Motorsport eNews Issue 169 - August 24-30, 2010

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Issue No. 169 August 24-30 2010

WILL MURPH MISS THE 500?

BACK INJURY THREATENS TO KEEP MURPHY OUT OF THE CAR AT PHILLIP ISLAND

REVEALED

INDYCAR LOOKING FOR OZ RETURN – AND YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHERE! www.mnews.com.au

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

www.musclecarmasters.com.au

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.

To subscribe online www.chevron.com.au or E-mail subscribe@chevron.com.au

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

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Editorial Enquiries 357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, VIC, 3187 (PO Box 7072, Brighton, VIC, 3186) P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030 admin@mnews.com.au

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

Pirelli has started it’s Formula 1 testing for 2011 at Mugello in Italy. For more information check out www.gpweek.com

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

Advertising National Sales Manager (Melbourne): Oriana Ruffini: oriana@mnews.com.au P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030 Sydney Office Director, Advertising Sales: Jon Van Daal jvandaal@chevron.com.au Advertising Sales Manager: Joel Van Daal joelvandaal@chevron.com.au P: 02 9901 6100 Circulation Director: Carole Jones

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Issue No. 169 | August 24 - 30 2010

news 5

Back Wards Murph in doubt with injury 6 Slade Staying Put Young gun eyes ‘11 stability 10 Fostering young talent Nick Foster looks to F3 debut 16 5000 reasons to love TCM Torana SLR set for first race 18 Aston on hold Bailey sticks with Nissan

chat 20 Five Minutes With ...

Greg Murphy

comment 22 Adam: Mate’s Rates Slade: Hello Helio

race 30 IndyCar 34 NASCAR 38 Extras

trade 54 Classifieds

Dirk Klynsmith

motorsport news

news

INJURY COULD SIDELINE MURPH V8 SUPERCARS

G

REG Murphy could miss the L&H 500 at Phillip Island and is racing time to be fully fit for October’s Bathurst 1000.

The four-time Bathurst winner underwent back surgery on Sunday, after suffering a disc injury while on holiday with his family in Fiji last week.

After he returned to Melbourne, he collapsed at home, and immediately sought medical attention. His surgeon performed a procedure, to repair damage to the fifth Lumbar vertebra and release pressure on a nerve, on Sunday.

“The funny thing is that I did not do anything substantial to make it happen,” Murphy told eNews on Monday.

“I just got out of bed one morning and there was a lot of pain, and I could not stand up straight. I was walking funny and I had a lot of pain down one of my legs. It progressively got worse and by the time I got off the plane, when

I got back to Melbourne last week, I was almost unable to walk. That was not a good sign.”

Murphy was released from hospital on Monday and is working hard to ensure that his recovery is as swift as possible.

“The issue now is the recovery, to be able to get strength back into the leg. There was a nerve that was being pushed out of whack by a centimetre, so it was quite severe.”

The particular issue for Murphy is that the leg most affected by the back injury was his left, and that he is a left-foot braker.

This is not the first time that he has suffered from back problems. Seven years ago, Murph was forced to missed the final race of the V8 Supercar round at Eastern Creek, after tweaking his back while competing in the VB Challenge. He was forced to lie down to watch the race, but Marcos Ambrose’s win made sure that Murphy still managed to finish second in the championship.

For more, see 5 Minutes with Murph ... page 20

COULD THIS BE GAUNT’S LIFELINE? V8 SUPERCARS GREG Murphy’s injury could prove to be a godsend for his fellow Kiwi, Daniel Gaunt.

With all the other teams having their driving lineups confirmed for Phillip Island, the New Zealand rookie, who recently parted ways with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport, could be the man best-placed to step into the famous #51 Castrol Commodore at the Island.

One of the problems that Paul Morris Motorsport faces is that Murphy was entered alongside Tim Blanchard, and, while the rookie has been one of the standouts of the Fujitsu www.mnews.com.au

Series, making his debut in the V8 Supercar Championship Series is already a daunting enough challenge.

Allan Simonsen, who will race with Murphy at Bathurst, has a clashing GT commitment in Europe, while Yvan Muller, the team’s international driver, is not available for either endurance race for unspecified reasons.

With Paul Morris already entered in Russell Ingall’s SuperCheap Autos entry, there is a short, short-list of drivers available to the team. Recent experience and availability to drive, immediately, seem to be high on the list of priorities – and Gaunt fills both of those criteria.

Stability for Slade V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

TIM Slade’s future should be signed off by the end of the month, with little likely to change for the Wilson Security Racing driver.

Slade, in his second year of main game competition, currently drives a Stone Brothers Racing prepared FG Falcon, under a licence owned

by James Rosenberg, with support from Wilson Security.

And if he has his way, it’ll be the same set-up in 2011 as well.

“We’re heading towards that,

although nothing is signed off at the moment,” Salde told eNews.

“Hopefully we can have it all signed off by the end of the month, but nothing is done until it is done.

“I really hope it stays as it is. I couldn’t be happier with the team and the whole situation, so I’m really pushing to keep things as they are.”

Slade has enjoyed a standout year in 2010, and is currently 15th in the title standings, ahead of SBR stable mate Alex Davison.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Enduro line-up all but sorted V8 SUPERCARS KELLY Racing’s endurance line-up is now complete, with Dale Wood confirmed late last week as Todd Kelly’s teammate in Jack Daniel’s colours.

As exclusively predicted by eNews last week, Wood will join the elder Kelly at Phillip Island and Bathurst. He was once a full-time Kelly Racing driver, before being dumped from the squad mid-last year in favour of Mark McNally. He has also raced for KR in the enduros before, teaming up

with Jack Perkins last year, and currently works at the team in their graphics department.

“Dale has worked very hard over the last two years at Kelly Racing and we stick him in the car every opportunity we get at all our test days to give him a run and keep his eye in,” said Kelly.

“Since he has been out of the car full-time from the middle of last year, over the test days and miles he has done he has really come on in terms of his pace and he has shown a huge amount of maturity, which is

hard for a driver who is not in a full-time drive. His sensible approach and the way he goes about things at the test days has made him a pretty big standout to the team for quite a while, so to be able to get him back in a car for the enduros is a positive thing for us.”

Wood will be joined at KR

by Owen Kelly, who will share with Rick Kelly, Glenn Seton, who will share with Jason Bargwanna, and Taz Douglas, who will drive with Tony Ricciardello.

The Douglas drive is yet to be announced by the team, however since eNews exclusively revealed he would drive for the squad several weeks ago, he has been named on the official entry list for the L&H 500 at Phillip Island.

On other PI entry news, it seems Bundy Red Racing are no closer to officially naming Nick Percat as Andrew Thompson’s team-mate at The Island, with all of the HRT/BRR co-drivers listed as TBA. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

John Morris / Mpix

motorsport news

news

Will we see Will race at home?

INDYCAR INDYCAR is in discussions to return to Australia, to race in a round of its series.

Randy Bernard, the new CEO of the Indy Racing League, has told Motorsport eNews in an exclusive interview that he is in discussions with a promoter about a return to Australia.

Bernard mentioned that a possible contender for the race was Adelaide, but was very cautious not to reveal too much.

“I have been in discussions with a different promoter than the Surfers Paradise event,” Bernard told eNews.

“It will take some time. We’ve requested three locations be

considered for the IndyCar teams to return to Australia.

Everyone I talk to, the drivers, team members, and owners all loves the Australian event, the people, and want to return.”

When pressed further, Bernard admitted one location under discussion was Adelaide, which is still well-known in the USA as the former host city of the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. eNews sought a comment from the South Australian Motor Sport Board, but did not receive a reply.

Whatever does or does not happen, a couple of things are certain. No Australian event looks even vaguely possible

Sandown future announcement due V8 SUPERCARS THE long-term future of Sandown as a V8 Supercar venue is expected to be confirmed today, (Tuesday), with news that the circuit will continue to host events well into the next decade.

The Melbourne track will host the announcement, to be attended by Ford icons Allan Moffat and Dick Johnson, and their sons James and Steven.

V8 Supercars Australia CEO Martin Whitaker and www.mnews.com.au

Melbourne Racing Club Manager Wade Calderwood will also be present.

V8 Supercars’ long-term commitment to the Series’ continued appearance at the Springvale track has been contingent on substantial upgrades which, we believe, will be confirmed, along with several other aspects of the event.

This year’s Norton 360 Sandown Challenge will be Rounds 23 and 24 of the series, which will be held on November 19-21.

for 2011, as next year’s IndyCar calendar is in its final stages, if not completed. The other is that the sticking point for any deal will be money, as it is not a cheap exercise to get 24 IndyCars, drivers and teams half-way around the world.

“Compensation is the big issue because it is so expensive to travel that far,” Bernard said.

“Two 747s are needed just for the equipment. We have two very competitive Australian drivers in the series, Will Power and Ryan Briscoe.

Our costs are far less than F1.”

While he is a newcomer to motor racing, Barnard is not unfamiliar with the country.

As former CEO of Professional Bull Riding, he has overseen a competition that has competed in Australia, so the task of holding a round of its series in the southen hemisphere is not a daunting prospect, even to a motor racing ‘rookie’.

Bernard is not likely to make the trip to Surfers Paradise this October, to watch a number of his star drivers (including tearaway points leader Will Power) drive V8 Supercars on the Queensland streets. When quizzed by eNews, he indicated he’d love to go but his wife reminded him he’s only been home to Colorado three times since February.

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I’m on my way!

CARRERA CUP PORSCHE Cars Australia has ordered 22 cars from the factory for the return of Carrera Cup next year.

It’s expected the MY11model GT3 Cup Cars will arrive from Europe in late December or early January, ahead of the category’s comeback season.

“I’ve got 22 cars on order and I’d like to sell the lot; I don’t particularly need them in stock,” PCA’s Motorsport Manager Jamey Blaikie said.

“In the current environment most categories are struggling for numbers, so if I could field 18 to 20 cars in Year 1, I would be very happy. “ To date, Greg Murphy Racing, McElrea Racing, Sonic Motor Racing and Formula 3 outfit Team BRM among the teams

to express interest in running cars.

The series is aiming to lock in a seven-round season on the V8 Supercar program, Carrera Cup’s home between 2003 and 2008, with discussions underway.

“We’ve had some preliminary discussions, we just need to confirm what our final calendar is, what our events are, race formats and all of the finer details,” Blaikie said.

“But basically we’re going to run a seven-round championship at what we consider the best events available.”

For more on the return of Carrera Cup, check out the September edition of Motorsport News, out on Wednesday.

– MITCHELL ADAM

MWM SET FOR WILDCARD ANNOUNCEMENT V8 SUPERCARS MATTHEW White Motorsport will confirm their wildcard lineup in the coming days.

An entry list released by V8 Supercars Australia last week listed Andrew Fisher and

Ant Pedersen in the team’s BF Falcon, under the Jesus Racing banner. White remained tight-lipped on the subject when contacted by eNews on Monday, confirming that a lineup was in place but declining to name drivers ahead of an

announcement by the team.

“That was probably jumping the gun a little bit, it’s possibly not quite down that path,” White said of the entry list.

“It might not be what you expect.”

Fisher was set to race with

the Sieders Racing Team with his ‘Jesus All About Life’ backing before they withdrew their entry, while Kiwi Pedersen contested the opening three rounds of the Fujitsu Series with MWM. – MITCHELL ADAM

Webber shunt prompted HHF’s retirement?

V8 SUPERCARS

sutton-images.com

MARK Webber might be to blame for Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s decision not to race at the Gold Coast 600 in October.

The former Grand Prix winner was set to partner Tim Slade in the Wilson Security Racing entry at the invitational race, but last week announced his immediate – and comprehensive – retirement from motorsport. As a result, three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves will step in and partner Slade.

In an exclusive personal column with eNews, Slade

has revealed that Webber’s freak accident at this year’s European Grand Prix in Valencia, where he flipped after clipping another car, caused Frentzen to re-evaluate his racing plans.

“Heinz-Harald was keen to do it, but apparently after watching Mark Webber’s crash in Valencia, he sat down with his family and decided to retire from racing right there on the spot,” reads Slade’s column.

“Greg (Siddle, WSR’s point of contact with Frentzen) got a call early one morning, and that was that.”

For more with Tim Slade, head to page 23.

motorsport news

news NASCAR

Ambrose signs with RPM

Petty, winner of a staggering 200 NASCAR Cup races, was a happy man when he announced that Ambrose would race alongside AJ Allmendinger in the team, which is co-owned by the Gillett family.

“We are very happy to have Marcos Ambrose join our team,” said The King.

“He’s a very talented and passionate driver and will be a great addition to our team.”

“We knew once Marcos became available that we wanted him to be a part of the RPM family,” said Foster Gillett, managing partner and team owner.

“He’s a fan favourite and he’s proven to be a tough competitor on track.”

NASCAR Media

MARCOS Ambrose has confirmed motor racing’s worst-kept secret, and will join Richard Petty Motorsports from 2011 onwards.

The Tasmanian will return to racing Fords after a twoyear stint with Toyota, to race RPM’s #9 entry. Primary backing from Stanley Black & Decker, with other elements of the team’s sponsor package to be announced.

“I’m very excited to join Richard Petty Motorsports,” Ambrose said.

“It’s an incredible honor to be able to race for a legend like The King and be a part of this organisation. I’m also happy to be back with Ford Racing.”

Homebush in progress Marcos 0, bear 0 V8 SUPERCARS FORD is still working on getting Ambrose to Australia to race in the Sydney Telstra 500 – but he is a long way from being a confirmed on Homebush’s starting grid.

“A lot depends on the calendars, but we are still trying to get him here,” said Ford’s Racing boss, Chris Styring.

“We would have loved to have had him here, full-time, but that is not going to happen now. The intention is, to get him here, for this race, but it

depends on the calendar and on his own personal calendar.”

The team for which Ambrose is a contender is not Stone Brothers Racing, with which he won two V8 Supercar titles, but Ford Performance Racing. But Styring pointed out that his appearance in an FPR ‘Wildcard’ entry would depend on a number of things, including its priorities in trying to win a title with Mark Winterbottom, and sponsorship.

“FPR is trying to set-up something, and if he is free, he would obviously do it in a Ford, and not in a Holden.”

AMBROSE has had a close encounter – but not with another NASCAR driver, with a bear.

Ambrose and his friend David Gibbons were rafting in Pennsylvania, after the Pocono round of the Sprint Cup, when they came across the critter. He told the tale to USA Today: “As we were fishing and having a great time, unknowingly we were floating toward a big black bear that was doing the same thing we were doing — hanging out. All of the sudden, Outback Jack called out to me that there was

a big black bear in front of us — he was probably 4 feet tall on all fours, which means he was maybe 6 feet tall if he was standing.

“About that time, the bear lifted his head from drinking water and was staring us down only 60 feet away. The only thing we could think was, let’s get out of here!

“As we moved along past him, he followed along in the bushes. It was definitely something we’ll never forget.

We can laugh about it now, but at the time neither one of us was laughing.”

CARRERA CUP IS BACK

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s AS PCR CARRERA CUP TEAM MANAGER, WE HAVE RUN ALEX DAVISON, JONATHON WEBB, DAVID WALL, AARON CARATTI IN AUSTRALIAN CC

WE WELCOME ANY SERIOUS ENQUIRIES FOR THE 2011 AUSTRALIAN CARRERA CUP

CALL ANDY McELREA ON 0402 056 306 OR EMAIL andymcelrea1@bigpond.com

www.mnews.com.au

Dirk Klynsmith

BRIEFLY n Scott Pye has been awarded ‘Rising Star’ status by the British Racing Drivers Club.

The South Australian is currently second in the British Formula Ford Championship in his first season of international racing, and has won seven of 15 races contested. The man Pye is racing for the title, Scott Malvern, was also named as a BRDC Rising Star.

“It’s a fantastic honour and I’m going to do my best to live up to the accolade,” Pye said. n Australian fans of the World Rally Championship will have the chance to see Rally Sweden in the flesh in 2011.

RallySport Magazine is offering a unique tour to one of motorsport’s most bizarre – yet prestigious – events, with a five-night trip to northern Sweden. Check out www.rallysportmag. com.au for more details. n CAMS has postponed their inaugural CARnival from October until May 2011.

“CAMS is fully supportive of CARnival and much work has already gone into planning and organising the event,” CAMS’ Michael Smith said.

“It is unfortunate that we have had to make this decision but the overall level of interest is not what we require to ensure a successful event for the entrants, visitors into the region and the local community of Echuca-Moama.

“CAMS believe the CARnival format will be a success but that the timing of this inaugural event is better suited to May 2011.”

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FOSTER LOOKS TO FORMULA 3 FORMULA 3

GENUINE Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship driver Nick Foster is weighing up a hitout in Formula 3 next month.

Foster, who is currently third in the Formula Ford standings, is talking to teams about contesting Round 6 of the F3 season at Eastern Creek as a one-off. With three months between Formula Ford rounds at Townsville and Surfers Paradise, the F3 round would break up the midseason break for Foster.

“It’s on the cards, I wouldn’t mind doing it,” he said. “I’ve never driven a wings and slicks car before and we wouldn’t be going out there to win or anything, so we’re looking at doing it in an [older model] ’01 or ’04 at this stage.

“It’s a one-off thing, so we’re looking around to see what’s available.

“I think it’s a 14-week break, unless you’re doing testing; it’s a long time out of the car. I haven’t been in a car for almost two months, so it’d be good to do something.”

Foster’s plans for the 2011 season remain up in the air, with a number of possible paths infront of the 18-year-old.

“At the beginning of the year, I would’ve said that mid-year we’d have a better idea, but now it’s probably going to be the end of the year,” he said.

“Winning the championship this year is possible, but improbable, and there’s always the chance to come back and win it. But there’s also bigger and better things, you can go overseas or do the Fujitsu Series.

“There’s lots of things going down at the moment but there’s nothing set in stone.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

SIX-HOUR SERIES CONFIRMED PRODUCTION CARS THE 2010 Endurance Car Championship has been confirmed for 2011.

As first reported in eNews, four six-hour races will be conducted, for cars that have been eligible to compete in previous Bathurst 12 Hour events. The circuits that will host the events have contracted Motor Racing

Australia’s Brian Walden to coordinate the series.

“This is great news for Production Cars,” said Walden in a statement.

“It means competitors can build cars and have the ability to use them on multiple occasions throughout the year instead of just once a year.”

The series will kick off at Phillip Island on April 1-3,

followed by day/night events are Winton Motor Raceway (June 3-5) and Queensland Raceway (August 5-7). Eastern Creek will bring the series to a close on September 30October 2.

SBS’s Speedweek and FoxSport’s Inside Speed will air highlights packages of the races, and cars without dry break fuel systems will also be able to compete. motorsport news

news

JAX JOINS ‘THE CHRIS’ MINI CHALLENGE JAX Quickfit Tyres has upped their involvement in Australian motorsport, signing on to back Chris Alajajian in the remainder of the Hertz MINI Challenge.

The series leader will run a new JAX livery for the remaining three rounds of the year, starting at Phillip Island next month. The tyre and wheel retailer joined Australian motorsport this year through sponsorship of new franchisee Cameron McConville’s racing in the Fujitsu Series with Walkinshaw Racing and Main Game drive at Townsville with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.

“The Artarmon JAX franchise is just down the road from our family business, (crash repairer Jack Hillermans) so we’ve been using them a lot through work and we’ve built up a good relationship,” Alalajian said.

“They came to a couple of rounds last year and enjoyed it, so we spoke to them about sponsorship and it went through the head office who were supportive as well.

“Hopefully we can be a good representative for them in a different category.”

In other MINI news, Melbourne driver Cary Murphy will make his debut in the series at Phillip Island. Murphy, a former karter, will join McElrea Racing.

– MITCHELL ADAM

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11

FORMULA 1 MICHAEL Schumacher heads to his favourite racetrack in the world, Spa-Francorchamps, with an unusual aim – to “make the best” of the weekend.

The seven-time World champion goes to Belgium with a 10-place grid slot penalty but is determined to do his best under the difficult circumstances. Schumacher, 41, earned the penalty after swerving his Mercedes at the Williams of former team-mate Rubens Barrichello at Hungary.

“Spa has always been my favourite race track

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and so for that reason alone, I am really looking forward to going back and racing there,” said Schumacher. “It has been ages since I have last been there.

“Our weekend will obviously be handicapped by my grid penalty and consequently it will be difficult to expect special things from the race.

“On the other hand, every racing kilometre is important and welcome because we can learn from it with regards to our car. I will definitely try to make the best out of the weekend.”

Schumacher made his GP debut at Spa in 1991, above, and scored his first win and five others at the track.

... so is Yamamoto

sutton-images.com

Schumacher is Keeping it Real

FORMULA 1 SAKON Yamamoto will stay with the Hibernia team for Spa. The well-financed Japanese driver will partner Bruno Senna in Belgium, where he raced in 2007 with Spyker. This will be Yamamoto’s fourth appearance with the team, after making his debut with HRT in Britain in July.

For full F1/ MotoGP/WRC coverage/news, CLICK HERE to get to motorsport news GPWEEK magazine - www.gpweek.com

NICK OFF!

[TO TEST FOR PIRELLI] ages.com sutton-im

FORMULA 1

sutton-images.com

NICK Heidfeld has lost one job and gained another.

The German has given up his role with Mercedes GP, for which he never actually drove even in a test, to join Pirelli as its official test driver. The veteran of 167 GP starts will use one of Toyota’s TF109 to test the tyres all the teams will use. Last year’s F1 car was chosen as it has all the relevant technology and performance characteristics (which were substantially

changes at the start of last season) but with no disadvantage to any team, as Toyota is no longer in the sport.

“First of all I would like to thank Ross Brawn, Norbert Haug and Nick Fry for allowing me the opportunity to become Pirelli’s official test driver,” Heidfeld, 32, said. “The team has always said that they would not stand in my way if such a chance arose and they have kindly allowed me to take up this exciting new role.

“I would like to thank everyone at Mercedes GP Petronas for the great cooperation that we have had this year.

I have greatly enjoyed supporting the team in my position as Reserve Driver and have felt welcome right from the outset.

“It was impressive to have the opportunity to work with the current World Champions and I wish the team all the best for the remainder of the season and beyond.”

Renault gets its ducts in a row FORMULA 1 RENAULT is expected to debut its own version of the F-duct at Spa this weekend.

The French-owned team, which has been one of the surprise packets of the first half of the season, is ready to track test its version of the rear wing-stalling device, which increases top speeds, in Belgium.

“We should have that [the F-duct] available in Spa,” said Renault’s technical director James Allison in the team’s postwww.mnews.com.au

Hungary podcast.

“Clearly, we’ve seen team after team bring it and noticed the step up in their fortunes once they’ve got it working.

“We’ve also seen though that it isn’t necessarily as easy as falling out of bed to make it work so we’ll have our work cut out in Spa to make sure that we get it working from the off.

“It was very clear from the moment we saw the McLaren in pre-season what they’d done. It was also very clear that it

wouldn’t be trivial to emulate it.

“I think it took most teams three or four races before they had their first versions of it and some teams longer still.”

The aerodynamic tweak was debuted in pre-season testing by McLaren, and set off a scramble in pitlane to get on top of the technology. Ferrari and BMW.Sauber quickly followed suit, and to date, Red Bull Racing, Williams, Mercedes GP and Force India have all raced their cars with their own particular versions of the aero feature.

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NASCAR media

Countdown to the Chase NASCAR

J

On the other hand, Hendrick’s star driver Jimmie Johnson is back in ninth place and Kurt Busch is 10th but both former Champions are well-known for their cool heads when the going gets hot.

TOYOTA media

EFF Gordon joined Kevin Harvick in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup at Bristol – but the race is on for the other 10 spots.

Currently, the top 12 drivers are separated from the next driver by 100 points, and the 13th-placed Jamie McMurray will need to continue his redhot form into the last two races of the ‘regular’ season, at Atlanta and Richmond.

Clint Bowyer’s third place in Bristol may be the result that secures his place in the top 12, while Kyle Busch’s win has marked him as one of the drivers who will go into the Chase full of running.

The drivers who will need some luck

are Mark Martin, who led the drivers into the 2009 Chase, in 14th, ahead of Ryan Newman. They are within 120 points of Bowyer, and any other driver would appear to need a miracle to make it in to NASCAR’s ‘Playoffs’.

Vickers back for 2011 NASCAR

B

RIAN Vickers has been cleared by his doctors to race in 2011.

The former Red Bull driver has said that he is confident of returning to the sport, after July heart surgery recently to stop his numerous blood clots.

“They gave me full clearance for next year,” the 26-year-old driver said at Bristol Motor Speedway. “I will be back next season racing in January. I’m really excited about that. I had two issues I never knew about fixed. It’s a bit of 14

fresh air for me to really kind of know part of what caused this.”

Although his doctor has cleared him to race in February, there is no guarantee NASCAR’s doctors will do the same or that Red Bull Racing will take him back. Currently Kasey Kahne is signed with the team for one year, but Scott Speed is looking doubtful for 2011 and Mattias Ekstrom is rumoured to be driving the number 83 that Vickers would normally pilot at Richmond on September 11. So nothing can be guaranteed for Kahne at this point.

– MARTIN D CLARK motorsport news

Two up to return INDYCAR

T

NASCAR media

HE novelty of the double header, two separate races on the same night, returns to IndyCars in 2011.

Texas Motor Speedway will host two 275km (114 laps each) events two weeks after the Indy 500.

Since the inception of Indy car double headers in 1967, there were 17 double headers sanctioned by USAC and then CART through 1981, with the same driver sweeping both races ten times.

Bobby Unser, Al Unser Sr, Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Johnny Rutherford, and Rick Mears, succeeded with Al Unser Sr. winning the most double headers, three.

“It’s two completely different races, which is exciting for the drivers and fans,” Bobby Unser said, who won the first twin race event. “It was like a trophy dash; just run like heck for however many miles it was and then come in and redo the car.”

The ‘Firestone Texas Two-Step’ will be the first double header for the IndyCar series. Each twin race will award one-half the finishing points of a standard IndyCar Series event, with the combined points adding up to one full race point total.

– MARY MENDEZ

Harvick’s best Bud NASCAR T’S official; iconic American beer Budweisier will back Kevin Harvick next season.

Last week Budweiser made the announcement that it will depart Richard Petty Motorsports and driver Kasey Kahne at the end of 2010 to sponsor Harvick at the resurging Richard Childress Racing. However Budweiser will only back Harvick for 20 of the 36 points races, plus the All Star and Bud Shoot Out races, so the extent

of the backing has diminished.

Budweiser was taken over by Belgium brewer InBev in 2009, but the company will carry out more at-track promoting of the product.

– MARTIN D CLARK

Cosworth set for Indy comeback INDYCAR

C

NASCAR media

www.mnews.com.au

NASCAR media

I

OSWORTH could build an IndyCar engine to take on Honda.

The company, which is still owned by Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, is prepared to develop an Indy car engine to compete with Honda. That engine could be a V6 or four-cylinder in line powerplant that could be badged by another company.

When both Chevy and Toyota struggled to compete with Honda in 2005, mid-season Cosworth supplied engines that were badged Chevy. The cost to a company would likely run

between US$4-6million for the design and building of the engine by the very capable Cosworth, which has a long history back to the 1970s of supplying Indy car engines.

Randy Bernard, IRL’s CEO, and Gil de Ferran, as the team owner representative, will be traveling to Europe to meet with engine manufacturers hoping to entice their involvement as an engine supplier for 2012 and beyond. Currently, Honda is the sole announced supplier with a V-6 and prepared to supply the entire field if necessary.

– MARY MENDEZ 15

Javelin not ready to land TCM JIM Richards’ new AMC Javelin is at least another race meeting away.

Richards confirmed that the car, pictured, won’t be ready in time to make its debut in Round 4 of the Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn at Eastern Creek’s Muscle Car Masters on Fathers’ Day.

Instead, Richards will stick with his Falcon Sprint for the event, and possibly even the remainder of the season.

Richards leads the TCM standings ahead of Gavin Bullas and John Bowe.

“The timeframe for the Javelin is whenever it’s ready. We want it right,” he said.

“The Falcon is going well, so there’s no reason to interrupt that. So, even if it’s not ready

until the last meeting of the season, we’ll be quite happy.

“There’s been no delays, it’s just the time needed to do it. There’s only one and a half guys working on it; Bruce and me - I’m the half. Everything takes time because we get, for example, one part of the front suspension that needs machining and of course that holds up the rest of it. It all just takes time.

“It’s been longer than we anticipated really, but probably secretly we thought that it would take about this long.

“If it had have been ready, we would have liked to have put Steven in one of the cars for Muscle Car Masters as long as his contract with FPR allowed and he could have driven one of them. Next year, we probably will, depending on what happens.”

it. As a young fella, that was one of the first Bathursts that really enthralled me. That’s what really hooked me on motorsport, that number seven Torana.

“Having Les (Small) build it, who built the original cars in their day, just makes it that much sweeter.”

The car will be number 50 – 05 backwards.

Formula SLR5000!

TCM

THE Touring Car Masters’ extended eligibility will be used for the first time at the Muscle Car Masters, with a 1974 Torana SLR 5000 joining the field.

Tony Edwards will switch from his HQ and debut the car at Eastern Creek of September 3-5, with Les Small having put it together.

“The SLR is an Australian 16

racing icon,” said Edwards.

“The HQ, even though it did race on the odd occasion, it wasn’t a staple of the Touring Car Championship; but the SLR started that Torana era that was so successful.

“Bob Morris and obviously Peter Brock are inspirations, especially Bob Morris when they won Bathurst with a busted diff, not knowing for the last two or three laps if the car was going to make

motorsport news

WHINCUP: TIME TO PERFORM

JAMIE REVEALS TO MOTORSPORT NEWS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE SECOND – NOT FIRST – IN THE CHASE FOR THE TITLE PLUS: UNIQUE FORMULA 1 MID-SEASON REVIEW, WE DRIVE A FORMULA 5000 IN NEW ZEALAND, V8’S HOTTEST ROOKIE JONO WEBB, CLASSIC FLASHBACK TO PHILLIP ISLAND, BEHIND THE SCENES AT GREG MURPHY RACING AND MUCH, MUCH MORE

No. 399 September

Australia $7.95

2010

NZ $8.50 inc GST

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17

Baily to finish 2010 in Nissan SPORTS SEDANS

James Smith

KERRY Baily will stick with his Nissan 300ZX for remaining two rounds of the Kerrick Sports Sedan Series.

The five-time Champ had planned to debut his new Aston Martin in the next round of the series at Eastern Creek on September 11-12, but his heavy crash in the opening race at Mallala in May threw a spanner in the works.

With extensive damage

done to the 300XZ, the car was only just finished in time for last weekend’s round at Morgan Park, where Baily finished second. The work, though, has delayed the build of the Aston Martin, which will now make its debut in 2011.

“Repairing the Nissan consumed us for two and a half months, we only just had it ready in time for Morgan Park. It was a huge job to repair the car, but it’s a better car now,” he said.

“It stuffed everything up and pushed the Aston back a couple of months, so it’ll have to [debut] next year now.

“It’s pointless worrying about it now for this year, but it’ll be

ready for the start of 2011.”

Baily is currently third in the standings, just six points behind joint-leaders Darren Hossack and James Sera.

– MITCHELL ADAM

New head for karting body KARTING THERE is a new-look National Executive of the Australian Karting Association following the AGM held in Queensland at the weekend.

After holding the National Vice-President position since 2007, New South Wales’ Simon Whiting was voted in as the new National President with Victorian David Murray as the new National Vice-President.

SPEEDWAY

18

“I believe we are entering a new era of karting and I look forward to leading the Association into these exciting times. “ The new President also announced some growth to the sport’s re-born CIK series: “It is evident that the CIK Stars of Karting Series has been embraced by the karting community and has provided the Association with a series that everyone involved in the

sport can be proud of. Next year we will be expanding this into a five-round series.”

Whiting and Murray are joined on the National Executive by Max Laybutt and Pam Arnett who retained their positions as National Treasurer and Secretary respectively.

Laybutt, one of the founding members of karting in Australia during the early 60s, was awarded Life Membership of the Association.

Saldana to move into third and, one lap later, he dove under Steve Kinser to take the second .

He only had to pass Kinser’s son Kraig who had led every lap until Lap 26, when Dollansky took the lead, until the caution flag flew with three laps to go as Kraig Kinser suffered a flat tyre. At the restart, Dollansky went high on the track and, despite a puncture, was able to hold off a strong challenge to win from Sides, Donny Schatz and points leader Joey Saldana.

“Those last couple of laps I was just trying to hang on,” Dollansky said as he was handed the US$10,000 winner’s cheque.

– GEOFF ROUNDS

Dollansky’s Magic

Daniel Beard

INITIALLY, nothing seemed to be going right for Craig Dollansky during the Magic City Showdown in North Dakota but he would overcome all dramas to post his third feature in the World of Outlaws.

Having already written off his other car in Friday night’s prelude, Dollansky was docked two starting positions for the feature and had a tangle on the formation lap.

Dollansky chased hard for much of the race and lined up fifth on a double file restart with six laps to go, then shot around Jason Sides and Joey

Whiting first became involved in the sport in 1987 and over the past 20 years has held various positions within the Association, including several years on the New South Wales Executive.

“I’ve seen a lot of things throughout my time in the sport, some good, some bad, but overall it is a great sport and provides so much enjoyment for so many people,” said Whiting.

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Five Minutes with ...

GREG MURPHY

The multiple Bathurst 1000 winner is at home, recovering from back surgery over the weekend. PHIL BRANAGAN thought it was a good idea to try to cheer Murph up ...

MOTORSPORT NEWS: So Murph, how are you filling in your time during the midseason break?

GREG MURPHY: The first three weeks were normal – I was just carrying on as normal. I had a busy time; a trip to New Zealand and sponsor commitments – all the usual stuff.

Then I took the family off to Fiji for a few days, which was nice.

How did you slip a disc?

Don’t know! The funny thing is that I did not do anything substantial to make it happen. I just got out of bed one morning and there was a lot of pain, and I could not stand up straight. I was walking funny and I had a lot of pain down one of my legs. It progressively got worse and by the time I got off the plane, when I got back to Melbourne last week, I was almost unable to walk. That was not a good sign.

I went to see my osteopath on Thursday but he was not able to do much. It was too inflamed. I was supposed to be going to New Zealand on Friday morning, to do a Ride Day over there, but when I came downstairs, to go to the airport, she gave way. That was it; I ended up on the floor, so we called an ambulance and it was off to hospital.

It was a bit worrying at that stage, to be honest. But I got in to see a very good surgeon on Saturday and went under the knife yesterday lunchtime. He discharged me this morning, so it has been a fairly interesting last few days.

The issue now is the recovery – to be able to get strength back into the leg.

There was a nerve that was being pushed

Phil Williams

It’s very relaxing there in Fiji, isn’t it?

It was. Then it became even more relaxing for me.

On the third day we were there, I slipped a disc and that was pretty much the end of me for the rest of the time I was there. out of whack by a centimetre, so it was quite severe.

So what has been diagnosed?

Basically a bulging disc, L5 in the lumbar area. It has pushed the disc between the vertebrae and it has put a lot of pressure on a nerve. That caused a fair bit of pain, and it was making the left leg difficult to operate.

A ‘slupped dusc’ is a terrible injury for a racing driver but it is particularly difficult for a New Zealand racing driver.

Yes, it is. That must be hard for everyone else to understand.

So, what is the prognosis from here? All jokes asides, this is a serious injury.

It is. I have had niggling issues for a while.

Back in 2003, I don’t know whether you remember, at Eastern Creek, I actually pulled out of the last race of the championship that year. I had pulled the handbrake on doing a promotional burnout at lunchtime on Sunday and did my back in. I missed that last race, the infamous Mark Skaife-Russell Ingall punchup. That actually, thanks to those two, cemented my second place in the championship. Heh heh!

That was pretty bad, and I have had some niggling things from there, but I have always been able to manage it. So maybe, for some reason, it decided to give up the ghost last week.

So what is your understanding about your health for Phillip Island?

Nothing is confirmed. I cannot say anything about Phillip Island – it is all down to how quickly I can recover.

I have to get strength back in my leg, and the nerve has to repair fully, to be fully operational.

It has been a year to forget and this just adds to the pain.

Hopefully, I will be OK. I will not come back until I am 100 percent fit, because the chances of doing to more damage are far too high. I do not want to take a punt, so I am just taking it day by day.

It could have been worse. You are 37, so you can recover from this. If you were 38, it would have been a real problem.

[Note: Monday was Murphy’s 38th birthday].

[Laughs]. You cheeky [inaudible].

Lucky I had that operation yesterday, eh?

“THE ISSUE IS NOW THE RECOVERY, TO BE ABLE TO GET STRENGTH BACK INTO THE LEG” Murph plots his recovery 20

motorsport news

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

21

V8S AT MATE’S RATES

D

IGITAL TV has and is shaping the way you watch motorsport, and it’s only going to get bigger.

After all, it was only a couple of years ago that we had to wait until the end of the Sunday night movie – or reality TV abomination – to watch a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Now, it’s live on OneHD, complete with a pre-race show and mid-week replay.

Each Australian network now has at least one additional channel, and Channel Seven announced last week that it’ll introduce another one next month; 7mate.

It’s aimed at males in the 1649 age bracket, and I think it could and should become a part of V8 Supercars’ television package.

I’m not talking about the races; they’ll stay on the

primary channel due to a number of factors. For starters, it would need a change to Australia’s anti-siphoning laws – which outline which sporting events have to be available on analogue free-to-air TV. And while digital update is increasing and ratings are heading up as networks improve their product, V8 Supercar races on a digital channel would probably still be interpreted as a backwards step. It’s probably at least another TV deal away.

But that doesn’t mean V8 Supercars can’t have a presence on 7maate. Other than the live race telecasts, why not move everything else there?

We’ve already seen a number of entities take advantage of the digital channels. The Australian Rally Championship, ANDRA Pro Series, Australian Superbike Championship and

OPINION Mitchell Adam – National Editor

Australian GT bring plenty of local motorsport content to OneHD, in pretty good timeslots, while Formula Ford is making their dollars go further on 7TWO this year.

As it stands, V8Xtra and the majority of the support telecasts are in no-mans land, early on a Saturday afternoon.

Other than sporting telecasts, Saturday and Sunday days are generally dead time. The ratings are minimal and to show how highly Channel 7 values the territory, King of the Hill (yes, it’s still on TV) followed the Fujitsu Series Townsville show on Saturday.

On the flipside, if V8SA

and Channel 7 got together, programming like V8Xtra could end up in a primetime slot on 7maaate, exposed by a larger audience. V8 Supercars are a good fit with 7maaaate’s target audience, and shows like Thursday Night Live (OneHD), The World Game (SBS2) have paved the way for weekly, primetime sports panel shows on the digital channels.

It’d never happen on the primary channel, but I think V8Xtra at, say, 8:30pm on a Tuesday or Wednesday on 7maaaaate night could get up and work.

They could even become really good mates.

Dirk Klynsmith

22

motorsport news

comment Dirk Klynsmith

OPINION Tim Slade – V8 Supercar driver

FROM HEINZ TO HELIO

T

HE whole Heinz-Harald Frentzen deal originally started with Jack Perkins.

Jack has a good relationship with Greg Siddle, and I’ve got to know Greg pretty well through some driver training work I’ve done for him. He’s mates with Heinz-Harald from when he was working overseas, so he teed that up.

Heinz-Harald was keen to do it, but apparently after watching Mark Webber’s crash in Valencia, he sat down with his family and decided to retire from racing right there on the spot. Greg got a call early one morning, and that was that.

We put a list of replacements together and started making calls, and there were plenty of guys who would have

www.mnews.com.au

loved to have done it, but couldn’t due to availability or contracts. Then Crusher (Gold Coast event PR man Brett Murray) suggested Helio Castroneves, and it all came together really well.

How well Helio will adapt to V8 Supercars is a complete unknown, as it is with the majority of the internationals coming out for the event. Time will tell, although most of the guys are at the top of their game, and they’ll be able to jump in anything and do the job. And that job won’t be setting the world on fire, it will be getting out there, getting comfortable, be close to the money, and bring the car home in one piece.

In a way the test day at Queensland Raceway will be important – however there is a big difference between Queensland Raceway and the track at

the Gold Coast. Even if these guys get their head around QR, they’ll have to work hard at doing the same at the event itself.

The one advantage that the IndyCar guys like Helio have is that they know the circuit already, in terms of the layout. Little things like distance between corners, kerbs and where the walls are make a big difference. But at the end of the day, if you hit a wall at Queensland Raceway something has gone seriously wrong, but the Gold Coast is a completely different story.

There should be a lot I can learn from Helio, and that’s an aspect I’m really looking forward to. He’s also a big personality, so there’s plenty to learn from him from him in that respect as will.

It will be very interesting, that’s for sure.

23

CLASS OF 2010

24

motorsport news

The first official entry list for the opening endurance race of the 2010 season, the L&H 500 at Phillip Island, has been revealed.

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN looks at who’s been signed, and how they will go

www.mnews.com.au

25

TEAMVODAFONE #1 – Jamie Whincup/Steve Owen #888 – Craig Lowndes/Mark Skaife When the new co-driver rules came in for 2010, Steve Owen basically became the number one draft pick – and car number one is where he will be. People will question whether he’s got too much to prove, but my feeling is that he’ll know his job and he’ll do it just fine. As for Mark Skaife, he proved at Bathurst last year he can still get the job done, although the experience that he and Lowndes share will not benefit them as much at Phillip Island as it will at Bathurst.

HRT/WALKINSHAW RACING #2 – Garth Tander/Cam McConville #22 – Will Davison/David Reynolds #10 – Andrew Thompson/Nick Percat #24 – Fabian Coulthard/Craig Baird According to the official entry list, all of HRT and BRR’s co-drivers are TBAs. Still, this will be the line-up, the only real question mark being on Nick Percat, who still isn’t officially in the squad. He’ll race, though, and it will be a good way for him to debut in the main series. HRT has had a terrible year, but partnerships like Tander/McConville and Davison/Reynolds could see them come good in these races. A very solid line-up, which will be bolstered by Ryan Briscoe from Bathurst onwards.

TRIPLE F RACING #12 – Dean Fiore/Michael Patrizi As a WA-based team, it makes sense to have an all-Perth lineup for Team Fiore. And, with Garth Tander already spoken for, Patrizi was Dean’s best bet. Despite having an odd reputation, Patrizi can drive quite quickly at times, so not a bad choice from TFR in the scheme of things.

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motorsport news

FORD PERFORMANCE RACING #5 – Mark Winterbottom/Luke Youlden #6 – Steve Richards/James Moffat #55 – Paul Dumbrell/Dean Canto Man, I would have loved to have seen Frosty and Moffat together in these races. It would have been risky, but you need to roll the dice sometimes. And Moffat could well prove quicker than Youlden. Again, safety has ruled, and FPR have three solid entries here.

CENTAUR RACING #3 – Tony D’Alberto/Shane Price Two solid young drivers, who will get a solid result by finishing the race. However, the line-up lacks the X-Factor that would seem the actually contest a podium finish, not just have it fall their way. Still, good choice by D’Alberto to nab Price; he would have been on plenty of team’s wish lists.

BRAD JONES RACING #8 – Jason Richards/Andrew Jones #14 – Jason Bright/Matt Halliday #21 – Karl Reindler/David Wall This team could have had a real impact in this race with the right co-drivers. But I’m not sure Jones and Halliday are up to the job of helping either #8 or #14 find the podium at Phillip Island. In the scheme of car #21, David Wall was an excellent choice, and he’ll push Reindler along a little bit.

MATTHEW WHITE MOTORSPORT #27 – Ant Pederson/Andrew Fisher With Seiders Racing pulling out of the wildcard events, this entry will now become Jesus Racing. Pederson seems to have some real go in him, but realistically, Fisher isn’t up to doing anything except trying to keep out of people’s way, and get a Top 25 if there are enough retirements. www.mnews.com.au

27

KELLY RACING #7 – Todd Kelly/Dale Wood #11 – Jason Bargwanna/Glenn Seton #15 – Rick Kelly/Owen Kelly #16 – Tony Ricciardello/Taz Douglas For a team who would have been in a position to win these races with the right people, there isn’t a single stand-out co-driver at KR. Either The Kellys were caught napping when it came to signing drivers, or they know something about Dale Wood that he’s never shown in his main game starts before. I don’t know that he’s up to the job in a lead car, but I like Dale, so if he proves me wrong I’ll be as happy as someone who’s just been proven wrong can be. O Kelly has never really impressed on the big stage, while Seton will be fine, and car #16 will be looking to stay well out of trouble.

STONE BROTHERS RACING #4 – Alex Davison/David Brabham #9 – Shane van Gisbergen/John McIntyre #47 – Tim Slade/Jack Perkins A safe, rather than inspiring, list of codrivers here. David Brabham will do an okay job, and Alex will have to be careful he doesn’t get out-performed. Although, he does have a habit of shining come enduro time. I’d love to see someone slightly quicker with van Gisbergen, although J-Mac always does a pretty solid job when he’s in Australia. You can put Slade/Perkins in a similar group to #3 – will get a result because they’ll be there at the end.

PAUL MORRIS MOTORSPORT #39 – Russell Ingall/Paul Morris #51 – Greg Murphy/Tim Blanchard With Greg Muprhy’s injury problems (see news pages), this could all change, but for the sake of it let’s say he’ll race at PI; Tim Blanchard is a good fit. He’s young, quick, and will be able to learn a ton from Murph. They won’t win, but Blanchard won’t embarrass himself at The Island. As for Paul Morris, well, I can’t see him helping Ingall win either of the enduros.

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motorsport news

GARRY ROGERS MOTORSPORT #33 – Lee Holdsworth/David Besnard #34 – Michael Caruso/Greg Ritter GRM’s co-driver choices rate up there with T8, Walkinshaws and DJR. Both Bezzy and Ritter are brilliant at PI and Bathurst, and if car #33 won either of the races it wouldn’t be a surprise at all.

Well played, GRM. Your reward may well be coming in three weeks ...

DICK JOHNSON RACING #17 – Steven Johnson/Marcus Marshall #18 – James Courtney/Warren Luff #19 – Jono Webb/Dave Russell DJR have done a great job with co-drivers here.

Marshall and Luff are both proven, capable performers without a really weak link. As for Dave Russell, he hasn’t raced in the main game at Bathurst for donkey’s years, but he’s a perfect fit with Webb, and should help V8’s #1 rookie continue his impressive debut season.

LUCAS DUMBRELL MOTORSPORT #30 – Nathan Pretty/Mark Noske Noske is a guy who drives twice a year, and rarely puts a foot wrong. When he was signed for the enduros, I thought it was a great move for LDM, but back then he was going to be sharing with Daniel Gaunt. Now it’s Nathan Pretty, and with the co-driver rules pretty much locking a fulltimer into every car, this will be a lone entry with two enduro-only drivers that isn’t a wildcard.

GREG MURPHY RACING #44 – Geoff Emery/TBA There’s still no clue on who will share with Geoff Emery at the endurance races in the GMR wildcard, so it’s hard to comment on driver line-up at the moment. Emery won’t look totally out of his depth. It’s just a shame for the team that their regular driver, Steve Owen, has some other stuff on ... www.mnews.com.au

29

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES Round 13 - SONOMA, CA

Pow

HONDA RACING Media

30

motorsport news

race

werful Weekend

If revenge is a dish best served cold, Will Power was as cold as ice in the California Wine Country, where he dominated for the entire weekend.

A

www.mnews.com.au

watched his team-mate Scott Dixon pass him for second. The former champion made good use of the softer option tyre and a late-race yellow, and soon pressured Power but the Aussie had the measure of the Ganassi car, and consolidated a lead into a 0.7s win.

“It’s unreal What a perfect weekend,” Power said.

“I just have to thank the Verizon guys and Roger [Penske] and Tim [Cindric] for giving me this opportunity To

HONDA RACING Media

year after a back-breaking accident put him out of the 2010 IndyCar Series, the Queenslander was in untouchable form at Infineon Raceway. He steered his Penske Dallara Honda to pole position and controlled the race all day, to score his fifth win in the last road race of the season.

It was a masterful display Late in the race Power led Dario Franchitti but soon, the Scot (on the harder black tyres)

Cap here

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come back and win it from the pole is just fantastic I’ve said it all season, I wanted to come back here and win this race.”

Franchitti retained third place ahead of Ryan Briscoe, who had a strong race until both Ganassi cars came out of the final pit cycle ahead of him Helio Castroneves, who was Power’s only challenger in qualifying, was fifth.

Dreyer & Reinbold’s Justin Wilson won the ‘class’ for the non-Penske of Ganassi cars in sixth, from the Andretti Autosport pair of Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

The SoCal circuit saw its share of incidents, the biggest of which came even before the start of the race. As drivers jockeyed for their starting

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positions, Dan Wheldon’s car rolled after its wheels struck those of another car The Panther Racing driver emerged unhurt from the rather bizarre incident.

Alex Tagliani again showed speed, qualifying on Row 2 before he went on to a 14th place finish. He had run a steady fourth until his Fazzt entry punctured a tyre.

The win moves Power 59 points – more than one whole race – clear of Franchitti, with Dixon a further 36 behind.

With the remaining four rounds all on ovals, the red drivers might be confident of closing the gap – though Power was Franchitti’s biggest challenger at Indianapolis.

A fascinating end to the championship beckons ...

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Results :: Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Sonoma, CA

HONDA RACING Media

Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10

No. 12 9 10 6 3 22 11 37 19

Driver Will Power Scott Dixon Dario Franchitti Ryan Briscoe Helio Castroneves Justin Wilson Tony Kanaan Ryan Hunter-Reay Alex Lloyd

Nationality Aus NZ GB Aus Br GB Br USA GB

Team Penske Ganassi Ganassi Penske Penske Dreyer & Reinbold Andretti Newman/Haas Dale Coyne

Split 75 laps +0.7432s +6.6132s +7.8607s +10.4594s +10.9095s +11.5246s +17.5019s +18.2069s

Qual.

1 6 3 5 2 7 9 8 22

Top 10 Points: Will Power 514, Dario Franchitti 455, Scott Dixon 419, Ryan Briscoe 384, Helio Castroneves 370, Ryan Hunter-Reay 370, Tony Kanaan 330, Justin Wilson 290, Marco Andretti 284, Dan Wheldon 269

HONDA RACING Media HONDA RACING Media

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NASCAR Round 24 – BRISTOL, TN

Wild Thing’s

Clean Sweep The 2010 version of Kyle Busch is a little more reserved than previous versions; more conservative, less prone to wild outbursts and far less unpredictable

K

URT Busch reverted to form, in a positive way, at Bristol.

First, he won Wednesday’s Truck race, driving for his own team; then, he won the Nationwide race and on Saturday night, he won the Sprint Cup race. In doing so Busch, at 25, became the first drive to ever sweep all three categories in a single weekend and at 25, set himself up as one of the men to beat in the

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coming Chase for the Sprint Cup. “Last year we won the Truck race and were leading the Nationwide race and we got crashed out, and then we ended up winning the Cup race, so this is probably a year delayed,” said Busch.

“Coming to Bristol you could say, ‘yeah, well, we’re supposed to run well here.’

But still, it’s cool to be able to put it all together in a complete weekend, with

the Truck, with the Nationwide car and with the Cup car.”

He beats as he sweeps as he cleans: Kyle Busch was in a League of his own, taking the long handle to the Sprint Cup field, right, and backing up wins in the Nationwide Series (his 10th) and the Camping World Trucks.

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NASCAR Media

TOYOTA Media

NASCAR Media

NASCAR Media

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NASCAR Media

TOYOTA Media

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race

NASCAR Media

Jimmie Johnson took pole, and dominated the opening third of the traditional Saturday night race. Busch calmly stalked the four-time Champion and outfoxed him in traffic to take the lead, leaving the Hendrick Chevy in his wake.

In fact, there was a challenger, and he was in a Chevrolet. But it was Jamie McMurray who took the lead and who actually led the #18 into the pits, before Busch outbraked him to lead the way out.

It was not McMurray who

TOYOTA Media

Statue of Liberation: Busch got plenty of time to rehearse his Victory Lane performances. Jimmie Johnson, top, lost much time with damage, after looking to be the man to beat early in the race, below left.

challenged Busch, but another Toyota man. David Reutimann had taken the lead in the pit cycle and while many expected Busch to blast past to take the win, it did not work out that way.

The #00 was a stubborn obstable, and it was only when that car got loose that Busch was able to take the lead. Even then, the man from Las Vegas had to manage a loose suspension part to nurse the car home to an historic win, the 16th of his career.

McMurray was third, to raise himself to the edge of The Chase in 13th, while Clint Bowyer, who is 12th, was a solid fourth. Kasey Kahne had a troubled night, with tyre problems and a pitlane penalty, to fifth ahead of the Chevys of Ryan Newman and Earnhardt Ganassi’s Juan Pablo Montoya.

It was a tough night at the office for the title contenders.

Kevin Harvick never really showed any speed in his Chevy was struggled home for 14th .

Johnson’s hopes of a high placing ended at the hands of Juan Pablo Montoya, leaving the #48 in the garage with substantial damage.

Denny Hamlin also struggled after damaging his suspension.

A week after he announced his move to Richard Petty Motorsport, Marcos Ambrose battled an ill-handling car to finish 20th.

By finishing 11th, Jeff Gordon joined Harvick to become the second driver locked into the Chase while the battle for the remaining 10th places looks like an entertaining one over the next two races at Atlanta and Richmond.

Results :: Irwin Tools Night Race, Bristol, TN Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NASCAR Media

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No. 18 00 1 33 9 39 42 16 2 17

Driver Kyle Busch David Reutimann Jamie McMurray Clint Bowyer Kasey Kahne Ryan Newman Juan Montoya Greg Biffle Kurt Busch Matt Kenseth

Make Toyota Toyota Chevy Chevy Ford Chevy Chevy Ford Dodge Ford

Team Joe Gibbs Waltrip Earnhardt Ganassi Childress Petty Stewart Haas Earnhardt Ganassi Roush Fenway Penske Roush Fenway

Sponsor Doublemint Aaron’s Bass Pro Shops Hamburger Helper Budweiser Wix Filters Target 3M Miller Lite Crown Royal

Qual.

19 5 7 24 11 6 8 21 20 14

Top 12 Points: Harvick 3521, Gordon 3242, Kyle Busch 3170, Edwards 3113, Hamlin 3108,

Stewart 3107, Burton 3101, Kenseth 3095, Johnson 3077, Kurt Busch 3073, Biffle 3055, Bowyer 2920.

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Bluejuice BTCC FORD took a clean sweep of the BTCC race wins at Silverstone, albeit eye-raising circumstances.

Tom Chilton won the opening two races after teammate Tom Onslow-Cole moved over to let him pass.

But Onslow-Cole got his own in the final, taking the win in the reverse-grid feature, while Chilton could only manage sixth.

Paul O’Neill was second in the main race, ahead of Mat Jackson, while ninth for Jason Plato means his points lead over Onslow-Cole is down to 14.

Drayson wins in US ...

ALMS A CHARGE from fourth to first in the last three laps by Jonny Cocker has given Drayson Racing their first American Le Mans Series race win.

The Drayson Lola had been the dominant force all weekend at Road America, but a late splash-and-dash cost them track position. In the final laps, though, Cocker,

who shared the car with Paul Drayson, carved his way up the order as other teams saved fuel, passing the Porsche of Klaus Graf with two corners remaining to take the win.

Graf limped home to second with Timo Bernhard, while David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud were third in their Highcroft HPD to maintain top spot in the standings over Graf.

Paffett’s Dutch courage DTM MERCEDES has continued their dominance of the 2010 DTM, with Gary Paffett recording the manufacturer’s fifth win from six races at Zandvoort.

The English driver put in a commanding start-to-finish performance to claim his second win of the season and move into second place in the standings, nine points shy of Bruno Spengler who finished second.

“This track really suits me.

Here, you have to put plenty

of pressure on, you can get a lot out of the car. This track is really extreme, but for me, it is really fun to drive on. Today, Bruno didn’t have such a good race. I am ready for the title,” Paffett said.

Paul Di Resta made it a 12 for Mercedes-Benz, ahead of a quartet of Audis, let by Timo Scheider and Mattias Ekstrom.

Also at Zandvoort, Antonio Felix da Costa and Edoardo Mortara split the F3 Euro Series wins, with Mortara’s victory extending his points lead.

... Strakka in Europe LE MANS SERIES

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sutton-images.com

FOR the first time, LMP2 machinery has emerged with an outright victory in the Le Mans Series.

In a drama-filled race, the Strakka HPD of Danny Watts, Jonny Kane and Nick Leventis took the win in the Hungaroring 1000km. Watts claimed pole, but, as expected,

the LMP1 cars forged into the lead.

When they all struck various troubles, it was left to the Strakka entry to lead an 1-6 finish for LMP2 competitors, ahead of the Ginetta-Zytek of Miguel Amaral and Olivier Pla. The best of the LMP1 competitors was Nigel Mansell and Greg Mansell, seven laps down in their Ginetta-Zytek.

motorsport news

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Gowans on top at QR AUSSIE RACING CARS WITH three wins at Queensland Raceway, Adam Gowans has moved closer to the lead of the Aussie Racing Car Super Series lead.

Gowans took out three of the four race wins, supporting Australian Superbikes, to win the round and edge closer to Kyle Clews at the top of the standings. Brad Ward was second for the round, ahead of Clews and Jack Perkins, who picked up a victory in Race 2.

The next round is at Eastern Creek with the Muscle Car Masters on Father’s Day.

Strong turnout in SA WITH one of the biggest competitors turnouts at the circuit for some time, 13 categories gridded up for two days of competition in Round 3 of the SA State Motor Racing Championships at Mallala last weekend.

Ahead of the circuit’s Formula Vee Nationals later in the year, Jake Fouracre streeted the field to take all four race wins at the head of a soli field. In his former Indycar, Tim Kuchel took a race win in the Historic Racing field, with Jim Doig and Andrew Ford winning the other.

As with recent times, the battle for HQ honours was between current champion

Graham Mason and Darren Jenkins, with Graham Boulter and Andrew Schultz putting in strong performances. The MG & Invited British Category was another category to make a big showing with a good variety across the 26 entries. Tom Hutchinson and Rob Whitwell fought it out all weekend with the result going Hutchinson’s way, three wins to one.

The standout entry in the Sports and Tarmac Rally cars was the TVR Tuscan of Ian Wilson, who battled with Keith Wong’s Porsche for a two-all result across the weekend.

Formula Ford honours went to Roger I’Anson with 17 year old Dylan Richter making a strong showing and taking his first

did it easily. After Matt Cherry won the opening race, Ledger took out the remaining two to seal the title, with Kerry Wade second and Ashley Barnett third.

The top four in all three AU/VT Saloon Car races was identical, with Rick Gill leading home Tony James, Craig Treemer and Brett Stewart each time. In the EA/VN Saloon Cars, the top three was the same in each race, with Travis Sharpe winning all three races ahead of Mick Sciorio and Deni

Razmovski.

Formula Vee graduate Daniel Gate won his first state Formula Ford round with a clean sweep. Title contenders Ben-Lee D’Limi and Jake McNally fought it out all weekend, with D’Limi grabbing second for the round, while Andrew Goldie, who led the standings entering the weekend, had a tough qualifying and spent the races in recovery mode.

Just like Saloon Cars, the Formula Vee results were

SA STATE

pole position and race win.

Across the other classes, the strong contenders were Chis Aberley (three wins) and Rodney Gibb (one win) in the MGF’s. With three wins, Greg Keene took the points in the Australian Sports Car class, which was mainly a field of Wests.

Improved Production honours went to Clint Sharp (Corolla) who took three wins in a close tussle with Adam Allen (Bluebird) while the Saloon Car wins were shared three to win between Shawn Jamieson and Wayne King.

Chris Frost, in his Torana, gave the Historic Touring Cars a shake with two wins from with Bradley Deluca (Falcon Sprint), with the Camaro of Grant Jarrett putting in a strong performance.

– PHIL WILLIAMS

Stevens talks the Torque out West WA STATE ANDREW Stevens took out the Torque Trophy for Street Cars in the Smarter Than Smoking WA State Championships at Barbagallo Raceway.

In his Nissan 180SX, Stevens won two of the three races to claim the 36th running of the event, ahead of Troy Stones and Les Turpin.

The 5th GT Tander Trophy for Improved Production drivers went to Kevin Ledger, who

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fairly straightforward. With five 1600cc cars present, they finished each race in the same order, with Cameron Edwards winning from Ben Riley. Bruce Welsh dominated the 1200cc ranks ahead of Myles Lockett.

Rex Meechin won two of the three Sports Cars, Marque Sports and Sports Sedan races, with Walter Epple picking up Race 2. Michael Minshall did it easy in the Marque Sports class, with Brian Edhouse and Brett Stewart sharing the Sports Sedan wins.

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rear of grid

TRAMS RISING STARS!

t o p S d d O

If you live in Melbourne, get ready to see a lot more of James Moffat’s Fujitsu Series Falcon in the near future – on the side of a tram!

Moffat’s sponsor, Noton, has picked up the signage rights for a tram to promote November’s Norton 360 Sandown Challenge.

The tram is out and about now, even after Moffat and Jamie Whincup had a play with its controls last week.

Norton 360 grid girls will be on the tram across the next month giving out goodies, and Jamie will be at Southern Cross station this Friday from 4-6pm signing autographs.

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