in a lights-to-flag victory in the weekend’s 40minute feature race.

After taking his first British F3 victory in Race 2, Adriano Buzaid was second in the final, ahead of Oli Webb and James Calado, who won the opening race.

AUSSIES OVERSEAS JASON Crump remains third in the FIM Speedway World Championships, following a second place finish in Sweeden on the weekend.

Crump took second in the FIM Scandanavian SGP final at Malilla behind Polish rider Rune Holta.

The win was Holta’s first

SGP victory since 2008 and he now sits fourth in the championship standings.

Third in the final and a strong haul of points from the preliminaries has given Tomasz Gollob the lead at the head of the standings with four events remaining.

The next round is the Croatian SGP at Gorican in a fortnight.

39

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motorsport news

rear of grid

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING A couple of extra highlights from the historic meeting at Winton last weekend. First up we have Dennis O’Brien having some troubles at the eNews Esses in his lumbering Ford Galexie, while there was a familiar face in action too – John Bowe in a gorgeous Brabham BT23.

Justin Collins

Odd Spot

Rob Lang

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