Motorsport News Issue 104 - 4-17 July 1997

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MARK Webber is on the verge of following the same route to Formula 1 as world champion Michael Schu macher.

The 20-year-old Australian is being courted by the MercedesBenz factory and could sign a con tract with the German company within weeks.

Mercedes wanted Webber to test one of its awesome CLK-GTR sports racers this week, but he wants to concentrate fully on the

By DAVID HASSALL important F3 race supporting next week's British Grand Prix.

He will now test the 420kW (560 bhp) Mercedes GT racer after Silverstone.

Although there is talk of a Fonnula 1 test also before the end of the year, this is more difficult to organise because the Mercedes FI effort is controlled by the McLaren team.

Indycar racing is also in the pic ture as the third category in which

Mercedes is involved.

Webber confirmed the Mercedes approach when we spoke with him on Tuesday.

"Yes, we've been talking about doing something," he said cautiously.

I've been over to Stuttgart recently and (Mercedes competition chief) Norbert Haug has been so good to me - he is really switched on.

"There have been some pretty heavy discussions and I guess it's Continued Page 3

INSIDE

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The V8 Supercar teams will meet later this month to consider wide-ranging proposals to reduce costs and improve the quality of the racing. Full story Page 3

Darwin race Darwin is set to replace Eastern Creek on the SATCC calender in 1998 See P5 01 tST OFF: A McLaren-Mercedes test is on the cards for the young Australian.

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V8 move to cut costs

By CHRIS LAMBDEN TEGA has this week finalised plans for a workshop on July 28/29 to discuss the future tech nical development of V8 touring cars.

Following a growing tide for cost-saving change (“V8 Revamp” - MSN,May 9), CAMS representatives. Ford and Holden will join TEGA mem bers at a venue near Melbourne to discuss a range of items ' aimed at achieving that.

The meeting will also address the timing of the introduction of new model cars, in particular the looming VT Holden and engineering aspects related to the new Holden.

Cost saving suggestions on the agenda for discussion are niunerous and include: Cars: higher ride height; stan dardised 9” diff housing; steel diff spools and driveshafts only; the minimum all-up rear axle weight already proposed by Larry Perkins (130kg); common

diff ratio for most circuits; ban ning of test/spare cars; data-logger restrictions.

Engines: reduced rpm maxi mum; single spec inlet mani fold; maximum inlet valve size; minimum weights for crank shaft, flywheel, harmonic bal ancer; standard conrod length; maximum valve lift.

Discussion will also range across the number of SATCC rounds (some are calling for a reduction) to restrictions on numbers of team personnel.

Interestingly, the agenda makes no mention of aerody namics, although that and other topics — the cost of cur rent braking set-ups — are also likely to be raised.

While agreement across the board is almost impossible, the two-day chat is aimed at pro ducing an agreed, viable list of changes aimed at cost-reduc tion, with the flow-on effects that is deemed to have for the over-all entertainment quality of the V8 package.

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Crash course in marketing Quote of the Year? SATCC points leader Glenn Seton this week recalled that as he sat on the grid for the second heat at Lakeside, IMG’s Tony Cochrane leaned in the window and (ever the marketing man)said,“Could you drop a couple of I'aces?”

Ten minutes later the Ford Credit car was in the wall... n As Motorsport News closed for press, the CAMS Board was considering TOCA Australia’s submission regarding weight changes for the Super Tourer category.

Follovdng BMW’s strong showing to date in the opening three rounds, some degree of weight penalty was expected for rear-wheel-drive cars, although Audi has also been campaigning for the removal of weight added to its(4WD)cars last year. n Hot unconfirmed rumour in Melbourne this week suggests that Rodney Jane’s NASCAR challenge this season will be backed by Tabcorp. n HRT is taking its Young Lions car on the Perth/SA dou ble-header, although it is unlike ly to race at Wanneroo.

However, should Brock and Murphy’s regular’ cars survive Wanneroo intact, it is possible that Stephen White will race the car at Mallala. n At the same time, Melinda Price will make her debut in the Castrol Cougar’ Commodore at Wanneroo, with Kerryn Brewer expected to start her second round at Mallala."

BARNSTORMER... The awesome AMG-run factory Mercedes CLK-GTR which Webber will test in a couple of weeks’time.

(Photo by LAT Digital)

Mercedes wants Webber Continued from Page 1

fair to say they are taking it seriously when they take me over to Stuttgart and show me the set-up over there.

“Of course being involved with Mercedes is huge for me. ’ “They’ve guided the likes of Michael Schumacher and HeinzHarald Frentzen from sports cars into Formula 1 and they’ve had a very low failure rate.”

It should be noted that Mercedes have also guid ed Karl Wendlinger, Jan Magnussen, Alexander Wurz and Dario Franchitti, and have recently signed F3 men Nick Heidfeld and Marcel Tieman.

Haug said at Magny Cours on the weekend that he wanted to help Webber’s career and con firmed that the GT test would take place.

“The guy is talented and we would like to do something with him,” Haug said.

We are really

IMPRESSED... Mercedes team chief Norbert Haug with McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen at Magy Cours last weekend. (Photo by LATDigital) impressed with him and we want to focus on him.

“He is really competi tive and is making good progi-ess.”

Webber said the first Mercedes contact was made less than four months ago.

“I introduced myself to Mr Haug at Albert Park this yeai’ and he rang me after that and asked me to keep him up to speed with my results in Britain.

“He seems to be happy with what I’ve done in Foi’mula 3 over here and is aware of the situation knocking off PSR (Paul Stewart Racing); being in a team effectively by myself; in England for only a year and a half, things like that.

“They treat Formula 1, Indycars and GT equally, but the GT program is the only one the;^ control, so that was easier for them to organise.

“They asked me to go down to Mugello in Italy and test the GT car with Alessandro Nannini and Bernd Schneider, but I really didn’t want to go straight from the GT car into Formula 3 qualifying at Silverstone.

“Now we’ll do it after the Grand Prix.”

Asked about the com pany’s plans to take him into Formula 1, Webber was again cautious.

“If Mercedes are look ing after me, they will put me in whatever they think is good for Mercedes and Mark Webber,” he said.

“But if I can prove my ability to them they will want to make the most of that.”

The most powerful car Webber has raced to date has been a Formula Holden, but he does not think the power will be the problem.

“I think the hardest thing will be getting used to the brakes, which are huge carbon-on-carb'on units on the GT car.”

Coulthard hopes to stay at McLaren WITH Ralf Schumacher rumoured to be heading to McLaren next year, David Coulthard has come out say ing that he intends staying with the team next year.

That would leave Finn Mika Hakkinen out in the cold if the team’s partners Mercedes-Benz and West cigarettes insist on the team having a German driver in 1998.

Eddie Jordan says he has Ralf under contract but in the past has proved willing to sell his dri vers if he is offered enough money (ref: Eddie Irvine).

If the Germans insist on a German driver team boss Ron Dennis faces the difficult deci sion of releasing either Coulthard or Hakkinen.

Mika, who has been with the team since 1993 without win ning a race, and his manager Keke Rosberg may feel that after four years it is time to move else where, but with McLai’en threat ening to become competitive again it is not a good time to move.

-JOESAWARD

n The AMP 1000 pre-event media launch is scheduled for Tuesday July 22, while AVESCO’s similar function, for the Australian 10000 Classic, will fall a fortnight later, on Tuesday August 5. Both follow weekend rounds of their respective championships in Sydney.

Outgoing IMG motorsport manager Tony Cochrane has said that a naming rights spon sor for the October 19 race should be known by that date. n Mark Larkham’s Mitre 10 Falcon completed a successful shakedown run at Lakeside last Wednesday. According to crew chief Ross Stone, the car straightened up just fine after its Lakeside shunt. n With regard to moves to control real’ axle weights, a num ber of V8 cars had their assem blies weighed at Lakeside. While most were around the 130kg mai’k, we hear that one team came it at under 80kg! Special materials? n Super Tourer racer Bob Tweedie will contest the Group N support races at Wanneroo this weekend. Tweedie will race Bill Meeke’s big V8-engined Ford Falcon Rally Sprint. n Dick Johnson will establish something of a record when he starts his 150th consecutive Australian Touring Car Championship roimd at Wanneroo in Perth this week end. Now that’s one record that not even Peter Brock can claim!

3

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Resolution sought for Sundown THE fate of the 1997 Sandown 500 was close to finalisation this week.

Discussions between promoter Jon Davison and IMG’s Garry Craft regarding the financial aspects of the race were due to conclude

broadcast costs, according to Davison, In the meantime, we understand that CAMS is holding back on issuing any paperwork to Davison until the vwangle is sorted out.

AVESCO has successfully and then go to yesterday’s sought $300,000 in appearAVESCO (Wednesday) ance fees/prizemoney for its Board meeting. non-SATCC races (AGP, In the face of the V8 Indy) of late, but with a teams’ increased financial degree of V8 racing tradidemands this year, Davison tion already suffering in has upped prizemoney to 1997, a resolution of the $80,000 for the race, financial wrangle was seen scrapped entry fees and com- by most parties as desirmitted to $100,000 of track able, surface improvements, while Failing that, it is under AVESCO has reportedly stood both Phillip Island and Adelaide International been seeking $150,000 in prizemoney - half its usual Raceway have expressed ask. interest in staging a preAustralian 1000 Classic A compromise looked to be dependent on discussions endurance race.

- CHRIS LAMBDEN relating to Channel lO’s

Willrams set for

VSdeal FORMULA Holden driver Bruce Williams is to chal

lenge for the new Privateer award at the Australian 1000 Classic.

Williams’ ciurent Formula Holden sponsor, Simoco Communications, has con firmed a significant propor tion of the budget.

Williams plans to run Sandown and Bathurst in the VP Commodore formerly campaigned by privateer David Parsons.

The car was recently acquired by Ballarat Truck dealer Rob Smith (to replace Pearson ex-Bob an Commodore), who plans to race it in sprints and hillclimbs.

However, with the car being prepared at Williams’ Ballarat workshops, the offer has come to make the car available for the long dis tance double.

Williams has decided to go all-out for victory in AVESCO’s newly created Control tyre privateer cate gory on October 19.

“The car is in terrific trim,” Williams said this week, “and the new incen tives for privateer teams actually gives us something to go for at Bathurst, which

we have every chance of winning.

“For people like us, putting together a new team, it’s a great incentive.”

While no co-driver has yet been named, triple Gold Star Champion Paul Stokell is part of Williams’ Formula Holden race-day crew and is known to be keen to share the drive.

Another possibility centres around Melbourne HeraldSun motoring writer Paul Cover.

Cover has quite a strong competition background, having rallied and raced Production cars and, most recently, completed a num ber of AUSCAR races.

Smith has acquired the car -with a fresh Perkins Holden engine and all the acces sories and pit gear to run the car.

The team will lease a sec ond Perkins engine.

Adding to the team’s strength will be the presence of Dean “Curl” Orr as crew chief.

Orr, who headed Perkins' crew to its two Bathurst wins, is currently overseeing preparation of Williams’ Formula Holden.

-CHRIS LAMBDEN

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THREE-WAY BATTLE... Title contenders John Bowe, Russell Ingall and Glenn Seton, pictured at Calder last year, are looking fonvard to the critical Wanneroo/Mallala double.

Seton confident as crunch time arrives for V8s

By CHRIS LAMBDEN GLENN Seton heads to Perth this weekend for the start of the Wanneroo/Mallala double on consecu tive weekends confident he can re establish his Shell series lead.

At the same time, challengers Russell Ingall and John Bowe have completed some between-race testing and both are claiming performance gains as the series comes down to crunch-time.

Seton’s Ford Credit Falcon has been rebuilt “as good as new” following his Lakeside shunt and, although Ingall and Bowe are now breathing down his neck, Seton believes the remaining rounds suit his car.

“My car has always been good in Perth,” he said on Monday. “In fact all three of'these last three tracks will be good for us.”

With the damage to the Falcon repaired, he is more determined than ever to sew up his second Shell AustrMian Touring Car Championship: “It (the crash) shouldn’t have hap pened, but it did. In a funny way, it’s a good thing that it happened - it’s made me even more determined to get the championship.”

Seton shook down his car at Ford’s You Yangs proving ground over the weekend before despatching the team transporter to Perth, happy that the rebuild was a success.

Apart from having most of its front left-hand suspension components replaced, Seton’s Falcon also heads to Perth with a firesh V8 Ford engine.

Closest rival Ingall heads west for the start of the title showdown following some more testing and confident he won’t be targeted for special attention

by race stewards following the Lakeside controversy: “We’ve managed to isolate an area of our set-up which gives us good results in terms of getting organised in the rel atively short space of time we have.

“I need to qualify better so we’re not always coming from behind/’ he said this week. / “I’ve spoken to (Race Director) Tim Schenken. He’s happy that everything was cleared up after Lakeside.

“I wanted to be sure no-one felt under any pressure to target me because of the whingeing after Lakeside.

“He assured me that everything will continue to get treated on merit and that’s fine.

“Of the three remaining tracks, Wanneroo is the one I need to get out of the way as hest we can.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll go well at Mallala and really well at Oran Park.”

Bowe, too, has been testing, finding a modest increase in front grip on the Shell Helix Falcon during a day at Lakeside last week, which he expects win make the car slightly faster.

But Bowe is concerned about his starts: It’s my worst problem at the moment,” he told Motorsport News, “while at the same time Ingall’s (starts) are where he’s making most of his gains.

“But Glenn is the one we both have to beat. He’s still, in my opinion, got the better overall race package at the moment-but it’s getting close ...”

Bowe and Ingall will also have access to a new Dunlop tyre this weekend, developed alongside the Super Tourer Dunlop which was debuted at Calder last week by Brad Jones’ Orix Audi.

Controversial Jacques JACQUES Villeneuve’s love of controversy emerged once again at the French GP. He caused consternation by bleaching his hair and then upset some of his fellow drivers by commenting that they had been hypocritical about Olivier Panis’s accident:

“I’m disappointed at how politically correct FI has become.

“When someone has an accident, everyone acts as if they are sad - but they don’t really care.

“As a driver you know the risk is there every time you go out.

“If I had the big one I would expect the race to con tinue.

“As a racing driver you take risks every time you go out.

“If you can’t accept that then you shouldn’t be out there.”

-JOESAWARD

TecnoMagnesio has told V8 teams not to use their current wheels, follow ing two recent break ages.

The failure of a wheel at the Lakeside SATCC race on Steven Richards’ Commodore (following a similar Eastern Creek fail ure on Terry Finnigan’s car) resulted in CAMS issuing firstly an inspection request and then, a day later, a ban on the company’s 17” x 11” V8 wheels until further notice.

CAMS’ statement, from Technical Services Manager Bruce Keys, referred to an incident in 1987 at Winton, when a broken wheel flew into the crowd and resulted in the death of a spectator.

This, allied to the fact that there seemed to be no warning of, or consistent pattern to the failures, meant there was no alterna tive other than the prohibi tion of use of the wheels.

The matter was compli cated by the fact that the distribution agency for the wheels effectively switched from Revolution Racegear to Sydney’s Roman Autotek in March.

Revolution’s George Santana, however, under took the initial recall of the wheels and subsequently the relevant communica tions with the factory, send ing staff member Errol Shearsby to Italy to discuss the matter with the manu facturer.

“The problem with the wheels is primarily related to metallurgy and heat treatment, with design pos sibly having some influence also,” Santana reported to Motorsport News late last week.

“The bottom line is that, once they have completed, a redesign and manufectured new wheels, all current wheels will be replaced as soon as possible.”

Given the agency change, Santana has put the teams in direct contact with TecnoMagnesio.

In the meantime, a num ber of V8 teams have had to scrounge around for other wheels to get through the period - some borrowing wheels from privateer teams for the WA/SA trip this week.

Affected teams include HRT, DJR, Komatsu, Mitre 10 and Garry Rogers Motorsport.

- CHRIS LAMBDEN

5

Darwin in for Eastern Creek?

DARWIN’S Hidden Valley race circuit looks likely to join the SATCC series programme next year at the expense of - some what controversially Ef^stern Creek.

Eastern Creek, of course, is run by the ARDC, the organisation at loggerheads with MG/TEGA over Bathurst.

While Shell’s Ross Brodie this week said that it was “premature to say much about the 1998 calendar”, V8 group AVESCO was due to discuss the Darwin option at its board meeting yesterday

(Wednesday).

Motorsport News under that the NT stands Government has committed the $2.5 million funding for suitable upgrading of the cir cuit and is very keen for a 1998 race.

AVESCO favours introduc ing Darwin next year and, in a move unlikely to improve relations with the ARDC, dropping Sydney’s Eastern Creek.

The V8s withdrew from this year’s race at the ARDCrun venue until a peace deal was brokered in the ongoing AVESCO-ARDC war over

the respective parties’ Bathurst races.

Part of that settlement apparently stated that if the ARDC ran its AMSCAR series again in 1998, it wouldn’t get a Shell round.

While allocation of dates for the 1998 Shell series looked close a week or two ago (a provisional calendar, as published in the June 6 issue of Motorsport News, was near to agreement), a number of changes now seem possible.

Indeed, the potential avail ability of a number of new venues in the near future

starts to put the V8s in a strong supply/demand situa tion - particularly if the Shell series is to remain a 10-round championship.

Motorsport News under stands that the proposed Willowbank circuit is close to securing Government back ing to enable construction late this year. l The other Queensland track (Darlington Park, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast) is progressing, as are plans for a track at Bacchus Marsh, north-west of Melbourne.

- CHRIS LAMBDEN

1^11* jiy WAYNE Gardner is a lisely starter in this year’s Formula Xtreme Six Hour race at Oran Pmrk.

Sources have the 1987 world 500 champion shar ing the championship-lead CB1900 ing Honda Fireblade in the November 29 event with Honda super bike star Shawn Giles.

A Honda spokesman this week confirmed the rumours, saying “it’s a pretty solid chance.

“It really depends on Wayne’s movements at that time, but we’ve spoken about it and it’s potentially strong.”

Gardner, 37, attended the launch of the event, at which time he stated he was interested in the event and, more recently, he said

that he Mt his retirenaent from two wheels may have been premature.

It is also about this time that Gardner took delivery of a road-going Ftreblade.

“Wayne’s not looking at it as a serious comeback to bike racing,” said Honda’s ; spokesman. “It’s more an i enjoyment thing, but obvi- : ously with his background it’ll make a pretty foimidable combination.”

Sponsorship of the team - i involve ^ which may Gardner’s touring car backer. Coca Cola - is expected soon, while the naming rights sponsor of the event itself is expected to be known before the end before the end of the month.

-PHILBRANAGAN

Could Jacques ye dropped?

By JOE SAWARD

JACQUES Villeneuve’s negotiations with team owner Frank Williams for a contract in 1998 could end up with the French-Canadian being kicked out of his Williams seat.

Although there is a basic agi-eement in place with the Williams team, Jacques’ manager Craig Pollock was recently quoted as saying that Jacques was not certain to stay with the team next year.

Villeneuve and Pollock appear to want more money than Frank is willing to pay -

a familiar tale with Williams drivers.

Frank is also not very keen on the idea that Pollock is setting up a rival FI team for the 1999 season which will almost certainly'use' the same Mecachrome engines as Williams itself For Frank Williams and Patrick Head there is little point in giving Villeneuve more infoi-mation which can later be used against the team.

The team is also believed to be less than impressed with Jacques’ recent perfor mances - particularly in Canada, where he crashed on the second lap - and with his

recently-developed habit of being controversial for the sake of it.

After an outburst against his fellow drivers on Thursday (see interview this issue), Villeneuve was quot ed in several newspapers criticising the team for not listening to him.

This resulted in Jacques being read the riot act on Saturday evening at MagnyCours.

Jacques decision to bleach his hair blond is not in itself a problem but Williams’ main backer, Rothmans, is understood to be annoyed as it has just printed up enor mous amounts of promotion-

GREAT WHITE JACQUES... The blond Jacques Villeneuve in France. al material for the British Grand Prix, featuring a black-haired Villeneuve.

All this has put Jacques in a less powerful bargaining position than was once the case.

Williams will no doubt be forcing the issue, offering Villeneuve less money than he would like.

The team has a readymade replacement in the form of test driver Jean-

(Photo by Zooom)

Boullion, Christophe although there have been suggestions in the paddock that Frank may simply ask Damon Hill to forget their past problems and return to the fold...

Tyrrell rejects BAT buy-out offer

By JOE SAWARD

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THE Tyrrell family has turned down a multi-million dollar offer to sell its Formula 1 team to the British American Tobacco company.

The deal foundered because Ken Tyrrell refused to let the name of the team be changed.

The BAT bid for Tyrrell was mas terminded by Jacques Villeneuve’s manager Craig Pollock and involves Reynard Racing Cars.

BAT remains keen to get into Grand Prix racing and the company may now go it alone and build a team from scratch - as Jackie Stewart has done.

The new team - which is expect ed to feature drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Dario Franchitti is expected to be launched in 1999.

Our sources in the paddock insist that Pollock and Reynard have managed to convince Mecachrome to supply engines for testing in 1998 and, one must presume, for

but should get customer Ford VIOs

AS FI engine supplies for 1998 and beyond begin to become clear er,the future of TyrreU appears to be as a Ford customer.

Jackie Stewart appears to have convinced Ford to concentrate all its efforts on one team rather than dilute the programme by supplying a second team, despite considerable lobbying fi’om Tom Walkinshaw - who is looking for an engine to replace the less-thancompetitive Yamaha VIO. Tom’s influence at Ford does not seem to have been enough to sway the decision makers.

Tyrrell, however, looks as though it will end up using the Ford VlOs cxu-rently being run by Stewart, which will get an aU-new VIO. This will not affect the Stewart programme and will keep Cosworth happy as Tyrrell will have to pay for his engines.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?... Ken Tyrrell would not sell his team, apparently because he didn’t want the name changed. (Photo by Diana Burnett) 1999 and beyond.

This is interesting as Williams already has a contract for 1999 and Benetton is seeking a similar twoyear commitment to cover 1998 and 1999.

This means that Mecachrome will have to gear up for additional

supplies over the next two years.

Mecachrome currently supplies half the Renault FI engines and has an experienced staff of engine builders.

Jhe first victory with a Mecachrome-built Renault engine was way back in 1985 when Ayrton ?

Senna won the Portuguese GP in a Lotus-Renault.

Mecachrome will hire some of the Renault Sport staff to run the engines,” commented Mecachi'ome’s Jean-Yves Houe at the weekend.

“For research, Renault will have a group of engineers at Viry-

Chatillon and if they come up with something interesting for us we will have to pay them for it.”

When the Mecachrome deal was originally announced, the company said it was willing to supply only two teams but an expansion to three supplies should be possible.

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goes on. After his drive in the French The amazing Schumacher Grand Prix itMichael is starting to look just like Ferrari got him cheap!

He was able to stay out there on slicks when it looked like everyone else would think of pitting for wets. He did make a little bit of an error in that right-hander but, that apart it was a perfect drive and that’s what Ferrari pays the money for.

He epitomises the ultimate Grand Prix driver.

He is calling the shots as far as the whole Ferrari team is concerned, but why shouldn’t he? Every now and than a driver emerges that is capable of making an impact like that in the team and, as long as he backs it all up on the track, you don’t mind.

If the opposite happens - a prima donna not backing up the talk on the track - that does no-one any good in the team and they don’t last long.

He is also having an effect on Irvine.

Eddie is lifting his game and is now a con tender for points, and podiums, at most races. But let’s not start thinking he is in the same class as Irvine. Schumacher is so much better it’s a joke. Look at the distance between them in France...

Ayrton Senna had the same effect on his team-mates at McLaren, but he was ahead by the same margin.

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illiams had a bad weekend. I don’t think that they ever panic, as some people may think they are at the moment.

They do have a slight dent in the armour but I know Patrick Head and will never cease to sing his praises.

He always the cool-thinking AngloSaxon, the calm thinker. With all due

I was Frank Williams I would be looking aroundfor someone to replace him (Frentzen)

But I think Williams will come through.

Schumacher is keeping them honest but Williams still has the best car/engine combi nation and they will get results.

My old rival Nelson Formula Three lastPiquet week. was back in a He will probably get criticised but I think it’s fantastic. I think sometimes I would like to get my backside into an open-wheeler and look at Christian’s Formula Ford and think, “Well....”.

To me open wheelers are the best form of motorsport. The fact that he has done it means that he is a racer and he loves racing cars. Good luck to him.

If he wants to drive in the future that’s a great idea. And, please don’t write and tell us how well Nelson did this time compared with his final F1 drives. That’s not what this is about.

Villeneuve haddoes a very perfor mance. He thislacklustre sometimes: he drove a similar race at Monaco last season.

But I don’t think he lacks any aggression and his personality is such that I don’t think

Acouple of people have looked at our Swift and kicked the tyres.

It hasn’t gone so now we’re very keen to sell it. Once again: if you want a really good Formula Ford, show <up with the money and it’s yours.

respect I would rather have Patrick in the Heathrow flight control tower than an Italian who may get a little excited at the one in Rome!

Wakefield out

WAYNE Wakefield wiU not be seen in the Supercheap BMW Super Touring car for the rest of the 1997 sea son.

Wakefield has split with the team and the, car will be driven at Amaroo Park by young New Zealander Jason Richards.

In a move certain to upset every race commentator in the country Richards, 21, will also race the car in the Bathurst 1000 with another driver, yet to be confirmed.

This means that wdth Jim and Steven (no relation to Jason) there will be three Richards in the race.

“We’ve had a parting of the ways,” said car owner Craig Newton this week.

“Wayne won’t be driving the car but, apart from that, I won’t comment.”

“I’m looking at my options

he lacks motivation. I’m a bit confused: 1 backed him at the start of the year and I’m becoming a little disappointed.

He’s dyed his ffeir blond. That’s no big deal: Anthony Gobert did the same thing, but that may be a bad comparison to make just now...

Still, what the heck. If that’s what he wants, that’s fine. He’ll sort it out.

Frentzen should be on his feet by now.

After a half season he should be vying with Villeneuve for poles and wins and the two should be semi-dominant. The fact that he is not in the equipment he has I find very disap pointing.

To be honest, if I was Frank Williams I would be looking around for someone to replace him.

for the future,” said Wakefield this week.

“We looking at Bathurst and next season but, what that will be, 2-litre or V8, I don’t know yet.”

Richards tested the car at Lakeside recently, running off the road at Hungry and dam aging a quarter panel and front suspension.

“It was not as serious as people have suggested,” chuckled Newton. “There has been talk that the car was destroyed.”

Richards’ further involve ment in the BOG series is up in the air - almost literally.

“It all depends on Lyall Williamson,” Newton says.

“Jason is a member of the BMW NZ ‘Junior Team’ and just what will happen won’t be decided until Lyall gets back from Germany.”

-PHIL BRANAGAN

FF keeps Kent

FORMULA Fords will be powered by Ford’s ‘Kent’ engine into the next century.

The Formula Ford Association, in conjunc tion with Ford Motorsport, has announced that the IGOOcc Ford engine will remain the ‘control engine for the Australian Formula Ford Championship as well as the various state titles.

The decision, motivated by concerns about the availability of sufficient numbers of the Ford’s British Zetec engine as well as the cost of replacement parts, ensures that the cate gory will continue in its current format.

“Ford investigated the possibility of switch ing to the 1800cc Zetec engine because that 1 has become the standard for Formula Ford throughout Europe and, until last week, only national championships running the Zetec engine were eligible to enter the Slick 50 Formula Ford World Series finals,” Ford Motorsport Manager Greg Harbutt says.

“Obviously switching to a new control engine would have been an expensive exer cise, particularly for the competitors, and supplying everyone could also have presented a problem.”

The decision has been welcome by Formula Ford Administrator Margaret Hardy.

“We’ve got more than 450 Formula Fords registered Australia-wide,” she said.

“It would have a been a huge task to pro vide enough Zetec engines for all of them.

“Formula Ford is booming with capacity grids at every round of the Ford Motorsport/ Slick 50 Australian Formula Ford Champ ionship and strongly contested state champi onships Australia-wide ... the ‘Kent’ decision ensures that this trend will continue.”

Flavio in trouble DESPI'TE the arrival of money from Federal Express (see page 11), the future of Flavio Briatore at Benetton continues to be unclear. n There are rumours that his recent fall-out with the Benetton Family will not be patched-up.

In recent weeks there have been suggestions that Cesare Fiorio might replace Flavio as Benetton team principal.

The Benetton Family is in the process of restructuring its holdings in the Benetton Sportsystem company - in which Eriatore played an important role.

It is also worth noting that Briatore seems to be paying mpre attention to the Minardi team, of which he is the major shareholder.

There were suggestions in Magny-Cours that Briatore is trying to get Mugen Honda to supply the team with engines.

Mugen is not planning a second supply until * 1999 but might be forced into it a year early by FI boss Bemie Ecclestone as engines are in short supply-JOE SAWARD NO WORRIES?... Briatore considers his future. (Photo by Nigei Snowdon)

Shell drive for Walsh

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NSW driver Ben Walsh has confirmed plans to contest the balance of the Malaysian Formula Campus Champion ship.

Walsh, who recently finished second in his debut in the series, at Shah Alam, will contest the remaining seven rounds of the tenround series after picking up spon sorship from Shell Malaysia.

Walsh heads back to Malaysia this week to contest this week end’s fourth round of the series.

At the same time, he hopes to secure a work permit to enable him to remain in Malaysia for the duration of the series.

Formula Campus is similar to European Formula Renault and, if the balance of his season in Malaysia proves successful, Walsh hopes to be able to contest the Euro series in 1998.

NUMBER 1... Walsh and friend line up at Shah Alam.

7

4Jul^l99/

Craig’s red flag blues

CRAIG Lowndes was not the only driver out of luck in last weekend’s fourth round of the FIA Formula 3000 Championship at the Nurburgring.

'The race was marred by bad weather and, after a series of crashes, the event was abandoned after just five laps.

Lowndes qualified in 23rd place in the 26 car field and was running in the middle of the field when the red flags were < shown.

British driver Dino Morelli had his throttle stick open in his Lola and crashed into two other cars before burying it in the barriers.

He was trapped in the car, imconscious, and the race was stopped.

Lowndes drove on the track for the first time in Friday’s practice and made it up to 19th in the second session after los ing some of the first quali fier when his car’s front panel flew off.

“When I did bolt on fresh rubber I couldn’t get a clear lap,” he said later. (But) I was happy with the car and thought I could be in for a good race.”

But just before the cars lined up on the grid it started to rain and the start was delayed 10 min utes while the field changed to wets.

While chaos ensued at the start - including pole man Ricardo Zonta spin ning to last on the first corner - Lowndes zoomed up to 15th by the end of the first lap.

But he didn’t stay out of the wars. A car exiting the pit lane was hit by another on the pit straight and debris from the collision hit Lowndes’ car, dislodging his front wing.

But before he could pit the race was stopped for Morelli’s crash and Lowndes, along with everyone else, parked.

n NASCAE’s Cartoon Network Chevy will get another new paint scheme its third ofthe season starting at Daytona this weekend. This time Tom and Jerry will be featured.

n CAMS has appointed Chris Edwai'ds to the posi tion of Manager, Karting/Historics. Edwards, previously with the Confederation’s NSW State Office, will also car-iy out administrative duties for the SATCC and haise with the AKA and CIK

n Both Roush Racing and Penske South are expeiimenting with the new Ford Taurus as a replacement for the long in the tooth T-Bird, which ends production later this year. The two top Ford teams are working in unison on the development of the four door car, which should be ready in around fomweeks for primary wind tun nel tests and then it will be decided ifthe car.' has a future in NASCAR’s sport coupe division.

n Mai’k Willis and Troy Bayhss split the wins at Eastern Creek’s Superbike rounds last weekend. The Suzuki pair dominated the front positions but Damon Buckmaster’s Kawasaki, with a third and a second, took overall honours on the day. Bayliss(127)leads Shawn Giles(91)and Willis (83)in the series. n Willis and Bayliss will team up with their boss, Peter(ioddard, in the Suzuka Eight Hour in three weeks’time. Goddard,in his eighth ‘Eight’, will txme up for the race by taking in the second round of the World Endurance Championship at Spa-Francochamps on July 12-13.

CRUNCH TIME...

British driver Dino Morelli was well out of luck in the fourth round of the Formula 3000 title in Germany when the brakes failed on his Lola-Zytek on lap 5.

At top Morelli ploughs into the tyre barrier, having missed a sandtrap on the usually ultra-safe Nurburgring track.

The tyre barrier did its job, dissipating the car's energy but, as the tyres fly it's soon obvious that the force of the accident has knocked Morelli unconscious and officials take the decision to red-flag the race.

Morelli soon recovered but is suffering from a broken ankle and head and facial injuries which are expected to keep him out of racing for at least one race.

n Miguel DuHamel has dominated the latest round ofthe AMA Superbike race in Brainerd. The Canadian’s Honda led every lap and ran away with the race, while Aussie Mat Mladin rode hard to come through the field on his Ducati finm fifth to finish third after a battle with second-placed Tom Kipp(Yamaha).

n Triple world champion Nelson Piquet returned to open wheeler racing last week at his track in Brasilia. He qualified his Dallara F3 car well for the SudAm race but, after a cir cumspect start was 10th on lap one. He charged through the pack and is now talking enthusiastically about a two car team (with his son)for F3in’98.

n Kirk McCarthy missed last week’s Dutch TT but not because ofthe bones he broke in a qualifying tum ble. His Harris-Yamaha completed the warm-up lap on three cylinders and pulled in. McCarthy expects to be okay for this week end’s race at Imola. n Magic Pass is about to become the most popular Formifla Vee driver in the history ofthe sport. At this weekend’s State Race Series event at Calder she will introduce her new sponsor, Lazar’s Gentleman’s Club.

Please fonn an orderly queue, extinguish all ciga rettes and stay behind the ropes...

n Start saving for two Van Diemens: Even while coohng his heels touring car driver Steve Ellery has been busy. He and fiance Kerrie welcomed Tristan Luke two weeks ago, a brother to Dalton.

(Photo sequence by LA^ Digital)

n While on the subject of EUeiy, still no news about the EUeiy/Longhurst split but it may be good to note that his “Konica’ EL Falcon is up for sale. See advert on page 16 for aU the details.

It is not known whether any points will be awarded for the race.

This week Lowndes and RSM Marko team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya will be at Hockenheim testing for two days while the next race in the series will be at Enna-Pergusa in Italy on July 20.

n There’s gold in them thar Black Holes. Calder BOC series visitor Patrick Stewai-t has signed for the next‘Star Trek’ movie for a reported fee of$16 million.

n On the same subject, Ten Motorsport’s first Champion of Winton broadcast was boosted along by its paddock reporter, Chrissy Lane, former Penthouse Pet of the Year. The meeting will be broadcast on Ten’s regionals and in Canberra this weekend.

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4July 1997

n Renault Sport chairman Patrick Faure said at Magny-Cours that the company is to keep a group of engineers working on com petition engines but that Renault will not be involved in top level motorsport again for at least three yeai's. Faure added that the company will announce its competition plans in the autumn. These are expected to include involvement in rally-raids and tour ing car racing. n The future of the French GP remains in doubt, despite the fact that Magny-Cours has a long-term contract with the FIA. The problems related to the TV coverage ofthe event have still to be solved by the French government and the FIA has wai-ned that the race could be cancelled. Peugeot boss Jacques Calvet said it would be “astonish ing” if there was no French GP and that Peugeot would “react violent!/’ if that hap pened. n The podium ceremony for the French GP featured the spraying of champagne which,in theoiy, is illegal in France because of the ban on the advertising of alcohohc products included in Evin’s Law. We understand that Bernie Ecclestone decided that as the finish ofthe recent Jules Verne yacht race featured the spraying of champagne there was no reason why FI had to refi’ain from its ti’aditional celebra tions. The French are unlikely to take legal action against Ecclestone - who bought the n champagne himself on race day - because there are enough problems already with the future ofthe French GP. n Alain Prost’s gradual revamping of the former Ligier team continues with the departui'e of managing-director Bruno Michel, who is expected to be reunited with Flavio Briatore at Benetton or, more likely, Minardi. Michel’s departure leaves the way open for the appointment of Hugues de Chaunac, Prost’s longtime mentor and sometime business partner, as the team boss. n Philippe Gurdjian has,been replaced as the promoter ofthe French GP by local politician Roland Hodel. Gurdjian - one of FI’s better promoters -is expected to take on a new role with Bernie Ecclestone pro moting new races in Asia.

T

he Magny-Cours track is in-the middle of nowhere. It’s a horrible event in terms of its location and there’s nothing to do. You just go back to your hotel room, sit there, watch TV and get bored shitless.

Having said that, it’s not a bad little vil lage atmosphere in the paddock.

I like the track because it’s so smooth and is a lot of fun. The first two corners are very good and the chicanes are very tricky. It’s just the last section that’s a bit fiddly - the last corner is awful, to be honest.

I was very happy with the car in practice on Friday, when it was raining, but I didn’t go out on slick tyres when the track dried.

So I finished the day in 20th, which wasn’t representative of what we could do.

On Saturday it was sunny and every thing went OK. I was very happy to be fifthon the grid, after some disappointing quali fying results in recent races.

The frustrating thing is that u I was actually not far off sec ond place - not much more than 0.1s away - so it could have been even better.

is making a bit of a tool of ^ Vllleneuve himself at the moment.

In the morning I came out of the pits, moved over to the left and let three cars go past. He came through, lost it, slid wide and then started weaving to stop me going past again. Then he slowed down, then he speeded up...

I reported him to the stewards for stupid driving.

smooth it all out, trust that the grip is there and not try and do anything different. It was 50 percent car, 50 percent me.

I was very quick on Saturday morning and was third behind the two Williams dri vers. There was every chance that I could have been on the front row of the grid. I wasn’t, but It’s a big improvement from where I have been.

Villeneuve is making a bit ofa fool of himself... I reported him to the stewardsfor stupid driving.

We went there struggling at after a testreally last week and I improved my time by 1.4s. So we have made big steps for ward. We’re just quicker everywhere on the track.

On Saturday we tried a new front wing on the car for the first time. The moment we bolted it on I thought it transformed the car, from the entry to the exit of the cor ners. The car doesn’t wander all over the road and that helps my confidence.

But we still need another step.

I think the nose is better, but I was dri ving better, too. I think what was happening before in qualifying was that I was pushing and not using technique. I needed to

r

Actually, on my best lap I came up behind Fisichella. He got out of my way, but he still cost me a tenth. Then I didn’t change down into second on the last cor ner and in third gear I got a lot of under steer and lost time. You make a mistake like that and you’re going to pay.

On the next run the track was too hot and then on my last run I had to follow Villeneuve through the first corner. I was two-tenths down and, although I picked up some time in the next sectjon, there was no point in finishing the lap. instead I thought I’d save the tyres for the race.

g

n Gianfranco Fisichella has confirmed that although he is driving for Jordan at the moment he is stiU a contracted Benetton driver and may switch to the team next year. Jamo Trulh is also under a long-term contract vhth the Enstone team, while Alexander Wurz’s testing deal is believed to be for only one year. n McLaren aerodynamicist Bob Bell has quit the Woking team and has begun work as chief aerodynamicist at Benetton. Bell has been at McLaren for some years but has not been involved in FI - heading the abortive McLaren World Land Speed Record effort and, most recently, working on the development of a way of controlling tyre pressui'e when cars are in motion. n There ai-e rumoirrs that Renault Sport Technical Director Bernard Dudot will be joining Prost next year to co-ordinate between the team and Peugeot Sport. Dudot says he has been talking to Prost. n Niki Lauda was back in the FI paddock at Magny-Cours for the first time since his recent kidney transplant operation. Lauda’s longtime friend, Rothmans chef Karl-Heinz Zimmermann, celebrated the occasion by offering Niki a dinner of baked kidneys ...

-JOESAWARD

The start wasn’t actually that good. people must have made reallyOther bad ones, because I had far too much wheelspin and Vllleneuve braked far too early at the first corner and I went round the out side.

Frentzen was long gone, but at least I was up to third.

I must admit I wasn’t breaking my balls but I didn’t think I could run as quick as he was going. I was going away from Villeneuve and I just thought, take it easy, because all I want ed was a few points. I was eas ily running third.

I asked for wets as soon as I saw it starting to rain. It was obvious it was going to rain for yy quite a few laps. But they said to keep out there. So I said OK and stayed out.

It was the right thing to do to finish third, but if I had come in I would have put Frentzen under pressure, because I would have been quicker. In three laps you would have paid for your pit stop.

On slicks it was unreal. You couldn’t put any load on the car at all.

Whenever it looked like Villeneuve was coming in for tyres they said come in and change tyres. We just wanted to cover Villeneuve, really; that was all we needed to do. It was good, until it really dried in the last few laps.

My rears had blistered really badly on the last lap and I was just trying to hang on.

On the second last hairpin I couldn’t turn in because I knew the rear was going to go and I had to go straight on the grass, into the gravel and continue on.

I don’t know what Jacques did, but he wasn’t there when I came out of the corner.

It’s just as well it’s not too dangerous or he’d be . He’s having more accidents than anyone else!

ANOTHER PODIUM ... Eddie Irvine is greeted by his jubilant crew after finishing third in last Sunday’s French GP - despite a final corner attack from Villeneuve^.

Silverstone is next.

It’s always been a bad race for me there, but this has been a good year, hasn’t it? I’m a lot more optimistic after France.

Michael tested at Silverstone a couple of weeks ago and was really struggling.

Hopefully we’ve closed the gap.

I don’t think we’re going to be on the pole there, but if I can be at the sharp end, make a good start and get another podium, that’ll be fine.

I think Williams are struggling, full stop.

They are definitely starting to lose it.

Generally, people are swinging back and forward a bit. Hopefully 1 can be up there from now on. n

More village people coming

Ecclestone’s B-ERNIE Global Village - known in F1 circles at Bakersville after Eddie Baker, the man who runs the digital TV facility - is likely to be joined by a second such facility before the end of this year.

The $45m unit has been in use for a year but cannot be taken down, transported and rebuilt again quickly enough to stage races on consecutive weekends, A second facility would enable Bakersville I and

Bakersville II to leapfrog one another from race to race, enabling FI to hold more races.

One The Formula Communications company - part of Bernie’s empire will have to expand its transportation crews but

lessons learned with the initial facility can be built into the new unit.'

There are also believdd to be plans for the units to be hired to other sports such as downhill skiing in the off-season.

- JOE SAWARD

◄

V

L

David Brabham and Steve Soper set for BMW squad DAVID Brabham sharing his brother Geoffs car and English star Steve Soper are among the dri ver possibilities for the AMP 1000.

BMW Motorsport is clos er to naming its Bathurst driving line-up following a trip to Germany by Lyall Williamson.

BMW Australia’s team manager left Australia straight after the Calder round of the BOC Gases series to attend the twice annual BMW managers’ meeting in Munich.

While there he was expecting to sort out the details of who would drive

what, with whom at the mountain on October 5.

Chief point to be sorted out it how many cars the team will run. “Running a third car is under consider ation,” said BMW Australia John spokesman Kananghinis. “No 1997 cars will be available, but we already have a third car here.”

If a third entry is okayed

by Germany, any interna tionals to drive it would have to come from BMW’s GT teams as there is a clashing German STW race the same weekend to which Bathurst regulars Jo Winkelhock, Johnny

Cecotto and Roberto Ravaglia are committed.

While he would not con firm David Brabham to join Geoff in a car Williamson smiled and said he was “leaning towards a relative” to join the Calder winner.

With nominated test dri ver Craig Baird already confirmed for the race and likely to join Paul Morris, that leaves Soper and Peter Kox probabilities for the third car.

Other drivers are on the GT scene and triple world champion Nelson Piquet and former FI star JJ Lehto are remote possibili ties for the seats.

A wildcard may be Calder visitor Mike Briggs, who drives for BMW’s South African team and is very keen on the Bathurst race, but the highly-rated Kox and Soper are the men most likely.

Williamson said that be expects to have “input” into the decision-making process and, while the matter will be settled before the next BOC round at Amaroo Park on July 20, no announce ment is expected “until we are ready.”

ON the other side of the Super Touring battle Orix Audi Sport team manager Kim Jones also went to

Germany last week.

Among the items on Jones’ items for discussion is the make-up of Audi’s Bathurst plans, both cars and drivers.

Current British Touring Car Champion Frank Biela has already publicly expressed his desire to drive in the race and he is considered a certainty to share a car with team leader Brad Jones.

The other driver is likely to come from the Italian

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series, though Bathurst ‘96 visitor Tamara Vidali is committed to the STW race in Germany.

-PHIL BRANAGAN

T5 JOHN BLAhOB4

Trulli in at Prost 6P

--

PROST Grand Prix last week chose Jarno Trulli as its replacement for the injured Olivier Panis.

The 22-year-old Italian - who is on loan from Minardi - will stay with Prost until Panis is fit enough to race once again.

Alain Prost had been impressed

by Trulli’s speed and consistency during testing at Magny-Cours and picked Jarno rather than Frenchman Emmanuel Collard.

Prost concluded that Trulli had valuable racing experience with Bridgestone tyres and that it would have been a risk to use Collard as he does not have FI racing experi ence - although he' has tested a great deal more than Trulli.

His race fitness - specifically his neck - was also a risk.

Trulli could result in him joining the team for 1998 - as teammate to Panis.

He remains, however, under a long-term contract with Benetton, which funded his F3 programme in 1996 and for which he was due to be test driver this year until Minardi was taken over by Benetton boss Flavio Briatore.

The Benetton contract is believed to continue until the end of 1999.

Minardi replaced Trulli with its reserve driver Tarso Marques, who drove for the Italian team at a cou ple of races in 1996.

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ON THE PACE... Jarno Trulli tests the Prost before making his debut at Magny Cours.

(Photo by Zooom)

Panis recovering OLIVIER Panis was discharged from the Sacre Coeur hospital in Montreal last week - eight days after the crash in which he broke both his legs - and Immediately flew back to France with his wife Anne.

Olivier went directly to a reha bilitation centre in the Brittany region of western France where he is due to spend the next few months convalescing under the guidance of Dr Gilles Sauleau.

Sauleau says that it will be a

month before Panis can walk but rehabilitation work Is already underway in the swimming pool.

“I would be feeling much bet ter If I was in my car this week end at Magny-Cours,” Panis said.

“It’s the first time that I’ve found myself in this situation and I suffered from delayed shock.

“I am recuperating now and we are starting to prepare for my return.

“I hope to be fit at the start of September because I want to drive again between now and the end of the season. I certainly want to drive as soon as possi ble but one must be realistic.

“I must take my time because I want to come back 150 per cent fit so that I am competitive right away and can give my best.

“My aim is to be World Champion - and I will be.”

-JOESAWARD

Tobacco settlement is bad news

By JOE SAWARD THE deal struck in Washington DC recently between the tobacco industry and American state negotiators is like ly to mean the end of cig arette sponsorship in the United States.

The deal includes a ban on sporting sponsorships, an admission from the tobacco industry that tobac co is additive, the payment of $368bn over the next 25 years, the payment of penalties if youth smoking is not reduced and the fund ing of programmes to help

BARRY CAIFOftD

8

smokers quit the habit.

In exchange, the tobacco companies will be granted immunity from lawsuits from individuals and from state governments wbicb are trying to recoup the costs of treating those with tobacco-related illnesses.

The deal does not include lawsuits against US tobacco companies filed in‘non-US courts by foreign nationals.

Anti-smoking activists had been campaigning for a global code of conduct, arguing that restrictions in the US would simply push the tobacco companies into

developing new markets elsewhere.

The deal will not become law for some time - if at all - because it must first be agreed by both the US Senate and the House of Representatives and then by the White House.

If the agreement goes ahead unchanged it will have a dramatic'effect on American racing, particu larly at lower levels of the sport, where tobacco compa nies have long played an important i-ole.

It will also make it less likely that Grand Prix rac¬

ing will be willing to visit the United States.

Tobacco money has played an important role in the gi-owth of NASCAR rac ing (with the Winston brand in particular) and in CART four teams rely heav ily on tobacco sponsorship: Team Penske (Marlboro), PacWest (HolljFwood), Team Green (Kool) and Forsythe Racing (Players).

MEANWHILE, British government is considering using money from the national lottery to fund sports which lose sponsor¬

ship when tobacco advertis ing is banned.

Motor racing accounts for 10 percent of tobacco spon sorship in Britain and thus would have a good case to get some of the lottery money.

There is no shortage of money from the lottery; two-thirds of the British population buy a ticket every week and in its first 15 months in operation the National Lottery raised neai’ly $10bn.

Half of this was paid out in prize money but 28 per cent went to “good causes”.

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I

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♦SHILL AUSTRALIAN TOURING CAR C^SHiP

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Rd8 ,Rd9 Rd 10

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10 round series held around Australia.

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♦SOC GASiS AUSTo SUPER TOURING CHAMPIONSHIP

I ■ Jul 20 . . . .Amaroo Park . . .Rd 4 I ■ Aug Rd 5 10 . . .Winton Rd 6

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8 round series held around Australia

♦AUST. FORMULA HOLDEN C'SHIF

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Rd 6 Rd 7

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7 round series held around Australia.

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♦SLiCIC SO AUST, FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP

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8 round series held around Australia

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♦CENTURY BATriRliS AUST. GTP C'SHIP

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. I

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WINSTON CUP NASCAR SERIES

.● .Rd 17 5 Daytona t ■ Jul Jul 13 . . . .New Hampshire Rd 18 Jul 20 . . . .Pocono

,Rd 19

32 race series held in the United States.

& FORMULA ©Ni WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP I ■

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Jul 13 . . . .Britain .

Jul 27 . . . .Germany Aug 10 . . .Hungary .

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17 race series held around the world

♦PPG CART WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

I ■ Jul 13 . . . .Cleveland 20 . . . .Toronto .

I ■ Jul Jul 27 . . . .Michigan mm

Rd 9 .Rd 10 .Rd 11 Rd12

Rd 10 Rd 11 .Rd 12

17 race series held in the US, Aust. & Brazil.

♦SOOec WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

R d8 Jul 6 Italy . . . ; . .Rd9 Jul 20 . . . .Germany Aug 3 . . . .Rio, Brazil . . . .Rd 10 15 race series held around the world.

NHMA WINSTON DRAG RACING SERIES

Jul 20 Denver, CO . . .Rd 13 Jul 27 . . . .Sonoma, CA . .Rd 14 Aug 3 . . . .Seattle, WA . . .Rd 15 23 race series held in the United Slates

♦WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Rd9 Aug 2-5 . .Rally NZ Aug 29 . . .1000 Lakes . . .Rd 10 Sep 19-21 Rally Indonesia Rd 11 14 rally series around the world

\aii event dates in this calendar were correct at the time of printing. Please consult any individual tracks and/or associations for date changes.

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Series or events telecast on Network Ten are marked with an asterix.

Check your local guides for screening details.

IN its first visit to the NorthEast of England, the Auto Trader RAC Touring Car Championship beat the weather to provide some superb enter tainment for neai-ly 30,000 spec tators at the revitalised Croft circuit - Alain Menu and the Renault team taking twin victo ries in incident-packed races.

Racing might easily have had to be abandoned had circuit staff not toiled overnight to clear some 140,000 gallons of standing water from the track. Torrential rain caused a qualifying wash-out, with grid positions for the two races hav ing to be decided by championship order.

Alan Gow, Chief Executive of championship organiser TOCA, said; “Croft responded magnificently to the weather crisis, and we’re delighted that our debut visit to the circuit has been so successful.”

Although the results of round 13 of the Auto Trader Championship had a familiar look to them, Renault’s romp to its thu’d one-two result of the season was by no means a clear-cut affair, with Menu headed by Volvo’s Rickard Rydell for the first 10 laps on the damp-butdrying track before the Swiss seized the lead, and Jason Plato being forced to stage a dramatic fight-back after completing the first lap well down the order.

Rydell took the initiative away from the grid, beating pole man Menu into the Haii-pin.

“I made a fairly good start but was on the damp side of the track, which let Rickard through,” he said later.

John Bintcliffe and reigning champion Frank Biela held third and fourth for Audi until they touched at the fast right-hander before the pits and Bintcliffe spun down the pack. There was more drama on lap two, when David Leslie’s Nissan - assisted by Kelvin Burt’s Volvo - took to the escape road at Sunny and slid out of fifth.

Rydell had eased out a one-second gap over Menu by the fourth tour, but with the Honda of Gabriele Tarquini displacing Biela from second place three laps later, the Renault racer set about closing the gap between him and the Swede.

Said Rydell later; “I pushed hard early on but after four or fiv^ laps Alain was quicker and I coilldn’t keep him back.”

Menu confirmed; “I was happy to settle for second early on, then Tarquini started to catch us so I had to go for it.”

Menu powered around Rydell at Tower Bend on lap 11; Tarquini tried to follow him through to take

Renault invades Croft

1’ THIS IS CROFT, HONEST... though itcould be anywhere. Alain Menu dominated Croft. (Photo bylatDigital) of Jamie Wall’s Vauxhall.

British Touring Car Champions hip Round 14 was an even more inci Round 13 25 laps 1 Alain Menu (Switz), Renault Laguna, dent-packed affair, sadly curtailed 35m 03.301s, 91.01mph after 18 laps - five of those having 2 Jason Plato (GB), Renault Laguna, +2.849s 3 Rickard Rydell (Swe). Volvo S40, +3.603$ taken place under the Safety Car 4 Frank Biela (Ger), Audi A4. +4.273S procedure - after a heavy crash 5 James Thompson (GB). Honda Accord, +15.138s 6 John Cleland (GB), Vauxhall Veclra, +16.329s involving Thompson.

7 Derek Warwick (GB), Vauxhall Vectra, +20.318s Menu took the lead away from the 8 Will Hoy (GB), Ford Mondeo, +23.371S line pursued by Rydell, but the 9 John Bintcliffo (GB), Audi A4. +35.514s 10 Tim Harvey (GB), Peugeot 406, +40.680s; Swede spun at the first comer hair Round 14 17 laps pin after a shove from Bintcliffe.

1 Menu. 28m 41.470s, 75.61 mph Tarquini also spun after a nudge 2 Thompson, +0.943$ 3 Leslie,+1.356s from Plato and, in a separate inci 4 Plato. +1.695S dent, ^ill Hoy’s Ford was punted 5 Cleland, +2.178s 6 Bintcliffe.+3.312S into the gravel trap.

7 Harvey. +4.097s As Menu crossed the line to finish 8 Reid. +5.046s the opening lap the Safety Car was 9 Rydell. +5.545s lOWanwick. +6.329s brought out while Hoy’s,stricken caiFASTEST LAP was recovered. At the^ restart two Menu, 1m 22.048s, 93.32mph (record) laps later. Menu led from Bintcliffe, Biela and Plato. a four-lap Safety Car interlu de as his Honda was recovered.

Lap five saw more action as Plato The restarted race was all too £uid Biela made contact, Thompson making the most of the confusion to brief, Thompson suffering an identi cal crash to that of his team-mate. slot into second ahead of Bintcliffe, Tim Harney’s Peugeot and Leshe.

The impact was heavier and his The Nissan was soon on the move, car came to rest in a dangerous spot deposing Hai-vey from fourth on lap and the race had to be red-flagged. nine and, next time around, seizing Thompson, complaining of back third from Bintcliffe. pain, was removed to hospital for “It went very well and I’m pleased precautionary checks.

Volvo finished 12th after another The result was declared after 17 to be on the podium. There was a bit spin, The works Nissans of Leslie and of a kerfuffle at the first couple of laps. Menu winning finm Thompson, comers and I managed to make my Leslie, Plato and John Cleland.

Anthony Reid both suffered mechanical maladies but there It was Menu’s 10th victory of the way through to third.” season for Renault and, though only Tarquini, meanwhile, had recov was consolation for the many specered from his lap-one spin to move half points were awarded, his cham tating staff from Nissan’s into seventh place, but he lost con pionship lead is further extended.

Sunderland factory when Matt trol on lap 13 and spun into the bar Lee Brookes (Peugeot) headed Neal’s Primera scooped the Total riers exiting the Hairpin, heralding Gravett for Total Cup honours.

Cup for Independents prize ahead second but was made to wait another lap before he could make the manoeuvre stick, Alas for Honda, the Italian’s chai’ge was brought to a premature halt eight laps later when he attempted to lap backmarker Robb Gravett - also in a Honda - and slid off the tradk. Tarquini got going again in 13th place but soon after retired.

Rydell’s inheritance of second place was also short-lived - two laps from the chequered flag the persistent Plato, who had slipped as low as seventh early on and had to drive around both Burt and Biela, nipped past the Volvo to make it a Laguna one-two.

“It was a good race for me,” said the Englishman. “It looked a bit rough at the front so I took things easy on the first lap. Then the Audis touched and I was so happy that 1 missed my own braking point and lost a few places! ” Rydell just held on for third ahead of Biela, with Games Thompson’s Honda fifth after a bruising earlyrace clash with Burt. The second

No Bull for Troy?

by PHIL BRANAGAN WORLD Superbike Champ Troy Corser is in conflict with the Red Bull Yamaha GP team.

While no-one in the team is yet willing to con firm a split, sources in Italy suggest that the relationship between Corser and team boss Bob McLean hit an all-time low at Assen last week.

In Holland Corser was restricted to a single bike while McLean held his spare back, appar ently intending to have Kirk McCarthy ride it.

There is also speculation that McLean failed to come up with a payment due to the Australian rider who has not been paid all season.

Corser is believed to be on the verge of walk ing out on the team, but wiU be available to ride this weekend at Imola.

What will happen to Corser if he does quit the team is unclear. It appears that Yamaha has the

CHARGING BULL... Troy Corser’s future at Red Bull Yamaha may be limited. (Photo by Mike cooper/Aiisport) injured Colin Edwards in the WSC ranks. right of approval of the team’s riders and, should And, in the long term things appear brighter.

McLean try to change either Luca Cadalora and Suzuki management admitted last week that Corser, Yamaha may enforce a contractual they were interested in Corser for 1998 ‘should clause and withdraw their current support. he be available’ and, now that it appears they The only light on Corser’s predicament would will continue with the now-settled Anthony seem to be Yamaha’s support. While they would Gobert, it is likely that Daryl Beattie’s contract not financially support his GP program in the will not be renewed and Corser-Gobert will line absence of payment from the team, they make up for Suzuki next season. the opportunity for him to replace Yamaha’s

4July 1991

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GP Nissan FI bid unlikely

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THERE have been reports in the Toronto Globe and Mail suggesting that Bemie Ecclestone is con sidering a race in the Los Angeles.

The story suggested that the race will be heavily sup ported by'Ford, which wants to promote GP racing in America as it is now begin ning to take the sport seri ously with its involvement with Stewart.

Ford has indicated to Ecclestone that it is not interested in racing in Las Vegas and, as a result of this, the rumours about a Las Vegas event have gone very quiet.

Los Angeles has a popula tion of around 10 million, making it the second largest city in the United States (after New York).

Las Vegas, which was bid ding for a race, has a popula tion ofjust one million.

LA is just emerging from its worst recession since the 1930s and the city's glam ourous image was badly hit by the 1992 riots which left 55 people dead and 1000 buildings destroyed.

Although manufactming is booming, big business has turned its back on LA and the city is in the process of trying to improve its image and attract business.

The- mayor, Richard Riordan, recently announced a major program to revive Hollywood by cleaning up the streets in an effort to attract tourism.

Serious crime in LA fell by 25 percent in 1996 as a r?sult of other measures and Riordan, a self-made million aire venture capitalist, has established a marketing department to sell LA to the world.

According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, the race would take place around the Civic Center on the Labor Day weekend in September.

The venue has easy access to the area from all over the LA basin and through traffic would not be affected by the race.

A track could include stretches of Sunset Boulevard and Beverly Boulevard and wind through the buildings around City Hall.

The date makes little sense as the first weekend in September is the traditional Monza date.

There is no hope at all for a race in 1998 - as the Globe and Mail suggested - as there has been no attempt to get the council to agree to an event.

At Magny-Cours, FIA and Ford sources said that they are interested in getting FI into North America but know absolutely nothing about a race in LA. - JOE SAWARD

REPORTS in the German motor racing press that Nissan has a Formula 1 project with Tom Walkinshaw should be treated with some care.

The rumours suggest that Walkinshaw will put a Nissan badge on Mecachrome VIO engines, in a deal similar to that which is currently in place between Sauber Petronas and Ferrari.

Nissan is the fourth largest car company in the world.

It is heavily involved in touring car racing with the Primera model

but also has a deal with Tom Walkinshaw Racing in sportscar racing.

Nissan sources say that the com pany is committed to racing at Le Mans for the next five years and is contemplating a full FIA GT World Championship challenge next year.

The recent economic problems in Japan have meant that Nissan has had to adopt a more aggressive international expansion policy but an FI programme seems a little advanced for what is a highly con servative company.

The rumour may just be an attempt to destabilise Walkinshaw as he negotiates with Hirotoshi Honda for a supply of Mugen Honda VIO FI engines.

Walkinshaw’s prime aim appears to be to get the Mugen Honda deal and in an effort to help convince the Japanese he has not only hired John Barnard as his designer but has also been trying to recruit Honda favourite Ron Tauranac as an engineering consultant to the team.

-JOESA’WARD

Broken arm outs Gianni

By JOE SAWARD SAUBER Petronas dri ver Gianni Morbidelli suffered a broken left arm in a high-speed crash during testing two weeks ago at MagnyCours.

He was replaced for the French GP by Argentina’s Norberto Fontana, who has been the Sauber team’s reserve driver since the end of 1995.

Still only 22 years old, Fontana, finished fifth in last year’s Formula Nippon series but has not so far made any impact in this year’s championship.

The accident is a major setback for the Sauber Petronas team, which hired Morbidelli to replace its original second driver Nicola Larini just two races earlier after Larini had proved to be disappointing in the,early races of the sea son.

The accident occurred when Morbidelli lost control of his Sauber on the approach to the high-speed Imola chicane (the cars aiTive at 270kmh and brake down to around 170kmh).

The Sauber hit a wall where there was a tyre barrier and suffered serious damage to its right-hand side.

Gianni complained of pain in his arm and was taken to the circuit medical centre and flown from there to

Melbourne could be one of the first cities in the world to get a new motor sportthemed restaurant.

Rumours suggest that Bemie Ecclestone is in the final stages of planning for the laimch of the chain of motor sport restau rants, which will compete in the Planet Hollywood/Hard Rock Cafe market. The first of these are expected to be opened in towns which host Grands Prix, notably Melbourne, Monaco, Montreal and Budapest. n Giancarlo Fisichella last week contested a round of the Belgian Touring Car Championship at the wheel of a Peugeot 406 touring car. Fisichella was trying to get to know the Spa-Francorchamps cir cuit, ha-ving never raced there before. Fisichella is expected to stay at Jordan next year, although Benetton is believed to have an option on his ser vices in 1998 which inms out on July 15.

PAY ATTENTION... Norberto Fontana gets the full support of the Sauber crew. Not Nevers Hospital for X-rays.

It TVas discovered that he had 'suffered a clean break of the lower left arm, proba bly caused by the kickback from the steering wheel when the car hit the wall.

Gianni requested to be transferred to the famous La Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris where he was operated on the following day by renowned osteopathic surgeon Professor Gerard .Saillant, who has been involved with a number of injured FI drivers in

Sponsor delivers INTERNATINAL courier company Federal Express ■will announce next Thursday that it is to become a major sponsor of the Benetton Formula 1 team.

The deal means that Benetton will be able to afford to conclude its engine supply deal with Meca chrome for 1998 and 1999 and this may algo be announced during the British Grand Prix weekend.

The Federal Express deal has been found for Benetton

Melbourne to get F1 restaurant

by sponsorship agency API Sponsorship - which has mn exclusive contract to find backing for the team.

The company was respon sible for getting Gillette and Korean Air sponsorship for the team this year.

API has effectively taken over the sponsor-hunting work of the team and the team's marketing director John Postlethwaite is to leave Enstone shortly.

Postlethwaite'is expected to set up his own sponsor hunting agency.

the past, notably Philippe Streiff.

Morbidelli is likely to be out of action for a month or more and wiU probably have to miss next week’s British GP. He may be fit in time for Germany two weeks later.

Morbidelli was the second FI driver to be injured in a week - his accident follow ing that of Olivier Panis in Montreal - and the accidents lend weight to FIA President Max Mosley’s arguments that FI cars

have become too fast.

Mosley last week said that Panis’s accident was “a definite signal that the speed ofthe cars has become excessive”, adding that the new regulations for 1998 are, therefore, “timely”.

This has not stopped Jacques ViUeneuve continu ing his criticism of the changes - which he says slow the cars down too much.

Jacques has reiterated his opposition to the new regu lations, despite being warned by the FIA.

n Pedro Diniz has launched his own range of clothing, follovring in the footsteps of other FI stars such as Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Jean Alesi. It wiU be interesting to see how Pedro does as the sales will indicate the level of enthusiasm for less obvi ous FI merchandise. n There were sugges tions in the paddock at Magny-Cours that Gerhard Berger may be going to Sauber next year to partner Johnny Herbert. Berger is man aged by Fritz Kaiser, the man who put together Sauber's deal with Petronas and who controls the Sauber holding com pany.

presents: -pouring Car Legends Bar Mirrors Just released! °"'y$79. 9ea.

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4July mi n Michel Jourdain Jr has become the latest dri ver to desert Lola. The Mexican arrived in Poitland to drive one of Rahal Racing's spare Reynard-Fords and,ironi cally, went better in the race than 'the Boss' man aged. Jourdain is expected to drive a 971 in all the remaining races. n Christian Fittipaldi's great diive was aided by some unusual modifica tions to his Swift. To accommodate his still-sen sitive right leg, the pedals were moved away so he didn't have to bend it at all and, after his Mid-Ohio test, he decided to brake with his left foot for the first time in his career.

That meant the pedal was moved to the left, rather than the middle, and his right foot operated the clutch during pitstops. n Quite apart from the fact that an American dri ver has not won a race since Surfers in April, the stars and stripes took another battering at Portland. A Brazilian TV crew beat their ESPN counterparts in a pitstop competition, servicing de Ferran's Reynard 0.9s faster than the hapless yanks... n Following Paul Tracy's three straight and Greg Moore's consecutive wins, Blundell stretched ‘ Mercedes Benz's win streak to six, something not even Honda managed last season. The last manu facturer to win six straight was ChevTolet, which won all 17 races in 1991. n Michael Andretti's result means that no-one will win the MCI Milhon this season. If any driver had won at Homestead, Portland, Vancouver and California, the communica tions giant had US$lm ($1.32m) waiting. They still have US$100,000 up for winning three of the four races and Andretti and Blundell are still possi bles to do it. n A1 Unser Jr has now gone 26 races without a win-the longest losing streak of his career. n Firestone's upsurge in wet-weather performance is no accident. The manu facturer conducted a huge wet test at Firebird Raceway neai’Phoenix, using more than 1.5 mil lion litres of water to keep the track wet during the test. n Jimmy Yasser's spin at the chicane late in the race left him classified as a DNF(19th), thus ending the longest finishing streak in CART history at 25. n Cromley will be kick ing him.self. David Donohue and Peter Cunningham split the -wins in the latest rounds ofthe North American Touring Car Championship.

Donohue's Dodge took the first race fix>m Cunningham but DNFd in the second, which 'Richie' won.

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Blundell in a photo fi

THIS time Mark Blundell and PacWest Racing got it right.

Two weeks after they missed a win at Detroit by having both cars run out of fuel on the last lap, the Bruce McCaw-led team and the gritty Brit timed it to perfection to win a wet/dry nightmare of a PPG/CAR'T race at Portland.

Blundell sneaked past Gil de Ferran and held out Raul Boesel to win the most action-packed race of the season.

At the chequered flag all three Reynards, powered by Mercedes, Honda and Ford respectively, were covered by just 0.06s.

And Blundell didn't even know he had won the race. '"When (his engineer) John (Anderson) came on the radio, he said I was six sec onds behind the leader, but I didn't know who the leader was," he said.

"When I came up on Gil, he was just another guy who I needed to pick off.

"After we saw the chequered flag, I went a couple turns and I hadn't heard anything on the radio. They normally call and say 'Good Job Mate' or something like that. But I heard nothing.

"So I called in and asked how we finished. Still nothmg.

"Then, about three or four corners later, they called and said 'You won.' I said.

'Naw,' but when I saw the 18 on the scoreboard, I let out the loudest YAHOO! on the radio.

The racebyweekend waswhole marked hostile weather in North-West America.

Qualifying was a wet-dry affair as well, with Scott Pruett taking pole on his (dry) Friday time from the biggest improver of the session, de Ferran.

The shock, though, was on the second row: alongside perennial qualifying ace

Mauricio Gugelmin was Christian Fittipaldi, starring in his return to racing.

Despite being unable to walk without crutches, he was flying in the cockpit and looked strong for the race, especially after topping the damp Sunday warm-up.

The race started in a downpour and that suited the Firestone runners right down to the ground.

Pruett took the lead but Gugelmin was quickly past, while Dario Franchitti (who qualified fifth)charged up to third ahead of Zanardi.

The Scottish rookie looked capable of winning the race until he lost track position and was bundled out of the race due to clumsy driving from A1 Unser Jr.

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he weather remained hostile until mid-race. At one stage so many drivers complained of lack of vision that the pace car went out until a shower passed.

The Goodyear drivers were really struggling until " the middle of the race when

ON THE LINE... While De Ferran shakes his fist in triumph, Biundeil passes him under the chequered fiag (above) to score his maiden win before cele

the rain eased and Tracy, de Ferran (who had dropped as far back as 11th) and Fittipaldi began to charge at their opposition, Gugelmin gave up the lead to Zanardi just past the hour and Blundell was third, all three fanning out on the straight to look for water for their tyres, Only 36 of the scheduled 98 laps had been completed and, with the slow pace of the race, the race would be ended by the two-hour time limit.

But the poor condition of the Firestone wets made it a must.

Leader Gugelmin pitted on lap 66, followed a lap later by Blundell, who got better track position and, after carefully warming his

But a line WAS starting to appear.

With about 30 minutes to go, Bryaji Herta pitted for slicks under yellow and spun on his out lap, discouraging others from following.

Then Paul Tracy tried it under green and spun spectacularly through advertising hordings, again delaying any thoughts anyone else had of pitting.

tyres, started leaders de charging Ferran after and Fittipaldi, catching them at up to seven seconds a lap!

Almost unseen^ behind him, Boesel was doing likewise and charging, With about four laps to go, Blundell was right behind the leading bunch while the Brazilian was closing like a comet, Zanardi took care of him-

brating with his crew (right).

(Photos by IndyCar News Service) Jifjr/r BJUn P.irlVest

Port/an

self, running wide twice to fall to ninth.

With two laps left, the Pom knifed inside Fittipaldi

for second and, as the white flag flew, he was right under the leader's wing and de Ferran was driving in maxi-

Moore says no to FI

INDY car star Greg Moore wants to stay with the CART circuit for a few more years before even considering a move to Formula 1.

“I really don’t want to change anything,” Moore said. “The sit uation I’m in is exceptionally good for a 22-year-old kid.

“I’m driving for one of the best teams in the business; one of the best sponsors is Player’s.

I’m lucky that I have a really good group of people around me.”

The Canadian is in his second CART season and broke through with his first victory June 1 at Milwaukee and

backed it up a week later in Detroit.

Moore is the youngest driver ever to win a CART race and also the youngest to have won two events. Both records were previously held by A1 Unser Jr. Moore took the Player’s Indycar ride abandoned when fellow Canadian Jacques Villeneuve moved to Formula 1 after the 1995 season, and now there are those who wonder if Moore might follow Villeneuve

to FI.

Moore fuelled speculation of a move when in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. a

I want to win this (CART)

championship two or three times,” Moore said when asked about FI. “Then maybe, when I’m 26 or 27, then think about Formula 1.”

Moore was the Indy Lights champion in 1995 when he won a record 12 races.

He was winless in 16 CART races last year in the bigger cars, with one second-place fin ish and two thirds as a rookie.

This year, Moore’s goal was to finish in the top five every race.

His team changed to a Reynard chassis and Firestone tires, and Moore began to improve in his Mercedes-powered car.

“It was always my dream as a

kid to get to this level of rac ing,” he said. “I still can’t believe it.

“From an outsider’s view, the start is more intense in Formula 1 just because it’s a standing start.

“But I think the racing in CART is still the closest racing when you look at the passing.

“That’s why the CART cham pionship is so strong because you’ve got good drivers out there, racing wheel to wheel.

Everyone’s taking the odd chance.

“In Formula 1, it’s kind of a horse-and-pony show once the start is done.”

Christian hobbles After world nish back in top form turns upside

)

down.Pain Italy returns

CHRISTIAN Fittipaldi made a very impressive comeback at Portland,

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qualifying third and fin ishing a highly competi tive fourth, just 1.069 seconds behind winner Blundell.

This was Fittipaldi’s first race since breaking his right leg and left foot in a spectacular accident in Surfers Paradise three

i

months ago.

Fittipaldi drove with a brace on his broken right leg.

“To be honest, I’m a bit upset at the moment,” said Fittipaldi after the race.

“I know we did pretty good for the conditions and my leg, but I thought we could win. I guess I’m just a bit selfish at the moment.

1-

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mum defensive mode to hold him out.

Approaching the final turn, Blundell had his car half on the wet to get alongside and threw the car at the line.

Boesel, after a perfect exit, was rocketing past both of them but needed another 50 metres to get the win. All three were covered by half a Reynard's length.

Fittipaldi was a superb fourth from the consistent Moore, Gugelmin, Tracy and Andretti.

Parker Johnstone was ninth ahead of Adrian Fernandez, Zanardi (who stopped with a puncture on the penultimate lap) and Michel Jourdain.

Points after nine rounds:'Tracy 100, Moore 95, Andretti 91, de Ferran 77, Vasser and Zanardi 69,Pruett 66, Boesel 61,...

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“My leg feels fine. It didn’t drop off.”

Fittipaldi tested for the first time since his accident only two weeks before the race and then showed his stuff by qualifying third, three places and two-tenths of a second ahead of Newman-Haas teammate Michael Andretti.

“Things went very well in testing,” Fittipaldi said.

“The first two days were OK, but I was pushing to the limit and my legs were quite painful.

“I went home and five days later went back to Mid-Ohio and managed to do about 230 miles.

“I felt a lot better and came here pretty confident that we could go very quick.”

Fittipaldi is wearing a brace on his broken right leg and as a result is using his left foot to brake for the first time in his career.

“It took a little while to learn how to use my left foot on the brake pedal,” he explained.

“It was good to do the test

BACK ON CRUTCHES... Fittipaldi in discussion with his father, former F1 driver, Wilson at Portland. at Mid-Ohio and then go home for a few days and think about it before going back there on Monday.

“It takes a little while to ^jearn how to put the right amount of pressure on the pedal.

“But by the end of the test at Mid-Ohio I felt confident about coming here and being able to run quick.”

Fittipaldi said now that he has learned how to leftfoot brake he believes he will continue to use the technique, even when his leg is completely healed.

“It works well and I think I’ll continue to left-foot brake from now on,” he com mented.

1995 Factory Team Cars with 1996 updates l Completely rebuilt l S42 New Generation engines l S42 Spare engine if required l Sequential gearbox l PI System ●BBS 18" or 19" Wheels ●Spares package available.

These cars are available for immediate sale and will be tested for new purchaser if required.

Please contact: Lyall Williamson BMW Motorsport Australia Ph: 0755 461 366 Mobile: 015 183 030 Fax: 0755 461 850

TWO weeks after Paul Tracy’s racing cai’eer literally turned upside down,he returned to the wheel at Portland, fully recovered from the vertigo that kept him out of the Detroit GP. Tracy admits the experience left him shaken.

“I’ve never had anything happen like that,” Tracy said. “I generally don’t get sick or have any problems with my health, so it was something I didn’t understand.

“You always raise questions with yourself like ‘Am I done? What’s wrong with me?”’

The problem surfaced as Tracy barrelled around the Detroit road course during qualify ing.

“It was a pretty dis turbing thing,” he said.

“Every time I’d turn to the right, the track

would turn upside down.”

Tracy underwent an MRI exam on his neck and brain in Phoenix, ! then went to the Mayo Clinic on June 10 to undergo a series of procedures designed to aReviate what had been diagnosed as benign vertigo caused by loose partides in his left inner ear.

“It seemed like hocuspocus to me,” be said, “They roll you over on a table to fix the problem.

It took about 30 seconds to do it and I’ve been fine since.”

Tracy said the vertigo could have been caused by a virus or by the acceleration of gravity experienced by drivers at high speeds on oval tracks such as those in Madison and Milwaukee, where he raced just before going to Detroit.

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DO NOT use cracked wheels under any circumstances.

u

4July 1997

IF you had youi- shirt on Mick Doohan to win his fourth straight oOOcc World Championship this season, haul off the trousers and socks and put those on him as well.

After an emphatic win in the Dutch TT at Assen on Saturday Doohan has stretched his lead to 68 points over Alex Criville, who missed the race after a serious fall in qualifying.

Worse for Criville - but good for Doohan - the Spaniard will miss the next three races(at least).

Doohan was in untouch able form all weekend. He sped to pole position after seeing off the challenge of Honda rider Carlos Checa. In the end Checa was bounced to third by Aprilia qualifying hero Doriano Eomboni.

But the shock was the man in fourth. Local privateer Jurgen van den Goorbergh was star of the day, taking a front-row start on his pro duction Honda NSRV500 - a first for Honda’s latest cus tomer-version V-twin 500.

Raceday dawned fine but with rain a possibility as the giid formed. Checa led away, only to be overhauled by the traditionally slow-starting Aussie on lap seven. But after 11 laps the rains came and the officials held out the red flag to stop the race.

When the race was restart ed on a wet track the rain had stopped and the track soon developed a dry line, but Doohan was never trou bled and again came from behind to gallop home to a 10 second victory on aggregate times.

“It would’ve been better for

Criville out six weeks

Photo by Mrke Cooper/AJIsport

FINAL BATTLE?... Doohan (left) took pole in Holland while the best Criville could manage before falling was eighth.

The battle is over everyone if it had kept rain ing for the restart,” he said after taking his 40th career GP win.

“It was a gamble with tyres because we knew the track would dry out. I was going to run wets, but in the end we went for a wet front and an intermediate rear. It was a tricky race.”

Checa took some solace home to Spain with second place, his best result of the season. Third, on the podium for the first time in a 500 GP was Romboni, a superb ride

in the tricky conditions allowing the 460cc Aprilia to lead home all the Honda twins for the first time.

‘Nobby’ Aoki took fourth on his Honda ahead of Alberto Puig and Alex Barros, who led home Darryl Beattie in seventh who, like Doohan, opted for a wet front tyre.

“Seventh isn’t too bad, con sidering where we’ve been the last few races,” he said.

“I wish we’d gone for intermediates front and rear. It was a bit greasy after the restart, but we

hung in there.”

Kenny Roberts Jr equalled the Roberts/Modenas team’s best result of the year in eighth while Aussies Anthony Gobert (Suzuki) and Troy Corser (Yamaha) trailed home 13th and 14th.

Gobert recovered from a near-fall on the first lap of the restart. He had shot past Doohan for second and was flying after leader Alex Barros when he got a bump from another bike and careered off over the wet grass.

Corser also went off after being hit by the flying Romboni, and again later by himself.

He was most unhappy over the weekend: team owner Rob McLean restricted to using only one of his Yamaha YZRSOOs and reports indi cate that the current World Superbike Champion may leave the team with immedi ate effect.

World Championship points after 7 rounds: Doohan 170, Criville 102, N Aoki 80,'Okada 78, Checa 70, Cadalora 59.

SPANISH SOOccGP ace Alex CriviUe is expected to be out of action for at least six weeks following a bad crash in qualifying for the Dutch TT. The world nmnber two came off his Honda NSR500 at around 240kmh, within 50 metres ofthe spot where Mick Doohan fell offin a leg breaking crash in 1993.

Criville broke only his left thumb in the accident but his right arm was trapped under the sliding bike and he suffered seri ous hand a wrist injinries, including a severed artery,in the fall.

He was immediately evacuated to a local hospi tal where he underwent skin graft surgery, before being moved to the Clinica Dexeus in his home town of Barcelona.

“This is the bad side of racing,” said Criville from his hospital bed.“I was shocked when I saw my hand -1 knew from the pain that I’d done some thing serious. Assen can catch you out, and at that kind ofspeed you have lit tle chance of saving the bike.

The incident virtually guarantees that Doohan will retain his Champion ship for the foiurth straight year.

McCoy Frankie and Johnny at Monz leads, " then seizes

GARRY McCoy’s year of variable luck continued after his pole-setting Aprilia 125 seized, forcing him to retire on lap 10 of the Dutch GP. The 26-year-old Aussie led the opening two laps and laps five to eight before the mishap, and has now shpped from sixth to seventh in the overall standings.

“We’re all scratching our heads because the engine was running a bit richer today so it shouldn’t have seized,” McCoy said.

“It’s real disappointing because I was doing it pretty easily out there. I didn’t want to tow anyone along so the game plan was to wait until the last couple laps and tiy to clear out.

“My bike had good speed, but couldn’t pull away from the pack because the tyres were a bit skatey.

‘T can’t wait to have anoth er crack at these guys at Imola next weekend. I’m annoyed at what happened, but the main thing is we’re competitive.”

-DARRYL FLACK

CASTROL/Honda’s John Kocinski has moved ahead of team-mate Aaron Slight in the Superbike World Championship after beating the popular Kiwi in both races at Monza,Italy on May 22.

Kocinski came out on top of furious seven-way scrap in the first race with current points leader Carl Fogarty (Ducati), Simon Crafar (Kawasaki), Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati), Slight, Scott Russell (Yamaha) and James Whitham (Suzuki).

With Fogarty looking in control for most of the race, Kocinski shpped to the back of the pack and appeared to be out of contention.

After wisely conserving his tyres.

Kocinski then staged a dramatic push for the lead in the dying laps to set-up a thrilhng slipstream duel to the line

his first diy victory of the year, albeit imder a thick grey Milan sky.

For the second :, the threatening skies opened, and it was pole-sitter Russell who won the hole shot before he was quickly displaced by Fogarty and Whitham. As the British pair duked it out, Kocinski moved into a distant third as Russell fell back to seventh and Chih made a measured but ultimately brilliant run from sixth.

As the Itahan pulled out to a comfortable six-second lead, Kocinski forged passed the fading Foggy and then Whitham for second. Fighting for a distant fifth. Slight struggled in the conditions and tangled with Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) in the second

chicane two laps from home, and the Japanese rider slipped .off. Slight correctly apologised on the slow-down lap.

Chili secured his third Monza win in as many years, and with his Monza 1-2 result Kocinski may yet to prove Fogarty’s greatest nemesis in his quest for world title number three.

Yamaha star Colin Edwards’ indifferent year wasn’t helped when he broke his arm after an altercation with Jean-Philhpe Ruggia in practice. while Fogarty’s team-mate Neil Hogdson will be out for a month after breaking his knee-cap in a motocross training accident.

Points: Fogarty, 177, Kocinski 163, Slight 155, Crafar 113, Chili 99, RusseU 96.

- DARRYL FLAG C

win first race. Frankie Chili(below) celebrated his third 1/I/SC win at the track in three years in race two.

Kocinski(L)and James Witham (R) look on.

>,

4July 199/

Mosley attacks legal interference in sport MAX Mosley has spoken out about legal interference in motor racing during a conference in Rome about sport and its relationship with the law.

“Risk is part of certain sports,” the FIA President said.

“In certain countries one can be prosecuted for an racing accident and be condemned for brealdng the law. This denies the very nature ofthe sport, ‘"rfiere is a difference between losing control of a car and breaking the traffic code.”

Mosley was careful not to mention the Ayrton Senna trial currently taking place in Italy.

Mosley is campaigning for a Pan-European law to standardise the legal situation for racers in Europe.

The FIA has also hit out at the recent German ruling over the TV rights for the European Track Cup. The FIA was found to have acted in an anti-competitive way and was ordered to release the rights to individual race organisers.

In a press briefing entitled “European Competition Law: Fonnula 1 and Motor Sport in general”, the FLA gave its arguments as to why the central marketing of FI’s TV rights is

not anti-competitive, arguing that the central marketing of FI for the last 25 years has made FI what it is today. , This has increased the number of viewers around the world and raised the standards of the broadcasting.

The document argued that marketing indi vidual events with hundreds of different TV companies would simply result in chaos and concluded that “the attempt to prevent the FIA using central marketing to bring free terrestri al television to millions of motor sport viewers in Europe is little short of scandalous.”

The document contained a thinly-veiled threat that “the number of races in the Em-opean Union would decrease from the pre sent 10 to perhaps two or three or even fewer” if the FIA was forced to release the TV rights and that “this would have a major effect on cer tain local economies.” l The document pointed out that only 15 ofthe 113 member countries of the FLA are in the European Union and the EU makes up only 20% of the viewership of Grand Prix racing and that is likely to decrease as new TV mar kets open up in the Far East and Eastern Europe.

-JOESAWARD

Tom in trouble TOM Walkinshaw appears to be without a topline engine for next year.

His hopes of a Mecachrome, Mugen or Ford engine have all seemingly been dashed and the Yamaha VIO

K

i

iManii=3

Webber slips on wet track MARK Webber staged a remarkable comeback to* finish only eighth in , round seven of the British Formula 3 Championship at Oulton Park after a disastrous

qualifying session left him languishing in 19th position on the grid.

Undeterred by the treach erous wet conditions and the spray which had reduced vis ibility to nil, the young Austrahan put in a storming opening lap to move into 10th position by the first corner!

Another place was gained by the end of the first lap, but any further progress was halted when he was delayed

by Simon Wills.

In an effort to pass the New Z'ealander, Webber made contact with the rear of Wills' car and severely damaged the right hand flap on his own ADR Dallara Mugen-Honda.

"There wasn't , much between us when the track was wet, but he started to cost me a lot of time as the track began to dry out," Webber explained.

engines are so xmcompetitive that it is pointless to continue.

In the circumstances, Walkinshaw is unlikely to keep Damon Hill and has nothing to lose from doing his own FI project.

This is believed to be a long way from fruition at the moment hut one option for Tom would be to buy out Brian Hart, who has a new VIO engine which needs to be financed.

- JOE SAWARD LOOKING FOR ENGINES...

Tom Walkinshaw appears to be running out of options for Arrows in 1998.

I knew that if I was to have any chance of catching the leading pack, I had to have a go at passing him."

But, having lost a consid erable amount of front end

grip through the damaged wing, Webber was unable to maintain his charge and fin ished the race in a lonely eighth place.

Despite his below-par result, Webber has now moved to within one point of Nicolas third-placed Minassian in the overall championship positions as the teams head into the allimportant round eight at the British CP meeting at Silverstone on July 12.

I

n Saturday's opening qual ifying session, Webber was first onto the track and first back into the pits after just one recce lap.

"The rain was coming down so hard that I thought it could only get better and, rather than take any risks, I decided to sit in the pits until the rain eased up."

Once it did improve, Webber ventured out again but was only able to com-

+

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plete two laps to go eighth fastest before another heavy downpour led to the session being abandoned altogether.

"The times were all over the place. I didn't feel so bad, though, once I saw Jonny Kane was only 12th fastest!"

In the second session, held on a wet but drying track, Webber's car developed a minor gearbox problem and Mai'k experienced problems getting the car into third gear coming into the comers.

"I had quite a few moments on the first few laps, and then on my sixth lap I completely locked the rear tyres with the down shift problem and ended up in the gravel at the Shell hairpin. And that's where I stayed," Up until that point, Webber had been thirdfastest but, with the track getting quicker as it dried, he shpped back to 19th.

"I was pretty disappoint ed," he rued afterwards. "I hadn't been that far back since starting out in karts."

Points after round 7: Kane 110, Dumbreck 99, Minassian 51, Webber 50, Haberfeld 42...

IS 4July mi Grooved tyres rejected

by Super Tourer teams A London meeting of Super Touring manufac turer and team dis cussed a new package of technical regulations to be introduced in 1999.

Peter Wright,cn behalf of the FIA, and TOCA’s Peter Riches also attended.

The working gi'oup has agreed in principle to a reduction in downforce by means of revised frontal aerody namics.

The majority of teams were against the intro duction of narrower wheels and grooved tyres, which has been suggested by the FIA for the year 2000.

A draft proposal is to be placed before the FIA Toiudng Car Commission for its con sideration. n Tom Walkinshaw has put his country estate in the heart of the Cotswolds (in the English Midlands) on the market for £7.5m ($16.3m). The TWR Group principal is said to be look ing for a new residence in London. n Joest’s Racing 1996-97 Le Mans-wiiming TWR Porsche WSC95 is tipped to contest the launch round of the new International Sports Racing series at Bonington on July 6.

Winning driver Tom Kristensen is expected to drive, rather than his bet ter-known co-drivers Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson. n Roberto Moreno was called up to MercedesBenz’s(IT team to partner Bemd Schneider at the Nurburgring last weekend.

Moreno, 38, is turning into a ‘super-sub’ after filling in for Christian Fittipaldi in five CART races. Moreno got the offer because regu lar driver Alex Wurz was also filling in -for Gerhard Berger in the French GP. n 'There is talk, once again, of a UK Super Touring return by Alfa Romeo. The Italian marque was champion at its first attempt with its 155 which Gabriele Tarquini drove, but they were comprehen sively out-raced in 1995. It is being indicated that the new challenge will be cen tred on the new 156 Alfa which is due for European launch in 1997.

P

n Next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours race might be run over 6-7 June, a week earli er than the traditional midJune date, to avoid a clash with the football World Cup, which France is to host. n There is talk that one of the NATCC Dodge Stratus cars could make its European Super Touring debut at Donington Park’s Tourist'Trophy meeting in October. Chrysler execu tives ai-e said to be pleased with the progress ofthe North American series, and are showing interest in a European race programme.

'They could back a trip to the Tourist'Trophy at the end of the year to test the water.

- QUENTIN SPURRING

R I V A T suom

n The FIA is to take immediate steps to tighten up its administration proce dure for pre-event tyre checks in Grand Prix racing after reports from the Canadian GP that Michael Schumacher used more than his quota on the winning Ferrari.

The FI teams are allowed up to 28 tyi'es per driver per meeting, which have to be marked for race scrutineermg. n Ricardo Zonta has been disqualified from his victoiy in the opening round ofthe 1997 FIA Formula 3000 Championship, which was run at Silverstone on 11 May. The result had been thrown into doubt when an FIA technical delegate alleged that first gear on Zonta’s Super Nova team Lola-Zytek was inoperative at pre-race scrutineering.

Despite the team’s claim that there was a fault with in the gearbox,last week’s FIA World Council meeting ruled that the car did not comply with the technical regulations and had to be excluded.

The new winner was declared to be the Auto Sport Racing Team driver, Tom Kristensen, who received this good news shortly before winning the Le Mans 24 Hours for Joest racing.

The Dane now leads the series from the two other race wirmers,Juan Pablo Montoya(RSM Marko)and Soheil Ayari(Astromega).

Zonta, who was expected to be a leading title con tender, now has no points at all.

BoulHon

SI

Sauber?

muesniie

ALL DRESSED UP ... Klaus Ludwig and Roberto Moreno await the arrival of the leading car, but the Brazilian missed out as Ludwig(whose own car was out of the race) stepped in and drove it to the chequered flag.

(Photo by LATDigital)

Maiden Mercedes win

MERCEDES-Benz broke through for its first FIA GT Championship win with a convincing 1-2 result on home soil last weekend.

Bernd Schneider and Klaus Ludwig drove the winning Mercedes CLK-GTR to victory over teammates Alessandro Nannini and Marcel Tiemann at the Nurburgring circuit.

Roberto Moreno was to have driven the winning car, but was replaced at the pit stop

by Ludwig, whose own car had been spun out of the race by Bemd Maylander.

“Of course I’m a little disappointed not to

drive,” said Moreno, “but the team is here to win the championship.”

Schneider had a few scares with backmarkers, but was otherwise untroubled in winning from pole position, had to go onto the grass once; the traffic was unbelievable,” he said.

McLaren-BMW drivers JJ Lehto and Steve Soper had to be content with third place and still lead the championship battle.

They now have 28 points to Schneider’s 16.

The next round'is at Spa in Belgium on July 20.

WILLIAMS test driver Jean-Christophe Boullion is likely to be driving for Sauber at next week’s British Grand Prix, stand ing in for the injured Gianni Morbidelli (see earlier report, page 11).

At the French GP Sauber decided to use its test driver Norberto Fontana, but the young Argentine driver did not impress the team.

At one point he turned off the engine of his car and said it was undriveable - only to be told to get back out onto the race track.

Our sources say that Fontana will be replaced by Boullion, who was mentioned in connection with the drive before Magny-Cours.

JCB raced for the Swiss team in 1994 and was one of the candidates to be Johnny Herbert’s teammate last win ter. He was also the lerding candidate to stand in for the injured Morbidelli last week end.

Although it was not widely reported, this was a double blow for Boullion who was also a favourite to drive for Prost as Olivier Panis’s replacement.

The Williams team was happy to let Bouillon have a go but we understand that Rothmans did not want its French driver to switch to Ga'uloises at the French GP. - JOE SAWARD

FI Flotation delaye

THE flotation of Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One ' Holdings company is to be delayed until the winter.

The delays have been forced on Ecclestone and his advisors - the investment bank Salomon Brothers because of worries in the financial world that there are too many outstanding problems surrounding FOH. The dispute between Bernie and some of the FI teams is one of the issues.

Williams, McLaren and Tyrrell are refusing to agree to the package which Ecclestone is offering and 'have appointed rival invest ment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Benson to advise them.

They have, it appears, been joined by Arrows, although it is unclear whether Tom is acting as a

rebel or trying to get the two sides to meet in the middle.

Almost everyone in the FI paddock believes that the money problems can easily be solved but the clash of egos is going to be more diffi cult to settle.

The real problems for the flotation appear to be in the legal standing of the TV con tracts between the various broadcasters and FOH, par ticularly in the light of the recent court decision in Germany over the televising of European Truck Racing.

We hear that the banks underwriting the deal want to confirm the legality of ALL the TV contracts and this is likely to take some months.

There have also been wor ries about the financial prob lems of Bavarian media baron Leo Kirch - who is

expected to provide around 25% of the income for the floated Formula One Holdings via his DFl digital TV service.

DFl has been in trouble British since Sky Broadcasting scrapped plans to take a share in DFl and a German bank refused to loan Kirch money to cover the losses.

Kirch is believed to be cov

ering DFl’s losses by speed ing up the float of another TV channel - ProSieben, one of Europe’s most profitable 'TV companies.

Investors are also eager to discover more about the role of the FIA - which would get 10% of the share in the com pany in exchange for the commercial rights to FI for the next 25 years.

There are questions over this agreement as no other

promotion companies had the chance to bid for the deal.

The banks are worried that the cosy relationship between Ecclestone and the FIA might be judged a cartel in a commercial court.

Ecclestone is both the FIA Vice-President responsible for promotion and the FI “commercial rights holder”.

Bernie has to be elected on the proposal of the FIA President - to the first role but there are no published FIA regulations which explain how the commercial rights holder is Selected and no regulations restricting an appointment.

These may exist in, the Concorde Agreement - but the latest versions of this have never been made avail able to the public.

- JOE SAWARD

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BimboSy blondes and blusterfront bosses Cartoon by Allan Schofield

A

few years ago you may recall the President of the FIA, was a controversial Frenchman called' JeanMarie Balestre.

He had a colour ful history and unusual ways of making himself understood.

When talking to anyone in F1 he would rant and rave and lay down the law and yet, at the same time, he would do com mad pletely which things would undermine any credibility he had.

These exploits included running across the race track at Silverstone after start ing the race and narrowly avoid ing being run down by a car which had start ed a long way behind the others.

At Magny-Cours - where F1 passes had become gold dust Balestre made no friends by parading up and down, accompa nied by a bimbo on rollerskates with an FIA pass. This so upset people that the Brabham fan club magazine - the much-lamented Cobra - actually issued a special Rollerskating Bimbo pass for the next Grand Prix which allowed access “to anywhere at any

WtEEVAR)lK'-TO5MM1'

By Joe Saward courses there was nothing to write home about except two exciting last segments in the last laps of each of the races.

6

time”.

Access to the F1 paddock is something which is always being talked about at this time of year in the run-up to the British Grand Prix.

The F1 world is dominated by the British teams and the pres sure for passes at Silverstone is absurd. The people on the gates who used to fall for the sob sto ries about delivering pizza to Flavio Briatore or being Bernie Ecclestone’s long lost cousin no longer work because of the swipe card machines. If you haven’t got a pass, you do not get in.

In France, however, I did notice one group who had beat en the system. All they used was police uniforms and guns. It obvi ously worked because none of them had any passes and I did not see the paddock security men showing them to the door.

One would never go as far as to suggest that dressing up as a policeman is the best way to get autographs, but it does seem to work. I just hope that this revela tion will not mean that there will not be more policemen at Silverstone than there are beau tiful people ...

Actually, these days it is arguable whether there are any beautiful people left in the paddock. I do not know many beauti ful journalists and the team boss es all seem to be rather gnarled and limping. Benetton occasion-

ally brings in some fashion mod els, but most of these look pale and ill - which is apparently all the rage on the catwalks.

are a couple of things which Jacques might like to take into account.

I once knew a girl - a natural blonde - who developed the habit of dyeing her hair a darker shade because she wanted people to take her seriously. Blondes, she argued, are never given the chance to prove they are intelli gent. They are simply playthings - Barbie Dolls. The colour of your hair, she said, is directly propor tional to your perceived level of intelligence. The only pay-off is that blondes are supposed to have more fun.

Well, I hope it works for Jacques Villeneuve because he

Fashion, is an issue this weekhowever, in Formula 1 thanks to the arrival in the Magny-Cours paddock on the Thursday before the race of a bleached blond bloke who looked like Jacques Villeneuve.

When it turned out that this was actually Jacques Villeneuve himself there was furore in the paddock.

Some thought it scandalous that a top driver should behave in such a silly fashion (really, there were people u like that); oth ers said it was a fine thing that we should have a top dri ver who was willing to make a fashion state ment and that he really should have had a stud put through his tongue as well. has not been having much Drivers have dyed their hair recently, before (don’t worry, boys, we are He started the season as the not going to mention any names) strong favourite to dominate the but usually this was only to hide World Championship and yet the grey bits; there were some here we are, coming up to mid folk who smiled smug smiles and season, and Michael muttered that Jacques was still Schumacher is ahead in the young, forgetting that at 26 most Drivers’ World Championship people have grown out of such with Ferrari leading the eccentric phases.

Constructors’.

The more deviously-minded Jacques is under pressure, concluded that there must be a People are beginning to ask deep psychological significance whether he really is as good as in the fact that Jacques has gone they thought he was. With blond blond after fhis accident in hair he may be taken less seriMontreal. Unhappy girls often feel ousjy. the need to have their hair newlystyled when things are not going 'The fact that people were talkwell in life. Perhaps Jacques’ I ing about Jacques’hairdo is in hairdo was an outward sign of a itself an indication of what FI is internal crisis. becoming. It must be only a mat 1 could not care less, but there ter of time, before we start getting

The politics of Formula 1 is a fascinating business atalso the moment - not that this should matter to race fans - as Bernie Ecclestone tries to get things sorted out so that he can float his company called Formula 1 Holdings.

The only thing that is really important to the fans is whether or not the flotation is a good idea.

Having trawled the paddock, I can report that, while some peo ple are sceptical that the float will be a success, they are all in agreement that it is exactly what F1 needs to do. The sport has passed through the buccaneering capitalist phase - engineered so brilliantly by Ecclestone - and now needs to enter a more struc tured corporate era to secure the future without Ecclestone,and to grow in new areas.

There are, however, some F1 fashion specialists. team bosses who feel that Bernie For the boring old motor racing fans, such things are ridiculous, is not giving them enough. They particularly at a time when there may be right but there is not are plenty of interesting things much they can do about it, except trying to disrupt the planned flotagoing on in the Formula 1 world - tion which is, of course, selfboth on and off the tracks. defeating because they dare not FI racing is producing a pretty good show this year, although the push too hard for fear that the Williams team and its drivers whole thing will collapse.

The aim therefore appears to have been squandering points at have been to create an atmos an alarming rate to allow Schumacher - who is driving at a phere of uncertainty and confu sion so that the financial people level way beyond any of the oth ers at the moment - the chance get scared.

There are at least two team to get ahead. bosses who are telling those in My gut feeling is that things the F1 media who are willing to :will settle down and that Jacques listen that there is a big story out and Heinz-Harald will get their act there somewhere and that the together a bit pressmen are simply not clever more, but it will enough to work it out and, even if still be a good as they could figure out whatever it fight they do not have the guts the Michael’s early is, write about it. season advan This is garbage. Whenever a tage must now be clawed journalist asks these people to explain what this amazing scan back.

Compared dal may be the team bosses refuse to say, leaving the press to Indycar rac men to wonder what on earth ing, I think F1 they are trying to achieve. is standing up One can only imagine that if very well.

A few weeks ago I finally got the story exists at ail it would be round to buying a satellite TV and so damaging to the sport that it so, between Grands Prix, I was would mean that the team bosses able to watch the Indycar races in would be blamed for causing the Detroit and in Portland. I had damage. If a journalist were to heard reports about how much dig it up he could always take the blame instead - which is fine if better CART racing was sup you are a team boss and not posed to be but I was hugely dis much fun if you are the journalist. appointed.

I tend to follow the argument Yes, there were the occasional passing manoeuvres but only that if they think there is a scan after the pace car had been dal out there which the world despatched every few minutes to should know about, then they bunch up the cars to make sure should put up or they should shut that no-one fell too far behind. up whingeing. Rather than mud It was a circus, not a motor dying the waters and getting race, and I concluded that left to someone to do their dirty work for run without interruption an them, they should come out and Indycar race would not be very say whatever it is they think is different from the average Grand important.

Prix. I am sure that on the ovals it Sadly, none of them seem to is a lot more exciting, but on road have the guts to do it... n

There were somefolk who muttered that Jacques was still young, forgetting that at 26 most people have grown out of such eccentric phases.

IS

4JufyW97

McCarthy takes first blood

By STEVE NORMOYLE

SOME of the locals scarcely even knew his name, but after the open ing round of the AMSCAR Sedan Series there was no mistaking the man in the West Coast Racing Falcon.

The fact that Allan McCarthy had not even laid eyes on Eastern Creek until Friday made no difference.

In qualifying the West Australian took pole and he led every lap of the three races, winning the third by the length of the main straight.

If McCarthy's performance caught everyone unawares, the day's runner-up was also a surprise.

Returning to touring cars after a long layoff, Mick Donaher came away with two third placings and one second in his ex-Schembri Ultratune Commodore VP. The more fancied Bob Pearson and Mai Rose were third and fourth overall, both drivers enduring eventful afternoons.

Practice and quarifying

THREE FROM THREE... West Australian ace Allan McCarthy takes his ex-Seton Falcon to victory at Eastern Creek.

"To be honest I'm still learning the track," he said, "And 1 still haven't got full confidence in the tyre to allow me to go where I want to go."

Bob Pearson had sat out most of the opening session, reckoning that the warmer temperature of late morning would give the Goodyears more grip.

He had done a low lm35s lap on Friday but, while the Pro-Duct Commodore VS was fastest in the second ses sion, at lm35.5971s Pearson was just shy of McCarthy. It was enough for the outside of the front row.

Rose was third at

The control Goodyear tyre left teams scratching their heads as they struggled for grip, understeer being the most common complaint.

Most agreed the tyres were at least a full second slower than a Dunlop or Yokohama, but they were durable and consistent. For McCarthy, the Goodyears' consistency was a godsend.

"You can go out and make an adjustment and see whether it makes any differ ence because the tyre perfor mance stays the same over many laps," he said. It helped his acclimatisation no end. lm35.9123s. He might have done better had he not been Notwithstanding some baulked - "we're on it from understeer, McCarthy had the first lap but they're still good reason to be pleased. warming up" - but he was In Sunday morning quali happy enough after a produc fying he pipped Rose for fastest at lm35.5733s and tive couple of days.

"It's the first time I've been felt there was even more to come from the white-and-red able to do any suspension checked Falcon EL. changes because with these

tyres you don't have to fi t a new set to see if you've made any difference."

But tyres were a source of grief for fourth-fastest Peter Doulman.

He'd missed the opening for the same reason as Pearson, but just after clocking a lm36.8916s the M3 Motorsport Commodore VP's clutch failed to disengage, preventing Doulman changing gear.

The result was a big spin at Turn 4, the brake lockup tearing a huge channel across the Goodyears' surt V face,

But Doulman needed more than a new set of tyres - the delay changing the spigot bearing kept him out of race one.

I fastest at Fifth lm36.8971s was Donaher, the son of 'Sylvania Waters' Laurie happy with his car's handling but not with the fact that he'd torn a ligament in his right arm.

"I can't move my arm at the moment," he admitted, "but it'll be right once we're out there and the adrenaline takes over."

Alongside at lm37.4189s was Kevin Waldock, com-

(Photo by David Lamont)

plaining of chronic understeer, We should be third," he said, "but I just can't get it to go around corners."

Bill Attard was about where he expected to be in the Xerox Commodore, sev enth a,t lm38.444s, while Neil Schembri (lm38.7432s) was haunted by evil han dling in the Gearbox VS. Garry Willmington (ninth at lm38.999s) reckoned the t3rres were the best he'd ever raced on, but Richard Mark's four-speed VP was a handful on Goodyears.

His best was lm40.1716s.

I

a shade faster than 11th quickest Tim Slako, the Perth ace struggling to learn the circuit and get heat into his tyres.

Fellow Sandgroper Geoff Kendrick was alongside (lm42.2509s), his VS having not left Sydney since its May Amaroo practice day rollover.

The Wetherill Park TAPE students had repaired the chassis, the wild paintjob completed by the lads at the Granville Tech.

Don Pulver lined up 13th for his touring car debut in the ex-Lansvale Commodoi-e.

Alongside was fellow new comer Gary Cannan, the Tasmanian strugghng with a VL Commodore whose guards wouldn't accept the taller Goodyears.

Running at a raised rideheight made the car look odd from the outside but it was even worse from inside the cabin apparently.

Another debutant, Brian Walden, rounded up the 15car field in his ex-Finnigan VP.

Race 1-15 laps In testing some drivers had done as many as 200

ABOVE: Peter Doulman had a difficult day, a clutch problem preventing him from even starting the first race after qualify ing fourth in the M3 Motorsport Commodore. BELOW: It was an eventful day for Bob Pearson, who is about to slid off the track while challenging McCarthy on the first lap of race one.

(Photos by David Lament and Mpix) t.

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i-^iTenhii WORTHWHILE TRIP... Race winner Allan McCarthy. laps on the Goodyears, so there'd be no problems get ting through the day's racing on one set, although getting them to grip off the line was another matter.

Rose reckoned the way to do it was to grab second gear almost immediately to counter the wheelspin and when the lights flashed green that theory proved to be correct as the black Commodore rocketed away.

But McCarthy's getaway had been even faster and he led them into the Sweeper.

Rose was second from Waldock, Pearson, Donaher, Slako, Attard, Schembri and Mork.

Into turn four Rose lunged down the inside of the leader, but McCarthy came across to protect his line.

Rose was forced to abort and in doing so he locked the rears and spun wildly off the irack. He resumed eighth behind Attard.

"I thought I had to get him early because I didn't know how fast he was going to be," said Rose. "He came straight across and I don't know if he even saw me, but it was my fault for having a go."

McCarthy saw it different ly: "He hit me up the back.

How he came to be there I don't know."

With Rose out of the pic ture, Pearson ranged up behind the Ford and the pair were pulling away from Donaher, who had slipped inside the understeering Waldock through the hairpin on lap four.

By then Rose was up to fifth, ahead of the battling trio of Slako, Schembri and Attard, but the black Commodore was sporting damage to the front after a touch with Slako On lap three.

At the head of the field Pearson looked more than a match for McCarthy, but by lap 10 the leader had created some breathing space.

The gap gradually increased as McCarthy charged to the flag, winning by three seconds.

"In the first half he was holding me up," Pearson revealed. "But then my rear tyi-es went off a bit so I hung back waiting for him to make a mistake."

The mistake never came.

"The thing about Bob is you can trust him," McCarthy said. "I knew I was holding him up early on but later I sensed he was having the same tyre trou bles as I was."

Eleven seconds further back was Donaher, who

(Photos by John Morris - Mpix)

STRONG COMEBACK... Mick Donaher was the surprise runner-up in his return meeting. spent the second half of the race defending Ijis spot from Rose.

"At first I thought Mai was going to go straight past me," said Donaher. "But after a few laps he was still there, so I pressed on." Rose was quicker through the turns but Donaher had his mea sure down the straight.

A further 10 seconds back, Waldock barely held out Schembri. Attard was sev enth from Willmington, the lapped Cannan and Kendrick, who dropped back after a spin.

Slako also fell back when the pink car developed a fuel pickup problem, and Mork pitted with a failed crank sensor trigger.

Race 2-8 laps Once again McCarthy led them away, but Pearson made a terrible start and was swamped by Donaher and Rose. Schembri tucked in behind them, from Slako and Waldock.

Pearson was in trouble when his throttle jammed on lap two, the Pro-Duct car spinning off at Turn 5.

Thereafter Pearson drove with one hand close to the ignition switch, but the stick ing throttle caught him again, resulting in a spin at

the hairpin a few laps later.

Race 3-5 laps One car he wouldn't have McCarthy did it again off to repass was Schembri, tyho the line, while Rose sat there pitted with a failed plug l&d wheelspinning. after three laps.

Donaher did even worse, Rose had more success going from first to fourth with Donaher this time, get gear, but it was a blessing in ting by at Turn 4. He pulled disguise. away, Donaher unable to At Turn 2 Rose got pushed respond. wide, while Doulman copped But Rose could do nothing a nudge from Pearson and was turned around as the about McCarthy. ^ "I tried everything but I rest of the field took evasive couldn't catch him. Good on action. him, he's obviously driving McCarthy, clear of the well and they know what chaos, headed off Slako and they're doing."

Waldock, but the latter pair McCarthy won by just over had crept off the line before five seconds. the green, Waldock following "Initially I thought he was Slako when he saw the pink going to pull me in," he said, car move. "but I tried to be consistent More strife awaited Rose. even though it was under A clash with Kendrick at the steering badly." hairpin saw the West Slako worked hard for Australian's detached rear fourth place, heading a train bumper fly over Rose's wind of cars including Waldock, screen and roof - "I ducked!"

Attard, Willmington and, for - and soon after Rose was a while, Doulman. pitbound with a puncture.

Off the rear of the grid, His opposition self-destruc Doulman had made it to the ting, McCarthy was unchal head of the queue, but spun lenged. Not only was he well off at the hairpin when Slako out in front, but his two clos moved across to protect his est pursuers, Slako and line.

Waldock, were about to Doulman recovered to fin receive stop/go penalties. ish eighth, just ahead of Pearson was on course to Pearson, Kendrick and inherit second place until he Pulver, who'd missed Race 1 spun at Turn 2, rejoining to when a wheel came loose on set the day's fastest lap the warm-up lap. (lm36.1812s) and almost

overhaul Schembri for third place.

Mork was a distant fifth, having held out Willmington and Attard after a race-long battle.

Doulman had caught that group at the end, while Kendrick and Slako complet ed the top 10.

McCarthy won as he pleased, Donaher happily conceding his '94-spec VP was not up to the pimsuit.

Schembri, likewise, was over the moon with third place after starting the week end in poor shape.

But it had been McCarthy's day and his chas tened opponents now look forward to the second round at Amaroo Park on July 20, As does the ARDC; while there had only been a tiny crowd, there had been some good racing and the Goodyear control tyre had done everything asked of it.

Around Amai'oo, with per haps a few additional run ners, this brave new AMSCAR could potentially develop into an exciting tour ing car spectacle.

Pointscore: McCarthy 54; Donaher 25; Rose 23; Schemhri 16; Waldock 14; Attard 13; Willmington 12; Slako 10; Mork 7; Doulman 3; Cannon 2.

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4Jufy1997

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Brabham in front

Report: PH!L BRANAGAN Photos; DIRK KLYNSMITH

GEOFF Brabham made a silk purse out of a sow's ear at Calder Park to walk away with the lead in the BOC Gases Super Touifing Championship.

After qualifying he was relegated to the rear of the grid in the first race for a weighing infringement, but still made it up to sec ond.

In race two he led all the way from pole to score his first win of the season and overall victory for the day.

Brad Jones won the first race despite the ravages of a fairly strong dose of the 'flu.

Paul Morris, who won the second race, had to make do with a runner-up position overall after being outed in an incident with Steven Richards in race one.

As a consequence, Richards was excluded from the results of the race, but his Nissan Primera showed great RIDING HIGH ... Geoff Brabham moved into the lead of the Super Touring Championship'when he took his first win of the speed after qualifying third for both races and year while teammate Paul Morris had a day he would prefer to forget, despite a close second in race two. running at the pointy end 190.5kmh over the start fine, ofthe field.

Entry & Quslifying with Wakefield driving bird from South Africa to only as fash'as Newman's Team Petronas contin To rent: garages. Usually apparently). steer the sole Mondeo after Peter Hills was there in Team Petronas boss David Peugeot) and he felt like ued their trying run in the reserved for Super Tourers hell. series after South African but empty due to unexpected body but his newly-rebuilt Wong declared Albert Poon’s Team Orix had become cancellations.

Cheap.

Apply ' Mondeo was not quite ready, car a 'non-fixer' from its Mike Briggs failed to start, Team Orthoxicol. The team's Calder Park. while Joh-n Henderson, Phillip Island roll. race one with electrical Shane Portass and Graham Also new was Mark collective noses were run The thinnest line-up in problems in the Ford remained Adderton's Toyota Camry. ning like a US relay team Mondeo and ran mid-field some time - just 13 cars - Hutchinson More of that later ... and, worse. Brad was the showed at Calder for the unseen and unheard. in race two.

Bob Tweedie had his sec Everyone was expecting a sickest of them all, rugging Leading Independent on fifth and sixth races of the ond car present but to adver-, BMW blitz in qualifying but up between sessions in a the day was David Auger, BOC Series. were both tise, not sell, while Tony they didn't quite get it for parka and gloves. who made a miraculous Missing His 58.78s in the first ses the first grid. comeback to the class Hyundai Lantras (budget) Newman was similarly con Brad Jones grabbed pole sion secured pole but he fell and Wayne Wakefield's centrating on his single after a Phillip Island position for the first race, to fourth in race two with an shunt all but destroyed bis BMW, which was crashed at Peugeof 405.

But there was some 'new' surprising even himself. only marginally slower Alfa Romeo.

Lakeside during a test (not He knew the car would be 58.82s. as well.

Cameron McConville was Most notable was Briggs, down on pace on the only sixth in race one straights (and it was, at straight off the great white

(59.02s) and improved by a whole hundredth to fifth for the second race before he chugged to a halt at the top of the straight. "Electrical problem," he shrugged as he walked in.

What was apparent was that the Audi tyres were working great in the corners.

The new Dunlops Dunlop Motorsport were loathe to give them a desig nation, but 507 seems like a good guess - apparently combined good durability with excellent rolling resis tance, so Vital for Calder's straights, not to mention Bathurst's ...

Morris took a pair of sec onds with respective 58.64s and 58.82s laps, while Brabham was there, improv ing a 58.87s for fourth in the first session to a 58.61s for pole in Q2.

But Q1 still held some dramas.

When Brabham approached the weighbridge and saw two cars thei-e he assumed the red fight was on for the second of them, not him, so he diwe on byUnfortunately it was for him and, under the rules, his session times were automati cally scrubbed and he was sent to the back of the gi’id.

Morris had to be satisfied with a pole^less weekend.

Both BMWs were running Michelins of unspecified denomination but, again, rumours suggested that they were hot-off-the-presses (ie not even raced in Europe yet) new compounds called 114s which were at least supposed to be a match for the new Dunlops.

Two thirds was the result for the S. Richards Primera.

The car was still lacking testing but was going like fury, showing prodigious

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BR\GGS & STRATTON n 73

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SURPRISE WIN... Brad Jones was amazed to take pole position for the first race and made the most of It, heading Brabham all the way to the line for an impressive victory, but a mistake in race two cost him dearly.

NISSAN VERSUS OPEL... The new Primera showed a great turn of speed, especially on the straights, but Steven Richards was disqualified from the first race after hitting Morris. McLean follows in the Cavalier.

.■

/*

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-X

Beam me up, Morrie

speed on the straights. He improved his 58.85s first effort by a tenth in the sec ond session.

Better, the car seemed capable of knocking off the times almost at will and was very consistent.

Jim Richards took a fifth and a sixth in the Volvo 850.

The team was content that the car was going as fast as it was going to go, given that its five-banger engine had just been rebuilt at TWR and that the list of common parts between the 850 and the BTCC S40 was getting shorter and shorter.

"Nothing we can do," said Jim, looking as laid-back as a, well, a Jim Richards.

The next cars were getting ridiculously close in times.

For the first grid Briggs pipped Cameron McLean's Opel by all of 0.004s for sev enth, while they were almost equally close in Q2. Problem was, Briggs also fell foul of the weighbridge (the car wouldn't start) and was sent to the rear for the second race.

The visitor was pleased to be at Calder, though he was

COSTLY ERROR ... Steven Richards struggles to hold out McConville and Brabham after damaging his Nissan Primera (above) against Morris’s BMW. WHERE’S THAT SUN?... Jim Richards with team manager George Shepheard and Volvo’s John Cotter.

spec a^ro package in defer ence ' to Calder's long straights and slow corners.

Then came the Toyota.

Super Touring cars look high-tech and impres^ve at the best of times but this exSouth African car looks THE BUSINESS. It was stun ning, even considering the team's 'hand-built' radiator shroud and airbox. "'We couldn't get them, so we built them," shrugged team manager Mike Quinn.

'If the straight went to Melbourne I'd be fine, but that first corner upsets ft things a bit.

Amaroo, but it's just beauti¬

ful.

Bob Tweedie, Auger and Tony Newman were covered by a maximum of half a sec ond in both sessions.

The Vauxhall Cavalier was charging along ("we've got the set-up closer at last," said a cheerM Tweedie) and led the way with a 10th and an eighth. was Newman more pleased with the Fastway Couriers 405 than he had been for some time. He changed the clutch between sessions after losing it for all of Ql, in which he was sent to the back of the gild to join Brabham. He had also missed the signal to come and get weighed, twice.

Okay, it's 'warm and fuzzy' time.

The fact that the Auger Alfa was there at all was a bloody miracle. The car had been rebuilt out of a new shell bought in New Zealand, whereupon a crew of up to nine at a time attacked it simultaneously.

It also meant that they built a left-hand-drive race car from an RHD shell.

Auger was just delighted; "It's BETTER than before the crash," he said. "The old car had a 10mm bend in it, so this actually feels much better."

He was fairly fortunate to be there at all. A bolt fell out of a front wishbone at the end of the straight on Friday and machined a hole in a front wheel. "It went Continued next page

Stardate 1997-2.0; Seen at Calder was Patrick Stewart (above left), the man who gives life to TV's (and now the movies') Capt Jean-Luc Picai'd on 'Star Trek'. The actor, a guest of BMW at the track, is in Australia shooting the mini-series 'Mohy Dick' at Point Cook in Victoria and was last seen leaving the track in a 735 at something less than warp speed...

■ Also seen at the track was living Superbike legend Robbie Phillis. He was keeping close tabs on old chum Mike Briggs, having his first run in the Team Petronas Mondeo.

■ And, keeping a low profile at the track; Ford Motorsport boss Greg Harbutt, who was there to "have a look. I'm looking at things but, no, we're not going to do anything (in Super Touring)".

■ Peter Hills' Ford Mondeo has been rebuilt and its V6 engine was due to go onto the dyno the vreek after the race.

Hnis is receiving assistance and advice fi'om Neal Lowe, the Ross Palmer Motorsport manager, who has consider able experience with Mondeos.

■ Attention Chrysler fans; Ray Lintott's Dodge 'Viper may have been missing at Calder but the 8-litre, 'VIO weapon was in action at Eastern Creek's sportscar race.

Look for the big blue monster at the next GT-P round at Amaroo Park.

■ Jody Freestone had a drive of father Paul's new acqui sition, the Lotus Esprit, during the week. The word is that the family that races together is looking for a suitable (class) Gl'-P seat for Jody to race in and the two may team up for the GT-P enduro at Bathurst on October 18.

■ Speaking of the three-hour, brochures detailing the event were hastily removed from the GT-P information board in the media centre on Saturday. Seems that all is not too rosey between the previously chmnmy TOGA and Procar camps...

■ Present at Calder were three cars that Briggs had raced; the Petronas Mondeo, McLean's Opel and Tweedie's second Vauxhall, which Briggs raced in the 1995 BTCC. -PHILBRANAGAN

- Mike Briggs

less than complimentary about the nose-heavy natm’e of the V6-engined Mondeo.

"If the straight went to Melbourne, I'd be fine," he chuckled, "but that first cor ner upsets things a bit."

He also looked the part.

The extra-thorough team had bought him a new Petronas race suit for this so-far one-off appearance at a cost of around 3500DM (about $3000!). Memo Team Orix, whose Greg Murphy 1996 suit is still in service for McConville ...

McLean, 'for his part, was chasing balance. "We change everything and the times only vary by four-tenths," he lamented, having decided to run a lower downforce, 1996-

They looked, er, low-tech, but they worked.

Considering the car had been run' for the first time on the Friday, it was making all the right noises and not leaking anything and going like a shell; its 196-197kmh trap speeds usually led the

field.

Adderton was pleased with his improvement of half a second (to seventh from ninth) and declared the car "gi'eat - easy to drive, gi'eat seating position. We'll give it two days testing before ALEA REVIVAL... David Auger was delighted with the newly rebodied Alfa: “It’s better than before the crash!”

V.

4

I 22 4Jufymi Continued from previous page straight on and felt funny," he understated, displaying the new 'two-piece' TecnoMagnesio wheel...

Bringing up the rear was Justin Matthews.

The Faber-Castell driver was down to one engine after his origi nal dropped a valve while Paul Nelson and Bob Holden were doing some pre-race miles on Thursday, and he lost a clutch and most of the day on Friday.

He was also battling set-up: "The rear springs have gone from 11001b to 450s but now we need softer shocks," he said. "But we don't have any, so we'll raise the rear ride height a little."

Race 1-28 laps

Adderton sneaked past, leaving him with some more work to do.

Jones was oblivious to all this.

After a lap he was almost a second clear and kept going.

On lap four he set a new lap record of 59.34s and poked it home to a 2.68s win, as simple as you like.

The real fun was behind.

Brabham was sniffing around the back of the Volvo, getting by at Repco on lap five, but the battle was on ahead as Morris, McConville and S Richards went at it hard.

The Audi was losing four car lengths on the front straight but getting it all back at Repco under brakes.

Richards used the Nissan's

straightline speed to get onto the back of Morris and the two tangled in the esses on lap six. The BMW TROUBLES... Despite this incident when he hit the throttle and was spun sideways across the track and, as a tyre went down, the 1995 brake together (above), Mark champion was out of the race.

Adderton was delighted with the "He just king hit me," said a lessfirst-up performance of his Toyota than-impressed Morris later - and Camry. Less happy was Paul the stewards agreed.

Morris after retiring from the first Richo Jr was excluded from the they got murdered. Oh no, not race, which has cost him the race, which he said was "fair - I again? series lead.

Nope. By race time the track was was probably being a little ambi i But Brabham was not done and tious, but I saw a gap and went for dry and everyone was on shcks.

But the Mondeo wasn't going it. He dosed the door. made a firm pass at Repco for third "The stewards had to be consis anywhere. The car would not start and sliced past McConville for due to a flat battery and while the tent with the rules, and they are. what would become second a lap team tried everything to get it lit I've got no complaints." later. It had been a good battle for Briggs was a frustrated man. The Steve was left with a right-front around eight laps, but it was over. car eventually staggered out five Michelin which was billowing Meanwhile, Adderton's debut smoke... It held on until the end of had come to nothing. He had pitted laps late.

The emphasis would be on the the race where he finished fifth on lap two with electrical problems. start and the two Audis speared until he was put out.

Brabham pulled a small gap in away, Jones leading Morris, Ignoring the fact that the second and McConville could not McConville, Steven Richards and - Primera was second on the road, fight back and, similarly, JR was now this was 'impressive - Brabham was challenging for that losing front tyre grip and was in no Brabham. (real) position, climbing over position to challenge McConville From the rear of the grid he had McConville. They went through the for third. He had struggled to get simply catapulted away to pass BMW flip-flop side by side on lap past his son but, with the Nissan's seven cars in 500 metres. In the nine, the Audi hanging on and tyres under even more stress, first corner kerfuffle he was Richards' Volvo eating the BMW on Steve could not fight back.

So that's how the race ran out. the way up the back straight. pushed around and Jim and Sunday dawned as horrible as Saturday was nice. The warm-up was damp and Jones' Audi led the time, prompting memories of the last time the Audi team ran in mixed conditions at Calder two years ago. Team manager Kim Jones ran both cars on slicks and

BOC Gases Super Touring Championship Round 5 & 6 - Calder Raceway, June! l21/22

Race 1 (28 laps)

Team/Car Pos Driver 1 Brad Jones Orix Audi A4 quattro 2 Geoff Brabham BMW Motorsport BM W 320i 3 Cameron McConville Orix Audi A4 quattro Volvo Australia 850 4 Jim Richards Valvoline Nissan Prim era DQ Steven Richards 5 Cameron McLean Greenfield Opel Vectra 6 Bob Tweedie Intercity Vauxhall Cavalier Gun Racing Alfa Romeo 155 7 David Auger Fastway Couriers Peugeot 405 8 Tony Newman Faber-Castell BMW 318i 9 Justin Matthews DNF Paul Morris BMW Motorsport BMW 320i Team Petronas Ford Mondeo DNF Mike Briggs DNF Mark Adderton Atlantis Toyota Camry

Race 2(28 laps)

Team/Car Pos Driver 1 Geoff Brabham BMW Motorsport 320 2 Paul Morris BMW Motorsport 320 3 Cameron McConville Orix Audi A4 quattro 4 Brad Jones Orix Audi A4 quattro Volvo Australia 850 5 Jim Richards Valvoline Nissan Primera 6 Steven Richards Team Petronas Ford Mondeo 7 Mike Briggs 8 Gun Racing Alfa Romeo 155 David Auger Faber-Castell BMW 318i Justin Matthews 9 Greenfield Opel Vectra 10 Cameron McLean Fastway Couriers Peugeot 405 DNF Tony Newman DNF Mark Adderton Atlantis Toyota Camry DNF Bob Tweedie Intercity Vauxhall Cavalier

Race time 28:12.5732 28:15.1594 2^:17.3003 28:37.8802 28:42.0230 28:42.8310 27 laps 27 laps 27 laps 27 laps 7 laps 6 laps 2 laps

On F/lap 59.3410 4 59.5849 13 4 59.5204 3 59.5940 3 59.6425 3 60.2515 2 61.9250 5 62.5259 62.4267 6 63.1345 6 59.5543 5 5 61.2456 2 83.5771

Qual Grid 1 58.7806 12 No Time 5 59.0165 4 58.9784 3 58.8506 7 60.0841 9 61.4552 10 61.8623 13 No Time 11 62.6058 2 58.8195 6 60.0806 8 60.1509

Race time 26:55.6637 26:56.2635 27^01.8112 27:03.0857 27:33.3003 27:41.5906 27:43.7134 27 laps 27 laps 25 laps 23 laps 12 laps 12 laps

On F/lap 7 59.2407 59.1827 11 8 59.4495 6 59.2474 4 59.6905 3 59.5793 9 60.6438 3 62.3489 63.0579 18 8 60.5368 61.8982 4 60.4868 11 62.1388 6

Qual Grid 1 58.6135 2 58.6434 5 59.0110 4 58.7933 6 59.0620 58.7374 3 No Time 13 61.6042 11 12 62.9454 8 59.8379 10 61.2504 7 59.5601 9 61.1835

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP(after round 6):

Brabham 74, Morris 72, McConville 46, Jones 42, J. Richards 40, McLean 28, S Richards 20, Matthews 20, Newman 15, Auger 13, Wakefield 10, Tweedie 8, Briggs 4, Cornish 2, Pickett 1 MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS BMW 87, Audi 61, Volvo 54 TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS BMW 145, Audi 96: Hyundai 20 TOCA CHALLENGE INDEPENDENTS CUP POINTS McLean 64, Matthews 54, S. Richards 50, Newman 40, Auger 33, Wakefield 24, Tweedie 18, Briggs 12, Cornish and Pickett 4

McLean inherited fourth after a mostly lonely run, but almost caught Steven at the end.

"I could see his front tyres were falling to bits," he said, "but I was running a 'wet' set-up and, by the time I caught him, so were mine ..."

Sixth was Twee^c/ie, battling understeer and considering stiffer rear springs for the second race, while seventh was the happiest man at the track. Auger.

The Alfa battled Newman and Matthews from a while before breaking clear, pleasing its pilot no end.

Newman was eighth, while Matthews was the only other fin isher, describing the car's rolling handling as "enough to make me seasick in the corners."

Race 2-28 laps The bad news for the Mondeo was a rear of the grid start, but the good news was that the car's unique driveshaft-driven alterna tor was now in business and the engine started.

This ’time it was an all-BMW front row and Brabham won the start from Morris.

Paul had a look at the lead, even nurfing the back of the 83 car at Repco on lap three ("He locked a brake and I used him to stop") but, as usual, once they settled down the drivers remained evenly matched and, even though Paul occasionally got close in traffic(and set a new lap record of 59.1827s) they ran almost a second apart for the whole race.

But the win for Brabham was significant, because with a 2-1 result for the day he took home the lead in the series for the first time.

McConville took a look at third at the first corner while Jones, from fourth, saw a chance around the outside at Repco.

"Everybody gave me room but I braked at the wrong marker," he explained sheepishly later. He ended up on Repco's grass and, by the time he 4WDed back onto the track, he was eighth ...

McLean was not a happy camper. A wheel broke on the start line in a clash with Tweedie and

the tyre went down exiting the final corner on lap one. He was soon pit-bound for attention to a loose splitter and a new t3nre.

McConville, Steven Richards and Jim were going at it hard once again, with the Jones Audi kerb bashing its way to the rear of the group after eight laps, lapping as fast as the leading BMWs. He slipped past the Primera a lap later and had a brief tussle with Jim before the Volvo's front tyres hit the end of their useful life and the Audi pulled out a lead which would become 30s before the end of the race.

The only surprise was that Brad got to a second back from his team mate but went no further, McConville holding him off for third.

Steven was going even slower than his dad. Looking every bit like a contender for 'Best use of Race Tape', he fell into the 63s and 64s and was in danger of being caught by the lonely Briggs Mondeo but eventually put on a late race spurt to keep sixth.

Briggs was happy to finish but not with the absence of competition around him.

"I was just a high-speed specta tor," he said, making enthusiastic noises about coming back to Australia.

Auger's eighth after getting away from Matthews gave him Independent honours for the day., while McLean recovered to be two laps down at the finish.

Newman stopped after hitting gearbox problems on lap 23 (the team suspected a broken selector) while Adderton had the embarrass ment of hitting the brake and accelerator at the same time and hurting the engine.

Bob Tweedie made 12 laps with the t5rre rubbing after the McLean clash, but eventually was forced to call it a day.

The racing was over, Brabham led the points and everyone hur ried away to consider what to ask for regarding TOCA Australia's weight review.

The circus starts again in two weeks at Amaroo but the balance of power may not be the same. n

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4July 1997

The Peter Brock Story - Part

Enter Harry Firth a Peter Brock really came to prominence in Australian motor sport through Harry Firth and the Holden Dealer Team.

DAVID HASSALL tells how it happened as we continue The Peter Brock Story:

P

eter Brock couldn’t believe it when Harry Firth first rang him in 1969. In fact, at first he thought it was a mate of his who did a passable impersonation of the famed team manager.

"The first I ever heard from Harry was when he phoned one night and asked me if I'd like to drive a Monaro for him at Bathurst. I don't even know where he got the number from."

Firth - soon to become known as 'The Old Fox” - had been the man ager of Ford's factory racing team until 1968 and carried quite a reputa tion within the sport. As a driver, he had won four of the nine 500 miie Phillip Island/Bathurst classics run to that time and was generally regarded as the most cunning team manager around.

After Holden's new Monaro GTS 327s had blitzed the Ford Falcon GTs at Bathurst'in 1968, Ford gave Harry the boot and he quickly changed camps.

He convinced General Motors that it should back him with a limited factory effort under the guise of the Holden .Dealer Team for the 1969 race. In choosing his drivers for that race, Harry decided to go for youth.

The offer was a dream come true for Peter. Ever since watching the 1966 Gallaher 500, his ambition had been to race at Bathurst. To do so in a Holden was the ultimate.

Apart from the soft spot for Austins, he had always been a Holden man and couldn't imagine himself driving anything else.

Suddenly he was to be driving a fac tory car.

He would be driving one of the HDT's three new Monaro 350s at Bathurst. Having been in racing for just 18 months at the time, Peter was

so thrilled he didn't even bother ask ing about the driver pairings. As it turned out, Firth put his most junior member with his most senior - the veteran, Des West.

In the other two cars. Firth had aiso gambled on unusual combina tions. Rally drivers Colin Bond (who had raced small cars at Bathurst a few years earlier) and Tony Roberts would share one Monaro and operiwheeler drivers Peter Macrow and Henk Woelders the other.

Peter got to do very little practice before Bathurst. He pounded around the back roads near home in his mother's automatic V8 Premier to get the feel of a big car and then took part in a practice session at Calder with the Monaro a week before Bathurst.

That Calder session was of little value, though, because his only job was to discover the point where valve float came in, which would determine the racing rev limit. He just howled around in third gear and never did any hot laps.

The most time he spent in the car before the race was driving it up to Mount Panorama, which was com mon practice in those days.

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while going around at what he described at "a reasonable clip".

When a Mini Cooper 'S' flew around the outside of him across the top of the mountain, he was rather dis mayed.

Back in the pits, Peter sat down I quietly to consider the situation. It was certainly a lot different to racing the A30 at Winton, but he was a encouraged to hear that the other 1 I drivers were in much the same boat - except for old Des West, who was keeping his cool. , By the time the race started, Peter had come to terms with the sit uation and was staggered to find t his result and was hailed as the run for the more heavily-modified himself in the lead at one stage. A master tactician. The efforts of his improved Production touring cars, so strange misfire in the engine siowed curious mix-and-match group of dri the only races of any real importance he and West a little in the second vers also earned him the reputation to Firth were the long distance half of the race, but third place at the of talent-spotter extraordinaire. events in the latter part of the year, finish was an impressive perfor Aithough Bond and Roberts con Bathurst being the most important by mance. tested the last couple of races that far. And, once the car was designed Bond and Roberts had an even year. Firth knew that there was a and put into production, there was lit better run, though, and won the race. place in his team for Peter and tle need for extensive development Harry was naturally delighted with began formulating ideas for a rally- because the race vehicles were only cross pro¬ carefully built road cars.

He gram, When Peter finally raced the XU1 for the first time in the Sandown also suggest ed that Peter Three-Hour, he was dismayed. The get rid of the car, he says, was a dog, a very slow A30 and built example of the model. him a Torana "I think it would be fair to say that sports sedan Harry was hedging his bets," said drivers around in aHarry road took car and for the follow Once at the circuit, his Peter. "No one wants a new car to told them how to drift the cars into ing season, fail on its debut so one car was run which was in very moderate tune while the other certain corners so that they wouidn't need to use the brakes, pointed out effectively a one was more potent. The difference test-bed for was unbelievable - probably 15 or various telegraph poles and tufts of the XU1.

20 horsepower. I just wasn't on the grass to aim at and generaily the pace; it was a joke."

By explained how he wanfecj the cars Allan Moffat won that race in the driven. new year, Peter was first of the Falcon GTHOs, but at With ail this in mind, Peter went working at least the two Dealer Team cars fin out to complete the six laps neces Harry's on a ished, Bond second and Brock sary to simply qualify the car and dis part-time fourth. covered that it wasn't quite so easy basis and Harry now had a better idea of putting Harry's theories into practice what the cars would take, but still became a valuable part of the opera tion immediately. The big V8 sent Peter's car to Bathurst in a Monaros were being pensioned-off in milder state of tune than Bond's. favour of new six-cylinder Toranas Moffat won again, but the Toranas and Peter was actually asked how pressed the big Falcons hard during he got these engines working so well the first half of the race.

Their downfall was a weakness in in the A30. In. fact, the development ■ camshaft fitted to the first Torana the valve train, caused by a machin XU1 model was the same as Peter ing problem, which was only a prob lem when the engine was revved had fitted to his old EJ panel van tow-car. over 5800 rpm - a limit which Peter Peter was therefore involved in found easier to maintain than co-driver, Bob Morris. every stage of the XUI's develop ment. When the first prototype was Still frustrated by Harry's inability, completed he took it up the bush a or unwillingness, to give him regular followed a rally around, although he drives, Peter accepted an invitation wasn't actually competing. On his to share Digby Cooke's XU1 at return, he handed over a fuil report Surfers Paradise four weeks after Bathurst and staggered his boss by on the car, complete with sugges tions to make it handle better. matching Colin Bond's times in prac Circuit outings in 1970, however, tice. In the race itself, Peter pressed were few and far between, as Peter Colin all the way until the HDT car had to cool his heels until the XU Is ran into trouble. Peter then looked were ready to race. He continued set to win when he handed over to campaigning the GTR in rallycross Cooke for the second half, but they and sports sedan events in Victoria, were narrowly beaten by Moffat but it was still a frustrating time for again.

He didn't have to wait long for that someone who had run 65 meetings first Series Production win, though. in the previous two years, The day after Surfers, Harry took an here was no real urgency for XU1 to Lakeside for testing prior to a HDT to get the XUIs onto a track long-distance race there four weeks before September. The Australian later. Peter took an immediate liking ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: The Torana L34 suffered terrible oil surge problems early in its life, but Touring Car Championship was then to the circuit and was quicker than Peter realised its full potential and capitalised on it after he left the Holden Dealer Team.

Harry was sure that Peter had the talent to eventually make it to the top but simply wasn't going to make it easy for him. He was making Peter serve an

apprenticeship which would make him think for himself and cope with pressure.

T

4My 1997 - BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Harry Firth with a wild-looking Peter Brock and the even hairier HOT Torana Sports Sedan known as “The Beast".

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nd Bond in the same car at his first sighting of the track.

Harry decided to let him race the car which had been driven at Surfers

by Christine Cole (now Mrs Fred Gibson) and Sandra Bennett.

Maintaining his stunning testing form, Peter outqualified Colin and, in the absence of the FoMoCo team, led throughout the two 50 lap heats for his first HOT victory. Bond fin ished a distant second.

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tyres, which remains a valuable asset to this day.

The apprenticeship was not com pleted until the end of 1971. It was then that a noticeable change came over the team and Peter took on a status which had never existed previ ously. Peter had completed his 'time' and was suddenly given equal equip ment and more races.

The change in fortunes was star-

u

That car (the aborted V8 Torana) was the ultimate.

There was no fooling around - it was going to win Bathurst and that was that.”

he 1971 season foliowed much the same course as before, though, with Peter remaining very much the num ber two driver. Harry was sure that Peter had the taient to eventually make it to the top but simply wasn't going to make it easy for him. He was making Peter serve an appren ticeship which would make him think for himself and cope with pressure rather than have it easy with all the benefits that a factory-backed team could offer.

If it was Harry's intention to make Peter do it the hard way, he certainly succeeded. On the few occasions he actually got to race, Peter would pick the car up from Harry's on a Friday night and tow it himself behind the old EJ panel van.

He would drive ali night to Oran Park or wherever, practice, race and drive back again so that the car was at Harry's by Monday morning.

Tyres were also a big problem for Peter. Colin always had new ones and, after they had been used, these were put back on a rack at the team's Queens Avenue (Auburn) headquarters. When Peter raced, he chose his tyres from this particular rack. It gave him a good 'eye' for

tiing. For the start of 1972, the Holden Dealer Team had the new LJ model Torana with a bigger, 202 cubic inch (3300cc) engine. Peter was given one of the new silver cars just before the start of the South Pacific touring car series, which con sisted of fodr races in four states on consecuti)/e weekends as supporting events to the international Tasman Series.

Running-in consisted of driving the new car to the first round at Surfers Paradise. De,6pite an increase in power from the bigger engine, though, the Toranas were Continued on Page 34

The original King of Rallycross w

ith no dirt track background at all, Peter was probably as surprised as anyone when Harry Firth nominated him as the Holden Dealer Team's driver in rallycross - a new form of motor sport in 1970 which combined dirt, gravel, water-jiunps and bitumen on a single circrdt.

DIRT CHAMP: The ability to drive anthing, anywhere was quickly established when rallycross came to Australia and Brock was soon the dominant force. With him above are a couple of HOT mechanics, Including Frank Lowndes (left), the father of Craig.

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The first open rally cross in meeting Australia was held at Calder on February 15, and 1970 everyone expected the rally aces such as Frank Kilfoyle, Tony Roberts, John Reran, Colin Bond, Evan Green, Roger Bonhomme and Bob Watson to domi nate. Few even consid ered the bearded Brock to be a contender with his Torana GTR 'sports sedan'.

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They reckoned wrong ly. Peter was not only a serious threat at that meeting, but blitzed the field and startled

many thousands of televi sion viewers and the 6500 spectators by downing Kilfoyle's factory Ford Cortina.

The giant-killing per formance wasn't just a flash-in-the-pan, either, for Peter clinched the senes and became Australia's first Rallycross Champion.

Competition intensi fied during the season as Ford, Mitsubishi and Leyland were all running cars and factory improved their products dramatically as they came to grips with the unique nature of the competition.

Harry, however, was prepared for the chal lenge and installed a supercharger to the 186 engine before the year was out so that the Torana eventually enjoyed a power advan tage.

Controlling 350 horse power in the little Torana on dirt was quite a chal-

lenge and no one could contain the irrepressible young charger.

In 1971 and 1972, Peter became even more domi nant and completed a hat-trick of titles despite the fact that preparation of the car for each meeting usually consisted of washing off the mud from the previ ous one!

Dual rear wheels were used when it was slushy, but these caused massive understeer and Peter has never been too keen on that...

By the second season of rallycross, though. Peter had had enough.

"I just got sick of it because it was limiting.

To live and breathe for a few 3-lap heats and a 5lap final every month or SO well, I Just reckoned I could do a bit more than that.I guess it was a means to an end and you learn from everything you do, but it was quite fimstrating at the time."

Michael fools them a ^July 1997

By JOE SAWARD

RING the bells in IMaranello!

The Ferraris are truly competi tive again.

This was no fluke victory.

Michael Schumacher dominated qualifying and the race at Magny-Cours while the Williams team floundered in his wake.

The only slight problem with the race was that until the rain started with 10 laps to go, it had been only slightly more interest ing than watching paint dry ...

Qualifying

'●'I

the grid with a lot of work still to be done.

Heinz-Harald was second but had to abort his final run in qualifying because of a fuel pressure problem.

“I have to say that we were strug gling this afternoon in quahfying for reasons which we do not yet know,” said Frentzen.

“We lost a little grip compared to the morning session. Obviously the temperature was a bit higher but I did not expect the loss of grip.”

This was a disappointing result for Williams, particularly as Renault was keen to do well in France and had rustled up an evolution version of the RS9 engine for the occasion.

There was more horsepower than ever before.

With Wfiliams not being on form, it was left to Michael Schumacher to take advantage of the situation which he does so well.

Having taken pole, however, he was once again downbeat about his chances.

“I did not expect to be where we are. I feel we are going to struggle,” he said.

In the post-qualifying press confer ence Michael’s pessimistic forecast ing was picked up by Heinz-Harald: “He always says he is going to be slow and he is right up there with us,” commented Heinz, adding mis chievously that he thought that Williams would struggle badly in the race.

Friday was totally irrelevant - as it always is these days.

In the wet morning session Rubens Barrichello demonstrated the impressive Bridgestone wet tyres by being fastest in his StewartFord from Damon Hill in his AiTows-Yamaha.

“The conditions were changing all the time,” commented Michael Schumacher. “The session was worthless.”

In the afternoon session the track was drying but it was still damp and cold and in the sprint to set the fastest time at the end of the session it was Michael who emerged ahead with his Feirari F310B, using the 046/2 Ferrari engine and a new front wing.

Michael has had a tendency in recent months to play down his chances at every race track and so he was down-beat about the perfor Michael’s psychological on mance. this occasion were so games transpar ent that even his own brother RalfThe changing nature of the condi tions resulted in Giancarlo who had qualified third on the grid was unable to defend Michael.

Fisichella being second-quickest in his Jordan and Mika Hakkinen “Heinz-Harald may be right about third fastest in his McLaren. my brother’s predictions,” said RaK “Perhaps I should also say that we Wilhams seemed to be strugghng will be strugghng in the race!” throughout the day - with HeinzFor this Rah received a hefty dig Harald Frentzen ending his after in the ribs from his big brother sit noon session sitting in a sandtrap. ting beside him.

Saturday morning was warm and Ralfs third place was a good per bright and, as if by magic, the two Williams- Renaults shot to the top of formance - and it gave the Germans plenty to cheer about with a 1-2-3 in the timesheets, although Jacques Villeneuve - who set the fastest qualifying. ; It had been quite a surprise for time - blotted his copybook at the the yoimgster because he had lost a end by going off at the Imola chicane lot of time on Saturday morning and smacking his Williams into a wall. with hydrauhc problems, which left This affected him in the afternoon him with only 14 laps of running - a lot of them IN and OUT laps. when he started the session using On this occasion at Jordan it was the T-car, which he did not like.

The mechanics worked flat out to Giancarlo Fisichella who was strug ghng with a lack of grip and under fix up the damaged race car and steer.

Jacques did his final runs with the “The tyre temperatures were too repaired car, but ended up fourth on

TAKE THAT SUCKERS ...

Not for the first time, Michaei Schumacher taiked down his chances and then sprinted away from the rest of the field.

to score points if Emmanuel CoUard was in the second car.

The other revelation of qualifying was young Alexander Wurz, who once again stood in for Gerhard Berger.

Wurz continued to make progress and by the end of qualifying was seventh on the grid, ahead of the vastly experienced Jean Alesi.

While seventh and eighth on the grid is no great achievement with Renault engines, Wurz’s efforts were impressive.

Alesi said he was not happy with his car.

low, but I do not know why,” he explained. “We managed to make the problem better for the last run and I think I could have got into the lml4s but I was held up by Irvine.”

Giancarlo ended up a disappoint ed 11th oh the grid.

In spite of getting in the way of Fisichella, Irvine had a better than normal qualifying and ended up in fifth place on the grid. He also com plained of traffic on his best lap.

“I lost time overtaking someone on my best lap,” he said. “My car was great and I honestly thought I could have gone even quicker. The new modifications made by the team have really transformed my car.”

Sixth on the grid was Jamo Trulli - standing in for Olivier Panis in the leading Prost Mugen Honda.

This was a remarkable perfor mance given the small amount of time Trulli had working with the Prost team and with the JS45 car.

The team had the latest evolution of the Mugen Honda VlO engine for the weekend and oneffiad to wonder where Panis might have been were he not out of action.

Trulli was only 0.4s off pole posi tion and there is little doubt that Panis would have done better but Jarno’s performance was notewor thy nonetheless - an indication that Tnilli may be a major new FI talent.

This neverisbesomething said of the Prost whichteam’s will number two driver, Shinji Nakano.

He did better than usual because he has been around Magny-Cours many times before, but 12th on the grid nearly a second slower than Trulli indicated that the second seat at Prost is currently being wasted.

One can understand why the Japanese want to keep Shinji in the car but logic would have to suggest that Prost would be twice as likely

“I am sorry to have disappointed my public here in Magny-Cours, where they have been so support ive,” said Jean. “I had hoped to be in a good grid position for the race.”

The McLaren-Mercedes MP4-12s were ninth and 10th on the grid with David Coulthard once again outqualifying Mika Hakkinen, the McLarens struggling in the wiggly sections in the middle of the circuit.

Coulthard complained that he had picked up a rock under his car on his first qualifying run and this had caused the car to behave strangely.

Hakkinen spun and then stalled his car and so had to take to the spare car, but was unable to get out onto the track in time for a quick lap.

Whatever the excuses, it was a disappointing performance for the team, although they were hopeful that in race trim the cars would be as competitive as in Canada.

Barrichello ended up 13th on the grid with Jan Magnussen 15th in the second Stewart-Ford. This was as fast as they could go.

“There is nothing wrong with our car that 80 horsepower would not fix,” muttered one of the team that afternoon.

The best that Stewart could hope for was a nice rainy race so that they could take advantage of the tyres and not have to worry about the lack of gnmt.

The Sauber team was rather dis appointing with Johnny Herbert down in 14th place and the inexperi enced Norberto Fontana - replacing the injured Gianni Morbidelli - back in 20th on the grid 1.3s behind Johnny.

BROTHERS... At the post-qualifying press conference (above) Ralf got a jab in the ribs from his brother but at the end of the race he was given a helping hand to sixth place and a championship point.

STEADY... Johnny Herbert qualified badly in the Sauber but his onestop strategy helped him to finish eighth.

(Photos by Zooom Photographic and LAT Digital)

4JufyWI

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gain “Traction was our major problem, commented a depressed Johnny.

“We have gone down a wrong road somewhere and we need to get back to where we were. The others have not improved that much.”

Fontana’s performance was much as one would expect given that he has not sat in an FI car since September last year,

0

ne could only wonder why Norberto was chosen when Williams test driver JeanChristophe Boullion was available and knows the team, having driven '^●Tor Sauber in 1994.

The Arrows team continues to struggle miserably with Pedro Diniz actually outqualifying Damon Hill on this occasion.

“I had a brake lock up and I spun off at the hairpin,” Damon reported.

“I have only got myself to blame. I had to use the spare car and it wasn’t quite set up the way I liked.”

The team argued that, although Damon’s 17th on the grid did not look veiy good, it was only two sec onds off pole position - which was not so bad.

I suppose that depends on your standards. Two seconds off pole posi tion for a Tom Walkinshaw car is, I would have thought, as disastrous as it gets.

Tom was not happy (this is a slight understatement) and the Yamaha men were hiding in comers of the paddock.

Pedro’s 16th on the grid was a

CLASS OF HIS OWN... Michael Schumacher extended his world championship iead with a conclusive victory. (Photo by John Dunbar-Zooom Photographic) good job and evidence that, although having $12m cash helps you get a drive, he does have some talent as

well.

The Tyrrell boys were back where one would expect to see them given that the track needs a modicum of horsepower as well as good han dling. Jos Verstappen was 18th on the grid, Mika Salo 19th.

was 0.7s behind Ukyo, which was a Verstappen set his best lap on his second ran and suffered an engine \ good effort given that he has not had much chance to test this year. failure on his third (his second fail ure of the weekend) and had to go to the spare for.a final dash.

Down at the' back as usual were Race day dawned rainy and as everyone struggled in from their the Minardi boys, Ukyo Katayama hotels things were not looking good. able to outqualify his teammate now The Ferraris dominated the that Train has moved on to Prost. warm-up in drying conditions with His replacement, Tarso Marques,

Race - 72 laps

Irvine faster than Schumacher and Barrichello third fastest.

And then fhe clouds cleared and for the rest of the morning there was bright sunshine. At lunchtime the clouds came back and it was nastily overcast as everyone went to the

grid.

Now was the time for decisions about race settings. Would it rain?

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Michael Schumacher went for a compromise setting and continued to make adjustments - as he tends to do - right up until the final moments.

Others too played with different ideas; Villeneuve went for a set-up which was tending towards the wet and Johmiy Herbert did likewise.

At the stai’t Schumacher made a good one but Frentzen was not far beliind. < RalfSchumacher did not get away well and was passed by Villeneuve and Irvine. Eddie then went past Jacques as they braked for the first comer.

“He braked too early and I just sailed around the outside of him,” Eddie reported.

Behind them Ralf was able to hold off the two McLarens, which had both got away well and had scrab bled past Trulli (who produced an enormous cloud of tyre smoke with his wheelspin) and the two Benettons, Alesi getting the better of Wurz.

And that was it. The order stayed the same rmtfi the pit stops began, the only change in the top 10 being the demise of Hakkinen on lap 19.

Up front Schumacher (M) was able to build a gap of around seven seconds in the first 10 laps, which surprised Frentzen.

“I was astonished by the speed of Michael in the beginning,” he said.

“I thought he was on a three-stop strategy. I let him go. I was pushing hard but I was convinced that he was going to do three stops.”

But Schumacher was planning only two - a fact which Frentzen realised by around lap 18 when he began to close the gap as Michael worked his way through the first of the backmarkers.

Michael pitted on lap 22 and Heinz-Harald came in the following time around..

When they re-emerged, Michael had increased the gap dramatically.

It remained constant until their sec ond stops on laps 46 and 48 respec tively.

And then it began to spit. It was a question of whether to risk it and pit or whether to hold on and hope.

“It was very slippery,” Michael reported.

“You really needed to go into the pits to get intermediates or wets.

“But in my position - with nine laps to go - I saw the sky was veiy dark over the circuit but it was clearing up and I knew it would be a short shower. I had to look at what Heinz-Harald was doing.”

And Frentzen was watching Michael.

“This was the critical point,” reported HH. “I looked up and it looked very clear. I didn’t know if

TROUBLES...

Jacques Villeneuve got it all wrong at the final corner of the race (above) trying to pass Irvine and was lucky to recover for fourth.

Arrows driver Pedro Diniz simply ran into the back of Verstappen’s Tyrrell (left) and had to pit for a new nose.

(Photos by John Dunbar -Zooom Photographies)

intermediates - was closing at over the rain was coming.

“Michael was on the same strate- five seconds a lap.

Both Eddie and Jacques came in gy -hoping it was going to stop rain ing - and I decided to stay out as for intermediate rubber at the same well. time. Eddie got away quicker and “The radio commimication at the Jacques emerged behind Coulthard time was pretty busy. We were in and Ralf Schumacher, heavy negotiation as to whether we The last few laps were a hurlyshould go on intermediate tyres and burly affair with all sorts of silly whether to go soft or hard. And then things going on as the intermediate I said,‘OK,I stay out’. tyres went off at different rates as “A few moments later I thought the track dried, No-one was gomg to catch Michael maybe I should go in. The cars usings, intermediates were a lot quicker at or Heinz-Harald, but Irvine’s posi that stage and with five laps it tion was still under threat. would have meant it would have Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, Villeneuve and Alesi ran nose to tail been dangerous to Michael. But in the end I stayed with the dry tyres.” after Jacques’ pit stop.

Perhaps it was a wrong decision Jacques washable to pass Ralf on because on lap 63 Michael went the run down to the final comer on wide at the first corner and ran into lap 70 and on lap 71 he went past Coulthard when David made a mis and across the gravel trap bqt he was able to rejoin and after that the take, which also dropped him behind Ralf. rain eased and Michael was able to control the race.

Behind Michael and Heinz-Harald while Ralf made a mistake of his Jacques went after Eddie again, were Iiwine and Villeneuve, who had both had very dull races in third and own and spun into a gravel trap, allowing Alesi to get onto fourth places.

When the rains came Eddie was Coulthard’s tail for the last lap. Ralf straggling because Villeneuve’s car rejoined.

“I knew Jacques was coming fast,” was finally behaving well and clos ing fast. He might have stayed out said Eddie, “but my intermediates but behind them Coulthard - on had turned really bad. I had huge

A/O CHEQUERED FLAG ... Another difficult weekend for the underpowered Stewart-Fords ended with both Magnussen and Barrichello retiring around mid-distance. (Photo by lat Digital)

blisters on the rear tyres and the back was floating around. It was vei-y tricky.”

At the Adelaide Hairpin on the last lap/Eddie went off, across the grass and gravel, and suddenly Jacques was right with him.

They diced through the next few corners and on the run down into the final chicane Jacques squared up for a challenge. / Jacques spim, careering across the track into the pitlane entrance road, flattening bollards as he went. He then drove back up the road, flicked the car around and managed to drag the Williams across the line in fom-th place,just ahead of Jean Alesi.

After the race the stewards debat-

ed whether or not Jacques should be punished for driving the wrong way on the track without being directed to do so by the marshals.

Alesi’s fifth.place was testament to further action which had been going on as this was happening.

The place should have gone to Coulthard, but Alesi punted him straight off at the second hah-pin.

“His apologies after the race do not give back the points to the team or excuse the manoeuvre,” an irritat ed Coulthard reported.

Ron Dennis was also miffed: “We should have left France with points but a rather less than sporting manoeuvre by Alesi pushed David into the gravel and deprived him of fifth position.”

It had not been a good day for the team, which lost Mika Hakkinen who was running behind David in the early laps - with an engine fail ure after 19 laps.

Alesi - naturally - had a different view.

“I know I am an aggressive dri ver,” said Jean, “but I feel I am also a very correct driver and in that incident I was not doing anything out of order at all. It was a purely racing accident in difficult condi tions.”

scorer as Wurz - who had actual Jean would be the only Benetton ly been running ahead of Jean after the first pit stop - had spun off in the treacherous conditions 10 laps from the finish.

“I struggled a bit because of my lack of experience,” he admitted. , Ralf Schumacher came home sixth - thanks largely to his brother Michael.

After his spin in the closing laps, Ralf was seventh and out of the points. Michael lapped his brother near the end of the last lap but on the run down to the finish line Michael realised that it would be better if he let Ralf past again so he could do another lap and maybe make up places.

Michael backed off at the last cor ner and let Ralf through and, with Coulthard being punted out, the younger Schumacher was able to make up an unexpected place.

French Grand Prix World Championship, round 8 Magny Cours, July 29th, 1997- 72 laps 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F310B, 1h38m50,492s Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Williams-Renault FW19,1h39m14,029s Eddie Irvine, Ferrari F31 OB, 1h40m05,293s Jacques Viiieneuve, Williams-Renault FW19, 1h40m12,276s Jean Alesi, Benetton-Renault B197, 1 h40m13,227s Ralf Schumacher, Jordan-Peugeot 197, 1 h40m20,363s David Coulthard, McLaren-Mercedes MP4/12, 71 laps (DNF) Johnny Herbert, Sauber-Petronas Cl6, 71 laps Giancarlo Fisichella, Jordan-Peugeot 197, 71 laps Jarno Trulli, Prost-Mugen Honda JS45, 70 laps Ukyo Katayama, Minardi-Hart Ml97,70 laps Damon Hill, Arrows-Yamaha A18,69 laps

Fastest Lap: Schumacher, 1m17,910s Lap Leaders: Lap 1-22 Schumacher; Lap 23 Frentzen; Lap 24-4'6 Schumacher; Lap 47 Frentzen; Lap 48-72 Schumacher Retirements:

mg

Lap 5 Lap 7 Lap 15 Lap 18 Lap 33 Lap 36 Lap 40 Lap 58 Lap 60 Lap 61

Taso Marques, Minardi-Hart Ml 97, engine Shinji Nakano, Prost-Mugen Honda JS45, accident Jos Verstappen, Tyrrell-Ford 025, stuck throttle/spun Mika Hakkinen, McLaren-Mercedes MP4/12, engine Jan Magnussen, Stewart-Ford SF1, overheating brakes Rubens Barrichello, Stewart-Ford SF1, engine Norberto Fontana, Sauber-Petronas Cl6, spin Pedro Diniz, Arrows-Yamaha A18, spin Alexander Wurz, Benetton-Renault B197, spin Mika Salo, Tyrrell-Ford 025, engine

World Championship Points: 1 M.Schumacher 47; 2 Viiieneuve 33; 3 Frentzen 19; 4 Irvine 18; 5 Panis and Alesi 15; 7 Coulthard 11; 8 Berger and Hakkinen 10; 11 Fisichella 8; 12 Herbert 7; 13 Barrichello 6; 14 R.Schumacher 5; 15 Salo 2; 16 Larini and Nakano 1 Constructors’ Championship: 1 Ferrari 65; 2 Williams-Renault 52; 3 Benetton-Renault 25;4 McLaren-Mercedes 21; 5 Prost-Mugen-Honda 16; 6 Jordan-Peugeot 13; 7 Sauber-Petronas 8; 8 Stewart-Ford 6; 2 Tyrrell- Ford 2

1

Ui'jWl

I came to so France to finish on the podium, I wasdetermined happy to leave on Sunday night with a second place finish and third place in the championship standings.

However, I would have been a lot happier if it hadn’t been Michael Schumacher who finished ahead of me and moved even fur ther ahead in the points standings.

The Ferraris have suddenly found an impressive turn of speed. There was mention of a front wing in Magny-Cours, but I find it hard to believe that a new front wing has found them a second a lap.

Either they were sand-bagging in the test ing the previous week or they know some thing we don’t.

M

ichael was so quick at the start of the race, especially out of the slow comers, that I was sure he was going for a three-stop strategy and running low fuel.

■' I didn’t push as hard as I might have done in the beginning as I didn’t want to risk my tyres. That was my mistake.

He opened out a gap in the early laps and, although I was able to match his speed, I really couldn’t do much about closing it up again. When he went on through to a twostop race, I knew then he was going to be almost impossible to catch.

My only hope was that mother nature might intervene. I could see the dark skies all around, lightning flashing down and then the first drops of rain.

Schumacher stopped for his second set of tyres. 1 kept going, praying that it would suddenly pour with rain and I could dash in for wets, leaving him an extra stop to make when he had to stop for wets as well.

Instead, it rained a river just about every where else except over the circuit of MagnyCours.

By then I had to come in for fuel as well so, after a long discussion with my pits about fitting intermediates or even soft or hard intermediates, we decided to go for another set of slicks.

It still wasn’t that wet and I had more to lose if I gambled on intermediates and lost the bet.

It rained a bit harder after my stop and both Irvine and Jacques behind me stopped again for intermediate tyres.

I waited to see what Schumacher would do and I guess he was waiting to see what I did. It got very slippery, but we both hung on, running around the same lap times in a stale mate.

It was a big temptation to push just a little too hard but risk throwing it all away.

Fisichella finished ninth after a one-stop race.

His afternoon started badly with an engine failm’e during the recogni tion laps, which meant that he had to start the race in the spare car, ' which was not fitted with the new Jordan differential.

His one-stop strategy enabled him to climb to sixth in the mid-race but the rain negated the advantage.

Eighth place went to Johnny Herbert, who made up one place at the start and ran 13th for most of the early part of the race. He went for a one-stop race but his pace was too slow to make up any places.

He was 12th when it started to rain but decisive pitwork at Sauber moved him up.

Fontana darnaged an endplate running into Salo at the first comer and decided to pit on lap 15 to have a change of tyres.

He was back in again on lap 33 to have the nose changed and toned off the engine, complaining that the car was undriveable. The team sent

r: < n

J I gathered later that Michael had slid off the road at turn two. Unfortunately, he man aged to drive through the gravel trap and back into the race again.

I was safe in second place and even had I stopped tor intermediate tyres at the opti mum moment, he would have stopped, too, so it wouldn’t have changed anything.

It was an interesting finish to what other wise was a pretty uninteresting race for the most part. I spent most of it running on my own.

Life as as a grand prix driver orous most people think. isn’t as glam Before Magny-Cours, I had left Canada right after the race and arrived in Nice via Zurich on Monday morning.

On Tuesday morning, I had to be at Silverstone for a*Rothmans promotion, which meant I just had time to change my suitcase.

I

seems to bite the same way, while the whde deal is complicated further with the changes to the engine set-up, whiCh is all very much part of the package.

It’s an area I want to get right, because it’s very frustrating, breaking your neck to get a good practice time only to have it all slip away in the first few seconds of the race.

I had even been practising balancing a

^7 was sure Michael was going for a three-stop strategy (so) I didn Y push as hard as I might have in the beginning. open the mail and get one night’s sleep in my own bed.

I had to be in Silverstone at 9am, so it meant an early start from Nice.

Unfortunately, nobody had told Nice airport, so I spent half an hour trying to find someone to open the gate and take me out to my aeroplane.

Once we finally got to Silverstone, it was a fun day. We did a demonstration run with the F1 car and then I got to drive journalists around the circuit in a Renault Spyder sports care / After Silverstone it was straight to MagnyCours, where we did a three-day test. I prac tised some more starts with some new modi fications to the hand clutch system.

The problem is that you do not get the feel with it like yo^ do a foot clutch. It never

tablespoon across my finger tips in order to improve the sensitivity f(^r the start. I don’t know if it helped, but at least I managed a good start this time.

We- ahad revised engine Magny-Cours fewa more revs at theintop end, which can make a few hundredths of a second improvement on the lap times, but no big step forward.

However, it wasn^t the engine I was think ing about in qualifying. The car vyas pretty good, but with the warmer track tempera tures in the afternoon we lost some tyre per formance and traction.

We had to rethink the set-up after each run and for the last run I was hoping to have a go at taking the pole.

I was two-tenths up on my best time at

the end of the fast sector split, but then in the second part of the lap the fuel pressure start ed to fluctuate and I had no choice but to give up the lap.

I thought we had miscalculated the fuel, but it turned out that there was a problem with the low fuel pick-up pipe and filter in the bottom of the tank and it wasn’t able to pick up the last bit of fuel I needed to finish the lap.

Still, I was starting from the front row of the grid which, wet or dry, was going to be the place to be as long as I made a good start.

Michael was on the pole again - saying that he was surprised to be there and that he thought he was going to have tyre problems for the race, etc.

I am starting to think that when he says the car is not very good, it means it’s better than it’s ever been. A good pipy; it takes the pressure off him and when he wins or takes the pole, everyone thinks he is doing an even better job.

Somehow I don’t think people are going to dance to the same song in Silverstone, however slow he might be in testing next week. His secret is out.

him out again and after another pit stop he spun off.

'The performance did not impress the team and he is unlikely to be seen again.

Tmlli ended up 10th.

After his bad start he ran eighth but a late first stop dropped him back to 10th place. With the rain coming in, Jamo held on as long as he could before his second stop.

“The team knew it was going to rain,” explained Jarno, “and they postponed my pit stop until the last possible moment.”

In the end he had to pit and the team took a huge risk. He was sent out on intermediates. If it had worked Jarno would have been the hero of the day - but the rain stayed away.

Continued Page 32 SILHOUETTE... Mika Hakkinen ran with teammate Coulthard until his Mercedes engine failed.

(Photo by LATDigital)

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JACQUES VILLHHIR V

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Under pressure but still outspoken

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Q: Are you relieved that Canada is all over and done with now?

VILLENEUVE: Yes. Well, I'm not happy that it's all over and done with, but it's behind now. We have to look ahead. It was a big mistake and a big disappointment.

But that's part of life; you can't only have highs, you will also have moments that are not so good.

Q: Do you feel under less pres sure here in France?

VILLENEUVE: There are less things to do outside of the driving and we can concentrate more on the driving. We did some good testing last week, so the confi dence is there. Now we have to start working better because we haven't done a 1-2 finish with the Williams this year in 7 races.

Q: The team is concerned about that; does it concern the drivers as well?

VILLENEUVE: No, what con cerns me is what I do. I don't really care what my teammate does. As long as he's behind me, then I'm happy. It is the same for him.

That's normal for drivers. We have had too many races where we didn't get the results that the car could

You can never accuse Jacques Villeneuve of not candidly speaking his mind. When he met a small group of journalists (including our DAN KNUTSON) last Thursday prior to the French Grand Prix, Villeneuve

gave his views on a number of subjects including, controversially, his views on driver's injuries. Here are some excerpts: Q: Are you surprised that Ferrari is so close to you?

VILLENEUVE: I'm surprised that they are finishing so many races.

We knew that they were going to be quick. Last year, they improved from the year before, and we knew that this year they were going to be much better. I always said rhat they were going to be the main competition this year.

Q: Are you surprised that you are not so dominant as last year?

VILLENEUVE: If anything, we are even quicker than last year, but we've just thrown away races. So it's not that the car is worse.

Speed-wise we are still well placed. Then in the races there have been some mechanical failures; Monaco we gambled on the wrong thing, and then Montreal where I made a mistake myself.

Q: But this is not the way Williams has been over the last few years.

VILLENEUVE: No, if you look at the results on paper, no it's not.

There are less results overall than there were before. But now the cars don't break down as they did in the first races, so that's been cured. I've done my mistake for this year, so it should be okay.

ows your problems. But if you have a good car in the dry, then you don't want wet.

Q: Do you enjoy driving in the rain?

VILLENEUVE: Yes, driving in the wet is fun.

You want wet when your car is terrible in the dry because is shad-

Q: Do you think you have the same depth of reiationship your team in FI that you enjoyed in CART? VILLENEUVE: It's different because I moved up with the team I was with in Formula Atlantic. I was on a steeper learning curve than I've been on since I got to F1.

But the chemistry is very good inside the Williams team so I’m very happy. The relationship with my engineer Jock (Clear) and the rest of the guys is very good.

Q: Schumacher seems to thrive in the wet.

VILLENEUVE: Well, he brings out the best in his car when he changes his set-up. If everyone knew exactly what to do, then it would be closer. In Monaco and in Spain last Q; Besides Ferrari, who else do year he was you see putting pressure on you the only one who went with in the coming races?

VILLENEUVE: Behind Ferrari a full wet setthe McLaren will always be there to up and it paid grab anything they can grab. . off. It was the Jordan have done a pretty good right gamble. drives job as well. Since the beginning of He the season I always thought that very well, but Panis and Prost were the main at the same opposition with Michael time if we get (Schumacher), well now sadly that the time to is not (the case) any more. We will test for the just have to see wet we should how Trulli adapts, be okay.

IN ACTION: Despite being the pre-series favourite, Jacques finds himself trailing Michael Schumacher by 14 points mid season.

(Photos by ICN)

Q: What about Schumacher win ning the championship? He Is not very optimistic about his chances.

VILLENEUVE: His chances are probably better than he says, but ' . :: they have had a very good begin-ning of the season; much better ■ than ours. We had a mpre compet- { itive car, but didn't get the points j we should have gotten. We made ‘ mistakes and they made less misJ takes. They did better work so far. | Now it is our turn to change the . .1 odds a bit and do the job we are I supposed to do.

1 j Q: Is Schumacher sandbagging in the way he talks about his chances? ' I VILLENEUVE: He's going to be a fierce opponent until the end of the season. He's a great driver.

He's very fast and he really drives' the hell out of his Ferrari.

4 Q: Looking back, do you think that it is better that you did not win the championship last year?

VILLENEUVE: No, it would have been better to win it. If you can win something, then you can't say that not winning it was better, Q: Would you have been pre pared for all the hype and media attention?

VILLENEUVE: I'm in racing to win, so if you get a chance to win, then the best thing you can do is try to win it. You can't say I'm not going to win if because there will

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i DON’T TELL ME: Jacques with team boss Frank Williams: “We have ~ had too many races where we didn't get the results that the car could get. be tbo much hype. There would have been more work and pres sure, but the fact that you win out weighs that 10 times. \

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year and a be put>anywhere."^^|9H^^H hurts more than a which you would slide. maybe they are going to pay more attention to that becaus&‘^^ pi;obiem is that there was no procrf-; for what I was saying. I think that was a littie bit of a proof.

But the problem is that drivers wiil often go around the track and if there is 10 metres more run-off instead of having the waii right on the track, they will think it's safer just because it doesn't look so ciose to them, it's actually more dangerous because the angle of the impact is bigger.

Qi:'What about changing your hair^to blond. Is It a supersti tious thing? ' VILLENEUVE: No. I have no ' superstitions. I feit iike it. You see peopl'e who keep the same haircut for 4:0 years and the same this and that same that. There's nothing wrongin changing. "kI, Sometimes you seem tO’be'a carefree youngi guy and other times, especially when you critic else the new rules, you are very GonGerned',;Wih|chi is the real Jacques? ^ V W|LLE!NlEy y!E:.A^^^ WihenJI Q:-If you didn't have tyre walls, \ ●tailik aibout that it's because ... what would you do?

WIlLlLlNiUWE: If there were no there's one reason il'iih racing cars.

And? if changes in rules wilt take a tyres, you would slide on the wall, There's no point m having drilittle bit away of what ii/enjoy ihi rac- Like on the ovals. Of course it's a vers grouped together if they don't i ng;, df co u rse I'm ioing: to go big instantaneous ©-load, where stay strong together. And they against it. \Mhen you feel strongly tyres are a longer G-load. don't stay strong together. about something you should say it.

It depends; last year when 1 ii ©oulld'ni't jiust keep quiet and crashed here I would' have been Q: Couldn't you have more influ accept everything because I'm better off without tyres. If you take ence inside the GPDA rather happy to be the tyres ©If, maybe the next guy than outside it? in, F i, The that crashes, crashes at the wrong VliLLENEUVE: Even if I was reason li'mi angle and it would have been bet inside the GPDA, I would still say raciing iis ter to have had tyres. You just what I think outside. I'm sure that I "llJheii not to; be can't have the part of; Eli, answer for ' someone has an it's because everything, of the As a diriver "If you think about i accident, speed, the you know that edge, the you take risks II euerybody lolU chalilenge every time you it, tiuo brokon legs ; . there is with go out there. If it and, a lit- you are not is nothing that is ! act as if they tie bit, the ready to accept risk that that, maybe uery bad. Euen mere really comes with you should stop It as well. driving. : uihen your legs are ■

sad, ujhen they don't really care."

Q: What disturbs you most about the FI scene?

V I L LENEUVE: What disturbs me the most? It's how politically correct FI has become. And how, when someone has an accident, then everybody will act as if they were really sad, when they don't really care.

Q: What do you mean?

VILLENEUVE: I meant what I said.

Q: Which people? The drivers?

VILLENEUVE: Yeah, drivers.

Q: What do you think about Panis's accident in Canada?

Q: Why didn't weak, you can still you join the GPDA (Grand come back in a race Prix Drivers Association)? car. If he was a V I L LENEUVE: skier he'd be off for Because I don't ●V really agree a longer period of : with all their decisions and time. all that they are so doing don't see why I should be part of it. I don't want to what I said inside, when there are be part of something just because 20 other people thinking differently, it exists and everybody is part of then that's not what would get out. it.

Sc I ;just don't see the point.

I am not against safety; safety is There's only a few drivers who very important, I'm not saying that have most of the input, and that's it should be more dangerous. But I the few drivers (who) are at the don't want it to destroy the racing, top. that's all.

Q: Why did you say that drivers act as if they don't care about an accident?

ViiLLENEUVE: Because, if you think about it, two broken legs is nothing that is very bad. That hap pens to everybody in a lifetime.

How many skiers hurt themselves like that in winter? So just relax a little bit.

Olivier was having a great sea-

son and it is terrible that it happens to him at this point. He was going forwards with big leaps in his career.

Even when your legs are weak, you can still come back in a race car. If he was a skier he'd be off tor a longer period of time.

The next day, Villeneuve tried to quantify some of his controversial remarks: “ht's true that it was a very big accident and very unfortunate and he was very unlucky to break both legs. ''It's not that fact that he's bro ken both legs that's sad; what's sad is that he's done it in the middie of the season. We have seen that two broken ^ legs is not necessarthe t ■iiy end of the world. " W e 4 just ha ve to put things lx's into per spective.

With the money we make we know the risks we take.

And the risks are 10 times less than a few years ago and we make 10 times as much money."

He added that the accident must be put into perspective and that mass changes were not need ed to FI safety similar to those that occurred after the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger in 1994. m

4JiilfW97 Continued from Page 29

out with overheating brakes after a cooling duct failed and everything became too hot while BanicheUo made a bad start and trailed Magnussen until an engine failure after 35 laps.

Both Tyrrells retired as well and the team later

“I prayed that the rain would come,” admitted Trulli later. “When it finally did my tyi-es had suifered too much.”

It was a disastrous day for Prost as Nakano had run around midfield for only seven laps before falling off. j revealed a worrying comput Katayama finished 11th er shutdown problem which for Minardi while Marques had caused both retirements. retired on the sixth lap with In Verstappen’s case the an engine failure. computer shutdown caused The last finisher was his throttle to stick open.

Damon Hill but it had been “I stood on the br^es and another disastrous afternoon locked up the wheels but I for Tom Walkinshaw. went into the gravel and hit On the first lap Damon the tyre wall.” was shoved off at the first Salo was luckier. He was corner and had a slow lap able to keep running until around to the pits to get a lap 61 when his engine shut down. new nose. By the time he rejoined he was a lap down.

“This type of failure is He spent most of the race unprecedented,” reported running with the midfield technical director Harvey men - albeit a lap down - Postlethwaite, “and it will be and finished three laps rigorously investigated with down. our suppliers before we run Diniz failed to finish. at Silverstone next week.”

He ran a one-stop strategy As races go it was not a but a brush with Verstappen classic but it sets the stage on lap 12 meant he had to pit for a fascinating end of sea for a new nose. He went on to son. have a spin at mid-distance Schumacher goes to the and finally spun out in the British Grand Prix with a wet conditions.

14-point advantage in the Neither Stewart made it World Championship - who home: Magnussen was put would have thought it? n

UNHAPPY... Jacques Villeneuve had the wrong set-up for the conditions and struggled home in fourth place. Here he leads the impressive Alex Wurz In the Benetton. (Photo by lat)

.

I

Bowe wins the

By DAVID HASSALL TWO of the best races in recent memory made the GTPs the talk of Calder Park on June 22, thanks to the variety of equip ment on hand and some changeable weather con ditions.

At the end of the day it was John Bowe who again came out on top -just three weeks after his maiden vic tory for the Prancing Horse.

Both Bowe and Porsche driver Domenic Beninca took a win and a third each in the two races, a couple of points for two poles swinging the overall honours in Bowe's favour.

Series leader Peter Fitzgerald retains a healthy points advantage for the Century Batteries-sponsored Australian championship, though, having placed sec ond in both races at Calder.

Bowe was delighted with the win and, while tyre per formance continues to trou ble the Ferrari, the red car has shown much improved form this year.

"The results in the past two meetings is a credit to (team engineer) Neal Lowe and all the RPM team for all the work they've put in over the past 12 months," said Bowe.

casualty, his car sustaining heavy damage in a race morning warm-up off which prevented him from racing.

Andrej Pavicevic (Subaru Impreza WRX) survived a fraught second race to extend his Class B series lead,, as did BMW driver Beric Lynton in the GTP Lights division.

Qualifying

With Calder's long straights and tight corners, Bowe had been hopeful that the Melbourne circuit would suit the powerful Ferrari and so it proved in qualifymg.

The Tasmanian stopped the clocks in the alrnost identical times of 60.2331s and 60.2338s to take pole for each of the races - near ly three and a half seconds under the record held by Garry Waldon's Mazda RX7.

"This is the best track we've been to for the said Bowe, Ferrari, "because the slow corners mean the lack of a rear wing is not such a problem." / Series leader Fitzgerald was 0.6s and 0.9s slower in each of the two sessions, but that was fast enough for the front row of both races.

Domenic Beninca was about half a second slower "Fitzy4,s always a tough again to be third for each racer and I had to work very race and was joined on the hard to keep him at bay." second row by Ed Aitken.

Beninca's win in the first Max Dunn qualified fifth race came mainly through for both races.

Sixth fastest in the first the durability of his Pirelli Alfredo was wets, which held up better- session Costanzo in the Maserati, than Fitzgerald's Falkens and Bowe's Michehns. but that place was taken for "4 really didn't think we race two by Paul Freestone, had.the speed, but the car the truck racer driving the really came on strong at the ex-Zerefos I^otus Esprit finish as some of the other Sport 300 (which won the guys struggled with tyres," 1994 championship with said a delighted Beninca Brad Jones) for the first time. after his maiden series win.

"The whole team is Carlos Rolfo finally thrilled to grab our first win dehuted his Nissan 300ZX, in front of our home crowd." which had been badly dam Ed Aitken finished fourth aged in a pre-season test crash, but was well off the in both races, but fellow Porsche racer was an early pace.

PRANCING HORSE ... John Bowe leads Peter Fitzgerald and Domenic Beninca in their magnificent race one battle.

Beninca came through for the race win, but Bowe took (Photos by Dirk Klynsmith) honours for the day.

Brake problems troubled Ross Almond,in the first ses sion, but ji'he Mitsubishi Lancer Eyo HI drive back with a personal best ninth best for the second race.

Class B series leader Pavicevic set the pace in the first session (eighth overall), but Murray Carter squeezed a little more pace out of his Nissan 200SX Turbo in the second to edge ahead.

Chris Sexton (Ford Falcon XR6) was the only starter in Class C, as was the Rolfoowned Laser TX3 of Trevor Haines in Class E. The Class D battle shaped as a beauty with nothing between the undefeated Beric Lynton's BMW 323i and Phil Kirkham's Mazda 626.

Missing altogether was the Subam Impreza of Class B ace Peter Boylan, who had

a huge crash during Friday practice.

Boylan clipped a kerb on the super-fast back straight chicane, lost control and slammed into the concrete wall, doing considerable damage to all but one comer of the car.

"My ribs are very sore but the doctor thinks I've escaped without any broken bones," said Boylan afterwards.

Race 1-20 laps The first race was an absolute corker.

With light drizzle falling on a gloomy Melbourne day, the front-runners had opted for wets with the top three on different brands.

Bowe made the most of his pole position with another of his quick starts and charged clear of Fitzgerald, Beninca and Aitken while Pavicevic

itken breaks through in Porsch

ED Aitken finally broke through for his first win of the season in the Porsche Cup races at Calder Park.

Now aboard last year’s ex-Jim Richards GTP Championship-winning 911RSCS, the Melbourne driver shared the wins with Martin Wagg, who completed a great come back after his Phillip Island 1996 accident.

Series leader Geoff Morgan extended his lead with a couple of podium finishes after missing the jump in race two before storming back to second.

Morgan’s Vodaphone

GT2 was the pick of qual ifying.

He pounded Wayne Park’s lap record by a full second and held a steady edge over Anthony Tratt (Toll Express RSR).

Wagg took two thirds on the grid ahead of Greg Keene’s GT2 (a fourth and a fifth).

Race 1 (12 laps) Slippery conditions faced the field for the first race.

Morgan led the field away but by turn one Tratt was challenging.

Aitken, who started

ninth, was fifth after a lap and, using the bal ance of the Club Sport to the full, took the lead after two laps!

Aitken then totally cleared out. In the end he was a staggering 28s clear, and that after backing off for the last few laps.

With Aitken lapping in the lml6s bracket, a quite remarkable three seconds quicker than the rest of the field, Morgan ran in second ahead of Tratt, Keene and Wagg.

On lap four, though, Wagg got on the move, taking two spots and

closing on the rear of Morgan.

He didn’t have to fight hard to get by.

At the start of lap six Geoff slid off the end of the straight after locking his rears.

He got back onto the black in third, holding the position until the end of the race.

Tratt took foxu-th ahead David Withers, Keene, Max Dunn, Peter McRae and Class B winner Peter McNamara.

Race 2(12 laps) Morgan missed start of race one.

the

“I held the throttle down,” he said later, “but when everyone else brought their engines up I couldn’t hear mine.

I looked down at the tacho and in that split second...”

The lights went green.

The series leader was fifth into the first comer.

Tratt held out Wagg for the first three laps until Wagg scrambled past, but he could not get away.

Behind, Morgan, who had set a new lap record, was charging, getting back into third place on lap five.

His assault on Tratt

took some time.

He was baulked while the duo lapped Roselyn Poon (Carrera) and threw down an unsuc cessful challenge next time around at Repco.

Withers was hack in fourth ahead of Keene, Stannard (a non-finisher in race one), Aitken (not finding the dry condi tions to his car’s liking) and Dunn.

The battle for second was now 2s behind the race leader.

Morgan tried every thing before easing past on the final lap to extend his points lead.

4Jufym/

33

race of the Century

stormed into fifth with the Class B Impreza.

For the first half of the race, Bowe was able to ease away from Fitzgerald, who in turn had the measure of Beninca.

The attention, though, was very much on the battle for fifth place back.

Freestone moved the Lotus onto Pavicevic's tail and for a couple of laps they had a tremendous dice, swapping positions a couple of times a lap as the Lotus driver discovered the combi nation of superior power and oversteer.

Freestone finally made it past, but now had Almond in the Lancer right behind him and they were soon joined by the slow-starting Maserati of Costanzo.

But Pavicevic hadn't given up still, so it was a great four-way battle between four considerably different types of car.

Costanzo eventually made

e Cup

Withers followed, from Stannard, Keene, Aitken and Dunn.

But the whole Porsche Cup circus, to a person, celebrated Wagg’s win after a brave comeback and a top drive.

Points: Morgan 43, Wagg 29, D’arcy Russell 25, John Potter 22, Stannard 19, Keene 18 ...

OVER THE HILL ...

Not really. The Porsche Cup field turned on some great racing in difficult conditions.

This is Geoff Morgan recov ering from a missed start and charging back to sec ond place in race two.

(Photo by Dirk Klynsmilh)

it to the front of this group and Freestone dropped back dramatically before finally stopping, his tyres completelyshot.

Pavicevic moved past Almond again, but was no match for the Maserati of the fom’-time Australian Drivers Champion.

But, just as.''the heat fell out of this huge battle, things started getting inter esting at the front.

With the track drying, Bowe's softer Michelin wets (which he was using for the first time) started falling away and Fitzgerald moved closer, but behind him Beninca's tyres were in the best shape of aU and he was catching them both hand over fist.

Rolfo's first race with the time, going sideways, but it 300ZX finished in the pits was not until lap 17 that Beninca finally got a much because of brake problems, better run onto the front straight and power ahead RaC6 2 — 20 iapS before turn one.

With dry conditions for the In no time he was onto second race, we could not Bowe's tail but, although he have hoped to match the first could get onto the straight race for action, but it was better and forge ahead, the still a beauty, power of the Ferrari enabled Fitzgerald made a much Bowe to shoot past again and better start and was close hold the line. enough to the Ferrari to outWith only a lap to run, brake Bowe down the outthough, Bowe had a huge side and take the lead* into slide coming onto the front turn one, while Aitken got straight, allowing both the the jump on Beninca for third.

Borsches past.

Beninca raced to the line At the end of the lap Bowe just one second clear of used the power of the Ferrari l Fitzgerald, with Bowe barely to pass Fitzgerald, only to holding on four seconds fur- have the Porsche sail past ther back after a tremendous again under brakes for turn and highly entertaining one.

One lap later, Bowe pulled scrap.

The PR blurb described it the same move again, but as the race of the Century (a this time Fitzy couldn't wrest nice play on the series spon- the lead back again and was sor's name) and it probably forced to slot in behind, Aitken continued to hold wasn't far shprt of the mark.

Aitken was a safe fourth down third place, but from Costanzo, Pavicevic, Beninca was applying plenty Almond, Chris Kousparis of pressxire and always look(Subaru) and Guy Gibbons ing for an opportunity to get (Subaru). l ahead, Kirkham's Mazda was ' The Ferrari was working next, beating Lynton's BMW really well on fresh tyres and for the first time, while Bowe was able to pull a gap Murray Carter dropped a lap of 2.6 seconds after six laps to his Class B rivals as the but that was as far as it Nissan's tyres chunked went, badly.

As the lead started coming Ian McAllister was next in down mid-race and as the Volvo from the Toyota Beninca's attempts to pass MR2s of Anthony Robson Aitken became more forceful and Colin Osborne, John and entertaining, the presCowley's HSV Commodore sure started to mount.

GTSR,Sexton and Haines.

On lap 13 Aitken got a ht/

tie sideways out of turn one (the result of a little con tact?) and Beninca was through in a flash.

By now the two leaders were nose to tail, well clear of the two Borsches battling for third.

It all came down to the final lap, but there was no drama.

The Ferrari went a little sideway.^ in turn one, but Fitzy couldn't find a way past and had to be content with second.

Further back, Beninca was balked by traffic in the last corner and Aitken had a look, but went sideways and had to settle for fourth.

Freestone had a solid run into fifth with the Lotus while Costanzo was lapped in sixth.

Pavicevic took out Class B

honours, but only after a tremendous battle with Kousparis (who led the first half of the race until he spun off the end of the straight) and Carter.

The impressive Nissan 200SX finished just 4.5s behind and might have chal lenged had it not overheated.

Almond's Class A Lancer was embroiled in this battle as well until sidelined mid race, joining Rolfo's Nissan in the retirements.

The Lights division ended controversially when first race winner ffirkham was given a stop-go penalty for a jumped start, handing Lynton another win.

Points after three of eight rounds: Fitzgerald 85; Beninca 67; Bowe 54; Aitken 32; Dunn 28, etc.

ABOVE: Ed Aitken scored a pair of fourth places.

BELOW:Andre Pavicevic was in the middle of the action in both races and took out Class B honours. Here he fends off Paul Freestone in the ex-Zerefos Lotus Esprit.

Beninca caught Fitzgerald on lap 13 and started chal lenging vigorously.

For the next few laps the two Porsches were at it ham mer and tong, side by side under brakes virtually every

A fast minute with...

(I

I The Metal Wear Protector

Aaron McNally

Name: Aaron McNally Born: 8 June 1978 Home state: Western Australia

Car: Van Diemen RF96B One of this years most improved racers, Aaron McNally Is a strong chance to break through for his first Ford Motorsport/Sllck 50 Australian Formula Ford Championship win at Wanneroo Raceway.

Ambition in motorsport: To make it to the highest levei

BBQ

BOW

Likes: winning,fast cars, water skiing Dislikes: losing, negative peo ple, anything slow or boring Three words that you would use to describe yourself: confident, aggressive, determined

Ambitions for 1998: Win the 1998 Ford Motorsport/Slick 50 Australian Formula Ford Championship Most memorable moment in Formula Ford: Winning the Gold Star Championship in WA in my first year of racing Most admired Australian driver: Mark Skaife Most admired international driver: Michael Schumacher Favourite catch-phrase: “Yeah!

S4 4July 1997

_[/^®{}®[F8[P®[F0

Brock Story Continued from Page 25 still no match for the big Falcons and were further hampered by tyre trou bles.

The new tyres had wide bags, which was causing them to cut on the top ball-joints. This caused a few spectacular failures, one of which sent Peter into the armco at Wanwick Farm. Although the car was only slightly damaged and he was blame less, Peter was very upset because it was the first time he had damaged one of the team's cars.

That series was cleaned-up by the Falcons and Chrysler Chargers, but it was significant that Peter per formed much better than Colin in every event except Warwick Farm.

With the Manufacturers' Championship not starting until lateAugust, Bond was assigned to con test the Sun-7 Series at Amaroo, while Brock took on the TAA Series at Caider. Both drivers were suc cessful in overcoming the GTHOs, Colin defeating John Goss and Peter getting the upper hand, at last, on Allan Moffat.

Just prior to the start of the ManChamp, Peter’s car appeared for the first time running Globe alloy wheels and was painted in a superb new red, white and black colour scheme. The car looked magnificent in its new guise and Peter displayed its capabilities by thrashing Moffat at Caider to the tune of 19.5 seconds in only 20 laps of the 1.6 kilometre circult. y this time, the Holden Dealer 'Team was working on its secret weapon for Bathurst - a V8-engined Torana XUl, the prototype of which was being run in competition as a low-budget sports sedan. In reality, it was the car which General Motors hoped would blitz the planned Phase Four GTHOs from Ford and the sixlitre Chargers from Chrysler.

Sadly, one of the Sydney motor ing journalists beat up a condemning story about these planned 'super cars', saying that they would be lethal in the hands of young drivers.

The issue then became a political football and, as pressure was exert ed on all three manufacturers, the plans were scrapped.

Peter had done all the develop ment driving of the V8 Torana and loved the machine. He and the team's chief mechanic, Ian Tate, had spent days on the dyno choosing the best exhaust system, camshaft and air cleaner before sending the pack age back to "Generous Motors” to put into production.

"That car was the ultimate," says Peter with more than a hint of regret.

"There was no fooling around - it was going to win Bathurst and that was that.

"The boot was full of fuel tank and there were fillers on both sides of the car. And it was not a beast to drive; it was beautiful, and quite docile. It would idle along in top gear without fuss. Sure, it really went when you wound it out because it had 250 horsepower in an XUl body, but it certainly wasn't dangerous."

When GMH reluctantly pulled the plug on the project, production was about to start. With Harry in New Zealand doing a rally with Colin, and only three months to Bathurst, Peter and Ian Tate decided to do some thing about making the old six-cylin der cars more competitive. The pair came up with a set of revisions which included extractors, bigger inlet and exhaust valves and thicker front disc brakes.

Harry wasn't too thrilled about what they had done because, of course, that was his job. But the package was basically adopted -

.T.':

...

TIN-TOP TORANAS... After the incredible success ofthe giant-killing XUl (below), the V8-engined L34(above) had a lot to live up to.

with the exception of the exhaust valves - and gave the cars an extra 18 horsepower.

The old cars had been planned for retirement, but were rushed into combat again for the Manufacturers' Championship by the group of mechanics, which consisted of such notables at Tate, Peter Byrne, Matt Phillip, Darryl Bromley and Bruce Nowacki.

With Dunlop slicks mounted on the Globe wheels, the Torarfps han dled better than ever and the HDT scored a marvellous 1-2 victory at the Adelaide ManChamp opener as the Falcons chewed up a succession of both Dunlop and Goodyear slicks.

Colin took first place after Peter had to have a punctured tyre replaced while leading comfortably.

The euphoria of that victory did not last long, though, because the Falcons arrived at Sandown two weeks later with their own Globe wheels and new slicks. Peter led again, but joined most of the other leading Toranas in retirement, caused by piston failures. « andown proved to be only a tem porary lapse, though, because Peter wrote his name into the motor racing history books at Bathurst with a stunning victory in difficult circum stances. He pressured Moffat into an early-race spin on a damp track and was untouchable thereafter. His only frightening moment of the day was the lap of honour as the Holden fans on the mountain went berserk.

The 1973 season started brilliant ly for Peter as he dominated the South Pacific Series, winning three of the four races. At Warwick Farm he aquaplaned off the wet track on bald tyres, the first time he had actu ally lost control of a car in more than three years of racing!

Peter then headed for Symmons Plains, where he would contest his very first Australian Touring Car Championship race with the Torana, the rules having been changed to allow production cars. Peter must have set some kind of record by tak ing the pole for his first ATCC race.

(Photos by Ian Smith)

the power, braking, steering and sta bility of the car compared to the XUl, but knew that the L34 would be that much better again.

The L34 was designed to be a bullet-proof race car from the ground up, but it was initially much less than that. Oil surge in the five-litre V8 engine was its original problem and the team lost quite a few engines before sorting it out.

Engine failures robbed Peter of possible victories in al l five ManChamp races, which was a mis erable way to end the championship season.

A

Peter and Allan Moffat fought out every one of the eight championship rounds, but a couple of scraps with officialdom left the way clear for Moffat to win his first championship after four unsuccessful attempts with the famous Trans Am Mustang.

Peter won his first round at Surfers Paradise after a desperate scrap which resulted in Moffat spin ning off the road. Such was the fran tic pace, though, that Peter broke the old lap record on 19 of the 24 laps!

With the car working perfectly and his confidence at a new peak, Peter then won the last three rounds of the championship, although he was excluded from one when the Torana's exhaust manifold was found to be two millimetres too large.

Ironically, Doug Chivas was one of the stewards who excluded Peter.

Two weeks later, it was announced that they would co-drive at Bathurst.

Peter's car almost fell apart at Adelaide, but the team came back strongly at Sandown for a thrashing 1-2 victory. It was Peter's first of many in the Sandown 'mini-classic'.

Bathurst should also have been a Brock victory but they had to settle for second after Chivas ran out of fuel and lost over five minutes get ting back to the pits.

Peter then won the Surfers and Phillip Island races to clinch the important ManChamp title.

Two months later. Ford announced its withdrawal from rac ing and Peter continued his winning streak, taking out the 1973 South Pacific Series.

The ATCC against Moffat (run ning as a privateer) was no contest as Peter won five of the seven rounds to win his first official driver's crown.

For last twoPeter racesput at his Surfers andthe Adelaide, XUl aside in favour of the new LH Torana SLR/5000 model, a car which he never expected to race.

The Holden Dealer Team was already involved in the design of a racing version which would be called the L34 and never intended racing the "bread and butter" SLR version.

What changed all that was Allan Grice and his new Craven Mild team.

They were intent on racing the SLR and finally convinced GMH to put the paperwork through for it.

Politics then came into play as GM suggested that the HDT should perhaps be racing the car as well.

Marlboro had also joined the team by this time and obviously didn't want an opposition brand getting all the publicity of a new car.

With some reluctance, Harry and his crew built up an SLR and Peter won easily with it in the final two rounds. Peter was impressed with

t the end of the season, Peter decided to leave Harry Firth. The split with Firth obviously created quite a stir within motor racing circles for Peter was by now one of the biggest names in the sport.

There was no single reason for the split with Firth; certainly no rag ing argument, which was the popular line of thinking at the time. Sure, the run of failures with the L34 had done little for intra-team relations, but Peter's restlessness ran much deep er than that.

Harry and Peter had always got along well, but Firth ruled his team with an iron fist and wouldn't let Peter explore some of the horizons which were beckoning him. He was happy enough with touring cars, but didn't want to be restricted to them.

He wanted to drive sports cars, open-wheelers, GT cars; and he desperately wanted to race over seas.

He had been expressing these desires for a couple of years but, as he became more and more a part of the HDT's ways, Peter had to get out on his own and explore his potential.

Harry was shattered by Peter's decision. Through five years of watching him mature under careful guidance, Harry had come to regard Peter in an almost paternal fashion and found it difficult to accept that he wanted to leave home.

It was the end of an important era in Peter's career. And the start of another... n

r

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V

JOIN THE V8 SUPERCAR CLUB AND S E THE AUSTRALIAN 1000 CLASSIC

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e 2 '■©

The V8 SUPERCAR Club has been established to provide motorsport fans with the latest news from drivers and teams and access to exclusive events and merchandise It is a must for any V8 SUPERCAR fan wanting to know everything about Australia’s premier motorsport category.

A quarterly newsletter will include exclusive . driver iriterviews, the latest information from the rule makers and heaps of competitions and give-aways.

Some newsletters will also include inserts frorn teams offering their latest tearr^-=— 'Merchandise.

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WHAT YOU GET - ADULT MEMBERS * 1 four-day general admission ticket to the 1997 Australian 1000 Classic - Bathurst, Oct. 16-19, or copy of 1997 Media & Resource Guide. * Official V8 SUPERCAR Club Polo-shirt * Official certificate and membership card H Exclusive quarterly newsletter - $75.00 TEENAGE MEMBERS(Age 12-16) * 1 four-day general admission concession ticket to the 1997 Australian 1000 Classic. * Official V8 SUPERCAR Club tee-shirt H Official certificate and membership card *TxcTusil7&“quarterly newsletter - $45.00 JUNIOR MEMBERS(Age 0-t2) * Official V8SUPERCAR Club tee-sf^ TOfffciat cei^iffcate and membership card H Exclusive quarterly newsletter - $25.00

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OIN THE CARS AND THE STARS AT BAfhORST FOR THE AUSTRALIAN 1000 CLASSIC! I am applying for Adult - $75.00 □ Teenage - $45.00 □ Junior - $25.00 □ membership Bathurst paddock entry - $10.00 □ Enclosed is a Cheque/Money Order for $ Payable to "AVESCO", or charge my Credit Card □ Bankcard □ VISA □ Master Card □ Amex □ Diners Club

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4 July 1997

l^CpO®[:F8IJ)®[T{}

fSSascar Motes n Mark Smith,the owner ofTri Star Motorsports, withdrew the team’s No. 19 car ifrom the race at California because oflack offinancial support.

Smith is seeking sponsor ship for the remaining races in the Winston Cup season, but as of now the team’s future status is uncertain. n Even though Bill Elhott(below) was second at Michigan -his best fin ish in three yeaia -it still was hard for his team to become overly excited with being the runner-up.

-V

—

-1

“We had a great run, but I want to win,” crew chief Mike Beam said.

‘Finishing second is like taking a shower with your raincoat on. It don’t quite get it.”

\

n Dale Earnhardt has no victories in his past 42 Winston Cup races. In the 42 races before this streak, he won eight times... n Michigan marked the first time in nearly three years that Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte,Dale Jarrett and Earnhardt aU failed to lead a lap. n Sterling Marlin (below)on the finstration ofhaving only one top 10 finish in the past eight races:‘Tm beginning to wonder if we’ve ticked off a witch doctor somewhere and every week he’s pulling that Sterling doU out, grabbing his knitting needles and shoving them things in me.”

(Photcs Hairy How, David Taylor/Allsporl)

California Dreaming

Report by MARTIN CLARK JEFF Gordlon won the California 500 at the brand new Penske-owned jewel in the oval crown, two mile California Speedway on June 22.

The Hendrick team - and particularly fuel statistician Mike Landis - rolled the dice on fuel mileage in the final 99 laps of green flag racing and, luckily for the Hendrick Chevrolet team,it paid off.

“It ran out (of fuel) in tm-n four (after the chequered flag),” said the delighted Gordon after the win. .

Gordon stopped for right side tyres and fuel with 55 circuits remaining in the race, his team mate Terry Labonte had a vibration in his special ly painted Kellogg’s car and elected to take on four new Goodyear’s.

This handed the lead over to Gordon although Terry closed in at the finish as Gordon nursed his car, draft ing at every possible instance behind lapped traffic. Labonte posted his 12th top ten result in 15 events this season.

Martin’s Roush Ford ran strong all day, but he had to pit for fuel with eleven of the 250 laps remaining, loosing the lead he took fi-om Gordon only laps earher.

To cap it all the crew didn’t get enough gas in the car dur ing the sub-three second stop and he ran dry on the penulti mate tour to finish tenth, even so Mark recorded his rrinth straight top ten.

Gordon led 113 tours with Dale Jarrett leading 49 and T Labonte 41 tours.

Joe Nemechek became the fourth driver this year to win his first career pole this sea son. His Sabco Chevrolet, one of three entered, set the inau gural track record of 183.015 mph and lead the first tour before relinquishing the point to team mate Wally Dallenbach. for Unfortunately Nemechek he clobbered an errant tyre from Ken Schrader’s car on pit road and severely damaged the car’s nose section at a track where aerodynamics’ are para mount.

Only four cautions marred the event. Hut Stricklin caus ing the first on lap 31 when he slammed the waU. “That was one of the tough est licks I believe I’ve ever had. It seemed like it hit the hardest it could on the left side,” said Hut. The other two more minor incidents were when Rick Mast lost an engine and

STOP THIS MAN... Jeff Gordon added yet another ‘debut’racetrack to his list of scalps with a thoughtful, rather than domi nant victory at the impressive California Speedway. He has taken a stranglehold in the Winston Cup.(Photo by Jamiesquire/Msponj

s

showered the track with oil on tour 96. Gordon was head-

cross the stripe, but like the n Martin and 119 over T others had trouble with aero- Labonte.

ing Ricky Craven at the time and following a slow pit stop Gordon exited the pits 11th.

Sacks then spun in turn two on lap 141 and the final incident involved rookie Jeny Nadeau, who gave the pris tine wall a slapping in turn four on tom-149.

Many teams suffered engine woes, Ken Schrader, Ernie Irvan and Wally Dallenbach the most notice able as all had lead laps.

Sterling Marlin’s run of bad luck also continued when he dropped a valve, as did Kyle Petty in the second Petty Pontiac.

Jimmy Spencer had a great run going in the Camel Ford, running second when he cut a t3rre, forcing ‘Mr Excitement’ to pit and dropping him off the lead lap. He would later get a break when he forced leader Ricky Craven up the banking,',handing the lead to Irvan and staying out front,

dynamics in the pack, Gordon netted US$144,600 to fill his wallet and extended the points lead to 92 over

as the final caution aired Spencer found himself back on the lead lap.

Elhott also had a great car. but he also punctured a tyre and it cut a brake fine putting ‘Awesome Bill’ back to 32nd at the end.

Ted Musgrave collected his third consecutive top ten and third top five of the season, finishing fourth, comparing this to 1996 when he had two top five’s all year. His teammate Jeff Burton was on the other end of the spectrum, finishing 30th when a bolt dropped out of the axle, he recorded only his third finish out of the top 15 all season.

Bobby Labonte was again the first of the Pontiac’s to

Jarrett(Ford), Craven (Chevy), Martin (Ford).

Points standings; J(Jordon 2295, Martin 2203,T Labonte 2176, Jarrett 2123, J Burton 1971, Earnhardt 1948,B Labonte 1895, Rudd 1875, M Waltrip 17 53, Mayfield 1726.

Final positions; J Gordon(Chevy) 155.025 mph,T Labonte(Chevy), Rudd (Ford), Musgrave(Ford), Spencer(Ford),B Labonte (Pontiac), J Green (Chevy),

Ford's aero woes

|

175" FROM SEAM <

lilBONTVAt jeMPLATES FRdM HELL?... Stricklin’s crew chief has an aero gripe. (Phoio by David Tayior/Aiispon) RICHARD Broome, the crew chief for Hut Stricklin’s No. 8 Ford, publicly complained last week that Ford Motorsports is not doing enough to help its lowerprofile teams on the Winston Cup circuit.

Broome told reporters that Ford was focusing much of its support toward the teams owned by Jack Rohsh, Robert Yates and Roger Penske. He said the company was not sharing wind-tunnel information and other data that could help such drivers as Stricklin, who is 32nd in the points standings, Preston Miller, the head of Ford’s engineering staff, denied that some teams are receiving preferential treatment. He said the problem stems from Ford’s expected move from the Thunderbird to the Taurus for next sea-

son, a change that has drivers nervous and is keeping Ford’s engineers busy.

“Where we are right now with infor mation is that we don’t have a lot of information,” Miller said. “The amount of information we have to give to teams is mainly where we’re going with future programs and with the parts that they’re having problems with now iso lated solutions to specific problems.

“This is a universal frustration that any group of people goes through when there’s an uncertainty as to what they’re going to do next year. It has nothing to do with Ford’s support. It has nothing to do with anything but a racer’s mentality not to give away something that he’s got that works, and put his hopes in this new thing that’s totally unknown to ^ him.” n

WINSTON CUP RESULTS Jeff Gordon,#24 DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo

2.

Terry Labonte,#5 Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Chevrolet

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Ricky Rudd,#10 Tide Ford Thunderbird Ted Musgrave.#16 Famiiy Channel Ford T’bird Jimmy Spencer,#23 Camel Ford Thunderbird Bobby Labonte,#18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac Jeff Green,#29 Cartoon Network Chev Monte Carlo

Dale Jarrett, #88 Quality Care Ford Thunderbird © 8.

9. Ricky Craven,#25 Budweiser Chev Monte Carlo 10. Mark Martin,#6 Valvoline Ford Thunderbird

II. Michael Waltrip,#21 Citgo Ford Thunderbird

fi >

f/ n

}

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Current Points After Round 15

The California 500 - CaMfornia Speedway. June 22, 1997.

I.

nn ‘‘ffjrnn

f

,2295 ,2203

I. 2.

Jeff Gordon, Chev ....

Mark Martin, Ford

3.

4.

Terry Labonte, Chev ...2176 2123 Dale Jarrett, Ford

5.

6.

Jeff Burton, Ford Dale Earnhardt, Chev ...1948

18. Joe Nemechek,#42 Bell South Chevrolet Monte Carlo 19. Chad Little,#97 John Deere Chevrolet Monte Carlo

7.

8.

9.

Bobby Labonte, Pontiac .1895 1875 Ricky Rudd, Ford I"”’ Michael Waltrip, Ford ..1753

20. Lake Speed,#9 Melling Engines Ford Thunderbird

10. Jerry Mayfield, Ford

12. Jeremy Mayfield,#37 KMart/RC Cola Ford T’bird 13. Johnny Benson,#30 Pennzoil Pontiac Grand Prix 14. Rusty Wallace,#2 Miller Lite Ford Thunderbird 15. Darrell Waltrip,#17 Western Auto Chevrolet 16. Dale Earnhardt,#3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet 17. Steve Grissom,#41 Kodiak Chevrolet Monte Carlo

1971

1726

m'jmi

^4®® MARTIN CLARK headed west to check out Roger Penske’s new California Speedway. Our manfrom Charlotte was mighty impressed...

WHEN you drive towards the newly constructed California Speedway, 65km east of L.\, you won der as you turn onto San Bernardino Boulevard what you’re entering.

The area surrounding the track is a steel mill, it’s not a pretty sight, hell, the produc ers of Arnold Schwarzene gger’s ‘Terminator’ flick thought it was ugly enough to fihn parts ofthe movie there.

Take a left turn off the rough road and your rental car rides onto four lanes of smooth tarmac entering the speedway grounds, caged inside 17 miles of fencing. The entrance itself looks similar to one you might find gracing a country club or championship golf course, 200 palm trees were planted and 136 of the 529 acres are meticulously landscaped to the tune of $5 million.

This place is big. It has four

Smoke ban no threat: NASCAR A proposed settlement between the tobacco industry and the US gov ernment includes a ban On tobacco advertising and sponsorship of sports events.

The possible deal announced June 20th, would mean NASCAR could use Winston as it’s primary spon sor of the Winston Cup Series that has been around since the early seventies.

Winston’s owner R.J. Reynolds puts up $10 million in purses each year, not including the sponsorship of Jimmy Spencer’s Camel car.

Steve Grissom’s Kodiak spon sored and Ken Schrader’s Skoal tobacco cars will also be affected if the bill comes into effect.

The sponsorship goes fur ther down the line in American motorsports, NHRA and the smaller ‘Saturday night’ tracks will also be affected, losing their major sponsor.

In a prepared statement from Daytona Beach NASCAR commented: “While the settlement has been announced, it must still face congressional as well as Presidential review, while also facing litigation that has already been filed.

“NASCAR racing has been in existence for nearly 50 years, long before tobacco companies became actively involved in the sport.

“With the momenta! growth we have exeperienced in recent years, and the antici pated growth of motorpsports, we will continue to aggres sively promote the sport.”

-MAR’TIND.CLARK

entrances and unlike Texas in April, this facility is finished.

There’s no workmen running around you, constructing the complex, no mud to get your car or camper stuck in.

This is Penske perfection.

Winston Cup Champ Teny Labonte coined peoples feel ings, “What a nice place. It’s impressive and it’s finished too.”

It seems amazing that ground breaking didn’t start until November 1995 and the track was laid in January this year, they worked quickly, but not at the cost of quality.

32,000 car park spaces and enough room for 117 tour busses, shuttle trams to take you to your car and get this, a Metrolink train to carry 7,000 spectators to their cars parked miles away from the facUify.

How much did this' place cost I hear you ask? Oh,just a cool US$100 million, publicly traded. Next year they will

Roger’s new Ranch

YES, IT’S A RACETRACK... Facilities at California are first rate, from the entrance(above) to the Corporate Suites.(Martinaarkphoto) add skyboxes to compliment the infield suites and press facilities, which were the best I’ve ever used, even though they ran out of non-alcholohlic bevies after the race, free Miller only...

With a CART event, NASCAR truck and Busch Series races also to be staged before year’s end, a second groove Wl come in.

With that in mind California Speedway might

make a change from the Daytona 500 as a vacation destination for overseas racing fans next year - you get to choose between CART and NASCAR and the babes are better looking too!

Ernie’s Michigan revenge

Ernie Irvan went back to Michigan Speedwpy, the scene of his biggest ever crash, and led home a Ford 1-2-3-4. PHIL MORRIS was there.

ERNIE Irvan came from the 20th starting position in his Robert Yatesowned Ford to claim the win at the Miller 400 at Michigan Speedway.

Irvan led the 200-lap event only twi,ce for 33 laps, but Irvan yvas up front for the final .20 laps after passing Ted Musgrave on lap 180 and outdistancing secondplace finisher Bill Elliott by 2.964 seconds at the che quered flag.

It was his first win since the Miller 400 last September at Richmond and his first win at the site of his near-fatal crash in August, 1994.

“Everything was going through my mind,” said Irvan, 38. “I kept going through Turn 2, thinking, ‘Man, this is where the wreck happened.’

“Everything that has hap pened this year has caught us right at the end of the race. At Daytona, Earnhardt rolled over our roof Then at Dover, we were in a position to win the race. I was really happy for our race team to pull this off.”

Irvan averaged 153.321 mph in the race that was slowed by only three cau tions, pocketing $93,830 as the winner’s share of the $1,592,930 purse.

Elliott, whose winless streak stretches 76 races, finished second.

The Dawsonville, Georgia driver logged his best finish since his September 1994 victory in the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

“We would have had to be pretty good at the end of the race to beat Ernie,” said Elliott, who led the race six times- for 47 laps. “I don’t think I could have beaten

J/

Nascar Notes n Robby Gordon, mak ing a comeback at the California Speedway from bums suffered in the Indianapolis 500, crashed hard at the new track on the Friday morning of qualifying. He was taken to a local hospital with concussion and released the following day.

Doctors would not give him permission to quali fy or race, so Gordon again sat out another event leaving Greg Sacks to qualify the Coorssponsored Sabco Monte Carlo. n Loy Allen will replace Mike Wallace, who.was released from the LJ Racing Spambacked team on June 21, at the team in a one race deal for the July 5 Pepsi 400. Allen tested the Chevrolet’s at Talladega on June 25th and 26th, as it was a ‘closed’ test no speeds were avail able.

SWEET TALKER... Everyone wanted to hear from Irvan after his MS win. (PhoiotyjamieSquim/Aiispoit) him at the end, but it just got real tight at the end.

That’s the way it goes. This crew has worked hard and to come back here and lead and run like we ran today.

I’m just tickled to death.”

Mark Martin, who now trails Jeff Gordon by 46 points in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series point standings, was third followed

by Ted Musgrave and series point leader Jeff Gordon in

fifth.

“It was a gi-eat race for us,” said Gordon, who moved out of a tie with Terry Labonte for the points lead, but allowed Martin to close up 15 more points in the season-

long race. “To come out of here -with a top-5 really says a lot, especially after starting where we did.”

Gordon qualified 12th for the race, but was to sulk after being forced to start at the rear of the field due to a practice crash that caused the team to pull the backup car off the truck for Sunday’s race.

“I think we showed what we were made of today,” Gordon said. “We really worked hard on it all day today and were able to bring it up front.”

NASCAR Defending Winston Cup Series champi on Terry Labonte, who was

tied with Gordon for the points lead coming into Smdays race, had his day go sour after he cut a tyre, caus ing him to scrape the wall in Turn 1 and prompt the sec ond caution of the day.

“We had a real good car before that happened,” said Labonte, who sported a spe cialty colour scheme on his Chevrolet promoting Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes. “I usually have good luck when we change the paint scheme, but it didn’t work out that way today.”

Labonte’s 39th-place finish was his worst since he was 41st in the 1991 Pepsi 400 at Daytona.

n Geoff Bodine has two possible buyers interested in his number seven QVC Ford opera tion. Bodine needs either additional spon sorship or a partner to see him through the remainder of the year. A major sports car team owner and the virgin Irving Washington Motorsports, are said to be the two interested parties. Bodine has stip ulated that he must drive for the first three years should the team be sold. Rumours have it that Bodine recently lost support from Ford Motor Company further adding pressure to the team. n Lawyers acting on behalf of team owner Rick Hendrick, have asked for his federal trial be delayed 60 days, stat ing that Hendrick, who is undergoing treatment for leukaemia, will be too weak to go through the ordeal of a trial which was due to begin August

11th.

-MARTIN CLARK

3S 4July mi ,

1

mato, Capps and WJ top Gateway

Report and photos by DAVE OSTASZEWSKl

Joe Amato,Ron Capps and Wan’en Johnson sui’vived the heat and overcame the tricky track conditions to claim victories at Gateway International Raceway.

Joe Amato won his 40th Top Fuel title and his fourth this year, in a close final round race with point leader Gary Scelzi.

Capps wheeled Don Prudhomme’s Camaro to his first Funny Car win while Johnson defeated top point man Jim Yates in the allPontiac final on a holeshot, 7.06 to 7.04.

Top Fuel Scelzi topped qualifying with a 4.707/300.50 from Amato (4.772/299.70), Scott Kalitta (4.780/303.84) and Kenny Bernstein (4.813/ 297.61). The all-four second field was anchored by Mike Smith’s 4.965/286.75, which owner and tuner, Paul Smith put into the show on one pass for the second event in a row.

In eliminations Bruce Sarver’s 4.954/268.09 stopped Jim Head. Eddie Hill left on Shelly Anderson, but Anderson pulled ahead to win, 4.872/276.75 to 4.946/ 284.45.

Bob Vandergriff ran 4.874/295.85 against Tony Schumacher.

Kahtta looked strong with a 4.787/300.10 over Doug

Herbert. Scelzi dropped a few cylinders on a 4.807/295.66 win over Mike Smith.

Amato grabbed a 4.805/ 297.32 win over the tyresmoking Larry Dixon while Bernstein continued to look good in front of the folks from Anheuser-Busch, easing out Pat Dakin, 4.818/ 298.11 to 4.887/298.21.

The last pair of the round saw Cory McClenathan march to a 4.881/288.09 win over Mike Dunn who pushed out a head gasket, and was trailing fire fi'om around 400 feet.

Vandergriff began round two against Bernstein, Kenny’s 4.946/280.28 taking the win. Scelzi charged at half-track to beat a tyre-haz ing Sarver, 4.831/292.49 to 4.874/296.44. McClenathan beat Kalitta away but the blower belt broke on- the McDonalds car, allowing Kalitta to win with a 4.819/298.40.

Amato took win number two, 4.848/ 292.30 to 5.035/ 285.44, when Anderson dropped cylinders and drifted close to the centreline.

Bernstein faced Scelzi in the semis. Bernstein got the start and went 4.904/290.69, but Scelzi’s great 4.789/ 287.53 cooked him. Amato left on Kalitta and streaked to a 4.777/298.90 to 4.853/ 280.02 win.

In the final Amato jumped on Scelzi at the start and

SMOKIN’JOE’S... Joe Amato was too much for the first Top Fuel field ever to race at the new Gateway Park track. holding on to take a 4.739/ 306.43 to 4.784/301.30 win.

With the win Amato (862) gained only 19 points on Scelzi (1057). Kalitta (686), and Bernstein (657) McClenathan (644) round out the top five.

Funny Car The Funny Cars were trou bled by traction loss past half tracks.

Randy Anderson TQ’d with a 5.119/292.96. John Force showed signs of life with a 5.169/283.82 ahead of Cruz Pedregon (5.179/290.22) and Capps’ 5.192/254.38. Jim Blake qualified the House Racing Pontiac of Rex Nix on

SOUTHSIDEI

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1

the bump at 5.380/266.35.

Capps beat Kenji Okazaki’s Mooneyes Dodge 5.268/276.66 to 5.340/284.90. Cory Lee, crew chiefing for Tom Hoover and driving for AI Hoftnann, elected not to race in round one, which gave Cruz Pedregon an easy single at 5.511/199.68.

Jim Blake pulled an upset when his 5.408/249.30 trailered Anderson’s Pontiac, who ran the top qualifier/first round loser routine for the second straight race.

Force singled a 5.167/ 284.45 when Paul Smith didn’t show, while Chuck Etchells defeated Del Worsham, 5.340/273.72 to 5.433/260.86.

Hoover rolled on with a 5.307/283.10 to 5.470/255.31 win over Mark Oswald. In the closest race of the opening round, Whit Bazemore stopped new burnout king Dean Skuza, 5.233/279.76 to 5.288/287.90.

The round closed vfith Gary Densham taking his NEC Dodge to a 5.322/272.64 win over Tony Pedregon, who was instantly smoking the hides in the other lane.^ Gary Densham began roimd two with a 5.301/258.47 win over Jim Blake. Capps then laid down another con sistent 5.233/280.72 to stop EtcheUs’5.355/276.24.

Force ran a conservative 5.337/277.86 win over Bazemore, who smoked the tyres to the finish line, attempting to catch Force.

Hoover matched his perfor mance of round one at

5.306/279.58 but hazed the tyres at the top end, allowing Cruz Pedregon to advance at 5.270/281.16.

Force and Pedregon started the semis. Pedregon got the jump, holding it until the fin ish line and winning 5.234/287.90 to 5.245/285.62.

In the other pair, Densham overpowered the track, Capps long gone with a 5.208/281.60.

In the final Pedregon and Capps left together, with Pei-egon’s car drifting toward the centerline, almost touch ing it. By then it was over as Capps was marching straight and true to his quickest run of the event and his first career Funny Car win at 5.165/ 268.81.

It was Don Prudhomme’s first win as an owner.

The 1997 season has seen 9 different winners in 11 events.

Force (856) still leads from Cruz (668), Bazemore(661), Etchells (654) and Anderson(643).

Pro Stock The heat made six second runs rare as Jim Yates led the field with a 6.975/196.37 from Warren Johnson (7.017/ 196.76), son Kurt (7.021/ 196.33) and Bruce Allen (7.021/195.52). Two time 1997 winner and most recent tour winner Tom Martino held onto the bump with a 7.079/194.38.

Terry Adams advanced over Mike Bell, 7.096/194.42 to 7.090/194.67. Scott Geoffrion put the black Dodge into round two over Mark Pawuk, 7.076/195.22 to 7.178/193.84.

Kurt stoprped Vieri Gaines, 7.063/195.86 to 7.152/193.75.

WJ outed Darrell Alderman 7.028/196.85 to 7.131/194.59.

George Marnell advanced at 7.087/195.69 when Mike Edwards fit the red bulb.

Steve Schmidt defeated standout, David Nickens, 7.091/195.01 to 7.132/192.43.

Allen fell from his qualifying pace, recording a 7.108/194.38 and was beat by a holeshot and a 7.119/194.97 from Pete Williams. The round ended with Yates putting out Tom Martino, 7.033/196.33 to 7.120/193.96.

Geoffrion began round two Pete by out-powering Williams, 7.074/195.27 to 7.106/194.67. Kurt Johnson went 7.057/196.12 to stop Marnell. Yates took out Adams, 7.050/195.69 to 7.171/192.71. Warren Johnson used a 7.061/196.37 to elimi nate Schmidt, 7.061 to 7.096/ 195.14. outed WJ Kurt, 7.032/196.89 to 7.182/193.09 to take a come from behind victory. Yates then used his entire lane to hold off Geoffrion, 7.039/195.82 to 7.057/195.65.

In the final WJ left on Yates, .429 to .457, and need ed it as his 7.064/196.16 took the win light over Yates quicker, but later 7.049/ 195.90.

That is the fourth win in six finals for Johnson in 1997 and it moves him only 20 points behind Yates (943) for the championship. Kurt Johnson (782) leads Allen (631) and Martino (529).

John Zappia relies on Southside Engine Centre to keep his Zap’s Rat III runningfast & reliably

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SNAKE MAN... Ron Capps gave Don Prudhomme his first F/C win as a ‘non-driving’ owner.

4July 199/

3§

Eckman & Omdorff outed

ever Drag racing has recently been rocked by the severest penalty the NHRA has handed outfor cheating. Motorsport News’ JON ASHER was there when it happened and has an in-depth look at what we know happened - as well as what we suspect 8 0 9

ON Friday afternoon, June 13, the team was warming the engine in the EcTcman & Orndorff Pontiac, which this year was being sponsored by Checker/Schuck’s/Kragen auto parts.

After approximately four minutes of running time the oil tank reservoir for the dry sump system exploded.

Observers likened the explosion to that generated from wiring together a half dozen M-80 firecrackers.

Super Stock racers pitted several hundred yards away thought people in a nearby campground had set off a half stick of dynamite.

When the tank exploded it covered both Orndorffs trail er, as well as the. adjacent Mopar Performance Dodge trailer of Dale Eicke, with oil and shi-apnel.

Mike Mechanic Cunningham of the Dodge team immediately ran into the Orndorff pit, where he saw that two small air bot tles had been blown out of the bottom of the oil tank.

One was complete, but the other had been severed at the neck, and was spinning on the ground, still venting.

Cunningham picked up the tank, which was ice cold, but Orndorff quickly gi-abbed it away from him.

Orndorff, Eckman and the rest of the team quickly

auto

JERRY CANNED... Following the June 13 brouhaha Pro Stocker Jerry Eckman will not be able to do this again for at least two years. (Photo by Nick Nicholas) picked up all of the broken ''hastily wiped the oil off the pieces and loaded the car two trailers, into the trailer, locking the In the meantime, doors. Eckman then left the Cunningham sought out scene with his girlfriend NHRA officials to report while the rest of the team what he’d seen, this after

having informed Eicke, his employer, that he was doing so.

After making his report Cunningham returned to his pit area and told Omdorff of

WHO, ME? Eckman cried innocent- until NHRA inspectors found a trigger in the car...

On Saturday morning Omdorff reluctantly allowed NHRA to inspect the car. which they did, removing the oil tank and compressed air bottles for more sophisticat-

Desperate people do desperate things when their backs are against the wall

Photo by Keith Burgan

-NHRA Official his actions. He reports that Orndorffs shoulders immedi ately slumped in a posture of defeat, and he left the track.

Within a short period of time NHRA officially impounded the trailer, and positioned a sheriffs deputy on the scene. He was not to prevent Orndorff from removing the trailer, but was charged with making sure a representative of the team spoke with NHRA about the ramifications of their refus ing a technical inspection.

ed analysis.

Later in the day Eckman gave an interview to Kent Mallett of ‘The Advocate’ newspaper during which he attempted to distance him self from Orndorff, stating that he was awaiting an explanation from Omdorff as to what had caused the explosion. He said he had no knowledge of what had caused it.

“I said ‘I’m getting out of here.’ I took my girlfriend home. I was waiting to hear-

from Bill, and he said Til let you know.’ He hasn’t had the decency to call me.” He went on to say, “I am just a hired driver. He (Orndorff) is the sole owner and crew chief and makes every decision on the car.”

Ironic that Eckman and Orndorff have been tacit partners for at least a decade, but as an NHRA official said on the following Wednesday, “Desperate people do desper ate things when their backs are against the wall.”

On Wednesday NHRA Senior Vice President Graham Light announced that an analysis of the parts retained from the Eckman & Orndorff car revealed the presence of nitrous oxide.

Tech Director Carl Olson told this reporter that in addition to the nitrous residue the inspectors had discovered both the trigger ing and delivery systems, making Eckman’s state ments of non-involvement rather ludicrous.

Continued over page

1997 NHRA WINSTON DRAG RACING SERIES - POINTS AFTER RD. 11, MADISON, ii„ 1997 Top Fuel Championship 1057 I. Gary Sceizi, Team Winston 2. joe Amato, Keystone Autoparts 862 3. Scott Kalitta, American Int. Airways . .686 4. Kenny Bernstein, Budweiser King :...657 .644 5. Cory McClenathan, McDonald's 6. Mike Dunn,^ Mopar Performance ....561 7. Bob Vandergriff, Jerzees Activewear .527 LIMITSM 8. Bruce Sarver, CarQuestA/Vorld's Best519 9. Shelly Anderson, Parts America 502 .459 10. Larry Dixon, Miller Lite

PEMHZOIL 'W

THERE

ARE

NO

1997 Funny Car Championship I. John Force, Castrol Racing 856 2. Cruz Pedregon, McDonald's/Coke ...668 .661 3. Whit Bazemore, Team Winston .654 4. Chuck Etchells, Kendall/Mopar . ,643 5. Randy Anderson, Parts America .579 6. Kenji Okazaki, Mooneyes .578 7. Tony Pedregon, Castrol Racing 8. Dean Skuza, Mateo Tools/Mopar 9. Gary Densham, NEC/Pagenet 10. Del Worsham, Checkers/Kragen

478 .466

1997 Pro Stock Championship .943 Jim Yates, McDonald's .923 Warren Johnson, Goodwrench .782 Kurt Johnson, ACDelco Bruce Allen, Slick SO .631 Tom Martino, MaMa Rosa Pizza .... .529 Steve Schmidt, Schmidt Automotive ..525 .480 7. Pete Williams, Williams Racing 8. Troy Coughlin, Jeg's Mail Order 478 .456 9. Mark Pawuk, Summit

421

10. Scott Geoffrion, Mopar Peformance ..454

I. 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

A

^0 4July mi Continued from page 39 Further, Orndorff has at least threatened NHRA with litigation over the mat ter, but they feel confident that should a court case result they’ll emerge victori ous.

Meanwhile, NHRA has handed down it stiffest financial penalties ever, as. both Eckman and Orndorff have each been hit with US$25,000 ($33,000) fines.

In addition, each has been suspended for a minimum of two years.

Prior to this incident the largest fine in NHRA annals was that levied against fuel racer Paul Smith a few years ago after he attacked crew chief Bob Brandt in the pits during the then-titled MidNationals in South Memphis.

The only prior nitrous oxide violation on the books was a $5,000 fine and one year suspension levied against a California Super Stock racer some years ago after the erstwhile fire extin guisher bolted to the roll bar of his Firebird exploded, blowing out the back window of the car and showering a wide area with glass frag ments.

Almost unknown at the

(^®0®D’SU)®170 time of the Columbus inci dent was something that took place earlier this year at the Atsco Nationals in Arizona. Because of the “team” nature of the Eckman & Orndorff sponsor ship, they ended up being pitted among the Funny Cars with Del Worsham’s car, which is also backed by the Checker/ Schuck’s/Kragen combine.

This placed them some distance from the Pro Stock pits, which may help explain why what apparently hap pened late on Saturday evening of that race never got around.

According to members of the Darrell Gwynn/Mike Dunn Mopar Performance Top Fuel team, the manifold on the Eckman & Orndorff Pontiac exploded when they tried to start the engine after having worked on it for some time.

The car caught fire as a result, but Orndorffs team was able to put the fire out without help. About an hour later there was a second and considerably more violent explosion, prompting the Gwynn/Dunn mechanics to grab their fire extinguishers to help suppress the flames.

Such manifold explosions are almost always limited to

LAUGHING STOCK... The Orndorff Pro Stocker was running "really nothin’” in terms of sponsorship after Pennzoil left them, but their conviction stands.

(Photo by Nick Nicholas) cars utilizing nitrous oxide.

Eckman & Orndorff lost their Pennzoil sponsorship at the end of last season, with Orndorff having gone to great lengths in an effort to rescue the program.

From documentation we’ve seen it does appear that Pennzoil may have inadver tently led him into believing a renewal was in the offing.

While we can’t confirm this, we do believe that Orndorff has legal action pending against Pennzoil in

attempt to recoup some of the expenses he incurred in anticipation of the program continuing.

We do know that the team entered this season from a position of financial despera tion, with Orndorff readily that l his admitting Checkers/Schuck’s/Kragen sponsorship was, in his words, “really nothin.”

Whether or not that tempted the team to break the rules remains open to conjecture.

The latest word out of Ohio is that Super Stock racer Dick Sherman has pur chased all of Orndorffs rac ing assets, including his shop, machine tools and related equipment. Whether or not the purchase includes the Pro Stock operation remains to be seen.

Sherman has an extensive car collection as well as a handful of Super Stock race cars, and has been looking for additional shop space for some time.

We’ve had contact with several Pro Stock racers since the NHRA announce ment was made and all expressed complete agree ment with the fines and sus pension, although each sug gested that the punishment wasn’t severe enough.

And, as more than one other racer suggested during the weekend, “If that bottle had come rolling out from underneath the Dodges we would have known instantly what it was!” n

Steele, Cheek top Maryland

by DAVE OSTASZEWSKI

both drivers faced off again about one hour later. Cheek used a 6.851/ 202.73 to drive away from the 6.977/ 183.69 of Yoak’s Ford Thunderbird.

In the semis. Hill threw away a 6.881/202.73 with a red light start, handing the automatic win to Nabors, who went into the final at 6.926/202.73. i In a side by side race all the way down the track. Cheek posted another great 6.850/202.73 to stop the 6.899/202.73 from Jenkins’ Monte Carlo.

In the final, both cars cut identical .448 lights, but it was the Ford with the horsepower advantage, as Cheek scored an impressive win in the heat with low e.t. of elimina tions at 6.833/204.57. Nabors trailed with a 6.937/200.92.

“The car was outstanding and the motor held out for us,” said Cheek, “I didn’t think we were going to make it though, this is the first time we’ve raced in intense’weather like this in quite some time, Winning tW race means a lot.”

Cheek (1630)is now second in the point standings, behind Nabors (1890). Stevens (1620), Alesci(1610) and Machacek (1420) round out the

IF you don’t have cheek, steal it.

That might have been the war cry following the third stop on the eight race, IHRA Snap-On Tools Championship Drag Racing Series in Maryland.

In sizzling temperatures Floyd Cheek triumphed in his 812 inch Ford Probe to take the Pro Stock win and Mick Steele and his Dodge Avenger took a career-first win over new point leader Jimmy Rector in Alcohol Funny Car. Rickie Smith made it two in a row by taking the Pro Modified title. In a repeat of the final two weeks ago at Bristol, Smith’s ’63 Corvette defeated final round oppo nent Tommy Mauneys similar car.

Angelo Alesci led all Pro Stock qualifiers at 6.744/205.52, but lost in rmmd one when a broken brake line sidelined the strong Sonny Leonard-powered Chevrolet Monte Carlo, prior to his first round race with the number sixteen qualified car (6.864/203.66) of John Montecalvo.

The second round began with Tim Nabors getting a tenth of a sec ond lead on the tree and taking an easy 6.950/201.82 win, when John top five.

Montecalvo crossed the centreline.

Tommy Mauney led the Pro Roy Hill then strapped a light on Modified pack at 6.503/212.29. the similar Ford of Canadian John Scotty Cannon followed at Konigshofer, and took the win, 6.523/211.30. Race winner. Smith 6.889/ 201.82 to an identical held on to third at 6.527/213.32 and 6.889/203.65. Thomas Lee and his Shannon Jenkins rounded out the Ford Probe, in only his second event top four at 6.541/211.30. as a Pro, cut a perfect .400 light, A total of 47 cars attempted to but didn’t have the performance as make the quick field, which was David Jenkins ran down the Ford anchored by Dale Brinsfield’s and took the win, 6.924/201.82 to 6.624/212.29.

7.013/201.82.

Defending World Champion The last pair of the round saw the Cannon was dealt a first round loss cars of Cheek and Jon Yoak both when an electrical problem kept the leave before the tree was activated. ‘ nitrous system from being activatIHRA rules require a re-run, so ed. Cannon clicked the Willys off

TRUCKING ALONG... Rickie Smith and his '63 Vette took Pro Modified honours in Maryland.(PhoiobyOstaszewski) when the Corvette of Dale Brinsfield was driving away from him.

In round two, Mauney posted a 6.566/212.29 in what would end up as low e.t of the round. His oppo nent, Wally Stroupe, made a sharp right turn towards the wall and wisely got out of the throttle.

Tutterow experienced a similar fate in his race with Jenkins, skat ing all over his lane. Jenkins advanced with a 6.857/206.45.

Michael Martin won a close, side by side race with Brinsfield, 6.616/214.31 to 6.695/211.30.

The round closed when Rickie Smith took an easy win with a 6.639/211.30, when opponent, Brian Gahm drifted toward the centerline and shut off.

The semis began with Smith going into his 66th IHRA final round, leaving first and never look ing back, as his 6.612/211.30 was more than enough to handle the shut off 7.177/158.46 of Martin.

Mauney,then ran low e.t. of elim inations at 6.545/213.30 to cover the close 6.610/210.31 of Jenkins, set ting up the replay of the Bristol final.

In the final, Mauney left slightly ahead of Smith, .448 to .450, but Smith stepped up, making his quickest pass of the day at 6.589/211.30, to defeat Mauney,

who fell off his earlier pace to a 6.673/210.31.

“I couldn’t be happier,” stated Smith. “This couldn’t have come at a better time for me, both mentally and financially.” “I’ve ran Tommy in about every final in the last two months, and we’ve been in a bunch.”

Smith, now has a sizeable lead in the standings with 2540 points.

Jenkins (1970) is second. Tutterow (1890), Mauney (1860) and Martin U760) round out the top five.

Cannon,is sixth with 1690 points.

Canada’s Larry Dobbs recorded the only five second Alcohol Funny Car run during qualifying to take the top spot at 5.994/233.20.

Point leader Scott Weis had a hectic weekend. Following a win in Bristol, Weis crashed the SherwinWilliams Ford in a test session at Richmond, Virginia. With a car bor rowed from Gary Retell, Weis quali fied on Friday, travelled ten hours for a race and sponsor commitment in Norwalk, Ohio and made it back to Budds Creek just an hour prior to final eliminations on Sunday.

Weis had the tough task of facing the number one car of Dobbs, which was won by Dobbs, 6.095/22846 to 6.244/225.03.

In round two Dobbs was taken out by Paul Zgoda, 6.094/229.63 to 6.128/225.03. Jimmy Rector took a

win and the point lead with a 6.117/229.63 to 6.366/230.80 win over Jim Lape.

Steele then strapped a huge .426 to .570 light on Mark Thomas, and held him off to take a 6.311/223.91 to 6.195/226.16 win. Von Smith closed the round with a 6.087/234.41 to 6.319/222.80 win over Mike Preslar.

The semi final round saw two sin gles, as the car of Zgoda was unable to stage, allowing Rector a 6.127/228.46 single into the final. In the other pair Smith was'unable to get his Firebird into reverse follow ing his burnout, which allowed Steele to go to his first final ropnd with an easy 6.241/225.03.

In the final, Steele cut another gi’eat light and left on Rector, tak ing a big holeshot win, 6.205/225.03 to 6.138/227.31. “It was kind of funny, Jimmy told me to keep my .420 lights back at the trailer,” stat ed an elated Steele afterwards.

“I knew the car wasn’t going to be as fast as his, so I had to rely on my quicker reaction time. We’ve been working hard and doing everything we can to win, but we didn’t have any luck. Today everything came together.”

The win moved Steele into fifth in the standings, behind Rector (2410), Weis (2040), Smith (2000) and Thomas(1940).

4July m/

/> T

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t. V

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By Dennis New

s V

evere thunderstorms, accom panied by high winds, forced the canceiiation of the sprintcar show at Iowa’s Knoxville' Raceway on Saturday, June 21.

A strong rain depression swept in from the south early Saturday morn ing after the National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa issued a thunderstorm warning for all of the Marion County area.

Winds up to 90 mph caused havoc to the local communityNo injuries were reported as trees and powerlines were brought down at the height of the storm.

The northern area of Knoxville was still without electricity at 11 am Saturday, while the Governor had been asked to declare the area coun ty and the city of Knoxville a disaster area.

Knoxville Raceway officials were forced to cancel their sprintcar show for that Saturday evening, while the weather also caused organisers to reschedule the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame awards presentation to a date yet to be decided.

The “Nostalgia at Knoxville” vin tage exhibition racing events were also postponed to a later date,

M

eanwhile, Sydney’s Skip Jackson continues to lead the Knoxville Raceway track champi onship for the 410 cubic inch sprint car category.

Jackson enjoys an advantage of almost 200 points over his nearest rival (Don Droud Junior). Craig Dollansky maintains his third spot on the competition ladder with 1250 points - 40 points clear of Dennis Moore junior.

South Australian Jaymie Moyle has steadily improved his position on the points table and currently holds down fifth spot with 1105 points beside his name: The top ten in the 410 ci title are rounded out by Mike Reinke (1095 points), Leonard Lee (975 points).

Bob Weuve (890), Jeff Mitrisin (870) and Travis Cram (840).

Don Droud junior became themany ninth different winner in as weeks at Knoxville when he recorded his first feature race victory at Knoxville Raceway this past fortnight.

Droud charged from his fourth row starting spot to claim the prize, while Dollansky, Jackson and Wolfgang rounded out the top four placegetters.

Stevie storms Oklahoma Henrik out of GPs The latest winner on the World of Outlaws trail (as of June 25) was Stevie Smith junior who took line honours in the A-main at State Fair Speedway, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The win for Smith was most rewarding after he and his father have experienced mixed fortunes this season in their first year as a race team.

Even on this occa sion he was almost denied victory when his number 19 sprintcar ran out of'fuel

right at the end of the race and he was forced to coast across the fin ish line.

“I’m proud of my dad,” Smith said from victory lane. “He’s my SHOWS DASH... Stevie Smith won the Vivarin Dash and A Feature in Oklahoma City. idol and I try to do the Kinser raced to victory in the remain in close contention as the best job I can every night. other main event over Jpc championship trail moves into the Sometimes, it’s not good enough, second half of the season. but it’s a good feeling to be working Haudenschild and Danny Lasoski) Next in line in the top ten are: Mark Kinser currently holds with him,” he added.

Greg Hodnett (5132 points), Andy Smith, the third-fastest qualifier down position number 14 in the cur Hillenburg (5123), Stevie Smith in the 28 car field, won his third rent WorM'pf Outlaws points.

The battle for World of Outlaws (5030), Danny Lasoski (5017), Vivarin Dash of the year and, as a points remains close with only 17 Johnny Herrera (4900) and Joe result, started from the pole posi Gaerte (4795). tion in the “A” feature. points separating front runner Meanwhile, it’s not quite so con The main event win also lifted Sammy Swindell and the secondgested at the top of the World of placed Steve Kinser.

Stevie Smith junior into seventh Outlaws car owner point standings.

As at the point standings of June position in the current World our Maestro Karl Kinser (5531 25, Swindell has notched 5,404 Outlaws point standings. points) has a comfortable buffer Mark Kinser also emerged a points over Kinser’s 5387 points over Sammy Swindell (5404 points) tally. main event winner during the and Steve Kinser (5387).

Outlaws’ visit to the State Fair Dave Blaney (5358 points) and - DENNIS NEWLYN Jac Haudenschild (5322 points) also Speedway.

Mark Wells wins Lawson

Mark Wells has won the 1997 Lawson Medal.

With a stunning eight main event win haul for the summer and an undisputed domination of the local ranks, the 26-year-old Geraldton sprintcar driver clinched the second ‘Lawson’ of his career, announced at the John Day Motorsport Ball Awards.

Wells was previously the win ner of Claremont Speedway’s highest award back in the sum mer of 1992, but his current effort was far more conclusive.

The “Geraldton Jet” finished 32

points clear of his nearest rival in the best and fairest honoiu-, with second going to exciting sidecar riders Glenn and Nathan O’Brien.

Following the O’Briens home in third was former two time medal list Michael Figliomeni, with solo rider Lee Redmond coming in fomdh.

Unfortunately Wells himself was unable to receive the medal in person, as he was travelling to the USA with crew chief Steve Melville in the hope of getting a ride in the CaUfomia Speedweek series.

Former team-mate and former

Lawson medallist Ron Krikke accepted the honour on his behalf.

Receiving the award from Roma Lawson, Krikke held the medal up and said “Mark really deserves this, he was too bloody fast all year for anyone to catch.

“This is what you work aU year for. Anyone who has won it knows what I mean, anyone who hasn’t needs to keep on plugging away and you’ll eventually get there.

Don’t ever give up, when you get one of these in your hands you’U know it was Worthwhile.”

-WADEAUNGER

Henrik Gustafsson of Sweden will miss the remainder of the Grand Prix series after braking his leg in a domestic race meeting in Sweden.

It means that England’s Andy Smith will make the starting 16 in the German Grand Prix at Landshut after originally dropping to reserve after the Swedish round in Linkoping.

Sam Ermolenko will now . come into the Grand Prix series as Reserve at Landshut to revitalise his Grand Prix hopes.

He will join the Swedish rider Mikael Karlsson at reserve in Landshut.

-TONY MILLARD

Rod chamii ready to sprint

Triple Victorian Super Rod Champion Jeff Judd continues his preparation for his upcoming debut into the Sprintcar ranks.

Judd had purchased the exs- Rob Rankin Steel block engine.

The engine will be fitted into one of the two Gambler chassis purchased recently

by Judd.

This move was, in turn, only facilitated by the sale of Judd’s title winning Daihatsu Charade Super Rod. Garry Meehan, brother of Super Rod racer Tony Meehan, has bought the lit tle car to nm this season.

Surprisingly Meehan pur chased only the car without the title winning motor and gearbox which still remain for sale.

- BRETT SWANSON

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42 4Juifm7

SPEEDWAY

A

FTER my last column I headed off to Karratha to drive one of the Kendrick teams PM/FM Sprintcars. I wasn’t too happy with the way we went, we had prob lems in the heats. I think it was a case of being out of a Sprintcar for too long, it took a while to get back into a rhythm. I had a good race in the feature but I started too far back to do anything about winning it. Max Dumesny drove really well to win but I had a lot of fun with Geoff and the crew over the weekend.

My next scheduled race at Yandina with John Dean didn’t eventuate due to the weather. Three times I fiew up and each time it was cancelled. In the end it was too expen sive and too risky, weather-wise, for the club to do it again.

At the moment we’re concentrating on getting the Bob Woods’ Speedcar ready for next season. Jeff Jackson, one of Skip’s brothers, is currently building us two brand new chassis. Bob has the motor up for sale and if he sells it we’ll get a new one. Sponsorship proposals are out in the market at the moment so everything is still up in the air.

David Eastbe Coast Midget Series been con firmedLander’s and should a great series.

It willhas be mainly the Sydney teams who have really lifted their games over the past few years and hopefully by going interstate it will help to lift the games of the interstate competitors as well. Some sponsors have already been secured and we will be racing for reasonable prize money which means that guys can spend money on their cars because they know they will be getting some of it back.

I believe that American Ace Jay Drake will be driving for a Queensland team and doing most of, if not all of the series. I think he is brining a car with him. Kiwi Graham Standring is also said to be doing the series. It will be great to race against guys of their calibre and at different tracks all the time and it should make us all better racers in the end.

I think a tyre rule would be a god idea for the series.

Anything that saves the competitors money is good. Maybe a comparable tyre from each supplier might be the way to go.

With Australian Speedcar Title atcontest Avalon on the February, I think it will be a being really run open because no one will have a real home track advantage, not even the Victorians. I’ve run at Avalon in the Sprintcar at Easter and so on and have gone well there so I think we will do well in the Title. But it’s too early to make any predictions until we see who’s doing what during the early part of the season.

The Harris/Standring chassis

by Standring at the Aussie title is Speedcar still causing some run problems.

At the national conference it was decided not to outlaw the car but in my opinion it should be banned on safety grounds to be reviewed in 12 months. By allowing it to run it could raise the cost of Speedcar racing by making all the existing cars obsolete and we don’t run for enough money now. All the top teams will, go out and buy new gear while the budget racers who can’t afford to will be even further behind. If we all go to this style of chassis then there’s no advantage. It’s not the speed of the car that concerns me but rather the safety aspect of the double universal drive line. I believe Standring has already broken his foot while developing the car.

I think it’s awesome what they’ve done with the car but we don’t know enough about it. I say ban it in Australia for 12 months and watch the development of the car as it races in New Zealand, then review the decision.

I believe that a car has been sent to the U.S. so it should be a couple of months before we hear anything. One area USAC are tough on is their safety rules.

Race car Drivers aren’t too smart and we’ll drive anything so it’s up to the governing body’s to look at and enforce safety issues while trying to maintain costs and promote close racing.

I and had his an Supercar unusual experience recently withback.

GeoffGeoff Kendrick at Amaroo park a while was there to race his PM/FM Commodore but the meeting was cancelled so he was giving some sponsors a ride. I was hanging around with some of the crew so he said to get in and we’d do some laps of Amaroo. Well, the only lap I got was in the rescue vehicle. We exited the pits and about 200 metres up the track the back end kicked out. We later dis covered a broken steering rack but we don't know whether that happened before or after. Anyway the car snapped sideways, slammed into the tyre wall and rolled, landing back on its wheels. I’m now a member of an elite club that have rolled touring cars, and as far as I know. I’m the only one to be in the passenger seat when it happened. The car was heavily damaged but the Sydney TAFE boys have fixed it and Geoff ran it last weekend at Eastern Creek.

Meanwhile a bit boring without anyItracing, so I’msoon just waiting forit’s the start of the season. can’t come enough...

THE MAN... Joe Screen (inside) was in fine form at Bradford and led all scorers in the Overseas Final. (Photos by Mike Patnck)

Boyce and Sullivan qualify at Bradford

Craig Boyce from Sydney and Ryan Sullivan, the*21 year-old from Adelaide, have qualified for the Inter-Continental Final of the World Championship in the Overseas Final at in Stadium Odsal Bradford.

Both have a realistic chance of making it into next year’s Grand Prix series.

But there was acute disap pointment for Jason Crump.

He could.only finish ninth of the 16 risers with an eight point return from his five rides and that means he’ll be only a reserve at Vastervik in Sweden on July 29.

Adelaide’s Shane Park'er n also had a disappointing meeting and managed just a five ^oint return.

The Bradford meeting was won by England’s Kelvin Tatum after a ride-off with former Grand Prix man and fellow British rider Joe Screen after both had fin ished on the 14 point mark.

Screen, racing on his home track but suffering from an attack of the flu, had earlier suffered his only defeat at

the hands of Tatum in heat 18, Tatum was beaten by the American former World Champion Sam Ermolenko in heat five.

Boyce finished fourth after losing a ride-off for thi^rd place to Britain’s Sean Wilson with Ermolenko third.

Sullivan managed 9 points to finish seventh and will have the chance to improve in Sweden where he knows the track and rides it well.

Two former World Cham pions Gary Havelock (1992) and Sam Ermolenko(1993)are among the qualifiers.

Placings: Kelvin Tatum (England) 14, Joe Screen (England) 14, Sean Wilson (England) 11, Craig Boyce (Australia) 11, Sam Ermolenko(USA)11, Gary Havelock (England) 10, Ryan Sullivan (Australia) 9,Dean Barker(England)9.

All qualified for the Inter Continental Final at Vastervik, Sweden on July 19th. Jason Crump, 8pts, will be at reserve for that meeting.

HI / CANT STAND IT... Ryan Sullivan looked worried but his nine points were enough to qualify him for Sweden.

(USA)3, Chris Penney Non-qualifiers: Chris Manchester(USA)6, Carl (New Zealand)2, Charlie Vanegas(USA)2, Kevin Stonehewer(England)5, Shane Parker (Australia) Lechky (South Africa)0.

-TONY MILLARD 5, Charlie Ermolenko

World Series dates announced Parramatta City Raceway is back on the World Series calendar after an absence of six years.

That was the big news as the calendar for the 1997/98 edition of Australia’s most lucrative speedway series was announced recently.

The schedule also sees the addition of Wagga International Raceway after missing its round on last season’s schedule.

The 14-round 1997/’98 Championship commences with the traditional three rounds in Western Australia, all held back-to-back.

But one thing missing

WSS dates

Photo by Frank Midgley

GO GREEN... Trevor Green and Skip Jackson in the ’96 l/l/SS. from the announcement finalisation of a television was a major sponsor. The package which it is hoped will be announced within search for a title sponsor is the next few weeks. continuing pending the

Nov 26 Kalgoorlie Speedway Nov 28 Claremont Speedway Nov 29 Bunbury Speedway Dec 5 Speedway City Dec 13 Avalon Raceway Dec 27 Wagga Speedway Dec 29 Speedway City Jan 1 Premier Speedway Jan 2 Borderline Speedway Jan 4 Nyora Raceway Jan 6 Newcastle Motordrome Jan 14 Archerfield Speedway Jan 16 Archerfield Speedway Jan 17 Archerfield Speedway Jan 31 Pamimatta City Rwy

SREEDWAV

By DENNIS NEWLYN THE Australian Speedcar Control Council held its annual general confer ence in Sydney recently.

The conference, chaired by former Sydney speedcar star Sid Middlemass, was attend ed by delegates representing every major speedcar club in Australia.

Held over two days at the Trade Winds Hotel in the southern Sydney suburb of Maroubra, processed a num.jber of agenda items, while one of the biggest tasks at this particular conference was a_ detailed revision of the ASCC'.rule book in order to update - cr delete - some of the rules and regulations in keeping with current trends.

Also on the agenda was the ratification of next season’s Australian Speedcar Championship, while Dave Lander - representing the Australian Speedway Promoters’ Association, Parramatta and Newcastle Speedways - attended the ASCC conference and outlined details of the east coast speedcar series he plans to run next season.

Administrative positions within the Australian Speedcar Control Council remain unchanged apart from the appointment of a new National Chief Steward after long-serving National Chief Steward Peter Holland (Queensland) stood down prior to the running of last season’s Australian Speedcar Championship at the Newcastle Motordrome.

Victorian John Brown, who held the caretaker position at the Newcastle title, was offi cially appointed as the ASCC’s new National Chief Steward during the confer ence.

Meanwhile, Victorian Sam

A

4July 1997

valon gets Speedcar title

Pappa continues his three year term as ASCC President after completing his first year during the 1996/97 period.

Sydney’s John Church remains Vice-President while Western Australia’s Ron Cheli is secretary-treasurer for the next 12 months, and Keith McCallum (WA) is national technical advisor for the upcoming 1997/’98 term.

The Avalon International Raceway in Geelong, Victoria, has been allocated the 1998 Australian Speedcar Championship and will be decided over two nights February 6 and 7- while offi cial practice is set down for February 5.

One of the major topics up for discussion was the east coast speedcar series to be decided during January and February, 1998.

Dave Lander, the man responsible for putting the tournament on the road, out lined details of the series at the ASCC conference.

While some details are yet to be fully confirmed, the series will take in tracks in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland and it is envisaged the tournament will consist of up to 12 rounds.

While a full series fixture list with dates and venues has yet to be released, venues already in line for a round of the speedcar trail include Avalon Raceway (Victoria), International Wagga Raceway (NSW), Parramatta City Raceway (NSW), Newcastle Speedway(NSW) and Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway.

The likelihood of hosting a

SECURED... The future of speedcars - like those on National Champion Mike Figliomeni(on inside) and Ian Watts -looks (Photo by Brad Steele) clearer now after the successful ASCC conference in Sydney last month. round at Canberra’s Fraser pletely re-written, while Park Raceway, Nyora some sections in the rules Speedway (Victoria) and the were further clarified and Yandina l circuit in refined.

Queensland also were examOne area much in need of ined according to conference adjustment was the manner som-ces. in which the reserves for the Avalon Raceway has Australian title are deterpicked up two rounds, with '■ mined. In previous champithe first set to be decided on onships the method adopted January 10, while the other was the next-in-line round will go under the flag pointscorers from the 20 on January 31,1998. qualifying heats. This rule ASCC speedcar representahas now been amended and will be strictly determined by tives also explained that the finishing positions out of there is likely to be a perma the last chance repecharge nent contingent of ten cars event. The first and second assigned to contesting the entire series. placegetters progress One of the major items on through to the title field (as the agenda was a revamp of has been the normal proce the ASCC rule book. Some dure) however the reserves will now be the third, fourth regulations, which traced back as far as the ‘60s, were and fifth placegetters from either thrown out or cornthe repecharge.

Clark features at Rushworth

Report by SUE HOBSON Michael Clark, racing the Track Tech Motorsport Products Falcon, has taken victory in the Super Sedan feature event at the Goulbum Valley Auto Club meet ing held at Rushworth on the June 8.

The 500 metre track, with a clay mix surface, was in top condition for the heats after the previous day’s rain; Clark’s EF Falcon, powered by a 355 Cleveland V8, taking two wins and a second place in the eight lap heat racing before going on to domi nate in the feature event.

Paul Tindal, in the Motacraft Engines Ford Falcon took out victory in the first heat of the day, and went on to cross second behind Clark in his other two heats.

Graeme Forte (Forte Racecars) took two third positions in the heats with Michael Bell also scoring a third on the day.

Brad Parker, racing the Stonehouse Falcon sponsored by Freightliner Jones Trucks, crossed in fifth position in the first heat, unfortunately retir ing from the event with a blown head gasket.

When the green flag dropped in the 20 lap final, Clark led the field from flag to flag; taking the win by over half a lap from second placed Tindal.

Fode, who was holding down third, threw out the challenge to Tindal, but Tindal was able to maintain his posi tion.

A caution was triggered when Christie spun in turns three and four, Neil Witnish, (Pro Stroke Engines) backing into him as he took evasive action; both continuing when racing resumed.

Brendan King retired infield, with local driver Ron Williams also retiring with damaged front bar work. The casualty list continued with Bob Lilley’s Jet Hot Coatings Commodore suffering rear end problems and Bell front end damage after kissing the

wall.

Anthony Christie, racing the Crow Courtot took over third place and as Cams Commodore, started sixth on the laps wound down, went on the the grid but was quickly up into challenge Tindal for second. Tindal, fourth before being challenged for the who was experiencing set up problems position by Gary Courtot. Courtot. after the track went slick, was able to who was piloting his father’s hold off the challenge; however a Daylesford Truck Sales Camaro, lunge by Courtot as they crossed the looked impressive in the Final, mak- _ line almost giving him the position. ing the move under Christie before ~ The top six finishing positions were; moving up to challenge Forte for third Clark, Tindal, Courtot, Forte, Christie and Witnish. place.

Max Dumesny Motorsport agents for

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It also was agreed to increase the number of pit crew members allowed to work on their car during a red light period from two to three. Meanwhile the prac tice session prior to the Australian Speedcar Championship must be set at four hours, while the custom ary drivers meeting before the title will no longer be held during the pre-champi onship social evening, but instead prior to the first night of heats and the drivers are now allowed to bring one crew member to that meetmg.

It also was agreed that ASCC midgets can now run metal inserts on outside of wheel rim and tyre while the inflated tyre has now been increased from 82 to 83 inches.

Discussions also were held concerning the future intro duction of a transponder fit ted to each car specifically to assist in lap scoring at cham pionship events. The idea behind the move is to avoid a repeat of some of the prob lems experienced with lap counts from previous National titles.

Meanwhile engine specifi cations remain virtually unchanged. Unsupercharged powerplants for single over head cam and overhead push rod engines is 166 cubic inch es. The displacement for two stroke engines is 128.10 cubic inches, while twin overhead cam or engines with more than two valves per cylinder and rotary valve engines is 147.31 cubes.

The maximum displace ment for supercharged or tur bocharged engines - single overhead and overhead valve push rod motors- is 101.84 ci.

Meanwhile a supercharged or

turbo charged two stroke engine capacity is 94.19ci, while a rotary is 70.64 cubic inches and a twin overhead, supercharged or turbo charged powerplant is 108.32 cubic inches.

The cubic displacement for stock block engines - multi or two valve normally- aspirat ed is 166 ci. According to the ASCC,a stock block engine is defined as a factoi-y produc tion line motor for use in an on-road motor vehicle. l A direction from the Australian n Speedway Promoters Association to exclude America drivers from the Australian Speedcar Championship was over ruled by the Australian Speedcar Control Council.

The ASCC will continue to allow Americans, New Zealanders and drivers from wherever speedcar racing is conducted overseas into the title provided they fulfil the requirement - set by the ASCC - of competing in three race meetings prior to the running of the National Championship.

The ASPA also insisted that the ASCC adopt to the letter the rule book used by the United States Auto Club.

In many areas the ASCC already uses USAC rules.

“There are a couple of things that ai-e different and there are a few of oiu- regula tions that would make our cars outdated, but in the main we’re already using their rules,” ASCC President Sam Pappa told Motorsport News.

Meanwhile, this year’s con ference was one of the most intense in recent years and the end result of the two day gathering was most gratify ing according to the ASCC administration.

1997 WORLD OF OUTLAWS/SKOAL OUTLAW SERIES I. 2.

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POINT STANDINGS TO JUNE 29. 1997

Sammy Swindell Steve Kinser Dave Blaney Jac Haudenschild Andy Hillenburg Greg Hodnett Stevie Smith Danny Lasoski Johnny Herrera Joe Gaerte

5,581 I I. Jeff Swindell 5,560 12. Donny Schatz 5,532 ''13. Paul McMahan 14. Mark Kinser 5,499 15. Dion Hindi 5,309 16. Lance Blevins 5,293 5,214 17. Joey Saldana 5,187 18. Randy Hannagan 5,053 19. Marlon Jones 4,952 20. Garry Brazier

4,947 4,768 4,663 4,270 3,834 2,838 2,193 1,733 1,529 1,414

EAGLE RACEWAY- JUNE 28 A-FEATURE (40 LAPS) I. Mark Kinser ' l l. Johnny Herrera 2. Stevie Smith 12. Donny Schatz 3. Dave Blaney 13. Joe Gaerte 14. Dion Hindi 4. Andy Hillenburg 15. Lance Blevins 5. Jac Haudenschild 6. Sammy Swindell 16. Marlon Jones 7. Steve Kinser 17. Rich Bubak 18. Dan Oswalt 8. Danny Lasoski 19. Tim Baker 9. Greg Hodnett 10. Jeff Swindell 20. Gary Wright

4^ 4Mytm

SPEEDWAY

Logue’s Super Sedan Crown

Southerner downs the defending champ in Hidden Valley duel story by SUE HOBSON Pictures by CHRIS VUMBACA

Current Victorian and South Australian champion.

Peter Logue has added the ASCF Australian Super Sedan Title to his impressive list of titles.

Logue downed defending champion John Pyne after a duel which lasted for threequarters of the 40 lap final, Robert Gray was best-of-therest,in third.

Sponsored by Tennant Creek Auto Spares, the two day event at Darwin’s Northline Speedway kicked off on Friday June 20 and the track, which had undergone a $40,000 upgrade for the meeting, was in top condition for some of the best oval track racing seen this sea son.

Logue was dialled in for the event - although the week prior, when attending a practice meeting at Darwin, he broke a yoke on the tail shaft of the Penrite Oils Z28 Camaro, which in some ways did not bode well for the following week.

But on the night, the car and dri ver didn’t miss a beat.

Practice Unfortimately practice saw major problems for some top contenders, with most cars suffering overheat ing problems.

Engine problems affected teams such as John Pyne (Teterin Engines), Lyndsay Hawkings (P.E McKay), Peter Aylett (Boral Gas) and Ron Pyne (Shell-Helix/Auto One Parts & Accessories) all forced to carry out major engine work before racing began (see Briefs).

Pyne, however, went on to set the quickest unofficial time of 15.35 in practice, Logue clocking the second fastest at 15.50 with John Leslight, in the Barry Pearce-owned Murrays Race Car Parts Chev Camaro,'coming in third with a time of 15.80.

Ian Marshall, driving the Jack Brothers 364 Chev, hit the wall in practice, sustaining front end dam age, but was back on the track to complete a successful practice run before the end of the night.

Michael Doblo (Cliff & Jans Seafoods) and Bruce White (Pro Paint/Hawkeye Signs) also retired fi-om practice, Doblo with a broken diff and White when he lost the power steering in his Pontiac Firebird.

Night 1 Garry Higgs (Sontax Tools and Machinery) took the lead in the first heat, Robert Burke (Car

Lovers) moving into second with Marshall holding down third.

Marshall made the pass to take sec ond, then challenged Higgs for the lead.. Pyne however was the man on the move - starting rear of the grid, he steadily moved his way up to third.

Positions remained the same as they crossed the finishing line.

Bronte Perkins (Perkins Back Hoe Hire) pulled up high on the last lap and was a forced retirement for the night with a broken diff. Higgs had set a new 12 lap record of 3:23.61, smashing over 14 seconds from the previous record.

Heat two went to Logue, who took the lead when the green flag fell. Kingsley Jones (Double Glazing Australasia) ran second with Aylett initially holding down third. However, Aylett, who was experiencing mechanical problems, fell back through the field, giving Terry Keichstein (Tennant Ta^xi Trucks) third across the line.

Logue, finished in impressive style, setting a new 12 lap time of 3:15.81, taking over 7 seconds off the previous heat’s short-lived record.

Two complete restarts were need ed before racing was underway in the third heat. Bert Vosbergen

Two complete restarts were required in heat 5 before racing finally got underway. Reichstein and Hawkings were involved in the first incident - Hawkings retiring from the heat with a badly bent front end. The second saw Steven Murphy (Polgreen Earthmoving),

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The driver is only halfthe reason the car gets across thefinish line - Peter Logue

Peter Logue looked the man most likely to challenge incumbent champion John Pyne, and that’s how it panned out, Logue (right) and his Camaro (above)setting ' themselves up with two early heat wins.

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(Shell/Red Dog Beer/Tyrepower) took the lead, his victory never in doubt as he crossed the line over a quarter of a lap in front of Wayne Russell, and only 0.37 seconds slow er than the new 12 lap record. John Brown (Jones Race Cams/Max Dumesny Hoosier Tyres) crossed in third.

John Pyne took the early lead for the fourth heat, going on to set another new 12 lap record in a time of 3:14.59. Harper made the pass on the outside of Burke down the back straight to take second, with Marshall moving down the inside for third. A lunge by Marshall around the outside of Harper for second as they came out of turn 4 to take the flag brought the crowd to its feet. Harper just holding off the challenge to take the position behind Pyne.

Higgs and Jones involved, Higgs suffering damage to the power steering box.

Steve Stewart (Dry Creek Wreckers), who had taken the lead before each caution, again led the field, with Reichstein moving under Doblo to take over second. Murphy made the same move on Doblo sev eral laps later, with Jones following him through, Jones coming under Murphy on the last lap to take over third.

Heat 6 produced some of the most spectacular racing of the night. Logue took the lead, only to be challenged by Brown, who made a sensational move around the high line to take the lead, Robert Gray (Euro Engines) holding down third with Leslight fourth.

Aylett was still suffering from mechanical woes and as Brown

ian Marshall and Robert Gray were part of the big scrap for third on the night.

came up to put him a lap down, Logue made up the distance which Brown had pulled out. Brown took the high line around Aylett and Logue the low line, and as they made the pass, Logue reclaimed the lead, taking the win over Brown and Gray.

Vosbergen, who had pulled up high on the track, had stripped the spline in the steering shaft.

Pyne led the field in heat 7 from flag to flag. However his lap times were growing towards the high 17s and it was evident he was having mechanical problems. Burke made a lunge across the fine on the final lap but Pyne was able to hold out the challenge and take the win with Murphy finishing third. Pyne’s problems were serious - a split bore in his second engine.

Marshall took the lead in the Heat 8 with Gray in second. White passed under Brown for third with Vosbergen and Russell having a fantastic duel for fifth. Gray was unable to make the pass on Marshall for the win, however Brown and White were side by side for an entire lap with Brown regaining third position as they crossed the line.

Vosbergen was still experiencing steering problems, while Hawkings

missed the heat, still working on the front end damage received pre viously.

Unfortunately, with the track extremely dry, the final heat saw only 4 cars finish. Two restarts were effected before racing started, the casualties being Reichstein, who was required to do a complete suspension rebuild after kissing the wall, and Logue, with fuel prob lems.

When racing resumed, Leslight took the lead. Higgs made a move around Harper in turn 3 to take over second, Harperi then looping the Camaro and finding himself running at the rear.

Aylett spun in turn 2 sustaining a broken left front shock hiount.

Final placings were: Leslight, Higgs (despite steering problems), Harper and Jones.

Night 2.

At the completion of Night 1, John Pyne held an 8 point lead over Marshall, but the leader spent the rest of the overnight break rebuild ing,his first motor - now onto his third for the Title weekend.

White took the lead in the first heat of the night, but triggered a caution after clipping the wall, the Firebird toeing out to the right with

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lj^®0®[7S[p®DlO a bent lower control arm.

When racing resumed, Gray made a move underneath Marshall to take the lead. Marshall then clipped the wall In turn 3 breaking a right front stub axle and steering arm.

Vosbergen was on the move and slid under Hawkings to take over second position with final placings being Gray, Vosbergen and Hawkings.

Aylett took the lead in Heat 2 after driving the low line under Murphy. Logue was the big mover, however, driving the high line to ' make the pass on Higgs, John Pyne and Biirke to take over third posi tion behind Murphy. Pyne had made the pass on Burke and was closely tailing Logue.

Aylett washed high in turn 1 and slowed right off allowing Murphy to take the lead. A caution was trig gered with 6 laps remaining when Higgs sustained a broken front end.

When racing resumed, Murphy again took the lead crossing in first with Logue second and Pyne in third.

The third heat for the night saw Harper take the lead after driving around A1 Starling (GMAC Financiers). Leslight made the pass on Starling in the front straight with Reichstein taking over third in the back straight.

A yellow was triggered when Darryl Lawson (Kununurra 4WD Spares) broke a right lower control ann and was forced infield. A one lap dash to the finish saw Harper and Leslight side-by-side around turn 4 with Leslight just putting his nose in front as the chequered flag fell, with Jones making the pass on Reichstein to take third.

Russell took the lead in Heat 4.

Higgs was in second, with Gray moving under Aylett to take third when Aylett, who was still experi encing fuel problems, stopped on the track. Ron Pyne and Brown were left with no racing room and there was contact, Pyne retiring with a flat left I'ear.

When racing resumed the front positions were unchanged although Gray washed high coming out of turn 2 with only 3 laps to go, Brown moving up to take the position.

Russell set the fastest lap time on lap 7 In a time of 15.47.

Heat 5 saw Jones take the lead from Vosbergen with John Pyne moving through the field to take third, then second and continued

Defending champion John Pyne ied the finai in the early stages and put up a strong fight before bowing to Logue’s pace.

in^ infield with a cut down tyre) his fantastic form to pressure Jones allowed Pyne to regain the lead. for the lead.

Gray was holding down third, Logue made his championship-win ning move under Pyne in turn 4 to being pressured by Logue with On the final lap, Jones and Pyne came out of turn 4 side-by-side, Harper, Jones, Leslight, Russell, take the lead, both cars moving away from Gray who was holding Jones talung the high line and the Brown and Vosbergen all in line down a clear third.. behind. win over Pyne with White third The yellow flag flew with only Logue made a pass under Gray in from Leslight. Jones set a new 12 the back straight to move up into three laps more raced. Higgs had lap record in a time of 3:14.55. hit the wall between turns 1 and 2, The final heat for the night went third and then, with 34 laps with Doblo backing into him. Doblo to Harper who led the field from remaining, again made a move was able to continue but Higgs was down the back straight, this time flag to flag. Marshall held second out. moving under Marshall for second. with Logue pressuring Reichstein On the green, Logue again A caution was triggered with 29 for third, making the pass under moved away. Gray was trying to laps to go when Russell spun into him in the front straight. come rmder Pyne in turn 4 but was Reichstein looped the Camaro in the infield on turn 4. At the same unable to make it. Doblo again .time, Vosbergen lost an axle and turn 1 causing a restart. was a forced retirement. wept into the wall, this time dam Harper again led the field with Pyne hit the lead when racing aging his gearbox sufficiently to Marshall in second and Logue third. However Logue backed off resumed, but Logue was close by in force him infield.

With 14 laps to go, Pyne was stiU with 4 laps to go, sporting a broken second, with Gray challenging Marshall for third. Jones was still pressuring Logue, trying to come right axle.

Final placings were Harper, holding down fifth, with Harper. under him in turns 1 and 2. Pyne Marshall and Hawkings.

Leslight, Brown, Higgs, Stewart, however also had to contend with Gray, now close behind him.

Burke and Reichstein fighting for Pole Shuffle Logue began to move away, setposition.

19 cars lined up for the pole shuf A second caution was triggered.^ ting up what was to be nearly a halflap gap at the finish. fle, Reichstein being a non-starter two laps later when Russell and Further back, Leslight was try Hawkings collided in the front with a brol^en rear suspension com straight. Both retired for the night, ing under Marshall in turns 3 and 4 ponent. ^ but was still unable to make the White'moved from 17th to 15th Hawkings sporting a flat left rear. while Vosbergen moved from 14th When the race went green again, pass. to 12th. However the master of the Pyne once more took the lead with With a quarter of the race left to go, Logue had stretched out his high line was Gray who had quali Logue immediately putting him under pressure, driving the high lead to over a quarter of a lap from fied seventh and moved up to third before being black flagged for jump line In an attempt to entice Pyne Pyne and Gray, who were still ing the start. up the track so he could make a vying for second position. Harper was in fourth with Marshall, move underneath.

Gray clocked the quickest 1 lap time of 15.73.

At the same time, there was Leslight, Brown and Stewart all nothing between the cars of racing together for position.

Final Leslight lost ground when he Marshall, Gray and Jones, who drove onto the infield in turn 4.

When the green flag fell in the 40 were all racing for third spot. lap feature event, John Pyne took Leslight was also putting the putting himself behind Stewart before he could rejoin. the lead going into turn 1 but pressure on Harper, driving the Marshall took the outside run com Positions continued unchanged high line, with Reichstein trying to as the laps wound out, Logue tak ing out of turn 2 to take the lead on come under Burke further back in ing a convincing win of over Pyne the back straight. the field.

However Marshall kissed the With 19 laps remaining (Jones followed by Gray, Harper, wall in turn 2 on the next lap which having pulled high in turn 4, retir- Marshall, Brown, Stewart.

Leslight, Burke, White and Murphy.

Post-race, Logue credited his crew with their share of the victory: “You know the driver is only half the reason the car gets across the finish line - the other 50% is due to the crew and these boys have really worked hai’d for this.’

Logue also paid tribute to his powerplant, the 365 Chev engine Race built by Engine Developments: “The car came on The committee is looking for a The club committee plans to stronger at the end of the feature,” more water-absorbent clay than reshape and resurface the track he said. the material used in its present for the 1997-98 season, “We were pretty confident after track. If the car park clay is suit The existing surface was criti Practice on Thursday night and able, it will constitute a convenient cised last season by visiting offi vanning the first two heats proba and economic supply. cials and drivers, including bly really helped too.

“It would be a bit of a bonus,” Sprintcar Control Council of “We had a reaUy positive attitude Nicolson mused, “Whether we Australia president George and I think that helps when you’re actually end up using it is another Tatnell. racing against this class of competi thing. There’s clay everywhere. It’s Speaking after a unanimous tion. just a matter getting what we committee decision in April to “We’ve had a really good year in want.” alter the track, Nicolson foreVictoria this year, but I was anx Nicolson said he had been shadowed reductions in the bankious to get in amongst some of the “scouting around” since the and of ing. big names just to see how fast the the 1996-97 racing season, with “At the moment the high line is car was really going. It’s great to local road'cuttings becoming more aTot faster than the low line,” he know that we could be competitive than a passing interest. ,said. “That’s definitely been a with these drivers.”

Two weeks ago he noticed clay consideration to try to take the This was the fourth Australian on a cutting at the Premier (speed)edge off it a bit.

Title Logue had competed in and he Speedway car park entrance.

The cost of the track modificawas quick to praise the track.

After reporting his findings to tions is expected to run into tens “Naturally, I think the track was in the committee, a dig was organised of thousands of dollars, great condition. I mean, I won so samples could be taken.

- GEOFF ROUNDS what else can I say?” n

There's clay in them thar Carparks A TWO-MONTH search for a suitable clay reserve with which to resurface Premier Speedway’s quarter mile track has led officials to a source - in their own backyard.

Premier racing director Jamie Nicolson revealed last week a pock et of clay had been discovered in the speedway’s western car park.

“It’s been sitting under our nose,” Nicolson said. “We’ve been looking here, there and everywhere and it’s been here all the time.

‘Your gut feeling tells you, yeah, it’s not bad stuff. It didn’t have any rubbish (foreign material) in it to start with. It was a red-grey clay, it looked good and felt good.”

Laboratory tests will provide a more scientific analysis for the pre mier Speedway Club committee, with results expected next week.

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Noterkooi n A1 Starling and his wife were determined to take out an each-way bet In the Calcutta. AI bought Peter Logue and his vfife John Pyne(having to part with quite a considerable amount of money to do so, these two drivers topping the bidding). By the end of the night’s racing, however, Al was laughing, -with an invest ment which turned quite a con siderable profit. n Ron Pyne did not have a successful run over the entire weekend.

His problems began when he spun a bearing in practice, which resulted in a complete motor rebuild over night.

However, he was still dogged with oil pump problems and missed the first night’s racing.

With the car looking strong on the second night of racing, he was forced to retire from his first heat with a magneto problem and the second heat with a flat left rear. n Wa3me Russell was driving an immaculate brand new 1995 Pontiac Firebird, the building of which commenced only 8 weeks ago.

Russell, perhaps more renowned for his efforts behind the wheel of a V8 touring car, has already taken out second position in the NSW Super Sedan State Title in his rookie year as a Super Sedan driver.

H Defending Title holder, John Pyne, racing the Teterin Engines sponsored Camaro. had his 366 Chev grab a valve when preparing for scrutmeering.

His crew however had a new engine in place for practice, Pyne going on to set the quickest unof ficial time on the night. n The PRE McKay Iroc Camaro of Lyndsay Hawkings also suffered major problems in practice when it dropped a rod.

Hawkings, who had the week before successfully defended the Queensland title, was able to lease a motor from Ian Marshall for the event and was out on the track for the first rovmd of heats the following night. n Peter Aylett(Boral Gas), one of the leading Tasmanian entries, took a lobe off the camshaft in the practice session.

The crew had pulled the motor down by 2am,and had it rebuilt and ready for racing by 3pm the following afternoon. n Robert Gray, behind the wheel of the Euro Engines and family-sponsored Chev 1995 Pontiac Ti-ans Am was so impressed with his first run on practice night, that he put the car straight back into the trailer, not setting another foot on the track until race night. n Whoever said racing was not educational, obviously doesn’t know the benefits of Super Sedan racing.

Tasmanian driver, Neville Harper, was i-equired to report back to the Forest State School every two days and was the sub ject of an Australian Geography lesson - an interesting school project!

- SUE HOBSON

4S 4July 1997

sXo.

Briefly Historic...

For the past two years a gi'oup of Historic racing and sports cai' buffs has been meeting once a month for a dinner at one of Bendigo’s famous old pubs - the Gold Mines.

For something a little dif ferent, John Lawton (the man behind the gathering) decided to run a layback ti-easure hunt on June 22 to give owners a chance to use the cars they keep talking about and to prove they’re notjust figments of the imagination.

On a chilly Sunday morn ing the event started at the foot of the Mt. Tarrengower hillclimb with coffee and final instructions, and pro ceeded through Maldon to Newstead, Maryborough and Dunolly, finally arriv ing ISOkms later at David and Janet Seath’s Brewery Fann at Newbridge.

There was a tie for the inaugural “Maldon to Newbridge Classic” trophy between Neville Roberts and Peter Whalley so a dummy spitting competition was held to decide the ulti mate winner. Real dummies (liberally doused in red) were used as the crowd gathered around the fire to cheer on the two protago nists, and after a practice spit and the best of two out of three, it was Neville Roberts who emerged the narrowest of winners.

There was a nice mix of old and collectable cars including Porsche, Mercedes, several early MGs and a rare Lancia Flaminia.

Amongst the enthusiasts present was David Price who spent 1953 as a techni cal engineer with the British Connaught racing team. David related some good stories of his time in England - as he was the only member of the team who was able to weld, his expertise was much in demand.

“In those days racing was very amateurish, compared to the multi million dollar budgets of today,” he said.

“I remember we tried nego tiating for two hundred pounds per car starting money. At the time Ferrari was being paid a thousand pounds per car, but we weren’t always successful in our attempts.

“When Prince Bira drove for us, we had a better chance of getting the start ing money, but it was hard going. Our other driver that year was Roy Salvadori, and part-owner of Connaught Ken McAlpine also shared the drives.”

1953 saw Connaught enter openwheelers in the new Formula Two voiturette class, and David Price recalled some good performances on home soil, although the British team was less successful on the continent.

However it was in 1957 that Connaught achieved its greatest dream when Tony Brooks won the Syracuse GP against the might of Maserati, the race favourites. It was the first time a British car and British driver had won a Grand Prix since 1924 when

Henry Segrave scored for Sunbeam in the San Sebastian GP. According to David Price there wasn’t much money around in 1953. There was even less in 1959 when the company was forced into liquidation - but not before earning itself an important place in motor racing historyn The Victorian Historic Racing Register ran an event with a difference on Sunday,Jvme 15 when more than 80 members and friends enjoyed a leisurely drive to the home of Biyan and Loel Thomson at Historic “Noorilim” near Murchison.

“Noorihm” was originally a squatting run taken up in 1840, and was then acquired in 1870 by William Winter-Irving. These days it houses “Thommo’s” toys and Loel’s antiques and magnificent costinne collec tion, which currently fea tures a special exhibition titled “Between the Wars 1918 to 1945.”

Bryan thrilled the male members of the party by fir ing up several of his old motorcycles and showing off his car collection in his beautifully restored coach house.

Everyone enjoyed a picnic lunch, wandered around the grounds and inspected the National Trust classified house, and most went home with a bottle oflast year’s wine after samphng some of the local product.

It was a great family day, and could well set the pat tern for more such runs by the VHRA.It also raised $400 which will be donated to charity. n Also on the weekend of July 5-6, the CAMS State Series will be held at Calder Park to which members of the VHRR have been invit ed. The meeting is organ ised by the Marque Sports Car Club, and further infor mation can be obtained by phoning Ian Tate on (03) 9818 8406. n Vale: One of Victoria’s keenest and most active motor sports enthusiasts and collectors, Richard Ralph passed away on Queen’s Birthday weekend, age 59 years.

Although he never raced, he loved his cars and included in his stable was the ex-Jack Davey lOOS Healey, the ex-Tom Hawkes/Ian McDonald J2 Allard and the Aston Martin ZagatoTormerly campaigned by Doug Whiteford.

He also owned the ex-Rod Murphy MG A,(Rod occa sionally drove his J2 Allard), and at one stage had the only D-Type Jaguar XK SS to come to Australia.

A son of well known Melbomne butchers, J.H. Ralph and Sons, Richard grew up around the Armadale area and spent some considerable time with Bill Clemens, another keen motoring enthusiast.

His passing is a great loss, and we extend our con dolences to his family.

-BRIAN REED

OLDIES, GOODIES... Group N cars like Chris Ralph’s and Ian Robertson’s Cortinas, and Dave Beveridge’s Mini, will fea ture at this weekend’s Lakeside Historic meeting.

(Photo by Peter Schell)

Group N heads lakeside Historic attractions NEWS from Queensland is that 200 entries have been received for the HSRCA (Qld.) Historic Lakeside meeting to be held on July 5-6.

According to Linda Jonathan there has been “wonderful support” from Victoria, especially in the sports car ranks, and NSW and the ACT is also well represented.

Thirty-eight events have been sched uled, and the main feature race will be for Group N cars - the Jack Lacey Memorial Trophy in memory of the

founding president of the club.

As well as scratch races there will be lots of regularity events, and “some lit tle gems” have been entered for these.

Where possible, drivers will be matched with the cars they raced yesteryear, and during the Sunday lunch break there will be a Grand Parade of competing cars.

It’s going to be a wonderful festival of racing, with all the Historic cars gath ered together on the inside, and upwards of fifty single marque clubs

displaying their vehicles on the outside of the circuit. A special perpetual trophy will be awarded to the club judged the best display.

This meeting will celebrate Lakeside’s 20th year - an important landmark in the history of the circuit.

The other big event is the Leyburn around-the-houses sprints which is part of Queensland’s build-up to 1999 for the 50th anniversary of the Australian Grand Prix raced at Leyburn in 1949.

-BRIAN REED

What now for Stormin’ Norman?

By BRIAN REED NORM Beechey, Australia’s first tin top folk hero, is developing more than a passing interest in Historic motor sport, and is at present in England taking in the excitement of Goodwood’s Speed Week with wife Margaret.

These days “Stormin’ Norman” is having a lot of fun in his former Australian Toinring Car Champion ship winning Chewy (right) and because of his passion for the big American iron,is especially interest ed in the featured marque this year at Goodwood - Jim HaU’s Chaparral.

Don’t be surprised if Norm engages in a bit of buying din-ing the trip.

i

WAGGA’S Laurie Knight has an interesting car for sale - and an equaUy inter esting sale proposition for a prospective buyer. l He has decided it’s time to quit some of his cars, adding that he didn’t mind when his friends brought out the egg timer as he drove around the circuits, but really got the message when they produced the calendar!

Laurie has a Lotus 23 lookalike for sale which was built

by Bob Britten of Rennmax fame when the Geoghegans imported their first ’23 in 1963. As importers of Lotus cars and, to ensure they could keep the car running, Britten completely stripped the car and built up a set of jigs and patterns, and the Laurie Knight car was the first chassis built to ensure their accuracy.

The result was a very com-

Life begins at 23..

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£ petitive sports car (similar to Murray Bryden’s 23, above) which, according to Knight was “born out of the Geoghegan 23.”

The car has a current Group M logbook, and the price is $55,000 but....

Laurie is prepared to accept part payment now and

the rest over time in order to help someone get into the sport. It’s a good proposition, and Laurie Knight can be contacted on (069)253 237.

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For the last five years the Earl of March has annually thrown open his Goodwood estate to the world’s finest racing cars. The 1997event was the best yet...

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FIE fifth Goodwood Festival of Speed was held last week with another truly spectacular array of cars, motorcycles, drivers and riders.

Among those competing in Goodwood Park this year were Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Sir Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jodi Scheckter, Phil Flill, Barry Sheene, Freddie Spencer, Patrick Tambay, Chris Amon, Derek Bell, Flans Stuck, Jim Flail, Carroll Shelby, Jonathan Palmer and Bob Bondurant.

In the paddock there were no less than two Auto Unions, the 1937/39 VI6 European mountain climb car and the 1936 VI6 type C Grand Prix car.

The mountain car last ran in August 1939 and was specially prepared for its re appearance at the Festival of Speed where this sensational car was driven by Hans Stuck Jnr, who father used to race it.

Also notable was the pres ence of three Chaparrals from Jim Halls’s base in Texas, an unprecedented collection of Ferraris to celebrate the mar que’s 50th anniversary (including the Frank Williamsowned Ferrari 641 FI car), the Mercedes-Benz W125 Avus streamliner and a 1996 Penske Indycar, complete with its original driver...

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and agility of some of the Aspectacular Formula One selection cars with of world’s greatest world chamFord Cosworth^VS engines pionship motorcycles, celebrated the 30th anniver Away from the track the sary of Jim Clark’s victory at Festival of Speed featured Zandvoort in'the Lotus pow- the increasingly prestigious ered by the original Cosworth Cartier Style et Luxe for preFI engine. war coachbuilt cars, the rally John Surtees again staged Stage which this year has a spectacular motorcycle / been re-designed by British event, this year bringing rally star Robbie Head, Sheene, Spencer, Read, Supercar and Superbike disKenny Roberts, Agostini and plays and, in the air the Red Sammy Miller to Goodwood Arrows, as well as the RAF to demonstrate the power Tornado and Harrier.

"I World Championship title. , This experience was put to H good use in later years as j navigator in the most *1 important open road race in motor racing history - the Mille Miglia.

After partnering George Abecassis in an HWMJaguar in the 1954 race, Jenks was recruited by Stirling Moss to accompany him in the 1955 event in a works-entered MercedesBenz 300SLR. Jenk’s use of detailed notes written onto a 15-foot roller map was instrumental as they won at a record speed of nearly 98mph.

Jenks rode his own Tribsa’ sprint motorcycle in the first Goodwood Festival of Speed in 1993 and became a great supporter of the event.

In his last public appear ance - at the 1995 Festival

Another feature was that “Jenks” as he was unithe Friday opening of versally known throughout this year’s Goodwood, the motor racing and vinFestival of Speed was tage, historic and classic named “Jenks’s Day” in aid car world, became a legend of charity and in memory of for over 40 years as longContinental Denis Jenkinson the doyen serving of British motor racing writ- Corresp-ondent of the ers who died last monthly ‘Motor Sport’ magazine.

November aged 75.

In his will Jenks asked As passenger to brilliant his executors to organise a rider Eric Oliver, Jenks wake for his friends and shared the 1949 Sidecar acquaintances to enjoy.

TOP: The Earl of March’s driveway isjust like yours and mine, except ours is not 1100m and doesn’t feature Johnny Herbert burning out a Lotus 72...

LEFT: The most fascinating part of the weekend is the number of ‘real’ drivers who are reunited with their cars. That is really Emmo in his 1996 Penske-Mercedes while (below) Jody Scheckter gets to work in his 1979 championshipwinning Ferrari 312.

RIGHT: Stirling Moss Just had to be there. Here he shares a giggle with Mr and Mrs Hans Stuck, present to drive ‘papa’s’ Auto Union.

of at Goodwood he Speed and Moss were reunited with their Mille Miglia-winning factory MercedezBenz for the first time in 40 years.

The weekend was a wonderful mix of the old and the new and the sixth Gopdwood promises to be just as great. Start planning those Frequent Flyer points now...

4S 4July 1997 SHANE Beikoff and Chris Kidd led the way in the action pack supports for Lakeside’s Shell ATCC round on June 15.

The drivers dominated the racing in HQs and Geminis respectively in a day punctuat ed by several large accidents.

Action packed Lakeside Ciub CarS

Justin Wade created histo ry when he put his flying Escort RS2000 on pole posi HQ Holdens tion for the Club Car events, Shane Beikoff was in class of ^ becoming the first person to his own in the taxi cab class, put a 2 htre car in the num wiiming both completed ber one gi'id spot as well as events by big margins and being the first Club Car to lap Lakeside in xmder a minute. holding a 2.5s lead in the third race before it was aban Despite his heroics on doned.

Saturday, Wade had to play As expected from this second fiddle to Stephen entry level category, there Thompson’s thundering 5 was plenty of carnage back litre Commodore in the open in the pack in all three ing race on Sunday. events.

With superior acceleration Starting from the outside from the fine, Thompson out from row on each occasion, gunned Wade at the start and Beikoff was able to skip clear led the opening lap. of his pursuers with sm'prisThe race was red flagged on ing ease. lap 2 when Lloyd Bax In round five of the state slammed his GTHO Falcon championship series, Beikoff into the armco near Dunlop finished ahead of polesitter Bridge after hiring an oil Rod Dawson, Dale Youd, patch.

Gary Bonwick, Jamie Thompson out-gunned Cartwright, Tony Shanks Wade again at the restart and and Barry McNamara. remained in control through Super Touring car ace to the finish.

Wayne Wakefield enjoyed A gaggle of rotary Mazda’s mixed fortunes as a replace filled the minor placings with ment for Tony Cross in the Graham Hutchison’s RX7 fin AutoOne entry, charging ishing third ahead of Simon through the field into sixth ODeUFontana (RX3), Marcus after starting 11th before a Marshall (RX4), Anthony big lose in Hungry Comer on Dunn (RX3), Justin Keys lap 5 dropped him back down (RX3) and Warwick Penfold the order.

(RX7).

The second event was can

IT 1/IMS CLOSE... at the start of the HQ races. But Shane Beikoff(leading) was untouchable on thew day. (Photos by Marshall cass) t

Wade’s history making efforts continued in the sec ond outing when he became the first ever 2 litre competi tor to score a race win in the division.

Thompson got the best pf the start once again, only to have Wade storm down the inside as they entered the main straight at the end of

the opening lap.

Running consistently in the 58 second bracket, Wade cleared away from Thompson to establish a lead of more than 3 seconds.

O’Dell-Fontana finished third on this occasion after a race long scrap with Hutchison. Marshall and Dunn were next best, fol-

celled after just 2 laps of rac ing when Clinton Boughen and Rodney Midolo made contact in the kink and went skating across the grass towards the tyre wall and the parked Car of Ron Lovi.

Lovi’s car copped the full force of the impact from Boughen and was extensive ly damaged in the from and rear after bouncing off the fence.

Beikoff was untroubled in taking out the final event, leading home Bonwick, Cartwright, 'McNamara, Wakefield, Youd and Andrew Simpson in the 8 lap trophy race.

lowed by Phil Corbett’s Datsun 1600, Derek Purkiss (Mazda RX3)and Penfold.

Holden Geminis Chris Kidd utterly out classed a full field of challerigers to claim three wins from as many starts in the Gemini events.

Starting from pole position on each occasion, Kidd’s only challenge came in the final event when Scott DaiTa was able to wrest the lead for a sohtary lap.

In round 5 of the Queensland Championship series, Ki'dd cleared away from a tightly bunched pack to increase his lead in the points.

Darra filled the runner-up berth ahead of Cole Parker, Craig Yates, Shane Melton, OUCH... Phillip Corbett’s Datsun 1600 gets it all wrong in Hungry while under attack from Anthony Dunn’s Mazda RX-3.

Sam M2

Bradley Searle, Craig English, Shane Bradford, Jason Higgs and former Sprintcar peddler Greg Vink.

TTie second race was almost a carbon copy of the earlier contest with Kidd once again leading all the way ahead of Daira.

English outpaced Parker into third on this occasion, with Yates, Searle, Melton and Chris Donnelly next in line. lain Corness, making a one off return to the Gemini ranks after moving up to Sports Sedans last season, and Willie Taylor completed the top ten.

Kidd again proved too strong in the 5 lap scratch race after overcoming DaiTa’s early challenge.

English executed a sensa tional last comer pass to snatch second from Darra, with Yates, Parker, Melton and Donnelly running four abreast to the chequer.

- CHRIS METCALF

t

1

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FORMER Bathurst winner Brian Sampson in his Dallara 393 scored two victories at Calder to shoot up to second in the 1997 Australian Formula

Two Championship.

Despite the best efforts of Graham Blee and Chas Jacobson, Sampson held onto the victory in both races, with Blee taking two seconds, while David Bruce in a Reynard finished third in both events.

Race 1 (10 laps) Sampson held pole from Jacobson and Blee, but seconds before the fights turned green, Wayne Ford on grid number four, leapt away, then stopped.

Steam began to billow from the car and, after the field had left (being led by Jacobson) the Leyton House blue Ralt was pushed along side the pitwall. Ford’s race over.

Out in front Jacobson led from Sampson, these two quickly putting a gap between themselves and third placed Graham Blee. Behind, Bruce led Black, Choon, and Carrig.

The Sampson Dallara closed in on Jacobson over the ensuing laps and, when the nose of the Dallara was right with the Reynard’s gear box, Jacobson’s work was cut out to keep it that way.

As these two diced for the lead and precious championship points, Blee closed. Coming onto the Simoco Front Straight for the end of lap six Sampson got a much bet ter run, gaining a tow on his rival although,just when it seemed that Sampson would pass on the right, Jacobson moved across until Sampson found himself with no track to race on but vegetation.

This moment slowed both dri vers, and Blee challenged, although the top two successfully defended their positions.

For the next two laps, Sampson had the better run off Century Batteries Last Turn but couldn’t quite find the inside line necessary to take the position. It was obvious that Jacobson wouldn’t leave that door open, so Sampson continued to apply the pressure, hoping that the #87 machine would find its way off

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JACO AND SAMBO... Chas Jacobsen tried hard but he couldn’t stop Brian Sampson winning. (Phoio by oirk Ktysmith) the circuit.

It duly did on the last lap, Jacobson going off at Repco, allow ing Sampson to continue on his way to victory, followed by Blee, Bruce, a recovering Jacobson, Black and Choon.

Race 2 (20 laps)

The dice between Sampson and Jacobson in race one wouldn’t be repeated in race two, when J acobson jumped the start, necessi-

tating a stop-go penalty.

This time it was Blee that got the lead and ran for it, quickly building a 1.5 second gap.

Following his stop-go, Jacobson found himself in 12th, and with a lot of work over the next 19 laps.

Blee, Sampson, and Ford moved away from the rest of the field, and on lap 10, Sampson made a chal lenge on Blee.

Aided by lapped traffic, he took the place and breezed off into the

distance. The traffic hampered Blee, and allowed Ford to close.

As the last lap began. Ford’s car began to lose speed in a major way, and Jacobson was catching, fast!

Sampson ended up the winner, with Blee taking a well-deserved second.

Bruce rounded out the top three, with Jacobson just failing to catch an ailing Ford. Black, Anderson and Choon were next home.

-AARON NOONAN

4Jufym/

Carless dominates Commodore Cup Report by AARON NOONAN STEVE Carless was dominant in the third round of the 1997 ROH Commodore Cup, taking pole position for race one by a mar gin of 1.2s, and winning race one.

He seemed certain to win race two as well - until on the approach to the final comer, his gearbox cried enough.

This year the Commodore Cup has introduced the TEX Racing Super T-10 4-speeder to replace the unreliable Supra 5-speed example.

Carless had elected to stick with the Supra box due to the ratios being more suited to the Calder circuit..

This was the factor which handed the second race to Tasmanian Dean Crosswell.

Carless won pole with a time almost 2.5s faster than Ian Wood’s 1995 lap record. Crosswell filled the other front row position, while David Gittus and defending Champion Gary Baxter lined up from row two. Completing the top ten were Knight, McKenzie, Halliday, Platt, Mclnnes, and Parker.

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BUT NOT FOR LQN,G...

Current Australian Champion Gary Baxter(1) had the lead fora short time but Carless was not going to be stopped by anyone - until his gearbox faiied on the final lap.

(Photo by Dirk Kiynsmith)

Race 1 (12 Saps)

The 32 cars blasted away for race one, with Baxter taking early control but, by the end of one lap.

Carless had hit the lead.

After a run-in with the wall in the warm-up, David Sala had made the field and ran just outside the top 10.

Carless led from Baxter, Platt, Mann (from 12th on the grid) and Crosswell. The big Holdens took a little time to build some heat in both the tyres and brakes, and the opening few laps saw many, shall we say, interesting moments for all.

Whilst the rest of the field was tightly bunched Carless had extend ed his lead to 1.7s and a battle between for third between Platt and Crosswell had been settled in favour of the latter.

As the track began to form a dry line. Carless simply moved away, and by lap 7, had stretched his lead to just under 6.5. Back in the field, Geoff Emery and John Mann had an altercation at turn one, with Mann coming off the worst, drop ping to 21st.

The lapped traffic wasn’t fazing Carless and he did as he pleased to take The victory by nine seconds over Baxter, Crosswell, Platt, Mclnnes, Emery, Knight, Wilkinson, D’Agostin, and Parker.

Race 2(12 laps) Now with a bone dry circuit, ''●Carless was swamped off the fine

and had been quickly dispatched down to fourth place after just one lap.

Crosswell led from Gittus, and Knight. Baxter had made a flyer, challenging Carless into turn one, when Baxter on the outside, glanced off his rival’s left rear end into the

grass, resuming back in 14th.

Crosswell was pushing hard to establish a lead, while Gittus fol lowed closely.

Behind, Carless was doing at a fast rate of knots, and passed Gittus at the start of lap five. Both he and Crosswell were using the kerbs hke they were going out of fashion, pai'ticularly the ones through the BMW Fhp Flop on the back straight.

Carless was getting impatient and, on lap eight, he moved through and he began to inch away, as Crosswell fell into the clutches of Gittus and Knight.

Just when positions seemed set tled, Carless slowed on the approach to the final corner, his gamble with running the Supra gearbox having failed.

Crosswell inherited the lead and the win, followed by Gittus, Knight, Platt, Parker, Mclnnes, and McKenzie. Little consolation for Carless was the fact that he had smashed the lap record on lap three.

The rubber marks down the side of Carless’ Commodore bore testa ment to the close racing that the series offers.

or not

by AARON NOONAN CALDER Park’s two Sports Sedan races came down to who had the right car for the condi tions.

It was Wayne Park in the Colonrscan Mazda who triumphed in a damp race one, while former Australian Champion Kerry Daily’s Toyota Supra took race two.

Race 1 (10 laps)

The 12 car field for race one were confronted with a damp Calder lay out and, as expected, the

green light mes wheelspin fi whose right depressed with Mick Monten Escort made c better starts w Morcom in tl: made one of th« Daily slotted Monterosso, order changed first lap as the Tasmanian pushed his way through to the lead.

Steven Voight in the ex-John Driggs Honda Prelude sat next, with Dob Jolly and Park dic ing behind. *

HEAVY METAL... Mick Monterosso’s Escort (left) and Kerry Bally’s Supra went at it hard in both races. (Photos by ark xiynsmuh) Daily quickly asserted himself and it was Monterosso who made the mistake while trying to keep in touch, running off at Shell on lap two,

HEATING UP... Ron Newbound’s Mazda shows its rotary ancestry with a neat flame-out. i

losing four positions, As Daily extended his lead, the dice between Jolly and Park got very interesting the duo showing tremendous faith in each other and their machines snaking their way down the front half of the main straight.

Dy lap seven Daily was in tyre trouble and Park, on several occasions, held the better line com ing off the corner.

Park got by with two laps to go and Daily had a worrying moment in the latter stages as the Saab of Mike Imrie, which he was approach ing to lap, became sud denly attracted to the wall on the inside of the start of the main straight.

Luckily for Daily, Imrie and the pursuing dri vers, no metal met metal,

all and emerged unscathed. Imrie contin ued on to ninth place.

Park crossed the line in front, with JoUy filling second after passing Daily.

Voight, Monterosso, Newbound’s Mazda, Wilson’s Escort and Smith’s Skyline fol lowed while Morcom’s Falcon was a non-finish er after rotating into the waU after seven laps.

Race 2 (10 laps)

Race one winner Park was swamped off the start, while Daily, Monterosso and Voight blasted past.

Monterosso took up the reins from the start, the following drivers hoping for a mistake which slowed him in the first race. The Escort driver had no such ideas in his mind, and began to pull

away from Daily and Voight.

Park was struggling in the now dry conditions , as Jolly found himself in fourth, losing touch with the leaders.

The order remained the same all the way through until towards the end of lap eight.

Daily’s persistence paid off as Monterosso was badly baulked by a slow er car, allowing the Supra to take the lead.

He pulled away, as Monterosso fell into the clutches of Voight. That’s the way it stayed for the rest of the journey, with Daily winning from Monterosso, Voight, Park (who had passed Jolly on lap nine), Imrie and Newbound.

Daily set anew lap record of 57.0459s on his way to victory.

50

i

4July 1997

Parramatta street race on Kdni .if

By Dirk Klynsm,

A

field of 26 Formula Es and 250CC nationals will be taking to the field in the Yamaha-sponsored support race at the Mallala round of the Shell Car Australian Touring Championship. Although the field is a little smaller than in past races it is a high quality field.

The lack of numbers could be put down to the news that the Superkarts are to be running as a support at this year’s 500c Bike Grand Prix later in the year and the fact that the final round of the Australian Championship is to be held at Mallala in November.

The date of the series finale is currently set for the 28th/29th but the Adelaide Superkart Club is endeavouring to have that amend ed to the 22nd/23rd as the round conflicts with a CIK Oceania meet ing in Melbourne.

The will be signifi cantMallala for tworace reasons.

The first is that it will be 12 months since the tragic crash of Basant Varma which resulted in his death.

The second is that it will be the debut of emerging talent Steven Cash in the Formula E Category.

Cash made a sensational debut at National level in Tasmania in the 80cc class but was dogged with engine problems at Eastern Creek which saw him finish way out of contention for the rest of the title chase. , Two'weeks ago he tested Siebert’s twin and immediately bought Barb Hepworth’s Zip Rotax lock stock and barrel!.

His first meeting last weekend (29th) saw him finish second in the first heat behind Siebert and while running third in the next race his engine let go big time. The dam age will require a full engine rebuild which should be ready in time for the Yamaha race in two weeks!

Prior to the engine blow up Cash was regularly running in the high nines and low tens which was a great effort straight out of the 80cc class. he race was attended by 7 Formula Es’ and was won, pre dictably, by Siebert from Chas Maddern and Todd Johnson.

Young Hayden Lamer didn’t race as he broke his gearbox on Saturday and might be in doubt for Mallala. Lamer was due to drive a Formula Holden at the same meeting but this drive is looking unlikely as he has yet to due any kilometres testing!

Geoff Woods took the top hon ours in the National class although this was very poorly supported with only three runners taking to the circuit.

The class has probably taken a bit of a pounding since Varma’s accident that affected the mid field runners but with 11 entered in a fortnight the signs are that it will recuperate,

A

nother former New South Welshman took top honours in the 80cc class when Anthony Lappas topped the result sheets.

Second overall went to Ian O'Hara with Mark Vella third.

The lOOccs saw Andrew Ebel beat home Trevor King and Geoff King.

Report by EDWARD KRAUSE PARRAMATTA will host the first street race to he held in the Sydney Metropolitan area later this year in what is to be the first meeting of a five-year agreement to run the Parramatta City Grande (sic) Prix.

To be held on November 1-2 to coincide with Parramatta’s Foundation Day, the meeting is a joint venture between the Parramatta City Council, local businesses and an organising com mittee made up from several of the kart clubs in the greater Sydney area.

The track will be between 750 A LARGE entry showed up for Oakleigh’s annual day/night meeting last week.

The format of racing was two heats, followed by a pre-final and all points dropped for the final.

Class Australia was the first event decided with Peter Tempoulos finishing ahead of Alan Morgan and Vince Santoro.

John Merritt held Luke Skinner and Dale Carpenter at bay to win Clubman Light, while Paul Sera won Junior National Heavy from Django Hopkins and Jonathon Doidge.

Andrew Bua, Matthew Coleman and John Merritt fought out Senior National Light, finishing in that order.

The Resa class is growing each time out, with Adrian Binns winning this time from Peter Tempolous and Kevin Stray.

In the rookie a rollover in heat one prompted a red flag but, at the end of the day, Matthew Blanchard won from Cam Farr and Chris Ulhom. | Junior Clubman got enough starters and, although down in numbers the class put on good racing.

Tim Macrow held out Django Hopkins and Will Davidson.

John Gleeson won Clubman Heavy from Leigh Williamson and Sean Wilson, while Tim Macrow made it a double by winning Junior National Light from

and 800 metres around a city block, with nine classes being run with up to 30 entries to be accept ed in each class, with the excep tion of a combined Minikarts/ Rookies and Midgets class, which will have a smaller field of 26.

The remaining categories will be Ladies at 130kg, Junior National Light and Heavy, Senior National 140kg, the three Senior Clubman classes and PRD 150kg.

The emphasis of the meeting is to promote karting as a family sport as well as being used as a trial run to get the track layout organisation right, The circuit will run in a clockwise direction with a 140 metre start/finish straight beside the

Task Force, which is made up of representatives of local businesses.

Entries will open on August 4 and close October 7 and the entry fee is $100.

All entries will have to be approved by the committee and a brief resume will have to be pro vided by every driver, all of whom must have a B-grade licence. The aim of this is to select only drivers who will be able to drive within the limits of the track without any “crash and bash”.

Special accommodation pack ages are being put together by the major hotels, while the State Council AGM is being organised for the Saturday night.

Doing it in the dark in Oakleigh

DUSK RACING... Greg Kustellc leads James Grinter and Tommy NIcolou.

Aaron Rintoul and Luke Harper, who recovered from a big hit for third.

The ‘little tackers’ - the midgets - saw Nathan Gorman drive away from David Sera and Ashley Rintoul while, at the other end of the scale, Bernie

Kelly won Clubman O’40s from Peter Hallett and Peter Gooch.

Clubman Heavy George Sera held off Brett Davidson for the win and John Stanic took Super Heavy honours after Derek Radley led until retiring

SUPER MAN... John Stania took out the Clubman Super Heavy class.

-

Riverside Theatre on Market St. A right hand turn onto Church St will lead over the Parramatta River, past the old David Jones building, then another right into Phillip St. then another right at the police station into Marsden St which will be a 220m run back over the river, with some “inter esting corners” before turning right back onto the Market St start/finish straight.

Other corners and deviations will be made on Church and Marsden Sts. The streets will be blocked off on Friday night and then reopened on Sunday evening.

Promotions, crowd control, grand stands etc will be handled by the Parramatta City Events

(Photos by Graeme Bums)

with mechanical problems.

Luke Skinner was too fast for Coleman and

Unsworth capped off a good weekend, winning the Reed class from Lee Brunner and

Ulhorn Medium

Tommy Nicolou.

in Clubman and Nathan

- GRAEME BURNS

Geelong prepares THE Geelong Kart Club is in fuU swing, preparing for the 1998 National Championships to be held over Easter next year.

Following the June Club day held on the weekend the track was closed, with work about to begin dn the track, including a full resurfacing job.

The track will also be widened to a full eight metres all around the circuit, with other minor changes also eocpected.

The Club has run the nationals on two previous occa sions, in 1986 and ’92. n THE 1997 Queensland Open Championships were run the week prior to the Australian CIK Championships at Warwick Raceway last month.

Over 200 drivers came from the eastern seaboard to compete in the meeting, which saw a number a red flags incidents and some excellent racing.

Locals dominated most of the meeting, Richard McLeod (Clubman Light)especially impressive.

Sydney’s Neil McFayden took home the Junior title as did Queensland’s Mitchell Boulton who lines up alongside McFayden.

-lANSALVESTRIN

4July 199/

5/

Lots of winter stars Resa continues to impress

BAKING HOT... Stania under plenty of pressure from Andrew Baker. (Photo by Graeme Bums) THE Go Kart Club of Victoria hosted roimd five of the Star Series last week, marking the end of the first half of the season.

Conditions changed from wet early in the day to gi-easy by mid-afternoon.

Rohan Kinnens handled things better than Nathan Gorman and Luke Jacobs in the Midgets, while Nathan Fletcher kept his points lead by beating Vince Santoro and Jim Vatsilas in Reed.

Gavin Walker and Django Hopkins tied for second behind Jonathon Doidge in Junior National Heavy.

In Rookies Dean Foster, Cam Farr and Jason Pringle finished 1-2-3 while, in the two Clubman Light divisions, Lee Ulhom held off Chnt Cathcart and WiU Pristle in Div 1 while

Steve Owen mled over Michael Lordan and Matthew Coleman in Div 2.

Clubman Heavy was also spht, with Adam Murray, Brett Davidson and Dane Bobart heading Div 1 and David Morgan, Mark Davidson and David Aldersley topping Div 2.

WiU Davidson sped to Junior Clubman hon ours from Django Hopkins and Toby Pope, while Wayne Murray led the consistent Peter Hallett and George Morgan. Andrej Sutej took a hard-fought win in Clubman Super Heavy from Alan Byrnes and Jason Stania.

The Pro Senior Nationals were led home by Glen Riddell, Michael Lordan and Dane Bobart and Travis Medwin and Timothy Macrow topped Cameron Thorpe in Junior National Light.

-GRAEME BURNS

Formula

open tyre push

Report and photo by ED KRAUSE SOME of Australia’s Formula A dri vers are pushing for two sets of open tyres to be used for the Australian CIK Series to bring them in line with European regula tions.

Most vocal have been PCR driver Gaiy Dann and Tecno’s David Clark.

“We should be allowed to run the open tyres, and have two sets,” said Dann at the second round at Ipswich recently.

“This is the top class of racing in Australia. We are going to have to run to these regs at the final round in Melbourne (also the Oceania Championships) and the point of run ning this series is to prepare us for over seas racing.

“They run those rules over there, so we should run them here”.

Clark’s father. Ken was equally adamant, saying the cost was not a major issue.

“It will cost more, but no one is going

THE second round of the Australian CIK Class Championships on the weekend of June 15 attracted three support classes to compete along side the three interna tional classes. Held at the magnificent Willowbank Motorsport Complex out side of Ipswich, the sup port classes run at the meeting were undoubted ly highlighted by the Resa Piston Port class.

The Junior National (dass attracted a good field of 13 drivers all from the home state while the senior Clubman class (run at the Clubman Heavy weight of 150kg) was a disappointment with just 10 entries.

Despite the Queensland State titles being held at Warwick the week prior, the Clubman class which is the largest in Australia did not do itself any favours by miss ing the opportunity to race at arguably Australia’s best race meeting of the year.

The Resa Piston Port fclass on the other hand attracted an excellent field of 35 entries. Drivers came from Sbuth Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the home state to compete at the

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GRIPPING... David Clark leads the push for more Formula A tyres. to pull out of nmning Formula A, or not join it, because of an extra $300,” he stated.

Former World Cup winner Darrell Smith was more circumspect, but agreed that it was probably the right idea.

“You have to be mindful of the extra costs, because this is an expensive

class,” he said. “But I agree with the aim of preparing us for overseas compe tition, so yes I would agree with run ning two sets of open tyres.”

Series co-ordinator Graeme Roberts said that both he and the organisers were open to any suggestions that the drivers wished to make regarding the technical regulations.

second round of the while Barclay Holden, Clinton Roberts and Adam Australian Championships in what is the series’ one offi Moore, who provided some great racing at Gladstone’s cial support class. There were 24 drivers were entered National championships, in Resa Light(140kg) and 13 also put on a great race at in Resa Heavy (160 kg), both Ipswich with Brown emerg classes running the first ing as the victor from Holden and Roberts. Brown three heats together before also recorded the fastest lap being run separately for the time of 56.390s. pre-final and final.

Friday’s first practice ses Although the Clubman sions gave interstate drivers class was small in numbers, the chance to learn the track they provided a great race. but little else as the circuit Only six karts would finish was very dusty and did not the race with the win eventu start to offer grip until later ally going to Simon Richardson from Paul Baxter in the day. Racing three 10 lap heats on Saturday, many and Russell Vellacott, of the Junior National and Richardson recording the Clubman drivers found fastest lap of 54.165s. themselves resuming battles Thankfully the Resa class from the previous week at was split into two different Warwick. races for the final, Resa Racing heat three under Light followed by Heavy.

Willowbank’s superb lighting After a great run in the pre system on Saturday, all hell final Russell Becker lined up broke loose in heat three of on pole for the final however aU interest centred on Daniel Resa when a spectacular start line accident eliminated Gadd on grid 18. Becker won 12 of 35 starters. the start and set about estab It seems that the accident lishing a good lead as Gadd was caused when the Resa charged through to make up Heavy class who were start 13 places and be in fifth posi tion after three laps. ing at a considerable dis From there it was all over tance behind the Light dri vers got the run on the for Gadd as he made contact straight and easily caught and spun while making a pass for third place. Becker the 24 Light drivers who were still under acceleration. succumbed to mechanical The incident claimed all but failure at half race distance as Jeff Moore assumed the two drivers in Resa Heavy lead that he would not sur along with several front-run ners in Resa Light including render.

Adam Gill and Sergio potential winner Brett Guaitoli had a brief battle Hasenkam.

Daniel Gadd went on to before Gill pulled away but was unable to catch Moore. claim the final heat win and would start the final from Queenslander Moore took pole position as he looked set the win from Gill, Guaitoli, to claim the second round Peter Shute, Michael Sukahar and Josh Dorman win to add to his victory in Orange. However, in what who overcame a variety of would be a disaster for Gadd engine dramas all weekend to take sixth. he spun out of contention on In Resa Heavy many the very first comer of the expected Geoff' Naughton to pre-final meaning that he would start the final from follow up his win at Orange with another victory at 18th on the grid.

For many of the Junior Ipswich however it was not National drivers this was the to be. It was Queenslander Ron Paul who took the win first opportunity they had to from John Doolan, Dave compete under full interna Bertram and Matthew Jones. tional race conditions.

Naughton finished the race The 20 lap final was an excellent, race for the juniors in fifth despite making a mid with the attrition rate non race pitstop and then going on to set the fastest lap of existent Joshua Brown capi 53.724s. talised on a good start and went on to win the title -lANSALVESTRIN

You're invited to be j

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52 4Jufy1997

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Guess who's coming to dinner - in Perth?

EVERY world rally champion from this decade - including Juha Kankkunen (right)will contest the 1997 Rally Australia race in i Perth later this year.

Rally organisers have announced Kankkunen (1991,’93) and fellow Finn Tommi Makinen (1996), Spain’s Carlos Sainz (1990,’92), Frenchman Didier Auriol (1994) and Scot Colin McRae (1995) would compete in the event from October 30.

Record entries are expected, with discounted entiy fees allowing gi’ass roots fans to participate.

“From defending World Champion Tommi Makinen to grass roots rally supporters, all can pit their skills against the testing West Australian con ditions,” organiser Garry Cormelly said.

He singled out Kankkunen. “Juha is a hugely popular figure in Austraha, having done so much to lift the profile of the event with his gi'eat peroimances.

“Eveiyone is delighted to hear he will be back.”

: THINGS CHANGE.. n Kankkunen will return, but in a Ford Escort, not his familiar Toyota Celica.

(Photos by LAT Digitat}

. Photo by LAT Diaital

Round Australia Rally Details of next year’s Round Australia Rally have been released by the company organising the event, Advantage International.

The event will start and finish in Adelaide, and will n run from Sunday, September 6 until Sunday, September 27.'

The rally will be run in this period to ensure ideal weather conditions around the country. In the south it will be warm, whilst at the top of the country it will be very hot.

The event will be con ducted as a special stage rally In 1998, and there will not be a separate ‘Challenge’ event as was the case for the Mobil 1 Trial / in 1995.

From the start in Adelaide the 22 day event will travel clockwise around Australia, making stops in: Port Augusta, Eucia, Esperance, Bunbury, Geraldton, Carnarvon, Port Hedland, Broome, Kununurra, Darwin, Katherine, Cape Crawford, Normanton, Cairns, Mackay, Marybor ough, Coffs Harbour, Sydney, Albury/Wodonga and Horsham, before returning to Adelaide on Day 22.

Modem rally cars includ ing Group A, Croup N and PRC cars are eligible to compete, as are Historic rally cars built before December 31, 1967. There will also be a category for recreation 4WD vehicles.

The entry fee for the Round Australia Rally will be $5500, with a reduction of. $500 for entries received in full before May 31, 1998.

Pre-regulations are avail able now for $60 a copy.

For further information on the 1998 Round Australia Rally, contact Advantage International at P.O. Box 3297, North Burnley, Vic. 3121, or phone them on (03) 9427 9655.

■se-

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BT!

4 .i

largest integrated travel company, Jetset.

The 'Best on Earth in Perth’ campaign is man aged by Eventscorp and comprises 12 world-class events, including seven World Championships.

Jetset will be support ing 10 of the events with special travel packages that will include airfares, accommodation and tickets to the events.

The first package to be released is for Rally Australia (October 30 to November 2).

Jetset’s Rally Australia package includes return air fares, three nights accom modation, a four-day rally pass and special tours of the service area and head quarters, and starts from $660 (ex-Adelaide).

The package has already been promoted to the 37,000 members of CAMS and can be booked through Jetset Travel offices or your preferred travel agent. For further details contact Jennie Fitzhardinge at Eventscorp on (08) 92703311.

By Peter WhittdV Editor - Australian RallysporWws

iA.

McRae's fine China

COLIN McRae drove his Subaru Impreza to victory in the three-day China Rally 97 last week.

The 1995 world champion led from start to finish in the three day event and clocked 4hrl2min7sec for the 366.36km of timed specials.

He finished 45sec ahead of Swedish Subaru team-mate Kenneth Eriksson, with Japan’s Yoshio Fujimoto

TSa:JB

(Toyota) in third, llmin 57sec behind Eriksson.

McRae (above) led through out the Asia-Pacific round, which next year will qualify to be a world championship event.

Despite the fact that the top three held station throughout all three days rough terrain - and the near century temperatures - took toll on the field. Only half the

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WINNER-NSW

RIINLiP SP84

32 entries finished.

“That was a hard event,” ^ said McRae. “The: rally is better in some respecfe than a lot of rallies in the world championship.

All it needs is some fine tun-

mg.' from Great Drivers Britain, Japan, Sweden, Austria, Malaysia, New Zealand and China took part in the event.

Rally Kia WRCar la has confirmed that their Indonesian associ ated company has instruct ed Prodrive in Britain to develop a World Rally Car version of the Kia Sephia, under the name of Timor.

It is planned for the car to appear in competition in 1999, but it is not known whether the Timor plans will interrupt Kia’s own plans to develop a World Rally Car,

K

or whether Timor will be able to homologate the car under their own name or as a Kia. Kia are contesting three vents in 1997, each with a Group A and a Group N car: Indonesia and China, Australia.

The development work on the cars has been moved from Robert Herridge’s Maximum Motorsport com pany to the Race Torque company, also in Perth.

Kia are planning to run an F2 Kit Car in 1998.

Th e time is right is to use an Rally Australianew timing important system on their event this year, called Digital Dialling System.

This will be in conjunction with the starting iights sys Reid sells up tem they first used last year. lack of funds has forced Event organiser (3arry _ ,RC regular Stewart Connelly explained, “the Reid to sell his Group N main object is to get infor Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution mation from the end of the 3. stage to headquarters with Reid, a prominent com out relying on methods such petitor in the Australian Rally as radios or telephones, as Championship for the past quickly as possible. few years, said he could no “This system can also longer afford to prepare the supply mid-stage split times car and compete at the top easily, and we are working level without substantial on another system for the financial support. future, in which tell-tale indi The Queenslander has cators (as used on motor- ' had a disappointing year to way tolls in certain coun date. He rolled a friend’s car tries) are used as well,” he while doing reconnaissance said. for his home ARC round in The Langley Park Queensland in May, and as Superspecial is to be used a result, could not afford to three, times in darkness this fix that car and compete in year, and three of the stages where trees are the rally as well, hence^he was a non-starter. notoriously close to the cars The sale of his car, to an are not being used. unknown buyer, does not Also, a dam is being mean Reid will be a non installed to control the level of water at the water cross starter in the remaining two rounds of the ARC Super ing at Bunnings.

Series though.

A stage is to be specially He is expected to accept prepared near Han/ey Weir for television transmission an all expenses paid drive in a Toyota Corolla which with split timings and other similar viewer aids. belongs to NSW business man and former Super Touring racer Geoff Full. Full Oz Trip is overseas on work commit ments and requires a driver Western Australia’s excit ing calendar of major to continue to run his car in events will be even more the remaining rounds of the accessible to people in Silverstone Challenge onethanks to Australia make series.

Eventscorp and Australia’s

K

>.

INDUSTRY NEWS

4Jufyl99/

53

HSV notches up number 20,000

Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) has reached one of its most important milestones in its nine and a half year history hy pro ducing the 20,000th vehicle to roll off its production line, i*©c©wtly« Twelve thousand of the HSV cars produced to date, were built 'at the company’s original Notting Hill site in Melbourne, where they operated from until February 1995,Awhile the remainder are a product of the Clayton site and HSV’s other regional production centres - HSV being the only Australian car company to have production facilities in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland.

During its nine and a half years of operation, HSV have introduced a number of industry marketing initiatives including sort-after lim ited production models, the most successful of which was the 75 highly acclaimed HSV GTR-S mod els produced during 1996.

In the lead up to the production of the 20,000th car, HSV has also initiated the very successful “Watch you dream come true” campaign in

HISTORY IN THE MAKING ...

HSV staff celebrate the 20,000th special vehicle to roll of the com pany’s production line.

which buyers of HSV vehicles were flown to Melbourne from all over Australia to be treated to a VIP tour of the Clayton facility, together with a visit to the Holden Racing Team.

With such a strong production history, it’s not hard to understand that membership of HSV car clubs throughout Australia and New Zealand numbers approximately 2,000, with many of the clubs hold ing family activities with strong support from HSV. HSV also produce a high quality lifestyle magazine quarterly for owners of HSV products - the mag azine, they say, quickly becoming highly sort-after and a bit of a col lectors items.

For the record, the 20,000th car to roll off the HSV production line (right), is a Senator, although HSV won’t identify the specific car in anticipation of a dealer bidding war for such a significant piece of Australian motoring histoiy.

HPC turns up the temperature More inches nowon

High Performance Coatings, based in Victoria, have recently expanded their range of coat ings, introducing a new high temperature coating which is said to be able to withstand extremely high temperatures of 2,500F (1,4000.

The new high temperature coat ing is called HiPerCoat Extreme.

Hot stagnant under-hood air is a problem worsened today by increased gas temperatures in full efficient lean-burn engines, com bined with aerodynamics designed to pass air over and around the vehicle, rather than through it.

The solution is the thermal barri er created by HPC’s extreme high temperature coating, HiPerCoat Extreme.

HPC’s track testing has shown as much as a 30% reduction in under hood temperatiues.

They say this is achieved by the coating creating a thermal barrier on the surface of the exhaust com ponent which retains heat within the exhaust system, while reducing component skin temperatures.

In turbocharged applications this

offer!

STAND THE HEAT... Three-time NHRA Pro Stock Champion Warren Johnson used HPC’s coatings to help his Goodwrench Service Plus Pontiac create history when he broke the 200 mph barrier recently. (Ostaszewski) coating helps increase turbo boost and spool up.

Many of today’s leading CART, NASCAR, IMSA and NHRA teams in the US use the coating vAth win ning success, where it easily with stands high temperatures.

Race cars are not the only candi-

dates for the exhaust coating.

Motorhomes and buses also benefit from reduced under-hood tempera tures which help component life.

Dyno tests show coated compo nent skin temperature reductions greater than 700F when compared to on-coated components.

The HiPerCoat Extreme is avail able in black only due to pigment stability, but it can be supplied on a short four day turn-around.

For more information call Chris or Craig direct at HPC on 03-5662 4719 or 03-5662 4338 and they will be only too happy to help out.

Adjust-a-jet to the rescue A revolutionary product for the Holley carb!

Thousands of racers and street enthusiasts change jets in their car burettor each day.

It is something that cannot be .avoided if a proper air/fuel ratio is maintained. Changing jets involves carburettor disassembly, spilled fuel, wasted gaskets, time and money.

The Adjust-A-Jet eliminates these problems for good. With the sirnple turn of a screwdriver, you can tune the engine while it’s run¬

ning! Instantly!

While the Adjust-A-Jet elimi nates jets, it does not change what racers have learned about the Holley for the last four decades.

The emulsion characteristics remain the same, as does all other tuning procedures.

Adjust-A-Jet is available in Australia from Speedwerx Racing Products.

Speedwerx Racing Products can be contacted by calling or faxing 035827 1359, or by calling 014 406 980. Dealer Enquiries are welcome.

The Dunlop Formula-R D98J is not new.

In fact the particular model of tyre has been around for several years now, having won every major tarmac event including the Targa Tasmania, Three Peaks Rally, Duttons GP Rally, Indy GP Rally, Lactos Rally, Eastern Creek 12hr and the Bathurst 12hr.

What is new is that this tyre is now produced in two 16” sizes for the first time, making it avail able for a much larger range of cars From August, this hugely suc cessful tyre will be available in 13”, 14”, 15”, 16” and 17”.

For availability, contact your Dunlop Motorsport state distrib utor or Stuckey Tvre Serwce on 03-9386 5331.

54

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55

Sedans

Steve Ellery’s 1997 Konica EL Falcon V8 Supercar, this is a current specification Level One car and has been maintained to the highest levels possible. The car comes with a Barry Seton Racing prepared V8 engine, a Pi System 2+2 Data Logger and a host of other features. This is the car that came 3rd outright at the Bathurst 1000 in 1996 and is available for immediate delivery and can be prepared for Sandown and Bathurst if required. Call Bruce Ellery. Ph: 0418 549 595. 105

Celica GT4 Group A, build no 78, one owner (50th B/Day gift), 65,000km, meticulousley maintained, fully pre pared for Targa 98, Gold in 97, comfortable daily trans port, air cond, alarm or super fast road race car. Cheapest way to top 10 Targa finish. $46,000. Ph: 07 3265 5455(BH) or 07 3851 0172(AH). 105

VR Commodore AUSCAR, Auscraft BWM 002, As. Morris Mini, dual engine 4wd, Hillclimb Special, many ' Cooper “S” parts, engine, brakes etc. Class winner raced by Bruce Williams and Kevin Schwantz in 96/97 sea Collingrove Hillclimb. $4,500ono or with dual axle son, complete with new 380hp engine fully rebuilt by Rob enclosed trailer, $5,700. Call Geoff. Ph: 08 8263 8425(AH).

Benson in Jan 97, done dyno time and 100 Calder only, all the best bits incl HM exhaust and mega muffler, Sachs leight weight clutch. Super T-10 gearbox, etc. This car has the potential to be a race winner and is in excellent oond.

To many items to list. Car race ready $45,000. Cali Bruce Williams. Ph: 03 5335 8788 or 0418 349 555. m

Corvette, 87 350TPI, 4 spd auto, ABS, climate control, AC, PS, elec seat, windows and mirrors, LSD, cruise con trol, RHD, immac cond. $37,000. Ph: 03 6431 4675 or 018 140 461. m

●'-t ■+.

Commodore VC V8 Rally Car, worked 308, tricked Turbo 400, Ford 9” LSD, disc brake rear end, Marsh rac ing seats, 12 point steel cage, 20 road and rally tyres, log book, reg, RWC. $10,000. Ph: 03 9434 5849.‘io5 Ford Galaxie 1964, fully restored 351c, modified Koni shocks, alloy fuel tank etc. Make your Group N team com plete with this ideal tow car. $16,500ono. Call Garnet Luckins. Ph: 03 9592 0198 or 0419 366 615. los

Brock Commodore 1983, VH SUE. Australian Dealer Pack, build no 851, 1 or 12 built with Group 3 engine, automatic trans, 90 litre tank, original car incl log books, Uniroyal spare, white in colour. $17,000. Call Norm. Ph: 07 3281 1372(AH) or 0417 729 493(mobile). los

Restored 48/215 Holden FX, mildly worked grey 138ci motor, 15" B45 Simmons wheels, 2 Pack black paint, red trim, 700 miles since full bare rpetal restoration, NSW rego.$10,000. Ph:068 885 127. 104 > NASCAR Chev, ready to race, runs low 29’s, front steer, 9.5:1 Gene Cook engine, 16 spare wheels and tyres, fuel chums, and more. $28,500neg. Ph: 03 9790 1268 or 017 862 840(mobile). im

Toyota Supra 1988 Turbo, genuine 1991 Bathurst 12 Hour winner, still set up tor racing and is road registered.

CAMS log book, very quick car with plenty of extras. Must sell urgeptly. $19,990ono. Ph: 0414 797 969. 105 Mustang Mach-1 1969, Absolutely immaculate, fully restored inside and out, 351 manual. Magnum 500 Mustang wheels, mature enthusiast changing direction. $29,000neg. Serious buyers only. Ph: 03 5968 3059 or

0418 356 357. 105

Falcan XE Sports Sedan, 351 Cleveland, NASCAR 4 bolt main block, steel crank and rods, roller cam, ADI Webers, dry sump system, 520hp; heaps of spares,. Ready to race. $POA. Ph: 02 9905 5814(BH). io4 Rochdale Olympic 1962, all fibreglass chassis and body, twin cam engine, five speed gearbox, WA reg, would suit Historic and Targa, genuine and reluctant sale. $10,750. Ph: 08 953 2511. 104 NASCAR Commodore Complete, high comp motor, spare wheels, tyres, springs, panels, ideal first car for the new season, new paint and panels. Good looking,car at the right price. Would trade for road car or sell $18,000.

Ph:07 5578 7870. icm

V

AUSCAR Sportsman #35 Falcon XF, Well present ed and very, competitive car in race ready condition.

Excellent opportunity to enter Australia's most economical and competitive motor sport class. Car is available com plete or as rolling chassis. $16,900. Call Jamey Hollier. Ph: 03 5367 1087(BH) or 015 502 517(moblle) or 03 5367

6545(AH). 104

Ford Cobra XC Coupe, genuine vehicle, build No44, 351c, 4 speed manual, 300hp engine, immacualte condi tion t/out, one of the best examples available. All matching numbers, ideal for motorsports or normal street use. $18,500. Contact Bob. Ph: 08 8243 1122(BH0 or 08 8449 9196(AH). 103

Alfa Romeo GTO Turbo, black, immaculate condition, more than $10,000 spent on motor. Comes with rear wing, and sunroof. Ideal for motorsport. RWC, stunning perfor mance, finance can be arranged $9,500ono. Ph: 03 5348 7592. 105

Gemini TE 1982, 5spd, fully rebuilt and balanced 1600, only 300km since rebuild. $1,200. Ph: 019 420 751. 105

■ simoco luRace Winning VR Commodore AUSCAR, Auscraft BWM 001, placed 2nd & 3rd in AUSCAR champs, comes complete with low mileage engine, 380hp with dyno sheets, Sachs light weight clutch, oil cooler. Super T-10 gearbox with helm jointed Hurst super shifter, rebuilt tailshaft, Harrop front and rear en,d, Detroit looker. The best car available. Too many items to list. Car race ready $50,000. Call Bruce Williams. Ph: 03 5335 8788 or 0418 349 555. 104

Toyota Corolia Club Car, worked motor, roll cage, race seat, harness, sell $2,500ono with spares. Ph: 02 9897 1617. 105

TD Cortina Sports Sedan, space frame, complete less motor, fully adjustable suspension, can fit V8 or 6oyl, full body moulds, comes with spares, freshly painted. $21,000. Ph: 046 596 470 or 018 113 716. to

HQ Racer, too many spares to list, ready to race, assis tance given to new owner. $8,000. Call Carl Trofa. Ph: 0411 889 975 or 02 9674 493. 105 HQ Race Car, body in excellent condition, runs well, lots of spare.panels, will trade for road oar. $3,800ono. Ph: 03 9408 8159 or 015 568 177. 103

Nissan GTS Skyline, fully imported coupe, 5sp manu al, 57,000km, RB20 interceded turbo, good original car, red with grey/black trim. $16,000. Ph: 02 9545 1355(BH) or 02 9523 9987(AH). io4 BMW 635CSI Group A, genuine factory car with facto ry chassis plate E24RA1/22. Ex Frank Sytner UK, original condition with spare wheels, Alpina motor, plus lots of other spares. Aust$75,000. Ph: NZ 64-9-274 8646 or 025 408 456. 104

NASCAR Commodore, True Value No 9, complete car with all spares and pit equipment, fresh paint and running gear. Selling less engine $25,000. Engine and transporter available also. Ph: 03 5966 9532 or 0419 539 320. 105 Sports Sedan, Torana LJ XU-1, adj boost turbo, Harrop brakes, adj bias, 16" Simmons, big HP motor, completely mechanically refurbished at a cost of $15,000. Will trade for rpad oar. Call Dave. Ph: 03 9687 4653 or 0l5 312 918.

105

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Nissan GTS-R, 1990, all factory options, climate control, sun roof, CD, Turbo Timer, alarm, 42,000km, in as new condition, 220hp, RWD, Australian compliance. Urgent Sale. $31,000ono. Ph: 02 9524 1199(BH) or 02 9544 0363(AH). 103

Ex Larry Perkins, VL Group A Commodore, Complete in Group A trim, new paint, spare front air dam, 4 wets, complete re-build, forced sale, genuine buyers only. $40,000. Ph: 044 416 865(AH) or 0412 428 536(mobile). to VR Commodore Shell, converted from Perkins built VP Group A to VR Group A specifications. Excellent condition.

Ph: 0362 641 320 or 0412 120 720. to

continued over page

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CATEGORY;

Cars; □ Sedans □ Open Wheelers □ Speedway □ Drag General: □ Parts □ Engines □ Trailers □ Wanted □ Photographs □ Other

5S 4July1S97

r„ 9

I

SLR Torana LX, 6oyl auto, one owner with books, low Km's, factory air, remote cent lock, alarm, stainless echaust, custom interior, Kenwood sound. Outburst mags, maintained regardless of cost, 12mths reg and NRMA report. $8,700ono. Ph: 0412 278 012, 103

1995 vauxnall cavalier Super Tourer, Ex Mallock BTCC “WORKS” car driven recently by Russell Ingall. Potential winner. $135,000 Duties paid (less on re import). Bruce Partington. Ph: 02 9482 2470. lOANASCAR Pontiac, complete oar $30,000, Car plus pit gear, wheel and radios $35,000, Car, pit gear and 18deg heads $40,000 or $44,000 with all of above plus Jerico and road diff/rear end. Contact Paul Kell. Ph; 0411 199 781 or Gene Cook 03 9336 2999. 103

Speedway Fontana Engine, latest CNC angle plug head, pumps, oil tank, plumbing, fresh ready to race. Many spares too numerous to mention. $POA. Call John Brett. Ph: 042 674 356(AH) or 0414 674 356(mobile) or Glenn Cox 046 262 329(AH). 105

Super Sedan Commodore, quick change diff, coil overs, ready to race, will sell complete or a roller. $POA. Ph: 03 5996 2263 or 0419 388 192. to Austin Healey BN2, Interesting Australian racing histo ry, Le Mans spec engine, chrome wire wheels, good everyday useable Flealey, in private collection for over 25 years. $27,000. Ph: 03 9781 4927. to

Modified Production TE Cortina, 250 XFlow methanol engine, 4 speed, fully adjustable suspension, 15" wheels, very competitive car, ready to race. $POA. ph: 03 5996 2263 or 0419 388 192. TO

lu..

Speedcar Beast 94, complete oar less engine, ready for new season. Large range of spares inol wheels, shocks and tyres. All must go. Call Warren. Ph: 02 9636 8872(AH).

104

Rodeck 372ci Sprintcar engine, fresh built 650hp, clean skin block, Grower knife edge crank, Carrillo rods, Ross pistons. Brown heads, roller valve train, gear drive, Hilborn injection, dry sump, Vertex mag, complete from radiator to fuel pump, inci pipes, ready to drop in. $18,000.

Call John. Ph: 02 943 8806. TO

Van Diemen RF96, This is the oar that won the 1996 Australian Formula Ford Championship. Immaculate condi tion, no expense spared in maintaining. Will be sold imme diately as either a complete package or as a rolling chas sis. All data is included. Engine is the ex Besnard Championship winning Lamer engine, fully rebuilt, dynoed.

No Miles. Everything must go now! Call Ian Simpson. Ph: 0418 721 776 or Michael Simpson 0418 769 896. los

Super Rod, M+J chassis, diahatsu body, 327 Chev, Halibrand quickchange, FBI bladder tank, knock-on front end, front running oar. Will sell complete or as roller. Call Jeff. Ph: 03 5593 1052 or 03 5593 3409(AFI). 104 Super Sedan new chassis, roll cage with all pick up point's including rear sliders, ready for your running gear, fitted with interior and EF Falcon body $4,750 or new Pontiac body $5,350. Taking orders now for a limited time only. Call Frank. Ph: 045 725 949. .03 A-Mod Commodore VK, AX78, 3.3 methanol, roller cam, auto trans with pedal, quick steer and power head, Bilstein SUSP, very competitive. Spare diff, wheels and tyres, panels and more. $10,000. Wayne King. Ph: 03 9715 1188(AH) or 0418 510 11 l(Mobile).

Van Diemen RF90, Available complete or as rolling chassis, huge spares package including FULL car set of wishbones, pushrods, track rods, etc. 2 nose boxes (one new), top body, one full set of wheels, var. size new rose joints etc. Many 91 and 92 updates. Car is available as a complete package or as rolling chassis. Must be sold now!

Call Ian Simpson 0418 721 776 or Michael Simpson 0418 311 873. TO

Escort Twin Cam, 1970 model, mint original condition, 3rd owner, 5 x Aunger 13x6 mags with P6 tyres.

Everything on this car is original. 68,000 miles. Always dry stored. $12,500. Also avail Escort Twin Cam 72 model.

Red Pepper, straight and complete, needs restoration. $6,000, or engine and gearbox $4,000. Ph: 043 676 734 or 0412 676 734.

Complete Limited Sprintcar, with spares incI Wheels, Tyres, Shocks, Rods, Bars etc. Methanol 202 Holden engine, or sell as roller with spares. Must sell $10,000. Call Brian. Ph: 07 5493 3250 or 0412 714 757. TO

Speedcar 93 Beast, Mitsubishi Pajero motor, Winters diff. Spline wheels, HPD power steering box, KSE Tamden power steering, fuel pump, oar built with all good gear.

Complete with trailer. $25,000. Ph: 07 3267 5211. 102 Super Sedan, chassis and body kit, Q99, comes com plete with front suspension and steering, includes 3 front wheels and tyres, Pontiac Firebird body kit, all tin work and radiator. $1,500. Ph: 07 3800 6101(BH) or 09 3200 0652(AH). 102 QLiB Gemini Series Car, no expense spared, very competitive car, must sell. Reduced to $4,100. Ph: 07 3207 0689. to

Fontana Midget engine, used by NSW 25, motor has been rebuilt for Aust title race, many new parts and track records. Also Stealth roller as run in Aust title. $POA. Ph: 02 9899 2676. ™

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0418 461 811. 105

Super Sedan Commodore, quick change diff, coil overs, ready to race, will sell complete or as a roller. $POA. Ph; 03 5996 2263 or 0419 388 192. 102

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Formula Holden Reynard 91 D, The very best Formula Holden in the country. If you plan on running in the Australian Drivers Championship in 1998 then now is the time to act, and you won't find a better oar on the mar ket or a better bargain. If you are a collector this car is well worth owning as it is immaculate in every regard. Urgent Sale. $75,000. Serious enquiries to Adam Kaplan. Ph:

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Falcon XC Fairmont 1979, show car trophy winner, perfect white paint, new 351, chrome braided, disc rear, FMX auto shift kit, reg and RWC. $14,900ono. Ph: 03 9728 4641 or 018 036 500. to

A Modified, production VK Commodore, new mefhSnol 202 roller engine, 3 meetings old, p/steer and quick steer, all gear sets, Bilstein susp, fully adjustable, ready to race. $8,500. Call Neil Watson. Ph: 03 5382 5940(AH). 104

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Sprintcar 1991, Hi Bar chassis kit, comes with complete set of panels, nerf bars, engine plates, dash, floor, pedals, brake lines, radiator ducting, torsion bushes, fresh powder coating. $1,800ono. Ph: 03 5248 3044 or 015 050 435. 102 Hi Bar Gambler Sprintcar, ready to race, plenty of spares, less engine. $12,200. Ph: 07 3888 4915(AH) or 015 127 945(BH). 102

Super Sedan MB42, Graham Cowland VR Commodore, rolling chassis, less engine, very competitive car. $12,000.

Ph: 08 8534 4016. to

ROH Commodore Cup Car, Sports Sedan or Club Car. New H/D gearbox, fresh engine. Trump set-up and running gear. Can be purchased with or without engine(s).

Very competitive car. $26,500ono. Ph: 08 8382 7755 or

Sprintcar 1992 Grizzly, complete roller less engine only, KSE steering. Halibrand diff. Spline wheels, spare arms, bars, nerfs. Winner 2 Hoosier Series and Premier pointscore. Must Sell $10,000ono. Call Phil. Ph: 03 5561 4196(AH) or 015 041 637(mobile). to

Compact Speedcar, Datsun 1400 motor, 45deg ports, dry sump, motor layed over 55deg, fuel injection, Pro shocks, quick change diff, very quick car. Rob Rawlings, Ph: 062 916 717 or 0411 870 037.102 Speedcar complete sellout, Harris Highbar, 13B rotary, Hilbourne injection, dry sump, splined diff, p/steer ing, heaps of spares. Will seperate or sell complete. Ph: 02 9604 5430. 102

Modified Production TE Cortina, 250 cross-flow methonol engine, 4 speed, fully adj. susp. , 15" wheels, very competitive car, ready to race. $POA. Ph; 03 5996 2263 or 0419 388 192. 102

Open Wheelers

Holden Commodore VC, modified production, fast reliable Walker race engine, methanol, winner of many fea tures, ready to race. Must sell to make way for new car. $5,500ono. Ph: 02 9623 1427 or 018 201 758. to Speedcar, one season old. Stealth Gaerte, all latest equipment. Call Graham Jones. Ph; 089 454 7659. 104 Mazda RX2 Club Car, Just strap in and race, log book, fresh Mildren 13BBP, Needham box, Volvo brakes, recent ly re-shelled, full cage, harness and seat. Very reliable.

Call Darrin Field. $9,000. Ph: 0417 804 537. to

TD Cortina, 4.1 alloy head, 4 speed, 500 Methanol Holley, full cage, alloy seat, 3” harness, wing, 13" Hoosier, McCreary 14" radials, oar fresh. Urgent sale. $3,500neg.

Ph: 07 3886 0896. .03

GoKart, Kali Daytona, 40mm axle, 30mm chassis with PCR PV100, Piston Port or Clubman, Immaculate condition with some spares, will seperate. $1,950. Call Peter. Ph: 077 745 980(AH) or 077 794 377(BH). 105 Kart Arrow AX5, competitive ohassis for clubman light/heavy, brand new engine, just run in. 30mm three bearing axle, comes with suit and spares $2,400. Call John. Ph: 03 9807 6040. to GoKart Dap Parilla, late 95 model, KTIOOs Yamaha engine, just rebuilt, new Bridgestones, hydraulic brakes, lots of spares, stand, ready to race, immac cond, must sell $1,950. Call Travis. Ph: 03 5625 2811. to

Ex Greg Murphy Formula Holden Reynard 92D, Simoco Pacific Pty Ltd offers for sale this race winning Reynard, Chassis #023. Comes as raced in 1997 Championship season. 4th AGP, 3rd Calder. Fresh engine, Penske shocks, fire bomb, fully o'hauled calipers.

Complete ready to race with spares available. Priced to sell at $75,000ono; Call Bruce Williams. Ph: 03 5335 8788 or 0418 349 555. to Swift SC92F Formula Ford, ex John Blanchard 2nd DTE, excellent condition, just been rebuilt, includes 10/31 diff, spare wishbones, uprights, nose cone, list goes on.

Rolling Chassis $17,000ono. Call Luke. Ph; 03 578 1211.

104

Formula Vee, complete ready to race, current log book, 5.5" chrome wheels, new tyres, 2 meetings old, numerous engine parts, fully enclosed trailer. $5,500ono. Ph: 02 9899 8264 or 015 957 576. to Formula Vee NG Elfin, 1994 NSW State Champion, Elliott Bond motor, very fasLcar, too much to list. $10,500ono. Ph: 03 9598 7558 Fax: 03 9521 0999. to Halt RT4, ex Manage show car, Laffite AGP car, very lit tle use, totally original. Excellent cond, eligible 1998 Histories, spares and ratios included. $50,000 complete.

Ph: 03 9521 0888 Fax: 03 9521 0999. to Spectrum 05C, complete ex Bargwanna oar, main tained by Borland Racing, Dorian included. $30,000.

Contact Paul Kell. Ph: 0411 199 781 or Michael Borland 03 9580 5236. 105

Drag Racing ^ Drag Bike, Suzuki GS 1025cc, Yoshi'.cams, big value sports head, lots of Dyna gear. Spare engine arjd all spares. Urgent forced sale. $5,000. Ph; 07 5577 5753. 105 Drag Bike, Suzuki GSXR body, suit Mod. bike, full roller, bolt in engine and run. $4,000ono. GSX crank, fully weld ed, balanced, straight cut, 750 gear, rods polished, $1,200ono. Ph: 07 3393 3211 or 017 169 488. to Pontiac 1971, half chassis, ladder bar rear, 9” diff, 15x15 Weld wheels, fuli.roll cage, fuel system, fibreglass doors, bonnet and boot, set up for BBC & SBC, racing seat and harness. $7,500ono. Ph: 03 9532 3550(BH) or 03 9799 1464(AH). m

you saw it in Motorsport News

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I LX Torana, full chassis, built by Mike Reilly Race Cars, ladder bar rear, Spax coil overs, strut front end, set up for BBC & SBC, Geis centre, new aluminium work inside, 15x14 rear, 15x4 front. Car has run 8.20 @ 172mph, top qualifier at 96/97 nationals. $18,000ono. Ph: 03 9532 3550(BH)or 03 9799 1464(AH). KM

Parts Jes^tei Shaft Rockers, 1.6/1.55 offset intake to suit 18deg Chev, complete. Ph: 0412 120 720. 105 New Commodore full floating diff, 3.08LSD $2,000. Ph: 03 9805 8256(BH) or 03 9803 2608(AH). kb Getrag, dlTect fifth gear “box" from BMW 3251, dog leg first gear position. $2,500. Ph: 014 803 859. kb Porsche Wheels, 17" Cup, brand new set of four, suit able for all 928's etc. $2,500, Ph: 014 803 859. kb

Airflow 220 alloy heads, Ferrera s/steel valves. Crane Tool steel springs. Crane rockers $3,000. Hilborne 2 3/16" injection $1,600. Crane roller camshaft 260 262 $250ea.

Ph: 08 8263 7719 or 015 794 697(mobile). m

Datsun L28, freshly rebuilt with mild head, cam work, done just 2,000km. Perfect for 240/260Z or 240K race/rally or street oar. $1,200 plus 4 x rare 300ZX 15" mags. $400.

Ph; 02 9716 8717. los

Suzuki GTi Parts, set of Koni front & rear struts, shocks & springs, 4 x 14x5 Enkie 7 spoke mags, new bond roll cage, new Sparco seat and fittings, Superchip computer, exhaust system, 2 x sets of brake pads, gearbox with looked diff. Call Mai Hart. Ph; 07 3269 4134 or 07 5496 7848(AH). 1IW

Mazda 13B, peripheral port factory race engine, F.R. housing, rotors, seals, gears, crank etc. No guessing about specification output, reliable, very good cond $4,500. Ph:03 9354 3050. los

Brodix Chev Heads, complete with valves, springs, 10, Victor Jnr manifold to suit. $2,000ono. Geelong. Ph: 03 5241 4224 or 0412 599 103. m 327 large journal steel crank $500. 4 stage dry sump pump $500. Fisher harmonic balancer SB Chev $200.

Moroso electric water pump $250. Goodyear slicks 33x14.5, 3 runs old $400. Ph;03 9310 1653(BH). im Sell Crane Billet roller rockers with stud girdle, near new $650. Victor Jnr manifold, ported with 1" spacer $300.

Crane variable ratio roller rockers with new posi-locks $350. Lunatl roller cam done 4 meetings only, rev range 4000-7200rpm with Esky roller lifters rev kit & push rods $850. Second Lunati roller cam, rev range 3800-7600rpm with Grower roller lifters rev kit & push rods, 12 meetings old $850. Ph: 045 725 949. m Wiseco/Cosworth pistons, var sizes suit 23deg S/B Chev. Assorted valve springs 1.625, SBC stud girdles, GM soft touch limiter, 0.43-Speed Pro rings, Jerico Ford Motorsport housing #M7005B, lots more, all cheap. Call Mick. Ph:03 9572 4116. km Chev parts, SBC & BBC, comlete turbo kit inci T04, manifold, carby. Various roller camshafts, autometer guages, 9" centres, diff gears, Holley carbs, blocks cranks, heads, manifolds, SBC Manley, plus many more Items. Ph: 03 9532 3550(BH) or 03 9799 1464(AH). ,cm

Jaguar Le Mans Sports Car Group C, front uprights, magnesium, complete with Chrome Molloy spindles and drive pegs, with bearings. $2,950pr. Call Geoff. Ph: 07 3252 4397(BH)or07 3857 2761(AH). .05

Alfa, Alfetta close ratio gearbox with 4.3 LSD rebuilt $1,650. Also avail with 4.1 LSD $1,500. 3lt 188hp V6 suit GTV6, 75, 164 excellent $2,950. Will consider offers, can arrange delivery. Ph: 03 9889 1149. km Ford Aluminium Cylinder Heads, fully worked by Fontana in USA, never used, brand new and complete.

Just bolt on. $POA. Doug Nash 5 speed box, straight cut gears, close ratio with shifter. Never used. $POA. Ph: 02 9905 5814. KM Brake calipers - 2, 4, 6,8 piston, new/used, large range, spares/pads available. Priced to sell. Ph; CCI 018 925 767.

Oil coolers - Earls, Setrab, Serck, 7-60 row, used/new, large range. Ph: CCI 018 925 767.

6.01 Chev Parts, all brand new. crank BRC 3 9/16 stroke, 1 set 6” Manley rods, 1 set Cosworth pistons, 4.020" bore + tapered chrome molloy pins. 1 set 4 bolt main caps, above to be sold as job lot to suit 6.0I Sports Sedan motor etc. $2,900. Also 1 set Iskey roller rockers, new and in box $280. Call Geoff. Ph: 07 3252 4397(BH) or 07 3857 2761(AH). 105

202 Holden, fully rebuilt, balanced, blueprinted, fully worked head, roller rockers, Hi-Energy sump, McGee injection (will sell with or without). SPOA. Ph: 03 5996 2263 or 0419 388 192. los Chev 454, performance engine, complete manifold to sump, all new parts, all machining and balancing done, just needs assembly. Suit drag oar or boat. $5,000. Ph: 03 9338 8153 or 0419 576 614. loi

New Dunlop D28J 205/60/15 tyres on 15" Minilite wheels to suit RX7 $1,350. Ph: 03 9354 3050. 105 Brand New parts for sale. Chev 454 LS-7 short motor $4,600, Dart aluminium heads. Dart single plain manifold, Holley 1050 Dominator, Fluiddamper 8" externally bal anced, MSD billet distributor plus many more items all brand new and in boxes. For a full list and prices call Paul.

Ph: 03 9872 4992 or 015 886 460(mobile). 105 AP Four Spot Calipers, ex Nissan GTR racing calipers, one pair in excellent cond, also brand new pads to suit. Must sell $900. Call George. Ph: 03 9478 0121. 105 Nissan Skyline GTS1, brand new mag wheels, grille, front spoiler, steering wheel & boss kit, GTS3 rear spoiler.

Call Dayle. Ph: 03 9753 5250. kb

Cosworth Ford BDA engine, Lucas fuel injection, alioy block, just freshened. $15,000. Ph: 0419 777 229. m Chev 427, steel crank, L88 rods, forged pistons, exten sively ported L57 heads, Crane roller cam, roller rockers, Holley carb and manifold, stainless valves, Rollmaster chain, approx 600hp. $7,500ono. Ph: 03 9533 3550(BH) or 03 9799 1464(AH). m Chev SB 350, forged pistons, balanced, ported Fuellie heads, roller rockers. Street Dominator manifold, high vol ume oil pump, has run 11.1s. Approx 420hp. $4,500ono.

Ph: 03 9799 1464 or 03 9532 3550(BH). ,o4

Pit Board, black metal type as supplied by Revolution Racegear, complete with numbers, letters, handle and carry bag. As new. $150. Call Frank York. Ph: 03 9870 6683(AH). 105

Chev Pistons, 14:1 comp, plus 30 thou. Set titanium valves, inlet & exhaust valve springs and Holley Carby. Ph; 03 9790 1268 or 017 862 840(mobile). km

Custom Plates, held at RTA (Vic), BILL.OO, black back ground, white lettering. Best offer. Ph: 03 9470 4889 or 019

Car Storage & Workshop Space, Burwood area (Vic), suit race car storage and workshop, 24 hour access, good security. Also available on-site office facilities & mechanical services. Ph:03 9887 6217 or 018 647 626. km Automobile year, 1955,62,71,73,74,79,80. Formula One yearbooks, Bathurst yearbooks, LeMans yearbooks.

Indy yearbooks, Rallycourse 1982-87, World Rallying, Modern Motor 1973-93, FI News 1992-93. Call Steve. Ph: 03 9888 3875(AH). km Motor Racing Books, magazines, n/papers, programs etc. Send seif addressed business size envelope to R Krahe c/o Ballarat P.O. for list, km

Trailers/Transporters Tandem Trailer, fully enclosed aluminium, steel frame, 14'2"x6’5", lockable doors both sides and rear, tailgate and headgate, automatic application and power brakes, registered VIC, $3,000. Ph: 03 9457 3860 or 0419 343 368.

105

Dodge DF3 Transporter, 318 V8, dual fuel, long range LPG, tyre racks, fold up bench, flouro lights, ramps, tool trunk. $4,300ono. Ph: 03 9790 1268 or 017 862 840(mobile). w

Historic Photos, seventies and eighties. Brock, Johnson, Richards, Senna, Prost etc. Colour and B/W, majority unpublished. Tourers, F5000, FI, Sports, also Two Litre, V8's, 500cc, Bikes. Fax for details. Fax: 02 9960 6552. KM

BROCK

Nisnber plates, RTA approved NSW. BROCKS.$5,000 to will consider trade for HDT memorabilia collection with cash adjust ment. Ph:019126 463. km Magazines, Sports Car World, full set plus SC road tests, SC specials. World’s fastest sports cars, spare mags included from 50's to 80's. $900. Ph:08 9593 2511. km

Wanted

Wings - ex Gp A Commodore, Porsche Cup. Also alum single/dual plane, suit sports sedan, used/new. Ph: CCi 018 925 767.

Ronnie Peterson Autograph or any other piece of

if

Uprights - Cast/fabricated, front/rear, new/used, large range. Ph: CCI 018 925 767.

Isuzu SBR, 6cyl, 5spd diesel, 5.5m long inside, 300L fuel tamk, 1400km range, 5m aluminium ramps, 60001b Warn winch, inside cupboards, new tyres, new interior, very reliable, clean and tidy. $12,500. Call Mark. Ph; 08 8326 5775. km

memorabilia. Call Martin. Ph: 07 3881 2198(BH) or 07 3205 5723(AH). ,05 The Great Race Book number 10, 1990 winners Grioe/Percy. Call Anthony. Ph: 08 8277 3752. kb Racing Wheels, 2 of 13x6, 2 of 13x8, 4 stud 4 1/2" PCD, 40-35P offset, studs 10mm, nut 1.25, will consider other offsets. Call Peter. Ph; 03 9306 4880. ,05 Racing Crew Wanted, AUSCAR Sportsman at Calder

Speedcar Engine SCAT V4, this engine is complete and was new for Aust titles at Newcastle 1997, includes

Park Thunderdome Vic, Exp prefered, living in Adelaide or Melbourne metro areas, travel, uniform, accom, meals pro

exhaust, pumps, lines, Klnser injection, magneto etc, as pulled out of race car. Many spares come with engine including a block and 2 x complete Brodix #12 cylinder heads plus a host of other parts. $28,000 or will swap, trade etc. Call Neville Lance for full details, Ph: 08 9458

vided. Contact Tony. Ph: 0418 830 465. ,05 5 Link Ford Escort, Mkl or Mk2, bare shell or com plete oar in any condition. Ph: 07 5529 7146. 105 Clubman Sports 1300, good condition. Ph: 067 342 259 or send photos and information to John Wainleigh c/o Po Box 288, Glen Innes, NSW 2370. m

2239(BH) or 08 9454 4935(AH) or 018 944 070(mobile). 105

301 407. 105

Big Collection of Minichamps, Quartzo, Onyx 1:43 and 1:18 Formula One models for sale. Also available 1:20 unopened kits. Ph: 02 9905 5693 or Fax: 02 9905 3671 or E-mail: messmod@mpx.com.au. k»

port head, roller rockers, stud kit, JP oil pump, dynoed 400HP, 5 meeting old since rebuild. Good cond. $4,000.

Ph: 015 844 247. ,o4

Ford F350, 1977, 351 man, new engine, long rego, bucket seats, new white paint, twin gas tanks, side boxes, tyre racks, ramps, fits super sedan, goes well, no rust. $10,000ono. Ph; 02 9623 1427. km

060 405 936(AH) or 060 413 175(BH). losHoiden 202 Turbo, Carrillo rods, Venulia pistons. Cringed block, B+M harmonic balancer, copper head gasket, roller rock ers, Mahnkens inlet and exhaust, T04 turbo, twin CD carbs, all parts new. $5,500. Ph: 03 9357 3811 or 0412

Autosport Magazines, hundreds of issues including 1991-94 complete. $150. Ph: 02 9417 4558. los

Turbo 202 Holden, balanced, blueprinted, worked 12

Pedals - brake/clutch, h^nging/floor-mount, incI bias bar.

Also, master cylinders, pop valves, bias cables. Ph: CCI 018 925 767.

Suzuki GSXR 1200CC, Cowsorth pistons 13.5:1, Corello rods, headwork, new clutch, engine done three meetings since rebuild, current Australian title holder. Ph:

Other

Bathurst Programmes 1970 to 1996, good condi tion, I want to trade for posters from Bathurst of Holden before 1984, will not split. Ph: 019 126 463(AH). los

<

Holden 253, new rebuild, suit Sportsman or Commodore Cup, professionally built, top HP. $4,200. Ph: 03 9805 8256(BH) or 03 9803 2608(AH). 105

tery back-up, rated GVM 4000kg, stainless trim, 12' wide awning, side door, wired for 240V, fully undersealed, as new. $8,500. Ph: 07 5593 7133 or 07 5526 8288{AH). KM

414 404. 105

Gearbox - Hewland DGB 5sp, new Emco CWP, 2 diffs spool/Salisbury, air jacks to suit if required. No damage, exc. cond. Ph: CCI 018 925 767.

Engines

Large Car Trailer, fully enclosed, tandem sprung axles, 20x8x8, 4 lockable tool boxes, elec brakes with bat

Wizeco pistons to suit $550, fully prepared 4 bolt steel; caped, studded block $800ono. Call Greg. Ph: 03 9758 5610(BH) or 03 9785 1065(AH). .« l

Spoilers - ex Gp A front VP, Vr, carbon fibre/fibreglass.

Must clear. Ph: CCI 018 925 767.

AP Calipers, 4 spot radial mount, ex Group A front, recond with new seals and either alum ot titanium pistons, suit 12.5" to 14" discs, $1,550pr. New 4 spot lug mount, 31.5mm titanium pistons, suit 10.5" to 12.5" discs, suit Club Car front or Sports Sedan rear, $1,150pr. Call Geoff.

Ph: 07 3252 4397(BH) or 07 3857 2761(AH), kb

Toyota Dyna 2 ton Pantech, set up for Cfompact of Litre, generator, winch, aluminium ramps, wheel rack, bench, vice, tool board, lights. $5,000ono. Ph: 06 291 7793 or 019 442 712. m

Chev 6” Oliver conrods, large journal ec $1,000ono,

Clutches - twin/triple/four plate, 7.25/5.5 sintered/oarbon fibre. Spare covers, rings, plates. Used, new. Ph; CCI 018 925 7p7.

Brake discs- 7" to 14" new/recon/used, vented/solid, drilled, undriiled, steel/carbon/aluminium. Ph: CCI 018 925 767.

Radiators - aluminium/brass, 1, 2, 3, 4 core, new/used, various sizes large range. Priced to sell. Ph: CCI 018 925 767.

Ford F100, walk through van. 2 LPG tanks plus petrol 351V8, auto, air cond, p/steering, ideal tow vehicle. Can deliver anywhere. $14,500ono. Ph: 08 8382 7755 or 018 821 206. KM FIDO, 1982 model, LWB, canopy, auto, a/c, p/steer, dual fuel, 351 Cleveland, Sunrasia wheels. Pioneer stereo, Hayman Reece towbar, Reg & RWC. Truck is in VGC. $15,000ono. Ph: 03 9532 3550(BH) or 03 9799 1464(AH).

104

Lolus Sports Racing Car, built Old c1961, raced Lakeside May '62 - July '63. Driven by S. Everett, Construction history required for log book, John Mason.

Ph: 02 9570 2273(AH). km FI Tamiya Kits, un built Tyrell six wheeler, Ligier, Wolf, WRI, Ferrari 312T3, any early 1/20th considered, also wanted Mauri FI kits. Protar FI kits. Please call Andrew.

Ph; 049 484 472. km

You’ve just looked at over $1.5 million dollars worth of cars and parts for sale in Motorsport News Free Classifieds.

Let’s face it, there’s no better way to sell your motor sport equipment than in Motorsport News - It’s free and it works! f

5/

58 4July 1997

COIVtlVIENT Let’s keep 05

oj no

PA0_

Deal'Sir, With the retirement of Peter Brock it will be sad to think that 05 will no longer be circulating on Austrahan race tracks, so I have a suggestion.

Since Brock is the undisputed legend of Bathurst and 05 is part and parcel with Brock, why not give the winner of Bathurst the honour and privilege of carrying 05 for the following touring car season.

Ford or Holden it would be good to see 05 remain on the track.

NE\'VS

Editorial Editor David Hassall 'Technical Editor :Tcriy Glynn Assistant editor F'rij Branagan Graptlics Co-ordin^toV:v Brumby

Advertising Advertising Manager ' Gerald McDoman Advertising Representariwe Paul Burfitt

Dear- Sir, Well, I can’t help myself. My favourite driver is going to race at Bathurst, on the traditional long weekend,in a Vectra with Cleland!

He can finally win his 10th Bathurst and it won’t be in the pretend IMG race they are holding two weeks later. Derek Warwick is expected to partner Cameron McLean in another Vectra.

Contributors ' Genera). Mike Kable, Jon Tiiomson. , E.nan Reed, fiarr'.,! i-lack FI Joe Sa\\ard, Adam Coope?f Europe Quenun Spurring, l.-in Ramsey. ' n Gwyn Oolpnin i US. Bruce Smith, Phil Morns NZ..lohn Hav.'kins Speedway Dennis Newlyn, David ! , Mr Nabb, Wade Au.nger. Geoff ; ' Rounds, Mark Neale. Das'icl Lamont, i i Chris iVlercaii, .Sue Hobson, : Mich.ael Attweli. Tony Millard (UK) i Rally Feter '.t'hirten Drag Racing Gerald McDomrin, i G/ed U'ard. Jon vVfier lUSAj, : Cave Ostasrewski (USA). . Nick Niciiolas. Sleven Wmite, I , Ken Feiyuson, Scott Jug Super Speedway. Martin Clark (USA), n B.^rt Swanson, Sraan Henshc-iwrjod. ' , Karts Ian Sfitvestnn. Aiian Roark, n , Graerr.e Burns, Edward Krause 1 Photographers- IA\1, Dirk Klynsmit.h, ; I Coorn Pnotographics, Neil Hammond, ' : Nigel C Diana Snowdon, : se.'in Henshelwood, Brad Steele, | Ihundei-Pics. Marshall Cass, ) J'vlikc Harding, Brisbane Molcrspon, i ; Frank K'iidgiey, Jofin Bosher, Prill Williams, Mike Patrick (UK) ; MOTORSPORT NEWS

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Dear Sir, Firstly, I wish to congratulate Motorsport News on a great maga zine. Like me many people can’t get to all the action on the track so we rely on a great magazine like yours.

Secondly, congratulations must go to Larry Perkins for giving the women a go. Women can be equally as fast as the men, so congratula tions Lany for giving the women a V, chance in Group A. Thirdly, I’ve been a Brock fan for years, and I respect his decision for his retirement. I hope you get your 10th victory at Bathurst, so go get them Brocky.

K Sanders Nhill, VIC

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-ADVERTISING WORKS. irS THAT SIMPLE! Call Gerald or Paul on

03 9527 7744

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You’re a catastrophe, LP Dear Sir, It’s time that ‘Castrol Perkins Racing’ considered changing its name to ‘Castastrophe Perkins Racing’ as it appears whether there is a male or a female behind the wheel of one of their cars, they seem intent on causing as much ‘Calamity’ and inconvenience to

mien

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Dear Sir, I would like very much to con gratulate Channel 10 on its superb coverage of motor racing in general, as well as presenting it’s great motorsport program RPM. After being inundated with moronic football show after football show it is refreshing to view a comprehensive and informative quality progi'am such as RPM. But I would like to note one important aspect of the show. In

But Nine needs a kick Dear Sir, I was reading Ray Vonn-Brown’s letter about FI and I am glad some one feels the same way as I do.

Channel 9 has treated its FI viewers shockingly. Not only that, when Murray Walker isn’t speak ing, we have to listen to Channel 9’s commentators who can’t even pronounce half the driver’s names.

Since I follow FI all I can do is grin and bear it but I hope either another station gets the rights or Channel 9 opens its eyes and realises that something must be done.

Keep up the good work and keep up the excellent coverage of FI. Brandt Shamon Gold Coast, QLD

Dear Sir, As an avid touring car fan I am writing to’express my concern re the state ofracing at this time.

I, along with other fans that I know, fail to understand how one driver (Larry Perkins) can be sent to the rear of the field and fined, Greg Murphy sent to ROF and yet Russell Ingall incurs a suspended fine for his indiscretions.

What Ingall has done to others over past meeting appears to be more serious and has certainly caused more damage to cars.

It’s fine for Russell, when inter viewed, to say that drivers are out there to have a go but, if we exam ine history some of the gi'eatest dri vers we have seen, Allan Moffat and Peter Brock have raced close, hard and door-to-door lap after lap with the gi-eatest respect for their fellow competitors and their machinery.

I believe that CAMS, as the con trolling body of touring cars, needs to take a step back and examine what is happening in their sphere of operation at the moment. The pub lic are not seeing good, clean, hard racing but, rather, a very expensive version of a demolition derby.

N Morris Plumpton NSW

Madness

Castastrophe Racing? Reader R. Plenty reckons LP’s men (and / Photo: Darren House women)are in too much of the action! particular it seems to have far too high a motorcycle racing content, as probably influenced by Barry Sheene.

I have always had the belief that motorcycle-racers, in general, aren’t usually close'to the talents of pro fessional four-wheel racers and, in general, seem far too full of them selves for my liking.

What surprised me most of all from watching the June 8 program was that there wasn’t a single men tion of the King of the Mountain, Peter Brock. Deciding once and for all to announce his retirement from racing, anyone would have thought it would have dominated proceedings, Terence Bainton Bayswater, WA

Who wants AUSCAR? Dear Sir While the changes to V8 touring cars that have been suggested (V8 Revamp, Issue 100) have the effect that AVESCO are after (it may pro mote more passing) it may turn away spectators.

If they take all the wings off, all you would have is an AUSCAR style vehicle except that they would have a different engine and driveline.

By introducing a control camshaft teams will be spending the same, if not more, money devel oping the engines trying to gain the lost horsepower and, if they want sideways racing with more passing and Bent panels, why not take a

Dear Sir, Have we all gone completely mad! I’ve just spent the past two years putting up with all the bull shit associated with Super League which has torn the game of Rugby League apart and now my other love, touring car racing, looks set to suffer the same fate.

When it all boils down to it the fans have been completely disre garded in both cases. The cause of all the problems is television. In this instance Channel 10 and 7 fighting over the rights to the great race and screwing the sport up in the process.

Don’t get me wrong: I appreciate Mr Cochrane’s attempts to raise the profile of the sport and give the teams more prize money. Hell, they deserve it! But if that means that the admission prices go up any higher than they already are, then you can count me out.

I hope TEGA, AVESCO and IMG have been listening to what the fans have said in your publication in recent weeks because like Rugby League, V8 touring car racing is headed for disaster. Now’s the time to hit the brakes.

Michael Zomazi.

Kings Langley NSW

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other race teams as possible.

I have been a Holden supporter for 30 years but this is one team I can’t abide.

You’re a good man, LP

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Nathan Wong e-mail ED:Don’t get too carried away just yet, Nathan. While there are parties trying to make it hap pen, there are others equally adamant it won’t.

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Talk

Jen IS kicking goalS

Brock’s Super-tenth?

Co.mp'uieive- 100237,116$

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what if Dick Johnson wins and

Managing Director jun. Lambden

Einml: msnews(Sozonline.coni.au

Cut the contact

R Plenty Kingston QLD

Administration

: 89 Orrong Cresceni ; Cauifiekl Norm tflC 3!61 iPO Box 1010 Nonh Caulfield 3161 1 : f'hone: 03 9527 7744 Fax 03 9527 7766

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