Motorsport eNews Issue 180 - November 9-15, 2010

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Issue No. 180 | Nov 09-15 2010

news 4

It’s Dhabi Day Webber faces title shootout 6 Edged to slips No more Castrol for PMM 8 Tomorrow, the World V8SA gets global tag 10 Up in Ashes Walsh looks to V8 future 12 Shaken, not shot JB escapes armed Brazilians

chat 24 Five Minutes With ...

Mark Webber

comment 26 van Leeuwen: Webber!

28 Targa High Country race 32 NZ V8s 34 Sandown Historics 38 NASCARs in Texas

trade 44 Classifieds

WEBBER’S DAY OF RECKONING – Vettel blew an engine in Korea, and Webber reported high temperatures in the second MARK Webber goes into this weekend’s final half of the Brazilian race – so there could be round of the World Driver’s Championship hope for fans of the Prancing Horse. in Abu Dhabi on a mathematical knife-edge – The nightmare scenario for Webber is if he but the title is still within his reach. is running second behind Vettel and Alonso, Sunday’s Red Bull 1-2 finish sees four drivers whose engines are being carefully managed in contention for the title. Webber, Brazilian for mileage by his engineering crew, drops GP winner Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso out of the race for any reason. A Vetteland Lewis Hamilton all have a chance to claim Webber finish, with Alonso DNF, will see both the title, though Hamilton has admitted that, RBR drivers tied on 256 points – only for the 24 points from leader Alonso and with 25 German to take the title by dint of his fifth GP on offer to the winner in the Middle East, he win, compared to Webber’s four wins. needs a miracle to claim a second crown.

But perhaps more intriguing is what may Alonso’s solid third place in Sao Paulo has or may not happen if all three drivers are put him on 246 points, with Webber on 238 running, in their anticipated positions. The and Vettel on 231. Should the results at the million-dollar question is; would Vettel and Yas Marina circuit be the same as those on the upper management at Red Bull Racing Sunday – Vettel, Webber, Alonso – the result prefer to see Webber win the title, or would would be Vettel on 256, Webber 256 and they rather see it go to Alonso and Ferrari?

Alonso on 261. In fact, the Ferrari driver could With Webber stating, often and recently, that win the title even with a fourth place in the he intends to honour his deal to race for Red Gulf, providing RBR stick to its established Bull in 2011, could the mercurial Vettel handle Vettel-first policy that has been followed seeing the World Champion on the other side throughout the season. of his garage – or would he rather see it go to If Alonso is third, however, things improve a rival team? if Webber is ahead of Vettel. A Webber-led 1-2 Whatever the outcome, Abu Dhabi has itself will see him on 263 points, with Vettel on 249. a once-in-a-generation finish to one of the Alonso would need a bout of unreliability to greatest GP seasons of the modern era. strike the Renault engines to claim the title for the third time. This is not out of the question For more with Webber, see page 24

FORMULA 1

motorsport news

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EXCLUSIVE V8 SUPERCARS THERE are big changes in the wind at Paul Morris Motorsport, with the news that Castrol is about to end its deal with the team after one year.

The move, which could be confirmed as early as this week, will see the departure of Greg Murphy from the team. The fourtime Bathurst winner, who joined the team at the end of last season, may now become a sought-after endurance driver, but eNews believes that he is yet to rule out having a full-time drive next season.

The probable replacement for Murphy is Gold Coast 600 winner Steve Owen. His status is expected to be enhanced by a closer technical relationship between PMM and Triple Eight Race Engineering, with the team sourcing its cars from T8 since the start of this season.

Russell Ingall’s status in the team is not expected to change. Indeed, we expect that the oldest driver on the V8 Supercar grid is expected to remain in the driving seat of the #39 Commodore for next season and, in all likelihood, 2012 at the very least.

As for the livery of the cars, it is possible that Super Cheap Autos colours could appear on both entries, as was seen prior to the start of this season when the team split into ‘Super Cheap Autos Racing’ and ‘Castrol Racing’.

Castrol is not expected to be lost to the sport. The long-time sponsor has existing ties to a number of teams, including Morris’, and has traditionally been a supplier to any team that has carried Super Cheap branding in the past. So it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the oil brand may maintain a presence – albeit a much reduced one – on the SCAR car or cars.

OILS AIN’T SPON The V8 Supercar Championship series moves to Tasmania next week and, in conjunction with the 12th round of the series, Falken Tyres, V8 Supercars Australia and Motorsport eNews are giving Motorsport eNews readers the opportunity to WIN a set of Falken tyres* for their car, or one of a pair of V8 Supercar merchandise packs.

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NO BMW IN V8s V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

NSORS

IF you were preparing to paint your house blue and white in anticipation of BMW’s arrival in V8 Supercars, you may want to put the paint brush away for a while.

While recent media reports may have suggested that the company was on the verge of launching an assault on the series once V8 Supercars’ Car of the Future regulations are in place, it is all news to BMW Motorsport.

Recent media reports placed BMW in line to join Ford and Holden in the series, provided it would be allowed to race under the Car of the Future regulations a version of its DTMspec 3-Series racer, which is currently under development in the buildup to a full assault on the German series in 2012. But company spokesman Jörg Kottmeier has told eNews that the reports are wide of the mark.

“Currently there are no plans at BMW to be involved in the V8 Supercars in Australia,” he said.

“We have been working hard on the current DTM regulations and our plan was to make the new DTM cars available for other series as well in the US and in Japan. This is achieved.

Therefore BMW will compete in the DTM in 2012 and hopefully also in US and Japan in the near future under the same regulations.”

DTM organisers are in the process of

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finalising its regulations but there appears to be little if any common ground that may encourage a make involved in the Europeanbased series to adapt its racing program for an Australian assault. The new cars, which are to be introduced next season, are based on a common chassis, but with a high proportion of carbon fibre used in its construction. This would appear to be heading in the opposite direction to V8 Supercars’ COTF regulations, under which prototypes are currently being built by Pace Innovations in Queensland. It appears that the DTM is moving closer towards the high-tech Japanese GT series rules than to the relatively low-tech V8 Supercars rules – not to mention that BMW model of choice in the DTM will be the 3-Series, which is much smaller than, and in an entirely different market category to Holden’s Commodore and Ford’s Falcon.

Traditionally, BMW has preferred to develop its racers through its own Motorsport division and out-source the running of the cars to nominated teams, such as Germany’s Schnitzer, Italy’s CiBiEmme, BMW Great Britain, Rahal Letterman or even our own Nemo Racing. Customer teams developing their own BMW racers is not completely unknown but such a program in V8 Supercars would represent a substantial policy shift from the business model that the Bavarian factory has followed closely for more than a quarter of a century.

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ALEX’S NEW TOY IS READY V8 SUPERCARS

ALEX Davison will have a shiny new FG Falcon to play with when he arrives in Tasmania later this week.

Stone Brothers Racing was forced to fast-track the debut of the new IRWIN Falcon after Davison’s car was severely wrecked while David Brabham was behind the wheel on the Gold Coast recently. The new FG was shook down at Queensland Raceway last Friday, and according to Davison’s engineer David Stuart, its all looking good for the remainder of the 2010 season.

“We’ve put about 1300 man hours into the build of the new IRWIN Ford over the last 10 days,” said Stuart.

“10 guys doing 12 to 13 hours a day over the last week and half tells the story. The car was just a bare shell at the start of last week; it had been painted and it had the wiring harness laid into it. We had to do everything else, which was a very big job.

“We put together a production schedule, organised catering at the workshop with the boys working through to about 8pm each night, and over the weekend. “When you write a car off and you’ve got 10 days to build a new one, you expect to run into some hassles, but it was trouble free.

We had zero issues, we were really happy with the way the car measured off the jig and we were able to machine everything to get to the right points; it really was as smooth as silk.”

NO V8/LE MANS CLASH IN ‘11 V8 SUPERCARS

IF you could never quite choose between a full-time V8 Supercar career and that Le Mans 24 Hour drive you always coveted, 2011 is going to be a great year to tick both boxes.

Any of the V8 Supercar drivers rumoured to be aiming to take part at Le Mans in 2011 have received a boost by the announcement of the test day being 24 April, which fits neatly between the V8 Supercar rounds at Hamilton and Barbagallo.

The race itself falls between the races at Winton and Hidden Valley.

In 2006, Jason Bright was prevented from driving for Aston Martin in the 24 Hours because, as a rookie, he was obliged to attend the Le Mans test day, but could not do so because it clashed with a V8 Supercar round.

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V8s GO GLOBAL! V8 SUPERCARS V8 SUPERCARS has been given the green light to expand its overseas involvement by the FIA. The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council meeting last week gave unanimous approval to expand the V8 Supercars calendar to 12 events in Australasia and six internationally from next year. The approval extends over a of five years.

“This is tremendous news for the sport and we thank the FIA for their endorsement and recognition of V8 Supercars as a major international player, particularly in the Asia Pacific region,” V8 Supercars Australia CEO Martin Whitaker said.

“After an enormous amount of hard work

by CAMS and with the support of the FIA Touring Car Commission this gives V8 Supercars flexibility in exploring further expansion of the sport.

“Australia and New Zealand remain our absolute priority in terms of where we race although the new status means we can move forward with confidence when exploring growth outside of Australasia.”

Ironically, the news comes a week after V8SA confirmed that it would not return to Bahrain next year, and that its planned event in Singapore would not happen until 2012 at the earliest. That leaves the season-opening event in Abu Dhabi and the Hamilton Street circuit in New Zealand as V8’s only non-Australian events in 2011.

PD: SET TO WALK AWAY V8 SUPERCARS THE future of Paul Dumbrell as a V8 Supercar driver will be known in the next few days.

The Bottle-O Ford driver, team boss Rod Nash and Ford Performance Racing management are expected to meet tomorrow [Tuesday] to determine whether he will see out the last two years of his current deal – and eNews expects that he will stand down. Dumbrell, 28, is focusing his efforts on his new role as CEO of Automotive Brands, the parent company of Autobarn,

Autopro and other related brands.

Should Dumbrell stand aside as expected, the question will be who takes over the seat of the #55 Falcon.

The most likely candidate is Steven Richards, who has worked with the team for the last four seasons and who has shown good speed over the second half of the 2010 season. The move of Richo from the ‘official’ FPR entry to that of Rod Nash Racing would cause the least disruption to the team.

The team is expected to issue a media release about Dumbrell’s future as soon as is practical.

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HIGH FIVE FOR ARC IN 2011 AUSTRALIAN RALLY

THE Australian Rally Championship will step back to five rounds in 2011.

From six rounds this year, the tarmac rally in Tasmania has been dropped, while the Coffs Coast Rally will be incorporated within Rally Australia in the New South Wales coastal town.

The biggest date change is the International Rally of

Queensland, also a round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, which is provisionally scheduled to move from August to May. Rally Australia’s date also remains subject to FIA approval.

“The recent announcement that Rally Australia, a round of the Word Rally Championship, will be based out of Coffs Harbour from 2011 has necessitated some scheduling

changes to our national championship,” Australian Rally Commission Chairman Colin Trinder said.

“For our Australian Championship in 2011 there will be five events. The Championship will be an entirely gravel surface affair next year for the first time since 2008. The reduction in the number of events forming the Championship will help

competitors reduce costs and compliments a number of the other recent decisions such as the adoption of the Kumho control tyre, that has saved competitors in the ARC many thousands of dollars.”

The three standalone events, in Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, will retain the ARC’s two-heat format, with reconnaissance on Friday.

Michael Vettas

2011 Australian Rally Championship 1. Quit Forest Rally, WA, April 16-17 2. International Rally of Queensland, QLD, May 13-15 3. Scouts Rally, SA, July 30-31 4. Rally Australia, NSW, September 9-11 5. Rally Victoria, VIC, November 12-13

Gold Star future up for review FORMULA 3 THE status of the CAMS Gold Star in 2011 is uncertain.

The Confederation of Australian Motorsport has expressed concerns about the Gold Star’s current custodian, the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, and the grid numbers it has been attracting in recent years.

First awarded in 1957, the Gold Star has been awarded to a variety of open-wheel categories over the years,

with Formula 3 replacing the now-defunct Formula Holden in 2005. Whether Formula 3 remains the home of the Gold Star is currently up for review by the CAMS board, with a decision expected in the coming weeks.

“We are aware of CAMS review of the Gold Star and the Australian Drivers Championship; it is obviously their right to assess the best possible options for their premier award as they see fit,” Formula 3 Media Manager

Richard Craill said.

“We are, at present, focused on ensuring that our 2011 season is as strong as possible and have been in constant communication with CAMS CEO David Morgan on the subject since the beginning of his tenure earlier this year.

“There is a lot of goodwill from all parties to see Formula 3 grow and if Formula 3 is strong then we see no reason why we cannot continue representing the Gold Star and the ADC well into the

future.

“That would certainly be our preference, as the award has great history and stature and our drivers feel proud to race for it.

“As a policy, we have never announced our plans until they are 100% and we are close to that stage with plans for next year now.

“It is our goal to provide stability for the championship going forward and we are close to achieving that.”

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news Dirk Klynsmith

Walsh joins Miles for 2011 FUJITSU SERIES ASH Walsh will join Formula Ford rival Chaz Mostert in the Fujitsu Series next year, as team-mates with Wayne Miles’ East Coast Traffic Control Racing.

Previously confirmed by the team for 2011, Mostert made his debut in the series at Bathurst last month, while Walsh was announced after a

test at Queensland Raceway last week. Mostert is in the box seat to wrap up the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship this weekend at Symmons Plains, and Walsh is currently third.

Miles’ outfit owns a pair of Triple Eight-built BF Falcons.

“After a conversation with Ross Stone earlier in the year, Ross advised me to make sure that the young drivers we look

at weren’t looking at going overseas in the future, and if so, to let them go and get it out of their system,” Miles said.

“Ash has had overseas experience, his time in the Australian Formula Ford Series and a 100 percent reassurance from his father Greg that he was here to stay, ticked one very important box.

“I’ve also spoken to our driver advisor Glenn Seton,

regarding our direction with drivers and Ash in particular, and as a team the decision has been made to bring Ash into our team.”

Mostert and Walsh have two Formula Ford rounds remaining. This weekend’s 19car field at Symmons Plains includes a third car for Evans Motorsport Group, with Mathew Hart to make his national debut.

“They are a challenging car to drive, but I can see myself getting my head around it.

They aren’t that hard to drive, but they are a challenge, and that’s why I like the idea of racing a V8 Supercar.”

Borell also confirmed that his ’11 plans could well include an FV8 program with Miles, which

would see him teamed with fellow FForders Walsh and Chaz Mostert, both of whom are already signed.

“We’re a long way down the road with the team. If we can get the budget together for the Fujitsu Series, we’ll be doing it with them.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

And Andre too?

FUJITSU SERIES ANDRE Borell is set to move into the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series next year, as part of a three-car Miles Racing team.

The Formula Forder tested one of Miles’ BF Falcons at Queensland Raceway last Tuesday, completing 28 laps

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aboard the car along with Ash Walsh, who has recently signed with the team for 2011 (see separate story).

It was Borell’s first experience in the car, and as he told eNews, it’s unliklely to be his last.

“It’s a completely different experience, a real eye-opener,” said Borell.

11

RENAULT VATION

Red Bull Media

Red Bull extends its Renault deal – and so does one [or both] of the Lotuses ...

FORMULA 1 RENAULT has extended its reach as a Formula 1 engine supplier, with new deals with Red Bull Racing and Lotus Racing.

The French marque has added two years to its RBR deal, with the cars now committed to race with Renault power until at least the end of 2013.

However, in making the announcement regarding Lotus, there is some confusion, as nobody has referred to the

team as ‘Lotus’, leaving more questions than answers.

Shortly after confirmation that Tony Fernandes’s team would race with Renault motors came the news that Lotus Cars, which has nothing to do with the current team, may become a partner with the Renault team. Should the move come about, Lotus Cars is expected to become a shareholder in the Genii Capital-owned team, which currently fields entries for Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov.

Yes, this is confusing ...

Renault (the company, not the racing team) itself did not refer to Lotus (Lotus Racing, not Lotus Cars) in any way in its press release, instead referring to its new customer as ‘1Malaysia Racing Team’.

Lotus Cars is now being run by ex-Ferrari man Danny Behar, and the recent dispute of the use of the Lotus brand has led to speculation that Behar wants to take the company back into Formula 1. It is widely thought that Renault (the

car company, not the racing team) would prefer to see its branding on cars as an engine supplier. Over the Brazilian GP weekend, Renault was far more prominent on the Red Bulls, at a time when the team sealed the Constructors’ Championship.

In the meantime, whatever the Fernandes team will be called gets to race a car, with a Renault engine and Red Bull Racing transmission, next season – possibly against something called a Lotus.

HRT makes the right phonecall FORMULA 1 THE Hispania team has announced new partnerships, both technical and financial.

The first-year team has signed a deal to use Williams transmissions next season, and has a new man at the head of its commercial arrangements. businessman Juan Villalonga, formerly 12

the CEO of Spanish telecommunications firm Telefonica, has been recruited by HRT owner Jose Ramon Carabante to bolster its sponsorship portfolio. The Spaniard was the man who brought Telefonica into Formula 1 as a sponsor of the Minardi team.

“He has always felt, as I do, a clear passion for motorsport,” said Carabante of Villalonga.

“We will substantially strengthen our ability to generate innovative activities in marketing and sponsorship with his incorporation.

“We will also be able to make the best of his leadership, knowledge and relationships in the fields of technology and communications, and therefore be able to fully exploit the opportunities we are given after this tough first year.” motorsport news

The Escape Button

World Champ escapes a Jenson Interceptor ...

FORMULA 1

button-images.com

JENSON Button and his entourage escaped gun-wielding assailants in Brazil on the weekend.

Button, his father John, manager Richard Goddard and trainer Mike Collyer were leaving the circuit in Sao Paulo at around 7pm on Saturday night in an armoured Mercedes-Benz when they were attacked by a group of armed men, who ran out of the nearby favela (shanty town). The driver of the car, a police officer trained in specialist evasion techniques, escaped from the scene with some haste.

“We stopped at the traffic lights, three rows back,” Button explained.

“Our driver, as always, stopped early, leaving space to the car in front” – a standard anti-carjacking manoeuvre. “We looked to the right and saw a few guys gathering by the entrance to a building. Richard noticed that one of the guys had a baton hanging down from his arm and I noticed that one was playing with something in his trousers, and it was a gun.

“As soon as I said that, the driver looked across. They saw him look and they started running towards

the car. He angled the car and floored it – it didn’t look like there was enough space to get through.

He went between six cars and rammed every single car just to get past. We got through in the end but looking behind there were two guys with handguns and one guy with a machine gun.”

Button’s group was travelling the 6km route to the upper middleclass suburb of Morumbi, as most drivers choose to stay at the fourstar Morumbi Hilton.

The news is not completely unexpected. The track is situated in the poor Interlagos area of one of the country’s most chaotic cities, which is becoming infamous among those who travel to all the races. Reports indicated that some Ferrari, Sauber and Bridgestone personnel were actually robbed by the gang around the same time as Button’s escape.

The following day, Button finished fifth in the race, which puts him out of mathematical calculations for retaining his title – which he sealed with a fifth place at the same circuit 12 months ago. Current contracts tie the venue to a Brazilian GP until 2015 at the earliest.

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BIFFO IN SPRINT CUP

Gordon, Burton get heated in Texas

NASCAR SPRINT CUP

NASCAR Media

NASCAR’S Chase for the Sprint Cup boiled over into a physical altercation at Texas on the weekend – and you would never guess which drivers nearly came to blows.

Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon faced off after their two Chevrolets clashed, while under caution, in the race on Sunday.

Gordon’s DuPont car slammed into the wall after being rubbed by Burton’s CATsponsored Childress model, and Gordon marched down the straight to let his feelings known. The two Jeffs were separated by NASCAR officials, before being driven away for a checkup – in the same ambulance.

“I honestly don’t know what happened,” admitted Burton.

“It was my fault, 100 percent it was my fault. It was like, once we got together, I couldn’t get off of him. I didn’t mean to hit him, I was only trying to tell him he was right.”

“I don’t blame him for being mad. He was mad, and he should have been mad.”

It was a much calmer Gordon who faced the press after being checked over in the medical centre.

“I guess he was just really frustrated

with the way his car was handling, or something,” he said.

“He just drove into my right rear and put me in the wall under caution. Of all the people out there, I never thought that would happen with Jeff Burton. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for him, but I certainly lost a lot of respect today.”

Ironically, the two are considered to be

among the most conservative, and least aggressive, drivers in the Sprint Cup Series, and neither has anything near a reputation for being what could be considered ‘dirty’ drivers.

While NASCAR may issue penalties over the clash, Gordon is firm that it is in the past.

“He apologised, he said he didn’t mean to do it. Whatever. It’s over.”

KNAUS BENCHES HIS OWN TEAM! CHAD Knaus has often been compared to a football coach as he runs Jimmie Johnson’s pitcrew.

So, when he felt that his starters were not doing the job in Texas on Sunday, he benched them, and went to his ‘backups’. After Johnson lost track position on four of his first seven stops, Knaus turned to Jeff Gordon’s pitcrew, who were idle after their driver crashed out after a midrace clash with Jeff Burton.

“Ultimately it’s my decision obviously, but we needed to do something,” Knaus told ESPN after the race.

14

“This is a team. The 24-48 shop has always operated as a team and that’s the way that we see it.

It’s sad that we have to do that but you know, in the interest of Hendrick Motorsports and what we’ve got to do, you’ve got to do that stuff.”

Johnson’s final three stops with the #24 crew were faster but the change may not be permanent.

“I’m hoping to get back with the #48 guys [at Phoenix] and we get everyone’s confidence up and get this thing going in the right direction,” Knaus said.

“It’s not what we want to do but sometimes things need to be adjusted a little bit and we had to do that today.”

NASCAR Media

NASCAR SPRINT CUP

24 into 48 goes twice: Chuck Knaus, seated top, stays busy while Gordon’s crew waits – for Jimmie Johnson. Meanwhile, the Lowe’s crew cools their heels. It should be a fun time in Phoenix this weekend ... motorsport news

Edmonton dropped INDYCARS THE Edmonton race has been dropped from the 2011 IndyCar schedule.

The new promoter of the Honda Indy Edmonton race, Octane Management of Montreal, could not reach an agreement with the city. Just prior to last July’s Indy race Octane, the same promoter group that has revived the F1 Canadian Grand

Prix in Montreal, received approval from the Edmonton city council to replace Northlands for the next three years. During Northlands’ three-year contract promoting the Indy race, it exceeded its budget by over US$12m. Initially, the city agreed to contribute US$1m per year but ended up having taxpayers pick up the shortfall.

Octane is currently considering other locations such as Calgary, Quebec City,

or a return to Vancouver (where CART/ Champ Car competed from 1990-2004 until the circuit area was needed for the 2008 Olympics). But there is still a glimmer of hope that the July 22 -24race can be saved. The Go Indy group, made up of local business owners, is working to salvage the event, which has title sponsor Honda Canada.

– MARY MENDEZ

Honda Racing

... which could end PT’s farewell season INDYCARS PAUL Tracy’s quest for a full, farewell season may be jeopardised by the loss of the Edmonton race.

“I am working really, really hard on a program for 2011,” Tracy said. “I feel pretty confident that I have secured a lot of the

(sponsorship) needed to run a whole season.

But nothing is yet written in stone.

Checks haven’t changed hands yet, but I do have verbal commitments from three companies, Honda of Canada, Motegi Racing Wheels, and GEICO. But we still need to find more sponsorship.”

Tracy believes he may have a good chance at KV Racing Technology where he has co-owner, Jimmy Vasser’s support.

But he also is talking to Dreyer & Reinbold where he ran three races in 2010, Watkins Glen, Kentucky and Japan.

– MARY MENDEZ

Dallara breaks ground on Indy factory INDYCARS DALLARA is about to start building its new US factory.

Dallara Automobili is scheduled to break ground on its US$7m facility on November 16.

One of IndyCar’s requirements to win the bid as the sole chassis manufacturer www.mnews.com.au

for the 2012-2015 seasons was to have a facility located in the USA, avoiding costly air freight and currency fluctuation.

Dallara’s facility on Main St. is expected to create 80 new jobs located within a mile of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the city of Speedway, Indiana.

Dallara, an IndyCar

chassis supplier since 1997, was selected among five constructors, including competitors Lola and Swift.

Dallara is offering a complete car for U.S. $385,000 but teams can instead purchase an aero package of wings and engine cover built by others, including themselves, using the Dallara ‘safety cell’ for $345,000.

Founder, Gian Paolo Dallara, celebrates his 74th birthday at the groundbreaking ceremonies. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Automobiles, is expected to attend, fueling speculation that Fiat is still considering becoming an IndyCar engine supplier, perhaps for 2013.

– MARY MENDEZ 15

Justin Collins

2011 uncertainty for Randle and Sera SPORTS SEDANS DEAN Randle is unsure what role his title-winning Saab Sports Sedan will play in the 2011 Kerrick Series.

James Sera won the 2010 title aboard the Randle owned-andrun machine, however Randle may elect to focus his time and energy on the karting career of

his son, Thomas.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do next year yet,” he said.

“I’m pretty heavily involved in karting with my son, so that takes up a lot of time, that’s like every second weekend.

“We missed a few important kart meetings this year because of the Sports Sedan so I feel a bit guilty about that, I feel my

Phil Williams

Quinn back in Mosler for final AUSTRALIAN GT TONY Quinn will switch back to his Mosler for the final round of the Vodka O Australian GT Championship next weekend.

Quinn has spent the majority of the season in a Mosler MT900, but took his Aston Martin DBR9 to a round win at Bathurst last month, with son Klark finishing second in a Mosler. At Sandown’s season finale, Tony – currently seventh in the standings – will be sole Quinn in action, getting back behind the wheel of one of the Moslers.

The weekend will also be 16

the return appearance of the Ascari KZ1 GT3. The BMWpowered car ran at the Clipsal 500 and Australian Grand Prix, where it was extensively damaged. Car owner Darren Berry will race the Ascari, which has been rebuilt by McElrea Racing.

In the GT Challenge class, Peter Edwards will make his debut in the championship.

Edwards has linked with Maranello Motorsport and will drive a Ferrari 360 Challenge at Sandown. Edwards will step up to the outright class next year, and join John Bowe and Tim Leahey in a Ferrari F340 in the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour.

son should get priority over my racing career.”

When the car next appears, though, it’ll have some extra power. Randle has purchased a Chev NASCAR engine, which will replace the currently sixlitre V8 powerplant.

“We’ve bought a NASCAR engine which has got another 80 horsepower over what this

thing has got,” he said.

“That’s a carbureted engine, so we’ve got to convert that to fuel injection, make some new pipes for it and fit it to the car.

“So that’s a project that, we’re going to start doing it now, we’ll just start working on it, see how long it takes and see what our schedule is next year.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

V8TC sticks with five rounds for 2011 V8 TOURING CARS THE Shannons V8 Touring Car Series will remain as a five-round series in 2011, but could expand to six in 2012.

The growth in ex-V8 Supercars taking to the track during the series’ third year was a major positive for organisers, who are considering adding a sixth round to the calendar in 2012.

“The plan is to run five rounds next year and seriously consider running six the following year, it’s a tossup at the moment,” SV8TC Commercial Manager Rob Curkpatrick said.

“Five rounds suits the budgets better, but if you’ve got that much invested in the car and want to get behind the wheel, six is a bit more doable.

“First up this year, Symmons Plains, being in Tasmania and the first round of the series, wasn’t too promising. Mallala

picked up and people are still starting to realise that it’s a good thing.

“From then on, at the last three rounds, we started off with 14 and ended up with 10 finishing the weekend for one reason or another.

“We’re saying that grids between 15 to 20 are the goal for next year, if it’s closer to 20 it’d be nice but we’ve got to be realistic. At the moment, 31 numbers have been registered for next year, that doesn’t mean to say they’re all going to run, but it’s a fairly positive sign.”

– MITCHELL ADAM 2011 Shannons V8 Touring Car Series calendar 1. Wakefield Park, April 2-3 2. Mallala Motorsport Park, April 30-May 1 3. Eastern Creek, July 16-17 4. Sandown Raceway, August 13-14 5. Phillip Island, November 5-6 motorsport news

news

Pye’s TRS plan AUSSIES OVERSEAS SCOTT Pye is tuning up or an assault on the British Formula 3 Championship with a program in the Toyota Racing Series International races.

The new British Formula Ford Champion will compete in TRS with Trevor Sheumack’s ETEC team, which took him to the 2009 TRS Rookie title, before he heads to Britain to join his new team – which is yet to be named.

“Scott’s signing is recognition of the growing awareness of TRS in Europe generally; and underlines what we can offer drivers as they prepare for their 2011 British and European campaigns . Our 2011 series shows every signs of continuing on from this year’s very competitive season with a high quality list of prospects assembling in the wings as they confirm their individual plans” said TRS Manager Barrie Thomlinson.

“Right now there are several

European teams with multiple drivers who are finalising their 2011 plans and, unless there is a major change of thinking, we will see some extremely exciting drivers coming here from all corners of the world. I expect regular

announcements coming over the next few weeks as contracts are formalised for their commitment to the TRS International series.”

ETEC will also run an entry for 17-year-old Wellington driver Jamie McNee. James Smith

... and David makes three BATHURST 12 HOUR DAVID Russell will complete the line-up in Roger Lago’s entry for next year’s Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour.

The Fujitsu Series frontrunner – who won last month’s round at Bathurst – will join the top two drivers from this year’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, with series winner Lago joined

www.mnews.com.au

by Matt Kingsley. The trio will drive Lago’s title-winning 997 CupCar in Class B. “I’m looking forward to that, it’s the next big thing I want to do well in,” Lago said.

“Obviously having Dave in the car, he was super quick in Carrera Cup, and he’s the right guy to have in the team. Both Matt and myself will learn a lot off him over that weekend.

“Dave’s very accomplished and I’ll be able to feed off him, which will assist me in the car next year.”

The 12 Hour could be start of more longer-distance racing for Lago, possibly even overseas.

“It’s a matter of progression,” he said, “you do club stuff, you do state stuff and we’ve done the GT3 Cup Challenge. Now I’m doing the 12 Hour, and if

that goes well, then obviously the next cab off the rank could be the Sepang 12 Hour.

“And maybe staying in the GT3 Cup Challenge is a good thing to keep your eye in, but then perhaps taking the car over and doing a Nurburgring [24 Hour] or Dubai 24 Hour or something like that could be the next step.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

17

Pramac gets Randy MOTOGP RANDY de Puniet will join Loris Capirossi at Pramac Racing next year.

The Frenchman, who has raced for LCR for the last three seasons, will join Loris Capirossi, who leaves Suzuki after the same period.

“I am incredibly excited about this new adventure that will begin next year,” said de Puniet. “I would like to thank the Pramac Racing Team Principal,

Paolo Campinoti, for this great opportunity and the confidence that he has placed in me. I have worked with Italian Teams in the past and I'm happy to continue for the next year. I would like to thank one by one the LCR Team and Lucio Cecchinello with whom I shared wonderful years and I believe that they were my family and now I join a new family thanks to Pramac. I am looking forward to meet my Ducati!”

HARD AT WORK WORLD SUPERBIKE

MAX Biaggi topped the timesheets at the recent Aragon World Superbike Championship test – but Kawasaki is shaping up as a big challenger.

While the World Champ headed the times from Carlos Checa, before the Spaniard headed to Portugal, Tom Sykes was close behind. Kawasaki will mount a three-man assault on the 2011 WSBK, with Aussie Chris Vermeulen and Joan Lascorz joining Sykes.

Meanwhile, Liberty Racing has confirmed that it has acquired the former Xerox Ducatis for Jakub Smrz and Sylvain Guintoli to race next season.

Interwetten dries up MOTOGP THE Interwetten Honda team has withdrawn from MotoGP – but says it will return in 2012.

Rider Hiroshi Aoyama is expected to join the San Carlo Gresini Honda team.

“It is a pity that the team cannot continue,” said Aoyama, whose best result 18

was a seventh-placed finish in Malaysia last month.

“I had a really good time with them and I want to thank the team for all they did for me.”

Daniel Epp’s team, which only stepped up to the top level this year, is expected to concentrate on programs in Moto2 and 125cc next season before its 2012 return.

New looks: Leon Haslam and dad Ron get familiar with BMW ... motorsport news

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BRIEFLY n Seven-times New Zealand Karting Champion Raymond Hart has passed away after a battle with cancer. The well-respected racer, who raced against many legends of the sport both in Australasia and around the world, had a fitting send off in Palmerston North on Friday. Tributes flowed from Australia, New Zealand, Europe and America, with former NASCAR driver Lake Speed, legendary World Champion Terry Fullerton and Australian legend, Drew Price paying tribute. The winningest driver in the history of the sport in Australia, John Pizarro, was on hand for the celebration of Hart’s life. He was 60 years of age. n Joseph Mawson will be another Australian representative in Las Vegas later this month, when he will compete in the Junior TAG division at the SuperNationals. The event boasts a healthy entry list across all categories. n Former CIK-FIA boss

n Early indications are that 2011’s CIK Stars of Karting series will be even bigger and better than this year. The first week that registrations have been open has resulted in excess of 40 competitors indicating their interest.

20

KARTING

SYDNEY-SIDER Jason Hryniuk put in an impressive performance in Japan as part of the All Japan Yamaha Championship held at Tsumagoi on Sunday, however his pace didn’t translate into a Final result.

Going into the event much heavier than his diminutive counterparts, the former Haase factory Formula Super A pilot was at a disadvantage, however qualified in fifth placing.

Kiwi veteran Matt Hamilton set the pole time, just two tenths quicker than Hryniuk.

He was sitting in third position in the first race,

before a coming together with another racer.

That cost him plenty of positions and forced him to start the final from 13th. The team elected to pursue a radical chassis setup for the final to try and elevate the three times national champion through the field, however it proved to be the wrong decision and he crossed the line in 15th.

Australia has had a long history in the event, with Yamaha supporting an Australian driver to compete in the Championship. Throughout 2010, the qualifying events constituted the Yamaha East Coast Championship, which ran as a support to the CIK Stars of Karting Series.

– MATT PAYNE

MARTIN BACK IN A KART KARTING

TAKING some time out after a busy European season, SuperLeague Formula driver, John Martin took the opportunity to get back to his roots at the weekend and race in the final of the SuperCheap Auto Karting Series in Rockhampton.

Martin finished the SuperLeague Formula year as the fourth highest money winner, bringing in €365,000 for his Beijing Guoan team. He also took out the final round’s Super Final in Spain.

The 15 horsepower Yamaha he piloted in Rockhampton was just a little different to the thumping V12 that powers his SuperLeague car. Martin brought his machine home

Harrington Doyle Racing

Luigi Macaluso passed away suddenly in the last week. He served as President of the CIK-FIA between 2005 and 2009, and was largely responsible for the instigation of the Under-18 World Karting Championships. In other CIKFIA news, Bahraini Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa has been elected CIK President and Australia will have a representative on the 33 member commission.

HRYNIUK IMPRESSES IN JAPAN

in eighth placing in the final, with 2010 CIK Champion Cian Fothergill claiming the Pro Clubman round victory. He wasn’t aided by a DNF in his opening heat.

Other winners in the Final round of the Queensland

based SuperCheap Series included Jordan McGregor (Rookies), Harrison Oddie (Midgets), Brody Chardon (Pro Junior National), John Grother (Leopard Light) and Brendan Nelson (Leopard Heavy).

– MATT PAYNE motorsport news

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21

Cowin comes back DRAG RACING

4.79s defeat a 4.87s from Read in another tight contest. A consistent 4.83s in the final was the final knockout blow for runner up Sainty.

“Testing paid off, adapting our Rocket/AeroFlow dragster to a hot track set up,” Cowin said.

“We had to slow her down a little, but making a bunch of consistent passes on a hot track really built a lot of confidence in our team and gave us something we’ll continue to

John Morris / Mpix

SYDNEY’S Andrew Cowin picked up his first win of the 2010/11 ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel Series with victory over Terry Sainty at Sydney Dragway last weekend.

The team made amends for a shock first round loss at the Fuchs Australian Nationals in September, after which the team then went into a testing regime to gain as much data as

they could at their home track.

Cowin finished qualifying after three sessions with a solid 4.74s elapsed time at 512kmh, which put him in second place.

In Round 1 it was a repeat of the Nationals when he took on Bob Shepherd. Both drivers struggled with the track and, in a close race Cowin, took the win in a 5.22s to 5.35s decider.

The semi finals saw Andrew put away Phil Read in a big showdown. The result saw a

sculpt and etch away at.

“Our team gave me a safe car to drive all weekend and we’re all still very excited on our win and on our forward progression.”

– LUKE NIEUWHOF Luke Nieuwhof

Track championships pick up DRAG RACING BOTH the Sydney and Perth track championships are now underway.

Sydney is running a Perthstyle Top Comp bracket now, with Craig Allison taking out two events in a row with his colourful Altered. He defeated

Frank Mamone in the final.

In Super Comp, George Rehayem made more headlines with a 6.68s pass, a new record for rotary sedans. It was Joe Signorelli with a consistent performance on race day in the Gas Motorsport Celica who took the trophy.

In Perth it was Funny Car

driver Rob Pilkington, pictured, who reached the line first in the final of Top Comp, downing Jeffrey Clarke, with both drivers running sub-national record times during the day.

Allen Puglia won Super Comp, eliminating Colin Mortimore in the final. Puglia had several reasons to celebrate that night,

with son Nicholas also winning in his Junior Dragster.

Last season Neil Anderson completed the first-ever perfect series at Perth Motorplex, winning every event. He started out the 2010/11 season in the same form, winning the Grand Opening.

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

ANDRA Pro Series news i

22

motorsport news

news

Mariani impresses in US debut DRAG RACING

John Bosher

SYDNEY Top Fuel driver Mark Mariani stunned both his fans in Australia and interested observers in the USA when he advanced to the second round of the recent Las Vegas Nationals.

Mariani and the Santo Rapisarda team ventured over to the USA to try their luck for the first time. The team struck a first blow by qualifying into the 16-car field against the odds, with 27 Top Fuel dragsters attempting to make it in.

They then faced championship contender Cory McClenathan in the first round but came away with an impressive 3.93s to 4.13s win. Top Fuel races over a 301m distance in the USA, as opposed to 402m in Australia.

The team lost in the next round to Antron Brown, but having made it to the quarter-

finals, they were very happy.

“We would not have come over here unless we thought we had a shot at it (doing well),” Mariani told competitionplus.com.

“The main thing was qualifying and then we knew anything could happen on race day and it did. I think Santo is pretty happy with what we did.

“As a kid, I watched my dad drag race and I always watched all these guys here on TV. I thought it would be great to race in America one day and I thought it might not be achievable.

“Then, I finally got the opportunity to come over here and I can’t say how important it is to me. It is like getting the call to go the Olympics. This is the big show.”

The team will also compete at the season-ending Pomona, California race this weekend.

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

Morgan to head west early DRAG RACING AUSTRALIAN Top Fuel points leader Darren Morgan is looking forward to an exciting time in Perth in just over a week when his AEG team competes in a Top Fuel match race next weekend, November 20.

“We are very excited to be heading over to Perth, we love racing over there,” Morgan said.

“We are planning to put on a great show for the fans and our sponsors as well as gather some valuable data for the points round in January.”

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

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23

Five Minutes with ...

MARK WEBBER

The 2010 Formula 1 season is about to reach a very exciting climax. The question is, where will Aussie Mark finish in the wash-up?

24

sutton-images.com

QUESTION: Mark, what about the start and the overheating engine; when did that start?

MARK WEBBER: The start wasn’t too bad.

I had a good run around Turn 1, on the inside for Two, and then I lined Nico up.

I was waiting for him to brake for four and I thought ‘hmm, that’s going to be a bit deep, I don’t know if you’re going to hit the apex’ and thank god he didn’t, and that opened up my race a bit more.

Then I thought, okay, keep an eye on Fernando, where he was.

I saw in my mirrors that Lewis didn’t have the best first lap and Fernando was there. I was just watching my pit board for a while, to see when Fernando cleared Nico.

And then ... not much to comment on the race really.

After that the engine was cooking. I’m not sure … obviously I haven’t talked to the guys yet, but obviously we had to short shift and control reliability from there and get the car home. So it was a relatively comfortable race for us.

Obviously Seb [Vettel] and I were going okay.

But today’s all about the team. Today’s about the team, yeah, nothing else; what they’ve done this year and previous years. People like Adrian Newey, David Coulthard – people who have played a big role in the early days, along with Christian Horner.

The list of the people back at base is incredible, but we’ve got some soldiers back there like you wouldn’t believe, and I would love to be in the trenches with those guys and girls, because they do an incredible job for us, because Adrian pushes them very, very hard on the design front.

Rob Marshall and his team, all of them; you don’t win a Constructors’ Championship if you’ve got a car that’s not reliable, so they’ve done a very good job on all fronts. Yeah, we’ve hit a few logs in the river along the way, but this is sport. Today’s all about the team, and I want to thank everyone that’s been involved.

Could you feel anything with the engine, or was it just information from the team?

Just information, mate. Normally they don’t ring us up unless there are issues, so the phone rang. It’s never nice when they have to ask you to manage something.

The Safety Car helped a bit, but then very quickly it was back again the first lap after the Safety Car. I’m not in the best position to answer all your questions in terms of what it was, but it was right on the edge apparently. But we got it home.

Given that a win today would have meant that you would have gone to Abu Dhabi knowing that a win would be enough to win the championship, and

given that there’s a precedent saying that in the title run-in team orders are allowed, should the team have swapped you and Sebastian?

It helps but it’s not in the team’s philosophy. That’s how it is. It was a good drive by Seb today for the win, and that’s how it is.

I think the team’s position has always been on the sporting side and that’s how it is. Obviously, Fernando got some points in Hockenheim, which has happened in the past in Formula 1 and will happen again in the future.

Everyone has different ideas, but that’s how it is at the moment, so I will go [to Abu Dhabi] and do my best. motorsport news

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25

FIRST IS THE WORST

I

T’S kind of ironic that, on the same day that Red Bull Racing was awarded the Formula 1 Constructors World Championship, they proved, beyond doubt, that they are not the best team in Formula 1.

Yes, RBR has built the fastest car – just like they did last year. But even with a highly superior machine, they are in grave danger of not wrapping up a driver’s title, instead potentially conceding the honour to Ferrari, who have played a blinder. To me, that reeks of being a bad team, not a good one.

The Brazilian Grand Prix was just the icing on the cake. Team orders might be banned, but come on. Not moving Sebastien Vettel over for Mark Webber was basically conceding the title to Fernando Alonso. If Steve Waugh had been sitting next to Christian Horner on the pit-wall, amidst the frenzied celebrations of being crowned the far less important of the World Champions, he would have killed the mood by saying “you just dropped the driver’s World Championship.” Because that was what they did.

I’ve said before that team orders should be allowed in F1, and even if they are not, there are ways to get the job done with a defense for the inevitable meeting with the World Motor Sport Council. You know, a long pit-stop, or a mysteriously temporary engine problem, that rectifies itself once the lead has changed hands – kind of like the one that Webber had in Turkey. That’s what Red Bull should have done, because now, there is every chance that Alonso will become World Champion by a points margin that could be attributed to either Felipe Massa moving over for him in Germany, or Red Bull not doing the same in Brazil.

And if that happens, I’m pretty sure no one at Ferrari will complain about the quick trip to see the WMSC after Hockenheim, or the pesky $100,000 fine. It will all be worth it.

If Red Bull Racing had swapped its drivers over, Webber would be just one point behind Alonso heading into Abu Dhabi. Given the superior speed that RBR showed in Brazil, its reasonable to expected a one-two from The Bulls, meaning that whatever order they finished, the championship would be Webber’s. But no, they let Vettel win, making the job hard for both RBR drivers. As it stands, the gap between Webber and Alonso is eight points, with Vettel a further seven behind.

So how will that work, in practice, in Abu Dhabi. Well, assuming it is a RBR 1-2, then if Vettel wins, Alonso only needs to finish fourth or better or win the title. If Webber wins, Alonso must be second to win the title. How do I know this? Because that’s exactly what Alonso said in the post-race press conference in Brazil.

Between the podium and the press room he had it all worked out, and that tells me that he isn’t planning to try and beat Vettel and Webber in Abu Dhabi, he’s going to let the in-fighting win the title for him.

Now, it’s safe to assume that Vettel will be the faster of the two RBRs, as he has been for the majority of the season, particularly in the second half of the year. And it’s also safe to assume that Alonso will be third, because in Brazil, the cream certainly rose to the top.

So here’s the million dollar question; when Vettel is leading late in the race, from Webber, with Alonso third, what will he do? If he holds the lead, Alonso wins. If he lets Webber through, Webber and RBR win. I don’t know the answer, but I can hardly wait to find out ...

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Andrew v eNews E

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van Leeuwen – Editor

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AUSTRALIAN TARGA CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1, TARGA HIGH COUNTRY, VIC

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WEEKS IN T motorsport news

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After some inital confusion, Kevin Weeks took out the inaugural Targa High Country, which was also the first round of the new Australian Targa Championship

THE HIGH COUNTRY www.mnews.com.au

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NE minute Jason White had won Targa High Country. The next, Kevin Weeks was getting the glory after a confusing weekend in Victoria’s alpine region.

After finishing six second clear of the field, it appeared that White, his co-driver brother John and their Lamborghini were the winners. But then Kevin Weeks – also in a Lambo – appealed the time he was given for Stage 14, and it was revealed that an error had indeed occurred, to the tune of 26 seconds. Therefore the results were overturned, and Weeks was crowned the winner of the inaugural Targa High Country.

“We had a fantastic weekend and this is a great reward for all my team,” said Weeks.

“It is unfortunate that the error happened, but these things can occur in such logistically complicated events like a Targa, and it’s just one of those things.

“It’s been a really fantastic event. It’s 30

gone off really well and I would like to congratulate everyone associated with the event, and also congratulate Jason on such a fantastic competition over the two days. It’s been a fantastic rally. The roads are amazing and take so much commitment from a driver.”

It was actually the second timing blunder of the weekend, and the second involving White. It was initially announced that White was leading after Leg 1 on Saturday, but he had 41 seconds added to his total on Sunday morning after officials revaluated one of his earlier stage times.

Once the results were corrected White was classified second, while Targa legends Jim Richards and Barry Oliver were third in their two-wheel-drive Porsche. A similar giant-killing effort came from Dean Herridge, who finished fourth in his relatively under-powered Subaru STi. For two-thirds of the Mazda Australia crew, it was a weekend to forget. Steve

Glenney led the way on the first day in the RX-8 SP, indicating that the team might have been about to break its Targa duck. But a split oil tank took him out of contention before Saturday was over. Meanwhile, in the Mazda3 MPS, Brendan Reeves ran out of brakes while running well inside the Top 10 on Sunday, ending his run at the Showroom class. Luckily, Peter Brown made up for it in his factory-backed Mazda 3 diesel, winning the showroom class and giving Mazda something to take away from the weekend.

In the Classic class, Andrew Miedecke and Daniel Wilson were the class of the field in their 1970 Ford Capri Perana, beating home the Porsche of Rex Broadbent and Chris Randell.

The second round of the Australian Targa Championship will be held at Targa Wrest Point in Tasmania, starting on January 29, 2011. motorsport news

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White Wash: Twice Jason White was stung by bad time keeping, top, while Dean Herridge did a ripper job in his less excotic Subaru, above. Brendan Reeves was looking good on Day 1, below left, but crashed out on Day 2. There was no such bad luck for Andrew Miedecke, below, who took a solid win in the classic section.

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BNT NZV8s ROUND 1, PUKEKOHE

FOGG SETS IN AT PUKE

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NZV8s

N New Zealand, you don’t have to be a race winner to be a round winner.

Just ask Angus Fogg.

The Aucklander couldn’t quite snare a win at Pukekohe for the first round of the 2010/11 BNT V8s Championship, but a second, a fourth and a fifth from the three races was enough to hand him the points required to be crowned the round winner. It was actually the second that made all the difference, with Fogg coming from 20th on the grid in the full reversegrid Race 3. And despite not getting a win, Fogg was happy with the result, claiming

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that it will help him get on the ultimate pace for Round 2.

“This has been a lot better than last year, so we can head down south for the next round in P1,” he said.

“It’s also good from a mental perspective as it gives the whole team a real boost, as we tend to go well at Ruapuna, and hopefully with our new set up it will pay off as the season goes on.”

Aussie-based Kiwi Craig Baird was second for the round, while Tim Edgell was third ahead of John McIntyre and Andy Knight, in an all-Ford Top 5.

McIntyre was undoubtedly the unluckiest man of the weekend. He was

on pole for Race 1, and won the first two races, seemingly setting up an easy round victory. But in Race 3 he punctured a tyre while attempting to pass Nick Ross, which led to him hitting the wall and DNFing the race.

The lone Australian in the field Jason Bargwanna, pictured below, had a solid weekend on his NZV8 debut, with a weekend best of sixth in Race 2, and eighth for the round. Stone Brothers Racing Fujitsu Series driver Scott McLaughlin was ninth for the round, and it could have been better had it not been for a power-steering problem in the final race.

motorsport news

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GAUNT’S BIG COMEBACK NZ PORSCHES

THE year 2010 will probably be one to forget for Daniel Gaunt. But after the first round of New Zealand’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, he’s already making moves to ensure 2011 is much, much better.

The weekend actually started poorly for Gaunt.

On Friday, he binned his Porsche in a serious manner

– to an extent that it looked like his weekend was done and dusted. But from the moment Gaunt jumped into his mentor Michael Morton’s car, his luck started to turn.

First, he was gifted the win in the mini-enduro Race 1, after long-time leader Craig Baird had to pit with two laps to go thanks to a destroyed tyre. While Baird made amends with a win in Race 2, he was handed a

time penalty in Race 3, again gifting Gaunt the win – and an early series lead ahead of a very quick Jonny Reid and Mitch Cunningham.

“Jonny has had pace all weekend whereas I’ve been trying to get my confidence back after damaging the car on Friday morning,” said Gaunt.

“We were a little lucky with our win in yesterday’s race, but today we definitely

earned and deserved it. So I’m really happy for Triple X Motorsport, MPD and the Outlaws Bar; Michael Morton for letting me use his car – I can’t thank him enough.

“It was a shame about Bairdo, and there is no counting him out of the championship, that’s for sure.

He’s the best here and has won it every year it’s been contested, so it’s really just a speed bump for him.”

CAINE LOBB’S INTO EARLY CONTENTION NZ V8 UTES CAINE Lobb has marked himself as the man to beat in the 2010/11 ENZED V8 Utes Series, with a Round 1 win at Pukekohe on the weekend.

The man they call the Ginja Ninja www.mnews.com.au

set up the win with a stunning drive from the back of the grid to finish third in Saturday’s Race 1. From there, he could control the meeting, winning the remaining two races to take round honours.

Second for the round was Simon Beirne,

while Chris Hanley was stunning on his V8 Ute debut, winning his first ever race and finishing third for the round.

Race winner in the Aussie V8 Utes, Chris Pither, had a troubled weekend, with engine and brake troubles leaving him well down in the points.

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HISTORIC SANDOWN SANDOWN RACEWAY

Old school specials

Sandown Raceway was awash with classic machinery on the weekend, as the circuit hosted its annual historic meeting. Our photographers bring you a snapshot of the action

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motorsport news

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Justin Collins James Smith

Andrew Robson, top, won all three Formula 5000 races.

Lyndon McLeod (#44) and Steve Smith synchronised their backwards exit from Turn 1 in Group SC, above.

And who said people don’t race hard at historic events? Tony Hubbard gave Darryl Hansen a hurry-up in Group NC, below.

Justin Collins

James Smith

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Justin Collins

James Smith

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Some of Porsche’s famous models came out to play –the 911 GT1, left, and a 935, bottom left.

James Smith

Shane Bowden, right, and Graeme Raper, below right, found alternatives to the traditional ‘four wheels on the black stuff’ strategy in the Groups J, K, Lb races.

Gary Collins, bottom, was the pick of the Group A & C Touring Car field in his VL Commodore.

Justin Collins James Smith

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 34, FORT WORTH, TX

TEXA

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AS SHOOTOUT Denny Hamlin took out his eighth race of the season, and put one hand on the Sprint Cup, with a strong win in Texas. Meanwhile, there were some cussin’ and hollerin’ and a fist-fight going on ...

TOYOTA Media

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ENNY Hamlin has marked himself as the man most likely to stop the Jimmie Johnson/Hendrick juggernaut by taking out a gripping Texas 500.

When he fought off Matt Kenseth at the final restart, Hamlin not only took his eighth win of the season – and second in the Chase for the Sprint Cup – but a bad day at the office for Johnson saw the Joe Gibbs Toyota driver leave Texas with a 37-point lead in the series. With two races to go, that could be enough to see a Toyota driver lift the title for the first time.

“Great job, Mike,” Hamlin told his crew chief, whose name, ironically, is Mike Ford.

“You made that car 10 times better at the end. I told you guys I was going to pick it up with three to go. It’s on!”

Johnson had a bad race, and so badly did his pitcrew perform that his crew chief Chad Knaus benched them – and had Jeff Gordon’s team take over service for the #48 Chevy for the second half of the race. They were sitting on their hands, doing nothing because Gordon was out midrace after and altercation – and subsequent punchup – with Jeff Burton (see news pages).

“It was just a long day,” Johnson said. “I had speed in the car. We worked our way forward and had issues on pit road. We gave away so much track position from the beginning. It’s tough to get back where we needed to.”

Mark Martin was third ahead Joey Logano, but the story of the race was the man in fifth. Greg Biffle was the man to beat for much of the day,

motorsport news

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TOYOTA Media

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TOYOTA Media

leading 223 of the 334 laps in dominant fashion. But his car struggled on restarts due to transmission problems, and his fifth at the flag was not a true indication of how much speed he had on the Texas track.

As ever, Kyle Busch was in the news. He spun out on lap 158, only just missing Marcos Ambrose, and later he was penalised for speeding on pitlane. While he was serving a penalty for that, he was further penalised for making an inappropriate gesture towards an official. Just when it seemed that the ‘new’ Kyle Busch had put his wicked ways behind him ...

Ambrose hung in for most of the race, and was looking for a top-10 finish late in the race, before he lost a position in a Patrick Carpentier yellow. At the flag, the Aussie was 12th.

There’s a new sherriff in town: Denny Hamlin had a smile like a split watermelon after winning in Texas.

His Toyota was too strong on restarts, while Marcos Ambrose had an adventurous ride to 11th, above.

Results :: AAA Texas 500, Fort Worth, TX Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

No. 11 17 5 20 16 29 33 6 48 98

Driver Denny Hamlin Matt Kenseth Mark Martin Joey Logano Greg Biffle Kevin Harvick Clint Bowyer David Ragan Jimmie Johnson Paul Menard

Car Toyota Ford Chevy Toyota Ford Chevy Chevy Ford Chevy Ford

Team Joe Gibbs Roush Fenway Hendrick Joe Gibbs Roush Fenway Childress Childress Roush Fenway Hendrick Richard Petty

Sponsor FedEx Office Crown Royal Black Carquest The Home Depot American Red Cross Shell/Pennzoil Cheerios UPS Lowe’s Quaker State

Qual 30 19 9 20 2 26 7 5 17 12

Top 12 Points: Hamlin 6325, Johnson 6292, Harvick 6266, Edwards 6008, Kenseth 6000,

Gordon 5994, Kyle Busch 5986, Stewart 5962, Biffle 5953, Bowyer 5928, Kurt Busch 5890, Burton 5852.

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Mark Jones

No blues for Clews AUSSIE RACING CARS THE entire Aussie Racing Car season hung on the final lap at Morgan Park Raceway.

Two points separated Kyle Clews and Adam Gowans and the pair had raced amongst the top four for the whole weekend.

But with half a lap to go, Gowans rolled to a halt on the climb up the hill from Siberia to T-Junction.

A differential breakage had moved up the drivetrain and the Yamaha engine ejected some of its contents out the side of the block. Gowans had been leading with Clews back in third, but the title was Clews’ in the end.

“Both Adam and I knew where we had to finish prior to the race,” said Clews.

“I was very nervous before the final race start. The team’s worked hard all year, once Adam stopped I just kept my cool.”

The first two races saw Gowans win ahead of the battling pair of Brad Ward and Jack Perkins with Clews chasing them home. The top 10 reverse grid race saw Clews break the points tie, leading until bodywork broken by an early race collision started to break up. Clews lost all front downforce and Perkins won, while Gowans was fourth behind Ward.

LIVIN’ ON THE EGEL SPEEDWAY SOUTH Australian Matt Egel claimed the biggest prize of his career with a barnstorming drive to claim the Oxford Insurance Brokers Australian Sprintcar Masters at Adelaide Speedway.

Against a quality field of 20 other competitors from most parts of Australia, Egel blasted his way to victory, leading every circulation of the 35-lap

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event, and lowering the lap record to a 11.744s.

Despite the numerous restarts throughout the cautionplagued event, Egel powered to victory as many others fell by the wayside, some going out in spectacular style with spectacular flips through the air; Luke Bowey, Glen Sutherland and Eddie Lumbar all went as high as the top of the fence before crashing back down to earth.

Perkins led the final race until a Safety Car was deployed at Lap 7. Gowans jumped Perkins at the restart and led until the Aurion started to die. Perkins won from Clews and Simon Smith. The Masters title wrapped up early on Sunday morning by Darren Chamberlain.

Morgan Park also hosted the final round of the Queensland State Championships, with Jason Smith capping his breakout season at state and national level, winning the Pacific Superkart Challenge and Queensland Superkart Championship.

Gary Bonwick wrapped up another HQ Holdens, two

seconds behind Ramon Connell enough to claim the title. Mike Smith took two wins to vault past Paul Kellaway into second in Formula Vee, while Tim Hamilton had wrapped up the title back in July.

Kevin Heffernan dominated Historic Touring Cars but Bob Sudall, with a second and third, did just enough to keep Gary Jackson from the Historic Touring Car title.

Jake Brackenridge (Geminis), Tony Cox (Sports Sedans), Jordan Lloyd (Formula Ford), Ben Gersekowski (Racing Cars), Lindsay Kearns (Saloon Cars) and Terry Knight (Production Sports Cars) also won titles.

– MARK JONES

Following Egel to the finish line was Trevor Green, who finished as the bridesmaid for this event for the third successive year. Green had no answer for Egel who had sliced his way through traffic to open a handy lead over the rest of the hunting front-runners. Luke Dillon occupied the final step on the podium, ahead of Brad Keller.

While Domain Ramsay may have been the final finisher

in the 410 Sprintcar section, his ‘double duty’ drive in the 360 division proved to be a successful venture, chalking up his maiden feature race victory in the second round of the Revolution Racegear Speedway City Track Championship Series.

The battle for second proved to be an interesting affair with Shannon Barry, Chad Ely and Shane Hendy crossing the line in close succession.

– PARIS CHARLES

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SPORTSCARS PEUGEOT has won the final Le Mans Series race of the year at Zhuhai in controversial circumstances.

Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin took the flag by less than 5s in a thrilling 1000km event, but victory could have easily gone to Audi. The Germans were left hopping when the second Peugeot, driven

by Sebastien Bourdais, drove slowly around the track, with Tom Kristensen’s Audi trapped behind. This allowed Sarrazin to pit and resume in the lead by a margin practically identical to that at the chequered flag.

Andrew Hall

Zhun hoons In the 908 that he shared with Simon Pagenuad, Bourdais himself looked a probable victor. But he became caught up with the Felbermayr-Proton Porsche driven by Martin Ragginger with 44 laps to go, and had to pit for repairs. He lost three laps and fell to fourth position behind the Dindo Capello/Romain Dumas Audi.

Oak Racing’s PescaroloJudd took LMP2 honours in fifth outright, while recent V8 Supercar debutant Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister brought Porsche’s 911 GT3R Hybrid was sixth, ahead of all the GT2 cars. That class was taken out by the Jorg Muller/Dirk Werner BMW.

P3 for Atko ASIA PACIFIC RALLY

CHRIS Atkinson has ended his Asia Pacific Rally Championship campaign with a podium finish in China Rally.

With brother Ben alongside him as co-driver for the first time since 2004, the Atkinsons finished third in their Proton, behind team-mate Alister McRae in second, to give the Malaysian manufacturer two cars on the podium.

The APRC title was decided in dramatic circumstances on the opening day. Katsu Taguchi had

a narrow lead at the top of the standings entering the event, but crashed out on Stage 2.

That put Gaurav Gill in the box seat, before he too crashed out of contention several stages later. Taguchi held on to win the title by just three points.

Meanwhile, Japanese driver Yuya Sumiyama won the rally by 29.7s in his Mitsubishi over McRae, who wrapped up third in the standings. Atkinson finished the year fifth, while Glenn MacNeall was the champion co-driver for his season with Gill.

IRC wraps up in Cyprus IRC RALLY NASSER Al-Attiyah won the season-ending Intercontinental Rally Challenge event in a Ford.

With the title already decided, most of the top teams skipped the Cyprus Rally, with Al-Attiyah leading home Roger Feghali and Martin Prokop.

First place is Meyers’ place WORLD OF OUTLAWS JASON Meyers captured his first World of Outlaw Sprint Car championship on Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

On an uncommonly cold Charlotte night in front of a capacity crowd, Meyers only had to finish 21st in the final two features of the season to take the title over four time

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consecutive champion Donny Schatz.

But Myers put a stranglehold on the field winning Friday’s AMain – which was rain delayed until Saturday afternoon – by seven seconds over Joey Saldana. He then went on to repeat victory on Saturday night over Daryn Pittman and Sammy Swindell to win the title by 112 points.

“I tell you what, words can’t describe what it feels like to win

the championship,” said Meyers.

“It’s just unbelievable.

Everyone’s been telling me all week where I need to finish to win the championship, but I don’t worry about that. I go out there just like we do every week, to try and win the race and stay out of trouble.”

Starting on the outside pole in the 26-car field, Meyers never looked back after taking over the lead from Daryn Pittman coming to the stripe

on Lap 11. After assuming the point position Meyers was never challenged, leading the remaining 15 laps of the 25-lap feature.

Veteran Swindell took a hard tumble on the front stretch in the first feature, but unloaded his backup machine to amazingly win his heat race and put on a strong performance in the final WOO race of the year.

– MARTIN D CLARK

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Bathurst 12hr 2011

VT Holden Saloon Car One of the top VT Commodores in the series, engine and gear box completely rebuilt and sealed for the 2010 series, has all the best gear including AIM Data Logger and Motec Lamber meter.

Comes with spare set of wheels and tyres, new clutch 2 meetings old, this car was placed 2nd in the 2009 series. $34,500 0418816629

Elfin MS8 Clubman Race Car

Lotus 340R

Lotus GT production drives available for Bathurst 12 hour 2011. Fully prepared arrive and drive packages for experienced drivers. NC license req'd. Be a part of a great event and a professional, championship 2 car team. Bathurst 12 hour 4-6 February 2011.

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5700 LS1 alloy block V8, factory fitted roller cam and rockers.

Owner fitted 4 into 1 headers; ECU modified; 388 HP at wheels.

Roll cage certified by Motorsport NZ. Battery switch, harnesses etc.

OE Tremec 6 speed and diff. ABS. Koni shocks, Eibach springs, ARBs. 2 sets wheels. Class winner. +64274468483

Single-way Nitron dampers with light weight Eibach springs.

Fully rebuilt motor incl. forged pistons, steel liners, fully balanced.

Currently runs about 170hp ATW @ 650kg car. Mocal oil cooler.

Motec M400 ECU. Carbon exhaust (3kg) Techo magnesium wheels.

Spare heated screen. WA B Class registered. $85,000 0414401815

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Porsche 993 Race Car

2 Ex-team Dynamic v8 supercars for sale. Cars are complete ready to race. Kms on components and massive spares package.

POA 0429677255

Premier hydraulic Tilt trailer. ATM 1500Kg. Recently reconditioned.

Tows beautifully. Light weight. $3,499 0882999281

3.5L twin plug. Motec with aim dash. Chrome molly cage, all turbo brakes, suspension. 3 sets wheels and tyres (incl. 1 set new slicks app.

6 laps). Contact Rick Scarf $47,500 0418202100

Price reduction. Ex-Porsche Carrera cup car (2003), LHD, stripped lightweight body, stock engine, large turbo brakes, Proflex shocks, 2 sets wheels, many mods, email or call me for details. $47,500 0418955785

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DUMBRELL IS MO FOOL

EVEN if Paul Dumbrell is leaving V8 Supercars next month, he is doing so with his head, and moustache, held high.

PD and the rest of the team at Automotive Brands are in full facial hair mode, supporting Movember with some of the best upper lip service you will ever

see. The cause, which supports both the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue, raises more than $20m for what are excellent causes.

As you can see, there are some grooming issues to overcome, but nothing that cannot be curled, waxed and twirled.

Rob Shackles

Clayton Fox

Paul Dumbrell

Rob Lucchesi

Ross Lamb

John Raditsis

John Lumampao

Gerard McWilliams

Enzo Macri

Darren O’Brien

Rajnish Kumar

Stephen Barden

Terry Aravanis

Francois Rosemond

Charles Armansin

Steven Avram

Elvis Brandellero

Otti Faska

If you wish to donate to the Autobarn team, you can do so here; https://www. movember.com/au/donate/your-details/ team_id/77762. All donations over $2.00 are tax deductable.

See http://au.movember.com/donate/ for details.

Andre Renkema

HALL OF FAME

WITH the festive season fast approaching, a new motor racing book has been launched just in time for some holiday reading.

But this is no ghost-written ‘Insert Driver’s Name: My Life in the Fast Lane’ style of book. Instead, this is a fascinating autobiography by West Aussie motoring legend Don Hall, documenting his life of tuning, building and racing some of the state’s most famous bikes and cars, both in speedway and circuit racing.

For those who haven’t heard of Hall, 78, his career in automotion began when he was a teenager, when he was the first person in WA to pilot a scale model aircraft over 100mph. Fast forward a decade or two, and he was running Don Hall’s Speed Shop in Subiaco, the first dedicated speed shop in WA, as well as being the dealer for Datsun, Simca, Goggomobil, Lotus and the range of BMC brands.

At 216 pages, with plenty of original, never before seen photos, Both Sides of the Fence is only available from Go Gear in Mt Hawthorn, Stanbridge’s Hobbies in Mt Lawley, and for interstaters, from Hall himself on (08) 93862346.

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