Motorsport eNews Issue 209 - June 14-20, 2011

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Issue No. 209 June 14 - 20 2011

V

INGALL AMBROSE

THE ENFORCER’S PLAN TO TACKLE THE STATES ...

AND HIS OLD TEAM-MATE

REVEALED: ANOTHER BRAZILIAN GOLD COAST BOUND

THE DELTA WING IS BACK!

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Issue No. 209 | June 14 - 20 2011

news 4

Ingalland? No, the USA The Enforcer eyes NASCAR 6 Ash Tag What will the Vic teams do?

8 Wingin’ It A look at the Delta Wing 12 Keep Merc-ing McLaren keen to stay put 19 Forget the WWE ...

The WEC is here!

chat 24 Five Minutes With ...

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comment 26 Addison: Getting Old 27 Rust: Hard Day’s Night

race 28 Le Mans 32 Formula 1 36 IndyCar 40 NASCAR 44 World Superbikes 46 World of Outlaws

trade 48 Classifieds 3

INGALL vs AMBROSE IN NA

The Enforcer plans a Nationwide showdown with former team-mate NASCAR RUSSELL Ingall and Marcos Ambrose could go face-to-face in a Nationwide road course race in the USA in the near future.

Ingall is making plans that will see him compete in a number of events, prior to racing in the second-tier NASCAR Series.

Ambrose has established himself as the Nationwide Series leading road racer, with three wins at Watkins Glen and a number of

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near-misses in Montreal, and Ingall is keen to get back on terms with his former Stone Brothers Racing team-mate.

The project is part of Ingall’s planning for what happens when he steps out of a full-time V8 Supercar seat, and racing internationally appeals to The Enforcer.

“America attracts me more than Europe,” he says.

“I have a big liking for it, and I want to talk to Marcos about that.

One thing that is on the radar

is probably to do a Nationwide race on a road course. I am going to beg, borrow or steal the funding to do a race over there.

That is on the Bucket List, for sure.

I don’t know how it is going to happen but it is going to happen.

“There is no way I am going to tackle an oval – I am not that stupid.”

Ingall sees the notion of taking on the two-time V8 Supercar champion as a long-term program and wants to build up to it at a lower level. He is also

looking at some USA sportscar racing, a scene in which his longtime friend and Gold Coast 600 co-driver Jan Magnussen has raced for a decade.

“I would probably go over and do a couple of ARCA races along the way. I would like to do a couple of races in American Sportscars – I am going to talk to [Jan] Magnussen to see what the story is over there. I think that America is more achievable, to do those things, than some other places.”

NEWS

BMW Motorsport

GRM’s new Pat Long?

Rogers chooses his own man, Augusto Farfus, for GC600 V8 SUPERCARS Toyota Motorsports

ASCAR

GARRY Rogers Motorsport will, for the second year in a row, run a ‘surprise’ driver in the Gold Coast 600 – Brazilian BMW ace Augusto Farfus Jr. The Brazilian will join France’s Simon Pagenuad, to partner Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso in the Fujitsu Commodores on the Surfers Paradise streets.

For the second year in a row, Rogers has chosen a driver whose profile is such that he may not be approved by GC600 promoters V8 Supercars.

Last year, Rogers paid for American Patrick Long to compete in the race, in spite of the fact that the ALMS Porsche racer did not meet V8 Supercars requirements of a high-profile for the event. Long performed so well in the races that he has been snapped up by the Holden Racing Team for this October’s event.

“I think that I am a better judge than Tony Cochrane as to who can drive a car,” Rogers quipped to eNews on Tuesday. “Some people are good at some things and some are good at others!”

Farfus has crammed a lot of international Touring Car experience into a relatively short time. After moving to Europe to race open-wheelers in 2000, he raced for Alfa Romeo in the WTCC for three years, taking third place in 2006 when his outdated Alfa 156 was outpaced by the factory BMWs of Andy Priaulx and Jörg Müller.

In 2007, he switched to BMW and continued in the WTCC, but was switched to the marque’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup squad this season. Partnering Muller and Dirk Werner at Le Mans last weekend, Farfus had a tough weekend, their BMW M3 GT2 involved in two incidents before Muller parked it out on the track after he felt a vibration.

GRM’s move means that four of BMW’s factory GTE drivers will race down under; Farfus and, L to R at left, Joey Hand (Jim Beam Racing, Priaulx (TeamVodafone) and Dirk Muller (Jim Beam Racing).

– PHIL BRANAGAN

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ALL ABOARD THE ASH BUS

Volcanic ash and airport chaos prompts Plan Bs from V8 teams V8 SUPERCARS

A NUMBER of V8 Supercar teams are making backup plans to get their crews to Darwin this weekend.

With an ash cloud from a Chilean volcano impacting a number of airports in south-eastern Australia, some teams are working on plans to transport their crews to Sydney and flying them to the Northern Territory from there. On Tuesday, Qantas and Jetstar lifted a ban on its domestic flights out of Melbourne but flights to Adelaide on those airlines, and Tiger, were suspended.

As eNews closed to go live, the Holden Racing Team and Bundaberg Racing teams had as many as 50 of its team members boarding buses in Melbourne to travel to Sydney by road, and then fly to Darwin on Wednesday. Drivers Garth Tander and Fabian Coulthard, and HRT enduro driver Cameron McConville, flew to Sydney today [Tuesday], one day earlier than planned, to ensure they are in Darwin on time.

At Ford Performance Racing, the team was standing by its travel arrangements until Wednesday morning but has a number of Plan Bs available, should it

need to make a change, Kelly Racing had arranged all its flights and did some quick reorganising on Tuesday, a combination of direct, via Sydney, via Alice Springs, via Brisbane and even via Perth. The exception was Todd Kelly, who is flying to Darwin in his own plane, and who had already left before the ash cloud hit Melbourne.

Garry Rogers Motorsport and Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport were both keeping their travel plans in place without any backup, while Brad Jones Racing’s plans, with personnel flying from Albury via Sydney, are unaffected.

BMW GT aces confirmed for GC600

Priaulx returns, Muller is in and it’s official; we have Hand V8 SUPERCARS THREE more international touring car drivers have been confirmed for the Gold Coast 600.

As predicted by eNews last week, GC organisers took the opportunity of Le Mans to announce a group of Sportscar drivers that are headed down under. As a result, it was ‘revealed’ that BMW GT2 drivers, L to R at left, Joey Hand (USA), Andy Priaulx (GB) and Dirk Müller (DE) will all be on the Gold Coast in October.

As already revealed by eNews, Priaulx will join TeamVodafone, the same team that he drove with at the event in 2010. Hand and Müller will both drive at Dick Johnson Racing, the latter a replacement for Tom Kristensen, who was originally slated to share with Steve Johnson.

“Racing in Surfers last year was an amazing experience,” said Priaulx.

“I love street circuits and this is definitely one of the best I

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have driven on. I would have been very disappointed if I had not been asked back by Roland Dane and Triple Eight this year, so thank you for the invite and also a big thank you to BMW for letting this happen.”

“To me the key to this race is the fact I am always anxious to compete against the best drivers in the world, and this is just the

opportunity I will have in the Gold Coast,” added Hand.

“I love the idea of the organisers inviting the best drivers from many series around the world.”

For Müller, a man with a lot of experience in both Touring Cars and sportscars, a return to Australian soil Australia is a place that holds good memories.

“I have very fond memories of Australia,” he said.

“The last time I competed there was in Adelaide in 2000. I won the race and claimed the ALMS GT title.

“The racing in V8 Supercars is amazing, and I’m really grateful to BMW Motorsport for giving me this opportunity to be a part of the Gold Coast event.”

NEWS

FPR planning ‘Top End Rebuild’

Three times the fun at QR V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS FORD Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom is hoping this weekend’s Hidden Valley round of the V8 Supercar Championship will be a turning point for his 2011 season.

Winterbottom and FPR have a good record in Darwin, and head back to the Top End having won there in 2010.

“Darwin has been good to me and we’ve gone well there in the past so it will be nice to get back on the hard tyre,” he said.

“Our engine package has improved since we were last there and I know we can make the tyres wear even better than last year, which was the only thing I wanted improved, even though we won.

“The team has always been on the podium at Hidden Valley so we are hungry; the car has been

pulled apart and had a good check so we are heading in the right direction.

“Because we are leaving Melbourne, which has been very cold, the heat will be a factor. Saturday is quite a short race, but Sunday is longer so the Victorian teams will be feeling it more than those based in Queensland.”

Team boss Tim Edwards confirmed that all three FPR-prepared FG Falcons have been totally rebuilt since the Winton round.

“Our engineers and mechanics have stripped back all three cars and each of our FG Falcons has been given a thorough check and rebuild, so they are ready for Hidden Valley,” he said.

“Darwin is always a favourite destination as the crowds are passionate, the facilities are some of the best in the country and it is always nice to escape the Melbourne winter for a few days.”

THE Queensland Raceway round of the V8 Supercar Championship will be contested over three races in August.

Several weeks ago a three-race format for QR was rumoured, however a V8 Supercars Australia spokesperson confirmed to eNews that it would only be two races. Now, a statement has been released revealing that Starurday’s race will be split in two, effectively making it two separate races, with just a 15 minute break in between. The second race will be starting in the finishing order of the first.

All three races will count for championship points.

"We explored alternatives to bring a unique edge to the entertainment value for the Saturday crowd,” V8 Supercars Motorsport Operations Manager Damien White said.

“Given the positive feedback from the format in Perth we have followed the theme and introduced an extra element with a 15 minute ‘service’. The fans are going to love it"

7

RALLY OZ ROUTE ANNOUNCED RALLY SPECTACULAR scenery and a challenging route that echoes the old Southern Cross International rallies of the 1970s – Rally Australia has found itself an appropriate new home for what will be the 21st running of the down under World Rally Championship round, on September 8-11.

The new route, revealed last week at the official launch of the 2011 Rally Australia, will traverse 369km of 26 timed competitive stages within a radius of 75km to the north, west and south of Coffs Harbour, 530km north of Sydney.

A highlight will be a spectacular high-speed tarmac Super Special stage held at the Jetty precinct on the Coffs Harbour waterfront on each night of the event.

Organisers are confident that the new location running through forests, inland farming regions and coastal locations will showcase the NSW midnorth coast to the world as well as provide spectators with spectacular viewing opportunities.

Locking in the final route was the result of months of surveys and public consultations. Clerk of Course Dr Michelle Gatton said that 1200 local residents directlyaffected by the rally had been contacted since last November in a bid to ensure any concerns were addressed, so that the rally will be conducted smoothly and without the protests from green groups that dogged the 2009 event, which was held in the Kyogle region some 200km to the north.

“We have commissioned ecological, cultural heritage and dust and waste-management reports,” Dr Gatton said.

“The final result is that the World Rally Championship teams and entourage will be coming to a region that is ready to welcome them and recognises the community social and economic opportunities they will bring.”

Rally Australia was based in Perth from 1988 until 2006. It was not held over the following two years, but returned for 2009 in a new arrangement that sees the antipodean WRC round alternate between Australia and New Zealand annually.

– STEVE NORMOYLE

DEAR LE MANS, SEE YOU SOON

HERE’S MARK WINTERBOTTOM HANGING OUT WITH SOME OF HIS NEWEST FRIENDS ...

IN THE UPCOMING CARS 2 FILM, WINTERBOTTOM VOICES ‘FROSTY’, ON THE LEFT OF THE IMAGE. HE’S JOINED BY A CHARACTER VOICED BY LEWIS HAMILTON, MIDDLE, AND THE FILM’S LEAD CHARACTER, LIGHTNING MCQUEEN, RIGHT. CARS 2 OPENS ON JUNE 23.

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NEWS

LE MANS THE Delta Wing concept that was planned as a possible 2012 Indycar will race at the Le Mans 24 Hour race next year.

The Project 56, a radical design by Ganassi engineer Ben Bowlby, will take a 56th starting position in the classic race, in a class all of its own.

Le Mans organisers ACO have been fully supportive of the radical program, though at the announcement of the

entry last week named two backup entries, just in case the American car is not ready by its deadline.

The partners in the program are Dan Gurney’s All American Racers, Highcroft Racing (which has won the last two American Le Mans titles in partnership with Honda/ Acura) and Panoz Racing cars.

The radical design, which features no conventional wings, an ultra-narrow front track and weighs half the weight of a conventional

car, will utilise a 1.6-litre fourcylinder engine, with around 300 horsepower. Discussions are under way with several possible engine partners.

No drivers have been named for the single-car entry, though Australian David Brabham, a stalwart of the Connecticut-based Highcroft team, is a likely contender.

Construction of the car has already commenced and testing will start in the US autumn.

THIRD MILES RACER TO GET MILES SOON FUJITSU SERIES MILES Racing will look to debut their third car in the Fujitsu Series at Queensland Raceway in August.

Recently purchased from Howard Racing, the ex-Triple Eight Falcon has been rebuilt, and will arrive at Miles’ Yatala base later this week.

From there, it will be fitted out, with a view to it joining rookies Chaz Mostert and Ash Walsh on the grid for Round 4 of the series.

Team owner Wayne Miles said he’s already been fielding interest from drivers to fill the seat.

“A few of the endurance drivers are keen to jump into it at QR,” Miles told eNews on Tuesday. “Dale Wood rang me this morning and he’s keen to jump into a car there.

“The car will come into the shop this week after being re-jigged and completely rebuilt.

There’s an engine and a driveline that’s sitting there waiting to go in, and we’ll get that car up and running, and fill the seat.”

The team had planned to test their existing simPRO Falcons at Queensland Raceway today, but will instead wait until closer to the next round, at Townsville on July 9-11.

– MITCHELL ADAM

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NEWS

Dirk Klynsmith

CHANGE FOR 12 HOUR IN 2012 BATHURST 12 HOUR MORE cars will be eligible to run in the 2012 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour, with an expanded eligibility list containing over 160 models from 31 manufacturers announced for next February’s race.

The major shift comes for the outright GT contenders, with all existing FIA GT3 machinery now eligible. Parity measures such

as compulsory pitstops, ballast and tyre compound restrictions have been removed, with measures from the European Blancpain GT3 Endurance Series to instead be applied to Class A. Additionally, teams can now have four drivers per car, including two ‘seeded’ drivers – up from three drivers with one ‘seeded’ in 2011.

Class B and C remain as is for older-model GT3 cars and GT4 machinery, along with two for

Production Cars. A class has been added for Australian V8 Utes, Commodore Cup and Saloon Cars, while a further three Invitational classes have also been added – catering for other cars seen at events like the Dubai 24 Hour, with one for diesel-powered vehicles.

“The changes to our eligibility list come from a desire to increase competition, variety and better reflect similar international races,” Event

Director James O’Brien said.

“The changes to GT classes effectively bring is in line with other international races, specifically the adoption of the European GT3 Endurance Series’ Balance of Performance measures.

“The introduction of the invitational classes is designed to cater to a number of vehicles that compete at the Dubai 24 Hour Race and other races on the 12/24 Hour Series.”

AUSTRALIAN GT, TOO ...

AUSTRALIAN GT

AUSTRALIAN GT will overhaul its technical regulations next year.

The championship currently utilises an adapted version of the GT3 rulebook, but will adopt the full, 2011 FIA GT3 regulations in 2012, and subsequently run one year behind the European championship. The use of GT3 regs moves away from eligibility and parity controversies, with parity measures on newer cars

10

and those driven by ‘seeded drivers’ – such as extra weight, rev limits and ride height restrictions – removed.

It comes during a growth period for international the formula, with Mercedes-Benz entering the FIA GT3 European Championship this year and McLaren recently unveiling a GT3 version of their MP4-12C. Domestically, Peter Hackett debuted his new MercedezBenz SLS AMG GT3, pictured, at Eastern Creek last month, while Maranello Motorsport is

importing Ferrari’s latest 458 Italia. Ted Huglin (Lamborghini) and Rod Wilson (Corvette) also have GT3 machinery in Australia, but these cars are currently outside Australian GT regulations.

“All of the competitors are excited about the prospect of having new cars,” Hackett said.

“It opens it up to the 458s, the new Lambos, and it shows that there’s a lot of confidence in the category from the drivers, they want us to be even. As long as you’ve got a regulation like

that, there are no performance issues.

“We’ll be 12 months behind the FIA GT3 regulations in Europe and the parity suggestion was made that the cars would not be weighted or ride heighted or anything like that, the only difference would be the length of the time in pitstops, with the seeded drivers having to make slightly longer pitstops than the unseeded drivers. It’s all quite exciting.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

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MCLAREN: WE’RE STICKING WITH MERC FORMULA 1

MCLAREN’S Technical Director Paddy Lowe has confirmed the Woking squad will stick with engine supplier MercedesBenz beyond 2013, ending speculation the squad might begin building its own engines.

“We are fully committed to our partnership with Mercedes Benz,” said Lowe during the week.

“Whatever engine they’re making for 2013, and at the

moment we believe that the regulations are stated and confirmed to be the new turbo engine, we’ll be using the Mercedes Benz engine.”

The introduction of small capacity turbo charged engines has sparked bitter debate within the paddock with both Mercedes and Ferrari asking that the regulation changes be delayed, while Renault has threatened to withdraw from the sport if the changes aren’t

introduced as planned.

Even Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has also waded in to the debate claiming that the new engines, which would be limited to 12,500rpm, wouldn’t sound like Formula 1.

McLaren, though, will remain committed to Mercedes regardless of what shape the regulations ultimately take.

“If regulations aren’t carried through immediately, I know there are still some questions

over that, whichever way Mercedes Benz goes we’ll be going with them.”

McLaren began its partnership with Mercedes in 1995, having lured the three-pointed-star away from Sauber. When Mercedes purchased the Brawn team at the end of 2009 many believed McLaren would take the opportunity to develop its own Formula 1 engine, as it has done with the MP4-12C road car.

– MATT COCH

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

BUTTON ESCAPES PENALTIES FORMULA 1 JENSON Button has escaped penalty over his collisions with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Button and his team-mate collided on the main straight early in the race, after Button was unable to sight Hamilton, who was alongside, on the run to Turn 1. Later in the race, Button tagged the rear of Alonso’s Ferrari heading into Turn 3, sending the Ferrari into a spin and out of the race.

12

But, while both incidents were investigated, race stewards decided to not penalise the eventual winner for his part in the incidents.

According to a statement from the stewards, Button “drove onto the kerb to avoid Car 5 on the outside.

“In view of the conditions and the statements by both drivers and their team representatives, the stewards decide that this was a ‘racing incident’ and have taken no further action.”

After the race, Button offered his views on the clash that put his team-

mate out of the race.

“As far as the incident with Lewis is concerned, I couldn’t see a thing behind me except a blur of Vodafone rocket-red – but that could have been my rear wing, obviously, it’s the same colour as Lewis’s car,” he said.

“I moved to the left, which is the racing line, then I felt a bang, and I feared it was game over for both of us. Lewis knows that I didn’t do it on purpose, and I know that he didn’t do it on purpose either. I spoke to him before the race restarted, and it’s all good.”

NEWS

NEWS OPINION sutton-images.com

WITH ENEWS EDITOR ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

D BAHRAIN OUT FIA GET TOUGH ON PLANNED GULF RETURN AND BLOWN DIFFUSERS FORMULA 1 THE Bahrain saga looks to be finally coming to an end, with the plan to reinstate the race at the end of 2011 likely to be scrapped.

The issue came to a head late last week, when the Formula 1 Teams Association (FOTA) wrote a letter to FIA president Jean Todt asking for the Bahrain race not to go ahead. Todt responded with a letter back to FOTA, which stated that the FIA would endeavour to support the teams in their bid to not travel to Bahrain in 2011.

“I have listened to your last-minute objections and have asked the Commercial Rights Holder to re-examine his calendar proposal, and if necessary, to resubmit a revised proposal to the World Council,” read Todt’s letter.

AUTOSPORT then quizzed Bernie

Ecclestone over the matter, and he confirmed that Bahrain would be scrapped.

“We will be back to normal,” he said.

“We will put out a request to the World Motor Sport Council in the next few days. I sent something this morning, so it will be quick.”

In other FIA news, off-throttle diffusers will be banned from next month’s British Grand Prix onwards. The FIA has deemed that speeding up the efficiency of the diffuser with engine gasses is classed as a moveable aerodynamic device, and therefore contravenes the regulations.

The FIA’s technical deligate Charlie Whiting also confirmed a technical change for 2012 that will eliminate any chance of team’s using a blown diffuser. Next year, the exhaust system must exit 330mm behind the rear wheel centre line, right out the back of the diffuser.

RIVER safety was a bit of a talking point over the weekend.

Several pages over, David Addison discusses the need for a review of the track safety at Le Mans, after the slightly terrifying accidents that made the 24 Hours a YouTube sensation. That’s a fair point.

But starting the Canadian Grand Prix behind the Safety Car, and then having the race stopped for so long, was farcical.

At the start, the standing water wasn’t that bad. Why we were robbed of the awesome spectacle that is a race start – particularly in the rain – is well and truly beyond me.

Then there was the delay. Okay, the rain was bad and the circuit has poor drainage, so a red flag period might have been necessary. But it didn’t need to go on for so long. By the time the race got started again, guys were ready to go straight to intermediates. Why wasn’t racing happening during the period where extreme wets were needed?

I’m all for driver safety, but when the MotoGP guys are splashing about getting on with the job in driving rain England, and the F1 guys are in civvies because of a few puddles well off the racing line, it’s not a good look.

FORMULA 1 JOINS BLOCK PARTY FORMULA 1

sutton-images.com

YOUTUBE sensation Ken Block will drive a Formula 1 car in August.

The World Rally Championship regular will jump behind the wheel of Pirelli’s test mule – a 2009-spec Toyota – at Monza on August 5, as part of a publicity stunt following a three-day tyres test at the Italian circuit.

“I’ve been lucky enough to do some pretty spectacular stunts in my career so far, but this is something else,” said Block.

“Everybody talks about Formula

1 being the pinnacle of world motorsport, so I can’t wait to discover it for myself. I’m very grateful to Pirelli, which has been one of my partners since 2010, for this amazing opportunity. These cars are so specialised that I need to be realistic about what I can do, but I know that it’s going to be a lot of fun and take hooning to a whole new level.”

Block will start the day using Pirelli’s softer compounds, before switching to the harder compounds to attempt some gymkhana style antics. Pirelli’s test driver Lucas di Grassi will be on hand.

13

FORMULA 1 A POLITICAL storm is brewing in Austin, Texas, over the financial contribution from both the Austin City Council and the state of Texas to the USA Grand Prix, scheduled for June 17, 2012.

As construction work on the new circuit at Austin continues, Kathie Tovo, a candidate in the upcoming council election, has questioned the manner in which public funds to stage the race have been sought, as well as the value in general of the event to the community.

“Every public dollar we put to something like F1, means money we don’t have, to spend somewhere else,” said Tovo, adding that were she in a position to do so, she would

14

vote against endorsing the event.

Central to the controversy is the $4 million sanctioning fee that has now been formally requested by Formula 1 officials.

After some debate, it appears this fee, at least for the inaugural race, will now be met by event promoter, Tavo Hellmund, rather than the city itself.

But Austin City Council’s involvement in the race is connected to the larger question of the crucial $25 million of funding for the event from the Texas state government.

The promise of this state support was central to the success of Hellmund’s bid to secure the race. However, it appears that the documentation from Texas authorities used

to support the bid fell short of being a firm financial commitment.

Under Texas state law, funds from the Texas’ Major Events Trust Fund cannot be accessed until a formal process has been carried out. A central part of this process is local council endorsement for the proposed event.

Formal council endorsement of the event will be the subject of a vote in two weeks time.

However, one councillor has requested the vote be postponed until July in order to allow councillors more time for consideration.

If the vote is postponed and Tovo wins at the local government election later this month, there is a chance the numbers will go against council

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A Political Storm Bigger than Texas?

NEWS

Another week, another drama NASCAR FOR the second weekend in succession, Kyle Busch has found himself embroiled in controversy.

In post-race scrutineering at Pocono Raceway following the five-Hour Energy 500, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry failed the minimum ride height

measurement.

As a result, Busch’s crew chief Dave Rogers was fined US$25,000 and Joe Gibbs was docked a total of six owner points.

Busch had finished third in the race and remains fifth in the Championship, but now trailing leader Carl Edwards by 31 points.

This is the first such penalty under this year’s revised points system; such an offence under the old system would likely have attracted a 25-point penalty.

The technical infringement comes off the back of last weekend’s altercation with rival team owner Richard Childress following a NASCAR Camping

World Truck Series race.

Childress physically attacked Busch after the race, such was his rage over an incident on the cool down lap in which Busch bumped Childress’ driver, Joey Coulter.

Busch, already on probation over an earlier incident with Kevin Harvick, also a Childress driver, did not fight back.

Toyota Motorsports

Franchitti steamed over grid draw fiasco in Texlotto INDYCAR

Honda Racing

WHILE Will Power celebrated his first oval race win with victory in the second leg of the Firestone Twin 275s in Texas, reigning IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti could barely contain his anger over the race’s random grid position draw.

In a pot-luck style system reminiscent of the infamous Peter Jackson Dash for Cash qualifying draw used in the Australian Touring Car Championship in the early ‘90s, Franchitti drew 28th grid position while Power was lucky enough to pick position three.

“We got hosed tonight,” said Franchitti after salvaging seventh place, “and if we lose the championship by that many points, I’ll be pissed off.

“We should never have been in that position to start with. To have a championship round of the IndyCar series and draw the grid positions is a total joke. We started 23 places behind Will.

“Will took advantage and did a great job, but through no fault of myself or the team we’ve got that great handicap.

“There are enough variables out there, we don’t need to be throwing dice to determine grid positions, that made me mad.”

Power, despite benefitting from the luck of the draw, sympathised with the Ganassi driver and agreed the system was unfair.

“In a closely fought championship you just can’t have that,” the Australian said. “If it comes down to five points at the end of the year Dario will look back at this race and say ‘well if I started where I should have I’d have those points’.

“I think that was definitely unfair for Dario, and for Scott, and for anyone who is a championship contender. For him to start in 28th spot, and me in third is just unfair.”

Scott Dixon was another to luck out in the draw, ending up with 18th on the grid, but the New Zealander was able to recover from there to claim second place.

15

BRIEFLY ■ While the V8 Supercars have expanded to three races for Queensland Raceway, the V8 Utes have gone one better, expanding to four races for this weekend’s Hidden Valley round.

The Utes will race twice on both Saturday and Sunday, after qualifying on Saturday morning.

■ The Shannons Nationals’ new ProSports concept won’t run at Winton next weekend.

A pair of standalone enduro hitouts for Sports Cars were announced last month, to be run at two Shannons Nationals rounds later this year. Winton was due to host the first of them, however that has been cancelled after entry numbers didn’t materialise.

But the second at Phillip Island in November remains on track.

Round 3 of the Shannons Nationals at Winton will feature the Kerrick Sports Sedan Series, Commodore Cup National Series, Radical Australia Cup, Australian Saloon Car Series and HQs. “Due to the late introduction of the announcement and a number of other factors including crashed cars, date clashes and drivers with outside [of the sport] commitments, we felt it best to withdraw Winton,” Shannons Nationals Director Rob Curkpatrick said.

16

BATES READY FOR COMEBACK COMMODORE CUP

TONY Bates will return to Commodore Cup at Winton for the category’s annual Endurance Challenge in a replacement car, after as his heavy crash at Bathurst in April.

Bates’ regular Commodore was written off in a Race 2 incident at Easter, which saw Bates diagnosed with a perforated eardrum and subsequently miss the Fujitsu Series round at Barbagallo

Raceway. He’ll return to racing at Winton next weekend after purchasing a VS previously used in the series by Axent Racing.

In the pair of 45-minute races for the Ashley Cooper Memorial Cup, Bates will again be joined

by Fujitsu Series front-runner David Russell.

“I’m all good now, I spent a few weeks feeling a bit dizzy but I’m fully recovered now and ready go get the championship lead back,” he said. said.

“The sportsalive.com

Rob Lang

■ Want to do your bit for charity? Then get involved in the Camp Quality esCarpade.

Driving cars 20 years or over, a group of people will travel between Victorian cities Bendigo to Bright – the long way. The event raised $1.3m for children living with cancer in 2010.

For more information on getting involved, head to http://www.campquality.org. au/public/escarpade/theevent

Commodore was a write-off but I’ve bought the ex-Axent Racing Commodore and we’re building one good car out of the two. We’re not far away from completing the car and hopefully we can get a day testing under our belt before we get to Winton to race.

“David is keen to join forces again and show that, all things being equal, our combination is capable of winning.”

Bates and Russell will be among an 18-car field at Winton.

HOSSACK BACK ON TRACK SPORTS SEDANS THE return of two-time champion Darren Hossack will headline an expanded field of Kerrick Sports Sedans next weekend at Winton.

As previously reported, Hossack and his Audi A4 will only contest selected rounds in 2011. After missing the season opener at Mallala last month, he’ll be back, as part of a 20-car field for the first of the rounds in Victoria.

“We’ll only do the southern rounds at this stage,” Hossack said of his 2011 program.

“But that said, we weren’t going to do any this year, so (car owner) John [Gourlay] may change his mind.”

Meanwhile, Kerry Baily and his new Aston Martin is at least another round away. The car is nearing completion, while business commitments have also played a part in Baily’s absence.

“We’re just doing some minor suspension work, then it’s a matter of what colour,” he said.

“I was moving away from the British Racing Green at one stage, but I’m going back that way again now, then it’s just a matter of what colour to paint the ‘lips’.”

NEWS

WEC LAUNCHED AT LE MANS SPORTSCARS THERE will be a World Endurance Championship – effectively a World Sportscar Championship – next year.

Since the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup started in 2010, many people have wondered if it would be converted to a fullblown World Championship for prototypes and GT cars. Now, it will.

There were few surprises at the announcement of the WEC at Le Mans on Thursday. The existing technical regulations

still apply, and the 2012 series will comprise Le Mans plus two other European races, with two in Asia, and two in the Americas – not necessarily in the USA itself. The 24 Hours carries double the points.

FIA President Jean Todt said that his own sports car background, especially with Peugeot in the early 90s, had been one of the motivating ideas in his desire to restart the Championship. However, it is clear from various comments that the FIA does not intend to dominate the title as it so controversially did in that very period

when Todt was at Peugeot. At that time, the FIA thought that imposing F1-based engines would be a good idea for sports car racing, but now, the FIA clearly regards the category as belonging to and being run by Le Mans organiser the ACO. “I am delighted to welcome the return of the FIA Endurance World Championship, especially with a promoter like ACO,” Todt said last week. “I am also very pleased to have a legendary race like the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of it.”

– DAVID GREENHALGH

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F3 CHAMPS TO GO HEAD FORMULA 3 TIM Macrow will make another cameo in the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship this weekend at Hidden Valley.

The 2007 Champion made a one-off appearance at Sandown last year, winning both races in an older-model F304 Dallara.

He’ll race the same car in Darwin, lining up against former rival and 2008 Champion James Winslow, who won the 2011 season opener for R-Tek at Winton last month.

It’ll be the first time that a pair of former Australian F3 champions have lined up in the same field.

“James and I had some great

races in ’07 and had a pretty good rivalry going,” Macrow said.

“He’s a tough competitor. He’s very experienced and very fast as we saw at Winton and right throughout his Aussie career in 2007 and 2008. He’s a hard but fair competitor and we were very evenly matched in the races we had, so it will be good fun to turn back the clock a couple of years and have another go.”

Macrow is one of two inclusions for the City of Darwin Cup, with 10 cars expected to race. Team BRM will take their second Dallara north, with team manager Mark Rundle saying a driver was “60 to 70 percent” locked in for the weekend.

MYGALE SET FOR EC DEBUT FORMULA 3 JON Mills will debut his Mygale M-07 in the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship at Eastern Creek in July.

Mills purchased the car from the French manufacturer earlier this year, and had hoped to race it at Darwin this weekend. But with the car having only just arrived, and with limited spares, Mygale’s Australian F3 debut will have to wait a month. When Mills does line up in the 2007-model car, it’ll be the first non-Dallara to race in Australian F3, and the first time a Mygale F3 car has raced in the southern hemisphere.

“This is a professional program and there is a great partnership with Greg Woodrow and Mygale,” Mills said.

“The most pleasing thing, however, has been the level of support from the factory and from the engineer who worked on the cars when they were run by Ultimate Motorsport in British Formula 3. They have been fantastic in assisting the process and opening up their information and data about the car to us.

“Michael Devaney, who raced the car and scored podium finishes in British F3, is now Sydney-based and we’ve enlisted him to come on board and help with the initial development and set up. There is no data for the Kumho tyres so we’ll be starting from scratch in a lot of ways so to have someone like him on board is a massive benefit.”

17

NEWS

ELLERY JR TO MAKE CIK DEBUT KARTING DALTON Ellery, son of former V8 Supercar driver Steve Ellery, is getting set to make is debut in Australia’s premier karting series – the Castrol Edge CIK Stars of Karting – when the series hits the Todd Road circuit in Port Melbourne this weekend.

Driving for the Two-4 Tuning Team, the 15year-old Queenslander will debut in the Pro Junior (KF3) category driving in a Europeanmade Tony Kart, and with his new teammate and Pro Gearbox (KZ2) regular Jason Faint.

“Dalton has only driven this kart once so far, and he went quite well, but we understand he has a big task ahead with the quality of driver in CIK,” explained Steve.

“For us getting involved now is all about preparing for next year. Dalton will turn 16 so it will be his last chance to have a serious go as a junior. so we have bought him a Rotax as well to gain more experience.”

Young Ellery, who has been working his

way through the karting ranks, looks set to follow in his father’s footsteps and into a career in motorsport.

“I love the karting scene and it is great that the boys enjoy it, it’s just a great sport to be involved in. Our number one aim is to have fun, however hopefully we can have some success as well.”

Joining Ellery in the Pro Junior category for the first time will be Jake Dixon, who

celebrates his birthday this week. Prized New Zealand racer Arie Hutton is also set to make his Aussie CIK debut racing in the Pro Light (KF1) category, joining fellow Kiwi and series regular Aaron Marr.

As reported in eNews last week, FA Kart racer James Sera is set to make his first Pro Gearbox (KZ2) appearance and will be joined in the class by fellow Melbournian Giovanni Fasone.

YBE WINS 24H KARTING

NYCK TAKES THE POINTS KARTING DUTCH driver Nyck de Vries has once again proven why he is the reigning World Champion with complete domination at the opening round of the 2011 CIK-FIA KF1 World Championship, held at the Pro Kart Raceland in Germany, over the weekend.

The new format World Championship now sees a five-round series, as apposed to the single standalone meeting. And de Vries was unstoppable, winning all four races at the opener. He now leads the championship on 75 points over his

18

closest rival in Karol Basz, who sits 22 points adrif.

The next round of the World Championship is scheduled for July 21-24 at Zuera in Spain.

The event also incorporated the CIK-FIA European KZ1 and KZ2 Championships. The KZ1 class saw 41 drivers do battle, but in the end it was Energy driver Paolo De Conto who won the day.

A whopping 105 karts tackled the European KZ2 Championship, but it was CRG driver Fabian Federer who scored a comfortable two-second victory over Swede Joel Johansson, with Mirko Torsellini third.

TIM Gresham led his YBE Racing team to victory in the Track Safety ProKart 24 Hour endurance race at the Ipswich circuit in Queensland over the weekend.

A total of 21 teams entered the gruelling 24-hour race, however, after 1364 laps which equates to 1473 kilometres, it was YBE who took the chequered flag As the current National Champions, YBE were driving the Number 1 kart, with Gresham joined behind the wheel by fast femme Nicky Laskazeski, Jarrad Corney and the team’s enduro driver Liam Ferry.

Starting at 9am, the first 10 hours of the race were held in wet conditions, however the real telling point in the race came as the dry line began to form, with YBE electing to stay out as long as possible on their wet tyres while the other teams pitted for slicks.

“Winning this event has really boosted our spirits and has made us even more determined to defend our national and state titles,” explained Laskazeski.

Team KW Racing finished second, Climatrol third while Horsepower Racing and Kaos Racing teams rounded out the Top 5.

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ALL RALLY AROUND SKIP

Jackson fighting prostate cancer in USA SPRINTCARS AUSTRALIAN sprintcar driver Skip Jackson will face one of the toughest tests he’s ever had after recently being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Sydney-born Jackson has been a resident in the United States for many years, based at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. He is currently in Phoenix having treatment for stage three prostate cancer, and has retired

from racing to fight the disease.

Jackson has been a dominating force in Australian Sprintcar racing, winning the World Series Sprintcars Championship in 1997 and the Australian Championship at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway in 2000/2001. He’s also won the Knoxville Track Championship on three occasions, and won the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway.

Jackson, 43, and his American wife have three children – AJ, Abbey and Andrew.

Both here in Australia and in Knoxville, friends and fans of Skip are rallying together with an initiative known as ‘AFOS’ (Aussie Friends of Skip) being formed.

“The response has been amazing,” said Skip’s brother Paul Jackson.

“The phones and emails are going off the hook with offers

of assistance. I can tell you now that Skip has an enormous amount on his mind, but the news of what the AFOS group is planning and doing has given him an enormous boost in morale.

“He’s genuinely overwhelmed and humbled by your generosity and well wishes. He’s upbeat and he’s motivated to make a full recovery. He’s got that Skip tenacity back.”

– GEOFF ROUNDS

Adams revovering from Finke crash Paris Charles

SPEEDWAY GP TEN times Australian Speedway Motorcycle Champion Leigh Adams was injured in a serious accident while practising for the Finke Desert race in Alice Springs last Tuesday.

Following an exceptional 20-year speedway career at World Grand Prix level, Adams had set his focus on competing in the grueling Finke Desert race.

20

However, he crashed heavily on a training run. It is reported that the 40-year-old sustained serious injuries, including several fractured vertebrae, extensive spinal cord damage, punctured lungs, broken ribs, a broken scapula and a small fracture in his neck.

Adams was flown from Alice Springs to Adelaide on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday he underwent a six-hour operation on his back to stabilise and

strengthen his badly injured spine.

At time of writing, Adams was conscious and aware of his surroundings. Apparently there are no neurological injuries and some feeling in one thigh. It is also expected that Adams will soon be moved from Intensive Care to the Spinal Unit.

People wishing to send their best wishes and support can do so by emailing srn@speedway.com.au.

– PARIS CHARLES

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21

WINTER HITS WINTERNATS BEFORE T DRAG RACING RAIN forced the postponement of the 44th Castrol EDGE Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway until the weekend of July 15-17.

It is just the second time in the history of the event that is has been rained out. Persistent showers that began in the Willowbank area around 6pm on Saturday night, coupled with the forecast, forced organisers’ hands into the postponement.

The good news is that the action-packed Castrol EDGE Winternationals program

will pick up where it left off – leaving two stunning rounds of ANDRA Pro Series qualifying, eliminations and all the Sportsman action.

The Castrol EDGE Winternationals will retain all the colour and excitement that would have played out over the final two days of competition and cemented the event’s status as the largest drag racing event outside North America.

“It’s very regrettable that we’ve had to postpone the final two days of competition, but with the forecast we had at hand, there was little point waiting

around to see if the rain would clear,” said Willowbank Raceway managing director Steve Bettes.

“After many agonising hours overnight and consultation this morning, we felt the best option was to move the remainder of the event to July 15-17, 2011.

“Spectators will still get to witness the greatest spectacle in drag racing in all its glory.

“It was setting up to be one of the best Castrol EDGE Winternationals in the event’s 44-year history and I believe that in a month’s time, we will see that and even more.”

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

MORGAN WRAPS UP TOP FUEL DRAG RACING

22

blacktrack.com.au

DARREN Morgan went through perhaps the most important staging routine of his life at the Castol EDGE Winternationals as he lit the top lights for the 20 points it would take to win the ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel championship.

Morgan was thankful to his crew for helping him to the championship win as a privateer racer.

“All these guys are volunteers so to make the championship happen and make it through is pretty neat,” said Morgan.

“We just needed that 20 extra points, we should have done it last meeting but we did it this meeting and now we have got the number one on the car for next season so that is pretty amazing.”

Another statistic to add to the

win was an achievement from crew chief Ben Patterson.

“It also means that our own Ben Patterson is officially the youngest Top Fuel championship winning crew chief in any Top Fuel championship ever held, at the

age of 22 years old,” he said.

“He is probably the most hard working team member ever, juggling a engineering degree at uni which he is doing really well at and putting so much time into the team, he is a good kid.”

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

DRAG RACING RAIN which ultimately led to the postponement of the Castrol EDGE Winternationals arrived midway through the second round of qualifying, with several titles still to be decided.

In Top Fuel, Darren Morgan did enough to secure the title, see separate story, US Top Fuel star, Cory McClenathan, made the long trek to pilot one of the Santo Rapisarda cars. However McClenathan only got one shot at qualifying, and was forced to shut off very early in the run with tyre shake problems.

The tightest title battle will be in the Pro Stock class, where defending champion

NEWS

THE RAIN ARRIVED ...

Aaron Tremayne came into the Winternationals with a slender lead over his nearest rival, Dave Newcombe. Newcombe narrowed the gap after the first round of qualifying in the only 16-car Group 1 field, grabbing top speed and low ET points.

Lee Bektash, running third in the championship, top qualified in the second qualifying round with the best numbers of the event, with a 7.03s elapsed time.

Defending Top Doorslammer champion, John Zappia also has Mark Belleri right behind him in the championship chase, but Zappia signalled his intentions to the 19-car field with an awesome wheelstanding, 5.82s pass in the rained-out second qualifying session. His pass,

below, won’t count, and the top qualifying spot at the moment belongs to Peter Kapiris, on a 5.85s from the first session.

The Top Alcohol class provided one of the biggest surprises in qualifying, with debutant Jamie Noonan, inset, taking the top spot with a stout 5.56s pass on his very first shot. Current points leader, Wayne Newby isn’t far behind, with his 5.65s effort for the number two spot.

“It is just awesome, both the crew of Noonan Race Engineering boys and I are pretty green, after all the first time I went down a drag strip was last weekend when I got my licence, so it’s pretty amazing,” an elated Noonan said.

“I have been involved in the

sport for years, but the time had come where I had enough of just working on everyone else’s cars so I went out and decided to start my own team and have full control – so far its working out pretty well.”

Other Pro Series category top qualifiers include Phil Read in Top Fuel with the only four-second pass so far, Chris Matheson in Top Bike with a

6.57s at only 165mph to edge out the Harley Davidson of Mark Drew with a 6.60s at 215mph.

Michael Gilbertson holds the lead in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 7.43s pass. The Super Stock class is shaping up to be the biggest battle at the re-run, with 16 of the 24 starters going well under their respective indexes.

– KEN FERGUSON

Ken Ferguson Ken Ferguson

Next ANDRA Pro Series Round:

2011 Castrol EDGE Winternationals. Willowbank Raceway, July 15-17 23

FIVE MINUTES WITH ...

KEN BLOCK Ken Block leads a boring life – running a multi-million dollar clothing brand, competing in the World Rally Championship and making massively popular videos of him doing stunts in a 700 horsepower Ford. So, he thought he should drive an F1 car, and word up PAUL WARD on his mundane life What do you list as your occupation?

If I’m trying to be low-key, I say marketing. But if it looks like I might have a hassle, at immigration or something, I put down racecar driver. That seems to get people interested and helpful.

At the root of everything I do I’m a rally car driver. That’s what I truly love to do. Everything else I do is just for fun.

What’s it like to drive the Monster Fiesta you use in Gymkhana 3?

It’s actually quite amazing. It has an amazing amount of power. I’m a lucky bastard that I drive amazing cars like that.

This one is built just for the stuff I do.

What did it cost and how many are there?

It cost around $300,000. There is only one car.

Is it easier or tougher to drive than the Ford Fiesta you have for the World Rally Championship?

Both the cars are actually quite easy to drive, but driving them at the limit is very hard. It’s like comparing apples and oranges.

The Gymkhana car is easy to get started but it’s much tougher to get it to do what you want.

What’s your favourite stunt in the car and why?

The stunts I enjoy the most are the tight manouvres, keeping the car very close to an object.

You don’t get to do that with

24

the World Rally Car because you always trying to avoid the trees and rocks and stuff. I can do most anything on the first try but for the videos we want to get it perfect so it could take up to 10 times.

How do you feel about the viral success of Gymkhana?

Overall, all the Gymkhana videos combined is more than 105 million views on YouTube.

We were creating videos at DC Shoes to get some exposure.

When we cut the first video we had no idea.

The funny thing is, most everything I do in the videos is based on rally techniques.

There are a bunch of rally drivers around the world who could do these things ... but it’s a matter of putting it together in a certain package and with a car that has a lot of horsepower.

You don’t see rally cars doing that sort of thing on tarmac.

Before me, no-one had put it together. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

How is your WRC program going?

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to do the amount of events I’ve wanted to do, or the amount of testing. I’ve struggled a bit with some speed and consistency. I’ve also had some incredible bad luck with mechanical failures.

Overall, my speed ... I’ve done fairly well. But based on where I expect to be, I’d score myself fairly low.

Has it been tougher than you expected?

It’s exactly how tough I did expect it. And that’s the thing

that’s interesting to me. I really knew what to expect, but the unfortunate thing is we’ve had some bad luck and made a few mistakes.

So what is the ‘end game’ for Ken Block?

Really, for me, it’s to become the best driver I can possibly be.

For me, just to be racing in the world championship is a big achievement. I don’t put any expectation on myself. It’s silly to say I would win a race.

You are going to drive a Formula 1 car. Is this a precursor to a future F1-based Gymkhana video?

I am going to see what I can talk them in to. Obviously it is a very expensive car, but I have asked a few questions and they have given me some funny looks. I will see what is possible.

CHAT

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25

LE MANS: ONE FOR THE AG

I

’M feeling old.

It’s not just that I’ve been awake for well over 24 hours, it’s not just that I am almost as aged as eNews’ executive editor Branagan, and it’s not just that I have driven three hours to Paris in a woefully slow renter.

It’s all to do with young drivers.

This was my 13th consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours, and more than I ever I was aware of the falling age of the grid; the overall demographic being different from years past. In days of yore, ex-Grand prix drivers used to be common on the grid, as it gave them something to do after life in F1. Add to that the once-a-year drivers who used to stagger out for their annual jolly at Le Mans and it was a different place.

To be fair, those once-a-year drivers, now quaintly called Gentlemen racers, are still a mainstay of the event, as the new GTE AM class is ideal for those with a wallet that outweighs a right foot. And 26

actually, now I think about it, you get those once-a-year people in the media centre as well – you never see them anywhere else but they trot out for the annual pilgrimage to la Sarthe, clutching an empty notebook and an odd hat. Anyway, I digress.

What marked out this year’s race was a high number of big (make that colossal) accidents, a 24-hour sprint race between Peugeot and Audi, and a win for three young guns, career drivers if you like. Andre Lotterer, formerly a Jaguar Junior Team driver in F3, has plied his trade in Japan of late; Benoit Treluyer made the switch from singleseaters to Japanese GT racing, although did drive for rival team Pescarolo at Le Mans, while Marcel Fassler is the most experienced after a successful spell in the DTM before sportscars. Total combined age: 98. In the Audi of Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish/Dindo Capello it was a combined age

of 130. I’m not being ageist here, but just like V8 Supercar fans talk about Craig Lowndes or (whisper it) Garth Tander being the old guard, the same talk is prevalent at Le Mans. Drivers in top teams are getting younger – this is no longer a home for the pensioned-off F1 ace, it is a place for young guns. And, I’m sad to say, I find it increasingly difficult to envisage Lowndsey on the grid in France ...

Almost every car had at least one gun for hire, and a pattern of drivers moving across from junior open-wheeler racing to sportscars is increasing. Long may it continue.

Evidence of the competitiveness came in the slug-fest between Audi and Peugeot. It was truly a flatout 24-hour sprint, and the accidents that befell Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller were as much due to the need to drive flat out at all times as any other factor. McNish, I

OPINION

David Addison – eNews’ overseas corres would contend, was overly ambitious in his pass that wiped out his Audi, while Rocky was the unlucky victim of a pretty undercooked amateur racer out of his depth. If you’ve not yet seen the footage of either crash, click on YouTube and stand back.

The ACO needs to look at track safety for 2012, but also needs to think about its amateur driver policy: without them, the race doesn’t happen, but with them, it is becoming risky with the speed of a modern prototype.

This year’s Le Mans 24 Hours boasted a stellar entry and an amazing grid, but proved that accidents, big ones, can happen across the field. Talking about the McNish accident

COMMENT

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GES

WHY 48 HOURS IS A LONG TIME IN SPORT OPINION Andrew Hall

Greg Rust – Network Ten commentator It was a weekend to remember for Network 10 viewers, with Casey Stoner winning at Silverstone’s MotoGP, an epic Le Mans 24 Hour race, a rain-delayed Canadian Formula 1 GP and business as usual in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup. Greg Rust had a huuuugggeee weekend …

spondent wasn’t pleasant, but it was the Rockenfeller one that got me – from the circuit’s CCTV picture it was impossible at first to see what was left of the car.

Add to that the sizeable accidents for Jan Magnussen, Horst Felbermayr Snr (at 66 years of age) and rookie Michael Wainwright and one feels Le mans had a charmed life this year – it could have had a whole different outcome.

An aside is that we had 56 starters this year: the last time that number started was 1955, and that is a year in legend for all the wrong reasons.

I should think some of the race officials are feeling old in the wake of the race as well.

H

AVING such a big weekend of motorsport took some planning, and we started talking about it in the last two or three weeks.

There are a couple of weekends through the year, like this one, in which you need to juggle a few things. We sat down and mapped out what we needed to do but there were a few things beyond our control – like a two-hour rain delay in Montreal.

You need to be as far as possible ahead of the game – but always, things keep evolving. I spent the earlier part of the week in touch with Steve Parrish, who was at the Isle of Man for the TT races, then to James Allen and to Tom Clarkson, before they took off from the UK and after the landed in Canada. What you need to chase and have with you in the studio, to complement what they are doing on the ground, is a moving target, so you need to have something up your sleeve.

With the rain delay, you literally have to wing it.

We have made it a policy in the last few years to try to give the viewer as much from the BBC, and as much from the ground, as we possibly can. So in the rain delay we had a fair chunk of Martin Brundle and David Coulthard, as well as from

James. We try to get as much from the venue as we can.

I based myself in the studio. I went and had a sleep in a hotel near the studio and got back in there around 4:30pm on Saturday. I got home Monday at 8:30am! During that time, between the F1 qualifying session and the end of the Grand Prix, I got four or five hours’ sleep.

I get my hands involved in the production, there is a fair bit to be done. I think that the Le Mans TV team did an awesome job; Leigh Diffey, Calvin Fish and all the guys put in a marathon effort, and by comparison, we were juggling things along the way. We did contemplate, with the rain delay in Formula 1, going to NASCAR and then coming back. The trap though is always, if you do that, there is every chance that you will have to bail out of NASCAR, just as the race is heating up, to go back to F1. You never know what you need to do.

The races were rippers. Those crashes that Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller stepped out of were horrific, and the fight between Audi and Peugeot went right to the end. It was a remarkable Le Mans race.

Despite the rain, I thought that the GP was excellent. At one point, I think that Martin and DC were discussing the red-winged blackbird, but they bounced right back and brought us a fascinating race. It is terrific that Mark Webber finished on the podium, but a part of me would like to have seen Schuey have his first podium since he came back into the sport.

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2011 LE MANS 24 HOUR LE MANS, FRANCE

ONE IS ENOUGH FACED WITH LOSING ITS TWO ‘LEAD’ CARS WITHIN 6 HOURS, AUDI FOUGHT A REARGUARD ACTION TO DEFEAT PEUGEOT IN A LE MANS TO REMEMBER. By DAVID GREENHALGH

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RACE

Andrew Hall

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Andrew Hall

Wheel of Fortune: The two Audis lead the field away for the 79th running of the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Car #2 took pole and went on to win, but before the end of the first hour, Allan McNish had managed to destroy the #1 R18, above right.

At the end of two laps of the close, the Greaves Zytek Nissan came out on top of the LMP2 category, left.

Andrew Hall

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RACE

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HE much-anticipated fight between Audi and Peugeot to win the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hour did not just live up to expectations – it far exceeded them.

Expectations were high – and were exceeded.

After 24 hours, during which the lead changed hands continually and was rarely more than a minute, the surviving Audi R18 of Marcel Fassler/ Andre Lotterer/Benoit Treluyer led home a quartet of Peugeots to take a magnificent victory.

Just under 14 seconds adrift at the flag was the Sebastien Bourdais/Simon Pagenaud/Pedro Lamy crew, with the all-French outfit of Stephane Sarrazin/Franck Montagny/Nicolas Minassian in third. The remaining works Peugeot was fourth, with the private ORECA 908 (still in 2010 trim) in fifth.

The form from the season to date had suggested that the speed of the two marques would be very comparable, but that Peugeot may have better economy. On Thursday, the line from several Audi drivers was that pole was likely to mean more to Peugeot than Audi – whereupon Audi wrong-footed their opponents by putting two of their cars on the front row.

Pole position fell to Treluyer, a slight surprise given the standing of his team-mates, but the

more significant point was that the six works diesels were covered by just half a second at the head of the grid.

But the contest didn’t look quite so even when two of the Audis only covered nine laps in their first stint, while the Peugeots ran 11. Even worse, Audi lost one of their best cars shortly afterwards: Allan McNish moved easily past teammate Timo Bernhard in the Esses, but his attempt to round up Anthony Beltoise (Ferrari 458)in the same move wasn’t quite so successful. The cars touched, McNish slewed sideways, skipped over the gravel and collided very heavily with the wall, coming perilously close to going over it.

That wasn’t the last shock for Audi. Seven hours later, Mike Rockenfeller, pushing hard to make up some early delays, had Robert Kauffman move over on him at one of the fastest parts of the circuit. The R18 was violently and utterly destroyed, but as had done McNish, Rockenfeller emerged unscathed.

After the very long ensuing safety car period, the race finally developed a pattern, which consisted of the remaining Audi pulling away from the Pugs on the track, but then pitting earlier, losing its lead, and setting off after them again. It was not at all clear how this cycle of ebbing and flowing would be resolved until mid-

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Sunday morning, when the Audi was finally far enough ahead to be in a position to retake the lead soon after its stops.

But there was never much in it, the lead changed 39 times, and the winners ended up making three more stops than the runners-up. It was hardly the usual path to success at Le Mans, but on this occasion, the Audi had just enough road speed to make it work. It never looked likely that Pagenaud would be able to catch Lotterer in the run to the flag – but for two such different attacks on the race to culminate in a 14 second gap after 24 hours speaks for itself. It was a fabulous contest.

‘Petrol honours’ fell to the Rebellion Lola-Toyota, after a long battle with the Pescarolo Judd.

While Toyota can therefore draw considerable encouragement from its comeback to the Sarthe, Aston Martin had a day that was even worse than feared, its two prototypes covering just six agonising laps between them.

The P2 class fell to Ojjeh/Kimber-Smith/ Lombard (Zytek-Nissan), after the Matmut ORECANissan crashed, and the favoured Strakka car met engine problems – one of the few frontrunners in any of the classes to strike mechanical problems.

In GTE Pro, it seemed likely that the win would go to the works Gavin/Magnussen/Westbrook Corvette. However, in the 17th hour, Magnussen over-corrected a slide, harpooning the venerable Horst Felbemayr with considerable damage to both cars.

This left the sister Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia Chev to claim yet another class win for the General at the Sarthe. AF Corse’s Ferraris and Schnitzer’s BMWs met a myriad of delays, although one car from each team salvaged the minor places on the podium.

Finally, a new class (GTE Am) was introduced this year for the gentleman drivers who have always been an integral part of sports car racing.

Larbre Competition claimed a good 1-2, while the Ford GT rumbled around for a distant third.

But with a field and a race of this calibre, few people had eyes for the enthusiastic amateurs.

At the sharp end of the pack, the 2011 24 Hours will long be remembered as a top-quality contest for one of the sport’s greatest prizes. Those high expectations were not in vain.

Results :: 2011 Le Mans 24 Hour Pos #

Driver 1

Driver 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Marcel Fässler Sébastien Bourdais Stéphane Sarrazin Anthony Davidson Nicolas Lapierre Nicolas Prost Vanina Ickx Karim Ojjeh Soheil Ayari Scott Tucker

André Lotterer Benoît Tréluyer Sw/D/F Simon Pagenaud Pedro Lamy F/F/Por Franck Montagny Nicolas Minassian F/F/F Alexander Wurz Marc Gené GB/Aut/Esp Loïc Duval Olivier Panis F/F/F Neel Jani Jeroen Bleekmolen F/Swi/N Bas Leinders Maxime Martin B/B/B Olivier Lombard Tom Kimber-Smith Sau/F/GB Franck Mailleaux Lucas Ordoñez F/F/Esp Christophe Bouchut João Barbosa USA/F/Por

2 9 8 7 10 12 22 41 26 33

Driver 3

Nationalities

Team/Car

Class

Result Qual

Audi Sport Audi R18 Peugeot Sport 908 Peugeot Sport 908 Peugeot Sport 908 ORECA Peugeot 908 Rebellion Lola Toyota Kronos Lola Aston Martin Greaves Zytek Nissan Signatech ORECA Nissan Level 5 Lola HPD

LMP1 LMP1 LMP1 LMP1 LMP1 LMP1 LMP1 LMP2 LMP2 LMP2

355 laps +13.854s 353 laps 351 laps 339 laps 338 laps 328 laps 326 laps 320 laps 319 laps

1 3 4 6 7 8 12 20 14 28

Winner’s Average Speed: 201.595kmh.

Fastest lap: Lotterer, 3m25.289s. Pole Position: Tréluyer 3m 25.738s.

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FORMULA 1 WORLD ROUND 7 – CANADIAN GRAND PRIX, MONTREAL

THE CURIOUS RACE OF

JENSON BUTTON

After two collisions, a drive-through penalty, a two-hour rain delay and a mid-race restart that saw him last, Jenson Button scored a remarkable win in Montreal with one of the greatest drives in GP racing history 32

RACE

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F we were to start this report with the news that Mark Webber finished third in the Canadian Grand Prix, after being turned around at what was effectively the first corner of the race, it would, under ordinary circumstances, be a remarkable happening.

But that was, just about, the least remarkable part of what was an astonishing Canadian GP. The winner survived unscathed a collision with his own team-mate, and later with the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. He pitted for a replacement nosecone, served a drivethrough penalty for not keeping to the correct speed behind the Safety Car and, just past the mid-point of the race, was not just last but last and many seconds behind the Hispanias.

It was one of those days for Jenson Button and ended with, certainly, a victory he will never forget.

“Definitely one of those Grands Prix where you are nowhere, then you’re somewhere, then you’re nowhere and then you’re somewhere,” said the elated Briton after the race.

“As we always say the last lap is the important one to be leading and I was leading half of it. Amazing day. It really is an amazing day and I don’t know what else to say really.”

Yep;’Amazing’ seems to be the word to describe what happened.

And much of that revolved around Sebastian Vettel. The World Champion stuck it on pole, again, controlled all the restarts, again, and led nearly every lap of the race. No matter what the weather threw at him, he seemed to be in control of the situation, regardless of rain, notquite-hail and a red-flag period that lasted more than two hours. He even played a part in the race being stopped, telling his engineer that, even under the Safety Car, half the track was virtually undriveable – no small comment from a man whose first GP win came at Monza, in terrible conditions.

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But, to be frank, Vettel cracked. Seemingly in control of the race, he led until Button, who had blasted his way into second, was within a second at the start of the final lap of the race. Half way around, the gap seemed stabilised until Vettel locked his rears at Turn 8 and slid onto the damp part of the track. He did well to save the slick-shod car but Button was though to take his 10th career win. His ninth came in similarly changeable conditions in China last year. Where other drivers see doubt and confusion, Button is clear and focused and saves his best for when things are at their worst.

Vettel’s consolation is an enhanced lead in the championship, with Button now in second. The German can take the next two races off and still lead the Drivers’ points.

Webber’s third was reward for not panicking after his early setback, but the man he had to fight for the place was not what one may think was an obvious choice. For the opening half of the race Michael Schumacher looked much like the man we have come to expect since his return in 2010 – steady, circumspect and somewhere close to, and often behind, his team-mate, Nico Rosberg. But the second half of the race was the Schumacher of old; in mixed conditions he was determined and fast, and made Webber fight for every inch of track. Fourth was just reward for a man not quite done yet.

Vitaly Petrov proved again that he has a good head on his shoulders with fifth, a spot that might have been team-mate Nick Heidfeld’s, had the German not got excited, damaged his nose on Kobayashi’s rear end and run off the track and up an escape road. The same comment can nearly be made for Paul di Resta, who looked polished in his Canadian debut until he started hitting things. That is forgivable in a first-year driver, something that Heidfeld was not even a decade ago.

Felipe Massa was sixth after looking like a podium contender for most of the race, after fighting a race-long war against Kamui Kobayashi, the Japanese only ceding the spot in an allFerrari drag race to the flag, and then only by 10cm.

The biggest of the names on the DNF list were those who collided with the winner. Lewis Hamilton is doing little to gain fans among the other drivers, Webber accusing him after the race of driving like he thought that “the chequered flag was in Turn 3”. Likewise Fernando Alonso played hardball with Button and lost, the Ferrari ending up only lightly damaged but beached on a high kerb.

“Everything went wrong, right from this morning when we saw it was raining,” said a downcast Alonso. “We had our best qualifying of the year and we found ourselves starting behind the safety car, when I felt that for me, the intermediates were the best tyre. When we fitted them, the downpour came, along with the red flag, which meant those who had not changed tyres could now do it practically for nothing. Finally there was the coming together with Button, which as a final insult left my car beached on a kerb and I was unable to get going again.”

It was an epic drive by Button, possibly his best ever. Last year, he told Motorsport News that one of the happiest periods of his career was when he raced in British Formula Ford, going wheel-to-wheel with the likes of Marcos Ambrose and Dan Wheldon. Now, the two Englishman have triumphed in major North American events, both within a fortnight. Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500 in just under three hours; it took Button more than an hour longer than that to win in Canada, at an average speed of just under 75kmh.

But you can bet that JB is not willing to swap winning the slowest Grand Prix held in years with his old mate Dan’s very,

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Red Bull Leader: Most of the race was about Sebastian Vettel leading and the rest giving chase. Most of the race was also about a titanic battle between Felipe Massa and Kamui Kobayashi, below. The Brazilian won a drag race to the flag by 0.015s.

RACE

Turning back the clock: We got to see some of that old Schumacher Magic in Canada, the German veteran making Mark Webber work very hard for third place. Jenson Button took advantage of a Webber moment to scoop third; then he got second, then the lead ...

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You’ll never walk alone: The Ferrari fans may have expected a Fernando Alonso win after he started on the front rwo but they did not get one, the Spaniard walking in after his clash with Button, left.

Results :: Canadian GP, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Pos# Driver

Nat

Team

Engine

Sponsor

1 6 Jenson Button 2 1 Sebastian Vettel 3 2 Mark Webber 4 7 Michael Schumacher 5 10 Vitaly Petrov 6 6 Felipe Massa 7 16 Kamui Kobayashi 8 19 Jaime Alguersuari 9 11 Rubens Barrichello 10 18 Sebastien Buemi

GB D Aus D Rus Br J Esp Br Swi

McLaren Red Bull Red Bull MercedesGP Renault Ferrari Sauber Toro Rosso Williams Toro Rosso

Mercedes Renault Renault Mercedes Renault Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari Cosworth Ferrari

Vodafone Red Bull Red Bull Petronas Lotus Shell Telmex Red Bull AT&T Red Bull

Result Qual 4:04:39.537s +2.709s +13.828s +14.219s +20.395s +33.225s +33.270s +35.965s +45.100s +47.000s

7 1 4 8 10 3 13 18 16 15

Fastest lap: Button on lap 69, 1m16.956s Points: Vettel 161, Button 101, Webber 94, Hamilton 85, Alonso 69, Massa 32, Petrov 31, Heidfeld 29, Schumacher 26, Kobayashi 25.

35

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ROUND 6 – TWIN 275S, FORT WORTH, TX

HONDA RACING Media

36

RACE

The first of two Texas Indycar races saw Marshal Dario rule the roost but the new kid on the oval struck back in Race 2

Sherriff Willy’s Roundup

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I

T would be wrong, and probably unfair, to characterise Will Power’s maiden oval Indycar win as lucky – but there was a degree of good fortune involved with the Queenslander’s first win of that kind in Texas.

Power was a strong third in the opening race of the unique double-header, trailing Ganassi’s inevitable Dario Franchitti-Scott Dixon duo. But with the starting positions for the second race determined by a draw between the races – and that draw performed in the reverse of the finishing order

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from the opening race – once Power drew 3, he was looking good. When the higher starting numbers started to disappear and Dixon drew 18, there was only one number left for Franchitti – 28.

Starting from the back of the biggest non-Indy 500 field in years, and without the aerodynamic security of clean air as he had in the first race, Franchitti cranked on some more wing and so far as the win was concerned, Power had only to deal with the fast-starting Tony Kanaan and Indy oval debutant Wade Cunningham.

Power was far from impatient, taking 40 laps to size up the Brazilian veteran before he slid by to take the lead for good.

“This means so much to me

and the boys,” said Power.

“We’ve been chasing this for so long. It was a fun race and great day. It was a good battle with Kanaan at the start and then Dixon came on strong.

This is what we need for the championship!”

Franchitti pitted later than most and tried to stretch a fuel load, but it did not go his way.

Dixon worked his way through to second ahead of Power’s team-mates Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves, with Franchitti fifth. Power’s only real drama when he came across Graham Rahal’s car, out of gas and crawling along, in the pitlane. He avoided any delay and got on with the business of taking his first oval title.

The opening race saw the grid line up in conventional fashion and in a somewhat familiar order, with Alex Tagliani

taking pole ahead of the Ganassis. The red cars took off and left Tag behind, and fought a private battle just ahead of Power. Franchitti spent much of his push-to-pass to hold off his team-mate to take the win and Power was third ahead of Tagliani and Takuma Sato, who appeared to take to the ultrafast Texas track with aplomb.

Cunningham had an impressive first weekend, despite being forced into a spare car after crashing his primary car in the opening race. The Kiwi out-qualified countryman Dixon and never looked to be out of his depth.

After the race Franchitti voiced his dislike of the random draw, which may have been a novel idea but which looks a short-lived one, particularly if the Scot misses another title by a few points.

RACE The other notable fact about the weekend was that Cunningham’s clash with Charlie Kimball (and shortly after, the wall) was in the very same car that carried Dan Wheldon to his Indy 500 win last month. It might pay someone to retire that valuable stagecoach and replace it with another wagon ...

INDYCAR Media

Handguns are illegal in Toowoomba: Dario Franchitti and Will Power hammed it up after the race.

Tony Kanaan and new lad Wade Cunningham impressed in Race 2.

INDYCAR Media

Results :: Firestone Twin 275s 2 x 141 laps RACE 1 Pos# Driver Nationality Team Sponsor Time Qual 1 10 Dario Franchitti GB Ganassi Huggies 54:47.2787s 2 2 9 Scott Dixon NZ Ganassi Target +0.0527s 7 3 12 Will Power Aus Penske Verizon +0.2064s 3 4 77 Alex Tagliani Can Schmidt Bowers & Wilkins +0.4109s 1 5 5 Takuma Sato Jap KV Lotus Panasonic +1.4174s 4 6 6 Ryan Briscoe Aus Penske Guide Point +1.4337s 9 7 59 EJ Viso Ven KV Lotus PDVSA +2.1127s 19 8 14 Vitor Meira Br AJ Foyt ABC Supply +2.5355s 19 9 38 Graham Rahal USA Ganassi Service Central +2.8146s 20 10 3 Helio Castroneves Br Penske AAA +4.3388s 13 Winner’s Average Speed: 181.649mph Fastest lap: Viso on lap 3, 24.2205s (216.263mph) RACE 2 1 Power 48:08.9739s; 2 Dixon +0.9466s; 3 Briscoe; 4 Castroneves; 5 Tony Kanaan (Bra) ; 6 Marco Andretti (USA) Andretti Autosport (Venom Energy) + ; 7 Franchitti; 8 Danica Patrick (USA) Andretti Autosport (GoDaddy.com) + ; 9 Ryan Hunter-Reay (USA) Andretti Autosport (Sun Rider); 10 Viso.

IZOD INDYCAR Media

Winner’s Average Speed: 206.693mph Fastest lap: Dixon on lap 110, 24.2894s (216.650mph) Points: 239, Franchitti 218, Dixon 169, Servia 163, Kanaan 159, Briscoe 146, Rahal 136, Tagliani 135, Hildebrand 125, Sato 118.

39

NASCAR ROUND 14 – POCONO, PN

Old Paint, Old Result In a season in which Jeff Gordon’s fans rarely get to see him in the familiar hues of DuPont, he gave them something to remember at Pocono

RACE

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NASCAR Media

HERE are two men who are always hard to beat when the NASCAR Sprint cup Series makes a stop at Pocono – Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin.

The former proved the point on Sunday in Pennsylvania. He conquered the three-cornered track for the fifth time, taking his second win of the 2011 Sprint Cup season. In this race, he did not have the fastest car in the field but he stayed in contract with the leaders for the whole race, gambled on taking four tyres at his final pitstop.

The gamble worked. Juan Pablo Montoya took only two Goodyears and it showed, Gordon hunting him down to take the win by almost 3s at the flag.

“When we don’t win, I get down and everybody does in this sport and you start to question everything,” said Gordon.

“Today was proof that all that hard work can pay off. The balance of the car was great all weekend. The grip was there and then you follow that up with great pitstops. That is an amazing effort. We talked about it before the race started and it all came together today.”

Montoya’s strategy failed to pay any dividends, the Colombian helped not at all by the fact that the final 41 laps of the race were run under green and the loss of third gear – normally not a problem on an oval but, typically for Montoya’s luck, a big drama at Pocono. In the end, his Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevy dropped back as far as seventh.

Into contention came the Busch brothers. Kurt showed his hand after qualifying fastest in the Penske Dodge, and when it came time to go fast, he did, for the second week in a row. His brother was the one grabbing the headlines; inevitably, he clashed with Kevin Harvick during the race and, afterwards, his Toyota failed technical inspection when it was found to be lower at the front than the rules allow.

Expect the result to stand, but warnings and/or fines over both.

Jimmie Johnson was fourth ahead of Harvick, while Dale Earnhardt Jr continued his impressive recent form with sixth. Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr rounded out the top 10.

Marcos Ambrose was in the wars, but at least he was in good company. He suffered all sorts of transmission dramas and was classified 34th, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray suffering a similar fate.

Points leader Carl Edwards had a dreadful weekend, classified 37th after a litany of engine woes in his Roush Fenway Ford.

And, where was Hamlin? After leading the most laps, the Joe Gibbs driver looked like a man who could decide the winner. But a cut tyre sent him into the pits after his second-last stop and when he resumed, he found that he had no brakes. A line had been damaged by tyre debris and Hamlin could only salvage 19th from the situation.

RACE

Results :: 5-HOUR ENERGY 500 Pos. No. 1 24 2 22 3 18 4 48 5 29 6 88 7 42 8 17 9 39 10 56

Driver Jeff Gordon Kur t Busch Kyle Busch Jimmie Johnson Kevin Har vick Dale Earnhardt Jr. Juan Montoya Matt Kenseth Ryan Newman Mar tin Truex Jr.

Make Chevy Dodge Toyota Chevy Chevy Chevy Chevy Ford Chevy Toyota

Team Sponsor Hendrick DuPont Penske Shell/Pennzoil Joe Gibbs M&M’s Hendrick Lowe’s Childress Okuma Hendrick National Guard Earnhardt Ganassi Target Roush Fenway Affliction Clothing Stewar t Haas Haas Automation Waltrip NAPA Auto Par ts

Qual.

3 1 34 14 32 21 16 27 8 31

NASCAR Media

Top 10 Points: Edwards 492, Johnson 486, Earnhardt 482, Har vick 481, Kyle Busch 467, Kur t Busch 457, Kenseth 448, Bowyer 419, Stewar t/Newman 417, Gordon 411, Hamlin 408.

NASCAR Media

NASCAR Media

Energy to Burn: Kurt Busch and Paul Menard led the field to the green flag at the start of the 500km race at Pocono, main pic. Denny Hamlin has a great record at the track but he was out of luck in the FedEx Toyota, left. Carl Edwards had a weekend to forget, with a multitude of engine woes in the Roush Fenway Ford, above. The only good news for the #99 team was that he left the track with the points lead – shortened, but still intact.

WORLD SUPERBIKE ROUND 6, MISANO, ITALY

Gee Bee

Italy leads Italian: Carlos Checa was the class of the field at Misano and fought back from a disappointing trip Stateside with a double win. An injured Max Biaggi made him work for it.

RACE

T Chec, 1-2 Carlos Checa kept his head to take two wins in Italy while, almost literally, the opposition fell around him

HINGS could hardly have gone a lot better for Carlos Checa in the Misano round of the Superbike World Championship.

It was not so much that the Spanish veteran scored a double win, it was what happened to much of his opposition that made you think that this could be the round Checa looks back on, and determines it is where he put the title within reach.

Falls and injuries befell many of his title rivals.

Max Biaggi raced in spite of breaking an ankle in a spectacular tumble in the practice session prior to Superpole. In great pain, the World Champion did well to race at all, let alone drag his Aprilia to two second places behind the flying Althea Ducati.

Then Jonny Rea fell off his Castrol Honda during the Sunday warm-up and broke an arm, leaving him in plaster and spectating for the rest of the weekend.

The second race was redflagged when Marco Malandri and Leon Camier fell separately, at the same spot, prompting officials to take the safe course of action. Earlier on, Leon Haslam had taken a heavy fall and broken a toe – only a few weeks after he fell and broke a toe at Monza.

With Checa and Biaggi taking the top positions in the two races, it was left to Melandri Noriyuki Haga to fill the final podium spots.

The Aussies were not much luckier than some of their rivals, Troy Corser pulling out of the weekend after a heavy practice crash, and Chris Vermeulen taking another step in his return to some kind of form with 14th in the first race and 10th in Race 2.

Points: Checa 245, Biaggi 173, Melandri 150, Laverty 123, Haslam 106, Camier 101, Fabrizio 95, Rea 94, Smrz 83, Guintoli 72.

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BROC Parkes broke through for a classy win in the Supersport race at Misano.

The Aussie, inset, takes the points lead after winning from Fabien Foret Sam and Lowes. Previous points leader Chas Davies coult only manage sixth.

WORLD OF OUTLAWS ROUND 21, KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, KNOXVILLE, IA

TOP SCHATZ

DONNY SCHATZ HAS MOVED INTO THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS SERIES LEAD, WHILE SAMMY SWINDELL CLAIMED VICTORY IN KNOXVILLE, GEOFF ROUNDS REPORTS OUTSTANDING PIT DISPLAYS BY OCTANORM MANY OTHER DISPLAY OPTIONS AVAILABLE PLEASE CALL US TO DISCUSS REQUIREMENTS

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

RACE A LATE-RACE pass by Donny Schatz on Australian champion Brooke Tatnell in the Mediacom Shootout at Knoxville Raceway, Iowa, has Schatz now holding a slim, one-point lead in the 2011 World of Outlaws Sprintcar Series.

Schatz nabbed fourth from Tatnell late in the piece, and the move was significant; when combined with the two points he earned in time trials, Schatz leads the points chase from Joey Saldana. Schatz is eyeing his fifth Outlaws championship and will carry that lead into his native North Dakota this weekend, as the Outlaws heads to River Cities Speedway for the two-day Duel in the Dakotas.

Sammy Swindell grabbed his fourth win of the season at Knoxville, after passing Jason Sides on Lap 14 of the 25-lap feature.

“Tonight was really about waiting to let the events of the race unfold and having it come

to you,” Swindell said.

“Jason took off from us and was getting a pretty good run on the field. Eventually I just found a line that worked for me pretty good and was able to reel off some great laps in a row and catch him.”

Reigning Outlaws champion Jason Meyers chased Sides from the start and was eventually third, his 17th Top -10 finish of the 2011 season. Saldana had a quiet night, finishing 10th, while his Kasey Kahne Racing teammate, Brad Sweet, set quick time with a lap of 15.239s around the semi banked half mile.

Australians Lynton Jeffrey was again consistent, finishing 12th, and Kerry Madsen was 22nd after being involved in a midrace crash.

Points: Schatz 2905, Saldana 2904, Meyers 2868, Steve Kinser 2849, Sides 2830, Craig Dollansky 2789, Paul McMahan 2782, Cody Darrah 2630, Kerry Madsen 1282 (15th)

Brad Brown

Brooke Tatnell, above, finished fifth after losing a position late in the race to Donny Schatz, main pic.

Sammy Swindell, below, was the big winner.

Brad Brown

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This car has a CAMS Historic logbook and a CAMS Certifcate of Description and is eligible for Group P. The car was built in Sydney in the late 60's. Engine is 1,400cc Renault, with a 4 speed Renault gearbox/ transaxle. Included in the sale the original master moulds for Brabham body and tilt trailer.

03 9894 8109

Competitive CAMS log booked dedicated rally car, high quality build by Flood Motorsport, full cage, seam welded/ reinforced.

Motec M800. Completed 3 Targa rallies. Low kms and many other items and spares, in exc condition, always garaged. Price is ONO and includes delivery to Syd, Melb or Adelaide. 0417 187 464

2009 Evo 10, only 8000km, road registered. Custom weld in rollcage, race tech seats, 6 point harnesses, TMR 300Kw upgrade, TMR 3' Turbo back exhaust, TMR clutch/flywheel kit, TMR Tarmac Spec front brake package, MCA adjustable suspension.

Nothing to spend, as new.

03 9271 3669

222 )3 !+)

222 )3 !+)

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Full race ready car in excellent condition, best of everything, 410 Gaerte full ally engine with less than 1000 laps from brand new, Mastersbilt fitted all latest front & rear updates in 2009, never bent, new body, Bert trans, Afco double adjust shocks, new front & rear bumpers, proven very quick car.

0419 372 657

iRace C'ship winning car, 2yrs. 6th outright in 2010 Wakefield 300 (1st in hot hatch class). More than $25K spent on development. Wakefield 1.09s & 1.51 @ Eastern Crk. Murray Coote adjustable suspension factory tuned ECU @ Autotech 195kw FW & 445NM Trq AP 5000 4pot brakes w endless Enduro pads. 02 9425 5500

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30

The lot goes $27,500 (firm), offer ends 17/06/11, new frame 4 shows old, Red Devil brakes, super shocks, heater, spare Spike chassis, spare wheels, tyres, crash bars, engine parts etc, selling due to upgrade, call anytime. 0415 042 172 222 )3 !+)

+- (# Series 4 Redline right hand drive; Methanol engine. $10,000 (AUD).

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&( #-/ -'#- #/-+( +2.#Gilbert & Barker petrol bowser, Texaco fully restored, double bowls, Texaco sign lights up. $8290.

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ODD SPOT!

rear of grid

Shock Wig Shock in Wigan!

NASCAR Media

WE couldn’t let this go without a mention.

It was difficult to buy a shock wig anywhere in the Midlands of England last week. Apparently, shopkeepers in the £1 and £2 line of merchandise were somewhat surprised to find that their months’ stocks of afro-style wigs were flying out the door within a week, and without any insight into why, were slightly mystified.

We present for Your Honour’s attention Exhibit A: Marco Simoncelli, at the media conference for the British MotoGP. Case solved.

Is it just us, or is Super Sic getting more wild haired as the years go by? Compare Simoncelli’s early-2010 look, top right, and his own 2009 do, bottom right.

ON THIS DAY 14 JUNE 1969 WINNING the Le Mans 24 Hour race is a massive achievement but winning twice, with the same car, is even bigger. That is what happened 42 years ago when Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver won the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hour race, in John Wyer’s Ford GT40 Mk 1.

Chassis number 1075 also won the 1968 race, with Pedro Rodriquez and Lucien Bianchi at the wheel. The only other car to win two Le Mans 24 Hours was Joest’s Porsche 956 (chassis 117), in 1984 and 1985.

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