Motorsport eNews issue 228 - October 25-31, 2011 by V8 Sleuth

THE WORLD OF MOTORSPORT DIRECTLY TO YOUR DESKTOP

Issue No. 228 October 25 - 31 2011

EXCLUSIVE:

HOW THE NEW YORK GP WILL WORK

WE REVEAL WHICH AUSSIE IS IN LINE FOR A DTM SEAT

MOTOGP TRAGEDY: SIMONCELLI KILLED IN SHOCKING CRASH

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The 1983 James Hardie 1000 race was held on Sunday October 2 at the Mount Panorama, Bathurst circuit. When the big race got underway, Peter Brock, in the #05 Commodore, made his usual good start and led the field of 58 up Mountain Straight. Brock was making it look so easy - at least until the end of lap 8, when a large amount of smoke appeared at the end of Conrod Straight. The #05 Commodore turned into pit lane and limped towards the pit box. A bent valve in the engine had ended its race. But unlike Sandown, when he had illegally hopped into the second car, Brock had a plan. On lap 20, Harvey, in the team’s sister #25 car, headed for the pits and was replaced by Peter rather than his brother Phil Brock. Peter Brock re-entered the race in fifth place. On lap 50, Brock handed over the #25 Commodore to Perkins with a commanding 90 second lead. The lead was never lost. Brock finished the race one lap and 18.1 seconds ahead of Allan Moffat and Yoshimi Katayama in their Mazda RX-7. In great controversy Peter Brock had won his seventh Bathurst with co-driver Larry Perkins and John Harvey who was also credited.

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Issue No. 228 | 25-31 Oct 2011

news 4

Jersey Sure Another GP in the USA 7 VALE: Marco Simoncelli Another dark day for motorsport 8 On like Honkey Kong HK a V8 Asian destination? 12 I’m not leaving Ricciardo to fight for F1 future 17 Holden, Ford and more? Utes to evaluate more makes

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opinion 24 Branagan: Marco race 26 V8 Supercars 36 Carrera Cup 40 Formula Ford 42 Touring Car Masters 44 V8 Utes 46 NASCAR

trade 54 Classifieds 3

A MOTORSPORT eNEWS EXCLUSIVE

HOW FORMULA 1 WILL TAK NEW YORK FROM NEW JER

You might have heard the rumours, but we can reveal how, and why, this project will get off th

FORMULA 1

HE United States of America is set to go from zero Formula 1 Grands Prix to two in the space of two years, with a second GP within reach of the famed skyline of New York City due to be announced this week. A race will be held on a temporary circuit, designed by Formula 1’s most prolific designer Hermann Tilke, in New Jersey, with the skyline of one of the world’s premier tourist destinations in the background. The race is likely to run from 2013, a week either side of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

Formula One Management’s Bernie Ecclestone has long expressed a desire to host a race in or near New York, and it appears that the key that will unlock this wish is that the race itself is one part of a much bigger development in an area downstream from the landmark George Washington Bridge. eNews believes that work has already begun on a major residential complex included in the project and that work on the area that will be assigned for the pits is presently in progress. Pivotal in the project is Leo Hindery. The New York-based businessman has a long history of involvement in capital

projects, has a background of management in the media and a strong personal interest in motorsport. He has raced at the Le Mans 24 Hour, and his wife is Patti Wheeler, whose father ‘Humpy’ Wheeler is a former GM of Charlotte Motor Speedway. But other businessmen appear to be involved. One is believed to be Duncan Dayton, who has a successful career in property development. His ALMS titlewinning team, Highcroft Racing, is headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut (commuting distance from NYC) in a building designed by Dayton, who holds a degree

in architecture. Dayton is heavily involved in the Project 56, which is developing the DeltaWing car for next year’s Le Mans assault. That project also involves some of the USA’s highest profile racers, including Chip Ganassi and Dan Gurney. It may even be possible that Ecclestone is involved in the GP project on a personal level, as opposed to as the man behind FOM. One interesting feature of the race is what it will be called. The moniker ‘Formula 1 United States Grand Prix’ has been assigned to the Austin race, so it cannot be used for this race. Ideally, ‘Formula 1

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KE ON RSEY

he ground

New York Grand Prix’ would be a sound choice, but with the race technically taking place in a separate state, New Jersey authorities may be keen to push their own brand into the spotlight. An alternative may be a less geographically-sensitive title like ‘Formula 1 Atlantic Grand Prix’. In any event, details are expected to be announced tomorrow, US time, in Weehawken, New Jersey, which is across the Hudson River from NYC. The announcement, at which Ecclestone is expected to appear either in person or via video link, will be telecast live in the USA on SPEED.

LONG’S BATHURST MASTERPLAN V8 SUPERCARS

Andrew Hall

PATRICK Long is planning to race at next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, as a precursor to competing in the Bathurst 1000 in the near future. Long has been one of the surprises of the Gold Coast 600 format, with the Californian starring for Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2010, before another stunning outing with Walkinshaw Racing last weekend. Now, Long has set to his sights on the Bathurst 1000. He admitted to eNews on the Gold Coast that, through his links as a factory Porsche driver in the American Le Mans Series, a deal to race a Porsche at the 2012 Bathurst 12 Hour is close. If that happens, a Bathurst 1000 deal is likely to follow, with Long also admitting that he would sacrifice the Gold Coast event to race at Sandown and Bathurst, with the current rules not allowing a driver to do all three endurance events. “To me, Bathurst is the mecca of Australian motorsport, and one of the top three events in the world, as far as the racetrack goes,” Long told eNews. “I make no qualms that I’ve got a lot to learn before I can pull my weight there, so I need to do my homework and get to the 12 Hour. Hopefully the schedule will allow me to do that. I’m working on that for next year, so I can learn the track in some equipment that I know. I want to learn the track itself. “I’m less confident than maybe some people are in me, so I have to learn that place. And I have to continue to learn about these cars. I feel like I’m only half-way through the learning curve.” Long, 30, races for Flying Lizard Motorsport in the ALMS, alongside German driver Jörg Bergmeister, who was also on the Gold Coast last weekend. He has also raced in the NASCAR Nationwide Series as recently as last year, and has won the GT2 class at the Le Mans 24 Hours twice, in 2004 and 2007. He finished second in the GT class at the recent Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

SCOTT PYE IN THE FRAME FOR 2013 DTM SEAT AUSSIES OVERSEAS AUSSIE Scott Pye has one of the most important weeks of his career coming up and it could lead to him becoming the first Australian to race in the prestigious DTM. The Triple Eight race Engineering-backed driver is due to test with Fortec Motorsport’s Formula 3 team this week, with a view to racing for the team in the 2012 British F3 Championship. A seat with the team will depend on a level of funding, but the Adelaide driver is thought to feature heavily in the future racing plans of Mercedes-Benz. The 21-year-old is believed to be a prime pick of HWA, which oversees both the development and preparation of the marque’s M271 F3 engines, and which builds and runs MercedesBenz’s DTM racers. It has been pivotal in the development of the new 2012 C-Class racecar, www.mnews.com.au

which will take on similar new cars from Audi and, for the first time, BMW next season. No Australian driver has raced in the Germanbased series, but with the Australian market one becoming increasingly important for AMG, putting an Aussie in the series makes a lot of sense. Should Pye get the Fortec seat, and perform to the level expected next year, the Adelaide-born driver would be a prime candidate for HWA to graduate into the DTM in 2013. Pye drove for Double R Racing in British F3 this year, finishing 10th in the championship. He scored his best result at of the season at Rockingham, where he won on a wet track. Fortec has already signed two drivers for its F3 squad next season. Alex Lynn, the 18-yearold British driver who won this year’s Formula Renault title with Fortec, will join 18-year-old Brazilian Pipo Derani, who tested with the team at Monza last week. 5

T8 CONFIRMS INTEREST IN DUMBRELL Dane admits ‘PD’ is on his list for ’12 enduros; Nash conﬁrms he can’t stop him going V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

TEAMVODAFONE’S replacement for Mark Skaife in V8 Supercars’ 2012 endurances races could be Paul Dumbrell. The current Bottle-O driver, who will end his decadelong role as a full-time V8 Supercar driver at Homebush in December, is under consideration by TeamVodafone boss Roland Dane. “I am sure there are a number of teams interested in Paul,” Dane said on the weekend, “and he is on our list, with a number of other names.” In spite of the fact that Dumbrell is being released by Rod Nash Racing a year prior to the end of his three-year deal, Nash told eNews that he has no

plans to tie him to his entry next year, when his likely driver is David Reynolds. “We would like him to drive for us in the enduros,” Nash said, “but, as far as stopping him driving somewhere else? No.” A couple of other names on Dane’s list could be Andrew Thomson and Warren Luff. Thompson currently leads the Fujitsu V8 Series in Triple Eight’s Monster-backed Commodore, and while that program seems certain to continue next year, it appears that it will be with a new driver – who would be one of TeamVodafone’s enduro drivers. Luff’s future with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport is not clear, as Dumbrell is still to confirm what car his team will run

next season. An accomplished enduro driver, Luff could be wellplaced to run in Monster colours

and slot in alongside Jamie Whincup or Craig Lowndes at Sandown and Bathurst.

DATE CLASH FOR ’12 GC600. DATE CHANGE FOR THE FUTURE? V8 SUPERCARS THE list of international drivers for the 2012 Gold Coast 600 could look very different to this year’s race because of a date clash. The third V8 Supercar event to feature international drivers will clash with the Petit Le Mans round of the American Le Mans Series on October 26-28 and unless there is a change of date for the Road Atlanta event, drivers will not be able to do both.

“There are 28 [international] drivers here this weekend, and 18 of us raced at Petit Le Mans,” said Jim Beam Racing’s Joey Hand, who races a factory-backed BMW in the ALMS. “Someone needs to change the date, otherwise we can’t come.” Given the increased profile of the GC600, getting new drivers to the race next year should not be a problem – but suitable and experienced ones are going to be in demand next year. V8 Supercars Chairman Tony Cochrane

even flagged the notion that NASCAR’s top drivers could participate – but only if the date of the event changed. “I wouldn’t mind moving this race to the last event of the year so that NASCAR drivers become available,” Cochrane told the Courier Mail. “There’s a couple of big names who really want to drive.” That would mean that the series could be decided by a visiting driver and such a move may not be popular with the drivers.

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SIMONCELLI KILLED IN HORROR SEPANG CRASH MOTOGP

OTOGP’S season-ending race in Valencia is in danger of running short of quality entries after a tragic weekend in Malaysia, during which Marco Simoncelli was killed. The Gresini Honda rider was battling for fourth place on lap two at Sepang when he had wheelspin coming out of a corner. When his rear tyre gripped, it pushed the bike right, and as Simoncelli low-sided off the bike, he was in the path of both Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi. Simoncelli’s helmet came off in the collision, and he lay

motionless on the track with massive head, neck and chest injuries. The race was red-flagged and the Italian, and Edwards, who suffered a dislocated shoulder in the crash, were taken to the track’s medical centre. Doctors tried in vain to resuscitate Simoncelli but he did not respond. He was pronounced dead at 4:56pm, local time. The sport has undergone a terrible time in recent weeks. Neither works Yamaha rider, Jorge Lorenzo or Ben Spies, raced at Sepang, the World Champion recovering from the hand injury he suffered at Phillip Island and Spies withdrawing after twice crashing on Friday, aggravating the injuries he suffered

in a crash in Australia. Moto2 title contender Marc Marquez was another man not to race at Sepang after he endured a heavy fall at Sepang, in doing so practically handing the title to rival Stefan Bradl. In recent weeks, riders such as Loris Capirossi, Hector Barbera and the man who substituted for both of them, Damien Cudlin, have all missed MotoGP starts due to injuries suffered in falls, and it appears that Edwards may be likely to join that list. With the final race of the unloved 800cc bikes dawning in Spain, it now looks like there are a limited number of riders either capable of riding the bikes, or being contractually able to do so.

VALE MARCO SIMONCELLI – 1987-2011 MARCO Simoncelli looked destined for a long and successful career in MotoGP until his life was tragically cut short at Sepang. The 24-year-old was, literally, larger than life, standing head and shoulders over most of his contemporaries and his build (at 1.80m, tall for a bike racer) was matched by his outgoing personality. Known as Sic or Super Sic – his MotoGP timing ID, after ‘Sim’ was assigned to Spaniard Julián Simón– Simoncelli frankly looked ridiculous when he arrived in 125cc GP racing in 2003. Despite being way too big and heavy for the little bikes, he won two GPs in two seasons before he moved to 250s. He was finished 11th in both 2006 and ‘07, and led Gilera to the title a year later. It was there he became a man to watch. While his title successor, Jorge Lorenzo, made riding a 250 look smooth and effortless, the Simoncelli version resembled hand-to-hand combat. He was dragging the bike around the tracks, but once he learned not to fall off, he was successful, winning a total of 12 GPs against, admittedly, weaker opposition at the end of the 250 era. With the support of his mentor Valentino Rossi, Simoncelli started www.mnews.com.au

his MotoGP career with two testing crashes, but learned enough to be challenging for podium finishes by the end of the season. The 2011 season was one full of controversy, with clashes with the likes of Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso (against who had had raced since childhood). But he settled down mid-season and there were signs of speed – even if he let a possible podium finish in Japan disappear with a jumped start. As he gained standing in the sport, his fan base grew. His English, which was very limited when he was a 125cc and rookie 250cc racer, improved markedly over the years. Those who queued for his autograph at Phillip Island just a week ago were patient – they had to be – and were very enthusiastic. There is no doubt that with Simoncelli’s death, the sport has lost a big part of its future. He was a star in the making, a potential World Champion and his crazy hair and beaming smile, outgoing personality and passion for racing motorcycles will be missed by many for a long time. To Simoncelli’s family and friends, all in the racing community who loved and respected him, and Super Sic’s many fans, Motorsport News offers our most respectful condolences. 7

FIORE: LOOKI BIGGER THING V8 SUPERCARS Dirk Klynsmith

Skaife: Comeback to V8s remote – but ... V8 SUPERCARS MARK Skaife is still not ruling out a comeback to V8 Supercar driving in the future, despite announcing last week that he will step down from driving duties to be the chairman of the new V8 Supercar commission. Skaife will not be able to race a V8 Supercar for at least two years, that being the length of his initial appointment on the commission. But while he admits that a comeback in the future is unlikely, he refuses to rule it out altogether. “It would only be a remote chance of me coming back,” he told eNews. “The tenure of the chairman role is two years. It would be very remote chance for me to

come back after that long out of the car.” Skaife even flagged the idea that, if he did come back, it might not be in a Ford or a Holden. “Even the last six months or so I’ve had a couple of offers to drive full-time, and maybe, as part of Car of the Future, to be in another car of some description.” Skaife also confirmed that he was eyeing a return to the Porsche Carrera Cup in 2012, with an appearance at the Australian Grand Prix likely, and a full-time program not out of the question. “At the moment I’m 70:30 to do that race; in favour. I probably could do that if I wanted to do the full season. I’ll sort through things and options at the end of the year.”

DEAN Fiore has committed to driving in the V8 Supercar Championship in 2012, but has admitted that he won’t compete as part of a one-car team. The West Australian has run his single-car squad since 2009 when he debuted in the main game, but throughout 2011 it has been widely speculated that changes would be made at Triple F Racing for next season. Expansion, teaming up with a bigger squad and Fiore even stepping aside as the team’s driver have all been floated as options. However, it seems that teaming up with a bigger squad will the likely outcome, with Fiore conforming to eNews that he will remain in the driver’s seat of the #12 entry next year. “I just think I need to change the way I go about it,” Fiore told eNews. “The sport is too big and too close, and there are too many resources for others to draw from, for a single-car team to go any good. Basically, that’s where it’s at. “So, I need to change what I’m doing, and I’m in the process of

doing that.” Fiore’s desire to join a multicar team could be a tight fit with Dick Johnson Racing’s plans to take on a third car in 2012. Both DJR and Triple F Racing use Triple Eight Race Engineeringbuilt Falcons, and both are based on the Gold Coast. Also, if Fiore were to join the team, it may open the door for DJR to retain two Jim Beambacked cars, with James Moffat in a Symantec-sponsored car, as first revealed by eNews two weeks ago. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

FIA MAN HINTS AT HONG KONG V8s IN 2013 V8 SUPERCARS COULD Hong Kong be part of V8 Supercar’s international expansion? A fortnight after eNews floated the concept of V8s racing at next year’s Macau Grand Prix off the coast of Hong Kong, an FIA representative has confirmed to the Gold Coast Bulletin that it may be Hong Kong itself that hosts a V8 Supercar race in the near future – even as soon as 2013. 8

“This opens the door to motorsports in Hong Kong, which has never held a motor race,” Wesley Wan, the FIA’s Asian zone vice president, told The Bulletin. “I hope that in two year's time we'll be taking the V8 Supercars to Hong Kong. As for the Philippines, we also fully support that idea because we need motorsport in our region, and we need to be part of the international circuit. Singapore is on hold at the moment, but we are looking at the

possibility of a night race there in the future.” Wan also confirmed that it would be a street circuit. It would be the first car race if it’s kind in Hong Kong, although the city does have a history of hosting prestigious karting events. Meanwhile, there has still not been any announcement on the overseas event currently listed as ‘TBA’ and scheduled for late-2012. motorsport news

NEWS

The Future is getting closer

ING FOR GS

V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 Supercars’ Car of the Future testing is expected to step up a notch following the shakedown run of the second prototype, a Commodore, last week. At the same time, with the availability of two cars set to signal the start of testing of the all-new 18” Dunlop tyres which will be used on the COTF, the V8 Supercar Commission has settled on the driver line-up which will undertake what is seen as a critical element of the test programme. While youngsters Jack Perkins and Scott McLaughlin have undertaken several thousand

kilometres of preliminary endurance testing of the Ford prototype, more experienced pilots are set to step in as the testing continues. In the same way as having quit as a V8 Supercar driver has freed Mark Skaife to accept the Commission Chairman role, it also allows him – as head of the COTF programme – to be part of the testing team. He will reportedly be joined at each test by a pair of ‘current’ V8 Supercar drivers nominated by one of the top Ford and Holden teams respectively, thereby offering a three-driver input at each test. Different drivers can reportedly be nominated for subsequent tests by the teams.

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ADVANTAGE SEB IN WRC TITLE FIGHT WRC

EIGHT points will be the difference between Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen when they line up for the World Rally Championship title decider in Wales next month. Loeb gained that advantage during last weekend’s Spanish round of the WRC, beating home the two Fords of Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala. The stage was set on Day 1 of the event, which was run mostly on gravel. While most

expected Loeb to struggle running first on the road, the opposite was the case, with hanging dust hampering the drivers behind. As conditions improved Latvala did make a play for the lead, passing Loeb at one point, but then lost time with punctures. Later in the rally, with Loeb maintaining a healthy advantage, Latavla slowed to let Hirvonen take second place. Sebastien Ogier, another driver who was in the frame for the World Championship, lost time early in the rally with punctures, before retiring on the last day with an

GMR GRABS YOUNG KIWI FUJITSU SERIES NICK Cassidy will make his Fujitsu Series debut at Sandown Raceway next month. The 17-year-old Kiwi has linked with Greg Murphy Racing and will drive one of their four Commodores at Sandown and Homebush, ahead of a potential full program in 2012. Cassidy will jump aboard the VE raced by Jason Richards and James Brock earlier in the year, testing it for the first time next Monday. It will be Cassidy’s first foray into tintops.

Having been a front-runner in New Zealand Formula Ford and the Toyota Racing Series, Cassidy has also made several starts in Australian Formula Ford, finishing third in the 2011 season opener at Clipsal before being sidelined by budget issues. Cassidy has recently been to Europe, where he tested in Formula Renault 2.0 and made starts in Formula ADAC and Formula Abarth. “Nick is a pretty good little talent, he’s performed particularly well in New Zealand the last year or two and he’s had a couple

engine problem. Loeb’s win also wrapped up Citroen’s seventh manufacturers World Championship. “For the moment we’re celebrating Citroen’s seventh title,” said Loeb. “But the drivers’ crown is far from over. Mikko Hirvonen has done a good job by finishing second here, and we know he’ll be competitive on the stages in Wales. “We must finish in front of him. The best thing we could do would be to win. So our destiny is in our own hands.”

of runs over here in Formula Ford and run at the front of the field,” GMR boss Kevin Murphy told eNews. “He’s been overseas and done a couple of race meetings as well, but they were in openwheel categories where he was offered the opportunity of free of charge drives, so that was good. He’s keeping his hand in. “He’ll do these last two rounds, then if we can find the support for next year, he would look at doing it next year, unless an opportunity came back from overseas.” – MITCHELL ADAM

DOWE TO BUSINESS V8 SUPERCARS KELLY Racing will operate under the eye of Tony Dowe until the end of the season. Dowe, a vastly experienced team manager and race engineer, joined the team for Bathurst and has been looking at the Melbourne team since the L&H 500 at Phillip Island. “It has started off as a consultancy role, I have been doing these things for almost 30 years,” Dowe told eNews. “What they are looking for is someone from the outside, who is independent, and that is what I do in America.” 10

Dowe is the former Managing Director of TWR’s United States arm, which operated the successful Jaguar sportscar program in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning both the Daytona and Le Mans 24 Hour events. He also has experience in Formula 1 with Ensign, Brabham, Wolf, Ligier and Arrows, IndyCar with Chaparral and NewmanHaas, Sportscar racing with Haas, TWR Inc (Jaguar), Panoz, Dick Barbour Racing and Tafel Racing, MotoGP with Kenny Roberts Racing and has served as a representative on the FIA’s sportscar technical working group. motorsport news

MOTORSPORT NEWS INTERVIEWS THE BATHURST WINNERS

GARTH TANDER AND NICK PERCAT PLUS: THE COOLEST CORNERS IN AUSTRALIAN MOTORSPORT, A LOOK AT SEBASTIAN VETTEL’S TITLE-WINNING YEAR, WE HANG WITH LOTUS RENAULT GP DRIVERS VITALY PETROV AND BRUNO SENNA, STEAL DANIEL GAUNT’S DIARY FROM BATHURST, DRIVE A LEXUS LFA WITH SOME HELP FROM SCOTT PRUETT, HEAD TO THE GOODWOOD REVIVAL, PROFILE KARTING LEGEND DAVE SERA AND A WHOLE LOT MORE. No. 413 No vem

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DAN READY TO FIGHT FOR HIS PLACE IN F1 FORMULA 1

THE future of Daniel Ricciardo hangs on his performances in the final three races of the 2011 season. Since making his Formula 1 debut in place of Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan at the British Grand Prix, the Australian has continued to make progress, regularly out-pacing team-mate Tonio Liuzzi. The Hispania team looks to have now thrown its support behind the Aussie, handing him a drive at this weekend’s Indian Grand Prix, while Liuzzi makes way for Karthikeyan. It was initially believed Ricciardo would be asked to make way for the local driver. “I have asked Tonio Liuzzi to step aside for the Indian GP in order to allow driving programs with Ricciardo and Karthikeyan to be completed,” said HRT Team Boss Colin Kolles. Backed by Red Bull, the 22-year-old has been linked with a move to Toro Rosso for 2012, where he’s likely to replace Spaniard Jaime Algeursuari. However, Ricciardo is out of contract with Red Bull at the end of the season, meaning his performance for the remainder of the 2011 campaign is critical to his future. “I’ll be very disappointed if I don’t have a place next year,” he told The West Australian newspaper. “There’s only limited space. I think obviously having Red Bull, and hopefully impressing them this year, they’ll continue and put me in somewhere.” Meanwhile waiting in the wings is another of the drink company’s protégés; Jean-Eric Vergne, who has taken part in a number of Friday practice sessions for Toro Rosso in the latter half of the season. – MATT COCH

COULTHARD STICKS UP FOR SEB FORMULA 1 DAVID Coulthard has hit back at Ross Brawn over comments regarding Sebastian Vettel. Last week, Brawn told media that “for Sebastian, what will come now, which will be an interesting phase of his career, will be when he has not got the best car,” inferring that it was hard to judge how good the double World Champion is until that time. But at a Red Bull media event in the lead up to the Indian Grand Prix, Coulthard defended Vettel, stating that his time at Toro Rosso – where Vettel won the Italian Grand Prix in 2008 – was proof enough. “I have tremendous respect for Ross Brawn, but what Seb was able to achieve at Toro Rosso already showed he is a team leader,” said Coulthard. “Whoever thought they would win a Grand Prix? But he was able to put it on pole in the wet and then win the Grand Prix, which was truly remarkable. He’s already done it, culminating in two championships. “What I do think is valid is how he handles the inevitable disappointment when his car isn’t for whatever reason the best.” 12

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WALTRIP AND WILLIAMS SETTLE OVER COUGHLAN FORMULA 1

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WILLIAMS F1 and Michael Waltrip Racing have settled out of court over the services of Mike Coughlan for 2012. Coughlan had a deal to work as the director of vehicle design at MWR until the end of 2012, but announced earlier this year that he had taken a job as chief engineer at Williams for next season. As a result, the NASCAR

outfit launched a breach of contract law suit against both Coughlan and Williams. However, the two teams have now settled out of court, with Coughlan free to return to Formula 1 with Williams. “I have always been an admirer of Frank Williams and his team and am delighted that we have found a good way forward,” said MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman in a statement.

“I wish the team well with its move back to the front of the F1 grid and am sure that Mike Coughlan can make a big contribution with that.” “We are grateful to Rob for working this problem out with us,” added Frank Williams. “Waltrip is a super team competing in a fantastic sport – the best thing for me is that as part of the deal I will get to see my first NASCAR race.”

LEIMER TO TEST FOR SAUBER IN ABU DHABI FORMULA 1

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SWISS driver Fabio Leimer will test for Sauber during the young driver’s test following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Leimer, 22, will take to the Yas Marina circuit alongside Sauber’s reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez on the three days following the Grand Prix in November. Leimer this year raced in GP2 for Rapax, winning a race on his way to 14th in the championship. “When I found out that I will definitely take part in the Formula 1 test I realised for the first time what this actually means,” said Leimer. “Being a racing driver, of course, you always dream of Formula 1. That this dream is now coming true is almost unbelievable. “On top of that, not many Swiss drivers have ever had the chance to test for the Sauber F1 Team. For this reason it is an even more special honour for me to be able to get my first laps in an F1 car under my belt as a Swiss for the Swiss team. “I am very much looking forward to that challenge and want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made it possible.” 13

Rememb DAN WHELDON TOYOTA media

JTG NASCAR JTG DAUGHERTY Racing has announced its plans for 2012. Driver Bobby Labonte, who replaced Marcos Ambrose in the single-car team a year ago, stays in the seat of the #47 Toyota but will work

with Todd Berrier as crew chief. Berrier spent nearly two decades as a crew chief at Richard Childress Racing, along the way winning the 2003 Brickyard 400 and 2007 Daytona 500, both with driver Kevin Harvick. Frank Kerr (pictured inset), who has performed

TOYOTA media

set for ‘12 crew chief duties for JTG Daugherty Racing during the last four seasons, will take on a new role as shop foreman. Main sponsor will be Kingsford Charcoal, returning its 15th season, Bush’s (its 10th season) and KimberlyClark, through its brands Scott Paper Products.

A NUMBER of cars and drivers, around the world, ran decals to honour Dan Wheldon last weekend. On the Gold Coast, V8 Supercars ran stickers below the Armor All ID on all cars, and the Holden Racing Team included Wheldon’s name alongside that of James Courtney and Darren Turner. As well, decals were distributed to drivers, owers and some members of the media, the design arranged by Alex Tagliani, who also organised that the stickers be delivered to the Gold Coast from Toronto, Canada. At Talladega, a number of NASCARs ran with Lionheart stickers on their B-pillars, the design echoing that on all of the two-time Indy 500 winner’s helmets. In the Camping World Truck Series, Max Papis’ Toyota featured a large tribute decal.

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Moto titles still up grabs MOTO STEFAN Bradl and Nicolas Terol could have wrapped up the Moto2 and 125cc titles at Sepang but both men let their rivals off the hook. Bradl looked to have the title for the taking, after Marc Marquez did not start 14

the race. The Spanish prodigy crashed in practice and was not fit to take the start. Bradl overtook poleman Thomas Luthi from grid two and looked to have the race within reach. But Luthi caught the German with four laps to go, and took the lead just before the race was red-flagged after Axel Pons crashed out. After Luthi maiden

Moto2 win, Bradl now needs to finish only 10th, if Marquez wins, to take the title. In 125s, Terol led on the final lap but a mistake handed the win to Maverick Vinales. The other championship contender Johann Zarco kept his title hopes alive with third. Terol leads Zarco by 20 points with one race remaining. motorsport news

NEWS

TOYOTA media

bering Dan

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Marquez to

Marc time in Moto2 MOTO2

Andrew Hall

MARC Marquez will remain in Moto2 next year. The Spanish prodigy, who won the 125cc title last year, has confirmed that he will

Edwards: Forward with BMW MOTOGP

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COLIN Edwards has revealed the details of his CRT ride in MotoGP next year and he will race a Sutil BMW. The Texan, who raced for Yamaha at the top level for seven years, was expected to race a proprietary chassis fitted with a Yamaha R1-baed engine. But Edwards said in Malaysia last week that the Forward Racing single-bike entry would be the German frame-motor combination. “It’s a BMW-Suter, which is what I signed up for in the beginning and I’m happy to be working with those guys,” said Edwards. “We’ll have to go out there and work and test. It’s probably not going to be competitive in the first race,

maybe not in the last race, but we’ll work extremely hard to build it. “It’s a new adventure and a lot of work. Sorting out personnel, crew chiefs, mechanics and all that,” added the double World Superbike champion. “I’m accustomed to coming to a new team, signing a piece of paper, ride the motorcycle, do your work and going home. “I’m a big part of getting everybody together. It’s a lot more work than I’m accustomed to. But at the end of the day our sport has a dream and a vision. Everybody wants to see closer, competitive racing in MotoGP like it is in Moto2. Somebody has to start it.” Edwards will ride the bike for the first time at the post-season test at Valencia next month.

stay in the second-tier class, regardless of whether he wins the Moto2 crown at this first attempt. “I think the best option is to stay one more year in Moto2, because in every race I learn something new. It was a difficult decision, but I think I made the right choice,” said Marquez. “I’m only 18 and I think remaining in the category for two years is fine,” he added. “Almost all of the riders stay two years, and I think another year will be good for me because I’ll get more experience, and certainly when it comes to MotoGP, if I get there someday, I’ll be much more prepared.”

Crescent for WSBK SUPERBIKES BRITISH Superbike team Crescent Suzuki will step up to the Superbike World Championship next season. Team owner Paul Denning, who is also the team manager of Suzuki’s MotoGP team, confirmed last week that his team would make the move,

but no rider has been named. The man most likely to race is John Hopkins, who raced for the team in the BSB, finishing second after a titanic struggle with Yamaha’s Tommy Hill in the final race at Brands Hatch. Hopkins qualified a Crescent bike on pole at Silverstone in a wildcard WSBK appearance. 15

BULLAS IN FV8 ... TAKE TWO FUJITSU SERIES GAVIN Bullas will take another step towards realising an ambition to graduate to the Fujitsu Series next year, when he joins the category for another one-off drive at the penultimate round at Sandown. Bullas had a forgettable V8 Supercar debut at Bathurst when he failed to start either race after finding the wall in practice, but is set to get back behind the wheel of Eggleston Motorsport’s Walkinshaw Racing-built VE Commodore next month. The V8 shift comes after a torrid time in the

Touring Car Masters, with the dual champion’s Mustang suffering an array of engine problems. Bullas was back in the TCM at Surfers Paradise, in Bob Middleton’s Camaro, but may also dust off his Mustang at the Melbourne circuit. “I’ll be running the Development Series car again at Sandown,” he said. “We may end up doing two cars at Sandown – we might run my car and the Development Series – so we’ll see how we go for that weekend, but it’s all going quite well. “We’re working on funding for next year and we’ll see where we end up.” – DANIEL HERRERO

NEW SPECTRUM COMING SOON FORMULA FORD BORLAND Racing Developments will roll out a brand-new Spectrum chassis in next year’s Australian Formula Ford Championship. To be known as the 014, the new chassis will use chrome-moly tubing as the base material for the spaceframe chassis, while slimmer bodywork will be developed through testing at Heathcote Dragway. Several components have already seen race action, through BRD and Synergy Motorsport.

HOLDEN, FORD AND FRIENDS?

“While there is nothing particularly wrong with the current car, which is evidenced by the fact that it has scored race wins this season, we really want to raise the bar with the new 014,” Michael Borland said. “For sure there will be some carryover items from the current chassis, but the new one will be significantly different in a number of areas and the use of chrome-moly will allow us to take advantage of some new thinking.”

Dirk Klynsmith

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Dirk Klynsmith

V8 UTES V8 UTE organisers are open to the notion of attracting additional manufacturers to their category. Since it was formed in 2001, the series has been the sole domain of Ford and Holden Utes, but a new, five-year plan for its future direction will be finalised by the end of the year. Every aspect of the category will be reviewed and it could lead to major changes. The prospect of opening V8 Utes

V8 UTES HAMILTON could host another Trans-Tasman V8 Ute Challenge next year. In 2010, a group of Australian competitors and their Utes crossed the Pacific Ocean to tackle drivers from the New

up to other manufacturers will be assessed, as will a shift towards Sports Utility Vehicles like Ford’s Ranger and Holden’s Colorado, which would likely mean the cars became less production-based. “I think it’s time for that. I think the category will need to evolve to that,” Craig Denyer from category managers SPHERIX said of additional manufacturers. “The timing on that is probably at least three years away, but I think we’ve got to

be open to that. Especially with the changing relevance of the market, I think one of our key drivers as a category is that we want to remain relevant to the car-buying public. “The manufacturers are reviewing where they’re going in the future as well and I think there’s going to be a bigger emphasis on the Ranger or Colorado style of vehicle from their own market perspectives, so that means we’ve got to think whether that should be part of our future or now,

so we’re going through that process now. “By the end of this season, the V8 Utes will have a blueprint for where we think the category needs to go in the next five years. The input has come from all of our key stakeholders, including Channel 7, Ford, Holden, V8 Supercars, our key corporate sponsors as well, plus all 32 individual shareholders. “We know that we need to continue to evolve and refresh ahead of the next five years.” – MITCHELL ADAM

Zealand Ute Series at the V8 Supercar street race. While the feasibility of making another trip will depend on the final make-up of the 2012 Auto One V8 Ute Racing Series calendar, organisers are investigating a second Trans-Tasman Challenge. “Depending on where we end

up on the V8 Supercar calendar, we’re keen to look at going back to Hamilton,” Craig Denyer said. “We’d maybe take 10 or 12 or our own Utes over for that and mix it up with 10 or 12 of the New Zealand Utes. It was very successful when we did it

last year, so we’d like to try and make that happen again next year. If the calendar either side of Hamilton gives us enough traveling time to get do that, to freight the Utes backwards and forwards, it’s certainly in our plans.” – MITCHELL ADAM

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QR TO HOST NATS IN QLD SHANNONS NATS THE Shannons Nationals presented by HiTec Oils will swap Morgan Park for Queensland Raceway on an expanded 2012 calendar. The Warwick circuit has hosted the Nationals’ Queensland trips since 2009, but organisers have elected to shift the 2012 round to Queensland Raceway, which it

visited in 2006 and 2007. Due to be released during next weekend’s 2011 season finale at Phillip Island, the 2012 schedule will contain nine rounds – up from seven this year – with two each at Phillip Island and Eastern Creek. “We’re really happy with next year’s calendar,” Nationals director Rob Curkpatrick told eNews. “We’ve always been in touch

with QR and it was really our competitors’ decision in the end. “We’ve maintained our connections with both and the competitors wanted to make the change. We’re not ruling out Morgan Park in the future, but it’s a change for next year “Morgan Park’s great, but our competitors want to go back and give QR a go.” – MITCHELL ADAM

PUTTING THE ‘BA’ IN BARTSCH V8 TOURING CARS MICHAEL Bartsch will return to the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series at Phillip Island next weekend with a new toy. The South Australian sold his ex-Steve Ellery AU Falcon to former Saloon Car racer Bruce Heinrich mid-year, but has purchased a BA Falcon from Fujitsu Series squad MW Motorsport. Originally built by David Thexton, Matthew White and Grant Denyer were among its drivers in the Fujitsu Series, and the Falcon last raced in 2009. Bartsch drove it at Calder recently, and will use the 2011 season finale as a precursor for a full program in 2012. “We’ll use Phillip Island as a bit of a chance to get to know the car next year,” he said. John Morris / Mpix

“I did a day at Calder, probably a month or so ago, but it’s a bit hard to judge on a track like that. It’s pretty bumpy, tight.” MW Motorsport will run the car for Bartsch at PI, and may remain involved in 2012. “Matthew will come down and look after the car at Phillip Island, we’ll have him and two of his guys down, which will make quite a difference, having someone that knows the car looking after it,” Bartsch said. “We haven’t spoken about next year too much yet, but we’ll probably talk about it over the weekend, at Phillip Island, see what his thoughts are and see if he’s interested. “It’d be nice if we could work with him for the full year next year. He’s got all of the data and everything, so we’d have something to compare it to.”

Bartsch will be among a field of 20 V8 Touring Cars, with former Saloon Car Champ Shawn Jamieson set to make his V8TC debut, aboard an ex-Team Dynamik VY Commodore. Also at the Shannons Nationals season finale, last year’s title-winner is set to return to the Kerrick Sports Sedan Series. Dean Randle’s SAAB, which won the title with James Sera, has been sidelined for the bulk of the year, but Randle is set to bring it out for a run at Phillip Island. Meanwhile, former Production Car racer Lauren Gray is embarking on a run in Sports Sedans. Gray raced a Torana at PI’s Victorian State round on the weekend, and is set to make her Kerrick Series debut next weekend. – MITCHELL ADAM

NEW GT RUL AUSTRALIAN GT THE VodkaO Australian GT Championship will adopt parts of its 2012 regulations several months early. As of next season, Australian GT will use simplified technical and eligibility regulations, essentially the same used in European GT3 racing in the previous year. However, that will be brought in a little earlier, with 2011-spec machinery to be made eligible for this year’s season finale, at Sandown Raceway next month. The move paves the way for new, 2011spec vehicles such as Maranello

MARANELLO AUSTRALIAN GT THE first of Maranello Motorsport’s new Ferrari 458 GT3s has landed in Australia – and it’s not their only new GT3 toy. As previously reported, the Melbourne squad has ordered three of the Michelottodeveloped 458s to run in the VodkaO Australian GT Championship from 2012. Personnel recently travelled to Italy to shakedown the first of the cars, which has now arrived in Australia. It will race in February’s Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour with owner Peter Edwards, Dominik Farnbacher, Allan Simonsen and John Bowe, with Edwards to race it in Australian GT next year. “I’ve just come back from motorsport news

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LES IN PLAY SOONER Motorsport’s Ferrari 458 and Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 – see separate story – to run earlier than anticipated. “The 2011-spec cars, technically, haven’t been allowed this year, except for the Mercedes-Benz, which has been brought back to 2010spec to run and is carrying a lot of extra weight,” category manager SPHERIX’s Craig Denyer told eNews. “But, basically, because we’re going to be running 2011spec cars next year, let’s get them on the grid now and give them an opportunity to run at Sandown before next

year. It gives us an idea on where they sit parity-wise, it helps with numbers and it’s great for the category, because you’ve got the latest and greatest GT cars which can only be a bonus.” From the existing Australian GT ranks, Marc Cini will return at Sandown in his Porsche GT3 Cup S after missing the rounds at Phillip Island and Bathurst, along with Dean Koutsoumidis. “I think the numbers there will be a little bit healthier than we’ve seen in the last couple of rounds,” Denyer said. – MITCHELL ADAM

O’S DUAL ITALIAN JOB spending 10 days with the management of Michelotto, and I can say they have been very interested in the recent developments with the Championship and are very excited about coming to Australia to work with our team,” Maranello boss Mark Coffey said. “Everything that Michelotto does is absolutely top notch, and as a result they’ve won many GT and Sportscar Championships around the world, so we couldn’t be happier to have them on our side. “Since we announced the 458 was coming into the country, the response from our customer base has been very positive, and there is no shortage of drivers lining up www.mnews.com.au

to get behind the wheel.” But Maranello has gone out of the Ferrari family with the purchase and delivery of an additional GT3 racer, a Lamborghini Gallardo LP600, which they hope to on-sell locally. “The car has done very little racing, is a superb bit of kit, and will come with an extensive spares package for the new owner,” Coffey said. “We are definitely Ferrari red through and through, but the opportunity to get this car came up, and given how little use it’s had, and the spares it comes with, it’s a ripper turnkey option for someone for next year’s Championship.” eNews understands both cars could run at Sandown’s season finale next month.

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NEWS

THEY’RE BACK ARC SIMON and Sue Evans are surprise, lastminute Rally Victoria entrants. Almost a year after Sue Evans announced her retirement at the 2010 running of the

event, the husband and wife team will be back in their 2010-title-winning Subaru WRX for the final round of the Bosch Australian Rally Championship. The four-time ARC Champions are on a hiatus and yet to contest a competitive event in 2011, but the

November 11-12 Rally Victoria is set to be their second in as many weeks in November, one week after they represent Mazda in the Targa High Country tarmac rally. Rally Victoria will be held in the Baw Baw Shire.

Michael Vettas

EC 2.0 KICKS OFF CIRCUIT NEWS THE first phase of Eastern Creek’s planned $9million upgrade was opened over the weekend. A new link road between Turns 4 and 12 has effectively divided the Western Sydney circuit more or less in half, and given operators the capacity to run two separate layouts. Diverting from the original 4.9km layout at Turn 4 and rejoining at Turn 9 via a left-

right chicane the new layout is the first component of a number of changes at the Eastern Creek circuit, and used for the first time at the weekend’s round of the NSW State Motor Racing Championship. Bordered with bitumen run off areas and tyre barriers, one leading driver described the new section as ‘hairy’, with little room for error. Some competitors were less than enthusiastic about the layout, lamenting the lack of overtaking opportunities as well as the new focus on power.

The new circuit has seen higher average speeds than the original layout, Supersport driver Adam Proctor setting a new outright lap record around the 2.8km layout at 58.96s, an average of 171kph. Further works are underway behind Corporate Hill as the Australian Racing Drivers Club expands the circuit with a view to having four different circuit configurations – two of which can operate independently – ready for the 2012 season. – MAT COCH

TAKING IT TO THE STATES DRAG RACING MULTIPLE Australian Funny Car Champions Peter and Helen Russo will debut a brand new Australian-built Nitro Funny Car at this weekend’s NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The new car features an NHRA-legal chassis built by respected racecar constructor Murray Anderson in Melbourne. It will be the first Australian-built nitro car to compete under NHRA’s modern day SFI specifications. Supercheap Autos will back the car while it is in America. “Murray Anderson has built a world class 20

chassis and we are so proud and excited about bringing it to America to race in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series,” Helen Russo said. “Our return to the US has been 30 years

in the making for Peter and me. We are better prepared than ever before, so we are thankful to Murray Anderson, our crew and sponsors for their help and input in making this happen.” motorsport news

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FIVE MINUTES WITH ...

MARK SKAIFE

It’s ﬁnally ofﬁcial; Mark Skaife has called time on his time as a V8 Supercar racer. Just days after making the announcement, Skaife spoke to PAUL WARD MOTORSPORT NEWS: would your decision have gone the other way if you and Craig Lowndes had won at Bathurst? Yeah, probably. So you were looking at tackling Peter Brock’s record of nine wins? Yes, but ultimately I didn’t have to make that decision, because it didn’t happen. No one knew, but in the morning when I walked into the garage at Bathurst – and dad was there, Toni was there, and Mitch was there – it felt like the last one for me. When you were up on the podium it looked as if someone had shot your dog. Why? I’ve always said that I’m a very belowaverage loser. That’s just the way it is. It’s one of those ones that you have to accept, but it’s not easy. I mean, I was gutted. It was one of those days, and I’m sure this happens in other sporting fields and in your life, where things conspired not to quite get the result you’re looking for. That day was just one of those ones where it was hard work all day. To miss out by 0.2 seconds is as tough as it gets. How would you score your personal performance this year? I knew after last year, when I injured my back, that I had to be much better prepared. I was much happier with my level of fitness [this year]. I was probably fitter than I was when I finished full-time racing. In the first segment of the race the car wasn’t as good as I wanted, with way too much understeer. But once we did a couple of tweaks I was happy that I could compete against the normal AGrade cars and drivers. How was your stress level? Well, when you head to Bathurst any time it’s stressful, but to know it could 22

be your last race ... And to start the race, with all the complications of getting the car off the line with a full tank of fuel and the tall diff ratio, is one of the toughest jobs in the business. It’s like going into the AFL Grand Final and having to man-up on the best full forward in the business. So, yes, there was a bit of stress there. How did it feel at the wheel? There were times in the race where it didn’t feel like I had been away. I will always remember it. It was very satisfying. For us, the strategy for me was to mix it with the lead guys and keep us in touch with the leaders. To get best yield from the race, Craig would then be competing against the co-drivers. It worked for us last year, and it worked for us both years at Phillip Island. So I think I did a good job. So, is it definitely fulltime on your time in a V8 Supercar? It would only be a remote chance of me coming back. The tenure of the chairman role is two years. It would be very remote chance for me to come back after that long out of the car. I’m now going to apply 100 percent effort to this new phase. But I’m also not ruling out going and doing some other driving. It’s difficult to go cold turkey. What other things are you considering? Carrera Cup? It’s got to meet the fun test for me now. It will have to be enjoyable, whatever it is. I’ll cherry pick from the options I have. I really enjoyed the Porsche thing at the AGP. I qualified on the front row for one race and I had never driven a lefthand drive car before. Like all things, if you’re going to do that well you have to be up to speed. I wasn’t happy at the start of the weekend but in the last race on Sunday, after we tweaked the car, I was pretty satisfied with my performance.

So we could see you back at Albert Park in a Porsche? Or more? At the moment I’m 70:30 to do that race; in favour. I probably could do that if I wanted to do the full season. I’ll sort through things and options at the end of the year. Roland Dane says you are still good enough to have a fulltime ride in V8s. How do you feel about that? Even the last six months or so I’ve had a couple of offers to drive full-time and, maybe, as part of Car of the Future, to be in another car of some description. Was there one thing that tipped you into retirement? I think it’s a head, not heart, decision. The one thing that I was very mindful of is that, even if I prepared as well as I could and put as much effort into racing as this year then over the next two or three years that would be the maximum for me. No one knows how much you put in when you’re in the car and how hard you are driving, especially when you’re not in there all the time. It’s seriously like not having a home-andaway game in an AFL season and then playing in the Grand Final. If anyone thinks that’s easy they are kidding themselves. With that performance and energy level I probably only have two or three potential years for driving in the enduros. So how does it feel? It was a big decision for me to wrap my brain around. But it feels better. Once I’ve made a decision in life, once it’s made and I’m making it work, it is a nice feeling. It’s a nice feeling to be offered that position as chairman and to know, if you can do a good job, that you can contribute to the development of the sport and how it’s run and developed. motorsport news

CHAT

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

MARCO THE ENTERTAINER OPINION Phil Branagan – Executive Editor

AST week I was at Phillip Island, hosting the rider autograph sessions. Predictably, the one that featured Valentino Rossi was just out of control. Nicky Hayden was there too, and Vale did not help matters much when he arrived 10 minutes late. Casey Stoner had a session of his own, and was professional and patient, but it seemed he would rather be working to make his Honda faster. He smiled when I led 300 or so people in a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to You’ but maybe he was just being polite. Marco Simoncelli’s session went off. Super Sic was very popular, signed like a madman, posed for any number of photos and was just a ripper bloke. I asked him when he was going to win his first MotoGP but would he mind not doing it that weekend. He laughed, probably confident A. That he was going to win one, soon and B. Stoner was just about unbeatable at PI. And now, Marco is gone, taken by the racing gods at 24 from those who loved him and those who loved to watch him. The tragic accident at Sepang was not his fault, he was just trying hard, and had it happened five laps later, maybe he would have escaped his relatively innocuous lowside crash with some bruising. But motorcycle racing is such a cruel business that Colin Edwards and Rossi arrived, at speed and without warning, and had nowhere to go. It comes, of course, on the heels of the awful events at Las Vegas, and the loss of Dan Wheldon. We were all feeling it at Surfers; both V8 Supercars and the Holden Racing Team deserve kudos for the way they honoured Dan, not weighed down by excessive sentimentality or religious 24

overtones. Particular mention should go to the sensitive and thoughtful words of Garry Coleman; at times such as these, V8 Supercars is fortunate indeed to have him as its chaplain. I love motorcycle racing; I always have. To see someone of the calibre of Simoncelli taken in these circumstances, so soon after he raced here, is hard to deal with. It is a demanding business; great strides have been taken in safety but is in an inescapable fact that no part of the human anatomy is designed to cope well with being flung down the road at 200kmh. The safety features of racing cars are another matter, and MotoGP has been somewhat blessed to have avoided fatalities since that of Daijiro Kato at Suzuka eight years ago. It is somewhat fitting that Simoncelli scored a podium, his second in MotoGP, at Phillip Island. There is also some comfort to be had in the fact that he fought Andrea Dovizioso to get it, the two having raced against each other since there were very small kids. But as in the case of Wheldon, it is sad to wonder how much we are missing out on, and what would have come next year, and in the years that follow. When I see someone with crazy hair, or a Marco-like angular grin, or just the number 58, I will think of Super Sic, hanging off a fast motorcycle and giving it plenty. One more thing. To the V8 Supercar driver who is thinking of racing in, of all things, a Superbike race (and I am not going to name names, but you know who you are); bad things happen in threes. I am not going to be presumptuous enough to lecture a grown man on what he should and should not do, but please, you might want to rethink this before you zip up the leathers. motorsport news

COMMENT

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V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACES 21/22 – GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND

SAME, BUT DIFFERENT Triple Eight’s speed was expected on the Gold Coast, but Ford Performance Racing’s soft tyre turnaround, and Craig Lowndes’ shocking luck, were quite the opposite. PHIL BRANAGAN reports from Surfers Paradise

Dirk Klynsmith

motorsport news

RACE

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RACE 21: THE TALE OF TWO ‘F

ATURDAY was one of those strange days you get, occasionally, in motor racing when it seems like the gods of thunder throw all the characteristics of teams and drivers into the air and they fall back to earth, not necessarily in the right place. Take TeamVodafone. The team’s hallmarks are bulletproof reliability, unmatched planning, rigid strategy. Not this day. It started badly for Craig Lowndes in qualifying. The #888 staggered around its out lap, the team replacing CDI unit when Lowndes nosed it back to the pits. But when rain came seven minutes into the session, that problem popped up to bite him. Two laps behind everyone else, Lowndes was suddenly starting 15th on the grid and looking uphill. Not that it much mattered. The car chugged around the out lap and back into the pits, to whence it would be a regular returnee. Zero points, and the championship lead went with it.

Next, Ford Performance Racing. This season has been about falling short of expectations – other people’s, their own – particularly on the soft tyre. This time, second and third, behind the other Jamie Whincup. Will Davison mistakenly called it a 1-2 which, someone pointed out, to that team, that was how it felt. After conquering Bathurst, many eyes were on the Holden Racing Team, particularly the Garth Tander/Ryan Briscoe car. Briscoe started the race, kept the car safe and drove a classy stint. Only problem was, the team called him in a lap early, missing the minimum number of laps each driver must complete by one. A Safety Car allowed the team to pit GT, give Briscoe the extra lap and put Garth back in for the finish, without losing too much position, but the loss of face from such a fundamental blunder is not what the ‘new’ HRT is supposed to be about. And Jim Beam Racing … After a strong run at QR, the two two-driver races at PI

and Bathurst have been a disaster. Who expected James Moffat to lead the race and light up the last dozen or so laps with a thrilling charge to the edge of the podium (see breakout)? So there were a lot of different things to see on the Queensland streets. But some were the same. Whincup was his usual excellent self and was only aided by a dominating opening stint from Sebastien Bourdais. The Frenchman won the start, led by 2s after two laps and generally just oozed excellence. Bourdais is the only man who had won twice at Surfers in an open-wheeler, and drove like it in a V8 Supercar. “Today we got lucky,” Whinners said after his 49th career win. “You don’t want to see a Triple Eight car in the pits.” He also alluded to the fact that the Safety Cars fell just right for him. “That [second-last] Safety Car was two to three laps before our [fuel] window. The last Safety Car [for a broken bollard at the motorsport news

RACE

Andrew Hall

Dirk Klynsmith

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Fame and Misfortune: Craig Lowndes’ 888 car spent too much time going in and out of pit-lane, top, and didn’t score any points. Bollards, above, the main cause of caution periods, and James Moffat, below, was in stunning form at the end of the race.

Dirk Klynsmith

chicane] allowed us to get to the end.” Mika Salo drove well in Davison’s car, while Richard Lyons was slightly less so in Mark Winterbottom’s but survived the mid-pack carnage (Frosty started in the pack after getting caught by the qualifying mess). The big news was that the Sprint tyres stayed ‘on the car’ for the whole stint; for most of this season, FPR has struggled on the softer, faster tyres. “It’s quite high grip around here, which helps our cars,” explained Davison. “But no doubt, we have taken a step forward.” Whatever the team has done, they will be hoping that the change translates to other racetracks. It was an odd day. TeamVodafone won, but the rest of the race highlights were not from the sources you might have imagined otherwise. Funny things can happen when you get 28 new blokes and let them loose in some uniquely Australian cars …

Dirk Klynsmith

FONES

RACE 22: THE GAME CHANGER

F at Sydney in December Jamie Whincup gets to raise the V8 Supercar Champion’s trophy for the third time in four years, it will be likely that he will look back on the Gold Coast 600 as the event at which he laid claim to the crown. If Bathurst was a bad round for Whincup the streets of Surfers were paved, almost, with gold. With 10 laps of Sunday’s race left, he looked set for a Grand Slam (two poles, two wins) and 300 points, on a weekend when Craig Lowndes had the luck of a man who had run over several black cats while avoiding breaking a mirror, under a ladder. Then, reality struck – or rather, a new reality that is a Ford Performance Racing Falcon on Sprint tyres. Mark Winterbottom had taken over the car from a steady if unspectacular opening by Richard Lyons, and closed on the back of the Triple 8 Commodore. For a while, it looked like a précis of the V8 Supercar headline era at the circuit; Whincup, who won in 2010, holding on for dear life from Frosty, who was in untouchable for in 2009. But then Whincup ran out of grip, Winterbottom took his opportunity and sped away to his first win of the season. Lowndes looked good, after both Sebastien Bourdais and Andy Priaulx played

out a slightly slower version of what we see from TeamVodafone all the time; two red and silver VEs, almost nose-to-tail, jetting away from the opposition. When the Euros handed the cars over, Whincup had to dive through a narrow gap to get ahead and that was telling, when the two pitted in-line under a Safety Car. Whincup resumed up front; Lowndes was 12th and in the 20 green laps that followed, made only three spots. Clearly all was not great in #888; Lowndes lost tyre grip, had to pit for new rubber and his miserable weekend was complete. Behind the FPR and TeamV cars came Lee Holdsworth, who capitalised on some deft work from Simon Pagenuad in the early going. Greg Murphy was next, Ollie Gavin looking more and more adept as his stint went on, ahead of Rick Kelly/Jorg Bergmesiter and James Courtney. The defending Champ mounted a great rearguard action after his car served a drivethrough penalty for the second year in a row. Darren Turner did a solid job in his stint, gaining 11 spots from grid 23, but officials deemed he had overdone the kerb-hopping and issued a penalty. The team email an appeal for leniency, the Brit stating on the radio he had made less ‘Hops’ than drivers he had followed. But the penalty stayed in place and the last-minute recruit was a

miffed man when he got out of the car. Not all the work of the visitors was shiny, however. For a good part of his stint Boris Said seemed either unwilling or incapable of navigating his way around the T7-8 chicane, and earned the increasing ire of the following Pagenaud. The funny thing is, even while the American was clearly missing some of the corners, he still managed to lose significant time to those in front of him, who were roughly abiding by the track’s design. Steve Owen proved the speed of the VIP car by dragging it back to eighth by the flag in his stint. Said mentioned during the week he fancied a crack at V8 Supercars as a fulltime driver; on this display, the back half of a Fujitsu grid looks to be his probable starting point. One more thing; Whincup’s qualifying lap, to snatch pole from Garth Tander by 0.04s, was one of those blood-curdling efforts one sees from time to time. It was a great advertisement for a ‘regulation’ qualifying session (as opposed to one that leads to a Shoot Out). In doing the pole double, JDub trousered $20K bonus money from event sponsor Armor All. If he is in similar form in Tasmania, you would understand if the engravers might think about getting a headstart on their next assignment. motorsport news

RACE

Dirk Klynsmith

John Morris/Mpix

Tyred and Emotional: A tyre failure while Mika Salo was at the wheel of #6 cost FPR an even better result, above, but Ford’s first win since Darwin – and FPR’s first for 2011 – was still cause for celebration, below left. Sebastien Bourdais was, rightfully, named the winner of the Dan Wheldon Trophy, below.

Andrew Hall

Peter Bury

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WINNERS JAMIE WHINCUP: Flawless. His Sunday pole lap was one of the highlights of the season, unless your name is Garth Tander.

Dirk Klynsmith

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: The best of the internationals – by the length of the straight. Looked and drove like a V8 Supercar full-timer. In fact, is there any way we can make that a reality? JAMES MOFFAT: A bad Sunday but Saturday was his coming-out party, ably supported by the enthusiastic and professional Joey Hand.

MOFFAT MAKES HIS LOSERS MARK

FORD PERFORMANCE RACING: One weekend does not make it permanent but it does appear that FPR has cleared its Sprint tyre bogey.

HOLDEN RACING TEAM: A post-Bathurst return to earth for Team Red. CRAIG LOWNDES: Not really an explanation needed here. It was simply a shocking weekend. BORIS SAID: If the American is good enough to drive V8 Supercars, he did not show it on the Gold Coast. Enough Said. GIANNI MORBIDELLI: After two appearances on the GC, who still thinks he is fast enough to race one of these things? JASON BRIGHT: Brighty is probably accustomed to all the cars travelling in a similar direction. 32

AMES Moffat might have been at the wheel of the Jim Beam Racing Falcon during that last stint during Saturday’s race on the Gold Coast, but he was more than happy to concede that Joey Hand played as big a part as he did in the fourth place result. Moffat stormed through the field late in the race to claim fourth, and with another couple of laps to go he would have been second – at the very least. What made the result even more impressive was that it seemed to come from nowhere, with the #18 not looking all that quick on Friday. But Moffat admitted that Hand’s handy work during the two 40-minute co-driver sessions on Friday turned it around. “We made massive changes,” Moffat told eNews. “In the first session, the car was absolutely terrible. Joey hopped in it for Practice 2, and he is so experienced that we were able to trust his feedback on the car. We made big progress with him in the car in the co-driver sessions, and it was a different car to drive when I hopped back in for Practice 4.We were working on it all weekend. Having Joey along was an eye opener, because it’s showed me that I need to work harder on my feedback.” Moffat might need to work on his feedback, but he showed on Saturday afternoon that he doesn’t

need to work on his overtaking. “Look, Queensland Raceway was a pretty good drive too, but that was maximum attack with no margin for error!” he added. “There were a few dicey moments, but I’d say it was my best drive so far. Under the Safety Car Joey relayed a message to me ‘maximum attack’. That’s what it was. There was no thought about hanging back in fourth. I wanted that podium and the surfboard. But, hey, fourth is still a great result.” Moffat had looked the goods even before the race started. After lucking into his first Shootout spot thanks to rain during regular qualifying, Moffat moved from 10th to sixth with an awesome flying lap. “I just rolled into it not knowing what to expect. I just worked on making no mistakes, and it stuck. The key was getting front tyre temperature, and by the last corner on the out-lap I could feel the grip, which gave me confidence for the first sector. Ultimately, that’s where my lap-time came from. “I’m really proud of everyone here. It’s been a tough couple of rounds, no point in sugar coating it. Steve [Johnson] told me before I hopped in ‘make sure you do something good for us’, so I was under instruction from Stevie J.” – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN motorsport news

RACE

SUPER SEB SETS THE PACE

Andrew Hall

SEBASTIEN Bourdais form during Friday’s action on the Gold Coast was sublime. In fact, to the end of P3, the Frenchman was the quickest driver – and that includes the regulars. Okay, to that point in the day the internationals had enjoyed twice as much track time as the regulars, with two allco-driver sessions, but it was still an eye-opening effort. Even Bourdais’ P2 time was impressive. His 1:12.9927s lap would have put him eighth in P1, and to that point Super Seb hadn’t had the extra track time. With another 40 minutes under his belt, he smashed that time down to a 1:12.4089s, just under 0.05s quicker than Mark Winterbottom’s session-topping time in P1. “We had a pretty good day,” said Bourdais. “[I was] very happy with the car. We made a few changes that really helped me out, and made the car easy to drive and very consistent. Now it’s in Jamie’s hands!” The quickest time in P4 was a 1:12.0546s, set by Whincup in the very same #88 ‘Fones Commodore. Bourdais’ time would have put him eighth, on a completely level playing field.

PERCAT CHANGES ROLES AT HRT

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Andrew Hall

IT’S not often you see a driver go from Bathurst winner to pit crew in the matter of a fortnight, but that’s what happened to Nick Percat on the Gold Coast. Percat was drafted into pit crew for the Toll Holden Racing Team on the Gold Coast, operating the fuel churn during the pit-stops. “We call it the ‘dead man’. The role is pulling the handle open on the fuel churn to let the fuel out into the nozzle, and then into the car,” said Percat. “It helps me understand how that works, because when you’re in the garage you see everyone go out, and them come back in. It was good to see how on it they all are, with the rattle guns and everything. “You have to be quite aware, because in my role, if there is an issue where fuel is spilling you have to be paying attention so you can close it off as quickly as possible. I really enjoyed it.” So for Percat it was Bathurst winner, to pit crew, to open-wheeler driver; he’s on his way to India for the Formula MRF races at this weekend’s Indian Grand Prix today (Monday). Talk about contrasts … – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

TURNER STARS IN TOUGH ROLE DARREN Turner did not look confused when he got to the Gold Coast but you would have understood if he had. The Aston Martin works driver had had a big week and not much time to think about driving a V8 Supercar before he actually did, joining the Holden Racing Team in place of the late Dan Wheldon. “The phone rang on Monday morning,” he explained. “Alan Gow [Ed: in this role, James Courtney’s manager] rang me and asked if I was able to drive. I had to check that with Aston Martin.” Of course, Aston Martin’s racing program is run by Prodrive, technically HRT’s rival. But in the special and sad

circumstances, Turner was given the tick. But there was also the matter of a conversation that had been had with Dario Franchitti – to whom HRT was talking before signing Wheldon. “Mike Henry said that it depended on Dario, but that the team could do with me. So when I got on the plane late on Monday, there was a chance I would be driving and a chance I would be sitting in a bar watching! Then I turned on my phone when I landed and there were a lot of messages after HRT announced the news.” Turner was inserted into a slightly long ‘McConville’ HRT suit and got on with the job. 33

Results :: Race 21 – Surfers Pa

Dirk Klynsmith

Pos

Driver

Team/Car

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

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

J.Whincup/S.Bourdais W.Davison/M.Salo M.Winterbottom/R.Lyons J.Moffat/J.Hand F.Coulthard/P.Long G.Murphy/O.Gavin R.Kelly/J.Bergmeister M.Caruso/A.Farfus Jr J.Webb/G.de Ferran L.Holdsworth/S.Pagenaud G.Tander/R.Briscoe T.Slade/H.Castroneves T.Kelly/R.Westbrook J.Courtney/D.Turner P.Dumbrell/C.Klien S.van Gisbergen/E.Pirro J.Bargwanna/A.Simonson S.Owen/B.Said D.Reynolds/A.Tagliani D.Fiore/G.Morbidelli J.Bright/S.Sarrazin R.Ingall/J.Magnussen A.Davison/M.Lieb T.D’Alberto/V.Liuzzi C.Lowndes/A.Priaulx S.Johnson/D.Mueller W.Luff/M.Franchitti K.Reindler/F.Giovanardi

TeamVodafon Trading Post F Orrcon Steel F Jim Beam Rac Bundaberg Ra Pepsi Max Cre Jack Daniel’s R Fujitsu Racing Mother Energy Fujitsu Racing Toll Holden Ra Lucky 7 Racing Jack Daniel’s R Toll Holden Ra The Bottle-O R SP Tools Racin Jana Living Ra VIP Petfoods C Stratco Racing Westrac Racin Team Boc Com Supercheap Au Irwin Racing F Wilson Securit TeamVodafon Jim Beam Rac Gulf Western O Fair Dinkum S

motorsport news

Top 10 Points: Whincup 2517, Lowndes 2374, van Gisbergen 2009, Winterbottom 1966, Tander 1956, W Davison 1847, R Kelly 1845, Holdsworth 1590, A Davison 1535, Bright 1519.

aradise, Qld

ne Commodore VE2 FPR Falcon FG FPR Falcon FG cing Falcon FG acing Commodore VE2 ew Commodore VE2 Racing Commodore VE2 g GRM Commodore VE2 y Racing Falcon FG g GRM Commodore VE2 acing Team Commodore VE2 g Falcon FG Racing Commodore VE2 acing Team Commodore VE2 Racing Team Falcon FG ng Falcon FG acing Commodore VE2 Commodore VE2 g Commodore VE2 ng Falcon FG mmodore VE2 uto Racing Commodore VE2 Falcon FG ty Racing Falcon FG ne Commodore VE2 cing Falcon FG Oil Racing Commodore VE2 Sheds Racing Commodore VE2 www.mnews.com.au

Results :: Race 22 – Surfers Paradise, Qld Qual

Pos

Driver

Team/Car

Qual

1 3 17 6 11 18 8 14 16 7 2 24 22 10 23 9 26 4 12 27 28 13 5 25 15 20 29 21

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

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

M.Winterbottom/R.Lyons J.Whincup/S.Bourdais L.Holdsworth/S.Pagenaud G.Murphy/O.Gavin R.Kelly/J.Bergmeister J.Courtney/D.Turner S.Owen/B.Said R.Ingall/J.Magnussen T.Kelly/R.Westbrook T.Slade/H.Castroneves D.Reynolds/A.Tagliani S.Johnson/D.Mueller J.Webb/G.de Ferran W.Davison/M.Salo F.Coulthard/P.Long S.van Gisbergen/E.Pirro J.Bargwanna/A.Simonsen A.Davison/M.Lieb T.D’Alberto/V.Liuzzi C.Lowndes/A.Priaulx M.Caruso/A.Farfus Jr K.Reindler/F.Giovanardi G.Tander/R.Briscoe J.Moffat/J.Hand D.Fiore/G.Morbidelli J.Bright/S.Sarrazin W.Luff/M.Franchitti P.Dumbrell/C.Klien

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

3 1 8 7 14 23 6 16 17 22 10 21 19 4 15 18 24 12 20 5 11 28 2 9 26 25 27 13 35

PORSCHE CARRERA CUP ROUND 6 - GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND

Dirk Klynsmith

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RACE

THERE’S A BAIRD IN THERE

WITH A COMMANDING PERFORMANCE ON HIS HOME STREETS, CRAIG BAIRD MOVED A STEP CLOSER TO A THIRD AUSTRALIAN CARRERA CUP TITLE, MITCHELL ADAM REPORTS www.mnews.com.au

‘P

Dirk Klynsmith

ERFECT’ is the word Craig Baird used to describe his Porsche City Index Carrera Cup weekend on the Gold Coast. Baird led the way each time the category was on track, extending his championship lead as he looks to become the first three-time Carrera Cup Australia champion. The Kiwi nabbed pole position at the death of the qualifying session and was largely untroubled as he won all three races. It was his first round win since the season opener at Albert Park in March. “Fastest in practice, pole and three race wins, I can’t do any more. It was perfect,” he said. “It’s sort of come together for the right part of the season. We probably didn’t have the start to the season we wanted, it was a little bit inconsistent and I hadn’t really done enough testing. “I know it sounds stupid but we’ve got a new tyre this year and it changed the car a lot. And I was probably a little bit underprepared; having run this car in Asia last year, I thought I was ahead of the game, and it almost threw me a bit of a curveball. “But my car’s absolutely sweet at the moment.” Baird will head to the season finale at Homebush with a 51-point buffer at the head of the standings. “Motor racing’s motor racing, but I’d rather go in there in the lead than not leading,” he said. In his maiden Gold Coast visit, Daniel Gaunt was second in the first two races and third in the final, to take second for the weekend and move into second in the standings. Steven Richards was third, recovering after a spin in the opener left him seventh. Ben Barker looked a chance to challenge Baird in the final, as he seeks his maiden Carrera Cup win. The Englishman was fifth and third in the first two races but advanced to second in the final. Baird was baulked while trying to lap Ross Lilley and Barker closed in, only to crash at the first chicane with two laps to run. And then there was the McElrea Racing pair. Jonny Reid challenged Gaunt for second in Race 1 but ultimately had to settle for third, and was in the thick of a five-car battle for second in Race 2. With two laps to go, Reid tried to pass team-mate Michael Patrizi for third, but they made contact exiting Turn 4. It cut Patrizi’s left rear tyre and when he got to Turn 13, he spun into the wall, where Reid collected him, Reid’s Porsche ending up on top of Patrizi’s. Bathurst round winner Patrizi got back up to sixth in the final before a steering problem ended his recovery, while Reid finished fifth. Paul Kelly took out the Elite Class, with a different driver topping the class in each start. A broken driveshaft sidelined points leader Max Twigg in the opener, which was taken out by James Koundouris. It was Kelly’s turn in Race 2, grabbing fifth outright, before Twigg won the final. Twigg continues to lead the points. Almost identical Lap 1 incidents at Turn 4 in Races 2 and 3 accounted for drivers in the class. In Race 2, Damien Flack cannoned into Peter Hill, with Koundouris and Shane Smollen caught up. In the final, it was Simon Middleton running down the inside, tagging Kelly and Michael Loccisano. Points: Baird 890, Gaunt 839, Richards 792, Reid 777, Barker 635, Patrizi 610 motorsport news

RACE

Peter Bury

Daniel Gaunt, above, was second for the weekend behind Baird, while McElrea Racing team-mates Michael Patrizi and Jonny Reid came together in Race 2, right. Ben Barker’s weekend ended in the wall, below, while Turn 4 hosted several first lap incidents in the Elite Class, below right.

James Smith James Smith

John Morris / Mpix

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AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD C’SHIP ROUND 6 - GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND

Dirk Klynsmith

CAMERON’S YEAR, JACK’S WEEK

T wasn’t his best weekend of the year, but Cameron Waters still left the Gold Coast as the 2011 Australian Formula Ford Champion. The 17-year-old entered the weekend the runaway championship leader, and sealed it with sixth in the final race, despite Jack LeBrocq’s round victory. Even after tagging the wall and sitting out most of qualifying, Waters took pole and was in a three-way Sonic fight for the lead in the opener. But that soon turned sour. At the end of the back straight, Waters, above, nudged the rear of Garry Jacobson’s Mygale, turning it into a half-spin and resulting in wheelto-wheel contact between Jacobson and Nick Foster, who was simultaneously trying to pass Waters down the inside. It ended Foster’s race and Jacobson played no further part in the weekend after injuring his hand, which became wedged between the steering wheel and cockpit. Amid the mayhem, Liam Sager scampered through and went on to grab his maiden win, with Waters settling for second. Waters slotted back into the lead in Race 2, but not for long, crashing at Turn 11 on the second 40

lap. LeBrocq, above right, won the race to keep the title alive, with Waters needing to regroup to sixth in Race 3 to seal the title with a round to spare. He made good early progress from the rear of the grid, and fifth was enough to get it done. “It was a little weird,” Waters said of wrapping up the title in a mixed weekend. “I thought I’d probably finish Race 2 and wrap it up then, but it wasn’t to be. I hit the inside wall, just clipped it, which broke my steering arm and fired me into the next wall. It was my mistake. “Still, it’s awesome to wrap it up, so we can go to Tasmania knowing I don’t have to race for points or positions.” LeBrocq won the final to take his second round win of the year, and move into second in the standings with one round to go. “We didn’t do much testing before the season started and haven’t done much during the year, so each round that we come to, we’re learning more and more about the new car and getting stronger and stronger,” he said. The CAMS Rising Star had to work hard for his Race 2 win, fending off Sager and Tom

Williamson by less than a second. In the final, Sager and Williamson looked set to continue the battle, until Sager slowed exiting the final corner mid-race and dropped down the order. Williamson went on to finish second for the race and weekend, while Sager was 12th but held on for the final weekend podium spot. “The clutch pedal went flat to the floor, so I had no drive at all,” Sager explained. “I had to try and kick it in and get it back out, I got it back out just before I came into the pitlane, so I kept going. We had car speed all weekend, though, which is good.” Tom Goess had his best weekend, challenging the front-runners, particularly in the final, and eventually finishing fourth for the weekend, ahead of Shae Davies. Nursing a wounded hand after the Race 1 incident, Foster crashed out of Race 2, but recovered to third in Race 3. LeBrocq’s team-mate, Trent Harrison had a horror weekend after qualifying fourth. A clash with Williamson put him out of the opener, and a mystery misfire accounted for the rest of his weekend. Points: Waters 295, LeBrocq 231, Foster 194, Williamson 185, Harrison 137, Jacobson 137 motorsport news

RACE

Dirk Klynsmith

KEND

JACK LEBROCQ WON THE ROUND, BUT CAMERON WATERS WAS THE BIG FORMULA FORD WINNER ON THE GOLD COAST, MITCHELL ADAM REPORTS

John Morris / Mpix

Liam Sager, above, grabbed his first FFord win, while Nick Foster, left, endured a tough weekend – crashing out of the first two races before recovering to third in the final.

James Smith

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TOURING CAR MASTERS ROUND 6 - GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND

HE’S BACK

WITH HIS FIRST ROUND WIN SINCE MAY, JOHN BOWE HAS MOVE THE LEAD OF THE TOURING CAR MASTERS. DANIEL HERRERO WA

OHN Bowe is back on top of the Touring Car Masters Presented by Autobarn after Round 6 on the streets of Surfers Paradise. Bowe was clearly the class of the field on the opening day, collecting pole on just his second lap (of four) during qualifying, and won lights-to-flag by 4.7s in the 12-lap Race 1. The Tasmanian progressed to third from in partially reversed grid in Race 2, but couldn’t hold off Jim Richards for victory in Race 3 after being hamstrung by the series’ parity procedures. “It [was] a solid weekend. The car’s pretty good everywhere, we’ve got a good understanding of it, but we’ve got to deal with the rev cuts and things that happen during the course of the weekend if you’re going well, so that’s always a challenge,” explained Bowe. Richards’ final race victory helped him to second for the round. “[It’s] gone good. We qualified second, second in the first race, and fifth in the reverse-grid [race]. Reverse-grid races don’t really suit our car as well as the big cars because we don’t have any pull out of the corners, and I just take it very easy in the reverse-grid races – I don’t want to damage the car – and I come where I come,” explained Richards. “The last race was great. We saved a couple of tyres that had only done a lap, and we saved our best ‘til last.” Eddie Abelnica completed the weekend podium and had a significant impact on proceedings, allowing Bowe to skip away early

on in both Race 1 and Race 3 by hassling Richards in the latter and holding him off in the former, despite brake issues. The XB Falcon did however set a new lap record in Race 3. Previous points leader Andrew Miedecke was the hard-luck story of the weekend, returning the favour paid by Bowe’s mechanical gremlins at the Muscle Car Masters when the Charger broke an axle in the first racing lap of the weekend. “I think we probably had the car for the weekend, but it didn’t quite work out,” said Miedecke, who charged from last to second in Race 2. “That gives the championship lead to John, but we’ll be going for it for the next two rounds and see how we end up.” Tony Karanfilovski joined the list of TCM race winners when he was in the right place to profit from Cameron Tilley’s bad luck in the reverse-grid affair, as the latter’s Pacer had a fiery end while leading. However, the former Alfa Romeo competitor still had to work for it when his GTHO blew its clutch late in the piece. “I think it was fortunate that Jim and Andrew got into bingle on the last corner because I reckon they would have just driven past me,” said Karanfilovski, “but, yeah, it was good. It was a great result for all the hard work the boys have done for the past few years.” Trevor Talbot took out Class B, with Amanda Sparks winning Class A. The series resumes at Sandown on 18 to 20 November. Points: Bowe 1217, Richards 1187, Miedecke 1147, Sparks 1077, John Nelson motorsport news

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James Smith

Tony Karanfilovski, above, grabbed his maiden TCM race win in Race 2, leading home Andrew Miedecke, below. Jim Richards, bottom, won the final and was second for the weekend.

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ED BACK INTO AS THERE

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V8 UTE RACING SERIES ROUND 6 - GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND

ON A ROLL

T’S not often that an Auto One V8 Utes driver can have a perfect weekend. Given that the Utes run a partial-reverse grid in Race 2 at most events, sweeping all three races is a very rare feat indeed, but that’s exactly what Ryal Harris did at Surfers Paradise on the weekend. Earlier in the week, the category’s PR people got Harris and fellow Gold Coast resident Chris Pither together for a photo shoot at the Mantra hotel’s pool. The idea was to set the scene for the local boys’ fight for the championship, given Pither was leading from Harris and West Aussie Grant Johnson coming

into the meeting. You’d suspect then that seeing pair pretty-well side-by-side across the control line for the first time in qualifying would have pleased Utes management, as would the fact that they would go on to share the front row for Race 1. From there, however, it wasn’t really a contest at the very front of the pack, Harris winning the start and claiming the opener, lights-to-flag. Starting from eighth in Race 2, he snatched the lead from Pither at the hairpin on the penultimate lap thanks in part to a cheeky tap in the left-rear of the Ice Break Iced Coffee Commodore, and had to

slip under Cameron McConville at the end of the beach on the second lap to win the final race. “To do pole and three from three feels amazing at home,” enthused Harris. “I said at Bathurst that to win this weekend was going to feel even better and I’m having a blast.” Pither struggled to fifth to start his weekend, but overnight setup changes kept the current V8 Utes champion in his native New Zealand in the game, the Kiwi leading for most of Race 2 after a ripper start, before missing the apex at the Hairpin late in the piece invited Harris to make the decisive move. Fourth in the final sprint left him happy

AFTER TAKING HIS M ROUND WIN AT BATH HARRIS MADE IT TW WITH A HOMETOWN DANIEL HERRERO R enough to hold on to a narrowed championship lead. “I thought it was a great weekend, really,” said Pither. “I was never going to beat Ryal – he was too fast – so there wasn’t any point putting the Ute in the fence trying to keep up with him. I just kept as close as I could to him and minimised the points difference, basically.” McConville, above right, was actually second for the meeting on a countback, his best result in his rookie season, and lead early in Race 3 after making a great start from the front row. “Bathurst was a shocker,” explained McConville. “I was kind of in V8 Supercar mode

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MAIDEN V8 UTE THURST, RYAL WO IN A ROW, N CLEAN SWEEP, REPORTS John Morris / Mpix James Smith

that weekend and I didn’t really adjust back into the Ute, so it was good to focus on one thing this weekend, and I’d really love to crack it for a round win before the season’s out.” Grant Johnson’s title defence is all but over after a DNF thanks to his bonnet, which flew up after light contact with the rear of Jack Elsegood’s Falcon early in Race 2, right. He’s fallen to fifth in the points, with David Sieders third despite a mixed weekend, which included dealing with an errant water bottle near his pedals in Race 2 and an off in the final. Points: Pither 728, Harris 710, Sieders 681, Pretty 664, Johnson 663, Kim Jane 575

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NASCAR ROUND 32 - TALLADEGA, AL

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C NASCAR Media

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of the

Century 100 years after Louis Chevrolet started his own car company, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton had their own race at Talladega

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To add to the celebrations after a 1-2, RCR’s sixth win of the year (and third of the last four at Talladega) was the team’s 100th win at Cup level. “Honestly, I thought he made his move too early,” said Burton post-race. “I kind of gave him the bottom, because you tend to be able to pull them back to you better when you’re on their right rear quarter panel. “He made his move really early, I thought. I thought I’d be able to pull back to him, but he had a lot of momentum

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OR a team that does not have as many drivers in The Chase for the Sprint Cup as it would like, Richard Childress Racing looked awfully good at Talladega. Clint Bowyer, who departs the team at the end of the season, raced by team-mate Jeff Burton on the final lap of the race. It looked to many like the #33 had gone too early, but the black and silver car (painted so to celebrate Chevolret’s centenary) stayed ahead by 0.018s at the flag to give Bowyer his first win of the season.

Chevy 1, Chevy 2: Clint Bowyer steals the win from team-mate Kevin Burton to score the Childress team’s 100th Sprint Cup win on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Chevrolet, main, above.

when he made the move.” Regardless, Bowyer was a happy man in Victory Lane. “He kind of moved up off of [Turn] 4, and I knew it was too early to go, but it was going to be a drag race, and it would give us both a shot at it,” Bowyer said. “He worked so well with me all day long. You hate that it comes down to that, but it is what it is, and you owe it to your team and your sponsors to go out and win the race.” In a race that featured NASCAR’s superspeedway dance card of drivers pairing up to maximise their speed, Dave Blaney was third, having partnered Brad Keselowski for much of the race. It was the

third time Blaney has scored his career-best result, a great boost for Tommy Baldwin’s improving team. Keselowski will not much mind, as only five of the 12 Chasers finished inside the top 24 positions on a disastrous day for many. Even fourth placed gave Keselowski a three-spot boost in the points positions. To add to the pairings, Red Bull followed, Brian Vickers edging Kasey Kahne, ahead of Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Michael Waltrip, driving his brother Darrell’s Hall of Fame car, edged his own driver, Martin Truex Jr, out of ninth. Carl Edwards was 11th and Matt Kenseth 18th, while the other Chase contenders had a

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variety of dramas. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were both caught up in a crash caused when Richard Petty’s Marcos Ambrose and AJ Allmendinger got tangled. Jimmie Johnson was 25th, one spot ahead of Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon, giving the team four positions outside the top 20 on a weekend when they dominated qualifying. Edwards said before The Chase started that Roush Fenway was working hard on its consistency for NASCAR’s ‘finals’. He has scored top-10s in five Chase races, 11th here, and is 50 points clear of Johnson, the man most still rate as a massive threat. That is a big hurdle to overcome for a sixth straight title; at the moment, Edwards appears to be in the

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

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Take your partners: Being Talladega, it was time for NASCAR’s dance card routine as drivers paired up to push one another around the superspeedway, left. Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin started it but Regan Smith (78) got the worst of it, and Marcos Ambrose only just avoided it, above. Difference of opinion between Juan Montoya and Kyle Busch, below left; every car carried Dan Wheldon tribute decals, centre.

Results :: Good Sam Club 500, TALLADEGA AL NASCAR Media

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Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

No. 33 31 36 2 83 4 14 11 115 56

Driver Clint Bowyer Jeff Burton Dave Blaney Brad Keselowski Brian Vickers Kasey Kahne Tony Stewart Denny Hamlin Michael Waltrip Martin Truex Jr.

Make Chevy Chevy Chevy Dodge Toyota Toyota Chevy Toyota Toyota Toyota

Team Childress Childress Baldwin Penske Red Bull Red Bull Stewart Haas Gibbs Waltrip Waltrip

Sponsor Qual. Chevy 100 Years 3 Caterpillar 25 Golden Corral 41 Miller Lite 16 Red Bull 30 Red Bull 26 El Monterey/Office Depot 12 FedEx Office 21 Darrell Waltrip Hall of Fame 23 NAPA Auto Parts 37

Points: Edwards 2237, Kenseth 2223, Keselowski 2219, Stewart 2218, Harvick 2211, Kyle Busch 2197, Johnson 2187, Kurt Busch 2185, Earnhardt 2163, Gordon 2155, Hamlin 2152, Newman 2149.

Dean Perkins

MUSTON CAR MASTER NSW STATE A CLEAN sweep by Neale Muston in the Production Sports class was backed up by a race win in the Supersport category as the NSW State Championship hit Eastern Creek over the weekend. Using the brand new ‘North circuit’, Muston annihilated the opposition in his Porsche GT3 Cup car, winning all four races

before taking full advantage when Adam Proctor suffered a broken wheel in the Supersport class to cap off a busy weekend. It was the second retirement of the weekend for Proctor who now heads in to the final round of the championship with an uphill battle if he’s catch points leader Michael Shaw. Glenn Lynch was also among the spoils, claiming all three race wins in the

Racing Cars category, while Warren McIlveen continued his stranglehold over the Superkart field. James Spicer made David Whitmore work hard for his Formula Ford victories, while only Chris Jackson was able to match Dameon Jameson in Sports Sedans – the result giving Jameson a narrow championship win ahead of Simon Copping, who was

forced to play catch up all weekend after retiring from the weekends opening race. Elsewhere honours were split between Bob Pearson and Jim Pollicina in the Production Touring Cars class while Duane Cambridge got his name on the winners list for the first time, joining Garry Pilkington and Peter Green Jnr among the HQ Racing race victors. – MAT COCH

LOUDON BOUNCES BACK SPEEDWAY FORMER Tyrepower Sydney Speedway track champion Ian Loudoun bounced back into the winner’s circle last Saturday night, easily winning the 30-lap A Main feature. Loudoun picked up the win from former TSS track champs Mitchell Dumesny and Robbie Farr, making a rare Sydney appearance, in third. Racing a brand-new Maxim for season 2011/12, Loudon took control

of the race from NT star Daniel Goldini by Lap 8, with Dumesny joining him in second a lap or so later. The big mover in the field was Farr. After starting way back from position 19 when noise problems saw him excluded from third in the opening heat, the HiTech Oils Maxim forged towards the leaders but the current WSS had to settle for third. Early leader Goldini continued onto finish fifth, with front-row starters Grant Tunks and Warren

Ferguson making up the top six places. “I felt confident, the car was good all night,” Loudon told eNews. “I thought I could hear someone, so I was probably pushing too hard towards the end. I did have a bit of drama with lapped traffic but we made it count when we had too and it paid off.” With 36 Sprintcars on hand, the heat races were action packed, with wins going to Mark Blyton,

Troy Little, Warren Ferguson, Jeremy Cross and Loudon, while Dumsney grabbed two. The only major incident saw Denis Farr – Robbie’s father, back from the USA – flipping over in Heat 8, ending his night. The B Main featured a great battle for the lead with Paul Jeffery taking the win over Glen Saville, with Clayton Hart and Daryl Campbell completing the quartet advancing into the A Main. – GREG BOSCATO

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VIC STATE CHAMPIONS were crowned under brilliant sunshine at Phillip Island on the weekend, in the fourth and final round of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships. Lamborghini driver Mark Seamons took a clean sweep of the Sports Car races ahead of Jamie Augustine. The two had a great battle all weekend, as Seamons only just managed to overcome Augustine in the opening two races, pictured.

Scott Andrews finally converted his dominant speed in the Formula Fords to win his first Kent feature race of the year. Luck put him out of contention for the championship, but he won the round, while Lachlan Marshall wrapped up the championship after a mistake from main rival, Adrian Lazzaro. The mechanical gods were good to Dean Camm in the Sports Sedans as he took out the round win ahead of Michael Robinson, who took the championship. Although at

Justin Collins

SEAMONS SAYS first he didn’t look like he would be able to beat the Falcon of Dean Lillie, Ben Schoots found his feet on Sunday to take out the Improved Production round driving his Mazda RX-7. As the only man who took tworace wins in the Formula Vees, Ash Quiddington won the last round of the Vees at the Island. Mitch Martin, meanwhile, took out the championship in his first attempt. Ivan Klasan was in a class of his own within the Porsche 944 Challenge, while Tim Rowse

managed to score onto the Saloon Cars honours in his Holden Commodore. ‘Rocket’ Rodney Raatjes was the round winner in the Holden HQs after the final race was dramatically Red Flagged, while it was Fraser Ross who had a number one next to his name in the Historic Touring Cars. MGB GT V8 driver Robin Bailey made a welcome return to the top of the timesheets in the MGs and Invited British Sportscar ranks. – CALLUM BRANAGAN

A VEALLY GOOD EFFORT SPEEDWAY WARRNAMBOOL driver Jamie Veal tops the points after a consistent opening two rounds of the Sprintcar Racing Association of Victoria series in South Australia last weekend. The 23-year-old claimed the opening win of the 14-round series at Bordertown’s Tolmer Speedway and backed up with a strong fourth the following night in Murray Bridge. Veal timed his charge to victory on night one to

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perfection, claiming the win by just 0.084s after coming from fourth, and never hit the lead until the final metre of the 30-lap feature, pinching the win from Melbourne’s Brett Milburn. “I would have won by a wheel,” Veal said. “I tried to go around him with three to go and I biked it and almost flipped. The last corner, I just put it in there and it stuck. I don’t think we had the best car here tonight but we got the win, we led the lap that counted.” The feature hadn’t officially

started when the highest qualifier, defending series champion John Vogels and Darren Mollenoyux clashed, leaving Vogels with front-end damage and Mollenoyux relegated to the rear. Veal, who spent three weeks in the US in the off-season contesting seven shows, backed up his opening night SRA series win with fourth in Saturday’s second round at Murray Bridge. He finished behind South Australian Luke Dillon, former Australian champ James

McFadden and Mollenoyux, while Vogels failed to finish the feature. Veal was pleased with his fourth placing, having started the final from position 12. “We struggled in the heats. We weren’t that flash. We couldn’t get a handle on the car the way the track was. Once we got out there in the final, it was OK,” he said. The SRA-Eureka Garages and Sheds Sprintcar Series continues at Heartland Raceway Echuca/ Moama on November 5. – GEOFF ROUNDS

GREEN ROUNDS OUT THE DTM AT HOCKENHEIM DTM THE last race of the 2011 DTM season was run and won on the weekend at Hockenheim, where HWA Mercedes racer Jamie Green took home the silverware. It was Englishman’s seventh win in the series, and his first DTM win since visiting the Norisring last season. After being denied pole position by Miguel Molina in qualifying, Green got his race underway in spectacular style when he

lead the field heading into Turn 1. Enjoying clear air at the head of the pack, Green was able to pull out a 2.5s gap over his brethren, eventually stretching his leading margin to almost seven seconds at one point. Green looked to have won the race with consummate ease as he was only ever challenged right at the beginning of the 38lap race, when newly crowned champion Martin Tomczyk put a move up the inside in his Audi A4. Unfortunately for the champion, however,

he didn’t pull off the move and Tomczyk would finish the race in second place ahead of fellow Audi driver, Molina. Garry Paffet was the next best Mercedes in fifth place, ahead of Mattias Ekstrom in sixth. It was also the last time the current generation of DTM cars would compete, before the series moves onto new regulations for the 2012 season. BMW will also be joining the series after 20-years away in their new M3 DTM.

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ZUKANOVIC JOINS MIEDECKE IN THE US AUSSIES OVERSEAS TWO Australians started in the latest round UARA Stars Series at Newport Speedway on the weekend, with Marcus Zukanovic making the trek to the USA to join George Miedecke under the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport umbrella. Dialing his Ford Fusion in for long green flag running was Miedecke, who started his race from 12th position. After a solid race, Miedecke made his way to fourth,

consolidating second in the title chase in doing so. Miedecke won the Rookie of the Race, as well as the Hard Charger award for his troubles. “It was a decent night, a really good turn around from the past couple of outings for the team,” Miedecke said. “We didn’t quite have the speed in qualifying, but the car was definitely one of the best out there in race trim. “I just played the waiting game in the race

and picked the cars off one-by-one. “Unfortunately on the last restart I got trapped behind a lapped car, which made it really hard to catch the leaders, but fourth is still an encouraging result.” Quickly adapting to the banked turns, meanwhile, was Zukanovic, who impressed with his adaptation to the discipline. Starting the race from 16th place, Zukanovic made his way steadily up the field to finish a well-deserved 13th in the 150 lap race.

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DRAMATIC EUROF3 FINALE Sutton-Images.com

F3 EURO SERIES JOINING the DTM Series at Hockenheim was the Formula 3 Euro Series where Roberto Merhi and Felix Rosenqvist shared the race spoils. In the opening race, 2011 Champion Merhi overcame race-long pressure from Rosenqvist to win by a tiny margin of 0.9s. Having being denied his maiden Euro Series win in the previous race, Rosenqvist

managed to get by his main rival Merhi to take a commanding win in the second race of the weekend. Also, with his first win, Rosenqvist became the first swede to win in the F3 Euro Series. Merhi loomed behind the race winner in second position after a solid race. The final race of the weekend however proved to be the most controversial after Merhi took the spoils following a collision with Rosenqvist.

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ON their first excursion to the famous Suzuka Circuit of Japan, Alain Menu took out the opening race of the World Touring Car Championship. Tom Coronel meanwhile took out the second race of the weekend after enduring race-long pressure from Yvan Muller. It was an all Chevrolet affair in the opening race, as Swiss racer Menu managed to pull out a margin of over three seconds over teammate Rob Huff. In the second race, after getting a great start in which he made up several spots, Coronel took his privateer BMW all the way to the win with a tiny half-second margin over Muller in second place, who couldn’t mount a successful pass on the BMW pilot.

Rosenqvist pulled off a stellar move to outbrake Merhi, but was promptly taken out of the race after Merhi managed to again get ahead and cut across the front of the Swede’s nose. Rosenqvist went straight ahead into the wall, while Merhi took the win in the final race of the season. Nigel Melker came across the line in second place ahead of Daniel Juncadella in third place.

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Help for Wheldon’s Family

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AN extraordinary number of items are to be auctioned Monday, US time, to aid the family of Dan Wheldon. Graham Rahal set the ball rolling by arranging some of his racing gear be auctioned and in the last few days, athletes from the wide world of sports have come to his cause. The list is literally growing by the hour, and 100 percent of proceeds will go to the Wheldon family. A link to the auction site will available through www. DanWheldonMemorial.com, the memorial website set up by GoDaddy.com, which includes a Facebook link to leave condolences and remembrances, a career photo retrospective and details on how fans can donate to either the Dan Wheldon Family Trust Fund or the Alzheimer's Association, a cause near to Dan Wheldon.

Missing a mate: Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan and Bryan Herta, for whom Dan Wheldon drove this year at Indianapolis, support each other at Saturday’s Memorial Serive in Indianapolis. A number of racing and entertainment stars combined at the event. A private funeral service is being held in Florida later this week.

ON THIS DAY 26 OCTOBER 2008

THREE years ago, Marco Simoncelli celebrated his 250cc Grand Prix crown by taking out the final round of the season at Valencia. He was the first man to win the title for Gilera, after having sealed the deal with third place at the preceding race at Sepang. Now, the MotoGP community will have to assemble in Valencia on November 4-6 to face the first race after the Italian lost his life at Sepang.

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