Motorsport eNews Issue 201 - April 19-27, 2011

THE WORLD OF MOTORSPORT DIRECTLY TO YOUR DESKTOP

Issue No. 201 Apr 19 - Apr 27 2011

Z N N I H G U O R H T S K GIZ ITBENROUEGHATO KEEP HAMILTON ON THE V8 SCHEDULE? BUT IS

PLUS, THE INSIDE RUNNING ON ...

KIMI AND HIS KEN BLOCK AT CALDER SPRINT CUP DEBUT!

WHY IS DUAL V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPION JAMIE WHINCUP

SO FAST?

That’s the question we ask the experts in the May edition of Motorsport News, and the results offer a fascinating insight into how the championship leader works.

With V8 Supercars’ Car of the Future looming large, we take an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the radical new component which will drive it. We talk to Pirelli about their return to Formula 1 as a tyre supplier, and the key players in the Australian Rally Championship about the sport’s future.

Plus, catch up with Formula 5000 legend Warwick Brown, Fujitsu Series rookies Chaz Mostert and Ash Walsh, Formula Ford’s newest winner Tom Williamson and Top Fuel Drag Racer Steve Read. And much more!

On sale from Wednesday at Newsagents 2

motorsport news

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

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It wouldn’t be a street circuit without some cars finding trouble ...

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Issue No. 201 | Apr 19-27 2011

news 4

A winner, but no more live TV Mixed fortunes for NZ V8 fans 6 Raikking it in Kimi heads to Sprint Cup 12 It was alright, I guess Webber downplays drive 17 Enjoy Rally Straya in 2011 ... ... Oz not on 2012 WRC card

chat 26 Five Minutes With ...

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comment 28 Adam – Tyr-iffic 29 van Leeuwen – Wise move

race 30 V8 Supercars 40 Formula 1 44 Australian Rally C’Ship 48 IndyCar 52 NASCAR 56 World Superbikes

trade 62 Classifieds 3

CAN GIZ WIN SAVE HAM Local heroics could be the key to Hamilton retaining its V8 Supercar round V8 SUPERCARS

A

NEW local winner for the New Zealand round of the V8 Supercar Championship could be the saving grace that keeps the series returning to Hamilton.

Shane van Gisbergen’s popular win is exactly what the ITM 400 needed last weekend, with increasing speculation that the event is struggling, with poor pre-event ticket sales.

Much of the local media in Waikato was focussed on the unstable future of the event, with the Waikato Times running the headline ‘Numbers will be truly crunched’ on Saturday morning, above a story revealing that auditors are examining how the event’s costs have apparently exploded from NZ$7m to NZ$31m in three years.

The negative press follows claims last December from recently-appointed Hamilton mayor Julie Hardaker that she was “horrified” with the money that was being poured into the event.

But with van Gisbergen giving the home crowd something to cheer about on Sunday, Stone Brothers Racing boss Ross Stone said that it could be exactly the boost that the event needs.

“I think it’s really important,” he said.

“Kiwis love nothing more than the Kiwi-Aussie thing, almost more than the Ford-Holden thing.

We’ve seen it over the years with [Greg] Murphy at Pukekohe, so I was really pleased to see the

support Shane was given today. Hopefully it will help build [this event] for the future.”

Regardless of whether Hamilton continues to host a round of the V8 Supercar Championship, series, CEO Martin Whitaker was quick to point out that V8 Supercar racing will continue in New Zealand: “The most important thing is our relationship with New Zealand as a whole, and that is very much a long term relationship,” Whitaker told AAP on Saturday.

“The future of V8 Supercars is very much in place as far as New Zealand is concerned.

They’ve obviously had some tricky times in the past, [but] I don’t think it pays to dwell on the past.

“With the change in council and the new mayor, clearly the mayor has come in and had a look at things, and I think they recognise the value of the event to the city of Hamilton ... [we’ve] just got to run a really good event this weekend and convince them V8s are doing the right thing here.”

Whitaker also told AAP that a new local promoter is the preference, after V8 Supercar Events were forced to take over for 2011.

“I think we always prefer to find a promoter to take that on because it’s just another thing to add to our daily activities,” he added.

“This year we’re running nine events – that’s a big number of events to run ... Shane (Howard, V8s chief operating officer) and his team and the events team have got a massive job.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

No more live V8s for NZ V8 SUPERCARS

NEW Zealanders will have to wait until Bathurst to get their next live broadcast of a V8 Supercar race, with TV3 shelving live coverage for the rest of the rounds in 2011.

TV3’s parent company Mediaworks TV has deemed the ratings not high enough to warrant live coverage, with Saturday’s action to be shown on Sunday afternoons, and Sunday’s races to be delayed until late Sunday nights.

“Due to recent changes with Mediaworks TV, V8 coverage will no longer be switching over to FOUR (was C4) at 6:00pm,” a representative from TV3 told eNews.

“The relaunch of C4 to FOUR has seen Mediaworks TV assess much of our 4

programming. It was decided that V8 Coverage did not fit with the new format of FOUR. “Due to ratings performance, the V8 coverage will finish Sundays at 5:00pm on TV3. The remainder of the V8 races will be shown late Sunday night. While we understand NZ Motorsport fans will be disappointed, this decision was not taken lightly and thorough research was done to get us to this point.

“From previous performance, we know that Hamilton and Bathurst are the two biggest rounds of the season and we have comprehensive live coverage of both events.”

TV3 has had the V8 Supercar broadcast rights in New Zealand since 2008.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN motorsport news

news

MILTON?

Ken Block set for Calder stunt WORLD RALLY COULD Calder Park go viral with Ken Block? eNews has learnt the Melbourne circuit is in line to be the venue for the filming of one of the shoe magnate-turnedrally driver’s famous Gymkhana videos later this year. The cofounder of DC Shoes has been rallying since 2005, and is in his second full season in the World Rally Championship. But he’s risen to mainstream prominence with videos of his gymkhana rallying exploits. The latest video, Gymkhana 3, was released in September last year and reportedly viewed 7,000,000 times in its first week online.

Preliminary discussions with Calder Park are under way with a view to filming an installment – likely to become Gymkhana 5 – at the venue in the first week of September, while Block is in the country ahead of Rally Australia.

“We’re under negotiations at the moment with Monster, who are Ken Block’s sponsor, and it’s looking promising,” Calder Park’s General Manager Ian Macarthur confirmed to eNews.

“What we’re doing now is negotiating with them to come up with the finer points of putting it all together, as with any large event that we have here.

“It would utilise the whole facility so it’d be pretty big. As a big Ken Block fan, I’d love to see it happen.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

Dirk Klynsmith

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5

Hey Juan, remember me? Let’s hang out.

NASCAR

eNews EXCLUSIVE

sutton-images.com

FORMER Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut this year, eNews can reveal.

While his Truck and Nationwide programmes have been well documented already, we understand the Finn also plans to make his full-on Sprint Cup debut this year as well!

Having tested one of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Toyota trucks again at Rockingham recently, Raikkonen is set

to make his NASCAR debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, first in the Truck Series, and then the following weekend in the Nationwide Series, also at Charlotte with Kyle Busch Motorsports. eNews has learned that Raikkonen will enter three Truck Series, three Nationwide and then three Sprint Cup events later in the year, driving Toyotas from the Busch stables.

Veteran Rick Ren will crew-chief the Finnish star’s efforts, with full funding apparently already in place.

Since retiring from Formula 1 at the end of 2009, Raikkonen has been competing in the World Rally Championship.

GRM boys want mandatory headlights V8 SUPERCARS GARRY Rogers Motorsport drivers Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso have called for the use of headlights to be mandatory during wet V8 Supercar races.

The pair’s concerns arose during Saturday’s race at Hamilton, where visibility was compromised by periods of darkness during the rain, followed by bright sunshine reflecting off the wet surface later in the race. According to Holdsworth, some of the cars were running without headlights –which made the

6

racing conditions even tougher.

“The cars need to have headlights on in the rain,” he told eNews.

“We have a rain light on a V8 Supercar, but you can’t really see it. The worst part is if you have a light coloured car behind you, and they are sitting in the spray without their lights on. You have no idea if they are trying to pass you, or holding back, or what is going on. You can’t see a thing.”

“They need to make it a directive from race control that if a car is on wet tyres, then headlights must be on,” added Caruso.

“Fair enough if you’ve hit something and your lights don’t work, but if they do work then it should me made mandatory to have them on.”

Another issue that arose from Saturday’s race in Hamilton was a lack of grip from the circuit’s concrete apron in pitlane. Most of the drivers, at some point during the race, overshot their pit box – with the worst offenders being Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander.The Kiwi hit Network Seven cameraman Dave Lovell, while Tander took out his lead mechanic Jason Burns, who broke his hand in the chaos.

“I don’t know what can be done about that, but something needs to change,” added Holdsworth.

“It’s slippery even on wet tyres.

You’re out there doing 200 km/ h on the circuit, and then you drop down to 40 kays in pitlane, and it feels like a snail’s pace. The team tell you it’s slippery, but there’s just no way to judge exactly how slippery it will be.

“I’m really surprised they didn’t red flag Saturday’s race. They were the most treacherous conditions I have ever raced in.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

motorsport news

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V8 SUPERCARS SHANE van Gisbergen has revealed the emotion that overcame him when he won the second leg of the ITM 400 – and the Mark Porter Trophy – in his native New Zealand on Sunday.

The Kiwi, 21, held off a spirited attack from Lee Holdsworth late in the race to take his first career win, in front of a cheering home crowd in Hamilton.

“You could see everyone cheering,” he said after the race.

“It’s amazing to do it. No Kiwi has won [in Hamilton] before.

It’s pretty cool.

“That was a pretty emotional race. We had to work hard

for it, and when I passed Rick [Kelly] I could see everyone in the crowd cheering. That gets to you. I started making mistakes, so there were a few ‘come on Shane’ moments, just trying to get it together.” van Gisbergen added that the win was made even better, given his own memories of watching Greg Murphy win race after race at Pukekohe.

“I used to be a Murph clapper.

Every lap when I’d see Murph go past, I’d clap for him, and there was a few people doing that today, which was pretty cool. This is a dream come true, it’s what I always wanted to do, so I’m pretty happy.”

Now, van Gisbergen is focused on making sure the

Dirk Klynsmith

Choice! win wasn’t a one-off. “[Ross Stone has] always said that when you crack the first win, you keep going on, so hopefully the next one I can actually hold the trophy up, because I was a bit knackered to hold this one up. Homebush, it would have been awesome to win there, but I think this is pretty fitting to win at home.

Those last couple of laps were just amazing. It hasn’t really sunken in yet.”

Meanwhile, Stone Brothers Racing boss Ross Stone praised his young star for the faultless performance.

“I just put it down to it being a day with no mistakes, and good car speed – that’s always the best strategy when you

have good car speed,” said Stone.

“I think it was 100 out of 100 for everything falling into place, and Shane did a fantastic job.

“He’s still only young, he’s only 21, and we’ve talked a lot about that first race win being the hardest one to win.

Hopefully that’s the case, and we can look forward to the future. We thought [the win] was going to come sooner or later, but after [Saturday], when we got roughed up a little bit, we didn’t think it would be today. But we were always going to give it our best shot, and today that was good enough.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Slow down! This week’s edition of Motorsport eNews will need to last you another extra two days.

With the upcoming Easter and ANZAC Day public holidays, next week’s eNews will come out next Wednesday night, April 27, not on the Monday night. Have a safe and enjoyable long weekend.

www.mnews.com.au

7

KELLYS WITHDRAW AGP PROTEST V8 SUPERCARS KELLY Racing has withdrawn the protest it lodged against Craig Lowndes after the Australian Grand Prix.

Rick Kelly and Craig Lowndes clashed heavily in the final race at Albert Park, sparking the Kellys to protest Lowndes’ actions. The protest was set to be heard in Perth during the Trading Post Perth Challenge, but on Sunday morning Kelly

Racing decided to withdraw the protest, a decision accepted by the V8 Supercar stewards.

“Todd [Kelly] has talked to our team since the Grand Prix and then spoke to Adrian Burgess (TeamVodafone Team Manager) and requested that Adrian and Craig [Lowndes] come into our garage here in Hamilton to have a chat about it,” said Rick.

“Adrian and Craig thought that was a good idea.

“Adrian, Craig, Todd and I all had a good chat about it on Saturday after qualifying and sorted it out. That’s definitely the way to do it.

“In the past, teams have been submitting things without speaking to anyone up and down pit-lane. I said in our chat on Saturday that if there are dramas we are better to try and sort it out amongst ourselves, and if we can’t sort it out, then go to the IPO if they’re not

already investigating it. The Triple Eight guys completely agreed.

“I think it was a good move by us to get them in for a talk and it was good of them to agree to come down and have a good chat about it.” eNews understands that Kelly and Lowndes put the matter to bed after finishing first and second respectively during Saturday’s race in Hamilton.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

RICK STICKS WITH SPARE FOR WA V8 SUPERCARS RICK Kelly will be back in his first-choice chassis when the V8 Supercar Championship gets to Winton in May. Kelly has been forced into the

team’s spare chassis, the same one used by Tony Ricciardello in Stratco colours last season, due to his massive shunt with Craig Lowndes at the Australian Grand Prix. He used the older car at Hamilton last weekend,

and will race it again in Perth in a fortnight.

His usual mount is actually almost re-built, however with the Easter break and the extended travel time required back from New Zealand and

over to Western Australia, the team has elected to wait until Winton before handing Kelly the keys back.

All four of the Kelly Racing cars will test at Winton before the round.

Dirk Klynsmith

GT: No SC the way to go V8 SUPERCARS GARTH Tander says that the stewards made the right call not deploying the Safety Car at the end of Sunday’s race in Hamilton.

With just laps to go, Fabian Coulthard and Tim Slade ended up stranded on the circuit after 8

a clash also involving Alex Davison. But while the cars were on the circuit, the race officials deemed them to be far enough off-line to allow the race to finish under green conditions.

When asked after the race if he thought the situation required a Safety Car, Tander

praised the stewards, saying they made exactly the right call.

“Realistically, it would have been a shame to finish that one under Safety Car [conditions], given that it was [Shane’s] first win,” he said.

“There was more to the story going on, and those two cars were certainly out of the way.

“For the podium, it didn’t really look like anything was going to change, because there was two passing opportunities taken out with the yellow flags, so it wouldn’t have been the right call to bring out the Safety Car.” Tander finished the race third.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN motorsport news

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Fundraiser launched for JR GOOD CAUSES THE support for Jason Richards has taken a stepup, with Garth Tander, Greg Murphy and Paul Dumbrell setting up a public fundraiser to help Richards with his fight against cancer.

Tander, Murphy and Dumbrell have set up a site called bid4jase.com that will act as an online auction and donation site, with all proceeds going to help Richards. Items for auction include a Series II Holden Cruze, a Gold Coast 600 travel package, a guitar signed by band Good Charlotte, and the suit that Greg Murphy was wearing during his infamous clash with Marcos Ambrose at

Bathurst in 2005.

“We might be fierce competitors out on the track, but off the track we are a bunch of like-minded, communitydriven people who really care for our own,” Murphy.

“Jason Richards is a mate to each and every one of us here in pit-lane, and as usual he’s going at a million miles an hour – this time to beat cancer.

“GT, PD and myself wanted to create something that every driver in pit-lane could get involved in and we came up with bid4jase.com.”

The scheme was launched in Hamilton last Friday, with Richards on hand to experience what his fellow V8 drivers have done for him.

“I’m so overwhelmed by the support of the guys and what

bid4jase.com might achieve,” said Richards.

“The public support at Clipsal and the AGP was so incredible, and it’s made me more determined than ever to beat the cancer and get myself back racing full time. Thanks to absolutely everyone for their support.”

Head to www.bid4jase.com to bid or donate.

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9

WA SCHEDULE SET V8 SUPERCARS THE timetable for the upcoming Trading Post Perth Challenge at Barbagallo Raceway has been revealed.

As previously reported, the event will cater for three rounds of the 2011 V8 Supercar Championship – seven, eight and nine – while there will be just two

qualifying sessions. Saturday’s qualifying session will determine the grid for Race 7, while driver’s fastest lap from Sunday’s qualifying session will determine the grid for Race 8, with Race 9’s starting order to be decided by each driver’s second fastest lap from Sunday’s qualifying session. Tyre allocation will be split between the two Dunlop compounds, with Saturday to be

run on the harder control tyre, and Sunday to be exclusive to the softer sprint tyre.

There will also be unique format for the Fujitsu Series, with two 30-minute races instead of three 20-minute races.

Meanwhile, eNews understands that there will be 27 bikes on the grid for the Australian Superbike Championship races.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

RACE SCHEDULE – TRADING POST PERTH CHALLENGE Friday, April 29 8:20am Fujitsu Series 9:15am V8 Supercars 10:00am V8 Utes 10:35am Carrera Cup 11:10am V8 Supercars 11:55am Superbikes 12:30pm Fujitsu Series 1:25pm V8 Utes 2:00pm V8 Supercars 2:45pm Carrera Cup 3:20pm Touring Car Masters 3:55pm V8 Supercars 4:40pm Superbikes

Practice 1 Practice 1 Practice 1 Practice 1 Practice 2 Practice 1 Practice 2 Practice 2 Practice 3 Practice 2 Practice 1 Practice 4 Qualifying 1

Saturday, April 30 8:15am Superbikes 8:45am V8 Utes 9:15am Touring Car Masters 9:45am Carrera Cup 10:15am Superbikes 10:50am V8 Supercars 11:20am V8 Utes 11:55am Superbikes 12:30pm Fujitsu Series 1:15pm Touring Car Masters 2:05pm V8 Supercars 3:20pm Carrera Cup 3:55pm Touring Car Masters 4:40pm Fujitsu Series

Qualifying 2 Qualifying Practice 2 Qualifying Superpole Qualifying Race 1 Race 1 Qualifying Qualifying Race 7 Race 1 Race 1 Race 1

Sunday, May 1 8:10am Superbikes 8:30am Carrera Cup 9:00am V8 Supercars 9:35am Superbikes 10:35am V8 Supercars 12:00pm Touring Car Masters 12:35pm V8 Utes 1:10pm Carrera Cup 2:05pm V8 Supercars 3:25pm Fujitsu Series 4:10pm Touring Car Masters 4:45pm V8 Utes

Warm Up Race 2 Qualifying Race 2 Race 8 Race 2 Race 2 Race 3 Race 9 Race 2 Race 3 Race 3

TRIPLE F: Fiore Finds Funds ...

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS TRIPLE F Racing has finally found some major backing for 2011 season, with Western Australian company Sitech stepping up its sponsorship for the Hamilton and Barbagallo Raceway rounds.

The Sitech signage was on Dean Fiore’s 10

car for the first time at Hamilton, with the deal set to continue at the company’s home round in a fortnight. Sitech has been a minor sponsor of Fiore and Triple F Racing for several years.

According to Fiore, the Sitech deal is proof that a round in Western Australia is vitally important.

“They’ve supported us for a while now, so it’s great to see Sitech step things up a

bit for a couple of rounds,” said Fiore.

“We’ve pushed so hard to get a Perth round back on the calendar. It’s really important for us when it comes to putting together deals like this.

“And it’s not just important to us. A lot of the teams up and down pit-lane have backing from companies that have a big presence in WA.” – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN motorsport news

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Dates to be confirmed.

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Hamilton praises McLaren turnaround FORMULA 1

did almost put them out before the start in China, but the McLaren mechanics managed to rectify a fuel leak and get Hamilton mobile some 30 seconds before the pitlane was closed.

“I think today we were similar pace perhaps in the race, I think they were generally a little bit quicker, but I think it was just due to us just trying to be a little bit smarter on the strategy and making it work and fortunately it did today.

Other times perhaps it won’t work out but today it did so we are very happy.”

Sutton Images

IT was an emotioncharged victory in China for Lewis Hamilton and the entire McLaren-Mercedes team – and not just because it was a firstup win for Hamilton in 2011 that ended Sebastian Vettel’s winning streak.

It was a team effort in every sense: a brilliant effort by the driver, and the culmination of a concerted effort by the team to rectify what Hamilton revealed was shaping up in pre-season testing as a crippling

lack of reliability from the new car.

“We came out to Barcelona with the upgrade package we had there and it really wasn’t working and the reliability was a disaster,” Hamilton said. “We couldn’t even get past 20 laps.

“Then they pushed very hard in the space of a week-and-a-half, two weeks, and it was just incredible what they were able to bring to Australia. Australia was our first race distance and the car has been great.”

Reliability issues

Webber downplays China podium FORMULA 1

Sutton Images

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FROM 18th on the grid to third place – that’s in the realm of the alltime legendary drives in Formula 1 history.

As for the man who achieved it in China, Mark Webber doesn’t think of it as all that special. It was, he said at the post-race media conference, just his job: “It’s a different type of racing. There were some phenomenal races even when you drive for smaller teams, but today worked out for me.

“I had a good feeling from the middle part of the race to 60-70 per cent of the way through the race that things were starting to come to us, so it’s easy to sit here and say yeah, it was phenomenal, top-three drive,

overdone, rah rah rah, but in the end, that’s my job, mate, isn’t it? You’ve just got to (get your) head down, arse up and get into it – so that’s what I did.”

During the conference Webber also found himself being perhaps a little more candid than he’d perhaps have intended on the subject of Hamilton’s victory, saying he was ‘relieved’ his team-mate had finally been beaten.

“Again congratulations to Lewis. It was good that someone finally, of course Seb is in the same team but he has been on a phenomenal run and we are all here together fighting for victories. Shame McLaren won in a way but also we can’t let Seb get too far away, so it was good day for the racing and good day for us in terms of points for the team.” motorsport news

Williams Press

Sam Michael faces axe at Williams FORMULA 1 SPECULATION was growing on Sunday night after the Chinese Grand Prix that the Williams team was about to dispense with technical director Sam Michael.

In the midst of the worst opening to a season Williams Grand Prix Engineering has endured since 1978, Williams chairman Adam Parr would not deny

the speculation about Michael’s future.

“If Sam thought that the right thing for the team is for him to stop, he’d stop tomorrow, Parr told Reuters. “He wouldn’t even quibble. He will do whatever is necessary for the team.”

In a bid to turn the team’s fortunes around, Parr foreshadowed a shakeup at Williams that will include personnel changes as well as organisational restructuring.

“You can’t change what we are doing without changing people,” he said, admitting that some of the decisions will be “tough”.

“There are other areas (too) where we’ve just not been smart enough.

We’re not lacking in creativity or ambition but it’s not enough.

“There are other people who are being more creative and more ambitious.”

Not leaving McLaren: Hamilton FORMULA 1 SPECULATION that Lewis Hamilton was looking at future options that did not include McLaren were firmly laid to rest in Shanghai.

Earlier comments from Hamilton about McLaren’s struggling start to the season had been interpreted as a warning to McLaren that looking elsewhere.

Asked by Italy’s La Stampa if Ferrari might be his potential future employer, Hamilton said: “Anything is possible. I

could change my earrings, grow my hair long, or start dressing like Schumacher.

“My heart tells me to stay here. I first came to McLaren when I was 11. I want to be the most successful driver with this team and I’m glad they want to keep me.”

Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said in China he wanted to retain both Hamilton and Jenson Button until at least 2017.

Hamilton’s current contract with McLaren expires at the end of 2012.

www.gpweek.com www.mnews.com.au

Sutton Images

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

13

Another week, another quali tweak INDYCAR FOR the third event of the season IndyCar, based on the driver’s committee suggestions, has moved to a more equitable qualifying format by splitting the initial two groups of knock-out qualifying to be based on their first day practice session speeds.

Prior to the Grand Prix of Long Beach, drivers were randomly split into two groups based on numbers drawn out of a hat. Sometimes that resulted in one easy group and one difficult group loaded with primarily the fastest drivers.

Now, practice times from Friday play a key role in deciding the

grid, with odd-placed drivers forming one group and the even-placed drivers running second.

The fastest driver from Friday’s combined sessions can pick which group he wants to compete against. Each group is given 15 minutes to set their fastest lap, with the top six moving on to the next tier of qualifying.

“This change was made at the request of the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers, who were looking for a system that enhanced the competition,” said Brian Barnhart, INDYCAR’s President of Competition and Racing Operations. “It puts a premium on Friday practice sessions and helps even out

those groups, which couldn’t be achieved with a random draw.”

“The new driver’s committee voted to move to a new format which would be fairer to the mid-pack drivers,” explained Ryan Briscoe, himself the fastest in both Long Beach’s Friday sessions. “I thought the randomness was a good system but I’m glad Barnhart listened.

“I’ve chosen to run in the second group because the track gets faster with more rubber down and cleaner.

“Last year I was out of breath when I finished my run and had to run the next segment immediately. But with only one type of tyres in each qualifying

tier now, we only run three or four laps, so you get a rest. At the end of the day you’ll still be racing the guys in your own group.”

At the season opener at St. Petersburg, drivers were restricted to only one tyre type, which resulted in every driver running solely the alternate or red-banded softer tires, which are designed to generate faster lap times. At Barber Motorsports Park, the second race, the time allocated to the second tier of qualifying – comprising the Top 12 – was reduced from 15 to 10, minutes because drivers were only running one stint on their alternate tires.

– MARY MENDEZ

Honda Indy Racing

WHELDON GETS I500 BACKING INDYCAR

14

record labels for some of country music’s biggest stars including Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Leann Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Rodney Atkins, Band Perry, Lee Brice, Martina McBride and Wynonna Judd.

Wheldon won the 2005 Indianapolis 500.

– MARY MENDEZ

IZOD IndyCar Media

DAN Wheldon, already announced as the driver of the Bryan Herta Autosport entry for the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500, will drive the #98 BHA/Curb-Agajanian entry.

Sponsors include William

Rast, Curb records, and Big Machine. The famed #98 carried the Agajanian name to victory at the Brickyard both in 1952, when Troy Ruttman became the youngest-ever Indy 500 winner at age 22, and in 1963, when Parnelli Jones triumphed in the legendary ‘Ol’ Calhoun’ Watson Roadster.

Curb/Big Machine touts

motorsport news

news

Big field entered for 100th ‘500 INDYCAR THE 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29th has attracted the event’s highest-number of entries since 2002, with 83 cars across 42 entries, including spare cars.

The field will include four past winners, Dario Franchitti the defending champion (2007, 2010), Helio Castroneves trying

for his fourthh (2001, 2002, 2009), Scott Dixon who won in 2008, and Dan Wheldon who won in 2005.

Should Castroneves win he would join the very private club of other four-time winners, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.

So far, 35 drivers have been named to fill 42 entries but a team owner can expand by putting a driver in a back-

up car at any time. Of these drivers, 18 have won either an IZOD IndyCar series race or a Champ Car/CART event, while five rookies have been named; JR Hildebrand, James Hinchcliffe, James Jakes and Charlie Kimball, and Jay Howard.

Andretti Autosport has entered the most drivers with five by adding John Andretti, Michael Andretti’s cousin in

conjunction with Richard Petty.

The list of drivers include four former pole winners, Bruno Junqueira (2002), Helio Castroneves (2003, 2007, 2009, 2010), Tony Kanaan (2005), and Scott Dixon (2008). Ages range from the youngest, Sebastian Saavedra, 20 to the oldest, Davey Hamilton, 48. But John Andretti has the most previous starts with 11.

– MARY MENDEZ

IZOD IndyCar Media

Roger gets the nod INDYCAR LEGENDARY car owner and driver, Roger Penske, was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club in a standingroom only affair at the Long Beach Hilton pre-race.

The RRDC raises funds for Team USA driver development program. Bobby Rahal played host at the event which included past honorees Dan Gurney and Parnelli Jones.

“To join Dan Gurney and Parnelli Jones as inductees is

an incredible honor,” Penske said.

“I’ve raced against these guys and have strategised against them as car owners on race day.

“Parnelli and Dan are two of the top all-time names in

racing – any form of racing – and to be honored and join is a thrill for me. To look out into the crowd and see so many friends, family and racing legends is quite humbling for me.”

– MARY MENDEZ

of these great names in motorsports is tremendous and my first reaction was that I was not worthy. I think it was my last win here, in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race last year that pushed me over the top and got me inducted.”

Vasser, who won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in 1996 en-route to the CART PPG IndyCar World Series Championship, began

attending the event in 1983 as a spectator and has not missed a race in Long Beach since.

His last open-wheel start came at Long Beach on April 20, 2008 with KV Racing Technology, while his team won that race with Will Power.

Last year, Vasser won the Pro category of the event’s Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.

– MARY MENDEZ

Jimmy, too INDYCAR THE City of Long Beach and the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach honored KV Racing Technology – Lotus co-owner Jimmy Vasser by inducting him into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame at the sixth annual ceremony.

Vasser joins an illustrious list of drivers and teams which www.mnews.com.au

includes Mario and Michael Andretti, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Newman Haas Racing, Bobby Rahal, Brian Redman and Al Unser Jr. “This is fantastic ... a great honor ... a great surprise ... I am humbled,” said Vasser.

“I want to thank the City of Long Beach and the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach for this honor.

“To be inducted with all

15

MINI LAUNCHES

WORLD RALLY

sutton-images.com

MINI has officially launched its World Rally Championship program.

The MINI WRC Team, featuring the all-new MINI John Cooper Works WRC car, was launched in Oxford last week, along with confirmation that the team will debut at Rally d’Italia, in Sardinia, next month.

The team’s drivers will be Brit Kris Meeke and Spaniard Dani Sordo, with the program being run by Prodrive, which used to oversee Subaru’s involvement in the WRC. “We have been working towards this moment for more than two years, and it is truly exciting to be launching the MINI WRC Team and what I believe is the most stunning car in World Rallying, the MINI John Cooper Works WRC,” said Prodrive boss David Richards.

“We have an experienced team, a talented driver pairing and, most importantly of all, a strong partnership with MINI. We are now eagerly looking forward to demonstrating the performance of the car on its debut in Sardinia in just a few weeks.”

Ogier wins thriller in Jordan WORLD RALLY

16

frame for a podium finish, but crashed on Sunday morning.

Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen finished fourth, after being forced to sweep the road throughout Friday’s stages.

Loeb now leads the championship by two points from Hirvonen, with Ogier and Latvala also within 10 points of the lead.

sutton-images.com

SEBASTIEN Ogier has won the closest rally in the history of the World Rally Championship, holding off Jari-Matti Latvala to take victory in Jordan by just 0.2 seconds.

The Citroen driver took a big risk on the Saturday, grabbing the lead and holding onto it, while his rivals all slowed to avoid being first on the road for Sunday. When Sunday’s stages kicked off, Ogier looked to have made the right call – until Latvala went on a charge in the final loop. The Ford man actually took a 0.5s lead into the final stage of the rally, which was the nominated ‘power stage’, with three additional points on offer.

But Ogier fought back, winning the ‘power stage’ and taking victory by the slimmest of margins.

“Despite the fact that we were pushing like crazy, Jari-Matti gave us a hard time today” said the delighted winner.

“He banged in incredible times, and we almost felt that there was nothing we could do about it. Thanks to the reversed order in the final stage, sweeping had no influence and we were able to do battle on an equal footing.

“It was tough, but we never stopped thinking we could win, and Lady Luck smiled on us! It’s hardly believable to win

the rally by such a tiny margin, but we’ve bagged the maximum amount of points with the ‘power stage’ bonus. That’s put us back in the title hunt and it augurs well the rest of the season.”

Loeb finished third, having opted not to fight for the win when his Citroen developed handling problems late on Sunday. Petter Solberg was also in the

motorsport news

news

OZ OUT OF THE WRC

Rally Australia off the calendar for 2012 ... but organisers want it back WORLD RALLY AUSTRALIA has been omitted from the final 2012 World Rally Championship calendar, with New Zealand taking over the Asia-Pacific spot on the schedule.

As expected, New Zealand will go back to running a WRC round, having dropped its 2011 event due to the Rugby World Cup soaking up local resources.

However, it is so far unknown whether Australia and New Zealand will continue to rotate a WRC round, or whether Australia will simply be left in the cold from hereon in.

Since the calendar was released, Rally Australia CEO Michael Masi has come out and said all is not lost.

“Rally Australia hosted the

WRC in 2009, New Zealand last year, Australia this year and provisionally New Zealand next year,” said Masi.

“Without prejudice to New Zealand, we have been pushing for Australia to have its own permanent place on the calendar.

“This is not a trans-Tasman issue. Both Australia and New Zealand have to independently prove their worth to host one of world motorsport’s most prestigious and widely-followed competitions against rival bids from many countries in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.

“We appreciate the predicament of the WRC in trying to accommodate all these interests, but our focus is

bringing the championship to Australia.”

As for the rest of the calendar, Abu Dhabi will make its first appearance in ’12, and will be the season-opener. Argentina will be the second event, with a long-distance format that is

likely to include Uruguay.

Finland will move well up the order to third, with Great Britain fourth, relinquishing its usual spot at the end of the year. Sweden and Norway will now share the final round of the season.

2012 WRC CALENDAR Abu Dhabi* Argentina Finland France Great Britain* Germany Greece Mexico

New Zealand Portugal Spain Sweden - Norway * Subject to confirmation and approval of the Event Business Plan and format.

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OOO ;GEH>JA;LAGF ;GE 9M www.mnews.com.au

17

Morris goes Green FUJITSU SERIES PAUL Morris will trade the Love Machine for the colours of the Green Machine when he returns to the Fujitsu Series at Barbagallo Raceway.

For Morris’ first start in the series for 2011, he’ll link up with Western Australian

boxer Danny Green. Morris’ VE Commodore has been reliveried to promote Green’s upcoming bout with former Light Heavyweight World Champion Antonio ‘Magic Man’ Tarver at Sydney Entertainment Centre on July 20.

“This is a dream come true to be able get involved with the

greatest show on wheels and with this cool crew from the Gold Coast,” Green, the current IBO Cruiserweight Champion, said.

“V8 Supercars is a huge sporting product and this is a fantastic opportunity to promote my fight with Tarver in July in a way that is completely

fresh thinking for Green Machine Boxing.

“I’m a big Supercars fan and I had a look at some results from last year, Paul has definitely got the pace in these machines to get the job done, so I’ll be in his corner at Barbagallo psyching him up as much as I can for the win!”

THANK YOU, MR HOOKER V8 SUPERCARS

18

Dirk Klynsmith

KARL Reindler is already feeling the positive effects of training with Olympic gold medal winning pole vaulter Steve Hooker.

The two Perth-based athletes have been training together for several weeks, with Reindler looking to shake his marathon runner physique and develop a fitness more suitable for racing cars.

“I’m feeling stronger and more confident in the car, and much less fatigued,” Reindler told eNews.

“We do a lot of functional training. On one day we’ll

do base fitness, and the next we will work on stuff that is specific to motor racing. He might not be a racing driver, but Steve has such a great understanding of how the human body functions. It’s also got a lot to do with mindset.”

Reindler added that the training not only benefits him, but Hooker is also getting something out of the partnership.

“He loves motorsport. He drives around in a Mitsubishi Evo, so we’ll be getting that up to [Barbagallo Raceway] pretty soon.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Marshall of the wild west V8 UTES

Dirk Klynsmith

MARCUS Marshall will make his debut in a V8 Ute at Barbagallo Raceway next weekend.

The former open-wheel driver and V8 Supercar endurance regular will be the series’ Auto One V8 Wildcard in WA, racing Jason Gomersall’s Falcon Ute for the weekend. Marshall, who will race with Garry Rogers Motorsport in this year’s V8 Supercar endurance races, got his first taste of the Ute last Friday at Eastern Creek.

“I haven’t raced a V8 Ute before, I’m both excited and nervous, it’s a very different type of car to drive, and I’ve mostly been involved in open wheelers,” he said.

“I’m so thankful to Jason and also Auto One for inviting me along to drive in the V8 Utes, It’s something that has always intrigued me and hopefully I can put up a good result for them all.

“The V8 Ute Series is very competitive and has great fan appeal, so while I hope to be up the front, I know how tough these guys race.”

Moore laps for F3 prospect FORMULA 3 FORMULA 3 Australian Drivers Championship teams have begun testing in earnest ahead of the 2011 season, with Adelaide-based R-Tek Motorsport and Team BRM both logging laps at Mallala, yesterday (Monday).

Whilst reigning champions Team BRM completed their second day of the year with Queenslander John Magro, RTek tested with 21-year-old West Aussie Bryce Moore, who raced for the team in the 2010 season finale’ at Sandown. .

Driving R-Tek’s recently purchased ex-TanderSport F307 Mercedes chassis, raced last year by Ben Crighton, Moore logged more than 50 laps with the expectation of locking in a full-season campaign with the team this year.

Moore was supported by expat British engineer Bruce Jenkins, the former team boss and engineer of British F3 championship-winning team HiTec Motorsport, and R-Tek 20

team boss Ian Richards.

Meanwhile, John Magro told eNews he was in the final stages of piecing together his program for the season, one that will see him purchase the ex-Ben Clucas Dallara from Team BRM. “We’re very close to having

everything locked in,” he said.

“I’m just working on finalising the sponsorship package for the season and once we have that confirmed then we’ll be able to announce everything.

Today was a good chance to get more laps and we went pretty quickly.

“I’m very keen to get everything finalised and get to Winton for Round 1.”

MNews understands the car would be entered under the Magro Motorsport banner, however it would be prepared and run by the championshipwinning Adelaide squad. motorsport news

news

SHANNONS NATS THE Shannons Nationals looks set to go back to an eightround schedule next year.

Planning has already begun for 2012, and an additional sprint round is firmly on the cards. This year’s calendar was originally announced with nine events, including two long-distance Production Car races in conjunction with the Australian Production Car Endurance Championship – organised by Phillip Island and Eastern Creek within the Australian Manufacturers Championship.

However, one of those

races, the Australian Six Hour at Eastern Creek, has been cancelled, while it has now been decided the APCEC races will run as standalone events.

That has left the Shannons Nationals with seven rounds, including some bumper programs, namely at Eastern Creek and Sandown. As such, planning is underway to add an eighth round for 2012, irrespective of any possible links with the APCEC. “Initially, we had two endurance rounds in our program for 2011, but Phillip Island and Eastern Creek management wanted to identify and run their own

Dirk Klynsmith

Back to 8 for Nats in 2012 endurance events,” series director Rob Curkpatrick told eNews.

“At one stage, we were actively talking about some dual branding, but in the end it just wasn’t practical.

“That’s left us with seven rounds, and in the second half of the year it’s pretty chock-ablock. We’re probably a sprint round short so we’re planning for an extra round in 2012.

“We’ve got a bit more demand than we thought we’d have, with the Radicals, the Suzuki Swifts and a couple of rounds with Formula Ford as well. I think it’s a growing pain of the Shannons Nationals and

what it’s saying is, leaving any endurance racing out of it, we need eight rounds to facilitate it.”

With this year’s round at Eastern Creek set to host 10 categories, the Sydney venue is the prime candidate for the extra round in 2012.

“The reality is that we probably needed another round at Eastern Creek this year, but it wasn’t possible,” Curkpatrick said.

“So I think we’d have to add another round at Eastern Creek.

There’s been some discussion about going to WA, but I don’t think that will happen in 2012.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

ARC welcomes ONE changes RALLY

www.mnews.com.au

Michael Vettas

THE Bosch Australian Rally Championship has welcomed ONE HD’s move from 24-hour sport coverage to a general entertainment channel.

Having spent two years broadcasting purely sport, ONE HD has opted to switch to male-orientated entertainment during the week, with its sport coverage to be restricted to the weekends. The re-launch will be on May 8.

While the change in direction will result in less mid-week motorsport coverage on freeto-air television, ARC CEO Scott Pedder is confident it will boost the series’ exposure, not hinder it.

“The Bosch Australian Rally Championship has a firm agreement with Ten/ONE that will see the series continue to

be telecast season 2011,” he said.

“The Bosch ARC brings sponsors and a good audience, so episode placement will remain strong, as it has done throughout Ten’s long commitment to the sport, which is entering its 13th year.

“The reality is that Ten’s announced changes are about building the overall audience share for ONE HD, and the bigger its audience, the more it will benefit rallying in the long run. This comes at a time when we have boosted TV coverage of the series on Ten/ONE HD, initiated some significant rule changes, including reducing restrictions, and revitalised interest in the championship, which will benefit the sport and ONE.” The ARC kicked off last weekend in Western Australia.

21

KARANFILOVSKI’S NEW RIDE

TCM TONY Karanfilovski has shown off the 1971 Ford Falcon XY GTHO he’ll debut in at Barbagallo Raceway this weekend.

The former Group 3 competitor in the Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn will step up to an outright car with the new Falcon, which he had originally planned to debut at the Clipsal 500.

Karanfilovski makes the jump from a two-

ROC MOVES

22

litre Alfa Romeo into the 5.8-litre GTHO, and tested the car at Winton last week. He also has a trip with the Falcon to the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca later in the year on his radar.

“I’m more than confident in the team’s ability to prepare a highly competitive car for each race, so if we have reliability and I can get the car home without dropping any positions, then I think we could go OK,” Karanfilovski said.

“The team has high expectations for

ROC GERMANY will host the Race of Champions again this year, however it will move south from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt for 2011.

Last year, the event was held at the ESPRIT Arena in Düsseldorf. This year, former World Cup venue Commerzbank-Arena will take over the running of the Race of Champions.

Frankfurt is in the state of Hesse, as is World Champion Sebastian Vettel’s hometown of Heppenheim.

“After winning the World Championship, there were a lot of emotions and pictures in my head that I will never forget,” said Vettel.

“One was racing at the [2010] Race Of Champions in front of my home crowd, and to win the ROC Nations Cup with Michael [Schumacher] for Team Germany.

“So I enjoyed it a lot, up to the point where I got beaten in the semi-final of the individual event! Every year I get a little further. First I made it to the round of 16,

the 2011 season and will only be happy if we finish amongst the top ten in the championship, but it’s going to take some luck considering we didn’t score points at Clipsal.

“I think the car will be quick straight out of the box, but I’ll have to work on adapting to new car nuances during practice to ensure we qualify somewhere in the middle.a “We hope to nail down the set up before qualifying, so we can be challenging for a top 10 weekend in Perth.” then the quarter-final, then the semi-final.

“So hopefully this year I will make it into the final and win it. That’s the big target for Frankfurt in December. We all have a lot of fun every time we go, but the moment we put our helmets on we take it very seriously and we go hard.”

According to race organiser Frederik Johnsson, Germany was the logical host of the 2011 ROC. “We have again had offers to host ROC 2011 from top class venues from all over the world,” he said.

“But with such German superstars as Sebastian and Michael in the line-up, we’re more than happy to be returning to their home ground. The German fans gave ROC a great reception last year, and now we’re looking forward to hearing even more noise and enthusiasm in Frankfurt in December.”

The event will be held on the first weekend in December. motorsport news

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DRAG RACING

24

Nationals at the start of the season but nonetheless had him in the bracket for race day.

Drawing Bill Perdikaris in round one, Porter used a better reaction time on the green light to pull off an upset 7.23s win against Perdikaris’s quicker but losing 7.19s.

That placed Porter up against his team-mate Dave Newcombe. With similar horsepower it was a close race but a 7.13s knocked Porter’s 7.17s out.

“It’s always tough to race a team mate in eliminations when it’s not a final round, but it’s a part of drag racing,” Porter said.

“Dave is a great guy and has a great team. The three teams – Newcombe, Barbagallo and ourselves – are a close knit unit and we work well together.”

The focus for the team now shifts to the Nitro Champs event, also at Sydney Dragway, from April 29 to May 1.

“Looking at the bright side of things, we gained a lot of data and will put it to good use for the Nitro Champs,” Porter said.

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

Luke Nieuwhof

ANDRA Pro Series Pro Stock welcomed back Scott Porter in the Porters Can Do Ford Mustang at Sydney Dragway recently, for the rescheduled round of the championship.

Business commitments for the Porter family have meant they have not had the track time they would like but it didn’t hold them back from taking a round win as Porter blew out the cobwebs and rediscovered his racecraft.

“We have had to turn our focus away from the racing team. I will be the first to admit that it’s good to be back in the seat,” he said.

“Since we raced last September, we just haven’t had the time to spend on the car.

We believe that this is why we had been a little rusty, which had been evident in the car setup and my driving ability.”

In the cool conditions that April 8 provided, Porter qualified in 12th with a 7.17s run. It was not quite an emulation of his pole position recorded at the Australian

John Morris / Mpix

Porter back on track

Big fields for To DRAG RACING THE penultimate round of both the ANDRA Pro Series and Rocket Allstars Racing Series takes place in just two weeks at Sydney Dragway.

Hosting every ANDRA bracket, the event has attracted classy fields across all divisions and with May usually providing excellent conditions for racing, expectations are high for record-setting performances.

Nine cars are entered for Top Fuel, so with an eight-car

field set for race day one team will miss out. Phil Read, above, was a late entry but has now been confirmed as driving along with Andrew Cowin who missed the last round in Queensland.

Championship leader Darren Morgan, top left, will be looking to seal everything up here, though Phil Lamattina has a slim chance at the title if things fall his way.

NSW team owner Santo Rapisarda has entered two cars in his first time back since beginning to race in the

motorsport news

news

Ken Ferguson

USA, though he has not yet confirmed who will be doing the driving.

A record-equalling 21 cars are set to duke it out in Top Doorslammer, a category with a very tight points battle.

John Zappia, above left, has a slender lead over Mark Belleri but with just a round the difference the weekend could see any one of about four drivers leave as the points leader.

Nine drivers will compete in Top Alcohol, sadly without Aaron Hambridge who has

had to put his operation on the market following a breakin at his workshop. This has put Wayne Newby in the box seat to take over the championship lead, with Gary Phillips right on his tail.

In another record, 25 teams have nominated for Pro Stock.

This is the largest ever field to nominate for an ANDRA Pro Series category and with just 16 places available on race day the event will be thrilling from the start. Aaron Tremayne is both the reigning champion and the points leader with

John Bosher

op Fuel Champs consistency on his side.

Top Bike hosts an even eight riders, meaning everyone will get a chance to ride on race day. Chris Matheson and Troy McLean are currently neckand-neck in this category.

Though Matheson’s massive performance advantage is clear, McLean has shown that being able to run consistent high six second runs can pick up a lot of points.

Finally, in Pro Stock Motorcycle, 10 riders are ready to play. Just 13 points separate the top three riders so as far

as championship implications go this bracket will be the one to watch. Maurice Allen sits on 270, followed by Andrew Badcock on 263 and Lachlan Ireland on 257.

Racing begins from 9am on each day. Saturday will see early eliminations rounds of Rocket Allstars Racing Series along with the dramatic final sessions of ANDRA Pro Series qualifying, with Sunday featuring all eliminations where one lose will see racers back on the trailer.

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

Next ANDRA Pro Series Round: Nitro Champs, Sydney Dragway April 29 - May 1 ANDRA Pro Series on TV: Friday April 22, Top & Pro Bike, Willowbank www.mnews.com.au

25

FIVE MINUTES WITH ...

RICK & TODD KELLY Saturday was a big day for the team the Kelly brothers started in 2009. In Hamilton, Rick took their first win, and he was joined on the podium by Todd, who took third. Here’s what they said post-race

You mentioned the old car; Todd’s also won in that chassis as well, at Symmons Plains. Perhaps you’ll have to keep that one forever, because it’s been good to you.

RK: It certainly has. It was wet when Todd won in Symmons, and wet here, so I think we need to start doing long weather forecasts. If its raining, we’ll toss a coin and see who takes that chassis!

Look, it was a good battle out there [on Saturday]. At the end I was a bit bummed, because I think I stitched Todd up a bit on the restart, but the engineer didn’t tell me on the radio that the Safety Car was in pit-lane, and you can’t actually accelerate until you hear that on the radio. So I waited right up until the control line, and I thought ‘if I don’t go now, I’ll end up 10th

by Turn 1’, so I took off quite late and Todd got swamped.

The last thing you want to hear on the radio with five or six laps to go when you’ve got a 10 second lead is that there’s a Safety Car, and if it wasn’t for that we would have had a 1-2.

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Dirk Klynsmith

QUESTION: Dry, wet, visibility, low light; talk us through [Saturday’s race] go to whoa.

RICK KELLY: It was definitely an interesting race from our point of view. At the start I snuck up the inside, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to take two people out or get around the corner, because the others seemed to be going slower than I expected.

Thankfully we got around there, and I think we ended up with a five second gap in the dry, which was great. The car was really strong in the dry, which was great for us, because we had a couple of dramas [on Friday] and we weren’t sure where our pace was compared to everyone else. But in the dry and the wet the car was fantastic.

I’m really stoked for the guys. They’ve worked really hard in the lead-up to this.

It’s been tough with the damage from the Grand Prix. We’re in the old car, and it proved to be fast.

You’re building an empire down there in Braeside in Victoria, but to harmonise the energies of the work force is a hard thing.

What does it genuinely mean to you? Has it been harder than you thought it would be? And how do you feel now?

RK: We want more and more. Now that we’ve cracked the first one, we need plenty more.

I’m quite lucky that Todd takes more of the load off my back at the race team, running the racing component of it. It’s hard out there with four competitive guys; you come back after qualifying and you have three in the Top 10. It’s hard to race with four guys, you have to really be on your toes to keep in front of them.

We just need to chip away a bit more at our dry pace and learn a bit more about the cars, and hopefully we can continue rising up the field.

You and your partner Elysia are now engaged; do you think you might do that every night for the rest of the year so you can get more race wins?

It’s funny you mention that; every time Todd has a kid – first with Mason and then with Alix – he wins a race. We might have to have about 15 kids depending on which races we need to win!

Todd, you get to enjoy the first race win for Kelly Racing by actually being on the podium. You must be happy that you’re not listening to the media conference from back in the garage.

TODD KELLY: I’m just really happy to be here, and not in the fence somewhere out

there! The last 17 laps, when the wipers stopped working, were the hardest laps I’ve driven in my life. If the wiper is working it’s quite difficult to see all the puddles, but with no wiper, with your engineer telling you that you’re in P2 and you need to keeping pressing on, it’s not good fun.

But to get up here and have two cars up here, Rick with the win, is pretty special.

It’s special as a driver, but to also be responsible for every aspect of the team, as we are, you can’t top that.

We talked about the omen with Rick getting engaged; earlier in the week you looked like you were going to be playing Good Charlotte with a beard! You’ve had a shave and come third – what do you do to improve on that?

TK: Well I was going to leave the beard on, trying to be a bit like Jimmie Johnson, but it was starting to annoy me with the balaclava so I had to get rid of it.

Rick, can you say something about how it feels to win in what is essentially your own car?

RK: It’s going to take a couple of minutes for it to sink in. It was just great to see the guys at the end. I didn’t know who was on the radio at the end, because it did not sound like my engineer. He was screaming at the top of his voice.

The crowd, the whole way around, was standing and clapping for the race they had just seen, not just for us but for everyone.

There is nothing better than seeing that. It was very rewarding, it’s something that I will remember forever. motorsport news

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

27

sutton-images.com

Not just black and round

B

Y all accounts, Sunday’s Chinese GP was a ripper.

I missed it. I was at a wedding. But going by the explosion of activity on social networking sites, it sounds like I’m going to have to watch the replay.

If it’s even half as good as it sounds, it’s another good sign for Formula 1 in 2011. For once, it looks like we have a set of rule changes that have actually worked, and improved the show.

Barring a couple of obligatory snoozes, last year’s races weren’t too bad, but the first three of 2011 – two that I’ve seen and one that I’ve read and heard about – have taken it to another level. KERS and the DRS have played nice supporting roles, but the big change seems to have come from Pirelli.

Before the AGP, I spoke to their motorsport boss, Paul Hembrey, for a yarn in the May edition of Motorsport News, which is out on Wednesday (see that super-smooth plug?). One of the main things he spoke about was the brief they received from the very outset of the tendering process; to make a show.

Bridgestone did a little bit with the Option Tyre, but it was still fairly timid and generally had a limited impact on races. Pirelli, though, have embraced it.

The teams have embraced it, too. That’s no surprise, they’re all competitive beings who think they’re smarter than the next team. In all three races, we’ve seen different strategies used with 28

OPINION Mitchell Adam – National Editor varying levels of success, but they’ve all played a key role in the race.

Yesterday, McLaren employed a three-stop strategy for Lewis Hamilton, which saw him knock off the two-stopping Sebastian Vettel for the first time in 2011. Meanwhile, Mark Webber’s qualifying woes actually played into his hands come race day.

He got the stint on hard tyres out of the way first up, then had more soft tyres to play with for the balance of the race (having sat out Q2 and Q3). That got him up to the lead pack, before he went on a rampage in the closing laps to grab third.

Meaningful strategy and overtaking haven’t been seen in Formula 1 often enough in the last few years, but it looks like they’re here to stay in 2011. If you’re one of those people who don’t watch Formula 1, this is the time to change that.

Get on board. motorsport news

comment

TWO-UP B

EING the promoter of a round of the Australian Rally Championship would be a challenging gig at the moment.

Yes, the ARC is talking a big game about rejuvenating itself back into a powerhouse of Australian motorsport, and I’m not saying that it won’t happen. But, the fact is, over the last few years it’s been hard to get excited about rallying in Australia. And if you were promoting an event with a small field, little media interest, and no manufacturers to activate a bit of marketing, life would be a little tough.

That’s why I’m tipping my hat to Ross Tapper and his crew who run the Forest Rally in Western Australia for the introduction of bikes and quads to the event.

They’ve shown that with a little ingenuity and outside-thesquare thinking, an event can thrive even when a series is doing everything but.

I’m actually about 12 months late with this comment piece.

Bikes were introduced to the Forest Rally roster in 2010, but it was only while going through some pre-event press releases late last week that it dawned on me what a great idea it is.

Within the included quotes, there were some very good points.

“In Australia we only have four Rallye Moto events on the calendar, and interestingly three are here in Western Australia,” said Andy van Kann, a rallyer-turned-moto rallyer. Good point.

With the Australasian Safari really gathering some momentum, why not cement the fact that WA is the Aussie capital of off-road, cross-country motorcycling?

“It had become clear to me that Western Australia had a

OPINION Andrew van Leeuwen – eNews Editor growing number of competitors that were fitting their bikes and quads with expensive and complex navigation equipment, with only two events to use it in,” Tapper added.

“At the Quit Forest Rally we had all the necessary elements to launch a new event. We had a course, council approvals, officials and safety infrastructure already in place and had time in the schedule between runs of the rally cars so it was a logical fit.

“Best of all the Quit Forest Rally Moto has provided another element to the event and created a new spectacle for all the fans in Busselton, out in the forest and during service in Nannup.”

So not only was the addition of bikes logical, but it was easy as well. The bikes run on the same stages as the cars, so it’s a little more bang for the spectator’s buck. The competitors are desperate for a place to race, so they’ll come – and just like that you have a unique twist on your event that boosts entry and offers some fresh interest, as well as a fresh demographic to appeal to. How smart is that?

Well done, Ross Tapper. If there were more people employing that kind of blue sky thinking, then maybe domestic motorsport crowd and TV figures would be climbing.

Peter Evans

www.mnews.com.au

29

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACES 5/6 – HAMILTON, NZ

THE STORIES KEEP CO 30

motorsport news

race Dirk Klynsmith

OMING www.mnews.com.au

Two races, two game-changing results. That’s how it went down in Hamilton, and ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN was there 31

RACE 5: RICK BREAKS TH

Y

ES, Race 5 of the 2011 V8 Supercar Championship was rain-affected – but please don’t call Rick Kelly’s first win in Jack Daniel’s colours lucky …

In a crazy race, with rain coming, going, and then coming back again a whole lot harder, Kelly’s speed was the only constant.

During no part of the race, whatever the conditions, was he slow. In fact, you can make that during no part of Saturday’s proceedings, because Rick was fast in qualifying, fast in the Top 10 Shootout, and the fast in the race.

Had it not rained, the race would have more likely belonged to the younger Kelly anyway. He bolted from third on the grid, and led the field by two seconds after the first lap. By Lap 2 he stretched that lead

32

to 3.6s, and a lap later it was out to 4.6s. It wasn’t until Shane van Gisbergen muscled his way into second place and started slowly chewing into Kelly’s lead that it seemed possible that anybody could beat #15. And when van Gisbergen slipped up on the concrete apron coming in for his pit-stop – literally – it made Kelly’s position seem even more dominating.

But then Mother Nature weighed in, with one heck of a rainstorm. Unfortunately for Rick, he’d just pitted and put on dry tyres, just moments before the rain started. A handful of laps later he was back in the pits to get wets, having survived a massive lose on the way into pit-lane, and it seemed his race was ruined. Ford Performance Racing had already thrown wets on Mark

Winterbottom and Will Davison, and it seemed that Frosty would control proceedings.

Then the game changed again. A Lap 29 Safety Car gave teams an interesting gamble – pit now and hope that more Safety Cars and a reduced fuel mileage in the wet conditions sees you to the end, or stay out and accept the fact that you’ll need to stop again. Rick Kelly, Craig Lowndes and Todd Kelly all pitted; Winterbottom did not. And in the end, that was the difference.

Kelly held off a late charge from Lowndes to win, with Todd coming from nowhere (well, 19th on the grid, which is kind of the same) to nab an unlikely podium and cap off a memorable day for Kelly Racing.

“The car was really strong in the dry, which motorsport news

race

Dirk Klynsmith

Slip and Slide: Torrential conditions made it tough for drivers to see where they were going on the Hamilton street circuit, above, while the painted surfaces made life even harder for the drivers, below.

was great for us, because we had a couple of dramas [on Friday] and we weren’t sure where out pace was compared to everyone else,” said Rick.

“But in the dry and the wet the car was fantastic.

“I’m really stoked for the guys. They’ve worked really hard in the lead-up to this, it’s been tough with the damage from the Grand Prix. We’re in the old car, and it proved to be fast.”

“Our car speed was good,” added Lowndes.

“The speed at the end was on par with Rick. I could catch him, but I don’t think I had the speed to actually pass him.”

Winterbottom ended up fourth, having run T Kelly right to the flag, while Courtney ended up fifth – a remarkable result given www.mnews.com.au

that he crashed in qualifying, started at the back, and crashed again in the race! Then, post-race he was handed a 10s penalty for starting from the wrong grid spot, and dropped to 11th.

Steve Johnson capped of a solid outing to finish sixth, having been on provisional pole earlier in the day, while Will Davison ended up seventh after having to stop for fuel late in the race. He was ahead of a solid Kiwi showing from Fabian Coulthard and Greg Murphy, with James Moffat rounding out the Top 10 in fine form.

Speaking of Kiwis, it ended up being a shocker day for Stone Brothers Racing.

Having looked like a potential winner early, van Gisbergen ended up 16th. Tim Slade didn’t even make the finish after having a

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

HE KELLY DROUGHT

big off in the middle of the race, and Alex Davison finished 11th – which was actually a good finish considering that he started dead last after a tyre pressure problem in qualifying (see breakout).

Jamie Whincup was another driver to have a day to forget. Having qualified fastest, he made another shocking start, before nudging the wall on Lap 14 and spending a long time in the pits. He ended up 23rd, three laps down on the leaders.

It was an even worse day for V8TV cameraman Dave Lovell and Garth Tander’s lead mechanic Justin Burns. Both ended up in hospital after being hit by cars sliding on the concrete apron in pit-lane. Lovell was mostly unharmed, while Burns suffered a broken hand.

33

L

AST October, Shane van Gisbergen was a quietly disappointed man.

He’d just come so close to winning his first V8 Supercar race on the Gold Coast, but couldn’t quite get past Jamie Whincup at the end.

A few weeks later, in Sydney, there was more disappointment, the fuel window from the Stone Brothers Racing Falcon just not quite wide enough to give The Giz his first win. Again it was close, but the kid from New Zealand was left with another podium, and no marks in the wins column.

If he’d known at that time that it would happen like this – a fairytale win on home soil in New Zealand – those other two close calls would have been a lot easier to take. Because as far as maiden wins go, van Gisbergen’s Race 6 effort in Hamilton was about as good as they get.

Unlike the previous day, the racing wasn’t affected by the weather … much. There was no need for wet weather Dunlops at all throughout the 59 laps, despite threatening rain. Qualifying, however, was a different story. After a dry morning, the heavens opened almost exactly as the light at the end of pit-lane went green to start the session, and it turned into a 28-car, onelap dash. Almost all of the best times were 34

set on the first lap, on dry tyres, before the rain got too bad and the wets were fitted.

By that time, improvement was all but impossible.

That didn’t worry van Gisbergen. His masterful approach to greasy conditions saw nab a second row start. He immediately converted that to third place at the start, shadowing the two Kelly brothers Rick and Todd, who had locked out the front row.

Despite a slow stop under Safety Car conditions early on, van Gisbergen retained track position, and almost immediately barged his way past Todd when racing resumed. He then waited until the next Safety Car restart to pass Will Davison (a winner from the first round of stops) for second, before charging after Rick, and barging past him into Turn 1 on Lap 25. And that was it.

Of course, it wasn’t that simple. While van Gisbergen was fast, so was Lee Holdsworth, and it didn’t take long for the GRM driver to find his way past Davison, and then Kelly – before a Lap 44 Safety Car put him right under van Gisbergen’s rear wing.

This was the test for van Gisbergen, and he passed with flying colours, holding off Holdsworth through that restart, and then another on Lap 51. And despite all the

Dirk Klynsmith

RACE 6: THE GIZ KID

pressure Holdsworth could throw at him, van Gisbergen was never going to let it go.

“I pushed pretty hard, and our car had very good cold tyre speed at every restart,” said van Gisbergen.

“It was pretty hard to concentrate. I asked Paul [Forgie] my engineer to not tell me how many laps there was to go, so I could just focus on getting the laps down.

“I saw Lee coming through earlier in the race, then he got behind me at one point and closed up pretty quickly. He couldn’t really get any closer. I was watching him, and as soon as he got past Rick I was a bit worried.

“I didn’t really need those last Safety Cars at the end, we’d built a gap. But Lee got close, and the last few laps I knew I had a few chicane cuts left, so I used that a bit and tried to carry a lot of speed there.”

“Before that last restart we had pretty good pace, and Shane and I were moving through the field. I knew that when he got out in front he was going to be able to pull a bit of a gap, so I wanted to be on him as quickly as possible,” added Holdsworth.

“I was pressing pretty hard to be able to get van Gis, but he was just too good.”

Tander ended up third, thanks to some brilliant strategy, albeit somewhat aided

by Lady Luck, from the Toll Holden Racing motorsport news

race

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

Breakthrough: Shane van Gisbergen looked relieved and ecstatic at the same time on the Race 6 podium, left. But the same can’t be said of Jamie Whincup, the points leader having another shocking day in New Zealand, above. Meanwhile, the Kellys backed up their Saturday form by locking out the front row, below.

Dirk Klynsmith

Team. Having been caught out by the rain in qualifying, Tander started well down the order in 19th. To get him out of the traffic, HRT brought him into pit-lane on just Lap 10, using the reverse fuel window. Two laps later the Safety Car was on-track, putting Tander well up the field.

From there he looked after the Dunlop sprint tyres, kept his nose clean, and eventually pounced for third place.

“We were really happy with our car today,” he said.

“We got caught behind the eight ball by the whole field stopping in the last sector www.mnews.com.au

when it started to rain [in qualifying].

Qualifying up the back was disappointing, but that’s a function of being at our end of pit-lane.

“To come through from 19th to third, we’re ecstatic. I was actually hoping there would be another Safety Car at the end there, because every time there was a Safety Car I picked up a spot. It wasn’t to be, but third is great.”

Davison ended the day fourth, from Steve Owen, R Kelly, Alex Davison, Russell Ingall, Steve Johnson and Craig Lowndes.

You may notice a couple of big names

missing there. Jamie Whincup’s weekend went from bad to worse when first he was stacked during a pit under Safety Car conditions, and then found himself in a wreck with Michael Caruso, Mark Winterbottom and Jason Bargwanna. The crash put Winterbottom straight out of the race, and left Whincup several laps down – for the second time in two races – and in 18th at the end.

As for James Courtney, his race was over almost as soon as it began. He clouted the wall on just the third lap, his race ending basically on the spot.

35

WINNERS SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: An obvious one here, but you can’t deny the 21-year-old Kiwi’s moment. We’re sure there are plenty more to come, too.

RICK AND TODD: A 1-3 on Saturday in the race and a 1-2 on Sunday in qualifying – pretty handy results from the Mildura lads.

GARTH TANDER: Came from further back than Mark Webber did in China to achieve the same result on Sunday. Had some luck, but made the most of it. He also took some points out of Whincup and Frosty.

DEAN FIORE: If he hadn’t cut that chicane a little too much, that Shootout lap was going to be mega!

Great Saturday qualifying result, anyway.

JAMES COURTNEY: Fifth on Saturday was the Champ’s highlight, and he had that taken away from him. As for Sunday, the less said the better.

GREG MURPHY: Was on for a ripper result on Sunday until his gearbox failed. Consistent Top 10 runner all weekend, to that point. The guys still loves racing in NZ, and the Kiwis still love him.

ALEX DAVISON AND TIM SLADE: The boys might be hoping that their intra-team crash will get lost in the Van Gisbergen hype, but Ross Stone told the media in the press conference that words will be had.

36

Dirk Klynsmith

LOSERS

Playing the percentages QUESTION: What do Alex Davison, Narain Karthikeyan and Tonio Liuzzi have in common?

Answer: They’ve all failed to qualify for a race this year. For the Hispania Racing Team drivers, it was the Australian Grand Prix. For Davison, it was Race 5 at Hamilton.

In the session-long pouring rain, Davison could muster no grip from his IRWIN Racing Falcon. He was immediately on the radio telling his team that he had “no grip in any direction”, and after the session he told the crew that it was like being on slick tyres, with the problem eventually being traced back to incorrect tyre pressures.

The bottom line was that Davison was dead last, and his 1:42.9963s was 2.7s slower than the next driver, Lee

Holdsworth. It was also 7.1s slower than Steven Johnson’s provisional pole time, which put Davison outside the 105 percent required to qualify for the race.

Thankfully, the stewards took a sensible view of the situation, and immediately gave permission for Davison to start Saturday’s race. He went on to finish 11th.

On Sunday, the same problem happened again – albeit with a more reasonable explanation. With rain hitting the circuit just minutes after qualifying hard started, a number of cars failed to get a dry lap in, leaving Warren Luff, Fabian Coulthard, James Moffat, Karl Reindler and David Reynolds outside the 105 percent of pole position. Given the unusual circumstances, all were cleared the race.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN motorsport news

race

THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF A SHOOTOUT ORDINARILY, Dean Fiore would be happy to qualify 10th. But on Saturday in Hamilton, he knew it should have been so much more.

Having braved the conditions to nab a spot in the Shootout for Race 5, Fiore was sublime in what was just his second showing in the Top 10. He was second on the road, right when the conditions were at their worst, but it didn’t seem to worry him. After the first sector, he was a whopping 0.5s ahead of Garth Tander. He dropped a tenth in Sector 2, but he was still on for an awesome lap.

Then, he reached the chicane. Right in the middle, one of the Triple F Racing Falcon’s wheels crept over the electronic loop sensor, and just like that Fiore’s lap was gone. He finished with a time that ultimately would have put him fifth on the grid, but as quickly as it flashed up on the timing screen it disappeared, disallowed thanks to the breaking the beam at the chicane.

“What I had in my head was that I could afford to go out there and have a really good crack, because the worst I could end up was 10th,” Fiore told eNews.

“I knew I was down in Sector 2, and I needed to make a bit back, and I tried but it didn’t work. The boys told me I didn’t cut the chicane by much, but when your name is yellow, the lap’s gone.

“The boys didn’t tell me that until the lap was

over, which is what I asked them to do. I didn’t want any info, I just wanted to concentrate on driving the car. I knew where I had to make the time up, and I knew I was up in the first sector, but I just stuffed up.”

A philosophical response from Fiore, and a difficult rule to judge. In normal qualifying, a driver will simply lose the lap he is on if he cuts the chicane, but in a Shootout, you only have one shot at it. It may seem like, in this case, the penalty doesn’t fit the crime, but as Fiore points out rules are rules – even if you only break them by a little, tiny bit, and gain no advantage whatsoever.

“I don’t think the boys have had a close look at it, but to be fair, I can’t see there’d be much time to be made in it. I mean, I should have just buttoned off that little bit. But that’s why the rules are there; if you stuff up, you pay the price.”

Regardless of what might have been, 10th was a good starting spot to Fiore, and even more important was a chance to get some valuable Shootout experience.

“Shootouts are a difficult thing to get used to, with having to get the temperature up – and that’s even more emphasised in the wet,” added Fiore.

“So it was really beneficial for me to have a run in the Shootout.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Dirk Klynsmith

FROM THE COUCH with CHRIS LAMBDEN DAMMIT. The one year I don’t actually get to Hamilton, and it turns out to be one of those memorable weekends.

Saturday was big enough, with Rick notching JD’s first big win, with brother Todd also on the podium – though I hate delayed (by two hours) races … Rick won in the team’s old clunker – not the first time a floppy old car has been the machine of choice in a wet race.

But it was Sunday which, literally, had me on the edge of my seat.

www.mnews.com.au

I have an interest to declare: I’m an SBR/Van Giz fan. But six days earlier, Ross had told us, in last week’s cover story, that “It’s time”. Time for Van Giz to deliver; time to follow the Ambrose path, get that first one over and done with.

And on Sunday, it made Seven’s broadcast. The script came from V8 HQ, the flamboyant young driver from Central Casting – what else could you ask for?

The body-language from Van Giz’s Falcon, after that crucial mid-race restart, when he

forced his way from third into the lead, was awesome. You could almost feel it – confident and aggressive steering movement, bugger-all margin (several of Hamilton’s concrete walls must have light streaks of dark blue paint), and a subliminal message back to the pursuing Lee Holdsworth that a challenge wasn’t going to be an option.

It was compelling, wellportrayed by the cameras and the talking heads – not too sugary as it could easily have become – and then at the end they let the Giz’s tyre-smoking celebration almost speak for itself.

It was the ‘have-it-all’ show.

If Seven could bottle it, they’d have it made.

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Dirk Klynsmith

A

STREET circuits have a habit if raising a common question – tyre bundles or no tyre bundles.

For as long as there has been racing on the streets of Hamilton, there have been tweaks to the circuit’s chicane. In years gone past we’ve seen cars launching over tyre bundles, tiny misjudgements resulting in race-ending crashes. This year, those in charge decided to only place one bundle at the Hamilton chicane, with electronic loops similar to those used on the Gold Coast and in Adelaide in charge of determining who was being too liberal with the kerbs.

In theory, it’s a ripper idea. No tyre bundles means less carnage, and with the loops keeping an eye on things, no chance for dishonesty either. But in practice, it created an interesting problem; how were the drivers to know how much of the corner they could cut?

“It’s different, and it’s also frustrating, because you don’t know much or little you can cut,” said Craig Lowndes.

“When the tyre bundles are there, you smack it. With the loop, you don’t know how much [you can cut]. When we first went out, we cut it excessively, but we needed to know where that limit was. In the last [practice] session, when they took the loop out of where the tyre bundles were, it made it a lot better – because we weren’t even hitting the tyres but we were triggering the loop.

“These are things that have to be right; there is still a bit of massaging to be done there.”

When quizzed on whether he would prefer bundles or loops, Lowndes was genuinely undecided.

“It’s better for the cars when there are no tyre bundles there, but at the same time we need to know where that fine line is – and that’s something we don’t know.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN 38

Dirk Klynsmith

Bundles of joy ... or are they?

Results :: Race 5 – ITM 400, H Pos

#

Driver

Team/Car

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DNF DNF DNF DNS

15 888 7 5 1 17 6 61 11 18 4 3 14 39 34 9 21 2 8 49 12 33 88 16 47 19 30 55

Rick Kelly Craig Lowndes Todd Kelly Mark Winterbottom James Courtney Steven Johnson Will Davison Fabian Coulthard Greg Murphy James Moffat Alex Davison Tony D’Alberto Jason Bargwanna Russell Ingall Michael Caruso Shane Van Gisbergen Karl Reindler Garth Tander Jason Bright Steve Owen Dean Fiore Lee Holdsworth Jamie Whincup David Reynolds Tim Slade Jonathon Webb Warren Luff Paul Dumbrell

Jack Daniel’s Raci TeamVodafone Co Jack Daniel’s Raci Orrcon Steel FPR F Toll Holden Racin Jim Beam Racing Trading Post FPR F Bundaberg Racing Pepsi Max Crew C Jim Beam Racing Irwin Racing Falco Wilson Security Ra Jana Living Racin Supercheap Auto Fujitsu Racing GR SP Tools Racing Fa Fair Dinkum Shed Toll Holden Racin Team BOC Comm VIP Petfoods Com Triple F Racing Fa Fujitsu Racing GR TeamVodafone Co Stratco Racing Co Lucky 7 Racing Fa Mother Energy Ra Gulf Western Oil R The Bottle-O Raci

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A HARD NIGHT’S WORK PAUL Dumbrell has praised the crew at Ford Performance Racing, after they pulled an all-nighter in Hamilton on Saturday to have his The Bottle-O Falcon ready to race on Sunday morning.

Dumbrell was the worst of the driver’s to feel the wrath of Turn 3 during Saturday morning’s wet qualifying session, hitting the outside wall hard and doing substantial damage to the #55 Falcon. He also gave his own body a bit of a work over, particularly in the delicate area where the crotch straps sit on a six-point harness, as well as some damage to his neck. Dumbrell was immediately ruled out from taking part in Saturday’s race.

But a long night from the entire FPR workforce saw the car re-built for Sunday’s action, an effort that greatly impressed Dumbrell.

“Its phenomenal,” he told eNews.

“Being inside the car, I know exactly how big the impact was. Assessing it afterwards, its incredible by the guys not only on #55, but on #5 and #6 as well, to pull together and get the job done – no questions asked.

“We’ve ended up with a car that is straight and toed-up as well as it was before the crash, which is amazing.”

As for the crash itself, Dumbrell made no excuses.

“I just locked a tyre coming in there, and I went for the safe approach by not turning in. I tried to cut across the ripple strip, and when I hit the painted area I actually picked up speed, before going into the wall at whatever speed it was. The car was very second hand!”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Top 10 Points: Whincup 654, R Kelly 573, Lowndes 552, Tander 543, Winterbottom 543, van Gisbergen 534, W Davison 528, A Davison 522, Johnson 455, Coulthard 441.

Hamilton

ing Commodore VE2 ommodore VE2 ing Commodore VE2 Falcon FG ng Team Commodore Falcon FG Falcon FG g Commodore VE2 Commodore VE2 Falcon FG on FG acing Falcon FG ng Commodore VE2 Racing Commodore VE2 RM Commodore VE2 alcon FG ds Racing Commodore VE2 ng Team Commodore VE2 modore VE2 mmodore VE2 alcon FG RM Commodore VE2 ommodore VE2 ommodore VE2 alcon FG acing Team Falcon FG Racing Commodore VE2 ing Team Falcon FG www.mnews.com.au

Results :: Race 6 – ITM 400, Hamilton Qual

Pos

#

Driver

Team/Car

Qual

3 5 19 11 22 2 13 15 8 12 28 9 25 16 24 4 23 6 20 21 10 27 1 7 26 14 17 18

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF

9 33 2 6 49 15 4 39 17 888 8 19 21 12 7 30 18 88 55 16 47 61 3 34 14 5 11 1

Shane Van Gisbergen Lee Holdsworth Garth Tander Will Davison Steve Owen Rick Kelly Alex Davison Russell Ingall Steven Johnson Craig Lowndes Jason Bright Jonathon Webb Karl Reindler Dean Fiore Todd Kelly Warren Luff James Moffat Jamie Whincup Paul Dumbrell David Reynolds Tim Slade Fabian Coulthard Tony D’Alberto Michael Caruso Jason Bargwanna Mark Winterbottom Greg Murphy James Courtney

SP Tools Racing Falcon FG Fujitsu Racing GRM Commodore VE2 Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE2 Trading Post FPR Falcon FG VIP Petfoods Commodore VE2 Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE2 Irwin Racing Falcon FG Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore VE2 Jim Beam Racing Falcon FG TeamVodafone Commodore VE2 Team BOC Commodore VE2 Mother Energy Racing Team Falcon FG Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing Commodore VE2 Triple F Racing Falcon FG Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE2 Gulf Western Oil Racing Commodore VE2 Jim Beam Racing Falcon FG TeamVodafone Commodore VE2 The Bottle-O Racing Team Falcon FG Stratco Racing Commodore VE2 Lucky 7 Racing Falcon FG Bundaberg Racing Commodore VE2 Wilson Security Racing Falcon FG Fujitsu Racing GRM Commodore VE2 Jana Living Racing Commodore VE2 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon Falcon FG Pepsi Max Crew Commodore VE2 Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE2

4 6 19 10 3 1 7 17 14 8 24 27 23 18 2 22 28 9 11 26 15 25 12 16 20 21 5 13 39

FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 - SHANGHAI, CHINA

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hanghai surprise Sebastian Vettel’s winning streak was broken by Lewis Hamilton in an exciting and unpredictable Chinese Grand Prix.

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irelli has copped a fair bit of flack over the unusual wear characteristics of its Formula 1 tyre, but its critics were silenced after a dramatic Chinese Grand Prix.

Tyre strategy was crucial at Shanghai, with the three -stop option taken by McLaren proving the way to go. But this only became apparent in the latter stages – and when it did it suddenly changed the whole complexion of the race.

Off pole, Vettel had been look ing comfor table despite losing the jump off the star t to the McLaren pair of Hamilton and Jenson Button.

He was able to pass Hamilton on the road, and then relieved Button of the lead after a bizarre

concentration lapse from the McLaren driver during his first pit stop.

Vettel had followed Button into pit lane, but inexplicably Button momentarily stopped at the Red Bull pit – forcing Vettel to queue up behind! It was enough for Vettel to get ahead of the McLaren after the stops.

But they were both soon in for a surprise, because Nico Rosberg had jumped them from four th place, the Mercedes driver having found some Chinese takeaway: Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel had the victor y on order after qualifying but it was Lewis Hamilton who took it home on race day, left, below.

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clean air to lay down a string of quick laps after stopping on lap 12.

Yet it still looked as though the two-stop option was the way to go, as Vettel and Felipe Massa (the Ferrari driver also two-stopping) were matching the three -stoppers ahead of them for pace.

But by mid race the tide was beginning to turn.

Hamilton had passed team-mate Button in a decisive move on lap 35, and then set sail for Rosberg. By then Massa was losing pace, and Hamilton was easily past the Ferrari with 12 laps left.

It only took another six laps for Hamilton to catch Vettel, by which time the German’s tyres were teetering on the edge of the grip ‘cliff ’, the term used to describe the Pirelli’s unusual sudden drop off wear characteristic.

As Massa fell to an eventual fifth behind Rosberg and Button, as if from the clouds suddenly came Mark Webber. Various issues had restricted the Australian to an 18th grid star t, but that meant he had a large bundle of unused tyres at his disposal for the race – and he made the most of them.

Saving a set of soft tyres for the final stint – while the others were all on hards – proved a masterstoke as Webber, lapping seconds faster than anyone else, tore through the 42

field from outside the top 10 to nail Rosberg three laps from home and then Button on the penultimate lap to claim an amazing third place behind Vettel and Hamilton.

An amazing drive from Webber and an emotional and hard-won victor y for Hamilton – who’d barely even made it to the grid while the McLaren crew fixed a fuel leak.

Apar t from breathe new life into a Championship battle which some were saying had already been won by Vettel, Shanghai was a vindication not just of the maligned Pirelli, but also the various 2011 rule changes designed to create more over tak ing.

Button up: But not for long – Jenson Button might have won in China had he not mistaken Red Bull’s pit box for that of McLaren, top, below right. Hamilton and Webber are well pleased with their effor ts; Vettel looks as if his cat just died, centre top. It was action aplenty, with Hamilton nailing Vettel in a move that didn’t require DRS, and only making it to the grid by seconds while McLaren fixed a fuel leak, right.

Rosberg vs Massa was ultimately only for fifth place, top right, while fur ther back Kovalainen and Lotus beat Williams for the first time, centre right. motorsport news

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Results :: Chinese Grand Prix

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Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 DNF

Driver Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Mark Webber Jenson Button Nico Rosberg Felipe Massa Fernando Alonso Michael Schumacher Vitaly Petrov Kamui Kobayashi Paul Di Resta Nick Heidfeld Rubens Barrichello Sébastien Buemi Adrian Sutil Heikki Kovalainen Sergio Pérez Pastor Maldonado Jarno Trulli Jérôme D’Ambrosio Timo Glock Vitantonio Liuzzi Narain Karthikeyan Jaime Alguersuari

Team McLaren-Mercedes Red Bull-Renault Red Bull-Renault McLaren-Mercedes Mercedes Ferrari Ferrari Mercedes Renault Sauber-Ferrari Force India-Mercedes Renault Williams-Cosworth Toro Rosso-Ferrari Force India-Mercedes Lotus-Renault Sauber-Ferrari Williams-Cosworth Lotus-Renault Virgin-Cosworth Virgin-Cosworth HRT-Cosworth HRT-Cosworth Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Qual.

3 1 18 2 4 6 5 14 10 13 8 16 15 9 11 19 12 17 20 21 22 23 24 7

Top 10 Points:

Vettel 68, Hamilton 47, Button 38, Webber 37, Alonso 26, Massa 24, Petrov 17, Heidfeld 15, Rosberg 10, Kobayashi 7.

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BOSCH AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1, QUIT FOREST RALLY, WA

Forest Smarts The Quit Forest Rally saw the start of a new era in the Bosch Australian Rally Championship, but accompanied by an established package, it was Ryan Smart and John Allen who took a breakthrough victory 44

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Michael Vettas

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HE opening round of the Bosch Australian Rally Championship (ARC), the Quit Forest Rally, has set the stage for what is shaping up to be one of the most hotly contested championships of the last decade.

With some of the biggest names from the past few seasons retiring over the off-season, including four-time series winner Simon Evans and last year’s Quit Forest Rally winner Scott Pedder, the championship race is wide open and it didn’t take long for the crews to make their intentions on the title clear.

After three days and two heats of competition it was Ryan Smart, with new co-driver John Allen, who took the opening round honours, recording his first ARC heat and event wins and setting himself up nicely for the remainder of the season.

Ironically, with the ARC’s new Unrestricted formula, removing turbo restrictors from the four-wheel-drive turbos, Smart did it all without taking advantage of the new regulations in his Group N Toyota Corolla.

“We drove flat out every stage ... there was only a couple of little moments that we had where I was a bit too committed and John (Allen) told me to pull my head in so everything’s working really well,” Smart said.

“After a couple of issues last year with crashes and stuff like that it’s just nice to pull a win out. There’s a lot of hard work in the offseason that goes into it and we’re just super pumped!”

Victorian Mark Pedder finished the event in second outright after a great battle with fellow Victorian Justin Dowel across the weekend.

“Today, with Justin especially, was just amazing! We’ve ended up only a couple of seconds apart, the pace is just really, really quick and it’s really close,” Pedder said. “[This weekend] was part one of a ten-part plan to win the 2011 Bosch Australian Rally Championship, consistency is the key and we have our eyes firmly planted on the main prize,” Pedder said.

The result was a great effort from Dowel, who had to adapt his driving style for the weekend after breaking the racing spec 46

gearbox in his Mitsubishi Evo 9 at the event shakedown on Friday.

“We came here with our sights set on finishing and bagging some good points so I’m really happy with the result,” Dowel said.

“It’s definitely my favourite rally, it’s the most technical, the most difficult, so to get the result that we did we’re really happy.

It was a great battle with Mark today and no matter what we did he matched us and Ryan ... what a drive he did!”

Tom Wilde and Will Orders have made history at the event, becoming the first teams to win a round of the Rallyschool.com. au Australian Junior Challenge (RAJC), the ARC’s newest initiative.

Wilde (4WD) and Orders (2WD) have secured their places in the final, to be held during this year’s World Rally Championship event, Rally Australia in Coffs Harbour in September.

“It’s been a great weekend, the car’s run really well ... we always love this rally, we love the roads and everyone is here, our family and friends, to watch us,” Wilde said.

“The aim was to qualify here because it’s our best chance and we’re really happy to be heading to the final in September.”

The Quit Forest Rally was also the opening round of the Western Australia Rally Championship and with the return fulltime of two past champions, Alex Stone and Leigh Hynes, as well as the presence of defending champion, Wilde it was always going to be a see-sawing affair.

Heat 1 saw the lead change four times and the retirement of Hynes due to an overheating engine, and it was Nicholas Box who surprised everyone to take the heat.

Sunday’s stages were dominated by Stone with Wilde also performing well in front of a local crowd in the forest around Nannup With both Stone and Box winning heats it came down to outright time to determine the winner, with Stone walking away with maximum points ahead of Box and Wilde.

Round 2 of the ARC, the International Rally of Queensland, will be held in just a few short weeks from the 13-15 of May. motorsport news

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Michael Vettas Michael Vettas

Michael Vettas

Scott Pedder, top, took second, ahead of Justin Dowel, above.

Eli Evans, above right, was fourth on Saturday, but was sidelined by a broken driveshaft late in Heat 2.

Will Orders, right, took 2WD honours in the first running of the Junior Challenge.

Michael Vettas

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47

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ROUND 3 - LONG BEACH, CA

HONDA Racing Media

Conway’s comeback

Mike Conway’s arduous comeback from injury was finally completed with his maiden IndyCar victory, at Long Beach.

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LO S E to a year ago Mike Conway was in hospital with severe leg and back injuries he sustained in a shocking crash in the Indianapolis 500. His recover y took some time but now he’s back – and at Long Beach he became an IndyCar race winner.

It didn’t come easily. The British driver qualified his Andretti Autospor t entr y third fastest, but dropped down the order in the early running.

It wasn’t until the lap 66 restar t that Conway was able to make significant progress, moving up behind Ryan Briscoe and Andretti team-mate Ryan HunterReay. He passed Hunter-Reay at the next restar t, and then later got the better of the Australian on the shor t straight between Turns 5 and 6.

“I made the same move on Dario (Franchitti),” Conway said later. “It was like they were struggling to get temperature in the tyres. My car was good to go. I just took my time and picked my point, and was able to pull away.

“As soon as I got in the lead, I was think ing of winning already. But I k new I had to forget about it and get with the job at hand.

The car was great. I could push all the time and control the gap. I made a mistake on a pit stop when I locked up. I thought our day might be done, but we had to hang in there and push all the way. On the restar ts the car was awesome and it just came to life.”

Briscoe had to be content with second, his best result in a thus-far under whelming 2011 IndyCar season.

But he fared better than Hunter-Reay,

Life’s a Beach: It was for Will Power at Long Beach, top left, the Australian for feiting the points lead after being taken out by his own Penske team-mate, Helio Castroneves,below left. Drama for EJ Viso, bottom; Ryan Briscoe was second, centre; Paul Tracy was back in IndyCar, centre left; but it was Mike Conway who took the victor y, centre top.

Results :: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, CA Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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who looked on for a podium until gearbox troubles inter vened.

“Basically, we couldn’t shift,” Hunter-Reay said. “I t ’s frustrating because the DHL/ Sun Drop car was running strong and challenging for the lead. I really think we could have gotten Briscoe once his tires star ted falling off. I was hoping for a second win here.”

Franchitti was four th, a result which vaulted him ahead of Will Power in the points chase on what was an unfor tunate day for the Australian and for Team Penske.

Off pole position, Power was in third place behind Briscoe and Hunter-Reay when he got taken out by Penske team-mate Helio Castroneves when the latter locked brakes at one of the restar ts.

Power recovered to finish 10th; Castroneves was 12th.

“I’m not really sure what happened on the restar t,” said Power. “I got hit from behind

by Helio but sometimes that ’s what happens in racing - especially close racing like this with the double -file restar ts. It wasn’t a great day for points, but Verizon Team Penske will keep work ing hard and move for ward.”

No. 27 6 10 06 77 2 7 82 14 12

Driver Mike Conway Ryan Briscoe Dario Franchitti James Hinchcliffe Alex Tagliani Oriol Ser via Danica Patrick Tony Kanaan Vitor Meira Will Power

Team Andretti Penske Ganassi Newman/Haas Sam Schmidt Newman/Haas Andretti KV AJ Foyt Penske

Qual.

3 12 7 11 9 4 20 10 13 1

Top 10 Points:

Dario Franchitti 122, Will Power 115, Tony Kanaan 87, Oriol Ser vià 80, Mike Conway 74, Alex Tagliani 73, Scott Dixon 66, Ryan Briscoe 66, Simona de Silvestro 66, Vitor Meira 64.

51

NASCAR ROUND 8 - TALLADEGA, AL

Taking one

for the team

Jimmie Johnson went from seventh to the lead on the final lap at Talladega – and no one crashed or ran out of fuel.

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NASCAR Media

Photo finish: In the old days they’d have called this a dead heat, left. Johnson got the win only with the help of Hendrick team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr (88).

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counted. It had been a deliberate strategy to hang back.

That fact made the loss even less bearable for Bowyer.

“It ’s never ver y good to k now you made NASCAR histor y by losing,” Bowyer said. “Sooner or later I need to star t mak ing histor y by winning. That guy ’s won enough. “ The only thing that bums me out about that is those guys lagged back all day long. That ’s what makes it tough, losing to somebody that did that. We were up front for our sponsors and our team, digging all day long. When you get it taken from you at the end by somebody who lagged back all day, it ’s hard to take.”

A bitter pill, too, for Marcos Ambrose, hit by an out of control Brad Keselowsk i. Ambrose recovered to finish 32nd place. “ We were minding our own business on the high line, and got taken out,” Ambrose said. “ The car was great all day, we didn’t quite have the pace in qualifying, but in the race there were no issues. Work ing with Carl (Edwards) was nice, he wound up at the front of the field by the finish, it ’s just a shame we weren’t there with him.”

Charging Bulls: Kasey Kahne gives fellow Red Bull driver Brian Vickers a little assistance, right. Bad day for Marcos Ambrose, top, and no better for Kyle Busch, centre. Joey Logano heads a tight bunch, centre right.

TOYOTA Media

ENDRICK Motorspor ts elevated the concept of teamwork to a higher plane at Talladega with a sensational victor y for Jimmie Johnson.

It was, in fact, a Hendrick one -two-four, with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr trailing Clint Bowyer home.

But it was Earnhardt Jr ’s role as team player that made the difference for Johnson. It was the push to the line from Earnhardt Jr that edged Johnson ahead of Clint Bowyer to score the closest victor y In NASCAR since Ricky Craven’s defeat of Kur t Busch at Darlington in 2003. “ Well I got it and gave it to him,” Johnson said. “He goes, ‘I don’t want it.’ I said, ‘ Well, I’ve got to give you something – here. Thanks.’

He’s got the chequered flag over there, and I can’t wait to tilt a cold one back with him and thank him for a good job done today.”

As for Earnhardt, he was happy to fill the role of team player.

“If I couldn’t win the race, I wanted Jimmie to win the race, because I had worked with him all day, and he’s my team-mate and I’m proud to be driving for Hendrick Motorspor ts,” Earnhardt said. “ This was a great finish and a great weekend for us to be able to qualify like we did [the top four star ting spots], race like we did and we have awesome engines, and we build great cars. And we all finished ver y well today, and that ’s a tribute to the craftsmanship we have back in Charlotte.”

The Hendrick pair had spent half the race at the back of the field, but moved for ward when it

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Results :: Aaron’s 499, Talladega, AL Pos. No. Driver Make Team 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Hendrick 2 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Childress 3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Hendrick 4 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Hendrick 5 29 Kevin Har vick Chevrolet Childress 6 99 Carl Edwards Ford Roush Fenway 7 16 Greg Biffle Ford Roush Fenway 8 5 Mark Mar tin Chevrolet Hendrick 9 34 David Gilliland Ford Roush 10 20 Joey Logano Toyota Joe Gibbs 32 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford Petty

FORD Media

Top 10 Points:

Carl Edwards 295, Jimmie Johnson 290, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 276, Kevin Har vick 268, Kur t Busch 267, Kyle Busch 257, Ryan Newman 253, Matt Kenseth 252, Juan Montoya 246, Clint Bowyer 245, Marcos Ambrose 188 (21st)

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Sponsor Qual.

Lowe’s 2 BB&T 10 Drive to End Hunger 1 National Guard/Amp Energy 4 Budweiser 38 Aflac 20 3M Scotch-Blue Painter ’s Tape 17 Carquest/Go Daddy.com 3 Taco Bell 39 The Home Depot 36 Dewalt 24

55

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3, ASSEN, NETHERLANDS

Checa charges on

With his fourth win from six starts in 2011, Carlos Checa has extended his World Superbike Championship points lead 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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ARLOS Checa extended his World Superbike Championship lead in Round 3 at Assen, after splitting the wins with Jonathan Rea. Rea (Honda) won the opening race, his third straight win at the circuit, leading home Max Biaggi (Aprilia) by 0.739s, with Checa third.

“I’m really proud to give the famous Castrol Honda name the first victory on its comeback to this championship,” said Rea. “We spent all weekend developing the bike for the races, and that strategy paid off.

“The team has worked really well and that’s exactly the right sort of confidence and momentum that we need to take to the next races. I’m happy to be back where I belong, in the winners’ circle, and I look forward to trying to get more wins for the team.”

On his Ducati, Checa stepped up in Race 2, taking his fourth win from six starts in 2011 when he beat Biaggi and Rea to victory in the 22-lapper. The Spaniard now leads Biaggi in the standings by 43 points, with Marco Melandri (Yamaha) a further four in arrears after crashing out of Race 2.

It was a mixed weekend for the Australian contingent. Troy Corser picked up the best result for the Aussies with sixth in Race 1, before crashing his BMW in the second.

Mark Aitchison claimed his first WSBK point, grabbing 10th in the opener, while fellow Kawasaki rider Chris Vermeulen was unable to get through the full weekend on his return from injury. Vermeulen made his first start of the year in Race 1, and was running in the points before succumbing to leg cramp. He didn’t start Race 2.

“My leg just cramped up and I had to stop after a few laps,” said Vermeulen.

“My pace was not so bad and I was holding down a points scoring position but I just could not get to the end.

“This is the first time I have been able to feel the bike really working, and I made some set-up changes because I was pushing at a decent level sometimes this weekend.

“I am happy with what the team has done but we have a lot of work still to do, just because I am a long way behind my teammates in learning the bike at present. I think I should be ready for a full weekend of racing at Monza.”

In World Supersports, Australian Broc Parkes has closed to within three points of championship leader Luca Scassa, after finishing third to Chaz Davies.

WSBK Points: Checa 132, Biaggi 89, Melandri 85, Rea 79, Leon Haslam 68, Leon Camier 500, Jakub Smrz 47, Michel Fabrizio 47

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57

J-Mac makes it three NZV8S JOHN McIntyre has kept a cool head through calamity and carnage to claim his third New Zealand BNT V8’s Championship at the Hamilton street circuit on the weekend.

McIntyre had his fair share of work to do heading into the final round as he trailed then points leader Angus Fogg by 44 points, and second placed Craig Baird by 12. As the weekend got underway, however, things began to go McIntyre’s way as he put his Falcon on pole position, while rivals Fogg and Baird were second and eighth respectively.

Fogg then struck back by taking a commanding win in the opening race to extend his points lead over Baird and McIntyre, but from there, it wasn’t a pretty story for Fogg or Baird. McIntyre took out the next two races on a drying circuit, with both Fogg and Baird left struggling to make the points deficit.

Having not led the series at all this season, McIntyre was thrilled with the outcome.

“It hasn’t really sunken in yet as we came from behind having never led the series all season,” he said.

“It is not only great for me but also for the JMR team and our sponsors as these cars take a lot of very hard work although ours

was so well prepared for these conditions.

“Before the race I was worried about things breaking but the team told me it was fine and it was – so we just went out and nailed it.”

Post-race scrutineering revealed an irregularity with Fogg’s cylinder head, which meant he was excluded from the weekend’s results, demoting him from second overall to fourth.

Fogg’s exclusion meant Baird was elevated to the second on the final table, just short of his maiden title in the category.

After a solid weekend with two-podium results, Andy Booth finished the 10/11 season on the final step of the podium.

Tough start for Pye in BF3 AUSSIES OVERSEAS FELIPE Nasr was the winner of two of the three British F3 International Series races at Monza as Rupert Svendsen-Cook bagged the third, while Australian Scott Pye had a tough debut.

Nasr worked his way from sixth to the lead in Race 1, finished second in Race 2 behind the Brit and then drove a storming third race to secure the win, having been boxed in off the line and falling to 11th.

58

His Race 1 win came after he caught the leaders Lucas Foresti and Kevin Magnussen, who then tangled, allowing the Brazilian into the lead. In Race 2, he struggled to work his way up to second as it took him too long to pass the defensive Will Buller, but when he did move ahead to second, he wasn’t quite able to catch the leader, with Svendsen-Cook victorious despite a sow start.

Nasr was the star of Race 3 despite his pox start. Relentlessly, he worked his way

up the order and was able to pass leader Lucas Foresti after an intense battle. They nagged wheel at one stage but the two Brazilians survived, Nasr the winner Foresti, coached by former F1 driver, Robert Moreno, second.

Pye had a disappointing weekend, crashing out of Race 1, before finishing 12th in Race 2 and 14th in the final after copping a 40-second penalty for cutting the chicane in his Double R Racing entry.

– DAVID ADDISON

motorsport news

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James Smith

Kostera kicks off PRODUCTION CARS THE Australian Manufacturers Championships got their 2011 season underway at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on the weekend, but just as it was in 2010, Stuart Kostera absolutely dominated his brethren in his Mitsubishi Evo X. The big talking point of the weekend was the amount of tyre degradation the field was facing, as the right-front tyre in particular gave the teams and drivers many headaches, and even some punctures.

Kostera never looked threatened all weekend, as he simply drove beyond his rivals to take pole position and wins in both 20-lap feature races for the overall,

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and Class A honours. Although his pace was undeniable, Kostera drove the wheels off his Evo X lap after lap, to leave his nearest rival, Jake Camilleri, more than 23 seconds behind.

There was also an inclusion of an ex-MINI Challenge car driven by Beric Lynton. The sole representative in the new MINI Cup, Lynton drove well through the pitstops to surprise onlookers with a third and fourth in Races 1 and 2 respectively.

Camilleri had a good weekend out in his new Mazda 3 MPS, but he suffered from a puncture during Race 1 that put him out of contention for a second place against the BMW 335i of Peter O’Donnell.

Luckily for Camilleri, he snuck in to take service as the pit-window opened,

getting away with stopping only once.

The Queenslander then took the Class C honours in Race 2.

Troubles for Peter O’Donnell handed Barton Mawer the Class B honours on a plate, finishing a solid sixth overall in Race 2 in Ted Robinson’s FPV F6 Typhoon.

Class D displayed the best racing of the weekend with Lauren Gray and Richard Gartner both entrenched in a battle for the lead. The duo swapped positions throughout both races, but dramas for Gartner handed Gray the win during Race 2.

Grant Phillips took out Class E over Maddison Gray after a battle that mirrored that between Maddison’s sister, Lauren, and Gartner.

– CALLUM BRANAGAN

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BRIEFLY...

■ A FINAL day charge has seen reigning champion Juhu Hanninen claim his maiden tarmac win in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Hanninen’s Skoda teammate Jan Kopecky won the opening day of the Rally Islas Canarias, but was hauled in

by Hanninen on Day 2, who won by 1.5s.

■ MIRKO Bortolotti and Miki Monras split the wins at Silverstone in the FIA Formula Two Championship season opener.

Bortolotti won the first race as Monras bogged down off the line and allowed Will Bratt ahead of him, but a locked wheel from Monras gave Bratt breathing space to hang on to second spot.

No one could touch returnee Bortolotti who established a gap early on and was never headed. Bortolotti made the slow start in Race 2, which allowed Monras to escape and build a gap, while Bratt’s efforts for a double podium were scotched when he was black-flagged for excessive use of the track limits.

That allowed Bortolotti to bag second and Christopher Zanella third.

■ ALEXANDER Rossi and Kevin Korjus split the wins in the opening round of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series at Motorland Aragon.

– DAVID ADDISON / STAFF

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GILBERT NABS TOP 10 AUSSIES OVERSEAS AUSSIE Mitchell Gilbert managed to salvage an eighth place finish from what turned out to be a difficult weekend in the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Donington.

In the first qualifying session he was unable to string together a decent full lap and it meant that his best time left him seventh on the grid.

In the second session he was unable to capitalise on already

knowing the track conditions and could only manage ninth fastest time.

After some hard work overnight, Trendworld backed Mitch was determined to make a good start in both races and capitalise on what he knew would be good race-pace after his turn of speed in testing.

As the lights went out at the start of the first of the two races he went for a bold move around the outside of the first corner and, despite initially gaining a place, left himself

too far off-line and eventually ended up in eighth place again. Despite looking for a way past his rival ahead, he had to settle for the position at the chequered flag.

More frustration was to come in Race 2, which only lasted a handful of metres. An electrical problem meant that as soon as the lights went out and Mitch floored the throttle the car died and he was forced to pull off the circuit and into retirement immediately.

– DAVID ADDISON

VARIETY IN BTCC BTCC THREE different winners proved that the BTCC is wide open as Matt Neal, Andrew Jordan and Mat Jackson took the wins at Donington Park.

Neal won race one in his Honda Civic but despite starting from pole, suffered too much wheelspin off the start and fell back behind James Nash (Vauxhall Vectra).

Neal asserted himself on lap two to take the lead and hand on to win the race with Andrew Jordan (Vauxhall Vectra) taking second from Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden. However, a technical infringement meant that Sheds was hoiked out of the

results and allowed Nash to finish third.

Jordan, pictured, won Race 2, his first win in a non-reverse grid race, with James Nash hustling him all the way to the flag, but reigning champion Jason Plato was out on lap one, the victim of a sizeable accident after cars cannoned

into him. Plato rolled at the fast Craner Curves, but the RML mechanics had the car back on the grid for Race 3 in which he finished sixth, with Mat Jackson’s Ford Focus taking the win after early-race mayhem allowed him to work clear of the pack.

– DAVID ADDISON

motorsport news

race

VSCRC KICKS OFF VICTORIA

Rob Lang

AFTER a strong 2010, the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships got underway at Phillip Island on the weekend, with a total of 220 cars converging on the picturesque Island Circuit.

Matthew Brabham had an easy weekend in Formula Ford’s Duratec class, until a late charge by Jordan Lloyd in Race 3 saw him scrape ahead by a meagre twotenths of a second. Brabham won the round. Meanwhile, a post-race penalty for former Commodore Cup racer Scott Andrews in the Kent class left Brendan Jones the round victor ahead of debutant, Adrian Lazzaro.

After the closest racing seen in some time, Jack Flood mirrored his effort from last year to take the Formula Vee Honours. Flood took the round from Mitch Martin by a tiny 0.002s in the finale.

Brad Rodwell won the 1200 category silverware.

Ted Huglin found his feet in the Sports Cars, easily winning in his Lamborghini LP-560 GT3 racer.

Rodney Raatjes continued his winning form in the HQ Holdens to win the Dallas Crane Challenge. He enjoyed a weekend long battle for the lead with second placed John Wise.

After the mechanical dramas of Chris Lewis-Williams before Race 3, Ivan Klasan drove to

an easy win in the Porsche 944 Challenge ahead of a worthy second placed, Rob Lange.

Michael Robinson was the deserving victor of the Sports Sedans in his Monaro, while Kane Vereker dominated the proceedings in the Improved Production category.

After a red flagged Race 3, Gary Edwards was handed the round honours after his previous efforts, while Mort Fitzgerald proved experience is everything en-route to winning the MGs and Invited British Sports Cars.

– CALLUM BRANAGAN

Inwood sneaks up on it NEW SOUTH WALES STUART Inwood was a surprise winner in Round 2 of the NSW Sports Sedan Championship at Wakefield Park on the weekend, after four of the leading contenders clashed in the weekend’s final race.

After running solidly in the top six in the weekend’s opening two races, Inwood benefited when Race 1 winner

Chris Jackson was turned around by Race 2 winner Dameon Jameson, and Geoff Whittaker tangled with Simon Copping. Fred Axisa avoided the drama to finish second ahead of Andrew MacPherson.

Adam Proctor dominated the Supersports category, winning all three races despite missing qualifying. Michael Shaw was second in Races 1 and 2 but retired with mechanical problems in the final, allowing

Richard Bloomfield to finish second ahead of Greg Smith.

The Production Touring Cars produced some of the closest racing of the weekend, with Bob Pearson (Mitsubisi EVO X) battling ferociously with Paul Mckinnon (Subaru STI) in each race. Pearson won the weekend’s second race by just 0.0008s, but cruised to a much more commanding victory in the final, while Rod Thorpe finished third.

Ryan Brown (Honda Integra Type R) won the Improved Production Under 2 Litre round, while Franck Donniaux claimed victory in the Improved Production Over 2 Litre category after runaway Race 1 winner Dave Loftus failed to start Races 2 and 3.

Other category winners were David Whitmore (Formula Ford), Daniel Reynolds (Formula Vee) and David Choon (Racing Cars).

– LACHLAN MANSELL

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.

CLICK TO FIND OUT MORE> www.mnews.com.au

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motorsport news

rear of grid

t o p S d Od

J

ASON Bargwanna is on the lookout for a leprechaun.

It’s true. Having found himself involved in another two crashes in Hamilton, both while running in, or near, the Top 10, Bargs has had enough bad luck. His mission is to find some sort of lucky charm, strap it to his car, and then add a few more Top 10 finishes to his 2011 tally.

“All lucky beads, lucky charms, lucky undies, leprechauns … anything can be

sent to the team in Albury,” he said after Sunday’s race in Hamilton.

“We’ll accept anything and I’ll strap it to the car for the next race.

“In terms of this most recent accident, it was hard to see exactly what happened.

[Jamie] Whincup seemed to go down the inside of [Michael] Caruso into Turn 3. Caruso came back across the left and got tipped around. After that there wasn’t much I could do about it.”

Bargs also had some bad luck in

Dirk Klynsmith

ANYONE GOT ANY SPARE LUCK?

qualifying, ending up 20th in qualifying after being caught out in the rain.

“In qualifying it was an amazing thing; just as the green light went out it starting spotting. I was the last to start my lap and it was wet by the time I started it. I was pretty happy with where I was in the circumstances.

“I was the last car on track and we moved up a few spots. There’s no doubt the car’s fast enough and we could have had a good result.”

BARGS’ RUN OF BAD LUCK IN 2011 Race 1, Abu Dhabi: Turned around by James Courtney, but finished 16th (penalty issued to Courtney).

Race 2, Abu Dhabi: Clash with Jamie Whincup, but finished 12th (racing incident).

Race 3, Adelaide: Finished 10th Race 4, Adelaide: Knocked out by Todd Kelly on Lap 2 – DNF (penalty issued to Kelly) Race 5, Hamilton: Crashed into by Greg Murphy, but finished 13th (penalty issued to Murphy) Race 6, Hamilton: Caught up in the Michael Caruso/Whincup crash – DNF (under investigation) www.mnews.com.au

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