Motorsport News Issue 151 - 23 April-6 May 1999 by V8 Sleuth

Issue 151

$4.50 (NZ $5.95 IncI GST)

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23 AprU 1999 - 6 May 1999

NEWS

i Lowndes’ Adelaide triumph He lost his first heat points, but now he’s got them back

Fold's Howard Marsden takes

over at Ford Racing. Can he make the blue

oval a winner - again?

● Morris, Watts take Lakeside ● George Tatnell story

Troy’s Island ● Besnard, Dixon at Long Beach ISBK double

● Hakkinen lucl^ in Brazii ● Lany Dixon’s 4.486!

-to

, 0 0 0, J

●i

.i1 1

Brad Jones

Matthew Coleman

Jim Richards

Mark Williamson

Jim Cornish

Jamie Wall

Audi Sport Australia

Volvo Racing

Racing Projects

Audi A4

Volvo S40

Nissan Primera

Justin Matthews

M Racing BMW 320i

David Auger Gun Racing Alfa Romeo 155TS

Malcolm Rea

Rea Racing Toyota Carina E

Lakeside

Oran Park

Mallala

Qld

(South Circuit)

Winton

Eastern

NSW

NSW 56

John Henderson

John Henderson Racing Opel Vectra

Peter Hills

Dean Canto

Team Mondeo

Ford Mondeo

BOC G/ A

BOC GASES

SUPER TOURII CHAMPlOIMSHi

INI

^:jjl]®0®[FS[p(o){70

23Aprin999

Ford; Harbutt out 3 gets David Marsden in Gardner

Brabham

WAYNE Gardner Racing has not announced any co-driver for the endurance races - but bank on

By PHIL BRANAGAN

FORD has taken bold steps to gets its racing program back on track by appointing

the bread and butter as well. “Part of what I want to do is

to present to the various Brand

Managers of Ford a case for pre senting their various brands to

Howard Marsden to the

the public through motorsport.

position of General Manager, Motor Racing.

“But, at the moment, for me to comment on any branch

Marsden took over the posi tion this week, replacing for mer Motorsport Manager Greg

to say that virtually anything

Harbutt, who has Ford’s mar

keting department as Light Commercial Vehicle Product

Specialist. Marsden, 54, will oversee all of Ford’s national motor racing activities, including its V8Supercar program. The move is seen partially as

would be incorrect other than

that has got at least four wheels and has the opportunity to be involved in any form of motorsport activity is on the table.”

While it is still very early days it appears that, in the short term, the establishment

from almost ‘making up the

“While Fred [Gibson] took

numbers’ to ‘win at almost-all

score Holden 9, Ford 0 after the

over the running of Nissan not long after I started racing, Howard gave me my first oppor tunity in touring cars and I’m

costs’ programs. As part of that policy Ford (which is now ‘Ford racing’, not ‘Ford Motorsport’) has forged new partnerships with organi sations like Prodrive (Super Touring) and Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport (Rallying) and paid top dollar to sign former world rally champion Colin McRae

looks poor but much of the problems had been contributed to by the late delivery to Ford teams of the AU aero kit, which

looking forward to working with him,” Ford Tickford Racing’s Glenn Seton said on Tuesday.

hampered pre-season testing.

“At the same time. I’m sad to

“Ford builds and sells other

see'Greg Harbutt move away from the racing side of things he’s done a fine job.

than Falcon,” Marsden said

“Howard has an incredible

this week. “The V8Supercar is

depth of knowledge and years of experience which will be a

But

Marsden’s

role

will

extend beyond its V8 program.

bread and butter to motor rac

ing, just as Falcon is bread and butter to Ford Motor Company, but we must look at the jam on

benefit to the entire Ford

camp,” Seton said. The other significant part of

and ex-BTCC winner Alain Menu from rival teams.

Ford appears to have just demonstrated that it is pre pared to apply the same atti tude to its local motor racing activities.

Who is Howard Marsden? ENGLISH-bom Howard Marsden

brings a distinguished motor racing history to Ford’s Racing department. After spending time with a young Frank Williams in the UK in the late ’60s

Marsden moved to Australia, joining the company of noted racer Frank Matich to oversee Goodyear’s introduction to Australian racing. In mid-1971 he joined Ford as Special Vehicles Manager, masterminding the

Championship series, where he will drive another front-engined V8; the new Panoz he debuted at Road Atlanta last week.

Under the direction of Ford

Ford’s five-year plan.

races, Ford’s recent record

David will commute back to his US base for the two Californian rounds of the American Le Mans

His appointment also appears to be a good fit with the company’s international resurgence in motor racing.

one-make series could fit into

AGP supports and five SCS

Bathurst, in between which time

Ford Australia has got,” Marsden explained.

a reaction to the lack of success

Commodore at Willowbank at

“Motorsport now sits on the highest level of committee that

of the Falcon AU in the early part of the season. With the

Supercars is probable and a

and the 1997 Bathurst winner will share the Coca Cola

enthusiast.

Europe’s Martin Whittaker the firm’s FI, WRC and touring car programs have been trans formed in the last two years

of a ‘Junior Team’

David Brabham getting the ride. The former world 500cc champ

Marsden’s appointment is that it elevates racing in Ford’s cor porate hierarchy. Marsden will report directly to Matthew Taylor, Ford’s Vice-President of Marketing and Sales, who his himself a motor racing

spell here, which included Nissan’s Bluebird touring car project, he joined Nissan Motorsport Europe (NME) as Managing Director. In the next six years he developed NME’s sportscar, touring car and WRC programs. Seven years ago he returned to Australia and Ford as Product Manager for Tickford Vehicle Engineering. Apart from the XR range of specialised Fords, he has worked on Tickford projects in

vast success Falcon GTHO series and

Thailand and Taiwan.

guiding Allan Moffat to a Bathurst win. In 1976 he moved to Nissan, where he was to stay for 16 years. After a 10 year

Marsden, who spent four seasons as a Channel 7 TV commentator, is married with two children.

Photo by Graemi

er/Covmtry Studios

IF Marsden’s appointment to Ford’s Racing department was a surprise to many, the man himself is down-playing it. ‘There’s no great mystery to it. The expres sion that was used was, 'Well, at least Idon't need any trainingl’ Marsden will continue to fill a role with

Tickford. “Ninety-nine percent of the job is the motorsport program on behalf of the Ford Motor Company. (Tickford Managing Director) David Flint has asked that I maintain an involvement in

the planning process of the Tickford program.” His brief at the moment is simple. “My num ber one job at the moment is to listen. I’ve got to find out from the various inputs where they stand today and try to forge a path for the blue oval into the motorsport future. “Motorsport is an important form of the pre sentation of the enthusiasm of Ford Motor

Company for building cars. They want to expand on that process. So, in the first case, my job is to find out where everyone sits today, cull the good ideas from the possibly not-so-good ideas to put together a plan that takes Ford for ward in the next five years. “Obviously, 1999 is a reasonably locked-in process. People are set; they know what they are doing in the short-term and that is running successfully in 1999. “Having then set up an agreed plan for five years, the job is then to implement that plan with all of the parties.” Has Ford made recent moves internationally that racing is now much more serious? “Yes, there has been. Ford Motor Company had an ongoing involvement with the motorsport industry since, gosh, even Iwas a lad! But there have been historic spurts where they have paid particular attention. “Ford is very aware of the opportunities that motorsport presents for their brand and overall corporate image. At this stage Ford is saying, ‘Yes, this is what we should be doing and we must do it successfully’.’’

■ Speaking of WGR, while the lack of Donut King was wellnoted at Adelaide, it appears that Pennzoil may jump ship too. The team is putting a positive spin on the relationship, and the oil company had no comment when contacted by MN, but our sources suggest that the yellow decals may have been seen on the red and black Commodore for the final time.

■ Elsewhere in oil news, Castrol appeared on the works Volvos at Lakeside last week. The two firms’ last connection was when kiwi Robbie Francevic drove Mark Patch’s Volvo 240T in

Group A 13 years ago. ■ The Porsche Museum in

Stuttgart is once again sending out some trick stuff for Targa Tasmania. Rudiger Ott will pilot a 1957 356A, while Le Mans leg end ‘Brilliant’ Bob Wollek will hurl a 1983 91 ISC RS around

the Apple Isle in the event. As usual museum manager Klaus Bichof will accompany the hard ware, making his fourth trip down, down under. ■ Speaking of your actual leg ends, Hannu Mikkola is heading this way for the Southern Cross rally. The Finnish maestro will drive one of three Ford Escorts

in the event and, just a good, rumours suggest that the origi nal Flying Scotsman Andrew Cowan, now chief of

Mitsubishi/Ralliart’s WRC pro gram, will drag the original Hillman Hunter out of his

Scottish garage for a blast in the event.

Lowndes gets his Adelaide points back By GERALD McDORNAN

rest of the series.

DESPITE having his conviction for "failure to exercise proper care and consideration" in the

first leg of the Adelaide 500 upheld Craig Lowndes has regained the 100 championship points he lost over the incident. Lowndes and the Mobil Holden

Racing Team lost an appeal to the National CAMS Appeal Tribunal against the conviction last Friday, but won an appeal against the severity of the sentence - the tri bunal reinstating Lowndes’ race results and $40,000 prizemoney,

but fining him $10,000 for contact ing Danny Osborne's EL Falcon, the

incident

destroying

the

Colourscan Falcon.

Lowndes told Motorsport News

on Tuesday that he was now look ing forward to getting on with the

"I felt we didn’t get a proper hearing from the stewards in Adelaide and that’s why we appealed," he said. "Our data showed I lifted off the

throttle and, I believe, if we had've had access to Osborne’s - which we

weren't given that opportunity - it would have showed that I couldn’t

have done anymore to avoid him. "Racing incidents happen, we’ve copped the penalty and now it’s time to just get on with things," he

one word of apology from them [HRT] and we've got a controlling body that doesn't have the teeth to do its job. "It's about time they practice what they preach." Rival factory team driver Glenn Seton said he was disappointed with the appeal, saying that dri vers should be made accountable for their actions.

said. Colourscan team owner Jeff Osborne was furious with the deci¬

"These cars cost $200,000$250,000 and we've got guys who don't know how much they cost to build and don't have to pay for them punting others off the track and getting away with it," Seton

sion.

said.

"Fining an outfit like Lowndes and HRT $10,000 is like fining Kerry Packer $10,000 ... it’s small change," he said. "Danny’s still recovering from the accident, we’ve got a car which is destroyed, we haven’t even heard

s 0

"It's crazy - Craig was still proven guilty, but he’s walked away with the points and $40,000 prizemoney for just 10 grand. "Fining drivers is a waste of time

"Even loss of points, if you’re half way through the season and there’s no chance of winning the series,

excluded from results or starting positions, or even race suspensions, are going to work - there’s got to

... the dollars mean nothing to a

can mean nothing.

be some serious penalties handed

team like HRT.

Disagreeing: Lowndes and Seton discuss their Adelaide incident.

"No other penalties except being

out.”

23 April W9

■ Judge Eric Wahl last week issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Tony Stewart from working for any Indy 500 teams other than that of former team owner John Menard

Honda without Postlethwaite By JOE SAWARD

Stewart, who drove for Menard in ‘96 and ‘97,

THE

had entered a car of his

Harvey

own in the field for next month’s race with

could have a dramatic effect on Honda’s Formula

Menard suing for breach of contract, saying he has a signed deal with Stewart for the race.

A hearing to determine whether a temporary injunction should be placed on Stewart is scheduled for tomorrow

with Menard asking for a judgment of at least

US$500,000 against Stewart. “We believe we have a

contract with Tony to drive for us in the 1999

Indy 500 and we have entered a second car, intending for him to drive for us,” said Menard.

“I am simply crushed that after all I have done

for Tony that he would even think of not living up to his obligations.”

sudden

death of

Postlethwaite

1 plans. The British engineer had been at the centre of the

Japanese car company’s FI operation - called Honda Racing Developments Ltd for the last 12 months, although he was still run ning the Tyrrell team (for British American Racing) until November.

Postlethwaite was testing with

the

HRD

team

Barcelona on Tuesday last week when he complained of chest pains. He went back to his hotel and was then taken

to hospital where he died that evening. HRD had been waiting for the final decision from Japan to go ahead with its planned FI operation for next season. That

decision

had

been

delayed as Jordan Grand Prix and British American

Racing both tried to convince Honda management - some

Postlethwaite was the piv otal figure in HRD but ulti mately the team is designed to be run by Japanese staff once they have learned some Prix racing. Postlethwaite was always going to take a

overseeing a test session of Honda’s developmental Formula

It is, therefore, quite likely that Honda will push ahead with the original plan. It has already been announced that the company would build its

One car. Formula One team owner

own FI chassis and the man

agement in Japan is unlikely to back away from that com mitment. The FI programme is also intended to be used to market the new Honda

S2000 roadster, which aims to take customers away from Mercedes.

Finding a replacement for Postlethwaite will not be

easy but HRD can continue to operate on a day-to-day basis under the control of

Rupert Manwaring and Steve Nielsen. The design team is being run by Tim

political

Postlethwaite had been look

that they have listed for sale over 1.86 million share of its common stock. The CART owners will

engine supplier. There have already been reports that the Japanese car company is scrapping the HRD plan, but

continue to hold just over

these should be treated with

half of the shares available, with the

ing after. The man thought most likely to fill that role is former Honda president Nobuhiko Kawamoto, who has always been expected to be a key member of the

circumspection.

team.

released stock amounting company.

A prospectus on CART can be obtained from Jefferies & Co in New

York if you’re interested. ■ Rally driver Brett Middleton’s season is in

doubt following the theft of his FlOO two vehicle and race trailer from

outside his home in Ryde, Sydney last Friday. The FlOO, which is

issues

contained all of the

and Townsville.

team’s tools and spares, including 20 white Compomotive 15” wheels and tyres. If you have an information on the theft, call Brett Middleton on 018 261 043.

A $2,000 cash reward for the recovery of the vehicle, tools and parts is being offered. ■ Melbourne-based

weekly TV motorsports programme In Pit Lane screened its last show

this week after four years in production. Disappointed host Brett Ramsey said producers were left with no choice but to pull the pin on the show after approaches to the motorsport industry

failed to gather any financial support. - GERALD McDORNAN

Eddie Jordan, a close friend of Dr Postlethwaite, said the

designer had been “an academ ic and a true gentleman" and that his death was “a sad blow

to Formula One". Jordan design er Mike Gascoyne, one of many FI engineers to have benefited from Dr Postlethwaite’s knowl

edge and assistance, said he had an “infectious enthusiasm

that was an inspiration to all those who worked with him". Dr Postlethwaite entered

Formula One in 1971 with the

March team, then joined Lord Hesketh two years later and helped James Hunt win his first Grand Prix in 1975. His

He later had another stint with Ferrari and a short time with the Swiss-based

next project was the design of the first car for the Wolf team, which won on debut in

1977 - driven by South African Jody Scheckter. Scheckter is the last driver to have won the FIA Formula One Drivers' World

Championship in a Ferrari, in 1979, while Dr Postlethwaite joined the famed Italian team in 1981 and designed the chassis tor the turbocharged cars with which Ferrari won the constructors’ title in 1982 and ’83.

After eight years with Ferrari he joined vet eran British team owner Ken Tyrrell and created the revolutionary raised-nose

design now standard in Formula One.

Sauber team before another lengthy term at Tyrrell. When Tyrrell was taken over by the new British American Racing Dr Postlethwaite took on the new Honda pro ject. Honda said in a statement: “He will be

remembered in equal measure for his out standing achievements in Formula One race car design and engineering, and his great personal qualities of integrity, pas sion, warmth, humour and joie de vivre." Dr Postlethwaite is survived by his wife. Cherry, and two children, Ben and Amey.

new V8 Supercar extravaganza?

Honda Civic rally car,

scheme to the team’s

■

Where’s the next

ADELAIDE’S 500 may be the first in a number of similar events, with V8 Supercar races slated for Fremantle, WA

painted in a similar

which

Barcelona, where he had been

back seat role when the team was launched in FI.

an all-Honda team and instead return to FI as an

to a little over 19% of the

World Championship in the early 1980s and was spearheading the Honda project that is expect ed to see the giant Japanese He died of a heart attack in

of whom were keen on the

CART has announced

last Ferrari to win the FIA Formula One Constructors’

manufacturer back in F1 soon.

idea - to give up the idea of

business side of racing,

designer Dr Harvey Postlethwaite has died, aged 55. The Englishman designed the

of the intricacies of Grand

Densham. What is needed now is someone to deal with the

■ For those that are interested in the

Vale: Dr Harvey Postlethwaite LEGENDARY Formula One

Motorsport News believes that the Fremantle event could be held as soon, as next

year, with the Townsville event - and, possi bly, another in Canberra - to follow in 2001. Representatives from Kinhill, the road con

struction and management company, were present at the Adelaide race and, according to sources, a large amount of work has already been put into the WA event. According to the suggestions, a track layout has already been chosen for the event but, while AVESCO’s Tony Cochrane.was enthusi astic about the level of interest in the class, he would not be drawn on specifics. “I read that. We’ve got quite a few proposals before us, not just in Australia but overseas,” he said.

“We’ve had, for some months, some very advanced (proposals) - some not more than a

few sheets of paper - that we are looking at. “We have decided to limit our appearances to 15 for the season; 13 championship and two ‘showcase’ events. We don’t think that we

would add much to our fan base by being sup

was a possibility. “Fremantle have put forward a very strong proposal and they have some good people involved. That may not mean that it will be the first to happen. It’s hard to go to Perth twice; the tyranny of distance is against them.”

Cochrane expects next year’s schedule to be released in about four months.

“The calendar for 2000 should be out by no later than mid-August and I can’t see us not meeting that deadline this year.” Cochrane also says that their status at events like the Australian Grand Prix may be imder review.

“We were pretty annoyed by the way we were treated in some ways. Small things, like

fining drivers $5000 for not wearing their sponsors’ caps the whole time they were on the podium, were fairly petty.” AVESCO copped this fine on its drivers’ behalf but, clearly, relationships between the two groups could be better. Despite this, rumours persist that there could in future be an Albert Park ‘Speedweek’, with the V8 Supercars kicking off the weekend before the

I wanted Hakkinen but... BAR’S Craig Pollock with new lad Mika Salo, who is likely to sub for Ricardo Zonta. (Sutton-images)

Salo to sub for Zonta at BAR BRITISH American Racing says that Mika Salo has agreed to stand in for the injured Ricardo Zonta, if the Brazilian yoimgster is not fit to race at Imola at

the end of the month.

Zonta crashed heavily in practice for the Brazilian GP at Interlagos and suffered damage to a tendon in his left foot.

“We’ve had nothing formal put to us,” said

to drive in Imola but the fact that he will not have done

any testing will make it irsky as the tendon damage could cause considerable pain, par ticularly when Zonta uses the brakes. The team is due to test

with Jacques Villeneuve and

Doctors in Sao

probably Salo as well in

Paulo said that usually such

Jerez this week. The team’s test driver Patrick Lemarie

injuries take around six weeks to mend but Zonta is

Formula One race.

as best he can so as to keep up his strength and stamina. The Brazilian may be able

hoping to get over the prob

is also expected to appear, although he may have to stand down so that Salo gets as much testing as possible

port events. I think that we should stand

Cochrane.

lem in half the time.

alone.

“I think, like anything else like that, it’s worth looking at. We have some exciting pro posals before us from Victoria and we’re going

He left hospital early last week with a lightweight cast on his leg although this was

to look at that.”

due to be removed. He has

in the car which, to date, has proved to be rather skittish and not easy to drive.

kept up his physical training

-JOE SAWARD

‘We like being in events like the Adelaide race this year, Darwin last year and I’m sure, the Queensland 500.” But Cochrane did admit that Fremantle

-PHILBRANAGAN

Mh)0(o)[F8fJXo)[FO

23Aprill999

Junior Tourers for NZ?

■ Fondmetal Minardi Ford driver Luca Badoer will be back in action this

week at Jerez, having recovered from fracturing a bone in his right hand in a testing accident three

By RICHARD ELAM

“The public wants to see V8s going

JUNIOR Tourers look like adding a sec

around, not 2-litres and BMWs. The

weeks ago. The injury

lifeblood of the sport is getting help from the guy in the garage; either: preparing

meant that the Italian could not race in Brazil

ond endurance race to their calendar - in

New Zealand, in 2000. Apart from their participation in the Bathurst 1000 in October - as reported in Motorsport News #150 - the class may run next year in an event which will be run for the first time this season - for the local cars - at Pukekohe on November 7. It will be the

Drivesafe 500, backed by local beverage retail er Liquor King.

Peter Brock, Ron Harrop and Bruce Williams travelled to Auckland last weekend

to discuss plans for the class with officials from the New Zealand Sporting Car Club. “The reason for this trip is to discuss the

New Zealand Sporting Car Club’s potential adoption of Future Tourer regulations for use as their National Holden versus Ford catego ry,” said Wilhams this week. “The category is perfect for an economy the size of NZ, because it is sustainable from an

national economic point of view. It opens up the opportunities for Australians to race there in summer, and for their leading drivers to come to Austraha and race in our season.”

New Zealand has had a touring car category based around TraNZam Light regulations, which is similar to Commodore Cup regula tions in Australia.

The race is seen as the potential start of NZ’s local touring car category to Junior Touring rules. NZRDC Chairman Ed Lament is enthusias tic about the arrival of the class in New Zealand.

category,” he said.

until the Minardi suffered

Bil

lations over to them and they can see that it is a good category for them to adopt.” The race will be promoted by the Auckland-based NZRDC, and run rmder the auspices of the local ASN, the Motorsport Association of New Zealand.

111

By PHIL BRANAGAN AVESCO is to introduce a

new touring category as a ‘development’ class for V8 Supercars. Chairman Tony Cochrane announced the class, which based

‘down-

specced’ Commodores and Falcons, at the Adelaide 500 last week.

Competition for the cars, which are currently having their regulations sorted out by a sub-committee headed by Garry Rogers, is expected to begin next year. “It’s a pretty straightfor ward program to take our existing cars, of which there are 75 in the country, to get them out and racing,” said AVESCO’s Garry Craft. “'The aim of the exercise is

to reduce the cost of the cars, so you don’t have to strip the

engines down after every meeting. And we’ll look at other ways of reducing the costs as well.”

Among the suggestions to contain costs are rev limiters set lower than the current

7500rpm limit and one ‘stan dard’ diff ratio. A series for the cars is like

Club - which owns Silverstone - will each

receive $110,000 if they

rather than MANZ, who should be rub ber-stamping the sport,” said Lamont.

Brands Hatch Leisure. If

agree to sell the circuit to

the offer is rejected,

The veteran Kiwi is a driver himself, having competed in two Bathurst 1000s in Commodore V8s and has most recently

Silverstone will lose the British Grand Prix to Brands Hatch in 2002. The BRDC meets this week to vote.

run a two-car Toyota team in NZ’s

Schedule S class. Lamont suggested that, with the green light given for the Pukekohe race, he would look at getting a

■ Honda’s Barcelona

new car to race in the event.

testing was called off after two days last week, fol lowing the death of Dr Harvey Postlethwaite. During the first two days

Australian touring cars have not com peted in NZ since 1997. Twelve cars con

tested sprint races at Wellington and Pukekohe on November/December but, following negotiations with then-new cat

of running Jos Verstappen completed 105 laps (308 miles) with a best lap of

egory manager AVESCO, both events were discontinued.

lm20.92s, the second-

fastest time set this year

in NZ were a great success. Junior

at the Spanish track. The

Tourers could be next.

fastest time achieved to

VESCO gets a ‘Jr’, too the Formula Ford, Formula Holden or GT Production. The most like

Baby boomer: Older cars, like Rodney Forbes’, could soon be ‘de-specced’.

ly broadcast vehicle is (Network lO’s) ‘Trackside’, which is in place at the moment.

“Something is going to have to go. It’s a matter of sitting dovra with Network 10 and discussing it.” There are no costings

$110,000, which is going to be affordable for the level of

exposure that they (the com petitors) will get,” said Craft. “If a kid’s got a bit of talent and spent some time in the car, by the time we get to

money around to able to

timing of the announcement, coming hard on the heels of

CAMS about 10 days ago. We

afford all these splinter groups. The last thing you want is sponsors being burnt

news that Junior Tourers

were being contacted by some

by too many people running

competitors who were spending money building a car, and were concerned about being

around, “(Looking after sponsors) is a responsibility we inherit for

able to race their car.”

the future

October.

opportunity to get in a

“We’ve been discussing it internally for some time. With so many registered competitors, track capacities

Supercar and be competitive, as well as the development of

“We didn’t want to go off

Bathurst there will be an

of 40 don’t work

technicians and mechanics.”

and make a new series with

There is a distinct possibil ity that some of the ‘Pro’ SCS

only six cars in it. The timing was about getting close this year to have enough cars but, given the growth, we’ll be getting it right for next

teams could run cars for ‘Junior’ drivers. “There has been some dis cussion about it. It’s all down

to the capacity of the teams there hasn’t been that many be ready to go with a second car soon.

“It will find its natural

level. There are some guys at

season.”

Another point of discussion at the announcement was the

quote in a press release that “AVESCO will not allow, in effect, a “passing oft” of it V8 category”. This is seen as a direct reference to Junior

Touring.

the back (of SCS ^ds) who

“We had some concerns about the new Peter Brock/

be an opportunity for them.”

said Craft. “We know for a fact that CAMS have not authorised or

have no alternative but to come in that level. This could

some of the circuits at the moment its a stretch. There

While there has been some favourable reaction to the announcement there have

could be a couple of roimds of

also been questions about the

There are suggestions that AVESCO would take what it

of Australian

motorsport. And, the combined Junior

saw as appropriate steps to

Tourer/Super

ward off a new category. “(With) the former category

Bathurst?

(Group 3A), the commercial rights have been handed to the organisation (AVESCO) when CAMS took a 10 percent stake in the organisa-

Tourer

People can go an run their own business as they wish. It would be very difficult for it

to happen, because there are

tion.

no Junior Tourer and no Junior Tourer event. If there are current model cars, they

“We don’t have any issues in V8 racing in GTP or AUSCAR. They don’t trade off our product; they don’t run off our product, they provide good racing, and AUSCAR

will not be ratified by CAMS, If the information is accurate, they (Super Tourers) could run together, but I can’t imagine that CAMS could issue a permit for an event in

run on the oval tracks.”

those circumstances. ‘It couldn’t be an interna-

“There’s no question that there are people who would

tional event with a non-sanc-

approved some regulations

like to manipulate Bruce Williams into going down this trail. He’s already indicated that he has been approached to develop a V8 car to satisfy other peoples’ desire. Maybe he will stand

tioned category involved. Why would TOGA want to be involved in something not sanctioned? Racers being racers, if they are not going to race on a level playing field, why would they race?

which

by his word, maybe he won’t

“But that’s their business.”

Bruce Williams category,”

were

delivered

Spain. Among the drivers expected to be seen in action are Mika Salo with

Sarrazin with Prost. Arrows will not be at the

“There’s not that much

will compete at Bathurst in

■ Almost all the FI teams will be in action this week at Jerez de la Frontera in southern

Is there room for both? “Who knows? What it will come down to is cost. The

to what he sent me recently.

“Second-hand cars are

available from $60,000 to

between the Australian and Brazilian GPs.

BAR, Laurent Redon with

early set of documents Bruce

available for the class at

date was a lm20.491s, set by Rubens Barrichello

but that’s not the way it is being reported.”

Williams sent me is different

present.

with a combination of SCS

stand-alone events, like Oran Park and Winton, and (in) SE Queensland,” said Craft. “With the four supports at

■ The latest rumours

the British Racing Drivers

“It’s better for the NZRDC to take the

cars around at the moment. The teams with the VTs will

alone’ events. “I think that there are cir cuits which can handle

speed.

role of promoting and marketing the race

ly to take in about six rounds,

support races and ‘stand

a front wing failure and he crashed heavily at high

suggest that members of

(Photo by Dirk The one-man Haka’ Klynsmitti)

and be

who did an impressive job

“Since the aimouncement of the catego ry some months ago we have had a strong and steady influx of enquiries from New Zealand competitors. We forwarded regu

basis of an Australian/New Zealand combined

will

and his place was taken by Frost Grand Prix’s test driver Stephane Sarrazin,

the cars of going to watch.” Williams says that the level of interest among NZ competitors has been high.

This aint no V-sux: The last V8 races

“We hope that the cars we run will form the

Benetton and Stephane test, preferring to run at Silverstone and LurcyLevis. Ferrari ran an old F300 chassis at Fiorano

last week, doing wet weather running on an artificially-flooded circuit. ■ 'The European Commission’s

Competition Directorate which is in dispute with FI over television deals has issued an official

warning to DaimlerChiysler - the parent company of Mercedes - that it is

breaching European anti trust laws in four

European countries. DaimlerChrysler denies the claims.

■ Toyota is tipped to be a likely buyer of the Fuji International Speedway in Japan. The circuit, which is 65 miles to the

west of Tokyo, was the home of the Japanese Grand Prix in the 1970s.

Many of the Japanese rac ing tracks are owned by car companies notably Suzuka and Motegi (Honda), Sugo (Yamaha) and Tokachi (Mitsubishi).

Toyota does not currently own its own racing circuit. -JOESAWARD

23Aprill999

jG!rii»vealed

■ In recent months Sauber has lost four members of staff to

Toyota as the Colognebased Team Toyota Europe begins its

WERCEDES-BENZ has

taken the wraps off its

recruitment for a Grand

new 1999 Le Mans eon-

Prix assault in the year 2002 or 2003. Toyota is recruiting both engine and chassis specialists.

U^nrler in Germany this week - the CI^R.

ITIertook the

■ The Sunday Times’s

laps in the sleek new machine, the car very much changed from the ’98 GLK-GTB

annual list of Britain’s

wealthiest people reveals that Bernie Ecclestone is motor rac

ing’s richest man with

and LM versions,

an estimated value of

Webber

$1.4bn. This is down

nearly $lbn from last year because of the fail

Reynard ($80m) and Jackie Stewart ($48m). ■ Ferrari made $50ra

in profit last year on sales of 3,637 cars. The

company is expecting even better sales this

year with a range of new products being launched. The profit is still small compared to Ferrari’s FI budget, which is esti mated to be around

$100m a year. ■ Although it is unlikely to disrupt the Malaysian Grand Prix in in the country stemming from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s

handling of his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim. He was jailed for six years having been con victed on four charges of corruption. Anwar called the charges “a political conspiracy to destroy me” and the decision “an

absolute disgrace”. The verdict resulted in vio

lent rioting in Kuala Lumpur, during which Tian Chua and Abdul

Malek Husin, leading members of a new oppo

next week.

Panoz Four rings of confidonco opens up DAVID

Brabham

for Audi Le Mans attack

has

made a strong debut in the new open Panoz Le

●m

^ F

Atlanta after starting from the rear of the grid.

' 4

“It was a brand new car

and we were changing it all the time,” said Brabham.

,7C

“We finished the car after

an all-nighter and we had NO spare parts. It was a bit of a dangerous weekend for us so I took it really easy and took my time.” “We were changing it all the

Sr t

time and we would have had

pole by miles. It was just so quick but I got too wound up. “It felt quick and I flatspotted both front tyres and I missed pole. It was good, but I had to change all four tyres

I 7 ■■T

. ^

and start at the back.” In the race Brabham and

Bernard played a ‘softly’ approach and it was working well.

■ Formula 1 Safety

a latch come off on the bon net and it could have been a disaster.”

connections would result in a drive to relaunch his career. It worked as

7-4

Brabham and Eric Bernard took the new car to fifth in the American Le Mans Series race at Road

“We did our own thing and got up to third, but Eric had

has been signed to drive for the European Edenbridge team in Formula 3000 this year. Gavin took the Safety Car job in the hope that

Mans car.

sition party, were arrest ed by police.

Car driver Oliver Gavin

the

for the French classic

October, there is still considerable discontent

has

advantege of not need ing to pro-qualifying

ure of the FI flotation. Tom Walkinshaw is reckoned to be the sec ond richest with an esti

mated fortune of $136m, followed by Sir Frank Williams ($128m), Eddie Jordan ($104m), Ron Dennis ($96m), Adrian

ark

Australian

The stop put the lead Panoz a lap, where it fin ished. The race was won by the Eric van der Poele and Mimo Schiattarella in a Judd

VlO-powered Riley and Scott, having started from the back of the grid. “We’ve got a lot to learn

Gavin met European Airlines boss Paul Stoddart at FI races.

because the car loses a lot of

downforce. But, for a new car, it has a lot of potential.” - PHIL BRANAGAN

Colgate smile: Audi’s Le Mans team - Stephane Ortelli, Perry McCarthy, Andy Wallace, Didier Theys and James Weaver - are impressed with the new Audi R8C.

AFTER running a 50 lap test session at Snetterton, the Audi Sport UK drivers were ecstatic about the new, Tony Southgate-designed Audi R8C. The normally cautious Andy Wallace remarked, “I know

this car is right ,on the money - speedwise, we’ll be at the

front... Tony has designed a great car.” The first hurdle for the dramatic looking R8C (the closed coupe version of Audi’s R8 sports prototype) will be the Le Mans Pre qualifying sessions on May 2 - QUENTIN SPURRING

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23Aprill999

FokI betomes »

■ Rising British racing star Jenson Button

scored his first victory in Formula 3 racing in only his third race with the Promateeme Dallara- ■

Renault team. He fought a stirring battle with Luciano Burti, who is in his second year in F3.

opular

■ Former Grand Prix

driver Clay Regazzoni, who has been confined to

By JOE SAWARD THE

Ford

a wheelchair since an

accident at Long Beach

Motor

in 1980, is still adventur

Company has sudden ly become one of the most popular engine companies in Grand

ous by nature. Having competed in many differ ent races and rallies, including the gruelling Paris-Dakar, ‘Regga’ is now intending to compete

Prix racing, following the promising show ing of the Stewart-

in his wheelchair in the New York marathon.

Ford combination in Australia and Brazil.

■ L’Oreal continues to

The lack of perfor mance and poor reliabil ity of the Supertec VIO engines and the continu ing drain of staff away from Renault Sport (which develops the engine) has meant that

By GERALD McDORNAN

future. In addition Sauber needs a better

engine and Jordan is

currently hedging its bets and waiting to see what Honda is planning to do.

Last year Ford was quietly trying to buy Stewart Grand Prix to turn the team into a fac

tory team. Jackie Stewart has, however, stuck to his guns and says that he has no plans to sell. Ford appears to have accepted this when it agreed an extension to

catch HRT who are setting

“All the other Ford teams

its debut because we have

the Paris-based company used Jean Alesi to pro

have already been through their initial new car

times to compare it with against the EL Falcon “The initial target will be to match the pace of the old

the pace at the moment.” The team are hoping to be able to test the car prior to the SCS round next weekend.

age

®®tp towars building a Potential race-winning pack-

teething problems, but I am

confident we will be in a

“Barbagallo is a very

important first step in the

development of the new car

Taking the Super out of Supertec SUPERTEC’S

Prix racing to promote

things from there.

and the ideal place to make

set to debut the car on ‘home soil’ at the next round of the SCS at

May 2.

Flavio

tures will have no effect on

Briatore says that there

Briatore was wandering around the paddock in Brazil telling anyone who would listen to him that Renault’s current adven-

the FI programme, as he tried to dampen criticism of the engines he is supplying to Williams, Benetton and BAR this year.

'vill be a series of upgrades for the engines this year but sto ries from Renault Sport where development work is done - suggest that the com pany is having trouble holding

the Stewart-Ford deal.

to begin as we still have a long gap to bridge to try to

BAR

have

both

One Holdings company.

Renault sources say that a Formula 1 programme is not

We hear that Bernie’s absence from Brazil was

even under discussion at the

once again because of his

moment and each passing day seems to bring Renault

negotiations to raise money with the issue of

— -

FI. This will enable Ford to reduce its FI costs as

such an arrangement could raise as much as

$30-35m a year if the engines are supplied to two teams.

enjoyed a long associa tion with Jordan’s Trevor

Foster dating back to

fined as much as 10% of its annual turnover. Renault’s alliance with

semi-works

engines may be too tempting for Ford to reject and that we may see both Jaguar and Ford engines running in

Gilbert-Scott. The Fomula 3000 driver has

dealers from selling cars to

we hear that the possi bility of earning money from supplying cus or

dynamic mapping test at Lurcy Levis in France was conducted by English driver Andrew

British residents, in breach of European regulations. If proved Renault could be

the main effort in FI but

tomer

Eurobonds linked to FOH. ■ Jordan’s recent aero

offices in Paris and Ireland, investigating claims that the company was stopping Irish

Ford sources say that they want to focus on

is to sell his Formula

next season.

head to head with BMW.

since the early 1970s and it has led to speculation that the 68-year-old’s main priority these days

clause to avoid having to use the Supertec VIO engines

BtaiPSAl

■

row which he has missed.

That has not happened

Directorate raided Renault

anM

■ Bernie Ecclestone

was not in Brazil, mark ing the third race in a

to pay the $5m penalty

month the European Commission’s Competition

will be rebadged as a Jaguar VIO next year as part of Ford’s marketing campaign to take Jaguar

over, although his voice has been dubbed in French.

rumoured to be looking else where for engines in 2000 and both teams seem happy

Ford, however, insist that if the engine contin ues to be successful it

Schumacher has taken

been

more troubles. It was revealed that last

sources

mote its shampoo, this year Michael

on to its best staff as Toyota targets Renault and Peugeot, looking for engine men. It is significant that in recent days Benetton and

within

Our

expand its use of Grand

car and start to build on

“The hard work is about

the new car will be the first

Barbagallo Raceway on

looking for alternative engine deals for the

strong position by the end of the championship,” he said.

products, without actual ly being involved in FI sponsorship. Last year

CAT Racing has unveiled

its new, eagerly-awaited AU Falcon with the team

Benetton and BAR are

CAT team driver John Bowe believes the debut of

(Photo by Phil WIHiims)

SOUTH Australian electrical manufacturing giant Clipsal, a division of Gerard Industries, have signed to be major sponsors of the Sensational Adelaide 500 event for the next four years - the event now to be known as the Clipsal 500. Other Gerard Industries-owned companies will benefit from the association with Clipsal Vision supplying five of its superscreens for the race each year, Chapel Hill Winery being becoming the official wine of the event and Custom Press meeting all the printing requirements for the race.

The complete story of Mick’s racing career to date, described to and

industry has been waiting for!

written by world renowned motorcycle journalist Mat Oxley

Formula Ford 1600 when

Gilbert-Scott was driving

for Foster’s Pegasus Motorsport.

Nissan continues to produce surprises with Nissan last week announcing 1998 losses of $296m, three times more than had been expected. The Japanese company has been forced to suspend it dividend payments for the first time.

■ We hear that Arrows commercial director Richard West will be

moving on shortly. West has been with the team

for less than a year. The recent change of manage

Renault execs are cost-cut

ting at Nissan and might even

ment has resulted in Prince Malik ado

sell off its truck business to reduce Nissan’s enormous

Ibrahim trying to raise money for the team.

debts. Nissan has also announced that it will cut 5000

-JOESAWARD

jobs in the next few months.

Use this form to order copies for your retail outlet copies of the new Mick Doohan book ($24.95 ea + $4.50 p&h) ot:

Please rush Name Address

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INI

23 April 1999

mbrose fifth at Silverstone solidated his third posi tion in the 1998 British Ford

Formula

Championship last week end with a fifth placing in an action-packed second round of the series at Silverstone.

Ambrose qualified his ADR Motorsports Ray in fourth and was challenging for the

drove the car to make it to

ting quicker each round,

much

teiecast. When you see

ourseives included, who will

whinge about. Yes, the hourly rule changes were wearing thin, but I

people being iifted out of their car through exhaus tion, that’s when you know it’s a tough race. Saturday’s race was much easier, being a cooier day and by having four pace cars, giving you a bit

had

too

not

one

think Mr. Cochrane has realised that

and. I’m sure being the first time with this

event, we can cop

“It’s a shame, but once the accident happened I just the finish,” Ambrose said. Two-time World Karting

races, especially Sunday, was quite evident by the

that

person

Courtney ojf at first turn

that on the chin.

ne concern, though, is

The practice o with all these new is first about to session begin.

in an accident with Tom

hang on ... what’s this?

Potter and Judd Coupland.

That’s not Schumacher,

mal SCS rounds - is still

that

very, very average.

Dane Nicolas Kiesa won

lead when contact with German Frank Disfenbacher sent him off the track with

the round ahead of Craig Murray and Tom Sisley Kiesa and Murray driving Mygales, Sisley a Ray.

just two laps remaining, suf fering enough damage to his

The next round of the British Formula Ford

car that Ambrose had to set tle for fifth.

Championship will be held next weekend at 'Thruxton.

Racing for the future: Nicolas Kiesa leads home Craig Murray and Tom Sisley at Silverstone. (Photo by sutton images)

Schumacher and Hakkinen are due out on the circuit.

We hear the engines start, waiting for the cars to pull out of the pit shed but,

looks

Supercar pulling out! That’s the impression that you got when the teams rolled

up to the

For winning a normal V8 round, the money you get is hardly enough to pay your hotel bills. It’s fine putting

Bathurst stint is about one

haven’t set the world alight

hour-20, we were sitting there for just over two hours on a circuit that gave

but, then again, I’m third in the points with our more

have

was to be not one pace car.

no rest.

There has been mum

blings by a few that the

- and

race shouid be shorter but

You couldn’t help but feel out of place with facilities equal to any Formula One

believe you me I’m a firm supporter of it - but the

the way i figure it, we are paid to drive race cars and being fit is aii part of the

race and a massive crowd

entering these races are huge.

looking on ... it took a day

team

events

costs

involved

for it to sink in that this was

n our side of things, it

all for us - the V8 Supercar brigade.

o was an encouraging

Adelaide has started a

weekend with the Castrol

change in what will be seen in V8 Supercar racing in the

SLX Commodore finally getting up to speed after struggling at the first round. The car was going very well

future. That’s the direction we have to head if we are

going to make our category not so much the leading motorsport (it already is), but the leading sport in general in Australia. I can’t sing the praises enough of everyone concerned, you must be congratulated! I’m

Afew people saying that Ihave have been been

That, coupied with a hotter day and the whole race dri ven at a sprint pace, made it one of the toughest tour ing car races ever. a Remembering

of a rest in between. No one couid

Sensational Adelaide 500.

these

be battling for wins in the next few races.

unusually tame on the track this year, but we have had a game plan and, because we have been struggling for pace so far, there is no use in going berserk and risking not finishing when you know you haven’t got the speed to win. This Championship will be won by the driver who finishes every race in a rea sonable position. I know I

guessed that Sunday there events being signed up for multi-year deals and new event sponsors, the finan cial input being put back into the sport in regards to prize money - at the nor

Champion James Courtney hit trouble quickly in the race, the young Australian’s works Van Diemen going off

other teams who are get

competing

sure

MARCOS Ambrose con

TX.S

deai.

Perth a week’s is our time next and roundthatin

favoured circuits coming up and our car getting faster. So

have

fear,

the

Enforcer will return!!

Another problem I canit see coming up is that looks like they are clamping down on any sort of aggressive driving which will probably mean races will be won and lost either

is one circuit I am looking forward to. The past two years I have qualified on

through stop-go penalties

the front row and finished

ately punting competitors

on the podium, so this

off however, it is going to

could be the best chance to

come down to that same old situation of drivers hesi

or in the stewards rooms. I don’t endorse deliber

tating about passing know ing if there’s contact, that

ferent reasons, but, then

nail back some points and get into the lead of the championship. I think what you’ll find is

again, with the two races

that the current front run

day.

combined we still finished

ners have peaked as far as their performance goes and there will be a couple of

and

the

results

overall

probably didn’t reflect the speed we had, for a few dif

third overall.

The physical side of the

could be the end of their Let racers race!!! Cheers for now.

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Presenting these seminars will be Ken Douglas (General Manager of MoTeC and author of the MoTeC Interpreter Analysis software), Campbell Little (in charge of Engine Development and Data Acquisition for Stone Brothers Racing) and Paul Masterson (Principal of Stafford Tune).

The cost of attending either course is $140 per person per course

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23ApriU999

tic « n ^ A

Motorcycle Road Racing Championships in Malaysia, while Australia’s world champi on of the past five years, Mick

Prince Kenny

Doohan, finished fourth. The 25-year-old Roberts’ victory

11 points. Roberts said he “felt really

AMERICAN Kenny Roberts Junior won the opening 500cc Grand Prix of the 1999 FIM

was the first for Suzuki since now-

retired Australian Darryl Beattie’s success in the 1995 German GP. It also was the first GP win for

Roberts, 25, who joined Suzuki this season after riding Yamahas and the three-cylinder Modenas bikes for his father’s team in recent years. Spaniards Carlos Checa and Alex Criville, riding Yamaha and Honda machines respectively, finished sec ond and third at Malaysia’s new Sepang circuit. Roberts - son of three-time 500cc

world champion rider Kenny Roberts, who later guided another American, Wayne Rainey, to three world titles - took the chequered flag at Sepang 4.3 seconds ahead of Checa, with Criville another half a second further back.

Doohan was only 1.2 seconds behind his Honda factory team mate Criville at the finish after hav

ing been well back in the pack in the early stages. Doohan started from the second row of the grid, in an unaccustomed seventh place, but set a lap record for the new 5.54kilometre circuit of 2 min. 7.213 sec.

as he made up ground late in the race.

Doohan will go into the second round of the championship at Japan’s new Honda-owned Motegi circuit next Sunday (April 25) on 13 points, while Roberts has 25, Checa 20 and Criville 16. Japan’s Tadayuki Okada finished fifth on

another Honda at Sepang and has

relaxed” after starting third on the grid, while Doohan said: “We have a lot of work ahead of us. The bike

fIM

just wasn’t working like it should. The rear was sliding and I was los ing the front.”

trading at Sauber By JOE SAWARD THE

Sauber

team

has

restructured its ownership in recent days with the

American John Kocinski started

team’s commercial director

in pole position but his race ended on the fourth lap when he and Japan’s Norifumi Abe crashed. Neither was badly hurt. Italian Max Biaggi, who was runner-up to Doohan in last year’s championship and was favoured to win at Sepang ■after switching from a Honda to a Yamaha this year, retired mid-race with an electronics problem.

Fritz Kaiser, increasing his shareholding in the team. The Lichtenstein-based busi

nessman, who was responsible for finding backing for the team

from

Red

Bull

and

Petronas has acquired 14.5 per cent of the shares which had

previously be held by Peter

New Zealander Simon Crafar fin

Sauber and now controls 24.5

ished 14th on a Yamaha, more than

percent of the team, the same

50 seconds behind winner Roberts. Australians Mark Willis and John

as Sauber.

Allen did not get a start at Sepang, failing to qualify within 10 per cent of the pole position time through a

The majority share of the team - 51 percent of the equity - still belongs to Red Bull boss

combination of mechanical and weather woes. Willis and his New

majority of the voting rights of

Dietrich

Zealand BSL team will skip the Japanese GP to concentrate on get ting their new three-cylinder machine up to speed for the European rounds of the champi onship.

The

the company remain with Peter Sauber and so, in effect, he is still in control.

Kaiser and Sauber say that the change of ownership will have no impact on the way the

While Suzuki took the honours in

the 500cc race, Honda won the 250cc and 125cc GPs at Sepang. Italian world champion Loris Capirossi won the 250cc race by 0.11 sec. after overtaking Japan’s Tohru Ukawa at the final turn of the last lap. Another

Mateschitz.

An American and an Aussie walk onto a podium: Roberts celebrates his maiden GP win with Australian engineer Warren Willing. (PnotobyRaceAccess) Japanese rider, Shinya Nakano on a Australian teenager Anthony West finished 14th on a Honda in Yamaha, was third - just 0.79 sec. his 250cc GP debut. behind Capirossi.

team operates and that there are no plans to sell any of the shares, although both admit that the team might be an attractive purchase for a major motor manufacturer such as

Toyota or Volkswagen.

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June 13 . .Germany

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FIA Formuol 3000

International C'ship May 5 ... .Imola .,

,Rd1

May 15 .. .Monaco

.Rd2

May 29 ...Spain .

.Rd3

1999 NHRA Winston

Drag Racing Series Apri 25

Dallas

Rd5

Australian Rally Champianship May 7-9 ..Canberra*

,Rd2

rfVj(«AMPK«cSM}

FIA Warld Rally Champianship* May 9 ... .France

Rd6

May 30 ...Italy

,Rd7

BOC Gases Austraian

Super Tauring Car C'ship May 2 ... .Oran Park

Rd2

May 30 .. .Mallala .,

,Rd3

ten

J Check your local guides for screening times

I wish they all could be Californian tracks: Rookie Juan-Pablo Montoya won in his third start in the CART series. (Photos by sutton images)

Montoya also wondered what the

outcome might have been, “It’s a shame for Tony,” he said.

“He had a great car as well. We were at a pretty even pace, and it would

run at the yoimg driver. He had one final opportunity

Franchitti, who qualified his back up car on the outside of the front

row after crashing his primary entry in practice, kept Montoya in sight but never was able to make a strong

around the track in the back of a

when rookie Christian da Matta

truck, waving to the crowd and accepting the accolades of the more than 90,000 spectators. “I’ve never been in something so big,” Montoya said. “It feels real

brought out the last of five fullcourse cautions by spinning into the same tyre barrier on lap 77. The green flag waved again on lap 82, and Montoya left Franchitti’s

good.”

Reynard-Honda in his wake,

his car. But that and the ritual

lenge for the win,” Franchitti said.

spraying of champagne on the victo

“That’s unusual because normally

emotion. “It finally all came together for

circuits. “Considering that we had to go to

Montoya led by nearly a full second after the first lap and pulled away to win by 2.805 seconds — about 10 car-lengths, “It gave it everything I had, but we just didn’t have the car to chal

ry podium were his only show of

we have the best car on the street

us,” Montoya said with a quiet smile. “AU I can say is I would just like to keep on winning.” Bryan Herta, who started third, passed both Dario Franchitti and pole winner Tony Kanaan at the start to lead the first lap. But Kanaan, last year’s top rookie, made a pass at the start of the second lap to regain the top spot and stayed

the backup car. I’m happy to get second and take the points.” Despite the tightness of the new section of the course — four basically one-lane turns circling the new Long Beach Aquarium — there were no serious accidents. Herta wound up third, followed by Japan winner Adrian Fernandez, Christian Fittipaldi, Gil de Ferran,

there until his car slid off course,

Michael Andretti, Max Papis and

46.

who'won the season opener in

By that time, Montoya, who start ed fifth, was stalking Kanaan in sec

Homestead. Moore now leads both Fernandez

ond. He inherited the lead when

and de Ferran by six points after

Kanaan crashed and was never headed.

three of 20 races.

“I made a mistake,” Kanaan said sadly, “nie track was breaking up, and I just ran off line a httle bit and lost it. Sometimes you learn the

Fernandez and de Ferran 33, Andretti 32,

series points leader Greg Moore,

Points after three races: Moore 39,

Franchitti 30, Fittipaldi 28, Montoya 23, Vasser 16, Herta 15, Papis 14. Next round: Nazareth (oval) May 1J2.

Fernandez

beats the terrible twos Reports: PHIL MORRIS

DESPITE running a two-year-old Reynard Adrian chassis, Fernandez not only won in Motegi, Japan, but also lead 153 of the 201

lap race. But it wasn’t easy for the young Mexican driver. With fuel dangerously low in the final laps, the win was as much about how to con

serve the precious resource as it was about strategy and aggressive driving. Fernandez crossed the line ahead of Gil de Ferran and

Christian Fittipaldi. “All day, we were saving fuel. At the start of the race

we were determined to get into a good position, said

and that was it. I think we

would have just barely made it, but you never real ly know.” Ferpandez was on the edge with fuel. After taking the chequered flag he slowed to a stop, out of fuel, before he could complete a single victory lap. The race go off to a bad start when polesitter Gil de Ferran spun coming to the green flag. The yellow flag

Adrian’s Antique: A 1997 car last won a race in 1997. Until Fernandez got to Japan... up in the middle of Turn Three and Four just to make sure we’ll get a nice, gradual build-up in speed. “The tyres were very cold by then and they had no grip. By the time I got to Turn Four, I started to slide

bit, the back end just went around,

towards Mauricio. And I

Greg Moore was running second with three laps to go, but he spun coming out

lap 3. “In the driver’s meetings, you always have this dis

though, ‘uh-oh, this is not very good.’ By then, every body was in starting mode so I couldn’t really back off. As I was exiting [Turn Four], I was giving less and

cussion that the starts are

less room for Mauricio. So,

at the last minute I thought I just have to give him another foot or so and we’ll be okay. Just at that very moment, when I tried to

waved until the field reformed for the start on

Fernandez.

sometimes too slow, and

correct at the time of printing. Please consult any individual tracks and/or associations for date changes.

“It was just a question of whether we could get to the

Seriesor eventstelecaston Network Ten are markedwith an asterix. Check your local guides

way we were going to make it, I was just praying for

because of that, too danger ous,” de Ferran explained. “So, I thought ‘OK’, I’ll be the good guy and do a fast start. So I started to speed

end. The numbers said no

umssnn

more yellows and more yel lows. 'When the last yellow came out, they [the crew] said, “Back off! Back off!”

All event dales In this calendar were

for screening details.

had enough for him.”

nuts to acknowledge it, but he did accompany Ganassi for a victory lap

slamming into a tyre barrier on lap

World Superbike Series

“My heart goes out to Tony

have been hard to overtake him.”

’ Montoya lived up to his reputation as a great road racer on the tight, tricky 1.824-mile, 11-turn Long Beach circuit. Montoya hugged his team ovraer and high-fived members of his crew after stepping out of

.. .Rd 5

can run up there.” Ganassi agreed.

Jimmy Vasser’s 1996 win, Montoya’s triumph was the TargetGanassi team’s fourth straight win

in the streets of Long Beach. The rookie from Colombia didn’t spin Zanardi’s trademark rubber dough-

Rd 4

June 6

Aug 8

Kanaan,” he said. “He was doing a heck of a job and I don’t know if we

and provided some validation for his brash, 23-year-old cockiness.

Series VSSupercars* Wanneroo

Juan Montoya, Alex Zanardi’s rookie replacement at Target-Chip Ganassi Racing, followed in Zanardi’s footsteps Sunday by win ning a third consecutive Grand Prix

of Long Beach for his employers. He

Calendar

hard way. What happened today

hurt, but I proved to myself that I

also earned his first CART victory

Motor Raiing

May 2

HE didn’t provide doughnuts, but he served up another win.

pinch the car down a little

10 laps remaining when he pitted for a splash of fuel.

As the race moved into

What looked like a nin for

the final laps, most of the leaders pitted for fuel with five laps remaining. Fernandez took a gamble

victory for the veteran dri

and decided to remain out.

of Turn Four. That was the luck Fernandez needed. It

brought out the yellow flag and allowed him to finished the race on the little fuel that remained in his tanks.

Fittipaldi finished in third place while teammate Michael Andretti was

running second with only

ver turned, instead to disas

ter. “I lost first gear and the car stalled in the pits.” said a disappointed Andretti. Rookie

Juan

Pablo

Montoya also fell victim to fuel problems when his car slowed to a stop on the back stretch on lap 140. “The car was really hooked up today.

I believe that, except for the fuel pickup problem, we would have had a good chance to win today. But I’m not disappointed. Our time will come,” Montoya. He was right...

said

mm" '

Ufof^spor^

23 April 1999

HOLD€N RACING TGAIVI

loin the No. 1

Take a good look now: England’s Guy Smith qualified second at Long Beach but only lasted until the first comer, he and Didier Andre taking each other out. (Photo by sotton imagos) Report by GERALD McDORNAN

REIGNING Australian Drivers

Champion Scott Dixon’s impres sive debut Indy Lights

Supporters Club in Atlantics dehut Besnard sixth

● ●●

DAVID Besnard has fin

season in the US con tinued on the weekend

ished in sixth place after

with the young New

Formula

Zealander claiming

Championship at Long

second at Long Beach. Dixon

trailed

home

Austrian Philipp Peter,

the first

round of the Atlantic

Beach.

The 22-year collected eight points for improving from

with American Geoff Boss .his eighth grid spot but was finishing third. Second and third qualifiers Guy Smith and Didier Andre took each other out on the first turn

unsatisfied with his week-

of the race, while pole-sit-

w^ and got some points.”

ter Felipe Giaffone appeared to have the race won until he ran out of

al fast start in the 37 lap event. which was interrupted con-

fuel three laps from

stantly by yellow flag periods,

home.

Peter, driving for the Dorricott/Mears team formed from Team Mears

at the beginning of the year - then took the lead, never to relinquish it much to the delight of his

team and family foUowing

weekend at the seaaa bad bad weekend at tbe sea

son-opening Homestead race where family friend and

former

World

Champion Niki Lauda was in attendance look

ing over his fellow coun tryman. “There was no chance

[of catching Giaffone]

unless something hap pened, which was the case,” said Peter when asked if he thought he

end’s work, “I don’t feel good because I didn’t win,” he said after the race. “(But) we kept if off the Besnard made his tradition

“I

th® banzai move and

three guys at the start, but

the car was getting the ground and understeering and two of them got me back. “Where we were lacking was we’re not sure where we

are with our motor program,

Besnard’s other problem was tyre-related: “The car was awful on restarts; no grip, and I have no idea why. At the last two restarts I tried not warm

ing up the tyres, because I thought I was picking up crap off-line. I stopped doing that

Clubpila Basic Glob Membership

and it was much better.

“Lee Bentham was just in front, mainly through the dri ver stuffing up all the time and I thought, ‘shit, you’ve got a good car, give it to me!’ He was making mistakes but I

Benefits of Club □ Membership include:

could see his car was fast.

● 8 neujsletters containing neuus from the race team and drivers ● 5 per cent discount on all MHRT/HVL Apparel and Merchandise

“I was running at similar times to the leaders at the end of the race so that was encouraging.

The race was won by Canadian Alexandre Tagliani from Anthony Lazzaro, with Buddy Rice third. Besnard is looking forward to

his

race

the

Nazareth oval on May 1/2. “The next one is an oval

engine in second and

and it could be tricky, and I

still have to learn about the

stuffit was flying. “I adjusted the bars and got the car good, and got into the slipstream, but the engine was hitting the (rev) limiter too early. I could have had the guy in front of me, but I just couldn’t get him. I just ran out

Gonsistiug of 2 membership levels

other guys and so on. Then we’ll see how we go. “But it was good to get a race done and get some points.

At a place like Mid-Ohio we’ll be a good shape. “If I can win eight in a row, we’ll be there!”

oflaps.

-PHILBRANAGAN

● Personalised Membership Cord

● Club D Merchandise (updated each year on reneuual) sold backside

● Autographed team posters ● A copy of the Annual Vear Book ● Priority invitations to trips and events ● Lucky drauus to tour team goroge ot race meetings ● An invitation to previeuj neuu HSV models ● VIP Tours of race operations at Clayton ● Up to 10 free issues of Motor (April '99 to January '00)

Yearly membership for Club Q is A$95 Benefits of a Basic Ciub Membership inciude: ● Personalised Membership Card ● 8 neuusletters containing neuus from the race team and drivers

Yearly membership for Basic Glub Membership is A$35 Application forms are available from:

could have won the race

HSV S MHRT Head Office, HSV Retailers throughout Australia and Neuu Zealand, 'Lions Den' Highpoint Shopping Centre Maribyrnong, or send off the application belouu.

had Giaffone not run out

of fuel.

“It’s very important. It gives a lot of confidence to me

and the team,”

Peter said.

It was Dixon’s second

start in the series, the first on the oval track at

tu naixtiaMnspn

Please forward me the MHRT Club

vwMMmMsg: vaxausn

Membership brochure and application form

Homestead, Florida last

month resulting in a third place finish. Dixon’s

teammate at

Stefan Johansson’s Vern

Schuppan-managed Johansson Racing, Brit Ben Collins finished 11th

in the race, while KOOL

driver Johnny Kane fin ished in 16th, completing just two laps. The Indy Lights series resumes on May 2 at Nazareth Speedway in

The weekend

of the

Sensational

\ Mobil

Adelaide

500 saw three

of Australia's top women in motor sport achieve some extraordinary results. Paula Elstrek took out second place in class B CTP at Adelaide. It was her first race in the Mazda RX-7

HOLDEN RACING TEAM

Name Address

Twin Turbo. Meanwhile, Jo Cadman and co-driver Liz Swanton

won class P6 in round two of the Silicon Graphics NSW rally championships in Jo’s new Mitsubishi Calant VR4. Congratulations Jo, Paula and Liz, We look forward to you gracing the podium again soon. women

in motor

clarion

O Ansctt Australia

sport association

www.wimsa.asn.au

Postcode

Fox your application to:

Or moil

03 9544 1250

HSV/MHRT

Customer Appreciation Centre PO Box 1160 Clayton South 3168

● r-

23 April 1999

Aiello and Plato

split Silverstone LAURENT Aiello and Jason

Plato split the honours between Nissan and Renault at the third and fourth rounds of the British

Touring Car Championship at Silverstone last weekend. Le Mans winner Aiello drove his

Primera to a decisive Sprint Race win while Plato took full advantage of changeable track conditions in his Laguna to win the Feature Race, giving the series four differ ent winning drivers and three dif ferent winning manufacturers in the series already this year. Honda driver James Thompson left Silverstone with his champi onship lead intact but reduced to just two points. German

The battle of the race was for

third position. Reigning champ Rickard Rydell hustled his Volvo

past the ‘$600,000 man’ Matt Neal on lap one, Neal pushing the Swede all the way to the chequered flag. A daring manoeuvre at Abbey on the final lap saw Matt pull along side

Rickard

and

nose

ahead

briefly, only for Rydell to reassert himself at Bridge on the run to the chequered flag. Compensation for Neal came in the form'of an easy Michelin Cup for Independents win. John Cleland was 10th despite starting from the back of the grid, his qualifying time was disallowed for a technical infringement. Cleland’s Vauxhall team-mate

Aiello, a former champion in both the

by the middle of the season.”

and

French

Supertouring championships, opened his BTCC account with a fine Sprint Race victory. Second on the grid behind Nissan team-mate David Leslie, the Frenchman assumed early com mand of the 15-lap race when Leslie made an error at the Abbey hairpin on lap one. Aiello drove an impeccably mea sured race to victory, crossing the finish line 1.7s ahead of Leslie.

“I am veiy happy to win this early in the season,” Aiello said. “It’s earli

er than I expected even though we knew the car would be good at Silverstone. I think I will be stronger

Yvan Muller was an early casualty, retiring ■with accident damage after a first-lap clash with Alain Menu’s Ford. A shower of rain minutes before

the start proved the decisive factor in the outcome of the 30-lap Feature Race. Four with Leslie, Thompson, Reid and Neal abandon ing their grid slots in favour of a quick change to intermediate Michelins, giving Plato a heaven sent opportunity to blast away from his fourth position on the startline and outdrag pole man Aiello and Rydell through Copse to establish an early lead. The tyre-gambling quartet soon found they had made the wrong decision, all soon struggling for grip

as the shower passed and the circuit dried. By lap six Plato had pulled out to a three second lead while the slick-shod runners

were making up ground. 'The lead Renault driver

made his mandatory stop for tyres on lap 18, exiting the pits just ahead of sec ond placed Rydell as Cleland enjoyed a brief moment of glory at the head of the field.

$ I Split decisons: Renault’s Jason Plato and Nissan’s Laurent AigJIo^ach took a race win, Aiello getting to spray the champagne with team-mate David Leslie at

the end of the first race. As Plato struggled on his cold new tyres, Rydell iiro edged on to the Renault’s bootlid. After a lap of pushing, the Swede made his move at Abbey on A the 20th tour, attempting to dive around the outside of the Laguna, their cars clashing and Rydell was out on the spot, his Volvo’s steering damaged. «

^Photos by BoUtwcH Photographies)

wan

■/5i

●

'That left Plato with a handsome

advantage over his nearest chal lenger, Vauxhall’s Muller; at the flag Jason was more than five sec

(■'

onds clear of the Frenchman.

J^x*

Bouillon made Renault’s day complete with his first BTCC podi um placing, Thompson recovering from his tyre gaffe to overhaul team-mate Kox towards the end of

the race for third, with Aiello claim

ing fifth after losing time with a pit-stop bungle which incurred a drive-through penalty. Leslie was sixth ahead of Cleland,

Paula Cook taking eighth place and the Independants Cup victory after Neal pulled out of the miming. “I’m delighted. The weather certainly helped. It made it more of a driver’s race than a challenge of the

best car set-ups,” Plato said after the race. Standings after four races: Thompson (45); Plato (41); Neal (31); Leslie (26); Aiello (22); Bouillon (20).

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23Aprin999

Come Hell or high water, racers will be racers T

here is a famous story from 1990 when the Eastern Bloc

was coming apart and the

Soviet Union falling to pieces. 'Someone asked a well-known F1

driver what he thought about what was happening in Moscow. “Moscow?” he said. “It’s OK.

I’ve spoken to Bernie and he says that we don’t have to race there.”

It was magnificently naive. Formula 1 people rarely look beyond the walls of the paddock. The only things that matter to them is where teams are testing. Who is using which tyres? Who is driving where next year? And how much horsepower does an engine have? The rest of the goings-on in the world are totally irrelevant.

Grand Prix racing was like a guest who turns up for a black tie dinne,r dressed as a chicken By Joe Saward Pliotcw by Nigd .Snawdon

F1’s blindness about the real

Absent friends: Roland Ratzenberger, one of FI’s realists, lost his life at Imola five years ago. FI will return to South Africa soon; left, a young Ayrton Senna at Kyalami in 1984.

world is amusing but it has not always been a good thing. Back in the old days, when Grand Prix

racing was still a cottage industry, big business and politics did not matter. There was apartheid in

pened. FI was no

longer part of the unreal world.

South Africa but FI teams still

Five years on

raced there. Every year the Grand Prix people went to Kyalami and hung out in the swimming pools

we have drifted to back to where we were. No-one cares much about the war in Kosovo. It is

and bars of rich, white

Johannesburg. They did not care. Throughout the 1970s FI went to Argentina even though thousands are people were being killed, were

simply something else which causes

air traffic delays

being imprisoned or were simply disappearing. FI had a very selfish attitude. It

and means that satellites cannot be used to broadcast the races around the world. And at the same

was not their business.

The arrival of big money in the sport in the mid-1980s made excite ments in the financial and political

time, the world’s

world increasingly important but in many respects the sport still does not care, although there have been times when FI people have been made to take notice. FI stopped going to South Africa after Renault

big business is going through an extraordinary peri od of consolidation.

Car companies are being gobbled up

and Elf refused to "send their cars.

like mice at a cat

The races in Buenos Aires stopped only when war broke out... One thing that FI has not been able to ignore is big business, for

convention; the tobacco trade is

be stopped. FIAT, the owner of

this controls the money supply and

Ferrari, did not want two of his car

there have been a number of cases

companies competing against one another. Alfa Romeo was told to go touring car racing...

where racing people have been caught out because they failed to pay attention to the real world. The smart racers have learned to cope with big business. It can no longer be ignored.

There havesince beenbigsome dramatic failures business showed up in FI. Probably the most famous case was the

But FI did not learn. In 1990 we

all turned up in Brazil to find that the country was in the middle of an extraordinary financial crisis. For a

few days the country had no estab lished currency. Dollars did not work because no-one knew what

they were worth and everyone refused to accept credit cards and

Beatrice team, launched amid

so the whole FI circus sat in

much pomp and circumstance in January 1985 by cigar-toting

hotels, charging everything to the rooms, until the country launched a

American race team owner Carl

Haas. The team was going to blitz FI, show the others how it should

be done. The Beatrice Corporation came up with a huge bundle of money and Haas hired a string of top FI people. Six months later the boss of

Beatrice was dumped and before the team was even racing the vast US company had announced that it was withdrawing from all motor rac ing sponsorship. Haas was paid a chunk of money but when that ran out and he failed to find a new backer the team closed down. Around the same time Alfa

Romeo was running a very unsuc cessful Formula 1 programme. The

company was bought by FIAT and almost overnight it was decided that the Alfa Romeo programme should

new currency.

Grand Prix racing was like a guest who turns up for a black tie dinner, dressed as a chicken. It

was very funny. For a day we ceased to be sports reporters and became financial correspondents, trying to explain to the world what was going on in Brazil. The next victim of FI blindness was McLaren’s Ron Dennis who

completely failed to read the signs that Honda was about to withdraw

from FI at the end of 1992. As a

result the team ended up using customer Ford V8 engines in 1993 and, although Ayrton Senna scored some brilliant results that year, he ultimately left the team and it took McLaren nearly five years to become a winning operation again.

enetton was luckier in 1993. Its

principal sponsor Camel which was owned by US giant RJR Nabisco had a change of manage

slimming down fast, leaving a few big players; it is the same story in the oil business and in telecommunications. Big is beautiful. Small is dead.

ment. A new chairman arrived and

Bang!. There was no money for FI. Fortunately, Japan Tobacco was looking for a way into FI to pro mote Mild Seven.

A couple of years ago Goodyear got a new boss who announced that he was planning to double the size of the company. To do that meant he would have to buy other tyre companies and for that he needed money. Bang! There was no more Goodyear FI pro gramme... Tradition meant nothing. Just occasionally, you have a talk with someone in FI about

what is happening in the real world. Five years ago 1 had just such a conversation with Roland

ow will it affect Grand Prix rac

that the French company will be able to cope with Nissan’s debts. It may not look like much when you read the figure on a piece of paper but Nissan has something like US$30 billion of debt. Oil rich

Kuwait produces only $30bn in income a year... and it would take the whole of Bulgaria three years to earn that kind of money. How will all this consolidation in

industry affect Grand Prix racing? It is very hard to tell. There are some who take the optimistic line and say that with fewer car com panies there will be more of the big companies coming in and that will force the others to join the bat tle as well. It may work like that. At the moment there are six car

industry giants; General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Daimler-Chrysler, Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan. Honda is planning to grow fast enough to survive on its own, but what of FIAT, BMW and Peugeot? There are signs that Toyota, Honda, GM and even Volkswagen will all be in FI within five years and Ihope that happens. Budgets will go crazy and competition will be absurdly intense but that is no bad thing. The worst thing that can happen to FI is that one company

H ing? British American Tobacco

dominates.

recently gobbled up Rothmans. Overnight Williams’s FI budget disappeared. Fortunately he had

people in FI often com N ew plain that they face hostility

not planned to continue with

Winfield in 2000, relying on new sponsors to accompany a new engine deal with BMW. But what

happens now if BMW is bought by FIAT? What would Frank (Sir Frank, Saward, you cad: Ed) do for engines next year? Supertec’s Flavio Briatore - the ultimate non-racer, who really

from those who have been around

a long time. The problem is usual ly these days they are not racers. They have not served their time in the junior formulae. The drivers and engineers have to do it, but these days team bosses, commer cial directors, PR folk and journal ists can just leap into the sport without any experience. The rac ers hate those who treat the sport

should know better - was wander

like a business and have no

ing around the paddock in Brazil telling anyone who would listen to

appreciation of the history. A string of non-racer team bosses have come and gone but only the racers survive in the long-term.

Ratzenberger. It was the Thursday

him that Renault’s current adven

afternoon before the San Marino

tures with Nissan will not have any adverse effect ori the Supertec

GP and the paddock was quiet. We were talking about Bosnia and Roland pointed out that we were only a couple of hundred miles from the fighting. The serious things were happening on the

This was patently absurd. Renault sources say that it is inconceivable that the company will do anything official in Grand

other side of the Adriatic, he said. FI was just a game. Ironically, two days later

Prix racing for the next few years. Renault is going to have to work hard to turn the ailing Nissan

Roland was dead and by the end of that awful weekend the real

Motor Corporation into a competi tive car company. If the plan is

world had arrived in FI with the

successful - in five years - maybe

death of Ayrton Senna and all the other horrible things that hap-

Renault might do something but at the moment there is no guarantee

engine programrhe.

I am sure that in the future FI

will be a very different world to the one we know today but, when all is said and done, the racers will

still be there - money or not - and we know that the only thing that will slay the same is that at two o’clock on every second Sunday in the summer months, a race will

begin and for the next 90 minutes the world’s best drivers will battle

it out as they always have done. And the day that changes. I’m quitting...

23AprinS99

■ The top irders were in favour of changing the Superpole format to the one that emerged, through

yOi

providence rather than design, in Saturday’s qualifying (see report). “I think it worked great. It’s a lot better than what we have the

moment, which is stupid, danger ous and boring for the specta tors,” said Carl Fogarty. “I mean, who wants to see one bike going around a track at a time. I think

wbiSj poie wul the lap rscorcl. heiter hhau

a best of 12 laps for each irder in

a 40-minute session would be

exciting and far better all round for everybody.”

Troy Corser concurred; “Yeah, I think it’s the way to go. The

system they’ve got is okay for the sponsors, but I think today’s Superpole proved how good it can

CHAMPION

be if they changed it. “Still, I’m pretty good at going out for a one-ofT lap, so I don’t mind either way,” he added cheekily.

CHAMPION v

.'■:v

v.<

C >>

O >.

o o a.

>»

near-perfect conditions, lapping

Report by

under the SOOcc record set by

DARRYL FLACK

DDTs Steve Martin. (Viv Brumby pic) ■ Ducati Dealer Team irders

Craig Connell and Steve Martin had double reasons to be cheerful

after debuting their all-new 1999 Ducati 996RSs at Phillip Island. After both Aussies out quali fied SWC regulars Pierfrancesco Chili and Peter Goddard in

Superpole, Connell finished eighth in race one. Following his race one crash, Martin returned to grab a fine seventh in race two, while Connell finished ninth.

The two are promising big things for the rest of the Shell Australian Superbike Championships, with plenty of scope for development left. Curiously, though, Martin’s bike was markedly slower in top speed than Connell’s over the weekend, leaving the team scratching their heads as to the reasons why. ■ It was race callers at 20 paces following a big-time dummy spit by one of the mike-wielding announcers during the Superbike warm-up on Sunday morning. Throvring his head-set down and storming out of race control in a fit of airtime deficit disorder, the bellower later patched up his differences with his colleague, the pair giving a comprehensive and voluminous account of a bril

Simon Crafar at the 1998 AGP.

TROY Corser scored two mag

nificent SWC victories at Phillip Island last Sunday, in a display that will rank alongside Mick Doohan’s

memorable

1998

Australian Grand Prix victory last October.

After securing pole position in brilliant fashion on the newly resurfaced track, Corser won both 22-lap legs from triple world champ and Ducati Performance team-mate

Carl Fogarty - and smashed the outright lap motorcycle record on

out row two, with Aussie Steve Martin (DDT996RS) ninth, ahead of the Corona Suzuki Alstare pairing of Katsuaki Fujiwara and

tors before heading out to a clear track and making the most of their one-lap gumball Q tyres. With eleven laps down, Corser ventured out by the middle of the session for his last chance to usurp his team-mate, Inch-perfect, seemingly silk smooth yet breathtakingly intense,

after uncorking his lm32.62. “We didn’t make any major

Pierfrancesco Chili.

changes to the set-up we found in testing in February.” After trialling 16.5-inch tyres in the early part of the session, both Corser and Fogarty utilised 17-inch tyres in qualifying and race versions. “On Saturday morning. I’ll be doing a ‘long run’ which will give

team-mate Craig Connell was 12th,

Of the other local irders, Martin’s one slot ahead of Shawn Giles

(Team Ansett Airfreight Suzuki). The final 60-minute session on

Saturday was largely uneventful, thanks to the languid conditions. Fogarty, Corser and Edwards were the only irders to break in to

an ecstatic Corser returned to his

pits, where he embraced an equally jubilant team boss, Davide Tardozzi.

“We’ve decided on the tyres for the race and, if the weather condi tions hold up for tomorrow, the two races will be very close. It’s almost

impossible to pull out a lead and there’s always quite a fight at the front,” said Corser, who hadn’t won a SWC race at Phillip Island since 1995.

For Fogarty, it was a case of being denied yet again. Although he’s by the far the winningest rider in WSB history, his record on pole positions is far less

ment after he showcased the all-

new RSVlOOO’s surprising topspeed, before succumbing to a prac tice crash and engine gremlins in

one of its heaviest defeats since its

inception in 1994. Third in both races, Honda gun 18 and 15 seconds behind Corser, despite having the fastest bike

through the speed beams - the team has scheduled additional test

ing at Silverstone in the run up to Bonington in a bid to catch the for midable 1999 Ducati 996s.

Qualifying Corser dominated qualifying in a rare and mercurial display. In the first timed qualifying ses sion, he traded the number one

leader’s position with Fogarty in

Driying onto the straight with the crowd right behind him, Corser’s gamble worked, the Australian recording a lm32.193, the fastest-ever time recorded by a motorcycle around the 4.45km cir Celebrating with a series of mas sive wheelies on his slow down lap,

Cecco Aprilia team, Phillip Island was a mix of hope and disappoint

deep soul searching after it suffered

Corser flicked his Ducati into the turns with unbridled confidence.

cuit.

For Peter Goddard and the De

Colin Edwards finished a massive

- DARRYL FLACK

tions taking on a Formula One flavour, irders watching their moni-

run at faster average speeds than Doohan’s ’98 island triumph and he now joins the five-time world 500cc champ and Anthony Gobert as the only double-race winners of the Australian round of the Superbike World Championship. On the receiving end of two pun ishing defeats inflicted by Fogarty at the opening round at Kyalami, Corser steeled himself superbly at Phillip Island and now lies just four points behind the flint-hard Brit going into the next round at Bonington on May 2.

■ New Corona Suzuki signing Frankie Chili had a fairly miser able outing, after experiencing niggling electronic management problems over the weekend.

crack the top ten. The final ignominy for the pop ular Italian was having his hel met visor blown off in the dying laps of race two.

Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) rounded

second race. Both of Corser’s victories were

the races. The Castrol Honda team faces

Ducatf front-runner failed to

massive 1.25 secs off Crafar’s time

Corser’s sizzling Friday time with a lm32.612, the race for grid posi-

the second last lap of the gripping

liant day’s racing. Superbike legend Rob Phillis was a guest caller and somehow squeezed in his forthrightly funny views on racing.

When he did finish a race, or a practice session, the one-time

“I was taking a irsk when I said I could go under the outright lap record, but I managed to keep my promise,” Corser said, knocking a

here, but even those lap times have been set dodging other irders.”

imposing.

Bad news: Slight contemplates Honda’s lack of form. (Tony Giynn pic) me some idea on which tyres to use for the race,” Corser added. Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda)

edged into third fastest behind Fogarty,while former 250 GP hardman Doriano Romboni slotted him

self onto the provisional front row with an impressive lm33.669. Slight finished fifth fastest with a lm33.995 from Goddard, who stunned everyone with the Aprilia’s straight-line speed as much as his sixth-fastest time - carding 288.7kmh, Goddard was only slow

the ’33s, with none of the first six riders from the first session able to

improve on their times. In the 15 minutes between the

final session and Superpole, the heavens opened, albeit briefly, forc ing officials to declare a wet Superpole. Instead of the top sixteen run ning off individually, the riders were allowed to complete a maxi mum of 12 laps in a 50-minute ses sion.

Ironically, the track cleared by

er to Edwards’ 289.5kmh.

the time the first bikes entered the

“Looking at the other bikes on the track, the Aprilia feels fast. The top speed is very good,” he said. “It helps to know my way around

circuit, allowing the riders to engage in an intriguing and tactical battle for top spot.

Fogarty held sway by bettering

“My last pole position was four years ago, but what counts here is to start in a good position and have a good race strategy,” said Fogarty. Slight finished third fastest in front of Edwards to round out the

front row, with Romboni leading row two from Gregorio Lavilla (Kawasaki), team-mate Yanagawa, with Martin overcoming a lOkmh deficit to claim the final position on the second row.

Haga, Fujiwara, Connell and Chili filled row three, while Andrea Meklau (Ducati), Giles, Goddard and Robert Ulm (Kawasaki) filled

out the 16. After his promising first qualify ing session, Goddard had a disas trous time, highsiding in the final session after opting for a different suspension and tyre set-up, then

/I!^k)9®[FS[p®[F{}

23 April 1999

struggling on the spare bike in Superpole.

Race One Corser grabbed the holeshot, set a sensational lm39.573 from a

standing start, smashed Aaron Slight’s longstanding Superbike record on his first flying lap and

tyre if I had to,” Corser explained even so, he set his fastest lap of the race with three laps to go. The fairing-banging battle between the foursome was finally resolved in favour of a composed Edwards, who prevailed over Slight, Yanagawa and Haga, the group covered by less than 0.295s.

secs by lap eight. Bouncing back from his race one get-off, Martin had been lying in 13th, but in an astounding two laps, forced his way to seventh

place, which set up an exacting race-long duel with Connell and Romboni.

Well, my race the opening round debut of the at British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago was

not as I had planned - but, after

getting spat off the bike during Saturday’s qualifying, I still man aged to salvage 12th and 10th placings on Sunday, despite the pain in my left leg. Before I tell you about the Brands tumble, though, I should provide an update on my recent

was in tears and a rival team’s

ten finish were shattered on nine when he lost the fi'ont-end at Siberia

press officer telephoned colleagues in Malaysia to report a performance

while lying in seventh place with Yanagawa and Edwards in sight.

that had to be seen to be believed.

Connell moved from 12th to

Up front. Foggy sat on Corser, appearing close enough to pass after showing his front wheel several times and finally showing his hand when he brushed by the Aussie on the run into turn one on lap 16. Fogarty tried to make the break, but Corser stayed with him.

eighth by lap nine and had Romboni lined up before he suf fered arm fatigue in the dying laps, dropping him eight seconds behind

to stalk and hatch his last lap strat egy, which he executed decisively as the pair dived into turn one for

Suzuki’s latest bike at Monza -

medical clearance, as I had trav elled over 16,000 kilometres to

the Italian at the end.

unfortunately, it rained for two days, so that turned out to be a

the last time.

race in their twelve round champi onship and there was no way I

non-event.

was gong to miss the series

With just under 4km to cover, Corser stood his ground, realising MG comer was the only real concern. Sweeping down off Lukey Heights, he covered the inside line, but a little too much road speed saw the back-end step out, throw ing him offline on the exit. Fogarty squeezed by as they flicked into the left-hander - but, driving hard out of the

But, at Cartagena in Spain, we managed to get three days of successful track time completed and my lap times were competi

opener.

For the other Aussies, it was mixed

was never headed.

Ducati

fortunes after Martin’s hopes of a top

Performance team boss Tardozzi

After

the

race,

Meantime, Fogarty made a poor start and was boxed in fifth on the

first lap before he picked off Haga, Slight and Edwards in a series of desperate manoeuvres. Fogarty wasted no time in mak ing a break, but it was too late

Corser had pulled out to a 2.175-sec lead by lap three and controlled the

Giles, who struggled with grip after lap eight, was 11th and fin-

ished in front of Vitto Guareschi’s factory Yamaha in 13th.

race from there.

While the Brit dug in vain to catch Corser, a battle royale was

emerging behind him, consisting of a fast-starting Haga, Slight, Edwards and a closing

Race Two Slight got the initial holeshot as Corser struggled a little off the line, but the Australian swept around the outside to claim the lead.

Yanagawa. The

Now it was the Australian’s turn

foursome

comer, the Brit had a

engaged in plenty of

slide

that

allowed

stuff and shove, which

Late-braker; World

Corse to make up pre

kept the crowd enter

Champ Carl Fogarty could do nothing to

cious time.

tained while the two Ducatis droned into the distance.

counter his team mate’s evident

superiority at p Island.

By lap seven. Chili retired after his elec

tronic

management

'Glynn pic)

failed while holding down ninth, to be fol lowed by Goddard, whose Aprilia expired

0.005sec! A massive 15 sec

while in 12th.

onds back, Edwards again came out on top of the race-long fight for third from Slight and Haga, who were all covered by a mere

On the next lap, Fogarty broke Corser’s lap record with a lm33.33, shaving the Aussie’s lead to under two seconds. “I was afraid I

0.08 seconds.

might’ve burned my tyre up catching Troy and it did a bit,” Fogarty said. Corser, too, was con cerned by the condition of his

Michelin, claiming it began to spin

The Kiwi held down a close sec-

and cause the bike to vibrate once it wore.

turn 1.

and it was a battle to nurse it with

five laps to go. It was good I had that buffer on Carl, because it

would’ve been difficult to push the

Yanagawa finished a lonely sixth, with Martin coming out on top in the battle for seventh

ond, before a slow-starting Fogarty swept down the inside of Slight into

“It started doing wrong things

Latching on to Foggy’s rear wheel as they drove onto the last corner, Corser timed his run perfect ly and swung out of the leader’s draught to claim a stunning victory on the line by

Inexorably, the fiercest competitor in SWC chipped away at Corser’s buffer, both riders lapping in the ’33s, with Foggy circulating in the lower’33s to get within 0.672

from

Romboni and Connell.

Giles finished a creditable 12th,

explaining that a top-spec Dunlop rear offered by Corona team for race two afforded more grip, but

pushed the front. Points after two rounds: Fogarty 90, Corser 86, Slight 62, Edwards 56, Yanagawa 42, Haga 34,

in my right leg and left shoulder. The next morning I woke up

happenings with Team Clarion Suzuki.

Several days after arriving in England, I went to Italy to test

feeling fine, then went to Brands and got the doctor to give me a

Idid the warm-up and, really, I couldn’t ride the Suzuki - the doc

tor popped in to see me and

tive with all the teams that were in

offered to give me a pain-killer, so I took him up on his offer and

attendance. Including Yamaha and Kawasaki.

competed in both of the races in front of 25,000 race fans.

Webikemadein the a fewweek changes to my leading up to the series opener on the short Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch - but it rained all Friday, so Saturday morning’s dry practice session was the first opportunity to get some quick laps in. In the first of the qualifiers, I was sixth quickest on race tyres, as quick as anyone else in the leading group, before I had my first qualifying tyre put on the bike.

On my first true qualifying lap, the rear suspension bottomed-out going through the fast right-han der leading onto the main straight - the rear tyre spun before regaining traction, launching me

Despite the pain, I finished 12th and 10th and picked up 10 valuable championship points Neal Hodgson won the first race on a Ducati and my Team Clarion Suzuki team-mate James Haydon won the next, so we know our

bikes are competitive. During the next week, I rested and let the medicos inspect my swollen leg, then headed off to Thruxton for the second leg of the series on Easter Sunday and Monday, where I managed to score a pair of ninth placings. I have had to miss some test

ing, though, as my leg split open when they took the stitches out and last week it snowed at Oulton

Park when we were supposed to be getting some laps in.

into the air like a rocketman.

I was travelling at around 125 mph in fifth gear at the time I went

over the top, the bike chasing me down the road and nailing me a couple of times - I slid for an eter nity before it smashed me into the armco, jamming me hard up against the safety wall.

A foot-peg went through my

The third round of the series is at Oulton Park on the Anzac Weekend back home.

Allduring the teams live at the and trackI the meetings have purchased a caravan that I tow behind my Suzuki Vitara V6 it is a real race community, with a

left leg between the calf muscle

tremendous amount of advan

and the bone, so the medical

tages over our style of living back

team sent me off to a local hospi tal to have a complete check-over and possible surgery. They wanted to operate on the leg and stitch it up internally, but I persuaded them to stitch it exter nally. Also hampering my progress were some torn muscles

in Australia, where we leave the

track and go back to a hotel, or motel.

We prepare our own meals and eat better and you’re close to the team mechanics and the pit garage at all times, making it eas ier to check on progress.

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H!&o)0®17SIV®[70

23 April 1999

Home and Away ● Paul Morris returns with a win and a second

● Patrick Watts make brilliant debut with pole and win ● Audi, Volvo struggle in dry/damp conditions ● Drivers and teams adapt to Yokohama control tyre

● Peter Hills get first Independent win in five years ● Small field reduced to 15 by mechanical woes Report by PHIL BRANAGAN

UST when Audi and Volvo

were eyeing each other off for the honours in the 1999 BOC

Gases Super Touring Champion ship two last-minute entries, Paul

first flying lap. The two almost came together and Morris had lost his best shot at grid one... And Patrick now knew that the

Morris and Patrick Watts, shared

tyres were up to it. he stood on the gas and delivered pole next lap.

the wins in the first sortie of the

Who’s on first? Nope, Watts on first.

year at Lakeside near Brisbane.. The local hero and the visiting

Briton dominated the racing. Watts sharing pole positions with Jim Richards only for a broken fuel

injector clip to prevent him from starting the first 20-lap race. While Morris won that, the

Queenslander had no answer for Watts in race 2, Paul Grimm’s

Peugeot 406 having too much poise and speed for Morris’ BMW. While Morris took his accus

In session two he left his switch

to wet tyres too late and had to set tle for second - by 0.04s. He

grinned; such is the life of a ‘holi daying’ racing driver. He had also tangled with Malcolm Rea. The Queenslander had turned in to Bryan Byrt Ford comer but suddenly found Watts on his left, half on the grass. The two clanged wheels, each suffering a breakage, but both survived other Richards backed up his third spot on the first grid with pole on the

Richards and Volvo newcomer Mark Williamson were never in a

second. The veteran was not enrap

winning threat, while Jones and his new buddy Matthew Coleman were simply blown away for car speed by the Pug and Morris three-year-old

the dry but fairly flew in the damp

of the

first

encounter class stalwart Peter Hills

took a deserved Independents’ win in his now-stunning Ford Mondeo, while British newcomer Jamie Wall

did well in race two, hauling his exSteven Richards Honda Accord onto

the Ford’s bumper in race two.

Qualifying here was a lot to learn for our

T UK visitors; they’d never raced

using, unlike Watts who stayed on slicks, Yoko’s wets. New off-sider Mark Williamson

was ascending a steep learning curve. He was eight and ninth in the ex-JR ‘97 car, the S40 crew up till 0200 on Saturday after Mark made “as classic front-wheel drive

error” during Friday practice and beaching the car. Damage was not serious and Williamson knuckled down to leam as much as he could. Morris was second and third. The

tall Queenslander, now a Jamie Wall shade of blonde, replaced a driveshaft after the second session, but the local was otherwise uncon

nor Wall had actually raced their cars before and, like everyone else in the field, they had to get used to the new Yokohama control tyres. So it was really something when Watts planted the Peugeot on pole. After driving the car for the first time on Thursday the bespectacled Brit made some major set-up changes to

cerned about not being right at the pointy end, giving the reputation

He was slower than new Audi lad

Matthew Coleman in Q2. Yep, you

getting off the line quickly. Defending Champ Jones was fourth, and fifth, which says a lot

read right. Coleman was really impressive, judging conditions well

about the form of the new-to-theteam FWD Audi A4. In the

ing that he could have gone quicker if he had had his timing better. He was looking to clamp onto the bumper of Jones in the race and head up towards the leaders. He was fifth in Ql, 0.4s behind Jones. As class debuts go, this was one of

dampAvet conditions of the second session a quattro would have

53.00s to snare the prime spot.

torched the field, while session one

saw a 0.2s drop from Brad’s earlier practice time. The form of the car when the track was at its wettest

was encouraging, Jones having the track almost to himself as he

Hills was seventh and sixth in the two sessions and Canto ninth and

step into the Honda when the Nissan arrives, swapped the next positions with Rea. Both were mak ing do on 18 inch Yokos, the compa ny going to some trouble to locate tyres to suit the now-ancient-sized

15th, missing the final session after a beaching at the Karussell in Q1

wheels. ‘Robbo’ and Rea will have rubber to suit at Oran Park but

accounted for a cam drive belt. The

there is no guarantee that there

team was out of engines and, unwilling to risk a total blow-up.

will be sufficient stock after that.

magazine likes Ford Mondeos. So

roared around.

that the ex-Brabham 320i had for

the car and whistled around in

dent. Along the way he had inad vertently baulked Morris, who had been first out of pitlane and was going for it, lights ablaze, on his

way, Morris with champagne and Watts with daughter Aimee.

tured in the balance of the car in

at Lakeside before, neither Watts

And it had not been without inci

‘Independents’ Day: \A/atts and Morris had too much for the works cars at Lakeside. They each celebrated in their own

wise unscathed.

tomed series lead the day was a rel ative letdown for the big players.

Beemer. With Watts out

Photos by Dirk Klynsmitn

to bounce the boss by 1.2s and feel

the classier efforts from the quietlyspoken Melburnian. Confession time; the editor of this

does Peter Hills. The reskinned V6s of he and Dean Canto looked sensa

tional and were moving well too;

tice after the team traced a misfire

On the other hand the torque of the Cosworth V6 was a great help in the damp and Hills was enjoying

to bad fuel, while Rea lost track time on Saturday morning when an

himself, despite having no clutch

Milton Leslight, Jim Cornish and David Auger followed at the back, all having differing stories to tell. Leslight’s Carina ran well, now seemingly clear of its recent engine problems, Cornish had a fire on Friday which gave his team plenty of clean-up to do, and Auger was hampered by a lack of budget and tyres. He had brought no Yoko wets

for both sessions. Wall followed. The tall Pom was

making do without power steering in the ex-Richards/Adderton Honda

and looking forward to a belated present for his 22nd birthday, an ex-Matt Neal Nissan Primera to

Paper Tiger:

Robson missed most of Friday prac

Canto was out for the weekend.

race at upcoming rounds. Anthony Robson, who is due to

over-full oil tank overflowed.

Morris’s

return to local

BOC Gases Super Touring Championship - Qualifying

racing was

Session 1

first-rate,

guiding the ' Versari Paper BMW to a race 1 win over Richards

and chasing Watts home in race 2. No wonder he leads the series. (Photo by Marshall Cass)

1 2 3 4

5 6 John Henderson 7 Peter Hills 8 Mark Williamson 9 Dean Canto 10 Jamie Waii 11 Luke Searle

12 Anthony Robson 13

Jim Cornish

14 David Auger 15 Milton Leslight 16

Session 2

Station Team Peugeot 406 Versari Paper BMW 320 Jim Richards Volvo Racing Volvo S40 Brad Jones Audi Sports Australia Audi A4 Matthew Coleman Audi Sports Australia Audi A4 Patrick Watts Paul Morris

Malcolm Rea

John Henderson Vectra Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo

Vovio Racing Volvo S40 Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo CLS Services Honda Accord

Roadchill/Hartge BMW 318i Grid Motorsport BMW 318 Visit your Vet Nissan Primera Gun Racing Alfa Romeo 155TS All Auto Parts Toyota Carina Malcolm Rea ToyolaCarina E

53.0047 53.1519

Richards

60.6234

2 3 4 5

Watts Morris Coleman Jones

60.6667

Hills

64.4498

54.6086 54.7316 55.3269 56.0061 56.2551 56.5585

Henderson

64.6138

8 Wall 9 Williamson 10 Rea 11 Robson

65.5195

12 Leslight

70.5371

56.6627 57.5012 58.5234 64.4157

13 Cornish

74.3428

14 Auger

74.4580

15 Canto 16 Seade

No time

53.3571

53.7580 54.1601 54.5479

61.1821

62.1332 63.3967

66.2275 69.3978 70.2702

No time

because he couldn’t really afford

but that all changed temporarily when Henderson, after a strong

dancing in the rear but he managed

start, galloped under both A4s at the Karussell. Jones almost stopped

quarters of the race, the second S40

in the melee, Coleman took evasive

eral times at the Kink. While this

missed qualifying because of his

action and the Vectra was third.

religious commitments, was due to start from the rear, but his 56.25s warm-up time was taken into

For a minute. By the time he got to Hungry Henderson lost his gains, running off on the outside and kick ing up the dust. He resumed sev

was happening Henderson gath ered himself up and was challeng

them and was unable to run his stock of Michelins because of the

switch to control tyres. As usual Luke Searle, who

account and he would start 10th in

the heat of the mid-pack battle. Three cars didn’t make it to qual ifying. Rod Wilson’s BMW was a no-go because of a broken crown

wheel and pinion, Tony Newman headed home after losing oil pres sure in his Peugeot’s engine and Aaron McGill packed up after valves and pistons in his solo Mondeo V6 got a little too friendly with each other.

Race 1 (20 laps) f the Watts/Morris showdown

I promised much, it delivered noth

ing. As the field lined up after the two warm-up laps it was suddenly apparent that the Pug was in all sorts of grief. Flame belched from the exhaust and Watts pulled right into the pit exit, quickly bailing out of the car. 'The 406 was hauled off; a fuel injector clip (almost literally the proverbial 20(2 part) had broken and he was out.

That was a godsend for Morris. The Beemer didn’t exactly scald off the line but it did enough to beat away Richards and the two Audis

to hold off Williamson for three-

almost running into the Accord sev

enth, but the main effect of the inci

ing Robson and Searle in a battle for eighth place. The Vectra was past at the Karussell on lap nine. The only chance the Volvo had

dent was that the leading pair was

was in traffic but it was Morris who

2s clear of Jones, Coleman, Hills, Wall, Henderson, Williamson, Auger, Robson, Searle, Leslight, Rea and Cornish, who stalled at the lights and would soon be out with a

than a second, with Richo a further

broken left-rear wheel hub. Morris’ start decided the race. He was almost a second clear of the

Volvo after a lap and he held that gap during most of the race. It var ied somewhat in traffic over the 20

laps but Morris had the cars and tyre balance to hold off the S40 until the end. It was that simple. While Jones (who would make

major set-up changes after the race) and Coleman settled into their

unchallenged positions Hills was having an equally unhurried time in fifth. He held the spot until the end, taking the Independents’ award and the trophy for best Pre-95 car. “Is this the way to the podium?” he enquired happily after the race? While the wasn’t much racing going on up front there was plenty in the pack. Wall’s Honda was

held sway, easing away to win his 10th Lakeside BOC round by less 10s back in third. Then came the

lonely Jones, Coleman and a

delighted Hills. The catching Williamson was next from Wall, who just held on from Henderson, who continued his solid run, pass ing Auger with two to go.

Race 2 (25 laps) ith Morris on row two Watts

wfaced a different challenge; all

he had to do was negotiate the warm-up laps (which he did) and

beat Richards away (which he did)

to take the lead and, hopefully, Peugeot’s first Super Touring win in Australia.

He managed Part 1, just. The 406 bested the S40 but, behind, Morris

had hammered alongside the Volvo into second and had the momentum to take the lead. Problem: Richards

was alongside. Watts was ahead. He was trapped. And Patrick knew it...

loto Dy War^ihall

The (British) Lion THE reaction to the pole position

means that the car is now much

by Patrick Watts - not to mention

more responsive to set-up changes and is better in both fast and slow comers. Basically, now the car is much easier to drive,”

his heat 2 win - was interesting, to say the least.

On paper, it was baffling. Here a car which was not especially

said Starion’s man.

competitive in the British series was going like a green blur Down Under. In fact, it was quicker than

Must be working; Peugeot have already won in France, South Africa and Australia this year.

Jim Richards BTCC and Bathurst

media’s opinion of Patrick, who

last season.

England in three years, is generally that of a likeable psycho who was fast but brittle. He was dumped

But the 1998 spec 406, as dri ven by Tim Harvey and Paul Radisich, was probably better than many experts thought. The car was a development of the MSD-built car from ’97, which had

been raced here by Watts, Harvey, Radisich and Neil Crompton at Bathurst that year. There are some telling changes to Starion Team Peugeot’s car. While Mountune built the BTCC engines last sea

after 101 BTCC starts with Mazda

and Peugeot’s teams, and no

Independent outfits came knocking while he was unemployed. Why? Even when he was restricted to one engine at Bathurst in 1997 he was smooth

and fast, qualifying fifth fastest, running 2m17s while looking after the car, which broke while he was

well-placed in the race.

son this car now has a unit closer

And it wasn’t as if he was a

nutter, as the Poms say. As at Lakeside, two years ago he was friendly ((despite just have been fired by Peugeot) and likeable. In

has ensured that the car has

Queensland last week. Watts

straightline speed,” said a team spokesman.

signed an avwful lot of autographs.

ical equation was suspension and tyres.

"Changes to suspension speci fication that was used by MSD

He was 0 for 101 in the UK, but

he’s already got 1 win from 3 starts here. Everyone knows Watts wears glasses; perhaps he should loan them to some of the British media... - PHIL BRANAGAN

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had won four one-make series in

to that used by the French-based Peugeot Sport team. “Changing from the Mountune engine specs to ‘genuine’ specs

The other factor in the mechan-

Yoko-hammer? There were new tyre, car and driver combinations to keep everyone busy in Brissie. Jamie Wall had the ex-Richards Honda going well, here ahead of the ex-Richards Volvo of Mark Williamson. Here they lap Milton Leslight’s Toyota Carina, which is probably nof ex-Richards ... is it? (Photoby oirkKiynsmith)

Then there’s Watts. The British

winning Volvo S40, the fastest Super Touring car in the world

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IMd9(o)[FS[JXo)[?0

23 April 1999

■ There were some fairly

major set-up changes required to get the cars comfortable on Yokohama’s new rubber. Starion

Team Peugeot manager Paul Grimm found a tyre tempera ture differential of 22°C across

the front tyres, prompting all manner of (secret) camber and castor adjustments.

■ If a 1998-spec Volvo S40 is worth around a half-million dol

lars - and that’s if you could buy one, which you can’t - Richards’ new toy must be priceless. Rather than the late-98 test car

which the team expected to receive JR was reunited with his

Bathurst winner, which co-dri ver Rickard Rydell had used to clinch the ’98 BTCC title.

Apparently the reason was that pedigree S40s are in short sup ply following the adventures of 1998 Volvo man Gianni Morbidelli.

■ Former Indy Lights man Paul Morris turned his back on

the Independents’ battle, announcing that he was relin quishing his ‘Indy status to run with the factory-backed teams and somewhat sportingly giving the ‘second-tier’ drivers a crack at race and series wins.

Continued from page 17 He also knew he had a

and used it to build a small

fourth from Coleman, Hills, Henderson, Robson, Wall, William-son, Auger,

Searle, Cornish, Rea and Leslight, who stalled at the

Andretti machine. In their

blue/silver paint and ’98 wings the cars’ appearance was first rate.

■ Jamie Wall turned 22 on

qualifying day. He was present ed with a cake at the post-quali fying media conference by coun tryman Patrick Watts, who is not quite 22 ...

■ The youngest-ever series pass holder? Bradley O’Reilly, son of TOCA Australia’s Kelvin

and Barbara, has his own series admission at the ripe old age of seven months.

■ Look for a third Toyota Carina soon. Malcolm Rea has

sourced another ex-TOMS car, a

locked southern Australia

late-Sunday night times. As the boy scouts say, check your local guides. ■ Seven broadcasts will be

fronted by Mike Raymond and Allan Moffat, both present and accounted for at Lakeside. They were seen chatting on Sunday morning with TOCA observer Colin Bond, prompting flash backs to the 1970s and ’80s.

Somebody cue that Donna Summer music... ■ Also in attendance was

Union legend David Campese. The goose-stepping former inter national was there as a guest of Volvo, with which he now has a

promotional role. Of course, one of his management company’s star clients is Mark Webber,

which could lead to some good street races in Queanbeyan when the two make their next

dash to a golf course.

On 12

Richards

Jones

4 5

Coleman Hills

18:05.7093 18:16.3324 18:25.7150 18:40.6584 18:48.1635 18:59.4906 18:59.7397

53.7050 54.1813 54.1816 55.1499 55.0034 55.8567 55.1633

2 4 12 5 3 3 19

19 laps 19 laps 19 laps 18 laps 18 laps 13 laps

56.3796 56.1563 56.5424 59.6937 59.8047 57.1715

3 19 3 3 5 5

Wall

Henderson

Auger

Searie

Robson

Leslight

Rea

came the battle of wits:

Watts had the speed on the straight bits but Morris’ mid-corner speed was higher everywhere, except the wet-and-getting-wetter Karussell, where the Bimmer was

understeering almost off the track. The gap went

up and down in traffic and according to the damp level, both drivers having a huge sideways moment at the suddenlywet Hungry which, next

lap, became suddenly drier and grippy again. While

Richards

dropped around 0.7s a lap to the leaders (he was

DNF Cornish DNS Watts

Race 2 (25 laps)

^ibto by Dirk Klynsmith

Another Pom: Wall had a good weekend in the Honda. Now for a Nissan ... wrench the car around attacks of Henderson he Morris, series lead found Leslight on his line the corner. Watts was intact, was a convincing at the Karussell, clouting seriously delayed; he was second, while Richards the Carina and knocking trapped for about 10s took third, miles clear of his power steering pump and, as he got past, Jones and Coleman. Well off its bracket. With now Morris was right on his back was Hills, under huge pressure from Wall, mega-heavy steering he tail. But Watts kept his cool. who missed an Indy UK was a sitting duck for the 1-2 by a car’s length. closing Wall (who had Despite the treacherous track he refused to relin shaken off Henderson The writing is clear. who went off at the quish his car’s length gap The silver Volvos and Karussell on lap nine - and speared through the Audis do not have the and Robson) and the lead final corner to take his, Super Touring playpen to and Peugeot’s, maiden themselves any more; ers, Watts almost 2s up

Jones snookered by the inconsistent grip and Coleman driving sensibly

on Morris, were zeroing in to lap Hills.

behind. Hills had had a less

race. The leader caught the Ford at Hungry with three laps left and Hills was doing all he could to

lonely time this race. After resisting the early

It almost decided the

win in Australia - in fact,

Watts is here for at least

it was the first Super Touring win of his long career. It was a delighted

one more race, Morris is

not going anywhere and Wall may have his ex-

Paul Grimm and team

Matt Neal Nissan for

that greeted him after the slow-down lap.

Oran Park. The sharp end is getting sharper.

Pos

Driver

Race time

Watts

23:28.2737

F/Ibp 53.6670

On 6

Morris

Richards

Jones

5 6

Coleman Hills

23:28.5179 23:47.4547 23:53.0033 24:12.0946

53.6114 53.8423 54.4340 55.1713

6 6 7 7

Wall

Williamson

Auger

24 laps 24 laps 24 laps 24 laps 24 laps 24 laps 24 laps 22 laps 21 laps 8 laps

55.3007 56.2488 55.8769 56.4878 56.5987 56.6171 57.2574 61.4487 59.6257 55.3912

6 5 6 6 5 5 6 5 3 3

Robson

11 12

Searie Cornish

Rea

Leslight

DNF Henderson

Drivers Championship points: Morris 27, Richards23, Jones 18, Watts16, Coleman14, Hills 11, Williamson8, Wall 8, Auger 4, Henderson 3, L. Searie 1, Robson 1 Manufacturers:

Volvo 30, Audi 24 Teams:

Audi Sport Australia 42, Volvo Racing 41, Team Mondeo 16, Project Racing 16 Independents Cup: Hills 27, Wall 22, Watts 17, Auger 16, L. Searie 11, Robson 11, Henderson 10,

Leslight 6, Rea 6, Cornish 4.

Peter Pick of Pirelli Porsches PETER Bradbury got the 1999 season off to a great start by col lecting maximum points at Lakeside with two wins from two starts in the TNT Porsche

times considerably with the Peter

Fitzgerald-prepared GT2 late in the session.

Bradbury wasn’t totally happy in the first session but claimed pole for the second race in the second

911 C2, Mike Kilpatrick also topping the sheets twice on the day in Class B.

wet session, over a second clear of Keene. Martin Wagg, Peter

In the first race Bradbury led home a thin field of just 11 cars, gradually pulling away while in the second the fight was harder after Greg Keene led in the early running.

the next three spots. Froude gambled on intermediates

Porsche Cup pole position for race one with a 54.9483 lap after having been stuck in the 56s’, before get ting a bit aggro and dropping the

‘non-footbair states getting a Sunday afternoon slot and AFL-

F/Iep 53.6850

If the start was dry, it didn’t take even a full lap for the precipitation to start, er, precipping. Now

in future rounds by Carlos Rolfo.

nate with BTCC events, with

18:04.8538

Williamson

RHD model which will be driven

The BOC Gases series will alter

Race time

Morris

Keene had secured his first

■ TOCA’s TV package on Channel Seven will see Super Touring racing on the network for almost 30 straight weekends.

Driver

looked identical, they had way

Richards and Jeff Allam, while Canto’s was the formerly crashed ex-Team Leitzinger/Jeff

Pos

off.

so, too, were the Audis,

model driven previously by Jim

Race 1 (20 laps)

gap on lap one. Jones was

being very circumspect)

different pasts. Hills’ car was

Rounds 1/2, Lakeside April 17/18

horsepower advantage,

■ If the Team Mondeo Fords

the ex-Ross Palmer Motorsport

BOC Gases Super Touring Championship

tVktjH

Harburg and Simon Froude shared and ABS late in the second session

as the track dried and, while push

ing hard trying for pole position, was black flagged for not securing his window net.

In Class B Kilpatrick took pole by almost a full second

in the first

session, but his car refused to start

for the second, leaving Peter Bolton to claim pole for race two. In race one Bradbury won the start over Keene, Wagg, Harburg, and Kilpatrick. At the end of the first lap Froude was next, followed by Peter McRae, Bolton, Mike Downard, David Scraybook. Debutant Azim Sahu-Khan was last across the line but didn’t com

plete another lap. Bradbury and Keene pulled away from the field, Wagg settled down to a lonely third, his only drama a

The beginning of the second race saw the start being aborted and, consequently., the race was short ened to 15 laps. Keene won the second start with

Bradbury snapping at his heels, from Wagg, Froude, a fast starting McRae, Harburg and Bolton. Keene spun and bogged into the edge of the Karussel sand trap and the race was red-flagged. The field regridded and the order back-tracked a lap. Keene won the second start but coming on to the

loose muffler.

straight, with the chance of another

Harburg was caught late in the race but Froude’s ABS weight penalty kept him behind the RSR.

victory spurring him on, Bradbury pulled out and powered past, Keene then falling into the clutches of Wagg. Bradbury pulled away to win while Keene pushed hard to regain second on the last lap, Wagg slid ing off-line at Eastern Loop. Froude won an exciting battle for fourth with McRae and Harburg next, Kilpatrick fighting through

Earlier Froude made what would

be the only passing move of the race to take fifth from Kilpatrick. Keene closed the gap, but it wasn’t enough to threaten Bradbury. Kilpatrick was comfort ably claimed Class B. Sahu-Khan’s tough day at Lakeside continuing, the debutant not completing the warm-up lap, pulling off to the left of the straight.

from the back of the field to win Class B. -MARK JONES

Wayne wakes G’dore Cup WAYNE

Wakefield

and

Christian D’agostin were the

big winners in Commodore Cup, Wakefield himself putting in a sterling drive in the two races after having claimed pole and then being sent to the back of the grid by officials due to sus pension spring irregularities. Tim Shaw capitalised on Wakefield’s dramas in qualifying, D’agostin, Maurie Platt, David Gittus, Ray Sidebottom and Geoff Emery filing in behind. In the first race D’agostin won the start from Shaw and they cleared away from the field. Wakefield claimed third at the end

after picking through a hard fought group of Sidebottom, Emery, Gittus & Platt - Platt having a big lose at the kink after Sidebottom.

touch

with

D’agostin pulled away quickly from the field at the beginning of the second race, while Wakefield sur

prised many when he fell to fifth. He quickly regained his composure and then picked off Sidebottom and Emery, Shaw retiring. In the closing laps Wakefield caught D’agostin and took the lead at the Karussel with two to go, going on to take the win. Emery held out Sidebottom and Neville

Haley for third. -MARK JONES

The kid's done it again Craig Lowndes put on an epic performance on the streets of Adelaide in the Sensational Adelaide 500. Even having to pass the whole field didn't stop him from winning.

rive V( May 1 marks the fifth anniversary of the death ofAyrton Senna. The loss now seems almost as great as it was that dark day at Imola. JOE SAWARD remembers the great drive,r and great man. t is five years since Ayrton

the 1990s the nature of modern FI

Senna died at Imoia and his shadow still lurks over the Formula 1 circus. Senna is his

had created such pressures that the top men in FI cannot be friends. Nowadays they pretend to be with jovial banter, but you can see that there is no great wamrith between them. It is acting. Since FI growth exploded in the mid-

tory now but there are still enough people who remember what it was iike when he was around. And we miss him.

Whenever I hear Tina Turner

1980s the stars have lived in rar

singing 'Simply the best’, Ithink of Ayrton. She sang it to him during the post-race concert in Adelaide

efied worlds, divorced from reality.

in 1993 after his last - and one of

his finest - victories. The song captured the moment. That day Senna shared the podium with his bitter rival Alain Prost and pulled Alain up with him

onto the top step, offering Prost a respectful hand of friendship. It was easier because Alain was

retiring but it showed that Senna was trying to be a better person than he had been.

First, and foremost: Senna’s first

Formula One victory came after an epic drive through an Estoril inon.soon in his Lotus-Renault to

take the 1985 Portuguese GP. Goodbye: His final drive was at Imola on May 1, 1994. Below he

leads the field through the pit chicane onto the main straight. At the end of it, at the llat-out

Tamhurello corner, his steering column snapped (clearly visible. right), sending his WilliamsRenault FW16 front-first into a concrete wall.

Senna was airlifted to hospital with massive head injuries, which claimed his life.

He was 34 years old. iCemri' pimlo by Anton WaniyAllsport; all olher pholos by Nigel Snowdon)

t i

For about a year after his death Ifound myself watching the timesheets changing, half-expect ing to see the name Senna appear at the top of the list, as it always

Both Prost and Senna suffered

from this and many of their contro versies might have been solved or even avoided - if they had been able to sit down and have a quiet chat.

Once, in Hungary, the pair sat down in the Elf motorhome and

had a long talk and realised that they were very much alike. Pertiaps too much so. But that link was blown away by the aggressive competitiveness of the race track. Winning is everything and to be a winner you must be ruthless and cunning. Both Senna and Prost showed that they were willing to do what was necessary to succeed. Michael Schumacher has done the

used to. Whenever I saw a McLaren come around a corner I

same and you get the feeling that

expected to see the familiar yellow

necessary.

helmet to be behind the wheel.

Hakkinen would do the same if

For many of the same reasons

That ended when Marlboro split

which made it difficult for Senna

with McLaren and West arrived to

and Prost to be friends, Ayrton had a lot of trouble with journalists and Iwas no exception. We were

begin the era of the McLaren Silver Arrows. F1 is a world which moves so fast that the dreadful events at

Imola on May 1 1994 now seem as if they happened a million years ago. But to me Senna’s death marked the end of a great era in FI history. Without him there was a vast emptiness, accentuated by the disappearance from FI of Prost, the other great icon of the era. We had been

-r

spoiled in the late 1980s and early 1990s and we were left with Michael

Schumacher on a different level to all his rivals. And he was been there

ever since, only recently has Mika Hakkinen began to creep towards the kind of status

enjoyed by the stars of the 1980s.

It is always diffi cult to put drivers into historical per

not friends but he was an integral part - the focus - of my generation in FI. Istarted my motor racing career writing about Formula 3 in Europe at the time when he was dominating the British F3 series. A few years later Ifollowed him into FI. We had known each other for

years - and we nodded “Hello” but we were never really close. There were times when I complete ly failed to understand him and there were times when he com

pletely failed to understand what I was writing and we had a few fights because of it. There was one particular standup shouting match which became pivotal to our relationship. It took place in an Adelaide restaurant in 1992, when we found ourselves

seated opposite one another at a function. He objected to something Ihad written and I defended my comments. The argument was sim ple. He said Idid not know what I was talking about and I said that if he wanted to be understood he

spective but the

had to learn to open up a bit and learn to trust people. As a result of that fight, Ayrton

Senna/Prost rivalry

did what I had asked him to do. He

will no doubt one

gave me the chance to get to know him better. Our relationship began with bristling aggression, but we quickly calmed down and he began

day be compared to that of Tazio Nuvolari and Achilla Varzi in the 1930s. The differ ence was that the

sport had changed so much that by

to trust me. We talked for hours -

about many different subjects and it enabled me to write about

him in a completely new light. After that we never had a problem. I had

hE®9(o)[Fsro)®i70

23 April 1999

»ars on

earned his trust and Igradually grew to like him as well as to respect him. As a racing driver I had always respected him, ever since Ifirst watched him in F3 in 1983. A year later 1 stood in the rain on the out

side of the Swimming Pool com plex at Monaco and watched him

Suzuka and Adelaide. Ayrton was winning races in an uncompetitive car - the mark of the really great champions - and never was win ning so sweet. He rejoiced in his ability. There were many extraordinary things about Senna but for me the

His ruthlessness came because he knew what he wanted and he

would not be stopped. He did what was necessary to win and that made him enemies.

For a long time he remained an outsider at the centre of the FI cir

cus but gradually people began to

most remarkable was his will to

realise that there was a lot more to

hound Prost in the wet. It was his

succeed. His need to win. He

first really famous drive. When Ayrton went to Lotus in 1985 Iwas reporting on other kinds of racing, but Iremember in October that year Istood on the

came from a wealthy family, was

him. He was extraordinarily lucid and brilliantly intelligent. I think that the thing 1 miss most is his ability to express what it is like to be a racing driver, to push to the limits. Iremember one year at Monaco, Ayrton talked about hav ing the feeling that he was driving out of his own body, several cor

well-educated and well-raised. He was not a man who had had to

of his brilliant pole position laps in the sleek black and gold Lotus. By the time I arrived full-time in

fight his way up from the gutter and yet he always felt the need to keep improving. Just as remarkable was his ability to block out everything when he was driving. Ishall never forget the day Martin Donnelly crashed at Jerez in 1990. Ayrton

FI he had scored nine wins, but

went to the scene of the accident

inside of Paddock Hill Bend at Brands Hatch and saw him on one

after that Iwatched every one of his 32 victories and many more of his mesmerising qualifying laps. He was braver than the brave, the most determined, the most

talented and the quickest dri ver I have ever seen. He

drove with passion and com mitment. He was an extraor

dinary racing driver with a bewitching ability. He seemed to have no weak nesses. The fans around the

world called him 'Magic' and with Ayrton you always knew that sometimes he would

achieve the impossible. In the late 1980s Ayrton and McLaren made winning look easy but his uncompromising char acter often led to controversy. He could not help himself. He always gave his best and expected every one else to do the same. He hated

injustice and when Prost drove him off the track at Suzuka in 1989 he

was outraged by the behaviour of FIA President Jean-Marie Balestre and said as much. He found he

could not beat the system and so, a year later, with their roles reversed Senna drove Prost off the

track and got his revenge. It was not sporting but Ayrton felt that jus tice had been done. Those turbulent times faded and

by 1993 he was driving better than ever. His last season at McLaren, I

think, provided some of his best drives with magnificent victories in Brazil, at Donington, Monaco,

ners ahead of where the car actu

ally was. The press corps was mesmerised.

If Ayrton had to die I guess he died at the right time - at the absolute

Today the drivers appear, drivel out the necessary plati tudes and go back to their protected sanctuaries in the pits or motorhomes. None of them express the feelings that Senna could.

peak of his ability, in the prime of his life, doing

He could talk on many subjects and in several lan guages. He had his beliefs

what he loved best and

world thought of them -

adored all around the

which in the FI world was admirable in itself. He had

world by millions and millions offans.

and he didn’t care what the

vers decline to talk about reli

gion, Senna had the courage of his convictions to stand up

and was shaken by what he saw.

and be counted. In the cynical

He went back to the McLaren

world of FI these beliefs were

motorhome, sat with his own

ridiculed, but he stood by them and was happy to share the message. And yet, he would always admit that he was only at the start of the road in his Christianity. He was learning. Ayrton was no angel, although he had the ability to use his mis

thoughts for half an hour, and then climbed into his car and drove an

amazing qualifying iap to take pro visional pole position. The follow ing day he went even quicker in breath-taking fashion. And then, with tears in his eyes, he sat down and calmly spoke about his feel ings. “It makes you realise just how fragile you are,” he said. “It makes you realise that something like this can happen to any of us because there are situations which are out of control.” That was Senna. He could be

chillingly cold and yet moments later warmly sensitive. Some said that this was contradictory but if anything I believe it was a talent.

,7 J

found God somewhere along the way but while other dri

●

'j-' Senna Foundation by his sister

takes - both on and off the track -

Viviane. Those who met her were shocked because here was a

to learn. He never did stop learning about racing nor about life and in his final year I believe that he had finally begun to mellow. He talked of life after motor racing; of mar riage and of children. He was at

woman with the same brooding eyes, the same intensity of thought and the same twinkle in the eye as Ayrton had had. It was only when I listened to her talking six months after his

ice, but no-one has Senna’s raging Brazilian passion. If Ayrton had to die Iguess he died at the right time - at the absolute peak of his ability, in the prime of his life, doing what he

the world by millions and millions

ease with himself and content with his life. He even talked of some

death that I realised what I had

of fans.

men. That dream came true with

been missing. What Iliked most about him was his passion for motor racing. The sport was his life. Today Michael Schumacher

He will never grow old nor dis appoint his fans with half-hearted performances in his fading years. Five years on, he is as big a

the establishment of the Ayrton

has cold German steel in his heart

star as he was then...

kind of foundation through which he could help his deprived country

loved best and adored all around

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23 April 1999

Lowndes makes it nine ● Lowndes takes Adelaide 500 on appeal after controversial Heat 1 disqualification ● Murphy on podium for Wynns Racing ● Fords show speed; Seton ‘wins’ Heat 1 ● Bright on pole but loses out in pits ● Heat affects Radisich and Faulkner

● Constant rule changes frustrate teams ● McLean belts Privateers again Report by GERALD McDORNAN

WHEN

the Sensational Adelaide 500 was

first announced, many people were surprised at the V8 Supercar category’s boldness

set-up’s working well and it’s got incredible mid-comer and exit speed ... I’m delighted with how it’s developing.” Naturally, while Skaife sounded the siren as to the

in obtaining a government to commit huge amounts of tax

FTR Falcon’s potential, his

payers money to put on a

once shined, saying they

already showed its own speed and it too showed, qualifying in second with a

could be the ‘main event.’

1:25.4003.

race where Formula One had

own MHRT Commodore had

And, while AVESCO and

After the first two practice

the SA Government were confident that the event would be a success and the

sessions confidence and enthusiasm was exuded in abundance on one side of the

category could stand alone on the street circuit they weren’t quite sure as to how the

Valvoline Cummins Racing Team’s garage area. Garth Tander carrying on in the

event would turn out to be.

To say everyone had their

team’s older VS Commodore from where he left off at

socks knocked off was an

Eastern Creek, while on the

understatement - 156,000

other

spectators rolled through the gates over three days, corpo rates lapped up the available facilities and the racing was

Barg\vanna’s VT was parked it was pure frustration. Tander put the #34 VCRT Commodore into the top halfdozen in every session, while ‘Bargs’ was struggling, even tually qualifying 15th

tremendous, if controversial. The event was not without

its dramas and wrong doings, although, from the outside anyway, could only be labelled a huge success.

Qualifyinghis first series

Following round win \\ " since 1995, Mobil Holden Race Team dri

ver Mark Skaife confidently predicted that, despite the MHRT’s dominance of the

year’s races to date, the Glenn

Seton’s new Ford

Tickford Racing AU Falcon

where

Jason

Tander’s car, “I’d be a lot faster but, at the moment, it’s hard to get a handle on

Bargwanna’s problems weren’t just restricted to dif ferent spots around the track, computer data show ing he was slower virtually everywhere and the clocks

(Photos by Dirk Klynsmith and Sutton Motorsport Images)

showed him 0.7s down on his tall team-mate.

Ingall’s return to Adelaide

went off around us,” he said.

was a far better experience

“We’d done some major changes for the new tyres, but now we’ve basically set the car up the way it was last year and then just

had been, the Castrol SLX

pace, or close to it in both of

the practice sessions during the 500’s first day and then

throughout practice and, much to his delight, quick enough in qualifying to make

topping the time sheets on

the shootout.

Commodore running quick

just his second lap during

Ingall’s form was reflected

qualifying - the #5 Falcon recording a 1:25.0825.

in his mood, the pre-season series favourite wearing his noi-mally confident grin. “It was just pure luck that

-»●

everything signed by the drivers. We couldn’t say whose signature this is but his initials are Greg M ...

fifth in the points, the car wasn’t really working well and we just watched as some of the faster guys in front

the beginning of the event, the FTR Falcon setting the

It—

Moniker or Monica? The Adelaide masses had

the new car.”

than what his season to date

good,” Seton said following the finish of qualifying. “The

in the SCS, he and fifth-

place team-mate Steven Richards announcing to all that Gibson Motorsport is back in a big.

“I’m sure if I was in that,”

Seton was on the ball from

“I’ve never had a car this

Lowndes topped the podi um on Saturday and Sunday after a brilliant drive from last on the grid, but it was Murphy who initially took top points and the lead

Bargwanna said pointing to

would be the car to watch

and how irght he was.

side

Greg and Craig ‘win’ 500: And no, it’s not Sandown.

we came out of Eastern Creek

refined it a little bit and now

it’s working well. Team boss Larry Perkins, although not making the top 10 for the shootout wasn’t too

disappointed, LP still happy with the way he had pro gressed in such a tight quali fying battle, finishing in 14th

and looking forward to a strong finish. When it came time for the

race to start, naturally Seton was disappointed he’d screwed up a couple of times in the shootout, the speed he showed was extremely encouraging.

So, too, was the speed team-mate Neil Crompton showed. Crompton had had a

'-n

■'

ning of the year, the fact that he was still wheeling an EL Falcon as not helping either

t ■

times than most of the race cars

C^'

John Faulkner impressed with his Betta Electrical VT,

away with from the shootout

Safety first: Saturday’s race was marred by the Safety Car appearing more

himself or Seton.

“The worst I can come L\

■f-

horror run since joining the FTR camp before the begin

the Commodore slotting into seventh after qualifying.

is 10th, so I’m delighted,” he said. “The great news with that is that we also get some good TV time, so it’s all look ing good.” Paul Radisich was happy after his ninth qualifying shot, the new Shell driver having made radical changes

AU, the older EL still good enough, although he was bumped from the shootout list just prior to the end of qualifying, finishing 11th. Again struggling during qualifying were the Wynn’s Commodores of Greg Murphy and Steven Richards, Murf running best of the two by qualifying in 16th, Richo way back in 21st

■

Richards said, stating that he’d had problems on what should have been his two

good flying laps. “My tyres were obviously not at their best after that so I’ll

just have to be cautious at the

start of the race and hope that we get through the first lap or two without any dramas.” Both Wynn’s drivers agreed, though, that their

did! A quarter of the 78 laps were led by the Hot

to the team’s new AU follow

- Richo’s best of 1:27.3402

cars

ing Eastern Creek. “We’ve changed the whole

ranking behind leading pri

endurance requirements for

balance of the car and it’s

on Sunday, it didn’t appear at

working really good,” he said happily.

vateer Cameron McLean’s 27.3360. “Our cars aren’t fast

the twm 250km races and

Wheels VT: but

all.

"The CAT team fronted at Adelaide without their new

(Photoby Noel Papalera)

enough to be in the top 10, although I should have been about 12th or 13th,”

should

suit

the

thought they were strong chances for good results. Which must have made

Saturday and Sunday even sweeter...

Top 10 Shootout

Like shootouts at all pre vious events, Adelaide’s

}

AOILAIDK A

:■ x'-j

T-V

produced some interesting results, the most obvious

being

that

Bright had

claimed pole with the Pirtek Falcon - the first for the new AU Falcon - while the

factory’s

official driver

Seton had fallen from his

crest to eighth on an ‘allout’ lap that went off the wire.

Alongside Bright lined up Skaife having retained his spot following the standard qualifying, while team mate

Lowndes moved from sixth

to third, taking advantage of Seton’s dramas.

Also taking advantage of a second shot a qualifying

was Tander, the VCRT dri ver moving up from tenth to fourth with a better clear

lap - Tander ecstatic about the shootout format.

“I screwed up a couple of laps in qualifying and was disappointed with tenth after being quick in prac tice, but this makes up for it

4^^

and now I’m sure we can

figure

the

results,”

Tander said.

Faulkner’s prediction of “the worst I can qualifying

That up-in-the-air feeling: A dehydtrated Lowndes takes the plaudits of the crowd after his Sunday win. For a while he may not have had the most points (after being disqualified), but it was enough to spur him on for a drive of epic proportions. Adelaide turned on a great sight for the racers and crowd. (Photos by ottk Kiynsmith)

now is 10th” came true, he

Leg 1 (78 laps)

too not having the best of laps after having earlier qualified in seventh. Ingall moved a couple of spots in the shootout, the SLX car taking advantage

T^the 500 race came with a

of the mistakes of others.

With the field now set,

including the top 10, Adelaide was all ready to be sensational...

<■

»'-V

● >r

he first 250km ‘half of

couple of interesting scenar ios that would add to the

colour, excitement, drama and confusion of the week end. The first scenario was that

leg following a change in the

rules on the morning prior to

were soon to find out that the between-race work ban

the event and the second was that teams needed to con

those that needed to under

FTR Falcon.

serve their cars as after 6pm that evening, the rules banned any work being

take major work in prepara tion for the next day happy,

needed to

undertaken.

their cars, absolutely furious. This leg was to produce plenty of incidents, the first being on the first lap with Crompton spinning and

Like the rapidly-changing

one-third of the available

points mles, with a whisper

points on the weekend would now be up for grabs in this

quickly being heard up and down pit lane, the teams

wouldn’t stand,

Gardner, coming through the action, almost ending up planted in the front of the

making

The pace car, in fact, was

and those that conserved

lead the field

when Gardner, clambering back from the first lap inci dent, cannoned into John the Falcon, Briggs’

Supercheap car trying to get back onto the circuit after a

around the track on four sep arate occasions, completing virtually a quarter of the

spin mid-comer.

race in the lead! Pace cars came out for the

dramatic turn of events, was

first time on the fourth lap

Continued on page 24

Gardner

had

m 1

Beat the heat! Wl(^

all

imr\r»rfanf

tr\

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

‘Mackay ‘Melbourne ‘Newcastle ●Parth *.Q\/Hna\/ ●55i»nchina Cnact ●Tnuwn«5\/iHp

restrained by ofticials, but in a

free call

ifinn find Jin

23 April 1999

TXo

Continued frompage 22

InNll

fined by stewards for not tak ing due care under yellows. When racing finally recom menced Tander was amaz

ingly black flagged for pass ing Seton under the yellows, both agreeing later on that Tander had always been in

front of the #5 and the team

●r

claiming the stop-go cost them any chance of victory. Perhaps one of the surpris

Photo by James Smith

Putting the ‘off’ into ‘send-off’ Dick Johnson was given the honour of running the first lap solo around the revised Adelaide circuit and what a

spectacle that turned into for the fans, DJ sticking the Shell Helix #17 off the track on East Terrace and

tapping the wall! ■ 54 V8 Supercars enter ed the race; 40 made it to the event, 39 started Satur day and 36 on Sunday. H Wayne Gardner and his Coke crew must now he

dieting, with Donut King’s logo disappearing from its familiar bonnet position. Gardner’s deal with US oil

giant Pennzoil-Quaker State now appears to have expanded, Gardner’s VT Commodore running the Pennzoil logo where the Donut King once adorned. ■ Wliile talking about Pennzoil it’s worth noting that privateer Rod Nash’s Autopro/Budweiser Comm odore had its prominent Pennzoil logo removed at this race, the familiar Valvohne V taking its place, a Glenn Seton’s AU XR8 Falcon continues to show

promise, the FTR car some 0.8s quicker than the rest of the field in the first prac tice session. Craig Lowndes came back in the second

session, giving both manu facturers a spot atop the sheets prior to practice. ■ Red flags were waved in both the professional and privateer second practice sessions on Friday, Jason Bargwanna bringing an temporary halt to the pro’s practice when he beached the VCRTVT, Mike

Conway doing the same in the privateer session. ■ Greg Murphy’s Wynn’s Racing Commodore had an engine change after run ning just eight troubled laps during the first prac tice session. The Chev V8

had an apparent electrical problem with the Gibson crew undertaking a very rare motor swap at a race

meeting. Murphy and Steven Richards, like Eastern Creek, had trou¬

bled times in quahfying, ending up in 16th and 21st respectively.

■ Gatorade was in appar ent conflict with official

drink supplier Coke as on Friday a fridge, loaded with the Gatorade’s product in the media centre for the

assembled spruikers, shoot ers and scribes to enjoy, firstly, had its signage cov

es of the weekend was the

Lowndes had his controver

sial

touch

with

Danny

removed. A Coke fridge took its place the next day loaded with, of course, their own product!

- the incident first leading to a black flag and a stop-go penalty, then his subsequent

■ Almost eveiy second person at the track looked

Perkins headed for pit lane, his Castrol Commodore

cut-out faces. Around

10,000 Brocks were distrib

uted, the great man himself looking a little confused when he was confronted by his own image everywhere he turned! ■ Fitness coaches are

apparently becoming more of the norm for V8 Supercar teams. Wynn’s drivers Greg Mmphy and Steven Richards spent six days a week preparing with their coach for the race, while Neil Crompton’s five days a week fitness session con tributed to the three look

ing, after the race, that they could go another 250ks. ■ Pirtek team co-owner

Ross Stone joined the team’s regular truck driver

Gary Bennett in driving the team’s transporter back to their Gold Coast workshops following the race, “ni be turning my mobile phone off just as we get out of town,” Stone said, warning of his uncontactabihty for the next two days ... ■ The Adelaide skies host ed some the world’s most

deadly fighters. Four US AftForce F16s made a special appearance during FYida/s practice sessions, the jets now on their way to join the

Jason Bright Mark Skaife

Craig Lowndes

4 5

Garth Tander Paul Radisich

Pirtek Falcon AU Mobil HRT Commodore VT Mobil HRT Commodore VT Valvoline Cummins Commodore VT Shell Helix Falcon AU

Neil Crompton Russell Ingall

Ford Tickford Racing Falcon AU Ford Tickford Racing Falcon AU

demise of the Radisich’s

Glenn Seton Mark Larkham John Faulkner

charge with gearbox dramas,

John Bowe

12 13 14 15 16

Tony Longhurst Wayne Gardner Larry Perkins Jason Bargwanna Greg Murphy

Dick Johnson Tomas Mezera Mark Noske Cameron McLean

Radisich into the garage so the team could ready the car for leg two. Same too with team boss

back towards the end of the

dramatically changed the set up of the new AU Falcon and if worked, following on from qualifying Radisich running at the front for most of the day. The pace car was again out on the 28th lap when

1 2

8 9 10

the race, then assuming the lead and holding on to it for over a quarter of the race. Radisich and the team had

Qualifying Results 1999 Adelaide 500

6 7

Johnson, Dickie keeping the #17’s nose clean and running

Osborne’s Colourscan Falcon

took the opportunity to print up thousands of Brock

the CAT EL finding itself in third and looking good although, like Faulkner, fuel pick-up problems began, forc ing Bowe to slow dramatical ly and fall down the results, eventually to 20th. Lap 64, though, saw the

speed shown by Radisich, the transplanted Shell driver running consistently in fourth for the first 27 laps of

ered over then was

like Peter Brock! Holden

looked to be in contention,

up as high as third mid-race before dramas dropped him race.

The final nail in the coffin

for DJ’s race, though, came

Bright start: Jason Bright grabbed pole in the top 10 run-off and led the early going in race 1 but the SBR/Pirtek Falcon was shuf

fled back in the pack during the Safety Car periods. (Photo by Marshall Cass)

Castrol Perkins Commodore VT Mitre 10 Falcon AU Betta/Cummins Commodore VT

1:25.2366 1:25.6572 1:25.6821 1:26.0117 1:26.0615 1:26.4795

1:26.5728 1:26.6091 1:26,7478 1:26.7741

Top 10 decided by Friday PM Run-Off

18 19 20 21

CAT Falcon EL Castrol Ford Falcon AU WGR/Coca Cola Commodore VT Castrol Perkins Commodore VT

1:26.1708 1:26.4733 1:26,5380 1:26.7727

Valvoline Cummins Commodore VT Wynn's Racing Commodore VT

1:26,7929 1:26.8248 1:26.8577 1:27.0102

Shell Helix Falcon AU Tomas Mezera Commodore VT

Young Lions Commodore VS Greenfields Mowers Falcon EL/2

Steven Richards Trevor Ashby

Lansvale Smash Commodore VS

23 24

Dugal McDougall

Perkins Engineering Commodore VS

Michael Donaher

Ultra Tune Commodore VS

25 26 27 28

John Briggs

Super Cheap Autos Falcon AU Challenge Motorsport Commodore VS

29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Chris Smerdon Peter Doulman Bob Forbes Simon Emerzidis

Wynn's Australia Commodore VT

Team Gatorade Commodore VS Bob Forbes Commodore VS Simon's Earthworks Falcon EL/2

Danny Osborne

Colourscan Motorsport Falcon EL/2

David Parsons

Smith's Trucks Commodore VS Mobile Outdoor Network Commodore VS

Kerryn Brewer Rod Nash Mike Imrie

Mike Conway Barry Morcom D'Arcy Russell

Alan Heath

Daniel Miller

Autopro/Bud Racing Commodore VS Saabwreck Commodore VS Cadillac Productions Falcon EL72

1:27.1838 1:27.3360 1:27.3402 1:27.7238 1:28.3738 1:28.4740 1:28.7920 1:29.1143 1:29.1719 1:29.7582 1:30.1821 1:30,3384 1:30.5751 1:30.7436 1:31.7882 1:31,8736 1:32.0681

Barry Morcom Motorsport Commodore VS 1:32.3577 1:33.9849 Rod Smith Racing Commodore VS 1:34.3131 Alan Heath Racing Falcon EL 1:47.1338 Miller Racing Commodore VS

exclusion from the race one results

overheating thanks to tap ping the rear of Gardner in the first lap incident. Rodney Forbes brought out the safety car again on the 37th lap when, after complet ing his third spin, he got out of the PPG car at the entrance

to pit lane, his race over.

The were running fromFords first through to fifth at this stage, but compulsory pit stops for fuel and tyres were coming into play. Some teams were taking advantage of the pace cars, although Radisich didn’t, the Shell team waiting until the 50th lap - with the pace car

on the 68th lap when a lock ing pin on a wheel nut failed, allowing the nut to unwind and the #17 to lose the left front wheel.

then out thanks to Morcom

If a brilhant strategy won Bathurst for Jason Bright

hitting the wall - before com ing in for the first of two compulsorys.

November, a shp in the plan ning department cost the

Faulkner’s run of bad luck

apparently was ending, the Betta car running consistent all day before finding itself in second on lap 51 behind Bright, the team, with NASCAR experience, having used the pace car to its

fullest advantage. Lady Luck then took a dim

view of Faulkner again, lap 60 providing fuel pickup problems, an inspection later revealing blocked filters and ‘out of breath’ pumps, virtu ally putting them out to eventually finish 23rd. Like Faulkner, Bowe had

and the Stone Brothers last

team the first section of the Sensational Adelaide 500 -

Bright, and the team sensa tionally missing all pace car opportunities to come in for a compulsory four-tyre change and putting themselves out

of the lead after having dom inated the race.

“We screwed up,” was all Ross Stone could say follow ing the race - the Pirtek Falcon having actually led 45

of the 78 laps and looking in a strong position when the pace car came into play for the last time.

Perhaps one of the most

amazing performances in the first leg came from V8 rookie and Cameron McLean, the privateer running quick all day and eventually finding himself in the top 10, bring ing the Greenfield Mowers car home in sixth spot - a results that again belied his privateer status. With Bright out of con tention following his need to pit, - actually finishing in eighth come the end of the first 78 laps - it was all left to Lowndes, the MHRT car taking the lead just eight laps from home and going to to score the first leg “win’. Seton and Tander battled

it irght out the end, the FTR Falcon holding out to take, at this stage. Tender’s pseudo black flag helping him home to third, ahead of Murphy, Ingall and the leading priva teer McLean.

Lowndes had been in the

wars, first with the Osborne incident and then when he

knocked rival factory team runner Seton off the track, unlike Osborne, though, Seton agreeing with Lowndes that it was just a racing accident.

Leg 2 (78 Saps)

Well, Adelaide if the Sensational 500 hadn’t been sensational enough at to this point, Sunday really hved up to its name. Following a mid-morning meeting with the stewards over Saturday’s incident -with the Osborne Falcon, Lowndes was controversially excluded from the previous days’ results. Naturally, the MHRT camp were not pleased and notified all who would hsten

of their intention to appeal the decision, Lowndes him self saying that “It’s not over yet, we’ll get the points back.”

NATO forces in Eastern

The exclusion meant one of

Europe, while on Simday

two things - firstly, Glenn Seton would be elevated to

our own RAAF got to show off a couple of FA-18s.

the winner of Saturday’s leg’ of the race, taking the 100 winner’s points on offer Seton not overawed at taking

- GERALD MCDORNAN

the AU Falcon and FTR’s

first win and, secondly, Lowndes would be starting from the rear of the grid and would need to produce one of the great drives if he was to win this race.

The only advantage that Lowndes had in his favour

Photo by Marshall Cass

The new standard: McLean once again set the pace for the Privateers, running off to play with the big kids, despite a heat 2 Stop/Go penalty. (Photo by Marshall cass)

following the decision was that a quirky rule at the event allowed everyone to start Sunday’s leg two of the 500 on equal footing - every-

(

23 April 1999 25 one being listed as starting on lap 78, whether you had run all laps the previous day or completed just one. It

from the previous day. Seton was going like a man possessed in the early stages, the FTR Falcon continuing to

meant that, if Lowndes could get to the front, he could still

impress all with its consis tent speed throughout the

win the Adelaide 500 ...

weekend. - Lowndes, though, making up 12 places on the first lap of leg two, picking off

strange, huh? Also, the decision to allow teams to work on their cars

victims one by one.

after the 6pm curfew the prer

All quickly went wrong for Seton, though, when a small brake bleed valve, the proverbial 20 cent piece, broke, leaving the steaming

vious evening had infuriated teams that had conserved

their cars, AVESCO head

Tony Cochrane explaining that they “thought it was bet ter to allow the teams to get everything right rather than let cars that are unsafe run.” For the teams that had

kept their heels clean the

previous day, it appeared as though some of them just believed that those cars that couldn’t meet the curfew and

race safe, maybe just should have been out totdly! Finally, the race continued all the way through 78 gru elling laps - with heat, fumes and driver fatigue being major factors - without one major incident or pace car period, complete tum-around

Seton’s effort faltered.

Ingall held sway at the lead until the 115 lap mark (even though points were allocated to both legs, mak ing them individual races, the lap count continued on

from the previous day) and that’s when Lowndes' charge came to the fore - hitting the front and holding on to it, excepting for five laps in one instance when he pitted for

fuel on lap 120 and just one other lap when the #1

and Richards had a coming

the podium in third.

together onto the main straight, the Wynn’s car

Quite the opposite to the previous day where Lowndes

stuck in the door of the VCRT VT for 50 metres -

Richo receiving a stop-go penalty. The heat started to take its

toll, Faulkner being carried from the Betta #46 car and

Commodore around turns

later, too, the Shell driver a

two, three and four, just cen

victim of fumes and heat.

timetres from each other.

Bowe had a couple of trou bled laps, coming in for tyres, then for a check of the

ters,” a grimacing Ligall said after the race. “I could hardly

132.

Lowndes was also charg ing like a man possessed, moving up to third on lap

A great battle was taking

rear end of the CAT car.

place between the two east

Following that, the #600 headed down pit lane two more times for stop-goes! Bright and the Stone

behind Murf and heading towards the front.

To his advantage, this is when pit stops came into play and the MHRT team boys were stunning as usual, get ting the #1 car back out onto the track quicker than most. Ingall’s good run of the

weekend continued along, the silver streak finding itself leading the pack when

nists Forbes and McLean, the pair running nose to tail for a number of laps. Tander’s challenge from the previous day had ended early when an electric throt tle position sensor failed, stalling the car in pit lane, although the VCR'T driver

times racing side by side while ti-ying to pass competi tors through some of the track’s tightest turns including racing Steven

Radisich’s race ending 14 laps

tention for event honours.

110, now just six second

“Both Steven and my cars had a great endurance set-up

Richards’

MHRT car came in for its

ern Creek privateer protago

car wore numerous battle

scares, his drive had been spectacular, a number of

attended to by ambulance dri vers on the 123 laps,

AU out of brakes and, with out a miracle, out of con

compulsory fuel stop on lap

Brothers weren’t going to caught out again, although the race ran flat-out from

start to finish, not giving anyone time to grab a deep breath behind a pace car -

“My feet are covered in bhs-

step on the brake pedal, it was burning and I was think ing ‘this is going to hurt’ each

exactly just that - sensational on the inside the AVESCO,

thrown at the race and series

while they may be doing a good job at looking at the ‘big picture,' they had failed to give true attention to details that were

equally just as important - the rules and sub-regulations. Amazingly, when the annual media guide for the series was distributed the week prior to the

The Adelaide event was dif

ferent again though, with Saturday’s first leg originally attracting no points (although double the prizemoney for first, second and third) and full points

Lowndes was claimed as the weekend’s winner.

Funny sport... huh?!

Results 1999

Sensational Adelaide 500 2 X 78 lap heats (500km) Pos

race would now attract a third of

the points on offer, while Sunday’s results would deter

mine the rest.

Another ruling which upset and annoyed many of the teams which had conserved their cars

during Saturday’s first leg was 6pm’ rule. The rule stipulated that only certain approved

When this came to light, points for the endures (now part of the Shell Championship Series) were quickly tripled to give a measureable reward for good endure results.

Lowndes had won the second

a win in any of this season’s

distance race...

equal a victory.” In the end, though, it was all a little confusing ...

Driver On Race time F/lap Craig Lowndes# 5:35:23.0240 1:26.5362 86 Greg Murphy 5:35:24.1329 1:27.0238123 1:26.2491 76 Jason Bright 5:35:40.8343 Russell Ingall 5:35:41.9885 1:26.4797 61 StevenRichards5:36:38.18131:26.9104 72

event it was discovered that, for

attract just 100 points - less than what you could earn by claiming three eighth placings on one day at any sprint race in the series. Hardly attractive to any team considering the time and effort required for a long

emotional and this was as

organisers and, again, the points were changed for this unique race only - Saturday’s

the ’no work on the cars after

endurance races, a driver would

of effort into it,” he said. “My Bathurst victory was

leg, but had no results from

Confusion reigns for Sunday’s race. Again, many scenarios were

been in ... I guess I put a lot

the first and Murphy had taken the most points from the weekend although

even

his VT continued when he

matic in saying that every thing had gone to plan. “This was definitely the toughest race I have ever

team effort of the weekend -

track a few laps later.

driver

Lowndes was, just as always after the race, diplo

and Richo’s fifth the best

although he was trying to

Pirtek

result for the team.”

team’s finish was exciting his eventual second place

just get with the race and not trying to worry about what position he was actual ly in.

the

be an extremely positive

Murphy, surprised that he was now leading the SCS points, said that the Wynn’s

Bright got his chance to lead

couldn’t stop the force of Lowndes, finally finishing on

could and it’s turned out to

time I had to brake.”

for a little time, although

Bargwanna’s horror run in

and, while we need to find

some qualifying and sprint race speed, we just kept going all day as hard as we

Wynn’s

headed back out onto the

WHILE on the outside the Sensational Adelaide 500 was

TEGA and CAMS showed that

“I didn’t know who was

leading and I was too scared to ask just in case I stuffed up,” Murf said.

ft Let’s sort this out: TonyCochrane

AVESCO) and CAMS’ Tim Schenken and John Sheppard get jiggy wit’ it in Adelaide. (Photo by Ch^Catler)

items, such as brakes, fluids

and body panels, could be worked on at the conclusion of the first 250ks.

Mark Noske

7 8

Larry Perkins Jason Bargwanna

Glenn Seton

Dick Johnson

11 12

John Bowe Cameron McLean

13 14

Neil Crompton Wayne Gardner

Michael Donaher

Rodney Forbes

Chris Smerdon

18 19

David Parsons Peter Doulman

20 21

Tomas Mezera Simon Emerzidis

22 23

D’Arcy Russell Trevor Ashby

ing the track at around 12.30am Sunday morning after repairing

Finally, when the dust had settled from Saturday and the

and Paul Romano’s, had actual

the Coke car.

sun rose over Adelaide on

ly withdrawn at various points through the first leg to legally fix their cars prior to the curfew sit uation came into play.

The change in rule also angered the teams who had run through Saturday without drama, expecting to be in a good position for the following day - their hard worked-for advantages evaporating with a whim - team managers and owners, Tony Noske, Bap Romano and Greg Siddle amongst those willing to express their displeasure on the situation and having already abidded by

Sunday, to make this all the more confusing, it didn’t matter where you finished on Saturday! A ruling issued during the event stated that if you started Sunday’s race it would be deemed that you had run all 78 laps the previous day and could

Garth Tander

Alan Heath

Mike Conway

DNF

Paul Radisich

DNF DNF

Mark Larkham MarkSkaife

win the event - Lowndes’ result

DNF

Mike Imrie

reflecting that, despite Greg Murphy actually, from the event winning more points and - ‘sort of - winning the round,

DNF

Kerryn Brewer

DNF

Paul Romano

- GERALD McDORNAN

DNS

Some teams, Larry Perkins’

But, at the conclusion of the

first leg, teams were quickly told that they were allowed to do whatever they wanted, setting to work quickly. While most were out of the

garages early, some took their time working on anything and everything they could - Wayne Gardner’s crew reportedly leav-

what was first intended.

5:36:53.9442

DNF Tony Longhurst DNF

John Faulkner

DNF

Rod Nash

DNF Dugal McDougall

DNF Barry Morcom DNF Danny Osborne DNF John Briggs

155 laps 155 laps 155 laps 155 laps 155 laps 154 laps 154 laps 154 laps 153 laps 153 laps 153 laps 153 laps 152 laps 152 laps 150 laps 149 laps 149 laps 148 laps 146 laps 131 laps 137 laps 135 laps 130 laps 128 laps 120 laps 115 laps 104 laps 104 laps 98 laps 78 laps 47 laps 26 laps 3 laps

1:27.4906

1:27.6222144

1:27.1886 146 1:26.7214 151 1:27.1889 62 1:26.8015

1:27.8224

1:27.0777138 1:26.6767 86 1:28.3687133 1:27.4587

1:29.0372

1:29.4606 85 1:29.0619106 1:27.9402 133 1:30.9657

1:32.8725147 1:27.5937 104 1:26.4672 109 1:33.9761

1:31.5227 1:26.9289

66 17

1:27.2140 1:26.8204 1:27.4139

84 59 85

1:27.2545

1:31.2311

1:27.5479

1:32,9232

1:31.6842

1:29.1290

1:30.4757

1:30.7755

1:31.2405

Daniel Miller

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23 April 1999

Porsches daylights ahead on the streets Richards takes two out of three, Aitkens then takes Richo

-V':

Things that pass In the night:

Jim Rjchards’ CAT Porsche sur vived trying conditions around the . Adeiaide streets to take a win in-

Friday night’s GTP extravaganza. (Photo by Dirk Klynsmith)

Report by

on lap 8. The veteran racer moving through the traffic with relative

GRANT NICHOLAS

ease to score his second win of the

PORSCHE

drivers

scored

impressive wins in each of the three

ETSA

Power

Production events conducted at

the Sensational Adelaide 500, with former national champion Jim Richards snaring two victo ries in his Porsche 911 RSCS.

On Sunday it was Ed Aitken who grabbed success after he and Richards had a coming together as they entered the Victoria Park sec tion of the street circuit, the result ing clash deflating the rear left tyre on Richards’ machine.

A post-race inspection showed

that several suspension compo nents had also been damaged. On Friday evening, in a field of 23, Richards dominated the one-

hour race, winning comfortably from the similar machines of Geoff

Morgan and Aitken, with Darren Palmer a lap down to claim fourth

in his Ferrari F355 Challenge then Beric Lynton in an BMW M3-R Coupe. Unfortunately sixth place qualifi er Terry Bosnjak was forced to retire his Mazda RX7 SP twin-turbo

after two laps with engine failure his team believing non-V8 Supercar specification fuel supplied to the category causing the problem. “The Porsches normally have good lights and you would think that in a race like this under street

weekend by 1.3 seconds. Morgan and Aitken fought over

the next rostrum positions, swap ping positions momentarily during the last lap with Morgan eventually gaining the upper hand as they sprinted to the chequered flag - the result sheet showing that less than

“The car understeered as we

entered the comer, then it bit as we accelerated out of the comer,” said

Richards mentioned that he had

slowed down to make a race of it for the spectators and he got caught out once again. “You try to keep the racing close

so that everyone gets some enjoyable entertainment and this type of thing happens.” The finishing order was Aitken, Lynton, Morgan, Palmer, Spiridis and John Teulan in his Nissan Skyline GT-R.

Bosnjak scrambling through the pack to finish eighth in his single rotor Mazda, making many wonder what may of happened if this lightweight screamer had been operating on full power all weekend, Full and Simpson completed a clean sweep in Classes B and S, with

local

drivers

Chadwick

(Mitsubishi Magna Sports! and Craig Dontas in a Suzuki Swift GTi securing Class C and E honours.

tions.

Full, Kalaitzidis and Simpson once again grabbed Class B, E and S honours as Toyota Camry CSi steerer David Ratcliff fended off

strong challenges from Cohen and Rob Chadwick’s Mitsubishi Magna Sports to grab a Class C win. Race three on Sunday morning saw Richards and Morgan make a side-by-side dash to the first corner, with Richards just getting ahead as they lead a field that used every part of the track and the chicane as

they endured their own personal battles.

Morgan spun the RSCS at the corner leading to Bartels Road, dropping him back to eighth, as Aitken focused on getting closer to the rear of Richards.

Bosnjak steadily moved through from the rear of the field in his

Mazda RX7 SP, running-on only

one placing. Aitken dived under Richards on

honours in his Subaru Impreza

lap nine as the race leader was baulked while passing a slower competitor. He attempted to out-

brake Aitken going into the tight

Saturday afternoon’s 12-lapper

right-hand hairpin at the end of Dequetteville Terrace, Aitken man aging to prevent the move from happening.

was another Richards affair, the race winner establishing a new lap record for the category of 1:35.0789

line and Richards immediately drove around the right of his foe on

in his BMW 3231.

fitted, the incident costing him two laps and almost certain victory.

“It hit the ripple strip and threw my car across into Jimmy as he was going past.”

Geoff Full easily snared Class B

in a Proton M21 Coupe and Michael Simpson took out Class S

a short time later with a new wheel

Aitken.

ment of interest to the event.”

WRX while Holden Commodore VS SS driver Mark Cohen won Class C. Kosi Kalaitzidis was Class E victor

which crawled to the pits with a deflated left rear tyre. He returned

bocharged Maserati Ghibli grabbed fourth on lap 10 from Palmer, with Lynton closing out the top six posi

“We couldn’t see the braking mark ers on some comers or the apexes on others - still, it just adds another ele

ed Richards.

left rear of Richards’ machine

0.02s separating them. Perry Spiridis in the twin-tur-

one rotor due to earlier fuel prob lems, he was up to 11th by the end of the opening lap. On lap six Spiridis nosed the Maserati into the tyre barriers at the entry to Victoria Park but he quickly recovered and only dropped

lights they would be good but, in fact, they were hopeless,” comment

the racing line. Aitken’s RSCS turned right as it launched off the left-side ripple strip collecting the

Aitken turned into the corner off

The view from afar:

This is as close as any Class A Supercars got to the dominate Porsches in Adelaide.

In the light of day: Following a third during the Friday night and Saturday ‘arvo’ races, Ed Aitken claimed a win in

Sunday’s race - a collision with Jim Richards putting the CAT car out and Aitken onto the podium’s highest step. (Photos by Dirk Klynsmith & Marshall Cass)

Where there's a Wills

was buzzed.. Over the remaining laps the engine started to lose power, his six second buffer dwin

dling as Halliday engaged in a dog-fight for second spot. “If there was another lap I wouldn’t of finished it - I’m lucky to be up here on the podium,” said Wills. “The engine wouldn’t rev over 5000 rpm, plus it was making some horrible noises towards the end - hey, I think it’s great that our team has won four races in a row and I’ve been able

to extend my series points lead.” By the third lap Wills had opened a five second break over Halliday, Macrow, Astuti then New Zealander Chris Staff in

another Ralt Australia Reynard 91D, Asai and Ramsay - the last three starting from the rear of the grid after failing to finish Saturday’s series race.

Report by

familiar and comfortable in the

GRANT NICHOLAS

95D that he was racing for the first time, as Halliday claimed the final podium position. The majority of the spectators

NEW ZEALAND open-wheeler youngster Simon Wills extended his points lead in the 99 Australian

Drivers

Championship Series by winning both of the Formula Holden events at the Sensational Adelaide 500 in his Birrana

Racing Reynard 94D. The 22 year-old Kiwi just missed pole position when Saturday’s qualifying was redflagged due to Kevin Bell’s acci dent at the turn leading into Dequetteville Terrace. Series

rookie Adam Macrow grabbed pole in his first drive in Arthur Abrahams’ NRC International-

prepared Reynard 95D. Wills managed to secure the remaining place on the front row of the grid, with Macrow’s Japanese team-mate Akihiro Asai next quickest from Wills’ Birrana Racing team-mate Brenton Ramsay. After Friday’s two prac tice sessions Ramsay was on the top of the time sheets from Wills,

Asai and another Kiwi youngster Matthew Halliday in an Reynard 91D entered under Australia banner.

the

Ralt

Under clear, warm skies Wills sprinted away as the starter’s light flashed green and he cruised to a comfortable 10s victory after 15 laps of the 3.2 kilometre Adelaide street circuit, setting a new outright circuit lap record of 1:21.2218 during the final lap of the event.

In the early stages Macrow applied some pressure but as the race developed he became more

were watching the neck-and-neck dice between Sam Astuti’s 94D

and

Halliday

with

Astuti’s

machine running with a low-wing configuration. He finally had to settle for fourth place after been slowed by back markers. Fifth was the 94D driven by Melbourne teenager Paul Dumbrell from 59year-old South Australian veteran Stan Keen in a Shrike constructed

by students and instructors at the

Croydon Park College of TAPE. “The car was just perfect today, in fact I wanted to put my stamp on the race so I established a new

lap record on the final lap to let everyone know how quick we can run - a 20 second lap was possible if I had been pushed,” stated a delighted Wills. “Adam (Macrow) made a good start, forcing me to push the accel erator flat as we headed to the

first chicane, I was fortunate enough to get in front, and stay there for the rest of the race.”

Sunday’s 15-lapper was con ducted in warmer conditions with

Wills extremely fortunate to claim his second win of the weekend after the transmission in his 94D

randomly selected gears plus was difficult to operate on the down shifts from around mid-race dis tance.

As a number of mid-fielders

either spun or made contact with the concrete walls Macrow was

shadowing Halliday as Asai con

1 THAr»4Ui

tinued to advance towards the

front of the pack. On the second last lap the 23 year-old Japanese driver lowered Wills’ outright record

1:21.1338

attempted to gain a podium result. The top six finishing order was Wills, Halliday just 0.05s clear of Macrow, Asai, Staff and Dumbrell.

Halliday was extremely satis fied with his results, saying that he was returning to New Zealand

TMirs All

immediately after the race meet

ing to continue in his quest to secure some corporate support.

“Ken Smith has helped me with this campaign, if I’m to win races I believe we need to move

up from our current 9 ID plus we need extra funds to complete the whole series. My aim is to follow in Scott Dixon’s footsteps and race Indy Lights in next years season.”

Macrow was happy with his performances with his new team and car. “The car handles beauti

fully and I’m feeling a lot more comfortable in it as I manage to get more laps on the track. “I’d like to get some more test ing laps in it before the next round at Phillip Island as I feel certain when my driving position is altered slightly my lap times will improve.”

Pholo^gfluence by James Smitti

NEW ZEALANDER Kevin BeU had visions of Mika Hakkinen

sure that I had broken both of

and Ayrton Senna’s accidents

them ... and something punched a

Enzed Reynard 91D into a con-

BeU climbed out of the car, drop-

ing qualifying for the Formula

covered in extinguisher foam

moments after he slammed his

the ground with both of his

Holden race at Adelaide.

emergency teams arrived to

Bell had just completed reading a set of new tyres in prepai-ation

administer medical attention.

approached the ulti-a-quick irght hander leading from Bartels Road onto Dequetteville Terrace in third gear. “The brake pedal went to the

soon discharged after receiving eight stitches on his right knee

The 34 year-old was taken to

of a quick qualifying lap when he

Royal Adelaide Hospital but was

and 10 behind his left thanks to

being cut when the-carbon-fibre monocoque broke in two. “I thought of Hakkinen and Senna’s accidents,” said an emotional BeU. “I also thought of my wife and our son ... maybe its time to take things easy. I can’t thank the track’s safety and medical crews and the hospitaT staff enough - they were great!”

floor and the accelerator went with

it. I hit a concrete strip and the car

Wills leads the 1999 Holden

immediately became airborne, hit

on the street circuit would result

Australian Drivers Championship Series pointscore with 80 points, Adam Macrow 51, Matthew Halliday 41, Chris Staff 38,

the track and became airborne

Akihiro Asai 23, Paul Dumbrell

in my visor at eye level.”

crete wall at over 180 km/h dur-

The bumps at certain sections in the transmission selecting sec ond gear, at one stage on the Dequetteville Terrace straight Wills got second instead of top and the Reynard’s V6 Holden engine

“I felt pain in my legs, I was

again as I headed towards the tyre barrier,” said a sore and bruised Bell in the media centre just four hours after the incident.

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23 April 1999

Du.d

■ Si..

Mika beats the

gremlins Report by JOE SAWARD Photos by SUTTON IMAGES

Mika Hakkinen won the

Brazilian Grand Prix as

we all expected he would. But it was not an easy victory. As Mika was blasting away from the field, McLaren’s evil gearbox gremlin sniggered and threw a little spanner in the works. For a few pre

cious seconds, Mika had no drive.

And then the gearbox cured itself and he sent off in pursuit of rivals Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. He had both of them

beaten after the pit stops. It was an interesting race, if only because it highlighted Ferrari’s

weakness and Stewart’s fast-emerg ing strength... but the fact remains that McLaren is still the big fish in the FI pond.

It was easier to hear a pin drop in the paddock than to hear a word of sympathy for the team. There was just a quiet rumble of sniggering.

ills year in Brazil there was none LifefromwasWest. ratherTheyeasier forbranding the men T have _ of the infighting and back-stab

bing that was going on at Interlagos last year. Everyone was too busy chortling at the misfortunes of British American Racing. And what misfortunes there were... The team that said that it would come into FI and win races was not

having a good time. Adrian Reynard failed to show up again and on Friday Jacques Villeneuve stormed off to his hotel, fed up with mechani cal troubles, missing his own BATsponsored birthday celebrations. On Saturday local hero Ricardo

Zonta suffered a suspected suspen sion failure and crashed heavily, putting himself into hospital. Villeneuve qualified a miserable 16th on the grid and was then kicked to

the back of the grid for running an illegal fuel. Come Sunday, the big cheeses of bat’s Souza Cruz subsidiary which pay a big chunk of the BAR budget so that they could have a Brazilian dri ving around with 555 on the car turned up to find that because of the split-liveiy they had to stand on the

on both sides of the car and were run

ning 1-2 throughout practice and qualifying. 'The TV cameras spent most of the vital minutes in final qualifying fol lowing either one or the other McLaren around. And it was an

exciting battle as Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard traded times,

the tyres lasting long enough for a string of fast laps. The FIA may have wanted to reduce lap times with hard tyres and extra grooves but those clever old FI engineers have outwit ted the governing body as usual. Hakkinen’s pole position was half a second quicker than he managed in 1998 much the same result as we had

in qualifying in Melbourne. In fact, when you looked at the grid order after qualifying, the order was not greatly different to that in Australia which means that the

24,000 km of testing which the teams have done since Australia have not

made the slightest different to the status quo. In

the

throughout the weekend and I haven’t been 100 percent comfortable with the car in any part of the track. Pole position means that we must be getting it right but we still haven’t reached the maximum performance.” Both McLaren drivers reckoned

they could have gone quicker... and that must be deeply depressing for the folks down at Ferrari. It is now

veiy clear that the poor perform^ce in Melbourne was not as the team

claimed a momentary aberration. The F399 is not good enough and, having completed 4000km of testing

since Austr^ia, it is not getting much

better. Small wonder that Michael

Schumacher was looking trifle dark of mood by Sunday afternoon. He was not even third on the grid, hav ing been blown aside by the flying

Brazil goes nuts: Rubens Barrichello sent the locals home happy on Saturday after taking third on the grid. On Sunday, he led the field and looked comfortable doing it until the Ford engine let go in a huuuge w/ay. Here the stewing Stewart goes past what’s left of Stephane Sarazzin’s Minardi.

Stewart-Ford of Rubens Barrichello.

It was Hakkinen who probably best summed up the situation when talking to Finnish journalists after qualifying. “Stewart and Rubens Barrichello

have done magnificent work,” he said. “Better than Ferrari. And that’s

the end of the stoiy.” Barrichello’s success was greeted with near-delirium by the local crowds, who have been waiting to cheer a new hero since the death of

end

Hakkinen

beat

outside of the circuit (with the public) to watch one car with their branding on it whizzing along at the back of

Coulthard to pole position by 0.15s. “It hasn’t all been plain sailing,”

the field.

ing some radical changes to the car

said Hakkinen. ‘We have been mak

Ayrton Senna. If you did not know that the McLarens were ahead, you would have thought from the celebra tions that he was on pole position. “What I achieved today shows that

23 April I999

The Western part of Brazil: Mika Hakkinen has a gearbox hiccup but that was hot enough to stop him winning his first GP of 1999. He was joined on the podium by Viviane Senna, sister of the late Brazilian national hero.

At least the radio is working: The transmission gremlins also afflicted David Coulthard, here baby-sitting his MP4 against the possibility of attack from spectators, marshalls and photographer Darren Heath.

●-f4

It’s well-known that HHF likes it ‘tally’: but this is ridiculous. Frentzen took his second podium of the season and is making Jordan look like a big ‘C’ Contender.

I !

grid, although he was bumped up a place when Villeneuve was kicked to Melbourne was no fluke,” said Rubens. “I thought I drove the best

qualifying lap I possibly could last year and qualified 13th. Today I drove just as good a lap and qualified

that opinion, both having had trou bles on Friday. It has been a lot of years since we haven’t had a Williams in the top 10 on a Formula 1 grid, but in Brazil

third. That shows how much we have

Half Schumacher was down in 11th

improved.” Life was not quite as rosy for Johnny Herbert but the team was nonetheless impressed as Johrmy is still settling into the team and

and poor Alessandro Zanardi was a desperate 16th, having suffered tech nical problems on Friday and a Supertec engine failure a major blow up which punched a fist-sized hole in the bottom of the engine, during the qualifying session. “There is obviously something out there seeing how many problems it can throw my way,” said Alex, “and I am sure that nobody is enjoying this

Rubens has been there from the

start. He qualified 10th, a sqcond slower than Barrichello. “I didn’t do as well as I should have

done,” said Johrmy, ‘Tout I am fairly confident of a points finish because I have been on the pace with heavy fuel tanks and I very pleased with the set-up.”

Adepressed Schumacher was fourth Michael on the grid and Eddie Irvine, still flying along on his postMelbourne high was nearer than usual to his team-mate, getting to within 0.25s on this occasion and lin

situation but I am confident that the

situation will get sorted out.” Twelfth and 13th on the grid were the two Prost-Peugeots and there was plenty of disappointment in the team garage. Olivier Panis was the faster of the two on this occasion and

reckoned that he would have quali fied better if he had not run into yel low flags on his final run and if the

the back.

It was not a great day for Arrows with Pedro de la Rosa and Tora

Takagi lining up 18th and 19th on the grid. The Spaniard had been faster than Sarrazin but had his

fastest lap cancelled because he had overtaken under a yellow flag.

Race (72 laps)

Come Saturdaywas nightthatthe the feeling in the paddock story on race day would be much the same as in Australia only on this occasion it seemed unlikely that both McLarens would retire.

That did not stop the Brazilians hoping and on Sunday morning the queues to get into the track were longer than they were even if the great days of Senna. Whether this was due to the fact that the organisa tion was not as good or that there were more people was hard to tell, but it was an impressive two mile queue...

In the warm-up the McLarens

ing up sixth on the grid.

team had not lost half an hour of run-

off the pole time,” said Michael Schumacher. “We had hoped to be competitive right from the start of

ning time on Saturday morning

were half a second clear of Michael Schumacher. Olivier Panis was

because of Zonta’s accident. So bad

delighted to be fourth fastest in his

were the delays as the barriers were being replaced after the crash that the FIA decided to simply cancel the

Things looked pretty normal... Well,

“I id not expect to be one second

the season and it seems we have not achieved that. We have to continue

working hard to catch up.” Not unnaturally the Ferrari man agement decided to adopt the line that the lack of speed was a specific problem with the Interlagos circuit. It looks as though Ferrari will end the year having had 16 specific problems and will still be saying that the car is quicker than it appears. The two Ferrari men were spUt by the Benetton of Giancarlo Fisichella, which was a good effort for the little Italian, who was a good half a second clear of the other Supertec VIO users. If he had blinked on his final qualify ing run he might have dropped from fifth to eight, so close were the times but he did not and so came out of

qualifying looking veiy good indeed. “I was very close to the limit,” Fizzy reported, “and the slightest error would have compromised eveiything.” Alexander Wurz who is usually within a tenth of Fisichella admitted

to having made a couple of mistakes and so had to make do with ninth. Behind Fisichella and Irvine came

the two Jordan Mugen Hondas with Damon Hill managing to outdo Heinz-Harald Frentzen by 0.018s. But seventh and eighth on the grid was considered a disappointment by the team. Hill reckoned that he

would have been in the top six if he had not suffered mechanical troubles

on Friday and Heinz-Harald shared

rest of the session. There was no

shortage of griping about that up and down the pitlane. The team was happy not to have any technical prob lems and reckoned that the two cars

would be quicker in the race. Behind the two Prosts came the two Saubers with Jean Alesi outrun

ning Pedro Diniz. The Frenchman had been hampered by a handling problem throughout Friday but this was tracked down to a seized bearing and the car was much better on

Saturday. The time represented everything the car could give,” said Alesi. Diniz complained that he had been held up by Villeneuve’s BAR at a crucial

Prost and Barrichello was fifth.

until the start of the race when

Coulthard did not go anywhere when he tried to accelerate away. It had stalled. Why that happened was a mystery. David suffered the ignomin ious fate of being pushed into the pitlane where, after a bit of fiddling about, he was finally sent on his way. Three laps down. As David emerged from the pitlane, Mika was just beginning his fourth lap. He had a two second lead and was very content. Behind him were Barrichello, Schumacher M, a fast-starting Irvine and Fisichella but they were also-rans. Suddenly the McLaren faltered. Continued on page 32

moment.

Seventeenth of the grid was a good showing for FI debutant Stephane Sarrazin, who was standing in for Luca Badoer in the Minardi. It was

not an easy job because he had never driven the car before practice began and on Friday he struggled to find a good driving position as he is rather

Albert Park it is not:

Sao Paulo’s skyline frames Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari. Both his and Eddie Irvine’s 399s

too tall for the car. A new seat was

made and on Saturday he was able to blow away the team’s regular driver Marc Gene. The Spaniard had mechanical trouble of Saturday morning and did not get many laps and so had to work hard in qualifying and ended up going off into a barrier. He qualified within 107% of the pole time (which was better than in Australia) but was still last on the

\were blown away for speed by the 77r.»TO' /

McLarens and Barrichello’s Stewart-Ford.

But Mikey had his share of fans: While Sao Paulo is a long way from Kerpen, Germany, the Boys from Brazil made sure that their

UberlordieW right at home. (Photo by Race Access)

23 April 1999

Continued from page 31 The problem cost Mika six seconds. He was overtaken by Barrichello and Schumacher. He was staring retire ment in the face. And then the gear box started working again. Why? Um... No-one seemed to know. Somewhere in a software command line somewhere at McLaren there

seems to be a playful little gremlin. For the rest of the afternoon the

McLaren men chewed their fingers wondering if the gremlin was going to strike again. The crowd did not care one little

about McLaren’s problems. “Rubinho’ was ahead and they were dancing sambas in the grandstands. Not only was the Stewart leading, it was also able to keep its advantage over the Ferrari. Was Rubens running a lighter fuel load and going for two stops, or was the Stewart really that fast? All would be revealed on lap 27 when Rubens came into the pits. He rejoined in fourth, needing to charge through his middle stint to build a sufficient advantage to afford a sec ond stop. He was four seconds behind Irvine when he rejoined. Paul Stewart took the opportunity to wan der down to Ferrari to have a chat

with Jean Todt. Eddie would not get in the way, would he? That would not be very sporting. Todt listened and sent the young Stewart on his way. And in the next few laps Irvine cost Rubens about five seconds. It was not

really significant in the grand scheme of things but it was typical Ferrari behaviour.

“I was running at a good pace imtil the first top,” said Rubens, “hut then I lost a bit of consistency with the sec ond set of tyres and I was probably not running well enough to win.” He would probably have ended up on the podium but his engine let go on lap 43, amid much Brazilian groaning and gnashing of teeth. Johnny Herbert’s race was short lived. He was up to seventh on lap 15 when

his

Stewart

suffered

hydraulic failure. ~

~ichael Schumacher’s moment of

jlory at the front would last for 10 laps and all the time he was under pressure from Hakkinen. He pitted on lap 38 and Mika was given a clear road. He put his foot down for the next four laps and then came in him self. It was a good stop and Mika rejoined just ahead of Michael. “When I was behind Mika after the

pit stop,” Schumacher said, “I could only push and hope that he made a mistake. He drove a very good race.”

That was the end of the story.

affair. Starting three laps behind is not likely to reap results. The car was quick but then the grumpy gremlin struck again and David lost fifth gear. He pitted to see if something

Business as usual: Eddie Irvine left Brazil with his

World Championship lead intact and a bunch of phone numbers starting with (0011) 55.

could be done but was sent on his

way. And then the gearbox blew... Michael said he was happy with second place and that things will improve. Time will tell. Irvine’s race was a httle more frustrating. The car behaving oddly all afternoon and Eddie was not at ease in the beast.

He was a secure third after his pit stop when the air supply for his pneumatic valves began to run out. He had to stop for a quick squirt of air. He rejoined in fifth behind Half Schiunacher and caught right up to the German but in the closing laps the Ferrari engine began losing power again and he was unable to find a way past. He had to settle for fifth.

Third place was thus inherited by

differential failed early on and made the rear end behave very oddly. 'Thinking he had a puncture Alex pit ted for new tyres. He was sent out by the problem remained. He struggled to keep the car on the road but even tually stopped with a clutch failure. Scoring points in Brazil really was a question of survival. “You have done the race in reverse

and taken sbcth place,” mumbled one engineer afterwards. 'The honour of taking the last point went to Olivier Panis nearly two laps down at the end, after a jumped-start and a stop-go penalty, a stall during a first stop and a two-stop strategy. The only thing he didn’t do was drive

Frentzen’s Jordan. For most of the

in reverse...

early part of the race Heinz-Harald

Jamo TruUi had no such good for tune. He was running ninth his gear box began jumping from gear to gear. TTie problem was mechanical rather

was

stuck

behind

Fisichella’s

Benetton. The strategy was for a long first stint and HH did not pit until lap 45. With Barrichello and Fisichella having by then disap peared he found himself in third and there he stayed until the last lap when the Jordan suddenly stopped. “For an awfiil moment I thought I had lost third place,” said Frentzen, “but then I got a message from the pit that it was OK” The problem was something to do with fuel-pressure although the team insisted that there had been enough on board.

than electronic and that was the end

ing race. He made a poor start and dropped behind Frentzen and Wurz. On lap 10 he made a good move and overtook Wurz going down to the first

of his game. Tora Takagi finished eighth for Arrows but it was not a great show ing. The Japanese racer had been blown away by Pedro de la Rosa again but the Spaniard went out with a hydraulic problem on lap 53. 'The only other man to finish was Gene, who lost time having to make an unscheduled pit stop after Sarrazin crashed. It was a major crash, the FI new boy going into the wall an alarming angle at about ITOmph. 'The car spun so many times that everyone lost count. 'The cause? A front wing adjuster fell off and the

M. Hakkinen

McLaren-Mercedes 1h 36m 03.785s (192.994 kph)

comer. The Austrian who seems to

car

downforce.

have developed a habit of wheel banging ever since his much-praised

Amazingly, the chassis was not destroyed in the impact. Sauber did not get either car to the flag. Alesi spun on the second lap and dropped to 19th he then drove a star tling stint with a light fuel load to climb up to fifth by lap 21, when he had to stop for fuel. With Zonta in the hospital BAR

Jordan-Mugen/Honda Williams-Supertech

M. Schumacher H.H. Frentzen R. Schumacher E. In/ine

O. Panis

A. Wurz

Prost-Peugeot Benetton-Supertech

T. Takagi

Arrows

M. Gene

Minardi-Ford

Damon Hill had another fhistrat-

battle with Michael Schumacher in

Monaco last yeeu" blew his chances of a good finish by mnning into Damon in a dumb move.

“I did not think it was very good driving from Alexander as I had outbraked him,” said Damon. He was right but being right is no help when you have to retire with suspension damage.

Wurz managed to keep badly going and but the car was handling he went off again a few laps later. In the

end

finished

seventh.

Fisichella had no such luck. Having run fifth in the early part of the race and was in that position when he pit ted at mid-race. During his pit stop he suffered clutch failure.

lost

front

end

was down to one car and while

Villeneuve moved up as others retired, he did not look veiy threaten ing as he diced with the Minardis and the Arrows. In fact he was carry ing so much fuel that he had little choice. A very late pit stop saw him running in seventh place and he was able to hold on to this after the stop a good effort. But it all turned to dust six laps later when the BAR ground to a halt with failed hydraulics. 'The imperfect end to a decidedly imper

Fourth place thus went to Wilhams, which was a good result for

fect weekend.

would have been a lot more but for

the team alter a pretty poor weekend.

thunder around the test tracks look

the six second gremlin.

Zanardi’s disastrous FI comeback

ing for gremlins. But can McLaren

continued with more problems. The

down the ghost in their machine? [2J]

Mika came home the winner. The

margin was only five seconds but it

Coulthard’s race was a pointless

Now everyone returns to Europe to

1999 Brazilian Grand Prix World Drivers Championship, Round 2 Interlagos, 11 April 72 iaps/308.994km

Fastest lap

Hakkinen

1h36m 08.710s

Ferrari

71 laps 71 laps 71 laps 71 laps 70 laps 69 laps 69 laps

Ferrari

1m 18.448s (lap 70).196.961 kph

Retirements

Lap 10 D. Hill Lapis J. Herbert Lap 21 J. Trulli Lap 22 D. Coulthard Lap 27 J. Alesi Lap 31 S. Sarrazin Lap 38 G. Fisichella Lap 42 P. Diniz Lap 42 R. Barrichello Lap 43 A. Zanardi Lap 49 J. Villeneuve Lap 52 P. de la Rosa

Jordan-Mugen/Honda Stewart-Ford

Prost-Peugeot

collision with Wurz

hydraulic failure transmission

McLaren-Mercedes

Sauber-Petronas Minardi-Ford

gearbox gearbox suspension failure

Benetton-Supertech Sauber-Petronas Stewart-Ford

Williams-Supertech BAR-Supertech Arrows

clutch

collision with Takagi/spin engine hydraulic failure Hydraulic failure hydraulic failure

Lap Leaders: Lap 1-3, Hakkinen Lap 4-26, Barrichello Lap 27- 37, Schumacher Lap 3872, Hakkinen Drivers Points Irvine 12, Hakkinen 10, Frentzen 10, R. Schumacher?, M. Schumacher 6, Fisichella 3, Barrichello 2, De La Rosa and Panis 1

Constructors’ Points Ferrari 18. McLaren-Mercedes 10, Jordan-Mugen/Honda 10, Williams-Supertech 7, Benetton-Supertech 3, Stewart-Ford 2. Arrows and Prost 1

SsSW*,;/;

neaa Oftice b

3 9739 6323 Retail Stores VIC Melb City 03 9639 1733 NSW Bathurst 0418 434 001 - Spit Junction 02 9968 1670

OLD McPowall 07 3353 4449 - Stapylton DJR 07 3287 1234 - Maryborough 07 4121 7596 SA Lockleys 08 8352 2442 - Adelaide 08 8223 4788

PENNZOIL

ADA/ERTISEM ENT

Pennzoil Top Fuel Team in Top Three with one round to go Pennzoil Motorsport Team Top Fuel driver from Victoria, Robin Kirby defeated Pennzoil product supported rival Darren Di Fillipo to win round five of the ANDBA Australian Top Fuel Championship’s at Brisbane’s

Sunday April 11 at the NHRA Winston Drag Racing O'Reilly Nationals presented by Pennzoil at

Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas. Hill sent current

Winston drag racing series points

leader Mike Dunn packing after

smoking him down tne stretch in a 4.626-second, 304.80 mph streak.

Raceway on April 10. Kirby qualified second in bis Pennzoil sponsored Swindahl Dragster. Kirby’s 5.2 second pass saw the Bendigo driver reach a terminal speed of 269 miles per hour. The first of the Willowbank Top Fuel eliminators saw Kirby defeat Sydneydriver Terry Sainty before taking on rising Top Fuel ace Andrew Cowan in

The win followed Friday's opening round qualifier where Hill posted his career-best speed of 316.38mph. In the quarterfinal race, Hill

developed ignition problems that resulted in his machine smoking the

tires right off the starting line. It was

the semi final.

ilT-HOI

Kirby was once again victorious in the semi final and completed the trio ofvictories, during the final nitro burning encounter against Di Fillipo who redhghted. The Willowbank victory places the Pennzoil Top Fuel team well in the hunt for the 1998/9 Top Fuel Championship with one round to go at Australia’s largest drag racing event, the Konica

"It would be fair to say that we've

been chasing an ignition problem all

weekend,"

Robin Kirby above and in his performance winning top fuel dragster. Winternationals so Pennzoil will be going

ignition. When you finally get the

seasons.

will be a furious final confrontation. Di

A Top Fuel Championship victory this season would be a great resrdt for Kirby’s Pennzoil Top Fuel team, as he has taken

Winternationals action at Willowbank

Steve Read 300. “The team worked hard to win this

event,” said Kirby, “We are confident that we have foimd the right time up for the

all out to win the title - the fans are in for

Make sure that you catch all of the Raceway during the second weekend of

runner up honours in the 1991/2, 1992/3

June as this Pennzoil driver will be

and 1993/4 Top Fuel Championships. His career tally also

hmigry for a hard earned first Top Fuel title against very formidable opposition.

Peter Kirby - Mechanic of the Month of

the

Month

and scope for development so much that it was his suggestion to make what would become their highly successful move into the Top

Fuel class, The Kirby brothers have since forged a sohd reputation as the mostconsistent Top Fuel competitors in the country.

Award for his mechanical efforts

behind

the

team

taking out Round 5 of the Australian Top Fuel Championships at Willow bank Raceway last week. Peter has been modifying engines since his primary school days and raced motorcyles through his teens. Once Robin started racing Hot Rods, Peter developed his race engine building skills to create a series of winning engines before making the giant leap into Funny Cars. A major move in anyone’s race based mechanical launched

career,

into

the

their uncanny reliabilityin this most difficult and fragile category is largely due to Peter’s

skilland

race

bred

knowledge. “We try to work within our own skill level” says Peter, “We are not always the fastest but we are by far the most consistent and that

is the policy that we have in place with the team. It is not imusual for us to rim two or

three seasons on the same

engine block in Top Fuel.” He says.

“Robin similar

Peter nitro

burning engines with the same passion as all of his previous racing projects. He enjoyed the awesome power

●*v Peter Kirby - part of the winning team at last week's Australian Top Fuel Championships at Willowbank Raceway. collector’s item for any car enthusiast.

and in

are

terms

very the

pressure that we place on ourselves to get eveything absolutely right. While he is unforgiving should he shp up, I am just as bad if we have an engine or tuning dilemma. This has made us develop a strong discipline together which is reflected in the entire

team,” Kirby added.

Simpson was presented with the keys to

are very few examples of this model his “new” Chevrolet Pickup by Pennzoil 1957 Chevy pick up There remaining in this condition on this side of Queensland State Manager, Francis won as major prize Pennzoil Australia arranged to have the Chevy pickup is something different as a the world.

of Pennzoil/ Super Cheap promo

Pennzoil

and

Queensland

based

automotive parts and accessories retail group Super Cheap Auto were delighted

with the strong response to their recent sales promotion, which featured a pristinely restored 1957 Chevrolet Pickup adorned in Pennzoil yellow as the major prize. Capturing the imagmation of thousands

of Super Cheap Auto customers, the ’57 Pick Up is the ultimate American pick up truck, complete with thumping V8 engine and extra wide fenders. This Chevy is a

One

ignition problems is that you keep

added.

Fillipo has 320 points, Kirby 305 and

Hill,

changing your tune-up based on data you're getting from a marginal

to take the title at Willowbank in what

Three Top Fuel drivers have the chance

said

unfortunate by-product of chasing

a fantastic showdown come June.” He

Winternationals held from June 11-13.

frustrating loss for the Pennzoil

team member.

includes three third place finishes in the Australian Top Fuel Championship during the 1994/5, 1995/6 and 1997/8

Mechanic

Pennzoil Top Fuel racer Eddie Hill executed the biggest upset of the final race day action during his

first round elimination race an

Willowbank

Thirty-nine year old Peter Kirby, brother of Pennzoil Top Fuel team driver Robin, has been awarded the April

Pennzoil aces dominate in the States

pick up fully restored in the USA and freighted here as the major prize of this Super Cheap Auto promotion which coincided with the launch of Pennzoil’s new

and innovative product range packaging and Super Cheap’s annual stocktake sale. The winner, lucky 18 year old Dane Simpson couldn’t beheve his luck when he swapped his old one tonne ute to drive his new fully restored 1957 Chevrolet Pickup. ‘Tt has been difficult to wipe the smile from my face since I was notified that I had won the Pennzoil Chevy!” Said Behnga resident Simpson, who works as a concrete and steel fixer in his family business. “TU keep the my old ute for work though, the Chevy is a definite weekend car,” Simpson added.

Atkins. “An American classic such as this

major prize. That is why it proved to be a powerful drawcard for this Super Cheap Auto promotion.” He said, Pennzoil Australia is active in offering consumers the chance to win exciting prizes through Pennzoil product promotions, according to newly appointed Pennzoil Marketing Manager, Monique Wilson. “Together with our national retailers, we aim to create sales promotions that give consumers an active and exciting incentive to take part. A prize as rare as the ’57 Chevy Pickup, demonstrates Pennzoil’s commitment to developing its unique brand identity, fimthering its strength at retail level and ensuring consumers want to buy Pennzoil” Ms Wilson said.

problem solveci, then sometimes

your engine will go off like a bomb.

That's what happened here.

Pennzoil Pro Stock Pontiac Firebird driver Mike Thomas sailed

through the elimination rounds leading up to Sunday's finals only to

lose by a close margin in Round 1

during Sunday's final race sessions.

Thomas ran a 6.959-second lap at 197.74 mph against Mark Pawuk's

6.949-second pass at 197.86 mph.

The next NHRA Winston drag

racing event is the scheduled for April 22-25, at Texas Mtorplex in Dallas, Texas.

Archer right on target Starting his racing career at tender

age of seven, Pennzoil sponsored

kart racer Rhys Archer is a young man who is clearly in a hurry. The

Kyneton based driver and his family

based Pennzoil Kart Team have

started a new and challenging season with a move into a

competitive class for 1999.

This season has seen Archer move

into the Junior National Light karting category with four podium finishes to date. One of these was a superb second place at the opening round of the Country Circuit Series held at

Mildura. In one of his best drives to

date, Archer finished a close second

at the Geelong 5000, with a recent

victory at the Puckapunyal Open

Race /Meeting, where he took a hat-

trick of victories, dominating both heats and the final in the 1 OOcc

Junior National Light category. On April 18, the Pennzoil karter took first place honours in the second round of the Eastern Region Country series. Last season Archer continued his

winning ways with a victory in the Western Region Country Series held over five rounds on five regional circuits. 1998 also saw Archer finish 6th in the South Australian Titles

event, and 5th in the ACT Junior

Sprint Classic. A runner up spot

beckoned at the 1998 Victorian

Country Titles, a 3rd place result in the Victorian Open Championships and 6th

at the Junior National

Classic event held at Puckapunyal.

This landmark season saw the

Pennzoil sponsored karter race in 29 separate meetings.

Archer's career tally of podium

finishes stands at an incredible 54

before his 13th birthday.

/j!^0(o)[78U)®[FO

23 April 1999

Kipling V6 litle at Murray Bridge BRETT Kipling won a no holds barred SA V6 Sprint Title at Murray Bridge on Easter Sunday night, April 4. The first of the three heats each over 10 laps went to Scott Agars from pole position, with runner-up brother Steve followed by Craig Forester and Dud Lambert - both Kym Whitrow and Kipling were sidelined after making contact in the back straight. Kipling could not get started in the second heat, his fuel tap having been turned off after the first heat altercation and then not noticed -

Steve Agars made it look easy, winning this heat ahead of Steven Monk and Whitrow taking a second and a half off the record. Scott Agars and Lambert had quite a coming together in the final heat, both cars becoming airborne and slamming into the fence, fortu nately not overturning and without incurring any injuries - both were

Low flier: Jamie McHugh’s Super Sedan was quickest in Westhens Finance Top Ten Shootout. (Jordan)

unable to continue.

Gym pie rains out twice RAIN caused the cancellation of

the Super Sedan feature event at Gympie’s Mothar Mountain Speedway on April 4 during round

of the

Coastline

Vehicle Transport Super Series. The meeting, which also doubled as round four of the Australian

Garages Series, was originally scheduled for completion on Saturday night, but was washed out early and faced the prospect of cancellation with another event

scheduled at Lismore the following night. However, when rain forced the

abandonment of Lismore’s Sunday night show, the field regrouped in Gympie for a second attempt at completing the fixture. The 17-car line-up was very good nutos

BanMBnrd

SatfVMAdvrliiinQ

under the circumstances and things looked promising, with the show starting under blue sky. The opening qualifier saw Jamie McHugh pilot his Miami Suspension Camaro to victory, ahead of triple Queensland champi on Lyndsay Hawkings (McDonald and Murphy Camaro) and Nick Girdlestone.

Rockhampton’s

Rod

Gough

(American Truck Parts Pontiac) was a narrow victor in heat two,

finishing ahead of Peter Warren (North Coast Concrete Commodore) and Ian Marshall.

Hawkings was untroubled from pole position in heat three, leading home

Girdlestone

(Racers

Warehouse Pontiac) and McHugh. Local favourite Cameron Meehan

(Australian

Garages

downed Marshall (Federal Tyres Commodore) and an impressive Chris Albert (Bob Jane T-Marts Commodore) in tbe final heat.

Dysart’s Des Korn, making his first appearance at this venue, was disqualified from this event after a fairly innocuous clash with Warren on the final lap. McHugh was considerably faster than anyone during the Westhens Finance Top Ten Shootout, until a very light shower swept across the circuit before Girdlestone and top qualifier Hawkings were able to take their run against the clock. Given the discomfort to specta tors and competitors as a result of the conditions, the promoters opted to abandon tbe meeting at this point.

Falcon)

Rerun over the full distance, Whitrow cleared away and set a new track record of 2:11.8, while Forester was runner-up and Kiplington, from the back of the pack, was third. The final over 20 laps had only nine starters from the original 12, Max Bell out with timing problems, Michael Fyffe’s new car overheating and Lambert suffering a damaged wheel. On the opening lap, Whitrow spun and was sent rear of field, along with Steve Agars, who stewards deemed had jumped the start. This gave Kipling, off position nine, a two-car advantage when the race restarted for the third time.

Early leader was Scott Agars, but Kipling was on a mission and, giv ing Forester a hefty nudge, he moved into second and then wore down the leader to go on and take the chequer. Scott maintained second, followed by Forester, Steve Agars, Whitrow and Bob Gilbert.

Kipling set an inaugural record of 4:31.5, which surprisingly was some 11 seconds faster than the Modified Rod time for 20 laps.

With the results provisional, the trophy presentation was not held, but the placings stood by the meeting’s end and Brett Kipling was the new V6 Mitsubishi State Champion. ■ In other events, Bing Goonan just beat Owen Pitt on the line to take out the Modified Rod feature and Paul Blenkiron brought his Commodore in for a win in the Super Sedan feature. In winning the Sidecar six-lap feature, Jim Irwin and passenger Les Bremner’s 1:25 broke the record set a year ago by Rick Munro. - FRANK MIDGLEY

- CHRIS METCALF

nmmSmai,M BKOuMara

fklKJ9St7-9B8S I

SaraitGar Tines vUtutt

wwwJBnWilumjo/watarmto/

24th OfApri,l starts at Sim

S^(ko)[Fqp(s)[?9

23 April 1999

ussie Champ

Western Auto debuts

claims AMC with VIC Sprintiur Title Impressive new Victorian facility opens this weekend THE 1998/99 Victorian Sprintcar Championship

will be the feature event at the April 24 official opening of the Western Auto Speedway, Victoria’s newest speedway venue, located in Bacchus Marsh.

“I’m rapt to have the Victorian Sprintcar Title for our opening show,” enthused promoter Geoff Trewin. “I didn’t really want the pressure of such a race for our first official meeting, but what a feather in our cap.

“It gives me a lot of confidence going into the future - it’s so exciting now. looking to the future of this venue and speedway in Victoria." A big field of cars, including Australian Champions Max Dumesny and Garry Brazier, is confirmed and dual and defending Victorian champion David Anderson is also expected, along with local aces Tim

politician and Trewin is hopeful of having Sir Jack

Brabham on hand - the rain date will be Sunday,

April 25.

A temporary corporate marquee will be set up for invited guests while the pei’manent corporate boxes, not converted containers, are still under construction

- by the time the venue reopens for the start of the next season, seating for 8,000 people will have also been installed and the terraces will have been paved. At 500 metres around the pole and 30 metres wide

all the way around, the track is sure to provide fast, excellent racing, with plenty of passing and varied racing lines. Supports will be Super Sedans, AMCA Nationals

and a series of two-car, two-lap dashes for the invited Speedcars, which will include veterans Ray Bishop and John Mills.

McCubbin, Mike Van Bremen. Daryn Maggs and

Contacts are Ray Solomon A/H (03) 5428 4791, mobile 0407 801 513, or Jim Knight A/H (03) 9796

new'ly-crowned SRA Series champion Jeff Judd.

9684, B/H (03) 9703 2777, mobile 0417 578 557. -BRETT SWANSON

The venue will be officially opened by a well-known

much rain and the pits were too

Weli, goes.at This is mya first here attempt penning

muddy. It was actually better being on the infield and it feit like racing in America. You could watch the track change all night and adjust your set-up

column for a magazine, so I hope you can make heads or tails of all this - and thanks to

Motorsport News for showing its interest in Speedcar racing. We are ail but finished racing here in Sydney and, right at the moment, we’re aii trying to come to terms with the belting Steven Graham is handing out on a near weekly basis.

accordingiy. We aiso got to watch the other divisions and i have to teil

you the taxi cab (Super Sedan)

Last weekend at Parramatta

City

Raceway,

“Cyclone

Graham” blew us all stupid in the last Speedcar show for the season - we ran third, but i didn’t even see which way he

increasing and the new talent emerging is very exciting. The rained out QLD Title has

unfortunately been scheduled for the same date as the QLD

went.

Sprintcar Title, so John Kelly

Boy, is he fast right now. In the past Steven has always

will have trouble being in two places at once. Two of the Sydney boys went

been fast, but has lacked relia

bility - well, this year, there’s no problem with reliability and he’s reaping the rewards. Good luck to him, as there’s

no doubt having two fast cars and loads of talent is a winning

racing was great. Ron Pyne is a bit of a iunatic but, man, he’s entertaining. What a show he put on! Between Ron, John Pyne and John Brown, you get some incredible passing.

up there for the attempted title and probably now wished they hadn’t.

Craig Brady hurt his Esslinger motor after a heat and

The National Titleheldforin Speedcars is being Darwin in July and, at this

stage, it only looks like a small contingent of NSW drivers will be going - Steven Graham (who should win), Craig Brady, defending Champ Robbie Farr, Mark Cooper, Brett Morris and

Easter Cup

NEW Australian Champion Jim Knight emerged victorious in an entertaining 20-lap AMCA Nationals Easter Cup feature race at Archerfield Speedway on April 3. Knight took over the front run ning on lap 14 when Neil Lorenz was baulked by a lapped car and bounced off the main straight wall before recovering to finish third behind Queensland champ Bob Dennis.

The race was the best yet pro duced by this division in these parts, with a quartet of experienced competitors locked in battle throughout. A shower of rain swept across the same number of Speedcar shows last year as Darwin none!

circuit just after the halfway stage, adding another dimension to the event.

Brett Rigby continued his emer gence as a rising star when he took out the opening heat ahead of Knight and newcomer John Joyce. Denyse Butcher made a winning return to the ranks when she

downed Lorenz and Russell Bonsey in heat two.

The third qualifier went to Peter Rose over Knight and another new comer in Keith Duggan. Former Super Sedan driver Wayne Lemon proved too strong in the final heat, finishing ahead of Queensland champion Bob Dennis and Lorenz.

When the green flag flew to get the Cut Price Mufflers feature

underway, Lorenz launched from the outside

Knight,

Good news is that Victorian second-generation racer Haydn Bishop is making a speedy recovery from his nasty crash at Avalon - Bish’ is get ting his halo removed (he was never an angel, anyway) at the end of April. Adam Brand - the country music singer - will race my car one day soon, as payment for singing at my car owner Terry

King’s 50th Birthday party - if he can drive like he can sing, he’ll be very fast. Adam Clarke has now arrived in the USA and will be based in

Wisconsin to race against the Badger Midget Association his first race is on May 11 and it will be a 50-lapper. I think Steven Graham may be there for the same race, as he leaves later this month.

Dave Lambert.

front row to lead

Lemon,

Dennis

and

Butcher away. The only stoppage came on lap 2, when Rigby lost a wheel in turn 1 and stopped against the fence. Back underway, Lorenz contin ued to hold sway out front until lap 14, when he was squeezed into the main straight wall by Joyce, allow ing Knight and Dennis to move ahead.

With light rain making condi tions quite slippery, Knight held on to take the win, ahead of Dennis,

Lorenz, Lemon, Ricky Sendall and Bonsey, with Butcher, Duggan, Steve Potts and Rose rounding out the top ten. - CHRIS METCALF

Parramatta City Raceway Hustler Hotshot

Sprintcar Series Pointscore After Round Two- ■

Dave Lambert broke his shoul

Our team won’t be going,

I heard, too, that young rook

Peter Attard 8, Wayne'

combination.

der blade and hurt the car pretty bad in a nasty crash. Hope you

because I have work commit

ie Scott Glazebrook won the

Skipper 6, Grant Tanks 6,

W recently for a round of the

get well soon, Lambo - your

ments and we Just don’t have the resources to justify the trav-

final Speedcar feature Claremont Speedway.

Adrian Maher 5, John Shore;

team has been fantastic this

el.

$100,000 Speedcar Super Series

year.

and I have to say that Queensland Speedcar racing looks better and better every time I see it. The car count is

raced in Toowoomba

also

won

main

at at

I think the ASCC needs to

Bunbury earlier in the year, so that makes two wins in his rook

The night at Parramatta, we other had to pit on the infield

look at the rotation system a bit more critically, as Tasmania could qualify for the event one

because there had been so

year and they ran exactly the

ie season and that’s pretty

amazing! I bet his parents, Ron and Mandy, are proud of him.

4, Mark Blyton 4, Garry Rush Jr 4, Ashley Anthony 3, Max Dumesny 3, Brett Loadsman 3, Lynton Jeffrey 3, Bob Tanks 3, Kelly Linigen 3, Trevor Shields 3, David Hall 3, Peter Craft 3.

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23 April 1999

eorge Tatnell has retired from the sport. For some, that’s no hig deal, as many believe that should have happened years ago. - and, let’s face it, they may have a point in some respects.

Realistically, it has been sev eral years now since Tatnell has had his stunning (!!) bottleblonde locks ruined within the

sweaty linings of his familiar Arai helmets.

In fact, prior to his just-con cluded farewell tour, it had been so long since his right foot belted the floor boards in a

Sprintcar - or any race car for that matter- that there was a

fair chance he may have driven onto

the

race

track

the

wrong direction! But, yes, it’s a fact that the driver everyone loves to hate

and hates to love has finally, really, absolutely, no doubt about it folks, called it a day. The world’s oldest teenager’s decision to retire has, by Tatnell’s own admission, been a

long time coming. And, while he admits to not

being a spring chicken these days, he totally rejects the vicious and unsubstantiated

rumors that a fire extinguisher was required for the conflagra tion atop his most recent birth day cake - Tatnell turns 60 this month.

Tatnell does admit, however, that a fire still rages in his belly to race his beloved Sprintcars,

Goodbye Gorgeous George George Tatnell, one of Australia’s most intriguing motorsport characters - and

certainly one of its most popular - has hung up his helmet after one final fling behind the wheel of his beloved Sprintcar. For all those who have supported, cheered and, yes, booed this legendary racer, scribe TONY LOXLEY documents Part One of the

career tale of the speedway enigma known i

simply as Gorgeous George.

yet at the same time he’s also

three and a half tons - a real mon-

quick to acknowledge that the

ster. We numbered the car XXV (25) in Roman numerals and called

time has come to leave the rac

ing to his hugely talented son, Brooke.

he George Tatnell story began during the helter skelter era of the middle 1950s Stock Car

scene. Forget Hot Rods, Speedcars,

it ‘Tatt’s Chariot.’ Soon after, I entered my first race - I think it

more often than not played tag team on the less-armourplated and less experienced rivals, For both Tatnells, there was also

ably did - but that was just one of the many great memories from racing Stock Cars. They were just great ftm.”

the odd interstate trip with the

was the

Stock Cars, but how they got there

Tatnell raced the Stockies for around five years, his body taking a tremendous Evander Holyfield pounding on each occasion. Yet, when it came to moving on,

1956/57 season - at

Windsor Speedway’s annual Butcher’s Kcnic, the last event of the year. From then on, my brother and I were hooked!”

bikes and saloon cars - these streamlined

is now the source of much intrigue. “I remember once we towed up to Brisbane’s Exhibition Ground for a

big race” Tatnell smilingly said,

it wasn’t the equally hugely popu-

“The car I bought was the origi-

nal Moon Eyes rod Bill Warner ran before he got hold of his American Super Modified,” Tatnell remembered.

“When I got it, though, it didn’t have a motor, so Joe and I sorted that out by taking out our tow

truck’s motor on Fridays, putting it into our Hot Rod, then racing it at Westmead,

versions of your aver age Sherman tank were the top drawcard at

venues

such

put it back into our tow truck on the mon-

day morning! “After a while, I then bought the exLarry Parry rod, but

Windsor, Westmead

and the Sydney Showgrounds, pulling tens of thousands of

after a few wrecks we decided to take anoth

fans on a regular basis to witness their bodypulverising antics. They were, without doubt, the hot ticket for quite a while and, for a youthful George Tatnell and big broth

er look at Speedcars. one “During Windsor season, I actually raced in every event on the 19race program. I ran the a Stockie,

er Joe, fresh from a family move from the plush Riverina district

Speedcar, a Compact Speedcar and a Hot

Rod. I won quite a

in Southern NSW, they were the ants

few of them, too,” he laughed. “That day really stands out when I think of my early career.”

pants. Tatnell vividly remembers his first

foray into the wild world of Stock Car rac-

ing and the way the

seed was eventually

uring

the

’63/64 season,

he was offered his first drive in a

planted which would

ultimately lead him on a path to speedway

or the

Sydney Showground, on Saturdays, then

Sublime: Beautiful Tatnell Trackburner, with splendid Repco alloy crossflow head on Holden straight six, at Sydney Showground in ’67.

superstardom.

“Not long after we moved up to Sydney, Dad bought a service sta tion at Tempe and one of our auto electricians had a Stock Car which he raced at Windsor.

“I was 19 at the time and my

brother, Joe and I took an interest

in this guy’s car and his racing. But we got bored watching this guy race, so we decided to get our own car instead,” Tatnell recalled.

“I bought a ‘36 Ford coupe. It was

Stock Cars, as mentioned earlier, were big business in Sydney - in fact, they were big business right along the East Coast of Australia.

It wasn’t uncommon for the good drivers of the day to pocket 1000 pounds and, even if you didn’t always win, there was plenty of money to be made - the more money, the more destruction and the crowds flocked to the venues. Both Tatnell Senior and Junior soon became firm fan favorites and

“but because we didn’t have a trail

er we just towed the Stockie behind our tow truck, rear wheels off the

ground, all the way. “We had to tow rear wheels off

the ground because in those days we welded the planetary gears together so we got no wheelspin. It was crude, but it worked. We could

then get all the power to the ground, like the solid axle does in today’s Sprintcars.

“I can’t remember if I won - prob-

lar Speedcars which turned him on, but the Hot Rod division, the fore runners of today’s Sprintcars.

trangely, Tatnell wasn’t too

fussed over the Speedcar’s lack of body contact and, in his words, “the way they just went round and round,” so he made local

hero Bill Warner an offer to buy his state of the art Hot Rod racer and

embarked on a new speedway career.

Speedcar and, while it wasn’t a top of the

line machine, it did get the juices flowing enough for him to consider a future in the division.

Tatnell, with that familiar toothy smile, recalled his first Speedcar experience; “A guy called Charlie Bennett gave me my first ride in his old #43 machine at Windsor.

“It was a dreadful old thing, not pretty at all, but we painted it white, installed leopard skin-

coloured upholstery and away we went. It handled terribly, but at

LmD0^SjJXs)l70 least we made it look good!” It was the start of what would

ultimately become an incredible 25 years behind the wheel of his beloved Speedcars. Shortly after he began his Speedcar career with Bennett, Tatnell was offered a ride with the

then hot Don Mackay Offenhauser team.

But his debut in that car didn’t

turn out as planned;, though it wasn’t through lack of trying. “My first night out with Mackay was nearly a disaster!” he cringed. “You see, back then, we’d do any thing to make the cars look pre sentable, including placing flamma ble upholstery over the universal joint... well, we didn’t know any —J.

better.

“Of course, during our first fea ture race with Mackay, the uphol stery caught alight and started to bum through my ankles, but being the star I thought I was - only jok ing - I continued on and eventually

Rock 'n rotl: Aussie Champ Gorgeous George

feces the oncoming traffic at Gouiburn’s opening night in 1973, after rolling the ex-Bob Tattersall Cascio Offy, which he’d purchased from

finished third.

“Eventually I got sacked from the

Queenslander Gus McClure.

ride, which I didn’t mind, ‘cause I

worked day and night on that car setting it up to how I liked it. But then old man Mackay would come in and set it up the way he liked it! He’d just change it all over again! “In the end, the ride went back to Ray Oram and that was that.”

n the boom time of the 1960s,

Johnny Stewart was one of the real heroes of the day and Tatnell had long followed his dri ving style, as well as another star of the day, Peter Cunneen - he liked Stewart’s rim-riding style and enjoyed the way Cunneen paced himself throughout a race and wanted to mould himself into a dri

ver using them both as benchmarks. He also felt that legendary American Bob Tattersall was a combination of both Stewart and Cunneen and he would do his darn-

Tatnell emerged shaken, but not stirred - his Offenhauser-powered Speedcar was the first to run a full roiicage - and went on to win the fea¬ ture after starting from the rear of the grid! Purchasing Stewart

the

ex-Johnny

‘Trackburner’ in the

1966/67 season helped mould the legend no end. “I bought that car for 1000 pounds,” Tatnell stated. “I got a

before him, realised he could still be ultra-competitive against the American Offenhauser, even though the weight difference ruled that that scenario should never have been the case.

secured the support of Midford Clothing (one of speedway’s first really big dollar sponsorships) and then Sharp Electronics (“they paid

Gus McClure.

me $250 per race,” Tatnell proudly

“No, we shouldn’t have won,

In fact, on the first night out in

old friend of the bank manager’s -

going just by the weight difference,”

his new car at the Exhibition

Ground, he actually won the race and won again in New Zealand,

who was 8in avid enthusiast - loan

Tatnell said, “but on certain tracks

me the other 500. He actually gave me that money in an old tin he had buried in his back yard; I’ll never forget that. “Amazingly, I kept that account

we could

with the Commercial Bank at

that car,” Tatnell added enthusias tically.

Burwood until just two years ago... and, of course, I paid every cent back.”

run with them (the

before he broke the car in half -

“We also won a lot of races in

time soon after! This was also the car in which he

image was created during the late sixties and early seventies and has

won his first Australian Speedcar title when he swept all before him at Rowley Park - he then followed that up the next year at Victoria’s Redline Raceway with his second

never left him.

“We raced all over Australia and won 12 feature races alone at

Rowley Park in South Australia actually (he couldn’t help himself here), I might add that I won the final show at Rowley Park as well.”

and then won again after he had perfected the technique a second

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As for the Cascio Offy, Tatnell has many fond memories of his first really successful race car: “It was fabulous and we won just about

Success seemed to follow Tatnell

Continued on next page

Four into one: Fearless #25 Tatnell was more than equal to the task in no holds barred Stock Car racing.

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Even though the Trackburner dest to follow in the footsteps of all three - a tough task for anyone, but didn’t have an all-conquering Offy when you’ve got Tatnell’s off-track on board, instead running an iron pizazz and hard-earned racecraft , headed Holden six with triple Gar bles, Tatnell, as Stewart found something had to stick. Pivotal role; Brother Joe, George’s right-hand man.

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Goodbye Gorgeous George Continued from previous page

everything at some stage in that car. It was the first Speedcar to have a roll cage installed, even though I still preferred to run Speedcars at the time without cages. I wish they still made them like that - but, hey, that’s the way it is.”

Comparing racing then with how it is now isn’t really a Tatnell hobby horse, but he feels today’s drivers have it just a little too easy and is quick to point out why. “I don’t want to harp, but if you took the kids today and put them into our old cars with their skinny six-inch tyres, narrow axles and no cages, well, it would shake them up a little,” he explained. “For instance, when was the last time you saw a Speedcar, with today’s massive outside rear offsets, bicycle? It’s nearly impossible to do. We used to have only two to three inches of offset - today they have

Radical dirt buster; Tatnell’s

approach to Speedcar design represented a significant departure from traditional Midget aesthetics. Inevitably, the ultra-successful Winfield Wedge paid the price, officialdom regulating the pioneering creation out of the sport.

18! “And we never knew about tor sion bars. And if our shocks were

chromed, then we thought they had to be good! We also ran front trac tor tyres on the front-end and Bandag retreads on the rear, because at the time the tyres were so dear. Today’s cars are very expensive, but that’s life - still, I

think today’s drivers are very lucky.”

After two Australian titles and

machine, with much success at

lightweight Speedcar you’ll ever

Liverpool and throughout the coun try, but the entrance of pavement in 1973/74 changed many driver’s thinking - and Tatnell was one of

see. And because there were no real

a highly successful racing

them.

career, 'Tatnell decided to sell

“I was still racing the Offy on both dirt and pavement, as well as

his Cascio Offy, but not before he installed a Sesco powerplant in the car.

running Super Modifieds for Sid Moore on occasions - I did pretty

That experiment didn’t last long and, after running the NT titles in

well too - but the interest in pave ment was really showing at the

late 1974, he sold the car to

time,” said Tatnell.

Howard Marks and kept the Offy motor for another project he was working on - something called a Wedge. Sadly, by the mid 1970s, the

Showground as a viable speedway attraction was starting to wane. Liverpool had also attracted most of the top Speedcar drivers to the

fledgling Eastern States Racing Association (ESRA), leaving the once powerful National Speedcar Club (NSC) without many of its

“Canberra, Portland, Adelaide

and now Liverpool had all gone blacktop, so I suppose we had to start thinking about building cars to handle the pavement better. “The Offies were OK, but they were too heavy at places like Liverpool, so I got together with engine man Phil McGee after I sold the Offies and said we need to build

something like the Californian San Jose Modifieds, which raced on

tracks similar to Liverpool’s high-

star drivers. The amalgamation of the Dymanic Speedcar Club filled the void partially for the NSC, but the Dynamics (as they were called

banked pavement.

by some) consisted of largely BGrade drivers, which didn’t help the NSC’s prospects much.

ground, build a wing on the back

Tatnell, now an ESRA star, raced his newly-purchased ex-Brian Hanlon Offy, as well as the Cascio

“So we sat down and I drew out a

rough sketch and said we needed to have the car about an inch off the

and maybe tilt the motor 45 degrees. I would also sit a little off set in the cockpit. “Well, by the time we finished,

we had the most crazy-looking,

Speedcar specs at the time, we could basically do whatever we wanted to do. It was amazing.” It certainly was and, after some initial sorting out, Tatnell’s Wedge - now called the ‘Winfield Wedge,’ following a Jim Shepherd-instigat ed sponsorship agreement with Rothmans a year, or so, earlier dominated almost from the outset.

Just like Garry Rush’s Anderson Sprintcar had done several years earlier, the Winfield Wedge soon superseded eveiy other Speedcar in the country. In no time, Tatnell and his radi cal machine had amassed an amaz

ing amount of wins and, before long, the powers that be inside

Speedcar racing decided this Super Speedcar either had to be hobbled, or just plain removed from the scene.

Tatnell, however, was not impressed, but could understand their thinking. “Well, actually, the car was junk,” he smirked, “but the driver was brilliant, so I couldn’t under

stand where they were coming from... no, really, the Wedge was very successful. I think we won 14

races in it at Liverpool; we won races at the Sydney Showground

Hooley dooley: #25 Tatnell, in full flight at wild Westmead in the ’66/67 season, takes no prisoners. V.

5r,E

and ran second in a 100-lapper in Brisbane, so yes, it was really good on dirt or pavement. “In the end, though, it got banned. To the officials at the time, it was considered too light, too wild, too different and too fast and, with

Mike Raymond handling the car’s publicity, well, it became bigger than Ben Hur, I guess. “Some even thought we were degrading Speedcars, because they believed it was too ugly,” Tatnell added. “But, at the time, there were no rules to say what a Speedcar should look like.

“Eventually, they changed all

that and made up new specifica tions and we were given 12 months to phase out the Wedge. “I guess they could see the demise of Speedcars, especially after the Edmunds roadster hit town. That car - which was built

around an Indy car - would've blown everything away! “It was a real shame, though, as I think they could have had a real positive impact.”

Part Two of Tony Loxley’s Goodbye Gorgeous George will appear in the next issue of Motorsport News.

Cruel sport: When George said that he.took a battering, he wasn’t kid ding, Newcastle 1979/80 more than adequately proving the point.

DI.M

23 April 1999

Krikke's Stampede RON

Just before Ireturned to theto America, I travelled Melbourne

Krikke

Australian

dent involving Garry Brazier

and the Jensen Construction Team in the USA.

altered the event’s

complexion.

Onitedmy the returnworkshop to America,ofIvisJB

Despite claiming provocation,

Enterprises in Loomis, California. For the past two years, the

Brazier’s actions in

race

Controversy: #21 Brazier and Murcott tangle, causing a major upset. (Frank Midgley) While the vocal crowd vented their feelings over this were inexcusable, leaving the large gallery of witnesses scenario, a contrite Brazier urged that Murcott be rein at the Adelaide venue pondering the race’s likely out stated at the front - however, both drivers needed a come if the triple Australian champion had not resort pushstart, leaving officials with the only option of ed to petulant tactics. restarting them from the rear. Tensions were high for the 35-lap Stampede, espe “He took the race from both of us,” a furious Murcott cially with a purse of nearly $40,000 to be decided and, stated after the race, in which he eventually finished accordingly, it took three attempts to start the race. By lap 15, Murcott held a convincing break over ninth despite having a flat front tyre from the incident. Krikke now had the frontrunning for the restart, Kri^e, with Brazier languishing back in sixth, but five laps later came the incident which changed the race - over Darren Jensen, Max Diunesny and Robbie Farr, Randy Hannagan caused a yellow light situation after although the Bunbury driver considered himself fortu nate that his Maxim was still mobile - “my car jumped looping his Gambler, l^ile the cars were cruising slowly under the yel out of gear on three occasions, but I was able to crunch lows, Brazier decided to pass the cars in front and it back each time,” Krikke later revealed. No-one could mount an effective challenge over the remonstrated with Murcott by tapping the remaining laps, leaving Krikke to take the flag ahead Tasmanian’s Schnee. This astonishing manoeuvre of Dumesny, Jensen, Farr and David Anderson. backfired, however, both cars finishing jammed togeth - DAVID McNABB er with Brazier wedged into the wall. leader David Murcott

respect for the other. I don’t want

■ The door has been opened again for two top Australians to return to i British Speedway. Both Leigh Adams and Mark

preferred treatment, but I don’t play down to anyone, either.”

Lemon could be back in action in

■ Sydney rider Mick Powell, who

the British Elite League by the end of April through a strange decision by the Promoters’

League for Glasgow, was left in a

Association.

sweat as the British season got underway, as he was hoping for crucial parts to arrive for his num

By Tony Millari

Teams originally had to name ban in Sweden if he missed the

ber one GM machine.

point total average, the averages being worked out as rider’s aver age per ride last season multiplied

trip. But British rules only allow a rider to miss League meetings

Italian motors has meant a num

ber of British League men have

by four. But the target will be raised to

through injury, or full internation al calls and the Champion settled

had to race second choice machines at the start of the season.

45 points once six meetings have been completed by each team and those falling below 45 may then bring in replacements to take them up to the new figure. Lemon has already obtained a work permit for Eastbourne, but they are unlikely to use him but Kings Lynn could take both he and Leigh Adams when the figures are

for the automatic British ban

revised.

Peterborough. “It’s fair to say that Jason and I have had our differences of opin ion,” he said. “That’s been going on since we were 12, or 13, in junior meetings and its carried on through our

Hamill could also return and race

for his former club Coventry, which has had a poor start to the season in Britain.

■ World Champion Tony Rickardsson has been suspended for two weeks from taking part in

A shortage of parts for the

which could, ironically, help his

■ Aussie star Frank Smart, who is

club to strengthen their team when the first averages are totted up.

with Newport this year, is looking

■ Ryan Sullivan has revealed that he has had his differences with fel

low Aussie Jason Crump, even

though they are irding for the same British League club at

teenage years and so on. “You can’t give your all in indi

and physiotherapy to rebuild his strength, after suffering four bro ken irbs and three cracked verte brae in his recent crash at his for mer circuit at Exeter. The treatment has been advised

to speed his way back from what lool« like being a four-week break. The Newport supporters have

British season after believing he’d

part of a Swedish trade mission to

out.

A return of 32 points from a pos sible 33 in a week saw Watson pay tribute to the work done by his livewire mechanic Shane, who’s flown over from Sydney to work

that country. Rickardsson had little option, as he was faced with a twelve month

promoters and thrashed things “We’re cool about it now; the

Peterborough cause comes first. “The thing is that we both have

Max Dumesny Motorsport

upcoming year and, as usual, we’ll be giving it our best shot.

for an IRA race (Interstate Racing Association). With 38 cars on hand, we won our heat race and started sixth in the main.

Itook the lead on the fourth lap and kept our nose clear the rest of the way to the chequered flag - with the flag and rain falling simultaneously, we were lucky to get that one in, but this win was as good of a way to start the year as any.

This week is our night at Knoxville, withopening the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series arriving the following week. As always, the Outlaw drivers won’t be dragging their feet and it should be interesting to see how we measure up against the tour ing teams. We’re also looking forward to meeting up with Brooke Tatnell, as he is contesting the Outlaw series this season.

Bathurst star

of Sprintcar action last weekend (April 18) in the cockpit of the Flocon Engineering/Bearing and Industrial supplies Gambler normally driven by Peter Knight.

Also enjoying his time behind the wheel was vastly more experienced Cover, who relished the opportuni ty to rib Murphy about lapping him in Allan Barlee’s Torque

Murphy - along with Holden Young Lions test pilot Owen Kelly, Herald-Sun journalist Paul Cover and retiring veteran George Tatnell

next weekend at Parramatta, was

the

Western

Auto

Bathurst winner. “I’d like to get it

with him.

ly working and see what that was like under full throttle.”

to the point where the car was real-

Performance Oils Avenger.

Tatnell, whose last race will be

impressed with the Bacchus Marsh venue, which will host the Victorian Sprintcar Championship this weekend (April 24). “If I wasn’t racing in Sydney next weekend, I would’ve loved to come down here and farewell my Victorian fans at this fantastic

facility,” Tatnell stated. Murphy will get another chance to hot lap a Sprintcar when he joins Gibson Motorsport team-mate

Steven Richards, triple Australian NASCAR champion Kim Jane and

the legendary John Harvey as they parade their wares as part of the official opening of the Western Auto Raceway. - BRE’TT SWANSON

1998/99 VICTORIAN SRA SPRINTCAR SERIES

Australian Distributors for

Xoo$irr i ^ ^ RACING TIRE

I Jeff Rasmussen, Jeff Woodruff and the boys from the #55 team to see what they have been work ing on in readiness for this sea son of racing. This is a good team and we all have high expectations for the

Raceway, Bacchus Marsh, while teams were tuning up for this weekend’s Victorian Sprintcar Championship. While Murphy’s time was restricted to just one session of about a dozen laps, he thoroughly enjoyed the outing and would have loved to have spent some more time getting to know the car. “It was great, a lot of fun. I’d love to have another go,” said the former

■ Sydneysider Craig Watson has enjoyed a tremendous start to the

lot and we’ve sat down with our

t was great meeting again with

miles

dollars to help the sidelined irder.

followed the irder’s decision to race for his Swedish club in Poland as

to our home at Knoxville.

- took the opportunity for some test

rallied round and collected $1200

be sidelined for the first few weeks.

used their cars and bolt-on pieces with great success and Iam look ing forward to utilizing John Boys’ equipment again - it was well worth the detour on the way back

WYNN’S VSSupercar racer Greg Murphy had his first taste

forward to extensive swimming

vidual events if you are bosom buddies, but we’ve both matured a

British speedway - the suspension

Jensen Construction Team has

We had a car ready to race, so we went to Terre Haute, Indiana,

Murphy tests Sprintcar

rides in the British Premier

their seven riders within a 40

Former World Champion Billy

annual

It was a great night and I was extremely honoured to be award ed the Australian Speedway Racer of the Year trophy - thank you to everyone involved, espe cially the J&J Auto Sports Team

controversial inci

out

the

American Pie.

Sprintcar Stampede at Speedway City on April 10, after a

taking

for

Motorsport Awards night. I was among the who’s who of motorsport and my wife, Lori, shared in the spotlight, due to the fact that she was the only Yank in the audience - Lori had the privi lege of giving a helping hand to Patrick McMahon singing

emerged holding the $10,000 win ner’s cheque from the

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:

POINTS STANDINGS after Rd 12

Final Round Avalon March 27 - Rd 12

I. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Steve Knight

Jeff Judd

Jeff Judd Stephen Bell Wayne Milburn

2. 3. 4.

Tim McCubbin

Tim McCubbin Rod Matthews Frank Ramsdale Mark Clifford Mike Van Bremen Butch Hunter

Stephen Bell ..

6. 7.

Rod Matthews . Gerald Boult ..

Wayne Milburn

Ian Thomsen ..

.3006 .2932

Mike Van Bremen .. . .2816 Ron Rankin

...

10. Daryn Maggs ..

2350 2086 2035 1976 1843 1742 1601

40 i

lMDO(o)CFSfJXD[FO

23 April 1999

delaide comes alive with the ‘swinging 60s’ painted in the same Gold Leaf livery of red, white and gold. Australia’s Peter Simms

(Brabham BT23 A Repco)

rowed a crowbar from one

and USA’s John Dimmer

of the rescue crews, did

(Lotus 35 Climax) were at

the back of the field, while

some subtle probing and got the McLaren running again

John Dawson-Damer unfor

to return to the pits.

tunately was a non-starter due to persistent mechani

cal problems throughout the weekend with his Lotus 49B Cosworth.

Race one was a Lotus 49B

benefit with Schuppan lead ing home Lovely by a nar row margin. The opening 12 lapper next morning was a repeat

performance, Schuppan win ning by just 1.49s. By this stage Sir Jack was getting the feel of the unfa miliar McLaren and finished a creditable third ahead of

Isn’t it lovely: No, it’s Le Mans winner Vern Schuppan in his stunning Gold Leaf Lotus 49B Cosworth, American veteran ‘Pete’ Lovely winning Sunday’s race in another of the stunning Colin Chapman-built machines. (Photo by oirk Kiynsmiih) By BRIAN REED

A tranquil autumn morning in Adelaide. It’s two days before the South Australian capital fires for the up Sensational Adelaide 500

led by a Repco Brabham V8, appears in Victoria Square followed by a V12 Ferrari,

that looked right and were state-of-the-art for the peri

two V12 BRMs, a McLaren

advertising billboards, wings, and other devices to keep them on the tarmac.

BRM V12 and a pair of Lotus 49Bs.

Yes, it’s the build-up to the Race of Legends - one of the major attractions to signal

od without the need for

And then there was the

noise, with none better

Livingstone who has faith fully preserved its authen ticity - even down to find ing the original cloth for the seat in a small village in Italy. Friday’s practice was domi nated by the almost identical

the return of racing through

than the stunning V12 Ferrari originally cam

the streets of Adelaide after

hero Vern Schuppan and

paigned by New Zealand

American

Lovely with the V12 Ferrari

Moments later a parade of Historic Formula One cars.

some of the finest Grand Prix cars of the ’60s - cars

Today, the bright red thoroughbred with yards of spaghetti-like exhausts is raced by American Dave

next.

V8 race engines.

a four year layoff. The Race of Legends com ponent brought together

star Chris Amon.

meeting and suddenly, without warning. King William Street erupts to the sounds of V12 and

Lotus 49B Cosworths of local veteran

‘Pete’

Of the other Australians, Mike Ryves was fourth quickest in the yellow exMildren Brabham BTllA

Vic Bitter and Black Jack disappointed:Sir Jack Brabham found out why his own

Climax

Brabhams were better than the McLarens back in his day. (Photo by pwi wiiiiams)

(the

Frank

Gardner/Kevin Bartlett car). Sir Jack Brabham was

cautiously finding his way around in the superb McLaren M5A BRM of American collector Bruce McCaw - it was his first m £

Sadly, Brabham was to fall by the wayside, unable to select gears, but, in typi cal Brabham style, he bor

Just like old times!

He also did his beard and

walking stick act - a throw back to an episode some 30 or more years ago when some people thought Brabham was over the hill.

Maybe at the time it was wishful thinking! In a blanket finish, Livingstone and Lovely crossed the line side by side,

with

the honours

going to the Ferrari driver. Sunday April 11 was ‘Pete’ Lovely’s 73rd birth day and he celebrated in

Livingstone’s Ferrari and

fine style by winning from

Rick Hall’s BRM H16.

Vern Schuppan. Only 2-tenths of a second separated the Lotus 49B pair, Schuppan posting fastest lap of l;35.79s in his chase of the American, and Sir Jack scored a popular podium finish in his third placed McLaren.

It was great to see Australia’s triple world champion back in the hunt - it was also a chance to

hear the devilishly compli cated BRM running effec tively on all 16 cylinders. Alas, I spoke too soon! When the cars gridded for the next race on Saturday,

In fact Brabham led for a

which was reduced from 12

substantial part of the eight lapper but couldn’t match

to eight laps due to time

the Lotus duo when the

constraints, there was a

challenges came later in the

delayed start which caused

race.

the BRM H16 to falter and

The Ferrari 312/69 lasted

pole man Schuppan to over

only three laps when it heat. blew the cap off a relief Just after switching off valve and, at about the his engine, Schuppan was same time, there was given a five finger signal ● another oil spill with John which, according to the dri- Dimmer’s Lotus 35 Climax ver could have meant five creating plenty of work for minutes or five seconds. the clean-up crews. Unfortunately it was the In spite of a somewhat latter and both he and the depleted line-up the Rick Hall BRM H16 were

Historic Formula One Race

drive in a car built by his

left stranded on the line.

former team mate and later a rival car constructor.

lap before retiring with a

Schuppan lasted only one

of Legends was a wonderful concept which was well

gearbox problem, leaving Lovely to take charge with Brabham closing fast - as

has laid the foundation for Dean Rainsford and his team to build on next year,

one wag in the crowd said “Not bad for a couple of 73 year-olds!

Everyone said they want to come back, and that’s a good start for 2000.

Qualifying that afternoon saw times tumble by three

seconds per lap, Schuppan grabbing pole position with a 1:35.68, just one second

ahead of ‘Pete’ Lovely’s 49B

received by the public and

Leo's lion conquers

Sandown 24lh - 25di April the Meeke Falcon ● Historic Touring Cars

● Commodore cup ● Formula Ford

THE Group N Historic

Free entiy>

( to pits & \^randstan^

● Sports Sedans ● Marque Sports Cars and more

Also Wift ilie tide

a jCt(eiiiw

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

touring cars were a wor thy inclusion on the Sensational Adelaide 500

program and, as usual, attracted huge fields. Included

were

some

famous names such as Reg Hunt’s son Graham (Ford

Mustang) and Bib Stillwell’s

son Nicholas (Moixis Cooper S) - there was even a

Grahame Hill taking part!

Sprint and scoring the fastest lap time of 1:42.5410s in Fridays 8-lapper, Leo turned the tables in

his Holden Monaro the very next day.

Another Victorian, Ian Jones (Torana XU-1),

improved from his sixth plac ing on Friday to finish sec ond on Saturday only 1.4s behind the race winner, with Rod Stait's Falcon GT third.

The earlier Grand Prix

Jones improved even fur

meeting at Albert Park proved to be a good form guide to Adelaide, with Victoiian Tino Leo continu

ther on Sunday when he scored a brilliant wdn ahead of Tino Leo and the fast finishing Mustang of Greg

ing on from w'here he left off

McPherson

in March.

After finishing second behind West Australian Bill Meeke’s flying Ford Falcon

A fine performance was

that of Lloyd Bax from Queensland who improved from a DNF on Fiiday and

10th on Saturday to be

fourth on Sunday in his Chrysler Charger. Meeke was the only other

driver who managed to get

into the ’42s for the weekend but, after his stining win on

Friday, the Ford Falcon Sprint was a DNF on both other days - a sad ending after such an auspicious start. There was some swapping of paint and a catapulting Cooper S that fortunately looked worse than it reallv

was, but overall the racing was close and exciting and showcased the Group N tourers - the fastest growing categoiy in Historic rac-

ing - in the best possible light. - BRIAN REED

23 April 1999

Podium for Andretti

■ McDonald’s is appar ently looking to either move out of NASCAR

completely, or to move

their backing to anoth er team.

JOHN Andretti won his second career Winston

Cup race at the half-mile Martinsville bull-ring on April 18, his first win coming at Da5dona almost two years ago and the Martinsville win his first

for Petty Enterprises in the STP Pontiac.

“I couldn’t be more excited.

I didn’t think it was going to work out that way and, when I got spun earlier in the race, I knew our day was done,” he said. “But, after our two tyre stop, their cars got worse and mine just kept getting bet ter.”

Tony Stewart again proved he will be a force to be reck-

to come back, race and get qualified.” Stewart was never a factor

in the race, but he did move

into the top ten in points. Mark Martin led the early going, Jerry Nadeau and Ken Schrader following in his tracks before Jeremy Mayfield was turned around to bring out the first of ten

tion flag aired for Chad Little, who looped around in turn 1.

Unfortunately for Wallace, his 16-second pit stops did

team through the end of the year 2000, but

not continue and he came off

pit road fourth behind Gordon, Martin, Burton and

there is a clause that would allow them to leave at the end of this

Andretti.

season.

Burton worked

Martin apd then Gordon on

lap 398 for the point, the

ing, to say the least, as he was spun out early and lost a lap when the caution flag did

first time he had led since

the radio saying, “can I get off like O.J., if I kill the guy who spun me?” He fought around Gordon and regained the lap before halfway - on the final pit stop, his crew fitted right side tyres only and, amazing ly, the strategy worked, with a 112-lap green flag run where his car worked best.

Andretti led just four laps, but they were the most important ones - starting 21st, he moved around Jeff

tour 57 and he opened up a considerable amount of day light between himself and

Gordon

for

second

with

eleven to run, mounting an assault on Jeff Burton with

just four circuits remedning. Andretti became just the second guy in 44 years to start further back than 20th and win at Martinsville.

Gordon, with Wallace on a charge around Andretti and Martin.

As the laps wound down, Andretti picked off Martin and then Wallace, before his amazing charge to the front from over three seconds in arrears to a 1.066-second

Another victory: Andretti in the #43 STP Pontiac. (Clark pic) oned with once he gets expe- cautions, rience in the stackers, with a Jimmy Spencer took severpole and new track record of al bites out of Kenny Irwin’s 95.275 mph. rear bumper, Spencer’s lunch “I’m elated with what we ending in a total turn around did,” said Stewart, who test- exiting turn 2 and leaving ed at the track and was slowIrwin’s Yates Ford perched est among the cars that ran. on top of the inside retaining “I was pretty finistrated after wall - once his Taurus was testing here. I didn’t think if removed, he pitted and carI tested seven days here I ried on racing, would be comfortable enough Lap 380 and the final cau-

Wallace's Bristol RUSTY Wallace returned to victory lane for the first time in 1999 with a

dominating win on April 11 at the halfmile Bristol bull-ring. Wallace started from the pole with a new 125.142 mph track record and headed an amazing 425 of the 500 laps. However, as is usually the case at Bristol, the race was anything but boring, particu larly during the waining laps as Mark Martin mounted a strong challenge for top honours.

For the second time in as many races, a potent-looking Jeff Gordon was involved in a wreck, but not as serious as Texas and,

amazingly, although the nose of his Hendrick Monte Carlo was well stuffed, no

radiator damage was caused and he finished the race with a sixth place result on a track where aerodynamics are definitely not an issue.

Gordon now rides fifth in points, a drop of one place, with Wallace eighth, a jump of three positions. “I grossly underestimated how strong Martin was going to be over those 18 laps,” remarked Wallace. “It was pretty hairy.” Along with Wallace, the other star had to be patient rookie sensation Tony Stewart -

Martin, the latter leading off pit road follow ing the penultimate yellow flag. . On the final restart following that cau tion, aired due to Steve Park spinning on lap 474, Wallace mashed the gas and blasted his new Penske Taurus to the front, only for Martin to close in and mount a strong chal lenge, the pair racing hard and both cars sliding sideways exiting each turn. Prior to that caution. Dale Jarrett had been closing on Wallace, his Yates mount

looking strong on long runs, but the caution and a bungled wheel change on the pit stop put him out of contention and Martin - to everybody’s surprise - in with a chance. “I can’t believe we almost beat him. I

mean we were right there. It could have happened and it would have been a shame, because he had everybody covered all day,” said Martin.

bitch.

for 55 laps was holding second to Wallace, until a wreck not of his own doing. “That guy that caused half the yellows today finally took us out,” said Stewart, referring to Jerry Nadeau, who spun after Pontiac on lap 341 and took out Ricky Craven and Gordon, who was trying for a fifth straight win in this race - Stewart

eighth - the Petty crewmen get a ‘chicken money’ bonus if their car finishes in the top ten, so it was double chicken money for the

started fourth alongside team-mate

boys on Monday!

hitting Bobby Labonte’s previously damaged

Ted Musgrave also deserves a mention for a sprited drive to a seventh place finish in

Butch Mock’s Taurus - midway, he was a strong contender and battled to second at

Musgrave (Ford), Petty (Pontiac), W Burton (Pontiac), Earnhardt (Chevy),

one point. Wallace led ft'om the pole and was one of

Points standings: Burton 1064, Jarrett 1012, B Labonte 959, Martin 955, Gordon 940, T Labonte 910, W Burton 892, R Wallace 891, Mayfield 852, M Waltrip 842.

only five drivers who swapped the point just seven times, the other leaders being Michael Waltrip, Ward Burton, Stewart and then

failed to make the Martinsville race.

his fourth place result

clean bill of health and was allowed to stand.

Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, Johnny Benson, David Green, Ricky Craven and

The measimement was

very close and the con tentious issue was possi bly due to build-up of carbon on the cylinder

Derrike Cope used pro visional slots to make the 43-car field.

walls.

The last time this occured was also at

■ Ricky Rudd has denied rumours that he

Bristol, but with Rusty

for the lead.

has been talking to CART team owner Chip Ganassi about the puur-

Wallace.

Mike Skinner slipped past Martin late in the going for fourth, his best run in a while.

Rusty allowed his brother, Kenny (from 34th), to pass for sixth in the waning laps, Kenny’s team-mate Schrader also posting a top in ninth. Dale Jarrett hung around the top ten most of the latter stages, finishing eighth from 31st.

Again, just like Bristol, it was double chicken money for the Petty crew, with Kyle also finishing in the top ten, in tenth - a mention must go to Rich Bickle and Darrell

Waltrip in new teams, who finished 11th and 12th, respectively, the only other cars on the lead lap. Final positions: Andretti (Pontiac) 75.853 mph, J Burton (Ford), Gordon (Chevy), Skinner (Chevy), Martin (Ford), K Wallace (Chevy), R Wallace (Ford), Jarrett (Ford), Schrader (Chevy), Petty (Pontiac). Points standings: J Burton 1239, Jarrett 1154, Martin 1115, Gordon 1110, B Labonte 1055, Wallace 1047, T Labonte 1028, Skinner 994, W Burton 974, Stewart - MARTIN D CLARK

chase of his team.

Apparently, though, he has been in negations

■ Jimmy Spencer, still suffering with sore ribs following a hard Texas wreck, handed his

with Mike Skinner’s

Winston mount over to

crew chief Larry McReynolds, but these

Steve Grissom midway through the event.

talks were not to Rudd’s

Jeff Gordon com

liking. “We definitely need to be looking at going with a multi-car team,

plained of the same problem, but was able to stay in his car.

whether it’s now or next take more than me to be

■ Bill Ingle, who left Ricky Rudd’s self-owned operation recently, has

able to handle that

found a new home as

year, but it’s going to

because it’s become big business,” remarked Rudd.

crew chief for Rich

Bickle at Tyler Jet Motorsports. Bickle missed the

■ Sterling Marlin was fastest during testing recently at Talladega in

Bristol event by 51 thou

readiness for the race

was subsequently reas signed.

there on April 25. Marlin posted a 196.709 mph lap, com pared with Bobhy

sandths of a second and

crew chief Phil Hammer

■ James Ince has

Millin’s 195.940 mph speed driving Jeff Gordon’s Hendrick

Chevy. Jeremy Mayfield was

resigned as crew chief for Roush Racing and driver Kevin Lepage, cit ing philosophical differ ences.

Lepage finished 35th

fastest of the Ford teams

at Bristol and lies 29th

at 194.255 mph.

in the points race.

niuMUil—r—--

^ NIZPRO. a

- MARTIN D CLARK

to-

Chris Robinson

tcu results, with Andretti fourth and Kyle

Final result: Wallace (Ford) 93.366 mph, Martin (Ford), Jarrett (Ford), Andretti (Pontiac), J Burton (Ford), Gordon (Chevy),

Labonte.

Shepherd - driving Junie Donlavey’s Ford -

■ Buckshot Jones, Dave Marcis and Morgan

same event - but, as Gordon found out at

Richmond last year when Wallace dumped the golden child in the wall, payback is a Labonte’s brush with Robert Pressley cost him a spot in the points battle, his 37th place finish dropping him to third behind Jarrett and Jeff Burton, who crossed the line fifth behind John Andretti to keep a points lead of 52. Both of the Petty Pontiacs achieved top

he led for the second time in his career and

■ John Andretti had his

Petty Pontiac engine confiscated by NASCAR following Bristol. The engine failed to meet the 12:1 compres sion ratio standard, how ever tests the following day gave the engine a

advantage after four cars nipped and tucked all race

922.

With all due respect to Martin, he could easly have drilled Wallace more than once and taken the win, much the same way Gordon did to Rusty two years ago in the

By Martin D Clar

around

Andretti’s win was excit

not wave - Andretti came on

The fast food giant has a contract with Bill Elliott’s self-owned

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● New AUSCAR lap record ● Wins Race 1 ● Wins Race 2

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23 April 1999

EAS.

any people at the races ask me

M what tyre shake is and how it

0 '

r^t

affects the driver.

Well, the easiest car to not get tyre shake off the start line in is a Dragster, while the next best is a Funny Car and the worst is a top Doorslammer. The ideal way to leave the startline is to be up on the tyres - they have to have a lot of power applied to them, plus they have to be in a high growth situation accelerating down the track;

f h

AtGrand the Qantas Formula One Prix atAustralian Albert Park, we man aged to improve the clutch settings on our new burnout car and had the correct

the throttle.

tyres fitted to the rear wheels - during the last two days of the event, we were really honking the thing around the track, with plenty of tyre smoke billow ing into the heavens. We’re getting on top of the clutch set tings that are required to handle vast amounts of power, as well as getting some tyres that will handle everything that I throw at it - as the tyre speed is so

You have to ensure that you have enough power and clutch in the car to ensure the car gets up on the tyres

high, the boys at Bandag are looking

Pulde debuts with

Scotty Cannon DALE Pulde made his

attempt at a run - the prob

the other end.

debut handling the tun

lem went unsolved until later

<^hat night, forcing the team to miss the second session.

The last pass yielded a 5.15, with Cannon pedalling the car once again, though improving, but remaining on

well as Austin Coil, to offer

the bubble.

motor when the throttle was

some help. The team made a 5.22 baseline pass on Saturday

Frank Pedregon’s 5.049 late in the session finally bumped the six time Pro

opened, which produced no

moi-ning, which saw Cannon

Mod world champion,

ing chores on the Scotty Cannon Pontiac at

John Force came by, as

Houston.

The first nin was plagued by a fuel pump problem that kept fuel from going into the burnout

twice

and

brilliantly pedal the car to

-DAVEOSTASZEWSKI

the sidewalls on our wide slick rear

tyres are extremely soft and the tread has to be thrown out sideways as we hit

hard for a tyre that will hang in there.

After the Grand meet, for we headed to Calder Park Prix Raceway the '99 Nationals.

I’d been down that race track at two

separate race meetings during the month previously, so I had plenty of good runs on their track and we’d run some impressive times and speeds. But I’m convinced that with the way the new style of superchargers are set up, the way that the engine power is coming on combined with the amount of power that is being supplied is too much for what we are hoping to do. The Americans are having the same problems with their alcohol-fuelled Funny Cars - they are tyre-shaking com bination that are tricky to get good quick and consistent runs out of.

At a previous Calder Park meet, I ran

straight away as you leave the start line - in an ideal situation, if a car gets up on the tyres straight away and moves for ward without losing power, it probably will not experience tyre shake. The chassis loading on a dragster is relatively easy, because the engine is located at the rear and the weight trans fer is easily achieved, due to their long chassis design; but they do experience some tyre shake.

What you have in a Funny Car is a powerful engine in front of the driver, plus a reasonably flexible chassis. They have to take a stance to deliver the power to the rear by adjusting the clutch to suit the grunt that engine is developing - when done properly, the power should not come off the chassis.

If, for any reason, the power starts to come off the chassis, the car may drop down off the rear tyres and push some weight onto the front wheels, which will allow the rear tyres to spin and shake with no suitable drive - and that is not

good. In a Top Doorslammer, it also has to have a loaded chassis, as it has suspen sion.

three 6.30s in a row, with a top speed of

The dragster only has to have weight transfer, while the funny car has weight

227 miles per hour - then, in Adelaide, I

transfer and the chassis loaded so the

won with another 6.3/227 run.

rear tyres stay on the track and don’t

If the track is sticky - at the Nationals, it was in bloody good condition - and

transfer the load onto the front wheels.

we aren’t able to run some consistent

But our cars have to be up on the tyres, have weight transfer and the chas

smooth and quick runs, its such a hard thing to read, as a small adjustment on

sis loaded.

the clutch can

between a good run, or a mammoth tyre-

Bad tyre shake shakehead your shakes helmet, which meanswillyour

shaker.

inside the helmet and then the brain

mean the difference

shakes around in your head.

tT'/iW

I V ■W.

The tuning is so narrow with these cars margin as we strive to go faster that I believe we now have to change some of our ideas - a total rethink is needed if we are continue with these

Brad Anderson engines running PSI superchargers, as they are providing

heaps of power, but it is not driveable through the gears as we race down the

- A.

track.

I’ve just managed to clean up my

^L.CDtC=^

I When you control more power than Superman and have a window of opportunity that lasts only seconds, Koni is the shock absorber that provides the grip you need. Koni’s adjustable shock absorbers are the dampers of first choice, of the top chassis builders. It doesn’t matter if you travel in a straight line for

Get the power to the road, and keep the car on

●COK'

was beaten three-nil by Shane Elcoate at Townsville last month.

The local guys using a Rootes super charger on their cars are 150 lbs lighter, plus can use any overdrive that they desire with a unit that is track and racer-

friendly; that is one hell of an advantage. Maybe, if I can’t sort something out

the planet with Koni’s.

soon, I might just have be another one that runs a Rootes blower.

I SHOCK ABSORBERS

adjust to an upgrade

For more information and your nearest retailer, contact:

TOPERFORMANCE PRODUCTS 2 TRADE PLACE, VERMONT, VICTORIA 3133

Phone: (03) 9873 1722 Fax: (03) 9874 2200 Email: toper@toperformance.com.au

After a run, you can see the tyre markings are not long and smooth - its a bit like a duck waddling along, with split and infrequent black marks left on the racing surface. This is something that I’m now going to spend time attempting to solve, as I

PSI blowers - and a heap of other good

in the world.

mere seconds or if you never leave the streets,

can’t drive out of it.

Alcohol racers in the USA and here.

The story is pretty much the same through the whole spectrum regarding tyre shake and plenty of engine power. I’ll be trying several things that haven’t been done before - hey, I have to do something, if we’re to be the best

you will appreciate the quality, control and long life of Koni adjustable shock absorbers.

fourth Australian Top Doorslammer Championship, so now I’m looking at a couple of areas right out of left field for the two remaining rounds of the series. In recent times. I’ve been talking to the best drag racing brains in the world, including Brad Anderson, the clutch guys - plus Norm Drazy, who builds the

We actually lose vision, as everything goes blurry white and after the run you have a major headache. Sometimes it takes two to three days to come good after a race meeting. During the first round of eliminations at the Nationals, the tyre shake was so bad that it virtually wrecked the car’s body and the door came off and beat me up a bit - that was all due to tyres that are virtually flapping around and you

They have a lot smoother torque curve and that allows the driver to drive

the car right down the track from when the start light flashes green, whereas I’m fighting with a tyre-shakIng monster at present - but I’m not complaining, as I hope to solve the drivability problem.

It was a disastrous meet, as we shook

the tyres badly and I don’t want that to happen again.

Several at the Willowbank round weeks of theago Top Doorslammer Series, I tried a new clutch and gearbox configuration which I believe gave me the first sensible direction that I ever had.

I didn't quite have it right, but the next time out I hope to make more progress. I installed a Crowerglide, like they use in the Top Fuel cars, matched up with a four-speed Lenco transmission and, even though I was out in the first round of racing, I was happy with the data that we recorded.

But our planned Sunday and Monday test sessions at

Willowbank were

washed out, so we’ll just have to keep improving at the next meet.

History maker: Larry Dixon fires the Miiier Lite “True To Texaj>^"

on Top Fueiier of Don “The Snake” Prudhomme down t paff^ quarter*miie and into the record books with the ftrbt s lataszQwskl plo) in the sport’s history

LARRY

Dixon

became the

quickest driver in NHRA histo ry Friday as he drove the Don Prudhomme-owned Miller Lite

“True To Texas” dragster to a new national elapsed time record of 4.486 seconds at the

12th Annual NHRA O’Reilly Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston on April 911, in the process Dixon becom

ing the first driver to break the elusive 4.5-second barrier.

Following an opening round pass of 4.516/318.47 on Friday afternoon - Dixon’s quickest to date - crew chief Dale Armstrong and the team went for broke during the evening session and their work paid off with the Top Fueller.

With back to back final round

Force taking his third straight event win of 1999 with 4.878/307.02

the bonus, a feat he almost accom

appearances, Herbert moved into second place in the Winston point standings, a mere 32 points behind

plished in Gainesville, where he

leader Mike Dunn.

lost a close final round to Mike

“We’re looking more at making sure we qualify for every race than we’re looking at winning a champi onship,” said Herbert. “We have been consistent, though and a

Challenge bonus - this marked the second straight event in which Herbert was chosen for a shot at

Dunn by less than a foot! In Houston, Herbert and his Snap-On team led by Dick LaHaie did not let that same opportunity slip away, as they scored a convincing win, defeating a tyre-smoking Tony Schumacher in the Top Fuel

final

with

to a tyre-smoking 13.630/69.25. The Castol juggernaut continued, with Force resetting his own 4.799 elapsed time record in qualifying with a 4.798/321.88 pass, then going even quicker in eliminations

opening two rounds, then got a lucky break in round three when surprise number two qualifier Mike Trumble broke before the burnout. Johnson shook hard on the sin

gle, bouncing the rear tyres like basketballs on the launch.

with a 4.788-second blast in round

“The clutch just locked up.” Johnson explained. “The tyres

three to take a $10,000 bonus from

shook and the run was a mess.

MBNA. The Castrol team now

lays claim to all four 1999 Funny Car event wins on

the final round - it wasn’t great,

the Winston trail.

The Castol cars again

4.657/309.56 pass. While many teams chal

“Before the final round, we went

back to the set-up we used Saturday during qualifying. “I had my best reaction time in but it was good enough to win.”

used bracket car-like con

Mark Osborne, the Pro Stock

lenged the Houston racing surface - going up in smoke and then loading

sistency throughout the

Truck points leader, won his second

event, with ace Force posting 4.896/311.92,

event in a row behind the wheel of

their cars into their haulers - LaHaie used a

4.928/280.14 and that

Disneyland,” exclaimed Dixon. “I’m just ecstatic to be driving this Miller Lite dragster. The front-end came up a few feet off the ground

relatively “conservative,” but consistent, approach to

win over Bob Gilbertson,

for the first 250 feet and when the

front tyres landed, they smoked like a 747 jetliner. If we hadn’t had

Lucky breaks came Herbert’s way on Sunday, as he qualified sixth with a

the wheelie bar, I don’t think we

4.573/321.65 and overcame

Tony, meanwhile, had gone 4.914, 4.924 and 5.017 in defeating Jim Epler, Gary Densham

could have done it. “The car accelerated so hard that

a substantial Doug Kalitta

and

holeshot in round one, run

Pedregon prior to the

of Darren Nicholson defeat the

the G-meter got up to 7 Gs - even though we dropped a cylinder near

ning 4.626 while Kalitta went up in smoke just past

final round.

A/Fuel car of Darrell Hitchman,

the end of the run, the car never

the 200 foot mark.

stopped accelerating.

In roimd two, he left on None better: Larry Dixon. (David Ostaszewski pic) Camaro to victory in allJoe Amato, but Amato had Chevrolef final over Mike Edwards’ him covered by 1000 feet, only to championship is not out of the pic Dewco Camaro, 6.969/199.14 to have the Tenneco dragster make a ture. “It’s hard to point at one thing 7.009/197.77. violent move toward the wall, forc Edwards’ starting line advantage ing Amato to lift early - Herbert that’s turned it around for me, but made the race much closer that the Dick LaHaie is as big a reason as advanced again, 4.655/314.31 to times would show, Edwards losing 4.642/279.38. any. I think that, along with Larry by a little more than a foot at the Frazier, is the reason that I have In the semis, Cory McClenathan finish line - he had scored a huge drilled Herbert at the start and was these great cars. We have consis

“You can’t ride that ride at

“\^en I got out of the car, I was

jumping up and down and have not been that excited for years! I saw ‘Snake’ at the finish line and I

knew we must have had a great run, because he never comes down there!”

While Dixon was the “buzz” dur

ing qualifying, Doug Herbert was the story on Sunday. First, during pre-race cere monies, Herbert’s name was chosen as the racer to compete for the $100,000 Winston No-Bull

mighty 4.788/317.72 to Dean Skuza and Del Worsham to reach the final round.

enable Herbert to record

his second career victory.

pulling away, only to have the blower belt exit the car and slow

the MBNA dragster to a 5.201/191.43, advancing the SnapOn car once again at 4.676/313.51.

brother

Cruz

In Pro Stock, points leader Kurt Johnson drove his AC Delco

tency - that was the first step; now we’re aiming for great numbers.” John Force has opened up a huge 129 point lead over team-mate and Houston co-fiinalist Tony Pedregon,

the Kissinger Motorsports/RCL Components Chevy S-10. Osborne used a final round 7.647/176.01 to defeat the 7.681/175.32 of Bob Panella Jr and

the Panella Trucking Chevy S-10. Brad Jeter reset both ends of the Houston track records with a

7.584/178.12 pass during qualifymg.

The final round in Federal Mogul

Dragster saw the blown alcohol car 5.560/252.71 to 5.690/230.06.

Rick Henkelman’s injected nitro burner set low e.t. at 5.418 before

losing in the semis to Hitchman, while Troy Buff set top rnph at 259.26.

Tony Bartone made it two wins in a row on the NHRA trail, stop

ping Pat Austin in the Federal Mogul Funny Car final,

holeshot win over Warren Johnson

5.680/252.99 to 5.704/251.95. Bartone had earlier clocked a stellar 5.635 in the semis for low

one round earlier, 7.006 to 6.955.

e.t., while Austin recorded a 254.14

Johnson, the number three quali fier at 6.934 seconds, defeated John

mph.

pass in the same round for top - DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

Nobile and Mark Pawuk in the

1999 WINSTON DRAG RACING SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AT 16 APRIL 1999 /

PEHNZIIIIV/ /

Mike Dunn

345

313 2. Doug Herbert 286 3. Larry Dixon 280 4. Kenny Bernstein S. Tony Schumacher 274 218 6. Joe Amato 7. Cory McClenathan 210 209 8. Bob Vandergriff Eddie Hill

194

10. Jim Head

166

PROSTOCK

FUNNY CAR

TOP FUEL

307

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE# 138 I. Angelle Seeling

2. Brad Jeter

227

2. John Smith

3. Bob Panella

220

3. Matt Hines

4. Randy Daniels

202

4. Antron Brown

Todd Patterson

202

5. Steve Johnson

David Schultz

157

7. Larry Cook 8. Greg Underdahl 9. GaryTonglet 10, Tony Mullen

PRO STOCK TRUCK* 407

332 274

Mark Osborne

Dean Skuza

198

I. Kurt Johnson 2. Warren Johnson 3. Jeg Coughlin Jr. 4. Troy Coughlin S. Jim Yates 6. George Marnell

7. Del Worsham

192

7. Mike Trumble

153

6. Larry Kopp 7. Mike Coughlin

188

8. Jerry Toliver

191

8. Steve Schmidt

148

8. Tim Freeman

146

9. Craig Eaton 10. John Lingenfelter

137

I. John Force 2. Tony Pedregon

470

3. Whit Bazemore

245

4, Cruz Pedregon 5. Gary Densham 6.

9. Frank Pedregon 10. Cory Lee

341 238

208

189 187

9. Allen Johnson 10. John Nobile

266

233 179

147 146

(»aft 3 of 14 events)

119

(# after I of 14 events)

52 33 32

lMo)0(o)[Fsm®[?o

23 April 1999

DiFilippo's new 4.83

Nightfire record THE

Pricol

shot at that elusive 300 mph

Nightfire Championships had it’s fair share of highs

1999

mark. Other contenders for the

and lows at Willowbank

Raceway on April 10, ranging from a new Top Fuel national record, a protest for the win in the

bracket included Robin Kirby in his Pennzoil machine, Terry Sainty in the Eagle Ignition Leads car, the Roy Smith at the wheel and

same bracket, another

newcomer Andrew Cowan in

classic Wiley Coyote vs

the Motorsport Trailers

Road Runner confronta

tion in Top Doorslammer and the demise of one

Super Sedan and a Top Doorslammer.

Top Fuel attracted six entries, including the Darren DiFilippo-driven Redback Performance Exhausts drag ster and “Pommie” Steve Read in the Santos Cranes/

Zenith Building Services Rapisarda car, both teams determined to have a big

Rgcofd-breaker Darren

machine.

The Rapisarda team, with US tuner Rick Cassel on

hand, experienced a disap pointing weekend and was unable to record one single full-power pass. At the end of a long and rather frustrating day, the cause of the problem was apparently related to the magnetos, which could have

been damaged on their engine-killing explosion at the Nationals.

The DiFilippo team fared a lot better, having recorded an early shut-off 4.85 in qualifying, the finish line speed only 262 mph, after going 250 mph at half-track.

their trailers on his way to

Darren later reset the national record at 4.83 sec onds when he recorded the

5.28/286.

second-quickest time for the sport with his 4.83 at 294.70 mph in his round one defeat of Smith.

He then made his way to the final, courtesy of a sec ond round bye, to meet the ever-consistent Kirby, who put Sainty and Cowan on

the final.

COMING EVENTS

in KARTING

Hay 10 Nay 15/16 Nay 23

yy/ ~

Sun Centre Titles Swan Hill

EnquiHes 03 5032 1S8R Star Series Round 2 Go-Kart Club of Victoria

Gratz, who was holeshot

on the start, was reeling

The final saw Kirby take

Searle in over the last half of

the win with a conservative

the track, until a fuel leanout

5.34/265 over DiFilippo’s quicker, but redlighting,

caused the blower to pop just

The DiFilippo team then fired in a protest over the red light, claiming Darren hadn’t moved before the green. According to slow motion television replays, the car appears to have moved back wards out

of the beams

before hitting the throttle, resulting in a red light - the matter is still in the hands of ANDRA.

The Pauls Ice Break Top

Nay2

<wbi

Atholwood/Smith car with

short of the finish line. Two of the Doorslammer

the

Super Street, Andrew Le

Dilly in Modified Bike and

Thunder Road ’41 Willys both struggled to get a han dle on the track throughout the day and suffered severe

Dragster.

tyre sh^e on each pass.

Debbie Reed scored her

best numbers yet in her Reed Transport/Jack Bros Eng blown

small

block

Chev

replay of the Nationals final.

final.

Searle - Acme

in the Castrol GP50 ’57 Chev and Shane Elcoate in the

dragster on her way to the Wrecker’s Hotline Top Comp

Andrew

winners

class’ quickest - Victor Bray

Doorslammer bracket was a

Fibreglass ’57 Ford Customline - again lined up against the Valvoline/ Autobam ’69 Dodge Daytona of Peter Gratz.

Other

night included Rob Tucker in Super Stock, Greg Leahy in Competition, Jason Grima in Super Sedan, John Parker in Comp Bike, Anthony Selva in Modified, Kerry Jeffries in

Her opponent. Dean McClennan, had earlier put his

Castrol

Oldsmobile

Shane

Tucker

Junior

The “Lucky’s Toy” Top Doorslammer Commodore of

Lucky Belleri, with Steve Stanic at the wheel, ended up a battered mess after an ugly confrontation with the concrete wall in the second round of eliminations. The car turned hard left

just off the start line and crossed lanes, narrowly missing Gratz’s Daytona and slamming the wall hard enough to break a section of

Gratz had earlier pipped Searle by .002 sec for the top qualifier spot and Searle was

Funny Car into the top quali fier spot with a 6.59/206. Reed recorded her very first 200 mph pass during qualifying wdth her quickest

the 30 cm thick concrete. The car then overturned and slid a further 100m on

ready to even the score for

yet, a 6.66/202.25.

Stanic emergedfrom the wreckage shaken, but okay. Others to escape serious injury after mishaps includ ed Super Sedan racer Paul Foley and Comp Bike rider Daniel Peatey. Peatey fell from his Suzuki in the braking

the day and go for three championship final wins in a

day ended with a breakout

row - this he achieved, with

6.68/199 (6.73 dial-in) in the

6.45/210 over Gratz’s slowing

final, losing to McClennan’s

6.48/93.

6.62/207 on a 6.60 dial-in.

Her milestone-achieving

its roof before coming to a halt at about half-track.

Enquiries 03 9600 916Q

area

Baimsdaie Street

of his Datsun in the

Bairnsdale Kart Club

Enquires 03 5144 2382%^

braking area and hit the wall before the car

- KEN FERGUSON

Enquiries 03 5852 3675

Not so lucky: Steve Stanic inverted Lucky Belleri’s Doorslammer. (Ken Ferguson pics)

S <D

■z.

I s

1. mW

VlCtOWtkHKMCTlHG WaQQMlOR Ph 03 5449 6362 Our Web site is: www.kartguide.com.au/vka.htm Our Email address is: vka(gb 140.aone.net.au Victorian Karting Association Inc Registered No: A13837D

sustained

engaged in a series of end for end barrel rolls, destroying the car in the process.

Eastern Series/Ken Stanley Round,3

Goulburn Valley Kart Club

and

minor injuries, as did Foley, who lost control

lMD0®[F8[JXDDi] Report by FRANK VIOLA

THE Eastern Goldfields in Western Australia hosted its

first National Sprint Kart Championships on its magnifi cent 986 metre circuit on April 2-4, amid the furore which is sweeping karting in Australia. Seventeen classes were contest

ed, with some four classes being added as a result of the Yamaha/

ARC debate - and in the end, we

were no closer to discovering just who the best drivers in each class were because of this.

The racing was at times brilliant and no less outstanding was the effort of young Western Australian Daniel Elliott in taking four titles he and Adam Graham from New South Wales have been billed as

the next James Courtney and the racing between the two over the weekend was worth watching. Elliott took out Junior Clubman,

CiubniM Heavy’s #23 ^d^JELisujBu

Junior Piston Port, Junior Formula Yamaha and Junior National Light,

He won after the controversial

Clubman Twin. He was not headed

a truly unbelievable effort which could possibly never be equalled.

shunting of Tyson Pearce on the last lap by Ryan Farrell - the pair

all weekend and was justifiably emotional in accepting his trophy. Jeff Cooper was able to take a good win in Formula Yamaha Super Heavy from Anthony Higgs. Robert Mould grabbed pole and the early heats, but was involved in a collision in the pre-final and he lost all chance of taking the win as

Another Western Australian, Kip

(Pearce and Farrell) were at each

Formula

other’s throats all weekend, amidst

Yamaha Heavy and Clubman Heavy. In the process, he had the better of one of the legends of Australian karting, Remo Luciani. Foster took pole position in both

allegations of team driving. A huge and very aggravated crowd gathered at the in-grid after the final and, with all the attention

classes and won all heats and sim

given to the deserved winner. Allan Waddingham, from cyclone-devastated Exmouth in WA, was able to overcome the diffi

Foster

had

wins

ply outfoxed Luciani each time. Simon Wedd was the only back to back winner at this meeting, with a sensational win in 200cc Supers.

focused on the two combatants, very little attention and praise was

culties to record a fine win in

a result. Bart Price took the win

Clubman Light, with Daniel Currey in second - Currey’s drive was especially good, as he had to come from rear of the grid in heat two.

Trent Rogers had a great tussle in Senior National Light with Ian Viggers, Kerry Mansfield and Marise Sulley. For

some

time it looked as

though Viggers was going to take the win, but Rogers was able to hold off the charging brigade to take a well-earned win. Darren Clee from South Australia was able to outsmart

Michael Mansfield early in the final of Senior National Heavy. Unfortunately for Mansfield, though, his engine overheated ear lier than he had anticipated and Clee was able to drive past to take the win. Mansfield had earlier taken all

Robert Mould finally won a National Championship in Formula 100 Heavy. After the disappoint ment of 1998 (fourth place), Mould was also able to overcome the dis

appointment of a DNF in Formula Yamaha Super Heavy to take a veiy well-deserved win in this class Anthony Higgs (a member of the 2000 National Championships host Mount Gambier Kart Club) took a

great win in Clubman Super Heavy.

Last year’s winner in Clubman Super Heavy, Jason Stania, was expected to win the class, especially after taking heat wins - but, in the end, it was Higgs from WA’s Colin Austen.

The final event was not the race

heats and the pre-final to take pole for the all-important final. Matthew Cherry backed up his State Championship win in 1998 in Junior National Heavy to go one

we expected to see. David Clark, twice winner in the Formula 100 Light class, was

better

sion.

and

take

National

Championship victory - he recently finished second at the Victorian

Open at Puckapunyal, so his recent form was excellent. Mark Winterbottom continued his success and confirmed his sta

primed to take his third in succes But, unfortunately for him, he had stiff opposition from drivers such as Troy Hunt, Pearce, Whincup, Chris Gilmour, Gary Dann, Caruso, Danny Fisher, Tim Macrow, Wesley May, Jason

tus as a top line driver in this coimtry by beating the best in Formula Yamaha Light.

Hastas, Wall and Alan Gurr. However, out of this list of class

His victory was even sweeter,

torious and Hunt established him self as the number one karter rac

considering he beat Christian Murchison, Michael Caruso, Daniel Currey, Neil McFadyen, Trent

Rogers, Bart Price, Matthew Wall, Adam Klynk, Tim Moylan, Jamie

Whincup,

Reif Corbett,

Will

Davison, Clint Cathcart and James

drivers, only one could emerge vic

ing in this country by taking out the win.

Hunt’s surge at the front of the field early in the final was worth

watching, as he simply vanished from sight - all Clark and company

Tinga - it was a long list of well-

could do was simply W'atch him dis

credentialled drivers.

appear.

Briggs & Stratton Manco Fun kart Competition Briggs Stratton is offering a Manco Fun kart (Quicksilver 5) to the best presented Midget/Rookie driver and kart during 1999 WIN A MANCO FUNKART COMPETITION DETAILS rookie licence holder. 2. Entrants are required

tlieir photo piibli.shcd in Motorspon News. 4. Winners will be judged by Briggs and

to send in a photo of themselves in their kart. The kart must display a Briggs and Stratton Motorsports sticker that is visible

Stratton and notified by phone. 5. Winner of the main prize of the Manco Fimkart will be chosen from the monthly

1. The competition is open to any current midget or

fBF«GGS&STFtATTON]

winners and presented with the prize in December 1999. 6. The judges deci.sion is

on the front and side of the kart. 3. The

monthly winner will receive a Briggs and Stratton Motorsports cap and t-shirt and will have

final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Forward to:

□ For more information on Manco Karts

Daphne O’Brien

□ To obtain a Briggs and Stratton Motorsports sticker I Name

^^TrentJam£^vuitI^n^^thâng^^âncûTâH^

1 Address 1 Class

Briggs and Stratton Australia

Phone

p/c Racing Club

Private Mailbag 5048 Dandenong Vic 3175

lEi]®0(o)u’su)®[?o

23 April 1999 Report by JON THOMSON

WET, wet, wet were the three words which best described the

opening round of the Australian Rally Championship at Coffs Harbour on April 10.

Bourne's Bates was at a loss to explain the gearbox problems, which also saw him lose fourth gear on the final

at Coifs Harbour

stage.

His crew had already replaced one box before the start of the event

The drivers could feel it in their

fingers, they could feel it in their toes, as the mud was all around

them after the NSW coastal strip was drenched for over a week

before the rally and then during the event.

While the first heat on Saturday was able to go ahead without alter ation, a massive downpour dumped more than 100mm of rain on the

and would rebuild the spare before going into pare ferme in prepara tion for the next day.

Subaru wins as transmission

woe,s, (and wet weather blu^

The Formula Two class had been

given a lesson in the future with the arrival of the VW kit car, Evans comprehensively dominating the

potent Bates Corolla challenge

two wheel drive under two litre cat egory.

Despite his slow start, Evans had a 23-second lead on Rick Bates by stage three and a 43-second gap on

forest overnight and made the run ning of the second heat on Sunday virtually impossible. Possum Bourne was again the

Middleton’s Honda at the same

point.

man who benefited from a massive

dose of good luck to take victory in

the single heat rally after battling a more competitive and confident Neal Bates.

While Bourne won by 53 seconds, the margin didn’t truly reflect the closeness of the battle, with the pair locked together after six stages, but Bates losing 43 seconds with gearbox problems on those final two stages and then suffering a 10-second time penalty as well. Despite the treacherous condi tions, 50 of the 72 starters made it to the finish of heat one and were

ready to go back out and battle once more when Rally Clerk of Course Bob Halpin cancelled Sunday’s heat two.

There was much trepidation as the crews lined up at the Coffs Harbour showgrounds for the first of eight stages of the rally. The rain was pouring, the mud and slippery clay all too apparent after a tough day of reconnaisance on Friday. The spectator stage around the showgrounds attracted thousands of fans despite the dreadful weath er, Bates and Bourne locking horns and recording equal fastest on the short kilometre-long stage on a combination of gravel and tarmac. But it was in the forest where the real test would come.

Bates, on Michelin tyres for the first time, said that he was feeling confident of beating Bourne, while the Kiwi was at the wheel of his

new World Rally Car and still learning the very different dynamICS.

First retirement was the Long team, their brand-new Evo 5

Lancer withdrawn after the opener as an incorrect computer chip in

the engine management system meant the car would be all but undriveable in the forest - the

problem became apparent during pre-event testing and Long was imwilling to risk the brand-new car

Possum Bourne. (Jon Thomson pic) in the treacherous conditions.

Bourne grabbed a one second advantage on Bates on the second stage, while the battle for Group N saw

Stewart

Reid

back

Mitsubishi, albeit a leased one, giv ing young Subaru works driver

Cody Crocker a driving lesson. Reid took 20 seconds off Crocker

on the first forestry stage as the Subaru struggled. The Formula Two class was

on special stage two and another on special stage three, both saying the conditions were a test.

“I would have preferred to learn this car in better conditions, but this is the way it is,” said Bourne. “I think the car will respond bet ter when you are more aggressive with it, which is pretty hard in

legendary banana plantations and into a slippery forest, before finish ing on fast and sweeping roads. It would be where Bates would

show just how much difference the Michelins made.

these conditions.”

his rival.

In the Bates camp, there was a degree of quiet confidence, as the

find Batesy was faster in there,”

“It was certainly a surprise to said Bourne.

Bates, on the other hand, was happy to make the breakthrough on the most crucial stage of the rally and was hoping to stretch the gap on the next three stages. With a lead of just three seconds, it was hardly worth getting complacent

Simon Evans in the ex-works VW Golf would devastate the

opposition in the for

est - but an error by Evans in not having enough fuel on board would ruin the VW

driver’s day. Having to take it easy on the first forestry stage, Evans

over.

then had to refuel on

VW would be withdrawn on the

final transport with the class in its grasp by 1 min and 16 seconds. This left Rick Bates as the win

The flying Toyota driver was eight seconds faster than Bourne, who was astounded at the pace of

about to be swept clean by the arrival of the first kit car, as

The VW extended the margin out to Imin 28secs and Imin 36 secs, respectively, over the Daihatsu and Honda after Arrawatta, the Golf stretching its legs with times which would have placed it fourth out right. But, despite all the speed, the

Crocker wasn’t in

the first transport, the hunt for Group Steve Winwood’s winning AU Falcon XR8. (Jon Thomson pic) outside a legal ser N, Stewie Reid rel vicing area, a matter ishing a reliable car which would come into play a little Michelins were working beyond and the slippery going to rip time later in the day. their wildest dreams, particularly off the young Subaru driver on While Evans was matched in his after having such a tyre penalty in every stage. 1998 in wet conditions. times by both Rick Bates in the Reid grabbed three seconds off Daihatsu and Brett Middleton in him on Gentle Annie and on the “The tyres are absolutely fantas the Honda on the opening two tic; they’re working well in these long Arrawatta the Mitsubishi dri stages, Evans quickly got into gear, conditions and the car is great as ver took 32 seconds away from his taking 24 seconds off Rick Bates well,” said Bates. Subaru opponent to have a lead of and almost 40 seconds off 53 seconds. Despite this. Bourne grabbed another three seconds off Bates on Crocker took back 11 seconds on Middleton in the 9.6 km stage. The mud and slush were already Gentle Annie road, the 7.5 km the next stage, but Reid struck taking their toll - Steve Winwood fourth special stage, the Subaru back on the penultimate stage, win put his new AU XR8 Falcon off the driver’s advantage now five seconds ning by two seconds. With less than four kilometres to road on special stage 3, losing over heading into the longest stage of 20 minutes getting the big car back the event. the finish of the final stage, Crocker on the stage. The 26 km Arrawatta stage slid off the road up a bank and into Bourne took one second off Bates weaved its way uphill through the a big tree, the mud and slush offer ing little grip as the Subaru driver tried to negotiate the corner that

ner, with a 12-second gap to Middleton.

The refuelling incident early in the day had been captured on video and, rather than risk a protest and the wrath of the officials, team manager Tom Fyfe declared the car a non-finisher. Team-mate Jason Slot had not

had a happy time in his identical car, with several minor offs leading to a more permanent one on special stage 7, putting him out of the rally as well.

Tasmanian Lee Peterson had yet more gearbox problems, which also

sidelined the Nissan Sunny on spe cial stage 7. Despite a massive time loss early in the rally, Winwood was sur prised with his victory in the Aussie Car Class on debut in the

AU Falcon, main rival Andrew

Murdoch having slid off the road on Arrawatta in the older Falcon and

handing the class to Winwood. With Neal Bates trailing by 43 seconds after the final stage, a ten second time penalty for lateness meant he would concede the heat

by 53 seconds. Bourne taking the first blood in the battle.

Heat Two would not proceed after the massive downpour on Saturday night. Clerk of Course Bob Halpin having little alternative but to cancel the rally. This meant that the points from heat one stood alone. Bourne taking the early ARC lead on 20 points, four clear of Bates heading to the next round of the Super Series in Queensland on June 5-6.

had seen his team-mate. Possum

Bourne, slide off just minutes before - but, while Bourne avoided crashing, his young protege virtual ly destroyed the Group N machine. Spencer Lowndes’ challenge had ended when he put the new Evo 5 off the road in Arrawatta and out of

Australian Rally Championship Coffs Harbour Round One Results 1.

Possum Bourne/Craig Vincent

Neal Bates/Coral Taylor

Corolla WRC Slmins 41secs Stewart Reid/

Subaru WRC SOmins 48secs

the rally.

Anthony McLaughlin Lancer Evo 3 (Group N)

The news wasn’t all bad for Subaru.

After grabbing the lead on special stage five, the Bates Corolla started suffering gearbox problems two stages later, losing fifth and sixth

\ 1 .. -.

■'Stiff; Gearbox problems

erous store road.

edge off Nebl Bates’ . impressively competitive

stage of the day which, despite

performance.

Bourne’s off-road excursion, still

gear and 25 seconds on the treach

unexpectedly took the

^-(Jon Thomsqp plo)

55minsl3secs 4.

This was exacerbated on the final

saw the Subaru win the stage by 18 ±1

seconds.

Mark Haybittle/Kim Martin Lancer Evo 5 59mins 34secs John Mitchell/Colin Trinder Lancer Evo 3 Ihr Omins lOsecs

RickBates/Jenny Brittan Daihatsu Charade (F2)

Ihr 00minl3sec Brett Middleton/ Andrew Benefield Honda Civic Ihr 0min26secs

9m April 1999

D®

DIM

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IMdO(o)[j’8[JXD[?0

23 April 1999

CLASSIFIED Sedons/Sports Cars

Lotus Elan 1965 race car. 26R replica. All steel twin cam,

dog tX3x, rose jointed front and rear. Very quick, superb handling. Full details on request. $55,000. Ph: 00 11 649 412 8500. isi

Mazda R100 sports sedan 13B bridgeport, very good condi tion. Lakeside 59.5 sec. Spares. $6500. Ph Don 07 5561 8210

■

i I

Peter Worrall’s 125cc Australian Championship winning superkart. '97 Stockman chassis with full bodywork, 94 Honda RS125 engine, just rebuilt. $5500 Ph 02 9824 7350 152

Ewo II Mitsubishi Lancer duty paid ready to rally, never bent, full spares kit, done only six ralllys, 2nd 0/R Rally of Canberra 95 as driven by Marty Beckton. $35,000. Ph 0418 104 853 or 03

5248 5518 NBV 732. 152

Sji

Mk II Ford Escort, rallycar. Completely fitted out and ready to rally. Top 3 stage times in 1998 VRC. $6,700 neg. Ph: 03

amiliwMSMt

XW Falcon Wagon, 6 cylinder, column shift manual, 6 seater, good tyres, 115,000 miles, starlight blue, needs repaint. Chrome, panels all good. 3 months rego. $2,000. Ph: 02 4341

Torana LJ, club car or sports sedan. Marlboro colours, 192 blue print and balanced, 5 speed, 4 sport brakes, 9 inch diff, Koni adjustables, full cage, excellent condition inside and out Ready to race. $4,100 ono. Ph: 0416 217 405. .52 Ford XD Fairmont 81 model, new motor, gearbox, tyres, power steering. Excellent oond. Unreg. $3,500ono. Ph: 02 6023

2273. .52

1640. 15.

Mazda RX4 Club Car. S/Sedan project, ftoater diff, watts link rear, trailing anns, disc brakes, peddle box, custom roll cage, too much to mention.$3,500ono. Ph: 0419 191 612 or 03 9354

Ford Mustang CT 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 rims. Plenty spares. Oran Park 44.2. $32,000ono. Ph: Kevin 02

9360 0268 ah, 03 9399 2255 bh.

I Ift

Cortina Mkl GT two-door, Group N Appendix J, with red Historic log book. Body good, interior excellent, motor not run ning. Lots of spares. $9,000. Ph: Don 07 5462 2415 (AH). 1S2

1S2

0417. .52

47821145.

RaK MfcS - 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. .5.

91 Reynard - ex factory works car. Comes with new Benson engine, gear ratios, spare wheels & wings. Excellent condition. Need to sell to finarce new project. $62,500ono. Ph: 03 9570 3683 (AH), 0418172 889. 1S1

.5.

I Vauxhall 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 proposifon for good young drivers. Priced to sell from $38,000 each (spare neg.). Will consider sen sible offer for whole team. Ph: Bob Tweedie 018 162 762 (Sydney), -s. Falcon EA SVO. Red. 5 speed, front & rear spoliers, Recaro seats. 16' wheels. SVO suspension. Mono wheel, remote,

*.VJi

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

FI 00 1972 model, 460 V8 auto transmission, power steer

Sports 1300 U2 Toyota, ultra reliable racing or hillclimb car, 3 sets of tyres, absolutely nothing to spend, custom built regis

ing, B&M shifter, 4 wheel disc brakes, woodgrain steering

tered trailer, great car. $15,000. Ph: 02 4721 5060.

wheel, bench bucket seat, lowered, excellent tow vehicle. FKB 375. Ph: 03 9776 1694 ot 0414 874410. .52

98733793. .s.

alarm, car bra and rrmre. Immac cond. $11,500ono. Ph: 08 83702216,0418 831 317.

Prince Skyline GT. BE3 1966 model. Original equipment includes triple Webers, five speed LSD. Long range, chum fill tank, genuine 32000 miles with books. $12,000 firm. Ph: 02 4274 4498.

HQ Circuit Car. new motor, suspension and tyres, cams red. $4,500. Thunderdome fuel cell and 3 sets of suspension. $1,000. Ph: 0418 500 287 or 03 9432 9482.

152

Mazda RX3 Coupe 13B. Not rusty, good trim. Runs well, needs small amount of work. Unreg. $3000. Genuine buyer only. Ph: 02 4274 4498 bh.

152

Mazda Motorsport RX7 SP twin habo. 12 Hour winner, driven by Johnson & Bowe. In immaculate race ready cond. Suit serious competitor or collector. $105,000. Ph: 02 9554 1080. .5.

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,

Tekora Clubman 1965, 948cc. BMC running gear, Needham SCCR, CAMS log book, eligible Histories, new brakes, tyres, 12 months rego OOB 294. $11,000 obo. Ph: 03

heater, demister, doors, bonnet all fitted. $9,000. Ph: 02 4443

5261 3337. .52

7592.

Thunderdome HQ rollers x2, both alomst complete, one needs re-shell, includes almost new cage, harness, seats, fuel

.5,

Datsun Stanza hatchback 2 door, complete. Ideal rally/sprint, Unreg. $650. Ph: 03 9802 5806 ah. .5.

cell, chambered diff etc. $2,000 the ott ono. Ph: 0418 320 673 or

Celica GT 1980, twin cam 2 It. suit 2E or type 3, fitted with bigger brakes. Supra 5-speed, adjustable suspension, roll

03 9743 0083 ah. .52

Ford Sierra Group A RS500, brake rotors 12’, 13" and 14",

cage, new tyres and irms. $4,500ono. Ph: Shane 02 9604 2150,

centrelock rear hubs and carriers, centrelock socket and han

0417454 676. .5.

dle. Turbo Cosworth pistons, "200" and "205" blocks, dry sump pan, pump and lines, brake pads, doors and panels, cylinder head, tailshafts, driveshafts and more. Ph: 02 4367 6734 or 0412676 734. .52

Terry Wyhoon’s Thunderbird NASCAR, race ready with current race engine in Thunderdome or circuit set-up. $50,000. Ph: 018 555 821 or 03 5658 1177. 152 Mustang 1970 Mach 1, 351C, auto, 9" diff, air, steer, new tyres, red/black, white trim. 99,000 miles. Needs some work.

Collectors item. Genuine enquiries. $24,000ono. Ph: 0416 127 891. 151

Escort 1970 Twin Cam, white/black trim, ideal for Classic

Adelaide, Lactos etc. Must be sold, cleaning out garage, some 1963 Holden EH Wagon. Reg until Dec '99. 4 speed. $7000 ONO. Ph: 0413 871 556, (03) 5331 6148 ah. 152

Sports Sedan. Escort Mkl, Leyland P76 motor, Borg Warner

spares available. $8,000. Ph: 03 9499 3088 or 0418 367 004. 152 Lotus Cortina 1965. Extensively modified for racing. Fuel injected twin cam, four speed dog box. Fully adjustable front suspension. Fourlink with coil overs at rear. $M,000. Ph- 00 11

Toyota Corolla, Levin Coupe 1992, 1600cc, 4AGZE twincam EFI supercharged engine. Extractors, 5-speed, ABS, 4 wheel discs, mags, roll cage, imported for rally/race use. Serious performer. Suit Targa type events. $15,000 ono. Ph:

Westfield SE, Wide 95 3000K's, 4AGE A008R's Superlites, Tonneau BRG yellow nose. Nov reg 039592 1542. $23,500. Ph: 0395921542. .52

0419 886.544

649 4128500. .5.

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 423007,0295851817. 151

KE20 Corolla. 4AGE, 5 speed LSD/4WD, cage, race seat, harness, adjustable coilover front end. Balance bar. Original body, no mst. Log book. $4,990. Ph: 0409 997 911 or 03 9527 9606 ah. 152

Thunderdome HQ. All log books, new sealed motor (as new) sealed box; can be test driven before sale. $1,000. Ph: 03 9563

Reynard 893, in showroom condition. Current Australian

7072.152

Formula Two Champion, multiple lap record holder. Top horse LJ Torana Sports Sedan, mid mount 302 Windsor top BMW 2800, 6 oyl, twin carbie model. Manual trans circa 1970, straight tidy car, red cioth trim, heaps of wood. Ideal road car or suit Historic conversion. $3,000. Ph: 02 6494 9338.

ISI

! ROH Commodore Cup Car #29, 1999 spec. Ready to race, only ran 7 race meetings from new. New engine. Very competitive, no expense spared. $23,000 neg. Ph: 02 4573 6418. 152

Mustang “69 Fastback, 351 auto, front and rear spoilers,

loader, saleable less motor and gearbox. As a roller $5,000, complete $10,000. Fresh paint work, rebuilt motor with only 10 minutes mnning time. Ph: 0418354 723. 152 Torana Hatch. 253 V8, 4 speed, LSD, alloy tank. Hotwires, roil cage, stereo. Minor work reqd, Unreg. $3,250. Ph: 03 9802 5806 ah. 15,

power engine with short stroke billet crank. Masses of spares, $39,000. Ph: 03 5279 5916 bh, 03 5244 1025 ah. 152 Drive available- Formula Ford for Bathurst, Indy and OLD championship rounds and some DTE. From $950 per day all inclusive. Ph: 07 5446 7611 Fax. 07 5446 7480. 152

Open Wheelers

\ .'N

rear factory window louvre, genuine 12 slot wheels, lull rego, in good condition. VHE 592. $20,500 ono. Ph: 02 9579 3212.152

Falcon EA SVO, red, 5 speed, front and rear spoilers, Recaro seats, 16" wheels, SVO suspension, Momo wheel, remote alarm, car bra and more. Immaculate condition. $11,500 ono. Ph: 08 8370 2216or 0418831 317. 152

Datsim 1000 coupe, would make great 2L Sports Sedan. Plus many spare panels and new laminated windscreen. $500ono.Ph: 02 4646 1513. is'

Supeffcart 80cc, Mac Minarelli chassis. 4w brakes. Yamaha

engine. Many spares, full set ratios and jets. Wets & dries. Must sell. No reasonable offer refused. Ph: 03 9705 2791. 0417 369 996. ifi

23 April 1999

JXS

DIA.S

How much will this car be worth when Webber hits FI? Van

spare wheels, shocks etc. Genuine enquiries. Ph: 03 5447

7604

Diemen RF95 rolling chassis, excellent cond, suit collector or

0078. .51

serious competitor. $25,000 or best offa. Ph: 0419 895 692 or

LC-U 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 54221942,03 5422 7037. .5.

Momo 4 spoke, woodgrain steering wheel. Brand new, never used, bought $400, sell $200 ono. EL GT suspension, front struts and springs, rear springs, swaybar $250 ono. Bundoora.

035457 2224.

Brabham, 1964 BT16 F2. 998cc Cosworth SCA, Hewland Mk

7 6 speed, RA papers, green/sitver. Perfect, race ready condi

.52

Ph: 03 9434 1059. .52

Koni, double adjustable coil over shock absorbers. Only 3 races old then vehicle sold. One pair 8211 1305 B3, 213 to 303mm length, another pair 8211 1322 B2, 258 to 393mm length. Ph: 03 5244 1025. .52 Ford Sierra, 5 speed gearbox $520, 2.0 Ford injection mani fold, complete $350. 2.0 "205” SOHO motor $650. Ph: 02 4367

tion. $75,000, Ph: 0011 6494128512. .5,

SOcc Eliminator Supetfcart, YZ80 engine, blueprinted and ported, ctose ratio gearbox, 125 clutch, Kelgate brakes. Some spares. $2,800. Ph: 0408 170 365. 151

Speeciway

6734 152

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. 151 Ford Bronco XLT 4WD diesel, ideal towing vehicle. 1981, Monza red, new 351 V8 with 4 sp, new clulch, new tyres, excel lent condition throughout. No off road use. FuH reg. Sell $15,000neg. Ph: 0411209698. 151 Ford 1976 D-series, set up for Super Sedan, good condition, air tank, tool boxes and tyre rack. $2,000. Ph: 07 3200 0652 ah OT 07 3806 9900 bh. la

Ford Escort, twin cam, interior trims. Watts linkage, aluminium anti-dVe kit, sway bar, wiring loom, struts, steering rack and col umn, new cam chain, hoses, gearbox etc. Ph: 02 4367 6734. .52 Datsun 200B, 4 cyl Rocket class Archerfield. Ready to race. $300 ono. Top runner in class. Ph: 07 5573 6063 or 0414 559 775152

Ford 35^C 4 boH block, 302W efi system, complete $1,200.

,.T4i

Carillo rods 351C $1,200. 4MAB crank $450. Accel race dist 351 Ford $480. BBS rim sections, 16" various offsets, from $50. Ph: Kevin 02 4782 1145,0414 822 427 ah. .5. Super Sedan parts: 27" aluminium radiator $450; Morosso dry sump tank $350; 37" holtow axle $250; 80lt fuel tank, new, $380. Assortment new/used McCreary tyres. Ph: Peter 0412 399

Super sedan 351 Metharxil motor, spare wheels, panels and much more. Ready to race. $5000. Ph Mark 014 617 716 or 02 96276864ah 152

■

ModiiSed Production, Telton clutch, power head, roller carri,

020. .5.

good HP, Autometer gauges, many new and used tyres, $9,000

Various: Datsun/Celica mags, Enkei 13x6 $200; CSA Bathurst

ono. Ph: 03 5024 2194.152

13x6 $150; Hotwire 13x7 $250; Cheviot Gold 14x7 $200.

Stgier Sedan, VN. VR Comnnodore Rayburn chassis, new 6 cyl, 3 speed, Toyota diff, spare parts. 7'x15' trailer. Cheap car.

Escort/Cortina steel/alloy mags, 8x13, suit racing car, $150. Alloy rear wing. Performance Industries USA. Suit small car, $100. Cibie driving lights, one pr. rectangular, vgc, $120. Harness, 4 point, suit MG or sports oar only, $50. PIAA driving light, $80. Ph: 03 9802 5806 ah. .5. Bert gearbox, suit Super Sedan, 1 x new $2,650, 1 x second

The lot, $7,500ono. Ph: 02 6352 2773.

151

LJ Torana, 9" diff with wheel stud patterri to suit U, 6/3 racing diff gears with mini spixil. Exc condition. $900. Ph: 07 5494 8962 ah. 151

Super sedan QC, diff, alloy rims, alloy radiator, Carrera shocks, alloy fuel tank, taque link, quick rack, power head less engine gearbox. $11.000 ono. Ph 03 5447 7530 ah or 03 5442 5111

Super Sedan Brisbane #11, Fad EL. Thunderbird nose, competitive car, ready to race. Winters rear, bert box. alloy radi ator, brodlock wheels, new brakes, all good gear. $25,000. Ph: 0418753010.152

cages. brakes etc $2200 ono. Ph Chris 03 6331 2846 bh, 03 63341385 ah. 0419 335531 mob

.52

Sprintcar chassis, OTR highbar, wfth all panels, bonnett. seat,

birdcages, Nerfs and much more. $3000 ono. Ph Chris 03 6331 2846 bh, 03 6334 1385 ah, 0419335531mob 152

MSD Promag, ten times more output than conventional mag neto, built-in rev limiter. $2,150. Ph: 0418 514 444, 03 5176 2257. .5.

Ph: John 02 4683 1569. .5.

Drag Monaro HK (bag 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 built, plus spares. $8,500. Ph: 02 4257 7303. 151

radiator bladder, tank, bars. anns. radius rods, Jacobs ladder,

hand $2,000. Ph: Peter 0412 399 020. 151

Gearbox - Jerico 4 speed with shifter, good cond, $1,500ono.

152

Sprintcar parts - 2 front ends complete aluminium stubs and hubs. $1400 ea. Also Halibrand rear end complete with bid-

Toyota 4AGE TRD race cams, brand new, $500. Ph: Ross (Ballarat) 03 53381155 bh, 03 5334 6364 ah. .5. Recaro A8 seat. Ultimate in lateral support, integrated head rest, belt guides for a 4 point harness. Suitable for Clubman race. Price $1,850 pair. Ph: 0412 340 072. 151

Datsui 1600 tail light $25: yi stell roll cage $200: headlight $5: Jelly Bean mags, set of 4,13x5.5, $40, Ph: 03 5334 6364 ah. is.

Tfansporters/Traiiers

2. .■.■■-1212-11

or 07 4634 0208. .52

13 a 9. Ph: 03 9646 4296 a 03 9499 6701 ah. u

152

all bowtie internals. 300+hp. Including LJ Torana, fibre glass front, kevlar bonnet. 3/4 chassis, mini tubs, 9" diff etc. All ready for completion. $6,000 ono. Ph: 0412 008

Must sell Mazda T3500 serviceAow bus. Reg NIN-599. It's a 351 V8 on gas with 300 Itr tank. 5 speed with split shift, b/bar, t/bar, elec brakes, air con. fully fitted out racks, took box, hot water, work lights etc. Priced to sell quickly as eng not running.

Other 0394654621.-52

inject computer, will seperate. someparts. $2,500 ring for parts break down or $3,500 the lot ono. Ph: 03 5784

Motor books, thirty years of Bathurst programmes, Aust Motoring Yr (9 volumes) The Great Race Volumes 1-16, Aust Competition (Mctaing) Yr Bk Vote 1-25, Various videos, other books and posters. Sold sepaatefy a all together. Prices nego

152

Ford big block, 438ci, BG carb, roller cam. Staffs pan, CSI starter, 600hp on avgas, complete race ready. Mustsell. Ph: 07 3281 1852 bh, 07 5594 1977 ah. 152 350 Chev, Hilborn injected motor, dart heads, 4 bolt block, steel conrods and crank, roller cam. 3/8

tiable. Ph: 02 43221190 a 0418 488 368.152

Cast Iron Stands, previously used with engine dynamometer. Multi adjustable, very strong, could be used for heavy

pushrods, Barnes dry sump, tall alloy v/cover wiseo pis tons. May extras, $15,000 ono. Ph: 02 9663 4217. 152 Chev 5.0 litre ex V8 Supercar, fully rebuilt, new

Race Car Trailer, 1992 build. 29 ft fully enclosed rear load ramp accom, power, water at front, tri-axle, electric brakes all

machinery/vehicles a just about anything. $60 each. Eight avail

wheels. Suit Formula Ford or similar. $6,200.Ph: 03 9758 7904 152

parts, complete with wiring, exhaust, clutch etc. Suit

Bus/Molortiome 6 berth, new tyres, new brakes, new paint

MoTeC computer. Top hp. $32,500. Ph: 018 449 414 anytime, is400ci 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

job. new frtout inside, Ansair borjy. Ford 300cub.in. petrol mota,

V8 Supercar, team has space in Pantec for Formula Ford. Formula Holden, GTP or V8 Supercar. local and interstate rounds. Ph: D arcy Russell 0418 313 482. -52 GenuineFI ikivef'sscat. DarrxxiHill's 97 Arrows,Phaosof

$35,000, will sell $20,000ono. Ph: 02 4257 7303. 15.

Sell $17,500. Ph: 0418 514 444, 03 5176 2257.

$19,000. Ph 0418 327 408 -s2

Trailer Caravan, tri-axle, HD coupling, beautifully appointed van. Large D.bed, 80L water tank. Suit Super Sedan, excellent conditton. Must be sold. Auction on site Sat April 24. Long reg. Ukely around S4000-S5000. Ph: 02 9655 1530. -u

proof. Great investment, genuine enquiries only, POA. Ph: 02 9540 1910.0412397177. .51

Race Slit, Sparco double layer, nevz medium size. $250. Ph: 02 98733793. n-

Rare toot coBectkm lor sale. Long retired mechanic's vast appreciative enthusiasts. Service manuals, thousands of parts,

machinery, dedicated tools and much more. Offers invited for whole a part of collection. Ph: Graeme Scott 0418 971 797 fa inspection, -sAMa Romeo showroom sales liroclues. Various rrxxfels

from earty 70s Giulietta. Sprint, Alfa Sud. 1980s GTV, Afa 75 to

151

1990 model 33 16v. Al in exc cond, $3 each. Ph: Gail 03 5334 6364 (AH).

Mercedes Benz 190E 2.6 16 valve fuel injection system com

plete $15,000. Ate exhaust manifold $500. Ph 03 6331 2849 bh, 03 63341385 ah. 0419 335531

able. Ph: 03 52441025 ah a 03 5279 5916 bh. -s:

tool collection fa British. /Vnerican and European cars to go to

Parts

Sprintcar. Brand new '98 J&J with the best gear. Sabders, KSE, Willwood, Winters, Kirkey. Complete car, less motor with

Hewtand 7J1 cwp, suit MkaS. 45 speed transaxle. Ph: Dean 0882603577bh,0882715151ah. '5.

Hemi 265 Turbo, dry sump. T04 turbo, 351 injectors,

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 streetable. Only quality brand names used inside engine. $6,000. Ph: 9604 8910, 0417 253 324. .51 Chev 17 degree motor, Dart aluminium heads, bowtie block, T&D shaft, rockers. Grower crank. Oliver 6” rods, JE pistons. Fully recoed by Rob Benson. 650hp.

69534410, i5'

Ph: Bob 02 6777 7434. !.●

Nunber plates, Victorian "REDRX7". Best reasonable offer. Ph:

Super Sedan, Pontiac Rrebird. complete roller inc bert box,

Al the best gear, big hp. Sell racing. Ph: Wayne Sullivan 02

Alloy wheels 13" x 6.5" to 8" wide suite Triumph GT6, Spitfire TR7 or Lotus (3.75" PCD). Aso. any competition parts suit GT6 and slicks suit above wheels. Ph Tary 07 3814 3762 ah a email esp@hypennax.net.au Position as truck dnver/chauffeu/crew. Up to 3B licence, non smoker. Would Ike any invctvement in mota sport. Expenses only.

Ph Graeme 03 5987 1500 152

>52

quick change, all AFCO running gear, car holds track record, $15,000.Ph: 07 32000652 ah, 07 38069900bh. isr

VI Modified Production, feature-winning car this season.

Female members fa 'The V8 Super Social Club" for meeting up with others at race meetings or just to correspond with about nxrtorsport. For further info write to Sue West, 5 Vernon Road. Wangaratta VIC 3677 or phone 03 5722 3488.152

Weber catbies, pair DCOE, 48 on 50 with number ending in

3105 ah.

0408 143426 or 03 9587 9446 152

07 3814 9082 152

290 or 0417 282 764.

LJ Torana, 3 litre. John Sidney engine, fully adjustable rear end. Pro shocks, 5 near new Hoosier tyres, 2 speed gearbox, ram clutch, assorted spare parts. $6,000. Ph: 03 5241 1087. 152 MoiElied Production TE Corlma, ready to race, 6 cylinder methanol engine with 3 speed gearbox. Registered power steenng, rear adjustable suspension, new gauges, new alumini um seat, loads of spares. $6,800 ono. Ph: Craig 0418 158 308

and now based in Melbourne. All offers considered. Ph: Ewan

Hollinger, Group A 5-speed gearbox. Call Ian on 0417 441

Chev 60 degree VG, aluminium heads, roller motor,

.:x-

Media PR position in motorsporl or race team. 20 years media experience. Good contacts, flexible hard worker, keen

395.152

9604 8910 or 0417 253324.

0407 543 006. is2

Nissan V6 (1995) all alloy 24 valve quad cam. $1000. Ph Steve

12.5 to 1 comp, roller valve train, 4 bolt bottom end, approx 420-450 hp. can supply thicker head gaskets to make more streetable. Only quality brand names ised inside engine. Ring for more details. $5,700ono. Ph: 02

TRD components, gearboxes FWD, RWD, dilfs (LSD), engines/heads etc. Ph: 0409 997 911 a 03 9527 9606.152 TE30 BMW M3, guards (flares) roof, spoiler, wind splitters etc. Chrome bumper model. For sale gen E30 BMW mags 14" with now G-Grid tyres, set of four $550. Ph: 03 6394 3541 or

etc. Phone Mike 07 3801 1117 ah or 0413 994 960 -s:

Chev SB, high performance 355ci, manifold to sump,

rweik!^7|

Wanted

Position Wanted with V8 race car team based in S.E. OLD

Engines

3206 7604

)

146 555. 151

on voluntea, part time basis. Would be able to drive transporter

Chrysler 265 Hemi short eng, 4 inch bore, Ronnac blancer, Billet cam modified block, spent over $3000. Sell $2300. Ph 07

Sigier Sedan. Very competitive and proven race car. Best of everything, some spares, complete ready to race. For more info, Ph: Peter 0412 399 020 or Daryl 0412146 555. 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

152

Dart heads SBC full port and pdich. Comp cams SS valves, Moroso covers, Victa Jnr heads brand new. $2500 Ph 07 3206

Transporterknotortiome. Takes 2 cars, V8 Cat, 10 speed Roadranger, hydraulic tail lift, 240/24v, inverta. welder, air, work shop, kitchen, hot shower, lounge, bunks. No money spares. Ph: 0894522808.0411425 015. -s-

Re the car known as the MM Holden. Unless any claim of cwnership of the original car or significant components thereof is reoeived by myself a CAMS vJthin 60 days, CAMS proposes to

grant approval in principle fa the reaeation of the car by mysetf. Roy Williams. Ph: 03 5229 3375 (Geetong). 151

FREE Classified Advertising sells See page 47 for booking coupon

23 April 1999

M&t&rsp&rt ■

NEWS

Editorial Editor

rrjnvpfrp

Phil Branagan Technical Editor

Tony Glynn

Talk

To all the Holden fans, how ugly

Will he be as quick? As they say

^ were the track boards covered in all 11 the Ford and Tickford signs? ^ Now that I’ve had my grumble, I ^ can say that V8 Supercars are the

in the AFL ads. I’d like to see that! The top five (Murphy, Ingall, Seton, Lowndes, Bright) have cer tainly got away in the champi onship chase and the Queensland 500 and Bathurst may be the only

best form of motorsport in Australia (especially the Holdens). I hope Lowndes gets his points back from leg one and wins the SATCC again.

James Spencer

Assistant Editor

Matthew Worsley

Gerald McDornan

Graphics Co-ordinator Vlv Brumby

Sensationally bizarre I am writing to you about my pre paid three-day V8 Supercar Paddock Access Pass which I pur chased prior to and for the Adelaide

Advertising Manager Brendon Sheridan

Administration

Alfords Point, NSW

West Pennant Hills, NSW

Dear Sir,

Advertising

500.

the grid for leg two and was exclud ed from leg one. Danny Osborne said it was his fault, not Craig Lowndes’ - Jeff Grech found on the telemetry that

One rule for all

Fit ’n fast Dear Sir, Dear Sir,

At the recent Grand Prix meet

The Sensational Adelaide 500

Chris Lambden

Contacts

Lowndes had lifted off the accelera

lived up to its name - how long before more 250 km races are

similar incident occurred at anoth

added to the championship series in

er meeting where a driver was black flagged for not wearing gloves. Considering these cases, it is amazing that CAMS scrutineers are permitting more and more dri vers to flout the regulations and not wear the appropriate fire-proof imderwear for circuit racing.

for refreshments, or to use the toi

let facilities, I must pay another

89 Orrong Crescent

$20 to return to the paddock area!

Caulfield North VIC 3161

(PO Box 1010 North Caulfield 3161) 03 9527 7744

This condition does not apply to any other comparable race meeting

Could it be that CAMS are afraid

of upsetting some of the high profile drivers who evidently consider

that I have been to.

Fax: 03 9S27 7766

Email: msnews@corpllnk.com.au CompuServe: 100237.116S

As food and toilets were only available outside the paddock area, I feel this puts a lot on people wish

Contributors

ing to use these facilities.

General: Mike Kable. Jon Thomson.

Brian Reed. Darryl Flack, David Hassall, Aaron Noonan, Allan Schofield

themselves above CAMS.

The regulations should apply to all competitors equally and, if CAMS scrutineers are not prepared to take a stand, then the regula tions should be scrapped.

To the organisers, please ensure that future race meetings do not have the same restriction.

Europe: Quentin Spurring

I canvassed the opinions of other racegoers and all I spoke to agree

US: Phil Morris

with me.

FI: Joe Saward, Adam Cooper

ing, we saw a driver black flagged for not wearing his goggles and a

tor; do the stewards need any more proof?

I spent over $500 to see the race, but when I went to the paddock the security said I could only use this pass once and, if I wanted to go out

Managing Director

Phone

hope some others have of potential ly catching them.

Lomas Wilson

East Toowoomba, QLD

NZ: John Hawkins

Speedway: Dennis Newlyn, David McNabb, Wade Aunger, 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

Bad equals good

Shane A Young Tingalpa, QLD

Controversial Adelaide: Fans were unhappy with rulemakers. (Mpix)

Burden of proof Dear Sir,

Firstly, I would like to congratu late you on such a good magazine. I

have one suggestion - after you have finished running the AU Falcon posters, you should do a series on the VT Commodores.

After watching the Sensational

Adelaide 500 on TV, I was very dis appointed with the mess-ups from the stewards in the area of han

dling racing incidents.

The main area of my disappoint

Snowdon & Diana Burnett, Brad

ment was the Lowndes/Osborne

Steele, Tony Glynn, Thunder-Pics, Marshall Cass, Mike Harding, Brisbane Motorsport, Frank Midgley, John

incident.

Bosher, Phil Williams, Mike Patrick

penalty, but was sent to the back of

(UK), Tony Loxley, Daniel Wilkins, Wayne Nugent

Lowndes served his stop/go

Also, I was annoyed about the stop/go given to Garth Tander for supposedly overtaking Seton under the yellow flag, Garry Rogers showed the stew ards the telemetry to prove that its

place of sprints? What do you reck on, Tony Cochrane? Some of these V8 Supercar dri vers have got to get serious about

a bit hard to overtake someone

indulging at too many sponsor func tions and not spending enough time on personal fitness, like Tony Longhurst obviously does. A tip for Alan Jones for next year’s Adelaide 500 (if he has a deal then) - start training now, or put

when you’re already ahead of them. What about Cameron McLean

putting in fuel on his tyre stop? Is a stop/go all he gets? That rule was clearly stated before the race. Another rule changed overnight was the ‘no engine work after the first leg had finished’ rule. Also, what’s this rubbish about a

stop/go given to John Faulkner for

fitness. I think

some

them

are

someone like Christian in the car

who could go the distance in Adelaide.

going too slow? He wasn’t even on

It will be interesting to see how AJ goes when he gets Garth

the racing line!

Tander’s VS.

Dear Sir, Just to put my two cents worth in about the Adelaide 500.

I am sure you will receive a lot of letters about the great drive of Craig Lowndes and the decision to disqualify him from leg one. Well, my two cents worth is that we wouldn’t have seen the drive of the decade without the worst deci

sion of the century, so I think the bad decision was great. Also during the telecast they mentioned an old Allan Moffatt

quote: “The harder you work, the luckier you get” ... is Wayne Gardner on the dole or something? Stuart Stuartl@vision.net.au

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