Motorsport News Issue 150 - 9-22 April 1999 by V8 Sleuth

EXCLUSIVE: V8s at Bathurst in October! Issue 150 X ■*' Ct"*'

r -5£

$4.50 (NZ$S.9SlnclQST)

r ^

NEWS

9-22 April 1999

J- Hi

jj j’jjj j

W ar.

■■-

I. «

I Jl

r, i

_ -

imnica

Touring Car Star's

$625,000 payday | JohnBowe Thunderdome Garth Tander writes finale Interview:

a 9

5 o

fOJIFILM

VALCAP1

‘mmins

VCRTCREWP

Tie:pJMt,

nt «utu« TQVCNKCUIMJ

houocn

SdHieiltiitg (at

KtiOW ‘CAU$t

iAW

N.'S

OBMtCl gKBlWBJ

HiHDBiwai* ||io efMeii (ait I

HOL-OEN

supepcaP

1 s'

GRMSLTN1

GRMSLTN2

FORM Price

Size

Qty

S. M. t. XL ML

JBTWl

$27 Jason Barnwanna (white) JBTB1 $27 Jason Bargwanna (black) GTTW1 $27 ● Garth Tander (white only) RSTW1 $27 Rachelle Splatt (white only) PGTB1 Peter Gratz (black only) $27 $25 GRMSLTN1 Holden Slogan (navy only) (It's true there really is a God. Iknow 'cause I saw him drivinq a Holden V8 Superear) $25 GRMSLTN2 Holden Slogan (navy only)

(My Holden V8 or my girlfriend? Tough DecisionI

VALVOLINE CUMMINS WWTItU

CAPS VALCAP1

$22

Team Cap

POLOS

VCRTCREWP) Crew Replica polo VCRTCASPN1 Casual Team polo (navy only)

$45 $49

ANORAKS VCRTAN1

Team anorak (navy only)

K*»-

$230

ASSORTED

VCRTSHN1 Stubby Holders (navy holders) VCRTTATTS1 Tattoos: Sheet of 2 separate tattoos

57 X 78 mm $7 $2.50 See opposite lor postage and handling details *Plllt Pottago & Haitdlinfl

P'otal purchase ^minimum order $20) TOTAL

VCRTSHM1

PERSONAL DETAILS Total

Mr, Mrs, Ms. Miss Surname

First Name

Address

Suburb State Fax number

Postcode Email Address

Age Occupation Valvoline Cummins Race Team Supporters Club Member: Yes/No Member number

PAYMENT DETAILS Please Indicate payment type. ● Cheque ● Money order ● Bankcard ● Mastercard

●Visa

●Amex

(Make cheques payable to Garry Rogers Motorsport. Do not send cash.)

Card number □□□□ □□[

] □□□□ □□□□

Card name

Amount

Signature

Expiry Date

●POSTAGE Calculate single item purchases as follows Tattoos & stubby holders S2 CapsS4.T-shirts&polosS5 Anoraks $7. If purchasing more than one of the same class or goods (eg t-shirts, caps or polos) then add $2 for the second and each subsequent item. Anywhere within Australia

Simply fill in your details and send.with payment to: Garry Rogers Motorsport PO Box 222 Oakleigh Vic 3166 or fax your credit card order to: 03 9564 8033 In Signing above you authorise Gany Rogers MototspoM to cbaige me staii.. amount to the credit card listed above In so doirtg you warrant that you autnonseo -.SiCL to petmit such use of the card Goods lost through the post are not tht' re ly of Gairy Rogers Moiorspon

O If)

Find us on the internet: grmotorsport.com.au

9Aprill999

Ua^O®[FSfj)®n^

Junior Tourer, 2-litre

HRT gets Morris

Bathurst V8 touring cars are set to coining October.

shaky following substantial losses by Seven in its role as race promoter for the

A joint announcement is expected, possibly within the week, from Advantage

Advantage has also joined the swelling support

return to Bathurst this

International,

Channel

to take on the two-litre

promotion of the new cate gory, which is expected to

Bathurst 1000.

The motor sport rumour mill has been buzzing with the story this week and, although Advantage’s Steve Frazer was unable to com

ment when we spoke with him on Tuesday, Motorsport News believes the sign-off on a final deal between the parties is imminent.

The category’s specifica tions and regulations are currently with CAMS for evaluation and approval, but clearly stamp the cate gory as a feeder to V8 Supercars - much like Winston West is NASCAR in the US.

r‘ Holden Racing Team in the endurance races. Everyone denied it this week when con

tacted by Motorsport News but an impeccable source suggests that the Queenslander will start testing a Commodore VT before Just add V8s and stir: Jim and Steven Richards lead the Bathurst field in 1998.

tbe end of Autumn. The BMW driver will share with one of the

Commodore and Falcon Junior Tourers will be joining the fun this year. (Photo by Marshall cass)

two regulars - almost certainly

Tourers as well as major supports such as the Junior Touring category. While Steve Frazer was unable to comment on specifics of his negotiations

major free-to-air TV networks doesn’t withdraw from motor sport. “What’s happening in V8 Supercars is terrific, but the sport as a whole is

McConville is likely to have Craig Lowndes as a co-driver. As we said, officially it’s ‘No com ment’, but we’d bet on it...

on Bathurst, he did offer an

much better off with car

insight into the motivation behind it: “The overall purpose of what we are doing is to ensure that one of the

racing on more than one major free-to-air network. That’s what we’re working on, and I am hopeful it will all come to pass.”

for the endurance races, it seems

explosion in activity. At the same time, and linked with all these devel

under initial construction, according to Motorsport News sources, and the like ly inclusion of the category in the Bathurst 1000 race

show will feature British

‘could well produce an

and

for some months has looked

Morris will drive for Mobil

opments for obvious rea sons, Channel Seven’s announcement of a regular motor sport show is also expected. Motorsport News under stands a regular weekend

There are already num bers of Junior Tourer cars

■trs:.

HOT tip of the week: Paul

debut as a supporting cate gory to the Super Touring Championship in June.

As we reported a fort night ago. Advantage International is poised to take on a major role in the running of the Bathurst 1000 race meeting, which

behind the all-new Junior

Tourer V8 category being promoted by Bruce Williams, Peter Brock and Ron Harrop. We expect Advantage to take a strong role in the

head in the main event, the

past two years.

Seven and the Bathurst City Council outlining a major revamp of the Bathurst 1000 meeting, including the expected elevation of the allnew Junior Tourer category Super Touring cars head-to-

Australian

Super

Idelaide: 2 more victories?

Mark Skaife - while Cameron

■ While we’re pairing drivers that Adam Macrow may be returning to his Ford roots in V8 races in the future. After an

impressive debut in Alan Jones’ Falcon at Sandown and Bathurst last season look for the

Formula Holden driver to stay in the Tony Longhurst outfit at Willowbank and Bathurst this

year - and this time he will be in Castrol colours.

■ Easter was a big weekend for Alan Gow. Before he man

aged to spend the £250,000 at Bonington on Monday his wife Leanne presented the TOCA Ltd Chief with their first child,

Courtney Leanne (taking this management thing a bit far, Alan?) Mother and daughter are

doing well: Dad is spending the inheritance on Independent

By CHRIS LAMBDEN

BTCC teams...

V8 Supercar racing heads to Adelaide this weekend for the Sensational Adelaide 500 with

planned move away from the

HRT protecting a 1999 white

Thunderdome is gaining momen

■ Australian NASCAR’s

tum quickly with a plan revealed to competitiors at the

wash.

In two race meetings and seven races, Holden’s glamour team has yet to be beaten.

TTiunderdome last week of a

three race, road course series to be held in Malaysia in

This weekend, with its endurance format, offers the oppo sition its best chance for an upset. With car speeds so close this

September. The Malasyian pro moters are after 20 Australian

stock cars, with a ‘$20,000-plus expenses for three’ guarantee for teams if they start all three

year, sprint races can be won by qualifying on the front row and starting well - as the HRT duo have amply illustrated.

races.

■ Reynard Motorsport has

This week, however, that advan

tage is diminished. A pair of twohour races, with stops, means that a myriad of other factors will come into play. While there will be two seg ments to the weekend’s race, it will in fact be treated as a single race, interrupted, if you like, by an

named Robert J. Swistock its

Chief Financial Officer, with act

ing CFO John Gower now becoming Commercial Director.

Off and running: Lowndes and Skaife have dominated the season. Will Adelaide be different? (phoio by oirk Kiynsmiih) Replacement of mechanical parts the Queensland 500 and rect the anomaly, will not be allowed. As the first “enduro” for 1999

Bathurst), which is in fact only double the points available for a

overnight “yellow”. Sunday’s pro ceedings will start with cars in Saturday’s finishing order, although cars over a lap down will start with that number of laps

began to approach, questions were being asked by the teams about the points system which, although incorporating the long distance

single sprint round heat, Had Mark Skaife won all three heats at Eastern Creek, he would have gone home with 150 points

races for the first time, hadn’t

for the day and there are many

deficit to make up.

ended up offering much by way of points incentive.

who believed that endurance race double points should thus be 300,

The cars will be locked in their

garages at 7pm on Saturday evening, with only superficial bodywork and other repairs able to be carried out in the interim.

The

philosophy

of “double

not 100.

points” for the endures had ended up offering 100 points to the over-

The issue was broached by some teams with TEGA last week, with

all winner this weekend (and at

a late change being made to cor-

“Endurance points were always meant to be twice those of a sprint round,” Garry Craft told us on Tuesday. “It was just an over sight...” 44 entries have been confirmed

for motor sport’s return to the streets of Adelaide, with a full complement of 27 “professional” team entries and 17 privateers.

Supporting the two main races will be events for Formula Holden, GT-P and 60s Historic FI cars.

Swistock has been CFO for

Patrick Racing and mostly recently the Indy Lights series, and will work out of the new

Reynard offices in Detroit. ■ The Formula Vee Super Series kicks off at Sandown on

April 24/25. Twenty-five drivers from around the big brown land will line up for the series, which will offer the winner a test in one of Michael Borland’s

Spectrum Formula Fords.

INI

9Aprin999

n Brands Hatch boss Nicola Foulston has sent out letters to the 800 members of the British

Racing Drivers Club, out lining her offer for the Silverstone racing circuit, a BRDC subsidiary. Foulston is tiying to stop the club from taking the advice of its financial advi

sors and setting up a new company to operate

Silverstone independently, renting it from the BRDC. a Jackie Stewart is rumoured to have started

talking to Dario Franchitti

/]E®D(D[FSm®[FO

Broken hand may stop Badoer By JOE SAWARD LUCA Badoer crashed

heavily last week at Ferrari’s

Fiorano

test

track in Italy, while test ing his Minardi-Ford MOl. The Italian driver who knows the circuit well

because of his testing duties with Ferrari had completed 49 laps of the circuit when his fly-by-wire throttle sys tem appears to have mal-

functioned, sending the car off the road at high speed. It crashed heavily into the bar riers and Badoer suffered a

fractured irght hand. He was taken immediately to the local hospital, in the town of Modena, where he underwent a small operation to try to ensure that the injury would heal quickly. Fortunately, Modena is

Costa, who is based at the

replace Badoer in Brazil, it is

city’s St Agostini’s hospital. He operates the Costa

still uncertain whether he will be able to drive in

Equipe emergency service which is present at all

Brazil. The Interlagos circuit

rounds

the

World

Motorcycle Championship. Dr

Costa

examined

Badoer’s injury and concluded that if everything goes well

home to the famous Italian

he thinks Luca will be able to race for Minardi in Brazil. While Minardi has

sport surgeon Dr Claudio

announced

plans

is bumpy enough to make it uncomfortable for totally fit drivers and an injured hand could be a serious handicap. Minardi’s decision not to test another driver after Badoer’s crash means that the team

Marc Gene who has driven the current Minardi is

Gastone Mazzacane, who test ed for the team in February at

Mugello. The Argentine driver has very limited Formula 1 experience and a wiser choice for Minardi would probably to be bring back one of its 1998 drivers.

Shinji Nakano was negoti ating for the drive during the

may suffer in Brazil. The only driver other than

off-season and is understood

Badoer and his team mate

to be available if necessary.

about a drive in Grand

Prix racing when his con tract in America ends. Franchitti drove for

Stewart in the junior for mulae.

■ Eddie Irvine says that he will let Michael

Schumacher pass him if necessary despite the fact that he is now ahead in

the World Championship. The Ulsterman is under contract to allow Schumacher to overtake

whenever necessary. H Times are hard in

Brazil. The state govern ment of Rio Grande do Sul

has recently suspended $250 million in incentive payments to Ford and General Motors because it

wants to use the money to pay for social services. The

Unser back in 4 weeks INJURED CART star A1 Unser Jr is aiming to return to Team Penske six weeks after breaking his ankle at the season opener at Homestead. That would mean that the veteran driver would miss just two rounds of the Championship before returning to the cock pit in time for the Nazareth oval race on May 2. Unser, 36, is making good progress following a successful two hour operation to repair the fracture to his irght ankle. “I’m doing better than the last time I was in this position,” said Unser, who broke the same leg after a crash at Road America four years ago. CART surgeon Dr Terry Trammell used a plate and six screws to repair the broken ankle, which will not be placed in a cast.

two car companies were to receive $250m between

After the operation Dr Trammell said, “Unser Jr. is in good condition. The surgery went well and there were no surprises. It will be four to six weeks before A1 can get back in a race car

them to build new facto

and we will need to build a carbon fibre brace for the ankle

ries in the area. The politi cians are also arguing that

which will allow him to push the pedal.” While Unser will be unable to walk properly until mid-

tax subsidies to multina tionals should be axed.

1 The Brazilian nation

al oil company Petrobras (a Williams sponsor) could make a bigger investment in the sport in the future as it prepares for global expansion. The local gov ernment has appointed a naturalised French-born businessman Henri

Philippe Reichstul the new president of the company. This is a significant change of policy as previ ous Petrobras bosses have

been political appointees. ■ Action Performance

continues its expansion in FI with a five-year licens ing contract with Benetton to manufactui'e and sell

die-cast replica models of Benetton cars, drivers and team members. ■ Michael and Corinna

Schumacher have a son, bom at their home in

Vufflens-le-Chateau,

Switzerland last Monday. The baby is to be called Mick. The couple have a daughter called Gina Maria.

a The catastrophic fire

June, he should be fit to race in mid-June. “In three months time. I’ll be walking and back to 100 per

cent,” he said confidently. Unser is trying to get his rehabilitation moved to a chil dren’s hospital in Alberquque, where his 12-year-old daughter Cody is being treated for partial paralysis.

MEANWHILE Tarso Marques will fill in for Unser in this weekend’s Motegi oval race, and at Long Beach. The young Brazilian tested brilliantly in the off-season for the Payton-Coyne team, only to be tipped out of a drive by a lack of sponsorship. Marques, 21, has no oval racing experience, but a team spokesman said that Penske Racing was confident he would do a good job in Japan.

THE news is not so good for the other driver injured in the accident, Naoki Hattori. The Japanese rookie’s injuries are much worse that Unser’s and, while he is undergoing treatment, he is expected to miss the rest of the season. There is no word yet whether Walker Racing will replace him for upcoming races. - PHn, MORRIS

f« SAuto

1999 BTCC Independent Race Winner

25*00*

TOCA LID. HEAD OfflCt

'AVLtCf

THE MANOR, HASElEY BUSINESS CENTRE WARWICK CV35 7lS

Ttjo UtMdred And

Ikoumnd | ^ FOft&ONSEHAlFOrroCAlMiUTtO

foiMiU Onl^

Smile, Mr Gow: TOCA boss Alan Gow hands over the moola to Donington winner Matt Neal. (Photo by BoihwcH Photographic)

Independently wealthy MATT Neal has taken the richest prize in the history of the British Touring Car Championship by winning £250,000 -

that’s $625,000! - at Donington. The vertically-enhanced Pom took the money from TOCA UK Chief Alan Gow as a bonus for becoming the first Independent driver to win a round of the BTCC.

Presenting Neal with his spoils, Gow said, "I’ve never been so pleased to hand over a cheque of this size before! Matt drove superbly and he deserves every penny.” Neal drove to victory in the longer Feature race at Donington, overcoming a stall during his pit stop and the brilliance of Honda’s James Thompson to take the che quered flag tor the first time in his seven year touring car career. After a swift stop Neal’s Team Dynamics lurched to walking pace but the 32-year-old rebooted the engine and set off after Thompson, Alain Menu, Rickard Rydell and Yvan Muller all zoomed past.

But the Primera was quickly into stride and five laps from the flag the inevitable hap pened. “It’s awesome. I can!t put it into words,” gulped Neal after the race. “I have been .in this championship for seven years and the team and I have had lots of good and bad times. It's great to achieve this with Dynamics.” The win had been widely anticipated, despite the fact that an Independent team has never won a BTCC race. Neal finished third at Brands Hatch last season and sec

ond in the AMP Bathurst 1000, he and co

driver Steven Richards pushing the works Volvo all the way to the flag. During the off-season Neal has led test ing times and Team Dynamics has taken full advantage of their older Nissan Primera, which is based around the road

car’s 4WD platform while the Nissan facto ry team has developed their 1999 model, which is based on the 2WD example. For a full race report, turn to page 13.

Oapitanio to defend charges By GERALD McDORNAN

DRAG racing Champion Romeo Capitanio will vig orously defend himself against drugs charges,

in the Mont Blanc tunnel

solicitor Nick Galatas told

under the Alps is likely to

Motorsport News this

put the seven-mile tunnel

week.

out of action for months to

Capitanio, 42, was charged by Victorian police in rela

come. This means the jour ney between Italy and most of northern Europe will be significantly lengthened an irritation for the FI teams, particu larly Ferrari.

n^ir

charges,”

having locked horns with

Galatas said in a statement

those

officials a number of times

released on Tuesday. A report in the Melbourne Herald Sun on Good Friday stated that Capitanio had been remanded in custody until June 18, although Capitanio actually received

over the last 10 years. Aside from that Capitanio,

bail.

tion to the possession, culti

vation and trafficking of cannabis last week. “Romeo emphatically

denies

against

all

the

charges

against him and we will strenuously defend him

“The Magistrate remanded Romeo on bail stating she was satisfied that exception al circumstances existed jus tifying his release pending the hearing,” Galatas said. Capitanio’s career has been spectacular and contro versial, the Melbourne racer

and his brother John have set numerous national

records, run a npmber of his toric firsts and won three

Nationals titles - including this year’s Top Fuel crown just over two weeks ago and an Australian Top Fuel Championship. The Capitanio brothers, admired for their consistent

performances with the tem peramental nitro burners, also launched the career of

Rachelle Splatt in 1993.

Determined; Romeo Capitanio will defend drug charges.

U!^o®[FmxsXf^

9 April 1999

Morris, Watts

PEUCK

^Oi "*»^T5n

■ Italian driver Jarno Tnilli has criticised the Prost Grand Prix team’s

pit stops and says he has little faith in the team but

for Lakeside

wants to see improve

By PHIL BRANAGAN THE field for the BOC

Francois Castaing a gi-eat believer in using Formula 1 to promote automotive products has been

tyres are different to what we raced on a couple of years ago so we had to change the set-up to get

Gases Super Touring Championship has been

the

swelled by two cars and

both

have

best

out

the

Yokohamas,” said Morris.

the

ments.

■ Former Renault

Sport boss turned Chrysler executive

months. His last start

was at Bathurst in 1997,

when he qualified on pole position and was first across the line, only to be disqualified for a driving time infringement by co driver Craig Baird.

appointed to the board of

potential to win the opening round of the

“Durability and consis tency is the strength of the Yokohamas and tyre

series at Lakeside.

wear doesn’t seem to be a

Indy Lights last year

Former champion Paul

problem. I did 50 laps in

Morris

petitive he will be. Volvo’s

Morris is a certain starter

testing at race-speed and my times only dropped away a fraction so we’re looking good.” “As far as the champi onship is concerned, I think we’re capable of winning some races.

Australia, where he raced

Jim Richards and Audi’s

an Audi A4 at Bathurst.

Jones both say that they

Despite his unfamiliarity with the car he out-quali

have no doubts that Morris will be one of the

fied team-mate Brad Jones

top contenders for series

and was running in con

honours.

tention when the car holed

“The BMW will be very kind to its tyres,” Richards

in an ex-works BMW, while British BTCC driver Patrick Watts is also dri

ving in at least the first two

races

Starion

Racing’s 1998-spec Peugeot 406 (see separate story, page 13).

There are some tracks that will suit the front-

Morris shook down his BMW 320i last week at

drive Audis and Volvos,

Lakeside last week, run ning consistent times dur

and others where the rear-

drive cars might have an advantage. It will come

ing his first outing on Yokohama’s new control

down to being consistent, the same as every year.”

tyre, with a best of 52.9s. “The car (BMW) felt

Lakeside will be Morris’ first drive in a BMW for 18

good in testing, but the

The Pat-mobile: Patrick Watts will drive Paul Grimm’s 1998-spec

After a half season in returned

Peugeot 406 at Lakeside and Oran Park,

a sump on track debris.

said last week after test

Morris’s car will be run

by team co-owner Tim Neff, a race engineer who

specialises in damper tech nology for US teams from his IndianapoUs base.

(Photo by John Morris/Mpix)

New cars blues for

Richo, Wall

ing the updated 1997-spec Volvo S40 that team-mate Mark Williamson will

Volvo S40 that he will race this sea

drive in the championship.

son.

While Morris is down

Paul is a very competitive

playing his competitive ness, his rivals are less

driver, makes him the man we all have to beat,”

doubtful about how com-

he said.

He’s ba-ack: Paul Morris re-acquaints himself with the ex-Brabham BMW 320i and Yokohamas at Lakeside.

time to get used to the 1998-spec The car was on its way to Australia as MN closed for press and was due in Brisbane yesterday (Wednesday). While the car is race-ready, the George Shepherd team will not have much access

to the car before practice and qualifying.

Last week Richards and Williamson

spent two days testing at Lakeside, Richards doing much of the set-up work and tutoring the new lad in the ways of the S40.

Both drivers had relatively trouble-free runs and both were, like Morris, impressed with the durability of the Yokohama tyres. JAMIE Wall will start the BOC Gases Series in the ex-Steven Richards Honda Accord before

switching to a newer Nissan Primera for Oran Park.

The ex-BTCC privateer had hoped to get the ex-Matt Neal Nissan for the first race but he will now run the Honda that Mark Adderton drove last season.

Once the 1997-spec Nissan lands the Accord will be taken over by Anthony Robson, who will drive his own BMW 318i

in the opening round of the series.

New driving code gets all Virginal Prince Malik

By MIKE KABLE

RACE and round sus

pensions and fines of

up to $10,000 are among proposed penalties in a crackdown on “biff-’n-

bash” driving in V8 Supercar racing being enforced later this year, The

new

hard-line

approach will involve a

code of driving hehaviour that is currently being drafted - with input from the Holden Racing Team’s Mark Skaife - and an AFL-

style judicial panel which will deal with alleged mis demeanours.

They are the founda tions of a disciplinary sys tem

CAMS

intends

implement in all motorsport categories next year. The get-tough moves have been revealed by Gary Craft, chief execu tive of AVESCO, who told

Motorsport News that unruly track behaviour had caused “some con¬

cerns over a period of time” among teams, spon sors, drivers and CAMS. This had led to calls by the V8 Supercar teams association, TEGA, for a comprehensive review of the basic rules of racing that had been imchanged

onus is on him or her to

make

safe

passing

manoeuvre and where a car needs to be for its dri

ver to claim ownership of a particular comer. “In more recent years, as a development of that,

Virgin says it wants to be

about the onus also being on the lead driver, in

era of amateur motor-

respect of his responsibili

sport with little rele vance to its present-day,

ties. You can’t block the

field, for example, from

multi-million dollar com mercialism. Skaife is involved in a

the start to finish of a

sub-committee comprising two CAMS representatives and that body’s motorsport manager, Tim Schenken.Skaife says the aim of the code is “preven

driver makes an overtak

tion rather than cure”.

appropriate penalties for particular misdemeanours that will be recognised as significant deterrents.” “Racmg has to be about achievement through your own ability, not pushing

understand what rules

we’re operating under. Over the years, there’s been a lot of chat about

the responsibility of the overtaking driver, what

sponsorship deal with Virgin Records. associated with the Prince’s

since the mid-1950s for

“We’re looking closely at racing etiquette and it’s important for all of us to

By JOE SAWARD ARROWS boss Prince Malik ado Ibrahim last week announced a small

there’s been more focus

mation of CAMS, in an

race, or weave from side to side when the following

ing move. “Protocols must be observed in the interests

of fair, tough racing. “There’s

other drivers track.”

need

off

for

the

Bob Lutz, another fan of the sport. ■ It has been a week of

major restructuring at Kirch, the German TV

group which pays Bemie Ecclestone for the digital feed from each Grand

JIM Richards will not have much

“That, and the fact that

Exide. The battery compa ny is now being nm by former Chrysler president

pioneering attitude and mav erick management style to advertise its new website “the-raft.com”. It will also

use the FI sponsorship to offer corporate hospitality to some of its corporate clients and its VIP artists, which include Mick dagger, Phil Collins, David Bowie and Tina Turner. The deal is not believed to

be worth a great deal of money, although it may be that Arrows is hoping that once Virgin gets a taste for GP racing it will increase its involvement in the sport.

prise” at the San Marino Grand Prix on May 1/2. The Prince claims that he

is trying to attract a new

type of sponsor to FI and hopes to be able to find money in Africa, the Middle East and the United States of America and his recent comment that the next

Michael Schumacher might be black has led to specula tion that he will try to put a black racing driver in the car as soon as possible. The Anglo-Danish Formula 3000 racer Jason

Watt is the only black driver in action in top level interna tional racing at the moment.

Prix. The group announced a new joint venture with Italian Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset and Saudi Arabian financier Prince A1 Waleed. The result is that ICirch has

been able to buy the remaining shares in the pay-TV channel Premiere. ’The company is now expected to transfer its FI coverage from the loss making DFl to Premiere, which has many more subscribers. ■ Bemie Ecclestone has

confirmed that Dubai, in the United Arab

Emirates, is negotiating to hold a Grand Prix. As

long ago as December 1981 there was a “Dubai Grand Prix” on a 1.6-mile

track around the Hyatt Regency Hotel paid for by the city. This was organ ised by British business man Martin Hone and featured five races one of

them won by Tom Walkinshaw and demon

stration runs by Formula 1 cars. The city, which relies heavily on oil rev enues, has been investing recently in building up its tourist trade with new

hotels, duty free shopping, and a series of major international sporting events such as the Dubai

World Cup, the irchest horse race in the world, an offshore powerboat Grand Prix, the Dubai

Open tennis and Desert Classic golf competitions. ■ Prost Grand Prix will

have a completely new gearbox next season. John Barnard has already begun work on the devel opment of a much more sophisticated imit which will be mated with the all-

new Peugeot VIO engine which is being planned for the 2000 season.

■ Eddie Jordan recently

If the Prince’s San Marino

found time off from arn-

surprise is a sponsorship

ning his team to fly off to

deal it makes no sense at all to have missed the first two

races of the season. One pos sibility that should not be overlooked is that he could

While the deal will not do

announce plans for the team

much for the Arrows budget it will help the Prince’s credi bility and he continues to say that there will be “a big sur¬

to be floated on the London

Stock Exchange. If that hap pened it would be the first FI team to go public.

the Middle East where he

took part in a charity bicy cle irde, which covered the 120 miles of Jordanian desert between the Dead Sea to the Red Sea.

Jordan joined the event at Petra about halfway to Eilat.

INI

9 April 1999

South African Werner

Junior Tourers for Prettys

Lupberger. The choice appears to be between

By GERALD McDORNAN

Britons Oliver Gavin and Jamie Davies. Both tested for the Kent-based team

NATHAN

in Spain last week.

firmed starters for the

■ The Edenbridge Formula 3000 team will soon nominate its second

driver to partner the

■ BMW expects to track-test its all new

Formula 1VIO engine later this month. A modi fied 1998 Williams FW20 will be used for the first tests and the 199 FW21 racecar will run with the

Paul Rosch-developed unit later this year. Jorg Muller, who is also Team Sauber’s Formula 1 test

and reserve driver, will carry out the track work.

and

new Junior Tourer catego ry, the brother and sister the abandoning

Mirage

Thunderdome for the new national series.

The Wodonga racers are, this week, about to begin construction

two

series

Commodore Junior Tourers, converting their existing DeWalt

Tools AUSCARs

By PHIL BRANAGAN

over, with a complete new VT Commodore expected to

'THERE could be a onemake series for

be built within months.

■ VW has confirmed

Nathan Pretty told Motorsport News on Tuesday

that new regulations, designed to attract more

that the team were keen to run the series from the

manufacturers to the

beginning and would begin work straight away on the

B'TCC in 2000 has brought it closer to a Super Touring campaign. VW Motorsport Principal Andre van der Watt said: “We only have engines with five valves per cybnder and, as these

One make

Nicole

Pretty are the first con

new cars.

‘The Junior Tourer deal is

Yes folks, that ;s a VT Commodore: Russell Caddy gets to work on the first Commodore VT Junior Tourer at his Melbourne workshop. (Photo by Tony oiynn) On their departure from the ’Dome Pretty said they were disappointed the team wouldn’t be continuing at the superspeedway. T thoroughly enjoy AUSCAR racing and I’m going to miss it.

are to be admitted, we

looking good and we’re going to be at the first race in July with two cars, and maybe even three,” Pretty said. ‘AVe’ve got an opportunity

would be interested in com

to move to a new category

tion for the future ... and

peting. It would suit our present technology.” 'The Germany company’s circuit racing involvement

that will give us a great chance to expose our spon

that’s hard to sell to any potential sponsors,” he said. With a long term goal on racing competitively in V8 Supercars, the Prettys are also busy preparing their Commo dore touring car, last raced at

has been focused on the

turbo-diesel categoiy in endurance Touring Car racing and it will run a new Bora for the Nurburgring 24 Hours over June 6-7.

VWs position has tradi tionally been that it will not compete against its VAG Group sister company Audi, which is no longer racing in the UK series.

sors on a national basis and

that’s what they’re after. “We also have a good knowledge of the cars that were the basis for the class

and that should help us be competitive from the start.”

“It’s terrific to race in but

the sport isn’t national and there is absolutely no direc

the Grand Prix, for the Wanneroo round of the SCS.

launch his race career in a

Chrysler Viper GTS R run by his former mentor in the FIA GT Champion ship. Team owner Hugh Chamberlain, for whom Hoy first raced back in the 1970s, has signed up the 46 year old to partner Portugal’s Ni Amorim in the series opener at Monza. If sufficient back

ing can be sourced, then Chamberlain will run Hoy ■ While Audi and BMW

miles on its GT-ONE at Paul Ricard in France last weekend. Driver Martin

Brundle reported that the 3.5 litre V8-powered racer

VS. I’m going to go to his Ballarat workshop and have a look at it."

are aware that an October

A strong possibility is that Wyhoon will convert a

Bathurst outing would be good value.

The

former

champion and NASCAR dri ver is watching developments in the class closely and may drive a Bruce Williams car later this season.

“I’m looking at it," he said on Tuesday. “Bruce has offered me his

ing to Formula 1 reduced when

the French car company announced that it is spending $5.1bn to buy a 36.8% share holding in the Japanese car company Nissan. In addition Renault will spend

$320m to buy Nissan’s financial subsidiaries in Europe and will invest more to buy into Automakers, Nissan’s South African operation. The deal means that Renault

becomes Nissan’s largest share holder and, in effect, controls the Japanese company. Nissan has

using

its

cash

siderable real estate, has still man aged to create a debt burden of

reserves of around $2.1bn to pay

nearly $18bn.

row the rest of the money. The company’s management admit that the move is risky but argue that the company is too

Renault’s investment will reduce

this to around $12bn and the French company hopes that a restructuring plan will return Nissan to profit by 2001. The two companies say that the

merger will save them $3.3bn in costs in the course of the next two years.

for the deal but will have to bor

uled kick-off date in June.

The series is apparently being promoted by Bill O’Gorman, who ran the Suzuki one-make series

three years ago, Ralliart’s Bob Riley and Doug Stewart and former AGP and TOCA official Mai

Hemmerling. The cars, which have been built specifically for racing, feature 1.6 litre MIVAC four-cylinder engines, which operate with variable valve tim

ing similar to Honda’,^ VTEC system. The 175 horsepower engines would potentially give the cars a top speed of up to There is talk that a tele vision deal has been done

for the series but, with a

full program on the Shell Championship Series, it seems unlikely that there is any room for a new series. And

small to survive as the car indus

try consolidates and would be swallowed up if it did nothing. If the alliance fails the outcome will be the same. The deal means that Nissan-

As part of the deal Renault’s

TOCA’s

Kelvin

O’Reilly has not had an approach for a run on the BOC Gases support pro gram. “I’ve had no contact

with the alleged organis ers of the series,” he said

two other French executives

Renault joins General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler as major global players, and leaves Fiat, Peugeot,

will take key roles in Nissan’s product planning and finance

Honda, BMW and Mitsubishi exposed to possible takeover.

sider or to discuss with

Carlos Ghosn will become chief

operations officer of Nissan and

this

week.

“1

have

absolutely nothing to con any of the promoters.”

Team switch for Macrow ,5

=*‘11 T?

U' * *.

REIGNING

Formula

Ford

Champion Adam Macrow has switched camps after just one round of the Formula Holden

series,

moving

NRC

International. The move to the Arthur Abrahams-

owned NRC team by Macrow has also left Stephen White out in the cold and, at this stage, without a

dashed when an accident WCPt.

chances for this year. Brundle said that the new version of the car had

drive.

Spectrum FF constructor Mike Borland, who ran Macrow in a Reynard 92D at the first round at

Eastern Creek two weeks ago,

been much improved since

informed Macrow and team owner

he tested at the French

George Stockman that he was unable to devote enough time to the FH pro gramme last week, necessitating the

venue in February when Toyota shared the circuit with Audi and BMW.

- QUENTIN SPURRING

Renault

Plans are being formed to import up to 35 Mitsubishi Mirage race cars from Japan for the series, which has a sched

210km/h.

divisions.

years and, despite selling off con RENAULT’S chances of return

winning potential. The 39-year-old Briton, whose hopes of a second Le Mans victory were is upbeat about the team’s

AUSCAR

)

had demonstrated clear

befell his Toyota last year,

Williams-built AUSCAR to

JT specs. “I haven’t said yes or no. Bruce has a couple of cars and I’d be happy to have a go at converting them and, maybe, racing one. With him, or Steve Harrington, I might be able to have some input and go racing." While Wyhoon’s sponsor BP Car Care is happy with the exposure they have received in NASCAR they

made a loss for six of the last seven

in the entire series.

were racing at Sebring, Toyota was putting more

TERRY Wyhoon may be on the verge of joining the move to Junior Touring.

Renault takes Nissan By JOE SAWARD

■ Axed by the factory Ford Mondeo Super Touring team, sportscar and Super Touring veter an Will Hoy is to re

...h Wyhoon next?

Mitsubishis this year.

move.

I want more: Macrow (25) is switching FHolden teams. (Photo by Marshall cass)

“There’s no hard feelings with Mike and us ... he just didn’t have

the time to run our car the way he wanted to and keep up with what he’s doing with the Formula Fords,” Macrow said on Tuesday. “Thankfully we’ve been able to get together with Arthur and sort out a deal for the remainder of the series.”

Macrow will drive the latest gener ation Reynard 95D - the car which had been slated for White to drive at

Eastern Creek, White telling Abrahams just two days before the event he wouldn’t be driving. Macrow tested the car at Calder

Park yesterday [Wednesday] before heading to Adelaide for this week end’s race.

“The new car is quite different so I’m told and I’ll need a few laps to get used to it, but I’m looking forward to driving it and working with Arthur and the team.”

9Aprill999

Walker

■ Jordan’s Technical

Director Mike Gascoyne has always fancied him self as something of a rac ing driver, competing in

‘no’ to Calder IRL

Clubmans events. Over the Easter weekend he

took part in the Bosssponsored British Historic Formula 1 championship at the wheel of a Tyrrell 022. This was the first FI

car that he designed and it is now owned by Australian airline mag

“POSITIVELY, definitely will not happen,” is Qantas Australian Grand Prix Chief Ron Walker’s assess

ment of the possibilities of promoter Bob Jane run ning an Indy Racing League Indycar race at Calder Park next March.

Walker spent considerable time with Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IRL Chief George during the American’s

nate Paul Stoddart, who is supplying Jordan with a VIP aircraft from his

European Airlines fleet to fly to races this year. Open air racer: Andy Wallace gets chilly in the name of development in Audi’s new R8C GT contender. (Phoio by Sunon images) AUDI’S new R8C GT car packing up and leaving or has broken cover during a continuing with only one ■ ■ ■ secretive test at Snetterton in the UK. The car was shaken

visit to Melbourne for the Grand Prix last month -

down by Audi newcomer Andy Wallace and was so

George and a party from IMS in Austraha on a fact-finding

new that the British driver was forced to run without a driver’s door for much of the

mission for their own FI

Grand Prix next year. “It

will

never work in

Melbourne and I think Tony George understands that it could never compete with the Grand Prix,” Walker told Motorsport News this week. Jane told Motorsport News last issue (#149) that George was keen to run an IRL race

at Calder Park as early as next year, the Melbourne pro moter stating he believed there was a market for anoth

er international open-wheeler series race in Australia.

AND, while the Victorian Government wasn’t prepared to get into a bidding war for the Sandown 500, Walker, head of Melbourne Major Events, did say the organisa tion would be prepared to speak with Jane, or any other potential promoters of the

Australian Drag Racing Championships in an attempt keep the event in Victoria. Melbourne Major Events backed the event in its early days at Calder Park, report

edly putting up to $80,000 into the Nationals.

ANDRA recently put the event up for bids from inter ested parties around the country. It is believed Calder, along with ‘soon-to-be-constructed’ facilities in Sydney and Adelaide will bid for the event.

- GERALD McDORNAN

door. The car shares a number

of components with the R8R sportscar, which had its race debut at Sebring last

at the Norisring?

THE new Audi - and cars from Mercedes-Benz and BMW - could be seen at

month. Both have a twin-turbocharged V8 engine and,

the classic Norisring street race on July 3/4.

apart from the roof and rollbar structure, are almost

The door blew off early in the test and, with no spares

identical from the front bulk-

The promoters of the hugely popular event intend to upgrade the event by invit

head backwards,

ing top Le Mans teams. They

on hand, the Audi UK team

Testing is set to continue are hopeful that Audi and prior to the cars running at BMW will join Mercedes-

session.

had the option of either

Benz, which has confirmed that it will contest this annu

al little ‘classic’ on the short, 2.25 km street circuit in

Nuremberg.

In addition to the top Le Mans teams, the promoters are also extending the invita tion

teams

from

the

Internationals Sports Car Series.

- QUENTIN SPURRING

■ Sauber is continuing its search for a manufac

turer engine deal for the future and we hear that the team’s technical direc

tor Fritz Kaiser is talking to a variety of car compa nies, notably Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen. ■ Williams is currently undergoing major changes in its media department. The team’s Press Officer Fiona Welford left before the start of the season and

Aussie FFs out of luck

has yet to be replaced and now Media Manager Jane

MARCOS Ambrose fin

Continental AG has announced that its chair man Hubertus von

Gorard has told the team

that she is moving on. ■ German tyre maker

ished ’third after starting from pole and James Courtney was taken out after starting sixth in his car racing debut as the

Gruenberg is to be replaced by Stephan Kessel, the 45-year-old head of the company’s commercial tyre division. Von Gruenberg is the man credited with resurrecting the company and his move at the age of 56 is a sur prise. Reaction to the

1999 British Formula Ford

Championship got under way last weekend at Bonington Park. showed Qualifying Ambrose and the new Ray chassis to be right on the pace following the development work carried out by Marcos, the Tasmanian grabbing pole by a slender three-hun

announcement has been confused with some ana

dredths of a second from the

works Mygale of Nicolas Kiesa, with the lead Van Diemen of Neil Shannahan

just a tenth further away. Courtney qualified a cred

Ray Racer: Ambrose (10) leads the pack at Donington. Courtney is fifth. (Phoioby sutton images)

itable sixth in the 34 car field. Ambrose led from the

engine problem. Two of the pack were taken

start, but gradually slipped

out in typical Formula Ford incidents, leaving Scotsman Craig Murray (fourth qualifi-

back

to the tail of the five-

car lead pack with what later transpired to be an

er in his Mygale) to win from

Kiesa and Ambrose.

Courtney was eliminated after an incident involving Ambrose’s team-mate Tom Sisley, “We could have won if my

engine had lasted the distance,” a philosophical

Ambrose reported afterwards, “but third is a good start to the season and I am happy with my performance.”

lysts suggesting that it may be an indication that something big is about to happen to Continental. The company has expressed an interest in becoming involved in FI but is in danger of being swallowed up in the con solidation currently going on in the tyres industry. A takeover by either

Bridgestone or Michelin is not impossible.

McRae focusses on Formula 1 By JOE SAWARD

Pnoic by Sutton images

COLIN McRae says he is think

ing about switching from rally ing to Formula 1 racing in the future.

The Ford Motor Company says it will organise a serious test for him at the end of the season. Whether this is

a serious story or a means of grab bing some more publicity for Ford is yet to be seen. “The test is not for fun,” comment ed Ford’s Martin Whitaker. “Colin is streets ahead of FI drivers in terms

■iTiMl i/pyjjJiiJii JliiJilaxi liiiua ’ i'll) i’/lijjjay it)

^ i'Ji>

; PIAA Austrolia Radng Team offers for sole their Reynord 91D-003, ex Joson Bright/Biranna Formulo Holden. This vehicle is straight and has been maintained, regardless of cost, comes with top horse power engine ond P!2 i system. Gearbox has been completely overhauled in March 1999 and all other running gear.

[ 1998 results: 2nd in Silver Star Championship, 3rd Tickford 500 Support Race, Winner of Australasian Cup, I Australicr/Hew Zealand, 6th New Zeoland Grand Prix. Ihe only Australian car and driver to complete every race i held throughout Australia and NZ during 1998.

Plus over $45,000 worth of spores, UKluding fuR set of wets and is rote rend

of being a complete driver. You

could put him in any car and he would be quick.” Whitaker added that if McRae is

going to switch to Grand Prix racing

The first funny hat in GP racing; Colin McRae

it will not be until the end of the 2000 season because the Scotsman has a

If you ore wanting to step into this exciting

two-year $10m contract with Ford to compete in the World Rally

category and hove the necessary goods to be competitive from your first race, then this is your opportunity. Total package SI 10,000 or less engine $90,000. Serious offers only. Call les Crompton on 03 9820 5133 or 0413 879 989

Championship.

9ApriU999

Mk)Oco)[?0m®[?o

Honda unveils new W12,

The sooner we get the car on track, the sooner we can start to

try to bridge the gap to HRT - but that certainly is a fairly substantial gap at the moment,

NHRA two seater Top Fueller

he format for this weekend’s

T race is certainly going to be

tough. The new track will certain ly retain much of the character of the old circuit but you won't have

By PHIL BRANAGAN

APRIL Fools’ Day came and went

without

issue

much time to rest with the old

back straight cut in half. It should be a bit like a cross

Motorsport News hitting the newsstand - but that hasn’t

stopped our media colleagues from getting in some jolly japes.

with John Bowe

England’s Autosport reported that

Everyone in the V8 community is certainly looking forward to

Ferrari had built a 2-seater FI car

but, unlike McLaren’s which has the driver and passenger sitting line astern, this one featured side-by-side seating. One of the reasons was that

this

Asst Ed McDoman hasn’t been the same since.

The Dutch reported that Jos Verstappen would replace the injured Luca Badoer at Minardi; Italians said motorcyclist Max Biaggi would get the job; Germans suggested that there will be night racing in FI. But the spoils go to Autosport from Japan. They not only had spy shots of Toyota’s new FI car in Benetton and Marlboro colours but

a new BAR paint scheme which is MUCH better than the original, including 555/Lucky Strike helmet logos for Villeneuve and Zonta.

its name.

Ticket and corporate sales are

stronger than some of the Grands Prix they held in SA and that is a real credit to the team at AVESCO and the South

Australian government. The streets of Adelaide cer

tainly have been kind to me in the past but I think life will be a fair bit tougher than when I won all the

But the gold went to their photo of Honda’s FI prototype engine. The unit was

races in 1994 and 1995.

The standard of competition has improved out of sight in the past few years and you really

a W12 and was SO convincing

checked our Japanese

have to be on the ball all the time.

sources to see if it was real. It wasn’t ...

The have been workin ing Cat hardboys to repair our car

at least, we think it wasn’t.

But

JUST

time for this weekend while also

CASE you hear a shrill W12 fire up at Albert Park next year - remember, you read

working on completing our AU Falcon for its intended debut at

McLaren was given a royal seal of approval last week when the heir to the British throne

Charles, Prince of Wales, paid a

for a similar event in 2000.

“We have had a preliminary meeting with the Bathurst

Moroney said the 2000 pro gramme would be enhanced in several ways. “Were looking at other cir cuits and attractions,” he

the race.

AsPrix,I predicted the toGrand there will after continue be a few surprises as the year goes on. Steve Ellery’s star shone

bright at the GP, but at Eastern Creek it was Garth Tander’s turn.

I have always rated Garth’s ability - anybody who can win the championship in Formula Ford these days has a fair idea of what they are doing - but he has been caught up in his share of drama

circuit again on the weekend

after the Grand Prix” said MD,

Gerard Moroney.

said. Aroxmd 65 enthusiasts from

- Europe and Australia took

Browning on (03) 9879 9111 or

part in this year’s track dri-

fax (03) 9879 0911.

told, the application is likely to be received favourably,” he

YOU

ARE

He has a good car under him and showed that if you can get the set-up right and keep your nose clean, you can have a good result.

Here’s hoping it will be Cat Racing’s turn soon!

atmosphere.”

Expressions of interest in the 2000 Track Driving pro gramme can be registered with Wheeltorque’s Australian agent, Michael

“From what we have been

in recent times.

said. “At the same time we’re

gramme too much, one of the attractions being the relaxed

-joesaward

first across the line - you’ve won

Creepy crawling: John Bowe’s Caterpillar car had a tough time at Eastern Creek, the team having to work overtime to make it to Adelaide. (Kiynsmiih)

not going to crown the pro-

interest in motor racing in the past, although his sons Princes William and Harry are both Fonhula 1 fans.

Sunday - providing you are within 20 seconds of the bloke that is

Bathurst.

that we would like to hire the

Italian Grand Prix. The Prince has not shown much

third or fourth across the line on

Bathurst authorities and CAMS, the British-based Wheeltorque organisation has already begun planning

headquarters in Woking. Hakkinen who presented him with the helmets they wore at last year’s

The event will be a bit like a

500km race with a red flag waved at half distance. Things may be a little confusing for the spectators on Sunday. You could be 20 sec onds ahead on Saturday night but

ving programme, taking in

(Photo by Jim BiUup&NHRA Online)

City Council and indicated

met David Coulthard and Mika

certainly be early to bed on Saturday night. Doing two solo 250km races in two days is going to taxing on all components including the driver!

'FOLLOWING a positive

it here first.

45-minute visit to the team’s

The Prince toured the facility and

be hard work. You can bet the drivers will

Barbagallo. It has been frustrating waiting for the new car to come along. The more laps you can do in a car the more you can learn about what makes it tick. Component suppliers have held us up and while we are trying to complete the AU, development of the EL is at a complete standstill. A double frustration for everybody!

One day WlHieltorane 2000 your prince response from participants, several tracks along with wifi come...

Sensational

Adelaide 500 and, by all reports, the event looks likely to live up to

Michael Schumacher would find it easier to tutor Eddie Irvine in the

finer points of driving techniques ... In America the NHRA got in on the act as well, with photos of a two-seater Top Fuel dragster on the internet setting hearts a’racing.

weekend’s

between Wellington and Winton, but with only one driver, life will

INVITED

ATTEND

THE

1999 Peter Brock Foundation Dinner Promising an exciting night of first class entertainment and the opportunity to purchase via auction a number of items exclusively obtained for this event including a special

WHEN:

Saturday 8th May 1999 7.00 pm for 7.30 pm

Peter Brock Foundation VT Holden.

Peter Brock Foundation Holden Calais, a one off car

specially optioned to Peter's specifications. A unique car... The Peter Brock Foundation is a significant contributor to the community providing assistance to various organisations and worthwhile causes. The Peter Brock Foundation has a strong commitment to assisting the community and individuals in times of need.

Card no □[

□ □□□□ □

Card name

WHERE: SUPER AUCTION: Be there to bid for the exclusive

Please debit my □ Visa □ Bankcard □ Mastercard

Palladium Room Crown

Entertainment Complex.

Name _

DRESS:

Address

Black Tie

TICKETS:

$200. Tables of 10 $2000.

Exp date

Signature

p/c

RSVP: 28th April 1999 to Bev or Sandy. Ph 03 9714 8263 or fax 03 9714 8344 or forward details to Peter Brock Foundation, PO Box

596 Hurstbridge VIC 3099. Cheques payable to Peter Brock Foundation.

9Aprill999

Poor weather hampers Where's Willy-ams? latest FI testing THE Williams Formula 1 team

the team completed 3000 miles of

was due to turn up at Magny-

running with the older car.

Cours last week but failed to

appear, the test being called off because of a lack of spare

By JOE SAWARD

FORMULA 1 testing

sent took the opportunity of running. The second day was

continued at various

fine and Heinz-Harald

tracks around Europe, despite poor weather

Frentzen emerged fastest having completed 150 laps over the two days, his best lap being a

which

ruined

McLaren’s test at Jerez

in southern Spain and disrupted running at Magny-Cours. The French test was the

biggest, featuring Jordan, Prost and Sauber, the first day ruined by rain although all drivers pre¬

lml8.03s.

Damon Hill was only a tenth

slower

than

Frentzen and completed 140 laps, giving the team

testing facility at LurcyLevis spending two days doing aerodynamic work up and down the runway of the airfield. Olivier Panis was third

fastest at Magny-Cours with a best lap of lml8.59s after 165 laps while Jamo Trulli did 110

laps, not going for a quick timebut running a best of lml9.70s.

Sauber ran only one car

a total of 760 miles for

for Jean Alesi on the first

two days.

day. The Frenchman suf fered gearbox problems and was able to do only a few laps. Diniz took over the next day but the team did only 60 laps in total, setting a best of

Jordan’s test team then

moved on to the nearby

lm20.70s.

McLaren chose to go toJerez de la Frontera, keen to run the MP4-14 in warm conditions on the

bumpy Spanish circuit in preparation for Interlagos. The test was conducted behind closed doors and no details were released.

Progress was not helped by driving rain and high winds. McLaren also did aero

Ferrari spent the week end at Jerez with Michael Schumacher and Eddie

Irvine completing 300 laps between them. Schumacher concen

trated on trying to find more grip, while Irvine did race simulation work. Schumacher tried to

dampen down criticism of Ferrari, saying that the F399 is “a very good car” and that it is impossible to judge the team after just one race. The team then went

back to Italy where a sec ond test at Fiorano began on Tuesday, Luca Badoer

parts since the Australian Grand Prix.

This is an embarrassing situation for the team and a big setback as it has done no development at all while rival teams such as Prost has

been able to complete more than 2000 miles of running. Williams went into the season

with less mileage than most of its opposition, having completed only 1500 miles of running with the FW21, while some other teams had completed more than 2000 miles before the cars were shipped off to

The team should have everything back in proper order when it begins testing at Barcelona this week. The only news made by Williams

in recent days is that it is not plan ning to rely on tobacco money in 2000. At the launch of the team’s

new Williams FI brand, the team’s

head of marketing Jim Wright, said that he expected high technology, telecommunications and computer companies to replace tobacco firms in the years ahead. There have been rumours in

recent days that Mika Sale may be named the team’s reserve driver

although such a move would make little sense for the Finn as he is

Melbourne.

hoping to get back into racing as

It should be noted, however, that many of the parts of the FW21 were

soon as possible. He remains more likely to be involved in the Honda FI programme.

tested on the old FW20 in the course of the winter months when

- JOE SAWARD

doing six laps, shaking down a car for Schumacher to use. The German then ran

two full days - a third spoiled by rain - complet ing a total of 218 laps of the track (403 miles).

’ll

The team will test at

Mugello this week where they will be joined by Minardi. Stewart

Grand

Prix

went to Lurcy-Levis to do aerodynamic work with former F3 driver Mario

dynamic work on the run way at Kemble airfield in

team returning to England

Gloucestershire with test

confident that it had found

driver Darren Manning.

even more speed.

Haberfeld at the wheel, the v/hl

I^ricted to barracks: McLar^g was.hampewd by bad le testing this week, (^jj^sutiojimagas) ■

Beat the heat!

I 4

HURRY - LAST CHANCE TO ORDER FOR THE SENSATIONAL ADELAIDE 500! ●Adelaide ●Ballarat ●Brisbane ●Cairns ●Canberra ●Central Coast ●Darwin ●Gold Coast ●Hobart

free call

●Mackay ●Melbourne ●Newcastle ●Perth ●Sydney ●Sunshine Coast -Townsville ●Wollongong -New Zealand: Auckland

1800804778 to reach your nearest store

Now its a really good year! World of Sport

Motor Raring Calendar

Shell Championship Series VSSupercars* April ... .Adelaide 500 ... .Rd 2 ,Rd-3 May 2 Wanneroo May 16 .. .Phillip Island Rd 4 June 6 .. .Hidden Valley .. .Rd 5 June 27

,Rd6

. .Sandown

July 11 .. .Willowbank

,Rd7

July25 ...Calder

,Rd8

Aug 8

Symmons Plains .Rd 9

FIA Formula One World

Chamionship Aprill ...Brazil

Rd2

May 2 —San Marino

Rd3

May 16 .. .Monaco

,Rd4

May 30 .. .Spain

Rd 5

June 13

. .Canada

Rd 6

June 27

.France

Rd 7

FedEx CART

Championship Series* Apr 10

Motegi, Japan .. .Rd 2

Apr 18

Long Beach, Ca .Rd 3

May 2

Nazareth, Pa

May 15 .. .Brazil

By AARON NOONAN

SCOTT Goodyear finally broke through for a victory in the Indy Racing League at Phoenix, tak ing his G-Force/Aurora to victo ry after a tough day of racing. The Pennzoil Panther driver ran

with the leaders early, and capi talised on a number of caution peri ods caused by crashes, to take the victory from Jeff Ward’s Pagan Racing Dallara by 4.7 seconds after 200 laps of fast and furious action

tyre problems or got into the dirt but he braked way too quickly and we had nowhere to go,” Ray said. “We were just hanging out in sec ond place. We were faster than Scott Goodyear. I was in no big hurry to make a move.” Defending IRL champ Kenny Brack was another eliminated in an

series after a couple of years, and it feels absolutely great," Goodyear

accident - Raul Boesel tagging Brack’s car, spinning it into the path of Steve Knapp. Boesel managed to continue while Brack and Knapp were out immediately. Former Indy 500 champs Eddie Cheever and Buddy Lazier were left to challenge Goodyear, but the

said.

two also crashed out.

on the one-mile oval. “This is our first win in this

“It was great for the team. We fin ished as high as second before, but this definitely is better than that. It’s a long time coming in the IRL.” Goodyear’s task was made all the more easier as his fellow front-run

ners fell by the wayside. Pole-sitter Greg Ray was elimi nated after making heavy contact with John Paul, Jr, “I don’t know if John Paul had

Rd 4

Tyce Carlson worked his way up to second before his Aurora V8

engine let go, spearing him into the wall on lap 67. Roberto Moreno qualified fourth in Joe Truscelli’s car and ran in the top five until lap 193. Moreno prompted the final cau tion period after sliding onto the grass, allowing Robbie Buhl to take third place, the first podium finish for the Nissan Infiniti engine in IRL competition sin

,Rd5

Japan

Rd2

Mike Groff fin ished sec in ond Orlando in 1997.

May 9 Spain May 23 .. .France

,Rd3

Billy

SOOcc World Grand

Prix Motorcycle C'Ship* Apr 18 —Malaysia Apr 25

Rd 1

Boat was

,Rd4

Saved once this year: Pheonix winner Scott Goodyear .°-x3ic oj

itTagas;

FORMER Indy Racing League

the mover of the race, finishing fourth after starting 23rd, while rookie Scott Harrington gave the Nissan people another reason to smile, taking fifth as well as the

star and now-NASCAR driver

Tony Stewart may face legal action over his proposed Indy 500 start this May.

lead in the Rookie of the Year

standings in his Harrington Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti. Goodyear now leads the IRL pointscore with 93 points. Ward is second with 73, while Eddie Cheever is third on 63, two points ahead of Scott Sharp. Traditionally Phoenix is the final race prior to the Indianapolis 500,

Stewart, one of the most com petitive drivers in the series since the IRL started, has

however the IRL will visit the

Stewart tried another team.

stated that he wants to race in the classic on a one-off

basis, but his former team owner John Menard has sug gested that he would be pre

pared to take legal action if to

run

for

newly-named Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 1 in Charlotte

Menard claims he has an option

before practice for the May classic

on the driver’s services for the 500.

commences.

- PHIL MORRIS

Rd5

June 6

.. .Italy

June 20

..Catalunya

.Rd6

World Superbike Series April 18 .. .Australia

JJJl

Rd2

May 2 ... .Britain

Rd 3

May 16 .. .Spain

Rd4

May 30 .. .Italy

Rd5

June 13

,Rd6

. .Germany

Follow the leader: Ducati Deader Team riders

Craig Connell and Steve Martin 1 dominated at Eastern Creek. ■ -)

FIA Formual 3000

International C'ship May 5

Imola

.Rdl

May 15 .. .Monaco

Rd 2

May 29 .. .Spain

Rd3

1999 NHRA Winston

Drag Racing Series April 11

Houston

Rd4

Apri 25

.Dallas

Rd5

Australian Rally Championship Apr10-11

LIKE HRT in the V8s, Ducati

.Coffs Harbour .. .Rd 1

May 7-9 ..Canberra*

Dealer

Team

dominated the Superbike

Rd2

races at Eastern Creek.

FIA World Rally Championship*

Craig Connell and Steve Martin finished line astern

Apr 21 ... .Spain

.Rd5

May 9 ... .France

Rd6

May 30 .. .Italy

Rd7

BOC Gases Austraian

Super Touring Car C'ship April 11.. .Lakeside

Rd2

May 2

Rd 3

Calder Park

May 30 .. .Mallala

.Rd4

in the two races, while Andrew Pitt presented the only consistent challenge

SimdflV _

single seaters and open wheelers

AF2, Formula Ford, Formula Vee,

April Historic Formula Ford ^ Formula Junior

Slinilsy All NSWClasses Hill Climb Championship Round 5 2S^ April

to the red rockets on his Team Kawasaki 750. While the Ducatis were

dominant, the lead battle was far from dull. Connell

and Martin threw every-

thing at each other during the events, and it was only the odd slip which allowed overtaking manoeuvres. Shawn

Giles’

recent

injuries did him no good at all. His Ansett Suzuki flew in race one to come in

fourth, one spot up on team-mate Paul Free.

But perhaps the star of the races was Kevin Curtain. The Formula

Xtreme champion took his Production Superbike Yamaha R1 right into the

1 J

Check your local guides for screening times A/) event dates in this calendar were

correct at the time of printing. Please consult any individual tracks and/or

Check your local guides for screening details.

which owed much to a dud start from Giles. The near standard bike was a

match for the pukka superbikes in the corners but was

hosed

Wakefield Park

BnidwiiilRil Admissioii GiulbumNSW only $1D

OTj[dren under 14 yrs free - Kiosk and bar facilities on site.

On a circuit where there

are shorter straights and more tight corners - like Winton Cutain and Yamaha could start to look

pretty damn good... - PHIL BRANAGAN

Round 6

Round 4

Round 5

Feb 27-28

March 20-21

April 17-18

Eastern Beach

City Beach Wollongong

South Broadwater

Geelong Vic

Surfers Paradise

Tel: 02 4822 2811 Fax: 02 4821 9305 PROMOTIONS

E-mail: gofast@goulburn.net.au www.goulburn.net.au/~gofast

the

straights.

1999 Australian Jet Ski Championships

associations for date changes. Series or events telecast on Network Ten are marked with an asterix.

taking a sixth and a fifth

'■jet ^SPORTS^

ten

battle for overall honours,

All the fastest Jet Ski Racers in the country.

For information phone 02 4963 3944

: 1'] :■

SUPERBIK

9AprilW99

Foggy SBK start at Kyalami wheel in addition to opting for a dif-

champio'n,

By DARRYL FLACK

ferent Michelin compound to teammate Fogarty, who chose to run a

McLeod, who suffered fatal injuries after he was struck by another bike

THREE-time Superbike World

more conventional 17-inch wheel. “Carl made a good start and

after he fell due to mechanical

*^hen it was always going to be difficult catching him,” said Corser.

Superbike legs,

Champion Carl Fogarty scored an emphatic double victory at

the opening round of 1999 at Kyalami,

South Africa

March 28.

The 32-year-old Briton took out

both legs comfortably, and now holds a comfortable 14-point buffer over Aaron Slight (Castrol Honda) and Troy Corser (Performance Ducati) going in to the second round at Phillip Island on April 18. For 27-year-old Corser, it was the case of the one that got away after he blitzed the field in Superpole, smashing the unofficial lap record. “I think I chose the wrong rear

22-year-old

Brett

problems on the first lap of the

Polled out a gap on the rest of us

Supersport race run between the

Then the rear tyre started going

Edwards 24, Yanagawa 21, Lavilla 18,

offabouthalfdistance and that was more or less that.

“In the second, it was more of the

same and I had to ride hard just to keep my place, with a tyre going off again. I didn’t feel at all happy afterwards. You could say that it was just a day of frustration and I hope I will not have to go through another one like that again.” Slight carded a 3-2 finish for the day and was lucky to finish the sec-

tyre which meant that I wasn’t able to fight hard for the lead in both races,” said Corser, who grabbed

chili 17, Romboni Fujiwara 11.

3g_

36,

14, Haga 13,

Number one: Foggy started the 1999 season in the same winning fashion that he ended 1998.

after avoiding the highsiding Yamaha R7 of Noriyuki Haga. “Haga passed me on a right-han-

second and third.

der but I was slow in the mid-cor-

“It’s just so frustrating, because I

ner and he came across the front of

knew I had a chance of winning. In the first race, maybe we chose the

me but he didn’t do it on purpose,”

wrong wheel and tyre, but it should

said Slight. “Just before Haga

have worked as it had done in qual ifying.”

crashed he looked behind, saw me

in his face and then high-sided out

Fogarty has started off his title defence in the best possible way, his double victory bringing up a

of the chicane -1 had to go between him and his bike and I ended up on the grass.”

record 50th SWC victory. Still, the

Haga gave the new Yamaha a

usually cocky Ducati rider was creditable debut after finishing strangely subdued and reflective i fourth in the first race before his afterwards.

second race demise.

“Yeah, I’m really happy with today’s result. But sometimes bike racing is so unpredictable and can cause great grief. I won’t be open

Peter (joddard, had a mi.xed week end on the all-new Aprilia RSVIOOO after crashing out in the first race.

The other Aussie in the field,

Aussies in King Arthur’s Court: Troy Bayliss (Ducati), James Haydon (Suzuki) and Steve Hislop (Kawasaki) crest the hill at Brands Hatch. Craggill (below) impressed all with his G & D. (Photos by Nigei snowdon)

Tough UK baptism for Marty

He came back in the second to a

ing the champagne this evening, that’s for sure, just a couple of beers to get over the shock of today.” Corser stuck to his qualifying set up, that included a 16.5-inch rear

score a fine seventh in the second race, 21 seconds behind the winner, Fogarty. The meeting was marred by the death of multiple South African

MARTY Craggill made a coura geous debut in the 1999 British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch on March 28. While his Clarion Suzuki team

mate James Haydon won a leg around Brand’s club circuit, Craggill was forced to beat the pain

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

SOUTH AFi^^N ROUND

KYALAMI, 2^^^tARCH 1999

barrier to finish in 12th and tenth

positions following a Saturday crash which left him with a broken

bone in his left hand and a deep gash requiring 20 stitches in his

COUG\S

left calf. m

sw'GAR

‘i

f■

Same time, this year: Corser, Fogarty and Slight took their triple act into yet another season opener at Kyalami. The three look like dominating again.

Amazing the team with his brav ery, Craggill soldiered on to pick up a handful of points in his first-ever race on British spil. “I could hardly hold onto the bars

12th place. Suzuki Team Manager Paul Denning was full of admiration. “I am very impressed - he is certainly

and I couldn’t slide the bike at all

a brave man,” he said.

but three points is better than noth ing,” said he said after ending up in

SWC discard Neil Hodgson took out the other leg, while his Ducati

When you want to find an automotive site on the Internet, see ozcar.com

race.

-DARRYL FLACK

team-mate, Aussie Troy Bayliss, picked up a fourth and se\*enth. Another Aussie, Karl Muggeridge (Honda), finished second in the British Supersport Championship

_LLj\

Take the confusion out of searching the Internet. See www.ozcar.com for: ● Classic Car News

● Motor organisations

●Car Clubs ● Race Results ● Formula 1

● Bike Clubs

● Classic Car Insurance ● Spare Parts

● Race Fuels

● Classic Cars For Sale

● Car Magazines ● Bike Magazines

● Videos Restoriation / wanted to see, or

● Car Repairers ● Tyre Suppliers ● Race Circuits

● Race Car Simulators ● Car Manufacturers

●Classic Rally Info

● Book Suppliers

● International Car Sites

In fact ● International Suppliers 'anything you evet^ ● Auto Artworks ● Race Wear

know about cars & <bikes that’s on the.

baru

Ulj

msmti-

Lancer|'

58 1999

FREE LISTING Services. News. Web site for your business, club or organisation. Coming events. If it is not already on the links pages, please enter your details on the listings section. Absolutely FREE if you let us have it by the end of February.

li'/l

AfOIV AVAILABLE IN MORE SIZES

ubaru

RerkiT

If VK: Stuckey Tyre Service

Ph: (03) 9386 5331

www.ozcar.com Your Australian Automotive Internet Resource

SA: The Mag Wheei Centre

Ph: (08) 8269 4100

1^^

Nissan

NSW: Stuckey Tyre Service

■ ’'

WA: Kostera’s Tyre Service Ph: (08) 9293 3500

I flu

Ph: (03) 6273 7555

(02) 9676 8655

Road & Race Spare Parts ■

Ph: (07) 3279 1533

TAS; Bob’s Speed Shop X

[Mi)0®[?sm(o)[?o

9 April 1999

Auto

uto

refer

roftfei

uto

Au rra

refer Jluto

pyhanato

rradler

idler

ato

refef*

The half-million I dollar smile

Big man, big pay day: Matt Neal delivered in spades at Donington and took home $625,000 - plus prizemoney - for the day. His Team Dynamics Nissan Primera had too much stuff for the works teams, here trailing through Schwantz Curve. (Photos by sunon images)

MATT Neal has scooped the richest-ever prize in British motor sport, dri ving to a £250,000 ($625,000) victory at Donington Park. Neal’s big cash pay-out came in the second round of

Thompson’s Accord making an impeccable getaway from pole position as Neal spun his wheels. As the pack dived through Redgate Corner, 'Thompson’s closest challenger was 1997 Champion Alain Menu making his BTCC Jason Plato’s Renault holding

Primera to become the first

Thompson, who had been forced to miss the morning warm-up session with engine problems, put any worries he

race.

In so doing he won the quarter-million-pound prize put up by championship organiser 'TOCA. Presenting Neal with his spoils, TOCA Chief Executive Officer Alan Gow said: “I’ve never been so

pleased to hand over a cheque of this size before! Matt drove

Donington Park (National) 4/5 April 1999 Round 1 18 laps

Christophe Boullion. Neal was fifth.

Thompson

2 3 4 5 6

Menu Plato Leslie Neal Muller

Rydell

8 Cleland 9 Kox 10 Radermecker

Neal

bility to the back of his mind as he eased out a healthy lead. By lap 10 he was nearly

Thompson

3 4 5 6 7

Plato Cleland Radermecker Boullion Kox

Spence

3s clear. The battle of the race was

that for third, Plato holding

'●inlaiKinil <Z>

off first Boullion and then a determined David Leslie. The

back from fifth after a fum

McLeans. Neal tried his best

9 Brookes 10 Muller

to make up for his startline disappointment but repeated attempts to dislodge Leslie from fourth came to nothing. Yvan Muller took sixth on

his maiden Vauxhall outing, having deposed the Volvo of subdued reigning champion Rickard Rydell eight laps from

Nissan 44m 02.088s Honda +5.775S +7.324S Renault Vauxhall +12.933s +16.796s Volvo +17.004s Renault +22.150s Honda Renault 35 laps Honda 35 laps Vauxhall 35 laps

Fastest lap Leslie 1m 11.345s (Race 1) Po/nfs after 2 races; Thompson 29, Neal 23, Plato 20, Menu and Cleland 12, Leslie 8, Radermecker 7,

came off worst in a tussle

with Neal and he spun his Laguna into the gravel at

Honda 21 m 51.403s -H2.094S Ford +4.051 s Renault Nissan +4.503S +4.662S Nissan Vauxhall +5.331 S Volvo +9.681S +12.385s Vauxhall +12.594s Honda +13.737s Volvo

Round 2 36 laps

have had about his car’s relia

Nissan man had slipped into fourth spot when Boullion

gives him a six-point champi onship lead.

One. Yep, that’s a Renault behind him ...

third ahead of the sister car of his rookie team-mate Jean-

superbly and he deserves every penny.” The 32-year-old led the first half of the race by a hand some margin, then fought bled pit stop to overhaul the Honda of James Thompson with five laps remaining. Neal’s margin of victory was nearly six seconds. Thompson did not go home empty-handed, however. His second place in the Feature Race, combined with victory in the earlier Sprint Race,

Ford Mondeo came home second in Race

debut for the Ford team with

the 1999 British Touring Car Championship, the privatelyfunded Team Dynamics dri ver trouncing the works teams in his year-old Nissan Independent driver to take outright victory in a BTCC

British Touring Car Championship

Who’s looking dumb now? Alain Menu’s

Muller and Kox 6.

last-lap manoeuvre. Neal made no mistake at

the start of the Feature Race, translating his pole position into an early race lead thanks to an impeccable getaway from the grid. Thompson was his nearest rival, ahead of Menu, Kox, Muller and Rydell. The top six held sta

home. John Cleland (Vauxhall)

tion until the 12th of the 36

snatched eighth place from Peter Kox (Honda) in a daring

laps, when Thompson dived for the pits to become the first

of the front-runners to make

ond

their mandatory tyre stop. Menu stopped a lap later, rejoining the race just ahead of'Thompson. Neal left his pit stop until lap

Cleland, who moved up the order after RydelTs demise with a puncture. RydelTs Vincent

Independents gives him a handsome early lead in the category, while Honda leads

Radermecker, was fifth from

both the manufacturers’ and

18, and undid all his earlier

Boullion and Kox.

teams’ championships.

good work by stalling his Primera. Thompson, Menu, Rydell and Muller sped past before he could get his Nissan going once more to exit the pits. Thompson had made short work of Menu’s challenge and

ahead

of Plato

team-mate,

and

Neal’s double win in the for Michelin Cup

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA

looked set to claim his second

victory of the day until the cars of Menu and Muller

stnick problems. Menu’s Ford expired with gearbox problems while Muller’s Vauxhall was forced

into the pits to secure a flap ping bonnet. This promoted Neal to third, and the unstop pable Nissan man was soon into second place after dispos ing of Rydell.

On lap 25 the gap from

Seeks applications from interested parties for the position of

NT Distributor

Thompson to Neal was 4.4s and by lap 31 Neal was irght on the Honda’s tail and chal

lenging hard. Thompson met his match on the next lap and Neal was on course for an his

’Elio, ’ello: Frenchman Yvan Muller had a fraught debut for Vauxhall. The Vectras struggled in qualifying and then had his bonnet come up on his in race two.

toric victory. Thompson held on to sec¬

Contact:

Russell Stuckey Stuckey Tyre Service 828 Sydney Road Brunswick 3056 Phone 03 9386 5331 Fax 03 9386 9153

lMo){}®[Fsm®D’0

9 April 1999

Watts heads down under By PHIL BRANAGAN TWELVE months after he first tried to head to Australia to

race in the BOC Gases Super Touring Championship Patrick Watts is coming down under. The former Peugeot works BTCC driver will line up in a ’98-

spec 406 for the first two rounds of the series at Lakeside and Oran

Park and, perhaps, more outings throughout the season. Watts will

drive for Paul Grimm’s Starion Racing team and flies to Brisbane

with his family next week for a shakedown run. The car will run in the same colours in which it

ran last year in the

BTCC, with support from Esso Ultron oil.

“I’m glad to be finally heading back to Australia,” said Watts last week. “I

really enjoyed rac ing at Bathurst and I’m not underesti

mating how tough it will be.”

The 42-year-old Brit

uncertain

how many races he will get in Australia this season.

“I have a program going in the British GT series and what ever else I do will

have to fit in around

that. I’m driving a 6litre Ford Mustang with (expat Aussie) Charlie Cox and, despite the fact that Coming south: Peugeot’s Patrick Watts.

we missed the first

Snetterton, Lakeside, Oran Park: Watts is bringing his press-on driving style to the BOC Gases Championship in a 1998 version of the Peugeot 406 he raced in 1997. {Photos by Bothwell Photographic) round of the series because the car

Australian teams are going to be

was late, I think that’s going to be exciting.” Watts’ only Australian appear ance was at Bathurst two years ago when he shared a factory 406 with Neil Crompton. Despite los ing their practice engine Watts qualified the car fourth fastest and was running strongly until a broken oil pump retired the car. That was his last Super Touring drive, filling in last season in vari

just as hard to beat as the BTCC

are not settled for the rest of the season Watts is keen to drive for

outfits.

the team at Bathurst in October

ous events while Paul Radisich

filled his Peugeot BTCC seat. Watts says that the leading

“In any series which has Jim

and, perhaps, even have a crack at a 5-litre V8 Supercar in the

Richards and a current model (sic)

Volvo in it is going to be very hard

Australian November.

to win. Add the two Audis and the

1000

Classic

possibility of Paul Morris in a

“I just love the track; it’s one of

BMW and you have a very compet

the best in the world. I think that a V8 car would be terrific to drive

itive race. I really believe that, on a control tyre, Morris is going to be very tough. The RWD car will be kinder to its tyres than our cars and I rate Paul very highly as a

and, even though the Mustang I am driving here is lighter and has more power, I think that the cars would be similar to drive.

driver.”

“If anyone is looking for a dri

While Starion Racing’s plans

ver, tell them I’m available ...” CHI

[sparcoi Sydney Race & Rally

mmspQRi Keeps

HARNESSES

you

'Top

37 Rosedale Ave Greenacre

(02)9709 4655

Sydney Auto Team . 86 South Street

Rydalmere (02) 9630 0348

>arc0i WEAR

APPROVED

CnrBimbi.tSt.S Hudson Rd, Albion (07)3262 7833 E Adelaide

LIGHTWEIG

ONLY ^550

RECAF?0

Autdsport

|k Your SpeedZone Outlet

Unit 9/511 Wanneroo Rd -

) Merino shown left at $550

FREE! Flee

rjm

Balga (08)9344 4444

or a SPARCO Prima in

shiny grey at $1649.

Emerson G.P.(Righl).. $999 Sporco Sprint... $780

harnesstaelts

..S»

Hobart Autocraft 225 Cottins St

Hobart

(03)6234 1 044

Sporco ColourSprinl... $870 ^ T-.TE«Hi!WP

Sporco-2 from... $1225

Canberra Gulson's

Sporco Sponsor... $1399

■

92 Newcastte St

Chicone... $750

1 I

'SP££0. T£cnmioar,

Ijl

Jill

Fyshwlck (02) 6280 6755 Melbourne

ITU ermo-lec COOL IT,

SPARCO

Carlo Sainz Seats from

$1088 J^^ACVTRAK

H I

eeulah Park

Race-E-QuIp

like the EMMERSON Monza

choose from such os...

-A

Perth

^ has suits for all budgets,

KKHKIITH

248 Magitt Rd

(08) 8332 8811

m AS REQUIRED IN 1999

There ore mony more to

Brisbane ^

Tyretech'

OUACTZKALOeCNUOHTING

Also ● Boots

● Cloves

● Baladavos ● Underwear

JR'S Autosport

TRADE-IN

SA}

ANY TYPE SUIT ANY CONDITION

$g.c Durii Jan/Fe\ Priced

SPEEDZONE PACKAGE DEALS

Let us creole a racewear package that sulls your needs and budget... it's so easyal SPEEDZONE.

Shop 7, 975 Burwood Hwy, Vermont South (03) 9803 4500

‘22” to

SPEEDZONE NETWORK...

Forallyour... RACE-RALLY‘OFFROAD-KARnNG Equipment

lKl(DO®[F0m®[?o

9Aprill999 If this is what it’s going to be

The more things ChangeDear Sir,

●'vl

The first round of the Shell

Championship Series has been run and won convincingly by HRT. It’s good to see the level playing field created by the introduction of a control tyre has given everyone an even chance ... at coming third. Peter Brewer

Earlwood, NSW

More GP TV barbs Dear Sir,

■-.'ll

Vic 3161, our E-mail address, or fax to 03 9527 7766.

The staff of Motorsport News does rx3t necessarily agree with opinions express by readers

in the March 26 issue. Oops, blame the new Asst Ed. We’ll for

give you. Keep the greatest revhead publication available as it is...

will never happen again. ED: That duplication was my fault, Andriessen. Trust me: it will never happen again.

Tess’ tale of the tape

Regarding the Channel 9 AGP broadcast: I’ve got to feel sorry for Wide World of Spots exec pro ducer Tony Sinclair. It seems

For years we have suffered in silence as Sparks, Gibson and Sutcliffe quite simply did a very amateur job of the various Grand

that he has his hands tied behind

neer, and came to Melbourne from

his back by a rich, greedy Pom, who obviously doesn’t realise

WA for the first time.

Sutcliffe (that classic 'TV creation - the front man) had no idea of the

that the “masses” around the world include us Down Under

rely on terrestrial images.

and that isn’t what the Aussie V8s should be about.

kit clipped like Ford had done to

of the Thunderdome altogether! I acknowledge that the cost factor must be looked at, but most of the teams are already

them in the era of the EB. A Holden 1-5 isn’t what I call

struggling to make ends meet and this will only send more

parity, and I think Mark Skaife was lying on Sunday when he

teams to the wall.

said that he and Craig Lowndes

provided the finest and the most

were racing - it’s the same thing Hakkinen did last year at the

exciting races in all categories and most drivers in the sport are there because they want to run on

Aussie GP...

the Thunderdome and not on road

that David Coulthard and Mika

And we, as spectators, want

Channel Nine’s reply to criticism of its AGP broadcast is predictable and typical of the television indus try’s attitude to motor sport.

Prix telecasts.

The result ... the sport will fall further into disarray and, in the end, less fans and, maybe, the end

about time Holden had its aero

Send leners to TaI k O ● .ve-t.-to PO Box 1010 North

Classic Catchpole was revisited

teams and less action.

boring as an FI race - the same team winning every single race As a loyal Ford Fan, I think it’s

PARITY.

The tyre law isn’t going to do it

Dear Sir, I worked at the AGP as a scruti

I’d like to thank everyone in the team for making me feel so wel come and part of the team. Thanks guys.

’Dome automatically means fewer

like this season it will become as

but a few millimetres off the Holden aero kit would.

Thunderdome meetings have

circuits.

S, why not, instead of a $50 mil lion hole in the ground have more racing at the ‘Dome, not less, and give all categories more prize

Also, the Holden camp should stop whinging about Ford being

money.

late with their aero kit - it was

lead to new teams and more cars.

their fault.

Then, as a result, more action and

Anyway that’s all. I hope to

More prize money could only more fans.

Would it not be great to see

Superspeedway racing the way it

sport he was presenting. They put

should be - 40 odd NASCAKs and

him in a studio at the circuit, with a window backdrop showing his

full fields in all categories under lights. or seven SIX Surely Thunderdome meetings a year is

most irritating terminology stuffup - “pit alley” - and let him read from an autocue, written by other

not too much to ask for.

Channel Nine staff with low level

Long live the Thunderdome.

knowledge of Formula One. For some reason Nine believes

A very dedicated, loyal but dis

that motor sport is an acitivity which can be broadcast using uni versal front men like Gibson, Sutcliffe, McGuire and Eastlake (who has, at least, been watching

heartened fan. Dean Laurens

Tullamarine, Vic

for a long time) while using expert add-ons like Alan Jones to provide

Ta for GP day out

the technical stuff.

They also seem to believe that all sport is a carnival and requires hours of peripheral acitivities to inspire casual watchers to take an

Dear Sir,

I should put pen to paper or,

with this superhighway, fingers to keyboard, regarding our “Win

interest.

They are now trying the same with that mind-numbing escapade - horse racing. Worst of all, Channel Ten has caught the disease and now pre sents the same standard of tripe from Surfers.

If you compare now with 10 years ago, you will see that motor sport on Channel Nine has almost gone - GPs, Daytona and the Brickyard 400 is all that’s left. Soon, hopefully, they will let their motor sport go to a network who really wants it and who will do a good job of broadcasting the races

the

Turn right? - Reader Laurens doesn't want to see that. NASCARs should, he says, stay where they are at their best - on the Thunderdome oval...

The (teiTestrial) sponsors/advertis ers who pay for this service are quite happy with the exposure they get. All the rest is pure acquisitive ness. He (B.E.) should read the

Photo: ihunderPics

you really don’t see any of the racing.

Ian Philips, to walk down both sides of those pits, to tour the

via email

Thanks

Long live the ’Dome

Tess Taylor Mt Claremont, WA

Dear Sir,

to do it!

revhead case.

Park at the FI GP.

PS: I know that “Cat Racing grabs Jim” (page 6 MN 149) is sup posed to let us know how much JB and JR tmly admire each other and how ideally suited to working together they are, but do they match each other so closely that the creases in their driving suits are the same ... aren’t computers marvel

Paul P Andriessen

Thank Cat’s PR man and the modern world electronic

imaging”...

Seeing doubie? Dear Sir,

Congratulations with your new position. You’ve done well as

“Assistant Ed” in the past by “replying” with short comments on the letters sent to you. Now that you’re “in charge” the first small error crept in -

you

Still a Holden show? Dear Sir,

I was very disappointed with the V8 Supercar race at Albert

ED: That duplication was my fault, Andriessen. Trust me: it

The reason I say this is that I have been watching the V8 Supercars for the last 10 years (it was then Group A) and the other week was a Holden whitewash.

lous!

Lynton Hemer Strathalbyn SA ED: Observant chap, Heymer.

Andrew Christie

stuffed up...

Kewdale, WA

Cve J05T M£A50ReD YOUR.CAR-

YOJR REA.R WiM&lS ILLEG,A1-.... ^

Grand Prix.

the weekend was a real thrill.

Roman Empire” (in between counting the pounds) before “Bernie burns his fingers” gets into the history books of ill fame. Surely Tony (of Channel 9) the Rugby League could be “taped or slightly delayed” for our very own Grand Prix to finish off properly? And last of all: please give us back Ken Sutcliff... I rest my FI

Then they can retire to sit on some porch to watch someone else present the AGP and reminisce about how much better they used

Prix

hear of some change soon other wise we’re in for a boring season. (

book on the “Rise and Fall of the

and limit the fluff (Channel Ten/Surfers CART race take note).

Grand

What a fantastic experience! To be a part of the ‘circus’ for

I couldn’t wait to get home to watch the race on the video, because when you work there Channel

Ultimate

Package” trip to the Melbourne

I am unable to accept Calder Park’s view that for the good of NASCAR racing and the sport of Superspeedway that we must have less racing on the Thunderdome and more road rac

ing.

Also., over the last few years the cuts in the prize money have not helped the sport. I believe the cuts in prize money and less racing at the

»: ●

To see the jockey-sized drivers, to visit the Jordan pit and meet

International Motor Show, to

spend a few days away from the kids with your wife at a GP must rate as high as it comes. It would be remiss of me not to thank the Australian Grand Prix

Corporation and Motorsport News for allowing us the privelege that I’m sure most Grand Prix enthusiasts would ‘kill for’.

Needless to say that I am an even more avid supporter of your superb publication and Formula One motor racing. Thanks again. Leigh Edwards Hobart, Tas

By Barry Foley

9Aphll999

Aristocrats with silly names and lessons from oil wells T

here are a million great sto ries about the oil business and most of them seem to

involve adventurous Englishmen with very silly names. My favourite is Weetman Dickinson Pearson. He was a civil

engineer from Yorkshire who, in the 1880s, set off to the New World - Mexico - to make his for

tune by building railways, bridges, harbours, dams and so on for the

favour. It is very pretty and rural, but Ithink I’d rather go racing in

Mexican government, which was busy trying to make the country into an industrial superpower.

Iceland...

Ask a non-British journalist

Pearson discovered that while he could build endless miles of

what they think of the British Grand Prix and after a rant and rave about warm beer and ‘le

railroad, what Mexico really need ed was something to power the locomotives and eventually con cluded that oil was probably the best option. And so he decided to

sausage’ they will say that going to Silverstone is like visiting a vast car lot and sitting in it for hours on end, watching heli copters flying overhead. Perhaps Britain is a special

drill for some...

A few years earlier a couple of American wildcatters had drilled

case - because it is an island -

successfully - although not mas sively - in the Tampico area, on Mexico’s Gulf coast. Pearson fig

but Isee no reason why France, Germany and Italy should each get two events. If you get rid of one in each country the fans will simply get into their camper vans

ured that if the Damned Yankees

could do it, so could an

Englishman. Pearson’s drilling site known

and drive across a border to

watch a race in Belgium, Austria or Hungary. Michael Schumacher’s camper van army has proved that time and time again. They would probably drive to Afghanistan to watch their hero

as Portrero del Llano No 4 ‘came

in' in the biggest possible way. A plume of crude oil spurted 300 feet into the air and within a cou

ple of years Mexico was one of the world’s biggest oil producer. Pearson ended up in Britain’s House of Lords...

in action.

Interlagos in Brazil. Almost every one in the Grand Prix circus

Why are wearistocrats? discussingWell, oil and bizarre because the drilling business is a great illustration for Grand Prix racing. You can make money by drilling in the same place over and over again but if you take a risk and go exploring where no-one has been before you, there is often a killing to be made. Compare the adventures of another Englishman with a silly name: William Knox d’Arcy with those of the Zapata Petroleum in Texas. Zapata drilled 120 suc

agrees that the city of Sao Paulo is really .not a very nice place and that working conditions are dread

Ail the little countries around

the world concluded that Mosley was a good chap and they would

The world is shrinking fast.

vote for him because he would

When about the planschallenged Mosley always

open up motorsport to countries

ful. There are one or two folk who

other than Britain, France,

say they like Sao Paulo but when you ask them why, the answer seems to be related to big girls with buxom bits who will do any thing - horizontal or vertical - to get involved in the sport. One or two of the resident dip somaniacs have a penchance for the local sugar cane alcohol mixed with lime juice and sugar to pro

Germany and Italy. At the time there were 10

European races and six elsewhere. This year there are 11 races in Europe and only five outside. We laugh at the Americans for calling CART a ‘world’ series but if

you look at the figures, you could argue that CART is as internation al as Formula 1. The American

duce a beast of a drink called a

series visits Australia, Canada

cessful oil wells in Texas in the

caipirinha, while meat fiends come

1950s and made George Bush and his partners very wealthy

back from the local churrascarias

(twice), Brazil and Japan. It has the same number of ‘foreign’ races

with their eyes shining brightly and blood dribbling down their chins.

scratched around in the desert

shame that FI has to visit a circuit

California three times and Ohio,

while the world giggled at him.

which is located in an open sewer, rather than going to somewhere in

Michigan and Wisconsin twice.

Brazil which is nice.

France (sorry, Monaco uses French money and so must be

And then one of his wells came in. He became the first man to strike oil in the Middle East and the

Persian (Iranian) field was fol lowed by others in Iraq and Kuwait. Eventually Knox d’Arcy sold out to the British Government and the massive British Petroleum was born.

Formula 1 is a little like George Bush - although perhaps a rather more charismatic. The sport has been digging away in the same place for years and has made a very nice profit as a result, but it has not done much in the way of prospecting in new areas. It is so much easier to work in known

environments and not go through the pain of visiting countries where people consider unpleasant body parts of smelly animals to be deli cacies.

By the time you read this, the FI circus will be gathering at

I cannot say that Ilike Brazil very

Those with very long memories will remember that during the elec tion campaign for the presidency of the FISA (the governing body of the sport at the time). Max Mosley promised to make Grand Prix rac ing a much more global sport. During the months leading up to his election it was amazing how many rumours there were about new events being planned in Venezuela, Tunisia, China,

Singapore, Switzerland and so on.

I hope that within five years we will be the Middle East, India and Russia as well.

The big European automobile clubs will complain and tradition alists (the blokes in tweed caps) will argue that one cannot possi bly get rid of a great European race like the French and British

much but Ido think it is important that we go there. Or at least that we go to South America. It is a

ated a deal with the Grand Vizier

in China and the United States in 2000 and in South Africa in 2001.

Grands Prix.

of Persia for large oil concessions. For the next seven years he

Knox d’Arcy was not shooting fish in a barrel. In 1901 he negoti

blames someone else (Bernie Ecclestone) and says: “See what happens next year". Well, at the moment, the plan is tor FI to be

as the Formula 1 circus.

Most European countries seem to be keen on the idea of portray ing Europe as a union of states and in many respects one could compare the US states to European countries. CART visits

men.

would be better than a lot of talk.

Formula 1 has two races in

counted as French), Italy and Germany. I am not saying I don’t like pot tering about in Europe but I do think that the FIA should make the

World Championship a lot more global - as Mosley promised to do eight years ago. Sure, it is going to be more difficult for everyone involved to operate in countries without the same level of infra structure but a little bit of action

But why not? For the last 10 years France has been a pain in the neck for Formula 1. They have banned tobacco and alco

hol sponsorship; they have refused to comply with the TV rules which everyone else in the world accepts. They have insist ed on sending the FI circus to places where the hoteliers should wear masks when they demand a credit card from their customers.

In Monaco they have robbery down to a fine art. You cannot

get a hotel room unless you pay for seven nights and everything is more expensive when the cir cus rolls into town. Formula 1 needs Monaco as much as

Monaco needs the sport and so it is probably worth the pain to con tinue but Magny-Cours? Do me a

A Grand Prix pumps millions of dollars into a local economy and the only people in the whole world who donH agree with that are a couple of twerps with yellow ribbons in Melbourne

The fact is that every town that FI visits in a year is desper ate to hold on to the event they have. A Grand Prix pumps mil lions of dollars into a local econo

my and the only people in the whole world who don’t agree with that are a couple of twerps with yellow ribbons in Melbourne. In Monaco they are rather more intelligent. They do not waste money buying yellow rib bons. They simply leave town for the week and rent their apart ments to big corporations for vast sums of money. So why, you ask, has the FI circus not expanded? The fact is that FI has always been involved in the world’s oldest profession. It always goes where the money is and to date the big European clubs have always been able to whip the biggest cheques out of their top hats,

B have more races but the

ernie Ecclestone would like to

teams will not agree. And so, in the last two years, Bernie has concluded that if he cannot

expand his existing product, the obvious solution is to create another to meet the demand. It is

very clear that Formula 3000 is being developed to become a Junior Formula 1. Once that is established in its

own right, with the necessary TV coverage. Formula 1 can alter nate with Junior FI. There will be

32 Grands Prix a year (there is hope for Adelaide). If everything

goes to plan there will be a pro motion and relegation arrange ment so that at the end of each

season, the best one or two

teams in Junior Ft go up to the big league and the also rans in FI will drop to Division II. The danger, as any oil man will tell you, is that if there is too much oil around then the price will drop...

9 April 1999

Less than a year aft problems Garth Ta opener at Easter PHIL BRANAGAIS

ACOUPLE ofyears ago I had a great night MC’ing the annu al presentation dinner for the

Australian Formula Ford champi onship. It was a fiin night; eveiyone was enthusiastic, there were no

long boring speeches like you get from, some people in the sport and everyone went home happy. Especially one bloke. He came up and collected the gong for the Rookie of the Year; a few minutes later he was back for the Motorsport

Growing into it: Tander made a big impression at Eastern Creek, heading back to Melbourne third in the SCS. But it wasn’t always so; 1998 was a tough learning year, demonstrated here when he had an off on home turf at Wanneroo.

(Photos by Dirk Klynsmith and John Morris/Mpix)

News Trophy for the hest-placed driver in a car at least two years old and then, when the big awards were handed out, he collected the prize for the 1997 championship. To say that Garth Tander arrived on the scene with a bang is some thing of an understatement. It was partially because there were not a lot of expectations placed on some one who had spent to formative part of his career so far away in Perth; when asked to name a prominent city in the west starting with ‘P’ most people in motorsport would answer Parramatta or Penrith.

Perth is usually out of sight, out of mind.

But this meteoric irse is partially putting that theory to rest. Tander, who turned 22 last week, only made the move from karts into Formula

Ford in 1996, running the WA state series and a few end-of-year nation al events. In 1997 he embarked on

what was planned as a two-year assault on the FF Championship but, to the surprise of many, he was into stride sooner than he anticipated. “We did the last two rounds of the

championship with very mixed results; we were fast but fragile, I suppose you would say. We had the pace but things didn’t go our way. “It was a two-year plan, 1997 then ’98. We hadn’t even considered

doing the whole championship, we had the budget to do the first couple

Mk)0®[7S[V(S[j^

er he looked like quitting racing due to budget nder finished third in the Shell Championship \n Creek. It's been an amazing year for him. ■f profiles the rise of the tall guy from the West. of races and see how we

Tander quickly set the benchmark, reeling off a series of wins and, by the

(1997) season. Before the

claimed the title. Ironically,

supporters were in trouble. “We didn’t have any cash. We’d used up all our sponsors finishing the (Formula Ford) Championship in 1997 and,

start of the season I did five laps testing; we finished building the cars, finished building the motors, ran the car in five laps, put it in the track and went straight to

he had also ended the win

once we’d done that we were

ning run for the works-supported Van Diemen drivers of the past, who had also enjoyed the support of Valvohne and Garry Rogers

working on leads for new sponsors. But it didn’t even

the Grand Prix. To come out of the box with that sort of

So he was not a year ahead

for one reason or another. So

speed blew me away, let

of his own schedule. That

alone anyone else.” ‘Anyone else’

was a good news/bad news situation; his sponsors, which

I spent the first four months of the year working as a race mechanic for my old team, Fastlane Racing.” He was stuck. But then, like all great stories, a phonecall was about to change his life - and it

went.

“I was surprised at our pace at the start of the

was

stunned. Tander and Marcos Ambrose turned on two elec

trifying races at Albert Park, sharing the wins and then transferred the battle

into the FF series. Despite running a two-year-old car

end of the season, he had

tuate ...

“We’d created a couple of drives in Formula Holden

but we didn’t get the money

included hardware giant Runnings, had got their money’s worth (and then some) in Formula Ford but

the step up to a Formula Holden-sized budget was huge and Tander and his

wasn’t

even

Tander’s

phonecall.

Car #17 leads: Tander made a big impression in his Championship year in Formula Ford; here he is seen leading the field at Sandown from Marcos Ambrose and fellow V8 Supercar graduate Todd Kelly.

(Photo by Marshall Cass)

Two of a kind: One of these guys (left, above) is a former FF champion who is making a big impression in V8 Supercar racing. Come to think of it, so is the other guy. Tander leads Craig Lowndes at Eastern Creek. (Photos by Dirk Klynsmith) While Steven Richards was racing at Lakeside Nissan rang and asked him to take on the role of test driver. Within 48 hours he was gone to the UK and Garry Rogers Motorsport needed a

there’s a vacancy at Garry’s and I think you’re right for it’. So I rang Garry up and asked him, ‘what are you going to do for a driver?’. He said he knew I was about and he was interested, and

driver. “I found that out about

that he’s call me back. “He called back the next

Wednesday. A few people rang me and said, ‘look,

day. ‘Be in Melbourne on Monday; we’re going to

Winton on 'Tuesday’. I was on a plane that night. I arrived in Melbourne, tested the car

on Tuesday and raced it that weekend at Phillip Island.” Just like that, Tander was

a touring car driver. Rogers’ commitment to him was bit

Continued on page 18

+ Radial Bearing = EarVs Au^^lia DO VOUR SUMS AND CALL CARL'S AUSTRALIA FOR: BRAKES -

'.T

TILTON & GIRLING Master cylinders, Fluid Reservoirs, TILTON Pedals, Balance-Bars, Bias^Volves, GIRLING Racing Calipre Seals, Disc pads...Performonce Broking Dot & 300c lacing Brojie Fluid -

extreme performance at a Volue Loden Price.

TILTON 5 1/2" & 7 1/4" Roce & Rally Clutches & Spores, Internol "Concentricfsfcve Cylinders GIRLING External Slave Cylinders, R P Racing 7 1/4" Clutch Spares... ' Irices. ROD ENDS - RADIAL BEARING Rod Ends G Sphericol Bearings ● Top American Quality ot Aock^K^ PLUMBING - All the "EARLS" you'll ever need - and more! - Oil Coolers, Quick-release Cc^^rs, 1 1 CLUTCHES -

2" lueld-on Radiator Necks... VARIOUS -

"HVLOMRR" Gasket Sealant, "COPASLIP" Anti-seize, Lockujire, Race Tope, Pip-Pins, 'P' Show Fuel Filler Caps, Diff/Trons Pumps, ADVICE (Freel).

'tie

mis

'iE

I, Visa COD available

-tilbon

9 April! 999 At Eastern Creek he drove with considerable

Continued from page 17

teams but still clear of the Level Two and Level Three

by bit. At first it was just

teams.”

maturity and some luck (he

the Winton test, but Tander

was aided enormously by

did enough there to get the

It was still a good effort; he was almost exactly Is

PI drive.

behind Jason Bargwanna in

Tander is quick to lay much of the credit for his rapid progress at the feet of

“It was a bit of a risk run

the other GRM car and it

ning at Phillip Island that

was his 18th car racing meeting...

first weekend. I’d only done 20 or 30 laps in the car at Winton, which is a little bit

“The first race was the first time ever I’d done a

different to drive on than

start; the guys told me what

Phillip Island. I hadn’t done

to do and said, ‘give it your best go’ and I got it wrong

a start; it was a risk but

Garry thought that we should take it.”

“But after the meeting the team was happy, ValvolineCummins was happy, Holden were happy , I was happy and Garry was happy so we sat down and discussed it on

'Tuesday after the race. And we proceeded...” “It was one-in-a-million,

Rogers.

“Garry has a lot of experi ence and is really good at

about looking after tyres or anything like that. In the second race I made a good start and latched onto the back of Dick Johnson for the whole race and that

I think.” As usual in the motor rac

was faster in others.

ing world, the ‘luck’ had been mostly Tander’s doing. The effort he had put into Formula Ford had not only won him the title, it had earned him the opportunity

it rained! It looked like

him for the whole race and

he kind of led me through the traffic. He was a little

faster in some spots and I “Then, in the third race,

everyone was idling around in second gear and it was still dry for me! I couldn’t believe it. The car was very good. I got turned around coming into Honda when Ellery locked up his rears and clipped my car but we got through and up to 12th.

keeping me calm, giving me advice on what to do and when. Not so much in dri

ving techniques but how to attack certain situations, when to wait and when to

We were about the third

go.

fastest car in the wet part of the race, and that was a big buzz.” He was now part of the

“Bargs has also been very good. We’ll come in after a session and he won’t keep anything from me. he’ll let

Mallala which was, unfortu

V8 circus. There were inci

me know, ‘look, I tried this

nately, cut short because of

dents last year - okay, quite a few incidents - where

and it worked here.’ We

feedback from the V8 teams

in 1997. Dick Johnson gave us

test

his

car

both work that way; we’re noticed me enough to give Tander earned the ire of his very open with each other. me a run in the car was a “That certainly helped opposition drivers with buzz. fast-track my learn “The Stone ing through the last It was one-in-a-million, Brothers were also year. I’ve come up to speed with every very keen and HRT thing pretty quickly. gave me a run in the Even though it was Young Lions car after great going from winning the champi Formula Ford to V8 onship. I think there was a lot of interest Supercars, I think Formula Holden there but it was very would have helped frustrating not being me learn a few able to do anything things that were rel until we got the ff break.” evant to Supercars a bit quicker. It was a Phillip Island was a steep learning curve big jump into a for the youngster. some over-aggressive dri- Supercar.” “I spent practice and ving and, after damaging He’s right. It is a big jump qualifying learning the his car at the AGP supports into a 600hp Commodore track and how to drive on he was fined $1500 and from a llOhp Van Diemen, the track. I qualified 16th, excluded from the results of But aren’t all the big jumps rain. But the fact that he

really. How many chances are there to join a Level 1 V8 Supercar team after only driving in Formula Fordfor two years? I was very lucky, I think.

at the end of the Level One

A. qualified

qualifying. I had no idea

taught me a lot; I followed

Supercars, which gave him a starting point before Rogers rang. “We’d had a lot of good

3 restart) and

and stalled it. “I went back to last but I went a second faster in the second race than I did in

really. How many chances are there to join a Level 1 V8 Supercar team after only driving in Formula Ford for two years? I was very lucky,

to have a familiarisation drive or two in some V8

tbe race

one race.

made by the tall guys?

[jjj]

FIFTEEN minutes into the qualifying session at Eastern Creek the top 10 drivers were taking a deep breath when, suddenly, half of them got a nasty shock. Garth Tander, running in the ‘slowef group, had bounced all but the top two rows of the grid down a spot by qualifying a bril liant fifth fastest.

If anyone was shocked it was not Tander or the GRM team. The beanpole had been

hampered by worn-out rubber in the practice session and everyone in the team was confi dent that he would do the job on fresh Bridgestones. “It’s all well and good setting the car up to be good on new rubber. But new rubber only lasts two laps and in the races you have to set up for 20 minutes of hard racing. ‘That’s why the guys in the team were not that concerned -1 wasn’t that concerned

- when I was in the slower group in qualify ing. I knew that we had a program to set up at that level and we achieved that.

“Although, having said that, qualifying is a bit of a irsk. We have a chassis that works

quite well on the practice and qualifying front and it worked this weekend (at Eastern Creek) and at Oran Park last year. “It helps us over the race too. We’re not rockets over the first two or three laps of the race but we’re no slower than anyone over the last two or three laps either." “I suppose the term ‘young and fearless’ comes into it. Qualifying is a big thing; in this category you have to be right on it and you have to take a few risks. You have to be able to sit down and talk yourself into it. I’ve really put a lot of effort into it; if you

qualifying 12th or 13th you're going to have a tough weekend but if you get up to fifth or sixth and make a good start things are going to hopefully turn out a lot better for you.

“You have to bite the bullet and go for it. If you’re a little bit younger than can be a help; some of the others have other responsibilities, like running their own team, they have to call the shots. With the younger guys they just get in and drive. That can make a difference and that's

what’s showing now.” If we viewers are surprised to see a top qualifier come out of the second group the drivers are too. But Tander predicts it could happen again, and again. “It’s not something that we deliberately do, to go out in the first or second group in qualifying. It just happened that there was 41 cars at Eastern Creek and at the end of

Light the candles, Junior: With a birthday to celebrate the week after the race Tander was doused by Lowndes on the podium, while Skaife tries to hide. (Photo by sunon images)

all the practice session Iwas 21st. “Ideally. Iwould have liked to have been in the first group. I qualified at a 31.4 or so and the last guy qualified in my group at a 37.something. The speed differential Is a big thing; you can get caught in traffic and not get a clear lap, and Iwas concerned about that. But, to give all the guys their due credit, they were really good; they saw

me coming and stayed off-line. I think Isaw three cars for the whole session and it

wasn’t a problem. It was like Iwas out there by myself." The ‘new era’ of control tyres will likely see someone else, like Tander, grab a high grid spot from the slower qualifying group. Don’t forget, at Eastern Creek, Bathurst winners John Bowe, Steven Richards, Greg Murphy and Dick Johnson lined up 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th.

“It just proves that, with the control tyre, there are going to be weeks where you see someone and say, ‘that was a really good effort’, and then you will get guys from Level 1 team wondering where all the speed has gone.” Lest anyone forget, Tander has achieved all this in a Commodore VS, but

Tander downplays the fact. “It’s not such an old car; it has a lot of

’99-spec stuff in it now. We made a lot of changes in the off-season to suspension and stuff like that but at Eastern Creek, it was hard. The team had never run the car there and I have never raced there. We

only had the test day. “But there are disadvantages. It’s not a new car; it’s not nice and new. Obviously the VT is a better package, especially in the fast stuff it seems a lot more settled that the

VS, as Bargs said. The VT has been around five/six months now and everyone is getting on top of it. ;

“The only disadvantage of having a VS is that it doesn’t look new."

Garth’s correct; but his Van Diemen FF didn’t look new either, and look what he

managed to do in that... -PHIL BRAN AG AN

Motorsport

9Aprill999

Out of the shadows

Main photo: David TaylOPAlisport

Jan Magnussen is rebuilding his career out of Formula One. ADAM COOPER spoke to the talented Dane. FOR the past two seasons Jan

Magnussen has been on the grid at -the Australian GP, behind the wheel

of a Stewart-Ford. This year was different; he watched the Melbourne race on TV, cheering on old pal Rubens Barrichello.

doing some laps. Igot down to a good time pretty quickly." And what about that front engine? “The weight distribution is quite good actually. You’re expecting that this big engine over the front wheels

will make it a very oversteery car, but in fact we're understeering a lot

“It was a good race," says the Dane. “You always expect that the first lap is going to be the most excit ing one, and then they’ll just drive around, but with the safety car there was a lot happening. Rubens could

sees sportscar racing as a valuable

have won it, which was a shame. It

career step.

would have been really good if he did. After a frustrating spell with

“It didn’t happen this year in Champcars, but there’s a good pos sibility for the year after. The offer came from Panoz, and thought it was a chance to help build my name

Stewart, Jan is rebuilding his career in sportscar racing this year, having joined the Panoz team. He’s a colourful addition to the American Le

Mans series, and has the potential to be one of its stars.

Before he reached Ft, his record

was impressive. Jan dominated

more than we should!”

Although he still has he heart set

on single-seaters - and specifically a return to the CART arena - he

up in America.” Jan’s first real taste of sportscars came in the Sebring 12 Hours - a case of in at the deep end!

“It was very good, but very differ

British F3 in 1994, and was touted by

ent from what I’ve been used to.

some as the next Ayrton Senna. Picked up as test driver for McLaren,

The track is pretty bumpy. Every lap you are bouncing around in the car. But the atmosphere there with

he drove his first GP at Aida at the

end of 1995, when Mika Hakkinen was off sick, and at short notice he

all the fans is unbelievable.

did a great job. He also raced a Class B Mercedes. The following

time. It was a really nice weekend. A

year he did some CART races for

watch me. which was nice." Jan was teamed with veteran

Faces ot iVlagnussen: Jan s FI career

countryman John Nielsen and Johnny O'Connell, and their car was running well until a puncture sent

playing a major part in Pano/.'s GT program. After a couple of one-off appearances in Indy cars with Carl Hogan (top) many e.xpcct the Dane to

Penske and its sister team Hogan the Mercedes connection again gaining more valuable experience. He joined Stewart alongside

Everyone’s having such a good lot of Danish people came over to

Barrichello when the team entered FI in 1997. For reasons which even

Nielsen off the road.

Jan can’t explain, the relationship never really gelled, and he struggled

I think I did a good job. It’s just a

to come to terms with the car. After

scoring his first point with a sixth place in Montreal last June, he part ed company with the team. A one-off appearance in the Porsche Supercup race at the German GP was his only other outing. Many people remain convinced that Jan still has the talent but had

just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Among them was former Panoz team boss Tony Dowe, who offered Jan the chance to test the car at Road Atlanta last November.

“It was a learning experience, but shame that a tyre exploded on John; we were looking for a top three fin ish. Tony Dowe really put together a good team before he left. Everybody worked well together, and when we

get the new car I think we’ll be very competitive. That will have to be very soon, because we don’t have any of the old ones left! “Sebring was an endurance race, and it will be very different from other races in the championship, which are more like sprint races of two or three hours. That’s going to be more a case of going for it.” Jan’s biggest challenge this year will be his first appearance at Le

The car was very different from what he'd been used to in FI, although his Mercedes experience didn't hurt. 'The car was very well set-up," he

Mans. He’s raced in the French town before - in the World

recalls. “I didn't have to do a lot of

Championship on the karting track

work on it to get it tom be fast; they'd done a good job already before I cam. It was pretty much a case of

near the Porsche Cun/es - but he's

yet to see the full 24 Hour course. “I like endurance racing, and now

mav be on hold but he looks like

.settle in the USA.

I’m really looking forward to Le Mans. Hopefully we can go with the same three drivers, because

we fit together very well. That’s why Ireally hope John Nielsen is going to be in the car as well. He’s really good, he’s got a lot of experi ence. Even at Sebring there were a lot of small things he mentioned things which you normally wouldn’t pick up." Jan is clearly enjoying himself. and he’s starting to put last year’s disappointment behind him. Tm a long way down that road already. I had a good time in Sebring. and I’m glad Imade this decision. Everybody’s really nice, it’s a good atmosphere. Ican’t remember when I last enjoyed racing. I can now feel in myself how little Iwas enjoying FI."

Jan IS delighted to be dnving for a sportscar enthusiast like Don Panoz. “He really wants the thing to become big. and he’s putting a lot of work into it. He’s got a big heart! ” So what does the future hold for

Jan Magnussen? 'We’ll see. We’ll work hard on

next year, whether it’s sportscars

again, or Champcars. We II see

what the options might be. and go from there."

Jan has no qualms about follow ing Nielsen into a long term career in sportscars. "I wouldn't mind. I know if that

should happen it wouldn’t be a disaster - I’m really enjoying it.

9 April 1999

The biggest racing car manufacturer in the worid,

Reynard, is soon to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Sharing the suci

JOE SAWARD looks at how

Reynard got here, and where it is going in the future.

Georgetown Road

runs

north

from 16th Street, through the Indianapolis suburb of Speedway. On the

corner

of the

two

streets is Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the most famous racing circuit in the world. It is a little-known fact

that, a few blocks up Georgetown Road is the head quarters of an automotive company which designs and builds Formula 1 racing cars. Never heard of it? Well, that is because everyone thinks that Reynard is a British company. It used to be, but it is not any longer. In September last year Adrian Reynard’s company was incorporated in the State of

gramme. Adrian Reynard and the company’s ace salesman Rick Gome will spend half their time this year ensuring that BAR gets its act together. At the moment Reynard says that there is no inten tion of increasing its share holding in the team and that it will eventually become a way of keeping up-to-date with the latest FI technology. In the long term - with a lit tle success and with British

American Tobacco bowing out because of tobacco adver

tising bans - one can imagine that Adrian Reynard might decide to increase his compa ny’s shareholding in the That may sound expensive but for Reynard money is really not a problem these days. In 1996 Reynard made

Delaware. A few months from now it will be floated on the

a profit of US$15m (A$21m).

New York Stock Exchange.

last year a cool A$39m tum bled into the company cof

The americanisation

Reynard reflects the compa ny’s success in recent years in CART racing although it is somewhat ironic that it is

based next to Indianapolis Motor Speedway as CART no longer races there. Reynard, however,

has

won

the

Indianapolis 500 twice in the past and will be back at the Speedway when Formula 1 rolls into town in 2000.

In 1997 it was A$32m and

fers. With profit margins running at around 50 per cent of turnover, Reynard is on course for another A$2530m profit this year, as it already has orders for more than A$62m worth of cars.

When the company floats on Wall Street, 25 percent of the shares will be offered to

the public. This will bring in another A$54m.

Reynard Motorsport owns a 15 percent shareholding in British American Racing. It also supplies the technological

Reynard hasinhadtheitspastupsand downs

know-how for the new FI

wall on several occasions -

team - and is paid to do so. Last year BAR handed over

learned from his mistakes.

US$3.5m ($A4.7m) as part of the deal.

One day BAR will probably become an independent enti ty, but right now it is very much a Reynard operation with Reynard’s technical

and has nearly gone to the but Adrian Reynard has The company may be awash with money but he is invest ing heavily in other business es to strengthen the company and provide financial stability if the lucrative CART market comes under threat.

director Malcolm Oastler call

The chief purchase plarmed

ing the shots. For the next

is that of Gemini Transmissions. For a cool

three years Oastler will spend all his time on the BAR pro-

V , f

team.

A$16m, Reynard has bought

itself a state-of-the-art preci sion engineering company, specialising in advanced gear

that is to buy an existing com pany - which explains the

talked the Mexicans into establishing a national F3

recent

series.

boxes and transmissions. Gemini has business outside

Reynard trying to acquire Riley & Scott which, conve niently, is also based in Indianapolis.

racing but it will also enable Reynard to provide customers with a complete car and transmission package. And with Reynard controlling research and development, breakthroughs may be foimd. This year Reynard is plan ning to expand ARC to include a seven-post test rig for static testing. This too will be available to racing teams at

price.

rumours

about

Ford and Chrysler, In the meantime, Reynard is working with a couple of smaller car companies. In

Inflirted recentwith yearstheReynard has j January 1996Reynard Don Panoz automotive approached and industry through its Reynard

asked them to build him a

In 1996Adrian Reynardsalary was $6.6m. It went up to $13m in 1997 but last year dipped back to $10.5m. He has agreed to restrict his salary to $2m until 2001.

addition

Reynard says it wants to con struct a composite manufac turing facility in Indianapolis so it can move some of its pro duction to the United States.

The fastest way to achieve

If this sounds expensive, that’s really not a problem as

Special Vehicle Projects com pany. This designs and manu

series of GT sportscars, based

A$20m of the money from the

factures vehicles which are

flotation has been set aside for

not badged as Reynards. Back in 1994, Chrysler decided to build a gas turbine-engined car called a Patriot. Reynard was commissioned to design

producing in the US. The result was the Panoz GTl, which won last year’s Professional Sports Car Racing Championship in the United States. Reynard has also designed the Strathcarron sportscar for

acquisitions... Riley & Scott is most famous for its successful

range of sportscars - which have been highly competitive in the United States for the

last five years. In recent months the company has begun working on a design for a Cadillac sportscar which will be run at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2000.

One of the big factors in the success - indeed, the very survival - of Reynard has been Gome. In the 1980s

he saved Reynard by selling 12 racing cars to the United Arab Emirates, having con vinced the government there that the machines would

keep the country’s fighter pilots happy when they were not flying. Gome pulled off another coup in 1991 when Reynard was struggling to survive after an abortive attempt to

Flying Dutchman: The Japanese market has been very important tor Reynard. This is Tom Coronel shaking down his Formula Nippon 99J at Suzuka early last month.

enter FI. He sold 40 Formula

3 cars to Mexico, having

the car.

That project was shelved in 1996 but Reynard went on working with Chrysler, build ing the racing version of the Dodge Viper and developing the Chrysler Stratus for the North American Touring Car Championship. There was a similar rela

tionship with Ford. In 1996 Reynard was asked to design and build the Indigo concept car and this was followed up by a deal for the company to develop the Mondeo for the British Touring Car Championship. All these projects have now

ended but Reynard hopes to create similar oppoi-tunities in the future and is planning to establish a design office in

on the road cars Panoz was

the

Honorable

Ian

Macpherson, who wanted to produce a basic, affordable sportscar for road use. Strathcarron Sports Cars PLC has since ordered three

prototypes to be built by Reynard.

Reynard alsonotably dabbled in other has areas, the design of airline seats for Virpn Atlantic. This was the result of a friendship between Reynard and his neighbour Richard Branson.

Reynard is a big fan of fly ing, although he has been tak ing things a little easy in recent years after emerging unscathed ftnm a crash which

Detroit in 2000 so as to be

destroyed the World War II

closer to the big US car manu facturers: General Motors,

Harvard plane he was flying, near Witney in Oxfordshire.

9Aprill999

ess .v>;

HOLDeN RACING TGAM

Join the No.1 Supporters Club ctazy like a

The name means ‘Fox’: Adrian Reynard. (aii ph«os by Suuon images)

reynard

FOUNDED in 1973

Reynard Racing Cars was originaiiy known as

designed a series of moderateiy successfui

Reynard was appointed chassis supplier for the Toyota Atlantic series, using cars which were

Sabre Automotive and it

Not close, but a cigar: BAR may not have won the first FI race of the season

for Reynard but the CART opener was a case of how far Greg Moore, who won in his Forsythe ReynardMercedes Benz.

The success of his company has enabled Adrian to enjoy such toys. If you look at the books you can see why. In 1996 Reynard’s salary was

A$6.6m. It went up to $13m in 1997 but last year dipped

back to $10.5m. Admittedly, Reynard has loaned the com pany $13m of this money, but he will get that back when the flotation goes ahead. But the days of vast salaries

are

over for the

moment. A few months ago Reynard agreed to restrict his

Formuia Fords which

based on the successful

were raced by Adrian Reynard and a few cus tomers, notabiy Rick

F3 designs. After enormous suc cess in Formula 3

Gome,

Reynard decided to

in 1981 the company nearly closed down and Reynard went to work

enter Formula 3000 in

for the RAM March FI team while Gome ran

the company. Reynard eventually quit RAM and began to design a ground-breaking

he will own 57.5 percent of the shares. At the going rate these are worth $124m...

Despite the success, Adrian Reynard and his team remain remarkably ambitious. 'Their goal is to dominate every race and to win every champi onship in which it has cars competing. Reynard’s proud

the Formula Ford Festival in 1981 and as a result 50 cars were sold lor the 1982 sea son.

survive. Further success

Reynard to Formula Ford 2000 and the Reynard

in Formula 3000 brought stability and in 1994 Reynard entered CART.

83SF was a dominant car in 1983. For the next six

years Reynard enjoyed

661 chassis around the world.

In 1985 the company built a carbon fibre Formula 3 chassis and entered the British F3

series. Andy Wallace gave Reynard a win in its first race and between 1985 and 1993

Reynard built 360 F3 chassis and won all the

ing his name had won the

major national titles. In the same period Reynard was selected to supply the chassis for

race

Championship

they

every

had

entered.

Of course, Adrian Reynard

might try to argue that the Grand Prix car that raced

recently in Melbourne was a BAR, not a Reynard... ED

petitors in Japan. In 1989 Reynard planned to enter Formula 1. The project failed and the company was left struggling to

Success in FF1600 led

est boast was that cars bear first

it still sells develop ments of these machines

Formula Ford, and by the time production of Ford Fords stopped in 1989 Reynard had sold

and, even after the flotation

Reynard sold 220 Formula 3000 cars, and

to Formula Nippon com

end of 2001.

not really need the money

and the end of 1995

The Reynard 82FF made an astonishing debut at

enormous success in

This will keep the share

1988 and Johnny Herbert gave the company victo ry in the first event of the year. Between 1988

Formula Ford 1600 car.

salary to $2m a year until the

holders happy, ^ynard does

seater series. In 1989 and 1990

the Formula Vauxhall Lotus series. Between

1987 and 1992 Reynard built 204 of the cars for

the one-make single-

Consistinu of 2 membership levels

Club Q] & Basic Club Membership Benefits ef Cluun Membership inciude: ● Personalised Membership Cord

● Club Q Merchandise (updated each year on reneuual) ● 8 newsletters containing news fram the race team and drivers ● 5 per cent discaunt an all MHRT/HVL Apparel and Merchandise sold trackside

● Autographed team posters ● A copy of the Annual Vear Book ● Priority invitations to trips and events ● Lucky draws to tour team garage at race meetings ● An invitatian ta preview new HSV madels ● VIP Tours of race aperations at Clayton ● Up to 10 free issues of Motor (April '99 to January '00)

Yearly membersbip for Club Q is A$95

Benefits of a Basic Ciub Membership inciude: ● Personalised Membership Card ● 8 newsletters containing news from the race team and drivers

Yearly membersbip for Basic Club Membership is A$35

Michael Andretti won the

first event of the year and by the end of 1998 Reynard had sold 148 CART cars and won four consecutive CART titles.

Reynard’s success have resulted in two

prestigious Queen’s Awards for Export Achievement in Britain

in 1990 and 1996, the

company being the only racing car company to twice win such recogni

Application forms are available from: HSV & MHRT Head Office, HSV Retailers throughout Australia and New Zealand, 'Lions Den' Highpoint Shopping Centre Maribyrnong, or send off the application below.

Please forward me the MHRT Club Membership brochure and application form

tion.

Since 1997 Reynard has produced all the cars for the Barber Saab Pro Series in the United

HOLD€N RACING TCAM

Name Address Postcode

States, while also being involved with motor-

sport projects with Chrysler, Ford, Dodge and Panoz. - JOE SAWARD

Fox your application to:

Or mail

03 9544 1250

HSV/MHRT

Customer Appreciation Centre PO Box 1160 Clayton South 3168

RIM

9 April 1999

Skaife claims first round win since ’95 Lowndes shares in Mobil-HRT 1-2

Tender steps up to the podium Seton/FTR first Ford home on debut

Johnson farewell begins with a struggle LP earns the wrath of two JBs -

Bargwanna and Bright Report by PHIL BRANAGAN

and head off towards another domi

& GERALD McDORNAN

four years, Craig Lowndes didn’t

nating win, Garth Tander threw his hat into the ring as a series profes sional challenger, Glenn Seton and Jason Bright both showed that the AU Falcon has enormous potential and will be a major threat as both get more seat time, and Russell Ingall, the one who most predicted to run away with the champi onship, really struggled to come to grips with the new look series. Perhaps Russell needed to look towards team owner Larry Perkins as the experienced one was reason ably competitive that was, until, he upset the Pirtek and Valvoline teams, having seen off Bright and Bargwanna in the third race. While the song may have remained the same, sort of, it has set

lead the field into the first corner

up an interest end to the millenium.

AFTER the dust had settled fol

lowing the first round of the

1999 Shell Championhips Series for V8 Supercars the results virtually mirrored the previous year’s, with many say ing that the move to the control tyres had brought nothing to the sport. But, the round presented to us results that, while on the surface

seemed almost identical to the pre vious years, were extremely inter esting. Mark Skaife returned to the win ner’s rostrum for the first time in

IM^0(o)[P8IV®[70

THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME Qualifying It had been 12 months since the

troops assembled for the first round of Australian

the

1998

Shell Car

Touring Championship, and almost 24 since the last V8 Supercar event at Eastern Creek. In that time some of the most

sweeping changes in the history of the series had occurred. Holden’s

VS Commodore had given way to the VT. Ford’s EL had moved over

for the AU, which had swept in on a wave of controversy. And the tyre war was over; in its place, a new, ‘one size fits all’ control tyre policy, meaning that at last, it was

Bridgestones for all. There was a new Ford factory team; other teams had changed dri vers or sponsors, or gained or lost budgets. It was a Brave New

real. On Lowndes’ first flying lap he galloped around in lm31.078s;

World.

the 31s. Bugger. ‘Worse’ news; neither pilot was

Big deal ...At the end of the first 14 minute qualifier of the season, it was business as usual for the

Mobil-Holden Racing Team. Skaife had pulled another of those big laps

at the end of the session Skaife

bounced him off pole with a lm30.65s. The rest were well into

particularly pleased with their laps. Skaife admitted over-driving onto the main straight to finish his lap;

on pole by 0.4s - and Lowndes was

Lowndes, in the boyish ‘Aw shucks’ way of his, was not particularly impressed with his effort. Both felt that they had left their best efforts

second.

on the track; both had run 30s in

What had happened? Not much. The MHRT clicked into hyperdrive

the Eastern Creek test day four weeks earlier; Skaife had tipped a 30.4 for pole. Ouch. Still, there WERE other cars on the track. Seton was one of those; he was fighting understeer in the FTR Falcon and was at something of a loss to figure out what was going on in the blue weapon.

from the RAM he seems to have as a brain on such occasions. He was

as soon as the clock turned on for

Now I’m really dirty: Jason Bright’s Pirtek AU Falcon visited the

turn one sandpit in race three, after a

fracas with Larry Perkins. Bright and Jason Bargwanna were both unhappy with IP’s efforts in

Worse off was team-mate Neil

Crompton - if Seto was fighting the front' end of his car Cromley was at war with his own. The EL -

AU difference was crucifying him; his understeer was MUCH worse that Glenn’s and he was back in 14th. Seton had driven both cars back-

stewards.

to-back at Calder and thought they were pretty close but, with a com pletely different race track to deal with, even the double champion

(Photo by Noel Papelera)

was at a loss.

the final race,

registering their complaints with the

lMo)0(o)[P8m®i70

On the outside, turning in: Garth Tander's daring moves around the outside of turn one led to a great result for the Valvoline/Cummins V8 sophmore. (pnotoby Noei Papaiira)

My fans, my people: Mark Skaife’s return to the top of the podium brought to him the adulation of the Holden Race Team’s fans at Eastern Creek. (Photo-by oirk Kiynsmith)

Fourth was Bright. The Pirtek AU was right on the money, Jason hurling the car around in the ImSl.2904s, half a second better than team-mate Larkham. Both

SBR cars was running similarly but Larko admitted “I did cock up that lap, actually,” and was back in 10th. Next came Perkins. After his

Radisich was 11th. The newcom

er had had little fun during the session. He had an off at turn one

on cool-ish tyres (“I just managed to keep it off the wall,” he pointed out proudly) and team chief Johnson was in the same basket in

his car, having an off of his own. The late arrival of parts to

Mezera (see

repair the cars from their AGP

break-out) he was fairly fired up and, while he was still far from pleased with his car (“it doesn’t feel horrible, but the times just aren’t there”), he was at least in a better mood than Ingall, who had had an valve train problem (per haps tappet-related) in practice, forcing the team into a quick 90 minute engine swap. He was sixth, two spots behind his chief. The big surprise was Tander. The young Sophomore was in the slower group of drivers after fail ing to set a fast time in the prac tice session, but was more or less

adventures had not aided the

altercation with

unconcerned that the time would not come on used rubber. The Valvoline team has tested at Winton and found both cars were

quick, so it was just a matter of setting the time when the chance came.

It did. While the top 10 were set tling their nerves after the session Tander flew up to fifth, the exBargwanna VS splitting the Castrol cars by zooming around in lm31.4553s. “When I saw the time on the

dash I almost forgot to brake at the end of the straight,” he grinned. All jokes aside, considering the

cause. “We’re struggling,” he explained. “The car works well at Lakeside, and tomorrow we have a three race test session.”

Right behind Radisich was Ellery, who had been quicker on the test day, and Bowe, who was scratching his head over the car’s Crompton-like understeer. All three Fords in 11th, 12th and 13th

were covered by 0.0019s. The Wynns Racing team were at sixes and sevens. Richards and

Murphy and 15th and 16th, both fighting their cars all the way around the track. Richards newer car - it turned a wheel for the first

time three days before qualifying was suffering a front-end problem while the Murf was fighting his rear. Between them they were not meeting in the middle. Of the rest, John Faulkner was a

disappointed 19th (“but we did get an insight into the car’s potential”), Rodney Forbes led the Privates in

Privateers - 7 laps While there were 14 cars sepa rating the Rodney Forbes’s PPG Commodore and Cameron McLean’s Greenfield Falcon on

the grid for the privateers dash, the eight lap sprint turned into an amazing battle over the last two laps, the two went at it hard. Simon Emerzidis got a great start on the green, moving up a couple of places by the first turn, although Terry Finnigan and Trevor Ashby went off on the first lap. In general terms, the field got off to a decent start, but all eyes were on McLean who was starting from the rear of grid due to ignition prob lems which kept the V8 rookie team to just three practice laps - the yel low Falcon making a brilliant start and charging from 16 to sixth in just five turns!

Eastern Creek Qualifying 2

Craig Lowndes

Team Mobil-HRT Commodore .... Mobil-HRT Commodore ....

Glenn Seton

Ford Tickford Racing Falcon

1m31.2666

Jason Bright

Pirtek-SBR Falcon

1m31.2904

Garth Tander

Valvoline-GRM Commodore

1m31.4553

6 7 8 9

Larry Perkins Jason Bargwanna Russell Ingall Tony Longhurst

Castrol-Perkins Commodore

1m31.4683

Vaivoline-GRM Commodore

1m31.4787

Castrol SLX-Perkins Commodore

1m31.7573

Castrol-Longhurst Falcon ..

1m31.8193

Mark Larkham

Mitre 10-SBR Falcon

1m31.8237

Paul Radisich

Shell Helix-DJR Falcon

Steven Ellery

John Bowe

1m32.0283 Ellery-SBR 1m32.0295 CAT Racing Falcon 1m32.1645 Ford Tickford Racing Falcon Wynns Racing-Gibson Commodore .. .1m32.1853 Wynns Racing-Gibson Commodore .. .1m32.3631

Pos Driver 1

Mark Skaife

Neil Crompton

Steven Richards

McLean and Forbes continued to

Greg Murphy

trade quickest laps for the race all the way through although the Greenfield Mowers Falcon kept edg ing closing and closer to the

Dick Johnson

Shell Helix-DJR Falcon

Paul Romano

‘chamellion’ PPG Commodore in the

lead, third place Michael Donaher just quietly going about his business in the new UltraTune VS Commodore. A number of the combatants had

Time 1m30.6556 1m31.0781

1m32.0274

....

1m32.5782 1m32.7169

John Faulkner

Siemens Mobile Commodore Betta/Cummins-JFR Commodore

Mark Noske

Young Lions Commodore ...

1m32.7260 1m32.7369

21 22 23 24

Greg Crick Rodney Forbes Trevor Ashby Todd Kelly

Ericsson Falcon

1m33.0975

Tomas Mezera

26 27

Terry Finnigan Dugal McDougall

...

1m33.2135

Lansvale Smash Commodore

1m33.3729

Young Lions Commodore .., Plaspak Racing Commodore , Sony Autosound Commodore

1m33.5292 1m33.6144

PPG-Forbes Commodore

Aloe Quench-Perkins Commodore

,1m33.7467

... .1m33.8565 1m34.1022 1m34.3099 1m34.3414

problems along the way, Conway going off on lap five. Smith visiting the pits with his engine sounding way

Mick Donaher

Rod Nash

Budweiser Commodore

Anthony’Tratt

Toll Racing Commodore

distributor shaft. He missed out on

off and Finnigan, who had just gone

Simon Emerzidis

Simons Earthworks Commodore

1m34.5784

a qualifying time and, while the

under the inside of Chris Smerdon

David Parsons

Smith Trucks Commodore

and up into fourth, parking the Sony car just a couple of turns later. McLean moved up to second by the sixth lap and began to really charge towards Forbes, on the last

Danny Osbourne

Colourscan Racing Falcon

1m34.7508 1m35.1501

Chris Smerdon

Challenge Motorsport Commodore ... .1m35.4810

Mike Conway

36 37 38 39

John Cotter Richard Mork Bob Thorn Bill Attard

Cadillac Productions Falcon Team Gatorade Commodore

22nd and Cameron McLean faced a

weekend off after his engine ate a

team set to changing an engine,

they started considering what they could do to get a start.

car was front-and-reared at Albert

Richard Mork was the answer to

Park, it was a significant effort

the question. The two teams sorted

from the GRM crew.

out a deal where Mork withdrew

Backing up Ingall was another Castrol-flavoured car, Longhurst’s. Tony’ dash display had gone to lunch so his 31.7 was something of a surprise considering that “the car is feeling better, but we had no gain”. Right behind was Larkham.

and got a front Ford EL spoiler and Cam got a Sunday job. It was described as a ‘mutually benificial arrangement’, which was right; even though he was started from the back, McLean would be worth watching on race day.

Brought to his knees: Thanks to this impact, Todd Kelly’s Young Lions Holden may not now be seen until the end of the year.(Photo by Noei Papeiera)

lap closing the gap to just half a

second as they crossed the line to take the chequered flag - the gap Continued next page

Ultra Tune Commodore

....

1m35.5506 1m35.7770 1m36.2353

Barry Morcom

RDP Motorsport Commodore 1m36.6523 Super Cheap Falcon 1m36.9707 The Xerox Shop Commodore Barry Morcom Racing Commodore ... .1m37.3086

Cameron McLean

Greenfield Mowers Falcon

... .No times

Off to a flying start... sort of: Craig Lowndes’ bad race one start cost him any chance of taking top spot for the series opener at Eastern Creek, the reigning champion settling for second behind Skaife. (Phoio by oirk Kiynsmith)

RIM

9Aprill999

I[lAdOcDD’SITXDCPO

Let’s just split the difference... ■ What’s a spot in the V8 Supercar field worth to a team and their sponsors if they don’t qualify? Well, to Super Touring convert Cameron McLean

it’s worth a front splitter and rear wing for a VS Commodore as that’s what it cost the Greenfield

Mowers team to “buy’ privateer Richard Mork’s spot in the 40 car grid for the first race.

McLean’s Falcon, one of 41

V8s actually at the track, failed to complete any laps in qualifying after suffering ignition problems for the first two days, neccessitating the ‘purchase’ of a spot in the

■ Number two comment of the week came from

AVESCO boss Tony Cochrane who commented to HRT drivers Skaife and

Lowndes “Well done guys, great wins ... just don’t do it every race this year, please!” The comment came with a bit of a chuckle ...

■ Larry Perkins won the first of the Victoria Bitter

V8 Challenges - a year long promotion being held in conjunction with Dick Johnson’s ’99 Farewell Tour.

-it

The storm after the calm: Four incidents within four turns neccessitated a red fiag at the start of the third race.

The promo pits a leading Holden driver against Johnson, both in ‘streeter’

■ When he departs for gi-eener pastures at the end of the year, Dick Johnson apparently won’t be cutting the grass with a Masport

sumo-tourers, racing through witches hats with a lucky consumer of VB as passenger. To enter, head off to the local, buy a slab ofVB and go for it. Just think, even if you don’t win, you’ve still got

mower with both the DJR

the beer!...

field...

AUs appearing at Eastern Creek sans the mower

■ Paul Dumbrell didn’t

company’s familiar windscreen signage - Dick

make his V8 Supercar debut at Eastern Creek, the Wynn’s team preferring to just leave him to

and Paul Radisich’s

signatures adorning the front glass... ■ Garry Rogers’ Valvoline Commodores were also

carrying interesting signage - Pirtek logos gracing the rear bumpers ...

■ After creating much confusion at the recent

AGP at Albert Park, it was nice to see the HRT

Commodores carrying regulation-sized numbers, allowing race fans and media alike to more easily recognise who was who ...

concentrate on the Formula

Holden category instead of jumping from seat to seat in differing vehicles. Wynn’s Formula Holden team engineer Trevor Schumack said the young son of team owner Gary Dumbrell is quite a talented punter, but he believed the 16 year old was doing more harm than good to his career by racing so many varieties of vehicles.

“He’s a good young driver and, even though he made some mistakes, I believe

■ With just one ticket box open at the front gate to Eastern Creek, it wasn’t

that with a little more time in the Formula Holden he’s

hard to understand that

Schumack said following

spectators were upset at

the first race. “It’s better for him if we settle him down in one

the delays. At 8.30 am on race day the queue already more than

going to a serious threat,”

vehicle and he can develop

stretched 100 m with a wait of around 25 minutes. Holden PR man Tim

and show his true

Pemberton also reported a two-three kilometre queue of cars trying to get into

■ New Zealander Paul

potential.”

Radisich’s returned to his front-wheel-drive Ford

the circuit...

roots before the meeting. While the track was being

■ Comment of the week went to an unnamed viewer

readied for the race on

of the qualifying session. On Murphy and Richards’ grid spots; “Gee, maybe the team should have kept the two Darrens (Hossack and

Pate”)...

Wednesday the two-time World Cup Champion and BTCC refugee was droning around the track in a Laser

and at slightly less speed than his #18 Shell Helix Falcon AU...

PO Box 6330 Shepparton 3632 Ph/Fax: 03 5827 1359 Mobile: 014 406 980

Email: speedwerx(gdiesel.net.au www.kartsport.com.au/akn/speedwerx.html

Continued from previous page

(Photo by John orote)

positions and paint before the Falcon finally settled into

proving to be just a little too

bent something in the steer ing, which made it really hard for the rest of the race,”

much for McLean to close.

he said.

race.

McLean, starting last in his V8 debut, moved through the field quickly, although a com ing together with Rodney

Radisich’s debut in the “big league’ of the world touring car scene, having not been frustrating enough to this point, got a little worse with

raising the ire of Forbes and his team and setting up what may be a great rivalry for the rest of the year.

The final finishing order saw Forbes coming in ahead of the fast closing McLean, Donaher staying out of trou ble for third, Ashby fourth, Smerdon fifth. Cotter, Morcom, Mork, Thorn and Nash filing out the top 10. In a situation where it

seemed an easy win, but was probably easier to lose the race if he had panicked from the pressure McLean was to apply in the closing stages, it was a good, business-like drive for Forbes and a well

deserved result ... although McLean did really steal the show and impress all and sundry with his stunning drive and, maybe had the race gone one more lap, he might’ve taken the lead. If, only, didn’t!

Race 1-13 laps While qualifying had pro

With the race beginning to settle down, attention now

turned to Young Lions hope ful Todd Kelly who speared off in turn one and hit the

concrete at almost full speed and almost head on - Kelly emerging and falling to the ground in pain. “I pointed the car in and everything seemed OK, but then the tyre went, I don’t

VCRT

Commodore

‘Bargs’ later saying he couldn’t believe Ingall’s move:

“He just turned hard left and hit my front wheel and

had

John Faulkner earlier, the

got a puncture - it just went straight in,” Kelly said. “I couldn’t pull it up ... I was just along for the ride.” Kelly was sore but philo sophical on his future, saying that the team had enough money to repair the car - the funding it would have used

- Radisich out of the race.

ness-like performance led home Bright, Lowndes third.

In the end Skaife’s busi

to race in Adelaide...

“We’ll just repair it and try and put enough money together to run the Queensland 500 and

Tander in turn two to slot into third.

“Craig had more car speed than I did and I thought it was better to let him go and consolidate my spot and con serve tyres for the final two races,” Tander said following the final result. At the front of the field

Bright set a new lap record with the Pirtek AU in the

chase for Skaife, although the HRT VT appeared to be doing the business out in front.

Seton passed LP on the inside into turn two, although the Castrol car

fought back, both swapping

CHASSIS

ENGINE

OTHER

TOOLS

● Lap timers ● Pit canopies ● Exhaust gas

● Tube notcher

● Porting kits

● Tube bender

● Bore gauges

● Camber/caster gauges

● Valve sprung testers

● Spring rate testers

● Oil filter cutters

● Scales

● Height micrometers ● Ring compressors

● Stagger gauges ● Tyre pyrometers

himself

car 18 beginning to overheat

Bathurst at the end of the

ably out in front. The rest of the field began the usual series of jostling for places. Ingall barging into the front of Bargwanna’s

Forbes

grabbed the attention of

know if it de-laminated or I

year,” he said. Lowndes kept clawing away, passing Perkins for fourth and just one lap later on lap six, (despite passing apparently being a thing of the past!) the two-time Champion moved past

Seton and Tander comfort

ing a tyre, sending him into the grass going into turn one.

Betta driver saying he’d been hit by Forbes under yellows and punted off the track.

regards to results, the green light signalled the start of the new year - Skaife, Bright, Seton and Tander all getting great starts and the latter mov ing into third. For Lowndes it almost signalled a disaster

Commodore storming BACK through the field to sixth. The defending series Champ put his head down quickly and started moving back towards the front, pass ing Seton by the fifth turn for fifth - Skaife, Bright,

the Shell Falcon de-laminat-

Forbes sent both off the track,

Like the GP races, the Shell Falcon again had prob lems with the front airdam, the radiator being holed and

duced more of the same in

with the number one HRT

fifth for the remainder of the

● Burettes

● Durometers

● Micrometers

● Tyre pressure gauges

● Verniers

When Friends Cellide LARRY Perkins was not having a good day. The bal

ance of the Castrol Commodore was off and the veter

an driver was struggling in practice. On used tyi-es he was looking for time when he went too far at turn 9 and half-spun off the road. He soon had the car pointing in the irght direction and, seeing yellows wav ing and clear track for 300 metres, motored back onto the tar, well off-line. Enter Tomas Mezera. The Plaspak Commodore was motoring along when he came across LP and, next thing,

‘Clang!’. The two VTs met. “I saw him,” admitted Mezera, “but I guess I didn’t slow down enough.” “I don’t know what he was thinking,” said Perkins as he watched the crew tape up the rear of the VT. “He was going too fast to stop. I hope the stewards do something.” They did. Mezera had his wallet lightened by $500. while the two former team-mates had a talk - though Pei'kins did most of the talking - to settle the matter.

temp gauges ● Technical videos

● Drill sharpners ● Go-kart tools

'99 Catalogue now available

Unit features a 32 lap recall memory and includes the trackside transmitter.

!■

9Aprill999 25 osaoc

ae«

Pest extermination: After avoiding most of the chaos on the first two turns, John Bowe’s Catepillar Falcon went around and, here, is just about to be squished by Tomas Mezera’s Densitron Commodore. It was a horror series debut for the CAT team, (pnoto by John Grate)

followed by an impressive

front of the field transpired,

Tander and Seton.

Steven Richards’ second

Race 2-13 laps With Kelly out, Richard Mork regained a spot in the field for the second race, starting from the back of the grid, while Danny Osborne’s

Colourscan

Falcon expired on the warm-up lap. The green produced pre dictable results with most

getting away to solid starts, with Tander’s effort being the most impressive of the bunch.

The

young

West

race ended quite quickly, the new Wynn’s VT break-t ing the clutch. The team got ready to go into overtime for the number seven car to make the third and final race.

Johnson and Ellery had a hard time on the first lap Ellery was hit and spun at turn two, DJ among those who had to stop to avoid a collision. Privateer Rod Nash ended

his day on the first lap, and maybe even the team’s Adelaide hopes, when he

Australian drove around the

stove in the front of the

outside

Autopro/Budweiser Commodore at the hairpin

Bright

and

Lowndes in the first turn to take second behind Skaife as the field headed around to the back of the circuit - a brave manoeuvre.

While all the action up the

on turn 10.

LP and Bright produced some spectacular racing, the Castrol

and

Pirtek

cars

banging together, allowing

Bargs to push his way through into fourth. Neil Crompton’s horror weekend in the second FTR

continued. After failing to finish the first race (a broken

suspension arm puncturing a tyi-e) he was into the pits on the second lap and eventual ly out on lap eight. Ingall’s silver streak began pushing Bright hard around the turns, the in-car cameras providing plenty of close-ups of the Castrol car’s front

bumper for home viewers. Lowndes began to close on Tander, the more experi enced driver finally finding a way past on lap five, his move then .allowing LP to make a move up to pressure the youngster. Larkham’s Mitre 10 car

headed for the pits on the same lap, Skaife’s VT contin uing to make a charge and

Cornin’ through: Cameron McLean’s V8 series debut was eventful and spectacular. After not qualifying due to electrical problems, he charged from the back of the grid in the first race (seen here passing Mick Donaher), finishing in tenth by the third. (Photo by Marshall cass) setting his quickest lap of the

also attacking the tail of the

race then.

second VCRT car. The action continued

Longhurst was doing his utmost to keep Seton at bay, covering the FTR driver’s moves all the way down the front straight on the fifth lap, Seton passing the Queenslander next time around.

In the privateer class Donaher, Forbes and McLean were battling hard,

running three wide into turns - Radisich and Greg Crick also in amongst the bunch. LP continued to hound

Tander, pushing at his rear bumper while Bright was

strongly to the tenth lap, Seton finally finding a way past Ingall whose car appeared ‘tail-y’ into turn four, Seton quickly opening a gap on the 8 car. On the same lap Perkins drove past Tander, putting LP into the top three for the first time in the weekend, Greg Murphy at the same point also making his presence felt for the first time in the top 10. “It’s just been really strange - our car hasn’t been good at the starts, but then it comes on real strong

towards the end,” a happy, but slightly bewildered Murphy said after the race. “We’re just going to contin ue throwing everything at it... at least we’re making progi-ess and that’s promising.” Skaife continued on his

merry way, taking the second race comfortably ahead of Lowndes, Perkins finishing third, Tander fourth and team-mate Bargwanna fifth a 1-5 clean sweep for Holden. In the privateers portion of the second race Forbes, also in a Holden, just headed McLean, the PPG Commodore finishing a solid sixteenth. Continued on page 50

Hyper Australian Championship For a full race report see www.hyperstim.com

Championship was held on the 21/3/99 at Hyper

Leach into Crowthorne. By lap 10 Crooke had a 4 sec ond lead over Riches, the front runners lapping consistantly in the mid 20’s

Stimulator Race and

low 21’s. Crooke went on to

Retail Centres at

will compete for a cash prize pool of approximately

Lilydale Victoria and

win by 2.44 sec from Riches who took fastest lap at

Amcliffe NSW.

1:20.15.

The first round of the

Hyper Stimulator Australian

18 drivers competed in front of a bumper crowd. The race meeting was held at the 1967 Kyalami track using Grand Prix Legends software. Three 12 lap heats were run with the top placed drivers moving to the 24 lap final. VICTORIAN DIVISION

The 24 lap final saw Steven Ryan put his Lotus on pole with a 1:20.2. but as the starter raised his

flag, Ryan’s engine blew up. Jon Crooke got a blinder of a start from 4th on the grid to lead Vail Riches and Guy

NEXT ROUND....

The Championship will be run over 11 rounds. Drivers

$10,000 and other prizes. The next race is at

Monaco on the 18/4/99.

NSW DIVISION

Adam Jasper put his Lotus on pole with a 1:22.28, but George Savvas in his Brabham headed the field out of Crowthorne. On

Drivers wishing to compete in the series, and Queensland drivers wish¬ ing to drive in a QLD divi¬ sion, should contact Steven

lap 11 Jasper and Phil Jeffery passed Andrew

Teear on 03 9739 6323.

Kachniarz after Kachniarz

and AUTOBARN.

Sponsored by NO FEAR

spun at Barbecue Bend. By lap 21 Savvas was strug gling with overheated t)Tes and, with 1 lap to go, Jasper and Jeffery slipped by, with Jasper going on to take the win by 2 seconds. Fastest lap went to Savvas at 1:22.06.

4 I'

* ,.0

'4, Dean Crooke 14 Student

Brice Peter-Budge 22 Builder

Jon Crooke

Mike Cullinan

47 Designer

41 Project Man

Tom Elovarls 39 Manufacturer

Craig Gobbi 33 Postman

■

(

}

Andrew Kachniarz

30 Manager

Guy Leach 27 Sales Manager

Peter Hughes 32 Auto Designer

Adam Jasper 27 Supervisor

Phil Jeffery 28 Postman

m ■11

Tim Grant

28 Systems Tech

Chris Lindrbos 38 Computer Tech

Les Marton

Vail Riches

32 Computer Tech

Steven Ryan

33 Glazing Eng

32 Real Estate

l1^ George Savvas 38 Manager

Mario Toumasiou

33 Prod Manager

Dean Ford VIC Clerk Course

Harry Danilidls NSW Clerk Course

Ford Fa con nU U8 Su

ick

Johnson/Paui 7T

lid

J:F^ct

I ^

iMi

I \

u ■ :'>●

17 QUiEU

fo f

COMMa

VORltD

—

-1

S5«

■^kltOT

EUXitea

r.v c/{A/jj/vi;i-

—a

<®)

V-

● Shea Dwiopmani Austr.

if I

> 1

Collectors

percar Collection

>.-o

r ♦

●t

h‘ I

i j.

i'.

1 S' u

1 S ^ z -T

5 £■

E L

d i s i c h

Shell

Helix

c i n J tm

»-

leil

ELIX

iLS*

NSOM /

»*

i-z-i ]

Ho # ShdlS«»k«»t”*®^*«^

^ > '7sv

EJ ^

●iJ

^ i-

(Sr .; ^ -U 4-

t i

Hum

n I

e r

9Apriim9

By PHIL BRANAGAN &

mark, it was left to team

GERALD McDORNAN

owner Arthur Abrahams to sUde behind the wheel. Wills wasted little time in

SIMON Wills and Chris Staff were the class of the field in the first round of the New Zealand Drivers’

Championship in the western Auckland suburb of Eastern Creek.

Birrana off-sider Brenton

Ramsay. But Staff split the pair in Graham Watson’s Reynard, promising a good battle come race day.

'The two drivers ran 1-2 in

Akihiro Asai was close

behind, shading debutants Macrow, Paul Dumbrell and

to pick up the pieces. Wills

another

now looks the favourite to fol

Halliday, who was getting

low in the footsteps of current Champion Scott Dixon... Hang on, this is the

faster each time he ventured onto the track.

Drivers’

Championship despite the efforts and Wills, Staff,

Matthew Halliday and Kevin Bell putting a silver fern flavour on proceedings. Still, the form of the NZ contingent and their ability to snare good drives in the series augers well for the rest of the season.

While Wills was enjoying life at Birrana Racing Brenton Ramsay was not, suffering a bad start in the first race and losing a wheel spectacularly in the second.

ig news of qualifying of the no-show of Stephen

White. Due to a shortfall in

his budget the former inter national was forced to with draw from the ride at the

last minute, though he is confident of making the rest of the series.

NZer Jason Leifting, who made such an impressive FH debut

kiwi,

Matthew

Abrahams was eighth from Perth’s Ray Stubber and Kevin Bell, who had set-up problems in his Enzed Reynard. That made five international drivers in the

top 10.

Race 1 (12 laps)

The start season began withofathe bit of bang for Asai, the Japanese driver trying hard to charge past the front three cars as the field headed into the first turn.

The sad part for Asai was that Staff closed the door

Qualifying

Sandown

last

September, was offered the ride but eventually, after his budget didn’t come up to the

oYo

claiming pole with a lm23.7611s lap, 0.3s clear of

both races, leaving Formula Ford graduate Adam Macrow

Australian

quickly, running over the NRG driver’s front wing, sending Asai off the track at the sec

ond turn - Asai resuming but spending the rest of the race battling downforce dramas. It didn’t take long for Macrow to take third, the FFord Champ looking to impress in his first official FHolden start.

For the following five or so laps the race settled down. Wills showing great pace to break away from the pack. Staff holding out a comfort-

Will the real Wills please stand up? He did at Eastern Creek. New Zealander Simon Wills dominated the two races to start the Australian Drivers’ Championship. He was ably backed up by countryman Chris Staff. (Pnoto by Marshal: cass)

Wills Power able second.

broken gearbox ending the

Asai’s problems had team owner Abrahams jostling for positions with his driver, Abrahams making a solid showing in his first race in three years - Asai eventually finishing seventh just ahead of Dale Brede’s Repsol Reynard. A solid qualifying effort was all Ramsay could show at the end of the first race, a

South Australian’s race on

lap seven. Kiwi BeU had an amazing race, actually spinning twice in the Enzed car, although a sixth place finish was indica tion of Bell’s speed. The enthusiastic Dumbrell

his quickest lap some 1.2 sec

when the kiwi flew by but, with Halliday and Asai holding off Bell behind

onds quicker than the next

them, the Melbourne driver

best - ahead of Staff, Macrow, a strong running

consolidated his position which he held to the flag, even getting on terms with

'The final order for the first race saw Wills take the win -

Halliday, a surprising Abrahams, Bell, Dumbrell, Asai, Brede and Sam Astuti.

didn’t have the best of starts, but a solid effort saw the 16

year old finish out the race with a seventh place finish.

Race 2 (12 laps) acrow showed the best

M reflexes at the light, out-dragging the front row away, but Wills was imme diately into his stride and got the lead before turn 2. By the end of the lap he was

1.2s clear and the race was

-1G

over.

Macrow managed to hold off Staff until the second lap

Staff mid-race. But while Will’s car was

flying, his Birrana team mate was having dramas. Ramsay had made a slow start and was fighting his way forward from the middle of the pack until he lost a wheel at turn 1 on lap 5, three-wheeling to a stop while

the

errant

device

bounced down the straight. Halliday’s strong showing ended with a spin on lap 9, costing three spots. Wills cruised home by almost 7 seconds from Staff

and Macrow, with a racing Australian Drivers

Asai versus Bell battle next.

Championship: A strong field turned out for

Abrahams followed from a

the first round of the

recovering Halhday, Stubber and Crampton.

Formula Holden series, only

Dumbrell had an off and

for the event to be dominat

lost a lap recovering, while Digby also had a lose, costing him a lap before recovering.

ed by New Zealanders! (Photo by Dirk Klynsmith)

Sandown 24th -2Sth April ● Historic Touring Cars

● Commodore cup ● Formula Ford

Free entir to pits &

^ mndstand

● Sports Sedans ● Marque Sports Cars and more

Also lUiii (lie <ude i>i a £i(eiiwe Hot laps with John Faulkner

Betta Electrical Commodore V8 Supercar Tickets $5 on sale at the venue. Proudly presented by the MG Car Club Victoria. Ph 03 5943 2478 bh or 03 5978 6472 ah

Testing the limits: Dale Brede was coming to terms with the peculiarities of the later model Repsol Reynard 94D, visiting the grass on this occassion. (Photo by Marshall cass)

DIM

RIM

TXD

9 April 1999

Current Australian GTP Champion Dorn Beninca splattered the opposition at Eastern Creek. EDWARD KRAUSE witnessed the

slaughter. WHILE much was made of

earlier effort. In his return to

the

GTP racing ’95 champ Jim Richards brought out his new 911 with CAT sponsorship,

expanded Production car grid and GT

the new Class A contes

tants, the end result was

and shared the second row

many years, Porsche 911 RSCSs on top at the open ing round of the Century Batteries championship at

with the Polyaire Mazda RX7SP of Teny Bosnjak. Neither were running at their opti mum, Richards still with the standard engine management system while Bosnjak had his

Eastern Creek.

tuned to conservative mode.

Defending champion Domenic Beninca, who was only able to race when Skye Sands, owned by former sports car racer Rusty French, tipped in with financial support, was the convincing winner in both races over Peter Fitzgerald in

Following them were the two Porsche Cup graduates Geoff Morgan and Ed Aitken,

the same as has been for

both in 911s while Darren

Palmer and Perry Spiridis shared

the

fourth

row.

Palmer was struggling with the ex-Bowe Ferrari 355

two hoping for a mistake or for traf fic to interfere. Richards and

Bosnjak shared the two third posi

a Stuttgart 1-2-3 when

tyres blistered badly towards the end of race one, finishing fourth in a side-by-side fin ish with Spiridis. Bosnjak took

Speed-wise there was httle

was to no avail. Beninca man

with Fitzgerald putting in a bhnding lap in the first quali fying session, which he described as perfect, to be a

aged to edge away and then, when they hit traffic, take advantage of the gaps and press on to record two wins. Fitzgerald was struggling with rear tyres which lost their edge toward the end of the races but was comfortably clear of his nearest challengers and kept Beninca in sight in race

full second ahead of Beninca with a lm39.0542. Beninca turned the tables

in the second qualifier to snatch pole for race two, but he was still well shy of Fitzys

his

rear

er and then drove for half a

lap with the Ferrari on fire caused by a hot exhaust set ting the plastic alight in race two before pulling over at the nearest flag point. Class B was dominated by Super Touring refugee Geoff Full’s www.discpads.com.ausponsored Subaru WRX. Full qualified fastest and won both races comfortably. Wayne Vincx (Nissan 200SX) and Mark King (Mitsubishi

third but was unable to stick with Richards in second the

encounter,

set

tling for fourth. Morgan had a rough introduction

Evo 3) filled the minors both

times, Vincx having a great

Mac time at the Creek By BEN WHITEHOUSE

STEWART McCqll was the surprise

broke, ending its perfect fin ishing record and handing victory to Ryan McLeod in the Falcon XR8. Megan Kirkham in the 626 was the only Class D competitor, while in E new comer Nathan Thomas was

too strong, his only concern the McLeod Falcon which he

Race 1 (4 laps)

Davison, who qualified third, did a Mark Skaife of a start and was

relegated to eighth. Ty Hanger, who qualified seventh did well and quickly took Davison’s spot in third where he had a box seat for the

McColl vs Ritter, high-speed ballet. The lead changed a number of times but then McColl managed to really put the boot in, establishing a small gap on Ritter who in the fierce

dicing had started to cook his tyres. Spectrum drivers Owen Kelly and Justin Cotter couldn’t decide who owned turn two and so decid

ed on the crash, spin, then grass

'The Class C honours were

shared. Defending champ David Ratcliff in his Toyota Camry qualified fastest and when the front wheel hub

Creek crowd on the edge of their seats. The FFs provided the closest racing of the weekend and were an exciting preview to this year’s championship.

battle at the front.

Super Touring driver Dwayne Bewley before Bewle/s WRX engine expired.

looking set for number two

Steve Owen which had the Eastern

however, as pole man McColl, who had won the start and second quali fier Grig Ritter began a ding-dong

duel with another sometime

won the first race and was

package of the weekend emerging from the first round of the champi onship with a convincing victory. The Spectrum driver was just too good for his rivals, taking pole, then winning the shortened first race after dicing with Greg Ritter. Victory in heat two came after a heart-stopping late charge from

Allaway 30 ofcleanly. the Formula It was Fords to not got last

had no such troubles and bat

tled all the way with Ed get any better in tbe racing, finishing seventh in the open

while Spiridis had stepped into the Maserati Ghibh.

difference between the two,

at the start of race one and

forced to pit, but in race two he Aitken to finish fifth. Palmer’s weekend didn’t

putting the credit for his win down to his Michelin tyres outperforming Fitzgerald’s Falkens.

Prancing horse: Craig Dean has a circumspect debut in the Saleen (Photo by Marshall Cass) Mustang, which looks like being quick once sorted.

to GTP, buzzing the engine on Friday. He was shuffled badly

tions. Richards was set to make it

the Falken 911, the Italian

On Sunday Beninca wasn’t headed at any stage. Fitzgerald applied the pres sure early in both races but it

Gently flows the Dom: Beninca was in a class of his own at Eastern Creek, aided in large measure by his Michelin tyres. It was the perfect {Photo by Dirk Ktynsmith) start to the season for the defending Champion.

option, taking themselves out of the middle running. On lap 5 an incident which left

second lap after a demon start.

Davison and Mecklem, who wanted

Robert Jones and Aaron

to improve on their fourth and fifth positions respectively but Ritter

McNally ended on top of each other at turn two after battling just a little

would have none of it, and defend

spent most of his time duelling with. In the new Class S Clayton Haynes in an MR2 and Bathurst-only V8 driver Wayne Russell in a BMW shared the pole positions. Last year’s Class D champ Ric Shaw won the opening race in his MR2 from team mate Colin Osborne while in the second he and Russell

mid-fielder Jim McKinnon’s car stranded in the middle of turn one

too hard.

brought out the red flag. The race was declared on lap

Ritter, Owen and Davison ducked

four, with McColl winning comfort

and dived and went four abreast

great race, battling with Ashley

were fighting it out when Shaw’s engine went off song

ably from Ritter, Hanger, Davison (who had recovered well) and Tyler Mecklem. Steve Owen made up 10 spots, finishing sixth.

through turn one time after time, bringing the Eastern Creek crowd

Seward, Jim McKinnon and Kiwi

and he was forced to slow, fin

Formula Ford Champion Leroy Stevenson. Owen put his all into chasing McColl whose nerves must now have surely been shot. To his credit though, he kept it together and Owen was unable to make up the gap in the remaining laps. Ritter held out Davison who got fastest lap of the race with Mecklem rounding out the top five. Cotter made up 17 spots to finish in 11 th.

ishing fourth, Russell taking

Race 2 (8 laps) his was the race of the week

T end. McColl got the jump again from Ritter, while Hanger and Davison slotted into third and fourth

respectively. Owen had the bit between his teeth getting past Hanger, and then Davison on the

The leading quartet of McColl,

to its feet.

Owen piled the pressure on Ritter who had to struggle to keep him at bay as his tyres heated up

again. The pair slipstreamed, wheel to wheel, and up each others gear boxes until eventually Ritter’s tyres had had enough and on lap 5 Owen slipped through into second. Hanger was going backwards, dropping down to sixth behind

ed his line well against the Van Diemen onslaught. Further back Drew Kruk had a

the win from Osborne and

Haynes. Points: Outright: Beninca 31, Fitzgerald 25, Bosnjak 18, Richards 18, Aitken 10, Spiridis 10 Class A: Beninca 30 Class B: Full 30 Class C: McLeod 23 Class D: Kirkham 30 Class E: Thomas 30 Class S: Osborne 24

9April1999 Report by

SEAN HENSHELWOOD

IT was the climax of a difficult

year hampered by date changes

Three straight

didn’t stop the most impressive crowd of the year attending the final roimd of the 1998/99 Super Speedway Championships at the Thunderdome on April 3 and applauding as Kim Jane

As Abelnica came into turn 3 on

With the high level of competi

the eleventh lap, he touched the

tiveness at the front of the field, the

inside rear of Stocker, sending them both up into the outside wall. With nowhere to go, Ellis squeezed through the gap between

was

always going to go down to the wire with a head to head battle between

reigning double champion Jane and Teiry Wyhoon. The championship lead had been alternating between the two drivers for the course of the season, Jane

leading into the final round by five points courtesy of a great run at the

the outside wall and the spinning cars, narrowly avoiding become a

Wyhoon falters as Champ Kim Jane

victim himself, despite touching the

snares another

the night while the two wrecks

wall.

This caused the first caution of

were separated. Wyhoon made sure he didn’t

Australian Grand Prix.

In the days leading up to the event, it was announced that two

NASCAK title

make the same mistake twice on

the start and took a strong lead, leaving Jane and Elliot in his wake. Lance had lined up below Wyhoon, courtesy of being a lap down and he immediately took up the running behind his fellow Ford competitor, holding back Jane, Elliot and the charging Brewer.

wild cards would be added to the field.

1996 NASCAR champion Brad Jones was making a return to the class behind the wheel of the #3 Fast Fone Chev Monte Carlo of

Rodney Jane, while former race winner John Faulkner took the wheel of the #34 Vision Monte

Carlo vacated by fellow Supercar driver Russell Ingall.

Faulkner’s run came to an end on

lap 22 with a broken rear shock

absorber.

Jane finally passed Lance for sec ond on track and set out in pursuit of race leader Wyhoon. The battle was rivetting, the two drivers trading fastest laps. Wyhoon’s wish for cooler condi tions to make his handling more

Practice & Qualifying George Hotel/FAI

Elliot

(#55

Lockies

Chev Monte Carlo)

showed that he was back to form

with a best of 28.4097 in Saturday morning’s practice session, narrow ly shading Wyhoon (#25 BP Car care Ford Thunderbird), Jane (#27 Bob Jane T-Marts Chev Monte

Carlo) and new team-mate Jones.

Jones was much happier than he had been in his first drive of the car

the previous Thursday. “I came hammering down the front straight for the first few laps and found myself lifting off the gas at the start/finish line, thinking: gee, these things are fast.” With the tight schedule and scrutineering running as the cars pre pared to qualify, a number of dri vers missed out on completing com petitive laps in the allotted time. Biggest losers were the super slick John Sidney Racing team, which was first caught in the entry tunnel waiting for traffic and then caught in the backlog of cars in scrutineering.

At the same time, a race was

ensuing between Eddie Abelnica

Consolidated Waste Oldsmobile Cutlass) and Ken James (#01 Revell/Wet Paint Oldsmobile Cutlass).

took his third NASCAR title.

championship

the title was on.

(#9 Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars Oldsmobile Cutlass), Jimmy Ellis (#02 GB Galvanising Chev Lumina), Paul Stocker (#48

and bad weather, but that

NASCAR

Jones were carving through the traffic, catching the tail of Cook by lap 8. Wyhoon grabbed the lead from Elliot on lap 10, Jane following him through a lap later - the race for

t Jane made it onto the circuit

with a couple of minutes to go, com pleting only three laps for a best of 28.6712, or sixth place. Jones wasn’t quite as lucky, starting his opening lap as the che quered flag came out and only capa ble of a 30.6636 for twelfth place. Neville Lance (#14 Autopro Ford Thunderbird) drew first blood, tak ing pole with a best of 27.9924 and

the only driver to go sub-28 sec onds.

Wyhoon claimed second (28.0120), but was hoping for pole to give him a greater edge over Jane

Elliot

(28.0345),

claimed

round

two

third

winner

Marshall Brewer (#8 Pennzoil

Monte Carlo, 28.3746) fourth and Gene Cook (#41 Shell Helix Ford Thunderbird, 28.4304) fifth.

Faulkner was struggling with a

lack of brakes, but still managed a respectable time of 30.4103 for tenth.

Race One (40 laps) Wyhoon was generally happy with the qualifying situation, but not happy enough - “The car was pretty tight, so it wasn’t that nice a qualifying session. Hopefully, once the weather cools, down the car will respond better.” Jane was concerned, but not too worried.

“Yeah, it would’ve been good to get some quality track time, but with the mix-up in the tunnel and scrutineering the laps just weren’t available,” he explained. “This is not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Terry’s a tough competitor and he’s hungi-y. But I’m pretty hungry too -

every race I enter, I want to win and this is no exception.” Lance got the jump from pole at the start and was away, Wyhoon making a shocking start and drop ping back to fifth, as Jane stormed through to be third by turn 1. While fast, the Lance car was very loose at the exit of turns 2 and 4, providing both the driver and the crowd with a great spectacle, hut it did nothing to stop the attack from the closely following Elliot, or Jane. Elliot grabbed the lead from the wayward Lance by lap 4, Wyhoon taking him two corners later and stalking Elliot. Lance’s run came to an end on

the fifth lap with a lurid spin as he exited turn 2, luckily avoiding con tact with the wall - he immediately came to the pits for fresh rubber. Back in the pack, Faulkner and

Convincing victory: T-Bird punter Gene Cook flexed his muscles big time in the NASCAR 80-lap thriller at the Dome. (Thunder-Pics photo)

neutral was being met, the Ford handling the turns much better than Jane’s Chev.

But Wyhoon’s run at the front came to an end after being caught up with James - the two leaders had caught James as they started lap 31,

Wyhoon was baulked slightly as they went into turn 1, but he man aged to take the outside of James as they exited turn 2 - but the loss of momentum had opened up a charge by Jane, who ducked down the inside of James for the lead.

Wyhoon attacked, but couldn’t match the pace of the John Sidneyprepared Chev as they drag raced down the back straight. Just as Wyhoon tried another aggressive move in the closing laps, Elliot spun backwards into the inside wall, calling for another cau tion.

Three clear laps for the finish saw Jane make the most of the

restart and the drag race for the finish.

Wyhoon couldn’t make up the deficit in time, crossing the fine just a tenth behind Jane.

Cook stormed through for a fine third. Brewer an excellent fourth and Jones fifth.

Race Two (80 laps) Two pit stops were scheduled for

the 80-lapper, calling for strategy to come into play, something that everyone expected to fall into the hands of master strategist John Sidney - usually you would be

right, but for the final round of sea son 1998/99 there was a surprise in store.

The first of the two “green” stops was scheduled for laps 30-35, with the second stop on laps 60-65. The eight-tyre rule called for one set of tyres for qualifying and the first race, the same tyres which needed to be used for the start of race two.

IMdO®[FSIJ)®!7{} At the first pit stop, the teams had to change at least the inside tyres on the car, while during the second stop the teams had to take on at least fuel.

Jane was being philosophical at the start of race two, suggesting that it wasn’t over yet. “I’ve been watching guys like Earnhardt and especially Gordon on Foxtel and the way in which they conserve their tyres on restarts.” Jane said.

“Our car is pretty good, but it just doesn’t feel 100% on cold tyres, so you’ve got to be pretty careful with your first few laps. You can also hurt the tyres pretty badly, which will cost you, so there’s plenty of strategy to it.” Wyhoon needed to win race two,

immediately into the pits, Wyhoon and Cook doing so on lap 63. The slick Sidney crew saw Jones exit the pits third ahead of Wyhoon, with Cook still leading from Jane. Cook wasn’t about to drop the pace, almost wiping out Brewer in

As Jane came around to lap Elliot on lap 70, he touched the Sydney driver’s inside rear as they came off turn 2, spinning him into This called out the final caution

of the night. Cook losing an insur mountable lead with Jane right on

Cook just repeated his earlier dominance, taking the win clear of Jane, Jones, Wyhoon, Faulkner, Bob Middleton (#95 Whiteline

Transport Chev Monte Carlo) and Brewer.

By lap 5, a freight train had developed between Jane, Wyhoon,

Jane was ecstatic post-race while being crowned champion for the

Cook, Jones and Lance, with Elliot

third season in succession. “This is fantastic. You’d think

On lap 6, Wyhoon had a look at Cook diving deep into the turn behind Jane after seeing the oppor tunity arise. Wyhoon became loose mid-turn as Cook arrived deep under brakes, the two cars bashing panels as they negotiated the turn, the result see ing Wyhoon drop to fifth. The following lap. Cook took Jane for the lead in the same comer.

after all this time, having won the title twice already, that this wouldn’t be as exciting,” Jane exulted, “but I’ve got to tell you. I’m rapt. I’m as excited as my first-ever race win.

“It wasn’t an easy race, though. Terry looked very fast all weekend and, despite being the best team here, I wasn’t convinced we had it in the bag.” Cook was understandably

From here on, it was pretty much

pleased with the result, his first

a Gene Cook/Shell Helix benefit, the former Tasmanian taking a dominating lead. Brewer struggled into the pits on lap 16, as the leaders dropped to low 29-second laps. Wyhoon was one of the first in for his scheduled stop on lap 32, taking on four tyres.

win at the Thunderdome in two

A lap later. Cook called into the pits for a lightning stop, taking only the required two tyres and rejoin ing with a commanding lead. From this point the race became confusing, as drivers and teams came in and out of the pits. Cook had emerged as a strong leader, well clear of Lance, Wyhoon, Jane, Jones, Elliot and Faulkner. The cooler air was obviously working in everyone’s favour, the lead drivers setting laps well into the mid-28 second bracket.

Lance’s weekend wasn’t improv ing - second after the first set of stops, he had another spin down the front straight grass before returning to the pits again for new

/ V

his tail, ahead of Jones and Wyhoon.

had him off the restart.”

the outside of Jane into turn 3,

●i/,-

d^fBGHTER t

ly missing the wall.

behind.

three seconds behind in sixth.

the inside of the circuit and narrow

ple more laps, I reckon we would’ve Wyhoon had another shocking start, but this time didn’t fall too far back, taking third into turn 1. Jane grabbed the early lead ahead of Cook, Wyhoon and Jones.

WatkijuLtakes title

lead.

worries at all. If there’d been a cou

erwise we would’ve had Kim, no

White dominates, but

an aggressive overtaking move on lap 62 as he set about extending his

At the restart, Wyhoon’s champi onship came to an end, the Gippsland driver breaking some thing in the drivetrain and sending the car immediately left onto the infield grass as he went for the throttle - he rejoined over a lap

with Jane worse than fourth if he

was going to claim the title. He was still fairly confident: “The car is handling superbly. It’s a pity we got caught up with James, oth

9Aprill999

years and his first since his life threatening accident the month fol lowing that win. Asked when he arrived for his first race at the Thunderdome in

almost three years whether he believed that he would have made

it to the podium, Jones - in his usual inimitable fashion - said,

“yeah, I thought I could! “It was also a great pleasure to work with John Sidney Racing,” Jones added, “as they were our toughest opponents when we raced here and it’s now easy to see why they are just so good at this form of motorsport and those cars were just fantastic to drive.” Wyhoon was understandably disappointed, having come so close to his first NASCAR title then see

ing it all fall apart in the dying laps. “It just wasn’t our weekend,” Wyhoon stated. “The car was fast, it handled perfectly and the condi tions suited. I should have picked

mbber.

the driveline failure after race one

Title protagonists Jane and Wyhoon were back together again in second and third and chasing down Cook, who by lap 54 had opened up a 17-second lead. Lap 60 saw the opening of the second pit stop window, Jane

when I had trouble getting it off the line, but that’s racing.” Final series points; Kim Jane 1500, Wyhoon 1480, Lance 1293, Brewer 1210, Middleton 1193, Cook 1172, Elliot 1141, Abelnica 1026, James 980, Ellis 945.

Matthew White won with the help ol new sponsor Mobil.

THE final round of the AUSCAR Championship was down to the wire with a good old Aussie

Holden versus Ford battle and championship

leader and longtime Ford stalwart Leigh

Watkins was hoping to claim Ford’s first victory in the series, the marque having followed Holden home in every AUSCAR championship since its inception. Hoping to claim honours for Holden were ’97 AUS-

CAR Champion Matthew White (MaxiCube/Freighter

Trailers VS Commodore) and former rookie of the year Nathan Pretty (DeWalt/Goodyear VR

Commodore).

White set the early pace in practice, just missing a new outright lap record - his 30.6696-second lap (the

lap record was set by Darren McDonald at 30.6053)

was two tenths clear of Pretty, with Watkins almost

half a second in arrears.

Nigel Benson made his second appearance of the

year, while fellow Adelaide driver Leanne Ross was

Houlahan looked very promising early, the former

Sportsman champion running inside the top four and

looking competitive - but he called to the pits perma-

nently on lap 10 with a slipping clutch. McDonald was storming and took Watkins for sec

ond on lap 29, but was smoking badly - it wasn’t affecting his progress, though, as he was the fastest man on the circuit (30.9530) and was catching White. In the end, though, he was black flagged eight laps from home and ultimately disqualified from his finishi„g position for failing to acknowledge the flag and return to the pits, Crawford took Benson for sixth with two laps to go. Leitch relegating the Adelaide driver to eighth half a later,

White ultimately took victory by five seconds over Watkins, Nathan Pretty, Jane, Malley, Crawford, Leitch, Benson, Ross and Darryl Speers (#41 Deist

Safety Lubricants VS Commodore).

RaC6 TwO (40 Isps)

making her debut in AUSCAR behind the wheel of the car formerly campaigned by Dick Howe. Graham Crawford was another driver stepping up

White got the jump at the start again and led Pretty into the first turn, Watkins hiding third ahead of Jane, Malley, Leitch, Crawford and Benson.

John Faulkner-built Commodore.

Watkins before the two drivers traded sub-30 second

Stepping out of NASCAR was Rodney Jane, the for mer AUSCAR driver making a return to the wheel of a Ford and campaigning one of Marshall Brewers ‘fly ing Falcons.’

laps continually over the first half of the race.

to AUSCAR, having purchased the ex-Eddie Abelnica

By lap 5, l^ite held a lead of over a second from Chahda’s excellent weekend came to an end after

only ten laps, the Abury-based driver suffering a sus pension failure while inside the top ten.

Leitch’s excellent run also came to an end on lap 13

i-i. ■

QUBlItying

while dicing with Houlahan and Malley, Leitch spin-

He threatened to do it all throughout practice, but White set a new AUSCAR lap record on his fifth lap of qualifying, dropping the old mark by a mere four one thousandths of a second (30.6015). Watkins improved on his practice time to take sec-

ning in turns 3-4 and narrowly missing Benson.

(Powermac VS Commodore ,31.1135). Behind them came Shane Houlahan (VR

Pretty, the former rookie of the year suffering from the flu, something that wasn’t enough to keep her out

McDonald’s engine change between races didn’t

seem to be doing him too much harm, but the team withdrew after 16 laps after Darren suffered a lurid slide down the front straight grass, ond (30.7608), Nathan Pretty third (31.0602) and ■ Leigh Moran (Sheen Panel Service VP Commodore) reigning champion Darren McDonald fourth ^vas having a fantastic race in pursuit of Nicole

Commodore), Benson (Fire Protection Australia VR Commodore), Tony Malley (Tramstop Garden Centre

VP Commodore), Jane (Fast Fone EF Falcon), Crawford (VS Commodore) and Amin Chahda ('Titan

Lubricants EB Falcon).

White was pleased with his performance, but imsure whether they could go the distance with the same set-up.

Race One (40 laps) White took the early lead with Watkins in pursuit, while behind them Nathan Pretty led McDonald,

Houlahan, Malley, Benson and Jane.

The Commodore drivers then got together to hold Watkins out, forcing the Falcon back to fourth by the second lap. White was going for gold and, after conserving tyres for the opening lap, set a string of low 31-second laps

to break away from the rest of the field.

Anthony Leitch (Heavy Haul/Bevic Auto Parts VR

Commdore), Crawford, Ross and Chahda were having a terrific battle mid-field, while up front the leaders traded laps of 31.1 to 31.3.

of the car. just in front of them, former HQ champion John Agosta (Repco/ACL AMR VP Commodore) was having the ride of his life with his brand-new engine, after losing a tyre in the opening race. There was nothing between White and Watkins, the two cars even right around the circuit, although the Falcon had noticeably better horsepower, pulling away from White in a straight line. But White held the advantage to the flag, taking victory by only three tenths of a second, Nathan Pretty held on for third, despite a strong

challenge from Houlahan in the closing stages, with

Jane fifth - Malley held on for sixth from Benson, Crawford, Speers and Ross, Post-race, Watkins was elated. White obviously disappointed,

Watkins took a narrow victory in the Championship with 860 points, finishing ahead of White (855) and

Nathan Pretty (825) - then came Malley (775), Leitch (699), McDonald (684), Nicole Pretty (676), Houlahan (666), Leigh Moran (639) and Eddie Woods (631). - SEAN HENSHELWOOD

1999 AUSTRALIAN NASCAR CHAMPIONSHIP

iff

Calder Park Thunderdome, April 3 1999 Points standing after final round I. Kim Jane 2. Terry Wyhoom

1480

1500

II. 12.

Rodney Jane Russell Ingall

,773

21.

Neville Wilson...

365

.721

22.

PaulSciculna

343

Neville Lance

1293

13.

Matthew White

.603

23.

Martin Burrows.

.333

Marshall Brewer

1210

14.

Mark Harrison

.575

24.

Peter Nolan

.330

Bob Middleton

1193

.553

25.

Brad Jones

.320

Gene Cook

1172

.525

26.

Dean Wanless...

284

George Elliott

1141

15. Terry Byers 16. Jim Richards 17. Daryl Coon

,522

27.

Perry Schubert.

.221

Eddie Abelnica

1026

18.

Matthew Coleman

.428

28.

Allan Roark

.980

19.

John Faulkner

.424

29.

Graham Smith

.945

20.

Cameron Fisher ...

.390

30.

Todd Wanless...

9. Ken James 10. Jimmy Ellis

.206 ,

142 124

9Aprill999

Third title to Gilliland after

Gillespie goes up in smoke IN a weekend of shattered lap records, reigning double Autopro Sportsman champion Graeme Gilliland broke his own lap record on the way to claiming

pole position for the final round of the Sportsman series and, ultimately, anoth er Championship. Completing only four laps of his allotted ten, Gilliland (G&G Racing/Repco VL Commodore) stormed around for a best lap of 32.6547, resetting the record from the old mark of 32.6716.

Behind him, championship leader Andrew Gillespie (B&A Automotive/Pennzoil XF

Falcon) claimed second with a best of

32.6841, ahead of John Umseher (Union Steel VL Commodore), Chris Robinson (Tyre Seal XF Falcon) and Tony Howlett (Pedders Racing Suspensions XF Falcon). Gilliland claimed victory in race one (40 laps) in a closely fought battle with Robinson and Gillespie. Umseher claimed fourth, ahead of Crane, Ron Savas (Balnarring Panels XF Falcon), Gerry Raleigh (PPG/Kerry Panels XF Falcon), Darryl Howden (R&D Signs VL Commodore), Chris Howard (Car Trek Automotive VL Commodore) and Graeme O’Brien (Dennis Panels XF Falcon).

The one to beat: Graeme Gilliland’s

Sportsman Championship-winning CitiWest Rentats/Repco Commodore.

Race two was a 20-lap sprint in compari son, with Gilliland and Robinson battling to the flag. Gillespie was in sight of championship vic tory courtesy of his consistency, but unfortu nately holed a piston after only eleven laps, forcing him out of the race and handing Gilliland his third Sportsman Championship. Robinson took victory in the race, just clear of Gilliland, with Umseher a distant third.

Raleigh claimed fourth, ahead of Savas, Sam Milton (Central Station Records XF

Falcon), Crane, Howard, Howden and Harvey Catton (XF Falcon).

Final series pointscore: Gilliland 823, Gillespie 812, Savas 774, Raleigh 767, Umseher 763, Robinson 756, Milton 715, Crane 699, Howard 658 and, in tenth spot, Brett Campbell 638. - SEAN HENSHELWOOD

Decider: Final outing saw runner-up Gilliland (left), winner Robinson and third-placed Umseher on the podium. Gillespie’s DNF meant a third title for Gilliland. (Thunder-Pics)

VALMA^Uf^arS r

(Thundar-Pics photo) .

■A

. ><r-

123 irtuwiv

m IP 1

^ K

I T 1 y} 4..

.P cTT'' ■'At

HQ upset sees Wicks emei^e as champion SCOTT Walker started the pur suit of his first Repco HQ Holdens title with a resounding lap record qualifier of 36.0307 seconds, beating John Agosta’s previous record of 36.0459 to claim pole position for the final round in his Autobarn Bendigo car.

New Champion: #15 Mark Wicks, battling here with #24 John

Spencer, was consistent enough when it counted to snatch Repco HQ Championship honours. (Thunder-Plcs photo)

he improved on this in the first 20lapper, claiming third behind Walker and the man who held third

in the championship, Mark Wicks (Tail Shaft Balancing/ACL). Typical of HQ racing on the Thunderdome, the race was a clas sic, with close racing and abundant action.

Spencer claimed fourth in race

with DART Racing team drivers

Brother Steve could only manage third in his Conpower Concreting

one, ahead of team-mate Neville

Spencer, Haley and Wright battling

car, just ahead of team-mate

Haley, Steve Walker, former champ

with the Walker boys, Wicks and

John Harding, David Keleher (Entire Cabinet & Joinery), Robert Wright (team-mate to Spencer and Haley) and Dallas Crane (CV

McDonald.

Richard Ireland and just behind John Spencer (Titan/Fuchs Oils). Championship leader Glen McDonald (Reddy Roast Carvery) could do no better than tenth - but

Centre).

Race two was action aplenty.

In the end, a delighted Wicks grabbed sufficient points to claim his first HQ Championship after taking victory from Spencer, Robert Hepburn ((3&B Race Engines), Wright, McDonald, Paul Bongiomo

(Dennis Panels), Haley, Leigh Casey (Scratch Busters), Tracey

Moulden (Euro Truck Wreckers/CV Centre) and Reece Arandale

(Sprinkle + Sweep). Final series pointscore: Wicks 840, McDonald 825, Scott Walker

763, Spencer 747, Harding 702, Steve Walker 645, Wright 638, Gavan Bond 636, Casey 613 and Haley 613. - SEAN HENSHELWOOD

Surprise: #13 Glen McDonald went into the final as the title

favourite, but was obliged to settle for runner-up. (Thunder-Pics photo)

Coleman claims

Legends title DESPITE the best efforts of his opposition, some of whom tried desperately to remove him forcibly during the race, new Super Tourer recruit Matthew Coleman (Exide Batteries) claimed victo

ry in the 1998/99 Bob Jane T-Marts Legends Championship. With main threat John Faulkner on NASCAR duty for the Kevin

Schwantz team, Coleman had things pretty much his own way. Keeping him honest, though, were the revitalised Clive Henderson (Raztrans Pty Ltd) and 1998 Champion Adiian Bartsch. Coleman took a comfortable victory in race one from Bartsch and Peter White, with Henderson claiming victory in race two. The remainder of the races were Coleman victories, with Henderson,

Bartsch and White fighting out the minor positions. Final series pointscore: Coleman 1864, Adrian Bartsch 1778, Terry Grogan 1572, Richard Downing 1509, Henderson 1417, Geoff Durack 1338, Peter Williamson 1250, Cary McCarthy 1192, Bradley Radclyffe 1132 and White 1122.

- SEAN HENSHELWOOD

TEXAN Terry Labonte pleased a home state crowd of almost

200,000 at the controversial

Texas Motor Speedway on March 28, holding off Dale Jarrett to the finish line in a race that ended imder the cau

tion flag. “To me, this is the biggest race I’ve ever won,” said Labonte, whose

Big win for Terry labonte in Texas as Gordon trashes out Injured poleman Bobby Labonte closes on pointscore leader Jejf Burton

last win came at Richmond some 25

races ago - by today’s standards, the car Labonte drove to victory lane was comparatively old, having last won at Charlotte in October 1996 The first two Texas events were

somewhat controversial, producing multi-car driver-injuring wrecks and water seepage problems with the track - this time around, there

was plenty of water, but thankfully the day before, with final ‘happy hour’ practice being rained out for the third time in three races at the troubled track.

For Winston Cup champ Jeff Gordon, the track certainly spelt trouble, Gordon bringing out cau tion two on lap 69 when he slammed the wall hard exiting turn 4 after apparently cutting a tyre. Gordon escaped with a bruised chin and ribs - “I’m really sore,” he said, following X-rays that showed no broken bones. Gordon’s crash moved him down

two places to fourth in points after a 43rd and last place result for just the second time in his career. Mark Martin and Mike Skinner

also hit the wall hard after cutting tyres, the former returning to the track, but finishing 34th.

Skinner wrecked on lap 124 and rebroke his right shoulder that he cracked one year ago at the track when asked how he felt, Skinner remarked, ‘“like I’ve hit the wall at

Texas again!” Jimmy Spencer also wrecked with force in the closing stages, bringing out the eighth and final caution with four laps remaining. Goodyear took sample tyres back to its Ohio headquarters, but they think the problems arose Irom pres sure in the right front tyres being lower than the 48psi recommended. Aggressive camber on the right front is another possibile cause of the problem, but teams that suf fered said neither was the cause.

Just to prove how tough Texans are, Bobby Labonte sat on the out side pole with the shoulder he broke just nine days previous amazingly, he finished third, com pleting all 500 laps and even lead ing some laps mid-way. This helped Bobby to close in on points leader Jeff Burton to now trail by just two points. After

the

third

caution

for

Skinner, Terry Labonte led for the team housed in one of the race

shops he owns. ■ Junie Donlavey may cut back his team’s schedule if sponsorship is not found - the team has been

fielding a variety of drivers in the

I NUl By Martin D Clar ■ Joe Garone, crew chief for Bill Elliott, has resigned from his posi tion citing personal reasons. Garone’s place will be filled by Jerry Pitts previously an assistant to Garone.

Ernie Elliott, head engine

races it has entered so far this year.

■ Jack Roush has put on hold his plans to base Roush Racing’s worldwide racing headquarters in Concord, North Carolina, close to Lowes Motor Speedway at Charlotte. Problems have arisen with local

builder, will take on the title of

residents over possible noise, the plans featuring a test track

race track performance supervisor

around the US$33 million facility.

- Ernie was crew chief to his broth er in 1998-89 and from 1976-86.

■ The unsponsored LJ Racing

■ Legendary driver and team

team had Dick Trickle behind the wheel at Texas.

owner Junior Johnson has

returned to racing, albeit in a con sultancy position with a newlyformed Busch Grand National

9Aprill999

sX^

Unfortunately, Trickle was out qualified by Darrell Waltrip, who qualified for this first race of the year on speed.

first time after taking the point from Martin, while brother Bobby was second to complete a Texas two-step just before a wreck on the restart involving Geoffrey Bodine, John Andretti, Kevin Lepage and Ken Schrader in the same spot Skinner had just wrecked. Jarrett led the race when out of pit stop sequence, but he took the point for the fii'st time ‘proper’ on lap 285, before T Labonte surged past on the outside of the front stretch for the

final time on lap 322 of334. Spencer slammed the wall exit ing turn 4 and Jarrett, battling a slight push, stood on the gas in an

Rusty Wallace turned his recent

the Wood Brothers entry, a career-

35th and 33rd performances around with a useful fourth place

best result,

result, followed by Penske teammate Jeremy Mayfield and Tony Stewart, sixth for the second consecutive race after another impres-

would have to go to Ward Burton, whose Cat Pontiac ran strong and lead 56 laps mid-way, but was caught in the pits when the caution

sive run.

came out for Mark Martin, Burton losing a lap to finish 16th.

Jeff Burton kept his title hopes alive with a seventh place finish, the chance of a repeat win at the track not within his sights on this occasion - but it was his fifth

If there was a hard luck award it

Final result: T Labonte (Chevy) 144.276 mph, Jarrett (Ford), B Labonte (Pontiac), R Wallace (Ford), Mayfield (Ford), Stewart

straight top ten.

(Pontiac),

Dale Earnhardt posted his third top ten finish of the year in eighth, after starting 38th and finishing 41st, 40th and 25th in the past

Earnhardt (Chevy), Marlin (Chevy), Sadler (Ford),

Burton

(Ford),

caution flag, but to no avail - ironi cally, the last race Labonte won at Richmond, Jarrett was also the

Sterling Marlin was ninth, his best run of the season, with rookie

Points standings: J Burton 909, B Labonte 907, Jarrett 847, Gordon 790, T Labonte 786, Martin 780, Mayfield 770, W Burton 749, Skinner 734, M Waltrip 710.

runner-up.

contender Elliott Sadler tenth in

- MARTIN D CLARK

effort to beat Labonte back to the

three races.

Trouble in the Busch ratilii NASCAR Busch Series competitors are up in arms over the amount of drivers coming into the series from division one Winston Cup and steal ing the prizemoney, points and limelight. The Busch Series competitors believe they have an

obligation to their sponsors, who pay ai-ound US$2 million per season, to see their investment run up

front, but the influx of US$5-10 million Winston Cup teams is preventing the Busch regulars from making the podium. Following Texas on March 27, Winston Cup’s Jeff Burton headed the points in both series, Mark Martin was third and a third Roush Cup driver, Kevin Lepage, was eighth - Martin and Burton finished onetwo in the Texas race, with three other Cup regulars in the top ten, the big name drivers taking a lion’s

share $172,975 of the $996,603 purse.

Cup drivers are competing in the series more for extra seat and track time, especially at new tracks like Texas and Las Vegas where they haven’t turned many laps. The top five at Vegas were all Cuppers, including Jeff Gordon, who ran at both of the above new facili ties in the Satui'day Busch races so his team could use the chassis information for the Sunday Winston Cup events.

Aside from Daytona, where Randy LaJoie won, Darlington fell to Matt Kenseth and Nashville on April 3 saw Jeff Green the benefactor in a Sterling

their space on the gi*id is filled by a faster superstar as an example, rising star Casey Attwood; 18, was fifth in points entering Vegas, but-did not qualify. Some say that, without the Ciip drivers in the field, fans would not go to see the lower-ranked, drivers-iiicars that look the same as the ones on Sunday, but!

pack slightly less horees and mn a shorter wheelbase. ^

But, on the plus side, the Busch competitors do gain ‘ valuable experience racing against their more experi-1

enced brethren, which can open the door to the covet- i

ed Winston Cup division.

After just two events in the Winston Gup series,: subbing for the injured Bobby Labonte and last year for Bill Elliott, Busch standout Matt Kenseth will now

nm five races this year in Cup cars owned by Mark Martin - Kenseth posted top ten results in both' events, proving that the division can be a good play-;

ground for irsing stare, Kenseth will debut at Michigan in August, followed by Dover, Charlotte, Rockingham and Atlanta - and next year, he will arn the entire schedule in Roush Taurases.

Tony Stewart got his tin top experience in the Busch cars and currently lies 13th in series points.

while Dale Earnhardt Jr will be the next superstar from the series and will also compete in five events this year with backing from Budweiser. While NASCAR is looking into the situation, the

general feeling is that Cup competitors should at least

Marlin-dominated event - but the other four races

be limited to the number of Busch events they com

have gone to Cup standouts. With all the Cup drivers in the fields, many up and coming drivers are now going home early because

pete in, maybe five per season, instead of the up to 16 companion weekend races many now arn. - MARTIN D CLARK

fra

Head Office 61 3 9739 6323 Retail Stores VIC Melb City 03 9639 1733 NSW Bathurst 0418 434 001 - Spit Junction 02 9968 1670 OLD McDowall 07 3353 4449 - Stapylton DJR 07 3287 1234 - Maryborough 07 4121 7596 SA Lockleys 08 8352 2442 - Adelaide 08 8223 4788

lKi(o)0®[?8fJXo)l70

ws that fits SAVING LYNWOOD DUPUY

So, you don’t know Lynwood

Dupuy from Private Ryan, but we’d bet that 99.9 per cent ot the participants in NHRA Winston drag racing know the deep-voiced Texan wearing the dark glasses and 10-gallon black hat. A protege of Steve Gibbs, Dupuy seemed poised to take over the reins when Gibbs moved to the

NHRA Museum, but it wasn’t to be.

No, the man in charge at the time, and the man who seemed

bent on putting his own stamp on the way NHRA does things was Graham Light. Seldom the kind of racer-friend

Oh, what a long, strange ride it's been. r 5' The American drag racing season is just jjve-and-a-half races old and^ already the proverbial shit has hit the fan. Controversy rages, arguments abound & attacks on authority continue ... & MSN's JON ASHER is here to bring you at least some of the gruesome details!

ly executive that had been Steve Gibbs during the years he was the director of competition for NHRA, Light had, among other things, simply ignored the fact that during Gibbs’ tenure a plan for slowing the cars down had been soundly rejected by the committee of taiented crew chiefs NHRA had appoint

was going to be adopted for the following season. He did so without considering the reaction of the PRO, which suddenly showed the kind of unanimity that had usuaily been missing from their decision making. They stood firm in their rejection of the plan, citing, among other reasons, the fact that making a mistake in compression ratio could be easily made by simply picking

up and instating the “wrong” head gaskets, for example. They also talked about the need for having a fresh supercharger for each run, because if they were to be limited to just 20% overdrive, they'd have to be the best avail able and restripping just the one

inch of ground, Dupuy made it known at the Winternationals that

he wouid be retiring, effectively leaving NHRA without a conduit to the competitors other than Light, a man who once prominently wore a button at the races with the familiar

circle and slash bearing the words “no whining.” Unfortunately, as he made it ali too evident. Light often viewed the racers as the problem, and himself as the solution.

When word of Dupuy’s impend ing departure reached the board of directors at NHRA some serious

soul-searching apparently took place, and before the Texan could even contemplate heading out to pasture, he was talked into staying

unit between rounds would need

on board.

an extra full-time crew member,

But, this was not just a question of a valued employee being talked in staying. On the contrary, Dupuy was informed that he’d not only continue working the races, he’d be working more of them than ever

most considering that an impossibie financiai burden to bear.

Regardiess of their reasoning. Light's plan was rejected by the racers, and his aiready troubled relations with the racers and teams descended to even lower level.

before.

Further, if and when he encoun

With Light's increasingiy nega

tered problems, he was to make

tive interactions with the racers

sure that the exact nature of those

museum. Light resurrected the plan, which had originaiiy been proposed by Dale Armstrong, then working with Kenny Bernstein, but

becoming more commonly known, Dupuy became more popular than ever for the simple reason that he’d listen to their complaints and actuaiiy try to act on those he feit

problems and complaints reached the ears of not oniy his immediate superiors, but the ears of the board

now with Don Prudhomme’s team

deserved attention.

and driver Larry Dixon. Light announced that the new configura tion would be tested following the

In point of fact, as the season began, Dupuy was one of the last remaining NHRA executives with

fall race in Delias.

clear lines of communications to the racers.

ed as advisors.

After Gibbs moved on to the

After the test session Light con fidently told others that the plan

But, tired of fighting for every

of directors as well.

This may seem like a minor situ ation to most of you, but to American drag racing fans and competitors, the retention of Dupuy was an important step for the NHRA. It was a de facto admission

by them that the way they’ve been conducting business with the rac-

doesn’t mince ^ words Hie Victor Bray Castrol Chevy isn’t just fest- it’s a woild record holder.

Generating more than SOOOhp, this

beast can puli 228mph (or 365 clicks in the new money). When you’re talking that level of performance, you don’t cut comers and you don’t accept second best You use Castrol GPSO.

auto

accessory stores lor details.

Competition closes 19.5.98 Permit numbers: NSW TC99/1712 ● VIC 99/505 Issued 26/2/99 ● SA License T99/679 ● ACT TP98/2788

www.castrol.com.au

Ia^{}®17S[JXD[F{}

9Aprill999

Richards had been doing a credi ble job with Whit Bazemore at the controls of Chuck Etchells’ Kendall

Camaro, but in Florida he pulled out all the stops - in one fell swoop installing a five-disc clutch AND new fuel pump ... and the results were remarkable.

The car suddenly jumped up and ran a 4.856, the quickest it had ever run and good enough for the number one qualifying spot. Bazemore, who had said at the

Winternationals after observing Richards and crew in action,

"These guys really work hard, and it shows. I thought my guys did a good job last year, but 1 can see that they could have done even more,” was ecstatic with the car’s

performance. “It’s great to be dri ving a car that’s capable of winning Good times and bad times:

all the time," he said.

Sid Watennan, left, and his new four-stage fuel pump appear to be the ‘go’ in nitro racing at the moment, while Wayne Dupuy’s box¬ ing skills need working on.

However, while the pump and clutch combo has proven to be

Bazemore Seal of Approval; ‘The General’ Tim Richards

and the Chuck Etchells Funny Car crew have impressed new driver Whit Bazemore with their work ethic. (Photos by Keith Biirf’tm)

them on the car. They

knew they were coming and if there was some-

thing about them they didn’t like, they should have told us before we

ers for the last few years has been

wrong, and that changes will be made.

In fact, one highly placed NHRA official has alluded to that very fact in conversation with this reporter and, frankly. I’m encouraged by what I’ve been hearing. I think, at long last, there’s a realisation on the part of most (but certainly not all) of NHRA’s senior managers that major changes must take place if drag racing is going to move forward.

TROUBLES IN

RULEBOOK-LAND qualifying at the D uring Gatornationals Tenneco drag ster owner Joe Amato and crew

chief Jimmy Prock unveiled a unique set of carbon fibre wheel covers that had the potential of making dramatic changes in the appearance of every Top Fuel car on the circuit.

According to

Amato,

he’d

invested almost US$30,000 in the

development of the covers in the hopes that they’d improve airflow over the rear of the car while not

affecting the operation of the over head rear wing. If

the

covers

worked

planned, the hope was that the overhead rear wing could eventual

ly be made smaller, thereby decreasing its drag on the car at the speed. That’s what COULD have hap

spent all this money mak¬ ing them.” Faced with making on the spot modification, or not running the covers at all, Prock was forced to cut some 27-inches off the back of

them, effectively leaving the tops of the slicks completely exposed, thereby effectively ruining any chances for real aerodynamic advances.

The team made just one run with the modified covers, but fur

ther testing is planned. When word of the Amato/NHRA

contretemps reached Darrell Gwynn’s camp, Gwynn ordered his men to climb up into the top of the truck and mount the “special” wing they’d been saving since last year. Designed and built by Reynard (the FI/CART chassis building company), the very different wing features massive end plates that probably measure 36-inches in depth. When the car appeared in the lanes NHRA’s people came run ning from everywhere, four or five people from the tech department studied the wing, but couldn’t seem to figure out what to do about it. Unbeknownst to them, Gwynn had no intention of running the wing, as the team had never even tested it, and certainly didn’t plan on going for it in the middle of an important race. The wing was removed before the car ran, but the message had been delivered: Top Fuel should continue to feature innovation, and if the rules don’t SPECIFICALLY

pened, but won’t because the

say something can’t be done, it

NHRA tech people didn’t ‘like’ what they saw when the covers were

should be allowed.

mounted on the car.

PUMPED UP

Again, according to Amato, “(NHRA) couldn’t cite a single thing in the rulebook that outlawed the covers as we built them. All

they kept saying was that they

Seven of the topCarnine qualifiers in Funny at the Gatornationals were running the

four-stage fuel pumps built by

didn’t like them. What, exactly

Waterman Racing Components.

does that mean? If there’s no rule

The fuel pump, in combination with

outlawing something, why can’t it

the new five-disc clutch system, is

be done?

“It’s not as if we hadn’t talked to

them about them before we put

the key to success, at least for right now.

Going into the Gators Tim

effective. Bob Brandt, team man

ager for Tony Schumacher’s Exide fueller, reports that tuner Dan Olson’s breaking of the 330 mile per hour barrier at the Arizona Nationals was the result of a five-

disc clutch and nothing more. “I’ve been looking at the com

puter with Dan between rounds," he said, “but believe me, he’s been

doing all of this himself. 1 have nothing whatsoever to do with the tune-up. The guy’s doing a great job." No kidding!

CRASH TEST DUMMY Men Johnson, driver of the

AAmoco Dodge Pro Stock, suf

fered a horrendous crash during first round eliminations at the

Gatornationals when his car ’got away’ from him on the top end. Running against Greg Anderson at the time (“I saw him until about the three quarter mark, and then he shot backwards, and I never

saw him again. These cars aren’t like the fuellers, so Iknew when he

dropped back that it was over. 1 didn’t know he’d crashed until I

made the turn off.”), Johnson’s car got a little loose, and then spectac ularly flipped. Slow-mo replays showed the car flipping somewhere between 14 and 16 times, depending on how you were counting! The fact that the car’s final flip left it on the other side of the guard

IT AIN'T EVER EAi Pro Mod champ Scotty Cannon made an impressive debut at the NHRA Winternationals with

his new Oakley-backed Pontiac Funny Car. Successful pre-sea son testing in Tucson, Arizona had netted some high four sec ond numbers, and Cannon and

Car engine’s considerable torque. He finally got the car to go all the way to the right while testing at Phoenix the week after the

Winternationals, hitting the wall

hard enough to destroy the car. The team got their act back together in time for the Arizona

crew chief Wayne Dupuy

Nationals, but failed to make the

(Lynwood’s son) seemed to have a handle on things.

cut and suffered a severe fire in

However, while the car ran hard, the team was not well

the process. After the crash and DNQ

work the crowd as he had at the

Cannon’s relationship with tuner Wayne Dupuy deteriorated, everything finally coming apart during the Gatornats, where the

IHRA races, and was personally

team once again failed to qualify.

received by the media or fans, although Cannon continued to

: j

wall was a matter of some con

cern, but the Safety Safari was

instantly on the scene, and careful ly removed the Tennessee driver from the wreckage.

... Cannon punched Dupuy in frustration on Friday, but Dupuy stuck around...

((

He was taken to a Gainesville

hospital and kept overnight for observation before being released. His father reported that his first words in the hospital were, “What was my Reaction time?” Johnson received some very

minor support from Mopar Parts and Dodge last year but this year has received no help at all. In fact, it almost appears as if the factory folks are pointedly ignoring the team, possibly because of their affiliation with engine builder Dale Eicke, who controlled the Dodge

Boys program last year until his deal was cancelled by Chrysler. Ironically, while new engine builder David Nickens has been

struggling to find enough horse power for drivers Darrell Alderman and Scott Geoffrion, new team

addition Larry Morgan has begun to show some promise, but Johnson has clearly been the class of the Mopar bunch. The numbers from Florida tell

the story - Johnson qualified fifth with a 6.93, Morgan was 10th with a 6.94,

while Alderman and

Geoffrion were 29th and 31st

respectively, with a best of a 7.04, light years from the 6.97 bump. And that’s just about all of the news that fits!

well received. The other members of his

entourage, dressed from head to toe in black with stone-faced expres sions at all times, didn’t go over well with the drag racing media. Their negative attitudes were clearly evident, and Jim Jannard, Oakley founder and owner, had at least one run-in with the media.

Regardless, on the track the

According the reports. Cannon punched Dupuy in frustration on Friday, but Dupuy stuck around ,

for Saturday’s final qualifying attempts.

Some time during the day Cannon began making the rounds, apparently seeking help from other tuners. He reportedly offered Alan Johnson $100,000

for a basic starting place, but

car looked cool and Cannon per

Johnson declined.

formed well. Back in the pits, how ever, things were not going well. Disregarding the advice of vir tually everyone who commented.

Cannon then approached Ron Swearingen, co-crew chief on Dean Skuza’s Funny Car, and offered him the same job with his

Cannon first installed rack and

team.

pinion steering on the car and then replaced the butterfly steer ing wheel with a full, round wheel.

After listening to his offer, Swearingen declined the invita tion, Cannon then reportedly

That resulted in John Force

commenting that “Wait ’til he gets the front end of that thing up in the air and tries to figure out which way the wheel ought to be

pointing. He’s gonna need one of those knobs we used to put out

our street car wheels years ago!” Cannon had been complaining that his Murf McKinney chassis kept trying to drive to the right, but again ignored those who suggest ed that was a result of the Funny

exploding and wanting to fight Swearingen, simply because the guy declined to work for him! As Swearingen put it after the incident, “What that guy doesn’t realise is that we’re a family out

here. Everyone races hard to win, but that doesn’t mean that we

don’t get along. Well, at least most of us. If this guy doesn’t

clean up his act pretty quick, he’s going to find himself an outcast.” -JON ASHER

9Aprill999

Santo calls in

big guns for

kindly declined the offer ^er two

a shot at

seconds of consideration!

300 mph

debuts. Jack Daniels team owner

this weekend. ■ Rick Cassel, former crew chief for Bob Vandergriffs Jerzees NHRA Top Fuel team,

will be calling the shots for Steve Read and Santo

Rapisarda at Willowhank Raceway this weekend. Cassel, who split with Vandergriff at the end of ’98, will be trying to push the Santo Cranes fueller through the 300 mph barrier. At the recent

Winternationals at Pomona, Cassel tuned former Rachelle

Splatt crew chief robert Reehl to a 4.59s shut-off pass, Reehl running ‘just’ 303 mph - three mph more than what Read and Rapisarda need to make history!

■ Jim Read was fined $700 by ANDRA for an incident involving his son Phillip and chief starter Peter Singles at the Nationals at Calder Park last month.

Read won’t be appearing at Willowbank Raceway for this weekend’s Nightfire Championships, the 15-time Australian Champion is heading to the US instead.

■ The Super Gas bracket has been dropped from this weekend’s Nightfire Championships meeting, much to the disappointment of the class’ competitors. 'Tlie track will run a Super Gas bracket at another event soon, although it is unsure whether this would be a championship bracket, as this weekend’s event was to be. B Peter and Helen Russo’s

NHRA Funny Car debut is getting closer to reality with a container carrying all of their engines, spares, spare chassis and tools

leaving for the US a fortnight ago. A debut at Seattle on August 1 is planned, with a new car currently under construction at John Force chassis builder Steve

Plueger’s Los Angeles workshop.

Swede Pro Mod racer orders Oz doorslammer

partially-constructed new piece. The ever-thoughtful Russo, not wanting to keep Gary waiting for as long as he had been kept,

■ While on the subject of class Brett Stevens’ Top Doorslammer debut is also looming closer.

Anderson now after European title, Kapiris to tour Europe too

The Anderson-built Studebaker

is being fitted out at Paul Librio’s Allyworks in Melbourne, Stevens expected to take delivery of the

AFTER winning an IHRA World

Pro

Modified

Championship, Murray Anderson may next claim a European title with visiting Swedish racer Jorgen Johnsson

car within the next five-six weeks.

■ David Grubnic has signed a personal endorsement deal with Redback Original Australian Ale, beginning with the Gatornationals two weeks ago. As a part of the deal Grubnic, who is driving John Mitchell’s Montana Express Top Fuel dragster on the NHRA tour, will make personal appearances during the year at various

set to order a new car from the Melbourne chassis builder.

The

Swede,

currently

Australia on a three-month holi

day, is finalising plans which will see him take delivery of an Anderson-built doorslammer in time for the 1999/2000 Australian

restaurants of the Outback Steakhouse chain.

■ GMC, the official truck of series’ Pro Stock Truck ranks

with Pro Stock engine builder

the deal finalised within the next

racing tour of Europe with his Pennzoil Studebaker - Kapiris’ car to be packed together with the Swede’s for the trip

two weeks, with construction of the car scheduled to begin within

Speaking with Motorsport News this week, Gustavsson said

resides

Cameron Corvette

doorslammer and, once that’s out

of the way, we’ll begin on Jorgen’s

plans

car,” Anderson said.

“While everyone in Europe heads to the US to buy their cars, Jorgen thought that why not go direct to the guy who has built the Gustavsson said.

who

the next two months. “We’ve started on Brooks’ new ’63

Johnsson was excited about the

car which dominated last year,” “We met Murray [Anderson] at the races in February and since then we’ve spent a fair amount of time looking, talking and learning and we’re confident that we can

It is believed the team is also

currently sourcing a new blower motor, Johnsson departing from the nitrous injected motors he has run for the last six years - having run a best of 6.93 on ‘the gas.’ Johnsson and Gustavsson have

spoken to Bob Newberry and Brad Anderson about an engine, Anderson believed to be the favoured source at the moment.

Steve Schmidt and chassis

Gustavsson,

builder Rick Jones fielding GMC Sonomas, along with Metro Motorsports. Schmidt’s entry, which made

Tour of the continent: Peter Kapiris has been sounded out by Swedish Pro Mod racer Jorgen Johnsson to tour Europe with his Pennzoil Studebaker doorslammer following the next Australian season. (Photo by John Bosheo

make our plans come to fruition.”

- GERALD MCDORNAN

its debut at the Gatornationals,

will be driven by Dave Spitzer while Metro Motorsports’ truck will be co-driven by Joe Aluise Jr and Rob Standard.

Jones has yet to name his driver.

■ Mopar’s amazing factorybacked line-up has increased yet again with the signing of the father and son Pro Stock Truck

team of Dale and Craig Eaton. The Eatons’ Dodge Dakota team will join the existing Team Mopar Dakotas of Bo Nickens and Todd Patterson in the

category, along with a cast of

Pulde to load Cannon

thousands in Pro Stock.

Craig Eaton won two NHRA events in ’98 and finished 10th

overall in points for the season one of only two Pro Truck drivers to win multiple events. ■ Twelve fuel cars took the

opportunity to use Gainsville

Raceway’s trick track for testing the day following the Gatornationals a fortnight ago. Tony Schumacher, Cory

THREE-TIME IHRA World

I’ve got all the run charts on

Champion Funny Car driver Dale Pulde has t^en over the tuning chores for Scotty Cannon’s Oakley.

the car,” Pulde says, “and so far

Pulde’s last two competitive outings behind the wheel were at the Winston Finals in *’98, where he reached

McClenathan and Del Worsham

the

final

round

all too the opportunity of

After waiting six months on a decision from Gary Densham about the sale his ’98 car, Peter having his heart set on the Plueger piece, a fhistrated Russo, not wanting to wait any longer,

running new cars, Worsham’s 4.97 in the Paralax chassis, built

against Chuck Etchells, and more recently at the Winternationals, where he again performed like a superstar behind the wheel of

by Kiwi Grant Downing,

Gene Christensen’s ancient race

satisfying the team.

car.

Also present were Kenny Bernstein, Joe Amato, John

tuner

ordered the new car.

Force, Gary Densham, A1

Craftsman Ci-ew Chief of the Race

Recently Densham, who decided to keep last year’s car as a back up, burnt his new car to the ground while testing.

Hofmann, Ron Capps, Tim Wilkerson, Dean Skuza and alky

at the Finals after his car lipped of some strong 4.8 second runs

flopper racer Todd Baton.

during eliminations.

Wanting to quickly jump the six month long queue for a new car, he phoned Russo, offering a great, ‘can’t pass this up’ deal on the older car in exchange for the

Australian to undertake a match

Johnsson will debut the car, which is expected to be cloaked in

Russos’ new car...

■ Funny thing about the

Anderson told Motorsport News this week that he’s hoping to have

season.

a Studebaker body, in Australia before returning home to contest the European championship. Johnsson and friend Borje

the NHRA, have finally entered factory-backed teams into the

Melbourne, are also negotiating with Peter Kapiris for the

Long considered a superior

Paton was wheeling Paul Smith’s Drag Racing School fuel coupe while upgrading his license before attacking the nitro

Pulde

named

was

Pulde was hired directly by Jim Jannard,

President/CEO

Oakley, and will begin tuning the car at the O’Reilly Nationals pre

ranks next year.

sented by Pennzoil at Houston

Paton ran a best of 5.32/283.

they’ve made about 70 imns. “Ihe problem seems to be that

they never had the car set up the same way twice, and it takes con

sistency to compete at the top level.

“You’ve got to have the cai- run ning a basic set-up and then

you’ve got to fine tune that to get the car to perform at the kind of

level these guys are running right now.”

Pulde acknowledges having received “about six or seven

phone calls” warning him about dealing with Cannon but he’s not concerned.

“I've spoken with Scotty, and I

think he’s been kinda humbled by what’s been happening. “I’m not making any promises. My job is going to be to get the car qualified, and I think we can do that.”

-JON ASHER

Racewav Park next weekend.

Piece of cake, Mum: Kayla, daughter of drag racing champion Rachelle Splatt, checks out her mum’s Valvoline-Cummins Top Fueller and says “piece of cake ... Mum, Iwant a piece of cake.” (Photo courtesy of Splatt Family Album)

1999 INTERNATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DRAG RACING SERIES TOP FUEL

TOP FUEL HARLEY

PRO STOCK

I.Jim Bailey

108

I. Doug Vancil

108

2. Bruce Litton

.87

2, Bill Furr

.86

PRO MODIFIED

ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR

I. Floyd Cheek 2. Jon Yoak

112

I, Tommy Mauney

112

I, Monty Todd....

114

.95

2. Glen Ma

.94

2. Von Smith

,.76

3. Danny Dunn

.66

3. Jay Turner

.67

3. Tom Lee

.71

3. Al Billes

.75

4. Paul Romine

.65

4. Steve Stordeur

.64

4. Gene Wilson

.69

.68

5. Jack Ostrander 6. Don Lampus

4. Shannon Jenkins....

.44

S. Mike Romine 6. Steve Moore

.45

5. Chris Holbrook,

.56

5. Fred Hahn

.56

3. Mark Billington, 4. Jimmy Rector.. 5. Scott Weney ...

.43

6. Stewart Evans

.47

6. Quain Stott

.53

6. Sam Leland

,50

7. Steve Smith

.42

7. Charlie Peppers,

.44

.41

7. Ed Machacek

.43

.46

7, Tony Bogolo 8. James Libby

.49

.41

7. Troy Critchley.. 8. Wally Stroupe

8. Luigi Novelli 9. Bobby Lagana Jr. ...

,46

9. Ron Miller

.34

9. Steve Vick

9, Mark Thomas...

....31

Chris Karamesines.

7. Bob Spina 8. Jim McClure 9, Johnny Mancuso Dale Nungesser

10, Tim Nabors

.33

10. Ed Hoover

.29

10, Jim Lape

..28

.43

.75 ,53

9 April! 999

Report by BRETT SWANSON

FOR the first time in five years, the Easter Trail ran its full

with just two laps left to run. Jeffrey brought his Vortex home

fourth, ahead of David Murcott, Gessner, Scheuerle, Bell, Jensen and Shore.

The B-Main saw a massive pile

up that should never have hap pened. Brett Squiers spun on the format lap, then repeated that on lap 2. The officials ordered a complete

schedule without any interrup tion due to rain - it was there fore a successful 20th annual three-track event in Victoria that saw victories shared between David Anderson

restart, which saw the front row of Attard and Kelly Linigen come together against the front straight wall - in the ensuing melee. Kiwi Kelvin Moore and Gary Luttrell both rolled, with Rankin and Jeff

(Avalon), Robbie Farr (Mt Gambier) and Max Dumesny

Judd also involved. Adrian Maher won the event from Mike Van Bremen. Avalon victor Anderson failed to

(Warmambool). Sydney’s “Chicken Man” Peter Attard also had a good run, scoring

a pair of seconds at Avalon and

Max Dumesny

Warmambool.

took the prized

But the winner of the overall

Warmambool winners laurels.

bonus was actually none of these guys - it was Adelaide’s Mark Reuter in his family’s ROH J&J. For some strange reason, the overall pool is based on qualifying positions - that is, time trials and

(Brett Swanson pic)

make it out of the B-Main, after

having his first heat points stripped from him following an incident where he was allowed to rejoin the race, but was then judged to have exceeded the two minute limit

while repairing his car. Coming from eighth in the BMain, he was then involved in a couple of incidents which forced his

heat races. Feature events don’t come into it.

retirement.

This is a slightly absurd situation for a couple of reasons. Firstly, a good time trial is based heavily on the luck of the draw and

Warmambool,

Easter Sunday

the relevant track conditions, because unlike a heat race, or fea

In contrast with previous years, the weather in Warmambool was fantastic - warm and not a cloud in

ture, where everyone mns the same

track conditions, during time trials

the sky. There were no clouds hanging over Dumesny, either, at the end of the night after his hot on-track per

the track can and does vary greatly. Secondly, those with the better motors, but not necessarily the best race craft, have an advantage over a brilliant driver in an underpow

formance in the Valvoline J&J.

Dumesny thrilled his legion of

ered car.

hometown fans and maintained his

Nonetheless, it was a great result for Reuter’s crew, who managed to

push Farr back to second, with retiring Sydney veteran Peter Craft third on his swansong Easter trail.

Wins for Anderson^ Farr and^umesnyy but Mark Reuter claims overall victory

record as the winningest driver in the twenty year history of the

Easter Trail by taking out the third and final event.

But Dumesny had to withstand a spirited challenge from fastest

Avalon,

“To be honest, I didn’t know it

Trail at six o’clock last night, but

Gessner was given fourth, with

qualifier

Good Friday

was the last lap. We’ve had a good

the guys worked hard to get us here

Farr credited fifth.

scorched around in a time of 10.87

season to date and this Foster chas

and it would have been good to win,” explained Attard.

Stephen Bell, fast-timer Reuter, NSW Champion John Shore, Craft and Adelaide’s Darryl Dowing com pleted the top ten, which saw all

seconds - Farr, Reuter and Dumesny were all inside the eleven second bracket, with 31 of the 37

sixteen starters finish. Darren Jensen won the B-Main

second of Murcott’s time.

over Rob Rankin, while Dumesny,

basing his next season’s racing campaign in the Garden State, jumped into the lead at the drop of the green flag and led Dumesny,

A huge Good Friday crowd was treated to a top field of 46 Sprintcars and an exciting non-stop

25-lap feature event that saw

sis is the best I’ve ever driven,” con

cluded the multiple state champion. Attard, though, was unfortunate

Anderson take the lead in his

not to have recorded his first

Wagga Mobile Cranes/Bandag

Victorian feature victory.

when he ran around the outside of

Having started off pole, he was jumped by Andrew Scheuerle in the

Attard’s Supreme Poultry J&J.

Lucas Oils Maxim, who led the first

Morwell Foster on the last lap,

Anderson’s 25-lap time was a new record of 5.27.16.

“It was good, the track was a bit rutty, but we got a break at the right time,” stated the Albury racer.

nine laps before he got hung up in lapped traffic and lost the lead to Attard, who maintained that lead until the final lap. “I’m rapt to run second. We weren’t even coming to race the

“We mucked around with traffic,”

said a disappointed Scheuerle. “We didn’t get through the traffic fast enough and paid the price.” Motorsport News columnist the O’Brien

who had almost rolled in an earlier

Aluminium Avenger third on the road, but was relegated to fourth for passing on the infield - but Farr’s penalty wasn’t as severe as it could have been, as he passed at

heat, retired when a power steering

least three cars in that fashion. Scheuerle’s cousin Cameron

The car count was down to 40 cars at Mt Gambier

Robbie

Farr had

line blew.

Murcott,

who

had

cars present all being within one Murcott, who is rumoured to be

Attard and Reuter, as Anderson retired after giving the wall a

Mt Gambier,

Easter Saturday and, sadly, the crowd was down also. Indicative of the

luck of pulling the right marble was Lynton Jeffrey’s fast qualifying time of 12

whack.

Murcott and Dumesny shared the lead back and forth a few times until Murcott’s car started to

vibrate, a legacy of the mud packed into the right rear wheel, which would eventually lead to his retire ment.

Through numerous stoppages,

seconds flat.

Dumesny led Attard, Adrian Maher moving up to third in the Eagle

● The feature event,

One Twister when Reuter flipped.

like Avalon the night prior, ran non-stop for 25 laps with all cars finishing - only

Craft, Rankin, Scheuerle, Judd, Shore, Trevor Shields, Van Bremen

Jeffrey finished fourth, ahead of and Gessner.

this time it wasn’t

“I had a pretty good run with

close, Farr taking

David and this is a wickedly fast

the win by about half

track tonight,” stated Dumesny, after executing some donuts on the

a lap. The excitement,

though, was in the dice

for

second

between Dumesny

infield.

Attard was suitably impressed,

saying “not bad for someone who wasn’t going to even come here

dual Aussie champi

until Thursday night.” Maher was also pleased with his result: “It was really tops to run

on in a fierce tussle

here when it is so fast and third

until Dumesny man

makes up for a bad night last

aged to sneak past Happy Easter:

night.”

and Reuter. Reuter had led the

South Australian

“This is an awesome race track -

I have never been so fast, or so ter

Mark Reuter (left)

rified,” were Craft’s thoughts after

held out Robbie Farr and Peter Craft for the overall Easter

when he destroyed the Avenger

Trail honours. (Swanson pic)

the race.

Farr failed to make the show

after getting tangled up with a flip ping Scheuerle in an earlier heat.

9 April 1999

iXi.

Podiums are now infrequent for legend Sammy Swindell. (Clark) Murphy finished sixth to

Tatneli’s ninth in the third heat -

By Brett Swansojti Manzanita Speedway ■ A-Feature night saw Mark Kinser dominate in the Mopar Maxim as he started from pole after winning the Channellock Dash and then led all 30 laps of the non-stop race to set a new 30-lap record of 9:18.68.

Kinser and Tyler Walker raced wheel to wheel down the front

then the pair ran seventh and 12th, respectively, in the B-Main. A-Feature night: Lasoski drove the Beef Packers Eagle around pre liminary night winner Mark Kinser in the Dash to start off pole for the A-Feature.

“The Dude” went straight into the lead when the green flag dropped, with Kinser on his tail. Kinser battled Lasoski through out until ten laps from the end, when Schatz pushed the Parker Stores Maxim under Kinser for sec

wall, allowing Steve Kinser to slip

and Mark, along \vith Sammy

place before Steve Kinser grabbed Sammy Swindell had worked his way to fourth and diced %vith Walker for third, sealing it late in

the going and following the Kinser cousins, Mark and Steve, across the line.

Walker was fourth, ahead of Danny Lasoski, Johnny Herrera, Vivarin Fast time award winner

Craig Dollansky, Jeff Swindell, Dan-yn Pittman and Stevie Smith.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway ■ Preliminai7 night: Mark Kinser became the first repeat winner of the ’99 season when he snared the

preliminary night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Third annual Silver State Shootout.

The $5,000 win was Kinser’s

fifth straight at the Vegas venue. Kinser, the seventh-fastest qual ifier in the 61-car field, won the second NAPA Auto Parts heat race

and earned the right to start the

feature on the pole by winning the Channellock Dash. Fellow front row stai-ter Joe

Gaerte drove the Energy Release Eagle around Kinser as the green flag dropped.

But Kinser took out the feature, Gaerte racing him hard but unable to retake the lead and then losing second to Lasoski on lap 6. Herrera and Steve Kinser took

the last two automatic starting spots for the following night’s main event, while Stevie Smith, Donny Schatz, Pittman, Sammy Swindell, Gaerte and Frankie Kerr rounded

out the top ten.

Pete Murphy outqualified Brooke Tatnell by two places.

■ Recent Aussie tourist Joey Saldana came within half a lap of winning the preliminary feature when the Outlaws visited Dixie

Speedway on March 12.

Battleground Speedway in Texas, Schatz qualified third fastest,

in his heat and sixth in the BFeature.

ran third in his heat and then last

The second night was postponed due to inclement weather until

April 10.

Pike County Speedway ■ “There are at least 12 cars capa ble of winning every Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series race and

you saw that tonight,” Mark Kinser said, following his second AFeature win of the series. Kinser’s #5M

Schatz made a

slight mistake with lapped traf

it back.

Dixie Speedway

Tatnell was the sole Aussie, timing 22nd of 35, then running sixth

ond.

straight, with IGnser edging ahead and opening a gap immediately. Walker was challenging again in lapped traffic when he bumped the under him - but Walker retook the

Sydneysider Brooke Tatnell made it two straight B-Main wins after Pike County outing. (Martin d ciark) ing on the leader in lapped traffic. But, through numerous stop pages, Steve Kinser went on to record the win over Smith, Jeff Swindell, Herrera, Lasoski, Hillenburg, Jimmy Can-, Schatz, Pittman and Tatnell, who had charged from the back after win ning the B-Main.

Mopar Maxim was the class of the 32-car field after he set fast

fic and both

Kinsers, Steve

time, won the first heat, ran

Swindell, seized

third in the dash and then won the main. Kerr was on

the chance to move up.

The elder Kinser had

gained the ascen dancy over his younger cousin

,ii( II.. 7

i5J

Lasoski, with

Mark Kinser third from

turn 2 to take a narrow win over

to win pole for the feature event. Kerr, Walker and Mark Kinser

Saldana, with Steve Kinser in

collided on the opening lap, elimi then Tim Shaffer and Hillenburg

Steve Kinser had an up and down night after flipping in hot laps, but recovered to win the first

crashed on the restart, with

heat.

nating Walker and Mark Kinser -

Shaffer rolling.

While Steve Kinser was leading, Stevie Smith threw out the chal

lenge, moving up to second and clos-

third.

Herrera was fourth, ahead of

leader Mark Kinser.

As Schatz opened a gap, the bat tle for second place raged between Mark Kinser, Gaerte and Shaffer,

the latter eventually securing sec ond from Mark Kinser, Blaney, Gaerte, Walker, Jeff Swindell, Kerr, Stevie Smith and Steve Kinser, Tatnell was less than a second off the qualifying pace, then ran fourth in his heat and 18th in the A-Main.

Devils Bowl

Speedway

beaten off the

■ 26th Annual Spring Nationals Preliminary night: ‘The Dude”

Kinser. Mark Kinser

Lasoski retook the lead in the see

grabbed second

Kinser when he took the lead off

in turn 3 and

Lasoski pushed

Gary Wright just two laps from home to win the Preliminary fea

Kerr further

ture.

Swindell, Schatz, back next lap Herrera, Randy around. Hannagan, Jeff Mark Kinser Swindell, Dale challenged Steve Aussie Peter Murphy won the B-Main at Las Vegas. (Martin d ciark) Blaney and Andy Kinser for the Hillenburg. Saldana had the Mox lead on lap 5, but couldn’t secure it Murphy had timed in as third Motorsports Stealth in the lead, until lap 8, following a caution. fastest to Tatnell’s 25th, but an after recovering fi-om a bad qualify Mark Kinser started to pull eighth for Tatnell and a ninth for ing effort and winning the fourth away, as Steve Kinser now came ■ Murphy in the heats put them both heat, followed by success in the under pressure from Lasoski and in the B-Main, which Murphy won Dash. Schatz, who both passed the living while Tatnell finished eighth Saldana led the race away three legend. Murphy recorded a 20th place fin times before a lap was run. ish in the feature. Kerr had revenge on Steve He was half a lap ahead of Steve Kinser, taking fourth place as KinSer on lap 7 when Mark Kinser Schatz moved to second. Southern New Mexico used an inside pace to grab second. Following more cautions, Mark Kinser quickly caught Speedway Lasoski retook second and followed Saldana and they raced wheel to ■ Steve Kinser finally nailed a fea Mark Kinser across the line, with wheel in dense traffic for most of ture when he won the $8,000 fea Schatz, Kerr Steve Kinser, Walker, ture at Southern New Mexico the final sixteen laps. Terry McCarl, Sammy and Jeff Speedway, the 425th win of his Saldana was getting higher in Swindell and Stevie Smith com illustrious Outlaws career. the turns and, on the last lap, pleting the top ten. Kinser passed him on the inside in Kinser, who timed only 15th,

won the fourth heat, then the dash,

Schatz take second from Kerr on

lap 5. With the aid of lapped traffic, Schatz closed in on and passed

pole, but was line by Steve

and held onto sec ond behind

(eighth) in the dash. Schatz passed Shaffer, Carr and Walker on the opening two laps and then Gaerte on lap 3. Using the high groove while most stayed on the bottom saw

For the second straight meeting,

Tatnell won the B-Main, but this time was only credited with 24th in the A-Feature.

Battleground Speedway ■ Recent West Coast tourist Donny

sawing points chase from Steve

While Lasoski took the US$5,000 prize, Steve Kinser was a man on a mission after having failed to set a qualifying time, thanks to an igni tion problem - this meant he had to start rear of field all night. Steve Kinser, like Tatnell, just missed a transfer into the Feature when he ran sixth in his heat - he started 14th in the C-Main and fin ished second behind Tatnell.

From 16th in the B-Main, he

passed 12 cars to finish fourth and

make the Feature, leaving behind Tatnell, who finished 11th. In the main event, Steve Kinser moved from last to 16th, surren

dering the points lead to Lasoski, but passing 37 cars in just four races.

Wright outgunned dash winner Carr at the start of the race and

lead, but Lasoski caught him and pressured him for lap after lap until taking the lead late in the 20lap event. Mark Kinser then pushed Wright back another spot. Saldana was next ahead of Carr, Travis Whitney, Donnie Crawford, Shaffer, Ken- and Ste\-ie Smith.

Gaerte, B-Feature winner Walker, Hillenburg, Tim Shaffer, Smith

Schatz scored the second A-

Feature win of his Outlaws career

was rain-affected and has been

and Lasoski.

when he took out the $8,000 win at

postponed until April 24.

The following night’s Feature

9 April! 999

Shore's Title “THE Big Bus Driver From Bateau Bay” John Shore knows the importance of performance equipment and good timing driving the #6 Ampol Airbus Eagle machine from a starting position of seven, Shore steered clear of the early race carnage

With only one lap in the books, Walsh again resumed the lead

with

Handling NSW Sprintcar Championship held at Parramatta City Raceway on

#80 Eagle One Twister up to second place, but Jamie

March 27.

It was the third time lucky for Shore and promoters alike, two pre vious attempts at completing the Championship having been rained out, the most recent being washed out as the title field was preparing to take the green flag in the 30-lap race.

Despite a 70,000 strong Bee Gees concert three kilometres down the

road at Homebush, an NRL game at Parramatta Stadium two kays the other way, the NSW Election and the commencement of the

Easter Show, an excellent crowd

was in attendance for the meeting. Sweating on the knowledge he had pole position for a week in the big race prior to actually taking the greens was John Walsh in the Bob Jane T-Marts/Red Line Oils J&J.

Walsh's partner on the front row was Dubbo driver Mark Blyton, in the Dyno Flow Exhausts Avenger. Walsh sped to the lead at the greens, but that only lasted one

McCubbin and Mike Van Bremen.

Overshadowed somewhat by the fight for the championship was the win in the feature by Steve Knight in the Flocon Engineering/Bea ring & Industrial Supplies Foster - Knight drove a steady race behind Rob

the

Rankin’s Barwon Timber/Exide Batteries J&J and inherited the lead

with just four laps left to run when the unlucky leader broke a lifter in the engine. Warrnambool’s Stephen Bell had engaged in a race-long battle with Judd and had to settle for third in the Kangan Batman TAFE/Wheelie

Jones and Shore arrived at about the

Waste Schnee.

same time, so the

With just ten points separating the top two combatants, the stage was set for an exciting climax, with a couple of other spoilers looking for indi vidual gloiy on the night. For the second time this series, Rob Rankin topped qualifying and was awarded the PRO Shock courtesy of Max Dumesny Motorsport - Rankin was further pleased when he only inverted the front row, which put Steve Knight off pole from Rankin, Judd, Shane Stephenson, Bell, Roy Wright, Ramsdale, Van Bremen, Tony Simone, Wayne Milbum, Butch Hunter, Tim McCubbin, Daryn Maggs, Peter Knight, Rod Matthews and

dogfight for second was becoming a real hummer.

When the cautions

came on. Shore was

fully pumped. He blasted by Maher on the top side in turn 3 and then smoked Walsh on the bottom of turn 2 to take the lead

and stretch the legs of the #6 Ampol Eagle.

Geoff Clifford.

The equation was simple for Judd - finish ahead of McCubbin and

take the title. But McCubbin needed to pass Judd and finish five places

■Srr

New NSW Champ: John Shore. (Tony Loxieypic)

Maher dived low

on Walsh as well and picked up sec ond, with the early leader really starting to tire in the #20 machine. Jones followed Maher through and the two contacted in turn 1 in controversial circumstances.

Maher spun the #80 Twister to a stop, and Rush Jr also got caught

third. Bob Jackson, Kelly Linigen and Grant Tunks in the next high est positions. Loadsman (#33 Van Man/Royal Purple Gambler) was under enor mous pressure from Bob Jackson in the #12 Sydney Express Couriers Jackson machine at every restart. But Shore was in a world of his

short lap and a bit before Ashley Anthony and Blyton crossed swords. Blyton's Avenger gyrated

up and stalled - Jones was sent to the rear for his part in the incident, as were Maher and Rush Jr, none

own and the longer the race went, the better he got. In the end, he won by almost a

into the air in front of the flagstand flipping hard and tearing up some serious components, while Anthony was lucky not to roll in the

of the three at all pleased about it. Back at the greens, Walsh was reinstated into second and Shore drove away from the pack, which

straight-length from Walsh and

#49 PPG Gambler.

now consisted of Brett Loadsman in

THE dust had barely settled on Steven Grahanu's win in the $100,000 Speedcar Super Series when the Fox Sports flier was at it again, this time aiming at back to back NSW Speedcar Championships after taking on a crack field at Parramatta City Raceway on March 27. It was an historic event, the 200th

Speedcar main held in the 22-year history of the venue, that significant statistic only adding extra fuel to the belly of the Padstow

McCubbin and Van Bremen slip from contention as Steve Knight takes the win at hard-fought series final Champion after a strong drive to second place in the series final at Avalon on March 27 netted him the title from challengers Tim

Maher, Lynton Jeffrey, Peter Attard, Garry Rush Jr and Shore battling it out

to win the 1999 Linde Materials

SRA Champ Judd CAMPERDOWN’S Jeff Judd is the 1998/99 SRA Series

Adrian

for second. Maher took

Loadsman, Bob Jackson trailing home in fourth, with Kelly Linigen

carrying the #25 Jeff Rogers Cars machine to fifth, despite a flat tyre.

ahead of him, or win and have Judd finish third - it was a big ask from deep on the grid. The McCubbin crew had nothing to lose and changed the set-up signif icantly and it worked. The car was better and McCubbin drove it hard, sweeping around the outside of a couple of cars into the first turn with Maggs on his tail. As he exited turn 2, Simone and Peter Knight clashed and that baulked McCubbin’s momentum and the challenge was basically over, although the young third-generation racer wouldn’t give up. Knight ultimately took out the series final from Judd and Bell, Milbum, McCubbin, Matthews, Ramsdale, Clifford and Van Bremen. Steve Knight was rapt with his victory, while Judd was ecstatic with the series win - McCubbin was gallant in defeat, while Van Bremen med the bad luck that interspereed his brilliant drives. The 1998/99 SRA Series was undoubtedly a resounding success, with big fields, great races and an exciting down to the wire finish between three of Victoria’s best - who could ask for more?

Final points: Judd 3006, McCubbin 2932, Van Bremen 2816, Rankin 2350, Bell 2086, Matthews 2035, Boult 1976, Milbum 1843, Thomsen -BRETT SWANSON 1742, Maggs 1601.

Graham back to back An incident-packed first heat saw a grow

ing oil leak in Steven’s #14 Stealth - so, after running third to Craig Brady and Jason Gates, it was decided that the team would switch to the spare #41 machine.

Jenkins blistered by on the low side of Brady to inherit the lead - but the next lap, Brady was struck on the helmet by an errant chunk of clay, or something from the track. The incident nearly knocked the 1996 Aussie champ unconscious going into turn 3 and the #57 TCR floated high towards the

Jenkins and went low coming out of turn 2 -

Graham opened up a 5-6 car-length lead in no time, but later in the piece Troy began to mount a return bout.

either.

Brett Racing #9 Fontana normally driven by

tyre barrier as pretty colours and stars

A yellow light with four laps to go created new interest, Lambert dropping the left front wheel, which allowed Jenkins to focus clear ly on the tail of the Graham machine for the

30 cars fronted for the Goodyear-backed event, with drivers coming in from various

Glenn Cox.

danced in its driver's head.

restart.

Australian champ Robbie Farr returned to

aircraft mechanic.

There was no shortage of talent on hand

points of the compass - West Aussie Neville Lance, Kiwi Mark Cooper, Victorians Ian Lewis and John Mills, Queenslander Grant

Draney and South Aussie Adam Baines made up a particularly strong interstate and international contingent.

Using the pair of his trusty Fox Sports steeds, Graham accounted for arch-rival

Troy Jenkins in the 30-lap main, after a bat tle royal that included a bit of wheel banging when the bullets were really flying. It didn’t start off well for the defending champ, though.

the ranks, too, behind the wheel of the John

Brady and Cooper shared the front row of the 20-car, 30-lap main event. Graham and Troy Jenkins had row two, followed by Baines, Warren Ferguson, Darren Jenkins, Dave Lambert, Lance, Jason Gates, Farr, Anthony Van Dereyden, Kristian Frandsen, Jason Hendy, Les Porter, Chris Gallagher, Lewis, Peter Bourke, Alan Day and Ron Liddell. Brady zoomed to the lead and opened up a handy buffer until the yellows came on and this was when Troy Jenkins decided to jump

in the order. One of those cars was Graham.

Jenkins now led, from Graham and South Aussie Baines.

At the greens on the back straight.

Unlead (R+M/2)

103 octane

LUBRICANTS, ADDITIVES etc

VP Red

105 octane

MZ Methanol

CI2

108 octane

.Octane Booster

CI4

114 octane

Cool Down ..

●Coolant Performance Enhancer

CI4 plus

115 octane

Bite

●Tyre Softner

CI5

115 octane 117 octane

CIS

I 16 octane

Fuel Jugs Fuel Testing .... Carby Cleaner

●Funnels

CI6

Nitro Methane 99% minimum

back into the swing of things, several cars blasted by underneath to drop him well back

on the hammer, hard.

“fyELS II poll m wiEis" Ml Methanol 99.95 minimum p

While the luckless Brady was trying to get

Full range of Synthetic oil

●Upperlube lead additive

.Equipment .Chain Glide

Baines was flying, opening up a handy lead over the inspired battle for fourth between Lance, Gates (who had blasted to fifth from tenth), now Brady and Darren

Clearly it was all or nothing time. Troy stormed to the low line in turn 3 at the greens and there was contact between he and Steven at the exit to turn 4.

Both cars slewed sideways, but Graham recovered first as they got to turn 1. That was Troy's brief glimpse at victory.

Steven gathered himself and raced away to take the win in one of the most entertain

ing races of the year.

Troy placed second and brother Darren

Jenkins.

crossed the line third, followed by Brady,

In dense lapped traffic with less than ten laps to go, Graham pounced on leader

Gates, Lance, Baines, Van Dereyden, Gallagher and Liddell.

DEALERS NSW

Vic

● Hume Performance

● Haddad Race

● Graeme Simm's

02 9602 9033 ● American Auto Parts

Car's & Engines

● Powderworks

Qld

02 9905 2064

NSW Country ● Doctor Mak Engines 02 4934 1321

● Parente

Fuels ”

RACING LUBRICANTS

03 9794 6599

02 9746 1188

Racing

08 9457 0873

distributed by

● Drag Bike Riders

Assoc of Aust

Automotive

015 175 993

08 8336 3375

● Performance Wholesale

07 3808 1986

k. A

02 9821

I 128

www.vpracingfuels.com

U!£®0(D[Fsm®[?0

9 April 1999

Hannagan for $A Sprintcar Stampede Murray Bridge Mod Rod Title and Speedway City Gold Cup rainouts

Potent package: NT driver Bob Holt Is looking forward to contesting the Australian Speedcar Championship at his home track.

BOTH of the March meet

(Paler French pic)

ings set down for Riverview Raceway, Murray Bridge, were unable to be run due to ram.

The opening round of heats for the State Modified Rod

championship were completed on March 20 before the heavens

opened, forcing the show to be rescheduled for April. Similar misfortune struck

JOHN Leslight put on a mas terful display of Super Sedan

driwng at Archei-field Speedway on March 27 when he charged from fifth on the grid to take out round 15 of the hard-fought Coastline Vehicle Transport Super Series. Leslight was in devastating from in the non-stop 30-lap feature event, taking over the front run ning from Ross Brims (Brims Bulk Transport Camaro) on lap 18 before clearing away through lapped traf fic to further extend his lead in the

series pointscore.

Adelaide’s Speedway City when the 1999 Sprintcar Gold Cup

Leslight again McHugh’s Miami Smash Repairs Camaro spat an axle. A multi-car collision in heat two

put Chris Albert (Skinner Engineering Commodore), Paul O’Neill (Lismore Nissan Camaro)

and Ian Marshall (Federal Tyres Commodore) out of action for the

night. Nick Girdlestone was another

(Murray’s Race Parts Pontiac), both of whom performed very well to outpace top qualifier Leslight. With

Toowoomba’s

Graeme

Lehmann (Wynn’s Commodore) back on track after missing the heats, 14 cars giidded for the feature, a Bruce Ayers recovered from an opening lap tangle to take out the 15-lap Litre Sprintcar feature event

early casualty when a faulty mag

ahead of Shaun Hannigan, Brendon

neto forced his Racers Warehouse Pontiac out of action.

Palmer, Stuart Farmillo and veter an John Shipway.

as many outings. Dysart’s Des Kom was a revela

The Westhens Finance Top Ten Shootout saw Brims emerge with fast time, before choosing wisely to

tion aboard his lightning fast Boral Tyres Pontiac, snatching third in

M Darren Vine was unstoppable from pole position in the Compact Speedcar feature, downing Julie

select pole position for the main event. McHugh was next best,

Vine, Geoff Goebell, Christine Cox

the final

ahead of Korn and A1 Starling

Brims remained in second spot when the chequer appeared to secure his fourth podium finish in

corner

when

Jamie

■ A double-header meeting will be held at Collinsville Speedway in North Queensland on May 1-2, featuring Modified Productions and Super Street Sedans.

and Toni I^ruck. - CHRIS METCALF

for March 27 was cancelled

after heavy rain during the day. RANDY HANNAGAN. (Peter French) A quality interstate entry was already on hand when track promoter Wendy Turner was forced to make the unpalatable decision to cancel the event. Garry Brazier, David Anderson, Todd Wanless and Max Dumesny were among the drivers who missed their chance at some valuable prac tice for this weekend’s blockbuster event - the Australian Sprintcar Stampede - set down for April 10 to coincide with the Sensational Adelaide 500 Supercar event. The irchest race to be hosted at Speedway City has attracted the attention of regular tourist Randy (I’m back again} Hannagan, who is tipped to line up for this weekend’s $10,000-to-win Australian Sprintcar Stampede. Negotiations were being finalised last week for the Californian to pick up a ride in the BC Motorsports Gambler as run by fellow American Phil Gressman during January. Hannagan made a lightning-quick, successful return to Australia last month when he won the King of Wings event at Claremont Speedway. Hannagan won’t be making the now familiar trip fi-om the USA just to boost the numbers in Adelaide’s already impressive entry list and, while he is now probably on the way to clocking up further frequent flier points, the American will be more interested in claiming his share of the

$40,000 purse.

-DAVTOMcNABB

Townsville veteran Bemie

♦

Koppe experienced a disappointing farewell to the sport when an exclusion in his opening irde immediately ended his champi onship aspirations in his final out ing before retirement.

£9?

■

CfT

r“

The Elva Crowther Memorial is

being run just one week after the Queensland Modified Production

*■ f-

Championship and tow/appear

V-

ance money is available for any competitors wanting to stay and

contest the event.

at.

Interested competitors and/or spectators should contact Greg

Gilroy on (07) 4786 3727 for more information. ■

■

s»f 'V

■ The Northern Zone Super Sedan Championship was decided at Moranbah Speedway on March 20. Rockhampton’s Mick Doblo

«- A

''4^, 1 rtT

Lyndsay Hawkings, a triple Queensland champion and

Serious business: Modified Productions will be out in force at Collinsville Speedway. (Graham Jordan pic)

ern

Although the car count was low, an excellent crowd was in atten

dance and all reports suggest the

a In a positive move towards

cleaning up the image of speedway, the Queensland Super Sedan Association has drafted a Code of

Conduct to be enforced at all QSSA events.

While the code is based largely on the existing regulations, it is certainly a positive move towards ensuring more appropriate behav iour from competitors, crews and officials.

■ Following his two consecutive

oped a number of ideas aimed at eliminating much of the controver sy and anger that has dominated so many race meetings throughout

They have also put forward some suggestions for changes in

Dysart’s Des Korn (Boral Pontiac).

racing was quite good,

Stewarding was at the top of the agenda and the group has devel

this season.

steered his Camaro to victory in the final ahead of comeback man

March 17 to discuss a range of issues afflicting the sport at the moment.

1A large contingent of Super Sedan drivers met in Brisbane on

Matthew Sutherland (740), Nathan McDonald (650), rookie

Drew Kruck (490) and John Kelly (450) complete the top ten.

■ Gold Coast Super Sedan pilot Jamie McHugh has been stripped of his win in the International Firecracker held at Archerfield

By Chris Metcalf

Speedway earlier this season.

McComb, who scored a top ten

Leslight as the winner of Queensland’s irchest race was announced during the recent ASCF

finish in this season’s World Series

Sprintcar championship in his first year on the trail, has won three of the five BXI events contested thus

far and has a 100 point buffer with four rounds remaining. Consistent results throughout the series have moved Darrell

feature race wins at Lismore and

Hodges (1220 points) and David

Toowoomba, former Queensland champion Dean McComb leads the inaugural BXI Sprintcar Series

Grose (970) into second and third

(820), Tony Bridge (810) and Todd

with 1320 points.

Wanless (780).

outright, ahead of Andrew Pezzutti

The decision to reinstate John

Gold Coast’s Mike Hatcher Park

Speedway, Townsville’s Gary Moon/Chris Hughes clinching their third championship win with a narrow victory over Australian Champions Vic Martin/Bob Hill in the final. The Moranbah-based duo of

Ricky and Kim Laycock dominated the preliminary part of the pro gram and finished as top qualifiers

other areas and these have been

forwarded to the Queensland Super Sedan Association for con sideration.

It is envisaged that these forums will take place regularly - and any initiative that has competitors working together for the better ment of their sport is very wel come.

■ Modified Production numbers

continue to grow in north

at the completiqn of 20 heats.

Queensland, with Neil Craig returning to the ranks aboard an

conference on the Gold Coast.

Despite having first choice of starting gates in the final, this exciting brother/sister combination

Leslight was first to greet the chequer in the gnielling 50-lap

ish in the title decider and then

event, but was later scrubbed from

could only muster a third place fin suffered further disappointment when amazingly overlooked for

the results when it was deemed that infield officials carried out

selection in the Australian

repairs during a mid-race restart

Championship field.

that were not in accordance with

Bill Sewell/Loueen Sewell were

ex-Daran Munro Falcon. In his first feature race back behind the wheel at Collinsville

Speedway, Craig finished in sixth spot in an event that saw Cairns duo Chris Jensen and Shane

Mitchell finish first and second, respectively.

the racing regulations.

the fourth combination amongst the finalists, having to overcome

■ The 1998/99 Queensland Sidecar Championship was decided at the

lady racer Kym French in a run-off

Another moving into Modified Productions is Super Street Sedan pilot Jeff Havill, who has been drafted to replace an injured Lance

to secure a berth.

Forsvthe.

IMd{}®[P0[p®[7{} Perth Smart, rider the newFrank skip

Graham tops in Speedtar

oves

per of Newport Wasps in

Mark Lemon can com

pete in the Overseas

British

Premier

League, crashed heavily

Final

on his return to former club Exeter for a National

Championships.

Trophy meeting.

Manager in Britain, Neil Street, has put a strong case to Motorcycling

Overseas Final, but this

year it seems only the Todd Champion,

mums at his home track.

Wiltshire, is guaranteed a place,” said Street. “The other five places will go to seeded riders

Watson had expected

and, if that’s the case, I

to miss the start of the British season after

believe Mark should be one of them.” Lemon will remain

NEIL STREET and Craig Boyce. (Mike Patrick pic)

based in England, although, at this stage, he has no

in Australia.

“I broke a bone in my hand, which literally slit down the centre. I spent a couple of days in hospi tal and they put three screws in to stabilise it,” Watson said.

“At the time, they told me I’d be out of action for eight weeks, but I’ve cut that back to four.The main

the

final

of the

$100,000 Speedcar Super Series at Wynns Newcastle Speedway on March 20.

Going into the finale, Steven had a 545 point lead over Troy Jenkins and, while that was not by any means conclusive enough, it did mean that yet again the field would have to chase the bright blue #41 Fox Sports Stealth for the money. Troy Jenkins was philosophical: “We know we have second place in the series without even contesting the final round, but that’s not what you race for. We’ll be putting our best effort in like we always do we can’t rely on Steven to make a mistake.”

The previous round held at Newcastle had not been a happy time for Steven - a flat right front

tyre in the middle of the main spelled doom and a black flag for him, robbing the team of any points. Jason Gates showed a brief

glimpse that he would be a feature race contender with a third place

But it was an elated Gates who

cheque in the #5 O'Brien Truck Bodies/200 Club Esslinger. Runner-up Adam Clarke, though, gave Gates plenty to think about in

tioning bodies, his #76 Infinity already on the water and the ambi tious youngster confident he can better last year's result, where he some disappointing bad luck phases saw him hang on for a determined sixth, driving the Maureen's Nail Bar #9 Fontana.

Graham and Troy Jenkins were alongside each other on the front row of the 30 -lap Richard Petty Driving Experience main event. Sharing the second row were

respect for his campaign in this running of the SSS - he completed year's

Craig Brady and Neville Lance in

contrast with the convincing win of Rod Bowen's last year - this time

row three, Glenn Cox and Darren Jenkins rounding out the top eight. Cox had earlier blitzed with a

great qualifying time and was fight ing to maintain an excellent sixth

the series was decided in the final

round, despite two of the nine scheduled meetings being cancelled due to rain.

I Max Dumesny Motorsport

rerun three times - Franchetti’s

efforts were helped by Armando Castagna being excluded after falling first time out.

Shane Parker proved a revela

tion when joining in at Coventry's press day and well and truly showed he’s laid to rest the winter cobwebs - Vikings are looking for great things from the Team-mate Sam Ermolenko,

the former World Champion, has been riding at Wolverhampton and Newport to get his 'land legs’ back

June 13.

Official riders from the Aussie

Adelaide rider.

after the break.

final finishing order definitely tak ing part are Todd Wiltshire, Jason Lyons, Nigel Sadler and Frank

N Newport when he returns from

Australia and it’s done me a world

Smart, but Lemon may get the

Australia at the end of this month

of good,” Parker said. “1 took a complete break from the sport and we did all sorts of things - my partner Anji and 1 wanted to do a lot of the touristy

place normally given to a rider

(March) to his Devon home. As he is no longer managing Poole, he’s hoping to play a big

Hodgson. “I’d never lost anyone who was

fairly close to me, so to hear such tragic news about two very good friends within a couple of weeks

really shook me up, “ he said.

from New Zealand, as there is no

competitive New Zealand rider racing in England this year. There remains a possibility that Tony Briggs will be given the New Zealand place, but he generally restricts his riding to Continental Longtrack meetings these days.

ell Street will be managing

part in assisting his grandson, Jason Crump, with both his domestic racing for Peterborough and his Grand Prix commitments.

he television deal for British

T speedway

Xoo$irr 1 §

For more information on Hoosier Drag and Speedway Tyres call:

NSW: 02 9679 1990 Fax 02 9679 1187 03 9331 6477 Fax 03 9331 7444 VIC: 08 8332 0800 Fax 08 8364 0296 SA:

I. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10.

Steve Knight Jeff Judd Stephen Bell Wayne Milburn

only Australians among the over

20 League mafches, along with

seas men entitled to ride.

the six Grand Prix rounds, will be

Leigh Adams and Jason Lyons are both registered with Leszno

televised by Sky Sports and it is likely the racing will reach Australia on a regular basis if a deal can be tied up to allow Fox Sports to take the Sky coverage.

and no other Australian is sched

uled to race in Poland’s top League.

Tim McCubbin

Rod Matthews Frank Ramsdale Mark Clifford Mike Van Bremen Butch Hunter

6. 7.

.3006 .2932 Tim McCubbin Mike Van Bremen ... .2816 2350 Ron Rankin ... 2086 Stephen Bell .. 2035 Rod Matthews . 1976 Gerald Boult ..

Wayne Milburn

Ian Thomsen . .

843 1742

10. Daryn Maggs ..

1601

I. 2. 3. 4.

formally

The official ridersthisregister for lists the Polish League season

POINTS STANDINGS after Rd 12

Final Round Avalon March 27 - Rd 12

was

announced at a London Press conference on March 16. A total of

1998/99 VICTORIAN SRA SPRINTCAR SERIES

\Au5tralian Distributors for

^ ^ RACING TIRE

take-all final, which had to be

Championship, to be staged at Britain’s Kings Lynn circuit on

pit crew - and fellow Aussie Craig

Graham and Jenkins was a stark

champion won a five-man winner-

Elite League newcomers Hull Vikings has meant their riders looking elsewhere for facilities.

Shane Parker, the Park 28 year-old from Semaphore who is

Stewart - a member of Parker’s

Gates and Adam Baines, with

The former Italian Under 21

imitations as to the use of the

L Craven Park circuit of British

Overseas Final of the World

following the death of Paul

battle between

of the italian Championships held at Lonigo on March 21.

ritish-based Mark Lemon is still

tragedy that prompted the break,

runner throughout.

raziano Franchetti was a sur

G prise winner of the first round

B hoping to gain a place in the

really great time.” But it was a double personal

all rounds and was a consistent

“It knocked the stuffing out of

local.

things with our 16 month-old daughter Chelsea and we had a

Cox has won some considerable

This

he was known and was popular throughout the world of motorcy cling.

“It is the first time in twelve

Cox's consistency in the face of

finish in the last heat of the rainshortened format.

fan first and an official second -

“It may not mean a lot now, but they were good blokes.”

years that I haven’t raced in

won two main events.

of a heart attack at his home in California. Bill continued to work hard in

to do one more lap than I needed

riding for Kings Lynn in the British Elite League, has gone on record about his reasons for not racing in Australia in the season just ended.

Clarke leaves for the USA for a six month stint with various sanc

l> IJ'4

to at the end of the British season.

look for the South Coast club - at least their other four riders are all

son.

By Tony Millar<

the FIM and, in particular, its track commission (the CCP), has died

miss the start of the season here and I’ve not done that after all.”

in the British League. Collyer is racing for Eastbourne with Roman Provazhny, the 22 year-old from Togliatti, who came third in last years’s Continental Final of the World Championship. With Josh Larsen also joining the team, it is a realiy international

Clarke came perilously close to grabbing fourth from Jenkins in the final meeting Down Under for the Hunter Valley Hurricane this sea

motor cycle sport even after retir ing from the AMA. He always claimed he was a

side the first-ever Russian to ride

Darren Jenkins.

ill Boyce, for many years the

B American representative on

me that much that I did not want

campaign for Eastbourne, along

the dying laps. In the overall scheme of things, Graham's consistent third place at Parramatta was enough to see him finish 860 points ahead of Troy Jenkins in the series pointscore, with Lambert securing third over

British club for which he can ride.

damage was to the muscles, but I’m having regular physiotherapy the last thing I wanted to do was

Brisbane’s has started his Brent British Collyer Eiite League

pocketed the $1,000 winner's

the

riders in th Aussie Final

crashing heavily In his last outing of the season

proved beyond any reasonable

missed

would automatically qualify for a place in the

Newport at Exeter and was very much under the weather after racing two straight 15-point maxi-

qualifying, starting the feature from way back in position 16.

World

Australian Final through injury, to take part. “Normally, the top six

Sydney ridersuffering Craig Watson was

still win the war - and that was

the

Australia for Lemon, who

least three weeks.

overall in the series in the team's rookie effort. Dave Lambert had a shocker in

The Australian Team

a virus when he raced for

STEVEN Graham is a tough man to beat and, if he doesn’t win the main, chances are he’ll

being

the

Smart suffered three

Top act: Speedcar Super Series ace, Steven Graham. (Tony Loxieypic)

are

M made to ensure that

broken ribs and a painful back injury which has been diagnosed as bad bruising. The 29 year-old is expected to be out for at

Saner Series

doubt

9 April 1999

Jeff Judd

lM^9(D[7Sm)[F0

9Aprill999

Isuzu Vehi-CROSS for Australian Safari AMERICAN Off-Road racer Bob Land’s radical Isuzu Vehi-CROSS is

heading to the Northern for the Territory Australian Safari to com

pete in the T1 category for near-standard vehicles

next August - and Land is confident he will be ultra-

competitive. “The Vehi-CROSS is the

perfect vehicle to tackle everything the Australian outback can throw at us,” Land said. “The decision to run the Vehi-CROSS is the

right one due to the variety of terrain and high speeds we’ll be running - we intend to be running hard and the vehicle is up to it.” The Isuzu Vehi-CROSS -

due to debut in the States

there

wheel drive described as a

CROSS

cross between a sports car

Australia and its owner has

and an all terrain vehicle. The vehicle combines con

received some interesting enquiries.”

temporary styling and state

The Australian Safari is a

of the art automotive tech

fully-sanctioned internation al FIA cross country rally for

bidding to return World Championship

Rally was a round of the title some 15 years

two and four wheel drive

rallying to the United States.

ago.

vehicles and motorcycles.

Connelly masterminded Rally Australia in Perth and has run the highly successful round of the World Championship since its inception in 1988. helping to make it the acknowledged best round in the champi onship - he has also acted as a consultant to the organisers of the Rally of Indonesia and the Rally of China in recent times. Connelly and his team came up with the concept of the Super Special stage, with the highly innovative Langley Park Super Special becoming the blueprint for spectator stages on all WRC events. The three different potential bidders for a round of the World Championship in the USA include a revitalised Olympus Rally in the Pacific North West around Washington

nology - Isuzu’s unique Torque-On-Demand 4WD system is co-patented with Borg Warner and is designed to automatically select the most suitable torque distrib ution between the wheels.

“We are very excited to hear that this radical vehicle

from the US is entering for the Australian Safari, but I’m sure the Vehi-CROSS

will face some tough competi tion from the Australians,” said Event General Manager

class. Over the Christmas

break, the DELL Team Subaru WRX

By Peter WhitlX^

Editor-Australian RallysporW^ ■ The 1999 Respect Yourself Forest Rally round 3 of the Australian

Rally Championship Super Series - will be run over

shorter stages and on better roads, according to West Australian Car Club presi dent and event organiser Ross Tapper. Scheduled to take place from June 25-27, the rally has been rerouted to offer

competitors smoother roads

and to improve spectator access.

“It’s practically an all-new course,” Tapper said, explaining that the revised route had been laid out at

the request of the WA Water Corporation in order to avoid sensitive catchment

areas in the Mundaring Weir region. “We’ll still be running in the Mundaring area, but we’ll be taking in new roads that haven’t been rallied before. With the time of

has been completely rebuilt with a com

Michael Thompson said, after drawing position 15 for the upcoming ARC Super Series opener at Coffs Harbour on April 10. This is the rally where you are going to see some action from the DELL Team

Subaru driver, as he has some “unfinished business” in Coffs Harbour from last year.

Thompson posted a num ber of top five stage results last year and the car and team really showed it can be a leading runner in the

The event will, for the first

time, be conducted entirely within

the

Northern

Territory. Commencing in Alice Springs on August 21, overnight stops will be taken in Alice Springs (3), Ayers Rock-Uluru, Tennant Creek, Kalkaringi and Katherine, the Safari finishing in Darwin on August 28.

he can do,” Ford rally team spokesman Mark Wilford said during the Portuguese Rally. “It’s an open thing - we’ll put him in a Formula One car and see what happens. Colin has always been inter Monaco above the GP circuit

with high speed stability and balance.

DELL Computers, Corporate Acceptance Finance and Standox Paints

continue to support the team.

Focus testing ■ Building on the Ford Martini World Rally team’s victory in Portugal, the team is continuing the Ford Focus World Rally Car test and development program. The team completed its fourth and final day of test ing in Vic, northern Spain, where they have been con centrating on finalising the tarmac specification of the car in preparation for this month’s Catalunya Rally, the fifth round of the FIA

World Rally Championship. “The testing has gone very well,” said team direc tor Malcolm Wilson.

“Both Colin (McRae) and

of gravity and both are

■ “This is it,” a focused

Vehi-

currently

pension system that will provide the car

should be fast and smooth.”

Subaru attack

another

ested in Formula One. He

plans for grading and mani curing the course, they

DELL’S Group N

pletely new driveline, including a new sus

Simon (Jean-Joseph) have driven the latest specifica tion car, which is lighter and has an improved centre

year, the weather and the

USWRC bid

shortly - is a 3.5 litre, DOHC 24-valve V6-powered all

fiercely competitive N5 production car

Forest Rally

Craig Fletcher. “It is also interesting to learn that

Connelly's

pleased with the progress we are making. “One of the main benefits

of reducing the weight is the improvement in the han dling, which is crucial for asphalt. It will also make the car kinder on the brakes

and tyres.”

McRae switch to Formula One? ■ Colin McRae will test drive a Stewart Formula

One car later this year and could ultimately make the switch to Grand Prix racing, according to reports coming out of the UK.

“He will be given a free run to go out and see what

has an apartment in

and his old apartment used to be irght over the start line.” McRae drove a Jordan FI

car in 1995 as a publicity stunt, in which Jordan dri ver Martin Bi-undle also drove the Scot’s Subaru

Impreza - Wilford said the Stewart test would be more serious than the Jordan outmg. An eventual move to

Formula One could not be

ruled out, although it all depended on how the Scot performed during the test drive.

McRae would not be the

first champion from one branch of motorsport to have a test in a Formula

One car, or to make the switch from one discipline to another - John Surtees won

the motorcycle world title before going on to take the Formula One crown, while Italian 250cc motorcycling champion Max Biaggi tested a Ferrari last year.

Scot Buckley for Rally Canberra ■ Leading Scottish rally dri ver Dom Buckley will con test Rally Canberra in May. Buckley will drive an exProdrive Group A Subaru Impreza 555, the 30 yearold using the car to win last year’s Jim Clark Memorial Rally in his native Scotland. Buckley, a former Volkswagen Motorsport fac tory driver, is using a Mitsubishi Lancer E5 in

this year’s British Rally Championship. After a limited test pro gramme, the Scot finished fourth overall and second in

the Production Cup category of the recent Vauxhall Rally of Wales, round one of the British series.

AUSTRALIAN rally supremo Gary Connelly is a part of one of three teams

There hasn't been a round of the World

Rally Championship since the Olympus Given the reintroduction of Formula One

to the USA next year and the FIA’s aim of ensuring major World Championship motorsport events are represented across all conti nents, the need to bring WRC rallying back to America is a pressing one. Manufacturers are apparently keen to see the WRC return to the States.

Chrysler has recently started moves to homologate its Neon as an F2 car and, with that company’s recent merger with Daimler Benz, it may well become the rallying mar que for the newly-forged conglomerate. As well. Ford’s involvement in the

nected with based in the Rocky Mountains

Championship could benefit from exposure in its home country, while both Subaru and Toyota are major players in the US market and clearly would like to leverage their ral lying success in that market Given the track record of Connelly with

in Colorado.

his home event and other Pacific Rim

Connelly apparently made a presentation to the Sports Car Club of America, the sanc

events, speculation is strong that the Colorado option will be the one favoured by

tioning body for rallying in the USA, when he was in Colorado in January.

the FIA.

State, an event based around Atlanta, Georgia and the one Gan-y Connelly is con

-JON THOMSON

Howie does it in 2GO SYDNEY’S Howard Grove, driving a Lancer Evo 1, has won both heats of the twoday opening round of the 1999 Silicon Graphics NSW Rally Championship, the 2GO Rally. It was Grove’s first State Championship win, having come close on many occasions and he opened his 1999 account with a win in both heats - the Sydneysider -won tw'o stages on Saturday and five of Sunday’s six special stages. Second place went to Darren Williams, also from Sydney, who finished 53 seconds behind. A late charge by Michael Boaden was rewarded with third outright when Tumut’s Louie Doon slipped back to fourth spot - however, the final result was extremely close, only eight seconds separating second, third and fourth positions. Making an appearance in the top five was Scott Anderson, who took out that spot after Peter Edwards slowed with turbo boost problems in his Escort Cosworth. The event, held on the central NSW coast north of Gosford, was conducted under sunny skies and attracted a field of 62 competitors. However, the attrition rate was extremely high - a quarter of the field retired on DayOne, mostly due to mechanical problems and the pattern repeated itself on Day Two, with a further 15 cars retiring - one disappointing retirement was that of event leader Jack -WHITTEN Wightman, who had been running at the head of the field all weekend.

Coffs VW debut SIMON Evans will be

bringing the legendary VW marque back as a serious contender in the ARC when he debuts his new Golf kit car this weekend in the Coffs

Evans and his team-mate, Jason Slot, will be competing

significantly quicker than

in the cars, which were run

series, but there will be plen ty of pressure from Brett

by VW in last year’s European and World Championship Rally events, including Rally Australia in

Harbour season-opener.

Perth. The Evans car was raced

Evans heads up VW Motorsport Australia, an operation which has sourced

by Raimund Baumschlager in Rally Australia last

the cars and support equip ment from the VW factory motorsport

operation

Germany in its bid to win the F2 class in this year’s ARC. The new VW team will

have support from Pioneer Electronics and will be run

ning on Yokohama Tyres. The operation is totally separate from local distribu

tor Inchcape’s VW Australia,

November.

The team has the two rally

the other F2 cars in the

Middleton’s Honda and Dean

Herridge, Rick Bates and the like.

“Even though we will have a power and speed advan tage, we still have to drive them and make sure we get the cars to the finish of eveiy event,” he added.

cars, plus VW recce cars and

It is the first time since the

two show cars as part of its

legendary Barry Ferguson campaigned VW Beetles in

entourage.

Evans and team manager and co-ordinator Tom Fyfe have put the deal together and brought the operation up to speed in time for this weekend’s debut.

“It is an enormous oppor

but has the endorsement and

tunity and we think we can knock off the title this year,”

support of the factory’s motorsport arm in Germany.

said Evans. “The VW kit cars will be

the 1960s that VW has been a serious contender in the

top echelons of Australian rallying.

Mark Higgins gave VW third place with a new model Golf in the opening round of this year’s British Rally Championship in Wales last month.

-JON THOMSON

lMo)O®[?0m®[?o Report by JON THOMSON

COLIN McRae lost no time

proving to the World that his Safari win was no fluke by tak ing his second straight WRC win, the Rallye de Portugal on March 24, by just 12.3 seconds from Toyota’s Carlos Sainz.

9Aprill999

Focused: Colin McRae dominated

Back

the Rally de Portugal, taking his second straight WRC win of the season and moving to within only two points of the Championship lead in his Ford Focus.

McRae led after the opening short Super Special stage on the first day, grabbing a few tenths of a second advantage over the sur prise second-fastest Marcus Gronholm in his Mitsubishi and from there on in it was all McRae.

The wily Scot pulled out an impressive lead of close to 50 sec onds, thanks to five fastest times from the first full day of competi tion’s eight special stages. Totalling 156 km, the first day stretched North from Oporto on Monday and the chasing pack included Subaru’s Richard Burns, Sainz and Didier Auriol, who were locked in a fierce three-way fight for second.

Gronholm was back in fifth place after his impressive opening stage the previous afternoon and, while the Freddy Loix stand-in had been quick all day, his team-mate, Tommi Makinen, was a lowly ninth 1

overnight, his Lancer bugged by transmission troubles all day.

a further three as the two drivers

Makinen’s Ralliart mechanics

fought back against the Ford

spent the first night changing the driveline, including gearbox, cen

onslaught. . Although pretty evenly matched, it was the Frenchman who complet

tral and rear differentials - after

his wins on the opening two roimds, the Finn was looking to get back in the winners circle again. The Skoda squad re-entered the WRC after its disastrous non-start for both cars at Monte Carlo and

the self-imposed exile from the next two events - but, although encour aged by progress during the open ing morning, both Armin Schwarz

ed the day as the better placed of the two by a margin of 1.9 seconds as they prepared for their final assault on the leading Ford over the final two stages of the day. After being delayed by his gear box problems on leg one, Makinen

SS12, while SEAT’S Liatti and Rovanpera both crashed out of the rally - Liatti’s departure was embarrassingly right in front of seat’s sporting director. Colin McRae had been counting on using the day’s final two stages to build up the cushion which sepa rated him from the Toyota pair behind, but his strategy was

Hyundai was still firmly on top in the Formula 2 category, with Alister McRae and Eriksson in 13th

second run

and 14th positions overall, respec tively. Colin McRae had everything to lose and was driving for the finish during leg three and to ensure that he maintained his lead all the way to the flag. Auriol and Sainz had other ideas,

through the traditional Arganil

though, Sainz now up into second

dashed

when

the

and Emil Triner were forced to

retire when their respective clutch es failed to get their cars away from

stage of the day. Makinen will be wondering how he could have fared in Portugal had transmission trou bles not affected his car - once his

problems were cured, the Finn was immediately up amongst the fastest stage times and his charge to snatch fourth from Burns on the

last day failed by a mere nine sec onds.

“There were just too few stages left for us to get fourth place. I think fifth is good on this tough rally and we are still leading the championship, which is the most important thing,” said Makinen. Colin McRae said the key to his success was the

attack he had

made on the opening leg. “We really won the rally during the first leg, when we knew we had to make the most of the good condi tions,” explained McRae. The Scot’s performance lifts him

the start line of SS7.

Portuguese driver Miguel Campos in his Mitsubish used his local knowledge to pull out a gap of nearly a minute over his closest challenger in Group N, Gustavo

Trelles.

second

the

Drivers’

Championship after four rounds, just two points adrift of reigning champion Makinen, while second and third in Portugal consolidated Toyota’s advantage at the top of the

Australia’s Michael Guest, as

reported in the last issue of Motorsport News, crashed out of the rally on the first forest stage after running wide on a comer and clipping a tree, severely damaging

Manufacturers’ table.

Group

the rear-end of the Subaru.

N honours

went

Portuguese driver Campos, who fin

In Formula 2, the Hyundai pair of Alister McRae and Kenneth

ished more than three and a half

Eriksson had a trouble-free day to

minutes ahead of triple Group N World Champion Ti'elles - Campos is the fourth different Group N win

finish the opening leg in first and second positions, respectively, in

ner in the four rounds so far this

the category. The next day, Colin McRae con tinued his winning way, leading the

year, leaving the title wide open. Both Mitsubishi crews had a sig nificant lead over third-placed Juha Kangas, the young Finn in a

field throughout the day despite the fact that his overnight lead of 49.2 seconds was whittled down to

Subaru.

just 33 seconds at the end of leg

The McRae family delight at Colin taking victory in Portugal was compounded by brother Alister winning the competitive Formula 2 category - the younger Scot beat his Hyundai team-mate, Eriksson, by 41 seconds. Drivers Championship points:

two.

Auriol emerged as Colin McRae’s closest challenger, after a day-long duel with his own team-mate, Sainz.

Subaru’s Burns played a card

■ Struggling: Reigning Champion Tommi Makinen managed fifth spot after mechanical woes. (Sutton pic)

which backfired at the final control

and chasing hard - but, although their charge closed the gap to 12.3 seconds by the end of the rally, nei ther was finally able to prevent McRae scoring the win. Fastest on the opening stage,

Makinen 22, Colin McRae 20, Auriol 17, Sainz 16, Kankkunen 7,

be difficult - it looks like it could be

Auriol was on fire and then Sainz

Skoda).

a fight all the way to the finish, like

started to push harder, winning the next two stages as the pair closed

string of consistently quick times

loop was cancelled because of the volume of spectators lining the

which saw him climb from ninth to

stages.

and moved up to second and third

fifth overall, his quest helped by a brace of retirements among the front-runners as the rally headed towards the famous Arganil stages. Gronholm lost ground when he

“My lead over Didier isn’t really big enough for me to feel comfort able going into the final day. It will

as a result of Burns’ tactic, taking

lost his brakes for all of SS12,

it was last year,” said McRae.

up the chase of Colin McRae in the

before disappearing for good with related hydraulic clutch problems.

of leg one - Bums deliberately took a ten second penalty in order to drop two places, believing that being fourth on the road instead of second would be an advantage on the dusty stages. But Auriol and Sainz benefited

attacked hard all day, setting a

Campos still led Group N, ahead

Auriol set two fastest stage times

Subaru’s Juha Kankkunen was

of Trelles and Juha Kangas and was 12th outright as the battle for

during the day and Sainz collected

forced out when his engine failed on

the Production Car Class unfolded.

Ford.

in on the race leader.

Burns was now under pressure from Makinen, who was flying and

grabbed fastest time on the final

Burns 5.

Manufacturers Championship

points: Toyota

33, Ford 28,

Mitsubishi 22, Subaru 13, SEAT 7,

Group N points: Trelles 17, Mark Duez 13, Jouka Puhakka 13, Hamed A1 Wahaibi 13, Campos 13. for FIA 2-Litre Cup Manufacturers points: Renault 26, Hyundai 26, Volkswagen 16.

H^CpOCDU’SffXDJ’O

9 April 1999 Report by

Top day at the Islaad

GRAEME BURNS

DAVID Holdforth, Luke May, Charlie Lambous and Brian

Goldfor Holdforth, May, Lambous

Stockman all had perfect week ends at the Victorian Superkart Championship, held at Phillip

and Stockman at the Victorian

Island on March 27-28.

Superkart Chan^ioaships

The lap times were down on the resurfaced track, despite the windy and occasionally wet conditions, while the lOOcc Light karts were separated by millimetres on the line.

100cc Junior In just his third Superkart race, Luke May showed his experience gained in sprint karts by winning all four races and successfully defending his title. Relative newcomers to racing,

Travis Grigg and Ulrich Deyssis improved their times during the weekend to finish second and third, respectively.

100cc Light The racing was exceptionally close at the front between Colin

Runaway: Charlie Lambous from NSW rockets away to take the chequer in a 125cc kart borrowed from Brian Stockman. (Graeme Burns pic)

McIntyre and Darren Formosa in the first three races, with only mil limetres separating the pair on the

Knight having a win apiece in the

line.

first three races and Rod Clarke

Rodney Reynolds, Rod Prickett, Jason McIntyre, Ben Castles, Nicholas Higgins and John Sciarra, despite what they tried, could not match the pair up front and scrapped with each other.

right with them. The final was a great race to watch, with the front bunch swap ping around continually, lap after lap, until the rain, which saw the bunch break up as the karts slid

The final was another close race

around. Bramich came out in front at the

until the rain came midway through, making staying on the track difficult on slick tyres Formosa did the best job and clinched

the

title

ahead

McIntyre, while Reynolds managed third.

1OOcc Heavy The front eight karts were never very far apart, with Michael Bramich, Darren Spencer and Ken

finish, while Knight and Spencer

> .-’Sr.is*

The final saw Ariano falter with

a rough-sounding engine, while Jamieson and Hansen raced wheel

to wheel for several laps until Hansen shpped wide at MG comer - the pressure was eased from Jamieson, with Battle not quite able to match his speed. Hansen took the title, with Battle second and Ariano nursed his kart home for third.

were next.

80cc A strong field of karts from Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland rolled out for the start, with Len Ariano

making a comeback and showing the way by winning the first three races, with Ross Hansen, Shar}Ti

Soft centre: Haywood 250 Inter rubber was still good for third spot.

r-/.

Battle and Chris Jamieson looming up behind.

125CC A small field of karts entered,

with the numbers dropping further as some karts died.

Peter Rageman borrowed parts to get his kart running again after an engine problem in qualifying and

Charlie Lambous had no trouble

winning all the races in a kart bor rowed from Brian Stockman.

Pete Carter, after some bad starts, came through for second, while Hageman was lucky, splut tering across the line for third with an empty fuel tank.

Ross Higgins looked comfortable in third in the final, until a spin allowed Daniel Alexander past and a good race ensued. Holdforth took the title with four

wins, while Higgins was second and Wayne Schultz, with consistency, was third.

250CC National

250cc International

David Holdforth showed his hand

A field of 22 entered, making this one of the larger fields for some

early by setting the pace in quahfying as others chased a good set-up Mick Crossland put in some good times, but unfortimately didn’t fin ish enough races. The first few races spread out a bit towards the end, but the final was a close race between Holdforth

and Crossland, until late in the race when Crossland went missing.

time.

The wily Brian Stockman was in a class of his own, setting the pace and never seemingly in danger of losing. Race one saw five of the quicker karts go out in an incident in south ern loop on lap 1. Bmce Jolly stepped up into this class from the 125cc and ran a good second in race two, where Gary Haywood had a front tyre blister badly. Stephen Cash, Mike McCrudden, Peter Levison and Robert Erlenwein aU chased Stockman at

different times as they fought out second and third places. Stockman added this title to a

long list of victories, while Cash made the trip from SA worthwhile with second and McCrudden was third.

Pressure: #3 David Holford was

hounded by #1 Mick Crossiand in 250 National final until Crossland

retired. (Graeme Burns pics)

Slipstream: 80cc freight train, with #11 Troy Byron ahead of Robby Canuti, Len Ariano and Sharyn Battle, before Battle ultimately went by for second spot

9 April 1999 ROUND

two

of the

mmours of an intending move to a twin cylinder machine, is the only hope for the other competitors in

NSW

Superkart Championship saw a return to normal, with the usual front-runners dominating

this class, such is Grassland’s domi nance.

most classes.

National

Champions

Gary Brooks and Dave Holdforth

Ross

continued their battles from round

Hansen and Michael Crossland

one, with Brooks gaining the upper hand and second place - Holdforth had to settle for third. Dean Coady took first in B grade, despite a spin in the early heats.

scored clean sheets (five starts, five wins) in the 80cc and 250 National classes, while 250 Inter Champion Brian Stockman did likewise in the

125cc category However, there was still the odd

250cc International

surprise or two, with T’ plate dri ver Peter Young winning the lOOcc ngb, while John Pellicano’s return

Last month, Sam was despon dent about his first round perfor

to the winners circle in the 250 Inter class was somewhat over

quent jibes from fellow competitors.

mance at Oran Park and subse

At Wakefield Park, he struck back in the most decisive way, van ning heat four and driving back through the field after poor starts

shadowed by the performance of new team-mate Sam Zavaglia.

100cc ngb

in each race.

A very small field of only six

By race five, his only concerns were finding a bigger helmet and trying to address his start tech nique.

karts met the starter for race one,

with Daniel Greenaway, Bill Nelson and Peter Young battling for the major places.

John Pellicano dominated each

Young gained the upper hand in

race, save race four, when a deflat

heat two and was able to consoli¬

Phil Eggins and Bob Duncombe raced for third, Eggins finally claiming third place in a close con

ing tyre caused him to run wide onto the start-finish straight and stop shortly after. Viv Coady also encountered tyre and brake teething problems with

test.

his Stockman machine and had

Held as a separate class, the track looked somewhat empty with only six entries - hopefully, Roy

spins both morning and afternoon.

date the points lead in the latter heats.

Greenaway finished a close sec ond, while Nelson took a comfort able third.

to lead heat one, while Ross

Hansen and Mark Rogers set off in pursuit. Ross showed that he wasn’t

Peter Lopreiato took fourth, despite mechanical problems which slowed him the afternoon, while John Poli and David East rounded out the field.

about to relinquish his number one plate, slowly clawing away at Byron’s lead and taking the lead in

number of entries in a class which

the closing laps. This set the pattern for the remainder of the day, as Byron and then Hansen broke away from the

is famous for close racing and large fields of 20, or more, entries.

It is a pity to see such a small

Hansen finished with a surprising five from five, while Battle’s consis tency earned second place from Byron, a dnf costing him dearly.

125CC Many people quietly feared what would happen if Brain Stockman got some reliability into his

Francescato and Scott Stockham will return for the next race.

machine - well, we didn’t have to wait long to see Brian simply drive

250cc National

pack of Sharyn Battle, Rogers,

away from everyone else in the new

Formula ‘Crossland’ continued,

Malcolm Cancian and Anthony

Stockman.

with Michael again recording five wins in a day. It seems only reliability, or

Denis Pana and Mario Todarello

had mixed days, Todarello battling Eric Hayes for fourth place, while a spin also affected Pana’s claims for the minor placings. However, it was Pellicano first and Zavaglia second, Sam just hold ing out the hard-charging Anton Stevens, who took third.

Let’s hope that some other com

Zulian - Zulian’s Momo machine

Centreline rival Dave Smith

petitors can get to the grid in the

was enjoying its most competitive outing since switching over from

fought gallantly, but was no match.

the lOOcc class a few years ago. In contrast, Cancian’s day start

Unbeatable: Champ Ross Hansen was dominant at Wakefield Park, taking five from five in 80cc. (Mpix photo)

near future. i

80cc The 80cc field once again attract ed the largest entry list with 14 entries received, though 12 actually lined up in the first heat. Troy Byron in the Stockman ‘superteam’ made a lightning start

-JOHN MORRIS

ed poorly with a broken rear crash bar, while a lost wheel in race four effectively ended his run. Robbie Trimmer suffered similar

rear-end problems in his kart and went home early.

Neck ’n neck: Winner #71 Young and #7 Nelson in lOOcc. (Mpixphoto)

You’re invited to be IVleet a karter - r»l40|li

57 Jf Club: Syd^ Kart Racing Club (SKRC) part of Austraiia’s #● Age: Class: Over 40s ● Time in the sporti/'?9’,^ars.^raiik began karting in 1980 fastest growing ● Greatest acliievenient*Won the 4

motor sport

Why not see what it's all about for yourself? Attend a race meeting at your local club and talk to the drivers

1998 SKRC Over 40s C^iani|)ionshi|).| ● Greatest pleasure: Racing

Jiis^two sons. Robert .and^Wllliani

and crew. There are classes to suit

almost everyone from 7 years to 77 +. Midgets 7-11 years Rookies 10-12 years Juniors* 12-16 years in TWO weight divisions Seniors* Over 10 classes of varying power & driver weights to choose from.

* Other more powerful classes available for experienced racers.

The Australian

Karting Association Inc For information about karting & how to get started call NSW 02 9834 3860 VIC

03 9362 1144 www.kartguide.com.au/vka.hlm

QLD 07 3844 8507 www.akaqld.asn.au

EfflaOfiDDcm tt50Q®

TAS

03 6272 6848

08 8242 3513

08 9409 4441

www.kartsport.com.au NT

08 8978 2916

National AKA Web Site

www.aka.asn.au

!Kk>0(o)[Fsuxo)[?0

9 April 1999

Briefly Historic 'TO coincide with the 40th

long and successful career,

anniversary of Adelaide’s homegrown racing marque Elfin, around 10 cars repre senting the various stages of development have been selected by the oi^anisers of

but this will be his first drive in the nimble British-built Mallock. The new combination should

the Sensational Adelaide 500

meeting to be on static dis play and take part in special demonstration laps on all three days of the program (April 9-11.) The cars (includ ing Garrie Cooper’s last mas-

prove a real threat in the Group L(b) class. The 23rd Historic Winton organised by the Austin 7 Club will be held on May 29-30. ■ The next round of the Victorian Hillclimb

Gipsy Moth blitzes Eddington Class Winners

THE amazing 1927 De

Everyone thought the

Haviland Gipsy-powered

imposing Minerva of Brendan

Bonning strafed the oppo-

?uld amved atthe end of the

rocket ship of Warren

Dillon was big until John

Championship (round 3) featuring Historic cars will

sition to take Fastest Time

1 nnn

a Car he is preparmg to take

will be on show in a marquee

be held at Mt. Leura,

near the Halifax St. entrance off East Tee. comer.

end of June 12-13.

Eddington Sprints on March 27.

speed records. The crowd gathered to see the silver

te^iece, the M19 F5000)

■ Another special event during the carnival will be the Elfin barbeque to be held at the home of the EODC

patron Lorraine Cooper. The Elfin BBQ became a tradi tional social event during the AGP in Adelaide from

Camperdown on the week Meanwhile, supplementary regulations and entry forms are now available for the

VHRRs 14th Mangalore Sprint Meeting to be held on April 18. A number of CAMS affili ated clubs are invited to

participate along with mem

T-,

J.U

at the 1999 to the USA to attempt some

The Gipsy Special is a clas-

1985 to ’95. It will be good to

bers of the Victorian

relive old itmes!

Historic Racing Register.

■ The following weekend (April 17-18) will be the tra

For further information

seems to have cured, so he

contact the event secretary

used Eddington to experi ment with another problem carburation. Bonning has apparently got this right too, as he blazed up the quartermile in a winning time of

ditional Historic Mallala

race meeting which over the years has become one of the most popular gatherings of the Historic car and motor

cycle racing fraternity. There will be private practice at Mallala on the Friday preceding the meet ing (April 16).

■ The Adelaide Speed Week certainly has some thing for everyone begin ning with the Sensational Adelaide endurance races, the Motorsport Dinner at the Sporting Car Club of Sj\. (Wednesday 14th), a hillclimb at Collingrove (Thursday 15th) and culmi nating in the National AllHistoric Motorcar and

Motorcycle Race Meeting at Mallala.

■ Thanks to Ian

David White on (03) 9850 4795.

■ The soon-to-be-opened Ford Discovery Centre at (Geelong’s famous water front has provided just the excuse needed for a run by Ford fans.

Ford Australia is respon sible for the centre which is

near where the company started assembling Model Ts back in 1925. As well as

having an impressive dis play of vehicles, the Discovery Centre will trace the production of the car from design through to test ing and manufacture. To celebrate the occasion,

wheel, and no doubt the Tiga will be a force to con tend with in the later Historic classes.

■ Geelong’s Roy

Williams must be finding it increasingly difficult to squeeze behind the wheel

of his Mallock U2 sports car! At the Eddington Sprints, wife Di had a drive (and collected a trophy),

and at the forthcoming

Historic Winton meeting in late May Williams has engaged another driver. On this occasion it will be one of Australia’s most

experienced and versatile

drivers, Brian Sampson. ‘Sambo’ has driven all

sorts of cars during his

and as usual there were some

intriguing cars taking part.

Blast off! The Gypsy Moth Special of Warren Bonning heads off for FTD at Eddington, run over the course, but soon AC held together to record a The Minerva competed suc after the start there was a time of 24.55secs. It previous cessfully in the recent Lactos massive explosion when the ly belonged to Stuart Rally held in Tasmania. The Eddington Sprint clutch housing disintegrated. Middlehurst, a foundation The shell shocked driver com member of the VSCCA, and meeting ended as usual with pleted his run, leaving a trail after acquiring the car as “a the “everyone back to the of debris on the track, and it’s bits and pieces project” four Roberts’ place” for the annual now back to the drawing years ago its present owner BBQ and lie-teUing an event boards to get things right Brendan Dillon has done a that is now legendary in the before its next appearance. great job in restoring this his-‘ region. At least the 1926 Minerva -BRIAN REED toric car to its former glory.

Formula One race

Sunday, April 18 for the centre in (Jeelong and will

booming

include a tour of the new

be from 1921 to the present day, and all participating vehicles must be registered. Entries are sure to fill up quickly, so for a chance to become part of Ford’s histo ry contact Autopromos (03)

OF the 50 or so 3-litre Grand Prix cars bmlt dur

ing the great 1966-69 peri od of Formula One, aroimd

20 will be appearing in Adelaide this weekend for the Strathfield Formula

Fords! 'The era covered will

9587 9704 for further

details and entry forms. ■ Good news from

Victoria is that Greg Smith has offered to become Club

Historian of the VHRR, a position that is necessary in an organisation that is ded icated to preserving our motor racing heritage. Greg is looking for all

items of historic impor tance and information to

add to his already exten sive library. To help in his endeavours the VHRR is

hoping to purchase a com plete set of “Australian Motor Sport.” If anyone has any copies they would like to sell or donate, con tact Greg Smith on (03) 9596 8851 (AH). - BRIAN REED

(20.55secs) (20.98secs) (15.75secs) (18.47secs) (18.02secs) (15.94secs) (16.20secs) (16.07secs) (14.47secs)

in Broadmeadows on

other well known drivers such as Frank Gardner and Alan Hamilton.

see him back behind the

Bonning claims there’s still more power there, and on receiving his FTD trophy said “With more age and another year’s experience, watch out next year!” Fifty one entries were received by the Vintage Sports Car Club for the annu al dash along the street in the historic village of Eddington,

leave Ford’s headquarters

museum and a gala Ford display. The run is open to all vet eran, vintage, classic, per formance, race, military and commercial vehicles provid ed, of course, they are

(20.46secs) (16.73secs) (23.47secs) FTD (14.27secs) (17.37secs) (22,04secs) (19.53secs) (19.21 secs)

14.27secs.

an all-Ford Retro Run will

Barborie, Sydney’s Wal Donnelly is enjoying a new lease of life in motor sport. Barborie has just spent two years rebuilding the exAlec Mildren 'Turner sports car that was raced not only by Donnelly, but also by

On a recent trip to the USA, Donnelly purchased a Tiga 2000 sports car which he plans to race here in Australia. It will be good to

monster do a demonstration

sic example of local engineer ing initiative with its 70 yearold plus aeroplane engine supercharged to produce in the order of 170bhp. (although the last of the air craft pumped out a hefty 200 horsepower). One of the problems facing Warren Bonning has been to control overheating. This he

Touring A. Tyrrell G. Bishop (Austin 7) P. Phillips (Salmson) W. Bonning (Gipsy Special) K, Roberts (Riley 6) R. House (Vauxhall 30/98) D. Price (MG Magna) R. Lewis (Singer 9) B. O'Shannessy (Lagonda Rapier) P. Breise (Jaguar SS100) J. Russell (Ford V8 Special) J. Dewar (Austin Healey Sprite) G. Sharpley (MG B) D. Seath (Aarons Lotus) R. Hickman (MG “Lulu Bell") Ladies Class D. Williams (Mallock U2) Invitation Class B.Reed (Elfin FJ)

Adelaide “Race of Legends.’ Their appearance coincides with the reopening of the Red, hot and ready: Warren Brown’s Aston Martin DB4 Vantage convertible was one of the many desirable classics to appear at the Dutton GP Rally. (Photo by Brian Reed)

on Sir Jack Brabham, four

times Gold Star champion Bib Stillwell, Adelaide’s Le

one in Australia and one

original 3.7 and was

ONE of the most inter

of only 22 in the world. Its proud owner has

rebodied

esting cars taking part in this year’s Dutton GP Rally was a

had the car for 11 years, and although it has taken part in Aston

very rare 1963 Aston

Martin club events and

Martin DB4 Vantage

various rallies in the UK,

owned

the Dutton Rally was the

and driven hy Sydney’s Warren

most serious event it has contested.

convertihle

Brown.

In fact, so rare is the

Aston that it is the only

The DB4 Vantage con vertible now runs a fac

tory specification 4-litre engine instead of the

before being shipped to Australia 6 years ago. Brown’s intention is to use the car in events

such as the Dutton Rally (in spite of losing lots of points!), and to keep it in original condition. “It’s an important member of the family, and it’s important to pre serve it for future gener ations,” he said.

BRM, Lotus and McLaren FI

Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11 and will feature triple world champi

By BRIAN REED

the

Historic Ferrari, Brabham,

cars finm the pre-winged era. The cars will compete in two 12-lap events on

Keeping the (Ad) Vantage in

Adelaide Grand Prix street circuit and will feature

Mans winner Vem Schuppan and Bathurst, touring car and rally champion Colin Bond as well as several over seas drivers who have been

invited to participate. Admission

Strathfield

the Formula

Adelaide ‘Race of Legends’ paddock/pit area inside the circuit on Wakefield Street

will be free to gold ticket holders during the Adelaide 500 and open to general admission pass holders after the Formula Adelaide race

each day.

9m April 1999

/K}®(?®[FSfp®[F(?

Motorsport News' I SHOP gives you the opportunity to promote your products and services to the widest possible range of motorsport competitors and enthusiasts. Advertising in KA I SHOP costs as little as $50 per issue! Call Brendon Sheridan on 03 9527 7744 now!

SusprogSD for windows 95 V3.50 (build 0.214) now available A complete three dimensional automotive suspension design and

analysis software package for road and track. $225 (aud). Download

CUSTOM ALUMINIUM RAOtATOHS

SUSPR0G3D and other automotive software evaluation programs from http://byoung.mtx.net/ or can be posted out on request.

/vmiviiiuiunfi

Free automotive books and software list: Place your name/address on the , back on an envelope and post to Reply Paid 66MM 68 Somers Street North

RADIATORS, INTERCOOLERS & OIL COOLERS

Brighton 5048 (no stamp required)

● Offroad cars ● Motorbikes ● Boats

Automotive, Motorcycle, Karting Books & Software available on the Internet http://byoung.mtx.net/

● Hot Rods ● Street Cars ● Circuit Cars

Race a Lotus 49

Seven D Young Automotive\Motorcycle\Karting Books and Software 68 Somers St Nth Brighton SA 5048. Ph 08 8298 5548 or fax 08 8376 0296 Email: byoung{^dove.netau Web site: http://byoung.mtx.net/

Contact Paul Weel on 07 55 981 499 or

Mobile: 0411 287052 or 0411 287052

HANDBUILT AND ALL AUSTRALIAN MADE

g~^ANE R^ams

aunmCAMS

NSW: (02) 9678 9977

QLD: (07) 3808 1986

● Computer Camshaft Packages ● Hydraulic, Solid or Roller Camshafts ● Valve Train Components

VIC: (03) 9794 5177

WA: (08) 9353 1155

● Performance Headers & Exhausts

state Distributors

Race & Retail Centres

'»4Cf

Austrslisn Importer and distributor:

€

CRyAfSJE

TECHNOLOGIES PTY. LTD.

Ph: (08) 8363 5566 Fax: (08)8363 5633

Makes the picture a whole lot clearer lor your

● Full Workshop Facilities ● Specialising in Competition Car Preparation and Parts Supply ● Call us for your Road-Race Needs

Phone: (03) 9388 2808 (03) 9388 2806 Fax: (03)9388 2804

Western Autn 234 Ballarat Road Sunshine 3019 Ph 03 9317 0055

Fax: 03 9317 0066

Methano

Emailj«estauto (i)ozemail.com.au

Plus als^ ■ Racequip

200 Its

DESIQNEO

AERODYNAMICS

AND CARBON

COMPOSITES

V8 Supercar race aero body kits available in

^J|[evlar/Carbon fibre composite

and fibreglass (GRP). Repairs also

(

'●''.available.

356 LYGON STREET EAST BRUNSWICK 3057

09^^7744

GP>SPOKT5CARS

S. &M.

MOTORSPORT

custonfiBts^

Race & Retail Centres

RACE

03 9739 6333 www.hyperstlm.com

STIAUil.illOir

Ph 03 9357 0778 or Fax 03 9357 0001

i1i|il!j|iliMpril!li|iJ'jliMillil%

Kits from $795

mvEit

For your nearest distributor

03 9739 6333 www.hypers^im.com

vVllilUll.illOR

Fax drawings to 07 55 981 980

nomex safety apparel

■ 5 point harness fr $180 ■ Autometer gauges

● ● ●

7/21 MalviraSt^* Steven Niesner

twaterSISS ax 03 9738 1588

y TiO E

NEIL TRAMA

11 [●

Custom Refinishing

ENGINEERING

● Custom helmet designs ● Caitonfibre & fibreglass repairs ● Paint scheme design ● Repaints & repairs

High performance multi-valve engine builder; eg Rick Bates 98 ARC F2 winning Daihatsu Engine machining to competition standards General engineering

Unit D5

2A Victoria Avenue Castle Hill NSW 2154

■ Fuel cells all sizes

homepage: www.actonline.coni.au/trama/msporl2.html

■ K&N Filters ■ Window nets

Unit 3/41 Aurora Avenue Queanbeyan NSW 2620

■ Arm restraints

Ph/Fax 02 6299 6255 Mobile 0417 656 943

Email: info@pro<olour.com.au Web: www.pro-colour.com.au

Ph 02 9680 4469

RaceSHOP advertisements are now available in full colour.Book six Supercharge your colour adverts for just $450 or a full year (26 issues) for only $1,560! Call Gerald McDornan on 03 9527 7744 today! advertising with coiour

Send us your classified ads and we'll run them for FREE (maximum 30 words) Category: □ Sedans □ Open wheelers □ Speedway □ Drag □ Parts □ Engines □ Trailers □ Wanted □ Photographs □ Other

Description;

Yes! Motorsport News Classifieds are absolutely free for readers' private car & equipment sales.

Simply post orfaxyouradtous&we'll run itfor

2 issues absolutely free. Please keep ads to no more than 30 words, plus a photo if required. Name:

Address:

Ph(

Post to: Motorsport News Free Classifieds PO Box 1010 Caulfield North VIC 3161 or Fax to 03 9527 7766

)

NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS Please use the form provided and print clearly. Please note we are unable to return photographs used In classified ads. Ads will appear as soon as possible after receipt. FREE Classifieds are for the sale of private goods and vehicles only, not business advertising. Classifieds close last mail Thursday prior to on sale date. Photos marked "proof" will not be used.

/Mo)0(o)[FSUXD[FO

9 April 1999

CLASSIFIEDS Sedans/Sports Cars

AUSCAR Sportsman. VL Commodore, fully prepared for

1998/9 season. Complete with rebuilt Gene Cook tun^ 253 V8

Holden engine, dyno sheets available. New updated fuel blad der, brand new fire bomb. Complete with two sets wheels and complete radio system. Ready to race. Will consider separating parts. $7,000. Ph: 03 5275 5998. rso

Gemini Series race cars. Four to choose from, from $2,500 ]

Vauxhali Cavaliers (2). Ex Cleland/Thompson 1995 BTCC Mallock Super Tourer cars (Cleland won 95 championship), as subsequently raced by Jim Richards, Russell Ingall, Bob Tweedie. Extensive spares inventory, one spare engine. 3 years set-up info. Still front-running proposition for good young drivers. Priced to sell at $38,000 each (spares neg.). WII consider sensi ble offer for whole team. Ph: Bob Tweedie 018 162 762

(Sydney), 151 Falcon EA SVO. Red, 5 speed, front & rear spoilers, Recaro seats. 16" wheels. SVO suspension. Mono wheel, remote, alarm,car bra and more. Immaccond. $11,500ono.Ph: 08

Autostyling Cobra replica. Incomplete, Crown chassis, front & rear suspension. Ford 302, top loader, 8.8 diff, front discs, power steering, fuel tank, radiator, electrics, pedals, heater, demister, doors, bonnet all fitted. $9,000. Ph: 02 4443

to $6,000 (pictured). Many race wins, fastest laps. Nothing to spend. Laps Lakeside in low 68sec. Ph: 07 3391 1682 (BH), 07 3201 1215 (AH).

Sports Sedan Escort MK1 Leyland P76 motor, Borg Warner 4

7592. 151

Datsun Stanza hatchback 2 door, complete. Ideal rally/sprint. Unreg. $650. Ph: 03 9802 5806 (AH), isi Celica GT 1980, twin cam 2 It, suit 2E or type 3, fitted with bigger brakes. Supra 5-speed, adjustable suspension, roll cage, new tyres and rims. W.500ono. Ph: Shane 02 9604 2150,

Peugeot 405 Ml Super Tourer. 6 speed X-trac (non sequential), AP brakes, 18" wheels. Extensive engine/gearbox rebuild just completed. Make v comp 2 litre Sports Sedan. Urgent sale. With spares, $22,000ono. Ph: 02 4628 8322 (AH).

speed, 4 link Torana disc brake rear-end with watts link. Formula Ford wishbone type front-end. Needs roll cage, shocks, body work, engine rebuild for completion. $1600 ono. Ph 02 9585 1817 or 0418 423 007 ■■

0417454 676. isi

' *

Torana Hatch. 253 V8. 4 speed, LSD, alloy tank, Hotwires, roll cage, stereo. Minor work reqd, Unreg. $3,250. Ph: 03 9802 5806 (AH). 151

83702216,0418 831 317, 151

Sports Sedan. Escort Mkl, Leyland P76 mota, Borg Warner 4 speed, 4 link Torana disc brake rear end with Watts link. Formula Ford wishbone type front end. Needs roll cage, shocks, bodywork, engine rebuild for completion. $1,400ono. Ph: 0418

Westfield SE1 wide. 1997, Toyota 1600cc 20 valve (120kW), 4 wheel dix brakes, IRS. $28,000. Ph: 07 3372 4384. 140

Suzuki GTi red 90 mod. B/99 reg. 96-spec engine. 46000kms. Sport air filter extractor, Auscar mag wheels. A1 cond. $8500

423007.02 9585 1817. 151

ono. Ph 0415158 714 or 02 4735 51421«

E Type Jaguar, Prrxl Sports, highly competitive in newcate gory. 325bhp, well developed package. Eastern Creek 1:47. At $37,500 this is cheap!. Ph: 0414 801 699 or 02 49901699. 150 Sports Sedan. Full space frame TD Cortina. Big brakes, full body moulds, floater 9" rear end, 1 set spare wheels, spare panels. Suit V8 or 6 cyl. Fresh spray job. $13,500. Ph: 0408 113

Celica Rally Car, 1974 GT spec, 4.8:1 pinion, LSD, 4 wheel discs, complete seats/harnesses, lights, rally and road tyres, spares available. $5,300. Ph: 03 9702 2458. iso

Ford GT40 replica kit. Can assist with assembly if required. Has all body panels and space frame chassis. Suit 302 Ford V8. $12,950. Ph: 0245761222. 150

716,0246596470.iso

Factory team Jackartxi. Race ready for 1999 Australian Safari or off road championship. Fresh engine never raced, Motec injection, dual Proflex on all wheels, close ratio gearbox, twin Terra Trips, 180 litre fuel cell, carbon fibre pads, race seats and belts, all RA approved. Complete car ready to race. $35,000 ono. Numerous spares also available if required. 12 mths rego

Stan Adler’s Porsche 964 replica, 3.5 litre, 330bhp engine fitted with MoTeC, 915 close-ratio gearbox, big brakes, Bilstein coilover suspension. Some spares. $80,000ono. Ph: 02 98733793. 15.

NDT 679. Ph Ross Nicastri on 0418 226 752

London-Sydney Marathon Falcon KAG 001. Secure a pari of Australian motoring history - ready to rally with many spares. Reg 'till 11/99. $22,000. Ph: 0418 106 116.

Falcon XY GT. Genuine car, one owner past 22 years, always garaged. White/tan interior, gold stripes, 5 slot wheels, manual trans, H&M headers, Edelbrock Hi-Riser, 780 Holley. $25,000. Ph: Bob Bailey 07 3863 0727 (AH) or 0414 834 684. 150

150

Mazda Motorsport RX7 SP twin tuibo. 12 Hour winner,

HQ race car. Very good condition. Complete car $3800. Will sell as complete roller minus engine lor $1800. Ideal conversion to Group Nc. /\ssistanoe given to new owner. Ph Mark 0417 461

Ul Torana Club car. possible Group NC. Fresh 208 motor. XUI gearbox, race seat, roll cage. Exc cond. Complete with spares and tandem trailer with brakes, tool box. tyre rack. $9500

driven by Johnxn & Bowe. In immaculate race ready cond.

421

ono. Ph 02 9824 9406 or 0419 461 254 i«

Suit serious competitor or collector. $105,000. Ph: 02 9554 1080. 151

Mustang 1970 Mach 1, 351C, auto, 9" diff. air, steer, new tyres, red/black, white trim. 99,000 miles. Needs some work.

X ftVOU/'ilA0l

Collectrors item. Genuine enquiries. $24.000ono. Ph: 0416 127 891. 151

Falcon XR6 PRC rally car. Big horsepower motor. Wolf 3D management, V8 T5 gearbox, hydratrak diff, multi-point cage,

Lotus Cortina 1965. Extensively modified for racing. Fuel injected twin cam. four speed dog box. Fully adjustable front

many spares. $18,900ono. Ph: 03 5447 9302,

suspension. Fdurlink with coil overs at rear. $K).000. Ph- 00 11

Thunderdome HQ, log book, brand new sealed motor, twoway radio, spare parts, spare set Pro Star rims, spare bodyshell.

6494128500. 15,

Gemini race car. Very competitive car, has race wins and fastest laps. Koni suspension, new tyres, brake arxl HP engine. Four spare wheels and tyres. Heaps of spares. $5000. Ph 07

Must sell. $7,200ono.Ph: 03 9317 8460. 150

Corolla KE55 Coupe, twin cam 2TG built to TRD specs, twin Solex carbies, steel case 5 speed, locked diff, extractors & sports exhaust, adj heavy duty suspension, nothane bushes throughout. Full roll cage, harnesses and seats, Halda twin mas ter, Terra phone, VDO gauges, 3 sets mags, many spares. Great Club Car and v comp. $4,000ono. Ph: 02 4294 4058, 0416 070329. 150

5495 4095 wb

HOT VC Brock Commodore. Build no 332, 308 V8. 4-spd manual, p/steer, air con, immac original condition, with books and delivery papers. Reluctant forced sale. DH0493. $15,500. Ph 0418 133 2741®

BMW 2800,6 cyl, twin carbie model. Manual trans circa 1970,

Cruise Mustang '66 coupe, 6 eye t-bar auto. Straight body. Good int. Strong motor. LHD. $7000. Ph 07 557617181®

straight tidy car, red cloth trim, heaps of wood. Ideal road car or suit Historic conversion. $3,000. Ph: 02 6494 9338.

151

Ford XD Fairmont 81 model, new motor, gearbox, tyres, power steering. Excellent cond. Unreg. $3,500ono. Ph: 02 6023 1640. 151

Lotus Elan 1965 race car. 26R replica. /Ml steel twin cam.

Lancer. 13B Bridgeport, fresh rebuild, 51mm Weber, extend

dog box, rose jointed front and rear. Very quick, superb handling.

ed fuel bowl, 5 spd. Commodore struts, adjustable sway bars.

Full details on request. $55,000. Ph: 0011 649 412 8500. 151

Cobra seat, alloy race tank. /Vnaroo 48.1, EC 1:49. Gouldbum 1:12. Priced to sell, $4,000. Ph: 02 48221563.

150

HQ Holden, new Ian Tait engine, new VDO gauges, HM exhaust system. Pro One roll cage, seat, harness, s/wheel, paint. Four spare cars. Never been raced. $11,000. Ph: 03 5472 4716. 150 / '

1.5’

Plus many spare panels and new laminated windscreen. 161

Ford Mustang GT Sports Sedan. 351 Ford, dry sump, top loader, Harrop 9”, floater. Big 4 spot brakes all round, Bilsteins, BBS wheels, Zakspeed suspension, Sabelt harnesses, wets on

9652 1482 or 0414 351 3641®

Suzuki GTi built for GT Production Racing. Comes with Suzukiu sport rbeing wheels, slicks, locked diff and coil over

Porsche RSCS1995, LHD, suitable for GT-P and/or Porsche

adjustable suspension. Best value Suzuki around at $11,900. Ph

Cup categories. /\ll set-up information and spare wheels includ ed. Price $168,000 ono. Ph Bob or Rodney Forbes 02 9450

Jason 1414 8989 2031.9

2100. 150

-s.

Datsun 1000 coupe, would make great 2L Sports Sedan. $500ono, Ph: 02 4646 1513,

Austin Healey Sprite "Bugeye,” Quickest and best presented in Aust. Extremely competitive. Maintained regardless of cost. Current CAMS log book, ready to race. $23,000 ono. Ph 02

rims. Plenty spares. Oran Park 44.2. $32,000ono. Ph: Kevin 02

1975 Chrysler Ranger SAvagon. Good cond. Suit enthusiast/restorationArariety club car. No reg. Must sell. $800ono. Ph:

4782 1145. 151

03 5331 4023. iso

Motoisport News FREE Classified Advertising sells. See page 47 for booking coupon

9 April ms Sportsman VL Commodore. Fresh rrxjtor geartox. Not raced siTK» rebuild. New fire bomb, updated fuel cell. Considef split ting. Exc cond. 03 5275 5908.«

Wild Honey Nostalgia FED, ex Withers AA/FD, 390 ci BB/Chrysler, 440 heads by Walder. 727 torquellite. new Dominator converter, Olds rear, MW centre, comes with near new enclosed trailer and heaps of spares. $23,000 ono. Ph

Open Wheelers

Ralt MkS - Historic Group Lb, log book, built 1959 by Ron and Austin Tauranac. $18,000 or swap for Clubman or Sports Car. Ph: 02 9638 6300.

91 Reynard - ex factory wotks car. Comes vinth new Benson engine, gear ratios, spare wheels & wings. Excellent condition. Need to sell to finance new project. $62,500ono. Ph: 03 9570 3683 (AH), 0418 172 889. ,5.

6719 or 0417 159 434.49

91D Reynard Formula Holden. Championship-winning car is available immediately, complete, rebuilt, ready to race. Perkins engine (1500km to next rebuild). Pi System 2, 2 sets wheels, full set-up data. Car won 96 (Stokell) and 97 (Bright) Championship. Don't waste a season learning the ropes proven package. $60k. Ph Malcolm Ramsey, 0419 846 374 Adelaide.

Bowin P6F Historic Formula Ford, 1972. Full rebuild

including a new engine just completed. Immaculate. Log book and cert of description. Complete with ratios, spares and reg lightweight trailer. $22,000. Ph: 02 9312 9986,018 253 983. ,49

Kart - CRG Charlotte, four races since new. Set up for

JICA. Qual 5th at first outing, started 2nd in JICA final at 99 Oceania C/ship. Would suit other senior classes. $3,500. Ph:

C&S Holley, suit Modified Production 350, with 500 lease

methanol carby, as new, $980. Ph: 07 3204 2241. 150

0419231 0401«

Camaro 88, tube chassis, stmt, 4 link, SU, BB, Lenco. 1120 kilos with 92k driver. Ran in T/D '92. 638ci Meriin, Big Chief, Jessel etc. Lenco 4 sp. Will separate $?. Ph; Barry Smith 00 11 64 4 9385426. 149

Superkart - 250 International Zip Eagle, lightweight factory frame, only used 14 times. Carbon fibre body work. Maintained regardless of cost by Dave Hepworth. Immac cond. Bargain $13,500. Ph: Phil Brumby 03 9428 4731,0419 005 056. .« For lease Christian Jory Racing 93 Swift only one position left to become part of this immaculately prepared 2 car team for 99 VC series with national rounds. Optional transport, pit crew and all equipment provided. Engine fastest 93 Swift in Aust. Expressions of interest ph Peter Banfield Motorsport 03 9762

Transporters/Trailers Race Car Transporter. Three-car pantech. Owing to change of plans, back on the market. Tri-axle, air bag suspen sion, generator, compressor, annex, floor and curtains, ramps, lights, flag poles. Ph: 07 5594 9711. .51

Engines Chev 5.0 litre ex V8 Supercar, fully rebuilt, new parts, complete with wiring, exhaust, clutch etc. Suit MoTeC computer. Top hp. $32,500. Ph: 018 449 414 anytime. 151 400cl bowtie Chev, Ross pistons 15:1, Kryptonite

rods, Lunati crank, Pontiac heads, Peterso dry sump. 700-t- hp, methanol, all best parts. New + spares cost $35,000, will sell $20,000ono. Ph: 02 4257 7303. 151

Chev SB, high performance 355ci manifold to sump. 12.5 to 1 comp, roller valve train, 4 bolt bottom end,

approx 420-450hp. Can supply thicker head gaskets to make more sfreetable. Only quality brand names used inside engine. $6,000. Ph: 9604 8910, 0417 253 324. 151 Chev 17 degree motor, Dart aluminium heads, bowtie block, T&D shaft, rockers, Crower crank, Oliver

6" rods, JE pistons. Fully recced by Rob Benson. 650hp. Sell $17,500. Ph: 0418 514 444, 03 5176 2257.

151

Wayne Gardner Racing offers for sale one Chevrolet V8 Supercar engine. Rebuilt by Rob Benson (RED) with one day's running only. Complete to flywheel in engine box for transit, $30,000. For details contact (02) 42 262 999 BH,

Transporter/motoihome. Takes 2 cars, V8 Cat, 10 speed Roadranger, hydraulic tail lift, 240/24v, invertor, welder, air, work shop, kitchen, hot shower, lounge, bunks. No money spares. Ph: 089452 2808,0411425015.

151

Ford Bronco XLT 4WD diesel, ideal towing vehicle, 1981, Monza red, new 351 V8 with 4 sp, new clutch, new tyres, excel lent condition throughout. No off road use. Full reg. Sell $15,000neg.Ph: 0411209 698. 15,

0418882030. .49

Formula Vee Spectre, brand new engine (zero miles) front running car. two gearboxess, two set rims/wide. Lots of spares. SMperkart BOcc, Mac Mlnarelli chassis, 4w brakes, Yamaha engine. Many spares, full set ratios and jets. Wets & dries. Must sell. No reasonableoffer refused.Ph: 03 97052791, 0417 369

Exc cond. $12,000. Ph 03 9369 4812 or 0417 311 240149

996. 151

Isuzu dual cab, 180hp eng, 6 sp, int retrimmed, CD. twin bunk sleeper. 30ft gooseneck trailer, 12/240v power and lights, electric brakes, $30,000. Ph: Peter 0412 399 020 or Daryl 0412

Brabham, 1964 BT16 F2. 998cc Cosworth SCA, Hewland Mk 7 6 speed, HA papers, green^lver. Perfect race ready condi tion.$75,000.Ph: 0011 6494128512. 151 80cc Eliminator Superfcart, YZ80 engine, blueprinted and ported, close ratio gearbox, 125 clutch, Kelgate brakes. Some spares. $2,800. Ph: 0408170 365, 01

Spectre Vee No V5185. New body and paint, spare set new unused tyres. Engine fully rebuilt by VW Performance. Not start ed. $4500.Ph 03 973553151«

SpeedwaY

Formula Vee, Elfin NG. Very quick and successful car. Top hp engine, 2 gearboxes, trailer, 2 sets wheels & tyres. Many spares, ready to race. Spare alum body. $8,900. Also, Dorian timer, hardly used, $300. Ph: 03 9803 2142 (AH), or 0417 593 997.

0078. 151

airtanks. Good cond, suit Super Sedan. $12,000ono. Ph: 02 65821154,018 494495.iso

Wanted

Toyota 4AGE TRD race cams, brand new. $500. Ph: Ross (Ballarat) 03 5338 1155 (BH), 03 5334 6364 (AH). 151 Recaro AS seat. Ultimate in lateral support, integrated head

Super Sedan parts: 27' aluminium radiator $450; Maosso

151

LC-LJ Torana fibreglass. New roof $40, new l/f guard $45, r/h door panel $40, bonnet $35. IROC Z Camaro plastic rear bumper, new $200. Ph: 03 54221941,03 5422 7037. 151 Sig>er Sedan, VN. VR Commodore Rayburn chassis, new 6 cyl, 3 speed, Toyota diff, spare parts. 7'x15' trailer. Cheap car. The lot, $7,500ono.Ph: 02 6352 2773. 151

LJ Torana, 9" diff with wheel stud pattern to suit U, 6/3 racing

diff gears with mini spool. Exc condition. $900. Ph: 07 5494 8962 (AJH). 151

Sprintcar, V69, ex Wanless Schnee, Winters, KSE, Kirkey, Weld, Sanders etc. /VI good gear in good cond with heaps of spares. $11.000. Ph: 03 5561 7333. 150 Modified Rod, Vic4. New, never raced. Chev 355, full steel, roller motor. Dart II heads, Victor Jnr etc. Quick change diff, alloy

rims, Dumesny steering, alum quick release body. $16,000orx). Ph: 02 6032 8092. 150

dry sump tank $350; 37" hollow axle $250; 80lt fuel tank, new, $3KI. Assortment new/used McCreary tyres. Ph: Peter 0412 399 020. 151

Various: Datsun/Celica mags, Enkei 13x6 $200; CSA Bathurst 13x6 $150; Hotwire 13x7 $250; Cheviot Gold 14x7 $200.

Alloy rear wing. Performance Industries USA. Suit small car, $100. Cibie driving lights, one pr, rectangular, vge, $120. Harness, 4 point, suit MG or sports car only, $50. PIAA driving

cond considered. Ph: 03 57621266. .a

Comics: copies of Hot Rods and Racing Car comics ie; art Curtis and the Road Knights, from 50s to 60s. Details to 2 Seddon Place, Rym, ACT 2615 a ptVfax 02 6258 2425 150 Owners pre 1990 Groqp A and C. If you OMt one of the above cats and are intetested n competing with fellcw enlhusiasts,contact Terry AstMood, 02 9832 7933, a fax 02 96531804. 1x1 XPFutwa 13” hubcaps. Ph: 03 9850 6993,0419 554 019. i»

Other Genune FI ckuiver's seat Damon Hill's '97 Arrews. Photos ol

proof Great investment, genuine erxquiries only. PO/V Ph; 02 9540 Race suit, Sparco double layer, n^. medium size. $250 Ph: 02

hand $2,000. Ph: Peter 0412 399 020.

98733793. 151

151

1910.0412397177. 151

MSD Promag, ten times more output than conventional mag neto, built-in rev limiter. $2,150. Ph: 0418 514 444, 03 5176

Rare t<x>l collection for sale. Long retired mechanic's vast tool collection lor British. /Vnerican and European cars to go to

2257. 151

appreciative enthusiasts. Senrice manuals, thousands of parts, machinery, dedicated tools and much mtxe. Offers invited for whole or part of collection. Ph: Graeme Scott 0418 971 797 for

Gearbox - Jerico 4 speed with shifter, good cond, $1,500ono. Ph: John 02 4683 1569. 151

Datsiai 1600 tail light $25; full stell roll cage $200; headlight $5; Jelly Bean mags, set of 4,13x5.5, $40. Ph: 03 5334 6364 (AH). 151 Crankshaft, steel s/b Chev 304, Group A. New. $2,800.

$1,600 set. Diff centre. Quick Track IV, new, QC-531A, suit

wheel 8 pinion $120. New shocker, suit 5th 8 6th coil $85. Simpson 5 point seat belt. $125. Ph: 03 5422 7037, 03 5422

Speedway, $500. Diff housing, bare, suit VN-VS Group A (9' Ford), with wedge flanges. $600. Cylinder heads, V6 Holden,

1942. 150

bare, new, $150 each. Ph: 03 9587 6199. iso

Formula 500, rebuilt twin 250, Kawasaki motor. Ready to race. iWth spares. $4000 ono. Ph 03 6452 2086150 Speedway VL Commodore. 3 litre Nissan-powered, spare motor, panels, struts, plus heaps more. Very quick reliable car.

Pontiac 23 degree heads, with r/rockers, stud girdle

$10,000. Ph 03 5659 01111«

case. As new. $3,500. Ph: 02 9636 4447,0418 637 454.

built, plus spares. $8,500, Ph: 02 4257 7303. 151

08 8260 3577 (BH), 08 8271 5151 (AH). 151 Tachometer, Smiths, chronomelric, 10,000rpm, with teH-taie, Any

light, $80. Ph: 03 9802 5806 (AH). 151 Bert gearbox, suit Super Sedan, 1 x new $2,650,1 x second

Steel aankshaft, V6 Formula Holden. New, ACL with .900 wide

Drag

rerfchauffeuricrew. Up to 3B 6cerxe, non smoker. Would lire any nvotvement in mola sport. Expenses only. Ph: Bob 02 6777 7434. 151 Hewland cwp, suit Mk89, 45 speed transaxle. Ph: Dean Position as truck

Escort/Cortina steel/alloy mags, 8x13, suit racing car, $150.

Frankland Quickchange, 4.86 with lift bar. 54 3/4'w, $2,000. Gundrilled axle 29.5", $200. Trutrac $300. 4.11 crown

ktonaro HK drag car. Ladder bar. Summers Bros 35 spline diff, 4 wheel discs, glass front, glass doors, boot, bumpers, chassied front, back, complete roller, raced once since been

surised methanol tank, with bowser hose, 80lt water tar*, .tnx*

Parts

Ph:Kevin0247821145,0414 822 427(AH). 151 ’

69534410.

Superkart, 250 Int, 98 Stockman MR2, 93 TZ Yamaha (260ks+). Spare 1996 motor plus barrels, heads, crankshaft. 4 piston rings, gearbox sprockets, wets, leathers, etc. Complete package, ready to win with. POA. Ph: Vic Duncan, 02 6766 4522 (BH), 02 6760 9063 (AH). i«

valve retainers, Yella Terra rockers. Crane girdle, active inlet, 750 methanol. 640hp, spare 4-bolt block. $10,500. Ph: 07 3878 2740,0412202733. 150

351 Ford $480. BBS rim sections, 16" various offsets, from $50.

VL Modified Production, feature-winning car this season. /VI the best gear, big hp. Sell racing. Ph: Wayne Sullivan 02

2112. 150

Pantech trailer. Tri-axle, heavy duty coupling, elec brakes, bench, tyre racks, airlines 8 fittings, 240v power, 25011 pres

race.Price$1,850pair.Ph:0412 340 072. 151 Ford 351C 4 bolt block, 302W eli system, complete $1,200. Carillo rods 351C $1,200. 4MAB crank $450. Accel race dist

4812. 150

Historic racing car, Harley-Norton special built by Ron Ewing 1955. Competed at Bathurst. Orange, Castlereagh, Silverdale, Tamworth, Warwick Farm. C/VVIS LB log brx* for 500cc Norton Single, 1340cc Harley-Norton V Twin and 1340cc Harley-Norton V Twin supercharged. A compete and potential worldbeater. $12,000 ono. Bendigo 0417 546 973.150 Off Road Class 6 MacLeod chassis, Bilsteins, 5 point harness es, restricta plate, log book, ready to race. $3,000neg. 02 4443

the track. $6,500 Ph: 07 3266 2183 (BH), 07 3263 6919 (AH). im Ford 367 stroked Cleveland, Venolia 13.5:1 pistons, 4mab Crower billet steel rods, 4V heads extensive porting, titanium

rest, belt guides for a 4 point harness. Suitable for Clubman

Kart - Tonykart Esprit. Used by Jamo Trulli in his last appeararce as lead factory driver at Oceania Championships, Oran Park. iWth letter of authenticity. $3,200. Ph: 02 9629 4891. 150 Formula Vee, ready to race, brand new eng, zero kms. Frontamning car. spare set irms, new tyres, short 8 long gearbox. New shocks, bts of spares, exc cond. $12,000. Ph: 03 9369

2683150

Ph: 0408 170365. ia

Formula Ford race engine. Completely rebuilt by Sport Engines with flywheel and clutch for Spectrum. Proven fast on

Super Sedan. Very competitive and proven race car. Best of everything, some spares, complete ready to race. For nnore info, Ph: Peter 0412 399 020 or Daryl 0412 146 555. 151 Sprintcar. Brand new '98 JSJ with the best gear. Sabders, KSE, Willwood, Winters, Kirkey. Complete car, less motor with spare wheels, shocks etc. Genuine enquiries. Ph: 03 5447

chassis, new Tillet seat, brakes, disc etc $1600. Ph 02 6362

146555. 151

Isuzu 6 spd, 200+hp turbo, Reg, longrange tank, nose cone, sleeping area, lighting 240v, tyre rack, shelves, belly lockers, ISOOkgs tail lift. Too much to mention. POA. Ph: 019 405 721. iso Partially completed box trailer, 2.1m wide, 3.0 long, 1.5 high. Steel floor, low centreline axle. Ford stud pattern. $1,000.

0245808082. 150

150

Siqieffcart - Peter Worrall's 125cc Australian Championship winning kart. 97 Stockman chassis with full bodywork. M Honda RS125 engine, just rebuilt, $5,500. Ph: 02 9824 7350. ISO Rotax Max 125,6 weeks old, $2600. Kali Indy rolling chassis with spares, exc cond $1000. Kali Epoch full rebuilt as new

Woomera 1 Racing offers for sale two unique engines: the Metea engines from the Woomera 1 Land Speed Record pro ject.. These engines ran 223mph at 3,800rpm in testing at Lake Gardiner last year. Genuine reason for sale. Specs include unique in-house manufactured port injection; twin T18 turbos, professionally counter-weighted & balanced crankshafts; new bearings (1/2hr running since rebuild). Engines capable of deliv ering 5,000hp at over 4,000rpm. Good value at $25,000 each. Genuine enquiries to Glen Davis, PO Box 278, Port Augusta, SA 5700, or 0886410391. kb BB/Chev LS7 drag racing bracket engine. In perfect cond, complete and running. Std Ixxe and crank sizes. Carillo. Crane, Ruidamper, KMotion, 8.6 et, 154mph. $11,000. Ph: Peter

big end journals, $2,500. AUSCAR pistons. +.030, new, JE,

Moroso covers 8 inlet manifold, roller cam followers, $4,000.

Chev 23 degree heads, r/rockers. stud girdle, alloy covers 8 inlet manifold, $3,000. Two ways, complete race set in own 150

Ford related: parts and panels of XM/P hardtop, engine parts; 429 CJ rods, Windsor factory 2 barrel intake, card and exhaust manifolds. Ph: 03 9850 6993,0419 554 019. i£0

350 Chev parts: 6 Manley alum rods, 5.7, small journal, $260. 750 Holley methanol carb, $500. 202 1.6 roller rockers, $200. MSD5 ignition, $100. Knife-edged Commodore crank, .010, $350. IAG-202 double valve springs + alloy caps, $60. Ph: 035422 7037,035422 1942. i»

inspection. 151 Alfa Romeo showroom sales brochures. Various models

from early 70s Giulietta, Sprint, /Vta Sud, 1980s GTV, /Vfa 75 to 1990 model 33 16v. /VI in exc cond. $3 each. Ph: Gal 03 5334

6364 (AH). 151 Re the car known as the MM Holden. Unless any claim of

ownership of the original car or significant components thereof is received by myself or C/VyiS within 60 days, CAMS proposes to

grant approval in principle for the reaeation of the car by myself. Roy Williams. Ph: 03 5229 3375 (Geelong). 151 FM frequency convertors to suit imported Jap radios/cars, $55. Trade enquiries welcome. Ph: 0408 535 245,018 535 245. 150 Aluminium fabrication service: wings made to order lor

all categories of Speedway and circuit racing. Also, fibreglass repairs. Competitive prices. Delivery Bris area. Ph; Shane 07 5465 2510. 150

Flowbench Superflow SF-600, perfect condition, com

plete with manual and graphs. $10,000. Ph: 07 5441 7700, or 07 5448 5569 (AH). 150

9 April! 999

Continued from page 25

Mofojifpsn Race 3-9 laps

Well, if the fans and television viewers thought it had been a little too much of the same to this point in time, then the carnage that was

Editorial Editor

Phil Branagan

about to unfold in the third race

Technical Editor

Tony Glynn Assistant Editor Gerald McDornan

Graphics Co-ordinator Viv Brumby

changed all that. It all started going into turn two with Bargwanna copping a tap in the rear which pushed him into Tander, the younger Valvoline dri ver spinning off the track.

Advertising Manager

going every which way, Dougal McDougall turned the Aloe Quench Perkins Commodore

Brendon Sheridan

around, then headed back across

the track and into the path of David Parsons - the two coming together heavily. If all this wasn’t enough John Bowe, who wasn’t having the best of days with the CAT Racing team, copped a tap spinning the Falcon around - Tomas Mezera plunging

Administration Managing Director Chris Lambden

Contacts 89 Orrong Crescent (PO Box 1010 North Caulfield 3161) Phone: 03 9527 7744 Fax: 03 9527 7766

Email: m5news@corpiinic.com.au CompuServe: loozar.iies

Contributors General: Mike Kable. Jon Thomson.

Brian Reed. Darryl Flack. David Flassall. /Aaron Noonan. /Allan Schofield

FI: Joe Saward, Adam Cooper Europe: Quentin Spurring US: Phil Morris

NZ: John Hawkins

Speedway: Dennis Newlyn, David McNabb. WadeAunger. Geoff Rounds. David Lamont. Chris Metcalf. Sue Hobson. Michael Attwell.

Tony Millard (UK). Darren O'Dea Rally: Peter Whitten. Jon Thomson Drag Racing: Gerald McDornan. Greg Ward. Jon Asher (USA), Dave Ostaszewski (USA). Nick Nicholas. Steven White.

Ken Ferguson. Scott Jug Super Speedway: Martin Clark (USA), Brett Swanson, Grant Nicholas Karts: /Allan Roark, Sean Henshelwood Graeme Burns

Photographers: Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Bothwell Photographic, Neil Hammond, Nigel Snowdon & Diana Burnett, Brad

Steele, Tony Glynn, Thunder-Pics, Marshall Cass, Mike Harding, Brisbane Motorsport, Frank Midgley, John Bosher, Phil Williams, Mike Patrick

(UK), Tony Loxley, Daniel Wilkins, Wayne Nugent MOTORSPORT NEWS is published by Australasian Motorsport News Ply Ltd ACN No 060 179 928 Directo-’'S C Lambden (Managing). A Glynn

The three-race results gave Skaife his first Shell series win since the Eastern Creek round

back in 1995 - Skaife also setting a new race lap record of 1:31.7301 on the fourth lap. “We drove the wheels off these

cars in the last race - our race per formances were indicative of that,

cency. »

We’ve got a great package at

think we’re driving okay too. “But Glenn may be the guy to beat - for the first time out with

the AU Falcon he was impressive. “Also, looking at the time sheets, the field is tighter than what it’s ever been before, there’s a bunch of

guys that have run in the low 31s, so it certainly isn’t going to be easy for anyone ... one mistake or bad start....

Skaife said later.

Keeping the fans in: A surprisingly modest crowd of 16,200 turned up for the first V8 race fo the year, although the battle was on with some for the best

vantage spot.

Larry’s surprise: A consequence of change to 'grippier' Bridgestone tyres. LP has gone to bigger Brembo brakes. (Photos by Dirk Klynsmith)

relieved Tander, while Skaife

moved back a place, later stating “My start wasn’t that bad, -it was just that Craig’s and Garth’s were so good that it made mine look a little average.” - although it didn’t take long for him to regain his spot and set up another HRT 1-2. Bargs had also made a good start, getting alongside Tander with the two touching doors, although his joy wasn’t to last too long, Bargs claiming that LP had pushed the 35 car off the track on the second lap and out of con tention.

On the second lap Noske and Longhurst were having a great dice - both cars inside the top 10 where they were to eventually fin ish - swapping paint, while Romano headed off the track.

The race pretty much settled down for a while, Faulkner having a great run with Ellery and McLean, the three swapping posi tions during the ensuing laps. With the last lap board out drama again unfolded with Perkins inside Bright into the first turn, the Castrol car getting a lit tle light in the rear and looping

Race 1-13 laps

Wilke Color 37-49 Browns Rd Clayton 3168 Distributed by: NDD Ltd

Material published by MOTORSPORT NEWS is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Freelance contributions are welcome, and while all care will be taken. Australasian

Motorsport News Pty Ltd does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted.

Opinions expressed in Motorsport News are not necessarily those of Australasian Motorsport News Pty Ltd or its staff.

●Recommended and maximum price only.

Subscriptions SI to

Overseas (/Air Mail)

Europe

finish 30th.

1999 Shell Championship Series - Round 1 Eastern Creek March 27/28

Printed by:

US, Canada

the moment - the cars are good,

the team is working well and we

Finally, the stewards had had enough, calling for the red flag and bringing the carnage to an end! On the restart, with the race reduced to nine laps, Lowndes pro duced a killer start, along with a

C Lambden

Malaysia. Indonesia Phillipines, HK, Japan

“We were absolutely into it and,

even though I came in behind Craig, it was the most enjoyable race of the day. Despite leading the points, the HRT driver still sees the tightness of the field creating some danger to anyone who can’t qualify well and the fact that Seton finished impres sively in the FTR team’s first series outing as a warning sign for compla-

car.

Publisher:

New Zealand, PNG

round to take both cars off - LP

out of the race, while Bright ploughed through the sand trap to

into the side with the Densitron

Caulfield North VIC3I6I

(I year - 26 issues)

TYL

Just two turns later, cars were

Advertising

Australia

D[Fi

AS I70 AS 180 AS 190 AS200 AS2I0

Post or fax to address above.

Bankcard, VISA Mastercard, /Amex accepted

JVloiorsporf ADVERTISING WORKS.

IT’S THAT SIMPLE!

Call Brendon Sheridan on

03 9527 7744

Driver

Mark Skaife

2 3

Jason Bright Craig Lowndes

4 5

Garth Tander Glenn Seton

Larry Perkins

Tony Longhurst

8 9 10

Jason Bargwanna Russell Ingall Steve Ellery

11 12

Steven Richards John Bowe

Greg Murphy

14 15 16

MarkLarkham Mark Noske Dick Johnson

Terry Finnigan

Tomas Mezera

19 20

Trevor Ashby Dugal McDougall

21 22 23 24

Mick Donaher Paul Romano David Parsons Chris Smerdon

25 26

Greg Crick Anthony Tratt

27 28 29

Rod Nash Bob Thorn Simon Emerzidis

Mike Conway

31 32

Bill Attard John Cotter

Barry Morcom

John Faulkner

DNF Neil Crompton DNF Rodney Forbes DNF Cameron McLean DNF Paul Radisich

DNF Danny Osbourne

DNF Todd Kelly DNS Richard Mork

Race 2-13 laps Race time 20:08.3796 20:08.8998 20:12,0574 20:13.5336 20:13.6381 20:22.0655 20:23.2312 20:23.7644 20:24.0291 20:24.5640 20:24.8384 20:26.0216 20:26.1179 20:28.0541 20:29.4742 20:32.5190 20:43.3757 20:51.7976 20:57.0163 20:59.4434 20:59.7008 21:01.0940 21:02.0880 21:03.2123 21:06.9725 21:15.6749 21:15.9999 21:16.3415 21:17.0863 21:23.2409 21:27.8678

12 laps 12 laps 10 laps 10 laps 8 laps 8 laps Slaps 4 laps 3 laps

F/lap

1:31.8943 1:31.9499 1:31.9269 1:32,1547 1:31.9891 1:32.8765 1:32.7757 1:32.6793 1:32,8255 1:32.7796 1:32.4188 1:32.8637 1:32.6209 1:32.7443

5 4 5 4 11 5 3 4 4 3 9 4 3 4

1:32.9001

1:33.0687 1:33.5945 1:33.9749 1:33.8128 1:33.6732 1:34.2649 1:32.9790 1:34.8649 1:35.1181 1:33.5539 1:34.9168 1:34.9279 1:35.4124 1:34,8641 1:36.2413

7 5 5 4 8 7 3 3 9 8 3 4 7 5 7

1:36.5977 1:36.2149 1:36.1897 1:32.8239 1:32.8584 1:32.3812 1:32.5045 1:33.1231 1:35.1328 1:33.8433

8 5 3 4 4 5 5 7 3 3

Driver Mark Skaife

2 3

Craig Lowndes Larry Perkins

Garth Tander

5 6

Jason Bargwanna Jason Bright

Glenn Seton

8 9 10

Russell Ingall Greg Murphy Tony Longhurst

11 12

Mark Noske John Faulkner

Dugal McDougall

14 15

Tomas Mezera Paul Radisich

Rodney Forbes

17 18

Cameron McLean Paul Romano

19 20 21 22

Trevor Ashby Greg Crick Steve Ellery Terry Finnigan

23 24 25 26

Mick Donaher Dick Johnson David Parsons Mark Larkham

27 28

Anthony Tratt Mike Conway

29 30 31

Bob Thorn Bill Attard Richard Mork

Barry Morcom

Chris Smerdon

DNF Neil Crompton DNF Simon Emerzidis DNF John Cotter DNF John Bowe DNF Steven Richards DNF Rod Nash

DNS Todd Kelly DNS Danny Osbourne

Race 3-9 laps Race time F/lap 20:10.9749 1:32.0997 20:14.3985 1:32.0768 20:16.4323 1:32.2279 20:16.7301 1:32.5021 20:17.3127 1:32.5885 20:17.8949 1:32.4455 20:18.0699 -1:32.0343 20:22.9530 1:32.3482 20:24.3463 1:32.4486 20:26.3649 1:32.7004 20:26.5194 1:32.6282

20:36.1834

1:33.4062

20:37.6584 20:39.7248 20:39.9078 20:40.8364 20:40.9272 20:41.7659 20:41.9629 20:42.4184 20:43.1838 20:48.7621 20:49.1675 20:55.5752 20:57.4020

1:33.7889 1:33.6618 1:33.1997 1:32.9992 1:32.9120 1:33.4294 1:33.5023 1:33.3570 1:32.5264 1:34.3569 1:34.3569 1:33.2457 1:34.6847

21:13.0378

1:32.8872

21:14.5665 21:17.0860 21:18,2136 21:37.7802 21:43.0405

1:35.4702 1:35.8571 1:36.1050 1:37.2725 1:37.7240

12 laps 4 laps Slaps 7 laps Slaps 1 laps

1:37.6388 1:48.8424 1:32.3372 1:34.6247 1:37.2971 1:42.5367

On 5 7 6 4

Driver

Craig Lowndes

2 3 4

Mark Skaife Garth Tander Glenn Seton

5 6 7

Russell Ingall Greg Murphy Tony Longhurst ■

Mark Noske

Steve Ellery

10 11

Cameron McLean John Faulkner

5 4

4 4 9 8 7 4

7 5 8 7 5 3 7

12 10 9 8 5 9 10 3 6 1

5 4 3 1

Greg Crick

13 14

MarkLarkham Dick Johnson

15 16

Jason Bargwanna Neil Crompton

Paul Radisich

Terry Finnigan

19 20

Mick Donaher Steven Richards

21 22 . 23 24

Rodney Forbes Trevor Ashby Anthony Tratt Mike Conway

25 26

John Cotter Richard Mork

Barry Morcom

28 29

Paul Romano Simon Emerzidis

30 Jason Bright DNF Larry Perkins DNF Bob Thorn DNF Bill Attard DNF Chris Smerdon

DNS Todd Kelly DNS Dugal McDougall DNS Danny Osbourne DNS Tomas Mezera DNS Rod Nash DNS David Parsons DNS John Bowe

Race time F/lap 13:53.5105 1:31.7573 13:55.2289 -1:31.7301 14:00.3780 1:32,2150 14:03.2249 1:31.9920 14:04.0651 1:32.0214 14:04.7599 1:32.2359 14:05.0026 1:32.1436 14:06.6776 1:32.4018 14:12.0071 1:32.3383 14:13.2349 1:32.3225 14:13.6060 1:32.6104 14:14.2576 1:32.4557 14:15.3240 1:32.0348 14:16.3214 1:32.3877 14:17.2840 1:32.4965 14:19.3075 1:32.4022 14:25.6403 1:32.4436 14:27.7398 1:33.7878 14:29.6447 1:34,2364 14:32.1737 1:32.8568 14:35.6204 1:33.6586 14:35.7836 1:33.6633 14:43,6621 1:35.7891 14:47.4328 1:36.0104 14:47.4489 1:36.0678 14:48.6866 1:36.6429 14:48.8094 1:36,0728 14:51.9523 1:33.3848 14:53.9115 1:34.9490 14:55.0928 1:32.0654

Slaps

1:32.2740

Points

6 4 5 5 5 7 4

Skaife Lowndes Tander Seton

8 7 7

Murphy Bright

94 84

Noske Perkins

82 82

5 6 6 7 6

7 6 8 3 7 3 8 5 8 6 4 7

146 140 128 118

Ingall 106 Longhurst 102 Bargwanna 94

Ellery

Faulkner Larkham McLean Johnson Richards Crick

54 46 46 42 38 37

Finnigan

Mezera Radisich

36 36

McDougall 34 Ashby 30 Bowe Forbes Donaher Romano

26 26 24 20

3 5 5

Crompton

Parsons Tratt

Conway

Smerdon Cotter

Motorsport Videos HI-FI SOUNDTRACK

I A STAR NAMED

AYR T 0 N

AYRTON SENNA

»4

■ »

IF1 98 OUT NOW

I FI World 1998

Bshlnd the scenes oi

Formula One during the 1998 season

SENNA

Formula One World

from the racetrack.

Championship

Interviews with top

Review features the

drivers and Williams

best of every round,

new boy Alex

interviews, info and

Zanardi. Join Mick

superb on-board footage.

Makinen for a drive of

Enjoy the full story of

the F20. Tour the

a great season with

amazing Ferrari wind

exclusive driver inter

tunnei, exclusive iook

views, post-race analysis and more.

at the ‘99 BAR team

and pienty morel

iifriNO

$34.95

60 mins

$39.95

f/KSTAr flN/SH

130 mins

GENERAL EXHIBmON

This video remembers a

sporting legend whose dedi cation and natural talent ensure he will never be for

gotten. This important, offi

The Official 19998 FIA

A look at FI away

Doohan and Tomi

L G\ FOR GENERAL EXHIBITION

cial, release is the first com

plete video biography ever made about Brazil’s beloved

‘son’ covering his life right up until Imola in May 1994, Sanctioned by the Formula One Administration Ltd and

the Ayrton Senna Foundation, the legacy of Senna is explored with previously unseen footage & extensive racing action. A thorough, moving and heartfelt film - not FE,\TliRlNG

to be missed.

■

PBEVHHi.SI.Y V . i;>SEEN

hEPOTAGEl

$39.95 :tif.01Tir.l\l, HIM

112 mins. No. 3531

No. 3498

HKHUGHTS OF THE

1998

aII'A Avstralvn

.— /Iburing Car

I irhe1998

-■

‘ Chajnptansh^ \ !

11998 V8 Supercars

I Innovative Years’

Australia has to offer.

!^rcc TITLI

Ten rounds of V8

■

Supercars across six

THE INN SiHiSMuLj

180 mins

G\ ^0” GENERAL EXHIBITION

Racing 1970’s

Just when Grand Prix

racing was starting to

●● };

much to etch the Ford name into Australian

I vers was superb! FOR GENERAL EXHIBITION

On-board with top BPR sportscar championship drivers on the legendary racetracks of Europe.

I Rallyworld 98 ●4^

■I

1?A’]

ten once more.

Follow the the I

Top new tape explor ing the world of rally with terrific footage of Toyota testing in Africa, Hyundai rally ing in the Welsh

Monza, Silverstone,

Nurburgring, Jarama, Spa - viewed from inside

Ferrari, Porsche,

mountains, ProDrive, Mitsubishi, on-board

McLaren and Lotus cars.

Features Jan Lammers, Mike Hezemans, Jean-

and revolution domi

with Kenneth

nated by great drivers Lauda, Fittapaldi,

Eriksson, Malcolm

Marc Gounon and more.

Wilson - who chats

This is as close as it gets

about signing Colin

without the helmet,

Andretti, Stewart,

Hunt and emerging champion Alan Jones

“TreHIIVDT||E 5CE\#DFTHE Vl

OlimiVGtrHE

SEASON

as the sportscar fan's

rally car for ‘99. $34.95

Call for details

65 mins

'G\ for GENERAL EXHIBrnON

successor to In-Car 956

the new Ford Focus

132 mins

1950’s History $39.95 1960’s History $39.95

gloves overalls! A worthy

McRae and a look at

$39.95

'must have video.

$34.95 GOmins

No.4895

No.3538

Motorsportor Video PO Box 10 Camden NSW 2570 fax credit card orders to 1800115114

PofOQisaQQ

QTY

Please find cheque or money order enclosed $ OR debit my

nvisa n Bankcard "1 Mastercard tor $

Card No nnnn

nnnn

Address

TITLE

COST

FI World

$34.95 $39.95 $39.95 $29.95 $34.95

FI 98

nnnn

A star named Ayrton Senna 1998 V8 Supercars 1998 Goodwood Festival

Exp date

Signature Name

150 mins

I In-Car Sportscar experience

decade of evolution

acters who did so

motorsport history. $29.95

I History Motor

FOR GENERAL EXMIBIUON

years and get to know all over again the champions and char

I endary cars and dri-

^t $34.95 GOmins

$29.95

1970’s began and the GP script was re-writ

Relive the glory years and the heartbreak

I attending for the first I time, the list of leg-

ry on this action packed three-hour video highlights.

look settled, the

Race 1960-1997

I the heroes of Indycar

states and one territo

13\ FOR general EXHIBmON

I Ford at the Great

I reflected the ground I breaking technology I that has produced I the world’s most I exciting cars. With

Touring Car Championship, the best motor racing

! Idfiiiit 400Q

I Goodwood Festival I This years theme ‘The

SSl'-v:

1998 Shell Australian

AT-THEORfiVT

Tel

P/C

| TO!

Ford at the Great Race 1960-1997 $29.95 History of Motor Racing 1970’s

$39-95

Rallyworld 98

$34.95

In-Car Sportscar experience

$34.95

COD Welcome

Postage $5.00 Total

®»Oe

MOST SHOE COMPANIES RUN BEFORE THEY CAN WAIH.

FRANHIY, WE COUIDNT CARE lESS ABOUT EITHER.

The racing shoe from No Fear.

<?i>

Ph: 03 5261 0078