Motorsport eNews Issue 218 - August 16-22, 2011

THE WORLD OF MOTORSPORT DIRECTLY TO YOUR DESKTOP

Issue No. 218 August 16 - 22 2011

LEE HOLDSWORTH STILL WANTED AT GRM HOLDSWORTH MIGHT BE ON THE MARKET, BUT GARRY ROGERS TELLS US THAT IT MIGHT NOT BE OVER BETWEEN LEE AND GRM

WILL POWER GOES NUTS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE!

DAVO READY TO TAKE ON THE EIGHTS AND HRT

DANIEL RICCIARDO

THE INSIDE LINE ON AUSTRALIA’S NEWEST FORMULA 1 DRIVER - ONLY IN THE AUGUST ISSUE OF MOTORSPORT NEWS PLUS: RYAN WALKINSHAW ON TAKING OVER HIS DAD’S BUSINESS, WE TALK TO ASIF KAPADIA, THE DIRECTOR BEHIND THE SENNA MOVIE, REVEAL ALEX ZANARDI’S OLYMPIC DREAM, SPEAK TO THE LATEST KIWI TO TAKE ON THE FAMOUS #51, LEARN ABOUT A V8 SUPERCAR THAT RACES AT THE NURBURGRING AND GET THE LATEST ON AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER RYAN SMART ...

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!

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Issue No. 218 | August 16 - 22 2011

news 5

Leethal Injection Why Garry still wants Lee 6 Why are softs so hard?

Davo on FPR’s Sprint tyre woes 10 For the Record ...

Morris re-sets Lakeside record 12 The Schu fits ... still One more year for Michael 32 Burdon’s Rock and Roll Full sequence of Burdon flip

chat 22 Five Minutes With ...

Chief Executive Officer, David Gardiner Commercial Director, Bruce Duncan Motorsport eNews is published by nextmedia Pty Ltd ACN: 128 805 970, Level 5, 55 Chandos St, St Leonards NSW 2065 © 2009. All rights reserved. No part of this e-magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior permission of the publisher.. The publisher will not accept responsibility or any liability for the correctness of information or opinions expressed in the publication. All material submitted is at the owner’s risk and, while every care will be taken nextmedia does not accept liability for loss or damage.

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James Courtney

comment 24 Diffey: Rain, Hail and Shine 25 Adam: Wings, but Slick? Nah.

race 26 Shannons Nationals 34 IndyCar 36 Lakeside Historics 38 Winton Historics 40 Knoxville Nationals

trade 44 Classifieds 3

ROGER D V8 SUPERCARS

ON’T go assuming that Lee Holdsworth is leaving Garry Rogers Motorsport at the end of the season.

Rogers has told eNews that his driver remains a man wanted at GRM and that he is willing to fight to keep him in Fujitsu Racing colours in 2012.

Holdsworth, who is out of contract with the team at the end of the season, is known to be a target of a number of squads looking for a change for next season.

“He and I are talking,” said Rogers. “He is wanted by me, the same as he is wanted by a lot of other people.”

Holdsworth joined GRM for

POWER

Dirk Klynsmith

4

motorsport news

NEWS

RS: I WANT TO KEEP LEE

Dirk Klynsmith

the endurance races in 2005, and joined the team as a fulltime drive for the ’06 season.

Since then, he has matured into a race-winning driver, and scored his maiden win in 2007 at Oran Park. He has been one of the big improvers in the V8 Supercar Championship, finishing 11th, 10th and seventh in the last three years’ pointscores. He is currently in 11th position in this season’s championship.

But Rogers is firm that retaining his drivers is not all about money.

“I think he wants to be with a team where he feels comfortable in his own heart and own mind,” he said.

“It is not all about chasing the dollars; I think that happens in

your whole life, but there is a lot more involved in this sport than just that.”

The veteran team owner also rather cryptically pointed

to some evolutions that are occurring at GRM, aimed at continuing its competitive situation.

“There are a lot of things

rolling along behind the scenes,” he said. “We had a good test last week, and we have a stable team. I think that those things are important.

R SLAMS OFFICIALS IN LOUDON V8 SUPERCARS

W

ILL Power has slammed IndyCar officials after a farcical finish to the New Hampshire round of the series.

The Aussie was fifth at the re-start when the flag fell, in spite of the track being damp and slippery. Sure enough, Danica Patrick spun her Andretti Autosport car as soon as she touched the throttle and the race ended with several cars – included Power’s – sliding into the concrete walls.

Power stormed away from his car and gave two one-finger salutes to Race Control.

He was scathing of the call, and slammed controversial IndyCar chief steward, Brian Barnhart.

“I was begging them, begging them, please do not go green,” he said. “So was everyone else – the track was in no

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condition to restart.

“To me it was disgraceful. It was a decision which put a lot of guys in danger.

“I just can’t believe the decision – what are they doing up there? They cannot have this guy [Barnhart] running the show, he make such bad calls all the time. Shame on him.

“I lost my temper, and that was bad of me but I just couldn’t help it. We begged them, begged them, not to do it.”

Barnhart, who has controversially brought in several rules, including one that a leading driver cannot block on a re-start, apologised for the error. With the race redflagged, he reinstated the order by which the cars took the re-start, giving Ryan Hunter-Reay his first win of the year and leaving Power fifth.

“It’s only the right thing to do,” Barnhart said. “We tore up some race cars we shouldn’t have.

“It would be one thing if it rained hard, your decision’s a pretty easy one to make.

But when you get calls from track safety and observer posts around the racetrack that report light moisture, the tough decision is to make that call whether you continue with the event or not.

“No matter what, our Number 1 priority in every decision we make is safety. They’re counting on you to make the right decision.

Obviously, toward the end of that race, with the attempted re-start, we made the wrong one. And that’s one of those things that just makes you feel sick to your stomach.”

To worsen Power’s mood, points leader Dario Franchitti was already out of the race.

The Scot was leading by as much as 12 seconds early in the race, but was taken out in a restart incident by Takuma Sato. The Japanese rookie later blamed the event on having debris in his eye.

5

+H]PZVU JVUÄKLU[ COURT 2H[L»Z H :WYPU[LY ENTHU

BY EV AT HRT

V8 SUPERCARS SPEED on the soft tyre has been Ford Performance Racing’s focus heading into this weekend’s Ipswich 300 at Queensland Raceway, according to Will Davison.

The Trading Post-backed driver will debut a new car at QR this weekend, and says that the soft tyre only format will be an ideal way for FPR to see if its recent phase of development has improved the way the team’s Falcons use the Dunlop Sprint tyre.

“I’m excited to get there and see whether we can challenge for the win,” Davison told eNews.

“Obviously at the last soft tyre only round at Winton we weren’t able to do that, we were pretty ordinary. That’s been our weakness. I believe we’ve found some improvement, but it’s going to be an important test for us this weekend.

“There’s no doubt we’ve found some genuine developments in the car, on both the chassis and engine sides, but this weekend will still be a big test for us to see where we are at on soft tyres.

We’ve done a lot of work in that area, but we still noticed in Townsville that we were stronger on the hard tyre.”

Davison added that it was longevity on the Sprint tyre, not outright speed, that FPR has been working on.

“No matter what, when you go out a new set of softs on, and you get a lot of grip for two laps, so you can drag a lap out of it regardless of how your car is working,” he said.

“But it’s about the longevity and the balance, and what the car has been going to after two or three laps is a lot of oversteer. We’ve gone a long way to improving that, but this weekend is the first

Cheers: Davison and competition winner Michael Barnett from Trading Post toast ‘Kate’. chance we’ve had to see exactly where we’re at.

“There’s no doubt that the team has been working hard on development. The new chassis for this weekend is going to be nicer; we’ve certainly found some development there. We have some new engine stuff this weekend, so hopefully we have a bit more power, and there is even more coming for the enduros. We also have some damper development coming along.

“I’m very confident that regardless of what happens this weekend that we’re taking some promising steps forward, particularly coming into the enduros. Hopefully this weekend we’ll see those gains. If we can run strong this weekend, that will be a really promising sign. If it was hard tyre only this weekend I’d be massively confident we’d be challenging for the win.

“I think the back half of the year is going to be generally very good.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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motorsport news

NEWS

TNEY USED VOLUTION RT

BARGS’S KANAANARAMA V8 SUPERCARS TONY Kanaan will be the man in the hotseat of Jason Bargwanna’s Commodore on the streets of the Gold Coast.

The Brazilian, a veteran of 10 seasons in IndyCar racing, was last week confirmed as the 27th international driver in the event.

“I cannot wait to get back down to the Gold Coast,” said Kanaan, a 14-time IndyCar race winner. “It has always been one of my favourite events and places in the world.

“Obviously there are a few IndyCar drivers coming down for the event again this year and there will be a bit of pride on the line.”

V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

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THE Holden Racing Team takes its latest evolution of its Commodore VEIIs to Queensland Raceway this weekend and James Courtney is confident that the team will take a step forward.

Courtney and team-mate Garth Tander have a revised rear end, to go with the new uprights the team developed earlier in the season. The defending V8 Supercar Champion is looking forward to feeling out the changes after a mid-season break.

“Over the break the guys had a good look at the rear of the car, they checked out where they wanted it to be and they made quite a few changes – in the hardware, not just changes to the setup,” he said. “It is all looking like being

Kanaan has no tin top racing experience, but there was one test in his background.

“The only experience I had with a V8 touring car was a single test I did in Brazil with the Stock Cars that they run there, so I don’t think that counts as any help, so I’m looking forward to getting to Australia after the IndyCar season finale to get behind the wheel of the V8 Supercar.”

But like all the IndyCar drivers who have been nominated for the race, Kanaan looks like missing the Wednesday familiarisation session at Queensland Raceway, as most of the drivers are not expected to make it out of Las Vegas until Tuesday of raceweek.

quite an improvement over what we had.”

Having won at the track with Jim Beam Racing last year, and prior to that with Stone Brothers, Courtney knows the circuit intimately but it not being weighed down by other people’s expectations.

“It doesn’t bother me, what people expect or what they say,” said Courtney, currently 19th in the V8 Supercar Championship points.

“No one puts any more pressure on me than I put on myself. I am in every race to win it, whether it is at Queensland Raceway, somewhere else, on the harder tyres, or in Tassie and it’s raining.

No matter what, I want to win.”

For more with Courtney, see 5 Minutes, page 22

7

ARC HEADING TO THE PARK ARC BIG changes for the 2012 Australian Rally Championship will be announced in two weeks’ time – including a groundbreaking season-opener, to be held at Calder Park.

The famed motor racing venue

will play host to a multi-discipline event, featuring both tarmac and gravel stages, all conducted within the confines of the motor racing complex. The format will allow spectators to witness a number of stages up close and personal, as well as get close to the cars and crews in the on-site

service park. eNews also expects previous ARC championship to feature in the event.

Bosch ARC spokesman Jon Thompson was not able to confirm the format when contacted by eNews but did say that “big news is coming”.

“We are hoping to announce

what level of manufacturer level will be in the series,” he said. “It is ultimately up to the makes to announce their news, but let’s just say we are excited.”

Regulations for the Outright and SUV categories are also expected to be unveiled in the August 30 announcement.

ENTRIES IN FOR RALLY AUS WRC THERE will be a MINI present at this year’s Rally Australia at Coffs Harbour, with the Brazilian World Rally Team set to run a John Cooper Works WRC. Young Brazilian Daniel Oliveira will drive the car, having already competed at World Rally Championship rounds in Sardinia, Argentina, Acropolis and Finland without a points finish. He is set to make his asphalt debut in a WRC car in Germany this weekend.

Kimi Raikkonen is also a

confirmed starter in the 13-car field of WRC machinery, along

with the Solberg brothers Petter and Henning and the

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 11 12 14 15 43

CO-DRIVER TEAM CAR Daniel Elena Citroen Total WRT Citroen DS3 WRC Julien Ingrassia Citroen Total WRT Citroen DS3 WRC Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Abu Dhabi WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC Miikka Anttila Ford Abu Dhabi WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC Scott Martin M-Sport Stobart WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC Denia Giraudet M-Sport Stobart WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC Kaj Lindstrom ICE 1 Racing Citroen DS3 WRC Michael Orr Team Abu Dhabi Ford Fiesta RS WRC Chris Patterson Petter Solberg WRT Citroen DS3 WRC Carlos Magalhaes Brazil WRT MINI Cooper Works WRC Erwin Mombaerts Van Merksteijn M.Sport Citroen DS3 WRC Ilka Minor M-Sport Stobart WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC Alex Gelsomino Monster WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC

DRIVER Sebastien Loeb Sebastien Ogier Mikko Hirvonen Jari-Matti Latvala Matthew Wilson Evgeny Novikov Kimi Raikkonen Khalid Al Qassimi Petter Solberg Daniel Oliveira Peter van Merksteijn Henning Solberg Ken Block

factory Ford and Citroen squads.

NEW LIVERIES FOR QR FV8 FUJITSU SERIES COMING off a season-high field at Townsville, the Fujitsu Series will feature 28 cars again this weekend at Queensland Raceway.

HRT and BJR endurance drivers Cameron McConville and Andrew Jones will run again, while Grant Denyer will make his first start in the series since 2009.

Denyer will drive a fifth Kelly Racing Commodore, last used

by Rick Kelly earlier in the season,

8

the VE he’ll race as a wildcard in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 as part of the Shannons Supercar Showdown TV program.

Chaz Mostert and Ash Walsh’s simPRO Falcons will run a tweaked livery, right, while Paul Morris will run a brand-new livery with backing from existing PMM sponsor Sargent Security, below.

motorsport news

NEWS

MILES GETS WILDCARD NOD, COULD USE FG V8 SUPERCARS MILES Racing will make its Main Game debut at Phillip Island next month, after their application for an endurance race wildcard entry was approved by the V8 Supercars Commission.

As revealed by eNews in April, the Fujitsu Series team has been working towards a wildcard slot, to give Chaz Mostert and Ash Walsh their debuts in the top tier. With previous wildcards Greg Murphy Racing and Matthew White Motorsport electing not to apply, Miles Racing will be the only Fujitsu Series team contesting the two races.

An application from semi-regular FV8 competitor Paul Freestone wasn’t approved, while Kelly Racing will run a fifth car at Bathurst for the Shannons Supercar Showdown winner and Grant Denyer.

While Miles Racing has approval to run one of their older BF Falcons, the team has begun work to prepare a Triple Eight-built FG Falcon purchased from Dick Johnson Racing last month, pictured. Extra crew members have been brought in with the aim of having the car ready for next month’s L&H500 at Phillip Island.

“We’ve started on the FG, trying to get it up and ready with the enduros in mind,” team owner Wayne Miles told eNews. “Whether that happens or not, I don’t know, but we’re going to have a crack anyway.

“We’ve been approved to use a BF, of course, which is what we’re still mainlining in that sense, but we’re going to build the FG up. It’s just a shell at the moment, so we’ll have a go at it and see how long it takes

to do it properly, which you’ve got to do.

“It’s a bit of team building as well, we’ll just see how we go.”

Miles indicated Mostert and Walsh were likely to sit out Bathurst’s Fujitsu Series round, to focus on the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

“On the wildcard application, we said we wouldn’t, because we’re going to concentrate on the enduros,” he said.

“And I think, logistically, and for funding as well, it’d be crazy for us to do that. We’d have enough people to do that, but I think we should be focusing on one deal.

“We’ve got to be smart with how we play it and make sure everything’s 100 percent.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

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9

NEWS

Mark Pryor

V8S BREAKING RECORDS AT LAKESIDE V8 SUPERCARS PAUL Morris and Andrew Thompson brought V8 Supercars back to Lakeside Park for the first time since 2001. In Commodores, the pair conducted three short sessions at the Lakeside Festival of Touring Cars, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Brisbane racetrack.

Morris, driving his Fujitsu Series car in the livery of new sponsor Sargent Security, recorded a 51.16s lap-time in his chase of the V8 Supercar lap record, eclipsing Glenn Seton’s 51.4452s from 1997.

Even with newer machinery and the circuit having been widened in several places, it wasn’t as easy as first thought, with cold

temperatures and old tyres affecting the record attempt.

On the first day, Morris could only record a 52.7s, before improving to the 51.16s on Sunday. It was still short of John Bowe’s qualifying record of 50.2973s.

“With new tyres we would have gotten down to it,” said Morris of Bowe’s time. “You forget how fast this place is.”

Morris first raced at the circuit in 1987 in the Gemini onemake series before moving into Formula Ford and joining Tony Longhurst’s BMW team in 1991. Thompson was a few seconds shy of Morris in TeamVodafone ride car, but did excite the big Sunday crowd with a few burnouts.

–MARK JONES

FORD BACKS NZ SUPER TOURERS V8 SUPER TOURERS FORD in New Zealand will officially back the new V8 SuperTourer racing series.

Having hesitated over the series’ use of a control engine, Ford NZ has now opted to get involved. And it’s a timely decision, with PSR West Racing recently taking delivery of the first FG Falcon SuperTourer from Paul Ceprnich in Brisbane, a car that has been earmarked for 10

Craig Baird.

According to Ford-backed driver and series spokesperson John McIntyre, the involvement of the Blue Oval in an official capacity if great for the new-for2012 category.

“Its fantastic to have Fords support of the V8 Series of Champions,” he said.

“On behalf of V8 SuperTourers Ltd, I can say we are all proud to have the opportunity to provide Ford New Zealand

with a sustainable platform to promote their current and future models through this exciting motorsport series.

“More than 110 individual parts from the FG Falcon road car go into making an FG Falcon V8 SuperTourer. The FG Falcon is such a good looking road car, it also makes a very aggressive-looking racecar which we know fans will love.”

“Ford New Zealand is thrilled to be supporting this exciting

new V8 SuperTourers series,” said Chris Masterson, Ford New Zealand’s marketing manager.

“The combination of the great driver line-up and the sheer leap in performance of these racecars will set a very exciting stage for spectators, existing and new. This new series embodies what the Ford Falcon brand is all about: dynamic performance and style.” motorsport news

LOLA T332 1977 Australian Grand Prix 4th Place Oran Park Driver Alan Jones Limited Production Of 1000 pcs Worldwide

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Item #18416

The battle for pole position for the 1977 Australian Grand Prix at Oran Park was held over three qualifying sessions, with the top 8 places separated by only 2 seconds. Pole position would be set by Warwick Brown in a Lola T430 with the time of 65.7s.

The cars were set to race, with the starter ¾EK PMJXIH XS MXW LMKLIWX TSMRX .SRIW´ 0SPE XSSO SJJ WIGSRHW FIJSVI XLI ¾EK LEH HVSTTIH /RS[MRK LMW QMWXEOI .SRIW TVIWWIH LEVH XS XV] and limit the damage from his inevitable 1min WXST KS TIREPX] ;MXL .SRIW WIIQMRKP] SYX SJ contention the race was between Brown in LMW 0SPE 4IXIV +IXLMR MR E 'LIZVSR ERH .SLR Goss in a Matich. .SRIW GLEVKIH JVSQ XLI FEGO SJ XLI ½IPH SR his way setting the fastest lap of 66.4s. He was able to catch up to Goss who sat in 3rd TPEGI FYX LMW GPMQF XLVSYKL XLI ½IPH [EW LEPXIH [LIR LI VER SYX SJ PETW .SRIW ½RMWLIH forth only 2s behind Goss, Brown won the VEGI [MXL +IXLMR ½RMWLMRK W FILMRH MR RH

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A1002 AMN

SCHUEY SAYS HE’S STAYING FORMULA 1

MICHAEL Schumacher revealed that he will definitely stay in Formula 1 for 2012 at a Mercedes function last Sunday.

The 42-year-old’s comments came just days after he hinted to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport that he might retire at the end of the season.

“I arrived at Mercedes with a specific task – not winning at all costs, but to grow the team,” Schumacher told the Italian newspaper.

“If anything, I am the problem.

It is a fact that I am a bit more

relaxed than before and I do not know if my mindset is right for this team. At some point we will evaluate whether I continue or stop.”

But the German almost immediately contradicted his own comments, saying that “I’ll certainly be racing next year, that is definite.”

He would not, however, comment beyond 2012, adding that “we will have to see how things develop and how much energy and fun is still there.”

Schumacher’s three-year deal with Mercedes expires at the end of 2012.

ARE QUALIFYING TYRES COMING FORMULA 1 PIRELLI are considering bringing qualifying tyres back to Formula 1, according to the latest issue of AUTOSPORT. The Italian tyremaker has reportedly put the concept of a qualifying tyre to the teams, and will make the final decision based on their reactions.

“We’ve put the idea of qualifying tyres to the teams and we will get their feedback,” Pirelli’s motorsport boss Paul Hembrey told AUTOSPORT. “If they don’t want to do it, we won’t do it.

It might be a step too far for next year and too much for the teams to take on board, but it’s something that we have offered.

“We know that the public likes the idea of a qualifying tyre and drivers rather like the thrill of having a qualifying tyre and chasing that ultimate lap.”

Hembrey added that the tyre would be two seconds per lap faster, but last for just one qualifying stint.

Qualifying tyres were last used in Formula 1 back in 1991.

12

motorsport news

NEWS

Liuzzi targets Lotus FORMULA 1 TONIO Liuzzi has said that Team Lotus is the benchmark for Hispania Racing Team, and that he would consider the year a success if they finish ahead of the Renault-powered squad in the constructors points.

Speaking during the mid-season break, the Italian said that beating Lotus and securing 10th in the championship would be “perfect.”

“We would love to be ahead of Team Lotus but it is not an easy target, especially if you look at where we started in Australia,” said Liuzzi.

“But we are on the same points and have half a season to improve and try and achieve a better position in the Constructors Championship. We are following the right path and are in the right place.

“I already consider it a successful season, but if we could achieve our biggest target of finishing 10th in the Constructors Championship, then that would be perfect. But we have to be realistic and continue pushing to show that we are competitive.

We have to improve our pace compared to the leaders from now until the end of the season.”

Liuzzi added that he feels that the team is heading in the right direction under its new ownership.

“A lot of people didn’t believe we would come through at the beginning of the year but I have always been really positive. As I have said on many occasions, there are good people involved in this project and the potential is there.

“If we work in the right direction, I’m sure we can achieve good things. I never doubted that there was potential for improvement, obviously we are not expecting to win races but to be where we are already is proof of the strength of the project. If you believe in yourself and in the project then you can achieve anything.”

Neither Team Lotus or Hispania have scored any World Championship in 2011, and both teams have 13th place as their best finish, which is used for countbacks. Lotus is currently ahead as it has two 13th place finishes to HRT’s one.

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13

Standard Indy aero in 2012 INDYCAR INDYCAR’S new-generation Dallara chassis will run its first season with standard aerodynamic kits.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said last weekend that all teams will run with ‘standard’ Dallara kits next season, in

the interests of keeping down costs.

The standard kit is already being tested, and teams will be able to use alternative kits from 2013.

“The most important thing we can do as a series is look at what is in the best interest of both our long and short

term,” Bernard said.

“It is important that we maintain a high car count next year by ensuring we have cost containment for our teams. We must listen to our team owners and try to help.

“The 2012 season will be exciting with the debut of

our new car as we focus on relevancy and technology with engine competition, turbochargers and direct injection among other things.”

A number of teams and suppliers are planning to make aero kits for the new cars, including Team Penske, Lotus and Chevrolet.

Rain postpones Glen NASCAR

14

NASCAR media

FINGERS will be crossed that bad weather in upstate New York will clear for Monday’s delayed Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen.

The race was postponed by bad weather in the north-east, which also interfered in the finish of the IndyCar race at New Hampshire, almost 600km away.

Thunderstorms are predicted for Monday, with a high of 22 celsius. The race is due to start at 10am local time, with Kyle Busch on pole. The Joe Gibbs Toyota just edged the RPM Fords of AJ Almendinger and Marcos Ambrose.

ONE HD will broadcast the race from midnight-3am in all markets, live on the east coast and delayed for Adelaide and Perth. motorsport news

NEWS

IZOD Indycar media

NASCAR not CHASING road courses NASCAR NASCAR does not plan to include a road course race in any future Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR President Mike Helton said at Watkins Glen that while he wouldn’t completely rule out the idea, it’s not something that

is currently on NASCAR’s agenda.

“There’s nothing on the table today,” Helton said. “We wouldn’t stack races up in the Chase for the benefit of the Chase. The Chase is the last 10 races of the season. But as the evolution of changes go on, who knows what could end up as the last 10 races.”

NASCAR media

Ringer leader NASCAR

www.mnews.com.au

NASCAR media

NASCAR road course ‘ringer’ Boris Said will lead the charge for the part-time drivers at Watkins Glen.

The American, who will race in the Gold Coast 600 in October, qualified best of the non-regular drivers for the Sprint Cup race, which has been delayed until Monday, New York time. Said’s Phoenix Racing Chevy will start the race 15th.

Scott Speed lines up 29th in his Max Q Ford, TJ Bell is 34th in the LTD Chevy, Andrew Ranger is 35th in the FAS Lane Ford and Canadian Ron Fellows is 38th in Tommy Baldwin’s Chevy.

1.9 HUK ;9+ JVTIPUL NASCAR JOE Gibbs Racing and Toyota Research and Development announced last that they are combining their engine programs in 2012.

JGR is not expected to shut its in-house engine shop, as it still has customers to service in Nationwide and Truck teams, but there is a chance that any or all of its three Cup entries could switch to TRD motors by the end of the season. Indeed, there are suggestions that provided the fitting details can be worked out, a TRD motor could power Denny Hamlin at Michigan this weekend. News on what engine the #11 will run is expected to come Tuesday US time, but a

change could be complicated by the day’s delay in the Watkins Glen race.

“To combine resources and go down one path is much easier than trying to do two paths,” Joe Gibbs Racing President JD Gibbs said last Thursday. “The bulk of the lifting will be at TRD. We’ll add to that at JGR.” After a 17-year history with its own engines, JGR was the only Toyota team with such an inhouse program. Michael Waltrip Racing and Red Bull Racing both source their engines from TRD. “Building for three teams or less is extremely expensive and inefficient,” Lee White, the president of TRD said last week pictured above with Joe Gibbs at Watkins Glen.

15

RING RING – ED’S OFF TO GERMANY RADICALS

ED Singleton will compete in the Radical Masters Cup at the Nurburgring as his prize for winning the 2011 Radical Australia Cup – but he won’t be the only Aussie heading to Germany for the event.

Singleton is the second recipient of the ongoing major prize – after Garth Walden tacked Spa earlier this year – with the Nurburgring confirmed as 2012’s venue during the RAC’s final round at Morgan Park. Radical Australia will lease three cars from the factory for the German weekend, with five other locals expected to join Singleton.

“It’s rather unique in that our rules have been adopted to comply with the European rules, as have each of the series’ around the world,” Radical Australia’s Greg Smith told eNews.

“With the UK, they go and race with the same rules and with the numbers we’ve got now, with the Nurburgring next year, some of the other guys are going to go over with Ed Singleton to go and race in the same race with him to give him support and company.

“What we’re doing is hiring three cars with race seats from the factory works team. There are six guys who have already put their hand up and said ‘we’d like to go over there, can you organise it for us?’ and that’s what we’re doing.”

James Smith

GWS GO FOR LOC

-69+»: FG UTE IN FOR BATHURST V8 UTES FORD’S FG Ute will debut in the Auto-One V8 Ute Racing Series at Bathurst.

As development work on the series’ new-generation Ford continues, the car will make its racing debut in the next round of the series at Mount Panorama, with Gary Carson behind the wheel.

Series engine builder Cragsted is conducting dyno testing on Ford’s Coyote V8, which will be fitted to the series’ existing FG prototype for its first track hitout on August 26 at Queensland Raceway. The FG prototype – which ran in the 2010 Bathurst 16

BATHURST 12 HOUR

12 Hour – will be used by Carson at for the balance of the year, before a full fleet of FGs are built for the start of the 2012 season.

“It has been a long process, primarily delayed by the run out of the 260 and 290 kW 5.4 litre engines, and the move to the new quad cam Coyote 5 litre as the base V8 engine for Ford,” category manager Craig Denyer said.

“There was little point moving to the FG earlier, given that we knew there was a more suitable engine on the way, and initial dyno testing of the engine has re-affirmed our decision was the right one.

“Subject to CAMS approval, the

FG will debut at Bathurst with the new engine package as part of our development of the Ute over the next four rounds, prior to introduction next year.”

After writing off his BF Falcon at Hidden Valley in June, Carson was in the right place at the right time to step into the FG. “It will be good to get back into a Ford after driving the Holden in Townsville; I’m also looking forward to driving the FG,” he said.

“We didn’t see much point building a brand new BF and the category were talking about introducing it at Bathurst anyway, so it seemed the logical way to go.”

LOCAL team GWS Motorsport has confirmed a three-car assault on next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

The team, which is based at nearby Parkes in New South Wales, will run three BMWs – one 355i Turbo (the same car that won the event twice before the introduction of GT cars), and two smaller 130i models.

The campaign will come off the back of the 355i finishing second in class and 10th outright at the Bathurst 12 Hour this year.

“We are very pleased to be the first Production Car team to confirm their participation in the 2012 Event,” driver Peter O’Donnell said.

“We believe very strongly in motorsport news

NEWS

DAVIES’ SPECTRUM SWITCH and they’re been going great guns of late so hopefully I can repeat that from next time out.”

Davies isn’t the only newcomer at Borland, with Daniel Erickson returning to the series and team, having lasted raced

Australian Formula Ford in 2008.

As previously reported, Winton winner Matt Brabham (Sonic Motor Racing Services) and local Andre Borell (Evans Motorsport Group) will also return at Queensland Raceway.

John Morris / Mpix

have made this situation a reality and I’m now really looking forward to the remainder of the SHAE Davies has switched to Borland Racing Developments year.

“I enjoyed testing last Friday at for the remainder of the Winton and working with Mike Australian Formula Ford and his team was excellent. I Championship. had Tim Macrow doing my Davies currently sits 11th in engineering, data and set-up the standings after contesting the opening three rounds of the work and it was great to draw series with Synergy Motorsport, on his collective knowledge and experience. We were competitive but has taken his Spectrum to the factory squad. The 21-year- with the CAMS Rising Star boys old tested with BRD at Winton recently ahead of this weekend’s Queensland Raceway round.

“An opportunity to join the factory Spectrum team existed after a shuffle of seats had taken place within their team and I felt the chance to change teams was too good to pass up,” Davies said.

“I have to thank Mick Borland and my former team boss Justin Cotter, because the two of them

FORMULA FORD

ALL IN 2012 FOR NEW CUPCARS CAL RACE CARRERA CUP

the involvement of productionspecification cars in the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour, and along with supporting it, we’re actively encouraging our rivals to come and race us.

“Our plan now is to run our three BMWs again and go out for a win. Our previous drivers are keen to return and we’re also talking to new drivers from both here and overseas, so we’re keen to be involved again. “[The 355i is] a great car with a lot of success and history in the race. It’s won the race twice with the likes of Craig Baird, John Bowe, Paul Morris and Garry Holt driving it, so it’s been very well known for a long time – I’m pleased to be part of it and know that I have a very competitive car under me for the race.” www.mnews.com.au

A DESIRE to maintain the integrity of the current competition in the Porsche IFX Carrera Cup Australia is behind series organisers’ decision to delay the introduction of new cars into the series – despite the demand already being high.

Porsche Cars Australia Motorsport boss Jamey Blaikie told eNews that the series wanted to protect current competitors who are well into a full season in the one-make Porsche Championship.

“We need to make sure we don’t upset the current championship and the people already committed to it,” he said.

“Delaying to 2012 lets us sort through the competitors who are keen to enter and make sure those who do are in the best interests of the category. Interest is very high, to the point where I

could sell 10 cars easily, however I want to make sure we get it right rather than rush into it just to get them on the grid.”

Four new 2011-specification 997 CupCup have already landed in Australia, series organisers set to split the allocation between the professional and ‘elite’ class drivers.

“There will be a maximum of three and a minimum of two cars for the Elite class with the balance obviously going to the Professionals,” Blaikie explained.

“We are very happy with the balance in the series at the moment. It seems to be working quite well and we want to be careful to not upset it.

“In coming weeks we will draw up an expression of interest form and circulate that out to interested parties and make a decision based on what we have from there.”

– RICHARD CRAILL 17

BRNO: STONER LEADS THE HONDA MASSACRE

Honda Pro Images

MOTOGP THINGS could hardly have gone much better for Casey Stoner at Brno.

After ceding pole position to Dani Pedrosa and watching the Spaniard take the lead on the second lap, Stoner watched his HRC team-mate crash a few corners later and then led all the way to the flag to take his sixtrh GP win of the 2011 season. Italians were second and third, with Andrea Dovizioso 6.5s behind, ahead of Marco

Simoncelli.

“Looking at the Championship and the points it has been a great day, putting race wins together that is what you have to do but it is not easy at all,” said Stoner. “We struggled all weekend to get the bike close to feeling right and it was only at the end of practice that things started to come together. I was pretty worried going into the race about how competitive we would be.”

“We took a bit of a shot in the dark with the set up for the

race and it really wasn't a whole lot better. It was just that I put in a lot more effort than I had through practice. I hadn't had a lot of confidence in the bike all weekend and I just decided to lay it all on the line today and do something. So we managed to get a bit of a gap after Dani crashed otherwise I think he would have been extremely competitive as he has all weekend.”

Jorge Lorenzo challenged early but the Yamaha rider’s choice of a softer front tyre cost his dear,

his speed fading as the grip fell away. By the end of the race, he was fourth, just clear of his Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies.

The big improvement of the weekend came from Ducati.

After a solid qualifying effort, Valentino Rossi was sixth, and while that does not sound great, he was only 12s behind Stoner. With Jeremy Burgess back at the races, the Italians are clearly making progress with the ‘GP11.1’, which finished 10s clear of the sister entry of Nicky Hayden.

)HK IYLHRZ MVY /VWWLY MOTOGP

18

who starred in a wildcard World Superbike ride at Silverstone two weeks ago, was matching the times of team-mate and full-time Suzuki ride, Alvaro Bautista.

Hopkins is expected to return to America to have an operation to repair the injury.

Suzuki Racing

JOHN Hopkins is in doubt for the next British Superbike Championship round at Cadwell Park at the end of the month after breaking two fingers in a practice fall at Brno.

The American, who was a wildcard entry on the second Suzuki, lost the front end, fell and folded his fingers back.

The fall caused a break and dislocation of his third finger and fracture of his second finger of his right hand.

Up to that point Hopkins,

motorsport news

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On this DVD hosted by Will Hagon, we look at Tom’s first visit to Bathurst in 1984, and then his triumphant return the following year.

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NEWS

WALL WINS AGAIN KARTING MATTHEW Wall walked away as the only driver to secure a double victory from the 27th running of the City of Melbourne Titles over the weekend, at the Go Kart Club of Victoria’s Todd Road circuit.

Shamick Racing-backed Wall led home HORSPWR driver Lee Mitchener in both the Clubman and Leopard Heavy classes, at the event that saw an impressive 238 entries face the starter.

Macauley Jones continues his strong debut year in the senior ranks, claiming

the victory in the elite Clubman Light class, which had a strong 24-kart field. Jones led home James Sera, Jordan Ford, Shayne Piper, Jordan Nicolaou and recent City of Adelaide winner Julian Lunetta.

James Sera was able to score a win of his own in Leopard Light, while his Monster Energy-backed cousin David Sera dominated Rotax Light.

The remaining senior class victories went to Zeke Edwards (Rotax Heavy), Chris Sanderson (Clubman Over 40’s) and James Cornfoot (TaG Restricted).

It was a NSW one-two in Junior MAX with

CRG driver Pierce Lehane led home Joseph Burton-Harris, while Justin Francis picked up the Junior Clubman win after leader Jason LeCocq and Luke Marquis came together on the final lap.

The Midgets class was the equal biggest with 24 entries, Wright Kart driver Jordan Caruso backing up his Midget class victory from the Victorian Open while the Rookies win went to Thomas Prascevic.

Anton De Pasquale dominated Junior National Heavy with a clean sweep over Damon Strongman who went one better to claim the spoils in the Light class.

NEW DATE FOR KARTING BACK ON CIK FINALS TV WITH SPEED KARTING

AFTER plenty of speculation of a venue change for the final round of the Castrol EDGE CIK Stars of Karting Series due to the continuing track resurfacing works at Sydney’s Eastern Creek International Karting Raceway, organisers have confirmed the venue will still host the final, albeit on a new date.

The event, originally scheduled for September 17-18, has been delayed due to ongoing interruptions with the resurfacing, and will now be held on October 15-16.

“We believe holding a round in Sydney is vital to the continued success of the series and moving the date back slightly, rather than changing the venue, is the most appropriate decision we could make in the best interest of the series,” said IKC Chairman Craig Denton.

20

KARTING THE CIK Stars of Karting Series has secured a TV deal for the final round of the series at Sydney’s Eastern Creek International Raceway, showcasing Australia’s elite series on television screens across the country.

It will be the first time that the series has been televised across the country for many years, and the first time it will be broadcasted on the SPEED channel, with the one-hour program set to focus on the final round while providing an insight into the sport of karting and the people involved.

Former Executive Producer of the V8 Television Murray Lomax and the team

at Castle Media, who currently produce the likes of the Australian Motocross and Ironman Series, will be producing the broadcast.

“Karting is something that I’ve always thought deserves to be a part of a high level production, and I’m delighted to be able to share the action from the final round of the CIK Stars of Karting Series with viewers across the country,” said Lomax.

“I can assure everyone that this broadcast will not just be about the racing, but will also go behind the scenes to inform the viewer about the sport of karting, the people involved and some of the technical aspects behind the sport.” motorsport news

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FIVE MINUTES WITH ...

JAMES COURTNEY Last year, Courtney was the man to beat at Queensland Raceway. Will he reign supreme this year, despite a change of team and car? PHIL BRANAGAN asked

What are you looking for in the car? What do you want to be better?

At the moment, we are struggling with the rear of the car, a little bit. Over the break the guys had a good look at the rear of the car, they checked out where they wanted it to be and they made quite a few changes – in the hardware, not just changes to the set-up. It is all looking like being quite an improvement over what we had.

Garth and I were complaining about similar things and the guys think they have found that the problem was in the rear. The team is pretty happy with the preparation that they have had going into the weekend.

For Townsville the team made revisions to the front of the car. As the man who came into the team this year, what are your impressions of how HRT has worked, and the speed of the progress that the team?

I think it is fantastic, really. It’s not hard to see that they make the most of the resources that they have; when something 22

Dirk Klynsmith

MOTORSPORT NEWS: You won at Queensland Raceway last year and nothing much has changed for this year’s round, except for the date, your team and your car. Can you still win at QR? JAMES COURTNEY: I think so. The car is getting better and better all the time – we could have had two cars in the top five at Townsville if I did not balls-up and Garth didn’t have that failure.

We are definitely getting that speed back. We have a lot of new stuff on the car for this weekend, a lot of new stuff on the rear of the car to tidy it up. And, thank God, we have some stronger steering arms!

There are a lot of things on the car that are going to improve everything. As you said, we won there last year and I am pretty confident. I have done enough laps around there! I have won there before, back in the SBR days as well, so it is a track that has been really good to me in the past. I am pretty excited to get out there.

is wrong, they can act straight away. They can build a new front upright, like they have. They can make those changes to the rear, make a new diff housing, like we have.

It is great that you have the capability of doing that.

It is a credit to the guys. Not only have we made all these changes to the cars, there have been a lot of personnel changes within the organization. It has been a big six months but I think that later on, we will look back at this period as the changing of HRT, the team coming into a new era of racing. I am confident that we are heading in the right direction.

There are always high expectations, not only of HRT but of yourself, especially because of your form on softer tyres last season. Do people get ahead of themselves a little bit?

It doesn’t bother me, what people expect or what they say. No-one puts any more pressure on me than I put on myself. I am in every race to win it, whether it is at Queensland Raceway, somewhere else, on the harder tyres, or in Tassie and it’s raining. No matter what, I want to win.

We are all working to the same goal and it is not really productive to worry about what people are saying.

I got to speak to Dan Wheldon last week, he said he was stunned at the reaction

he saw when he signed for HRT. He didn’t realise that the team had SUCH a big following. He was surprised; have you adjusted to that yet?

It hasn’t really bothered me, just coming from the background of all the racing teams I have been with. I have always been with a high-profile team.

But definitely, the fans are a LOT more passionate about the brand here. They are not as fickle as some of the other fans, where if you are not winning, they are shooting you down. The HRT guys, they understand what is going on, they can see all the changes are happening and they are right behind the brand, whether it is winning or coming fifth. That is good to see; it is great to have that support.

What coaching tips have you got for Wheldon for October?

The cars weigh twice as much as the one he is used to! Those concrete walls are not really friendly!

Dan has quite a bit of experience. The rule change this year, with everyone having international experience, is definitely cool. It is a good twist onto what last year was. I think that there will be surprises with a couple of the guys.

Last year I think Pat Long and Sebastien Bourdais were the two stand-outs, with a few extra guys that have come in, it is going to be pretty interesting. motorsport news

CHAT

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

23

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

I

HAVE just flown from upstate New York to Philadelphia – and it has just stopped raining.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup race was a rain-out and unfortunately, everyone knew it was coming. It was a real shame; the whole weekend, it was beautiful – right up until race time!

I think it is crazy that they do not race Sprint Cup cars in the rain.

On an oval, it’s a no-brainer; oval plus rain equals no race. That is easy to understand. In the name of safety, at 200 miles an hour, you cannot do it. I fully agree with that, and I am on NASCAR’s side. That would be madness, as we saw in the IndyCar race in New Hampshire. You could see why Will Power got so wild and angry.

But when the IndyCars race on a street or road course, and it rains, they put wet tyres on. They do it in the Nationwide Series, so why not do that in NASCAR Sprint Cup? These guys are meant to be among the best drivers in the world; that is not even a point of question. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marcos Ambrose, all those drivers come from diverse backgrounds. Are people seriously thinking that they CANNOT drive in the rain?

Outside of Formula 1, the reach of NASCAR is the largest in the world. Let’s not disadvantage the fans, or the TV viewers, by stretching it out another day or even two. There are fans who may not be able to afford to stay at the track another day, because of work commitments or financial or time obligations. Let’s stop the rubbish and let’s have some grooved wet weather tyres ready.

24

OPINION Leigh Diffey – SPEED TV US People talk about the cost of tyres. What about the cost of having all the driver, all the team members, the sponsors and everybody involved, stay over an extra night, paying for more accommodation, changed airfares and so on?

Rain is a great equaliser. How many categories do we see the masters of car control starring in the rain? Let’s see it in NASCAR. Look at the finish of the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix this year, the finish between Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button. It was great.

In Montreal, again, in the Nationwide Series. It was a crazy race, but everyone keeps talking about it, because it was so entertaining.

Every other significant racing series in the world has races in dry and wet conditions. But not NASCAR Sprint Cup. There are only two road course races a year – and let’s put in the vote now, there should be three, with one in the Chase – and it is highly unlikely that it is ever going to rain at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California in summer. So we are only really talking about Watkins Glen in August, one race, so let’s race in the rain in NASCAR premier category.

motorsport news

COMMENT

T

HIS will probably sound weird, coming from a motorsport journalist, but I don’t watch IndyCar races. I have Foxtel, so I can, and I take an interest in the series and follow what’s going on – especially when Will Power speaks out.

But I just can’t watch it. It’s the cars.

During the ‘split’ in American open-wheel racing, it was CART and Champ Car that I watched and followed. Sure, the series lost ground and fell well behind IRL / IndyCar, which ultimately absorbed it, but that was the way I went.

Even in its final years, Champ Car was just cool to watch. For me, the Reynards, Lolas and (for a single year) Panozes that raced in the series were a big part of that. They were everything a great racecar should be. They were big and bold, sleek yet imposing, looked like they were tough to drive and genuinely fast. Everything I hear people from, um, past generations say about Formula 5000.

And the cars were perfectly partnered with the turbo, 2.4litre V8s, which sounded delightful – even when the Ford-Cosworth became the detuned spec engine after Honda and Toyota left. I miss hearing them at Surfers.

Simply, they were awesome, and everything the current IndyCars aren’t.

The Dallara and Honda V8 combination has done a good job for the series – giving it stability through some turbulent times – but people are hardly going to reminisce about how great they were in future decades.

Particularly at the front-end, they’re painfully ugly, they look slow and sound woeful. It’s probably due at least in part to my Champ Car memories, but I just can’t watch and enjoy them. www.mnews.com.au

John Morris / Mpix

A FRESH CHANCE OPINION Mitchell Adam – National Editor

They’re the carob of racecars.

But, now, IndyCar has an opportunity to turn it around. Testing started last week on the new-for-2012 package, with Dan Wheldon and Bryan Herta Autosport running at Mid-Ohio. And the early signs are promising. The new Dallara, even at this early stage of ontrack development, looks a million times better and teams will have the scope to develop their own aero kits from 2013, so we should see some cool innovation on that front. It’ll be lighter and cheaper, too.

Manufacturers have embraced the switch from a naturallyaspirated V8 to a turbo V6, with Honda, Chevrolet and Lotus signing up to produce faster engines that will surely be sweeter on the ear than the current units.

The existing cars were introduced back in 2003, when IndyCar only raced on ovals, and modified to accommodate road and street courses as the series diversified. With the 2012 car, they’ve now got an opportunity to create an all-new platform to improve the product, get new manufacturers and teams involved and grow the series.

So far, so good, but they need to get this right.

25

SHANNONS NATIONALS R5 – MORGAN PARK, QLD

BACK IN

BLACK

26

AFTER A ROUND ON THE SIDELINES AND KINGSLEY RETURNED TO THE PORSCHE G PARK. RICHARD CRAILL REVIEWS THE RO motorsport news

RACE

www.mnews.com.au

Herb Powell

D MASSIVE EFFORT TO BUILD A ‘NEW’ CAR, MATT GT3 CUP CHALLENGE IN STYLE AT MORGAN OUND 4 SHANNONS NATIONALS ACTION

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28

James Smith

I

F you did not know about the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge this year you could be forgiven for thinking there was nothing significant about the way Matthew Kingsley dominated the allPorsche series at Morgan Park’s Shannons Nationals round last weekend.

And even if you had a passing interest in it, you would at the very least see that more often than not the Queenslander ended up winning more races than he lost.

But that Kingsley won at all was remarkable given the state he and his old car were in two months ago after the now well-publicised crash at Mallala. That old car – affectionately called Pandora – is now gone and replaced with a ‘new’ 996spec Porsche called ‘Phoenix’ and at the weekend Kingsley really did rise from the ashes.

It was like he had never been away, dominating in qualifying and the first two sprint races before a measured, consistent and well judged performance in the third and final Jim Richards Endurance Trophy race of the season saw him sweep the series’ fourth round of the year in convincing fashion.

“It was a better result than I could have dreamed of having coming back here with a basically untried car and against this

competition,” Kingsley beamed post race.

“The new car was very impressive throughout the race meeting and we just pegged away with it as the weekend went on to make it better.”

Victorian Jon Trende finished second in the 36-lap feature and overall at the weekend, also securing the 997 class win in a strong weekend for the Sonic Motor Racing driver.

Defending champion Roger Lago added another trophy to his cabinet after sealing the inaugural Jim Richards Endurance Trophy via a third-place finish in Sunday’s long race.

Lago was forced to work for his title, however, after another controversial coming together with rival Jeff Bobik – following on from their exploits at Mallala earlier this year – in the second race set both cars back in the standings.

But using the measured approach that he showed to win the title last year, Lago drove sensibly in the feature race to work his way through some early dramas and score a podium finish to seal his title.

“It’s a good trophy to add to the cabinet so I’m pretty honoured to win the series within the series,” Lago said.

“This endurance championship is a good idea; these enduros are great. You’ve got to

have the right mentality for the weekend on tyres, fitness and strategy. I’m pretty rapt with the result and I couldn’t have asked for much more really.”

Bobik’s weekend started strongly with a strong second in the first race, before the contact between he and Lago set him back to 11th in the second race where he would start the finale.

There, he had to work his way through the pack twice after receiving a drive through penalty after tapping John Modystach into a spin at Turn 4 whilst passing another car. He would recover to a strong fourth by the finish.

For his part, Modystach was impressive all weekend and after jumping from eighth to fifth in Race 1, scored an outright podium in race two when he charged to third. The hard-luck award of the weekend goes jointly to brothers John and Phil Morris, who were both eliminated from the event in exactly the same incident.

The Melbourne boys were literally left with nowhere to go when Brad Rankin spun his 997 early in Race 2, and in the corresponding concertina both cars – and the following Jan Jinadasa – suffered hefty damage.

Points: Lago 286, Bobik 236, John Goodacre 218, Terry Knight 184, Phil Morriss 173 motorsport news

RACE

James Smith

Jon Trende, above, was second in the feature race behind his old car – the shell used in Kingsley’s combination 996 – while Roger Lago, below, wrapped up the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy and extended his championship lead.

James Smith

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Herb Powell

VICTORS, NEW AND OLD

CHRIS GILMOUR WON HIS FIRST F3 RACES SINCE 2004 AND ED SINGLETON WRAPPED UP THE RADICAL AUSTRALIA CUP AT MORGAN PARK, RICHARD CRAILL REPORTS

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HE biggest winners out of Morgan Park’s Shannons Nationals round at the weekend were undoubtedly Chris Gilmour and Edward Singleton.

In the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, Chris Gilmour rocketed to the top of the championship standings after sweeping all three races, whilst Singleton sealed the Radical Australia Cup in Saturday’s third race with a solid run to the podium.

Gilmour’s near-perfect weekend began with second on the grid, behind John Magro, but after deploying his now-traditional ‘Gun Start’, the red machine rocketed into the lead in Race 1 and from there would be impossible to beat.

He won Race 2 after a pitched battle with Bryce Moore and Magro all race, before fighting off Magro again in the feature race to sweep the weekend. The wins were the first for the affable Queenslander since 2004 – some seven years and nearly 90 races ago.

“It’s nice to get the monkey off the back, it’s been a long time coming,” Gilmour said.

“With (former championship leader) James Winslow away we needed to get as many points possible this weekend and that is what we have done. I think this is by far the sweetest win of my career, I’m very, very pleased.”

Magro was second however Moore was denied a points boost in the feature after a small electrical fire in the feature ruled him out before it had even begun. Gilmour now leads the championship with Magro jumping to second just a handful behind. Winslow and Moore remain well in contention with three rounds and nine races remaining.

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Steel Guiliana edged out rival Ben Gersekowski in the National Class and the pair are now split by one point in their class battle.

Meanwhile, Singleton’s run to the Radical championship was executed in a weekend where no-one had an answer for Peter Opie’s colourful SR3, Opie dominant across both sprint races and the 50minute season ending endurance race.

Despite doing everything he could to win the title, Opie’s efforts weren’t quite enough – Singleton doing what he needed to take the title for the first time.

“I’m stoked,” Singleton beamed. “I knew exactly what I had to do and that was finish inside the top eight. I didn’t want to have to worry about it in the long race on Sunday so I was really pleased to wrap it up earlier in the weekend.”

Greg and Byron Smith combined to finish the enduro second with Tony Palmer third; Singleton finishing a lap down in eighth.

With Shawn Jameson out of the way after a mid-season switch to V8 Touring Cars, Matt Lovell won two of the three races in the Australian Saloon Car series at the weekend to move himself into clear favouritism for the series title.

Driving an AU Falcon an in a weekend dominated by the blue oval, Lovell won Races 2 and 3 after finishing third in the first race behind locals Matt Shanks – taking his first national Saloon Car win – and Queensland champion Lindsay Kearns.

Tony Evangelou took pole position and finally looked a chance to convert his speed into regular results, before mechanical issues forced him out of the first race and into another round of charging back through the pack. He recovered to third in Race 3 and second motorsport news

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James Smith

Ed Singleton, leading round winner Peter Opie, wrapped up the Radical Australia Cup. Stuart Kostera and Inky Tulloch, below left, and Tony Ricciardello, below, dominated in the Manufacturers Championship and Sports Sedans respectively.

Matt Lovell, two below, and Allan Jarvis, bottom, won Saloon Cars and Swifts.

James Smith

James Smith

James Smith

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Herb Powell

in the finale’ as the leading Holden driver.

Mitsubishi driver Stuart Kostera teamed with Inky Tulloch to win both Australian Manufacturers Championship one-hour races contested, with the TMR drivers beating home the slightly olderspec Evo of Dylan Thomas in each race, Jim Pollicina scoring a pair of thirds to complete the podium.

Class B turned into a battle of the BMW’s, Peter O’Donnell and the impressive new 135i of Grant Sherrin racing competitively with Jeremy Gray’s Falcon – the former coming out on top with a pair of fifths.

Jake Camilleri continued his strong season and maintains an outright second position in the championship after adding to his points tally with a strong pair of fourth-place finishes at the weekend, and a comfortable Class C victory win to boot.

Tony Ricciardello handed the Kerrick Sports Sedans field an allout thumping, crushing the field by more than three seconds in qualifying and dominating each race easily. Local Shane Bradford was the best of the rest as Camaro driver Scott Butler struck problems and was forced out of the final race.

Allan Jarvis won two of the three Swift races contested, series newcomer Steve Robinson the third.

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ON A ROLL – BURDON FLIP

Motorsport eNews photographer James Smith captured this spectacular sequence of Josh Bu

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motorsport news

RACE EXTRA

PS DURING F3 RACE

urdon rolling his F3 car at Morgan Park on the weekend

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IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ROUND 13 – NEW HAMPSHIRE

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YAN Hunter-Reay has taken a bizarre IndyCar win in New Hampshire.

In a race of flared tempers and reversed decisions, Hunter-Reay ended up taking the spoils ... thanks to essentially being in the right place at the right time, and avoiding the surrounding carnage.

With six re-starts, there were two that changed the course of the race. The first came when former F1 driver Takuma Sato took early leader Dario Franchitti out of the race. Franchitti had been in absolutely dominant form, but found himself in the wall through no fault of his own, earning 34

his first DNF since Kansas in 2009 and promoting Hunter-Reay into the lead.

But the real controversy happened just eight laps later. During the Safety Car period that followed Franchitti’s crash, a light rain shower hit the track. Despite the circuit still being slick, the stewards elected to throw the green flags, with carnage unfolding immediately.

Worst hit was Aussie Will Power, who was out to make up some points on Franchitti after the Scot’s retirement. But he was taken out of fifth place by Danica Patrick on the re-start, seemingly stopping any chance of closing the gap to Franchitti. Power made

his thoughts known to officials, flipping the bird to race control as he made his way back to the pits.

Then, something even more bizarre happened. Race Control, led by IndyCar’s president of competition Brian Barnhart, decided to reverse its decision to re-start the race, awarding the final results on the positions being held during the final caution period. That gave the win to Hunter-Reay from Oriol Servia and Scott Dixon, with Power finishing fifth and closing the gap to Franchitti.

“A strange day, but sometimes racing is strange,” Hunter-Reay said. motorsport news

RACE

THE ART OF SURVIVAL

There was rain, re-starts and carnage in New Hampshire, and while the title contenders had their issues, Ryan Hunter-Reay survived his way to a strange win

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“We knew we had a good car this weekend, the guys have done a great job and it’s a great result. It was the wrong move to re-start, and I’m also sorry for Dario, but the team deserves this win. I wish it was a little bit different but we’ll take it.

“I don’t think the fans at home understand how wet it was. We have a very small contact patch (of the tires to the racing surface), but when there’s some rain down there’s nothing there. I couldn’t even put the power down in second or third.”

As for the Franchitti/Sato incident, the Japanese driver was quick to apologise post-race.

“It was my fault. I was too close to Dario,” Sato said.

“I had debris in my eye and there were tears.

There is no excuse for that.”

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“We had a good racecar overall and we were strong all weekend,” added Franchitti.

“It is really unfortunate for Team Target.

[Sato] started coming up into me before the re-start. I really don’t know what he was thinking.”

Even before the Sato/Franchitti clash, there were wrecks in New Hampshire. Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Tomas Schekter got together on the back straight, sending Kanaan into the wall and onto his head. Even as early as Lap 1 Mike Conway and Graham Rahal were into it, crashing each other out of the race.

Ryan Briscoe was classified eighth, although he would have finished higher if the race had continued after the final re-start, having picked his way through the carnage on the slick track.

motorsport news

RACE

Crash, Bang: Tony Kanaan found the wall in a pretty big way in New Hampshire, above, and ended up on his lid. Mike Conway and Graham Rahal couldn’t even get through Lap 1 without crashing, bottom left, while Will Power was filthy with the race control decision to re-start the race in wet conditions, left.

Results :: MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay Oriol Servia Scott Dixon James Hinchcliffe Will Power Danica Patrick Takuma Sato Ryan Briscoe Charlie Kimball Vitor Meira

Team Andretti Newman/Haas Ganassi Newman/Haas Penske Andretti KV Penske Ganassi Foyt

Qual 5 2 7 4 13 15 8 6 10 19

Top 10 Points: Franchitti 443, Power 396, Dixon 370, Servia 308, Kanaan 295, Briscoe 277, Andretti 270, Hunter-Reay 261, Rahal 240, Sato 238.

OUTSTANDING PIT DISPLAYS BY OCTANORM MANY OTHER DISPLAY OPTIONS AVAILABLE PLEASE CALL US TO DISCUSS REQUIREMENTS

SYDNEY (02) 9556 6012 MELBOURNE (03) 9394 3150

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FESTIVAL OF TOURING CARS LAKESIDE, QLD

LAKESIDE SALUTES TOURING CARS

MARK JONES REVIEWS THE FINAL LEG OF LAKESIDE’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY RACE MEETINGS – THE FESTIVAL OF TOURING CARS

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HE biggest crowd Lakeside Park has seen since the circuit re-opened attended the fourth and final 50th anniversary race meeting, the Festival of Touring Cars. Several star cars of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s were present and V8 Supercars returned to the circuit for the first time since the 2001 Konica Series.

Group A & C was the crowd favourite, with Terry Ashwood in the 1992 Bathurst winning Nissan Skyline having a series of dices with Glenn Seton in the Pinepac

Ford Mustang. Ashwood won three times while Carey McMahon won the first race in an older Skyline. Craig Harris (Bill O’Brien XD Falcon) won Group C from Carl Muller (Seton/Smith Ford Capri).

Two huge fields of Group Ns saw little cars defeat the V8s, with Jason Black (Ford Escort) winning over Bob Sudall (Mazda RX2) and Cameron Black (Ford Escort) while early in the weekend Matt McGrath (XY Falcon) won the first race.

In the second group, Tasmanian Spike Jones (BMW 2002) won four races, with

Chris McIlwain (Datsun 1600) second for the weekend.

Geminis too thrilled the crowd, Rohan Barry claiming the weekend honours over Shayne Melton and Rod Dawson with, Dave Hinton claiming a win after four fierce races.

Ramon Connell dominated HQs with Gary Bonwick winning a tight fight for second over Brett Baker with Ian Mundell and John Carter fighting for the minors. Grant Wilson (‘69 Camaro) won a thin field of Trans-Ams after a broken throttle cable delayed John English (‘72 Camaro).

Mark Pryor

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motorsport news

RACE

Mark Pryor

Mark Pryor

Mark Pryor

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FESTIVAL OF SPEED WINTON, VICTORIA

OPEN WHEELERS STAR AT

JOHN BOWE WAS AMONG THE WINNERS AND AN EX-JAMES HUNT FORMU WINTON’S FESTIVAL OF SPEED, LACHLAN MANSELL REPORTS

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OHN Bowe has driven his Brabham BT23B-2 to a cleansweep of race wins in the Group M, O and V category at the Winton Festival of Speed on the weekend.

Despite spinning at the sweeper due to oil on the circuit in Race 1, Bowe still collected the chequered flag first ahead of Paul Stubber.

Tim Blanchard, above right, notched up a trio of third-place finishes in his historic Formula Ford Van Dieman RF88, formerly

NEED TO JOIN A CAR CLUB TO GET YOUR CAMS LICENSE? No matter what car you drive, Formula Ford Association membership is a cost effective way to get you on track.

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raced by his father, John Blanchard.

Tony Hubbard took out the Rose City Group N Touring Car Trophy in his Camaro. The event was held over 20 laps and included a compulsory pit-stop. Hubbard was chased down in the closing stages of the race by the Ford Mustang of Fraser Ross, while Phil Woodbury put in a storming drive in his rotary-powered Mazda RX2 to finish third.

Perry Spiridis dominated the early Group S running in his De

to advertise in Raceshop call us now Oriana Ruffini 0422 624 349 or Luke Finn 0423 665 384 motorsport news

RACE

Rob Lang

AT WINTON

ULA 5000 AMONG THE STARS AT Rob Lang

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Rob Lang

Tomaso Pantera GTS, winning the opening two races. However, Spiridis retired from the final, handing victory to Geoff Morgan in his Porsche 911, ahead of Michael Byrne and Peter Boylan.

Andrew Robson won the Rose City 10 000 Formula 5000 event, a re-enactment of the 1978 event won by James Hunt. Robson took the win from Michael Glynn and Bill Hemming, while the actual car driven by Hunt unfortunately failed to finish in the hands of Robert Harborow, right.

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SCHATZ ON TOP IN KNOXVILLE SPRINTCAR SPRINTCAR superstar Donny Schatz has claimed his fifth Knoxville Nationals victory in six years after a barnstorming drive from 13th, pocketing a very cool $150,000 for his sublime driving efforts.

Schatz, driving for NASCAR ‘supremo’ Tony Stewart, was atop the podium in the 51st running of the event from Sammy Swindell in second and third place-getter Shane Stewart, after grabbing the lead on Lap 15 of the 50-lap event. Schatz then cruised to a comfortable win, adding to his previous victories in the event in 2009, 08, 07 and 06.

“Five is just a number, it was all about today,” Schatz said.

“Early we had some good positions to get a couple cars at a time in the corners and the restart helped us. Just a fun race and I didn’t even look at it as 50 laps or two different races. I just attacked the whole time and got myself in a good position for the stoppage.”

Schatz’s performance backed-up his run on Wednesday that saw him record the second fastest qualifying lap and capture a heat race win before a rod bolt broke in the engine in the feature.

“A couple of us find out we had the same problem. You know, you don’t have much choice. You can’t always expect to be near the front to win these races.”

Schatz said lifestyle changes have played a major role in his personal and racing life.

“I’ve tried to make my life as good as I can the last several years,” Schatz said.

Defending Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Champion Tim Shaffer was again excellent, charging from 19th starting position to finish fourth, while reigning World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series points leader, Jason Meyers, experienced mechanical dramas after changing gears during the event’s pit stop, finishing 22nd. He still however holds a narrow 52-point lead over Schatz in the chase for the 2011 championship.

–GEOFF ROUNDS 42

MALVERN STAR ...

FORMULA FORD UK COMPLETE decimation of his rivals has been the order for Scott Malvern in the three rounds of the Formula Ford EuroCup at Zandvoort on the weekend, after he took a well-deserved two wins from three starts.

The only negative to Malvern’s weekend was a fourth in the final race, after his Jamun-Mygale developed a misfire before the final race. Despite the issues however, Malvern was able to finish well enough to claim the Formula Ford EuroCup. Following the final race, Malvern counted himself lucky to even have started.

“I didn’t even expect to get off the line,” said Scott.

“We changed the ECU before the start in the hope that it would cure the problem, but it didn’t. That also meant I had no dashboard display; no rev counter, nothing.

I tried really hard in the first laps to get away but the misfire was a constant problem and I was trying so hard that I ruined my tyres.”

Australians Nick McBride and Geoff Uhrhane meanwhile had a less than desired weekend. McBride, off the high of winning the Dutch Formula Ford Championship, was struggling in the wet sixth overall, while Uhrhane’s weekend finished in the pits in seventh overall. motorsport news

RACE

ROSENQVIST THE MASTER IN F3 F3 MASTERS THE Masters of F3 was run and won in front of a huge crowd at Zandvoort on the weekend, where it was Felix Rosenqvist who took his first win of the 2011 season.

Running out of the Mucke Motorsport banner, Rosenqvist’s race became a whole lot easier after race favourites, Prema Powerteam’s Roberto Merhi and Daniel

Juncadella took each other out the race only meters away from the start line.

After the calamity, and an inevitable Safety Car, Rosenqvist was able to escape the charging pack behind to gain an unassailable lead, eventually winning the race by 5.1s over Martin Wittman in second and Kevin Magnussen in third.

Post race, Rosenqvist was elated with his win, but perhaps would have preferred the hard roadover the easy win.

“Winning the Masters is great.” Said Rosenqvist.

“Of course, I benefited from Roberto Merhi and Daniel Juncadella crashing, but I would rather have beaten them on the track. After the start, I was able to pull a gap on the drivers behind me and control the race.”

After being involved in the opening lap incident with his teammate, Merhi was able to finish his Masters race in ninth, enough to hand him an early F3 Euroseries title.

Sutton Images

Hard times for Miedecke in the Deep South AUSSIES OVERSEAS GEORGE Miedecke has endured a hard evening at the latest round of the UARA Stars Late Model Series at Kingsport Speedway on the weekend.

Driving his Number 9 Jeld-Wen backed Ford Fusion; the Port www.mnews.com.au

Macquarie driver found the running hard as soon as he hit the circuit, placing his Marco Ambrose Motorsport Fusion seventh on the grid in qualifying.

Then after 150 laps, he crossed the line in a frustrated 10th place, citing a lack of car speed, and tyre temperature issues preventing him from truly challenge at the front.

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ODD SPOT!

rear of grid

Pass the Butter

Indycar Media

IT is not often that a racing driver gets to eat his winner’s trophy.

Ryan Hunter-Reay became the latest driver to hoist the lobster at New Hampshire on Sunday. As a winner of the IndyCar race, RHR got The Loudon Lobster, a full-sized crustacean presented to the winner of the track’s NASCAR and IndyCar events.

Y’see, lobster is just about the state dish of New Hampshire. So plentiful and cheap is the dish that a few years ago, inmates at the state penitentiary staged a hunger strike because they were, literally, fed up with eating lobster every night.

True story. The executive editor of this publication never jokes about lobsters ...

ON THIS DAY 14 AUGUST 1977

IT was 34 years ago that Alan Jones created Formula 1 history. AJ started 14th at the Austrian Grand Prix, on a damp track, but managed to race his way through the field to second place. That became first when James Hunt’s engine blew up, the Aussie taking his first win and the only one for Shadow. Niki Lauda was 20s back in second place to stretch his points lead over Jody Scheckter to 16 points.

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