Motorsport News Issue 163 - 8-21 October 1999

QueensiaiKl Raceway's cash crisis $4.50

(NZ$5.95incl GST)

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Gilles Villeneuve - by the man who knew him best

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1999-2000 EVENTS CALENDAR h-

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Raceufdu BB February l V8 Sedans Series l Sprintcar Series 4 March l V8 Sedans Series l Speedcar Series If March * Sprintcar Series ® Hot Bods Titles BS March

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8 October 1999

V8s in turmoil Bathurst Tourers debut, but now what?

SURPRISINGLY strong TV rat ings have secured the enthusiasm for and future of the Bathurst Tourer V8 category among its supporters.

Despite poor spectator attendance and miserable, foggy conditions, which caused the premature finish of both main events, the Network Seven broadcast rated sufficiently well for considerable optimism this week among the category’s backers.

“With all the difficulties, the rat ings were extraordinary,” an up-beat Steve Frazer, head of Octagon (for merly Advantage International) said on Tuesday.

“It rated 13s in Brisbane, 12s in Sydney and 10s in Melbourne and beat the bikes everywhere bar Melbourne...

“The Network is ecstatic. We have something to build on with both the category and the new style of Bathurst event.”

Frazer confirmed that he has no plans for a 1000km race next year, preferring to build on the shorter race format and the ‘Festival” theme, involving as many categories and competitors as can be catered for: “I think it’s quite difficult to hold a TV audience all day with one race no matter what category you have because things have changed. It’s not like 30 years ago...

“If Super Touring evolves into the Super Production format as is planned, I believe we will have a pair of categories of surprisingly similar speed, able to compete against each other quite successfully.

“I would expect the main event at next year’s event to be a 500km race for that combination...”

For that to happen, the V8 catego ry, or an evolution of it, would need to come under CAMS sanction.

According to new CAMS CEO Peter Hansen, the recent ‘clarifica tion’ of the agreement between CAMS and V8 Supercar group AVESCO will allow that: “This type of category does not conflict with the V8 Supercar cate-

n FI hopeful Mark Webber has been in Melbourne for the past week, undertaking some work for personal spon sor Yellow Pages. MW also attended the Bike GP,but heads back to the UK today (Friday)to prepare for a sec ond test, next Wednesday, with the European Motorsports F3000 team.

Pending a successful nego tiation with Mercedes to release him from his cmrent contract, the F3000 team may well play a part in his 2000 plans. n No decision has yet been made by HRT on its driver pair ings for the FAI1000. Team manager Jeff Grech this week said a decision was “a fairway away...” The team has confirmed that both Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife will drive the team’s ‘spare’ VS Commodores at the Honda Indy,saving the VTs for Bathurst.

Brock’s Skyline: James Brock starred at Bathurst, but whafs next for the V8 class? (Photo by Marshall cass) gory,” he said on Tuesday,“although for us to sanction this category, or something like it, would require the consent of the Jane Organisation, which currently sanctions Bathurst Tourers.”

Discussions are, we understand, already under way along those lines.

In the meantime, plans are being finalised for a Summer Series for the Bathurst Tourers, kicking off in January. With its winter commit ment to AFL Football, Seven is very much behind the concept.

Bathurst Tourer co-ordinator Bruce Williams is also encouraged by the reaction to the category: “Although the crowd was modest, the participants are genuinely excit ed about the category. The cars looked good on the track and the mood is very positive. My phone’s been ringing a lot since the week end...”

While there is an optimistic air among the category’s supporters, comment from the other side of the fence is, predictably, less so.

AVESCO Chief Tony Cochrane on Tuesday described Sunday’s broad cast as “the greatest embarrassment for motor sport I’ve ever seen. I hope the public are able to distinguish it from what we do and that we won’t be affected by the wash-over...”

ACCC- no actton

NO action is expected to be taken following the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s recent investiga tion into V8 group AVESCO. A formal press release from the ACCC hadn't emerged as Motorsport News closed for press, but we understand that no further action is planned following a letter : from AVESCO to Australia’s race cir cuits confirming that it has no objec tion, or right to object, to them con ducting races for any V8 category.

HOWEVER, parallel discussions between CAMS and AVESCO con ducted over recent days as part of the ACCC wash-up appear to have resulted in a different interpretation on either side of the fence as to just what V8 Supercar group AVESCO does have exclusive rights for.

New CAMS CEO Peter Hansen told us on Monday that, in his view, AVESCO simply has the ‘rights’ for V8 Supercar racing -its specific category -only and that, for exam ple, there would be no problem in

Michael out till 2000 MICHAEL Schumacher will not race for the rest of the 1999 season.

The double world champion had an accident in testing at the Ferrari team’s Mugello track early this week, hitting a safety barrier and damaging the car’s rear suspension.

Schumacher was not harmed in the incident, which came after he had complet ed 15 laps, but it forced the German to walk back to the pits on his previouslyinjured leg.

Sunday's rigorous medical tests on Schumacher’s leg

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confirmed that he was heahng well and it was thought he could race this sea son, but Schumacher told Ferrari that he did not believe he could perform for an entire race. have Reports Schumacher suffering from inflammation of the right knee, possi bly related to a pin initially inserted to help the broken leg heal.

The rear of the Scuderia’s F399 was damaged, but techni cians were able to get the car fixed, and Schumacher returned to the track for more test laps later in the day.

But, after the med ical Schumacher and Ferrari issued a state ment that he would definitely not race at either of the final two rounds of the champi onship, at Malaysia next weekend and in Japan on October 31.

With the winter testing blackout in force shortly after that, and the proba bility that doctors will more strictly order Schumacher to rest, it now seems unlikely that he will drive before Christmas.

The news now means that Mika Salo will stay at Ferrari for two more races.

You’re on your own: Michael (left) will not be able to help Eddie’s title bid.

CAMS recognising a category such as the Bathurst Tourers.

“AVESCO has an exclusive licence in respect of V8 Supercar racing,” he said.“That exclusivity does not limit the operation and sandioning of non-conflicting V8 cat egories, which includes things tike the Ford versus Holden AUSCAR category,for which sanctioning is delegated to the Jane organisation.”

“In my view a category such as the one which raced at Bathurst last weekend provides no conflict."

However, on Tuesday, AVESCO Chairman Tony Cochrane was adamant that the group had “exclusive rights to Holden versus Ford V8 touring car racing.”

"We pay CAMS a lot of money for that exclusivity,” he said.“ If they (CAMS)want to change that, then fine, but why would we want to con tinue to pay all those fees- nearly $1 million one way or the other-if that exclusivity wasn't there.

“We would simply go away and set up our own sanctioning body...”

Schu,Schu, Schudio SCHUMACHER has received criticism from an unlikely source - veteran rock star Phil CoUins.

Formula One fan Collins met the double world champion at the German Grand Prix and discov ered they were near-neighbours in Switzerland.

The duo swapped numbers and even agreed to meet up.

However the friendship has now turned sour, with embittered Collins accusing Schumacher of not bothering to return the his telephone calls.

“When we met up at Hockenheim, we swapped num bers and so on and talked about meeting up,” explained Collins, who had a string of hits in the 1980s.

“But after making a bit of effort all we got back was - silence. it Nothing at all. I was very sur prised...”

n The Shell team has con firmed that the brake failure that took the Radisich/EUery Falcon out of the Queensland 500 was a detached fluid fine. n Formula Holden champion Simon Wills returns to Auckland this week for the final ofthe 1999 Manukau Young Achiever of the Year,for which he is a finalist. n Veteran racer Bryan Thomson is to be the patron of this year’s Winton Historic Motorfest.“Thommo” will bring out his title-winning MercedesChev turbo-charged monster for the occasion and will join a big line-up of motor sport legends for the November 6-7 weekend. n Gregg Swann, who hip and shouldered his way out ofthe top job at CAMS recently, has impressed the Collingwood AFL team’s selection committee with his form and has now taken over the vacant CEO’s position at the Maggies.

It was reported in the Melbourne Herald-Sun last Friday that Swann got the nod from club president, media star Eddie Mc(Juire. n Sex sells, so they say, and we hear that two 2000 motorsports calendars are headed our way,featuring les femmes.

The V8 Supergirls calendar, endorsed by AVESCO,is due for launch next week, while we hear that WIMSA is planning a Women in Motor Sport version, featuring our leading female race drivers... n Wayne Gardner tested his new Perkins-built VT, which replaces the new car taken over

by Dugal McDougall, at Winton last week.

Along with Coke,the new VT also carries McDonald’s signage on the bonnet with the company joining the former GP 500cc champion for Indy and Bathurst. n The winner of the first Mobil 1 Quick Quiz was Michael Topfer, of Beerwah, Queensland.

For correctly answering the two questions(Brock drove a BMW in 1988, and HRT have had six drivers at Bathurst over the past three years) Michael wms a selection of Mobil 1 racewear.

Keep an eye on the mail, Michael. Our second Mobil Quick Quiz is in this issue.

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8 October W99

n America’s FBI are investigating links between a fatal accident during an IRL race at Charlotte Motor Speedway - named Lowes after the home improvement store chain - and three bombs found in Lowes stores.

A source close to the investigation said an unnamed person called one of the stores to com plain not enough had been done for the victims at the race in May. Three people died when flying debis cleared the safety fences and landed in the grand stands.

■ Keen-eyed viewers would have seen Jeff Gordon on ‘Spin City’ last Monday. The NASCAR ' Champ made a guest appearance on the show, sharing the screen with star Michael J Fox and NBA basketball star Jason Williams.

H Renault Spider Cup Champion Andy Priaulx tested a WilliamsRenault Laguna Super Tourer at Pembrey in Wales last week - the test being his prize for taking out this year’s Spider Cup. Priaulx, who dominat ed the Spider Cup, win ning all 13 races and qualifying on pole at each one, hopes his season and impressive test will lead to a full-time BTCC drive in 2000. With Williams and Renault out of the BTCC next year, it’s not clear whether Priaulx was offered a cheap Laguna afterwards...

S AbOio Diniz, father of Sauber driver Pedro, has been con'victed by a Brazilian federal court of “crimes against the national financial system”.

Diniz Sr is appealing the decision but could face a year in jail if that fails.

The case follows a govern ment investigation into an alleged payment of $330,000 made in 1992 by a finance company called Supercred to Diniz’s dis tribution firm Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao.

Cash crisisPEBilalens Queensiand QUEENSLAND Raceway is expected to remain in business despite revealing severe financial problems late last week.

The non-profit Queensland Motorsport Club which oper ates the all-new Ipswich venue called in an Administrator last week to deal with its reported $5.5 million in debt.

While a greater proportion of that figure is made up of the long term loans made to the venue by the Queensland Government, the Bank of Queensland and at least one major private backer, there is a significant debt to the businesses and services which have contributed to the construction and running of events at the track to date.

A blow-out in construction costs due to excessive wet weather and a smaller than expected crowd at the recent Queensland 500 are cited as the prime causes of the cash flow problem which has brought on the circuit’s dis tress.

The 22,000 race-day atten dance figure quoted at the time turns out to be substan tially inflated, our sources placing it closer to 14,000 (Queensland’s Sports Minister this week claiming

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as few as 8,000 pajdng cus tomers), the well-document ed access problems from the venue’s opening V8 race blamed for the down-turn.

Despite the reduced crowd, the 500 made a profit (some $180,000), but not sufficient to meet the organisation’s cash-flow needs.

With its government involvement, the issue has become a political hot potato in Queensland, with finger pointing from both sides of the fence, the government moving to distance itself from the race track adminis tration. Be that as it may, the government has report edly had a representative involved in all day-to-day administration ofthe circuit.

Administrator Jay Stevenson of Brisbane accountants Jefferson Stevenson & Co said this week that he expected that the track should be able to trade out of its problems: “My first action will be to conclude new arrangements ■with the major secured credi tors,” he said in a brief state ment. “We are hopeful of their co-operation and then we will look at ways of strengthening the business operation at Queensland Raceway.”

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The beginning or the end? The Queensland 500 has left the proprietors of the track in I Ipswich with a lot of problems. Will there be an enduro in 2000? (Photo by oirk wynsmith) A meeting of creditors is ship and effectively take it has been suspended at the over... venue. scheduled for today (Friday).

With the track in Labour The surface mix is similar Motorsport Queensland heartland, and being the does have a four year con to those used by other race local area for both the tract for the Qld 500 and circuits, but some of the finer elements of the mix have Treasurer and Sports with Lakeside facing delays been ‘scrubbed’ out of the Minister, - the government is in terms of its proposed sale, surface on the outer side of unlikely to allow the venue remains the only really to close. viable venue at present in the racing line.

One option which would While contractors Pioneer Southern Queensland.

The list of creditors does alleviate the circuit’s prob (owned by Shell) are looking lems immediately is for the not include V8 Supercar at the unexpected problem government to convert its group AVESCO. It’s appear with a -view to a quick tempo loan into a grant - or at least ance fee for the Queensland rary fix (to enable circuit a much longer term loan.

500 - $300,000 - is on an hire/testing to recommence) Our Queensland sources ‘up-ffont’ basis... and a longer term solution to believe this to be a likely out the problem, the ticklish sit come.

AS if it needed another prob uation is that the company Another (less likely) option lem, Queensland Raceway’s also appears on the list of being touted early this week surface has broken up badly creditors, to the tune of was for the Government to as a result of the Queensland $800,000+... force the circuit into receiver- CHRIS LAMBDEN 500 race meeting and testing

EXCLUSIVE: FIRST PICTURE

Perkins’ new Commodore f

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By JOE SAWARD Ferrari debacle at

Diniz recently sold 24 per cent of CBD to France’s Casino supeimarket chain for $550m.

1 The FIA and the International motorcy cling Federation (FIM) issued a joint statement last week declaring that they will continue to fight against any forms of per form ance-enhancing drugs in sport. The announcement, which looked like a piece of pre emptive propaganda, is curious as there is no hint that there have been any problems of drug taking in FI. Perhaps the governing body knows something which we do not...

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If you win Bathurst once a year, it’s a Good year... And it’s an odd year, too. Larry won at the Mountain in 1993 with Gregg Hansford, and ’95 and ’97 with Russell Ingall . (Photo by Tony Glynn) LARRY Perkins will debut an all-new Castrol VT Commodore at next week’s Honda Indy.

The six-time Bathurst winner will roll out his 1999 Mountain challenger for the first time as practice for the Gold Coast races begins.

“We expect the car to be finished by the end of this week, but it’ll run for the first time

up at Indy,” LP said on Tuesday.

His latest VT evolution features some v isi ble changes in the design of the cage, which should provide increased rigidity: “We’ve increased the strength in some areas,” Larry said, “but really the changes are only minor. In this category, all changes are relatively small...”

- CHRIS LAMBD EN

the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgrhig - and the perfor mance in recent races of the Ferrari F399 in the htmds of Ed^e lirvine and Mika Saio— has led the Mvelier ele ments of the Italian media to calli for the resignation of the team^s sporting and technical directors, Jean Todt and Hoss Brawn.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo held a two and a half hour meet ing with senior stsdff at Maranelo after the Nurbmgring flop. We hear that Montezemolo wmned that the company could not afford such public humiliation.

We hear that Brawn took responsibility for

the pitlame confusion over strategy which left \ frviine a lap down on the leaders. The only consola- i tion is that McLaren also made had mistalses and I Miijfca Hiahkinen was also j a lap behind at the end.

Montezemolo has ' repeatedly stood by Todt since the Erenehman' i joined the team &om 3 Peugeot in July 1993 but | after six unsuccessful sea- I sons, Montezemolo must i begin to question'the situ- | ation ^ if only to protect his own job. ( He does have one very strong argument in favour of continuing to support Todt. There is currently not an Obvious candidate to replace the Prenchmsm and any change would ixteana shake-up which would mean at least two more years before Ferrari would be in a position to ■wm the Championship.

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8 October 1999

Dl<k keeps Radiskh for 2000 THE Shell team has virtually concluded a long term agreement with Paid Radisich.

Team manager Wayne Cattach said this week that “apart from a few minor details which I have to take care of, we’re agreed in principle.

“We have a verbal agreement and I’d hope it will be 99 in writing within the week.

Radisich, 37, is expected to sign for three years and thus provide the experience and stability to go along side the youthful exhuberance of Steven Johnson, who will embark on his first full year with the team.

The move makes a lot of sense for the team.

Radisich has now driven on - and learned - all the tracks on which he will be racing next season, with the exception of Canberra, which will be new to everyone.

With the experience he has gained this season, he is also now able to better understand the set-up of the new Falcon AU. It is also believed that Radisich and his wife Patricia are said to be happy and well settled in Queensland.

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PR 4 DJR 4 Y2K: We’ll be enjoying the sights of Paul Radisich gettin’ jiggy with Dick Johnson’s Shell Helix Fords for at least the next three years. (Photo by oirk Kiynsmith)

MARCOS Ambrose and James Courtney are becoming the men to beat in Em-opean FF, with the Aussie pair running 1-2 in the third round of the European Championships at Zandvoort.

After the duo qualified on the front row of the Dutch track, Ambrose was running in second early in the race, taking the lead on lap 2 before the race was red-

You’ll never, never land in the Nether, Netherlands; Marcos Ambrose and James Courtney belted the Europeans at Zandvoort. Roll on the FFFestival. (Photo by sutton-iamges)

flagged due to a rain storm.

At the restart Marcos rocketed away from the pack, leading all the way to win by just under 10s.

On the damp track, Ambrose led the rest of the 38 pursuers, moving ahead of new British Champion Nicolas Kiesa and taking his

best result of the season.

For Ambrose, the result was further justification of his decision to move from Ray, with which he had a tough season.

“Since I have joined Van Diemen, I have never been off the podium, which is great,” grinned Ambrose after the race, “but this is my first win in Europe, which is great.”

The result also bodes well for 19-year-old Courtney, who will lead the Van Diemen FF team during the 2000 season.

Ambrose now shares the lead in the European series with Scot Craig Murray, with the final round scheduled for Donington Park in England on October 17.

MR:Zonta, Jacques and Panis?

THE announcement that Zonta

American

Racing has confirmed that Ricardo Zonta will stay with the team next season.

Zonta will retain his spot alongside Jacques Villeneuve in the 555 and Luckystrike-sponsored cars.

The 23-year-old Brazilian has not had an easy time this year, his season having been disrupted by an foot injury which forced him to miss three races but his per formances in comparison to Villeneuve have been quite impressive on occasion and have added to his reputa tion in the FI paddock.

Zonta remains under a long-term contract to the McLaren team but for the 2000 season will help Villeneuve with the devel opment of the new Honda VIO engine.

- JOE SAWARD

That smug grin only employed racing drivers have: Ricardo Zonta has kept his BAR drive.

(Photo by Sutton-lmages)

n We hear there is something of a battle going on in Formula 3000 circles to secure the backing of energy drink company Red Bull. The Red Bull Junior Team - liin by former Grand Prix driver Helmut Marco - has failed to qualify for next year’s F3000 series and so the 14 teams that did qualify are trying to land the F3000 budget from Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz. n Arrows is to be spon sored in Malaysia by the PanGlobal Insurance com pany. The Malaysian firm has been supporting the yoimg Malaysian driver Alex Yoong in British Formula 3 and Formula 3000 this year and is also active in sponsoring teams on the Malaysian national racing scene.

ussies star at Zandvoort

BRITISH

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is to be retained by British American Racing comes as a blow to Ohvier Panis.

It was a long shot that Panis would join the team but at the moment hischoices are rather lim ited.

There has been talk of a deal with the Arrows team but we imderstand that Tom Walkinshaw - while happy to run Olivier would still need money and is ask ing for around US$10m ($14m).

The only way that Panis could afford such a deal would be if Renault or Elf agreed to fund him.

This is not impossible given Walkinshaw’s long term plans to link up with Renault in 2001 to run a Nissan VIO engine. That deal may still depend on good perfor mances in 2000 and so Walkinshaw still needs to raise a good budget next year.

The talks which had been going on with Philips have reached a con clusion as the Dutch electronics company has decided not to invest

in FI and is supporting yacht racing instead and also funding the con struction of a major stadium com plex in Atlanta, Georgia, a project which is believed to be costing around $100m.

At the Nurburgring Walkinshaw confirmed that the team has now split with Prince Malik and that a new marketing structure will soon be announced. This structure will be revealed shortly.

Panis’s other hopes for employ ment would seem to rest with a Patrick Racing drive in CART although it is possible that this drive will go to Biyan Herta who is out of work following Bobby Rahal’s decision to sign up Sweden’s Kenny Brack.

We have also heard a suggestion that Panis may do a deal to become McLaren’s third driver next year as Nick Heidfeld is moving to Prost and Mario Haberfeld has not shown any remarkable speed in Formula 3000 and may not remain with McLaren next year.

-JOESAWARJD

n Nissan has announced that it will reveal its “Revival Plan” in a press conference in Tokyo on October 18. The plan has been devised by the company’s chiefoper ating officer Carlos Ghosn, who has been running Nissan since June,follow ing the acquisition of an important shareholding in Nissan by Renault in March. Massive job cuts in Japan are expected. n Max Mosley and Luca di Montezemolo are among the judges for the World Sports Awards of the Century which will be held at the State Opera House in Vienna, Austria, on November 19. The nominees for the motor sports award are motorcy clists Giacomo Agostini and Michael Doohan and racers AJ Foyt, Niki Lauda, Alain EYost, Michael Schumacher and Jackie Stewart. Also nomi nated is rally driver Michele Mouton,the only woman to win World Championship rallies. n The CART-owned Indy Lights Championship is planning to break into the Caribbean next year with a race at the new Aruba Motorsports Complex which is being built at Seroe Colorado, at the southern tip of the 75sq nule island - which is just 18 miles offthe coast of Venezuela.

The $21m facility is being funded by the Government in an effort to boost tourism with help coming from Ralph Sanchez, best known for his promotion ofraces in Miami. n There continue to be suggestions that Damon Hill will stand down before the end ofthe year to allow Jamo Trulli to join Jordan and Nick Heidfeld to join Prost.

This is not friought to be very likely as HiU is still hoping to go out of FI on a high at Suzuka. n Michael Schumacher have just signed a $1.5m deal with the American toy-making company Mattel for the use oftheir names on Mattel products.

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8 October 1999

■ The Williams team’s latest aerodynamics whizkid made his first appearance with the team at the Nurburgring. We hear that Jason Somerville has played a big role in improving the performance of the cur rent FW21 which was not very competitive at the start of the year.

Somerville is currently working with the team’s head of aerodynamics GeoffWillis.

■ We hear that there is a strong possibility of legal action between Honda and several former employees of the Honda Racing Developments team in Bracknell as there are disputes over compensation for con tracts which Honda is not going to respect following the decision to close down the team.

■ Flavio Briatore and Rocco Benetton were given a bit of a fright on their way to the European Grand Prix. The two were sharing a private jet from Treviso to Germany when the plane ran into a flock of birds on take-off and one of the engines failed.

The pilot was able to keep control of the plane and made an emergency land ing after one circuit of the airport.

■ McLaren has announced a multi-year technology partnership with Siemens the German high technology company, increasing the firm’s involvement in Grand Prix racing. Siemens is involved with the FI tim ing and we hear may also be involved in advanced electronic programmes which are currently being evaluated by Formula One Commimications.

B Ford Motor Company FI press officer Ellen Kolby is to leave the car manufacturer at the end of the season to take up a new job with West McLaren Mercedes. Kolby is from a racing family her sister works for BAR and her brother Kristian is one of the leading dri vers in the British F3 series.

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we & :¥J jjD Waldon team up for 3hr ●II

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JOHN Bowe and Garry Waldon, the inaugural win ners of the 3-hour Bathurst GTP race, will again team up for this year’s event at Mount Panorama.

Bowe has been enlisted to share the driving duties in Waldon’s Dodge Viper GTS and the Tasmanian is confident of a strong showing if the pair can 24 hours too long: Toyota appears to be accelerating its plans to head into FI, dumping its rally team last week. (Sutton images) nurse the achilies heel of Originally, TTE was plan had to axe either the rally all-Toyota effort.

By JOE SAWARD the car - its brakes, programme or the CART The change of heart is ning to enter FI in either “i really enjoy the GTP TOYOTA has confirmed involvement in favour of FI believed to have come about 2002 or 2003 but there have category and can’t wait to and it was decided that the because of the disastrous been rumours in recent weeks that it is shutting down its American market was more debut season of BAR and the suggesting that this might be try the Viper,” Bowe said.

“It is certainly going to be World Rally Champion important. fact that 'TTE management brought forward to support a very different car from ship team at the end of the 'The company says that it has been told by a number of Toyota’s drive into the the Ferrari, but I think current season as all is still deciding whether or FI teams that the organisa European markets in 2001.

Bathurst will be a lot efforts are concentrated on not to start its own FI team tion will struggle to get the Speculation is still circu kinder on brakes than a lot lating regarding TTE’s Le of circuits. the company’s planned or to link up with an existing right people. operation - quite the oppo The obvious choice, if Mans programme, with some Formula 1 project.

“With the long We hear that the decision site to recent comments from Toyota does decide to buy a beheving it wiU last another straights, the brakes get a within Toyota that said any team, would currently be year, while others say it is bit of an opportunity to was taken after Toyota man finished. cool down so I am confi agement concluded that'they FI programme would be an Benetton. dent we should be pretty competitive.

“Garry has only raced the car twice this year and won a race both times -1 have my fingers crossed that the winning run can Ml continue.”

A detailed analysis of i' -' -/w ^'1 Bowe and Waldon the structural damage drove Ross Palmer’s sustained by Pedro Ferrari F355 together in Diniz’s Sauber CIS 1997. during its first comer “John and I have a accident in the great history driving European Grand Prix together, we get on well and always pair up welt was carried out by with great results for the the team immediately long races,” Waldon said. upon its return to “We have a bit of an their Swiss base. endurance history togeth 'The team have report er and in the past seem to ed that the rollover have had a run of winning hoop was subjected to or leading the events “severe dynamic where we race together. ich/is J forces,” the first impact We’ll be going into I It taking place at approxi Bathurst confident.” mately 59 mph with the Bowe will test the Viper energy absorbed as pre ggliSo_UJioviidcd^Jw for the first time next week -.f.' dicted. at Lakeside, acquainting i/WA After that, the roll himself with the car and hoop structure hit the the left hand drive config ■ J T. uration.

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Sauber rollover Dos^mortem

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8 October 1999 ILWnV

More power for Heinz-Harald

TWO new engines from the Mugen-Honda race shops - one with up to 30 more horsepower than the current verison - have been readied for the final two races of the year to Heinz-Harald give Frentzen the best possible chance of winning the World Championship.

Mugen-Honda had con structed a new engine with

approximately 10 more horsepower and were intent on using it for the Japanese Grand Prix - to give the manufacturer a good show ing in their hometown event - but, with Frentzen in the thick of the points chase, will now use that engine in Malaysia.

The second new VIO engine - code named SS for Suzuka Special - has a power output similar to

McLaren’s Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari’s own engines and will be finished in time for the final race in Japan on October 31.

Jordan team owner Eddie Jordan knows that it is stiU a long shot for the engines to help Frentzen take the title, especially since missing out on a golden opportunity in the European GP last week, but he admits that it is better than not having a shot at all.

“Frentzen really has to win the final two races, but he’s growing in stature all the time,” Jordan said last week.

“Hakkinen can only lose this championship. He can’t win it because in everybody’s minds, he already has.”

COULD Damon Hill become the man to fill the consider able shoes - not to mention mouth - of Murray Walker?

We have heard suggestions from Britain that Hill will become a television commentator next year with the British ITV network. Our spies say that Hill would join Martin Brundle.

Hill has been connected with several media-related projects but, with famed commentator Walker reaching the age of 74 recently, it appears that the ITV deal (which would mean that Hill would be seen here on Channel 9) is the most attractive.

It remains to be seen whether this would mean the retirement of Walker, or a much reduced and less stress ful role but it should not be ruled out.

Walker may take a co-hosting role in ITV’s coverage, which is much larger and more expansive than the pure race coverage shown here in Australia.

-JOESA’WARD

Mobil is giving Motorsport News readers the opportunity to win a set of exclusive

Mobil 1 Racing Clothing - jacket, polo and cap (retail value of Mobil 1 package is over $250). Simply answer the following two questions: Question 1: What year(s) did Craig Lowndes and Glenn Seton win the V8 Supercar Championship?

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FIliililiHlllliHlilil'

Next year TOGA will introduce two new classes into the Australian Super Touring Championship.

FIA Super Production and the new BTCC Cars are eligible to race along with our current cars.

m fmm iViiCiDILS AR E ELI GIR LE TO RACE! To find out what this means for competitors, TQCA will be conducting a series of information forums: Surfers Paradise 14 October 7.30pm Parkroyal Surfers Paradise Melbourne 19 October 7.30pm St Kilda Rd Parkroyal Sydney 20 October 7.30pm Parkroyal Sydney Airport To find out more about the full story in 2000 phone (07)5527 7666. Also see ad on page 28.

year’s sponsorship pack age will include backing from a European courier company called Euro Express, Several of the existing sponsors will remain but we expect to see all ofthem in blue on

Stories suggesting that Becks beer will appear on the Williams do not seem to be correct. We hear that Becks will be on the

The power ofthe box draws Damon

MobilOQui<k Quiz

n Our spies at Williams tell us that next

a white backgroimd.

Negotiations with Veltins are not yet com plete but the German beer company is expected to remain.

On the grid: Damon Hill launched the new Grand Prix 99 for Sony Playstation at the European Grand Prix.(Sutton-images)

More sting: Mugen-Honda has two new, more powerful engines for Frentzen. (RaceAccess)

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Jaguars. n BMW Motorsport boss Gerhard Berger missed the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring because he was in hospital undergo ing an operation to have a kidney stone removed. n Honda is expected to run its own FI chassis at Silverstone at some point in the weeks ahead, prob ably in a back-to-back test with the BAE chas sis. The company is expected to build its own FI prototypes next year to do testing work in Japan, train up Honda chassis engineers and keep the pressure on BAR to perform...

8

INI

8 October 1999

n Germany’s motorsports governing body, the ONS,has rubber-stamped the new Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters(pre viously known as Touring Cars 2000) with the proviso that it cannot run as a fall championship in 2000.

Mercedes-Benz and Opel are the only manufacturers to have shown projected challengers for the series, which is restricted to pur pose-built, rear-drive cars using naturally aspirated, 4-litre V8 power emits. The ITR, which ran the success ful (Dlass 1 Touring Car cat egory ofthe early 1990s,is to operate the series. n The FIA Medical Commission is to collabo rate with the Medical Panel ofthe FIM,the world governing body of motorcy cle racing, on a co-ordinat ed campaign against drug abuse in both disciplines.

The FIA commented that such a programme “is espe cially important in motor and motorcycle sport, where the use of doping substances can modify behaviour, with serious consequences not only for the driver, but also for other participants, specta tors and officials.”

Evidently the two organisa tions noted that they had been foUowmg very similar dmg control procedures, based on those ofthe International Olympic Committee.

- QUENTIN SPURRING

ICI

j

JXo.

Good news for Belgian

Oils aint oils in F1

By JOE SAWARD THE acrimonious take over battle between

F1

French oil companies Elf TotalFina and

By JOE SAWARD

Aquitaine has ended with an agreement to merge the two companies with Totalfina boss Thierry Demarest coming out on top and Elf boss Philippe

THE Belgian Grand Prix may win back its place in the Formula 1 calendar

JaEfre departing.

The deal has to be agreed ‘ by the European Commission but it is expected to go ahead.

A new board of directors Watch out Poms: Alex Davison (in car) with regular crew (I to r) Richard and Alex’s broth has been appointed with er Will Davison, Scott Taylor and Michael Ritter (brother of new FF Champ Greg).

Demarest having two deputy chairmen - one from each company - and then three members from each company.

The new company’s involve'ment in motor racing will come under the control of marketing director Jean-Paul Vettier, a Totalfina man, although for the moment the Elf and Fina sponsorship bud gets vnll remain independent.

MELBUBMANAlex in the footsteps of his runner-up in this year’s Fina is currently a big famous grandfather in Davison has left for the Australian Champion sponsor of Frost Grand Prix ship, will lease a Zetecracing overseas for while Elf is a long-time UK to join Marcos class car from Mick Australia. backer of Renault activities Ambrose and James Davison farewelled his Gardner Racing in the UK and has been mentioned as a Courtney in a three and travels with regular supporters at a function possible sponsor of Arrows. It pronged Aussie attack at Duttons in Melbourne engineer Michael Ritter was interesting to note that on the 1999 Formula and father Richard. on Monday,attended by Elfs Dan Trema made his Ford Festival.

The other Aussie to win former Festival winner first appearance for some the Festival was Russell With the hacking of reg Mark Webber, in town time in the FI paddock and ular sponsor Wynns and a Ingall.

The chances for a briefly for some Yellow was business wheeling and third win look pretty Pages promotional work. dealing with both Frost and group of additional sup Arrows. good... porters, Davison follows Davison, who finished

m

Alex Davison heads for Brands Festival

next year thanks to a decision by the Belgian court of arbitration.

Health Belgium’s Minister Magda Alvoet had been insisting that an anti tobacco law should be enforced, despite a regional government ruling that tobacco advertising could be allowed for international events.

A court of arbitration has decided that the federal anti-tobacco law should be modified to allow for the Belgian GP to be held with the cars running with tobac co sponsorship and advertis ing hoardings beside the track to carry tobacco mes sages. The exemption will remain in effect only until July 31 2003.

While the decision has given the Belgians some hope, they will now have to renegotiate their contract with FI boss Bernie Ecclestone and that is likely to mean that the race will cost them more money.

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8 October 1999

Foulston to buy Estoril?

Williams-B BMW has stepped up track-testing of the 3-litre VIO engine with which it will return to Formula 1 in 2000, to contest the first World Championship sea son of its five-year contract with Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

The all-new VIO is being developed entirely in-house by BMW Motorsport in Munich under the direction of former Audi engineer- Werner Laurenz.

Until now, BMW has employed its own, 1.9-mile track at Miramas,in southern France, for its testing. During the first week of October, how-

NICOLA Foulston, the boss of Brands Hatch

ever, it has booked the 2.8mile Al-Ring at Zeltweg, Austria, for four full days, to give the project its first run on a Grand Prix circuit.

The test car is now decorat ed in blue-and-white livery that is clearly reminiscent of the last Brabham racecars of BMAVs previous Grand Prix programme, which secured one World Championship and nine Grand Prix victories between 1982 emd 1987.

Leisure pic, said the other day the company is no longer interested in acquiring the Silverstone race track and is looking at buying a foreign facili-

ty.

There has been much

speculation about which venues she might be looking at buying with the obvious ones being Zandvoort, Estoril and Kyalami.

Zandvoort is owned by the local council of the town but is leased for 15 years to a company called Circuit park Zandvoort BV, which is con trolled by circuit manager Hans Ernst.

He might be vrilling to sell the lease if it means that a Grand Prix could return to the Dutch track.

At the same time the Estoril track seems the more likely purchase. It is private ly owned although all the recent upgrading work has been carried out with local government money.

The local authorities were happy to invest to improve the facility in the hope of getting a race but they do not want to buy the track and have to fund the upkeep of the facility, BHL might be the perfect company to do

- QUENTIN SPURRING Try not to crash this one,Jorg: Muller gets to grips with some BMW power at Miramas.

(Photo by BMW Media Services)

F3K field settled for Y2K Monsieur Dudot’s Nova Racing, Petrobras Junior Team (Williams), Astromega (Benetton), Gauloises Formula (Prost), Kid Jensen Racing, ORECA, World Racing Team, Nordic, DAMS, Draco, Fortec, Witmeur Team KTR and European Formula.

The teams which failed to quality were Red Bull Junior Team (Sauber), Lukoil Arden (Prodrive), Coloni Motorsport, Monaco Motorsport, GP Racing and Durango Formula.

Next year we expect to see several of the F3000 teams becoming FI junior teams with Jordan, Jaguar and British American Racing tipped to run F3000 efforts.

THE FIA Formula 3000 International Championship came to a close at the Nurburgring with Jason Watt holding off a race-long challenge to beat champi on Nick Heidfeld to victory.

It was Watt’s second consecutive win and it gives him second place in the champi onship, having overtaken the late Gonzalo Rodriguez.

The battle to qualify for next year’s cham pionship was also settled. Only the top 14 teams can compete next year - the 15th slot going to the winning team in the Italian Formula 3000 championship.

The teams which have qualified are as fol lows; West Competition (McLaren), Super

f

9

-JOE SAWARD

holiday from F1

By JOE SAWARD

PROST Grand Prix’s for mer technical director Bernard Dudot is expected to leave the French team at the end of the year.

The 60-year-old Frenchman, who has been involved in racing since he joined Automobiles Alpine in 1967. He spent 30 years with Renault and his

engines won the company a string of Constructors’ World Championship titles before he joined Prost at the end of 1997.

In June this year Prost named Alan Jenkins as the new technical director of Prost and Dudot was given a nominal role focussing on “future projects” and reporting directly to Alain Prost.

-JOE SAWARD

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World of Sport

Motor Raiing Calendar Shell Championship Series V8 Supercars* Oct 17 ...Surfers Paradise .Rd 13 ,Rd14 Nov 14 ...Bathurst FIA Formula One World Oct 17 Octal

Championship Rd15 Malaysia Japan Rd16

FedEx CART Championship Series* Rd 18 Oct 17 Australia Oct 31 Fontana Rd 19 SOOcc World Grand Prix Motorcycle C'Ship* Oct 10 Oct 24 Octal

South Africa ...Rd 15 Brazil ... ,Rd16 ,Rd17 Argentine

World Superbike Series* Rd 13 Oct 10 Japan

1999 NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series ,Rd 18 Oct 10 Memphis Oct24....Dallas .. .Rd19 Oct 31 Houston .

Rd 20 Nov 14 ...Pomona .

Rd21

Australian Rally Championship* Nov 4-7...Rally Australia ...Rd 7

FIA World Rally Championship* ...Rd12 [oct 13....Italy Nov 7 ... .Australia Rd 13 Nov 23 ...Great Britain ...Rd 14

2000 Shell Championship Series V8 Supercars* Feb 13 ...Phillip Island ....Rd 1 March 19 .Wanneroo Rd2 April 8/9 ..Adelaide April 30 ...E Creek .

Rd 3 ,Rd4

Who can stop Montoya?

at Michigan, he is also overdue for the first win of his career. With Bobby Rahal calling the shots in the pits, and Firestone tyres. Max is in contention.

Gil de Ferran has, as usual, been the best ofthe Goodyear drivers dur ing the course of a rotten season, almost winning one race and mak ing the podium. The performance of the Walker Reynard-Honda has been well below that of his Firestone opposition but the Brazilian is a great performer and a threat on street tracks.

Mercedes-Benz? Speaking oflousy seasons ... The Germans have been blown away on the twisty tracks, a lack of mid-range horsepower telling out of the chicanes. Greg Moore looks to be the best of the drivers; it must drive him nuts to see ‘teammate’ Tony Kanaan in the McDonalds car (with the came chas sis and tyres) kill him whenever there are lefts and rights. The only difference between the cars is the engine and Moore (who is Penskebound next year) is something of a road racer... > Toyota has been notable for making up the numbers over the last four seasons, but Papis showed last season that they are making progress and could spring a surprise. Best of the T-team looks like Scott Pruett, the 1997 Surfers winner. Robbie Gordon is also good value, but it is hard to see him winning the race in this company.

'There will be plenty to do apart from watch the CART cars blast around. Apart fi-om the usual attrac tions of the Gold Coast, the V8 Supercars always provide good raceven the Americans don’t quite know who’s Team-mate Christian Fittipaldi who in the Falcons would also dearly like to win; he and Commodores.

The cars will race took his first career victoiy this sea son at Road America and has some in the non-points unfinished business at the.track Valvoline V8 where he was badly injured two Supercar years ago.

Challenge, with teams Newman-Haas also has a great several pedigree at the track; their other (HRT, DJR) taking race winner was Nigel Mansell, in their old cars to the 1993. race, so the chance In the Ford camp, the other man of some biffage is to watch will be Max Papis. The pretty high.

Itahan tore the track up last season.

The other sup dragging an unloved Toyota into the 3 port races are the top half of the field in qualifying. QR Citytrain Afer suffering a fuel-starved defeat GT Production — WITH the build-up to the 1999 Honda Indy 300 almost com plete, the question on everyone’s lips is “who can beat Juan Pablo Montoya”?

The mercurial Columbian has had the kind of first season that CAET rookies dream of, and a good result would mean that he can seal the title on the street of Surfers Paradise.

He has taken seven wins and seven poles in 1999, both records for the series and, backed by the might of Target Ganassi Racing, looks the favourite going into the event.

But the opposition to his title aspirations is formidable. Dario Franchitti proved last year that he is as well suited to the Queensland streets as his Reynard-HondaFirestone combination, as he chased two-time champ Alex Zanardi home.

And, don’t forget, the Scot qualified his Kool Rejmard on pole in 1998.

Team Green has shaken off the ‘under-achiever’ tag resolutely, with Paul Tracy taking the fight for team leadership all the way to Franchitti.

But the question remains - will the headstrong Canadian be asked to back Franchitti up for the weekend.

And, if he is, will he do it? Don’t for get, he won down under (for Newman-Haas)in 1995.

There is another player in the Ganassi versus Green battle. Jimmy Vasser has had, by his standards, a lousy season, blovm away race after race by Montoya, and is still to reach the top step of the podium this year.

But he is a noted Surfers expert(he won here in ’96) and caimot be dis counted.

Michael Andretti cannot win the title, but wiU be factor (as he always is) on the street track. He has also won here and looks like the most likely of the Ford runners to get close to the Hondas.

I

July 2 ....Q’land(TBA) ....Rd7 Rd8 July 16 ...Winton .. ,Rd9 July 30 ...Oran Park RdIO August 20 .Calder .. , Rdll Sept 10 . ..Old500 ., Octobers .Sandown Rd12 Nov 19 ...FAI1000 Rd13

(Photos by Sutton-lmages and API Images) The on-track action starts on Thursday, October 14. See you there.

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mind over motor

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And, if you suffer from insomnia, there are always the lengthy PPG Pace Car sessions to ‘enjo/. At least it’s a great opportunity to go eat, sleep, or both...

Energise this: Montoya has been in awesome form this season but Tracy (below) is a big threat at Surfers Paradise.

I

May 21 .. .Hidden Valley ...Rd 5 June 11 ..Canberra ,Rd6

Categories marked * are telecast by the Ten Network.

Check your local guides for screening times All event dates In this calendar were correct at the time of printing. Please consult any Individual tracks and/or associations for date changes.

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

Check your local guides for screening details.

Classic, the Cellular One Porsche Cup, the Coates Hire Formula Ford Challenge and the Surfers Paradise LJ Hooker HQ Holdens, which can always be relied upon to bed in the concrete barriers.

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I believe in Santa Claus: No, it’s famed US writer Gordon Kirby getting the good oil from de Ferran.

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8 October 1999

11

Benetton’s Villadelprat bows out

... and heads for rumoured Spainish buyout ofMinardi by Telefonica or Briatore

By JOE SAWARD BENETTON’S Director of Joan Operations Villadelprat is to leave Benetton Formula at the end of the season after nine years with the team.

The Spaniard is cuiTently denying the move but we understand that the Benetton Family has been informed of his plans - which would seem to suggest that the rumoured Spanish take over of Minardi may be going ahead.

Others sources in the paddock insist that the Spanish team is not going to happen as there are political prob lems within Telefonica - the main backer of the project.

Please sir, may I have more: Rumours have FIA boss Max Mosley growing tired of his job and not seeking re-election.

Mosley future i oubts talk politics and was involved with the federation long before Mosley appeared on the scene, while Piccinini is still only 47 years old and was Ferrari’s sporting direc tor in the 1970s.

An investment banker in

WE have heard whispers in recent days that FIA President Max Mosley may quit his job before he comes up for re-election when his current term of office ends in October 2001.

If this is the case we

any disruption in the com mercial arrangements between the FIA and Formula One Holdings, which holds all the

national sporting authority.

Piccinini has been friends

Wednesday and Thursday.

Eddie Irvine also undertook a

with Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone since the early 1990s when they were the architects of the original Concorde Agreement.

His relationship with Ecclestone is important and it should be noted that he was listed as one of the

two-day session at Mugello and although he was expected to be back in action again this week at Fiorano along with Michael Schxunacher.

Schumacher was in Paris on

Holdings in 1998.

If, as we believe, Mosley is tiring of the job after eight years in office the obvious replacement would be the Italian.-

'm

mm

Jobs for the boys: Rocco Benetton has a vacancy. (Sutton)

Sunday to meet Gerard Saillant, the French surgeon who has been overseeing his recovery.

McLaren’s test team was at Monza for two days with Nick Heidfeld doing a couple of days of running to try out components which will be used on the forthcom ing MP4-15.

The team is due to go back into action this week at Barcelona with Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.

‘41 I

I

I

I

The pair, who are hoping to Heidfeld is not expected to test for remain in the top 10 teams - having the team again this year as McLaren does not want him to take too much earned a point in the European GP - as it means as much as $10m in information with him to Prost.

Jordan kept up the pressure with n travel and TV money next year, completed 42 laps of the track. some aerodynamic testing vvork at BAR,who are currently 11th in the Lurcy Levis facility near the rankings,stayed at home last Magny-Cours with Shinji Nakano week but is expected to be seen at doing the driving. this week’s Barcelona testing The only other team to be seen alongside Williams, Stewart, testing was Minardi which was in action over the weekend at Mugello Benetton,Prost and Sauber. with Marc Gene and test driver Arrows will not be testing before Gaston Mazzacane.

Malaysia.

Out in force: Ferrari tested with Salo, Irvine and Schumacher, who won’t return in ’99

DUNLOP FORIVIULA R DOMINATES TARMAC IN 19]

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DJR now. has three EL-modelEalcOlfVS Supercars for safe, they come ready to irace, complete with back up parts service and engine maintenance program if.required; theyre available immediately after this year’s Honda Indy and are priced P -to sell. lA-

SpA. He has also been President of the Italian

intended deputy chief execu tive when Ecclestone tried to float Formula One

Commercial Rights to the FI World Championship.

Mosley has two FIA deputy presidents: German Otto Flimm, head of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC) and Italy’s Marco Piccinini.

2000 car development pro grammes,although McLaren, Ferrari and Jordan are aU rush ing ahead Avith 1999 develop ment as they battle to see who will win this year’s title.

Ferrari ran a five day test at the team’s track at Fiorano with Luca Badoer starting work on Tuesday.

Mika Salo took over on

1977. He survived 11 years and is still a member of the board of directors of Ferrari

deputies who would then have a year in office before the next election.

This would be a big advantage as the FIA is unlikely to unseat an incum bent president - particularly if he is a Mosley nominee.

This would mean that power could be transferred without

Cameron'McLeaa^s'. , - victoiy iihitljis yeai\’s, VS Sup'ercar. : .

Privateer Ppihtscore has demonstrated the competitiveness of Dick Johnson .Racihgts Ej..

Falcons.

WITH the last of the European races out of the way,the Formula 1 teams are beginning to turn their attention to the

Monaco, Piccinini raced in his youth before being picked by Enzo Ferrari to run the Ferrari FI team in

would expect Mosley to stand down a year from now. This would enable him to hand over to one of his

replace Villadelprat at Benetton, although Rocco Benetton, recently rejected a deal with Rupert Manwaring to take over the team.

Big three test for title

Flimm is a veteran of FIA

By JOE SAWARD

This does not mean that Villadelprat will not be involved as he may be hnked with another bid to buy the little Italian team by Flavio Briatore - the two having worked together previously, McLaren former A mechanic, Villadelprat has worked his way through the ranks.

He has worked at Ferrari as chief mechanic, as well as Tyrrell where he moved into team management in 1990.

Villadelprat moved to Benetton in 1991.

It’s unclear who will

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8 October 1999

Penske Indy <ar deal off Tony George cans talks between IRL and ford CART, preferring to go his own way... switch on for IRL boss Tony George has thrown cold water

over any hopes of a reuni fication between his

2000P

By PHIL MORRIS

CONTINUING with the radi cal changes it has already undertaken in an attempt to return to its winning ways, Penske is rumoured to be close to dumping its current Mercedes-Benz engines in favour of Ford’s all-new XF unit for its 2000 Champ Car assault.

If the move is con firmed, it will end the team’s six year partner ship with DaimlerChrysler - previously a successful association prior to strug gling over the last two seasons.

Ford’s new engine has taken five wins this sea son and the XF unit has impressed in tests.

Team boss Roger Penske said last week they were currently evalu ating the engine supply situation.

“We’re evaluating, but we won’t be making any quick decisions,” Penske said.

“Whatever decision or changes we make will be for the long term.”

The team has already announced a new driver line-up for 2000, along with a swap from its own chassis for Reynards next year.

Also being considered at the moment is a switch from Goodyear to Firestone tyres Goodyears having taken just one win this season, with the company rumoured to be close to pulling out from the series.

organisation and CART and has ending compro mising merger talks between the two groups.

After having been in dis cussions with CART since March this year, discussions initiated by CART’s Andrew Craig, George issued a press release while in Las Vegas for the vegas.com 500 race on September 26 saying the

IRL would “continue to move forward under its current rules and regulations” and that the IRL “will continue to operate as an independent body and will not be merging or otherwise unifying with CART”.

His statement said the discussions couldn’t reach a compromise and the IRL would continue with it’s philosophy which he believed best served “the long-term future of openwheel racing in the US”.

“Despite much discussion

a

r? w

s.

back and forth, there remain differences of philosophy between us that cannot be papered over, nor resolved in the short run,” George said.

“What they’re asking us to do is change our equipment,” George said, “but I have not been presented with a good reason to change. The IRL doesn’t need to compromise.

“We’re happy with what we have,” George said.‘We don’t have to change. We won’t change. There is noth ing imminent out there that’s going to happen.”

CART CEO Andrew Craig responded by saying that “CART enjoys the benefit of being the clear market leader in open-wheel racing in North America” and it is “looking to the future”, but it was quite obvious CART was disappointed with the out come.

It is quite clear that, while CART continues to have suc cesses elsewhere,its progress is still greatly hin dered by not having the jewel in the crown eventthe Indy 500- on its calen dar, with many team and series sponsors pushing in the background for a recon ciliation so a return to Indy would be possible.

>

Yawl come back now, hear: After a dominant 1999, Nissan has decided not to contest the BTCC in 2000. (Sothweii)

Nissan waves BTCC goodbye DESPITE winning this year’s manufacturer and driver titles, Nissan has pulled the pin on its British Touring Car Championship team.

The company has joined Volvo and Renault in pulhng out of the series next season, leaving just Vauxhall and Honda with official factory representation.

Nissan’s withdrawal from the championship comes at the end of a three-year pro gramme, according to Nissan UK boss Brian Carolin.

“We’ve achieved the objec tives we set,” he said.

Although he has lost the official support of Nissan, team owner Ray Mallock is rumoured to be preparing to run two Primeras in next

year’s series as an indepen dent entry.

“It’s too early to say what our race teams will be doing in 2000,” Mallock said.

“We have a number of opportunities. I’m confident of being in Touring Cars and winning.”

Mallock ran a similar independent venture in 1992/’93, running a Vauxhall Cavalier for current driver David Leslie, before going on to win the series as the offi cial GM entrant with John Cleland in 1995.

BTCC boss Alan Gow was disappointed that Nissan was pulling out, but com mented that “you will see more Nissans on the grid in 2000 than there were this year.”

WANT TO RACE A Bent, LEE Bentham has tested for the Forsythe/Player”s CART team at Sehring and he is now waiting for news from the team.

“There were a lot of things to do in the last two days but I feel that I handled the sessions well and responded to the challenge,” said Bentham.

“I’m pleased that I was one of the three drivers invited to test for Greg”s position and I hope that I was able to take advantage of the opportunity that was presented.”

The Player’s/Forsythe team tested Atlantic driver Alex Tagliani earlier this week.

Former Indy Lights Champion David Empringham will be the last driver testing for the seat today and tomorrow.

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13

Wild,wild west Rubbin’s racin’: Timothy Dane took the second race at Bathurst,but Peter Dane won the event.

BATHURST veteran Peter Dane won a clean start from Charles D’Aquino, Neville Haley, Greg King and Bob Hepburn in Saturday’s first race.

The field was settled and there was nq change until the last lap where Timothy Rowse and Bob Hepburn went off at McPhillamy together leaving Hepburn bogged.

Dane won giving him an excellent chance to take Haley’s national crown.

Like for every other race at Bathurst this year, the rain was out in force on Sunday for the final of the HQ Nationals - giving us per haps an even more dramatic

HQ race than what we thought (if that could ever happen).

D’Aquino won the start, leading away Dane, Haley and Rowse. Dane took the lead into Griffin’s on lap 1 Haley following through to second.

Haley had two big moments at McPhillamy before spinning at Forrests Elbow on lap 2.

Rowse closed down Dane’s lead and on the last lap had a look on the outside at the Chase and got forced wide.

Rowse dived down the inside at Murray’s, the two touched and leant on each

other. Rowse was though for the win, but Dane won the title on points.

David Rejtano finished third over D’Aquino and Michael Miceli.

In Division 2, GT-P racer Rod Salmon won race 1 from Mike Annette and Guy Thomson, while in race 2 Tim Austin came through for the win over Garth Walden and Salmon.

Division 3 was a clean sweep for Fred de Lange, winning in both the dry and the wet. Tony Palma was second in both races while Jay Hoy and Geoff Brown shared the third places.

-MARK JONES

Vees for victory

Dipping in the Vees: The two Jacers of Southall and Cutts put on a great show.

Here they are split by Ormsby about to dive through the Dipper.(Photo by Olrk Klynsmlth)

THE race for the 1999 Formula 'Vee Super Series came down to the last lap of the last race, with Cade Southall tak ing the title in dramatic circmnstances.

Southall and Jason Cutts dominated the racing, the two Jacers settling down for the final blast down Conrod, until Cutts’ rear bodywork flew off unexpectedly. Southall took avoiding action and they dived into the Chase, with Gary Ogden joining in after receiving a monster tow from around 80m back.

Southall had the matter under control, steaming home to win from Cutts, Ogden and Adelaide driver Jordan Ormsby (Scoi-pion).

Queenslander Gerard McConkey was next, from Matt Close(SA)and Craig Hendrick.

-MARK’JONES

The most trusted name: Paul Stubber used the Bob Jane Camaro to great effect, (w.cass)

Qualifying

T

HE Group N fraternity watched with interest the first east coast

appearance of Perth’s Paul Stubber and his “new” Chevrolet Camaro, and the car that Bob Jane made famous did not disappoint lapping quickly until it crashed - perhaps the four day trek from the west tak ing,its toll.

Max Hutchins in the HQ Monaro then set pole posi tion from Stubber, John Mann (Mustang), Jose Fernandez (Falcon GTHO), Paul Axiak (Monaro) with Trevor Talbot’s Torana - in the first non-V8- next.

Race 1 -(5 laps) The field was a very long time onleft the grid after a couple of cars lined up in the wrong spots. There were stalls, a Torana boded, an extra warm-up lap before a Volvo expired on the start - Axiak was forced to start from the back!

A rather bent Stubber and Hutchins led the field away, but Hutchins was soon passed

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off the superior line sawgrunt the Stubber’s Camaro charge away up the hill ahead of Hutchins and Mann with O’Brien monster-

Completing the top ten were Hunt, Fernandez, Steve Coad (Torana)and Elliot.

- n«ARK JONES

Brock leads Holden leads Bond: Group N and its variety of cars proved to be a hit at the mountain. (Photo by Marshall cass)

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Mann heading up Mountain Straight on lap 2 and, by the end of the lap, the Falcon had taken Hutchins too.

Stubber though was that river too far, slowing on the last lap but maintaming his huge lead with the Camaro redefining Group N stan dards.

Mann took third behind O’Brien after Hutchins faded with brake problems. Stait got through the Monaro for fourth with Ian Jones

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8 October 1999

n American brewery Anheuser-Busch has notified CAET team owner John Della Penna that it won’t be renewing its contract with his team and driver Richie Hearn for next year.

Budweiser will continue to be the “official beer” of the series, along with also holding naming rights to a number of events, but the brand won’t be seen on any CART cars -the company, though, having fim contracts with drag racing star Kenny Bernstein and NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr, his debut year in Winston Cup,for 2000 and beyond.

Della Penna now joins Walker racing in searching for a major sponsor. Walker recently having lost Valvoline. n CART has inked an exten sion to the contracts for both the Long Beach and Road America rounds of the FedEx Championship Series.

The new Long Beach contract secures the temporary Californian street race through to 2005, while Road America’s contract now runs until 2003.

Road America has hosted a round of the CART series since 1982, while Long Beach, which originally hosted a F5000 race, converted from FI two years later. n Want to bid for a little histo ry? Although it’s going to cost more than the scale model ofthe same car, Tony Kanaan’s McDonald’s Reynard is up for grabs to the highest bidder...

CART Charities has started an online auction and bidding is currently being received for a number ofitems,including Kanaan’s drive-thru machine.

If you’re interested in putting in a figure, go to www.cart.com. n Big Mo,Mauricio Gugelmin, is close to resigning with PacWest for the 2000-joining with Mark Blundell who signed a new three year deal in August.

An announcement of Gugelmin’s new contract is expected soon, along with a deal between the team and Indy Lights driver Tony Renna, Renna having come to terms for an official testing contract and an Indy Lights drive for next year. n It looks as though the Indy Racing League's three year asso ciation with Charlotte has come to an end with indications that the series won't return to the venue next year.

Speedway President Humpy Wheeler has denied reports in the US,although he wouldn't commit on extending the previ ous three year deal until the Mall.com 500 at Charlotte's sis ter track in Texas on October 17.

A new IRL race has already been announced for Kentucky with tracks in Kansas City and Chicago expected to host IRL rounds in 2001.

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Championship door stiii open for Franchitti as Tracy ieads home Green one-two.

By PHIL MORRIS

A bad error by rookie sensation Juan Montoya has kept the door for this year’s FedEx Championship wide open with the yoimg Colombian’s mistake in the Grand Prix of Houston giving rival Dario Franchitti a gap of just 13 points to bridge with two races remaining.

With a full course yellow blazing thanks to Helio Castro-Nerves’ con tact with the tyre barriers, a miscommunication with the Ganassi pit saw Montoya - who had a 2.5s lead over Paul Tracy - round a cor ner on the 13th lap and drive over the rear wheels of Castro-Nerves’ Lola-Mercedes, ending his race and the chance of clinching the champi onship.

‘Nobody told me... I saw the yel low but I thought somebody had just gone off or something,” Montoya said.

“It was a full-course caution, but they told me to stay out and I turned the comer and he was right * there in the middle of the track.”

Tracy jumped on the opportuni ty and stormed home for his sec ond win of the year, leading all but 15 laps of the 100 lap race around the streets of Houston, with Franchitti completing a onetwo for Team Green.

“My car was just perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better car today,” said 'Tracy. “My goal was to get ahead of Bryan on the start, and I was able to do so quite easily.

Then I just wanted to stay behind Juan until the first pit stop.”

Montoya’s problems came as a welcome relief for Franchitti as, after starting fourth, he’d slipped back to 15th place at this point

I thanks to a deflating right rear tyre.

The full-course yellow allowed Franchitti to pit for fresh tyres and, although he fell .back further to 19th, he moved steadily forward after the green flag came out on lap 19. mi Communication With sticker tyres and fuel, error?

Franchitti actually led laps 49 It Montoya may have through 51 with Tracy resuming - .< troubles on the track, the lead and never relinquishing it but off it we reckon i fi-om there on. there was no Franchitti then fell to third and problem... ). spent most of the day trying to get back by Christian Fittipaldi for sec (Photos by Sutton-lmages) ond - a feat he finally managed to do, but a nudge with Fittipaldi in the process managed to tear a winglet from the rear of the car, the loss in downforce costing him the race according to his engineers..

“Thanks to the guy Pack-u p and head west: Mark Blundell had another bad day in an extremely bad said upstairs’” year with his Mercedes-Benz-powered Reynard retiring. (Photo by suHon-images) Franchitti after the

ar.'

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race. “We pitted out of sequence and I was aware of what had happened to Montoya and I thought that, although things were bad, they could have been much worse.

“Thankfully the car was great after our stop and second place is a good result.

“I didn’t think 10 laps into the race that we would be on the podium but with Montoya’s dnf, this certainly makes things closer in the champi onship.”

Team owner Barry Green said he considered having Tracy give up the top spot to Franchitti, but chose to let him stay out front.

Michael Andretti took over third place and stayed there to the end

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It’s not easy being Green: After looking out of the chase.

Aussie team owner Barry Green’s chances of winning this year’s CART title improved with Franchitti’s second in Houston and Montoya’s dnf.

when Newman-Haas teammate Fittipaldi had to pit for fuel on lap 98.

Andretti led home Max Papis, Bryan Herta, Mauricio Gugelmin, Fittipaldi and Richie Hearn, the only other drivers on the lead lap.

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Champioship points: Juan Montoya 200, Dario Franchitti 187, Paul Tracy 155, Michael Andretti 141, Max Papis 117, Christian Fittipaldi 107, Adrian Fernandez 106, GU de Ferran 104, Greg Moore 97,Jimmy Vasser 94

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8 October 1999

15

The clash ofthe Titans

and the clash ofthe tartans T

i 3

I

n 1945 British secret agent Cameron Earl was given a very special mission.

He was sent off to Germany in a rain coat and a silly hat with orders to rifle through the archives of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union to discover as much as possible about the pre-war Grand Prix Silver Arrows racing cars which had enjoyed such suc cess in the 1930s with the Titan’ drivers. The intention of the British government appears to have been to use the information gathered to enhance its car industry.

The result of the mission was a report entitled; ‘An Investigation into the Development of German Grand Prix Cars 1932-1939’.

Unfortunately the government had spent all its money on planes, ships and bombs and had more important things to worry about than investing in motor rac ing and so it decided that the report should be published in the 1 hope that aspiring engineers might use the information con U tained within.

Seven hundred and fifty copies of the report were printed and they sold (very quickly) for 25 § shillings each. The report con tained the full technical specifica tion of the German cars, radical design concepts, the budgets.

British car industry -from the Everything. It was a brilliant piece Rover Group to Rolls Royce and of work.

Bentley - the Germans are now in At the time there were many * the process of taking over McLaren as well and there have young engineers who had been trained on wartime military projects been a lot of suggestions that and who were looking to have BMW will eventually buy Williams some post-war fun. There was no Grand Prix Engineering as well money about but the Austin Seven although FI insiders know that was there and this was used to Patrick Head and Frank Williams great effect as the basis for many will fight the Germans on the do-it-yourself ‘Specials’ which were beaches rather than give up con raced, rallied, hillclimbed and trol of their little empire. crashed by the happy-go-lucky At the same time Volkswagen generation. is sniffing around FI and may also end up owning one of the top teams with the Benetton team - in The amazing thing was that the really great ideas hidden away particular - looking like a canard on crutches. in Earl’s report were not used and it was not until 1960 -15 years Of the great British car compa after the war- that John Cooper nies only Jaguar and Aston Martin built the first rear-engined racing have escaped German ownership. car of the modern era. Auto Union They have been gobbled up by had done it in 1932. The rearthe giant Ford Motor Company engined revolution marked the and as we all now know Ford has acceleration of Britain’s domination not only bought Stewart Grand Prix but now intends to rename it of the motor racing industry as the business snowballed around itself.

Jaguar and compete head-to-head in FI with BMW and the rest.

Today the racing industry is a showcase for British technology It is great news that the compa and innovation. ny has decided to use Grand Prix It is ironic that 50 years after racing as a promotional tool to sell Earl’s report the German car com Jaguars. It underlines what an panies are beginning to get their effective form of advertising FI has become and hints that other own back. Having bought up the

Photos by Siitton-lmages

i

mm *

car companies will probably fol low. Already we have seen General Motors personnel pop ping up saying that they are “on holiday”. VW is looking and BMW, Honda and Toyota are all actively involved in projects. Renault too will soon be back.

We are looking ahead at what should be a really great era for Grand Prix racing as the big guns open fire on one another. At the same time the Jaguar announcements highlight the fact that big corporations are not always logical.

People at the Ford Motor Company will tell you that the firm bought the Stewart team because it was not happy with the way it was developing and wanted more control. That made sense. But then came the announcement that the same management was being kept on. I am not wishing to be unkind to the Stewart Family but that does not make any sense at all because now Ford has handed out something like $50m to buy the team but has left the same people in control.

One can only marvel at those canny Scots who have pulled off the deal...

he car companies aim is to fil ter the racing culture through their staff but what can happens is that the corporate culture screws up the racing team. The obvious example at the moment is British American Racing which is clearly split between a number of rival factions. Until one or the other is wiped out that team is going nowhere.

Probably the best examples to date have been the way in which the Renault and Peugeot compe tition departments have operated in the past. Originally Renault tried to run its own team to com pany rules. It was a horrible and disastrous failure. Renault became an engine supplier instead and found success. swrni Peugeot did it the other way around. When Jean Todt was in charge at Peugeot Talbot Sport the organisation was incredibly successful but when he was replaced by others the top man agement suddenly started get ting involved and everything went wrong - and is still going wrong.

And that is why the current relationship between manufactur ers and racing teams has come The Top 10 advantages of about. The teams are independent Stewart becoming Jaguar; organisations. They can be bul 10. Haggis out, fish & chips in. lied, but the political fighting stays 9. Paul Stewart gets to change within the car company and does his name to Paul Jaguar. not affect the racing programme. It 8. Jackie Stewart gets to change works. When Jaguar entered the his name to Jaggie Stewart.

World Sportscar Championship it 7. You stay in nice castle at the did not try to do anything in-house.

Nurburgring next year (left).

It contracted Tom Walkinshaw to 6. Really upsets that Walkinshaw guy. do the job and dressed everyone 5. Hanging out with Rolling up as if they were factory men.

Stones.(Sorry, that’s an advantage of changing Stewart to Jagger).

4. Better company cars.

3. Every time some punter buys a new Jag,£10 for Jackie.

2. No more Stewart Racing Tartan.

1. Eddie Irvine knows lots more babes than Rubens Barrichello.

One has to Jaguar say thatcan thehardly Stewart deal with warm the cockles of Tom Walkinshaw’s heart. He and Jackie Stewart do not exactly form a mutual admiration society even when they are on their best (Wilii apologies to David Letterman) behaviour and for Tom to see the marque with which he enjoyed It is clear that this curious situa such success linked up to a rival must hurt- even if he does not tion has only come about because like to admit it. of the vagaries of corporate poli The Jaguar, which was tics. There can be no other expla launched in Frankfurt, looked great nation despite the best efforts of some to convince us befuddled - apart from the red and white HSBC sponsorship which just pressmen that this was all part of a long-term corporate master plan. does not fit with the car[even if the £15m a year warrants the space] Politics is the great danger of and there was much talk at the Formula 1 in a corporate era. The Nurburgring that the Jaguar colour big corporations will tell you that scheme may not remain green. they have chosen FI because it is Some twerp with a pie chart is a sport which teaches people how apparently arguing that green does to think and act quickly. This is a not look good on TV and that white very valuable training ground. is a much better colour.

But all big corporations have Maybe it is just me, but I have politics. In order to be successful noticed something about motor race teams need to be run by mini-dictators who do not have to racing over the years. Italians cheer red cars; Frenchmen like worry that some slime in a suit is sliding a stiletto into their back blue cars and Germans are really rather keen on silver ones. These while they are trying to win races. are the old racing colours from the The only way that ‘corporate’ race old days. And thus a British team, teams can work is that they are promoting a British image should run independently of the main run cars in green. company.

The boss can be fired if he fails It would be ironic, would it not, to deliver but all other decisions if the Jaguars were to appear in white livery. Germany’s national must be left up to him. He must be racing colour was not silver as the only man allowed to have a knife. There can be no factions. If many people think. It was white.

The Arrows were silver because a race team turns political every not painting the cars saved one is too busy protecting their weight. own backs to worry about winning races. ... Another little secret.

1 1 I I

16

8 October 1999

1

HIV

By Gerald McDornan n After having his last GP win credited in most press reports around the world to a feeling his “uncle” had about impending rain, French Olivier Jacque was asked in the post-qualifying press conference if his “uncle” was again predicting the follow ing days weather.

In his distinctively French accent, Jacque clarified the reports and his comments: “It’s not my uncle, it’s my ankle...”

H While not riding competitively at the island, thanks to his injuries, Mick Doohan’s populari ty with the fans didn’t wain one little bit.

The five-time World Champion made three special appearances on a specially constructed stage at the end of Gardner Straight and his journey and arrival very much mirrored the arrival ofthe Beatles in Melbourne 35 years ago!

Thousands offans swarmed around not only the stage, but also the car in which Doohan was travelling, to catch a glimpse of their hero, with security guards needed to make a path to and from the venue.

Thankfully, the attention was all positive, with Doohan and the fans enjoying the moments.

B How serious are the Doma offi cials about no video cameras being used in the venue? Well, if you’re in the general spectator areas, not too serious- but,if you’re lucky enough to get into the pits, very...

One imlucky credentialled per son, who was associated with one of the teams and had a yearly pass, was spotted by a Doma offi cial with a video camera filming the beginning of the 125cc race.

The official quickly covered the lens with his hand before ripping the offending cameraman’s pass from his neck and having him removed.

B The great Giacomo Agostini might have known the fast way around race tracks right across the world, but the great Ago’s sense of direction in actually finding the tracks came into question at the Island.

Having visited PhiUip Island a number of times in the past. Ago had never actually made the 120 km drive from Melbourne, instead always arriving by heli copter.

On his first attempt at finding his way down the relatively wellmarked highway. Ago found him self in the city of Hastings- a good 50 kays fi’om his intended destination!

Tady turns up the heat

Pensive; Australian SOOgc Grand Prix winner Okada is now within Striking: distance of iMondSiK teani^niate Criville r and the title iiselt.

- or

Cooked rubber ruins Rampant Roberts’ weekend as Okada nails Biaggi and Laconi Report by DARRYL FLACK

FIRST it was Alex Criville at Brno and now it was Max Biaggi’s turn to feel the heat from the man who Mick Doohan describes as Japan’s best rider Tady Okada kept Honda’s win ning record at Phillip Island intact with a gritty passing move over Max Biaggi, who over the years, has dealt the Japanese rider a number of punishing defeats.

A four-time 250cc world champi on, Biaggi was the master of win ning the last-lap lottery and Okada, a one-time 250 rider himself, was one of the riders the Italian would deal with mercilessly.

The win - and the tenth place finish of Kenny Robert Junior (he wants to be called Junior again) puts Okada within 41 points of Alex Criville with 75 points up for grabs in the three remaining rounds.

Roberts led 22 laps of the race, Biaggi four and Okada just three comers and the lap that counts.

Criville was Very lucky to be rac ing at all, following his scary Friday practice fall through the newlynamed Doohan Comer.

Experts were left scratching their double chins trying to think of the last time a bike highsided out of the 200kmh sweeper and agreed the Spaniard is the first.

He later explained that the Crash, which left him with a painful fracture of the carpus, or heel bone in his left hand, was caused by too hard a tyre that Michelin had pro vided him with.

Hard tyre, or not, it seemed that Criville was also very tight on the apex and was over-aggressive with the application ofthe throttle.

Dr Claudio Costa said the frac ture did not affect Criville’s range of movement, but would be very painful under braking - he gave the championship leader a pain-ldlling injection before the race.

The tyre problems that affected a number of riders were due to a number of factors, according to Michelin tyre chief Jacques Morelli.

He said that Michelin had recom mended a certain compound to the teams, but said it’s always a ten dency of some riders to go for some thing a little softer, against good advice.

He also claimed that Yamaha had its house in order in terms of fundamental balance of the bike.

Given the relatively cool condi tions, it may’ve been tempting to go for a stickier compound, jump out to a big lead and play ‘catch me if

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you can,’ as Roberts seemed to be saying - he later admitted he may’ve gone out too hard.

“That wasn’t what we’d expect ed,” a calm Roberts said.

“I had a close thing early in the race when I ran a little wide, but after that I was able to get back into the lead. I won’t say it was easy, but I was able to mn at my own pace and pull out a comfort able cushion.

“Everything was going fine when suddenly I felt a bang from the rear and the bike started vibrating. I knew it was a tyre problem and I had to back right off. Luckily, there were not so many laps left, so I was able to get the bike to the finish and save some points.

“We expected to win here, but it didn’t work out. But we haven’t given up. Other people can have problems too.”

Roberts said that he did 20 laps on the said compound in practice

and was confident it would go the full 27 lap distance - he started having troubles by lap 21.

He also revealed that Michelin had offered him a range of 16.5inch rears, but declined in favour of the 17.

The 16.5s, which Troy Corser and has been using for most of the year in World Superbike competition, made their GP debut in Valencia with Regis Laconi and Garry McCoy. The Red Bull pair stayed with the smaller hoops at PhiUip Island, after their podium success in Spain.

McCoy had a mixed weekend fol lowing his third place at Valencia.

Surviving a dry-mouthed frontend lose through the Bass Strait sweeper in the early laps, McCoy slipped to as low as 15th before he began his march forward.

Using up a lot of his rear tyre in the process, McCoy duelled with Carlos Checa for most of the race.

Dead heat: Screamer-engined Repsol Honda of 500cc GP winner Taddy Okada fends off a desperate lunge to the flag from the #2 Yamaha of Max Biaggi, while Regis Laconi’s #55 Red Bull Yamaha is only a whisker behind in third place - a miniscule 0.123 seconds covered first to third placings!(Tony Glynn pic)

Sforft Cloud^‘li/lark Willis was one of maffiy liidars to ..-s e>^|iSFienGe ^ire woes, hi BSlLiModenasiKR3 Feacjdelainin^ng dudita the racej

B Retired British Aiiways work er Stan Taylor made his customeiy trek to PhiUip Island to watch this year’s Australian Grand Prix.

The elderly Englishman, who must be approaching his seven ties, is a permanent figure on the GP circuit, attending all the rounds thanks to his pension con cessions with BA enabling him to travel either at no, or little, cost.

Taylor, who is given a yearly “aU areas” access pass by the FIM and rentacai-s and accomo dation by the teams, has become very much the “pet” of the circus and can be seen lurking in the background in many pit photos and on TV.

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8 October 1999

lE]®0®[j’SmCo)[?0 the pair reeling in Alex Criville and Sete Gibemau.

He had a few more moments and settled for seventh place.

Along with Laconi, McCoy has signed a one-year deal with the Yamaha WCM team for 2000.

Laconi’s win at Valencia has done wonders for his confidence, claiming third on the grid and third in the race at Phillip Island The 24 year-old Frenchman received a letter of congratulations from the French President follow ing his victory in Spain and he made umpteen media appearances after becoming the first Frenchman since Christian Sarron - and only the third ever - to win a 500cc GP. “I do not have to imagine now. I know I can get pole position and win because I have done it,” Laconi said.

Riders to pit for new rear tyres included Norrick Abe, Alex Barros and Juan Boija - after re-entering the track, Barros eventually retired.

It was a sad end to Barros’s 100th consecutive start in 500cc GP racing, which is now a record Steady Eddie Lawson, who com pleted 93 consecutive starts from his debut in 1983 until the 1990 Japanese GP, held the previous record.

Describing the 16.5-inch tyres as “smaller” is somewhat misleading.

These dual compound versions come with a taller profile, so their effective diameter is the same as a 17-incher, in the interests of main taining final gearing'ratios and ride height.

The first 16.5-inch GP tyres were tested by Cagiva’s Eddie Lawson at Eastern Creek in 1992, which he used throughout that season, his last one.

Mark Willis was another to encounter tyre problems when his BSL-sponsored Modenas suffered a delaminated tread during the race.

The 23 year-old had a tough meeting when the team opted to try out the troublesome New Zealand designed and built V-three in the first free practice.

After seizing after just one lap, the team put Willis on the leased Modenas V-three, which he later crashed at the Southern Loop.

He reinjured the shoulder he has damaged several times since early 1998 and was taken off to hospital to X-ray a possible broken scapula.

Hidden by the rotator cuff, the Xray failed to located any fracture and Willis opted to ride.

“I got up on the morning of the Continued on next page

Happy Boy: A delighted Regis Laconi (below) made the Phillip Island 500cc podium and could not have been happier.

Prior to the weekend’s race, Yamaha riders Laconi, Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano received an Australian Rules Football lesson on the hal lowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground - their tutor was Tony ‘Plugger’ Lockett, the now-retired superstar of the Sydney Swans who holds the AFL record for kicking 1357 goals. (Tony Glynn pic)

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ANTHONY Gobert’s return to the 500 class ran

the full gamut of the Go-Show repertoire - bril liant, inspired riding, de rigeur funky hair colour, a pixie-like media persona, a touch of self parody and high farce.

Entered on the Team Biland GP 1 MuZ-Weber 500, Gobert had his first ride on the bike on Thursday at Broadford and later at Phillip Island, impressing with his 13th place grid position after carding a very quick lm33.911.

In the Sunday race, Gobert shot aroimd the outside of some slower riders going through the Southern Loop when a rider bumped Carlo Checa, who then forced Gobert vride and on to the grass.

He lost control, head-butting a tyre wall which caused him to bite his tongue - which is what he wasn’t doing in a press conference arranged by Biland

on Friday.

Asked about his two years in the AMA Superbike

Championships, which ended abruptly when he failed to front for the final round at Pikes Peak due to injur ing his shoulder in a dirt bike accident, Gobert said racing in America was like being sentenced to jail.

This, he said, gave him time to think, adding that making contact with the GP world again was “like being out on parole”.

Gobert also revealed a typically off-beat source of motivation in a Q&A released by the Biland team.

Asked about his state of fitness, Gobert said he had been working very hard on his condition when the prospect of riding the MuZ became stronger.

Decidedly overweight for most of this year’s AMA Superbike Championship, Gobert said he had become so fat that he was barely able to squeeze into his leathers.

Explaining just why he had allowed this to happen, Gobert said: “I’d been winning races pretty easily and I was seeing how fat I could get and still beat every - DARRYL FLACK one.”

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THE 250cc GP was one of the best races of the year, Valentino Rossi riding a superbly judged race to claim a stunning victory over Olivier Jacque, Tohru Ukawa, and!

Shinya Nakano, who was the only rider not to take the lead.

TTie race began in the usual fi'^enetic fashion - polesitter Jeremy McWilliams grabbing the hole-shot as Nakano, always a master starter, tipped his Yamaha into the first comer m fourth position, with his team-mate, Jacque, just behind.

McWOliams crashed out in spec tacular fashion on the second lap.

Aussie wild cards Kevin Curtain , and Shaun Geronimi also ei-ashed o a out of the race, the latter lucky to CO c escape serious injury when he was strack in the back of the head by o o another rider after he fell on the (J 6xi1/ of MG comor. <0

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8 October 1999 Taddy turns up the heat Continued from page 17

Master stroke: Okada snatches the lead from Biaggi and proceeds to hold the Italian champion at bay till the finish line, despite the Marlboro Yamaha rider’s best efforts - the unassuming Okada is regarded as Japan’s best rider by Mick Doohan. (Chris Carter pic)

race and I thought I wouldn’t be able to do more than three laps,” Willis said after claiming the last championship point.

“I was quite surprised how my shoulder held up, but once the tyre fell to bits, I had to back off.”

Willis has taken a liking to the Modenas after first riding as a replacement for Jean-Michel Bayle at the Dutch Grand Prix.

“It has a great engine, but it took us a while to get it hanging right,” Willis explained.

‘When we went to Brno, we were only able to do 2m04s in the race, but then we tested the Monday after the race and we made some changes and circulated in the 2m02s all day.”

Team BSL co-ordinator Dave Stewart said the squad will defi nitely be back in 2000: “Our plan is two-fold. We will develop the BSL bike in New Zealand as an entirely independent project, away from the race environment,

“We are currently talking with several factories about leasing bikes to race in next year’s 500 championship and Mark will be our rider. Our long-term plan is to have Mark and a New Zealand rider.

He’s been really patient in what has been very difficult year for all of us and I’m really impressed with his hunger and drive.”

When asked about the enormous financial burden of BSL’s 2000 plans, principal Bill Buckley said “money is not the problem.”

Steve Martin scored two champi onship points in his 500cc and twostroke race debut.

The new Australian Superbike Champion was originally entered as a late wild card entry on the Alumalite Honda 500 V-twin, but ended up as a replacement for the injured Marcus Ober on the Dee Cee Jeans Honda V-twin by Thursday.

Surviving a very fast practice get-off, the 29 year-old rode to a steady 14th and will race for the team again at this weekend’s South African GP at Welkom.

Tragic: Kenny Roberts Jr set a blistering pace all week, but unfortunately maintained it in the race, a blistered tyre derfioting him from first to 10th and effectively ending his title aspirations.(John Morris/Mpix) Heroic: Mick Doohan was also in blistering form, stunning fans with two quick iaps of the circuit, followed by a slow parade lap.(Tony Glynn pic)

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Crunch: Aussie Shaun Geronomi bites the dust end nets

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However, the tough Spaniard, who remains winless in 1999, retains his top place after remounting and grabbing one priceless point. . This was only achieved after Via Digital Honda’s V Lpng^timeJeader liutad tSe^chikelib finished second, iToildwed by YouichijUi,. who gave'Defbi its first poditeam'manager, the gi-eat Angel Nieto and his team i.jum'-’fi^sll .pf the year/ ' stood on the pit and frantically waved down team jl^With only three, ISps to go, championship leader mate Angel Nieto Jnr, who stopped a metre fi-om the )i|lmiiio;Al2am6ra; riaming: fell after a collision chequered flag to allow Alzamora through to claim - D FLACK , :with polesitthr Nobby iHeda at Qantas-Corner.

15th - Ueda did not rejoin the race.

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Thumbs up: When all things are considered, Glenn Seton is relatively pleased with what Ford Tickford Racing have achieved so far in their first year.

Thumbs down: Not all has been great... Seton rolled his AU during practice at Queensland Raceway’s debut meeting in July. Like many times this year,the team repaired the car...

Observing from the inside: Seton expects Ford Racing boss Howard Marsden,and FTR,to come out all guns blazing in 2000.

(Photos by Dirk Klynsmith and Gerald McDoman)

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MN: What influence has Howard had on the team since his arrival? Do you use his experience and is he offering advice?

GS: Howard’s been out of the racing side of things for a few years and he’s been using this year to analyse analysing where everybody is and what input Ford can have, not just to FTR but to all the Ford teams, and also get a direction from the company as to where they’re going in motorsport themselves.

Howard’s had a fairly big task himself to have to look after, rather than getting directly involved in race teams at the moment.

Long term. I’m sure Howard will be very beneficial for Ford’s motor sport program and he’ll have a lot of input in the future.

This year, he’s been pretty much in the same situation as us and I’m sure, with all strings together, come 2000 we’ll all come out with guns blazing.

Havingformed a partnership with Ford last December, Glenn Seton hasfaced immense pressures in hisfirst season as, not only the official “blue oval” team boss, but also lead driver.

But, despite the late notice, the quick expansion of his Melbourne-based team, the need to develop to the new AU Falcon and little in terms of race results, Seton heads to Bathurst next month with a chance of winning the Shell series.

GERALD McDORNAN spoke with Seton about FTR, Ford, his season and everything else associated with the V8 circus...

MOTORSPORT NEWS: You’re almost through your first year as the official Ford factory V8 Superior team, with just Bathurst remaining. How has it all been?

GLENN SETON: It’s been pretty tough, pretty trying actually. One of the reasons I can put it down to is that the decision from Ford to start was pretty late - December 24 was when they said let’s go. To form a factory two car team in a month and a half is an extremely big task!

We were a small one-car team up until then and, sure, we had some resources, but we had to build new cars, employ more people, while at the same time trying to be competitive and that’s been pretty trying.

We’re looking at the long term, though, as we have a five year commitment. We

always expected 1999 to be pretty hard.

I think we’ve done a pretty good job, though,from what we had and where we started.

Probably the area I’d be most disappointed in is our qualifying. The car speed in the race is pretty good, but once you don’t qualify well in this category it’s really difficult to get anywhere.

We’ve been fast, just not in qualifying.

It’s just something we need to do a bit of work on but it’s hard to do that with the tyre rule structure - we only get new tyres at a race meeting and when we go testing we use old tyres.

We mn good on the old tyres, but not on “greens” and it’s difficult coming up with a qualifying combination that’ll work while we’re at a meeting.

MN: Has your progress been hindered by the late notification of Ford’s support and the resulting expectations that come from being the factory team?

GS: Well, our expectation is to be the equivalent of HRT at least and, in time, that will happen. I’m not talking out of school when I say our funding isn’t to the same level as HRT yet, but we had to start somewhere, which we have - and it’s been a huge task to be competitive in the first year.

At the beginning of the year we had a brand new car to build and develop, along with new staff that needed training. We also had everyone else’s’ expectations from being the official Ford team...

Put all that with the fact

that we were racing virtuaily every second weekend over the last few months that’s tough enough for any team - and it’s been a tough environment.

At the track we’ve also received the most panel damage ever - replacing guards and panels at every meeting - and we’ve spent a lot of time fixing things while still trying to prepare for the next meeting and working out how to improve the car...

It’s all been a big ask.

MN: Parity discussions l have been missing this year, despite the fact that, MN: With Greg Harbutt’s while on paper the Fords departure and Howard are as quick as the Marsden’s arrival at Ford, Holdens,the results has that changed the way having been you originally envisaged disproportionately the ‘Factory’ side of favouring Commodores. Is things to operate? that Howard’s influence GS: No, not at all. Howard is already? very supportive of the team GS: You’ll have to ask and has left us to our own.

Howard for his view, but He understands what’s from mine the cars are close required - he’s been there - at least on the time sheets. before.

If you look at the win ratio, Howard understands the though, it’s miles apart. pressures and the timing Do we look at parity with and it’s great to have that the time sheets or the race support. results?

INI INI

8 October 1999

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Any discussion from Ford’s side has to come from Howard as he’s the manufacturer representative and the manufacturer must submit a parity reason for the Performance Review Committee to look at.

We also haven’t asked for Howard to ask for a review...

The Holdens have won a lot of races - and it’s not just one team, either.

In the past when the Falcons were winning they were knocked on the head pretty quickly when more than one team won.

The problem now is, and I’m not calling for a parity review, but the sport won’t survive if Holdens win every race ‘cause people will get sick of it quickly.

-There’s something in the mixture - either the Ford teams haven’t yet got it right, or we’re at a disadvantage, but it’s hard to say.

You can’t all say there isn’t a problem, but you can’t say there is. We’ve just got to look at what’s best for the sport, Should it be worked on time sheets or race results?...

MN: Despite, in outright terms, having a very quiet year, you are stili heading to Bathurst next month with a chance of winning the title...

GS: I suppose if you look at my career, it’s always been consistency in gathering results and points.

We’ve had years when we’ve won a lot of races, but with the new team, new car and the competition - bar HRT and what they’ve done this year - being so close, it’s tough. It’s so close you could be less than a second off pole and in 20th!

This year, though, the race results have generally come down to qualifying - if you qualify on the front row and get a good start, it’s almost impossible to lose.

That problem is then magnified by the short three race formatSunday’s results rely on Saturday afternoon.

The problem is the area we’ve lacked in this year is Saturday afternoon, I can’t hide that... we need to work on that for next year to be competitive.

GS: Absolutely! What worked on the EL does not work on the AU they’re two such completely different animals.

Although we couldn’t do it any other way, our handicap was to run the two different cars. We just had no other option.

MN: Since the second AU has come on, has the development of the car accelerated?

GS: We really haven’t had a lot of time to test because we’ve virtually been racing every second weekend.

some teams.

Mark’s done a terrific job all year and he shouldn’t be in the situation he is of going to Bathurst without a chance. Take Queensland out and he’s in with the show that he deserves.

How would it be if we went to Bathurst as the last round, worth double points, but it was my home track and I have the combo that just goes out and nails everyone and grabbed the championship?

People wouldn’t like it and it’s not right - in my eyes.

The points structure really hasn’t been right all year.

carries so much hype that it should be worth double points.

MN: You mentioned Adelaide.

The rules changed, literally, while we were all standing at the track...

GS: That was all pretty crazy. First the points deal with none then plenty.

1 also couldn’t understand how you could finish one race on Saturday and, if you’d had a problem and finished five laps down on Saturday, you started five laps down on Sunday.

Photo by Marshall Cass

u

IfI gotfined $2000 every third race meetingfor doing what some are doing at the moment,thafd be the cheapest two-grand I could ever spend...

We’ve only been out for one or two days and we’ve had to do our testing at the track.

We should have been out there more, but that’s the way it’s worked out and we’ve had to do the best with what we’ve had.

MN: Back to the points - you’re in fourth whiie Mark Skaife, who’s won six rounds this year, it effectiveiy out of the running.

Does that seem iogical or right?

GS: I think Bathurst should always be worth more than a normal championship round, although the Queensland 500 shouldn’t have

MN: Does your Saturday speed then relate back to our original question and the fact that you ' been. Two reasons-firstly it doesn’t lend itself to double points ran both the AU and the EL for most of the season? and, secondly, it’s a test track for

Look at Adelaide. Adelaide should offer championship points for each race, because there are two separate, major races.

It was a crazy weekend - at first there was nothing for Saturday, then there was a whole lot...

Those were the rules, though, and we’ve had to run under them.

We just have to try and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

MN: Bathurst and its double points?

GS: Bathurst is unique because no one can test there arid it’s the ultimate, the pinnacle for anyone in touring cars.

Bathurst is one of those events where it goes for so long and

That’s just crazy and it shouldn’t have happened.

We’re in the entertainment business and the entertainment should have been two completely separate races-separate points for both races and the good cars all start at the front again Sunday morning.

MN: Should there be separate qualifying for each race in Adelaide - and also at the sprint rounds?

GS: Absolutely. The situation we have in sprint races at the moment is, where you qualify on Saturday, you start the first race Sunday. If someone wants to take you out in the first race, your weekend’s

over, you might as well put the car in the truck...

The result of that is you’ve got no chance of going to the boardroom on Monday and presenting a good result for your sponsor. They don’t want to hear about you being taken out through no fault of your own,they want good results.

When you look at the money needed to run the teams, and it’s more than significant, it’s a silly situation we’re in - getting sponsors off-side through someone’s ill-management of their driving. It’s wrong.

We should qualify separately for races one and two and race three shpuld then be gridded up on the points aggregate of the first two races - that’s the only fair way...

MN: What about the action taken by CAMS over incidents.

Is it tough enough?

GS: No. There need to be harsher penalties. We need to have someone put their hand up to judge the facts and then make drivers and teams responsible for their actions.

If we didn’t have a tax law, we’d all be cheating the system. If there were no radars on the road, we’d all be speeding.

The only deterrents are suspensions or being put to the back of field for the next race.

Someone needs to say “that was wrong and you’re ouf.

MN: Are the monetary fines enough?

GS: No. If 1 got fined $2000 every third race meeting for doing what some are doing at the moment, that’d be the cheapest two-grand I could ever spend!

These race teams take millions of dollars to run and $2,000 for what some of these guys are doing, to get the results for their sponsors, is just nothing.

An actual holiday for a race meeting is fairly serious stuff as the potential is there to lose your sponsor. But, if you go out there with that in mind, then it’s all up to you...

People will say there’s racing incidents, but I don’t think there ever is, unless you have a mechanical failure or make an error.

Someone’s always liable on the road, why not in motor racing? It’s all to do with your head and foot.

Continued on page 46...

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22 8 October 1999

H

bw good was Gfiles Vfileneuve? Well, he didn’t win the World Championship. There’s no question he was capable of-winning it, but he was alwaysjust trying to be the fastest, not worrying about -winning the title, and I suppose he paid for it.

Ifhe wanted to be World Champion and concentrated on that, he would probably have lost this image of being a daredevil.

Gfiles might have won the championship in 1982, and Ferrari was certainly capable. But you never can teU -in a way,he was stfil at that early stage of his career. At one time I was more aggressive, but as you get on you realise you’ve got to finish races.

The way the points work,that’s how you become World Champion.

Some people never get out ofthat stage. He thought winning laps was important. And it was in a way;the press people loved it when he put on qualifying tyres and went quickest.

I guess I wasn’t surprised by what happened to his popularity after he died. People liked the image that he put forward, and I suppose if you get kfiled when you’re in the middle ofit aU, you get bigger, not smaller. But I think it’s gone away a little recently, especially since Jacques has come along. Gfiles is getting more forgot ten now, and Jacques has achieved

more than his father ever did.

I signed for Ferrari at the end of 1978, and at the time it wasn’t clear who would be leaving the team.

Carlos Eeutemann was driving with GiUes..I met Carlos in the south of France, and I said,“I’m going to be number one, because that’s the agreement Ive done. If you stay that win be fine with me, we can work together.”

I think after that meeting he ran away and signed for somebody else!

So my new team mate was Gfiles.

I definitely went there as number one;it was in my contract. But what that really meant was that ifthere was one new wing-which was there was at Long Beach,for example then I got it. Unfortunately that time it was the -wrong decision, because it wasn’t any good,but I got it because I had the right to have it!

The team orders were simple.

Whoever was in front stayed there as long as you weren’t going to lose a place. If you were first and second and the third guy was a long way back you’d stay there, and if you were fifth and sixth and there was nobody trying to pass you and you weren’t ti^g to pass anybody else, s you would stay there. .

In other words you didn’t fight when it wasn’t necessary, and we stuck to that.

Twenty years ago they were Ferrari’s heroes = one a world champion, one a legend. Jody Scheckter remembers Gilles Villeneuve with ADAIVi COOPER. I didn’t really know Gfiles at the start of’79, and in fact I don’t even remember the early races when we were team mates. Quite often you get people that come in to FI, and you don’t really notice them until they start to beat you.

At least I didn’t! I suppose the first time I really paid attention was when he beat me in South Afiica.

Ishould have won that race very easily, but he ended up vanning it. It was painfid!I went o^ on diy tyres, and it was sli^tly wet.It was Ihe ri^t decision,and I was 30 seconds ahead.

He went out on wets and then changed to dries. But my dries went off-the Michelins weren’t very solid -so the car just became undriveable at the end.

He caught me up and caught me up.I went in and put on a new set of t^es started catching him again, but it was over. It was at that stage that team orders came into being.

He then won in Long Beach. So all ofa sudden I was imder massive pressure; I was the number one, but he’d won two races, and this was tough stuff.

However,I always worked very well with Gfiles. We had a veiy hon¬

Classic battle: Villeneuve referred to Ferrari’s 1979 as “a big, red Cadillac” but still drove it to a standstill.

Here he leads Rene Arnoux’s Renault during their classic battle at Dijon in France.(Photo by Sutton-lmages)

est and open relationship, which was part ofthe success we had. We really didn’t budlshit each other.

Ifhe put wing on or made an adjustment and went quicker, he would teU me and I worfid teU him, as painful as it was some times. That’s what kept us in such a good rela tionship, and was part ofus winning the championship.

That’s the way you have to do it.

Ferrari drivers were traditionally always fighting with each other, crashing with each other, and that’s what the press hked.

Part ofour skill was to keep work ing as a team. Gilles had a good rela tionship with Enzo,and I would say it was fiiendlier than I had. He certainly had a lot ofrespect for Erao;I never remember anything other than that.

We got to eachtogether other, and spent a know lot of time in Monaco. He hked to dance, he hked girls. He was a fun guy,and an intelhgent guy. He was a mate, but I think it was more a mutual respect that we had for each other. He was a genuine good guy, with no bullshit about him.

But I always felt he didn’t cai-e about the Italian fans. I think in the part of Canada he came firom,they looked down on Itahans, and I think he had that attitude. I always used to think it was fiinny that they hked him so much.Perhaps he was putting it on, and inside he did like them a lot, but outwardly he would always make rude remarks.

This sums him up on the money side ofit; he put on the air condition ing and lit the fire. So he had both!

He wanted to do photography, and he bought thousands of pounds worth of equipment that he hardly used. Then he wanted tools, because he used to work as a mechanic. He

k

♦ Sutto)

went to Beta and bought a whole garage full ofthe best stuff, and never used them!

I won in Belgium and Monaco, which put me back on track. One race where he was dominant over me was Dijon. I battled like mad,and he was quicker, and I coxfidn’t really work out why.That was the race where he had the fight -with Eene Amoux.

I thought what they did was stu pid. I told Gfiles, and I think he knew that it was stupid.

I was the President ofthe GPDA, and Gilles really worked with me.He was a good member. From that point ofview he was very responsible. I think we both had similar attitudes.

We wanted to make it as safe as possible. That didn’t mean to say we were driving carefully; you stfil drove with aggression. But you felt that if something happened, you wanted to have a chance.

I don’t think he did things that put him into uncalculated dangers.I think he was a responsible guy. He always had this image of being a crazy guy,and he wasn’t really. The only time he was crazy was when he wanted to be, because that’s the image he liked to portray.

I always tell the story about dri ving finm Monaco with him. I didn’t want to do it, because I hated to be a passenger. But the whole time he drove perfectiy, xmtfi we gotjust out side Modena,and soon the wheels

8 October 1999

23

In the name of the father: Gilles was a strong family man. Look at the eyes of the eightyear-old playing in Daddy’s Ferrari in 1979-yes, it’s ’97 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

(Photos by Allsport)

it Photo by Ailsport

Different types: South African Scheckter and Canadian Villeneuve were from two different worlds, but made a formidable combination at Ferrari in the 1970s. clutch at the start, and dropped to the back. He was at the front, and y then his tyre went down, which was pretty spectacular. I went through the field and came second behind Alan Jones, and that really put me into a dominant position.

I had it under control in Monza. What gave me confi dence was that I knew Gilles was doing aU these were spinning and he started shding stupid things to around and everything. That was the ‘keep his image up. And that gave me comfort. proof of what I felt.

mi',//

I also remember going with him in his hehcopter, and again once we got over Modena, over the circirit, he started his tricks again. I stopped that really quickly. I hate flying any way, and he was going down and then up. I said,‘you better stop now or 111 wring your neck’.

Zandvoort really the turning point thatwas year.

I messed up the

He was testing qualifying tyres and getting the quickest times, and I was sticking to hard tyres and test ing bits ofthe car which I knew would help me in the race. In quahfydng I think that was the biggest gap between us all year, and in the race I was quicker.

As soon as Jacques LafiBte dropped out,I cut my revs back and sat ahead of Gilles. Only on the last

Eleven days and a world apart Gilles Villeneuve was bom at Chambly (Quebec)on January 18th, 1950.

He began racing in 1967 in the regionai go-karting classes. He was Canadian champion and then moved into racing snowmobiies. in 1973 he took part in his first Formula Ford races as well as racing in Formula Atlantic, winning in 1976 nine out of 10 races and the Canadian and American titles.

He made his debut in Formula 1 on July 16th, 1997 driving a McLaren in the British GP, He signed for Ferrari on September 21st, 1977 and made he racing debut for the Scuderia Ferrari on October 9th.

In-1978 he drove for Ferrari and winning the Canadian GP on October 8th. In 1979 he managed to win three GPs while Scheckter became world champion and Gilles came second in the drivers’ champi onship.

In 1980 he came 10th in the drivers’ championship and in 1981 he was seventh, winning the Monaco GP and Spanish GP. On May 8th, 1982 he was killed during practice for the Belgium GP at Zolder after he collided with Jochen Mass’s March.

Jody Scheckter was bom at East London, South Africa on January 29th 1950, After racing in local Formula Ford events he moved to the UK in 1970, winning the RAC FF title.

The following year he combined racing in the USA (winning the L&M title in Formula 5000 in 1973) with some one-off FI drives.

He made his GP debut in 1972 in a private McLaren-Ford, and moved to Tyrrell in 1974.

He won four races in the next two seasons.

In 1977 he moved to the new Wolf-Ford team, stunning the establishment by taking the Harvey Posthethwaite-designed WR1 to victory in its first race.

In 1979 he joined Ferrari, winning three races on his way to his only world champi onship and still, 20 years later, the last one to be won by the Scuderia.

But, disheartened by Maranello’s new car, he announced his retirement in 1980.

He retired to Atlanta, Georgia, where he ran a successful arms training business until 1997, He now lives in the UK with his second wife and their son, and runs a race team for his sons Toby and Jaki.

lap did I accelerate away again. Although I trusted him,I didn’t want to take a chance; it was too important a thing to take a chance with!

I think we were pro fessionals. We tried as hard as we could, and the one who came out in front, won. There were lots oftimes when he was faster than I was,and times when I was faster than he was.

We raced hard, and I beat him. He knew that, because we spoke about it. He didn’t hold back from me at all.

I won the World Championship because in the races that counted I got out in front, and was in front when it settled down. At that stage there was no point in fighting. There were no circumstances where he had to give up a place to me,so I don’t think it was frustrating for him.

The following year’s car was a dis-

went to Modena together in his hehcopter. I suppose a relationship is worth more than one argument; at least that’s what I felt.

We talked a lot. He hated what had happened at Imola. He realised what a good relationship we’d had, and that we never double crossed each other, and we were very honest and open, and Pironi hadn’t been. I don’t think he ever thought that it could ever happen.

Gilles was a really genuine,honest guy,and in fact ifhe had a weakness he was honest to the point ofbeing naive. He trusted Pironi. It would have affected him badly for quite a while, and I say that because veiy honest.

/ don’t know exactly what happened at Zolder, but it seemed that’s what happened.

Gilles took a chance that didn’t pay off. aster. Gilles had some very good per formances in it. I didn’t. I was more advanced in my career, and I felt it very difiBcult racing for 10th place, whereas I think he just drove. He brought it up near the front a few times, which I couldn’t do.

Iarmoimced retirement halfway through themy year, and I know that I felt out of place fairly soon after I did that. The cause wasn’t there, like it had been before. You were retiring, and you were last year’s driver. But that feeling was probably coming more from me rather than anyone else.

I remember Gilles got me a medal at the end of 1980. It was for aU the work I did for the GPDA,and at one ofthe meetings he presented it to me. He made it happen, but the only thing was there wasn’t a medal-it was only a box. They said they were going to give me the medal later. I never got it, but the thought was there. n After I retired there was talk of Gilles starting a team. There was supposedly a sponsor-a cigarette company- that had contacted him and had masses of money to help him start his own team. I think he would have liked his ovm team, and he was quite excited doing some thing like that, and the idea was that I was going to be the team manager.

I volunteered to look into it, and found out that this guy was nobody,a bullshitter, basically.I came back to Gilles with the news.Ifthe sponsor was real,it probably could have happened.

I would have been like Ron Dennis now - can you imagine that? GiUes could certainly have left Ferrari. I don’t think he was a paiticularly sentimental guy. He would get into a situation where he could win.

Later we had a bit of an argument over something personal, and then I didn’t see him for a year. However, after he had that incident when Didier Pironi overtook him at Imola in 1982, he called me up,£uid we

naive people are shocked when some thing like that happens to them.

Crooks think that’s the way it should happen! If he’d not trusted Pironi, could he have avoided that situation? Probably.

I think at Zolder he was under massive pressure to beat Pironi, who was faster than him in qualifying.

We all had problems with that sort of situation; I remember nearly smash ing a TV camerman at Monaco, because I thought Gilles was quicker than me,but it turned out I had been quicker. You’re trying so hard, you get aggressive.

I certainly got angry in a racing car a lot oftimes.You get to the end ofprac tice and you are so angry and wanting to go for it, you do stupid things.

I don’t know exactly what hap pened at Zolder, but it seemed that’s what happened. Gilles took a chance that didn’t pay off. He went for a gap that wasn’t there, and got caught

out. I’ve done it myself, and got away with it.

That wasan in Monaco, and weekend I had justI had operation. I got a call from Zolder, and I went straight to see his wife, Joanne, and that’s when the adventure started.

My wife went to Belgium with her, and I stayed back. A couple ofdays later we all went on a Canadian Air Force plane to go to Montreal for the fimerd.

I spent a year after he died work ing on his sponsorship deals, getting aU the money for the family. I sup pose I took it on as my task. I negoti ated with Ferrari for a massive amoimt of money.I had a cause, and I got more money than I really should have, by putting pressure on.

For a long time I reaUy didn’t keep in touch with Joaime and the faniily. I had no contact with Jacques xmtil I met him in Monaco when he was doing F3. He was com plaining how difficult everything was;I thought to myself, Tou’U never make it!’ The next time I remember seeing him is on TV in America, after he won the Indy 500.

I thought,“Boy, that is incredible.’ I felt good for him.

His father would have been proud.

I think poor Jacques is so run out on questions about Gfiles. It’s nearly become a complex, or at least that what’s how seems finm the outside.

There’s nothing that really stands out in terms of similarities between them; you wouldn’t know they were father and son. In a way it almost seems that Jacques is trying to do the opposite.

I wouldn’t have thought that Gilles would like FI in 1999. He was a racer, and he probably would have got into the grooved tyre argument.

But if he stiU had the same spirit he would probably have made holes in places where there weren’t any.”

0

S October 1999

I

n Mount I - \N

l James Brock makes perfect Bathurst debut l First Bathurst Tourer event struck by weather l Race finishes behind Safety Car l Jason Wyllie second, Sidebottom/Mclnnes third l Pitstops hurt Nathan Pretty, Pedersen/Worsley

P

most famous m name Australian motor-

sport returned with a vengeance to the most famous track in the country last Sunday when James Brock took the inaugural Bob Jane T-Marts Bathurst 300.

The 23-year-old put a lack of experience - and a stop/go penalty - behind him, win ning the rain-struck race which was called early and finished under Safety Car conditions.

It was a fairytale debut for Brock in the Bathurst Tourer class’s first race but, to be fair, he was a deserving win ner. After polesitter Darren McDonald slid off at the start. Brock shot past Terry Wyhoon on the opening lap and stretched out to a 28s lead when conditions were at their worst.

Jason Wyllie lived up to his name with a strong sec ond ahead of the Ray

Sidebottom/Andrew Mclnnes Commodore, which was dis advantaged by a later pitstop that its rivals.

First AUSCAK home was Graham Crawford and Ken James in fourth ahead of an angry Nathan Pretty (who had pitted for a dash of fuel) and fast qualifier Peter Fitzgerald, who made up a lot of ground in McDonald’s car.

Qualifying If picking Touring polethe was Super hard, then picking the Bathurst Tourer/AUSCAR pole was a crap shoot. Would the poten tially faster but largely untested BTs prove quicker than the more established but somewhat cruder AUSCARs? Technology didn’t decide the issue; talent and experi ence did. Fitzgerald was fly ing and he used his Bathurst experience to grab pole for the Bathurst Tourers/AUSCAR 300km race in

First 28C,then 05, now 7: James Brock added another chapter to the Bathurst Brock legend with his first race win.

(Photo by Marshall Cass) Dad, can 1 borrow the ... trophy? Brock Sr was

there to hand over the goodies.

(Photo by John Grate)

Report by AARON NOONAN and PHIL BRANAGAN McDonald’s Christians Commodore VS, faster than anybody else by over a sec ond at 2m28.01s. The 1998 Bathurst GT-P 3 Hour win ner was pleased to be on pole but with the duo running an AUSCAR with welded doors, clambering in and out would be a challenge during the compulsory pit stop.

“Isn’t that going to be a sight!” said Fitzy.

The other thing in Fitzy’s favour was his ability to get up to speed quickly and his familiarity with slicks. n After their fastest time on Thursday, Sidebottom and Mclnnes in the APS Commodore VS were again quick out of the blocks, but it was the Terry Wyhoon/ Marshall Brewer combo in one of two Bruce Williams Motorsport cars who set the early pace in Friday’s session - Brewer setting the time to put them on the outside of the front row. Sidehottom and Mclnnes were bumped back to fourth, a scheduled

Holler for a Marshall: Wyhoon started in the BWM Commodore, but Brock was soon past.

Marshall Brewer later took over, having a very near miss in pit lane. (Photo by oirk Kiynsmith)

engine change after qualify ing on the menu.

With the apparent expec tations of the world on his shoulders, Jamie Brock was impressive, quickly onto the pace after taking it steady in the first session and hit 2m30.95s, despite a Thursday spin at the Chase when the throttie jammed.

Brewer was another to edge under the 2m30s bracket, albeit by less than 0.1s.

Brock was pushed back to third but nevertheless the rookie was happy with the result; especially considering that it was his first run on slick tyres, in this car and on this track!

Wyllie’s Autopro Commodore followed, ahead of Matt White/ Rodney Jane in White’s AUSCAR. Their progress was interrupted when a tyre valve was pulled out by debris on the track, several others complaining about rubbish on the circuit.

The first of the Bathurst Tourer Falcons was next, Kiwis Paul Pedersen and Miles Worsley returning having driven Schedule S cars last year. They paired up in an SVO-built EL run by Mick Webb and the Kiwis were taking to the track in their stride.

The brother and sister combo were running what Nathan termed a bitsa’ car, a Bathurst Tourer shell but with a carburettored engine hketheAUSCARs. Kiwi combo Andrew Fawcet and Lewis Scott were next in a Pretty-run car, while NASCAR driver Ken James paired up with Graham Crawford in Crawford’s ex-Eddie Abelnica VS AUSCAR. Regular Sportsman frontrunners Andrew Gillespie and Con Vereker were next, out-pointing the Wanless brothers in the second of the Bruce Williams cars, John Agosta and Edward Woods were next in Agosta’s Commodore, ahead of Tim D’Ombrain and Graeme Gilliland in the Bendix machine. However, Gilliland ran wide at McPhillamy and ploughed his way through the sandtrap during the first session which brought out a red flag.

The car, which had run only a handful of laps at Calder and had only just started to get settled in with its MoTec problems solved, required attention to replace a panhard rod and steering rack. Further investigation revealed a bent diff as well.

Shane Houlahan and Rob Bums’ AUSCAR Commodore was next. Burns replaced Gregg East in the car midway during race weekend and they were ahead of the repaired Lewington's Transport Commodore of Nathan and Nicole Pretty.

Nathan had crashed in practice on Thursday, resulting in damage repaired by the TAFE team. It must be quite an honour to be the first to have bent a new Bathurst Tourer...

Darryl Speers/Gerry Raleigh followed, ahead of Wayne Smith, while Leanne Ross hned up 18th in one of only a handful of Falcons, Adelaide’s Nigel Benson and Pirelli man Rod Wilson were 19th, ahead of Armin Chahda's Falcon (which briefly caught fire on co-driver Mark Sutherland on Thursday after an off at the Chase) and the Yarnall/ Edwards Commodore, which had an engine problem requiring attention on

Friday.

Hector Guiterrez was another to come to grief, beaching his Commodore in the sand at Skyline, before qualifying 22nd.

Christian D’Agostin (who had taken the wheel of the Falcon originally to be driven

by Peter Wright) was unable to get out onto the track, with the session coming to a close just as he attempted to leave the pits.

Race(shortened to 38 laps)

W:

ith the rain and clouds circling, the Bathurst Tourers formed up behind the safety car for their rolling start - the big moment for the category had finally arrived.

The conditions were shock ing, vnth the first lap of the race run behind the safety car before it pulled off to start lap two.

Pole-sitter McDonald near ly didn’t make it to the line to take the green flag - a vic tim of the conditions at Murray’s Corner - he ran straight off and clouted the wall before continuing, Wyhoon taking the lead as the race began proper.

“I came into the apex of the corner and hit a puddle of water aqd got it wayward.

It was slipperier than I expected,” reported McDonald afterwards.

Brock slotted into second, but wasn’t about to hang aroimd and promptly blasted straight past Wyhoon up Mountain Straight, with Sidebottom moving through for third at Skyline.

Brock wasn’t mucking about, by the end of the first ‘racing’ lap he was up by 3.3s over Sidebottom, Wyhoon, Pedersen, Wyllie, Pretty (who had started a charge).

S October 1999

Car

Pos DrIver/s

Fri Qual

Thurs Qual

1 Darren McDonald/Peter Fitzgerald Commodore VS(A) 2m32.7517s 2 Terry Wyhoon/Marshall Brewer Commodore VS(B) 2m31.4111s Commodore VS(B) 2m37.6476s 3 Jamie Brock 4 RaySidebottom/AndrewMcInnes Commodore VS(B) 2m31.3255s Commodore VS(B) 2m33.4109s 5 Jason Wyiiie Commodore VS(A) 2m34.5369s 6 Matthew White/Rodney Jane 2m35.2984s Falcon EL(B) 7 Paul Pedersen/Miles Worsley Commodore VS(A) 2m39.9299s 8 Shane Houlahan/Rob Burns NoTime Commodore VS(B) 9 Nathan Pretty/Nicole Pretty Commodore VS(A) 2m37.3527s 10 Andrew Fawcet/Lewis Scott 11 Graham Crawford/Ken James Commodore VS(A) 2m38.1152s 2m44.8887s Falcon EL(A) 12 Andrew Gillespie/Con Vereker 13 DeanWanless/ToddWanless Commodore VS(B) 2m59.1894s Commodore VP(A) 2m39.3180s 14 John Agosta/Edward Woods 15 Tim D’Ombrain/Graeme Gilliland Commodore VR(B) 2m46.9459s Commodore VS(A) 2m39.6086s 16 Darryl Speers/Gerry Raleigh Commodore VS(A) 2m39.7229s 17 WayneSmith/MarkTelfer 2m41.8228s 18 LeanneRoss Falcon EL(A) NoTime Commodore VS(A) 19 Nigel Benson/Rod Wilson 2m45.5873s 20 Armin Chada/Mark Sutherland Falcon XR8(A) Commodore VS(A) 2m54.3374s 21 Leigh Yarnell/Tony Edwards 22 Hector Guitierrez Commodore VS(A) 3m02.3179s 5m36.3307s Falcon EL(B) 23 Christian D'Agostin

2m28.0188s 2m29.9318s 2m30.9511s 2m31.0609s 2m32.3289s 2m33.3751s 2m35.7540s 2m35.9340s 2m36.9141s 2m39.9046s 2m43.6785s 2m38.6471s 2m39.0143s 2m39.0559s 2m39.3296s 2m46.7185s 2m40.1228s 2m43.3001s 2m44.0313s 2m44.7075s NoTime 2m56.4762s NoTime

(A) Indicates AUSCAR (B) Indicates Bathurst Tourer

Fawcet, White and a recover ing McDonald.

Todd Wanless was the first to strike drama, stopping on the run up to the Cutting with what was initially thought to be electrical prob lems - a flat battery later diagnosed. starter Rear-of-grid D’Agostin was flying, up to 18th in a car running on an absolute shoestring. He would rise as high as 12th before losing third gear and too much fuel for the liking of the officials who wouldn’t let him go back out.

Nigel Benson joined the retirement queue, spinning and clouting the wall at Murray’s, while Brock marched on.

The fastest driver on the circuit. Brock continued to build the gap, the rest squab bling amongst themselves.

After eight laps, the gap was 10 seconds and the blue Commodore was getting quicker as Jamie played him self into the treacherous con ditions.

Nathan Pretty was the star in terms of the chasing pack, he had fought his way from ninth and took Pedersen for second on lap 13.

Brock was by now 28s up the road and looking tough to catch but the inevitable Safety Car appearance popped up when Leigh Yarnell deposited his Commodore into the sandpit

at the Chase, Matthew White joining him.

The bad conditions had raised some issues. It had become obvious that the race would not run for 300km, rather two and a half hours.

Then there was the issue of pit stop strategy. All of the leaders headed straight for the pits under the caution Brock and period, Sidebottom staying out.

Fitzgerald clambered in for McDonald on lap 17, with Pretty, Pedersen, Wyhoon (who changed with Brewer) and Wyllie pitting a lap later. Brewer and Wyllie very nearly crashed into one another on the way out, light contact the only result.

On lap 19, near the end of the Safety Car period, it was Brock who came in. He took on fuel but there were dra mas. The weather - and the armada of Seven’s RaceCam equipment, was taking its toll and the battery was los ing charge which required a push from the crew to get mobile. Jamie had shut down the demister, dad Peter on the mobile phone from the commentary box to Bev in the pits making sure that it had been done! ^ However the push-start was frowned upon by official dom and Brock received a stop-go penalty (taken on lap 26) which dropped him back to ninth, rejoining behind Wyllie who had a huge lose at Skyline and backed the

And there were Fords, too: While Commodores dominated the resuHts Kiwts Paul Pedersen and Miles (Photo by Marshall Cass) Worsley almost won the race, but had their chances reduced by a late pitstop.

car into the tyre wall with remarkably minor bumper damage yet able to continue.

In between Brock’s visits to the pits, the Safety Car made another appearance, this time for Leanne Ross’ Falcon beached at the Chase.

Sidebottom led the re start, followed closely by n ’ Pedersen, but missed the apex at Hell Comer and the Falcon dived past only to see the Commodore’s Ian Tatebuilt engine propel it back into the lead hke a jet.

Fitzgerald was recovering in the #44, up to third and setting the fastest laps of the race in the 2m55s bracket.

Sidebottom relinquished the lead on lap 27, handing over to Mclnnes. The crew tried to fix the vnper which had a stripped nut but If the Pole Trophy Fitz: Peter Fitzgerald took pole position and looked a threat in the wet, couldn’t.

That gave despite the fact that co-driver Darren McDonald had a spin right at the start. (Photo by Marshall cass) Pedersen the lead until the Safety Car made another appearance on lap 31 after Brewer had aquaplaned off the road and into the wall at McPhillamy.

Then came the moment which lost the race for Some and won it for the-then fourth placed Brock.

Pedersen changed with Worsley, Fitzy and Pretty taking on fuel to make it to the end, but the question would be exactly when the end would be.

It wouldn’t be after 300km and the weather was moving in. The visibility was appalling and after dawdling

Quadrant Bilstein congratulates the top 5in the Bathurst Tourers 1* James Brock 2l Jason Wylie 3. R Sidefeotton/A Mclimes 4^. G Crawford/K James S« N Pretty/N Pretty

And well i done to all 19 competitors: who chose Quadrant Bilstein

luadrant on the move

around behind the Safety Car for six laps, the chequer fell for Brock - puzzling in some respects because the two and a half hour race limit was not passed.

However on the other hand, the weather would only mean a yeUow flag until the two and a half hour time limit was reached. The weather wasn’t going away and the positions would still remain the same so getting out of the conditions wasn’t a bad idea.

That left Brock the win ner, Wyllie second in a car which had only turned a

wheel in the first practice session and Sidebottom/ Mclnnes third.

The first of the AUSCARs home was Crawford and James in fourth, who ran to a strategy all race, ahead of the three cars which pitted for fuel - an angry Pretty, Fitzgerald and Worsley.

Raleigh, Scott and Jane (who had struggled with handling, brake and throttle dramas) rounded out the top 10.

“I not quite sure how to feel at the moment,” said Brock Sr at the post-race press conference.

Quadrant Suspensions l Ph 03 9769 9666 62-64 Intrepid Steet Berwick Victoria 3806

Brock Jr understandably felt it was a shame that the race had ended the way it did, but nevertheless he deserved it, a blitzing first section of the race coupled with a controlled and smooth approach to fighting back after the stop-go penalty and the charge problems, mixed in with a little bit of that Brock luck.

Brock, in the wet, over coming adversity at Mount Panorama in October in a V8 Commodore... who’d have ever thought it would hap pen again?

For results see page 29

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26 8 October 1999

MJcdOcdefsijxdo^

Play Misty for me Photo by Dirk Klynsmith

l Morris cEaims overdue Bathurst win l Race called early due to poor visibility l Richards flies, Sow temperatures slow S40 l Mark Porter fourth in ‘unstoppable’ BMW l Day of dramas for Team Monde© l GTP Lancer Evo finishes amazing fifth Report by PHIL BRANAGAN and AARON NOONAN

Mecsaa«.

■*p'

^ I 'iWO years after the I Diggest win and the J. biggest loss of his career, Paul Morris finally got to keep a Bathurst win when he took a drove through a storm to take the Bob Jane T-Marts Bathurst 500.

But it came about in unstatisying circumstances, the Queenslander leading the field to the flag behind the Safety Car after a lack of visi bility on the mountain

prompted officials to call the race after only 50 of its scheduled 81 laps.

Glued to Morris’ BMW was Jim Richards, who blazed to pole in qualifying and looked to have race-winning speed early imtil low tyre tempera tures in the mist and rain tilted the race in favour of Morris. Jim drove solo in the event, leaving co-driver Cameron McLean with little to do after quahfying.

Third was the Craig Baird/Matthew Coleman

—: .

Volvo from Mark Porter, who drove without pitting in Mike Downard’s Playboy BMW. The only men at Bathurst pleased to see the rain must have been Rod Salmon and Damien White, fifth in their GT-P spec Mitsubishi Evo V which shone in the 4WD con ditions.

After a good build-up it was a bad day for Team Mondeo, with Dean Canto running into the Chase bunker and Peter Hills’ car delayed with battery prob-

lems while Ron Searle was aboard.

They were not the only ones; batteries, radios and wipers all had problems in the awful conditions. It was one of those days ...

Practice and Qualifying Everyone headed for Bathurst expecting one things; a qualifying face-off between Richards and

r

5-^

Morris. And they were to be disappointed ...

The times were interest ing. Many expected a high 2ml6 would do the job; Rickard Rydell had done a 14.9 last year, aided by Michelins and the TWRmy. With more durable but slow er control Yokohamas this time around, Morris’ 1997 16.5 seemed a more realistic target.

Even for Morris himself.

The ’97 race-winning car was fitted with a ’98-spec engine, the same he had used at Calder; “We were going to send it back, but when we won the title they [BMW Motorsport] said, ‘keep it’, and we sent them one of ours for a fresh en up as the race engine.”

Boy, were we wrong ...

Morris went hard, but he never realistically had a shot at pole. Richards set the ball rolling with a 2ml9.19s, backed it up with a 18.28s on Friday and cruised it on Saturday. Paul was all of 1.8s behind.

But it wasn’t all plain sail ing for the S40s. McLean blotted the copybook with an off into the McPhillamy bunker, after an assist from car #1.

“I was on an out lap,” explained McLean. “I saw a slower car at McPhillamy and moved over. Morris

In the wet or dry: Morris beats everyone away. And so, almost, did Hills, who split the Volvos after another good getaway.

(Photo by Noel Papelera)

moved thought it was a good time to go through.”

Morris said sorry later.

He was 1.8s behind, a margin similar to everyone chasing Rydell last season.

But his 2m20.04s from Friday was good enough for second. on turned Things Saturday. He lost power and pitted with oil blowing past the rings and out the exhaust. The 600km-old unit had been due to come out in three hours anyway, after the afternoon 100km race. Paul shrugged, as he does, and the Nemos got to work for an early engine swap.

But the other Volvo was fourth, in both Friday ses sions. Both times Baird and Coleman were bested by one of the Team Mondeo Fords, Peter Hills and Dean Canto overcoming technological decrepitude with old-fash ioned straight-line speed.

The Coleman/Baird car was suffering an electricalinspired misfire and, after a quick sort by Richards (which meant that his times were disallowed) Coleman and Baird picked up 4s in the afternoon.

Moving fi-om a LHD Audi to a RHD Volvo was proving a challenge; “Most people would think that they are similar, but they aren’t. The seating position, the gearbox feel and so on are different.”

Both drivers were getting more comfortable by the lap.

With 15 laps up, Baird need ed mileage and would start the Saturdav afternoon race.

8 October 1999 “I fee] like a fish out of water,” he reported after his first five laps.

Even that blue and silver Mondeo show was not with out its dramas. While Ron Searle was steady in Hills’ car Leanne Ferrier was impressive in Canto’s until an off at Forrest Elbow and then the Dipper on Friday.

On Saturday she had another clang, trailing in with front suspension damage.

Hills suffered a gearbox problem in his car, that and the accident damage(s)easily fixed, though the delays were something that the team could have done without.

There was more than one BMW in the top half dozen while it was running. The black Searle Bimmer was sixth on Friday but bumped back a spot the next day, the brothers as usual not driving on Saturday and Tony Newman pushing it back a spot.

TC Motorsport was run ning two 406s, the newer engine management system from his ’98 car not talking to the older one. After a frustrating Friday things were better on Saturday, Newman in the 25s on old tyres, any further improve ment on new tyres only halted by the end of the session.

Mark Zonneveld and Anthony Robson shared the older car, Mark only half a second behind the boss in two hot laps before the Pug began jumping out of gear.

The car failed a ride-height

test on Friday which was rectified for Saturday. “I’m just fat,” was Zonneveld’s humorous excuse...

Making it three Mondeos in the top 10, Aaron McGill and Gary Quartly slipped two positions despite finding two more seconds.

The only Nissan in the field - of Jim Cornish and Roger Townshend - was tenth, their only problem a lack of miles for Townshend and when the car ground to a halt on Friday with a crank angle sensor problem. It was eas ily rectified and they were confident of a strong run...

Like McGill/Quartly, Jamie Miller and Mike Kilpatrick’s Toyota Camry cut their Friday time, while Kilpatrick increased his track time in his Porsche Cup car, 17th for the 100km race.

Bruce Miles and Murray Cleland were back in the same car as 1998, improving by nearly two seconds over their Friday time with the benefit of Campbell Little input, while Mike Downard’s BMW 318i - newly straight ened after his Queensland Raceway rollover - started proceedings badly.

He had an off in the first session and missed the first part of Friday qualifying before qualifying thirteenth, in front of another 318i of Allan Letcher and Jenni Thompson.

Rod Salmon and Damien White were next in the GT-P Lancer, ahead of the Mike Newton/Andy Lloyd

Vauxhall which Newton beached in the sand at Hell Corner.

Husband and wife combo Dennis and Deborah Chapman were eighteenth in the BMW they shared with Brian Bradshaw, followed by the Claude Elias/Paul Leabeater. Lantra which missed Friday with clutch dramas.

Malcolm Rea’s second Carina first ventured onto the circuit on Saturday with Carlos Rolfo and Clayton Haynes behind the wheel. It suffered front left bodywork damage in an incident and was last qualifier, while the Rea/Denis Cribbin car didn’t hit the circuit at all.

Have a mixed weekend: Richards was the Man on Friday and Saturday, taking pole easily despite this Morris-aided bunkering of the car on Cameron McLean’s out lap.

Richo was dazzling on Saturday, taking the win in the 100km race.

(Photos by Lynley Reid and Dirk Klynsmith)

Continued on page 28

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27

28 8 October 1999

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

0

Driver/s Car Jim Richards/Cameron McLean Volvo S40 Paul Morris BMW3201 Volvo S40 Craig Baird/Matthew Coleman Peter Hilts/Ron Searle Ford Mondeo Dean Canto/Leanne Perrier Ford Mondeo Ford Mondeo Aaron McGiil/Gary Quality Tony Newman/Mark Zonneveld Peugeot 406 Anthony Robson Peugeot406 Jamie Miller/MikeKUpatrick Toyota Camry Michael Downard/Mark Porter BMW 3181 Rod Salmon/Damien White Mitsubishi Lancer Vauxhall Cavalier Mike Newton/Andy Lloyd Mike Kilpatrick Porsche 911/930 Dennis Chapman/Deborah Chapman BMW 318i BMW3181 Allan Letcher/Jenni Thompson BMW3201 Bruce Miles/Murray Cleland Claude Elias/Paul Leabeter Hyundai Lantra Nissan Primera Jim Cornish/Roger Townshend BMW3201 Troy Searle/Luke Searle Clayton Haynes/Carlos Rolfo Toyota Carina E Malcolm Rea/Denis Cribbin Toyota Carina E

Continued from page 27

Super Tourer 100 (16 Saps/100km) TT rith the engine swap done V V in plenty of time(the car was in pit lane 30 minutes before the race) and rearwheel drive Morris looked confident about the start.

He had reason to be. As usual the Beemer bolted at the green light, his start look ing even better because Richards (who made such a good getaway at the race last year) made a duffer. Baird stormed past and Canto threatened, but Jim got into second on Mountain Straight and set off after Morris.

Canto was fourth from Hills, McGill, Porter, Miller, Salmon, Newman (a bad start). Miles, Lloyd, Robson, Mr Bradshaw, Kilpatrick’s Porsche, Letcher and Elias, who was soon to stop with a driveshaft failure. Townshend failed to come around when he spun at the Chase and couldn’t find reverse.

Morris stretched away over the first lap but, from there, the Volvo was in its element.

Jim closed onto the tail but Morris fought him off bril liantly, running sub-qualify ing times while running a semi-defensive line.

It would come down to the pitstops. Morris feinted, his team laying out t5res on lap 3 but they were quickly put away again. He kept going.

Fri Qual/order 2m18.2815s(1) 2m20.0414s(2) 2m24.4561s(5) 2m23.8981s(4) 2m23.2693s(3) 2m27.1599s(7) 2m33.8913s(14) 2m42.9838s(18) 2m31.l840s(8) 2m3S.9490s(16) 2m31.9616s(10) 2m32.4638s(12) 2m35.0973s(15) 2m36.3984s(17) 2m31.9144s(9) 2m32.2234s(11) No Time(19) 2m33.6450s(13) 2m25.2449s(6) No Time(20) No Time(21)

his original plan being that he would build a lead when Richards pitted and try and beat the S40 out.

But the team changed their mind. On lap 7 they laid out two roaded tyres for the right hand side, quickly replacing them with stickers when Morris radioed in. After Richo steamed by at the Chase Morris pitted in 16s not bad, but the Volvo team would make them pay.

They had their best stop of the year a lap later, Jim gone in around 10 flat. From there he just built the lead and he led home by 6.70s. Morris was frustrated, running hard, but the jig was up and he knew it.

The battle for third was a good one. Baird lost a lot of ground early with fuel pres sure problems and, with some stubborn traffic, fell back to Hills. A late-race baulk from Kilpatrick did lit tle to help either, but the delays evened out and Baird had 2.82s in hand at the flag.

With a lower sixth gear Canto was fifth from McGill, Newman and 406 team-mate Robson (nice formation finish, lads). Miles lost a cylinder atter 3 laps, prompting a DNF and an overnight engine swap.

Super Tourer 500 (shortened to 50 !aps/310km)

B

efore the 2 o’clock start, the warm-up session

Sat Qual/order 2m18.6886s(1) 2m20.5552s(2) 2m21.6763s(3) 2m24.3117s(5) 2m23.2458s(4) 2m25.9313s(8) 2m25.3937s(6) 2m25.8846s(7) 2m28.2841s(10) 2m31.0067s(12) 2m32.S469s(13) 2m34.5006s(15) 2m34.8756s(16) 2m35.4795s(17) 2m33.7436s(14) 2m30.5595s(11) 2m49.7970s(18) 2m26.2603s(9) No Time(20) 2m51.1622s(19) No Time(21)

knocked out a car from the field, Newman’s Pug parked with a engine failure. Being the team owner, the engine from the Robson car was plugged into the #10 car, leaving Anthony and Mark Zonneveld out of a drive.

The Primera too was a non-starter, a linkage bolt put in backwards somewhere after a long night’s work the culprit.

As the cars left on the warm up lap, the dark skies began spitting. A sign of things to come...

Morris blasted away from the grid, bolting into the first comer ahead of Hills and the two Volvos, Baird getting the jump on a sluggish Richards.

Richo quickly took the Kiwi and had Hills into the Chase.

Morris though was flying,, and flashed by the pits for the first time 3.1s ahead of Richards, Hills, Baird, Canto, Porter (a strong start in the Playboy BMW by the Kiwi), Salmon (4WD coming in handy), McGill, Newton, T. Searle, Chapman, Newman, Miller, Cornish, Miles, Thompson, Rea and Haynes.

Richards was charging in the still-dry conditions and took the lead on lap two, before the Safety Car come out the next lap for the Lantra parked with a flat battery. Newman’s 406 was also parked (at Murray’s) after a spin. The battery was flat and was replaced when the car got back to the pits, rejoining some laps behind.

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Baird news: Craig Baird impressed in the Volvo, sloshing through the murk to finish third in both races.

Shagwell weather: What the spectator mounds lacked in quanity, they made up for in quality...

by Dirk Klynsmith

When the green flew on lap seven, Richards again pushed clear, Morris struggling to keep up with understeer on the slow to mid-speed cor ners, while Baird fell into Canto’s clutches with the Volvo’s wiper out to lunch.

The Searles were the next to strike troubles, out with a broken driveshaft. The car would be recovered after an hour or so, but it was no repairable.

Richards continued to pull away from Morris, the gap growing to 5s, but that became zilch when the rain

began to really take hold. The Volvo was struggling to get grip and Morris shoved the nose down the inside of the Volvo into the Chase to take the lead, the 320i looking much more at home with the wetter circuit.

Richards was pit-bound anyway on that lap 17, for four tyres and fuel in 18s.

The team car was in next lap, Baird resuming with the same service carried out in 34s.

'That left Morris 34.8s clear of Hills, Canto and the Volvos, the gap continuing to

increase with only these five now on the lead lap.

While the Volvo was strug gling in the conditions, Richards still managed to claw back second fron Hills.

The strong weekend from the Mondeo team came half undone on lap 26 when Canto aquaplaned off the road and beached the #44 at the Chase to bring back the Safety Car. Morris seized the opportu nity to do what turned out to be his only stop, 37s for tyres and fuel, track position the only thing lost. Richards too was in, another set of

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8 October 1999

29

Good weather for Playboys and Salmon; Porter and Salmon/

I**,

White had amazing races, coming home in fourth and fifth respectively. Porter’s strategy was the same as Baird’s in 1997- don’t stop and don’t get out...

(Photo by Marshall Cass)

’ll

Speed, not age (of the car): VOKOHANW

Hills showed plenty of pre-race pace in the Mondeo but, after a

■y-i-

44

promising start, raceday went badly for the two blue cars.

(Photo by Lynley Reid) Yokohama wets thrown into the S40.

Red head: The Dude swapped 2WD for 1WD. (Kiynsmnith)

Call me ‘Scooter’

■ How times change.

Two years ago there was barely room outside the BMW Motorsport pit to park a company car, but this time things were differ ent. Paul Morris made the

buying another when num ber 1 failed, now he’s gone the whole hog and bought Bob Tweedie’s two. Four of

daily commute to his near

crown) were in and aroimd Bathurst.

by lodgings aboard a stepthru motorbike, the only giveaway to his identity the familiar red-and-flowers full-face helmet.

■ A Super Tourer Porsche? There were puzzled heads when Mike Kilpatrick wheeled out his Class B Porsche Cup-winning 911 as well as the Camry he shared with Jamie Miller. Porsche Cup competitors were invit ed to compete with the Super Tourers, all of them though imwilling to add diybreak refuelling to their cars. Kilpatrick was no dif ferent, but ran the Porsche in Saturday’s 100 kilometre race, a race not requiring fuel stops. He rejoined Miller for Sunday’s 500km race.

■ Another ‘ring-in’ was the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO V GT-P car of Rod Salmon and Damien

the 93-94-95 spec cars (one of which carried John Cleland to the 95 BTCC

■ Bring a milk crate for Bargs; Bathurst’s new, 60cm-taller pit waU was universally disliked by one and all at the track, the additional concrete meaning that the cars were aU but invisible from the pit lane.

The Great Wall was raised on command from the FIA in Switzerland. Expect to see one team bring Michael Jordan next month.

■ Jamie Miller set some thing of a record in becoming the first driver, to the best of MhTs knowledge, to drive four different makes of car in the Bathurst race in his first four starts. He debuted in a Mercedes-Benz with Peter McKay in 1994, and then drove a Peugeot in 1997, a Vauxhall in 1998 and a Toyota on the weekend.

White. In Saturday’s race,

■ Cameron McLean

they encountered a unique situation. The regulations

didn’t do any race laps in the second placed Volvo and seemed somewhat sur

required either a tyre change, a driver change, or both. The Lancer doesn’t have air-jacks so a trolley jack would con sume considerable time and Salmon wanted to do the race by himself, there by boosting his track expe rience. So what did he do?

He changed drivers with himself! Unbuckling and stepping out of the car, he then got back in and buck led up again to rejoin the race!!

■ Stone Brothers Racing and former BMW factory engine builder Campbell Little was in the pits help ing out the New Zealand combination of Bruce Miles

prised that he was even at the post race press confer ence. “They wouldn’t let me watch the bikes...” he said.

■ What is Octagon Motorsport - or, more accu rately, octagon ? It’s the new moniker for Advantage International, the world wide sports management company which changed its name on September 27.

■ Nice guys finish, er ...

At a drivers’ meeting most of the AUSCAR peddlers amazed their road-racing counterparts by being enthusiastic about an

and Murray Cleland who had returned to the

agreement to not pass before the fi rst corner. One BT racer was dumbstruck

Mountain in their 320i, one of the ex-Diet Coke cars of a

by the suggestion, and even wondered out loud

few years ago.

how much the specialist cars could beat their ’Dome

■ Mike Newton sure likes Vauxhalls. After

equivalents if they had not faced a rolling start.

bringing one last year, and

-PB/AN/MJ

“No heat in them at all,” surmised Volvo motorsport manager John Cotter Hills came in to hand over to Searle, a mad scurry for rags to mop up some of the cabin puddles required.

“It’s bloody diabolical,” said Hills, certain that the race should be stopped.

Baird had the problems of others plaguing him. In McGill’s Mondeo Quartly was hobbling around; the gearbox oil pump split and pumped out all of the oil earlier on, and both fourth and fifth gears were gone. The crew pumped more oil in and jammed it into a gear to get moving.

Trouble for Baird was that he was stuck behind the dawdling Ford and couldn’t stay close to the queue.

“They (the Volvo team) must think I’m a real tosser.

I better go down and explain, the situation to them ...” said Quartly later.

Baird was scheduled to pit but the crews hauling Canto’s car back to the pits got the tow rope snagged under the damaged splitter and blocked the pit entrance.

A brief moment of panic in the Volvo crew passed when it was moved and Baird handed over to Coleman in a long stop, 56s with a stall on the way out. The S40 team had lowered tyre pressures in a bid to get some heat into them.

I The green waved again on lap 32, surprisingly so consid ering that Newman was parked on the outside of the entrance to the Cutting with yet another engine gone, causeed by another broken timing belt. So again the Safety Car went out the next lap. It pulled off when the obstruction was removed, and the race resumed only to again be ‘paced’.

The rain wasn’t the prob lem, the visibility, (or lack thereof) was. The fog com pletely blanketed the top of the Mountain, visibility down to virtually nothing. It

Coleman, both new to the car, hadn’t been a help but they kept on keeping on to bo on the podium.

Mark Porter turned in a

(which retired after six laps with oil pump failure) to fix the problem, then they had a flat battery. The fi nal prob lem was a loose front chassis

stunning drive in the Playboy BMW to end up a a lap down in fourth, even after a spin at the Cutting early in the race, which knocked the rear wing clear off.

Salmon/White were fifth in

cradle but at least they were classified as finishers.

Elias/Leabeter The Hyundai made more stops to the pits than anybody for the weekend, not classified as fi nishers after a number of

problems but circulating at the finish.

It wasn’t a Great - or even ' a great - race but, like the : Bathurst Tourers event, it was a deserved result. Moiris was owed a little fortune at the mountain, and was a happy winner.

And, unlike almost every one else at the track, he fin ished the day dry...

the Lancer, ahead of the Newton/Lloyd Vauxhall, which diced early with the Miller/Kilpatrick Toyota Camry.

The Camry a trouble-free nm home to ninth, the only drama a completely fogged rear window. In Miller’s stint. Hills nudged the back of him on the exit of Hell Comer simply because Miller couldn’t see him coming.

Cornish/Townshend were seventh in the Primera.

Cornish stopped early in lap 17 for fuel and then stopped again later to hand over to Kiwi Townshend who drove to the end.

Eighth was disappointing for Hills/Searle after their strong lead-up in practice and qualifying. Just one of many to suffer battery prob lems, the TV camera was turned off in' the Mondeo in a bid to stop any additonal bat tery drain.

Tenth and 11th were the two New Zealand BMWs of Miles/Cleland and the Chapmans. For the latter it was the third straight finish in three starts, despite a

became apparent that as in the earlier V8 race, things

number of pit stops.

Allan Letcher and Jenni

weren’t going to change and Morris was flagged the winner ahead of the Volvo duo,

Thompson were next in Robson’s 318i, home ahead of the limping McGill/Quartly

the three the only cars on the

Mondeo.

lead lap.

“Jim did a good job all day, we probably deserved better

The final finisher was Rea/Cribbin with a comedy of

than second and third today,” said McLean, while Baird admitted to a lack of car

errors plaguing their run.

Firstly the button for the radio on the steering wheel jammed, deafening the dri-

speed. The change in conditions for both he and

ver. Next they took the radio system from the #99 car

Pos Driver 1 P. Morris 2 J. Richards/C. McLean 3 C. Baird/M. Coleman 4 M. Porter 5 ■ R. Salmon/D. While 6 M. Newton/A. Lloyd 7 J.Cornish/R. Townshend 8 P.Hills/R. Searle 9 J. Miller/M. Kilpatrick 10 D. Chapman/D. Chapman 11 B.MIles/M. Cleland 12 A. Letcher/J. Thompson 13 A. Mc6ill/G. Quartly 14 M. Rea/D. Cribbin NC C.EIios/P.Leabeater DNF T. Newman DNF D. Canto/L. Ferrier DNF T.Searle/L. Searle DNF C. Haynes/C. Rolfo DNS A. Robson/M.Zonneveld

Pos Driver 1 J. Brock 2 3 4

J. Wylie R.Sidebottom/A.Mclnnes G. Crawford/K. James

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

N. Pretty/N. Pretty D. McDonald/P. Fitzgerald P. Pedersen/M. Worsley D. Speers/G. Raleigh A.FawcettA.Scott M.While/R.Jane A. Chahda/M. Sutherland

12 13 14 15

J.Agosta/E. Woods W. Smith/M. Telfor S. Houlahan/R. Burns Hector Gutierrez

16 A. Gillespie/C. Vereker 17 LeanneRoss DNF T.D’ombrain/G. Gilliland DNF T.Wyhoon/M. Brewer DNF Christian D’Agostin DNF L.Yamall/T. Edwards DNF N.Benson/R. Wilson DNF D.Wanless/T.Wanless

Race time 255:31.5969 25533.2252 25533.6818

'

49 laps 49 laps 49 laps 49 laps 49 laps 48 laps 48 laps 47 laps 46 laps 39 laps 38 laps 34 laps 25 laps 24 laps 9 laps 6 laps 0 laps

Race time 21255.2287 21259.5616 21332.8909 21335.2309 21337.2009 21339.6418 213:10.4320 37 laps 37 laps 37 laps 37 laps 37 laps 36 laps 36 laps 35 laps 35 laps 30 laps 33 laps 28 laps 27 laps 14 laps 3 laps 3 laps

Fast Lap 239.0577 238.1390 241.1952 250.9010 250.7632 251.0859 249.1876 240.8190 254.4619 256.8062 334.6148 3:10.4638 248.1173 3:13.5635 3:19.1484 257.0523 240.8629 252.6040 321.5510 No Time

On 13 13 11 11 13 13 10 10 10 12 13 7 13 11 30 8 11 8 2 0

Fast Lap 255.2123 258.0631 255.8807 332.5826 256.0164 255.1241 256.4784 336.1120 334.0777 3.32.4977 336.0384 332.1297 3:11.8745 334.4182 320.7223 338.4839 337.8454 259.5835 258.0677 334.0744 3:18.2300 320.2112 338.7765

On 10 11 25 15 10 27 26 26 14 1 9 25 24 1 24 1 9 10 8 10 10 3 1

30 8 October J999

Tartan rules in Germany

n l{

l Herbert takes first GP win for Stewart « Panis second, Barrichelio third l Hakkinen stryggles to fifth l Pit drama relegates Irvine to seventh l HHF and Ralf dominate but unlucky l Coulthard and Fisicheila lead until offs l Minardi scores a point-first since ’951 Report by JOE SAWARD

NE can only imagine what odds one might have got on Sunday morning if one had wandered in to see a bookmaker and asked if they were taking bets on Johnny Herbert winning the European Grand Prix, They would have thought you were mad. Johnny was 14th on the grid and every one knows that you don’t win Grands Prix from 14th on the grid.

Johnny has been imlucky for most of his career but at the Nm-burgring it all came right and J Herbert won his third Grand Prix - and the first for the Stewart Ford team.

To make it an almost per fect day Rubens Barrichelio was third - hut between the two was the Prost of Jarno Trulli, scoring the first podi um finish for a Prost chassis...

Qualifying The of ‘Europe’ is an concept interesting one. For centuries the tribes of Western Europe have battled one another. They have slaughtered one another with amazing regularity.

But after the last blood-

bath (1939-45) the politicians decided that we should all live happily ever after and it was agreed that France and Germany would form the core of a new great power.

The French joined because they felt that it might stop the Germans invading France every 40 or so years.

The Germans joined because after World War II nobody liked them and they were feeling lonely. And so a treaty was signed in Rome in 1956.

The process rolled gradual ly on with all the speed of a sleeping Itahan railway offi cial and in 1991 the Treaty of Maastrict created the European Union, and people in Brussels started teUing us about European specifica tions and rules: fishing boats must carry 1000 condoms, French cheeses must be pas teurised and no-one is allowed to eat mad cows.

Of course all this did not mean that all the tribes became Europeans.

The concept of the United States of Europe is not unlike the idea of the European Grand Prix.

The event, according to a pre-race press release, is “something of a mongrel; a stray mutt that roams from town to town, moving on when ever it is no longer wanted”.

HSBe^

Not losing, waving: Herbert looked nothing special early but kept his head while, it seemed, everyone else lost theirs.

Johnny scored the third win of his career, Stewart GP’s first and the first for Ford since 1994. (Photos by sutton-images) In fact it used to be a great honour to hold the event and one venue a year was chosen to be the Big Event.

The first was back in Monza in 1923 and the race kept on popping up until 1983 when they wanted to hold two races in Britain and came up with the idea of calLmg it the ‘European GP’ rather than something silly like the ‘Grand Prix of Wollongong’.

Since then the event has been held at various places, notably Brands Hatch, Bonington Park, Jerez de la and the Frontera Nurburgring.

The French are always com plaining that they have never had one but they are told to shut up because Monaco is really a second French GP and Italy has no argument as the San Marino GP is that coun try’s second event.

So as you can see, the European GP is really only a good excuse for an argument between all the countries

involved. If there was a real European GP there would be three volumes of rules and regulations decided by an obscure directorate in Brussels and the race would have to take place in 15 dif ferent countries on a strictly rotational basis.

Tn fact the average person in the FI paddock has a very low opinion of the European Union not least because the directorates are always inter fering with the way FI does business...

But Germany is an increasingly important mar ket for Formula 1 teams. The German fans seem intent on giving away all their money to buy tickets to watch one or the other Schumi doing his thing and so the whole FI cir cus pretends that we are all happy European cousins and

we pay lip-service to the European ideal by sticking up the blue and yellow flag of the imion.

And when we have done that we go on referring to the others races as Huns, Frogs, Rosbifs, Boche and all the other names which years ago were used to start brawls...

Having said that FI is doing its best to spread the European word: it is full of folk with bizarre back grounds: there are Swedes who live in Germany, Germans who live in Spain, Finns who live in France and Frenchmen who live in England. There are even Anglo-Greeks who live in Italy.

Among the FI drivers there is no shortage of these Europeans: Damon Hill is an Englishman in Ireland,

Heinz-Harald Frentzen is an Hispanic German (his moth er having been Spanish) and Jean (Giovanni) Alesi is an Italian who was born in France. Jarno Trulli is an Italian with a Finnish name...

The Schumacher Brothers are pure German and so they attract a bigger following than Frentzen but as HeinzHarald is winning at the moment there has been a sudden rush of Frentzen-itis in recent weeks. Every national likes a winner.

And so there was much rejoicing when HH took pole for the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. His prac tice had not been easy with mechanical trouble which deprived him of laps and dis rupted his rhythm.

“I have to apologise to the

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team,” he admitted. “ We had some friction between US

Hakkinen seemed to get some trouble with traffic but about choosing the right he felt that this was not real moment to go out and at one ly that important.

“I don’t feel traffic would stage we were all shouting at one another. It was a chaotic have made that much differ practice and it is unbeliev ence,” he said. able that I am on the top of Fourth on the grid was the time sheets.”

Ralf Schumacher - which The excitement involved a kept the fans happy. Ralf race-style pitstop in the dying admitted that he had been minutes of the session for gambling.

Heinz-Harald to get a set of “I ended up in a strong new tyres but it worked and position,” he said, “but with he was on pole by two-tenths. such weather conditions Hill was right up there too, everything is about being on setting the seventh best time the race track at the right and seemed quite happy with moment. You can go out at that. the last minute and waste “I am feeling veiy good and your fast lap with a yellow positive about the car,” he said. flag or traffic as happened to Down at McLaren things Alex, so you need bit ofluck.” were not quite as rosy. The Poor old Zanardi has not two cars were second and had much luck this year and third on the grid - which was so found himself down in fine - but they were in the 18th place on the grid. wrong order, with Coulthard “The last minutes of a ahead of Hakkinen. Everyone qualifying session like that was talking about the need become a jungle,” he said. “I for team orders but team found Salo and Villeneuve in boss Ron Dennis insisted that front of me. I lost more than there are no team orders a second there.” until there are team orders Fifth on the grid was a if you see what I mean. good showing for Olivier There is no doubt that the Panis, who seems to be get conditions in qualifying were ting stronger and stronger as difficult - the track was dry the season progresses. ing - but given the fact that Perhaps it is because he has the grid had no particular a new manager (Keke surprises it did not seem to Rosberg) nr perhaps it is make much difference. because he is unemployed “I was a httle disappointed next year. Who knows? The that it was raining at the only thing that matters is start,” admitted Hakkinen, that he was quick and fifth “but then I thought that the was a great result. car was too good in both con “Alain Prost, Alan Jenkins ditions to worry about it. I and Vincent Gaillardot knew we were going to be judged the track conditions competitive whether it rained perfectly this afternoon,” said or not.”

Ohvier.

,

“We did well to wait until the final minutes. I was real ly on the limit on my last lap and it was just as I hoped.”

Trulh was going well - he qualified 10th - but he com plained that he would have gone better had it not been for traffic.

It was a good day for Continued on page 32

31

I’m in the middle of a ...

Hill inadverently caused a chain reaction on the first lap. He propped, forcing Wurz right - into the path of Diniz. The Sauber took off and landed upside-down with, disturbingly, a broken roll-over bar (last pic). The Brazilian was trapped until rescuers arrived to free him.

(Photo sequence by Sutton-lmages)

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From Mugen-Honda to just Honda: HHF looked to have the race in hand until his electrics quit just after his pitstop. At least he was not alone: Coulthard had to scooter it back as well after spinning away the lead at the half-way point. (Photos by Sutton-lmages and RaceAccess)

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32 8 October 1999 Continued from page 31 Benetton as well after a cou ple of poor races. Giancarlo Fisichella qualified sixth with Alexander Wurz 11th.

“I missed the chance to improve on my final lap,” said Fisico. “I came out of a corner on the white line which was still wet and the car skidded and 1 lost a cou ple of tenths. It is frustrating not to be higher up the grid.”

Wurz complained that he had been held up by McLaren.

Eighth was a good effort for Jacques Villeneuve, the Canadian continuing the trend of gradual improve ment for BAR. Villeneuve had no traffic problems but made a mistake in the mid dle sector of the lap. He reck oned he might have been fourth on the grid.

Ricardo Zonta had a less successful time. He saved all his laps imtil the end of the session but then formd that

0.

better time if he had not just missed starting a final flying lap when the flag came out.

Barrichello’s session was ruined by traffic on his final flying lap.

“We decided to go for just one long nm at the end and with hindsight that strategy did not work because just when I had the tyres working I found myself without a clear track.”

In such circumstances Rubens is usually very good at predicting the right thing to do. This time it did not work.

Down at the back we had the two Minardis once again clear of the two Arrows. Luca Badoer was again quicker than Marc Gene while Tora Takagi was ahead of Pedro de la Rosa.

his car was imdersteering. It did not help matters that Ricardo had a stand-in engi neer for the weekend.

Ninth on the grid was what you would call a disaster for World Championship chal lenger Eddie Irvine.

In the days leading up to the race Irvine had talked up progress with the Ferrari in testing but there was not much sign of it - particularly as the car should have been very competitive at a track such as the Nurburgring.

Irvine complained of traffic on one nm and then made a mistake on his final dash.

“We have not given up,” he said. “The race will be a dif ferent story.”

Mika Salo was also depressed to be 12th, com plaining that his strategy did not work out because the track dried too quickly. He also complained of bad traffic.

Race(66 laps)

Jt for was Sauber not a good withweekend Pedro Diniz 13th on the grid and Jean Alesi a miserable 16th.

Jean switched his rear wings late in the day and lacked downforce as a result of having to compromise, while Diniz was going well and aiming for a top 10 posi tion when Irvine went off and came back onto the road right in front of him.

There was also disappoint ment for the Stewart team with Herbert and Barrichello 14th and 15th.

Johnny’s qualifying started off disastrously when his car stopped with an electrical problem but he was quickly into the spare. Johnny reck oned he would have set a much

There wasthe raintrack overnight and so was rather cleaner on Sunday morning than it had been in qualifying.

The warm-up produced a surprise as Fisichella set the fastest time. Coulthard was second fastest and Hakkinen sixth. Frentzen was third and the Prosts were both on the pace, with Panis fifth and Trulh ninth.

The morning conversation centred on the weather: what was going to happen? You can never tell at the Nurburgring.

The clouds were swirling about as the grid fined up but the rain was holding off.

A first attempt to start the race was aborted when Gene’s Minardi stalled. He was sent

How can you soar like an eagle?

Irvine had a shocker, hampered by a lamentable pitstop by the boys in red.

Here he looks inside Fisichella, who threw away his first GP win with a spin.

Desperate times: Badoer was running fourth when his Minardi had a gearbox casing crack with 13 laps to go. But Gene saved Minardi’s day - and maybe $10m travel money in 2000 - by scoring a point ahead of Irvine.

(Photos by Sutton-lmages)

to the back of the grid - which is no great penalty when you are used to being there...

Second time around the field got away well with Hakkinen getting the better of Coulthard on the run down to the first corner but both McLaren drivers were still behind Frentzen at the first came corner.

Then Schumacher. Then came Fisichella who had got ahead of Panis. And then there was chaos...

Hill was trying to get through when his car sud denly died underneath him.

“I had no power and I could not get out the way,” he said.

There was considerable jinking and jiving as every one tried to get around Damon, notably Alesi who put on an exciting display of rallycross.

The title heads West: Coulthard’s spin may have been his first driver-inspired DNF but it was McLaren’s third 1999 win torpedoed by their own drivers. Ouch ... (Photo by RaceAccess)

But Wurz had nowhere to go. Instinctively he swerved right. It was that or an acci dent. The only problem was that on his right was Diniz’s Sauber.

The Brazilian’s rear tyre went over the front of Wurz’s car and was launched into the

Hakkinen tried hard to find a way to pass Frentzen but Heinz-Harald held him off.

“I was able to hold back the McLarens which felt really good,” HH admitted later.

air. It came down upsidedown and slid across the kerbing at the same time.

The rollover hoop was tom off and the car went over again, coming to rest upsidedown with Pedro imdemeath.

It looked bad. A few people knew that a few weeks previ ously Dutch Formula 3 driver Wouter Van Eeuwijk had crashed at the same corner.

The rollbar of his DallaraRenault was torn off. He is paralysed from the neck down.

The Safety Car was quickly on the scene and the doctors were delighted to see Diniz’s hand poking out, giving a thumbs up sign.

There were precautionary measures to be taken but in the end Pedro emerged with only a bruise on his shoulder and another on his knee.

While all this was going on the Safety Car had come out and for six laps the field cir culated slowly. And then it was off again with Frentzen holding of the two McLarens.

He did not make much

And thennot it a began rain.

It was greatto deal of rain but enough to give the tacticians a headache.

Alain Prost - who is a

progress but they could not pass him...

The three were soon joined in a four-car train by Schumacher while Fisichella held off Irvine, who had man aged to scramble past Panis on the first lap after the restart.

great gambler with the weather - called Panis in immediately. It looked like a smart move and a lap later Hakkinen came hurrying in as well.

So did Salo. He needed to change a damaged front wing. The team was clearly thrown out of its stride because when Irvine came in on the following lap the Ferrari men were in a state of complete confusion.

“When Salo came in the mechanics got rid of my tyres,” Irvine explained later, “and when I came in they could not find one of them. I lost a lot oftime.”

Suddenly we had the curi ous sight of the two World Championship challengers running around in 12th and 14th places. Frentzen must have thought it was Christmas.

The rains quickly stopped and the decision to switch to wet tyres suddenly looked like a daft idea. Now the strategists were faced with a choice. Should the drivers come in and change back to dry tyres of stay out and struggle on wets? One by one

the gamblers came back in and dropped further back.

While all this was happen ing Frentzen was having it easy. Schumacher passed Coulthard during the rains and closed right up on HH but the Jordan driver had every thing imder control. On lap 27 Schumacher had to stop for tyres. He chose dry tyres.

Coulthard came after Frentzen but once again the German had the legs on the McLaren and on lap 32 both came into the pits. It was going to be a race between the pit crews. Jordan won.

Frentzen was on his way in the lead. It was a joyful moment for the team.

It lasted until Frentzen reached the first comer. Then his car did exactly what Damon’s had done on the first lap. HH gave the steer ing wheel a healthy thump and with his dreams in pieces chmbed out and walked back to the paddock.

“Everything had gone so well,” he said wistfully, “but these things happen in motor racing.” ' The World Championship fight is not over yet.

This left Coulthard what seemed to be a in pretty strong position and for five laps David was happier than a skylark. Ten points would bring him almost level to Hakkinen and Irvine. And then it started to rain again.

On lap 38 David went off, slipped and slid across a sandtrap and ended up tap ping into a tyre barrier.

/B5bg®g=g/p©/7g “I am sorry for the team,” he said. “It is the first time I have put the car off m a race this year - but that is little consolation.”

Hakkinen was struggling after his switch to wets and back again. To save time later in the race the team filled him full of fuel on lap 24, leaving Mika with a 42 lap stint. This even made overtaking Arrows difficult.

As the fuel load burned away Mika looked a httle more like himself and he chased after Zonta and then Irvine.

By that point of the race they were fighting for sev enth and with a Minardi a few seconds up the road it was clear that if Hakkinen could pass the Ferrari he might be able to pick up a couple of points. The battle raged for seven laps and then Irvine made a mistake and Hakkinen was ahead. It took a couple more laps to nail the Minardi and so Mika ended the day with two points and the lead in the World Championship.

Irvine did not even catch Gene.

“The balance of my car was not right,” said Eddie.

Sale’s race ended on lap 45 with a brake problem but he had been out of the hunt after his long early stop. It was a bad day for Ferrari.

When Coulthard the lead passed retired to Raff Schumacher. He had driven a fabulous race (as usual) and seemed to have everything under control when he suf fered a right rear puncture and went sliding wildly across a sandtrap.

He managed to get back to the track but had to do almost a full lap with his tyre coming apart. He pitted, picked up new tyres and charged again but his reward would be only fourth place.

Zanardi was less fortunate.

At the start he overtook a bimch of cars but then had to dive off the track to avoid Diniz’s careening wreck.

8 October 1999 When he got back on to the black stuff he was back in last place...

Zanardi was working his way through the field when on lap 11 he found himself side-by-side with both Zonta and de la Rosa as they went into the first comer.

Zonta decided that he did not want to be the cucumber in the sandwich and lifted, but the other two somehow contrived to run into one another. It was a bit of a silly accident. Alessandro spun and then his gearbox failed.

Schumacher’s misfortune handed the lead to FisicheUa and for a while we contem plated the unlikely spectacle of a Benetton victory.

Then, on lap 48, Giancarlo dropped the ball and spun off. He has a rather alarming tendency to do this when he is under pressure. He admit ted it was his mistake - but that did not make it any bet ter...

Benetton have not had many crumbs on which to nibble this year and it was not the right moment to fall face first into the cake.

Schumacher went back into the lead for a lap but his strategy dictated another stop and so, suddenly, we had Herbert in the lead.

It was all getting to be rather odd.

Johnny had been trolling around in 13th early on, keeping everything on the island and burning off his fuel load. He was going for a one stop strategy. Just as he was about to pit it started to rain.

Johnny spotted a big cloud on the horizon and decided that it would last for a few laps and so he decided to get wet tyres. It was the right thing to do at the right moment.

When the rain fell at its heaviest Herbert could han dle it. And as the track dried the wets held up well.

He had to pit again on lap 47 but by then he was far enough ahead not to lose a place and so when the lead

fell into his lap he grabbed it with both hands and held on.

He spent the final laps praying that the car would hold together and on this occasion it did. It was a welldeserved and very popular victory - and a great day for the team as well.

It was almost the perfect result because Barrichello ended up third.

In the early part of the race he was ahead of Herbert but he stayed out rather too long on his dry tyres and so lost time.

33

ting him have second place,” he said.

In the end sixth place went to Gene’s Minardi. This was an amazing result for the lit tle Italian team which has not scored for a couple of sea sons.

The team and the drivers did everything right and with 15 laps to go Luca Badoer was ranning in fourth place.

On lap 54 his car let him down. He deserved better and no-one begmdged him a few tears offrustration.

In the closing laps Gene When he pitted on lap 37 - was running fifth but no-one two laps after Herbert - he complained that he could not had to go for dry tyres because hold back a fired-up the rain was easing off. He Hakkinen. It was an excelnot only dropped behind his lent perfonnance. team-mate but he had to take But it was more than that. it easy so as not to fall off with It was worth about $10m to a heavy fuel load and very the team because one point means that at the end of the slippery conditions.

As the race went on he got year the team will be one of quicker and quicker but the top 10 and will qualify for although he caught Trulli in the TV money and travel the final laps, he could not. funds. BAR has just two find a way to overtake the races to tiy to snatch the loot Frost. away.

Stewart had to settle for a 1The team gave it a good try 3. There was much rejoicing. at the Nurburgring with Yes, it had been a little for Villeneuve running fifth in tunate but you grab your the closing laps. He had had chances when they present some excitements along the themselves and the team did way, including a spin, but he looked to be on course to the just that. team’s first point (and the $10m bonus next year) when Trulli’s secondfor place was the clutch failed him. recompense Fanis’s Zonta’s afternoon was a misfortunes. Olivier’s early gamble on tyres left, him strategic disaster involving down at the back with three stops but he finished Hakkinen. He charged along eighth.

But as weekends go it was but ended the day ninth. not a success. Dropping from Trulli was delighted to have scored his first podium. 10th to 11th in the The team had called him in Constructors’ Championship when it began to rain but he may not seen like a big deal decided to take a risk and but it is, a very big deal!

Diniz’s accident was a big stay out. He pitted as planned for a two-stop race fright for the Sauber team. but then had to pit again Jean Alesi did what he could when the rain came a second but he had an off and lost a few places early on. He then suf time. He then had to stop to change back to dry tyres but fered a transmission failure.

“What can I say?” he said. by then he was far enough' ahead not to have to worry “It has been a very disap too much. In the final laps he pointing season for me.”

Arrows too had a poor day. drove very well to keep Barrichello behind him.

De la Rosa’s race was spoiled “I had no intention of let- in the incident with Zanardi.

He struggled on with a dam aged rear suspension and did not stop for wet tyres. In the end he went out with gearbox failure.

Takagi’s race was compro mised when he stopped for wets early on but his recov ery drive was a little too adventurous and he ended up smacking into a wall.

— y World Championship Round 14 Sepiember26199966 laps(300.679 kms)

Pos Driver Car Race time 1 J. Herbert Stewart-Ford Ih41m54.314s 2 J. Trulli 1h42m 16.933s Prost-Peugeot 3 R. Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1h42ml7.180s 4 R.Schumacher Williams-Supertec Ih42m33.822s 5 M.Hakkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1h42m57.264s 6 M.Gene Minardi-Ford 1h42m59.468s 7 E. Irvine Ferrari 1h43m00.997s 8 R.Zonta BAR-Supertec 65 laps 9 0.Panis Prost-Peugeot 65 laps 10 J. Villeneuve BAR-Supertec 61 laps[DNF] Retirements; P.Diniz Sauber-Petronas accident LapO A. Wurz accident LapO Benetton-Supertec D. Hill electrical LapO Jordan-Mugen-Honda Lap 10 A.Zanardi Williams-Supertec accident/spun electrical Lap 32 H-H.Frentzen Jordan-Mugen-Honda Sauber-Petronas driveshaft Lap 35 J. Atesi McLaren-Mercedes crashed Lap 37 D.Coulthard Arrows crashed Lap42 T.Takagi Ferrari brakes Lap 44 M.Salo Lap 48 G.FisicheUa Benetton-Supertec spun off Arrows Lap 52 P. De La Rosa gearbox Minardi-Ford Lap 53 L. Badoer gearbox casing J. Villeneuve clutch.

Lap 61 BAR-Supertec Fastest Lap:Hakkinen [lap 64] 1 m 21.282s[201.786 kph] Lap Leaders:Lap 1 -32 Frentzen, 33-37 Coulthard,38-44 Schumacher,45- 48 FisicheUa, 49Schumacher,50-66 Herbert.

Drivers points:Hakkinen 62,trvine 60,Frentzen 50,Coulthard 48,R. Schumacher 33,M.Schumacher 32,Barrichello 19,FisicheUa 13,Herbert 12, Salo 10,Trulli 7,Hill 7,Wurz 3, Dinlz 3, Panis 2,De la Rosa/Alesi/Gene 1.

Constructors' points:McLaren-Mercedes 110,Scuderia-Ferrari 102,lordanMugen-Honda 57,Williams-Supertec 33,Stewart- Ford 31,Benetton-Superlec 16,Prost-Peugeot9,Sauber-Petronas 4,Minardi-Ford andArrows 1.

Autumn of his career: Panis drove well, but it is contract time anci he is look ing for a 2000 seat.

Stewing in the pack: Barrichello and Herbert didn’t make their ground ail at once but were running at the front when it counted.

(Photos by Sulton-lmages)

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2000 QANTAS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 9-12 MARCH*

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8 October 1999

D

id any of us really expect that Johnny Hertjert would ever be in a position to win a third Grand Prix?

When he scored his two Benetton successes at Silverstone and Monza in 1995 he was in the right car at the right time, but that seems like many years ago now.

This season Herbert has been left trailing by team-mate Rubens Barrichello and, at one stage, his FI career seemed to be coming to an end, despite having a year to run on his contract. And yet at the Nurburgring he pulled off probably the most popular win of the season, just 12 days after he was officially confirmed as a Jaguar driver for next season.

The day after the GP, while en route from his home in Monaco to a special reception for the staff at the Stewart factory, he admitted that the win hadn’t yet sunk in.

“It’s still hard to believe it, I must be honest,” he smiled. “It was a surprise, but it was a nice one.

“People have asked what was the best, this win or the first one, but I must say this one was much better. Lots of things are happening around it that have been very, very positive. It’s much more emotional.

At Benetton, because of the way the year had been it was just very different. Because this was Stewart’s first win, that adds some thing to it.”

The victory had its roots in the team’s decision to run the harder of Bridgestone’s compounds and go for one rather than two pit stops.

With a heavier fuel load, the team could run longer and have more flexibility should the weather be mixed. It was also felt that the SF3 was more comfortable on the tyres, which were also chosen by Ferrari.

The ploy seemed to backfire in qualifying, when Johnny was only 14th. But significantly, he was ahead of team-mate Barrichello for the first time. His luck seemed to be changing, and perhaps there was good reason for it.

“I’ve had such a good year this year! So I’ve been trying different things, like wearing different cloth ing from what I’m normally suc cessful with. We’ve been blaming

AIJ smiles: Herbert qualified 14th at the Nurburgring but was right on the ball - and a little lucky - on raceday.

The champagne would still have tasted pretty good,though ...

Good Guys wear white: Stewart GP team-mates Herbert and Barrichello will be in Jaguar green and Ferrari red respectively in 2000.

(AH photos by Suiton-Images)

Man

r

I

Darryl, one of our mechanics, who was with me at Lotus in 1992 when I didn’t finish races either. We decided it was either him or me, and he left!

‘Then one of my mechanics gave me two lucky stones from Jamaica. We thought we’d give them a try, and I had them in my pocket all weekend to see if that worked for us. And someone gave me a coin on the grid. I thought it was a dollar coin, so I thought I’d have it for a bit of luck. But it turned out to be just a Deutschmark. So I said I don’t want that, but he said, ‘No it’s a lucky one,’ so I stuck that in my pocket as well...”

Someone was certainly smiling on Johnny on the first comer,for he was immediately behind Pedro Diniz on the grid, but escaped the carnage unscathed.

“I saw a car roll, and I went to the left, thinking I would get trapped in what was happening. But I got caught behind Damon, who was stopping, and lost all my momen tum.”

Three cars had instantly retired, but Johnny only gained one place, because Jean Alesi and Rubens had both passed him. He finished the first lap in 13th place, which proved to be yet another lucky omen. His next big break came when it began to rain, and many of

35

Johnny Herbert put a black season behind him by winning the European GR ADAM COOPER caught up with him. rivals made an unwise decision to rush in for wet tyres.

“I tried to read the clouds, not just the weather as it came. I remembered Donington in 1993. 1 thought it was a little bit like that; as soon as the rain came Alain Prost and everybody else went in the pits, came out, and it had already stopped. Then they came back in again. So it seemed more or less the same. They all seemed to dive straight in the pits, and I was quite surprised. The track was damp, but that’s all it was. It dried up quickly.”

Johnny edged up the order. His single stop, due around the halfway mark, came at just the right time.

“Looking back it was just absolutely perfect. I came past the pits, and I knew I was due to stop.

Then I got to the left and right before you go down to hairpin, and it was absolutely tipping it down there. I looked to the clouds, and it was like a big teardrop. It had a big head on it and then a little tail!

‘The tail of it was dead in the middle of that scoreboard they’ve got inside the hairpin, and it was just going to come dead straight, and it was not going to move because the wind had been blow ing up the straight all day. And beyond that I could see more rain coming down. It was still dry at the other end of the track, but I thought

I’d risk it and go for wets. They had a fresh set of dries.

But 1 said no, I want wets. And that’s when I just gained every thing...

“When Rubens came in two laps later they told him to have wets, but when he came to the^other half of the”track., the pits end, it was still dry ish, and he said (( no, no, I want slicks. And that cloud came dead straight over the track and soaked the other end as well.'

For a while Johnny was gain ing up to 8-9 sec onds a lap on the drivers who stayed on dry tyres.

“I didn’t push too hard at the beginning, because I didn’t know how slippery it would be. I just had to be as consistent as I could.

There seemed to be a wave of cars spinning off everywhere. Every time I came up to a car, even if it was a backmarker, they just seemed to spin. They were all over the place. I remember lapping Mika Hakkinen coming out of the hairpin! I must admit it was nice.”

Among those to go missing was David Coulthard, whose demise put Johnny into third. As the track start ed to dry again, Johnny made a perfectly-timed decision to pit again. He resumed still in third, but a lap after he came out, Giancarlo Fisichella spun off. Then Johnny passed Ralf Schumacher as the German limped back to the pits for a new rear tyre.

“I knew I was in the lead when I saw Ralf, and when I saw on the board that Jarno Trulli was about 15 secs behind, with about 16 laps to go, I realised it was up to me to try and look after the car. But despite easing off I was still pulling away at a second a lap. I was actu ally quite surprised, so I started to ease of even more.

“I had in the back of my mind some of the problems I’ve had this year, getting very close to the finish and then having the thing stop. So it was good to have that advantage and be able to look after it.

“I let Mika repass me, and when I came out of the second corner Eddie Irvine was at the bottom of the hill in the hairpin. At one point just to keep my concentration I tried to keep the same pace as Eddie.

Then I could watch him and Hakkinen having their race. That was quite good!

“Everybody was dead quiet on the radio, and they just left it down to me. On the board they were giv ing me the signals, and all I was

i

I remember lapping Mika Hakkinen coming out ofthe hairpin!I must admit it was nice. doing was looking at the big TV screens. I could see Rubens get ting close to Trulli, so I was hoping that he’d pass him. It was nice to be able to watch the race as well!

“About three laps from the end I had a bit of a smirk on my face, just a little smile, because I was feeling pretty good about it. With the other two wins I don’t remember doing that. This was just more satisfying, because it was Stewart, and I was pleased with what I did with the strategy side of it. Yes it was a sur prise, but I worked hard for it as well.”

When he crossed the line, Johnny knew exactly how to break the radio silence.

“I’ve got this thing of saying Tm the man’, I don’t know where it came from - but testing’s been going better, and I’ve been getting a bit cocky and saying it. As I came out of the last corner I flicked on the radio and said, ‘I’m the man!’. My engineer said he was going to say ‘You’re the man’, but I actually beat him to it! When I got back everyone was so, SO"happy, all the mechan ics, the engineers, Jackie and Paul.

It was special because it doesn’t happen that often.”

Johnny admits that even he didn’t dare dream about a third win, especially after the season he’s had.

“In the middle of the season it was looking a bit grim, with all the problems and unreliability. The way it was going rumour wise I could very easily have said, ‘I’ve had enough, I haven’t got the strength to do it.’ But I’ve always had the strength. I think from my accident I learned a lot about getting back, being strong and not giving up. I’m not someone who says, ‘I’ve tried, and that’s it.’ “Although I keep hav ing setbacks, I’m always fighting. I can do a good job, and I just need to get in the right frame of my mind, in the right environment in the right team.’

[23

I

I

36 8 October 1999

U!ii]®O®[r0g)®[FO

Briefly Historic

Like Calder, South Australia’s Mallala circuit is not renowned for turning on ideal weather condi tions. An exception was the Austin 7 Club of SA Mallala Masters meeting on September 11-12 which was described as ‘a Godgiven weekend!’

Someone was heard to say “Are we really at Mallala?”

The meeting was a mixed affair with events for mod em as well as Historic cars, and attracted a healthy entry list of more than 140 cars. There was also a vet eran, vintage and classic vehicle display, and for good measure the Historic Motor Cycle Racing Register turned on some fine classic and post-classic events for the bike fraternity.

Most successful competi tor for the weekend was South Australian Mustang driver Mike Ei-win who scored three wins from three starts and flew home to grab third place in the handicap.

Feature race was the Garrie Cooper Memoriala sports car event in hon our of the quiet achiever from Adelaide, and a popu lar win went to local driver Jim Doig who just got home by 0.17s from the fast fin ishing Farrell Clubman of Keith Wilhamson.

Results Historic Groups N & S Scratch Mike Erwin [Ford Mustang] Historic Cars Scratch (1) Ron Guppy [Elfin 630B] 1999 Garrie Cooper Memoriai Jim Doig [Motorlab ASP] Groups N & S Handicap David Armstrong[Cooper S] Historic Cars Handicap (1) Noel Hurd [Elfin Zephyr] Historic Groups N & S(2) Mike Erwin [Ford Mustang] Historic Cars Scratch (2) Sean Whelan [Elfin 700] Historic Groups N & S(3) Mike Erwin [Ford Mustang] Historic Cars Scratch (3) Sean Whelan [Elfin 700] Historic Cars Handicap (2) Peter Turner [Grantinni 111B] n For the 1999 Classic Adelaide Sir Jack Brabham plems to return to Australia and drive in the parade sec tion of the event. He will be joined by one of his old team mates ahd close friend Roy Salvador!, Both were members of the Cooper FI team in the late fifties and sixties and raced together in Formula One, the Tasman series in Australia and New Zealand and shared an Aston Martin in the Le Mans 24hour classic.

Born in England of Italian parents, Roy Salvador!is described in the motor racing history books as the ultimate suave and dapper British racing driver.

He drove almost every make of racing car compet ing in a total of47 grands prix, and won the 1959 Le Mans 24-hour race in an Aston Martin with Carroll Shelby. A spectacular acci dent at Warwick Farm in 1962 in a Cooper Climax

curtaUed his open-wheeler career and the AngloItalian then concentrated his attention on sports car racing. He continued to enjoy success and later became team manager for BRM. Salvador! also won sever al saloon car races for Jaguar and will drive a 1965 Mk2 Ja^ar in Classic Adelaide. The event starts each day from the Hilton Adelaide from Thursday 18 November to Sunday 21. n Plans are well in hand for this year’s Australian Historic Motorfest sched uled for Winton on November 6-7.

Patron of the 1999 event is Biyan Thomson, winner of the 1985 Australian GT Championship series and a highly successful competi tor in a variety of cars in a career spanning more than 30 years. He was also a dri ving force behind the estab lishment ofthe Winton cir cuit and a founding mem ber of the Benalla Auto Club.

‘Thommo’ has agreed to crank up his championship winning ChevroletMercedes Benz sports sedan for the occasion apparently all it needs is a new crown wheel to make it percolate again.

Already the ‘legends’ hst is taking shape with a nice mixture of‘old’ faces from last year and some new comers. One former cham pion who will make a wel come return behind the wheel is Sydneysider John Leffler, the man who won the Australian Drivers’ Championship and CAMS Gold Star back in 1976 dri ving a Lola T400.

The Australian Historic Motorfest is a great oppor tunity for car club members to drive their cars around the Winton track Emd to rub shoulders with some of the greatest names in Australian motor sport. As well, there will be trade stalls, food and wine, arts and crafts, and the popular ‘Jazz & Shiraz’ dinner vrith the legends in the new cor porate area on the Saturday night.

Specid areas will be set aside for motorcycle and car clubs who use the Motorfest for a club run.

Also, there will be an offi cial‘Run to Winton’leaving Melbourne on the Saturday morning.

The run has been organ ised to allow owners of vet eran, vintage, historic, clas sic, sports and touring cars and motorcycles the oppor tunity to join with other motorsport enthusiasts in a three-hour cavalcade to Winton on sealed country roads. Clubs are also encouraged to take part in the run.

For further information and entry forms for the Motorfest contact Winton Motor Raceway on (03) 5766 4235 or fax 5766 4249.

-BRIAN MEED

Good News Weekend Report by RICHARD St JOHN-THOMAS EVEN a torrid English storm could not detract from the second annual Goodwood Circuit Revival meeting last month.

Despite the horrendous weather, more than 80,000 people joined into the spirit of the occasion by attending the event, most dressed in period costume.

The entry hsts read like a who’s who of the last 50 years of motor racing.

Stirhng Moss was there, cel ebrating his 70th birthday, while Sir Jack Brabham drove the same McLaren he drove at Adelaide in April.

He was involved in an inci dent with Jackie Oliver and taken to hospital with bro ken ribs.

It was a tough weekend for the triple world champion. Sir Jack earlier had a rear wheel come off the AC Cobra he was driving in the sportscar race, n fortunately stopping the car without imdue damage.

Arch-enthusiast Bobby Rahal made the trip from the USA, together with fellow Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan. Both wore whites when they played cricket (!) before Bobby drove a Ferrari 250GTO in the sportscar events.

Grand Prix drivers were also in attendance. David Coulthard, Jochen Mass, Patrick Tambay, Martin Brundle,Phil Hill, Derek BeU and Emanuele Pirro all appeared, while Damon Hill and Gerhard Berger also raced - on motorbikes! Hill rode a Manx Norton for the second year, while Berger appeared on a vintage BMW (of course), riding bravely in pain before taking himself off to hispital to have a kidney stone removed.

Even Brundle’s ITV co commentator.

Murray Walker, donned one of Martin’s helmets and raced a I bike (for, apparently, the first time in more than 40 years).

He lined up alongside Hill, Barry Sheene and trials ace (and former road racer) Sammy Miller.

Coulthard, present for only a day because of sponsor commitments, thrilled the crowd in Mercedes-Benz’s W196, while Bell took a win in the Gordon Trophy event in a Cooper-Maserati, 36 years after his first win at the track.

For many, the highlight was the 1-hour TT race for ’60s GTs. After poleman Brundle DNS’d in an Aston Martin 212, Phil Hill and son Derek drove a Shelby Cobra to second, 10s behind the winning Nigel Corner/Mark Hales Jaguar E-type.

Behind war waged between old FI rivals Mass (Corvette) and Sulhvan (E-type), only for both to be caught at the end by the svelte Porsche of Jochen Neerspach.

Magic Goodwood moments: The second annual Good Revival was a huge success.

David Coulthard revelled in MercedesBenz’s W196, while old Formula 1 rivals Gerhard Berger and Damon Hill faced off on two wheels.

Ecurie Ecosse reappeared, owner Dick Skipworth even providing period support vehicles and transporter for the occasion.

(Photos by Sutton-lmages)

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Bvernham & Gordon snlit New line-up, same result: An exultant Jeff Gordon. (Sutton images)

Business as usual FOLLOWING hard upon the sensational Ray Evernham-Jeff Gordon split, Gordon — under the drection of new crew chief Brian Whitesell - took an emotional victory in the NAPA AutoCare 500 at Martinsville Speedway last weekend.

Whitesell, thmst into the crew chiefs role after the contentious depar ture offounding genius Evemham last week, ensured the victoiy with a gutsy call under caution with 25 laps to go, a call fully worthy of Evernham himself.

The team raised Whitesell to its shoulders after the race and acting team manager John Hendrick bear-hugged his new field captain.

Even Evernham, noted for pulling rabbits out of strategic hats through three championship seasons with Gordon, might have swal lowed hard before making the winning decision Whitesell made.

A caution, for Chad Little’s spin in turn 4 on Lap 474,forced the team’s play - with Gordon running fifth and nine cars on the lead lap, Whitesell decided to leave his driver out as the other teams pitted for tyres.

That gave Gordon the lead, but on tyres 30 laps older than those of his pursuers - and bearing down on Gordon was Dale Earnhardt.

Bobby Labonte took two tyres and came out of the pits second behind Gordon on the restart- Earnhardt was third.

The race was restarted on lap 482 and Earnhardt powered by Labonte on 483, six or seven lengths behind Gordon.

“I knew it was going to come down to the wire,” Gordon said. “I’ve got to be honest with you - the last comer, all I could think about was Terry Labonte [an Earnhardt victim at Bristol in August], but he waited until after the chequered flag to give me that nudge. “I knew once I got to turn 3, we were there. I could not believe we held him off.”

A win, in the new crew chiefs first race, sent the #24 team’s confi dence back to sky-high after four weeks of doubt as the Evemham case was resolved - the win was Gordon’s sixth of the season and first since Watkins Glen in August.

Final positions: 1. Jeff Gordon (Chevy)500 laps, 2. Earnhardt(Chevy), 3. G Bodine (Chevy), 4. R Wallace (Ford), 5. K Wallace (Chevry), 6.

Skinner (Chevy), 7. K Petty (Pontiac), 8. B Labonte (Pontiac), 9. J Burton (Ford), 10. Jarrett(Ford).

Star crew chief tears up contract and is now iinked to Chrysier’s Cup program THE working and personal rela tionship between triple Champion Jeff Gordon and his only crew chief in NASCAR Winston Cup, Ray Evemham,is over.

Hendrick Motorsports announced on September 29 that Evernham had been granted a release from his contract, ending the association with a team that dominated Winston Cup racing in the nineties.

Hendrick had recently made no secret of the fact they had inter viewed Tommy Baldwin Jr to replace Evernham just a few weeks ago and the story went that Evemham was to move up the lad der in the Hendrick organisation as team manager, so he could spend more time with his family.

John Hendrick replaced his brother Rick Hendrick as president of racing when Rick was diagnosed with cancer and was indicted by the federal government for mail fraud linked with his car dealership busi ness and Honda.

Evemham would have to replace John to take over that role, or work more closely under him.

“There is no friction between me, Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon,” remarked'Evemham, adding fuel to the report that there was a commu nication problem between he and John.

Evernham has since stated that there was “absolutely no friction”

Martin's Monster Mile

MARK Martin won his third consecutive fall Dover race on

September 26 at the Monster Mile concrete oval - it was, however, only his second win of the season, after a 25-race dry spell not helped by his July injuries in Daytona.

“It’s been a tough summer,” he remarked - the win boosted Martin’s championship hopes and moved him back in to second, 257 points behind Jarrett and seven points in front of 20th-starting Bobby Labonte, who suffered engine problems late in the race, but still finished fifth.

Using last year’s winning car, Martin clearly had the dominant mormt and led after staying on the track during the final caution.

He pulled out a healthy lead that runner-up Tony Stewart, on fresher tyres, could not eat into.

«

“I made up my mind halfway through the race, forget the points, forget the championship, I wanna’ win this race,” said Martin.

Rookie Stewart, who finished 1.145 seconds in arrears, recorded his third straight finish of second, or better and his 18th top ten - he was now a mere 20 points behind his veteran team-mate, Bobby Labonte.

Busch Series pilot Matt Kenseth was the other rookie surprise, dri ving a Mark Martin/Roush-owned Taurus for the third time, to claim a fine fourth place finish behind Dale Jarrett.

Kenseth recorded a sixth placing in last year’s Dover fall event, sub bing for Bill Elliott.

Following the final caution where Stewart took on fresh tyres - Dale Jarrett, Martin and Kenseth choos ing not to - he appeared on a mis¬

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sion, passing Jarrett for second with 31 to go.

But, after making a gain on Martin’s lead, his tyres were no advantage after a hard chase and Martin began to open up an advan tage.

The Roush Fords had great runs, four of them finishing in the top ten. Martini the winner, Kenseth fourth, Jeff Burton sixth and Little seventh.

Final positions: Martin (Ford) 127.434 mph, Stewart (Pontiac), Jarrett (Ford), Kenseth (Ford), B Labonte (Pontiac), J Burton (Ford), Little (Ford), Earnhardt (Chevy), Park (Chevy), Irwin (Ford).

Points standings: Jarrett 4142, Martin 3885, B Labonte 3878, Stewart 3858, J Burton 3731, Gordon 3671, Earnhardt 3557, R Wallace 3235, W Burton 3063, T -MD CLARK Labonte 3053.

and that he was offered a manager ial position that involved partial ownership.

Apparently, on September 20, Evernham had a meeting with the Hendricks to discuss his future with the team - the outcome of the meet ing was later discussed with Gordon, which led to Evemham cleaning out his office the following day, appar ently tearing up his contract.

“Ultimately, Jeff Gordon is the boss,” said Evernham. “He calls the shots - it’s always been that way and always will.’

Evernham’s contract with Hendrick ran through 2006 and Gordon’s through 2001.

Along with the three champi onships, the team has won 47 races and 30 poles in 216 starts (a 21.75% success rate).

'Their first win came at Charlotte in the Coke 600 in 1994, Gordon’s second season, Gordon winning 13 races last year and equalling Richard Petty’s record set in the 1970s.

There seem to be many indica tions and rumours that Evernham will start his own team next year in preparation for 2001 and that the team will be Chrysler supported and will run the Dodge Intrepid.

Evernham apparently turned down team owner Cal Wells to crew the new Tide-sponsored operation, for what Wells says was a chance to help Chrysler get their Winston Cup program up and running.

(Jordon Evernham Motorsports was formed last year to field Busch Grand National Chevys for Gordon and John Hendrick’s son, Ricky.

Stories that Gordon has already started proceedings to buy out Evemham from the Pepsi-sponsored team are not true, a team member confirming this recently to Motorsport News.

At Dover on September 26, Evernham was seen assisting Winston Cup team engineer Brian Whitesell, a 35 year-old Virginia native and an engineering graduate.

Whitesell was doing the majority of pre-race work on the car, with Evemham on the radio calling the race shots.

Something was going down and, sure enough, on the 29th, Whitesell was named the replacement chiefhe has been with the Hendrick team since its inception in 1992.

The question now on everyone’s lips is... how good is Jeff Gordon, without Ray Evernham? I guess we’ll soon know the answer.

- MARTIN D CLARK

3. Geoffrey Bodine, 4. Rusty Wallace,..

5. Kenny Wallace, 6. Mike Skinner, ..

7. Kyle Petty 8. Bobby Labonte, 9. Jeff Burton IO.OaleJarrett, ...

●Chevrolet

.Chevrolet

11 .Sterling Marlin, l2.Steve Park 13.Ward Burton, .

Ford

14.Hut Strickiin, . .

.. .Pontiac Ford

.Chevrolet .Chevrolet

IS.Jeremy Mayfield, l6.Mark Martin, ...

Ford

,. .Pontiac

i 7.Jimmy Spencer,

.Chevrolet

.. .Pontiac Ford

Ford

IS.Ricky Rudd 19.Ted Musgrave, .

20.Bill Elliott, ......

n Bobby Hamilton can be taken out of the rumour mill for the silly season, as he has signed a two-year contract extension with Morgan McClure Motorsports to drive the Kodak Chevys through the year 2001. n Following Team SABCO’s win at New Hampshire with Joe Nemechek,fiery owner Felix Sabates has said he will not be keeping Nemechek beyond the end of the year.

“I made a decision that I thought was best for my race team long-term and Joe Nemechek long-term,” said Sabates. “I never questioned Joe’s ability, it’s just things weren’t meshing the way they should have been, that’s why I made the change.

“I told Joe a month ago, win ning is like sex -the more you do it, the more you like it. I’m not saying he didn’t try before, but things didn’t click before maybe he’s making things click now.”

Sabates did not attend the Dover race, stating he “would rather drink a bottle oflaxative than go to Dover. I don’t like that place. You wear out a lot of tyres, get wrecked and the purse pays nothing.”

Dover’s Dennis McGlynn responded to the Sabates’ com ment in a press release:‘Dear Felix, I hope the laxative helped.

Thank you for staying home and not stinking up our garage area; your teams seem to do better in your absence, anyway. Get well soon.” n DaiTell Waltrip, Todd Bodine, Dick Trickle, Derrike Cope and Andy Belmont failed to make the Dover field, while Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte, Rich Bickle, Dave Marcis, Wally Dallenback, Hut Stricklin and Ted Musgrave used the seven available provisional slots. n Cal Wells will announce the driver for his venture into Winston Cup racing with sponsor Tide on October 16- several sources have indicated that Scott Pruett is the likely candidate. n Hut Stricklin will remain as the driver for SBIII Motorsports and Federated Auto Parts is expected to be the 2000 sponsor.

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Auto Care 500 Martinsville Speedway 3 Oct 1999 .Chevrolet

n Hendrick Motorsports has scheduled a press conference for October 6 at Lowes Motor Speedway, Charlotte, where it’s expected the organisation will announce Jeff Gordon will become part owner of the three Winston Cup teams.

' ' //;

1999 WINSTON CLIP SEBfflS RESULTS . Jeff Gordon, 2. Dale Earnhardt,

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●Chevrolet

Ford Ford Ford Ford Ford

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Points to 26 Sept 1999 .4142 I. Dale Jarrett ... .3878 2. Bobby Labonte .3858 3. Mark Martin .. .3858 4. Tony Stewart . .3731 5. Jeff Burton .3671 6. Jeff Gordon ... .3557 7. Dale Earnhardt 3235 8. Rusty Wallace . .3063 9. Ward Burton .

3053 10. Terry Labonte

38

8 October 1999

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Easy win for Wanless

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Bewdy: Winner todd Watiless (right).

(Graham Jordan pic)

John Kelly settles for runner-up at Archerfield’s season-opener

QUEENSLAND champion Todd Wanless was in blistering form at ArcherfieldSpeedway on September 25, with a dominant performance on the opening night of Sprintcar competition for the 1999/2000 season.

Starting from pole position, Wanless trailed John Kelly through the early stages of the 25-lap race before taking his 131-SHOP Stealth to the front and clearing away from the field to finish the night undefeated.

The six-lap Trophy Dash was a very straightforw'ard affair, with John Kelly holding an early advantage until Wanless swept though to assume the lead and clear away for another win - Kelly remained in second spot, ahead of Darrell Hodges (Textron Maxim), Cameron Gessner (Union Steel Maxim) and Greg Wright(Prolube Tognotti).

When the green flag flew to get the feature under way, Kelly immediately dropped low on the track and forced polesitter Wanless to take evasive action.

Hodges had nowhere to go and hit Wanless, although everybody made it safely through the opening lap.

Kelly held sway out font until lap 7, when Wanless moved ahead and immediately distanced himself from his team-mate.

There was plenty of action back in the pack, with Wright, Tony Bridge and Steve Mortimer swapping

spots, as were Phil Foster, Sherri Schaffer and Adam McKenzie at the back of the pack.

The race ran uninterrupted until lap 14 when Hodges,imder pressure from Kathy Kelly for fifth spot, miscued whilst lapping traffic and rode over the inside rear wheel of Adam Tulloch in the main straight.

Hodges was forced out of the event, while the inno cent Tulloch was able to continue from the rear minus the front wing on his Ross Autos Gambler.

The interruption made little difference to the race leader, as Wanless quickly re-established a comfortable buffer and cniised to the chequer to wrap up the race.

Kelly kept possession of the runner-up slot, ahead of Gessner, Kathy Kelly and Bridge.

Mortimer (O’Connell Smash Repairs Stealth), Wright, a much-improved McKenzie, Tulloch and Schaffer rounded out the top ten. n John Kelly continued the early season form of the 131-SHOP/Truckmasters team by winning the second race of the season on October 2 at Archerfield.

In a quinella for the team, Kathy Kelly drove the #02 car - normally piloted by the previous week’s winner, Todd Wanless - into second place, ahead of Darrell Hodges, Adam McKenzie and PhU Foster.

- CHRIS METCALF

Lynch clinches Supers victory at Newcastle

CORVETTE pilot Steven Lynch scored an emphatic win in the opening V8 Super Sedan feature race at the Wynn’s Newcastle Speedway on October 2.

Since purchasing Gary Rooke’s amazing short wheel-base ’Vette earlier this year. Lynch has looked a completely different driver from the season before when he campaigned the Amarda Ford Falcon.

Lynch claimed the 20-lap NBN Television-sponsored main event from vastly improved Kurri wheeler Bruce Gillon in the #36 Avon Tyres Camaro.

Third across the fine was “Mr Comeback” Dennis Sims in the pristine #64 VT Holden Commodore.

The very fact that Sims is able to walk, let alone race a car again is noth ing short of a miracle, considering the enormous wipeoui/rollover he per formed at Parramatta City Raceway last season - in the crash, Sims badly injured his neck and spent much of his time in a neck brace thereafter.

'The Street Stocker feature race was claimed by Commodore pilot David Cassidy from Dean Villis (Falcon)and Rod Fenech in another Holden.

Junior Sedans again showed plenty of depth, with Rod Parker scoring the win from Daniel Morris in second place and Evan Wall in third.

NASR on TV , THE National Association of Speedway Racing(NASR)has a new television program devoted to all facets of speedway at NASRaccredited tracks - the hour-long weekly NASR World of Speedway will begin on Foxtel cable network channel Foxsports ; on November 13.

Airing every Satm-day rooming between 8.00am and 9.00am, the pro gram will be hosted by Parramatta City Raceway’s track announcer Wade Aunger.

“This is a major achievement for NASR and the speedway industry, as many people have tried for decades to bring such a package to fruition,” said NaSR General Manager John Hughes.

“Television is such an important medium with which to showcase our sport and this weekly 60 minute pi-ogram offers competitors and spon sors an additional benefit in sponsorship negotiations.

“NASR World of Speedway supplements the existing and'increasing television exposure which speedway is now receiving.”

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n Mark Kinser defended his Williams Grove National Open title with a daring last turn pass on Fred Rahmer after the pahfought out a fierce 40-lap feature.

The last turn pass proved a costly one for Rahmer, who lost US$15,000, as Kinser took home $25,000 and Rahmer only $10,000.

Kasey Kahne, who rolled out of the previous night’s feature, set fast time, with Brooke Tatnell in 23rd place.

Heat wins went to Jeff Shepard, Donny Schatz, Johnny Herrera and Stevie Smith Tatnell could only finish seventh, which forced him into the B, where he finished seventh again.

In the title event, Lance DeWease, Cris Eash, Andy Hillenberg, Danny Lasoski, Herrera, Dave Ely, Lance Blevins and Kahne completed the top ten.

Kinser now has a 39-point break in the Outlaws pointscore, with just a handful of races left to run. n'With the new dirt track at Texas Motor Speedway(TMS) not yet built, TMS has already secured a sponsor for its inaugur al Pennzoil WoO show scheduled for March 30-31, 2000.

The race will be known as the Southern Bleacher Classic, after the company which manufac tured the grandstands came on board. n The Lemerville race scheduled for September 29 was cancelled after a thunderstorm hit the cir cuit.

- BRETT SWANSON

f

Big money for QL Sprintcar Summer Shoot-out series SPRINTCAR radng in Queensland has .received a massive .shot in the arm with the annormcement of the inaugural running of the 1999/2000 Queensland Sprintcar Summer Shoot-out, to be con tested over ten rounds com mencing at Toowoomba’s Charlton Raceway on October

23.

BUI Mann, director ofPerformance Wholesale and the person directly responsible for the concept, was elat ed about the interest shown by both competitors and promoters.

“Following last season’s Sprintcar series, our company looked long and hard at improving the Sprintcar product by doing something special for those Sprintcar competitors in Queensland, the promoters who support the division and those com panies Performance Wholesale is directly associated with,” Mann said.

“In the end, we have come up with a concept which I believe will take Queensland Sprintcar racing into the new century and should guarantee continual growth in this state by producing more competi tive racing for the fans and promot ers, yet ensuring that all competi tors who attend our events contest a fair and rewarding race format.”

Major changes to this season’s series will see a Stars Shoot-out top six dash format introduced - the six top performers from the heats invert their positions after each three-lap sprint, allowing all Shoot out competitors a chance to start off the front row, although finishing points will ultimately determine the Shoot-out winner.

As an added incentive, the pay out figure for each event will carry significant prize money - each Shoot-out winner will receive $1000, while second to sixth placegetters will split $1250.

This payout figure, along with heat, B-Main and other bonus

money on offer, makes the Queensland Sprintcar Summer Shoot-out one of the richest speed way racing events in Australia the total payout over the ten rounds exceeds $84,000.

Following the Stars Shoot-out, those six competitors will then move to positions 7-12 (winner to 12, last place to 7, etc) in the AMain starting line-up, allowing fans to once again see the stars race from the back of the field for a fur ther $4775 total A-Main payout.

Mann has also introduced a con tingency program bonus for the first three placegetters in the Shoot-out series, each competitor being obhged to show proof of pur chase for three items from a listed group of products from any of his dealers throughout Australia “this way, we are also directly showing support to those who are supporting the series,” Mann said.

The official launch of the 1999/2000 Queensland Sprintcar Summer Shoot-out will be held at Brisbane’s Mercure Hotel on October 20 - for further informa tion, contact MSAQ secretary Peter Mitchell on 0412 738 604.

1999/2000 Queensland Sprintcar Summer Shoot-out Rd 1 Oct 23 Charlton Speedway Rd 2 Oct 30 Archerfield Speedway Rd 3 Nov 6 Archerfield Speedway Rd 4 Nov 20 Lismore Speedway Rd 5 Dec 4 Archerfield Speedway Rd 6 Dec 27 Archerfield Speedway Rd 7 Feb 12 Lismore Speedway Rd 8 Mar 11 Archerfield Speedway Rd 9 Mar 18 Charlton Speedway Rd 10 Apr 1 Archerfield Speedway

AUSTRALIAN SPRINTCAR CALENDAR VICTORIA S.R.A. Western Auto Bendigo ....

Western Auto Avalon Warrnambool Western Auto Avalon Western Auto Western Auto Avalon

.Oct 30 .Nov 6 .Nov 13 .Nov 20 .Dec 4 .Dec 10 .Dec 26 .Dec 26 .Jan 8 .Jan IS

SPEEDWAY CITY S.A.

,Nov 6 Official Practice .

Nov 13 Sprintcar Masters Nov 27 All-Star Show ...

World Series Sprintcars ..Dec 4 Dec 1 1 All-Star Show World Series Sprintcars ..Dec27 AMCA National Tides ....Jan 15 Sprintcar Spectacular Jan 22 Feb 5 Australian S/car Title Feb 12 All-Star Show

QLD SPRINTCAR Toowoomba Archerfield Archerfield Lismore ...

Archerfield Archerfield Archerfield Archerfield

.Oct 23 .Oct 30 .Nov 6 .Nov 20 .Dec 4 .Dec 27 .Jan 12 .Jan 14

1

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39

8 October 1999

NASR retreat r# Her Sydney €risis fn/lrs

, Goldeovoldie: A bout of pneumonia was small beer to a driver of Trevor Shields’ calibre, the redoubtable Sydneysider taking the Lord Mayor’s Cup at PCR.

THE Sprintcar Control Council of Australia president and NASR got together in Sydney last week to thrash out their differences in what may he seen as the most significant step towards some real progress in negotiations between the two groups.

(Brett Swanson pic)

SCCA president George Tatnell, NSW Sprintcar Association president Bob Tunks, Garry Rush, Cyril Peel, FAS Track Development Officer Bruce Howie, Peter Gurbiel(ASPA/NASR) and David Lander (ASPA/NASR) dis cussed many of the major issues that have clouded negotiations in the past.

The sensational outcome of that meeting represents a major step back from the brink for NASR - which had previously disassociated itself from any further dealings with the governing body of Sprintcar racing in Austraha - and has i-esulted in a reappraisal of the existing NASR consti tution itself.

55 year-old Sydney Sprintcar driver Trevor Shields snuck out of Westmead Hospital (where he was being treated for pneumonia)just hours before he was scheduled to nm in the opening meeting of the Parramatta City Raceway 1999/2000 season- and he won the 30-lap feature!

The veteran raced away from the field in the Goodyear-sponsored Lord Mayor’s Cup, though Queensland young gun Cameron Gessner gave Shields some serious concern with the chequered flag in sight - but the grit ty leader held on to score an unbelievable win, his first PCR feature victory.

Td like to thank Royal Purple, naturally, for their support,” said Shields, with the Lord Mayor’s Cup held tightly in his hands, at which point announcer Steve Raymond chimed in with “and Medicare.”

Second-placed Gessner couldn’t believe it - “this guy is amazing; I can’t believe I’ve been beaten by a man who is suffering from pneumonia. These cars are very physical and he shouldn’t be able to handle a car in his condition, much less smoke us young guys.” Peter Attard was third.

Brian Foyle took out the Street Stocks feature, while Bemie Gordon won the AMCA Nationals.

PRESSURE continues to moimt on the besieged National Association of Speedway Racing (NASR) and it’s premier series World Series Sprintcars (WSS) tour, with news coming out of Sydney that a rival series has been planned - and, what’s more,it already has the support of over 70 leading drivers and owners who wish to compete only in Sprintcar Control Council of Australia-sanctioned events.

Questioning NASR’s right to con trol Sprintcar racing, Cyril Peel from BC Motorsports has stated in a letter to competitors that “the undersigned car owners and drivers today put NASR and all track own ers and promoters on notice that we wiU only participate in SCCA-smctioned events at circuits which recognise SCCA-only registered race cars and with SCCA-only licenses under the control of SCCAapproved technical officers and offi cials.”

M/5S alternative m SCCji hacklash f

That list of signatories includes absolutely every driver of signifi cance in Australian Sprintcar rac ing and represents a major threat to the integrity of the WSS sched ule during the summer months.

“It is our intention through our executive to put on notice the feder al, state and local governments as to our position,” the letter contin ued. “If we fail to negotiate with track owners and promoters the democratic right to race at their venues with an SCCA license, we will be forced to pui’sue with inter ested promoters the launching of

our own “AU Star” Sprintcar series for the 1999-2000 season, carrying $35,000 prize money per round and commencing as early as November 27 in Victoria.” n There is a growing groundswell of support for a call for the SCCA to take the forthcoming Australian Sprintcar Championship away from Adelaide’s Speedway City (sched uled for February 4-5, 2000), unless their stipulation that all competi tors must hold a NASR license is removed (for an update on this issue, see “NASR retreat” story this page for latest news).

The historic agreement - which represents a colossal backflip by NASR - reached between those attending the meeting in Sydney on September 30states: 1. That NASR now recognises the SCCA as the body responsible for the conduct of Sprintcar racing in Australia.

2. That the SCCA is responsible for Sprintcar specifications and race regulations.

3. That World Series Sprintcars racing is conducted in accordance with the existing agreement between NASR and SCCA. 4. That the Austrahan Sprintcar Championship is a protected event and will only be allocated to ASPA circuits.

5. That the NASR licence be reformatted and issued as a SCCA Licence, but includes details ofsubsequent NASR membership.

6. That fees collected by SCCA members on behalf of NASR be processed n as is currently executed.

With the above being achieved, the SCCA will endeavour to purchase shares in NASR Pty Ltd with the view to seeking representation on the NASR board.

Signatories to the agreement were Lander, Gurbiel, Howie, Tatnell, Tunks, Rush and Peel.

However, it remains to be seen whether the SCCA itself will actually ratify the Sydney agreement when Tatnell tables his paperwork, particu larly as the SCCA has already affirmed its opposition to NASR in unequivocable terms - additionally, the agreement also appears to be philosophi cally at odds with the SCCA’s preferred Speedway Australia option.

It will also be very interesting to see how the other disaffected sanction ing bodies - the Australian Speedcar Control Council (ASCC) and the Australian Saloon Car Federation (ASCF)- react to the news and also whether or not some similar resolution to the current stand-off between them and NASR can be achieved.

.

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40

8 October 1999

#

0

in

0 OUTLAWS Spriatcar (iriver Kevin Gobrecht was I kalled in a feeak acddeat during the preliminary i feature ©f the Cttansn'eHoek Classie at 1-8® I Speedway.

Gobrecht, the driver of the Hylton/Blaney Amoco I #93 and winner of the $100,000 Historical Big One at ; Eldora in August, w'as killed when he slid over the I cushion and rolled after a restart caused when Brooke ; Tatnell stopped wdth mechanical problems.' ' After jumping the cushion, Gobrecht’s car flipped ; and was unavoidably hit by Matt Moro while it sat

Sweetwater n Swindell’s run of wins start ed at Rock Springs Wyoming, when he led all 30 laps in his Channellock Stealth.

Swindell was only 10th fastest qualifier, behind Mark Kinser’s new lap record and, after win ning the third heat, beat Steve Kinser in the Dash to win the pole.

Tatnell timed in 14th fastest and made the feature by finish ing fifth in his heat, behind win ner Stevie Smith - Steve Kinser won the opening heat, while Donny Schatz won the BFeature and then in the Dash collided with Mark Kinser and rolled.

While Swindell set off into the distance from Steve Kinser, the rest were battling behind.

The density of lapped traffic was the only thing that affected the gap between the leaders and Swindell, who eventually took the win by five car lengths over Steve and Mark Kinser.

Jac Haudenschild, Smith, Schatz, Daryn Pittman, Johnny Herrera, Dale Blaney, Danny Lasoski and Tatnell were in the

upside down, GobrecM sustaining fatd injuries.

The 3f) year-old Oxford, Pennsylvania, native was having a stellar season, winning"seven races back i home in Pennsylvania before being drafted into^ the j tea® to replace Dale Blaney. i Gobrecht also has the distinction of winning tfnee races in less 24 hours, when he won races at Williams ; Grove, Lincoln Speedway and Port loyal Speedway «’ Gobrecht also scored an Outlaws A-Feature in 1998 at' Williams Grove,(hiving for John Zemaitis.

- BRETT SWANSON

at I-80 Speedway on his way to collecting another $5000 and ensuring himself a place in Saturday’s dash.

Mark Kinser again set a new track record in qualifying, as did seven other drivers, including Swindell who was second.

Tatnell was less than a sec ond slower in 14th, with Skip Jackson 17th and Kerry Madsen 30th.

Heat wins went to Haudenschild, Swindell, Lance Blevins and Tim Shaffer, with Tatnell fourth, Jackson fifth and Madsen sixth. n Scott Whitworth won the CFeature and Madsen finished fifth in the B, behind Mark Kinser, Pittman, Moro and Danny Wood, the Aussie just missing the main event.

In the bash, Swindell had his colours lowered for the first time that night when Haudenschild beat him across the line.

Having beaten Haudenschild off the linein the Preliminary, Swindell then repelled Lasoski.

Lap 14 saw the fatal crash of Gobrecht and then Hillenburg rolled on lap 17.

Swindell led the remaining laps as Lasoski fought off Haudenschild for second, with Paul McMahan fourth ahead of Shaffer, Herrera, Steve Kinser, Joey Saldana, Mark Kinser and Smith.

The Aussie pair of Tatnell and Jackson were 18th and 19th, respectively. n A-Feature: At the end of

Channeliock Classic n Preliminary Feature: Swindell again dominated this tragic event, leading all 20 laps

I

In a surprise change, Mark Kinser didn’t set fast time, that honour faliing to Blevins.

Tatnell was in touch, with 10th fastest time from Madsen (15th) and Jackson (37th).

Pittman, Tatnell, Schatz and Saldana won the four heats and

Knowing thatfor he was the running the out of Pennzoil World of Outlaws Championship has released Sammy Swindell to experi ment and concentrate on win ning as many races as possi ble and, to that effect, he has embarked on a stretch of dom ination, taking out the AFeature at Sweetwater Speedway and then both nights of the Channellock Classic at 1-80 Speedway Swindell’s winning streak, though, was saddened by the death of Gobrecht.

top eleven.

Saturday night, Swindell had won his own sponsors’ race and had not been headed in a fea ture race for 80 laps - in addition to that, he had won US$25,000 from his last three starts.

Max Oymesny Motorsport ^

Madsen and Jackson placed third and sixth, respectively. n Jackson was in the CFeature where he finished fourth, while the other two were in the A-Feature - Mark Kinser again had to win the B-Feature in order to make the main race.

In a nice tribute, the Outlaws remembered fallen hero Gobrecht by having a missing man in its four abreast parade lap and Swindell also wore Amoco head gear iii victory lane, instead of his own Channellock cap.

Lasoski’s thrilling win in the dash over Swindell was also dedicated to Gobrecht -“G-man, that’s one for you,” Lasoski said after earning pole.

Swindell had given Lasoski the win, wanting to start from the outside'of the front row as he had the previous night, Swindell again using the high-line, only inches from the fence, to sweep into the lead at the start of the race.

Lasoski and Haudenschild

International PowerSports Centre, a world-class motorsport complex located in the western suburbs of Melbourne focusing on drag racing, speedway, stadium sports and, possibly, jet sprintboat racing.

The impressive multi-func tional sports stadium, which will ultimately cater for up to 80,000 patrons, will be situated just 15 minutes from the city of Meiboume CBD on 230 acres of industrial land adjacent to the Western Ring Road, which is only two or three minutes drive from the Boundary Road turnoff.

The site is on Boundary Road, Derrimut (Laverton North), the proposed venue comprising the one mile long and one-third of a mile wide well-groomed strip of agricul tural land known as Foxley Lodge, located between Mt Derrimut Road and Robinson’s Road A consortium from the Adrenalin board of manage ment toured America last year and inspected numerous venues to get some insight and ideas on how best to build and plan the new facility - the members also met with Musco Lighting to discuss lighting requirements and construc tion.

The no-compromises ANDRA-spec drag strip, fully lined both sides of the track with grandstand seating, will offer a totally new, dedicated quarter-mile facility close to

1

Close to home: New circuit is good news for Meiboume fans. (Brett Swanson)

Swindell survived a couple more restarts on his way to the win, with Lasoski finally getting the upper hand on Haudenschild after many more changes in position.

Saldana claimed fourth, ahead of Herrera, Pittman, Schatz, Smith, Mark Kinser and Hillenburg - Tatnell finished 15th and Madsen 24th.

Lasoski is now only 21 points behind Mark Kinser as the championship winds down.

POINTS STANDING TO OCTOBER 4,1999 1. Mark Kinser

g I I ®

2. Danny Lasoski 3. Steve Kinser 4. Stevie Smith S. Johnny Herrera

For wore information on Hoosier Drag and Speedway Tyres call:

6. Sammy Swindell

NSW: 02 9679 1990 Fax 02 9679 1187 VIC: 03 9331 6477 Fax 03 9331 7444 SA° 08 8332 0800 Fax 08 8364 0296

I ;;V^^shaffer lO. Andy Hillenberg

racing tire

OCTOBER 20 is the date set down for the formal launch of the Adrenalin

the heart of Australia’s sport ing capital, giving the sport a huge boost.

The strip will run in a westeast direction, facing directly towards the Melbourne CBD sil houetted clearly on the skyline.

Unconcerned with Calder’s recent re-signing of the Nationals for five years, the Adrenalin backers are keen to establish their own signature drag racing and speedway events already having earned the endorsement of the Victoria Police for their street drag program.

For dirt track speedway fans, the 3/8th-mile oval will be of primary interest and will return Victoria’s capital city to an era not seen since the demise of the Melbourne Speedbowl - which, ironically, was situated not too far away from this new venture.

A speedway located central ly to Melbourne is something the speedway community has long been crying out for, as it was the only capital city in Australia not to have a speed way in the suburbs.

The construction of the new track will, therefore, further increase the already signifi cant profile of Victorian speedway, which has been experiencing vigorous growth over recent years.

The track itself will be 30 metres wide all the way around and banked at an angle of 18 degrees for its full length, while the seating and fan facilities will be unlike any seen in Australian speedway before.

Highlighting the forward thinking of the consortium members, discussions have already been held about bringing out a full contingent of World of Outlaws drivers

were swapping second place and the “Wild Child” was actually passing both “the Dude” and Swindell on lap 25 when Jeff Swindell stopped in the fourth turn.

2 I BX ^K

Story by BRETT SWANSON

1999 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SERIES POINTS SCORE

Auistraisan Distributors for KJH IWl 1^1

New H/leilH

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9652 9613 9464 9215 9196 9191 9057 8567 8472 8462

11. Daryn Pittman 12. Brooke Tatnell 13. Dale Blaney 14. Lance Blevins 15. Kevin Gobrecht 16. Tyler Walker 17. Jac Haudenschild 18. Craig Dollansky 19. Travis Whitney 20. Frankie Kerr

8106 7509 5443 5265 5069 4838 4829 3399 3277 3192

WILLIAMS GROVE S/WAY, OCTOBER 3

I. Mark Kinser 2. Fred Rahmer 3. Lance DeWease 4. Cris Eash 5. Andy Hillenburg 6. Danny Lasoski 7. Johnny Herrera 8. Dave Ely 9. Lance Blevins 10. Kasey Kahne

1 1. Greg Hodnett 12. Don Kreitz, jr.

13. Jac Haudenschild 14. Steve Kinser IS. Tim Shaffer 16. Dale Blaney 17. Stevie Smith 18. Keith Kauffman 19. James Chesson 20. Todd Shaffer

J

lMD0®i7sm®ij^

8 October 1999

41

furne motors^ rt tomplex Adrenalin Complex to feature world class quarter-mile strip and banked speedway oval and their cars to really put the facility on the map.

With the construction of this east coast world-class facility and the recent opening of Western Auto Raceway at Bacchus Marsh, Victoria is now poised to become the new centre of Australian speedway.

Additionally, a motorsport museum will enable Australia’s significant national motor racing history to be located centrally in a major metropolis for the first time, promoting a high degree of public interest and becoming a significant tourist destination for visitors to Australia and, in particular, Victoria.

As well as a strong motorsport base, the Adrenalin International PowerSport Centre will have strong commu nity links via apprentice group training in the hospitality, hor ticulture and mechanical trades; training in the specialist security/crowd control indus try; and business promotion from the motorsport and con struction industries.

A conference centre will also be constructed to complement other activities at the facility, the centre featuring two restaurants - a family restau-

The right direction: Drag racing will receive a significant boost with the new Melbourne track and, when Jim Read’s RPS receives approval for its Sydney venture, the sport will have dedi cated facilities in each capital city on the east coast. (Photo by Marshall cass) rant which will not only service events, but also during business hours weekdays, and a silver service restau rant.

It is the intention of the Centre’s management to provide office and sup port facilities that will result in the venue becoming the headquarters of many major sporting organisations -

Mapping out the future for drag racing and speedway: Adrenalin’s International PowerSports Complex is located just minutes from the Meibourne

additionally, clubs and associations will be actively encouraged to meet and hold displays and swap meetings at the facility.

The construction of the facility and its ongoing operation will obviously bring significant investment and new jobs for the surrounding areas, both in the short-term and the long-term, fur-

I

i

CBD.(Map courtesy of Adrenalin)

Herbert centinues on

nnn

Critchley top qualifies again - 6.27/220

_

DOUG Herbert used his “test session” at the IHRA’s Autumn Nationals at

Rockingham to keep alive his eight year Top Fuel winning streak on the IHRA tour, defeating his team-mate Jim Bailey in the final round.

Herbert also defeated IHRA champion Paul Romine and current points leader Don Lampus in the semi-final and first round respectively.

The fi nal round saw Herbert down Bailey in a close race — 4.70/312 to 4.86/293, although the result ended any chances Bailey had of taking the title.

“We decided before the final that we would just go up to the starting line and race - whatever happens, happens”, said Herbert. “The win really pumped up [crew chief] Larry Frazier and the team. We need ed that.”

Lampus, a four time winner on the tour, needs only to qualify at the final event of the season to clinch the 1999 Top Fuel crown.

Australian Troy Critchley continued his Pro Modified resurgence with a top qualify ing 6.27/220, although his run again ended in the semi-finals, losing on a holeshot to eventual winner Quain Stott.

After speaking with Australian chassis builder Murray Anderson about the poor handling of Johnny Rocca’s “Ironhorse” Mercury with its copy Anderson chassis, Critchley (right) has sorted the ride and started to figure in the results, top qualify ing on the last two occasions.

Stott drove his ’63 Corvette to the win stopping the blown ’53 Studebaker of Canadian A1 Billes, recording a final round 6.43/218 to hold off the 6.47/216 of Billes.

Other winners included Chris Holbrook in the mountain motored Pro Stock and Bob Spina in Nitro Harley. Von Smith clinched the Alcohol Funny Car title with a win at the “Rock”.

- DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

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SHOCK ABSORBERS Close to home: Queensland’s Troy Critchley has started to hit his straps in the US, top qualifying at the last two events. (Ostaszewski)

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42 8 October 1999

Smith’s Tn^ Critchl^ sets IHRA record Queenslander takes Pro Modified record to 6.22/225 at the “Creek

buy bid BRUTON Smith, head of the powerful Speedway Motorsports Inc. - the company which controls a large number of major NASCAR venues along with two drag racing facilities which host major national events - has tried to purchase the NHRA. The Dallas Morning News reported last week that Smith had made an offer for the sanctioning body, but has been told by NHRA president Dallas Gardner that the body is not for sale.

Dallas Morning News jour nalist Tony Fabrizio reported that NHRA president Dallas Gardner “confirmed that he received a letter from Smith in July expressing an inter est in negotiating a purchase of the organisation.”

Gardner told Fabrizio, “Over the past couple of years, several [parties] have inquired as to whether the NHRA would be for sale, including Bruton Smith.

We’ve told Bruton and the others that it isn’t for sale.

“It has literally been two or three years since Bruton first brought this up to me.”

SMI has become a major player in drag racing with control of both Sears Point Raceway and Bristol with the Bristol venue recently holding the new Winston Showdown event after hav ing changed from IHRA sanctioning and imdergoing massive renovations.

The group has also announced plans to build new strips at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway with the Las Vegas venue having been awarded an NHRA national event, beginning in April next year.

It is beheved unlikely that the Texas venue, situated in Dallas, will be awarded an NHRA national event with drag racer Billy Meyer’s Fort Worth venue holding an exclusive long-term arrange ment with the NHRA Meyer, a former owner of the IHRA sanctioning body, is also furious with Smith’s attempts to purchase the NHRA. Meyer was quoted as say ing the attempt is a joke and that Smith is unquahfied to lead the organisation.

Report by DAVID OSTASZEWSK!

AUSSIE Troy Critchley wrote his name into the IHEA record books on Sunday, recording the quickest and fastest run in Pro Modified history and also setting the nation al record in Johnny Rocca’s “Ironhorse Mercury.

Critchley stormed down the quarter mile in just 6.22 seconds - quicker than former boss Victor Bray’s best ever ran - and hit 225.82 mph during qualifying.

The Queenslander later set the elapsed time mark, running a 6.28/222 to be within the required one percent to back up the earlier run.

“This is just terrific for Johnny, myself and the team,” an elated Critchley said, who qualified num ber one for the third con secutive event.

“We’ve worked hard to get going and made a number of changes recent ly. The car’s now running harder and the engine’s working better and it’s starting to pay off.”

Bad luck struck the Aussie in the semi-finals, his final round hoodoo continuing, with the Mercury’s hood flying off early in the run against Ed Hoover.

Despite needing to lift before settling and hit ting the throttle again, Critchley just failed to catch Hoover by 77-thou sandths of a second.

Hoover returned to the winner’s circle for the second time in the last three events as he drove

the Trussell Motorsports ‘63 Corvette to victory, stopping former IHRA Champion Shannon Jenkins in the final round, 6.55/212.

6.43/217

top

With the runner up 6.609/209.75 pass in qualieffort, Jenkins clinched fying, Lee lasting until his second championship. the semis, where he fell to Hoover qualified fourth Cheek in a tight, 6.73 to in the program at 6.37/220 6.74 race, and posted 6.45/199, In the other pro IHRA 6.47/218 and 6.53/216 wins categories. Von Smith over Mitch Stott, Tommy took out the alky Funny Gray and Critchley before Car class with a win over taking out point leader Mark Thomas, while Jay Jenkins in the final Turner set a new speed . record in the nitro round.

The field was tight as it took better than a 6.413 to crack the top half and at least a 6.474 to play on Simday.

Chris Holhrook has all but wrapped up a title in Pro Stock with a final roimd win over second in point man, Floyd Cheek Holbrook’s Ford Probe shot to a final round 6.69/208 to stop Cheek who slowed with engine problems.

Tom Lee set a new elapsed time record for the “mountain motored” Pro

Stocks

with

a

Harleys on his way to beating Bill Fiur.

'Timier qualified first at 6.53/211.96 and backed that speed up in a round one 6.52/214.96 blast, stopping Jim McClure, that just missed resetting the e.t. mark, In the semis he again reset the speed mark at 212.29 with a win over Steve Stordeur.

The Injuns are cornin’; Troy Critchley set the IHRA Pro Modified record last weekend.

Big chief Ironhorse, him happy man; Team owner Johnny Rocca is getting closer to his first IHRA win.

Two out of three; Ed Hoover pounced on the opportunity and took his second win in three events.

(Photos by Dave Ostaszewski)

Top Fuel was not con tested at this event, the fuel dragsters returning at the next and final 1999 in event of Shreveport, Louisiana.

ARDG determined te run Dec4

- although ANDRA won’t budge unless majority rule on proposed Eastern Creek eighth mile race EASTERN Creek General Manager Chris Hones has threatened to have CAMS sanction its proposed December 4 “Championship Event” if ANDRA won’t issue a permit for the event.

Hones told Motorsport News on September 24 of his inten tions following an article pub lished in MN the previous day.

“The event will go ahead with either ANDRA or CAMS sanc tioning,” Hones said.“We have had great response and it wiU go ahead.

In a letter sent to the ANDRA NSW division licence holders on September 3,Hones proposed an ANDRA sanctioned Pro-Am meet ing with the track preparation

consisting of VHT from the start and feathering off to the end of the concrete launch pad - 291.

The balance of the track would be treated with rubber only.

The proposal also didn’t post any prizemoney, with payouts and trophies to be confirmed with sponsor arrangements.

But ANDRA CEO Tony Thornton said the race, which has heen proposed to he run on a largely unprepared eighth mile, won’t be sanctioned unless the track is fully pre pared, although the sanctioning body is prepared to review its stance if a majority of racers notify both ANDRA and the track of their support.

“I have told Chris Hones that

unless he receives over 100 responses to the letter sent to 450 plus licence holders in the state, we won’t be supporting the event,” ANDRA CEO Tony Thornton told Motorsport News last week.

Hones wouldn’t release details of who notified the ARDC of their intentions to race, saying that threats had heen made to those intending to attend the event.

On the subject of CAMS sanc tioning, Thornton said he would be “concerned” with CAMS if they considered the option.

“Our constitution requires ANDRA to support ‘the honest and positive promotion of drag racing’ and, at this stage,I do

not believe this to be positive for the sport,” Thornton said.

“We took a stance on racing on an unprepared surface at Eastern Creek 18 months ago and there will be no more com promises for the sport.

“We’re quite happy to sanc tion racing over the eighth mile, but it must be a proper eighth mile.

“The level which the sport achieved reflected the level of preparation of all forms and that’s what we must strive for.

“We’re prepared to review our stance if the reaction is positive although, at this stage, we have seen just one position vote for the race...”

- GERALD McDORNAN

1999 WINSTON DRAG RACING SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AT OCTOBER 3, 1999 1999 Winston Top Fuel Championship 1 Tony Schumacher, Exide Batteries .... ,1164 1150 2 Joe Amato, Dynomax 11 21 3 Gary Sceizi, Winston 10 87 4 Mike Dunn, Mopar 1051 5 Doug Kalitta, Kittyhawk 1050 6 Kenny Bernstein, Budweiser King 1035 7 Doug Herbert, Snap-on Tools 8 Cory McClenathan, MBNA/Circuit City .996 .978 9 Larry Dixon, Miller Lite .939 10 Bob Vandergriff, Jerzees

1999 Winston Funny Car Championship 1 John Force, Castrol GTX '99 Mustang .,,.1665 2 Tony Pedregon, Castrol Syntec‘99 Mustang ..1346 ,1234 3 Whit Bazemore, Kendall Oils Z28.

4 Frank Pedregon, Penthouse Magazine'99 Pontiac .,,,920 5 Dean Skuza, Mateo Tools ‘99 Avenger ....823 ,822 6 Del Worsham, CSK '99 Pontiac .722 7 Jim Epier, WWF ‘99 Pontiac 8 Cory Lee, Pioneer Electronics ‘99 Avenger706 9 Ron Capps, Copenhagen ‘99 Camaro Z28 ..696 ,691 10 Jerry T Oliver

1999 Winston Pro Stock Championship 1 Warren Johnson, GM Perf. Parts '99 Pontiac..!474 2 Kurt Johnson, ACDelco ‘99 Camaro Z28..1259 3 Jeg Coughlin Jr., Jeg’s Mail Order '98 Olds ....1165 ,1056 4 Jim Yates, Splitfire/Peak '99 Pontiac ,910 5 Richie Stevens, Valspar '99 Pontiac..

6 Mark Pawuk, Summit Racing ’99 Pontiac..856 7 Mike Edwards, Dewco ’99 Camaro Z28....836 8 Troy Coughlin, Jeg’s Mail Order ‘98 Olds..830 ,766 9 Allen Johnson, Amoco ‘99 Avenger 10 Greg Anderson, Humphries Racing ‘98 Olds .,.,733

S October 1999

Force by name and nature

Andrew Cowin qualifies with 4,58/313, Steve Marker makes alky Funny Garfield LIVING up to his name, John Force returned to his brutal ways with a dominating win at the rain-delayed Advance Auto Parts Nationals in Topeka, Kansas on Monday.

While not taking out the top qualifying spot. Force crushed his opposition in eliminations, running a string of 4.8s elapsed times in the Castrol Mustang before using a low et 4.79/316 in the final round to down the Interstate Batteries Pontiac of Tommy Johnson - Johnson slowing to a 5.17/239.

"I got past the first round," Force said with a snule. "We knew this hot rod was capa ble of running 4.8s and it took three of them to win this thing. Were destroying parts in a hurry but that's the nature of this game.

"We did some testing at Maple Grove after the last race and it paid off. I credit my crew. I always say that the drivers get aU the credit but we don't do (an3frhing) but drive. Those guys deserve the win.

"This is fun with the bat tles between Ford and Pontiac, Castrol and KendaU; heck even the parts stores are getting involved.

It's fim for everyone."

Whit Bazemore gained just one point on Tony Pedregon in his quest for second place.

Bazemore earned 78 points before bowing out to Johnson in the semi-finals while Pedregon logged 77 points by also reaching the third round, where he lost to his boss.

Doug Herbert, hot off an IHRA win in Rockingham the previous week, took his third NHRA win of the sea son and moved to seventh spot in the battle for the championship - the chase for the crown still open to the top seven drivers!

Herbert celebrated his 32nd birthday in style, defeating Joe Amato in the final round with a 4.66 Amato smoking the tyres.

"Consistency won this race," Herbert said. "The fhistration level was creep ing pretty high up there with all those first-round losses we've had this year.

"This feels great. We went to Rockingham last week to test at an IHRa race and ended up winning the thing and that helped boost our confidence."

Austrahan Andrew Cowin, making his fih'st appearance since his runner-up effort at Indy last month, ran his quickest and fastest ever numbers-4.58/313-to qual ify in the top half ofthe field.

Cowin smoked and rattled the tyres in the first round, pedalling the throttle before the engine let go.

Pro Stock veteran Mike Edwards came from the 16th spot in the field to win his first race ofthe season with a holeshot over Troy Coughlin.

Edwards lefl; the lights in .424 seconds against Coughlin's .479 start and ended up needing every bit of the advantage to capture the victory. Edwards crossed with a 6.95/198,just ahead of Coughlin's 6.91/199 - t was Coughlin's sixth straight final-roimd loss in Pro Stock.

"I've been running Pro

Who’s the boss: John Force was again dominant in Topeka, earning his 79th victory.

From the back of the field: Mike Edwards came from the 16th qualifying spot to earn his first victory since Indy ’98. The win was a needed one, team owner Mary Kight pulling the pin on the team in 2000 unless major sponsorship is found.

(Photos by Dave OstaszewskI)

stock since 1996 and I've won at least one race every year," Edwards said. "I was starting to worry if I'd get one this year. 'Thank the Lord, Dewco, and Chevy as well as my wife. She's my strength.

"This is a real nice feeUng. We've got plenty to he thank ful for. I just wish our group of friends could have stayed to see this but everyone had to leave after the weather delay. I'm sure they'U be cel ebrating back home."

Boh Panella Jr. had an incredible weekend in Pro Stock Truck, winning his third race of the year and moving into the lead of the Winston championship points standings.

In the final Winston champ Larry Kopp took a huge lead off the starting

-.1. l Wo

:rk ©

line - .437 rt to .473 - but PaneUa's power was just too strong and he won with a 7.59/177 against Kopp's' 7.65/175.

Melanie Troxel won her second alky Dragster title of the season as the Seattle winner scored a 5.46, 256mph final-round victory over Calvin Freisen in a battle between a pair of A/Fuel Dragsters.

Mare White scored his first career national event victory after two previous divisional victories with a 5.74/251 vic tory over veteran Vern Moats, whose 5.95/247 loss was his eighth in his last nine finals.

Aussie Steve Harker, mak ing his national event debut in the US, qualified well in the field wife a 5.89, but lost in fee first round ofeliminations.

Things that go boom!

Sceizi and team may have saved championship with overnight thrash

a H m

GARY Sceizi and the Winston team, literally, nearly blew their championship hopes apart in Topeka,the team having two major engine explosions that vir tually destroyed two cars necessitating a complete overnight rebuild of one.

The first drama for the team came on a motor bombing,three wheeling 4.52/304 pass that land ed Sceizi temporarily in the num ber one spot on Friday night with the team discovering the damage to the chassis from the explosion too severe to continue with that chassis.

Opting to go with their back up mount, Sceizi again had an engine let go on his third quali fying run - the chassis braking into pieces around the motor, with the car arching up in the middle.

Out of control thanks to the damage, Scelzi's car made a violent right turn into the guard wall, with the front end folding up and breaking apart.

The car came to a rest with the rear end and wing in one piece, upright, while the motor was completely broken in half

around the girdle, on its side and facing the opposite direc tion. Sceizi was shaken, but unhurt in the mishap.

"The wreck was wild!", exclaimed Sceizi. "I was on my side sliding backwards and ! remember thinking '1 hope Joe ill [Amato] doesn't hit me!

"Then all of a sudden a wheel is whizzing right in front of my face and 1 thought Joe and I were tangled up. It turns out, it was my wheel. Then I caught fire!

"We finally found out what went wrong - we dropped a cylinder and broke a roller.

"Once we determined that, Alan [Johnson] looked at me and asked 'Do you really want to do this?' I immediately said, 'Hell yes.'"

Further dramas were present ed to the team, thanks to the rules which prevent a second switch in chassis and, with Sceizi in the midst of a points chase, the decision to rebuild the crashed car was made.

Luckily the team's chassis builder. Brad Hadman, was on hand and with a number of vol-

unteers, Hadman took the left over pieces to a nearby work shop and started stripping away everything except the bare tub ing from the footbox to the rear of the roll cage.

Hadman then took the front end off the car they hurt the pre vious day,a rear section from David Grubnic's spare car and went to work rebuilding the man gled dragster.

With the majority of the team at the track working through the mechanicals, Hadman returned the chassis to then within seven hours-the crew then installing the relevant hardware and having the car ready to roll by 4.00 am the next morning!

Needing to borrow a win from Jim Head, Sceizi made the call for the first round and advanced to the semi-finals, before falling to Joe Amato.

While it required an incredi ble amount of work by the team, Hadman and a huge num ber of volunteers, Scelzi's hopes for a third Winston title are still alive...

-DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

43

n Cory McClenathan crew chief Rick Cassel has mysterious departed the team,resigning from his position at Topeka last Friday and immediately leaving the race track.

“Our strange year con tinues,” said McClenathan. “I’ve never been around anything hke this - we've had three crew chiefs this year!"

Jim Brissette has taken over the job, while no one on the team would com ment on Cassel's reason ing... n Two-time IHRA Pro Modified champion Tommy Mauney has joined the Jeg's Mail Order Team.

Mauney's Pro Mod '41 WiUys recently fronted in the familiar Jeg's livery, although rumours having the chassis builder actual ly making the switch to IHRA's mountain motor Pro Stock class in 2000.

In a related deal, Mauney wiU build cars for the Coughlins and join them at the track for future testing.

B Bob Vandergiiff Jr received a blow recently with the notification that clothing manufactm-er JerZees will not renew its sponsorship of his Top Bkiel team.

Vandergiiff, who is a major purchaser ofthe JerZees product with his screen printing businessproducing many of the major racers' merchandise - received a double blow at Topeka when he didn't qualify, his 4.79 being good enough for just 17th.

B Jay Payne suffered a violent crash in the sec ond round of alky Funny car, his Valvohne-backed Camaro taking a sharp left turn for no apparent reason near half track.

Payne swerved directly in front of opponent Marc White and ran straight into the left side retaining wall- White masterfully missing the errant car before heading back across the track to hit the opposite waU. Thankfully,Payne stayed upright and climbed from the car when it came to a stop past the finish line.

The former alky drag ster champion, who has Australian Steve Munday as crew chief, was taken to hospital, but appeared to have escaped serious injuiy. fl Funny Car racer Bob Weickgenannt and the B&B team have parked their car for the remain der ofthe '99 season.

"We had a good year last year, but it just was n't happening this year," Weickgenannt said ofthe reason to sit out the final five events.

Engine barbecue: The second of two mas sive engine explosions for Gary Scelzi’s Winston fueller didn’t leave much for the crew to work with. After an overnight rebuild of the car, Sceizi advanced to the semi-finals and kept his championship hopes alive.

(Photo courtesy Summit Drag Racing Central)

B Mateo Tools has signed a multi-year agree ment to be title sponsor for the Enghshtown round of the NHRA series begin ning next May.

44

8 October 1999

0.

£A0

TOYOTA’S World Championship drivers Carlos Sainz and World Championship leader Didier Auriol will be looking for new teams next year after it was revealed that Toyota will pull out of rallying at the end of the 1999 season.

Plans to txun to Formula 1 rac ing, coupled with a feeling that the CoroDa rally program has already achieved everything possible ahead of schedule, are thought to be behind the decision.

The team had originally been contracted to continue until the end of the 2000 season, but the drivers and personnel have been told the Network Q Rally in November will be the team’s last event.

Toyota’s decision to withdraw from the sport is ironic in that the sport of rallying is currently going through a boom period, Peugeot and Hyimdai having just joined the big league of the World Championship with turbocharged, four-wheel drive cars.

And, despite the fact that the Japanese manufacturer has a clear lead in this year’s World Manufacturers’ Championship, it has seen fit to withdraw from the sport to concentrate on other inter ests.

After having not won a World Championship event for 14 months, Auriol broke the drought with his victory in the Rally of China - but news then broke of the team’s with drawal.

TTE out of rallying at season's end

Season of change: Didier Aurioi (pictured in Corsica) will be hanging up his spurs, as F1 beckons and Toyota is to close the doors on rallying.

Toyota is rallying’s second most successful manufacturer, after the legendary Italian Lancia concern, but is a company which has been surprisingly unsuccessful at win ning manufacturers’ titles.

In the active competition career of Toyota, they were makes champi ons only in 1993 and 1994.

After initial teething problems in its first five appearances with the Corolla World Rally Car in 1997,

Redder leads VRC after Begonia win

TEAM Subaru driver Cody Crocker returned from the Rally of China amazed at what he

Windus and Vaughan crash out ofsuper-fast fifth round

23 year-old Scott Redder and co-driver Paul Humm have taken the lead in the Victorian Rally Championship after winning the fifth round of the championship, the Begonia Rally, at Ballarat on September 25.

Driving the ex-championship winning Mitsubishi Lancer RS-E for merly owned by Graeme Wise, Pedder and Humm survived a super-fast 120km event to win by 50 seconds from the Subani Impreza WRX of Danny Murphy and Ross Lilley.

In third place,just four seconds behind Murphy, were Brett'Thompson and Rob Vanderee in a Mitsubishi Galant VR4.

Championship leader going into the Begonia Rally was Darren Windus, but he rolled his Subaru Impreza 300 metres from the end of the second stage - and, when young gun Sam Vaughan crashed the exCody Crocker Subaru Legacy out of the event on stage five, Pedder took the lead.

Glen Mitchell drove his Galant VR4 to fourth place,just ahead of the Subaru Impreza of David Adams and veteran Graham Gambold in a Toyota Celica GT-Four.

Other leading retiremens included Neil Cuthbert, who blew a gearbox in his Subaru Impreza and crowd favourite Chris Lowe in his V8 Commodore with fiiel pressure problems.

'The $500 prize for the most spectacular driver of the event went to “Mad” Mark Miller in his ageing Ford Escort.

Miller thrilled the crowds with his daredevil feats and on the way picked up ninth place for his efforts, making him the first two-wheel drive car to finish the event.

With Pedder now leading the series with two rounds to go, attention now turns to the Silverstone Tyres North Eastern Rally, which will be centred around the picturesque township of Bright on October 23.

1.

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1999 Begonia Rally, Ballarat Results Scott Pedder/Paul Humm,Mitsubishi Lancer RS-E, Ihl8m43s Danny Murphy/Ross Lilley, Subaru Impreza WRX,Ihl9m33s Brett Thompson/Rob Vanderee, Mitsubishi Galant VR4, Ihl9m37s Glen Mitchell/Craig Bailey, Mitsubishi Galant VR4, Ih20m41s David Adams/Jim Stewart,Subaru Impreza WRX,Ih21m06s -PETER WHITTEN

saw, but desperately keen to return and experience even more.

Crocker drove the double zero car at the WRC event on roads that took him through poverty-stricken villages, with people Uving in condi tions far worse than he had ever imagined.

Yet the experience has left him eager to return to the world’s most populated nation in the years to come and compete in what many are describing as the toughest event on the tour.

“Nothing prepared us for what we actually saw over there. The rally goes right through villages and there are people just standing in the middle of the road, going about their fives,” Crocker said.

“It was fascinating, but really enlightening, from both a sport and fife point of view. Just being there and being part of the event was a real highlight.

“The roads were really rough and it proved to be extremely slippery.

there were only four terminal mechancial failures in 1998 in 31 starts.

Ironically, two of them were on the fateful Network Q Rally, which precluded them from gaining both

the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships, This reliability record has continued into 1999, with only two mechanical retirements in 22 -PE’TER WHITTEN starts.

China experience in double zero a big plusfor Crocker Plus, our car was an inch lower than our Impreza WRX back in Australia, so I think it took a bit of a beating on the roads.

“It was a really good-car and it didn’t have a turbo restrictor, so it had heaps of power and was great fun to drive,” Crocker explained.

“Of course, we couldn’t go flat out, because getting to the end of every stage was imperative; but occasionally we had a real go.

“On the second stage of the sec ond day, we had to stop and make a minor repair. When we got back into the car, we worked out that Richard Burns was already well into what was only a short stage.

We got to the end just three min utes ahead of him!”

Despite the dramas, which included a blown turbo on the first day, Crocker said he learnt plenty from the drive. l “Just being on those roads was a whole new experience. We did all the stages at least twice, which was a real bonus,” he said.

“I know all the dangerous cor ners, everywhere people had an off - so, if somehow we got back there next year, the experience would really help us to write good pace notes.

“It would be fantastic to go back there and compete next year. It would also be incredible to see the Great Wall of China again - now that was really awesome,” he added.

-PE'TER WHITTEN

NSW title for Mitchell and Trinder CENTRAL Coast driver John Mitchell and Canberran co-driver Col Trinder, who last year came runners-up in the SGI NSW Rally Championship, have claimed the coveted ’99 title following a win in the 1999 Capital Steering & Suspension National Capital Rally.

The duo, in their turbo-powered 4WD Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3, dominated the 10-stage event, which was characterised by challenging, unpredictable road conditions caused by an early morning deluge of rain.

Many teams slid off the soft roads, or overshot cor ners and one stage had to be cancelled because it was imdriveable.

Mitchell and 'Trinder had come into the event with a slim lead in the SGI series and the win was their third for the season from six rounds.

Recognised as the quickest team in the state, they were very lucky to win - at a late service point, a hose came loose from the fuel pump,spewing petrol onto the hot engine and causing a fire, which melted the electrics and pump.

Then, in a selfless response so typical of rallying, another front runner, Scott Anderson, offered them his fuel pump so they could complete the event!

Shadowing the champions all day were the duo most likely to take the title off them, Sydney’s Howard Grove and Jock Sinclair in a similar car - they finished run ners-up in the series. First non-4WD turbo cars were UUadulla’s Gavin Croker and Eric Croker(Datsun 180B), an amazing eighth outright and Central Coast’s Jack Wightman and Graham Dane(Datsim 280Z)in ninth.

In the “baby car class,” Suzuki Swift G'Ti pairing ofJohn McCredie and Nick Maude celebrated four wins from five starts to become the newly-crowned NSW PI champions!

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1999 National Capital Rally Results John Mitchell/Col'Trinder Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 3 Howard Grove/Jock Sinclair Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Trevor Stilling/Andrew Crawford Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 3 Robert Ogilvie/Graham Legstoker Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 3 John Holster/Mark Tolhurst Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 4 -PETER WHITTEN

8 October 1999

IMdOcditsuxditO TO finish first, first you must finish - this racmg adage certainly rang true at the 1999 Superkart National Titles, held at Mallala Raceway on September 19, as many of the fancied competitors showed winning form, only to be let down by mechanical reliability, or the odd mad moment of braia fade.

With 117 competitors rac ing across the seven cate gories, there would be plenty of drivers only too happy to benefit from another’s mis fortune on their own quest for a National title.

1O0CC NGB lOOcc NGB was divided into three sub categories of 100 J, 100 Light and 100 Heavy.

In the lOOJs, it was to be a three-way contest between Luke May, Ulrick Deyssing and Trent McIntosh, though a race one DNF ended McIntosh’s hopes.

May’s consistency earned him the title, while McIntosh’s subsequent results were enough to grab third behind Deyssing.

The 100 Lights appeared a two-horse race between Jason McIntyre and Darren Formosa, though a poor result for Formosa in race three effectively handed the title to the more consistent McIntyre.

Even though Darren bounced back for victory in the final, Jason McIntyre’s second place ensured his vic tory.

Stotkman's [

Graham crashea oiit of Monaco

cal fault saw her drop back through the field.

Victorian driver Lenny Ariano was lucky not to be caught in the Hansen/Byron clash - however, his avoiding action cost many places and he too found it difficult to drive back through the field of27 competitors.

Jamieson showed why he is a multi-titleholder in the 80cc class by driving cautiously to third in the final and ensuring his victory ahead of Dontas and Goodacre.

SOcc

125CC

Chryss Jamieson and Craig Dontas staged a per sonal war for the SOcc title, trading victories in the first heats, before a poor residt for Dontas in race three put Jamieson in a virtually unasailable position, John driver Local Goodacre used his track knowledge to take second in the final and third overall behind Dontas, while many of the fancied NSW brigade fell over each other.

National champions Ross Hansen and Troy Byron ended each other’s hopes with a collision on lap 2 of the first race, while Sharyn Battle’s early form dropped away as a mysterious electri-

Brian Stockman simply decimated the field to win the title, recording the only perfect score of the weekend.

While seeming to hamper himself by deciding to con test both the 125cc and 250cc Inter categories, it didn’t appear to show, as he drove brilliantly to confine Roy Francescato to the role of bridesmaid once again, while Peter Hageman also drove well to collect third for the day.

title eluded both drivers, Holdforth’s chances disintegrating along with a spark plug electrode in heat one, while mechanical gremlins saw Crossland record a roller coaster ride of results, major placings being punctuated with DNFs. Local driver Paul Snaith took advanatge of the situation to win the first three heats and seemed virtually assured of the title, while Greg King and Gary Brooks shared the minor placings.

However, Snaith’s decision to duel with the more experi enced Holdforth in the final saw his title disappear in a momentary brain fade, as he outbraked himself down the back straight and became beached in the sand trap. j Snaith and Gary Brooks’ eventually tied on points however Brooks was awarded the title on countback, his better result in the final giving him victory from Snaith, while Holdforth recovered for third,

250CC International

Warren McHveen proved his victory in the NSW title Dave Holdforth’s hopes of was no fluke by adding the a continuing domination over National title to his already current champion Michael, impressive list of achieveCrossland worked to some degree, though the National

250cc National

Cruise for Santor ing from the rear in a Formula Rotax 125.

Adam Murray didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend, qualifying fastest and win ning every race in Clubman Super Heavy, the final by a large margin — John Stanic had to keep a determined Scott Webb at bay for sec ond.

Junior Clubman got off to a bad start and the reform flag saved Trent Bockman and Tony D’Alberto from sit ting the race out after com ing together at turn one.

The restart saw Brent Rose take control, never to be headed - the race for sec ond saw Cameron Farr and Bryce Godfrey very close and a touch had Godfrey going across th&infield, while Farr dropped back.

Stephen McFarlane wait ed fill the final lap to wrest third off Brendan Stead.

David Sera shot off into the distance from the start of the Rookies, Zak Davidson, Michael Abay, Jack Perkins, Paul Marini and Justin Carter trading places unfil late in the race when some bumping

occurred and broke the bunch up, Jacobson and Carter surviving the best.

A strong Clubman Light field saw James Small on top until the final, where he got clobbered in the roll around lap, along with three others.

When the flag dropped, Small was in front, but Clint Cathcart took over during lap one, Steve Owen slotting in behind him and the pair going to the finish like that - Small held onto third, with John Ippolito close behind in a very fast race.

The Midgets again pro duced a great racing specta cle, Andrew McFarlane and Brendan Tinner continually swapping places the whole race distance, with Greg Baxter and Robert Suturkovski close behind and waiting for a mistake that didn’t occur.

A large field of Clubman Heavy faced the starter and Kane Rose bolted away to win by the length of the straight.

Adam Murray worked his way up to second until a mechanical problem on the last lap dropped him back, allowing Darren Clee into second and Marcus Zukanovic to take third.

Junior National Pro had two goes at getting a start and was then redflagged when Dean Foster and

I

Glenn Powles came together at turn one.

The restart was aborted and the race got under way on the next attempt, Bryce Godfrey slotting into'the lead and staying there.

Ben Small was a ways back in second, while Stephen McFarlane sur vived an excursion and plen ty of pressure from the pack to take third.

Vince Santoro took an all the way win in the Formula Rotax 125 class, with George Sera not far away in second and Chris Wishart holding onto third.

Another bolter was Senior National Pro’s Brett Arnett, who took off. Nugget Campbell settling into sec ond with a snake of karts behind him until a hit put him back to fifth.

With one lap to go, Shaun Van Den Brook slipped into second, ahead of Nathan Patten.

Formula 100 saw Dominic Albanese cruise to an easy victory, while Craig Sillito .in his first drive in this class - held onto second, ahead of Ben Kennedy.

Harley Maxwell got the jump from the flag in Clubman Over 40s, Graeme Monds and Geordie McDonald slotting in behind and the rest tailing away behind with nothing chang ing till the chequer.

-GRAEME BURNS

Cup arovmd the streets of Monte Carlo on the week-' end.

After a DNF in the heats, Graham was buried back in the i pack for the start of the final and was eliminated from the ! race when he was eolected by another kart as it bounced off a wai. n i Graham, diiving for the Energy Corse team for this meet- i ing, qualified an excellent sixth and had moved up to fourth ; in the first heat behind the reignin-g EuTopean Junior; Champion, Austria’s Reinhard Eofler (Tony KartWortexWegal. | Graham came together with Kofler, landing on top of the , Austrian - who, incredibly, was able to drive away once I Graham’s kart had been removed. This DNF resulted in Graham starting from giid 31 for the second heat, where he I charged through the field to finish 13th. i Starting from gi'id 21 for the final, Graham was again! super-fast, but out ofluck, his kar*t being clipped by another; which had bounced off the wall during an accident - the j incident put the Aussie out of the race and ag^avated his| ribs, which were hurt in the heat one incident with Eoflera ; -SEAN HENSHELWOOD ments, while many of the other major contenders either fell off the track, or suffered mechanical grem

lins.

Brian Stockman’s title hopes suffered from a race one misadventure, Gerard Siebert was unable to find a good pace until the final, Charlie Lambous had a range of misfortunes and John Pellicano is fast becoming the ‘Great White Shark’ of Australian Superkarting as he struggles to reproduce race form at a major meeting.

McHveen won heats one and two and then finished second in the remaining races to just pip the hardcharging Stockman.

Lambous, Pellicano and Barbara Hepworth staged some great racing for the final placing, though Hepworth’s great start to the day fell apart with DNFs in the last two races.

At the end of the day, it was Charlie Lambous who managed to fall across the line in third.

-JOHN MORRIS

COMING EVENIS in KARTIN6

rmr

NUMURKAH, Victoria, on September 18-19 was the place for the annual Australasian Kart Titles, the event incorporating the Ken Stanley, which was won by a jubilant Vince Santoro after com

AUSTRALIA’S Adam Graham erashed out of the Junior final ofthe 5th Annual FIA-FMK Monaco Kart

Fickle Superkart Nats Final placings were Jason McIntyre, Darren Formosa and Colin McIntyre in third, through a day of consistently high placings.

Gary Pegoraro dominated the 100 Heavy category, win ning the first three races, though Danniel Amadio finally managed to finish ahead in the final.

Amadio was another dri ver who suffered an early DNF which hampered his chances, though he still gained the runner-up posi tion from Rod Clarke.

45

t

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46 8 October 1999 GS: Not really, although when a Bathurst win comes,

by God it will be memorable!

I’m sure people remember ’95 - getting so close and having it fall apart.

But I’m a professional racer and I can handle the defeats as well as the victories. If you can’t, well you’re not a very good sportsman.

If we can win Bathurst in the next 10 years, then that’ll be great.

“Zero to hero... God,I -Seton on his quiet year in 1999 and hope so his chances atBathurst next month Continued from page 21...

The right deterrents will stop you sending the wrong message from your head to your foot...

MN: Despite the relatively low-key year, you’re going to Bathurst next month with a good chance in the race and a (small)chance for the title. It’s quite amazing to think you could go from relative obscurity to number one...

GS: Zero to hero... God, I hope so!

I get asked every year if this is my year. I can’t say whether it is or isn’t. We’ll go

out and do the best with what we’ve got.

I believe we’ve got a very good combination of car speed as a race car and of drivers. We’ve had reasonably good reliability all year, but we can only go there with the intention of coming away with a good result.

We need to, too. I want to come out of the championship at least in the top three.

You can only hope going to Bathurst that everything will go your way on the day.

MN: Is it getting harder at Bathurst each year for you -to take that first win?

MN: What will a Bathurst victory mean?

GS: I suppose it’s something that when I look at what I wanted to achieve in motor racing, it’s the only thing missing.

Don’t think when I get it that I’m gone - but it’s something that is quite dear to me, as I’m sure it is to every touring car driver.

Ifs one we’ve been close to but never achieved ... it’ll be a good night when it happens.

MN: With Ford’s involvement,the expansion of the team and the series, will we see Glenn Seton stepping back from the level that you’re currently involved with in the running of the team and car?

GS: We’ve been working on getting the team into a situation where I can step back and oversee everything from above, although that won’t really come into effect until next year.

In the past I’ve been heavily involved and that’s because we haven’t had the funding that we’ve needed to do it any other way.

Along with recruiting more staff, we’re now putting things in place to create responsibilities for each individual in the team, allowing them in on the decision-making processes and, next year, it will allow me to step back further.

MN: Will you find that difficuit, knowing your iiking for being hands-on?

GS: No, not at all. I realise that I can’t do it all.

If we were a one car team, I believe I still could, but the situation with Ford’s involvement and the staff required means I just can’t do it all and drive at the same time.

It’s too competitive and I need to make sure I’m fit enough to stay competitive.

MN:Stepping back obviously then creates positives...

GS: Sure. Not only can I oversee the operation and concentrate on the Managing Director side of things with FTR and my fitness in trying to stay competitive as a driver, but being a part of the Ford show now requires a lot more of my time in regards to PR stuff and personal appearances.

That’s probably the most important stuff.

I need to do the right thing for my sponsors - Ford, Tickford, Mobil, IngersolRand, Ford Credit- and create awareness for them all and it’s just going to keep increasing dramatically over the next few years.

By stepping back we’ll be able to do that more successfully.

MN: After having joined the team on a part time basis last year for the endurance races and a couple of Shell Series rounds, Neil Crompton is with you full time this year. He’s had some tough results, but also been fairly impressive at times.

GS: Since our involvement together Neil has been fantastic for me and the team. He’s very, very dedicated to us and what he wants to achieve.

This year he’s copped a fair bit from others around him and he’s also made a few mistakes which has probably just come from his desire to do well, and that’s made it a little tough.

But he’s incredibly wise about the business of motor racing, having been involved virtually all round the world, and his driving ability is also unbelievably good.

Also on the PR side, you couldn’t ask for anyone better. It’s been fantastic to have Neil involved at FTR and we’re looking to the long term with Neil.

MN: What does the future hold? HRT and their results must still be the benchmark.

GS: It’s a very impressive show at Clayton [HRT’s home]- the funding makes it impressive. There’s no substitute for expertise.

There’s no substitute for great drivers. There’s no substitute for funding and there’s no substitute for good facilities. We need to work ourselves up to their level and hopefully we can.

The sky’s the limit if you can get it - the funding and that’s up to our sponsors.

We all understand our industry is very expensive. It runs on money which takes us towards achieving success.

That’s the problem with our sport, it’s cheque-book racing. It’s not as simple as running 100 metres, going out and getting some runners and just concentrating on your own physical performance.

We work on having the right bits, components, people and enough money to actually achieving making the cars faster.

I don’t believe there’s a lot between the drivers out there, but there is a lot in the machinery - the technology you can afford and what you can’t.

We’ll be competitive, though.

Time will tell...

(gnlinenlal

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CLASSIFIEDS

Motorsport News Classifieds are FREE for private sales. Classifieds from motor sport traders are accepted (marked with a ●) and must be prepaid, at the following per issue rates: $5 per 10 words (min $10 per ad), photo $10. Further enquiries to our advertising department.

Sedans/Sports Cars Y

GTP Proton, championship winning car, ready to be leased for 2000. Ph Kosi 0419 524 752, 03 9570 3396. 164 HQ Thunderdome #33, very comp oar, almost always top 10, ready to race w/trailer, spares, radios, tank, T6 seat etc. $7500. Ph: 03 9532 5806. 164 Mallock U2 Mk2, Group Lb Sports/Race car, cert of description, race winner, record-setter, low upkeep, high per formance. Inc trailer, spares. Featured in this magazine 24/9. $28,000. Ph: 03 5229 3375. 164 HQ Holden, 99 log book, straight and competitive. H/D steel cage, inc many spares. $4,000ono. Ph: Bill 0417 882 781. 164

Sports Sedan RX7. P/P rotary motor just rebuilt, 5 speed Holinger g/box, LSD, diff, 2 x 10, 2 x 12 inch wheels, front Votvo 4 spot brakes, alloy roll cage, flares. $9,999. Ph: 03 9792 9526 (BH), 03 9792 4696 (AH). ib4 ■Z7

HQ Thunderdome or flat track. Only used as display car . Most immaculate car around. 2-pack paint outside, inside & underneath. 1st to see wilt buy. $2,900. Ph; 03 9532 5806. is4 Isuzu Gemini JT coupe, 1990, yellow, 4 spd auto, full electrics, full body kit, full compliance, sports interior, chrome wheels Concept Neeper Mynx 17' with Falken tyres, lowered, eye turner. Rego, dphc. $24,990ono. Ph: 0417 657 470. w XF Falcon AUSCAR Sportsman. Runner-up 1998/9 season. Front-running Ford. Record time of 36.68 sec.

Spares included. Flat track set-up. Spare shell, painted and caged. Ideal Club Car. Price neg. Ph: Andrew 03 5367 1866 (BH), 03 5369 2271 (AH), 0419 355 524

i ’,'4.-4. t-J£

Immaculate Porsche Cup Championship car '96, '97, '98. Fully maintained by Porsche specialists, lap record holder at Winton, Mallala, E Creek. Genuine sale - mid sea son move to another olass. Race at Indy 99 + Porsche Cup 2000. Car -r spares $85,000. Ph: 0412 337 227, 03 9822

2351. 163

1^

^

IK

Australian Porsche Cup Winner. Winner of 1999 Porsche Cup. Consistent winner, holding the lap records at Winton, Willowbank and Oran Park GP race circuits.

Professionally built in Jan 1998 to highest of standards.

Absolutely immaculate. 3.6 It turbo, 6 speed box, Motec, 3 sets 18" Simmons wheels. Complete history and assistance available. Ph: (02) 9418-3711 BH m Alfa Romeo 1976, fully restored, fuel injected 2lt, big brakes, Bilstein susp, Momo Star wheels; 12 mths reg, exc cond. $12,000. Ph: 03 5968 4808. m

e 1999 Pirelli Porsche Cup Class B Champion (and 2nd outright). 911/930 Road Reg Porsche Cup. race car. 3.6 270hp fresh engine, 1035kg, 928S4/930 brakes with Pagid. pads, -c/r 915 dog box, Bilstein coil-overs. Will sell as road car with 915 box or as full race package, with or without spares. More photos etc on www.gdkarts.net.au, $55,000 road car, $65,000 race car. Ph: 07 3368 2727, 0418 753 or email mike@gokarts.net.au i64 HQ race car - fastest Victorian HQ on the market. Lap record holder Phillip Island. Engine only, done 3 meetings since full rebuild. Heaps of spares. $8,500ono. Ph: Dave 03 9587 3226 (BH), 03 5996 4458 (AH). 164 Subaru WRX Sti 4 door, minor cosmetic damage, suit GTP or rally use. Must sell. $13,500ono. Ph: 0415 252 342. i64

^F=W:

MG Midget, 1972, racing car. CAMS log book, rose jointed suspension. Tele shox, factory SCCR g/box, 60 thou stroker 136000, split Webers, steel flywheel, 8‘ slicks etc. $12,000 complete or $6500 as a roller. Ph: 03 9894 4270. ih Honda Civic 1974, twin cam CRX 1600cc, twin 45mm Webers, 5 speed box, 4 wheel discs, Bilstein shocks, steel cage. $4,000 Ph: Phil Kirkham 03 9306 5715. ra

Escort Sports Sedan, sell as roller, takes 4 cyl engine, mid-mounted, spare wheels, diffs, very tidy. $6,500. Ph: Dick Willis 02 6652 2099 (AH). 163 Datsun 200B SX, 95% finished. New race motor, not much to spend. Set up for Open Sprints, hillclimbs. Has great poten tial. Urgent sale. $3,000ono. Ph: 02 9871 3757. ra GTP Mazda 626 Class D championship car. Heaps of spares, available after Bathurst. $16,000. Ph: Phil Kirkham 03 9306 5715. ibs

Open Wheelers

Halt RT4 1986 Formula Atlantic, Group R Historic. Ex Scott Goodyear, US/Canada Atlantic champ winner.

Professional spec car, with' Jennings Cosworth BDD, 50 Webers, Fox shocks etc. 25 sets ratios, spares, tools, new slicks/wets. Recent complete rebuild. With end trailer. $70,000 all up. Ph: Tony Simmons 02 9313 5766 (BH) or fax 02 9313 5799 for info sheet, km Swift SC93F. Christian Jory offers for sale ready to race, heaps of spares. Top finishes Nat & State series. All set-up data. Lamer engine. $20,000. Ph: Tony Jory 03 6326 5555, 0418 130133. 164 Formula Ford & Formula Holden drivers required to race in the 2000 series. Gold Coast-based team is looking for a second driver to join our team in each series for next year. It you want to succeed, join now and be ready for next year. Ph: Tony 0418 877 268 or fax 07 5578 3845. 164

80cc Eliminator Superkart (97). Second in 1999 Nationals, State title winner. Stack data logger, carbon fibre components. Fastest & best 80cc in Australia. $11,000ono with trailer & spares. Ph: 08 8353 1200, 0407 724 862. 164

Porsche Cup Car - B Class. 1974 style update Australian compliance Coupe. 3.2 It, 153kw power, Haltech system, 3 sets wheels, flared guards, alloy tank.

Ready to go now. Would suit buyer interested in competing at Indy 1999. Complete race records available. Great assistance package provided. Ph: (02) 9418-3711 BH. ra Ford 1967 Cortina, 1500GT motor, body EC, very little rust, unfinished project, perfect for restoration. $650. Ph: 03 9359 1774. i63

Speedway Speedcar: Stealth Pontiac 97, very comp package, all fresh for coming season. Carrera ARS adj shocks. Weld wheels, MPD, Digatron tach. Glow Autometer temp/oil.

Ultra light Kirkey seat, Peterson dry sump tank, Simpson belts, QCS rear end, Fuelsafe tail, titanium engine plate, hollow bolt kit etc. With some spares. $45,000ono. Ph: 02 9875 1041,02 9624 6428 (AH). i64

m 2^

F3 cars available exrJapan 395/96. Complete with Toms Toyota 26mm, also 397 and 398 Mugen and Toyota rolling chassis. Ph: Bronte Bundle 08 8332 5585 or Ian Richards 08 8363 5657. i64

' - f-

■

Escort twin cam Lotus, 72 model, lime green duco, interi or A1, body straight, never bent, never raced or rallied.

Good clean original cond. Always garaged. $10,500 Simmons wheels; $9,500 original wheels. Ph: 0413 536 801,03 9557 3491. i64 Datsun Stanza hatchback 2-door. Ideal rally/circuit.

Unreg. $400. Ph: 03 9802 5806 (AH),

HQ Race Car competitive, reliable motor, 99 race reg, log book, enough spares to build a second car, plus tan dem trailer. Must sell, moving interstate. $7,000ono. Ph: 03 9803 1728. 16.

Sports Sedan: Mercedes Benz 190 Evo II, space frame, torque tube, 5 speed trans axle, Indycar uprights, big brakes, c/lock Simmons 16s, on board jacks, carbon fibre interior. No expense spared. 2 bare engines if reqd. POA. Ph: Barry 0411 420 743 (BH), 08 9356 8071 (AH), to Mitsubishi Evo III Production car. Fresh engine & gear box, ready for Bathurst. Many spares & wheels. $55,000ono.Ph: 0418 795 996. to

Brock Calais Director, build no. 2356. Good clean original car, 122,000 kms, mech A1, must sell, all reason able offers considered. $10,000. Ph: 07 5578 4621, 0413 388 917. 162

Ford Escort, ready to race. Originally built by Zakspeed, Germany. Fuel injected, supercharged 13B Mazda rotary engine, left hand drive, QC diff. $18,000. Ph: 07 3816 3288. 163 AUSCAR Sportsman Commodore, championship winning engine, very comp, always finished top ten. Car comes with full range of spares. Cannot be described in 30 words!. $10,500. Ph: 0410 640 644. 163 NASCAR, Pontiac Grand Prix, new body, 18 degree Chev engine, fast & consistent car, complete with pit equipment, flat track set-up, Jerico gearbox, Alcon brakes etc. $40,000. Ph: 0410 640 644. 163 Commodore Cup car. Immaculate cond. Fresh engine, prepared by Chris Milton Engine Developments. 1999 spec. Must sell. Spares available. Ph: 0414 332 093. i63

Iscort Sports Sedan:'ex §ob Holden with Group cTog book, brand new 2 Itr engine, all the best gear, race win ner. $11,000. Ph: Trevor 03 9763 7898, 0413 128 287. to 97 BTCC Honda Accords (2). Prodrive built, Neil Brown engines, cars come with spares package incI roll bars, dampers, springs, ratios, wheels, tyre warmers, slick.

1 X spare engine. Ph: 00 11 649 236 9966 (NZ). TO Commodore Sports Sedan - mid mount Chev, HDT & Harrop running gear, Detroit looker, fully floating rear axle.

Watts linkage. Super T10, F5000 engine. Little work to fin ish. Job lot or will split. Ph: Rod 02 6562 7762. to

HT Monaro Fender Bender (NSW), full NASCAR cage, most panels, new 192 motor, almost complete. Urgent regrettable sale. $700. Ph: 0412 139 090. i64 Sprintcan 92 Tognotti. Hi bar chassis, front, side, rear nerfs, engine plates, dash, front axle, brake lines, m cyl, pedals, pan els, torsion bars/stops, radiator. Good cond. $2,600. Ph: 07 3273 8400 (AH), 0412.738 604. 164 Super Sedan, late model Camaro, new body, near new chassis, 350, Brodix heads, roller cam etc. New Vertex mag neto, unfinished trailer, all in good cond. Local speedway closed. $15,000. Ph: 07 4957 7698. km

Super Sedan Commodore VR. V6 turbo, methanol, injected.

Quick change diff, race ready. $7,000ono. Ph: 08 8275 6572 (BH), 08 8351 0382 (AH). 164 Modified Production EL Falcon. Forte racecar bar work to ASCF specs. Complete car, less nnotor, g/box, seat, seat belts. Can be used in 3 litre class. $6500ono. Ph: 03 5339 5834,0411 540 809, ih Super Sedan chassis, Pontiac body, four meetings old, single leaf car, has rear sliders and eng mounts. VGC. ^,500.

Ph: 02 4572 5949. ra Speedcar, USA62, 1998 Gaerte EDD, engine, KSE, Willwood, Winters, Sanders, Carrera adj shocks, Gilliam splined wheels, all as new cond. V fast car, spares include: Winters diff, front end complete, shocks, bars, wheels, engine parts, all vgc, Ph: 07 5546 8732, fax 07 5546 3868. i63 Super Sedan, factory Rayburn, Mandrel bent rails, com plete roller, new Quicksteer, Wide 5 hubs, gun drilled axle, aluminium radiator, Willwood brakes, new rack, fuel cell.

Ready to race less engine. $12,000ono, Ph: 02 9724 0806, 0419 692 677. i63 Frankland Quickchange, 4.86 with lift bar. 54 3/4'w, $1700. 4.11 crown wheel & pinion, $140. Trutrac + spud, $275. 19, 21 +43 gear sets, $70 set. 11-3/4 D rotor x 1 1/4 thick + 4 spot calipers, $160. Ph: 03 5422 1942 (BH). to

Reynard 893 in showroom condition, current Australian Formula 2 champ, can be converted back to F3, multiple lap record-holder. Comes with end tandem trailer and masses of spares inci spare engine. Ph: 03 5279 5916 (BH), 03 5244 1025 (AH). i64 Elfin 622 Historic Group Q. Full restoration to F3 spec completed 5 years ago. Top hp 1300 Cosworth Ford engine, BDA crank & rods, twin plate B&B clutch, Mk8 Hewland. Beautifully presented & maintained car. Offers over $30,000 to Richard Harward. Ph: 02 9568 4147 (AH), 02 9789 8470 (BH).

Formula Holden 1991 Ralt RT23, 3 sets wheels, mount ed wets, spare nose & wing, suspension arms etc, and heaps more. Ph: Mark 03 9761 4737, 0418 531 797, ra Formula Ford RF94/95 Van Diemen. Two complete engines, two sets wheels, ratios & spares. Top finisher in

-Formula Libre Cooper Honda. '98 NSW Hillclimb c/ship class winner. Bullet-proof CBR 1000 motor, near new Avons, quick & reliable. Includes fully end trailer plus spares. Must sell. $5,900ono. Ph: 0410 544 629. to Van Diemen RF95, ex AMSA, professionally maintained

by Banfield Motorsport, top Lamer motor (currently under going rebuild). Proven race winner 1999 Vic series. In exc cond, race ready now. Many spares inci complete set '95 corners. Can provide all assistance inci race engineer 2000 season, $28,500. Ph: 0414 646 949. to

sDuCo

IXL

8 October 1999

Formula Ford championship-winning team would like to talk to drivers interested in leasing our race-winning Spectrums for the up and coming Formula Ford season (2000). Full lease packages available. Cars also available for Indy, Bathurst. Serious enquiries, phone Keith 0408 066 106. 163

Racing

Race wheels: three piece alloy rims with alloy centres, 4 inch PCD, two 13x9.5, two 13x12, suit Mk6 or Mk7 Cheetah F2. $900ono. Avon wet weather tyres, front 225x600x13, rear 300x620x13. In good condition. $200ono. Ph: 03 9878 9515(AH), 0417 851 716(BH). 164 AUSCAR 308 aluminium heads. Fully reco. Complete, ready to go, with roller rockers. $2,800. Ph: 0408 066 106. im Lotus t/c timing chest $650; extractors (Escort, new) $375; Hi vol oil pumps, new, $145; winged Escort sump $275; Cosworth rods N/J $875. Whole running engine $6,500. Ph; 08 8278 5988. 164 Subaru wheels & tyres, two sets. 1. 16"x7 with 205 50 series (Sekta wheels). 2. 15’x6.5 with Dunlop D98J 'S' type pattern track tyres. Best offer. Sfi style high wing, mounted on boot lid (white), $500. Ph; 02 9524 7849. 164 Komi double adj coil-over shock absorbers, only 3 races old, then vehicle sold. One pair 8211 1305 B3, 213 to 303mm Ingth, other pair 8211 1322 B2, 258 to 393mm length. Ph;03 5244 1025(AH),035279 5916(BH). 164

l Holden 308 road & race cams, roller rockers, cast cranks, headers, valve springs (double & triple), VL V8 bell housing, M21 bellhousing, VL Grp A con rods. Ph; 03 9587 6199 Fax 03 9587 6807. i63 l Chev Grp A 5 litre steel crank $2,800 new. Prim & sec exhaust exhaust (VT) $2500 new,(VS) $1400 s/hand.

Camshafts $400, roller rockers $600, dry sump $300, roller lifters $200, head stud kit $80. Ph; 03 9587 6199 Fax 03 9587 6807. i63 Porsche Cup. 2 x sets of 17x8&9 Simmons wheels with Pirelli Slicks (1-2 races old) $5000; 1 x.set of 16 x 8&9 Simmons wheels with Dunlop slicks in good condition, $2500; Pirelli Slicks, $1000 per set. Ph: 07 3368 2727, 0418 753 256 or email : mike@gokarts.net.au 163

Iransporters/Treiilers

49

Ford F350 XLT: 4X4 auto hubs, full compliance 9-96, 7.3lt turbo dielsel, 82,000km, 5 speed m. Lots extras, Alcoa rims, gooseneck hitch,-12 mths rego, adj air bags. Ph: 02

6361 3140. 163

I

Holden HK,406 Chev, transbrake glide, 9in diff, lad der bars, AVO coil-overs, 6.6 280 pump, moly cage, RPM shifter, Dedenbear SCC-1 delaybox, MSD 7AL, new engine & trans, 11.17 et, 119mph. Ex Hold'n'Back. $22,000. Ph: 07 3841 6321. 164

Ewgiroes Chev SO degree V6, alum heads, roller motor, all bowtie internals, 300+hp. Including LJ Torana, fibreglass front, kevisr bonnet, 3/4 chassis, mini tubs, 9" diff etc. All ready for comp[letion. $6,000ono. Ph: 0412 008 290, 0417 282 764. 164

EFO 350 Chev race engine, cost in excess of $20,000, sell $12,000 complete. Also, US Sports Sedan chassis with extras, all panels, 40 tyres, ind. rear suspension. $12,000ono. Ph:03 6330 1881. 164 Ford Cosworth BDM 1600CC, all steel, dry sumped, Lucas fuel injection. Excellent cond, many new parts fitted. $30,000 firm. Ph:08 8376 0460,fax 08 8376 1177. 164 Mitsubishi 2.6 Itr midget Speedcar engine. Complete with engine plate and drive, injection, extractors and stain less steel Super Trap, fuel pump drive (no pump), wet sump. Ready to bolt in and go racing. $6,500ono. Ph: 07 3267 5211. 164

Chev SO degree V6, aluminium heads, roller motor, all bowtie internals; 300+ hp. Including LJ Torana fibreglass front, Kevlar bonnet, 3/4 chassis, mini tubs, 9‘ diff etc. All ready for completion. $6,000ono. Ph; 0412 008 290, 0417 282 764. TO Turbo-supercharger bottom end 202 +.060", ex Speedway. .047' deck height, $750. Arias pistons, turbo, supercharger 202, plus .003’, $400. 202 steel main caps, studs & nuts, $350. Knife-edged Commodore crank, .010', $350. Starfire rods, floating pins, $200. Ph: 03 5422 1942 (BH), 03 5422 7037(AH), to Chev 117 degree moSor, Dart al heads, bowtie block, T&D shaft, rockers. Grower crank, Oliver 6" rods, JE pis tons. Fully recoed by Rob Benson. 650hp. $17,500. Ph: 0418 514 444,03 5176 2257. to Holbay Ford 2400 stroker kit - new 93.2 pistons, RS500 block, 88mm steel crank, steel rods, gaskets, $7,000, save $3,000+ on replacement. RS500 crank, $950.

8D14 cams $850. Ph:08 8278 5988(AH), to l 900hp 509 Cubic inch Sonnys Big Block Chev.

100% brand new, never assembled all parts still in boxes including: new GM Bowtie 4 bolt block with billet main caps, new BRC 4340 non twist billet steel crankshaft, new Sonnys-Dart CNC ported alloy heads with Hart shaped chambers, Manley stainless steel valves, titanium retainers & collets, new huge Crane roller cam, lifters & pushrods.

New Carillo rods, 12:1 Venolia pistons with pins, new Miloden gear drive. Used Hilborn injection manifold, new M48 full sequential Motec computer. Heaps of other parts.

No time wasters, will not separate. Sold as complete unassembled unit. $23,500ono. Ph: Peter 0411 233 453. to

Parts

Chew SIB Bowtie PH6 alum heads, with titanium inlet & exhaust valves and retainers. 1401b at seat Victor Jr port matched. Ph:03 9743 9962. i«

Chev SB dry sump pan, suit Sports Sedan or HQ. $350. Ph:03 9743 9962. 164 Datsun 180B SSS very race 1972 dashboard insert with full gauge set, complete, VGC. $150; Datsun/Celica mags CSA Bathurst 13x6, $150; Cheviot Hotwire 13x7, $200; Cheviot Gold 14x7, $200; Datsun Stanza SSS rear sway/stabiliser bar, $40. Ph; 03 9802 5806(AH). 164 Chev B/B Morose dry sump $350. Victor L port $225.

Ph:03 9743 9962. iia Race gear; 5 pt harness $145; RPM suit $185; underwear $80; balaclava, gloves, neckbrace $90 the lot or $425 the whole lot. All in vgc, used twice. Ph; 0417 598 863, i64 Rally driving light PIAA, $80; Marchall $80 pair. Ph; 03 9802 5806(AH). 164 MSD Promag, ten times more output than conventional magneto. Built-in rev limiter. $2,150. Ph; 0418 514 444, 03 5176 2257. TO VW, IRS Beetle type Super box, billet steel hemisphere (American), 4 star gear diff, 25mm alloy ribbed sideplate, 4.125 crown/pinion, Holinger 3rd & 4th gears - 1.58/1.14. $900 ono. Ph; 07 3351 3506, 019 628 074. 163 l Brake calipers, discs, pads, master cylinders. Large range new/used. Ph: CCI 0418 925 767. lee l Clutches: AP Tilton, QM, 7.25, 5.5, 5.0. New/used. Ph: CCI 0418 925 767. 166 l Oil coolers: Earls, Setrab, Serck, 7-60 row, used/new.

Ph:CCI 0418 925 767. i66 l Pedals: brake/clutch, floor mount/hanging. Large range.

Ph:CCI 0418 925767. 166 l Radiators: alum/brass, new/used, 1, 2, 3 core. Ph: CCI 0418 925 767. i66 l Hewland DGB, TPT, FT top gear ratios, new/used. Ph: CCI 0418 925 767. i66 Formula Ford: Van Diemen Rebel alloy mag wheels x 4, with tyres & nuts, $300. Ph: 07 3351 3506, 019 628 074. i63 Ford: JE Yates flat top pistons, 1.30 pin height, used, $400; titanium inlets $650, titanium exhaust $650; 351C dry sump pan, $320; roller cam valve springs 175-350, $150; 302w pushrods $120. Ph; 07 3878 2740,0419 655 701. 163 Harrop brakes, AUSCAR front calipers and rotors, exc cond, no cracks. $2,400. Ph; 0407 775 688. ra Chev SB JE pistons, set of 10, excellent cond, suit 18 degree heads, 3.375 stroke, 4.125 bore, pin height 1.322, $950ono. Motion valve springs, K-950 new, $350. Roller camshaft, $350ono. Ph; 0408 468 217 (BH),02 9686 7129(AH). 163 Cosworth BDH 1300cc head assy, crank, rods, pistons, Lucas fuel injection. Excellent condition. Will separate. Ph; Ken 03 9796 4588(BH). 163 Datsun 1600 parts^ doors, struts, hubcaps, diff, har ness, seats, tail light, headlight, gearbox, 1800 motor, carbies, bumper bar, roll cage, bootlid. Priced from $5. Ph; Ross 03 5334 6364(AH), les Carillos, 6" Chev, large journal, new, never used. $1,900.

Ph; Danny 03 9716 1560,0407 328 108. TO Yokohama A008RS 205x14, 605x4, $190 each. Ph; Stephen 07 3262 7833(BH). to Escort Fierra ring & pinion sets, 4.9, 4.7, 5.1, new, $745 each. Atlas 3.75 $450. Quaife Rocket box sc/cr $1450.

2000E c/r 3 rail box $825. Quaife Pro 3 rail box $2150. Ph: 08 8278 5988(AH), to l Scales, Longacre, for race car set up. 4 pads, individ ual, front, rear, side, side weights. $1500. Ph: 03 9587 6199 Fax 03 9587 6807. ra ® Speedway Guicktrak diff centre QC-531A, new, $500. Ph: 03 9587 6199 Fax 03 9587 6807. to l BDA Cosworth distributor, cam buckets, pistons (S/H), flywheel, rings, valve guide seals. Ph: 03 9587 6199 Fax 03 9587 6807. to m Hewland DG300 1960-70 vintage gear sets, various, offers. Ph: 03 9587 6199 Fax 03 9587 6807. to * VS Formula Holden steel crank ACL $2500, fuel rails, alter nator, dry sump,camshafts, water pump, roller rockers and studs, timing chain sets. Ph:0395876199 Fax 039587 6807. to

Chev C-30 race car transporter, custom built, 18ft tray, with dovetail, rebuilt 350, new tyres, brakes, paint, interior.

Thomas 80001b winch. $12,000. Ph:07 3841 6321 164 33ft triaxle trailer, 8ft wide, 7ft high. Elec brakes, living & workshop area. Will carry 2 F/Fords or sedan. Plus F100 LWB 4X4, 351, on gas/fuel, complete, $30,000. Will sepa rate. Ph: Tony Jory 03 6326 5555, 0418 130 133. 164

Chev 90 new shape 4X4 K3500, extended cab, 454, auto, fully optioned, lowered. Lund razor-back, sun visor, custom bull bar. Towing package. $45,000. Ph:07 3829 0271. 164

Alloy pantech (18x8x6.5) fully insulated and lined, non slip floor tracks, recessed floor hooks. Make an offer. Ph: 07 3294 7087. i« Fully end two-car Formula Ford trailer. Tows beautiful ly, storage, workbenches, carpet, lights, winch, 15ft x 15ft annex, only 720kgs, 11 mths rego, vgc. $5,500. Ph: 0419 895 692. 164

Trailer: fully end 4 wheel trailer including annexe. Ideal for open wheelers up to F3. Side door, standing room inside, plenty of storage inside. IncI 'movement mule’. $4,500. Ph: Bronte Bundle 08 8332 5585. to Race car trailer, fully end, 4.3 m long, 2.2m wide, 1.9m high. Full rear ramp, side door, tandem drop axles, H/D brakes, new skin (green), alloy trim, new floor, 14’ Sunraysia rims. Rego 5/2000. Must sell, $4,200ono. Ph: 02 6294 3075,0411 598 818. to

Fully end dual axle, electric brake trailer. Suitable F/Ford/Historic single seater. Lots of storage, compact. $2700. Ph: Richard Carter 02 9999 3606. les Tandem trailer, 13ft x 6ft, pro built (Easytow), electric brakes, ramps, 2000kgs tare, 8 ply tyres. Long reg, tows great. $2,000ono. Ph:03 9889 3019. TO

Chevrolet Dually 5th wheel tow unit. Chev 454 pet/gas, a/c, Alcoa wheels, 3001 gas Silverado interior, trailer as new. Sleeps 6, a/c, TV, stereo, fridge, sink, length 42ft. $85,000 ono. Ph 08 9304 1551 to Ford F150XLT, 1990 model, customised. One of the best. Two-tone white/burgundy. 351 auto, air con, canopy, 300 liotre gas tank, custom seat, tinted windows, CD play er, bull bar, tow bar, alloy wheels, alarm, new tyres, RWC, service history. $32,000. Ph: Andrew 03 5367 1866 (BH), 03 5369 2271 (AH), 0419 355 524. to Trailer - lightweight, only 850 kg (has work bench with 12 & 240 volt power) $10,000. Ph: 07 3368 2727, 0418 753 256 or email : mike@gokarts.net.au to

WaiatedI Programmes, early 60s, early 70s, Warwick Farm, Catalina, Oran Park, Hume Weir, Bathurst. Ph Les 024736 1675. 164 Motor racing programmes, 1960s to 1970s. Send list or phone 02 9627 3799, PO Box 289 Riverstone, NSW 2765. 1&1 Photos of Ford Mustangs racing 1960 to now. Improved FYod, Sports Sedans, Group N, Drag, Speedway etc. Ph: Bob Williamson 029627 3799. to Bathurst co-<!river required for race winning GTP car. If you want to win the Three Hour in November, have a CAMS C4 licence and a budget, phone 0410640 644. to Bucket seats, slim & narrow, upholstery condition not impor tant, for a Manx Dune Buggy project. Ph:07 5474 9817. to Lancia manifold for two 45 DCOE Webers to suit 2000cc motor, Ph: John 039287 5722(BH),039379 1587(AH). 1G3 First year apprenticeship. For 2000, mainly (V8 Supercar or Super Touring team). It would be best if the team is based in Sydney or near Sydney. If interested ph Paul (02) 96245979 to 4WD body, coupe or sedan, no mechanicals required. Any make/model considered. Ph: 03 9306 9839(AH), to

©titer Autocourse 1965 to 1995. Offers invited. Ph: 02 4340 2454. TO

Kenworth & 40' Pantech. Truck carries 10 people in lounge room comfort legally. Trailer carries two sedans with workshop and sleeps five in comfort. Ph 07 5543 1698 to

-tr

3 1

64 Albion, 401 Leyland, gas fridge-stove, sleeps 4. Holds car + lots of wheels, spares, fuel etc. $6,000. Ph: 03 5422 1942(BH). 163

Category; □ Sedans 0 Open \A/heelers □ Speedway □ Drag □ Parts □ Engines □ Trailers □ Wanted □ Photographs □ Other

Motor sport books for sale: Aust Comp Yearbooks, Nos 3-12, plus 15, 16, 18, 19, 22. Australia's greatest Motor Race, The Great Race, 81 thru 88. Bathurst, 83 thru 88. $600 the lot, may separate. Ph:08 8251 7889. 1G3 GTP co-drive Bathurst 3 Hour. Mazda MX5. Turn up and drive. $5,000. Ph: Phil Kirkham 03 9306 5715. to Car Watch electronic vehicle monitoring and tracking system, designed for stolen vehicle recovery. Silent, coded alarm signal is sent to the 24 hour Stolen Vehicle Monitoring Bureau, which calculates the location of your vehicle to within metres. This information is then passed on to the police. $1500. Ph: 07 3325 1613. to HKS electronic turbo boost controller, current model. Cost $1450, sell $750. Ph: 07 3325 1613. to Alfa Romeo showroom sales brochures, various models - Giulietta Sprint, Alla Sud, GTV, Alfa 75, 33 16v, $3 each.

Ph: Gail 03 5334 6364(AH), to

Send us your classified ads and we’ll run them for FREE Yes! Motorsport News Classifieds ateabsoliitelyfreefor readers’private car&equiptrientsaIes.Siraplypostorfaxyouradtous&we'nruntttor

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NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS Please use the form provided and print clearly. Please note we are unable to return photographs used in classified ads. Ads will appear as soon as possible after receipt. ‘FREE Classifieds are for the sale of private goods and vehicles only, not business advertising CTrade advertisers see Classifieds header for rates) Photos marked “proof" will not be used.

50 8 October 1999 n i.

MMotorspori n

NEWS

Editorial Editor Phil BranagasB Technical Editor Tony Glynn Assistant Editor Gerald McDornan Graiphics Co-ordinator Viv Srasmby

Advertising

Whafs the big idea?

Dear Sir, If Tony Cochrane is serious about running the Shell Series at the best possible venues, ie those providing good quahty facilities for both fans and teams alike, how can he seri ously consider moving the Queensland sprint round from Queensland Raceway- a track with the best facilities - to a shithole like Lakeside - a track with few, if any,facilities?

Steve Froome Email <ndarke@powerup.com.au>

-PpHyprtPfl

BoxlOlO HortfcCanf^ ficM 1, Talk Converter ; our E-maa address, or fax to 03 9527 7766.

Hie staff of HMiocsiiort News does not oecessarity agree wiifa opinions expresl^ readere. in the past?

QR is going to hold one event a year and its attendance per annum wouldn’t add up to Willowbank’s total over the three-race New Year summer season.

I was a fire marshal for several Sandown and Bathursts and was disgusted that the fire marshal for the Cat team did not have his pro tective glasses on correctly, nor was the pin pulled on the fire extin-

'Kland

Advertising Manager Brendon Sheridan

Shirley Algie Email <SAlgie@aol.com>

Less means more

Administration Managing Director Chris l.^8nbden

Contacts

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89 Orrong Crescent Caulfield North VIC 3161

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(PO Box 1010 North Caulfield 3161) Phone; 03 9527 7744 Fax: 03 9527 7766 Email: msnews@02emaii.com.au

CompuServe: 100237,1155

Contributors General: Aaron Noonan, Brian Reed, Grant Nicholas, Darryl Flack, Jon Thomson, Mike Kable FI: Joe Saward, Adam Cooper Europe: Quentin Spurring US: Phil Morris NZ: John Hawkins Speedway: Brett Swanson, Dennis Newlyn, Sue Hobson, Geoff Rounds, Tony Millard (UK), Rally: Peter Whitten, Jon Thomson Drag Racing: Greg Ward, Jon Asher (USA), Dave Ostaszewski (USA), Nick Nicholas, Steven White, Ken Ferguson, Scott Jug Super Speedway: Martin Clark (USA) Karts: Sean Henshelwood, Graeme Burns, Allan Roark, Frank Viola, John Morris Photographers: Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Bothwell Photographic, Neil Hammond, Nigel Snowdon £. Diana Burnett, Tony Glynn, Thunder-Pics, Marshall Cass, Mike Harding, John Morris/Mpix, Frank Midgley, John Bosher, Phil Williams, Mike Patrick (UK), Daniel Wilkins, Wayne Nugent, Peter French Artist: Bernie Walsh

You reported that the car was built by Ganassi’s team in Indianapolis when, in fact, the car was assembled by Team Target, but actually built by Algie Composites in Columbus, Ohio.

Ian Algie is a native Kiwi living in America and is co-owner of Algie Composites that builds and repairs parts for all types offormula cars.

If anyone is serious about a 2seater for themselves and would like to discuss the details of cost, etc, Ian can be contacted at (614) 5290477, or(614)2727890.

Nasty business: Reader Eeles, an ex-fire marshal, takes a dim view of the Q500 Cat blaze. (Wensiey/Sutton pic)

Abusiing the fans Dear Sir, What a joke drag racing has turned out to be. For nearly 10 years I’ve been fighting to get out of the car park at WiUowbank Raceway at major events.

The situation has gotten worse, especially over the last five years with the Winternationals growing in popularity. Two, three and even four hours I’ve waited to move a couple of kays down the road. jWazingly, nothing was ever said about any improvements to the roads or the traffic situation, Along comes Queensland Raceway, opened one day and already the traffic has been improved.

Why couldn’t it have been done

So, two questions...

Why didn’t the government do anything about the situation before and what the hell was Willowbank’s management doing?

Perhaps WiUowbank should have stopped abusing the racers and done some lobbying instead.

While circuit racing people have plenty of complaints about AVESCO, at least they are promot ing their sport the way it should be done - positively.

Andrew Dawson Capalaba, QLD

guisher when the car came into pit.

If it was not for the pit lane fire marshal, the problem could have been a lot worse.

We look at drivers’ safety, but I think it’s time that teams were scrutinised over the pit crew safety issues.

Maybe a fine needs to be dealt to the CAT team so their crew does not take this issue lightly.

Leigh Eeles Epping, VIC

Kiwi sets the pace

Pointing the finger :

Dear Sir, Watching the Q500, I was appalled at the fire in the pits.

Dear Sir, Just a short note to correct you on the information you printed about the Chip Ganassi 2-seater Champ Car.

Dear Sir, John Bowe is certainly not a lone voice in his belief that less downforce would benefit V8 racing.

I was fortunate to start racing before the arrival of significant downforce and have witnessed the decline in close racing in those for mulae which have embraced downforce.

Compare Formula Ford with any ofthe winged formulas.

I agree with John that the maxi mum the cars should have at the rear is a small Nascar-type spoiler, but at the front they should be the standard body shape.

This would have three advan tages: 1 - A huge reduction in downforce giving closer racing, longer braking distances and therefore more overtaking opportunities.

2- Less damage if a car rmis off the road -ie fewer retirements.

3 - Easier identification of the make of car on TV. Lap times would be a lot slower, but the spectacle would be enhanced enormously.

If you dont believe me, have a look at Lany Perkin’s huge slide at Oran Park and listen to the commentaors.

I am sure there will be the usual huge opposition from the vested interests in the business who view any proposed change as a threat, but it needs to happen.

Any comments welcome-.

John Sisson Email <sisson@optusnet.com.au>

Cartoonist: Allan Schofield W\0 FKA,>lC4tTTi Motorsport News is published by

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Australasian Motorspon News Pty Ltd ACN No 050 179 928 Directors: C Lambden (Managing), A Glynn Publisher: C Lambden Printed by: Wilke Color 37-49 Browns Rd Clayton 3168

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(FIKjEBALL) 18 December l Series Sprintcar CWAB NATIONALS)

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