Motorsport News Issue 189 - September 29-October 12, 2000 by V8 Sleuth

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Issue 189 29 September - 12 October 2000

INSIDE

News and Opinion

4 8 9

16 27 28 82 99

2001 calendar news Perth dodgy, Tassie to return? Crompton leaves FTR What next for Cromley? IVIontoya confirmed At long, long, bloody last Glenn Seton column New car, new co-driver in '01 IMIotor Mouth The FI gravy train has left The Box Seat Action Men, Boise and Tramps Talk Converter Readers' opinion Gold for Aussies In Sydney No Olympics in MN,we promise

Features 30 34 39

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52 54

Day 2 and 3 at Estoril Webber, daylight, Ralf, others The real, fair dinkum McCoy 3 wins and a contract- no bull Bright fires at Firebird We bring you first pics, as usual Sir Frank's new weapon Sam Michael's star rises HRT goes European Muller and Plato get chatty

Race Coverage 20 26 LOWNDES; STOX TIED UP IN RED TAPE?

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Photos: Cover: Scott Soto and Sutton-lmages. Contents: Soto, Dirk Kiynsmith, RaceAccess, MNews Digital and Sutton-lmages.

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Gateway Champ Cars Juan won, Mikey should have BTCC wrap up Ford goes out with a title United States GP Schuey wins, Yanks go crazy

Regular Departments Motorcycles Rallying Drag Racing NASCAR Histories Speedway IMational Scene Marketplace

Lowndes: No news is no news LOWNDESWATCH is heading towards its second quarter, with Craig Lowndes no closer to deciding who he will drive for in 2001. The three time SCS Champion said on Tuesday that he was still resolving the issues which will allow him to settie on a deal to continue in V8 Supercar racing. The stumbling block at present is disagreement over whether Lowndes’ management contract >/. with TWR is still in force. A legal ruling is being sought as to whether the contract is now invalid, allegedly due to non performance in some areas by TWR.A result is expected in a week or so. "We’re still in the middle of sorting things out,” Lowndes confirmed. "We’re making progress, but nothing is settled yet.' Lowndes said that he was still looking at a number of options for next season, but did say that recent reports linking him to the upcoming vacancy at Ford Tickford Racing were off the mark. "I don’t know that that will be happening," he said. Meanwhile, Lowndes said that he was not in any hurry to get things settled. So we’re still sitting tight...

Calendar changes ceming fer 2001 Perth off? And m lassie returning? by GERALD McDORNAN PERTH’S BarbargaUo Raceway management is desperately hanging on the edge waiting for word from both the WA State Government and AVESCO as to whether a Shell Series round will take place at the track in 2001. Rumours circulating late last week had the WA track actually missing out on its place on the calendar, while others also had Tasmania trying to return to the schedule ... WA Sporting Club Events Manager Adrian Chambers told Motorsport News on Tuesday that negotiations were in a “delicate stage and on-going.” “There was a little hiccup along the way,but we have been having on-going discussions both with the State Government and AVESCO and we are hopeful that we will be able to bring the series back to Perth next year,” Chambers said. Chambers said one of the major obstacles was the AVESCO fee, with the sanction costs rising from $55,000 this year to $300,000 in 2001. “The WASC is able to increase its commitment significantly, but not six fold. “To meet the costs, we would require

government input,” Chambers said. “If we did lose the roxmd,I would have to say that I would find it extraordinary that the V8 Supercars might run five events in Victoria and none in WA.Also, given that the main series sponsors - Shell, Holden and Ford - have important markets in the west,I would find it hard to believe they could ignore it.” WHILE the WASC continues its negotiations, Motor Sports Tasmania is looking to returning to the Shell Series calendar in the near future. Geoff Rosan,interim chief of MST,said on Tuesday he was currently finalising the transfer of ownership of Symmons Plains from the Hobart Sporting Car Club to MST and it was his intentions that a round be sought for the facility. “Everybody wants to get back into the Shell Series,” Rosan said.“We intend to have the Shell Series, and any other major national series, run at Symmons Plains. Any series can’t be considered truly national until they do run in this state.” Rosan conceded that a spot on the 2001 calendar was remote, but did say that 2002 was definitely his intention.

More Benetton for Webber

Get used to this sight: Benetton loves Mark, Mark loves Benetton. Looks like it might be permanent. (Photo by mnbws Digital)

MARK Webber is set to begin development testing for the Benetton FI team within a fortnight following a superb three-day test in Estoril, described by the team as “amazing.” Webber topped the time sheets at the end ofthe three days, 0.2s quicker than Ralf Schumacher (Wilhams)and four-tenths up on Benetton’s Giancarlo Fisichella. While negotiations take place over his future with Benetton, Webber will shakedown the team’s interim 2001(200B)car, complete with Renault’s new 110 degree VIO,before imdertaking the first fuU three-day test for the car, probably in Spain. Tbam designer Pat Symonds confirmed in Estoril that the interim car would he ready “in about three weeks” and,following Webber’s stunning test(see pages 27,30), suggested that the Australian would he asked to

You can see the times -he^ obviously quicF' -Benetton’s Pat Symentis

undertake the initial testing. “You can see the times-he’s obviously quick,” Symonds told Motorsport News.“But he’s also methodcal, describes the car well, and is sensible...” With Fisichella and Jenson Button contracted for 2001, Webber’s role with the team will be that oftest driver. Symonds and team manager Gordon Message were particularly pleased with Webber’s feedback and the team has a huge test programme planned for 2001-to the degree that it may utilise two separate test teams. Apart from financial and contractual details, the remaining decision appears to be whether or not Webber will dovetail the testing

in with an F3000 race programme, most likely with the Super Nova team. Opinion is split between Symonds andMessage over the desirability of racing, given the expected heavy testing schedule. And when will Webber get to race PI? Most likely 2002, although opportumty may come earher if either Fisichella or Button are for any reason unable to race, through injury or iUness. Suggestions that Webber may be given an opportunity in the final two Grands Prix of 2000, at the expense of the departing Wurz, have been aired again, but contractual and financial hrudles make it unlikely- although not impossible. His futiue in FI,based on the Estoril test, looks assured. As the Kid from Queanbeyan .^ himselfsummed up the three days; “Mate,this is just the start...” -CHRIS LAMBDEN motorsport news

NEWS Will an Aussie lead the CART? Could an Aussie be the next head man at CART? Sources in America suggest that an Australian promoter is under consideration for the top job in Indy car racing. All the usual sources deny any knowledge of the candidate but Motorsport News believes that the bloke with his CV in the mill is none other than Sandown’s Jon Davison ... ■ Glenn Seton will debut a new Falcon AU next weekend at Sandown. The new #5 car features a number of small changes (which, as usual, the team is loathe to discuss) and will be shared by Seton and Neil Crompton at Bathurst in November.

Going hard: Jason Bright tests John Della Penna’s Reynard-Toyota at Firebird on Monday. (Photos by Scott Soto)

Bright shines in CART test JASON Bright has impressed Della Penna Motorsport on his first day of Champ Car testing at Firebird Raceway in Arizona. The 27-year-old Queenslander completed about 100 laps of the twisting, 2km track in oppressive heat, running consistent times and giving good feedback to his engineers. Bright was within 0.5s of the drivers tested by Target Team Ganassi at the same track two days previously. The current FedEx Series championship team tested Formula 3000 aces Bruno Junqueira and Nicolas Minassian, and Indy Lights contender Casey Hears and Formula Atlantic racer Buddy Rice. Bright was restricted to running on harder Firestone tyres and had to stick to a rev limit of 15,000, 1000 under the Toyota engine’s normal 16k limit. And, the good news is that Bright was looking for faster times on the second day of his test on Tuesday. “Tomorrow (Tuesday), I think that the car will be a second quicker, with the cool air allowing 29 Sspietnlier 2000

■ Bad Breaks Dept; We hear that Christian D’Agostin will miss the Sandown round of the Shell Championship Series. The Melbourne driver has broken a wrist snowboarding (at this time of year?) and will now have to wait until Bathurst to race Derek Van Zelm’s Commodore VT. ■ Jason Bright’s good news re the Honda Indy 300 is bad news for Memo Gidley. The American hot shot dunced one of Della Penna’s two ReynardToyotas at Gateway, so will be an onlooker when Jason takes to the Surfers streets on October 13. ■ Tony Newman was due to test his Peugeot 406 Super Tourer at Wakefield Park as Motorsport News closed for press. The kiwi, who missed the last BOG Gases round at Oran park due to illness, was ‘shaking down’ at the track in preparation for the next round of the series on October 29.

faster times first thing,” he said. “That’s usually what happens here and it was the same when we were testing here in the Lights car.” Team boss John Della Penna, who oversaw Bright’s test, was impressed; “I wish we had a couple more days, but Jason is doing a very good job in the car,” said the Argentinean. “He is pacing himself

and hasn’t made any mistakes in the car, and I am hopeful that he will be able to get a good^result in the race.” Bright will race the car, which is usually raced by American Memo Gidley, in the Honda Indy 300 on the Gold Coast on October 13-15. For more news and first pics of Bright’s test, see page 39.

■ Apologies to the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club. In the last issue of Motorsport News we headed a report on the state race meeting at Phillip Island ‘Island Magic’, not realising that that is the title for the upcoming race meeting at the Island on October 25/26. Regs for the meeting are available on the internet at www.piarc.com.au. The person responsible has been sentenced to wading through results for the mixed singles dressage in Oxford Street... S

Rahal by JOE SAWARD

Ring 0418 Route 66: Michael is about say Bon Voyage to Newman-Haas for a future with Motorola and Green. (Photo by Sutton-lmages)

Andretti/Motopola deal set AS we closed for press, news from the USA confirmed that Michael Andretti was about to announce that he will drive for satellite Team Green entry in the FedEx Champ Car series for the next two years. The 37-year-old American will be backed by Motorola, which has previously sponsored Mark Blundell’s PacWest Racing entry. An announcement of the deal, said to be worth US$25m($46m)was scheduled for Tuesday, US time, in Indianapolis. Andretti’s choice of engines is said to be between Honda, which has supplied Team Green for the last four seasons, and Toyota. Andretti and his father Mario own a string of Toyota dealerships in the USA. Andretti’s imminent move appears to pave the way for Cristiano da Matta to replace him at NewmanHaas Racing. The Brazilian, who took his first win for PPI Motorsports at Chicago in July, has apparently agreed terms with both Carl Haas and current boss Cal Wells, who has on-sold da Malta’s 2001 contract after picking up his option last month. Current

Newman-Haas driver Christian Fittipaldi is contracted to stay with the team until the end of 2001. The move by Andretti may be an interim one. He and his father are said to be seeking a CART franchise to set up their own team, which would most likely hit the Champ Car series in 2003. Andretti Jr is also said to be looking for a competitive Indy 500 ride for next season. Rumours have connected him with Target Ganassi Racing, for which he ran the CART series in 1994, or 1997 and ’99 Indy Racing League Champions, Team Menard. There are also suggestions that Team Green could field an IRL car for Andretti in the race, as team boss Barry Green was quoted recently as saying that the IndianapoUs-based team has the capacity to service as many as eight race cars, regardless of which series they run in. Team Kool Green currently fields two Champ Car entries for Paul Tracy and Dario Franchitti, as well as two Indy Lights cars for Jonny Kane and Jeff Simmons.

AS we predicted recently, CART team owner Bobby Rahal has been named as the new chief executive of Jaguar Racing. He will start working with the team at the start of December. The current chief executive Neil Ressler will remain with the team as chairman. “This is the first building block," Ressler said in Indianapolis. "There will be more to come." Rahal has a three-year contract with the team but Ressler says that he hopes it will be the start of a much longer-term relationship. Rahal is not underestimating the task ahead of him. "It is going to take time, effort and commitment to turn Jaguar into a winning team," he commented. "I don't think that there are any easy solutions to any of this. One person does not make a team. This is going to take a tremendous effort across the whole company to create the success that we all want. "It is easy to say you want success, and you can wish for it. But if you wish for it, it will never happen. You have to go out and earn it. Rahal is moving his family to England. The move is a very significant one for Ford - the owner of the Jaguar team - as Bobby Rahal has been the leading exponent for racing team^ using the Ford Motor Company's Advanced

Murchison tests CHRISTIAN Murchison has returned to Australia following a test at Le Mans with the Gauloises Junior Frost F3000 team. The Formula Holden Rookie of the Year completed 40 laps of the short ‘Bugatti’ circuit, eventually setting a time one second slower than regular team driver Sebastian Bourdais. “They were fairly shocked at how I adapted to the car and the circuit,” reported Murchison. “It went very well. The car set-up

suited me a lot more than the Red Bull car(which Murchison tested in Hungary recently). The car itself probably wasn’t better; they’re all the same spec chassis anyway. “They wanted me just to go out and cruise around, and they said they weren’t expecting too much considering that I had to learn the track, team and the car. They said there was no pressime.” Murchison set his lm33.5s in the afternoon; the Gauloises team told him that the track is five to six-tenths slower in the afternoon, motarspori news

NEWS

for Jaguar JAGUAK

Taking the helm: Rahal right is excited about his new job. while Neil Ressler will continue as Chairman - when he wakes up.(PiwiobySiaum.imases)

"If you wish for success. It will never happen. You have to go out and earn

- New Jag FI boss, Bobby Rahal Engineering Centre in Dearborn, Michigan. This is an amazing facility with extraordinary computer simulation capabilities, particularly in the area of computational fluid dynamics and thermal and aerodynamic systems engineering. There are also highly advanced hydraulic road simulation rigs and

systems for creating rapid prototypes. These facilities have not yet been properly used by Jaguar Racing but will eventually prove to be useful both in terms of getting better performance but also in faster production processes to speed up development. Rahal's connections within the racing world will also help the team to build up a stronger team. Bobby Rahal will continue in his role as president of Team Rahal in CART although the running of the operation will be left to general manager Scott Roembke. - JOE SAWARD

Prosfs F3000 Murchison said that he still very much focused on racing in P3000, but should it not happen then he is considering America as an option. “Our goal is to go F3000 until such stage that we can’t, and then we’ll look at other things. The good thing about it(the Frost drive)is that it’s very close to free. It’s substantially subsidised. “Indy Lights is looking like it hopefully could be a lot easier than F3000. I’m pretty confident that we could get into Indy Lights if not F3000, considering the 29 Sepiemlier 2000

previous performances of past Formula Holden drivers in Indy Lights. Having tested for the Red Bull team in Hungary, Murchison said that “nothing” will now happen with the team. “The team was very good but not one that was going to work with me. The language barrier and a few other things were a problem, and anyw'ay they’re(Red Bull) going to put their Fonnula 3 driver in the second seat,” he said. -AARON NOONAN

Nations Cyp joins New Years eve party In Adelaide NATIONS Cup cars will be on the support bill for the Race of a Thousand Years on New Year’s Eve in Adelaide. The categoi’y joins TransAm,the Sebring Cup (for historic Sportscars in much the same mould as the Formula Adelaide Grand Prix car races at the V8 race) and the VW Beetle Le Mans Series Pro-Am on the support bill for the December 31 event. “Nation's Cup has grown quickly in its first year to become one of the most entertaining categories in Australian motorsport,” Le Mans Adelaide Managing Director, Dean Rainsford said. “It completes what will be a varied and very exciting support package for the Le Mans Series grand finale. “The on-track action will be fantastic and that will be mirrored off -rack as well with fashion parades,food and wine exhibitions, street parties and fireworks displays - it will be a great way to celebrate New Year's Eve.” -AARON NOONAN

Black weekend for Eyro rallying FOUR spectators have been killed in a French Rally Championship event. The Subaru of Marco Massarotto went of control at over IfiOkmh aind smashed into a concrete electricity pylon, which buckled under the impact. The pylon crashed down on the car and spectator area, killing four onlookers, Massarotto was killed instantly and co-driver Philippe Delcroix was seriously injmured. Among the victims was a nine-year-oM boy, while nine other spectators were injui’ed. The FFAhas launched a full investigation into the accident. The rally was called off immediately. On the same day,there was also a death in an Austrian event. Herbert Lettner died shortly after arriving in hospital after his Gold TDi was involved in an accident during the Oberwart Rally, near Vienna. That event was also cancelled.

n FAI is offering a $200,000 bonus to any team that can break the race record at Bathurst this year. The company offered half that figure last year, however the record still stands with Jim Richards and Mark Skaife at 6 hours, 19 minutes and 14.80 seconds, set in 1991. n V8 Lites Champion Dean Canto will be joined for the FAI 1000 by Queensland Formula Ford driver Ian Moncrieff. The pair will drive the Falcon AU currently driven by Paul Weel. n Whispers around on Tuesday had the impressive Owen Kelly possibly finding a seat with Rod Nash’s Repco/Autopro outfit for Bathurst. It is believed Nash is close to confirming both cars for Bathurst and Kelly, who’s out of a ride at Big Kev’s with Paul Morris not contesting the Macau race, sitting in alongside Cameron McConville. Kelly wouldn’t comment on Tuesday... n Could Fred Gibson be headed back to Gibson Motorsport? Rumours surfacing early this week had the reigning Bathurst-winning team owner back at the helm on a consultancy basis. n The famous Rouse name is returning to Pommy race tracks. Julian Rouse, son of four-time BTCC winner Andy, will compete in the Renault Clio UK Cup next season. The 19-yearold’s car will be prepared by the old man at the Rouse-Hall Motorsport shop in Coventry. n Having a red hot shot Dept; Double Olympic Gold Medallist Michael Diamond made it two in a row with some inspiration frgm Peter Brock last week. As Diamond took dead aim in the men’s trap, you may have noticed the familiar Brock autograph on the peak of his team cap. Sounds like a good investment for any sports memorabilia collector - that is, if you could convince Diamond to part with it. Don’t argue too hard; he’s armed ... n The first round of testing for the new Yokohama Formula Holden tyre has been conducted at Oran Park. With a chief engineer from Japan on hand, Chris Staff ran one of Graham Watson’s cars for the test. Development of the tyre is l reportedly looking good. I

Dilemmas

ntinue Croir

Compromise changes knocked back at Eastern Creek Apian to alter the layout of Eastern Creek Raceway to allow it to accommodate both full-time circuit racing and drag racing has been rejected by a New South Wales government official on the grounds that it wouldn’t be acceptable to the leaseholders, the ARDC. Drag racer Jim Read and partner, publisher David Cook, had the plans drawn up by a civil engineer after their plans to build a stand-alone drag strip, the Western Sydney Motorplex, on an adjacent block of land were rejected by the government, preferring to give approval in principle to a parallel strip to be built alongside the main straight at Eastern Creek. The parallel strip option has been totally rejected by ANDRA and the drag racing community, with the plans announced on July 29 being labelled as unsafe, unviable and impractical. It also spurned a protest by drag racers which brought the Sydney CBD to a complete standstill last month. The new option by Read and Cook proposed the current circuit be reduced from its current length of 3.6ks to 2.89ks by re-routing the track behind the pit complex, while at the same time also building an entirely new pifrentertainment facility behind Corporate Hill. The

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Compromise: Jim Read’s option for Eastern Creek, which would see circuit racing and drag racing run together, mightn’t see the light of day. current grandstand would also be relocated. The proposal would allow for the main straight and facilities to be used exclusively by drag racing - the option freeing up another 40 days to circuit racing at the track, which is currently unavailable due to preparation for legal offstreet drag race meetings. Read told Motorsport News he was disappointed. “We have made a significant compromise by accepting the government’s push to have Eastern Creek as Sydney’s motor

sport centre,” he said. “Our option allows for the ARDC to continue promoting and running circuit racing unhindered, while also allowing for drag racing to control its own destiny. “The Government requested a compromise and we have. Now the ball is in their court.” Read and Cook’s proposal also comes in under the $7.6 million cost the Government had estimated the parallel drag track would cost. - GERALD McDORNAN

the eye... Threatening the race serves two purposes: it encourages Sllverstone to get on and do its planned modifications; and it gives the British government an incentive to help because of the potential embarrassment of losing the Grand Prix. The current government might not seem very keen to help FI, given the problems between Prime Minister Tony Blair and Bernie Ecclestone over his US$1.6m donation to the Labor Party. The affair has dogged Blair since he decided to block European anti tobacco legislation and it was revived again last week with the publication of a new book by political writer Andrew Rawnsley, who is claiming that Blair and Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, lied about the donation.

Naturally, the opposition Conservative Party has called for an inquiry. According to Rawnsley, Blair told a friend at the time of the crisis: "This is the end ... they'll get me for this." Rawnsley also alleges that Brown admitted privately that he had lied, saying: "If this gets out. I'll be destroyed." Blair last week announced that the government has changed its position on tobaoco advertising in Europe, meaning that the current exemption could be overturned. This will oause considerable political grief from the motor racing industry and could result in the government throwing a sop to the sport by agreeing to fund some of the work at Silverstone. Money is really not the issue, because the National Lottery always has cash available. - JOE SAWARD

William Sllverstone doubts still? the full SILVERSTONE management has revealed details of its plans to upgrade the circuit in an attempt to keep hold of the British GP, although Max Mosley is not convinced... The plans include connplete new pit facilities for FI, although Mosley says Sllverstone would need more to keep the race. Mosley visited the track last week to see the plans for the track, but, when he arrived at Indy for the USGR he remained scathing in his criticism of the track. "The future of the British GP as a round of the World Championship must be in serious doubt," Mosley said. "The worst thing is that people cannot get in or out. When people ask me about Silverstone, I feel like cringeing with embarrassment." His behaviour suggests that there is more going on than meets

WILLIAMS hasfinaUy confirmed that Juan-Pablo Montoya will be partnering Half Schumacher next year. The news has been expected ever since Williams released Jenson Button to drive for Benetton. Montoya’s deal with Williams is for two years. The 25-year-old from Colombia has been racing in CART for the last two years with Target Chip Ganassi Racing. He won the title last year, but this year has been developing the Tbyota engine and has not been able to moimt a serious challenge for the title, although he has won three races this year. The Williams team still has to decide on who will be its test driver in 2001, but we understand that the team is looking to get an experienced FI racer.

motorsport news

NEWS

ipton in limbo ftii* iili senfirais Sathurst as last

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Crompton’s time at FTR has been testing. (Photo hy D-fk Kiyntnuifi)

s goes

Monty The obvious choices for the role are either Ricardo Zonta or Alexander Wurz. Both men are talking to McLaren and the Mercedes-backed operation may be about to announce that both men have been signed as test drivers. However, it might be wiser for one of them to join Williams-BMW. The Grove team is expected to have two test drivers next year, with the second likely to be another up-and-coming youngster. The team is beheved to have been assessing Itahan Giorgio Pantano and a number of other current Formula 3 drivers in Britain and Em’ope. - JOE SAWARD

Williams’ new number Juan driver: We wonder if Ralf Schumacher understands... (Photo by Sulton-lmages) 29 September 2000

VlHian

NEIL Crompton has no firm plans for 2001, despite announcing last week that he would quit Ford Tickford Racing at the end of the year. Although the parting is described as amicable, there is no doubt that a level of frustration has crept into Crompton’s relationship with the team which has, in its expanded form, undergone some birth pangs. While the two drivers performances in testing the same car have been pretty much equal, the team has struggled to get Crompton’s regular race car on the pace for much of the time. Crompton will now look at the relatively limited options available for 2001, but is prepared to accept that there simply may not be a drive available: “There are a few possibilities,” he told Motorsport News,“but I guess nothing’s going to happen anywhere until Craig [Lowndes]confirms what he’s doing. “I’m talking to the relevant teams but, yes, if there’s not something going with what I would consider one of the serious teams, then I may have to sit it out.” Crompton has denied recent rumours linMng him with an expanded Bob Forbes two-car operation. The two have worked together in the past but, according to Crompton,“we haven’t spoken about it at aU.” - CHRIS LAMBDEN

n Mark Webber has some new caps available for his everincreasing number of fans. They feature all his current sponsors and could be the last ones NOT to have Benetton written on them. See page 22 for details. n Attn Konica shoppers; want free dyno time? Bowdren’s Car Care in Albury is offering time on its Superflow 901 to any V8 Lites competitor as a form of sponsorship. Sound good? Ring Stephen Bowdren on 02 6041 2680 for details. n Antonio Pizzonia has sealed the British Formula Three Championship.‘Jungle Boy’ grabbed the crown by finishing second at the penultimate round of the series at Spa last week. The Amazonian (yes, really) is likely to run in the Euro F3000 series in 2001. n Bernd Maylander won the first Porsche Supercup race at indy. Albert Park '99 victor Stefane Ortelli was second in the first race, and Mario Andretti finished 17th ahead of TransAm gun Paul Gentilozzi, while Al Unser struggled to 20th. In Race 2, Jorg Bergmeister won, while the Americans filled the same spots. ■ A record field of V8 Supercars will face the starter at the Honda Indy 300. A grid of 29 will race around the Queensland streets in the FAI Insurance V8 Supercar Challenge. Might be a good sponsor for the field, given previous races at Indy ... ■ The pedestrian bridge at Charlotte, which collapsed ir^ May, injuring more than 100 people, is being reconstructed. Work is expected to begin next month, to be finished by the end of the year. ■ It’s amazing what you find on the Top 40 charts. A current groovy dance number from Pragma, entitled Toca’s Miracle’ is working it’s way up the charts. No word whether Kelvin O’Reilly has embarked on a career in dance music though ... ■ Matthew Coleman will debut his Porsche 911 GT3 at Sandown. The former Audi works driver will run in Porsche ■ Cup, but will run in the Nationc Cup class at Bathurst. 9

ten , home of ,■ [motorsport] Shell Championship Series V8 Supercars* .Sandown

Oct 8

.Rd 12

Oct 15 . . . .Gold Coast . . .(Non Championship) Nov 19 . . .FAI 1000-Bathurst

Rd 13

World Superbike Championship* Oct 15

Rd 14

Italy

FIA Formula One World Championship Oct 8

Japan

.R d 16

Oct 22

Malaysia

,Rd17

FIA World Rally Championship* .Rd11 France . . . .

Oct 1

Oct 15. . . .Italy

●Rd12

Nov 12 . . .Australia . . .

,Rd 13

Nov 26 . . .Great Britian

●Rd14

NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series Oct 1

Martinsville

.Rd 2 1

Oct 8

Memphis . .

.Rd22

Oct 22 . . . .Dallas . . . .

.Rd23

Oct 19 . . . .Houston . .

.Rd24

Nov 12 . . .Pomona . .

.Rd 25

FedEx CART Championship Series* .Houston

.Rd 18

Oct 15 . . . .Australia

.Rd 19

Oct 29

.Rd 20

Oct1

California

Australian Rally Championship* Oct 8 . . . .Tasmania . . . .Rd6 .Rd7

Nov 12 . . .Rally Australia

SOOcc World Grand Prix Motorcycle Championship* .Rd 14 Oct 7 Rio Oct 15 . . . .Pacific , ,

.Rd15

Oct 29 . . . .Australia

.Rd16

American Le Mans Series* Sep 30 . . .Road Atlanta

.Rd9

Oct 15

●Rd10

Laguna Seca

Oct 29 . . . .Las Vegas . .

.Rd11

Dec 31

.Rd 12

. .Adelaide

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home of

[motorsport]

All (ivont dales tn this calendar wore correct at the \ Irme oi panting. Please consull any itKlividual tracks '● and/or oMociations lor data changes

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Flav attack by JOE SAWARD

THE relationship between the Benetton team and Giancarlo Fisichella is cooling rapidly in the wake of Mark Webber’s impressive test for the team recently in Estoril. At In^anapolis, the team was struggling to be competitive with Alexander Wurz qualifying only 11th and Fisichella down in 15th. This resulted in some outspoken comments from team boss Flavio Briatore. “The result highlights the difference between our two drivers,” he said “Alex applied his mind to this race and studied everything carefully before arriving at Indianapolis. Giancarlo tried to rely on his talent, which is no substitute for hard work. This appears to be a repeat of the situation we founii ourselves in Malaysia last year.” Briatore’s comments may be a clumsy attempt to motivate Fisichella to better performances, but may simply be frustration that he has recently taken up his option on Fisi for 2001. Contracts have never worried Briatore in the past, notably in 1991 when Benetton dumped Roberto Moreno to make way for Michael Schumacher, and in 1994 dumped JJ Lehto to make

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Pondering a reply; What could be behind Flavio Briatore’s harsh words about Giancarol Fisichella? Perhaps the same thing that is behind Fisi himself; which Benetton driver has a Foster’s deal ...? (Photoby sutton-imagas) way for Jos Verstappen. Webber is expected to be named test driver for 2001 shortly and, if he continues to show the same kind of pace that he did at Estoril, then Fisichella is going to have to raise his game if he wants to stay in the team.

The fact that Briatore was willing to make such statements suggests that he does not care whether or not he upsets Fisichella, which would seem to suggest that the relationship between the two men is, at best, strained.

Zonta to nil hole in Arrows? DESPITE announcing that current drivers Jos Verstappen and Pedro de la Rosa are to stay for next season, there appears to be problems between the team and Jos Verstappen. 'The drivers are smart, but some of their managers are a little bit slow in negotiating,” Walkinshaw said at Indianapolis. ‘The process tends to drag out a little bit. But it gives them an excuse to come to all the races. So there’s another three to go. By the end of the season it will be fixed.”

Walkinshaw was spotted on several occasions during the Indianapolis weekend talking with Ricardo Zonta’s manager. The Brazilian has been mentioned as a possible McLaren test driver, but that job seems to be going to Alexander Wurz and Zonta’s only real help will be if McLaren decides to have two fulltime test drivers. Much depends on the team’s finances because Zonta does not have any sponsorship money behind him but, according to Arrows

commercial man And^ King the team is planning to build on its existing relationships. “These sponsors will be integrating the team as part of their business and marketing strategies for next year,” he said’’

The team’s relationship with Orange appears to have cooled considerably with the number of Orange personnel at races having dropped off noticeably at recent events. The mobile phone company is understood

to have a three-year deal with the team but there have been suggestions that they would like this to be terminated early. Orange does not seem to have lost interest in F1 in general as the company had considerable trackside signage at Indianapolis. Walkinshaw revealed at Indianapolis that he will soon have a new chief executive officer for the TWR Group which will mean he will have more time available to run the team. - JOE SAWARD motorsport news

NEWS M5E1KI

n Three Canadian race fans died of asphyxiation on Friday night in a motorhome which was parked on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway grounds. It seems that the three were victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, probably as a result of damage to the exhaust system of the rented motorhome in which they were sleeping. A traffic marshal was critically injured on Friday when he was the victim of a hit-andrun driver at the main gate of the Speedway. The driver of the car was arrested.

FOSTEK ,<Pho(o cy Sutfoivlaiagop)

MINARDI will announce today that Gabriele Rmni has sold his 70 percent shareholding in the team to its sponsor,the Panamerican Sports Network, which controls the digital TV rights for Formula 1 in South America. The deal is believed to be worth around US$50m ($78m)for Rumi. PSN is owned by the American venture capital firm,Hicks, Muse,Tate & Furst. Giancarlo Minardi, who owns 14.5 percent ofthe shares in the team he foimded, will remain in his current role. The remaining 15.5 percent ofthe shares are owned by a variety of Italian investors left over from when the team was merged with Scuderia Italia. It remains to be seen whether or not the team will keep its Telefonica deal, as Prost Grand Prix is keen to sign up the Spanish telephone company. -JOESAWARD

FF champ for Festival by AARON NOONAN

AUSTRALIAN Formula Ford Champion, LukeYoulden, is heading to England for the Formula Ford Festival which will be run on October 21/22. The Victorian will take the wheel of a 2000 model Mygale for the Festival run by Andy Welch Racing. “I’ll be racing blokes who’ve driven these cars all year,” said Youlden. “It will be a big task, but I’ll be happy to make the final. Realistically, a top 20 finish would be good, but really we don’t know until we get there.” The event will be Youlden’s first race overseas and he joins James Courtney as Australia’s representatives in the event. Youlden will have quite a bit to adapt to as well. The cars in the British series use the ISOOcc Zetec engine as opposed to the leOOcc Kent engine used in Australia, so the only common aspect between Youlden’s local mount and the one he’ll drive overseas is the fact that it is a Mygale. “The British car has about 40 29 Seotember 2000

Off to the UK: Youlden is heading to England for the FF Festival before returning to again don the Castrol colours at Bathurst for Larry Perkins in November.(Phmo by Mnn.hnii cass)

horsepower more, it’s on slicks. and it’s a twin cam,so getting the set-up right will be a lot different. The 22-year old will get plenty of track time in the lead up to the Festival, with testing at Snetterton prior to moving to Brands Hatch for the Festival.

n Team-boss Jean Todt says that he expects Michael Schumacher to re-sign for Ferrari when his current contract runs out at the end of 2002. Schumacher has said in the past that he intends to finish his career with the Italian team. Michael's victory at Indianapolis was his 42nd Grand Prix victory, which makes him the second most successful Grand Prix driver of all time behind Alain Prost, who ended his career in 1993 with 51 race wins. n A total of 52 workers travelling to the United States for the Grand Prix were held by immigration officials in Detroit because they did not have the necessary visas. The 52 claimed that they were visiting the United States as tourists under the visa waiver programme. The 52, including Austrians, Finns and Danes, were travelling to Indianapolis to work as kitchen assistants and waiters in the Paddock Club. n Wolfgang Eisele, the boss of AE TV, the German television company which sparked eff the European Commission’s investigation into Formula 1, has announced that he is withdrawing his action as part of an out-of-court settlement being negotiated with Bernie Ecclestone. This will help Ecclestone get clearance from the Commission. n A recent study by Lloyd’s of London on the cost of personal accident insurance for Grand Prix drivers has revealed that Michael Schumacher has a policy which is worth in excess of US$20m. Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard and Jacques Villeneuve all have policies worth more than US$5m. - JOE SAWARD 11

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by JOE SAWARD Prancing Horse: Noske gets ready to test the Ferrari at Fiorano.

Noske tests F1 Ferrari at Fiorano

FOLLOWIIMG Mark Webber's superb test for Benetton in Portugal, another Aussie has got behind the wheel of an F1 car, albeit a 1997 model. Prancing Horse Racing's Mark Noske returned from Italy last week, where he had briefly tested a Ferrari F310B, the

laps at Fiorano, while Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer was busy testing for the remaining

1997 Japanese GP and crashed into Jacques Villeneuve at the final race at Jerez.

"I can see why (Mark) Webber's pushing so hard to get into them. You just don't

same chassis which Michael Schumacher used to win the

The car has been purchased by Tony Raftis from Prancing

Horse and will head to Australia to be used for demonstration laps and display purposes. Noske completed just eight

GPs.

'The horsepower wasn't what I expected," said Noske. ”1 thought it would be quite aggressive with the throttle. but the brakes just blew my

mind. Those things stop something severe."

want to get out of them." "They do a client-spec car, so

there's less likelihood of it blowing. The engine has four hours of life, goes back in a box and gets rebuilt." - AARON NOONAN

AS we have been predicting for some weeks, Frost Grand Prix will use Ferrari engines next year and in 2002. The deal is beheved to be costing Alain Frost something in the region of US$60m ($94m) for two years. It remains to be seen who will be paying for the engine deal, but the team says that the Ferrari VlOs will not be called Ferrari and will carry the name of a sponsor, in a deal similar to that enjoyed in recent years by Sauber Fetronas. The Ferrari deal is only for the engine and does not include gearboxes. It is an important decision,” said Ferrari's Jean Tbdt. “We are opening a completely new shop, completely independent from Scuderia Ferrari, which will be in sole charge of supplying engines for our two chents. In terms of supply, the engines will be one year behind the one we are using during the season.” Todt admitted that the money is important income for Ferrari. Frost said that the engine deal

MANNIE FOIB: THE ULTIMAIE TRACKSlOE FAN-BOY

has given him new motivation and that he is not going to give up. “No matter what happens,” he said. “I will remain as team principal.” Alain admitted that the engine deal is expensive, but it means that the team can be much more competitive and that will make it easier for him to run the team. There is no doubt that Frost is selling at least some of the shares in the team and it now seems that a planned deal involving the Lehman Brothers investment banking firm is not going to happen. There is also doubt over whether Frost parted with any shares as part of a marketing deal he annoimced with UFA Sports, a subsidiary of the giant Bertelsmann media company. What is clear is that last October Frost sold 10 percent of the team's holding company to Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. In recent weeks, there have been many names mentioned as possible buyers for Frost shares, notably Umeho Diniz, the father of Sauber driver Fedro, who is one of the wealthiest men in South America. There have been suggestions that Diniz Sr agreed to buy a shareholding to pay for the

By Allan Schofield

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moiorsport news

NEWS

TWR linked to new Cadillac if- n to ■o

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engines. Pa3dng out US$60m would entitle Diniz to around 40 percent of the team, given the valuation when the LVMH deal was done. In terms of sponsorships, Prost is trying very hard to do a deal with Telefonica, but the Spanish telephone company is insisting that the team takes on Marc Gene and with Jean Alesi signed up already and Diniz a likely second driver there is not much chance for Gene. It might be possible for Prost to convince Telefonica to do a secondary deal (in addition to the Minardi sponsorship) and have Fernando Alonso, or even Oriol Servia as a test driver, with a full deal with Telefonica in 2002.

TOM Walkinshaw's TWR operation has a new Le Mans 24 Hours contender on the stocks and it could race as early as next season. The two-time winner of both Le Mans and Daytona with Jaguar has admitted that the design of a new prototype chassis and engine are well advanced. TWR maintained that it was in discussion with a number of manufacturers about the project. It has denied, however, that one of them is Cadillac, which parted company with American constructor Riley & Scott two weeks ago. Paul Davis, general manager of TWR Racing, said: "We have a design team that has kept up to date on sportscar technology, both in terms of chassis and engines. We are much more up to date than people think we are." The open-top chassis is believed to have its roots in a project started under veteran designer Tony Southgate in 1998. This car would have become Nissan's Le Mans contender for the following season

had the Japanese manufacturer not switched the project to G-Force. TWR's sportscar engine is understood to be based around the Formula 1 VI0 used by Arrows in 1998-99, That would make it similar in concept to Judd's powerful GV4 VI0 powerplant. Davis explained that TWR would consider offering the chassis and engine as a package, or individually. A TWR return to Le Mans in 2001, after an absence of two years, hasn't been ruled out. "We wouldn't discount it, although it's getting late," said Davis. "But we've started later than this in the past." Sportscar insiders suspect that TWR will do the Cadillac, which sources at the General Motors brand have admitted will be built in Britain. Prodrive is known to be no longer in the equation. G-Force, meanwhile, has had discussions with Cadillac, but director James Morton claimed it "wasn't in with much of a chance" of a deal. - GARY WATKINS

The benefits of FI sponsorship?

TWO days after the Estoril test, Mark Webber was at Donington Park in the UK, giving representatives and major clients of his latest sponsors , Computershare and the Portsea Hotel - the ride of their life in one of Paul Stoddart's purpose-built FI two-seaters. Based on a 'stretched' Tyrrell design, with Cosworth power units, the two-seaters (of which Stoddart now has no less than five) differ from the high-profile McLaren two-seater in that the passenger is able to get in and out independently of the driver. In the damp/wet conditions, the cars were still 29 September 2000

topping 270kph, then pulling over 3Gs into Donington's end-of-straight ess. Webber had a busy day. In addition to the Computershare rides, the rest of the day was spent giving numbers of Arrows/Repsol/Orange competition winners their big moment in a ffllly Arrows-iiveried car. Among the passengers was also the head of Orange International, Hans Snook, with Tom Walkinshaw present to make sure his big sponsor didn't come to any harm. The day was Webber's last commitment to the Arrows team, Benetton now looks to be his FI home.

n Johnny Herbert's future remains unclear at the moment, but there are still a number of top drives open in CART, with Target Chip Ganassi Racing yet to announce its plans. Newman Haas Racing, which is expected to switch to Toyota engines next year, has one seat available alongside Christian Fittipaldi; Patrick Racing will also use Toyota power and has a ride alongside Roberto Moreno. Forsythe Racing needs a partner for Alex Tagliani in its ReynardFords. A third Forsythe car is expected to be entered by Zakspeed. Mo Nunn racing is going to expand to two cars and will use Honda engines. The second seat alongside Tony Kanaan is up for grabs, while Mark Blundell’s drive at PacWest is likely to go to New Zealander Scott Dixon. ■ The Bettenhausen CART team is to be taken over next year by the Mexican food company Herdez and will field two cars. One will be for Mexico's Michel Jourdain but the second seat is still to be decided. The team is now being run by former Grand Prix team boss Keith Wiggins, who used to run Pacific Grand Prix. ■ Jaguar had an embarrassing time in New York last week when an advertisement featuring a race between Eddie Irvine in a Jaguar F1 car and Johnny Herbert in a New York cab ended with victory going to the taxi. The race took place down Broadway, between 48th Street and 43rd Street with the finish being in Times Square. The Jaguar suffered technical problems... ■ FIA President Max Mosley confirmed at Indianapolis that the FIA would be open to the idea of a World Oval Championship but that, at the moment, there are no concrete plans. Mosley added that in order for that to happen, more ovals will need to be built around the world, but said that there is no reason why such a series could not co-exist with the Formula 1 World Championship. ■ We heard whispers during the United States Grand Prix weekend that there may be an Indy Lights race at Indianapolis next year. Indy Lights is run by the CART organisation and the race could be a first step in healing the rift between CART and Tony George's Indy Racing League. - JOE SAWARD 13

start me up Toyota fires first shot irt F1 by JOE SAWARD TOYOTA Motorsport ran its first prototype Formula 1 VIO engine last week at its headquarters in Marsdorf, near Cologne in Germany. The engine, which has been

designed by a team led by Germany's Norbert Kreyer, ran without a problem. The engine is not expected to be run in a car until the start of next year, hut will undergone intensive dyno testing in the course of the next six months. “We now feel that we have the heart of the car beating and this is good for our motivation,” said Toyota Motorsport boss Ove Andersson. The track development of the engine will be carried out by Mika Salo and Allan McNish right. The team is due to spend the whole of 2001 developing the engine and systems for a full scale entry into FI in 2002.

V "

The track where men are made: Master James thumped them at Spa, taking all

... and they're hiring people THE Toyota Formula 1 team in Cologne is in the process of hiring new people for its planned team, which is due to enter Formula 1 in 2002. There are increasing rumours that a group of engineers and managers from a rival FI team will move to Cologne at the end of the year to form the core of the Toyota FI race team. It is unclear whether this group will include any design staff, but there is no doubt that it will include some men with experience in specialist areas such as hydraulics and electronics. There are, as yet, no indications as to which team is involved, but as it is unlikely that a group of people would move from a successful operation it is expected to be one of the teams further down the grid. 14

Toyota continues to recruit engine men,the most recent new employee being Japanese engineer Norio Aoki, who has spent the last couple of years working for Tom Walkinshaw's Arrows Engines company. This operation has effectively been closed down in recent months with the staff being laid off. Aoki was previously involved in the Yamaha FI program between 1991 and 1997. What is unclear at the moment is what form the team will have in terms of its livery. There are suggestions that Toyota may prefer to shun commercial sponsorship per se and run the car in ‘works’ colours. In that case,the car is likely to be red, while Renault may run its challenger in plain yellow in 2002. -JOE SAWARD motorsport news

NEWS JAMES Courtney has continued on his spectacular winning way by cleaning up the Euro Cup Formula Ford races at Spa last weekend. Courtney won all three races on the programme, in front of all the major Formula 3 team chiefs present for the F3 Masters. The Aussie was over two .●4

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seconds clear of the field in early practice, run in the wet, before clinching pole in the dry and running away with the opening race by over six seconds. The remaining two races were closer, but produced the same result. “It was just the right time to

win well,” James told Motorsport News on Tuesday. “All the main F3 teams were there...” Courtney undergoes a seat fitting at Sewart F3 this week, ahead of a test at Valencia next month. At the same time,it seems an announcement is not too far away which will confirm funding for his F3 season in 2001. AT the same Spa meeting, Marcos Ambrose’s bad run continued in the F3 Masters. The Tasmanian qualified 20th in Alan Docking’s DallaraHonda, but was a lap two DNF.

Lees retires

three Formula Ford races.

Closer

(Photo by SuttonJmages)

MICHELIN continued its preparations for entering Formula 1 at Monza last week, trying out a circuit soon after a Grand Prix for the first time in the hope of gaining some form of comparison with the current Bridgestone rubber. The French firm is keen to get an idea of its level of competitiveness but, as Bridgestone is refusing to cooperate, this is not easy. Michelin's testing efforts now involves two cars at each test, with a Williams-BMW for Tom Kristensen and a Stewart-Ford for Jorg Muller. Michelin is also refusing to give details of its lap times. The company has been running tests since May and has now completed several thousands of miles of running at the BMW testing facility at Miramas and at a variety of other tracks, including Silverstone and Jerez. Michelin is also very active on the political front, as the company is not happy about the current regulations about the policing of the grooved FI tyres, reckoning that there will be problems next year if there are not revised regulations. - JOE SAWARD

29 Semembaf 2000

SPORTSCAR star and double Formula 2 champion Geoff Lees is calling time on his driving career at the age of 49. The Briton has contested only two races since losing victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours just 90 minutes from the flag with Toyota back in 1998. Lees is planning to retire in order to concentrate on a new business career. "I don't really want to retire," he said, "but whatever I do I want to put 100 percent effort into it and I couldn't do that with my new business if I'm still racing." A return to the cockpit hasn't been entirely ruled out by Lees, though. "If my business deal doesn't come off, you'll still see me racing. And if I got offered a good deal that would enable me to race for the full year I'd be very tempted." Lees won the European F2 Championship in 1981 and followed it up with the Japanese title two years later. He was one of the first Europeans to forge a career in Japan and raced full-time in Asia for 10 years. He also started five Grands Prix between 1979 and 1982 and raced Can-Am cars in the States in 1980. - GARY WATKINS

So long; Geoff Lees is heading for the rocking chair after a long career.

{Photo by Toyota Motorsports)

n The West cigarette company has run into trouble with the tobacco and alcohol control office of Lithuania for its sponsorship of stunt pilot Jurgis Kairys, who flew a Russian SU26 plane upside-down under 10 river bridges in the town of Kaunus recently. The stunt was watched by McLaren FI driver Mika Hakkinen and 200,000 other spectators. Kairys was fined for illegally advertising cigarettes. n Hopes that Goodyear might return to Formula 1 were not helped last week when the company's share price dived 11 percent when the company announced that it will probably record a small loss in the third quarter of the financial year, which does not live up to forecasts because of the increasing cost of oil and the strength of the dollar against other the other major currencies. n Bertelsmann Chief Executive Thomas Middlehof has confirmed that the company is planning to build up what it hopes will be the world's largest Internet commerce unit, which will be called the Bertelsmann eCommerce Group. The company has $13.3bn to spend for acquisitions and publicity. The company has been linked to a possible deal with Frost Grand Prix through its subsidiary, UFA Sports. n The European Union's drive against the tobacco industry may eventually gain some logic. Last week the European Commissioner for Health David Byrne said that he would like to phase out subsidies which are paid to tobacco farmers. These cost the EU $863m a year. There is considerable opposition to the idea from Farming Commissioner Franz Fischler, who is worried that the cuts would put tens of thousands out of work in France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain. The funding of the tobacco industry makes no sense when considered alongside the ban on tobacco advertising. The current tobacco subsidy system will not change before 2003. n American rising star William Langhome is due to test at the end of this month in a Super Nova Formula 3000 car at Estoril. The 26-year-old from Washington DC has been racing in the last couple of years in Toyota Atlantic, but hopes to move to Europe next year. -JOE SAWARD 15

NEWS I

2001, simple as that. Some of these guys have V8 Supercar experience and some don't, so there may be some testing involved to narrow the list down. As we stand today.-,we have not signed any driver for 2001. Now, back to the remainder of this season: don't forget we still have a long way to go.

' we head just up the

factory Rider ■in Glenn Setnn

As would well aware byyou now. Fordbe Tickford Racing is about to change face in terms of driver lineup. With the departure of Neil Crompton after Bathurst in November, I will have a new team mate in 2001. Who that is, well your guess is as good as mine. It's probably the question I've been most asked over the past two weeks, including about 200 odd queries through our web site all asking the same question. "So who's going to drive for FTR next year?" It's really hard to answer that at the moment, because we don't know ourselves. We have a short list of drivers from various motor racing backgrounds and one of these guys will line up with FTR in

Shortly road from f the FTR factory in Dandenong to Sandown for the final sprint round of the 2000 championship. As with the past two years. I'll drive number 5 and Neil will drive number 6. Nothing will change there for the moment. The following weekend we will head to the Gold Coast for Indy, then it's heads down for the build up to Bathurst in mid November. FTR will debut our new AD Falcon at Bathurst with myself and Cromley at the wheel, while Wayne Gardner and Neal Bates will hit the track in my current car.

more rigid shell overall. The suspension and running gear will remain similar to our current specifications. It's a huge job building a new car and [he guys have been working around the clock to get it up ard running as soon as possible. Weil done, guys.

n a personal note. I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Neil Crompton for is professionalism and commitment to the task at hand over the past two and half years. When Neil first joined me at Glenn Seton Racing and then

came on board when we formed FTR, he was, and still is, a fantastic asset. Many people would not know what Neil does behind the scenes for our team. His knowledge of motorsport is immense. Myself, Jon Matthews and the rest of the team at Ford Tickford Racing wish Cromley all the best for whatever his future holds. Thanks Neil. Enjoy the racing, Glenn Seton Ford Tickford Racing

ur new car is only the third AU we've built, but we've definitely made a number of evolutionary changes as we've gone along. Aside from the now almost mandatory diagonal bar across the windscreen, our roll cage is a bit more complex with a much

Thanks for the memories: Glenn Seton is extremely appreciative of Neil (Phow by A FI Images) Crompton's efforts during the formative years of FTR.

The economics of FI

Kwacka comeback?

It’s only money ... and Michael Schumacher costs plenty!

JAPAN’S fourth major motorcycle manufacturer, Kawasaki, is planning a return to Grand Prix racing. MN has learned that Kawasaki is reportedly close to committing to a GP programme when the series turns to a four-stroke engine rule in 2002. Kawasaki will join with Ducati and MV Augusta when the series makes the change, the two European manufacturers also planning on making the jump to the premier motorcycle series then. It is believed the Kawasaki factory has already put on hold all of its development of the current World Superbike racer, while a decision on whether they will continue in the WSB is yet to be made. Details of the new gi-een GP racer are sketchy at the moment, but sources are sa3nng the bike will be the next generation four-stroke,

'THERE are times when it is hard to understand the finamces of Formula 1 racing. Last week Ferrari announced its half-yearly results, with sales of 2200 Ferraris and 1200 Maseratis. 'This gave the company a turnover of around US$450m for the first six months of the year and means that Ferrari will probably turn over around $lbn this year. Profit in the first six months, however, was only $10m. Much of the profit is eaten up by the Ferrari FI programme, which is estimated to soak up as much as $200m a year, although sponsors Marlboro and Shell are believed to pay around half of the costs for the team. This is fine, as long as the firm remains under the control of the Agnelli family; but, if plans to float the company ever come to finition, there will inevitably be demand for more return for shareholders. Ferrari does not want to increase 16

the number of cars being produced for fear of losing some of the cachet associated with the marque and so the main aim is to increase Maserati sales. Ferrari is expected to announce shortly that it is building limited edition, high-technology bicycles. At the same time, a successful Formula 1 team is worth a great deal of money. 'The recentlyannounced half yearly financial results of the Benetton company have revealed that the Itahan clothing firm received $82.4m from the sale of its Fonnula 1 team to Renault. The deal will continue to run in Benetton colours for the 2001 season before it becomes Renault-branded in 2002. This means that Benetton gained an additional sponsorship deal worth in the region of $20m, giving the team an overall value of arovmd $100m. - JOE SAWARD

motorsport news

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Stii SIX teams of university and TAPE engineering students from Victoria and MSW have begun designing and building formula car prototypes for the first Formula SAE event in Australia. The Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) has attracted consortium

Sauber looks to Raikkonen I

THE Sauber Petronas team is understood to be looking seriously about signing up Finnish rising star Eimi Raikkonen for next year perhaps even as team mate to Nick Heidfeld. The Swiss team, which is not known for making adventurous decisions, was very impressed by the 20-year-old from Espoo in his recent test at Mugello and have concluded that the jump to Formula 1 may not be too great a step for Raikkonen, despite the fact that he is currently only racing in Formula Renault in Britain. The team has been looking at a variety of drivers, including Ricardo Zonta and Jos Verstappen, while it is not yet certain that Pedro Diniz will move on, although if his father has bought into Prost Grand Prix this would be a logical move for Pedro.

produce a prototype car for a particular intended market, the non-professional weekend autocross racer. The vehicles must deliver high-performance accleration, handling and braking qualities, while also being low-cost and reliable. Judges will award points in several different categories.

Hakkinen, Makinen and Raikkonen: Kimi Raikkonen looks the goods for Sauber, the rising Finnish star testing for the team last week. (Suiton-images) Raikkonen would be a Ksky step but Sauber might end up with a big new star on its books, which would be helpful for the team as it

tries to build up its performance and image to keep sponsor Petronas happy, - JOE SAWARD

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Ganassi tests for replacements CHIP Ganassi has tested four drivers at Firebird East in Phoenix as part of an evaiuation program for drivers to repiace Juan Montoya and Jimmy Vasser. F3000 champ Bruno Junqueira, F3000 rival Nicolas Minassian, Indy Lights racer Casey Mears and Toyota Atlantic champ Buddy Rice all tested the team’s Lola/Toyotas. Team owner Chip Ganassi said that "this is a good opportunity for us to see some of the top, young open-wheel talent, and we were impressed with what we saw here this week." "We've found great drivers like Montoya and (Aiex) Zanardi during tests like this, so we're hoping that trend continues."

Scary schemes

AL Unser Jr will feature a ‘Dracula’ paint scheme for the IRL series finale at Texas in October. In celebration of the upcoming Halloween season, the Galles Racing G Force, in addition to drivers in the NASCAR Winston Cup and NHRA, will carry the 'scary scheme'to celebrate.

Extreme changes WITH Davey Hamilton leaving Team Xtreme and Jaques Lazier taking over the ride for the final IRL race, Hamilton will drive for Fred Treadway’s team in 2001. The team, which has merged with the Hubbard team, is likely to run two cars, although both Robby McGehee and Tyce Carlson have been notified that they won’t be keeping their seats. PHIL MORRIS

by PHIL MORRIS WHILE the record books will show that Juan Montoya won the Motorola 300 at Gateway, what they won’t show is the way that Michael Andretti dominated the race before hi 3 Ford powerplant blew up. The American had lapped the entire field bar second-placed Montoya, until the engine failure handed the lead to Montoya with 40 laps to go. “We were one car shy of lapping the field and that would have been a great boost for the team,” said Andretti. “I lost power and just tried to hang on and then the thing just blew up. We built a sizeable lead and that went away over the next few laps after we noticed the problem.”

"This one is right up there as one of the biggest iosses in my career" - Michael Andretti It would have been the weekend from heaven for the NewmanHaas team. Andretti had qualified 15th but cut his way through to take the lead to dominate, but the DNF put him 11 points behind title leader Gil de Ferran. “This one is right up there as one of the biggest losses in my career because of the championship. We were lucky that Paul Tracy dropped out and that Gil de Ferran(who finished eighth) didn’t score too many points. A win would have put us in the lead though and that hurts,” said Andretti. How ironic it would have been, too, for Andretti to win a race backed by the sponsor of the'car he will drive in 2001 ...

Ithat

away n For Montoya, it was a case of reversal of luck. Too many times this season, the same sort of failure has knocked the defending champion out of strong positions in races. But not this time. “I knew I could run with Andretti,”‘said Montoya. “I didn’t think I could pass him. I don’t know how many races I’ve lost this year for different reasons, so it’s nice to have someone else give me one!” Patrick Carpentier followed Montoya home, while Roberto Moreno was third, a lap down. Chicago winner Cristiano da

Matta finished fourth ahead of team mate Oriol Servia, the duo making it three Toyota engines in the top five places. Paul Tracy, like Andretti, had come into the Gateway round with a chance of stealing the championship lead, but left Illinois without adding to his points tally after he tagged the wall. The gearbox had been locking up and the contact flattened a tyre. Unbelievably, the championship chase, with three rounds to go, is on in earnest. While de Ferran, Moreno, Andretti and Tracy are covered by 15 points,/the top 10 is covered by 40 points, leaving plenty of opportunities for a champion to emerge and the pretenders to trip over. Mathematically, there are 13 drivers with a chance of winning the championship. Points: de Ferran 137, Moreno 129, Andretti 127, Tracy 122, Fernandez 121, Brack 118.

Open the Gateway to repair: Luiz Garcia and Memo Gidley added to the carbon fibre scrap heap. (Photo by Sutton-lmagos)

20 I

motorspori news

CART

As easy

as 1-2-3 JASON Bright has been part of a 1-2-3 finish for Dorricott Racing at the Gateway round of the Indy Lights championship. Team-mate Townsend Bell kept his championship hopes alive by leading every lap of the 79-lapper to lead home Casey Mears and Bright, while championship leader Scott Dixon crashed out and scored no points. “My crash at Chicago obviously set us back a bit,” said Bright, whose next assignment following the race was a test with the Della Penna Champ Car team. “I wasn't able to test'at Gateway because of the crash. Full credit is deserved for Townsend, Casey and their crews. They tested and gained valuable data which helped make me more competitive. “We surprisingly ended up with a bunch of push in the race. Maybe we went too far with our changes after warm-up." Dixon leads by 20 points over Bell, with one race to go at Houston on October 1. Bright sits fifth .eight points behind Felipe Giaffone. He trails Bell in the Rookie of the Year award by 23 points.

Tight title: Dixon’s crash put race winner Bell back in the championship hunt, while missing out on Gateway testing hampered Bright to a degree. (Photo by Sutton-Imagcsj

(Photo by Sulton-lmagos)

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DTM THE stranglehold which Mercedes’Bemd Schneider and Opel’s Manuel Reuter seem to hold on the DTM championship was finally broken at Oschersleben, with Uwe Alzen taking his first win in German touring car racing, despite enormous pressure being exerted by Schneider. Alzen led from pole and was never headed on his way to victory, his performance coming just a month after he heavily criticised the Dunlop DTM control tyre for not offering enough grip for the Follow me: Uwe Alzen categor/s hard chargers. broke through at “That was a perfect start Oschersleben, but for me,” he said. Schneider still retains “The Opel’s a little bit the title lead. faster than the Mercedes on the straights and I managed to get ahead before the first comer. After that, I had to be absolutely on the hmit every single lap because I could always see Bemd in my mirrors.” Reuter picked up more points in third after the race was re-started, ahead of Frenchman Eric Helary (Opel), while the first lap carnage lifted the Audi TTs to their best

(Photos by Sutton-lmages)

finishing result of the season with Laurent Aiello fifth and James Thompson ninth. A third of the field had been taken out in the opening lap of race one after Jo WinkeUiock caused a concertina collision, which he freely admitted was his fault. “I have never made a mistake like that in my whole driving career,” he said. “I’m very upset with myself and apologise to all of the other drivers involved.” Winkelhock dropped to fifth in the points by failing to finish the second race, the 1993 BTCC winner dropping out of touch with

m the front runners in the championship chase. A double vnn for Alzen went out the window when he spun in race

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motorsport news

BIKES Gobert to Brit Superbikes

FOUR-TIME Superbike World Champion Carl Fogarty has announced his retirement from racing after failing to recover from a badly broken arm sustained at Phillip Island in April. Fogarty made his decision after having his first proper ride on a bike at Mugello last week. “I’m a long way away from being in the condition I hoped to be in,” said Fogarty. “Even if I speed up my rehabilitation work, I don’t think I will be able to reach the necessary performance level to be competitive enough next season. I would just not be competitive enough and I would no longer have the chance of going for victory. “I have had a fantastic career and I can be very satisfied with what I have done for motorcycling. I don’t think I have to demonstrate anything else. The tirne has now come to have the strength to leave racing. I want to do it now and leave everyone with the memory of a victorious Foggy, with number 1 on my Ducati.” The crash at Phillip Island occurred when he ran up the back of Robert Ulm’s privateer Ducati when its ignition cut out. The Brit said that he didn’t want to go out that way and hoped to give himself every chance'of making a return to racing. Fogarty’s replacement is likely to be Ducati World Supersport star

SUPERBIKE wild child Anthony Gobert is to replace Steve Hislop in the remaining rounds of the British Superbike Championship. The latter is undergoing career-saving surgery, so the Aussie will take the ride in the Virgin Mobile Yamaha team not just for the rest of the British r&

Celebrating: Gobert is heading to the UK. (Hioio by Bob Pous)

Riding off into the horizon: Fogarty’s rivals won’t be too sad to see the back of the Brit... (Photo by Slipstream Photographic) Ruben Xaus, who tested alongside Troy Bayliss at Mugello. The Aussie set a time of lm53.57s, the fastest ever Superbike lap around the Tuscan circuit and only a few tenths off the SOOcc GP record. However, nothing has curtailed Foggy’s scathing critiques of his rivals. Speaking prior on Colin Edwards’ provisional victory in the

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SWC,Fogarty said; “If it goes to Edwards, he’ll look anything but a world champion in his performances. “He’s been so average, it’s unbelievable. He’s had the best bike, yet he looks knackered when he gets off the thing. Maybe he’s having problems with the bike, but at the start of the year he was raving about how great it was!”

series, but as a wildcard at the final round of the World Championship at Brands Hatch on October 15. "I think the Yamaha will suit my style and it is a good bike, as Nori Haga has proved time and time again this year," said Gobert. "I have already ridden it in one race in the UK and, although I didn't get a great result, I still learnt a lot which gives me good preparation for Brands."

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AUSSIE Mark Willis had a successful diversion to his commitments with Kenny Roberts Sr's Modenas 500cc Grand Prix team by winning the Bol D'or 24-hour race at Magny Cours on September 17. With French team-mates Fabien Foret and Jean-Marc Deletang, Willis rode to victory aboard the team's Yamaha Motor France R7 Superbike, finishing 1m35s ahead of the second-placed Kawasaki of Bertrand Sebileau, Igor Jerman and Ludovic Holon.

Msiw ]

McCoy takes two in a row and third of the season GARRY McCoy followed up his Portuguese GP victory with a brilliant win in the VMencian Grand Prix, the Red Bull Yamaha driver dominating the 30-lap race which was held in sweltering conditions - McCoy the first rider in 22 races to record back-to-back victories. Kenny Roberts finished a hard fought second and increased his Championship lead to 66 points with just three rounds remaining over Italian Valentino Rossi, who crashed out while fighting for second. Italian Max Biaggi completed the podium in third place, riding the Marlboro Yamaha. “I had to fight hard to get past Max in the early stages, but once in the lead I didn’t look back,” said McCoy, who moved into fourth place in the points behind Rossi and Carlos Checa. “With Austraha doing so well in the Olympics back home, I just wanted to do my little bit.” Team boss Peter Chfford was just as happy, saying he predicted earlier in the year McCoy would win more races. “I told everyone after South Africa that Garry’s win there was just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “And don’t worry, Garry’s going to get a lot, lot better yet.” Roberts was equally as happy to finish second, riding the Telefonica Movistar Suzuki, “This was as good as two victories for me and it was the perfect result as far the championship goes,” said Roberts, He cleared out when Rossi crashed 24

his Nastro Azzurro Honda just four laps from home. Early leader Biaggi could not catch Roberts and had to settle for third in front of the Suzuki of Nobuatsu Aoki. Checa ran third for five laps, before a mistake dropped him back to seventh behind Alex Barros and Regis Laconi. World Champion Alex Criville crashed the YPF Repsol Honda on lap six.

Two wheelers: McCoy was brilliant to lead home Roberts and Checa in the 500s, while, below, Ukawa’s 250cc championship looks finished, despite finishing third.

(Photos by RaceAccess/SAH)

Points; Jacque 241, Nakano 219, Ukawa 198, Katoh 193, Melandri, West 116, Waldmann 111, Battaini 87, Matsudo 71, Porto 70.

ITALIAN Roberto Locatelli took a giant step toward his first World title by winning the 125cc GP on the Aprilia. He increased his

commitment to be at Magny Cours and I'm pleased I did, because we got the result we wanted," Willis said. "It was a tough race, but we really didn't have any problems other than the handlebars coming loose at one stage.

Points; Roberts 214, Rossi 148, Checa 141, McCoy 134, Capirpssi 126, Barros 121, Biaggi 118, Abe 113, CrlviRe 107, Aoki 99

SHINYA Nakano beat his Chesterfield Yamaha Tech 3 team mate, Olivier Jacque, in the 27-lap 250cc race to secure his fifth Grand Prix victory of thd season. The win now sets up an exciting finish to the season, Nakano trailing Jacque by just 22 points. Itafian teenager Marco Melandri finished on the podium for the second race in succession. The Aprilia rider fought a tremendous duel with the Shell Advance Honda of Tohru Ukawa, who eventually had to settle for fourth place. Australian Anthony West finished seventh, earning him enough points to move to equal fifth in the championship.

Willis' victory was his second this year in the World Endurance Championship, after previously winning the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race in July - the second win coming after foregoing his ride on the Modenas in Valencia on the same weekend. "1 wanted to race the Grand Prix, but I couldn't be in two places at once so 1 had to miss it. I'd made a

"Now I'm looking forward to getting back on the Modenas 500. We tested a new chassis in Spain recently and, hopefully, I can finish in the points in Brazil."

Dorna sale? Championship lead to 24 points ahead of Japan’s Youchi Ui, who finished third on his Derbi behind the Honda of countryman Masao Azuma. Pablo Nieto (Derbi) was fourth with World Champion Emilio Alzamora virtually saying good-bye to retaining his title after finishing fifth. Points; Locatelli 205, Ui 181, Alzamora 162, Giansanti 129, Vincent 124, Azuma, Ueda 118, Borsoi 95, Sanna,

IT is being reported in the London business press that Dorna, the commerical operators of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, has been offered for sale by its owners, £VC Finance, a division of Citibank. The sale has been rumoured for some time, but has now apparently been confirmed by a Citibank source. It is believed the most likely buyers of Dorna, and perhaps most logical, will be Interpublic, the owners of Octagon, who control the commercial rights to the World Superbike Championship. moiorsport news

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ALAIN Menu has won his second British Touring Car Championship in the last year of the Super Touring era. Any one of Ford’s three drivers, (Menu,Anthony Reid and Rickard Rydell) could have won the title going into the final round at Silverstone, but Menu proved too good, despite ending the sprint race in the gravel trap before the end of the first lap. The Swiss ace did enough though in the feature race to clinch the title by finishing third. Reid and Rydell both struck misfortune, leaving Menu two points clear overall. “I’ve raced against the two strongest team-mates I’ve ever had and it’s been really tough beating them,” said Menu. “And it’s been a pleasure working with them.”

But while it was a day for the Blue Oval, Tom Kristensen scored two victories for Honda,the last BTCC races run under the Super Touring regulations. “I’ve had a frustrating season but to finish on this note is great,” said Kristensen. “You’re never better than your last race and I won that one!” Pole-sitter Rydell got the jump from pole in the sprint race, but Kristensen wore down the Swede, who had to then fight off the advances of Kristensen’s team mate James Thompson. With Menu out of the race, Rydell was driving for points, and managed to hold out the Accord for second. Vincent Radermecker was the top Vauxhall in fourth ahead of a power-steering-less Matt Neal. Reid was seventh and consolidated

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Spoiling the Ford party: While the Ford Mondeos cleaned up the title, Tom Kristensen cleaned up the round. (Photo by Bothwell Photographic) his lead in the points going into the feature race, though all three Ford drivers were in with a shot. However, Rydell was the first to

fall.

Hoping to make it two titles in three years(having won for Volvo in 1998), his Mondeo lined up second, but began to leak water and had to be pushed to the pit lane. The team had changed engines between the racesrthe leak a result of the change. So then there were two. Menu and Reid began their charge through the field from third and sixth respectively, the duo making quick progress, while Kristensen blasted away out in front. Just three laps from the finish, Reid, who had been caught by Radermecker, speared off after the two had clashed at Becketts. His title was over. So then there was one. Menu just had to finish no lower than fourth, and he backed off to let Jason Plato through to second, before taking the chequer in third ahead of Radermecker. Yvan Muller was fifth, having changed all four tyres instead of two at the mandatory pit stop, l with Gabriele Tarquini, Neal and

Thompson following. And so now we bury Super Touring. The class which has provided some stunning action is now no more, but the 2000 series, despite being down on car numbers, still proved very competitive. So that leaves Plato, Muller, Menu,Thompson, Rydell, Neal and Kristensen et al available to race V8s in Australia - doesn’t it? Points: Menu 195, Reid 193,RydeU 178, Muller 168, Plato 160, Tarquini 149, Kristensen 143, Neal 130.

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That sinking feeling: Reid is left to ponder what could have been-.-, (Photo by Bothwoli Photographic)

motorsRon news

OPINION

A star is born - and ff how to say “no

ustralia has an Ft Grand Prix winner on its hands. If you think that’s a bit overthe-top then I’m sorry, but you weren’t in Estoril to see Mark Webber complete the three-day test which left the senior Benetton people present - not generally noted for their public effusiveness - using adjectives like ‘amazing’... I was, fortunately, there. Along the way I’ve been on the spot to see a few big moments in motor sport. This was undoubtedly one of them. As our coverage of the three days (see page 30) hopefully conveys, Webber’s performance became increasingly eye-opening as each day passed, culminating in a series of laps which in succession matched and then beat two of the world’s acknowledged Grand Prix stars. I can hear the cynics - and there have been a few - saying “aw yeah, but was it for real? He must have had the best conditions...” and so on. Well, I’m sorry, but no, it was for real. A couple of facts: Fact 1: F3 glamour boy Antonio Pizzonia has done 12 days testing for Benetton this year and hasn’t got within half a second of either of the Benetton regulars.

Fact 2: Benetton team leader Giancarlo Fisichella set a 1:21.7 benchmark in the cool of the second morning. At this point, Webber’s best was his first day’s 1 ;23.6. Fact 3: The same afternoon, Webber worked down to a 1:22.2. Fact 4: Next morning, in the same cool conditions as Fisichella had enjoyed, Webber matched Fisichella to within a hundredth. Fact 5: Later in the day, on the same set of tyres that Fisichella had used, which had now completed 40 laps, Webber went four-tenths quicker. That’s nearly half a second quicker than the Benetton team leader and fastest time of the entire Estoril test. Think about it. Read my lips. The fat lady is absolutely bellowing it out; the Webber bandwagon has left; the Kid from Queanbeyan is going to be a Grand Prix star.

There'S quite some diNerence and distance between Formuia Ford and the piranha pooi we know as FI II

hile a GP start in Melbourne next March would be wonderful, my mail is that Webber’s role in 2001 will be as test driver - although I spoke to people who were a bit disappointed that Mark’s test wasn’t done before they committed to ex-Williams loan-adriver Jenson Button...

Rake's progress: From Phillip Island, March 1995 (left), where Webber first caught the eye, to Estorii, September 2000, the mission has been the same. =^holos: Kfynsmilh, SuHon-Images

n MILO SEV

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The concept of dumping Wurz for the last couple of races this year also raised its head again, but it’s a bit of a contractual minefield. Although in FI, you never know... However, as McLaren has amply demonstrated this year, employing a fair dinkum test driver is now essential. The days of cash-strapped (or just plain greedy) team owners taking on youngsters based on the size of their cash input will now be limited to the also-rans.

Benetton, soon to officially become Renault, has a huge test programme planned for 2001 with the first all-new Renault engine now ready and the team likely to switch to Michelin rubber. So big is their programme, that they will reportedly run two separate test teams, which will keep Webber very busy - starting very soon. However, Mark’s ultimate goal is (obviously) FI racing, so in the contractual negotiations taking place about now, Benetton will need to make the right noises if they want to retain him for more than one year. f that sounds a bit cockyi'consider this. On the piane home I was reflecting on just how Webber now finds himself a valued part of one of the top five teams in Ft and what made the difference in getting there. Sure, he can drive fast,and, sure, thanks p his time .with Mercedes, he’s become an excellent development and set-up driver. The difference is

Motor Mouth wimeifls lanmihi up top. Among other things, he’s learned to say “no”. Pretty well all his Merc colleagues from the Le Mans disaster now find themselves bashing around Germany in the DTM. Okay for them; not for me, said Webber. It took some time and some pain to get out of that, even though there was at one stage the suggestion of a CART drive. Then there was Arrows. Promised much, then Webber was presented with a long term contract before he would be allowed to test the current car. Big call, but again, “no thanks”. How many of you would walk away from an F1 car, warmed up, fresh rubber, with your name on it? It wasn’t right, so “no thanks”. You’ve got to have implicit faith in your ability in order to make those kinds of decisions, but if you look back at Grand Prix racing there have been a couple of big, big stars who have had that faith and made those calls... Our two other current successful internationals - Jason Bright and James Courtney - are facing and will confront such crossroads themselves quite . soon. Bright as he prepares for his Gold Coast CART debut and Courtney as he furthers his Euro career. As Courtney no doubt already knows, there’s quite some difference and distance between Formula Ford and the piranha pool we know as FI. There will be some hard moments, some tough decisions, but that’s just as big a part of the success formula as anything else in motor sport today. In the meantime, sit back and watch. In my view, we have in Mark Webber a genuine F1 contender. By that, I mean a race winner. If not, I’ll eat humble pie. And I hate humble pie... 21

Beuse, BumSy

ee you in Boise, Idaho," said an American pressman as he was leaving the Press Office in Phoenix on Sunday night all those years ago. "Boise, Idaho?" we said. "Why?" "Because Formula 1 isn't working here in Phoenix, and Grand Prix racing will just pick another place and try that. Boise, Idaho. That would be the answer. The Potato Grand Prix of America". /// He had laughed and strolled away. As far as he was concerned. Formula 1 was never going to make it in the United States of America. The people running Formula 1 simply did not understand the American way. It was easier to blame the Americans for not appreciating the value of FI racing and to go off to Asia and places where people do what they are told.

Nine years later, there he was, the same journalist (with a little less hair) in the Media 'Center' at Indianapolis, He had forgotten Boise, Idaho and seemed a little more impressed. Grand Prix racing was back in America, and it was not some little street circuit around a half-baked city with too much money and no image. No Sir, Formula 1 was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the World Capital of Motor Racing, in the state they like to call 'Home'. Grand Prix racing had parachuted into the very heartland of American racing. And it was working.

ut let us not get carried away. There were a few problems, but they were of minor importance, and many of them were simply down to the fact that

the Britisii and the Americans do not spea < the same language. A couple of years after I left the shoddy little media center in Phoenix, a strange building which resembled The Alamo and was reputed to have once been a morgue (or, as we say in England, a mortuary), I married an American girl and my mother-inlaw gave me an EnglishAmerican dictionary. I thought it was a joke. But over the years I have learned that, in addition to the different cultures and traditions between the Old World and the New,there really is a linguistic divide and it is so easy for both sides to be misunderstood by one another. Having a family on each side of the Atlantic has been an interesting experience and has broadened the mind somewhat. Watching Formula 1 and Indianapolis getting together was like watching the parents and the in-laws getting to know one another a few years ago. The Brits lived up to the stereotype

and chuntered away about stereotyped Americans, and the Americans griped about the superiority complexes of the Old World. At Indianapolis, there were signs of the same kind of irritation that occurred when the edges were being smoothed off the relationships. The Americans were somewhat surprised, and then rather annoyed, when the FI drivers - showing towering intellect in the circumstancessaid that The Brickyard was "just another race track". The English - who make up most of the FI circus - were bemused that no-one seemed to understand when they were joking and when they were being serious. And the competitive nature of the two races remained lively. Indianapolis is the oldest permanent race track in the world, said those with stars and stripes in their eyes. Yes, said the English, but you know it was copied from Brooklands, wasn't it?

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Back in the USA: There really is no place in the world like Indianapolis'-^ Motor Speedway, as the Grand Prix circus discovered last weekend. {p}iotos by Smion-lmases)

motorspori news

FORMULA ONE

and r cket launchers When everything was thrown in the melting pot and simmered gently for a few days, it was clear - at least to me-that both sides had been as parochial as the other. But, by the end of it, the flavours (or should one says flavors?) were beginning to meld together. It may be a long time before the English find it easy to accept having roast beef with cheese on it, but they were willing to accept that Americans do thing differently. The winner in all of this was Grand Prix racing. The American fans loved it. It was new, exotic, cosmopolitan and exciting. "You know," said the man behind the desk in the hotel. Today I've been to Italy, France, Turkey and Greece. Well, on the telephone at least." And even the most critical and superior being from Europe could not avoid being impressed by the work done by Tony George and his engineering team at The Brickyard. It was also impossible to ignore the scale of interest in Formula 1. The fans in the stands quickly showed that they could get used to the concept of cars running the wrong way up the main straight without suffering from whiplash injuries. Inevitably, some never managed to get over their prejudices. The best example of this was in the daily newspaper USA Today, which sent a reporter called Skip Wood to report about Grand Prix racing's return to the United States. In English, a "skip" is a large container into which unwanted things are put. The Americans call it a dumpster, but all I can say is that the article was a lot of garbage (or rubbish, as they say in England). Mr Wood wrote of the "quaint little Formula 1 series" which was "holding court" in Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He opined that '"not everyone shares the haughty opinion that there's Formula 1 and then there's everything else." And he called upon NASCAR to serve as an example of something which is not quaint nor little. We read it and groaned. The only thing quaint and little in FI is Bernie Ecclestone. And while he may be small in stature, his ideas and his ambition,(and his wallet) are as big as some of the Midwestern folk one could see waddling around the public areas. 29 Sepiemlier 2000

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Tony Beorge Wis already talking about the possibility of extending the race track, so that it wii include the seating at what is TUrn Three on the oval. This would hike ttw rr crowd capacity up to 3504)00.

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The important thing was that fans did not mirror the comments of Mr Wood. He did not reflect the mood of the event. Any racing promoter will tell you all that really matters at the end of the day's racing is how many bums there were on the seats. This is to use "bum" in the English sense, rather than the American term which means tramp, a person without a home to go to. In the United States a tramp is always a female and she's far more interesting than any tramp one might meet on the backroads of Brit-land. When the FI cars came screaming out of the pits for the first time on Friday morning, there were very few bums on seats, because the American fans were jumping up and down in their excitement. Out in the merchandising areas, it was like war. The gear was disappearing faster than jelly donuts do in police stations across America. And the money was flowing in. The merchandising folk were caught out and had to send back to Europe for more planeloads of gear. “Never has Minardi been so loved," chirped David Coulthard after qualifying, much to the amusement of everyone. But it was true. The important question is how many bums therenow will be on the seats at Indianapolis next year. Tony George was delighted

with what was happening around him, but he remained a little cautious. "We have to see how many seats will sell next year," he said. But the feeling was that the fever that gripped the fans at Indianapolis will filter across the states, as the Ferrari-bedecked fans go home and tell their neighbours about this amazing thing called FI. They may say that the racing is not like it is in the United States, but you had to be there. It was an event. You have to have the hat and tee-shirt. George is already talking about the possibility of extending the race track, so that it will include the seating at what is Turn Three on the oval. This would take the crowd capacity up to 350,000. There will be a bunch of studies done before that work is undertaken to make sure that the Speedway can cope with that many people when the infield is bisected by a racing track. They will have to make sure that there is sufficient demand, because there are only so many hotel rooms in Indiana. My abiding memory of visiting the Indianapolis 500 back in the late 1980s was the fact that there were so many people there. The Indycars were quick and all that sort of stuff-, but the thing that impressed the most was the vast crowd. It felt like it must have done in Roman times when the Games were on. It was like Ben Hur.

The With Box Seat Siwanl Formula 1 will continue to debate the need to spice up the action to keep the fans happy, but I think that they will quickly appreciate that part of the excitement of FI is the hunting down of the man ahead and the attempts to outfox him. There areup other ways ofof spicing the action, course, and the other day while cruising around a toy shop (as one does), I stumbled upon an idea that Bernie probably has not thought of. He has two teenage girls with him when he goes shopping and so he probably does not often go into the Action Man section (Gl Joe in American translation). I was dragged there the other day by an excited little boy who wanted to show me the very latest in Formula 1 technology. ^ Action Man now has a FI car. It is red in colour and looks rather a lot like a Ferrari. It costs an obscene amount of money and is useless unless you buy a separate packet containing Action Man's racing overalls. I was chuckling to myself when I spotted a most unusual feature in the design of the car. It had a rocket launcher in the airbox, just in case any of the bad guys should interrupt the race. Or perhaps it was to help the man in red to win the race. Over the years, Michael Schumacher has tried most other things to keep his rivals behind him. ■That would make the race go with a bang! 29

... or why Mark Webber will be oor next F1 Superstar ‘f/

here have heen several pivotal moments in the path that has led Mark Webber to what will now undoubtedly be a future in Formula 1. Who can forget the horror of Le Mans last year. Two 300kph back flips. Webber’s Mercedes career may have ended violently, but what went before -the thousands of kilometres of high-tech testing, the intense fitness programmes and the sheer discipline of one of the world’s most respected factory teams - bore fruit on September 13, 2000. This is the day that will, in retrospect, launch Webber into FI. The previous two days had set the scene. As we reported in our last issue, the first day was one of acclimatisation for Webber, honing the set-up on a circuit he’d never seen before and which Benetton hadn’t visited for three years. It ended with Webber some fourtenths off the best time set by Ralf Schumacher, continuing WilliamsBMWs extensive test programme, and visiting Estoril for the second time in two months. Day two was to increase the pulse.

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iancarlo Pisichella flew in to complete a morning’s running with the Benetton, with two aims in mind - the first to run some laps on a new, harder, Bridgestone destined for use in the US Grand Prix; the second to set a benchmark time for the team to measure the new boy’s pace. Overnight, the team had made a couple of ratio changes and, as the grip levels built up, was expecting the times to improve. The tyres were a surprise. Expected to be slower than the existing rubber, they actually turned out to suit the car and circuit well, Fisichella a tenth

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29 Seoiember 2000

Still, by the end of the day, he was down to lm22.2s - a full 1.3s improvement over Day 1 and, in the afternoon heat, half a second off Fisichella’s morning time. The previous evening he’d suggested that “I’ll be happy if I can get to 'within half a second of Fisi. Anything better than that and I’ll be absolutely stoked...” Now he’s thinking that he might just run the team’s ace close. IL As usual, he is composed and analytical: “Tomorrow morning really is the best chance I’m going to have to set a good time,” he confided. “The track does slow down when it gets hotter here, so I

think I’m going to get some fresh rubber early in the day. My braking is getting better and better as we go along - there’s still some time to find.” He’s getting a good response from the team: “It seeins my feedback is exactly the same as Fisi’s giving them,” he had grinned. 0 now it’s the final day. It starts 'as usual - an Sam briefing, then out for the first installation lap just after 9am. The engine has been changed hgain. All the units here are ex-race engines, nearing the limit of their allotted kilometres and, so, doing just half a day each. The Benetton boys

change a lot of engines - one each night and another at lunch time... It’s well after 10am before the brilhant blue Benetton appears in pit lane with shiny new rubber. Low 22s immechately,for the first two, three laps. Lap four 21.7. Yes! That matches Fisichella. In. Pat Symonds,Benetton’s designer, and racing manager Gordon Message have both flown in for this final day. They’re smiling. Message is the one who has recommended Webber to Symonds and team boss Flavio Briatore. He can breathe easily now.

continued on page 32 31

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rrvi? On the face of it, that seems to he it-in terms of going for sheer times. The team reverts to some planned back-to-back testing among other things what looks to be a revised air-intake box. Mark now has his first(and only) ‘ofF. There’s been a couple of spins, but this time at the turn four loop, the car trickles offinto the sand. “Just a bit too deep under brakes,” Webber confesses. The team is unconcerned. The car is back out before lunch. The secret testing(screens are drawn across the front ofthe garage whenever the car is stationary)continues, but late in the day, there’s a final surprise. “They said ‘we’ll'take a bit offuel out and let you have a bit of a go’ right at the end,” Webber reports later. “At that point I was on the set of hards that Fisi had used, which had done 40 laps. “Tim [Wright] offered me a fresh set of softer ones, but said it might change the balance, so I went with what we had.” The result was, well, stunning. The pit board carried the story on consecutive laps: 21.5; 21.4; 21.3. Deep breath. Think about it.'The Kid from Queanbeyan has just gone four-tenths quicker than Fisichella in the same car and on the same set of rubber - 40 laps later... The body language in the garage is tremendous. I don’t think they can quite beheve it. F3 champ Pizzonia has flogged around for 12 test days this year and never got near Wurz, never mind Fisichella. We mightjust have witnessed a httle bit of FI history. The team is desperate for a quahty test driver to take on what will be a big load from here on new Renault engine, Michelin testing - and Symonds and Message (neither known for public effusiveness) are immediately making very positive noises... Webber is laid back - but smihng. He’s had his opportunity.

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Mdtor$i}brt News: Vou look ha|3py with MSilk^ Wbrit Pat Symonds; I came down because 1 wanted to see How he went about things, because we want to use Mark for some more testing. Tm very impressed, to be honest. You can see the times - he's obviously quick. But he's also methodical, describes the car well, and he's sensible... For someone in their first serious test, he's done very well. Frankly, I'm amazed. For what it's worth, we went out and watched on the circuit. While you can learn most from the data, we did go out and have a look and he was tidy and smooth. Fie surprised me a bit. Gordon's been saying for a while that the bloke is very good - so I wasn't expecting him to be bad - but he's actually much better than I thought.

At home; Webber took 1 m21.33s to impress the Formula One world. (Photo by Sutton-images)

He’s completed 147 laps. The car doesn’t have a scratch. And he’s blown away the resident hot-shot. Later that night, over a cool drink (for Webber, that’s water...) Symonds and Message are already talking about what’s coming up. The interim 2001 car; with

Renault’s brand new high degree VIO, will be ready in three weeks and they want Mark to do the first three days... —This is the start of the rest of Mark Webber’s life.

MN: And you need a good, full-on test driver for next year. PS: We've been running this year with most of the testing being done by the race drivers. That's not a good thing. There's too heavy a schedule and they start to burn out. A test driver's job these days is a bloody important one; he's got to be quick, he's got to be intelligent - he's a key employee really and you've got to find the right person. MN; As a result of what you've seen today, is Mark in the frame for that role? PS: Oh yes, very much so.

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Designer Pat§^m0ids reports directly to Benetton team boss Flavio Briatore and,along with racing manager Gordon Message,flew in to observe the final day of Mark Webber’s test. They liked what they saw. The pair spoke to CHRIS LAMBDEN as the team packed up for the tong haul back to its UK base. MN: When do you make that decision? PS: I guess the decision in relation to testing for next year will be made during the winter, but we might well be using Mark quite soon during the winter if we can. MN: Have you ever seen a rookie tester match your number one driver before? PS: Yeah - Schumacher, Senna... [laughs] Seriously, Giancarlo might have gone a fraction quicker if he'd been here for the three days, but, to be honest, it's irrelevant. Mark got down to the times and did it in a very professional manner. I judge him very highly on that. MINI: How does he match up on the data - corner speeds etc. PS: Really good, really good. Mark's in a very good position now to do serious testing and progress from there. I'd be very surprised if he's not in FI racing soon. Very surprised...

We do have links with Super Nova and they've been speaking to Mark.

handled the whole thing. Now we know that he's fairly quick tool

MN: Gordon, you're the person who pushed for this test. How do you feel it all went? Gordon Message; I’m really pleased with what he's done today. Before coming down here I rated him very highly, but only based on 20 laps at Barcelona last winter (Message was with Arrows at that time], where he wasn't able to show how quick he was, because we were purely testing electronics. All I could judge then was his feedback and his attitude and the way he

MN; It's good when you recommend something to the boss and it works out... GM: I don't do it very often. It doesn't work out very often but hopefully it has this time! MN: With Wurz leaving at the end of the season, do you look at today and think it might be worth a gamble for the last two or three races? PS; Mmmm. It's not that simple. You know that... MN; How far away is the new car? PS; We've got an interim car that's running next month, but the completely new car will be the end of January - as normal. The interim car consists of the front half of the current car grafted on to the new engine, gearbox and back end. Words to Uve by:

MN: Are you likely to put the testing role together with an F3000 programme? PS: We haven't looked at it yet, but my personal view is that a test driver does also need to race, but it's got to be in the right sort of thing. If they don't race, I think they can lose a bit of their sharpness without the competition.

Gordon Message top left is the nwn who pushed for Beneium to lest Webber. The teiini takes two panleehs to le.s'ls. Superlee one. There /.s also a niolorhome for die drivers and a eaierini’ iruekl r/iiiti\t>\ Ms,t>

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pemsm/teemaouen 33

Garry McCoy

Sul When Mick Doohan retired, it was feared that Grand Prix Motorcycle racing would find it tough to capture the Australian public’s attention. But Garry McCoy has pushed those fears aside with a

stunning and spectacular year aboard his Red Bull Yamaha YZR 500. GERALD McDORNAN

spoke to McCoy last week about his year, the past and the future... motorsporl news

FEATURE [\!0B0DY quite believed that, in the 'post-Doohan' era of SOOcc Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Australia would find a replacement hero so quickly. Doohan had won five championships on the trot and, despite the massive personal cost through injuries, captured the heart of the nation with his incredible desire and ability to master the wild 500s. But, with three resounding wins this season and a spectacular sliding riding style that even the colourful Valentino Rossi says he would pay to watch, Camden's Garry McCoy has quickly filled the void. McCoy is a great Australian success story. He rose from being an unknown speedway competitor in 1991 to winning his first 125CC GP, the Malaysian GP, only two years later. But, while success seemed a formality, McCoy became stuck in the wilderness. He won just one more 125cc race in the following four years - his home GP at Eastern Creek - despite the promise of much more. Thankfully, his abilities and promise didn't go unnoticed and, in 1998, the chance he'd been yearning for finally came - a ride

in the 'big time' with fellow countryman Jeff Hardwick's newly formed Shell Advance Honda BOOcc team. The season, though, proved to be a tough, humbling experience that left McCoy battered, bruised and broken, and out of a ride for the following season. Again McCoy seemed on his own... "Early 1999 was certainly a rough time for me, not having a ride and not really knowing what I was going to do," McCoy says. "I broke my ankle threequarters of the way through '98 and that put me out until the end of the season. When it came time for everyone to commit to their riders for '99, I wasn't ready and I missed out, simple as that. It was hard." Having time to think about what he had, and the year during which he partnered Spaniard Juan Borja on a pair of Hardwick's quasi-works HRC Vtwins, McCoy recognised the fact that the experience was terrific and could hold him in good stead for the future. "For me, riding with the Shell Advance team was a good thing, it helped me get acclimatised to the 500s. "Having come from 125s, I

think it would have been too big an ask to have stepped onto a V4 straight away, so the V-twins were great." That experience, and his willingness just to have a red-hot go, earned McCoy a call from the troubled Red Bull Yamaha team midway through the year. The team, struggling with New Zealand rider Simon Crafar, who was finding it hard to come to terms with the switch from Dunlop to Michelin tyres, decided McCoy deserved a chance. The Australian literally took the red bull by the handlebars and has made the most of the opportunity. "I felt sorry for Simon as he was obviously struggling with the switch in tyres - I'm not quite sure why - but when I got the call from Red Bull, I really couldn't let it go. It was something I had been waiting for, for a long time and I just had to go for it," he says. Still, he did have his doubts about joining the team at first. "Yeah, I had second thoughts about joining the team half way through a season as I was still coming back from injury and 1 hadn't really trained a great deal ...a few doubts went through my mind. But, in the end, I just

said 'I've been waiting too long for this,' so I just did it." And do it he did, McCoy impressing all with his efforts on an unfamiliar bike last year before coming out and winning first time up in 2000 in South Africa, and then repeating the effort at the last two races, in Portugal and Spain. "Joining with the Red Bull Yamaha team last season gave me the opportunity to ride for half a season, while also giving me time to get used to the bike, the team, the whole package ... it was a good opportunity." There's no doubt the opportunity was right, and with three wins, a couple of podium finishes and fourth in the points, you couldn't help but think that everything was on track - but McCoy warns that it has been far from being all beer and skittles... "We had actually hoped to have done better than we have so far, but there's still a chance of getting a few good results yet, and [the year] should turn out okay." McCoy understandably points to a mid-season slump that produced little in the way of continued on page 36

tan of Slide Joining with the Red Bull Yamaha team last season gave me the opportunity to ride for halt a season, while also giving me time to get used to the bike, the team,the whole package... It was a good opportunity ri

- MeCoy on his call-up midway through the 1999season

King of the.kids; McCoy's riding style has captured the public’s imagination. Hopefully next year they’ll have . (Photo courtesv Hed Bull Yamaha) McCoy hatsfor the Aussie to sign...

29 September 2000

Garry

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finishes and results, a period which actually saw the one-time championship contender drop to as low as 11th in the points. The reason for the slump he says is, ironically, one of the critical reasons for his success in 2000-the 16.5" rear tyre. "A lot of our downfall was not having enough experience with the smaller tyre, along with Michelin also not having enough different types of the tyre to suit the weather conditions that we've been put up against this year," McCoy says. The choice to run that dimension rubber was all his, though... "We used the smaller tyre during a few races during last season and we liked it. Then in pre-season testing, we backedto-backed it with the larger tyre and we seemed to prefer it. "Michelin sat down with us and said that if that's what we wanted to use, they'd be prepared to help us out provided we stayed on that path. We've stuck with it and, while we had some problems for a while there, there is no doubt the experience will hold us in good stead for the future." To back his point that the 16.5" tyre might be the way to go, McCoy points to his rivals... "The last couple of races, the whole field has virtually been running the same tyre. They all thought it would be a mistake, but it's been incredible'to'see them all switch over." He is also quick to point to its maker, Michelin, as a major factor in his and his competitors' move to something different: "Michelin have worked hard and I really have to thank them for making it all work. They too ^ had little experience with the , tyre and they've had to push fust as hard as ourselves to get the results." Ironically, it is also through the

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use of the 16.5" tyre and the way it allows the Aussie to slide through corners with the front wheel crossed up, that McCoy has - aside fronn winning races seemingly gathered an incredible amount of attention, both from the media and the fans. "I'm actually surprised that the other guys don't ride a little like that. It's not something that you try to do - it's just that as the tyres go off the bikes move around so much," he says. McCoy isn't too concerned that his 'style' isn't being copied, quite happily lapping up the attention of the fans. "The people love it... they seem to love the way I ride and they go over the top. That's great." On the serious side of riding, McCoy's ability to provide Michelin and his team with strong technical feedback has been one of the major contributing factors in his results. It has also led to the Red Bull team signing the 28-year-old to a contract which secures his ride until at least the end of 2002. "It's good to know that I've got a ride for a couple of years, but security really wasn't the reason for re-signing," he says, while also dismissing suggestions that his results picked up only because of the new contract. "The team understood the tyre situation and, to their credit, they saw the potential and began talking about the future while we were in the middle of the bad patch. They know I'm not riding any differently now compared to then... "Re-signing with Red Bull Yamaha also made sense to me. Why spend a year-and-a-half gaining experience on the bike and getting to know the team just to leave and start all over with someone else?" continued on page 38

motorsoon news

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In the media spotlight: While happy with the attention his success brings, McCoy seemingly finds it all a little bit daunting, preferring to keep to himself (Photo courtesy ofRed Bull Yamaha)

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You can't help but think the factory knew they were on to something by beginning their negotiations with McCoy early. Remember that Italian star Max Biaggi, who is probably paid five times as much as Garry, has just one win for the season, while the Australian has three. McCoy laughs, conceding we might be onto something there... "When you look at it that way, you just might be right," he says. Still, McCoy is more than happy with the recognition from Yamaha, the company's leading executives quick to congratulate their man in Valencia. "Yamaha has now got a 15 point lead in the Manufacturers Championship and that's something they've tried to achieve since the Rainey days," he says. "They were over the moon and it was nice to see them after the race as happy as they were. It's been a long time coming for Yamaha and they'd be over the moon if we could win them the Manufacturers Championship." McCoy himself is looking past Manufacturers titles, and he believes he is in with a chance of winning the world crown next season if things go his way. "It was always my plan to be in 500s, and always my plan to be successful. It just took me a little too long, for my liking, to get here! I really shouldn't have stayed in the 125s for so long, but it 38

was problems sorting rides that necessitated that. "I'm now getting more experience on the bike and, the more I'm on it and the more I get used to it, the more we can work from that and make our program a success. "In the past I'd only ever really ' done a few races over a full season, so it can only get better..." Better means that more wins should be on the board in 2001, although McCoy sees the competition between the top riders getting tighter, as they all gain more experience: "Thdre's a lot of new riders out there and we're really ail a little bit inexperienced, which is probably why we've had eight different winners this year.

"The factories are all doing different things with their bikes, but I’m sure as we all ride more, next year will be different... probably just three or four of us battling for the wins and the championship." Before 2001, though, McCoy wants to end the current season on a high and he is looking for strong results in the remaining three races, including his home race next month. "I won at Eastern Creek on the 125s and that was a fabulous experience, having my family and friends there to see it and cheer me on. "Phillip Island is a great track and the atmosphere will be terrific. Sure, I want to win, but there's still a lot of hard work to do before that. We just have to do the best we can and see what happens at the end of the day." As you would expect from someone so intent on making their mark in the world, though, McCoy isn't getting carried away yet, the 28-year-old keeping his goals firmly in mind: "Sure, we've done well and the future is looking pretty good, but we've got a long way to go, don't worry about that..." he says. No one doubts that, but you can’t help but feel that McCoy is most definitely the real thing...

"Next year will be different... probably Just three or four of us battling for the wins and championship II

-QawyMeCoy

The Garry : McCoy File

PIRSONIIL DOB: April 18,1972 Born; Cambden,Sydney Lives: Andorra, Europe Partner; Veronica 1989-'91 1992 1993 1995 ; 1996 1998 1999

Rd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

GIlREiR Speedway racing Road racing debut250cc Production Bikes 125cc GP debut(fill-in rider) ' First full GP season RrstGPwinMalaysian GP,Shah Alam Won Australian 125cc GP Eastern Creek BOOcc debutShell Advance Honda ; Joins Red Bull Yamaha j mid-season

2000 SEASON TO DATE Result Grand Prix First South African GP Third Malaysian GP Ninth Japanese GP Spanish GP Fourth French GP Italian GP Catalunyan GP 15th Dutch GP British GP 10th German GP Third ; Czech Rep GP First Portugeze GP First ValencianGP

bt.

notorspon news

Jason Bright finally got his hands on a Champ Car at Fmohird, Arizona,last MondayL Ho can't wait for Octohor 15 at Surfers

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Report by PHIL BRANAGAN VERY good. Fm pretty99 impressed with these things. Jason Bright works hard on his understatements, but he was a happy man after his first day of Champ Car testing at Firebird Raceway in Arizona. The 27-year-old Queenslander was half-way through his test and looking for more speed from his Della Penna Motorsport ReynardToyota. After a full day’s running (almost 100 laps), both team and driver were happy with the day’s efibrt, and Bright was way impressed with the red, DirecTV Reynard which he wiU race next month. “It’s xmbelievable how smooth it „ is and how damn fast the accelerator goes down! It seems like you are just grabbing the gearstick all the time,” he grinned. ’ In total. Bright spent two full days on the East track at Firebird and this will be his only test before taking to the Honda Indy track in October. Della Penna had their race crew at the test. Team owner John Delia Penna himself was overseeing his new charge, while Chief Engineer Brian Ma was Bright’s race engineer. “We tested here in the Lights 28 Saptamber 2000

Super Sub’s Sub: This ain't no digital imaging, folks. Jason Bright gets his head down in Della Penna’s Reynard-Toyota, impressing the team with his consistency and feedback. {Photos by Scott Solo)

car, but it is pretty unbelievable how quick one of these things gets down the straight,” Bright said. “(But)they are pretty heavy and I am surprised at how hard they are to pull up under brakes.” After competing the mandatory installation lap. Bright was sent out to familiarise himself with the 800 horsepower Toyota engine. “I was going reasonably quickly much sooner than I expected. The car never felt hke it was trying that hard, unlike the Lights car, which you really have to vmng out to get any speed out of. The Lights car is always on the limit, but the Champ Car, with its longer wheelbase, feels a little slower in the middle of the comer, It’s much more comfortable to drive. “Coming out, you EASE onto the throttle, whereas in the Lights car, you have to get onto the throttle a lot earlier.” The agenda for the test was to build Bright up to longer runs continued on page 40

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after having a few exploratory inand-out sessions. “We kept our runs down to nine laps at time to start with, but at the end of the day we did a full 50 lap run, with four pitstops. The crew marked the pit box down in pit lane and it was up to me. “It’s pretty daunting. I wasn’t braking as hard as I would in a race to get under the speed hmit, but I had to get down(under the limit) and the crew was waiting for me to hit the marks. “All I had to do was hght it up and get out ofthere. The only time I stalled it was when I was taking it easy. We had to change something in the gearbox and, when it was aU cool, I tried to take it easy on the way out. After I stalled a couple of times, they said to me on the radio,‘Light it up!’ and it worked.” Apart from actually driving the car, there is a lot for an Indy car driver to come to terms with and the Della Penna team made sure that Bright learned what was what. One of the things which Bright had to contend with, as he wiU at Surfers, is the fact that conditions win be hot and the short straights will be hard on both the car and the driver. “They had me change (engine/fuel) maps while I was out there,just so I was sure where all the controls were and what they did to the car. The trouble at Firebird is that the straights are not very long and you are hanging on to the gearshift most of the time. I had to short shiftjust to have enough time to change something. That will be the same in Queensland.” The high temperatures also meant that the times were less relevant - especially on the first day - them they would be in an all-out test. “The crew was pleased with the

Firebird, not Thunderbird: It’s hot sandy and twisty. Add beach and babes, and you have Surfers. Firebird Raceway was the perfect site for Brighty to get to know what he would be racing in October.

"You come onto the straight in second gear andi go all the way up to sixth, changing about as fast as can. You're down to second for the chicane at about SOkmh, before getting up to fifth on the next little straight. "The next corner tightens up on the exit, so you have to , modulate your braking all the way through. It turns 180 i degrees on itself before getting up to fifth again, before a ; second-gear left-hander. "You squirt it up to the right-hander and accelerate up to . the left-hand kink. Grab fourth, left into a third gear, 200kmh left and a double-apex right, the second part around ; 175kmh. 1 "Leave it in third, rev it to 15,000 and brake for the final : corner. And then do it again." 90

of Firebird

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fact that Della Penna was testing the car on t3rres which were produced for the still-born Hawaiian Superprix event, which meant that they were designed for a hot and abrasive surface. Bright was ride on ‘standard’ Firestone Firehawks next month.

After I stalied a couple of antes, they said to me on the radio, light It upl'and It worked" - Bright’s starting technigue

times. With the high temperatures - the track was over 120 degrees F - they didn’t mean that much. “When I had my first run on new tyres, it was the middle of the day and the track wasn’t that fast. I think I did a 49.0s on the first run, which they were pretty happy with. The four guys who tested here with Ganassi last weekend did mid-48s and, from what I hear, they were running about a 48.7s at the same time of day. “It’s hard to tell. Tomorrow (Tuesday), I think that the car will be a second quicker, with the cool air allowing faster times first thing. That’s usually what happens here, and it was the same when we were testing here in the Lights car.” Also mitigating against any meaningful comparisons was the

“Three laps and we were wheelspinning - in third gear,” Bright reported. “And that was with a rev limit of 15,000.1 have to get comfortable with the car and the engine, though on Tuesday I will have 16 (thousand). Champ car engines don’t like over-revs; on the downchange, it’s easy to buzz it and they didn’t want me to clunk a downchange and hurt the engine. But it stayed under the limit and they were pretty happy. So was I! I have been a httle exuberant on some downchanges in Lights ...” Eight hundred horsepower and 15,000 revs are impressive numbers. But what is it like to drive? “Actually, the steering is pretty good,” he said. “They have a big ratio on the (steering) rack and a big steering wheel. The gearshift is pretty good but you have to stay positive on it. “Brakes are pretty heavy. With the Lights car you feel a lot of the downforce under braking, but this is just that much more heavy.” Bright will be in the gym between now and the race. It’s hard to say what will be harder building up his fitness, or wiping the smile off his face ...

Hello John, got

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ARGENTINEAN businessman John Della Penna has made waves in Champ Car racing since his team made its debut in 1996. Richie Hearn ran in the team’s red colours until the end of 1999 and, this season, ex-FI man Noberto Fontana ran until his seat was taken by ‘Super Sub’ Memo Gidley, who will stand down for Bright at Surfers. Della Penna above left was pleased with Jason’s first day in the car. “He’s going quite niceiy. We are trying to get Jason into a rhythm and famiiiarise him with the car and the team. He did weil, before we threw as many different things we couid at him in the afternoon. “He bandied the pit stops weii and we ran him on fuli tanks in the afternoon So he could get used to what the car would do, and what he would have to do in the car, during a race. He needs to know how the car will feel when it is lean

during the race, and so on.” One thing which the team is | used to this season is running different drivers. “It’s always a little different. Memo had a fair bit of experience in the cars already and that made it easier, but Noberto took a while to get up to speed - although he never really got up to speed on the ovals. “I wish we had a couple more days, but Jason is doing a very good job in the car. He is pacing himself and hasn’t made any mistakes in the car and 1 am hopeful that he will be able to get a good result in the race. “He has a lot to get used to; not just the car but the bunch of crazy guys who will be racing there around him. We will use all of the first day for him to get acquainted. “If he qualifies well and finishes near the top 10 in Australia, that is all we can ask of him.” - PHIL BRANAGAN i

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Unitmdl Sfcifes by JOE SAWARD MICHAEL Schumacher took a dominant victory in the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. He was helped on his way by the fact that David Coulthard jiunped the start and Mika Hakkinen suffered an engine failure, but it was a great victory nonetheless, despite an indiscretion in the closing laps when he had such a big advantage that he lost concentration and spun. Rubens Barrichello came home second to give Ferrari the perfect result and McLaren's only consolation was Coulthard's two points for fifth place. The most important thing for Formula 1, however, was that the fans loved it. The main grandstand was a red sea of Ferrari hats and banners. It was great to see that FI really is back in the United States.

Qualifying

Th e first race to take place at Indianapohs Motor Speedway was in June 1909. And it was for hot air bahoons. It was not until two months afterwards that cars ran for the first time on a great, lazy, crushed stone and tar oval. This proved to be so dangerous that it was decided

to invest in a proper paved surface and the ovmers popped down to the local Home Depot and ordered 3.2 milHon bricks. Delivery took a little longer than expected, so the first 500 mile race did not happen until 1911. And, as they say on bad TV programs,the rest is Wstory. ^ n The Brickyard spawned a town called Speedway and in time this became ‘The Racing Capital of the World’. Every year it hosts the two biggest single-day sporting events in the world; the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. Ever since Brooklands disappeared after World War II, Indianapohs has been able to claim that it is the oldest surviving motor racing track in the world. And now it has a Grand Prix. Racing capital of the world? Of course, it is. Nowhere comes close, except, perhaps, Le Mans, which started having races in 1906, when it hosted the first real Grand Prix and has held the famous 24 Hours since the early 1920s. The only difference is that the Le Mans track has never been permanent and still includes large chunks of public highway. The legends of Indianapohs are enshrined in an impressive Hall of Fame inside the Motor Speedway and no race fan can come here without getting excited. It's an impressive place, whether it is full or empty. The last time Formula 1 was in

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North America, the stands were empty, but at Indianapohs there were a lot of people already in place when the cars headed out onto the race track on Friday morning. The drivers had a few whinges - but then drivers always do - and everyone then settled down to have a good time.

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AnotffSrfifr Frank br^nstorm: Williams soon-to-

be-reject Jenson Button qualified sixth, four spots (Photo by Sutton-lmagos) up on Ralf Schumacher 48

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FORMULA I

Up in smoke: Mika Hakkinen above left had his race - and maybe season - end with engine faiiure, as FiA Photo Deiegate Pat Behar (in biue) directs the efforts of the firefighters! Buzzin’ oval racer: H-HF qualified seventh but better luck awaited the German in the race, where he finished third. This isn’t the @#*! beach volleyball: Pedro Diniz r/ghf qualified ninth! (Photos by Allsport. RaceAccess and SuHon-lmages)

It was,they aU agreed, a race track unlike any other on which the FI cars race. “It’s like a mix between Monza and Budapest,” said the garrulous Eddie Irvine. “The infield is very slow. In fact, it's a bit slower than

Budapest in many areas. Then you've also got this very fast section, which is quite easily flat at the minute. It's definitely a good n venue. The aim,therefore, was to find the best compromise in set-up

Qualifying^ POS

DRIVER

GAR

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

Michael Schumacher David Coulthard Mika Hakkinen Rubons Barrichgllo Jarno Trulli Jenson Button Heinz-Harald Frentzen Jacques Villeneuve Pedro Diniz Ball Schumacher Alexander Wurr Ricardo Zonta Jos Verstappen Mika Salo Giancarlo Fisichella Nick Hcidfeld Eddie Irvine Pedro de la Rosa Johnny Herbert Jean Alesi Gaston Mazzacano Marc Gone

Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari West McLaren Mercedes West McLaren Mercedes Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari B&H Jordan Mugon-Honda Compaq Williams BMW B&H Jordan Mugen-Honda Lucky Strike BAR Honda Red Bull Sauber Petronas Compaq Williams BMW Mild Seven Benetton Supertec Lucky Strike BAR Honda Orange Arrows Suportec Red Bull Sauber Petronas Mild Seven Benetton Supertec Gauloisos Prost Peugeot Jnguni Cosworth Orange Arrows Supertec Jaguar Cosvrorth Gauloises Prost Peugeot Telefonica Minardi Fondmotal Telefonica Minardi Fondmetal

Round 15 IIS 29 September 2000

TIME 1m14.266s 1m14.392s 1ml4.428s 1ml4.600s 1 ml 5.006s 1rn15.017s lml5.067s 1m15.317s Im15.4l8s 1ml5.484s 1m15.762s 1m15.784s 1ml5.808s Iml5.881s 1ml5.907s

iniieioeos lmI6.098s lml0.143s lml6.225s lml6.471s lml6.809s lml7.1Gls

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between the twiddly bits.at the back and the fast blasts down the main straight. Most ofthe teams managed to take their usual position in the hne-up, but there were one or two exceptions. Benetton had a bad time of it and Jaguar was in deep misery. But up at the front it was business as usual, with McLaren taking on Ferrari. The qualifying session was unusual in that, for the first time in recent memoiy, we had team mates helping each other to tow to better places on the grid. Barrichello gave up one of his runs to help Michael Schumacher get a httle extra speed down the main straight and this was enough to grab him pole

position in the middle of a qualifying session, which had seen a flurry of early activity as everyone worried that it might rain. This meant that in the closing stages there were not many drivers left with any laps to play with. But in those closing moments we had much excitement, as Hakkinen and Coulthard set offto tiy to put the Scottish driver on the front row, or even on pole. Hakkinen dragged David down the straight and then short-shifted and Coulthard flew past him. It was a good lap and all the way it was touch and go as to whether he would beat Michael's

continued on page 46 45

US GP

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time. In the end he missed it by a tenth of a second, but it had been a great show. Halddnen is not known for his generosity towards his team mates and so people began to wonder why it was that he wanted to be third on the grid. The reason for it soon emerged. Just ahead of the first place on the grid was the row of bricks which was left behind when The Speedway was paved over. A httle bit of history. At 218mph this is barely noticed by the drivers, but as they accelerated off the grid, this was going to have quite an effect for a

car moving at lOmph. McLaren had figured this out. The bricks would

cause wheelspin and so the man in third place would have an advantage because he would be on the clean section of road and would be travelling faster when he got to the bricks. Some things can have an important effect on the outcome of an FI race. When Ferrari reahsed what was going on, they did the only thing that was left to then and began to complain to the FIA. Jean Todt is a man of httle sentiment and wanted to have the bricks sandblasted to give them a less sHppery aspect. Rightly, he was told to get lost. But, eventually, the FIA agreed that the first two rows of the grid would be removed and the third placed grid slot became pole position. The race would be 16m longer than planned and Michael Schumacher would cross the fine of bricks at a rather higher speed Nothing really should have been changed and the fact that McLaren was cleverer than Ferrari should have been rewarded. Attention to detail is what wins World Championships. Behind Schumacher and Coulthard were Hakkinen and Barrichello, and then there was an appreciable gap of four-tenths of a second back to the best of the

Back ‘home’ again: Five years after winning the Indy 500, Jacques Villeneuve returned to Indianapolis. (Photo by RaceAccess)

Hsicliella was 15th and appeared to be confused. He had an accident on Friday and struggled for balance on Saturday! The team was not impressed.

rest, and a battle between Williams and Jordan. Or, at least, one Williams and two Jordans. This was won in the end by Jamo Trulli, the faster of the two Jordan men once again. Jamo was excited, because his luck in recent races has not been good. Frentzen complained that he had struggled for grip in the infield sections of the circuit. “I am sure that most people have experienced the same problems,” he said. Sphtting the two men was the Williams-BMW of Jenson Button, and the British youngster completely overshadowed Ralf Schumacher from the very start of practice. For most of practice, it looked as though Button might

even end up on one of the two front rows, but it was not to be, although he was only one hundredths of a second slower than Trulh. “On my last nm I thought that I would push as much as I can as I had nothing to lose,” he said. “But I think I pushed a bit too hard!” Half &humacher was obviously less excited than Button and his 10th place on the grid - four tenths of a second slower than Jenson's best - was disappointing. Ralf blamed the set-up of his car and spun on his final flying lap as he battled to take the car beyond its limits. Eighth on the grid went in the end to Jacques Villeneuve and'it was no surprise that, being an Indiemapolis 500 winner, he was

the favourite with a lot of the crowd who remember his adventures at The Brickyard when the cars were running in the opposite direction. Jacques was also spinning in qualifj^g and said that he would have done better if he had not gone off. I think it is going to be a matter of sta3ung on the circuit tomorrow,” he said. Ricardo Zonta was going pretty well once again and ended up 12th on the grid, four-tenths slower than Villeneuve's best. He complained of understeer, but was nonetheless happy to be close to Villeneuve. Ninth on the grid was a bit of a surprise, because Pedro Diniz is not normally to be found amongst the really fast guys. This was his best qualifying position in FI and a good effort by Sauber. Mika Salo was also doing OK with 14th place on the grid. The problem, Mika said, was that hfe could not find a

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good balance, the car switching from massive oversteer to massive understeer. Alexander Wmrz was 11th on the grid(which was a good effort for him, given his season to date). But it was not an easy session and he only found the right balance at the very end. Fisichella was 15th and appeared to be confused. He had an accident on Friday and struggled for balance on Saturday. The team was not impressed. The Arrows duo, Jos Verstappen and Pedro de la Rosa, did not have a bad time, with Jos qualhying 13th and Pedro 18th. “I made a mistake on my last timed lap,” said Pedro.“That was my best nm. On my previous run I had a Ja^ar in front of me and I nearly crashed. It obviously did not help my lap time!” The Prost team had a pretty poor time ofit, as usual. Nick Heidfeld was 16th on the grid while poor Jean Alesi suffered a blown engine and so was left languishing in 20th on the grid, with only the two Minardis behind him.

Williams-Judd reunion: Williams pairing Sir Frank and Jenson Button caught up with Dario Franchitti and his fiancee, Ashley Judd above. Rock chic: US music star Kid Rock dressed up for the big event right. Round table: It was a who’s who of Champ Car racing, but did Tony Kanaan, Max Papis and Paul Tracy want to be in F1 - or just at Indy? They probably just wanted to be near the gorgeous Dannii Minogue ... (Photos by Sutton-Images)

It was not a great day in the annals ofJaguar Racing with Eddie Irvine in 17th on the grid and Johnny Herbert 10th. “Ijust couldn't seem to find any more time in the car,” said Eddie. “We could not get the car to do what we wanted.”

Irvine also admitted to making a mistake on his fastest lap, which did not help matters. It was a similar story with Johnny Herbert. He reckoned that his mistakes had cost him threetenths. Down at the back, as always, were the Minardis vrith Gaston Mazzacane being tbree-tenths faster than Marc Gene on this occasion. Gene did not understand why. continued on page 48" : Michael Schumacher in

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kaRt 29 September 2000

For your nearest [QMP^ dealer phone 02 6562 7762 n

United States OP The move of the race: Michael Schumacher locked horns - again - with David Coulthard. The Ferrari lined up the McLaren around the outside of Turn 1, the two touched and Michael was on his way, leaving DC to serve a stop-go penalty for a jumped start. Later, Schumacher complained about Coulthard’s driving, which seems a bit rich after Malaysia 1999, Jerez 1997 and ...

continued from page 47

Race(73 laps)

Ifthe American racing pundits reckoned that the local fans would be bored by the Formula 1 cars, they were to be surprised. The Speedway was heaving with people. There might have been the odd empty seat here and there, but it was probably only because the occupant had got lost in the crowds. Tony George could relax. His gamble had paid olf. But would the FI men race? And would they overtake one another? Well, the first few laps of the race were among the busiest this reporter can remember. Overtaking was certainly possible, but the spectacle was added to by the fact that, while most ofthe grid started on fight wet tyres, there were a handful who decided that it would rain and went for full wets. Johnny Herbert was being an optimist and decide to go out on dry tyres. It was a good idea. The vast crowd was probably the reason for the edge of excitement that everyone felt as the cars fined up for the start. Would the drivers do something siUy smd have a big crash on the run down to the first comer? Would they be weaving and quibbling as they have been in recent times? As usual. Formula 1 came up with something unexpected. The red fights stayed on for much longer than normal. Michael Schumacher moved slightly, but stopped his car before he got into trouble. Coulthard, however, elevated anticipation to an art form as he set off. It was close, but he was definitely on the move when the fights finally went out. A fraction here and a fraction there make all the difference in FI. The result of this was that David was ahead as they all stesimed down the road towards the first comer as 225,000 people held their breath and waited for the bang.You could almost hear the sigh from the crowd as everyone went through Turn 1 without a smash. The only real casualty ofthe first lap hurly-burly wais Frentzen, who was pushed wide in the infield squiggles and foimd himself overtaken by ViUeneuve and Half

(Photos by Sutton-lmages)

Truth saw it somewhat differently. “He is really an idiot at the moment,” said Jarno.“He was driving like a crazy. He was pushing me hard and tried to outbrake me, but it was too late. He collided with me and then went off.” Who was to blame? It was hard to say. It was probably what the FIA stewards like to call “a racing incident.” The result was that both men had rear punctures and both had to pit. By the time aU this was sorting

itself out, the situation at the front trying to help his team-mate Irvine to beat Hakldnen in the World was becoming clear. Coulthard was Championship. When such things under investigation for jumping the start. It was not decided andj so, he are done to him, however, Michael does not like it and, after the race, was still racing and mathematically he was still in with a chance for the he was criti^ of David because he felt that DC was not in the running World Championship. for the World Championship and, In reality he was out there therefore, should not have been helping Hakkinen, but the doing what he was doing. precedent has been set in such Alas, Michael cannot have it both matters. Last year in Malaysia, ways. He invented the concept last Michael Schumacher adopted such blocking manoeuvres when he was ' year and now he must five with the

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FORMULA I Michael fell asleep and had a spin. progress. He was within four consequences. As the FLA has done seconds of the Ferrari when his He hooked his right front wheel nothing about it, the practice has onto the grass and spun. engine blew up on lap 26. After the been deemed to be acceptable. Fortunately, he did not hit anything race, Michael said that Ferrari had David's blocking allowed and was able to rejoin. beaten McLaren “fair and squai-e,” Hakkinen to close on Michael and, “Ross Brawn called me up on the but it would have been interesting briefly, he looked threatening, but radio and told me to concentrate,” to have seen the two men go headthen Schumacher howled past to-head. Michael said later,“and“I said that David as they went into Turn 1. it was OK because I was awake As we saw with Coulthard and David pushed absolutely to the again!” Schumacher, overtaking was limit, but he gave way in the end. Barrichello had a rather Schumacher had outfoxed busier afternoon. Fourth in him. Tire two cars may have the early laps, he pitted early brushed just slightly, but it and suffered fo^' it, dropping was nothing serious. back several places before Michael was ahead. the car began to improve as The penalty was then the fuel burned off and he confirmed and two laps later was able to speed up. By the David was in the pits to pay end of the race, he had for his indiscretion. The bad managed to get ahead of news was that by then the Frentzen into second place. track was drying and so he Third was still a good had to go out and then come result for Heinz-Harald.After back again for dry tyres and, his difficult first lap he was by the time he had done all ninth, but he jumped to sixth that, he was down in 16th when Button and TruUi took place and stuck behind care of one another and he Gene's Minardi. And there was able to overtake Raff he stayed for a while. Finns, Finns everywhere: Mika’s usual blue and Once he was in the lead Schumacher. white loonies went home disappointed. Michael went as fast as he He stayed out on the wet {Photo by Sutton-lmages) could and was able to keep t5Tes and ran second imtil lap 14, when he pitted and was up an impressive pace on possible, so we could have had a his wet tyres. Haliinen stopped on able to rejoin in fourth. This became third when Hakkinen went out and great race between the two men. the seventh lap but, when he then it was a battle with But it didn't happen. emerged, he found himselfin the Once Hakkinen was gone, strange position of being stuck Barrichello. This was lost during Schumacher had nothing much to behind a Minardi, Mazzacane the second pit stops and in the worry about. His brother was running fifth because he decided to closing laps Frentzen had to fight second, but he was 12 seconds offthe attentions of Vfileneuve. keep going with his wet tyres. behind and made no impression. ^ Mika lost probably 13 seconds in Jacques got ahead only once, but then overshot and went over the But then Raff began to suffer from those laps behind the Italian, who pneumatic valve problems with his for once had every right to be where grass at Turn 1. He closed back up he was. As soon as the Minardi engine and began to drop back. and was right behind HH when With his brother out ofthe way, disappeared into the pits, they crossed the line. Michael was left with half a minute Hakkinen's lap times came down For BAR,this was a great result in hand over Frentzen and Heinzand further evidence that the an impressive four and half seconds team should be taken more Harald was busy trying to keep per lap. Barrichello under control. Mika set offin pursuit of Towards the end of the race. Schumacher and made rapid continued on page 50

RESULTS United States GP, September 24,2000 73 laps/305.SS9km

Pos Driver Race time 1 M. Schumacher 1h36m30.883s 2 Barrichello 1h36m43.001s 3 Frentzen 1h36m48.25!s 4 Villeneuve 1h36m48.819s Ih36m59.696s 5 Coulthard 1h37m2Z577s 6 Zonta Ih37m41.998s 7 Irvine 8 Heidfald 72 laps 9 Diniz 72 laps 10 Wurz 72 laps It Herbert 72 laps 12 Gene 72 laps DNF Alesi 64 laps(Engine) DNF Mazzacane 59 laps(Engine) DNF R. Schumacher 58 laps(Pneumatics) DNF de la Rosa 45 laps (Gearbox) DNF Fisichella 44 laps (Engine) 34 laps(Accident) DNF Verstappen DNF Hakkinen 25 laps (Engine) DNF Sale 18 laps (Spin) DNF Button 14 laps (Engine) DNF Trulli 12 laps (Suspension) FASTEST LAP Coulthard, lap 40, lml4.711s, 201.994kph DRIVERS POINTS M. Schumacher 88, Hakkinon 80, Coulthard 63, Barrichello 55, R. Schumacher 24, Fisichella 18, Villeneuve 14, Frentzen 11, Button 10, Trulli 6, Salo 6, Verstappen 5, Irvine 3, Zonta 3, Wurz 2, de la Rosa 2. CONSTRUCTORS POINTS Ferrari 143, McLaren Mercedes 133, Williams BMW 34, Benetton Supertec 20, Jordan Mugen-Honda 17, BAR Honda 17, Arrows Supertec 7, Sauber Petronas 6, Jaguar Cosworth 3.

GOLD COAST Q

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seriously. Jacques was annoyed not to be third, because he would have been ahead if he had braked a fraction of a second earlier than he did. To add icing to the BAE cake, Ricardo Zonta was sixth after a good steady race. Seventh place went to Irvine, but the star of the day for Jaguar was Herbert. His decision to run on dry tyres seemed crazy in the early laps, but it meant that by lap 18 he was in sixth place and, when Hakkinen disappeared, Johnny moved to fifth. Two laps later he pitted and everything went wrong. He hit a puddle in the pitlane and overshot his marks, causing his wheelchanger to jump out of the way. In doing so, the poor chap dropped his wheel gun onto Johnny's front wing. This then needed to be changed and by the time Herbert rejoined he was down in 17th position. After that, it wasjust a question of survival. He finished 11th. Irvine's race was less dramatic. He had a good first lap and ran 13th, moving to 11th when Button and Trulli departed the scene. He was then pushed back by de la Rosa before coming into the pits for dry tyres. When he rejoined, he was part of the midfield bustle before things settled down and he then survived to seventh. Eighth place went to Diniz. Pedro was one ofthe few to start on heavy wets. This meant that he could run for longer than the others and so, by the time he stopped, he had moved up to third behind Schumacher and Frentzen. He rejoined sixth and moved to fifth soon afterwards, but then began to faU prey to others and was pushed back to sixth by Verstappen. He had an off and dropped behind Herbert and Vfileneuve and was then passed by BarricheUo. A late race pit stop to sort out a strange handling problem worked against him and,so, he ended up eighth and really disappointed. “I really didn't want to stop,” he said,“but I didn’t really have a choice.” Sale's race was short-lived. The car handled badly and he lost places in the early laps. On lap 19 he spun offin Turn 1 and could not rejoin. Ninth place went to Heidfeld's Prost, but it was nothing much to write home about. It was better than nothing. Alesi got nothing. His car was rather faster than Heidfeld's in dry conditions and he was en route for ninth when his

Peugeot VIO went “ker-boom’on lap 65 and spun him out of the race. Wurz ended up in 10th place, but this was a really grisly result for Benetton. The decision to send both cars out on full wets with full fuel tanks was an error and both men struggled at the back of the field. There was not much more to say. Wurz survived. Fisichella went out with an engine failure. Gene was the only Minardi driver to make it home. He was 12th. During his second pit stop he missed his stopping point by a long way and lost a lot of time, but it would not have made much difference. Mazzacane had his moment of glory early in the race(when he ran third for a brieftime), but after he

Yellow meets Green: “You can't afford me, Mr Jordan.” “You can’t afford me, Mr Tracy.” (Sutton-images), had stopped, he was down the back as usual. During his second stop he managed to hit two members of the pit crew and eventually his engine blew up. It had not been a great race, but he did not deserve to have a full beer can thrown at him by some drunken American fan. Fortunately,'it missed. Williams came away disappointed and rightly so. Button was delayed after his incident with Trulh, but was charging hack well when the motor cut on lap 14. Ralf Schumacher was^running second, but his dreams of another podium ended with pneumatic valve trouble. Arrows flattered only to deceive. Both men looked quick and Verstappen managed to make his way through to run an impressive fourth until something went wrong with his brake balance system and he went straight off and into a barrier. Thankfully, he was travelling slowly by the time he reached the walls. De la Rosa made it as high as seventh place before he went off with gearbox trouble. As the fans streamed home, everyone seemed to be happy. The Americans had found an event of which to be proud and the Europeans had all had a good time. And that is great news for Formula 1...

What they said

Highlights of the post-race press conference Michael Schumacher: This is really, really nice! It is the first time we have come here and I did not expect such a reception from the American fans. Another one-two for Ferrari is just the best. After the start, we knew that Coulthard might have a penalty, but I had to pass him as he was slowing me. Of course that was done so that Mika could catch me, which is fair enough as they are team mates. I think he tried a bit too hard to stop me and we touched. In the early stages I was concentrating on saving my tyres. I was in front when Mika went out and I believe I could have stayed there if he had continued. We beat them fair and square. As for my spin, I wasn't concentrating because I was cruising after the team told me to slow down. I got caught out on some wet grass which spun me round. Ross Brawn told me on the radio to concentrate and I replied that I was awake now. As for the championship, I refuse to believe in it until it is over. Now we must concentrate and work hard for the next two races. Of course, this is a good position to be in as I can finish twice second and still win the championship on the number of wins. But I prefer to win the next race. Rubens BarricheUo: I am very happy for myself and for the team after this good result. It was great to see so many Brazilian and , Ferrari flags in the grandstands. In the early part of the race I found I had too much oversteer on the rain tyres and so I called for dry ones on the radio. I had a lot of fuel on board and the car was quite difficult to drive at that point. I made my pit stop a bit too early, maybe five laps, but as I was on a long run I knew I would get my chance later. When I saw Mika stop, I knew I had to push hard to try and get the best possible result

for the team and give them sixteen points. Although my car was quick, I had a bit too much wing which made it hard to pass HeinzHarald, but when he pitted 1 got my chance. Heinz-Harald Frentzen: It feels great to be back on the podium after all the difficult times we have had recently. So many chances to be on the podium have escaped us this year, so this result is very important for everyone in the team. It will be a big boost. I was fighting hard out there against BarricheUo and then against Villeneuve right until the end, which meant I couldn't enjoy things as much as I would have liked, but it was still amazing to see such a sea of people. David Coulthard: I knew I jumped the start. It's unfortunate. I was ready to go and they weren't, and you have to pay the penalty. You set a rh^rthm of when you expect the lights to change. Obviously, you try to anticipate. It seemed to me that they were a bit longer than.normal, but rules are rules, and I have to accept the punishment. I planned to get the better start and to be leading out of the first comer, but not with a jump-st4rt. What has happened in the past is if you start and then stop again, and they see you're actually at a standstill before you go,then they tend to let you off with that. But because I did not come to a complete standstill, you get a penalty. It’s a fantastic circuit. I look forward to coming back. Thumbs up to Indianapolis for the American Grand Prix. It was quite hairy sometimes coming so close to other cars through the banking, and also sometimes there were incredible top-end speeds. I was quick enough on the first set of tyres. My second set, the left rear is worn down to the canvas, so we need to investigate that. moiorspoit news

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Sam MiehamI

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Aussie engineer Sam S¥lieliaei is switching colours, moving from the yellow of Jordan to the blue and white of Williams. But it could have been Ferrari red for this talented man behind the Superstar drivers. NICK GARTON caught up with Michael after Monza.

Sam's the Man

moiorspon news

INTERVIEW

ROUND many of the motorhomes ranged around the Monza paddock you can always tell where the stars are, for there are herds of hangers on migrating from being near Eddie Irvine, to looking as though they're David Coulthard's relatives, to straightening their mini dresses and Gucci jeans beside Giancarlo Fisichella. It's like watching antelope on a Sunday evening TV documentary, but I'm watching this happen from the Jordan motorhome, where I'm alone. Their drivers are safely locked in with their sponsors' guests, so all is calm, and, as the herd shifts once more, I get to speak to one of FI's hottest properties without interruption. A man who will, at the end of this season, become a key ingredient in the BMWWilliams surge towards great things in 2001. As the senior race engineer, 29-year-old Australian Sam Michael is currently the first in the queue of people at Jordan about whom Heinz-Harald Frentzen is referring to when he says "we put in some work on the set up"; or "I think it's a great result for the team" to journalists. When racing drivers refer to themselves as "we", it's not because they have delusions of grandeur and neither are they schizophrenic. It's because the performance of both driver and car is largely the responsibility of the race engineer. This means that, at the top of their game, the engineers are arguably as valuable as Schumacher or Flakkinen themselves, but while the drivers get the glory and the telephone number salaries, they also get the brightly festooned antelope loitering outside. I don't think that Michael would swap places with them for a second, for he exudes nothing but a single-minded determination to beat the other guys hands-down. You can tell this because he only really ignites when talking about being a race engineer. That he,walked out of university into FI is but a dusty old fact to him; it might as well be someone else; "I studied mechanical engineering at the University of New South Wales and, during my last two years in 1992 and '93, I was also working in Formula Brabham, just race mechanics and data acquisition. Then I was introduced to Team Lotus and I went to work on their research and development doing race and test data acquisition." 29 Sepiember 2000

That Lotus boss Peter Collins took a flier and brought a 22-yearold graduate straight into the heart of his team speaks far more than Michael need say. To him, it's as much of a factor as his shoe size; "I never had the feeling that my age should count for, or against me, at all. You always feel, particularly in the race engineer's role, that you have a lot to learn anyway, because there's always something new going on." Although Lotus closed its doors at the end of 1994, the talents of its young design recruit were immediately obvious to Gary Anderson, then chief designer at Jordan, who took him on board to help the then still small but sparky team construct a proper research and development department as the team sought to turn its bright beginnings into a championship winning organisation. Michael put his considerable

and those who go racing. One is a very stable atmosphere where you are working things out in the medium and long term and the other is simply fire fighting. "In the race team, we're trying to keep ahead^of everyone else in the racing environment, pushing for short term gains. There's no detriment to the contribution of either the factory or the race teams; we just work the separate ends of the same project." With his clear relish for the fire and brimstone, Michael retains tremendous awareness of the backstage battle that goes into designing and developing a good race car. This is perhaps more important in 2000 than ever before, as the Jordan EJ10 has clearly dropped some of the ground on its rivals that they made up so spectacularly last season when Frentzen (and Michael) won in France and Italy. "I think my experience can

"I've been here nearly seven years now and It was really time for a change. Jordan and I have got a lot from each other in that time, I think, we don't owe each other anything and the team's secure in its future"

-Sam Michaels

energies and experience of working in design through data acquisition to task for the next two years, before getting to put theory into practice in 1997 with the test team. This led finally to his current position as race engineer, initially for Ralf Schumacher in 1998 and since then with Frentzen. If ever there was a man who has found his place in the World it's clearly Michael. "Becoming a race engineer was something I was always aiming for because at the end of the day that's why we're here. "There are two types of people in the team; those at the factory

help,” he admits, “because you appreciate the entire process. "You can't design and manufacture a component and then bolt it on the car and expect it to be.perfect; and having been the one'drawing the parts, you know not to just try it and chuck it away if it doesn't work straight away. You can help the communication process quite a lot." Despite this balance, Michael's passion remains the gameplay of Grand Prix racing, of trying to outsmart everyone else in the pit lane. "At Jordan, that's the race engineer's job to which the

technical director or the designer might contribute; but the people in the front line are those who race all the time. Fifty percent of my job is to watch other people and you can't ever be ashamed to take ideas from someone else. If you spot something that works, you put it on your car straight away." For Jordan, then, it must be a bitter pill to see their man moving across to Williams, with whom they're jostling in the wake of McLaren and Ferrari in a race to overcome the top two. Michael is obviously more aware of this than anyone and has answered any doubts in his own mind. "I've been here nearly seven years now and it was really timie for a change. Jordan and I have got a lot from each other in that time, I think; we don't owe each other anything and the team's secure in its future. "They have a good engine coming from Honda, the budget's fine and I've got no false ideas that anyone's irreplaceable. I don't think that they've got any problems at all." In fact the rumour mill suggests that if there is any friction, it rests, perhaps, at Williams. They have race engineers of their own and there's a suggestion that Ralf Schumacher might have personally offered to help bring the transfer off, but Michael's got no time for such talk. "I've got a good relationship with Ralf, but I'd never go into a team because of a driver, as designers and engineers tend to stay with teams considerably longer - not that I think that Ralf's got any plans! He's a good guy and a good friend, but I'm looking forward to making my contribution at Williams. "They're a strong team with strong leadership and thephilosophy they have is extremely positive. The design structure is clearly good, as is the race team, with Craig Wilson and Tim Pressman both very good race engineers and I would never want to infringe on any of their relationships at all. All I'm going to do is work with those guys." You can certainly see why Sam Michael appealed to Frank Williams and Patrick Head at the top of the Williams organisation, for he, like them, puts racing before all. Suitably unencumbered and plainly not the prima donna type - no matter how high his stock it looks like the start of a rather special relationship. 53

Jason Plato & Ywan MoHof

Two

Jason Plato and Yvan Muller head to the 2000 FAI1000 at Bathurst with the best team in V8 Supercar racing, Holden Racing Team. PHIL BRANAGAN cornered the two BTCC stars after they had familiarised themselves with the Commodore VT they will pilot on the mountain. Motorsport IMews: What are your expectations of the race - what do you know about the race before you even get to Bathurst? Yvan Muller: Obviously, in the UK, people know Bathurst quite well. But in France, in Germany or Italy, people don't know about it at all. What I know about Bathurst is just what I have seen on TV. Before I raced in England, I had never heard anything about Bathurst. But for the last three years, I have heard all about it and I have wanted to come and race there! I am happy to be here, to race with this team in this car. MN: But you've been here before, Jason. Jason Plato: I was here in 1997 but, growing up as a kid, Bathurst was always very heavily featured as a one-off special on our main sports channel. SWIM; But did you have an understanding of it, because there was nothing in common with UK racing before Group A in 1985. JP: It was just one of those races. It's like European football; it was a one-off, a mega-special 34

Looking the part: Jason Plato left and Yvan Muller get into the HRT experience after their Phillip Island test. (Photo by MNews Digital)

race every year. Anyone who was into motorsport always turned on the TV in October and it was "when is Bathurst on?" I always sat down with my dad and watched these big old 'sportscars' race around Bathurst. MM; And you got to do the race three years ago. JP: And it was so odd how it

came off. It all happened so suddenly; there was talk through 1997 that maybe we would do it, but it wasn't until September really, that it was "yes, we are going to go". It all happened overnight. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to go, especially in a car which we knew. Shame we didn't win ...

MIMI; What do you know about V8 Supercars - only what you read in the magazines in the UK? YM: Before this (HRT) came along, I didn't know anything about this type of car. I had seen them on TV but I didn't know any of the details of the car - but I wasn't looking for anything, also. Two months ago, motorsporl news

INTERVIEW when I knew 1 was coming here, I started to ask some questions. WIW: Any apprehensions about coming to grips with one of these cars? They are much different to a Super Touring car ... YM: Completely different. Rearwheel-drive, V8, it's 300 kilos heavier, H-pattern gearbox ... It's completely different. That's why it's fun. "JP: Brilliant. I'm looking forward to it. Our cars are fun to drive in the corners, but not so much on the straights. They're like Formula One cars with roofs on. They are very sorted; every detail is worked out. They don't move about too much. They brake really well and they flatter your driving style. A small mistake is a minuscule mistake. That takes a little of the fun out of it. Make a mistake in one of these cars and it turns into a big mistake, pretty quickly! That's part of the challenge; yesterday, when we drove the car for the first time, it was a pretty steep learning curve. It was a big thing to go to Phillip Island and get your head around one of these cars. But it was fantastic. Great fun. It's difficult not to have too much fun; I always want to come out of the corners with the arse hanging out, but that costs time ... MN: You both come from open wheeler backgrounds. What is it like from a race driver's point of view to go from a Super Tourer, which is so precise, into a car which is a big compromise? Do you prefer more driver input, like you have in one of these cars, or do you prefer the technical challenge of the Super Tourer?

t tf-UiXHAU

Stuff we know about: Muller and Plato have had a tough season in the BTCC, though both have won races. (Photo by Bothwell Photographic)

YM: I like to have both. For us, the great fun is to have a powerful, heavy car which has a lot of movement, which is something new for us. In Europe at the moment, we have front-wheel-drive, which is so different to what these cars are, and we have to work much more on the small details. A small mistake can lose a lot in the straight, because we have no power. I like Europe, because we have to be very.

very careful technically, but I also like here because it is still technical and you have to have more, more ... JP: More brute force. Like Yvan said, it's great fun to be able to drive a car which moves but, I imagine, if we were driving them for two months, we would get annoyed with them. We would take that long to get very technical with them. But it is a

"It was just ons of those races. It% like European lootball; it was a oneoff, a mega-special race every year. Anyone who was into motorsport always turned on the TV in October and it was "when is Bathurst on?" -Jason.Plato

continued on page 56

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Jason Plain & Yvan iMwffer continued from page 55 refreshing thing to have a car which is great fun to drive. The funny thing yesterday is that, after doing our first runs of five laps each, they asked us did we think we had enough power. We said, "plenty”. After another 10 laps, we wanted more! MIM: Just like any other race driver. JP; Exactly! You never have enough, do you? MN; What about compromises? I've seen you guys race on TV and you sure have different set-ups. JP: You would think that, before we came out here, we would have to make big compromises. Yvan is very heavy on left-foot braking and brakes very hard, but I brake right foot with masses of rear bias, much more than Yvan would run in the FWD car. But our actual set-ups are similar in a Vectra back home. I thought we would have to make some big changes. But once we made the transition to a RWD car with this sort of horsepower, there isn't a great deal of difference. I tweaked the brake balance yesterday, and that seemed to suit Yvan (who nods) so I'd be surprised if there was a great deal of difference. YM; Normally, in the UK, we have a different balance but, I think that because it is a new car, we have got closer. We have been driving the FIRT car quite similar, with no problem. Like Jason said, I drive normally with a lot of left foot, but here I can't, because it is not a sequential gearbox and I have to do a left hand gearbox change. The Fl-pattern is quite difficult for us and I am French and not used to changing gear with the left hand. MN: The other thing you have to learn is the team. On your first acquaintance, how does Holden Racing Team compare with the teams you are used to? JP: Very good. Very professional. Very slick. The nice thing yesterday was that there was no pressure. Sometimes you go into an environment where no-one knows who you are; we're Pommies ... YM: Not me! JP: .. . nevertheless, you might expect a slightly strange atmosphere. But not at all here. 56

"H we took these V8 Sivercaps to Bigland and raced them a*omd Doniqton,or wheraver, and yot the crowds in, m* introduced them to the touring rap crowd,they WMddgobdistic. n They'd love it m mL

>■ I ■ i ."-i

thing; it's like our team, Triple 8, or Williams, or whatever. Everyone gets on well. Always a giggle and a joke. We paid our 'beer tax' this morning for one over-rev and a few flat spots on tyres! That's quite nice. YM: I totally agree, no pressure at all. The other thing that I like, and gives us no pressure, is that they (HRT) chose us. They probably chose us because they thought that we were the best choice. We know we are good, we know they are good and what we want is to do our job the best that we can. When I say that'we are good', we don't mean that (hands in the air. French-style) ... MN: You come from a competitive team,a competitive championship and you're not here because you are good looking. YMiTrue! MN: But neither am I! YM: No, we are 'ere also because we are good looking! MN: Do you know anything about your opposition? JP: Not really. I know some of the drivers.

We just got on with what they wanted us to do, it was just 'go and learn the car' and we had some fun. They looked after us

OLOGY

"Reap-wlieel-dpive,V8, - it's SOOjyjgsJieaviei^H pattern gearbox... It's completely different. n Thars why ifs fun.

- Yifan Muller M

really well. All the good racing teams that I have ever seen have a good atmosphere. This is the same

MN; Is that an advantage, not knowing, or a disadvantage? JP: I don't think that it makes any difference, to be honest. When you go to these races, you can't write anyone off. Even at home, we don't write anyone off. Even if they are not quick on the daily sheets, it doesn't mean that they are not going to be quick in the race. Everyone is a potential challenger. I met a few when I was here for Bathurst. I know Ingall, Murphy and Morris and so on. MN: Do you have expectations? y. It's early, but if you thought you could finish fifth, or on the podium, how would you feel? YM: I never have expectations before a race. What I want to do is my job, the best way that I can. Then we will see the result. JP: I'd like to think that we can get a podium. I think that we have the tools. 1 think that FIRT is the best team there is, their history is very good, so it would be nice to get a trophy, some flowers and some beer! But it would be nice to stand on the top step. We have a job to do for the team. The main thing is to do our best and to enjoy ourselves. We won't give up. We will do the best we can. moiorspor! pews

~ - -vy

1,1

INTERVIMW

Motorsport News: As professional drivers, what is our view on the'BTCC? What would you like to see happen now? YM: I would like to see the same engine and the same chassis! (as V8 Supercars). MN: What would the English think of all this? Would they go for V8 racing? JP: This is the amusing thing about the whole issue. I am 100 percent confident - I would put my house on the line - if we took these V8 Supercars to England and raced them around Donington, or wherever, and got the crowds in, or introduced them to the touring car crowd, they would go ballistic. They'd love it. However, we don't have V8s (on the streets). All the manufacturers, all their massmarket cars, are front-wheeldrive. So we have a problem: the British Touring Car Championship is supported by the manufacturers because it is so expensive. Our budgets are five f/nies what yours are, and someone has to pay. We don't have masses of sponsorship in the UK, the industry doesn't

Support sport, generally. So the money has to come from somewhere. That somewhere is the manufacturers, so that means that we have to do what they say. The sad thing is, even if we put that basic V8 equipment out there, in an appropriate bodyshell, making it look like one of our cars, the crowds would be happy, the teams would be happy and then the manufacturers would be happy. The problem is convincing them to do it. YMI: For the moment, they want to stay with the 2-litre engines, especially in the UK. They think that if you put another engine in the car it is not any more the same. If everybody was to think like this, there would be no Formula One. Audi would not have gone to Le Mans, or anything else. The politicking and point of view of the people in control is in the UK. MN:That leaves you two in '1992 BTCC cars' next year. JP: Yep. Which is a shame, but, you know ... (shrugs)

It's nige to have a lot of povyei!. f would like to be in formula'She, but 1 can't be. I'd like to race a big V8 car, but 1 can't have one. If there are 20 cars on the grid and 20 good drivers, even if they are 3-4 seconds a lap slower (that in 2000), it is still going to be good fuh. There's still the challenge of winning.t bOuld be closer racing. But it would be nice if we had a big V8 car! YM; Or, even, a V6. With 400 horsepower. JP: That would be great. Oh, and rear-wheel-drive! YM: But it will stay 2-litres, with front-wheel-drive, because that is similar to the road cars. JP: It might change, Yvan. YM: Unfortunately, everyone does not think like this. In ice racing, with Opel, I have fourwheel-drive, four-wheel steering and a V6 in the Opel Astra. You cannot get this on the road! MN:So you can't do a 360. YM: During the ice racing, I tried. It was at one of the races (in 2000), I had won six from seven races, or seven from eight, and I was second in this race. All the people said, 'go on,

do a 360r 1 tried, but I killed the engine. But I still finished third, so it was okay! If I didn't stall the engine, I would have been the king. But instead, I was the idiot! ilWllN; So, here's the.scenario, Vvan. Jason puts you in the car with a one minute lead. You cOime over WlcPhillamy Park on the last lap. Would you try a 360 in a tQommodore? YM; No. I don't think so! JP: If he does, he gets a whack from me! MN: Yoia're going to have 30,000 blokes named Kevin, Wayno and Dazza on the top of the mountain wanting you to do it, especially after they read this. YM: On ice, in the rain, it was okay. I was winning 90 percent of the races. It was the first time I had tried something like this m 20 years of racing. I will not try it again for 20 more! M'N: Whether you spin it or not, have a good trip to the mountain. JP: We can't wait! /’Iitih' h\

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Trouble brewing at Prodrive?

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RICHARD Bums has voiced his fears that he will lose the World Rally Championship unless there is a dramatic improvement in the performance of the Prodrive Subaru team. Burns held an 18-point championship lead midway through the season, but has slumped to third after four disappointing rallies in a row. He struggled to fourth in the most recent WRC event in Cyprus.

Changes being made; Bates and Taylor will press on without long-time ally, Peter Reynolds.

His remarks are seen as implied criticism of team bosses David Lapworth and John Spiller, as Prodrive's chairman David Richards concentrates on his new role as TV rights holder. “I need more reliability, quite clearly. We're not going to win this if things carry on how they are and we need to turn things around very, very quickly,” said a disgruntled Burns. “I think, to be honest, as has been proven before, the team suffers when DR [David Richards] isn't around. I feel it almost needs his kind of looking over everybody’s shoulder to keep everybody sharp and focused.” “Now is the time to work hard and pull together. The only way we're going to do this is if that happens. Although there have been some problems, it is still my team and it is the team I want to take to the World Championship this year,” he added. However, Lapworth felt that too much had been expected of the Impreza P2000 too soon, after Burns scooped two wins and a second place from its first three rallies. “Pull the finger out? I don't think that's a fair assessment. We need luck. We'll look at putting in some extra testing. I don't think we could have done much more work in Cyprus. It's taken Ford 18 months to get where they are," Lapworth said. 58

(Photo by Toyota Australia)

Reynolds leaves TTA by JON THOMSON

TOYOTA Team Australia's rally team manager Peter Reynolds has resigned from the Neal Bates team after almost 10 years working with the Canberra operation. The team line is that TTA and Re3molds have decided to go their separate ways, while at the Rally of Melbourne his absence was said to be for family reasons. Irtnically, at the Rally of Melbourne the team had one of its most resounding victories, beating Possum Bourne’s Subaru with a combination of better tyre choice and aggressive driving. Bates s^aid that 10 years is a long time for any relationship and both he and Peter felt it was time to part amicably. “Pete has been a valuable member of the team since the start and we are sorry to see him go. I wish him all the best in his future endeavours,” said Bates. It is believed Reynolds will remain with the operation for around three months, working on fitting out a new Canberra factory for the team, but he will no longer be working on the WRC Corolla or attending ralhes. He has been one of the constants in the team, working with them on every round of the Australian Rally Championship since its debut at Tasmania in March 1990. Long-time team mechanic Darryl Bush will assume the team management role on events and in the workshop.

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MITSUBISHI'S driver line-up may be held up by Japanese for 2001 is expected to ministry of transport officials, remain unchanged, the team who are angered by Mitsubishi's behaviour re-signing 29-year-oid “The schedule of the launch Belgian Freddy Loix to / of the new Lancer Evo VII road partner World Champion Tommi Makinen. car must be delayed for some time. It's not sure how long,” a This is despite Leix's disappointing results over the Mitsubishi spokesman in Japan conceded. past two seasons. But this is apparently news However, the Belgian brings with him the considerable to Ralliart Europe team backing of Marlboro Which, manager Phil Short, who claims no knowledge of the according to team Insiders, delays. makes Loix's driving ability irrelevant. If there is a delay in the launch of the Evo VII, it Meantime, Mitsubishi's failure to recall 60,000 shouldn't have a major effect defective road cars and its on the company's World Championship plans, which antics in hiding consumer complaints has apparently put are now going to be mapped out around a WRC kit car. the company's planned launch of the Lancer Evo VII under However, Mitsubishi's Group N threat. program will be put under Planned for launch in March pressure by the possible delay. -JON THOMSON 2001, the car's type approval motorsport news

RALLY HYUNDAI'S World Rally Car Accent is expected to be given its first big revision in time for January's season opening Rally Monte Carlo, with major changes to the cars’engine. Despite some promising recent results, the Accent is generally thought to be down almost 50hp on the Peugeots, Fords and Subarus. The areas in for the biggest changes include the turbo, intercooler and anti-lag system, while the bodywork wiU also get a makeover. Hyundai has been seeking an extra driver to sharpen its act on asphalt, but MSD team manager Dave'lA^tehead said that he wanted to keep both Kenneth Eriksson and Alister McRae. “It is our hope that our program will be centred on our existing dynamic duo,” he said.

Heading down under? Astre Automotive may run a WRC Accent here.

(Photo by Sulton-lmages)

The MSD Hyimdai team has entered the second phase ol'the

Accent WR.C program, with the creation of a customer department to run cars for privateers. The team already runs the tobacco-backed Accent for Australian Michael Guest, and speculation continues that one of the potential customers for a new Accent could be Astre Automotive, the Australian distributor for Hyundai. This would boost the chances of seeing a semi-factory backed Accent in Austraha in 2001, possibly in the hands of Stewart Reid. Whitehead would not be comment on prices, but said that they would reflect the Accent's current state of development (its best World Championship finish to date is Kenneth Eriksson's fifth place in New Zealand). “All I can say is that it will be 'substantially' less than $700,000

per cor,” said Whitehead. - JON THOMSON

Auriol thinks Peugeot or Citroen

FORMER world champion Didier Auriol, right, says that he is actively seeking another drive and will not be hanging up his helmet when current team SEAT pulls out at the end of the year. The 1994 champion maintained that rumours linking him with Peugeot were no more than that. "I've got to find a car for next year that can win," he said. "Peugeot would be fantastic for a French drover. I've got contacts with

Peugeot, but there's

nothing decided. All the tracks are open. 'Tm very, very motivated." While he has been non committal about where he may end up,the late mail links Auriol with Citroen. The 'other' French manufacturer, which is developing a WRC Zsara, is said to highly prize Auriol's gravel testing skills, which would complement current Citroen drover, French tarmac specialist Fhillippe Bugalsko.

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Auriol said he was

surprised that SEAT had decided to scrap its World Championship program when the Cordoba Evo 3 had shown such potential, and predicted that it would go well on next weekend's Tour de Corse. "If you look at the opening stages of Finland and Cyprus, we set good times," Auriol continued. "We've had reliability problems, but the car's quick. It's a shame not to continue development." -JON THOMSON

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WHIT Bazemore has been confirmed as the third member of Tony Schumacher’s‘Super Shoe’team for 2001. Bazemore will wheel Schumacher’s much-rumoured Funny Car, which will carry Mateo Tools backing,joining reigning Winston Top Fuel Champion Schumacher in his US Armybacked car and Melanie Troxel in the team’s second fueller. Having confirmed his split from Chuck Etchells’team just five days previously, Bazemore’s appointment with the Chicagobased team was made official last week. “It’s a great opportunity for all concerned,” Bazemore said of his signing last week.“We have a three year agreement and, with the personnel and equipment assembled, I believe we wiU be a team to be reckoned with.” Ironically, the veteran Funny Car driver will be reunited with husband and wife crew chiefs Tim Richards and Kim LaHaieRichards, who were recently dismissed from Etchells’ Kendallbacked team, the couple being appointed by team owner Don Schumacher at Indy. At the same time, Bazemore’s “ decision to jump camps next season"has opened the door for journeyman driver Tommy Johnson Jr to secure a full-time ride for 2001 with Etchells’team. Johnson has been confirmed as the lead driver for the team, with owner Chuck Etchells also last week announcing that he wiU run a second car next year, the veteran returning to the seat to resume his career. “We have an agreement with our major sponsor Kendall Oils for 2001 and Tommy will lead that charge,” Etchells said. “Tbmmy is a seasoned driver who is capable of helping put the Kendall Camaro into the winner’s circle.” After losing his ride with Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of 1999 when sponsor Interstate Batteries decided to end their relationship with the team, Johnson has spent the majority of this season driving a Pontiac Racing-backed Firebird for Australian team owner Helen Hofmann. While having experienced some troubles early, the team has turned around in recent events, qualifying first at the US Nationals. Etchells’ ride will also be" partially backed by Mateo Tools.

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Silly season: Bazemore is decamping Etchelis Racing’s Camaro, whiie Johnson finds himself a full-time ride in the Kendall car. (Photo by Dave Ostaszewfski)

But twooar team for

looks^ likely

WHILE both the Schumacher and Etchells camps have been able to announce 'good news' over recent days, one team that mysteriously has not been mentioned is Dean Skuza's Dodge-based operation. It has since become obvious that, with Mateo Tools' decision to back the Bazemore/Schumacher combination, two-time national event-winning Skuza is now without a major sponsor. Skuza confirmed late last week that Mateo Tools had 'decamped' from his team, although he was confident a new backer will be found - Skuza was also confident that enough funding will be raised to run two cars, as was rumoured for 2000, next year. "It was an amicable break," said Skuza. "They just decided that they wanted to go in a different direction. "I hope to make an announcement about next year pretty soon ... stay tuned." motorsport news

Cory Mac out? miJoe Gibbs pMmepinon MBNA fueOei? by DAVID O.STASZEWSKI

hnson for Etchells car

CORY McClenathan may be out of a ride in 2001, with rumours in the United States having team owner Joe Gibbs withdrawing from NHRA competition to concentrate on his NASCAR efforts. The Cory Me move is just one of a number of expected ‘shake-ups’ over the next few months... Gibbs, who runs Pontiac NASCAEs for current Winston Cup points leader Bobby Labonte and 1999 Rookie ofthe Year Ibny Stewart,is bebeved to be ready to take the MBNA funding which currently supports McClenathan’s car and utilise it within his stockcar teams. The move would be similar

to last year when he withdrew the Interstate Batteries Pontiac finm the Funny Car class, leaving Tbmmy Johnson Jr out of work. That decision also meant that one Unemployed? Cory McClenathan

Force fueller? Gastrol team could run third car in 2001

That’s my car: Even if he fields a Top Fuel car, John Force has said {Photo by Dawd Ostaszewski) he would continue to drive his Funny Car. Could John Force field a Top Fuel car in 2001? That was the question that’s constantly been asked over the last few weeks, with the Funny Car legend rumoured to be in final negotiations with long-time sponsor Castrol to fund the car. Force is quoted to have said that he would continue to drive his Ford Mustang Funny Car, while a woman would get the seat in the prize ride. “I would love to have Shirley (Muldowney) driving 29 September 2000 _k.

the car, but we’re a long way from anytMng like that happening,” Force told Speedvision earlier this month. “Heck,Fve never even mentioned it to her,so Fm just shooting my mouth offat this

pointr

Muldowney, who made a return,albeit briefly, to NHRA competition at the US Nationals,said the possibilities ofjoining with Force would he “something/ 99 “I’d pay to see that myself,' she told Speedvision. - DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

crew was let go,the Tbp Fuel crew, with the Fmmy Car team moving over to McClenathan’s car. Ifthe new nunoms prove to be correct, crew chief Wes Cemy would also now be out of ajob, although it is also rumoured that Cemy could replace Lee Beard at Kenny Bernstein’s Budweiser King team. Cemy worked with Dale Armstrong on Bernstein’s car in 1992,the same year Bernstein broke the 300 mph barrier for the first time. Beard, who was once quoted as saying “If you need a budget in Top Fuel, then you shouldn’t be racing,” is said to be on the outer at the Bud King camp, although a Beard/Cemy combination could prove to be incredibly effective. Bernstein is also believed to be close to committing to a two-car effort next season, so the twin crew chief set-up would obviously be more advantageous. The current Joe Gibbs crew is expected to move over to Melanie Troxel’s Don Schmnacher-owned team next season and join exAmato crew chief Jimmy Prock. Among those crew is Jason McCulloch, son of Ed ‘the Ace’ McCulloch, whose tenure within Don Pradhomme’s team is said to currently be on tenderhooks. Sources close to Pmdhomme’s US Tobacco-backed Funny Car team, which fields a Camaro for Ron Capps,say the four-time Winston Champion is currently unhappy with the parts attrition and is looking around for another crew chief, reportedly Wayne Dupuy.

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Ridgeway 7.58 Pre-Winternats re-run test session sees unofUdal quickest ever in the world.

r .

“Everything worked really well in the car; our new engine, the new G-Force transmission, the manual shifter - this outing in Adelaide has given us the momentum for a good weekend in Queensland. “No other racer in the world has run that quick; the best in C/Altered in the US is a 7.61, so we’re really excited.” Twenty other racers took part in the private test session at AIR,the track preparing one lane for racers, with the biggest criticism being that the track was too

good. a

by GERALD McOORNAN PETER Ridgeway has belted out the quickest Pro Stock run ever while testing for the upcoming re-run of the Wintemationals,in an ominous warning to his competitors. At a pre-season test day at Adelaide International * Raceway last Friday,Ridgeway ran a 7.582sec/178.50mph in his

Speedflow/John William Auto Sales/No Fear Olds Cutlass,the run being the first sub-7.60s elapsed time in Pro Stock. “We came to Adelaide to test our new engine/gearbox combination and it all seemed to work beautifully,” an elated Ridgeway said on Tuesday. The dual Australian Pro Stock Champion also backed the run with an earlier 7.615/179.49,the passes the quickest ever by a 6.51b/ci car

It really took a few runs by some other cars down the track to take the ‘stickiness’ away - we’d had an earlier run where the tyres were just pulled down by the tractipn and the car shook fairly hard - but after that it was just beautiful,” Ridgeway said. Other performances of note included Pro Stock Bike racer Sam Scerri’s 7.586s ET aboard Trevor Birrell’s Suzuki GSX-R and Super Stock Nationals winner Les Heintz’s 9.08s pass in full C/MP trim.

ANDRA looks to imports Working parties announced to look at new classes, Comp Bike

ANDRA has announced the formation of a working party to address the opportunities drag racing is being presented with in new technologies and alternative engines,the rapidly expanding use offour and six cylinder and rotary engines, and electronic fuel injection necessitating the need. Champion Super Stock racers Les Heintz and Peter Sammut will be joined on the working party by rotary and EFI authoritarian Anthony Rodriguez,Paul Rogers Jr and ANDRA Technical Officer Morrie Huckel and Victorian Division Director David Baker. “We’ve monitored the growing interest in the use of four and six cylinder and rotary engines in recent years and the development of electronic management systems covering a number of areas of vehicle operation,” Huckel said. 62

“High levels of technology are now commonplace in the automotive industiy and they are becoming readily available through the aftermarket. Drag racing must accommodate this at a level that’s worthwhile, but we have to do it such a way that the current competition structure, particularly in Groups One and Two, is not badly affected. “I don’t think the technology will provide a winning edge on its own, but it will make initial set up and between rounds maintenance easier for those using it.” The working party will consult with Division Directors in all divisions. Written input and comment is invited from all areas of the sport and the report of the working party will be presented to the ANDRA National Control Council at their February 2000 meeting, before circulation.

AT the same time. Competition Bike,the much-maligned Group Two category for " motorcycles, will undergo a review following its inability to attract large competitor numbers in the past 18 months. ANDRA has annoimced that Competition bike competitors Colin Linney,Angelo Ganitis, Terry Jongen and David Hinds will form the basis of a working party, co-ordinated by Division Director' David Baker and ANDRA Technical Officer Morrie Huckel, to overlook a potential overhaul of the bracket. Included on the agenda will be a look at new classes aijd handicapping systems, with many critical of the fact the current handicapping system doesn’t allow for the individual weight of riders, as the weight-breaks in Top Bike and Pro Stock Motorcycle do. - GERALD McDORNAN

BRUCE Sarver, the former Top Fuel driver who has gone through an up and down first year of Funny Car racing in ' Alan Johnson’s e-moola.combacked Firebird,finally hit the big payday,taking victory at Maple Grove. In his first final round of the year, Sarver, virho qualified the Richard Hogan-tuned Pontiac ninth at 5.00 sec/281 mph, defeated Ron Capps’US Tobacco Camaro 4.99/303 to 5.06/293. Sarver’s team struggled in the early rounds, twice blowing the clutch out. The team installed one of its Winston dragster clutches for the final. Despite the differences, they won. “This hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Sarver. “Wow,I just won a drag race ... I guess I’ll start to enjoy it later tonight or tomorrow. “With the clutch problems I thought we were done, but Alan (Johnson) pulled out one of the dragster’s clutches and put it in the car and it worked! “I could see Ron was out on me until the clutch locked up and that Alan Johnson horsepower kicked in, then we just powered on by.” John Force and Jerry Toliver, one-two in the Winston standings, respectively, were both trailered in round one. Force, the low qualifier at 4.83/306, spim the t3ues in round one and was defeated by Tommy Johnson Jr, while Toliver was taken out by Force’s team mate, Tony Pedregon. Joe Amato claimed his second straight event win in Reading, topping Sarver’s team-mate Gary Scelzi in the final.

motorsDort news

DRAG RACING

f@i» online

tlis mooln, as do Joe and KJ in Reading

Start me up: Bruce Sarver claimed his first Funny Car win in the emoola.com Pontiac, left, against Ron Capps. Joe Amato, above, scored his second Reading win, while Angelle Seeling, below, lost in Pro Bike. {Photo by David Ostaszewski)

Amato, NHRA Top Fuel’s winningest driver, overcame a slight starting line deficit to take a narrow 4.62/310 to 4.63/312 victory over Scelzi, the margin only .007s. ‘This track has abused us for 14 or 15 years and it must have felt it owed us something,” said Amato. “We were just trying not to beat ourselves. This is home to us, Joe Amato country, and we had a big cheering section out there.” The.loss by Scelzi, who regained the Winston points lead from Tony Schumacher, denied him a season’s record of seven Top Fuel victories, although five races still remain. Following his disappointing DNQ at Indy, Andrew Covrin qualified a career-best fifth in the K&N Filters/Auto Meter fueller, the Aussie posting a superb 4.610/317.87, his fastest ever speed. The team laid down four good runs in qualifying, also posting laps of 4.70/314,-4.63/317 and 4.62/311, before defeating Doug Kalitta in the first round. Cowin looked as though he would beat Amato in the second round, but hurt the motor and

slowed to give Amato a 4.72/293 to 4.74/288 victory. Kurt Johnson became the sixth winningest Pro Stock driver of alltime when he defeated his father, Warren,in an all-Johnson family final round. KJ left on WJ and the ACDelco Camaro had the power to stay ahead to take a 6.88/200 to 6.91/200 win. “Boy, I hate to upset me dad, but if I hadn’t gone out and did my best, he’d have been even more mad than he is right now for losing,” said KJ. “We’ll probably kick in a tape of this race in 10 years and he’ll enjoy it more than he does now. It ■will be good to show him then how I left on him, too...” Three-time series champion Matt Hiiies conquered the quickest

Pro Stock Motorcycle field in history to win his 26th career event aboard the Eagle One Suzuki. Hines defeated current point leader Angelle Seeling in the final, 7.18/182 to 7.24/178. “We had a bracket bike this weekend,” said Hines. “We took the six speed [gearbox] out because we blew it up last weekend and came here with a five speed and won. “Right now, we are going to try and win the last two events and do some testing for next year. The championship is Angelle’s to lose. We didn’t gain much on her this weekend. I had hoped she would go out in round one, but that didn’t happen.” In the Federal-Mogul alcohol classes, Jeanie Booz won the dragster category, defeating Jeff Wilson 5.66/251 to 9.19/87, while Frank Manzo defeated Tony Bartone in one of the best alky flopper races ever seen, the pair both running 5.58/257. - DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

n Rumours around US at the moment have three-time alcohol dragster champion Rick Santos stepping up to Top Fuel next year. It is believed Santos, who made his name running a potent small block combo in the alky classes before the NHRA rendered it uncompetitive, is making the move thanks to a greater commitment from sponsor Oakwood Homes. n While talking about the alky classes, there are whispers that the Federal-Mogul headliners mightn't be seen at some NHRA national events in 2001. A lack of competitive vehicles has been a major concern for both categories this year, especially in the alky Funny Car class. Conspiracy theorists have the rumoured move the first in a line that will see both the alky dragster and Funny Car classes permanently removed from the national event schedule. ■ Doorslammer fans will be pleased to hear that the NHRA is looking at introducing Pro Modified to their shows, although their initial intentions to list individual classes for both nitrous and blower entries in the sportsman Competition bracket hasn't been well received by Pro Mod racers. NHRA officials met with a number of leading Pro Mod racers at Indy, with rumour having the body accepting a proposal to run an eightcar heads-up demonstration bracket at a number of events in 2001. ■ Darrell Gwynn and Mike Dunn have begun testing their New York Yankees-backed fueller in readiness for its NHRA debut next month. Dunn drove the car at Moroso Motorsports Park in Florida last weekend, the numbers indicating the team should immediately be 'back on' the pace. ■ 1960s pioneer Top Fuel team owner 'Terrible Ted' Gotelli died on September 19 of heart failure. He was 83. Gotelli was best known for a series of Gotelli Speed Shop fuellersidriven by a list of who’s who of Top Fuel in those days. With Denny Milan! driving at Sacramento, California in 1965, one of Gotelli's cars ran the first backed-up runs over 210 mph. He was honoured by the NHRA in 1994. - DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

2000 WIMSTON DRAG RACIJIG SERIES C'SHIP POWTS AT 17 SEPT Winston Top Fuel Ghampionship 1430 1. Gary Scelzi. Winston 1422 2. Tony Schumacher, Exide Batteries 1294 3. Larry Dixon, Miller Lite/MBNA 4, Joe Amato, Tenneco/Dynomax 1173 1120 5. Kenny Bernstein, Bud King Racing, 1097 6. Doug Kalitta, MGM Grand Hotel ... ..880 7. Cory McClenalhan. MBNA ..778 8. Bob Vandergritf ..765 9. Doug Herbert, Snap-On Tools ,.675 10. Don Lampus, express Online 29 September 2000

Winston Funny Car Championship 1. John Force, Castrol GTX Mustang. 1473 1247 2. Jerry Toliver, WWF Racing Camaro 3. Ron Capps, US Tobacco Camaro... 1178 4. Tony Pedregon, CastrSt Synlec M/tang .1112 5. Jim Epier,'WWF Racing Camaro 1038 6. Scotty Cannon, Oakley Camaro .,871 7. Dean Skuza, Mateo Tools Avenger .,833 8. Del Worsham, CSK Pontiac ,.833 9. Whit Bazemore, Kendall GT-1 Camaro ..820 ..785 10. Bruce Sarver

Winston Pro Stock Championship 1592 I.Jeg Coughlin, Jeg's Olds Cutlass .1229 2.Kurt Johnson, ACDelco Camaro 1196 3. Ron Krisher, Eagle One Pontiac .1112 4. Warren Johnson, GM Pontiac 5. Mark Pawuk, Summit Racing Pontiac 926 .926 6. Troy Coughlin, Jeg's Olds Cutlass .870 7. Richie Stevens, Valspar Pontiac.... ,838 8. Jim Yales, Splitfire/Peak Pontiac., 704 9. Tom Madino, Century 21 Pontiac, .686 id. Darrell Alderman 83

DE surpris

Michael Waltrip to drive third DE car in 2001

DALE Earnhardt sprung a major surprise by announcing that Michael Waltrip would drive a third DEI team car in 2001. Usually someone gets wind of any major announcement,but this was kept very quite until the preceding day, mainly because the whole deed was put together in one week. Earnhardt, who had been considering Waltrip for sometime, made a move when a situation arose at Waltrip’s current Ultra team. Putting his marketing wheels in motion, Earnhardt flew to his Busch Series team sponsor’s headquarters - the 600 store-strong NAPA auto parts and asked if they’d be interested

in moving up another not.h to Winston Cup. Four days later they agreed... “Very seldom am I left speechless, but the events that have taken place since last week have set me back,” Waltrip said ofthe announcement. Earnhardt’s decision did not only siirprise, it was incredibly surprising to many with Waltrip being considered over team driver Ron Homaday. With NAPA backing, Homaday has won two Tmck championships while also being fifth in points in his rookie Busch season, having taken one win. Waltrip, brother of three time Winson Cup Champion Darrell, has had 455 Winston Cup starts for no wins... - MARTIN D CLARK

Dodge supply dramas THE expectations of Dodge's re-entry in Winston Cup racing to be competitive from the get-go might fail to be realised with parts problems apparently afflicting most of the teams intending to run the marque next year. A shortage of hard core parts has troubled many of the operation making the switch, with the 'R5' engine blocks causing the most concern with its supply being rationed out. The block is also said to be much heavier than either the GM or Ford blocks currently in use, with the block length being longer, while the oil pans are shallower than most and the cylinder heads far taller than other brands. With parts in short supply, it isn't quite clear as^to how many of the 11 teams will be ready for end-of-season testing in December.

JAf'K Roushs impressive Winston Cu))stable has undergone a number of dramatic clianges over tlic ))asttwo wec>ks the veteriin leam owner ciirreivt

in a imissive resti'iicture for 2001

Hamilton’s #55 HAVING split from MorganMcClure just 72 hours prior, Bobby Hamilton was announced by Andy Petree as the replacement driver for Kenny Wallace in Petree’s Square D Chevrolet next season. The seat in the #55 opened when Wallace announced his intentions to move to the Eel

River Racing team. “I’m using this opportunity as a fresh start to continue my racing career,” Hamilton said. “I know I have the skills to return to victory lane and give Square D its first victory. I’ve proven that in the past. “But in Winston Cup, being a good driver isn’t enough. You need the total package to be competitive.”

While the team has become somewhat of a dynasty in NASCAR,sponsor troubles are currently pausing some concerns within the Roush camp ns both the

#07 and the #16, drivon by Kevin

Chad Little has been dumped. from bis #97 John Deere Taurus

La Pago, are without backers Cor 2001, Mark Martin’s #6 team lost

enrlii’i'than expecled, with team Truck .series regular Kurt Buscli taking over the wlieel i'or the remainder of the year. The team bos al.so bod sponsor Exide, the primary backer of Jeff Burton's #99,.sold their space on I the car Cor the remiiinder of the season to oil giant CITGO. (OTOO arc to lake over naming rigbt.s of the #99 next season, but I the new arrangement has come ahoul due Exide’s current I linimeial concerns.

long-time supportei's Valvoline earlier this year, althouglii Viagra has been signed to back tlieir efforts The infamous Wood Brothers #21 Taurus will also be run out of the Roush camp next year, bringing the total of Winston Cup teams being run liy the former drag racing champion to

Out of the race: Bobby Hamilton and Morgan-McGIure split last week, : Hamilton only out of a ride for 72 hours. (Photot>yMamnDciatt<)

SIX.

- MARTIN ® CLARK

molorspon news

NASCAR

mm fined Illegal' manifold costs US$10k, plus 100 Winston Cup points by MARfiN'lfiiliiK

JEFF Gordon crew chief Robbie Loomis and the Hendrick Motorspoi-ts team have been fined US $25,000 by NASCAR after,the discovery of an illegal inlet manifold on the #24 Dupont Monte Carlo following their recent Richmond win. Gordon was also docked 100 series points for the breach, with the manifold apparently made from magnesium alloy, a non-approved metal, and not aluminium. Loomis has said the team will appeal the decision, saying the manifold has been used by Hendrick and other GM teams, with NASCAR’s full knowledge, since April. “Not only do we feel a full hearing on the facts will exonerate our team from any wrongdoing, but it will remove any cloud of suspicion cast over a great victory,” said owner Rick Hendrick in a prepared statement. NASCAR’s Mike Helton said that, while the part was a GM Performance product and carried a GM casting and part number,the manifold had never been approved by the sanctioning body. “The changed casting was not re submitted by GM for NASCAR’s approval,” he said. The appeal is yet to be heard.

Who’s laughing now? Jeff Gordon and the Hendrick team will appeal their fines.

Earnhardt unhappy...

Buckshot in at PE

DALE Eamliardt and an unlucky female spectator from Georgia have both missed out on a US$1 million bonus following NASCAR’s decision to fine Gordon’s team and not disqualify him from his Richmond win, Earnhardt and the unnamed

spectator who was paired with the ‘Intimidator’ were both in line to win the bonus in a Winston No Bull promotion until a late pit stop for tyres had the famous #3 following Gordon home in second. Naturally, the veteran believes Gordon should be stripped of his win. “[NASCAR’s decision] is not black and white,” commented Earnhardt.“If he’s wrong,I should have gotten the win. To say he’s wi’ong and then only to fine him...”

29 September 2000

Bodine dumped GEOFFREY Bodine has been sacked from his ride in the #60 Power Team car by owners Joe and Nancy Bessey, with Bessey expected to attempt to qualify the car for the remainder of the year. The team has lost Power Team’s support next season.

(Photo by Sutton-lmagos)

'JM'

I BUSCH Series regular “ Buckshot Jones is expected to I be confirmed to drive the #44 S' in 2001 by Petty Enterprises next week, joining John CL Andretti and Kyle Petty in the PE Dodges. Jones, 30, will bring lumber supplier and building contractor Georgia- Pacific to the team to help fund the ride. Jones has had 16 Winston Cup starts and competed last year for the Rookie of The Year status, but the,team, owned by his father, failed to land a primary sponsor to keep the operation alive. His best ' Winston Cup finish was eighth at Dover in 1998. Steve Grissom, who currently drives the #44, was expected to get the drive, but a sponsor could not be found. It's possible Grissom could remain as Petty's Truck Series driver. Loaded gu»' Buckshot Jones. - MARTIIM D CLARK (Phtdo by Marlin D Clark)

n Kenny Wallace crew chief Jimmy Eliedge has been fined US$10,000 by NASCAR after lightened rear trailing arms were found in the #55 Square D Chevrolet. A similar fine was handed out to Michael 'Fatback' McSwain recently. n Ultra Motorsports, formerly Mattel Motorsports. will make the switch to Dodge in 2001, team owner Jim Smith announced last week. The team were to switch from Chevy to Penske-powered Fords later this year, but the move to the 'Pentastar' brand will now happen instead. Driver Michael Waltrip, upset at the change, will now drive a third car for Dale Earnhardt next season. It is believed Mike Wallace will replace Waltrip. n NASCAR has announced that a number of changes, including restrictor plate and aerodynamic changes, will be implemented in tim^ for next month's Talledega race. The controversial restrictor plates have been given larger openings, while both the rear spoilers and front valences have come in for attention in an attempt to improve the driveability of the cars while at the same time also restricting speeds. The changes will be used as a bit of an experiment by NASCAR as it tries to improve its show in time for the US$2.8 billion television network switch beginning at Daytona next year. n STOP PRESS ... As Motorspon News was going to press. Buckshot Jones was confirmed as the driver of the #44 Petty Enterprises Dodge, 6S

Mod Prod calendar announced THE Victorian Modified Production Association (VMPA)has finalised its dates for the Antenna Specialists Series. Chris and Leslie Clark of Antenna Specialists (formerly known as Skybeam), continue their support of the series as well as providing the car of current Australian Champion, Ashley Parkinson. Parkinson is sure to go head to head throughout the series with class stalwarts Trevor Mills, Neil Watson, Darren Cockerill, Paul Salau and a host of other tough, aggressive competitors, in addition to the securing of Antenna Specialists as series sponsors, the VMPA has also done a deal that will see five of the seven rounds telecast on the World Of Speedway program on pay television. Bruce Reynolds and ICL Car Carrying were instrumental in securing the coverage of the events. Prize money for each round will be paid back to 18th place and then a $9250 prize pool will be distributed amongst the top 10 series finishers in a ‘Brownlow’ style countdown at the Association’s presentation night. The winner of the series will receive $2500, making it a keenly contested series. The first round of the series will be held at Wangaratta on December2, with Swan Hill hosting round two on December 30. Simpson hosts round three on 3 February 2001, with Rosedale (March 3), Redline (March 10), Hamilton (March 24)and Rushworth (April 28) rounding out the season schedule. The final round at Rushworth is the Di Watson Memorial. - BRETT SWANSON

Matthews to step up SOUTH Australian Super Sedan driver Alan Matthews has commited himself to the 360ci Sprintcar ranks. Matthews has purchased the ex-Phil March transporter, and is now hunting for a suitable chassis into which to bolt the engine from his Monte Carlo Super Sedan. - PARIS CHARLES 66

Shore Caltex by BRETT SWANSON FORMER New South Wales Sprintcar champion and dual Parramatta City Raceway track champion John Shore has inked a continuation of his association with major sponsor Caltex Havoline for the 2000/2001 season. Shore’s new Eagle Sprintcars will once again carry the green, white and orange colours of Caltex Havoline Energy, one of the oil company's high performance engine lubricants. Numbered NSW #6%, a reference to the performance and economy gains attributed to the brand of oil, the team will compete up and down the east coast ofAustralia with forays into South Australia. January and early February sees all the major teams flat out, with major events occurring almost daily before a gruelling 15 day spread which starts at Mt Gambier’s Kings Challenge followed by the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, the CAT $50,000 to win meeting, and the Australian Championship. During this spread, as well as maintaining the pars in pristine condition, the Shore team will compete with a new livery

a^RINTCAR

To be Shore: John Shore will again be wearing the Havoiine colours in the upcoming 2000/2001 racing season, promoting another of the Caltex Havoline products, before reverting back to the now more familiar colours. As well as changing the colour of the car mid-season, the team have also changed engine builders after a frustrating season last year. The team’s unique engine development will

continue but it will be done ‘inhouse’. Shore will also be one of the first drivers in the country to compete using the HANS device that is currently in use in Champ Car racing. The device gives additional support to the drivers head and neck.

Jackson on the recovery road

SKIP Jackson is back on track after suffering severe concussion with neck trauma after a severe crash at

was sleeping and taking it easy. “I can now take my son AJ for a walk and I no longer need naps. / “All the cards, phone calls, Williamsgrove Speedway il recently. emails and messages on the While he won’t be back racing message board for my recovery have been unbelievable." for the next couple of weeks, he Jackson is now looking forward may return for the Grove Open to the races he has remaining in on September 29 and 30, Pennsylvania, before heading depending on how he feels and back to Australia for thd first what his doctors advise. World Series Sprintcars round in “I am finally feeling back to normal," says Jackson. the Krikke-Bunbury “I actually want to work on the Toyota/Pennzoil WA2 car, which Nearly ready: Jackson continues will be in Newcastle on car again, which is a good feeling. (Photo hy Tony Loxicy)‘--*1 to improve. . November 11. Up until now, all I felt like doing motorsporl news

SPEEDWAY Aussies bomb in World Team Cup

Speedway GP fer Oz!

AUSTRALIA has lost speedway’s World Team Cup to Sweden after a disappointing meeting at Coventry in England. In fact, team manager Neil Street’s team was outclassed in a meeting won by Sweden ahead of England and USA, with the Aussies trailing in fourth of the four finalists. Even worse, there was strong criticism of star rider Jason Crump and his partner Leigh Adams, when they seemed to allow Sweden a maximum 5-1 heat victory in the final race to let the Swedes share a 40 point total with England, which meant a run-off for the gold medal.

Race set for March 10; venue TBA It is understood the European Grand Prix will be held in either Barcelona or Monte Carlo in 2001.

by TONY MILLARD SPEEDWAY’S Grand Prix series will move out of Europe for the first time, with the opening Grand Prix being raced in Australia on March 10 next year. The venue has yet to be finalised, but Adelaide is expected to stage the meeting. 24 of the world’s top riders will contest the opening round of the 2001 series. Grand Prix promoting company Benfield Sports International has been developing the Grand Prix to a new level this year, and Chief Executive John Postlethwaite was delighted to announce their latest move. “This is a major step forward for the Grand Prix series which is already enjoying a worldwide audience on television including C7 Sport in Australia and Sky Sports in New Zealand,” he said. “It is important for the credibihty of the World Championship event to expand beyond Europe, and this was always one of om- prime oipjectives.” Postlethwaite would not confirm

Chuffed: Aussie Leigh Adams. (Photo by Mike Patrick)

the venue, claiming that he was still in discussion with two cities (believed to be Sydney and Adelaide). However,it is believed funding fi-om the South Australian government will secure the event for Adelaide. “The Grand Prix will consist of seven rounds in 2001, one more than this year and in Britain we are moving to the Stadium in Cardiff which is very exciting. “We are still worldng on the European schedule and I hope to have news within the nest few weeks about a new venue for next year,” Postlethwaite said.

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Postlethwaite will be continuing to spread the series and said, “it is still our intention to increase the number of GPs in 2002 and we have several exciting possibihties in the pipeline. “Indeed,I am visiting a promoter in USA shortly to try to finalise a US Grand Prix for 2002.” David White, Chief Executive Officer of Motorcycle Australia said,“we are absolutely delighted at the prospect of staging the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in 2001.” “We fully expect the event to generate huge interest here, given the recent success of Australian riders and the dramatic increase in publicity that the Speedway Grand Prix has been achieving on television” Australian speedway captain Leigh Adams said that, “this is a dream come true for me and all the Aussie riders.” “I honestly thought it would be at least another year before we had a GP in our own country, but I am so chuffed.’

Crump: Unpopular with the Brits. (Photo by Mike Patrick) The run-off was then won by top man Tony Rickardsson to give Sweden the title, while England’s followers were stunned. The crowd booed the Aussies. The Swedes, represented by Henrik Gustafeson and Peter Karisson, needed a 5-1 victory to catch England(who had completed their races)to force a mn-off,. Crump slowed on the final bend to allow Karisson to take second place and thus give Sweden a race-off for the title. That saw Tony Rickardsson against England’s Mark Loram, but with Loram crashing at turn three, the title was Sweden’s. Furious England riders in the pits claimed it was the Aussies who gave Sweden the title. -TONY MILLARD

2000 WOilLD OF OUTLAWS SERIES POINTS SCORE Greenwood,23 September 2000

Point Standings to 23,September,2000 I.Steve Kinser 2. Mark Kinser 3.Sammy Swindell.. 4. Danny Lasoski 5.Stevie Smith 6. Joey Saldana 7. Dale Blancy 8Andy HHIenburg.., 9.Johnny Herrera .. 10. Jac Haudenschiid

.1 .8420 ..8220 ..8196 ..8160 .. 8046 ..7814 .. 77S0 ..7724 ..7524 ..7519

11. Donny Schatz 12. Tim Shaffer l3.Daryn Pittman 14. Danny Wood 15. Greg Hodnett 16. Dean Jacobs .. I 17. Brian Pauluss 18. Brooke Tatnell 19. Paul McMahan 20, Randy Hannagan ....

7384 7248 7204 6933 6659 SS86 5504 4954 4007 3807

I. Danny Lasoski 2. Mark Klnscr 3.Andy Hflirnburg 4.Sammy SwindcH S. Stevie Smith 6.Craig DoHainsky 7. Dale Bianey 0.Jac Haudcnschild 9. Paul McMahan 10.Joey Saldana

11.Steve Kinscr 12.Jason Meyers 13.Tim Shaffer 14. Ronald Lancy IS.Johnny Herrera 16. Grog Hodnett 17. Dean Jacobs 18. Don Droud.Jr. 19. Brad Furr 20. Shane Stewart

SPEEDWAY Bundles of cash for The Dude in WoO THE Peunzoil World of Outlaws series ran three US$20,000-to-win, triple program events in the first four weeks of September and Danny Lasoski won them all. “It’s good to win in front of these Nebraska fans and in Phil Durst country,” Lasoski said after leading the final 29 laps in the Circuit City Shootout at 1-80 Speedway on Saturday. “Phil helps me and Mark (Kinser) quite a bit. My guys know I’m buying bricks for my new house, so these ($20,000 victories) help a lot.” Lasoski built his winning foundation in the Preliminary programs, scoring the most points without a Prehminary Feature victory. He passed WoO points leader Steve Kinser with a daring move between turns one and two early in the second lap and held off Mark Kinser for his ninth victory of the year. Andy HiUenburg finished in third place, ahead of 14th-starting Sammy Swindell, Stevie Smith, Craig DoUansky,“B” Feature winner Dale Blaney, Jac Haudenschild, Paul McMahan and First NAPA Auto Parts Heat race winner Joey Saldana.

►

There’s only one ‘Dude’ and it ain’t Paul Morris! Winner Danny Lasoski. (ciark photo)

Shaping the 360 future Still strong; Crump faught hard but couldn't stop Loram from taking the title. iPIiolQ oy

Aussie Crump fourth in SGP JASON Crump’s bid to become World Champion didn’t quite go to plan in Poland on the weekend,the Aussie running fourth in the European Grand Prix. He reached the Grand Final, but trailed GP winner Billy Hamill, fellow American Greg Hancock, and Tony Rickardsson, the reigning World Champion. But it was England’s Mark Loram who won the title. He became the first Briton to do so since 1992 and did it the hard way. He did not win a single GP round. In fact Loram, who came sixth on the night by finistiing second in the Consolation Final, made three A-Finals and three B-finals to prove a model of consistency throughout the series. The good news for Australia is that ail four riders competing this year have qualified automatically for next year’s event with Crump in fourth place, Mildura’s Leigh Adams sixth, Todd Wiltshire eighth and Ryan Sullivan ninth. Others qualifying automatically are Loram and Chris Louis from England, Hamill and Hancock

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from the USA, Tony Rickardsson of Sweden and the Pole Tomasz Gollob. The 12 GP regulars will race at Abensburg in Germany in the GP Challenge with 12 other riders including Jason Lyons, if he recovers in time from burns suffered at a British domestic meeting. On the night at Bydgoszcz, Crump and Wiltshire were the only Aussies to race up front. With his usual flair, Crump was in contention until the final while Wiltshire came third in the consolation final, having enjoyed four second places to reach the semi-finals before finishing third behind Rickardsson and Hamill in his quest for a final place. There was controversy before the start of the meeting. Swedish rider Stefan Danno,_ ,, who was lying 11th in the standings going into the event, failed two breath tests and was banned from taking part. He faces an international ban when he appears before an FIM tribunal. - TONY MILLARD

2000/2001 SPRIMTCAR RACiNG ASSOCIATION OF VIC CALENDER CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS Nov 4 . . . Nyora ... .Rd I . Avalon Rd 2 Nov 11 Rd 3 B/Marsh Nov 18 ■Rd 4 Nov 25 . . . Mt Gambier Rd 5 Dec 16 . Bacchus Marsh Rd 6 . Avalon Dec 26 ,Rd 7 . Avalon Jan 13 .Rd 8 Jan 20 . Simpson .Rd 9 Mar II . Avalon Mar 24 . Wagga . . .Rd 10

NON CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS Dec 2 .

.. Bacchus Marsh .. .360 s er

Jan 3..

.. . Warrnambool . .Vic Title

Jan 28. Feb 24.

Bacchus Marsh .. .Fireb all

Apr 7..

Bacchus Marsti .. .360ser

Apr 13

Avalon . .EasterT

Warrnambool . . .Clas sic

Apr 14.

.. Mt Gambier . .EasterT

Apr 15

. Warrnambool . .EasterT

Apr 21.

Bacchus Marsh . .EasterT

DECEMBER 2 sees the 360ci Sprintcars assemble at Bacchus Marsh Speedway for the first of a series of races that could well shape the future of Sprintcar racing in Australia. Proponents of the 360ci division have long called for the class to be independently recognised and the date represents the chance for those teams to make a stand. Currently the National Association of Speedway Racing (NASR),is canvassing support for a shift from 372ci engines to the 410ci units used by the World of Outlaws and the Ml Stars in the USA. Such a move may split the sport wide open, with costs already spiralhng beyond the reach of most competitors thanks to the ever decreasing exchange rate and reducing or stagnant prizemoney pay outs. Many competitors believe that going to the 410 class will put the sport beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest or best supported teams. “With all this talk about going to 410s, the buzz around is that most other states are looking at Victoria to see what happens with the 360ci class this season,” explained Danyl Bottams, a driving force behind the 360 series. “There’s 20 plus 360s in Victoria, six in Wagga, about nine in Canberra and four in South Australia, so we are expecting a good field of cars to turn up for the opening round of the series.” In Western Australia, the 360ci engined cars are said to currently outnumber the open cars by about 10 to one. - BRETT SWANSON

QSSS 2000/2001 CALEMBER Oct 7 Brisbane Oct 21 Brisbane Nov 4 Brisbane Nov II . . . Toowoomba Nov 18 Brisbane Nov 25 . . .. Bundaberg Dec 2 . Brisbane Dec 16 Brisbane Dec 26 Brisbane Feb 24 Lismore

Rd I Rd 2 ■Rd 3 ■Rd 4 Rd 5 ■Rd 6 ●Rd 7 ■Rd 8

,Rd 9 Rd 10

motorspori news

HISTOtUCS

c (Laren)time

Group 7 car. The stoiy paralleled in some ways that of Mr. Kobayashi's own protege, Hisoshi Kazato, who also lost his life behind the wheel of a race car.

. by BRIAN REED ONE ofthe most interesting car-s coming from New Zealand for the Historic Sandown Tasman Challenge meeting on October 22-23 is the big McLaren M12 sports car of Tony Roberts. There's an even more interesting story about how Eoberts traced the car and ultimately convinced the previous owner why the M12 should return to Kiwi country. Eoberts is co-director of an organisation in NZ known as Group 7 Sportscars Ltd., the racing arm of the Bruce McLaren Trust which is dedicated to finding(and occasionally acquiring) big banger’ sports cars and parts from around the world. Their research on the M12 took them to, of all places, a restaurant in Japan and its owner Mr. Kobayashi. Eoberts takes up the story; “When we pulled up outside the restamant,I had barely opened the door ofthe car before Mr. Kobayashi was shaking my hand profusely and taking me towards the restaurant. ‘What a sight! The McLaren was in a glassed in room downstairs in the two-storied restaurant, illuminated with spotlights, and with the New Zealand flag pinned to the wall behind it. Here was a

29 Ssptambsr 2000

The future is Orange: Tony Roberts’ magnificent McLaren M12. real 'time warp', car which looked as ifit had been pushed into this sealed room straight from the racetrack.” In fact this is precisely what had taken place. The McLaren M12 had won the 1971 Mt. Fuji Championship Race and had been located in its new resting place immediately after the race. There were the eight tall, fuel injection stacks on the big block Chev engine which looked ready for action and the bright yellow livery of the bodywork - even the race

tape was still in place. What the Group 7 Sportcars people hoped for was that Mr. Kobayshi would agree to part with the M12, or, at least, allow the New Zealanders to take the car back home to show it off to the local motor racing pubhc as another example of the genius of local legend Bruce McLaren. Mr. Kobayshi was well aware of the firuce McLaren story and of his untimely death during a private practice session at Goodwood in 1970 behind the wheel of his M8D

Eoberts was then ushered upstairs to the banquet room which had one side glassed in to expose other cars in Mr. Kobayashi's collection-a Chevron,a Porsche and a GRD. On the way up Eoberts passed what he described as “the most original Can Am car in the world,”-a magnificent red Lola T222. “We sat in the banquet room having a sumptuous dinner while we discussed the achievements of Hiroshi Kazato and talked about the McLaren,” said Eoberts. “Mr. Kobayashi pointed out that the McLaren was downstairs, away from the other cars, because Kazato did not drive it and that this was the reason that it could be sold.” The following day the deal was done.‘T was once again very moved that someone would set up a personal memorial to his dear friend on such a scale,” Eoberts said. After being shipped back to New Zealand the McLaren M12 was fired up three days before the race meeting at Whenuapai in April. It featured as the centrepiece ofthe Trust's display and ran demonstration laps on both days of the meeting.

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Blastingfrom the Past: The Historic Goodwood circuit came alive last week, with its annual historic race meeting. The names were all there,from Sir Jack Brabham above to John Surtees, who appeared to have a slight edge in technology in the Rob Walker Surtees-Ford right. Barry Sheenefinished second on a Manx Norton but was still greeted by the Guv’nor of the track, Lord March himself below. (Photos by Sutton-Images)

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\ moiorsporl news

HIBTOmCS Vale: Sir Rupert Steele

By the Lake's side THERE were big grids, great weather and some mouthwatering machinery at the annual Lakeside Histories last week. One of the highhghts of the weekend were the appearances of David Bowden’s collection of Ford Falcon GTHOs, up to and including the still born Phase rV. That’s Kevin Bartlett at the wheel of the XA,

pretending to be Allan Moffat above while, on his inside. Bo Seton is pretending to be Bo Seton in his yellow Capri V6. While BAR and Honda may be batthng to be competitive in Formula One, Barry Flegg doesn’t have that problem in his silver weapon. Right, he is trying hard in his 1971 Honda 9,complete with air-cooled fourcyhnder twin cam.

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Some cars are beautiful - and some ain’t. Below, Geoff Russell in his 28/45 Russell Morris Mkl is about to be passed by winner of the Gp Ja, Jb, Ka, Kb and L race, Dick Vermeulen (1935 Ford

Some people have just spent too much time staring at photos of Shark Nose Ferraris, like Bill Coote in his 1968 Holden WP111 above. But not even Ferraris had exhausts like these babies... (Photos by Marshal! Cass)

29 SeotBinlier 2000

VICTORIA recently lost one of its great motor racing pioneers and distinguished citizens, Sir Rupert Steele. In motorsport, Sir Rupert's main claim to fame was a fighting second place in the 1950 AGP at Nuriootpa, SA driving the ex-Barrett Aifa Romeo Monza. At one stage he led the race, but an untimely spin and some difficulty in restarting his stalled engine aliowed eventual winner Doug Whiteford through in the Ford V8 Speciai (‘Black Bess’) for Whiteford's inaugural AGP victory. Steele began his motor racing career prior to World War 2 in a Bentley he inherited (along with a flourishing furniture business) after his father was tragically drowned in a boating accident off Momington. Rupert was still a schoolboy, and used the Bentley as his means of transport to and from his place of learning! Later he removed the car's body and achieved some success in hillclimbs at Rob Roy and races at Fishermen's Bend. During WW2 Steele served as a bomb aimer in the Air Force and spent much of the war years as a POW in a German prison camp after his Lancaster bomber was shot down over Europe. In spite of sustaining serious leg injuries when he parachuted from the stricken aircraft, Steele developed into a race driver of considerable ability after hostilities had ceased. Among his other achievements. Sir Rupert gained a knighthood for his sen/ices to business and the community. For 21 years he was a board member of Carlton United Breweries as well as chairman of Steele and Co, and president of the Royal Horticulture Society. Other sad losses recently have been 96-year old Charlie Letch, one of Australia's pioneer speedway riders who, apart from achieving great success, earned a reputation for being absolutely fearless on the track in his heyday, and Paul Hass who was one of our leading navigators back in the days when state and national championship car trials were a more significant part of our motor sport culture. We extend deepest sympathies to their families and friends. - BRIAN REED 11

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Well their Olympic medal tally wasn’t that good, so they had to win something; Inky Tulloch took the big CAT to a strong win the Australian (Photos by John Morris/Mpix) Super Truck Championship at Oran Park. What’s he looking at in the top left photo though? by JOHN MORRIS INKY Tulloch survived an incident-packed day to claim his first Australian Super 'Imck Championship at Oran Park Raceway on September

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Tulloch’s main rival, Glenn Dobson, was left to wonder what might have been, as his dominance of the final meeting left him tantalisingly close, while Rodney Crick’s shm chance disappeared with a black flag in race two and mechanical woes, which resulted in a non-finish in the Superprix. For Crick, the day started well with a win in the Dash from Rob Russell with 'Tulloch third. Mechanical dramas in practice saw Dobson miss the dash and raised questions about his reliabihty for the rest of the day. However, Dobson took his place on the grid for race one and soon made his intentions known. Crick made a dramatic charge through the pack, leaving his braking impossibly late and then utihsing the back of Rob Russell to make the turn. Dobson took advantage of the melee to take

●● I Going down smoking; Crick still entertained the fans, despite (Phoio by Bab PottSj finishing back in fourth in the title. command, while 'Tulloch also started strongly. The championship leader slowed mid-race and found himself dropping back through the field. Jeff Makin was caught out at Pura Milk comer and put the Muscsat 'Trailers entry into the tyres, while Crick and Russell both recovered well, the Shell Rimula driver taking second with Russell third. The second, reverse grid, race saw Tulloch capitalise on his front row position as Crick, Dobson and Russell fought towards the front. Crick’s challenge soon came to an

end when he was given a black flag and complied for a stop-go penalty. Dobson fought hard, but found it impossible to pass Rob Russell, while Russell also found it hard to get around the improving MAN of Luke Seiders. Seiders’ race ended soon after when a tangle left his machine rather battered, though frantic repairs would enable Seiders to return for the Superprix. By the final Superprix, the grid was somewhat reduced, with accident damage or mechanical woes sidelining Gavin Manning,

Peter Hewat and Brian Haigh. With a reverse grid format it was the Light Truck of John Falk who raced to an early lead as the faster trucks fought through the pack. Dobson did the best of the outright group, eventually finding clear track in second place, though by then Falk was some 10 seconds down the road. Tulloch found it a more difficult task and eventually managed to finish fourth with a derangpd rear wheel. Rob Russell capped a day of mixed fortimes with a sohd third, whilst a possible blown turbo saw Crick limp towards the pits and a smokey retirement. Final results for the day saw Dobson the round winner from Russell and 'Tulloch third. 'Tulloch claimed the series, while fellow Kiwi driver Russell announced that this was his last drive in the Australian Championship. Australian Super truck Points Tulloch 340, Dobson 286, Russell 249, Crick 213, L.Sieders 176, Bomberle 146, Bajema 125, Anorosso 87, Macklin 57, Haigh 46. moforsport news

NATIONAL I

Icciardello bounces back

Not tlie way Vlr.Alfa intended things; Tony Riceiarddio was in

TONY Ricciardello returned to the winner’s circle in the latest round of the Australian Sports Sedan Championship, held at Oran Park Raceway on September 10. With series leader Darren Hossack competing in the Queensland 500, it provided an ideal opportunity for rivals Des Wall, Kerry Baiiy arid Ivan Mikac to bridge the points gap. For Wall the opportunity went begging, as persistent mechanical problems ended his day early. A startline incident in race one saw the end of the Calibras of Mark Stinson and Mark Duggan along with the RX7 of Bruce Deboo. Stinson started a chain -reaction with driveline problems as the field left the start. Deboo and Duggan coming into contact, before Duggan t-boned Stinson and they both headed infield. The race was red-flagged and neither driver took any further part in the day. The pattern for the day was soon clear on the re-start. Ricciardello jumped to an early lead and held out the determined Baiiy. Baily’s Nissan 300ZX appeared

superb touch at Oran Park. Kerry Baiiy pu.shing him hard ail the wav.

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quicker than the Alfa, however clever track placement by the West Australian meant that Baiiy had to be content with second. Mikac held first place briefly in the reverse grid final race, however he was foruntate to emerge unscathed from a spin at Momo Recaro while leading the pack at the exit. Again Baiiy hounded Ricciardello, but was

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unable to make a pass. Baily’s second place was enough to take the championship lead from Ricciardello (who was I I resri fourth), whilst Hoss_ack’s ' A absence saw him slip to rT~ .rr. k ■ third in the title race with V one round left at Sandown Raceway on October 8. The Sandown round will certainly be worth keeping Smash derby: The aftermath of the startline shunt. an eye on. (Photo by John Morris/Mpix) -JOHN MORRIS

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73 J

(

Donnelley's Tilley Attack ROSS Donnelley must have been having nightmares in the Group N category at Oran Park, as the Tilley clan of Brad, Cameron and Jason took it in turns to hound the yellow Jolly Roger Marine Mustang throughout the day. Race one saw Donnelley jump to his customary lead and clear away, while the Falcon of Jason Tilley battled the Chrysler Valiant of Cameron, with a gap back to Brad in the Plymouth Barracuda.

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Mustang Sally, er, Ross: Donnelley had a pack of Tilley’s (Photo by John Morris/Mpix) chasing. Race two seemed destined for more of the same, though the Valiant and Ford worked to bridge the gap. The Mustang was able to hold onto a slender lead of 0.088s, as the Ford tried an outside pass at Momo Recaro which was to no avail. The two Fords staged another epic battle as they swapped places in the final race, Donnelley scoring a points decision from the Fordpowered Tilley, with the Barracuda Tilley third.

Leader of the HQ pack CFIARLES D’Aquino showed why he carries the #1 plate on his car at Oran Park in the HQ support races for the Super Trucks, with a controlled drive from the front. Flis momentum was only stopped by a reverse grid race which saw him struggle midfield. Race one was brought to a premature end when Pedro Marosic ran wide at the Esses and rolled, the car coming to rest upside down in the sandtrap. Marosic was unharmed. Richard Mork tired to slow the D'Aquino juggernaut in race two by getting a head start, however a stopgo penalty stopped that. D'Aquino worked through to the lead whilst cars took to the scenery at turn one and shortly after on the run through the Esses. He emerged from the carnage to take the chequered flag. -JOHN MORRIS

Dangei

NRC Racing's Arthur Abrahams let shutterbug DIRK KLYNSMITH loose in one of his high-powered Formula Holden racers. We closed our eyes. DirkJust smiled... HAVING followed the Formula Holden category for eight years, I have often wondered what it would be like to drive one of these beasts. Arthur Abrahams, team owner of the NRC equip and former racer, was in close proximity at Mallala when my brainwave struck. Sweat immediately broke out on his brow, and when he fully recovered he said, "Know the rules Dirk?" "I bend, I spend I" I quipped in reply, which was met with a "well, why not?" from Arthur, to which sweat immediately broke out on my brow. So, on the Monday morning after the final round of the championship at Mallala, and after the 'Old Timers' had finished their speedy sessions, I was strapped into the NRC Esanda Reynard 95D of Dale Brede. Abrahams left rather quickly ... After a quick acclimatisation with the sequential box, clutch, brake pressure and throttle travel, it was time to go. This was a slight hiccup until the boys told me the secret: put the throttle to about 25 percent and then hit the button. Taking off without lighting up the rears and spearing straight „ into the pit wall wouldn't be a good look ... After six attempts at starting, I was off. As I accelerated out of pit lane I was mentally going through my game plan. Take it nice and easy for the first few laps and then a little faster. There were certainly no plans to

After that it was fine. The steering was easy. I was expecting to have to muscle the car around the corner. In fact, I turned in a lot sooner than needed, and was forced to correct back to make the corner \ : on the right line. Braking at 125 T\ metres on the back \ straight from around 190kmh was late enough for me. The big boys hit them at SK around 75 metresTC from 220kmh. I did get lost in the gear selection area though. Arthur had 2 advised the best way was to clutch in and go down to a gear before letting it out. j:; After a few .lA traditional goes with Just like Senna: Klynsmith beckons an NRC crew each gear, I lost member to show him where the start button is ... count of just which (Photo by Phil Williams/Klynsmilh) gear I was in and a couple of times the go flat out, not with a front wing costing a few thousand dollars! Reynard ended up at the corner in neutral. I was pleasantly surprised with how much easier it was to drive. It's too much to think about; I found myself accelerating a lot trying to brake, changing gear, harder than planned and scared finding the line, washing off myself stupid the first time up to speed to the right amount, the kink on the back straight. turning, and keeping off the kerb 'k

rr'"'1

●j

■

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■

etc etc. Takiijg photos is easier. It took one lap to

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find out that it takes something special to do a 1m02.5s around Mallala. Seven laps _ confirmed it and, : even better, it was a quick thing. Well, not quite as n quick as Brede and company, but quicker than the rental car that got me to the track. Just... It’s on the track! Klynsmith was taken aback by the braking capabilities of the 95D, once he squeezed in that is ... (Photos by Williams/Eqiupmcnl by Klynsmith)

noiorsDort news

NATIONAL A Sipp of Victory The Dominator; Michael Caruso made it three straight wins in the Ford MAX Challenge to wrap up the title in Geelong’s final round.

Caruising to a championship FORD MAX CHALLENGE

by MARK WICKS IVnCHAEL Caruso has won the Ford MAX Challenge in the most emphatic way possible, dominating the final round at Geelong on the weekend. After qualifying second to Matthew Wall, Caruso took charge of the meeting winning every heat, the pre-final and the final. Despite qualifying fastest and leading the opening two laps of the final. Wall was not a serious threat to the series leader and took the runner-up position in every race, eventually finishing 5.7 seconds behind Caruso. Surprise of the round was the pace of third-placed Bryce Godfi-ey. Starting from seventh after a collision with Mark Hester in the pre-final, Godfrey put in a solid drive in the final and hassled Wall for second in the closing laps. Hester ran third for much of the race but finally C6une home fourth only one tenth of a second ahead of Neil McFadyen. McFadyen had struggled for pace through the heats before taking fourth in the pre-final, but could not dial out understeer to niatch the speed of the leaders. After running at the front at every meeting and qualifying third at Geelong, William Yarwood was - one of the most consistent drivers all series. Having to start 18th

29 September 2000

(after a collision in the pre-final) Yarwood clawed his way back to eighth behind Travis Murphy and Mark Winterbottom, and thus retained a top four position in the series. By winning three of the five rounds, Caruso won the series(325 points) over McFadyen (309), Wall (303)and Yarwood (291). These four drivers are now handed over to Ford to complete the evaluation for who will compete in Formula Ford in the future and be ‘groomed’for a

Rghting Mazdas

career in motorsport. Mark Winterbottom claimed fifth in the sesries (289) ahead of Gavin Walker (272), Jamie Whincup (268), Jason Varley (256), McDonald (250)and Hester(249). Taz Douglas won the Junior Clubman support series and therefore gets a free drive in next year’s Ford MAX Challenge. Douglas had to drive hard to catch and overtake pre-final winner Tony d’Alberto and hold off a last lap lunge by d’Alberto to claim a narrow victory.

F3 S6t for Sandown THE Australian Formula 3 series is a late addition to the program at next weekend’s round of the V8 Supercar series at Sandown. The round replaces the event lost after the Winton Super Touring round, where Formula 3 was due to play a support role, was cancelled. 1999 champion Paul Stephenson is just one race away from achieving a life-long ambition. All he needs is to score 10

TIM Sipp was the class of the big 24 car Saloon Car field at the Queensland 500 on September 9/10, winning three races from three "Starts after taking pole position. Sipp was four tenths up on Michael Simpson (Falcon) with Shane Beikoff's Holden another tenth away. John Beasley(Commodore) completed the second row ahead of the Holden of Tony Edwards. An untidy start saw several cars off-track at turn one and had Shane Beikoff fish-tailing in front of the field. Sipp, Simpson and John Beasley pulled gradually away, though Sipp faded suddenly with clutch problems. He held off Simpson, while Beasley was third over Tim Young (Falcon) and the recovering Beikoff. Sipp again pulled away from Simpson and Beikoff in race two. Beikoff and Beasley tangled on the opening lap, while Sipp was able to maintain the lead throughout with Beikoff taking Simpson, Young was again fourth. On Sunday, Sipp again pulled away to win. Beikoff was second again after Simpson was black flagged and Henrich's Falcon slowed suddenly on the last lap, letting Fletcher into third.

NSW's Scott Fleming (Mazda RX7) scored pole position ahead of the RX3s of local Tom Horton and Des O’Loughlin, with the RX7s of Peter Rushton, Phil Bail and Terry Willemsen-Bell behind. A field of 39 took the start and Fleming won from Horton, Bail and O'Loughlin, after a multi-car off at turn one involving Bail & WillemsenBell brought the race to an early end. Race two was lit up by the return of Colin Giblett whose VL Commodore V8 picked up 19 positions on the opening lap. Horton won the start, but lost the lead to Fleming at half distance. The two remained close to the flag ahead of Rushton, O'Laughlin and the flying Giblett. Giblett won race three after a fierce early dice with Horton and Fleming. Fleming stayed in touch to be second ahead of O'Loughlin, Horton,(who'd spun), and Simon O'Deli-Fontana (RX7), - MARK JONES

Six hour relay (Photo by Phi

points and he will pick up a full day test with Carlin Motorsport In the British F3 championship. If the test is successful, Stephenson is likely to race in the international race at Macau in November.

THE Porsche Centre Melbourne team of Michael Downard, Ken Jarrett, Phil Verwoert and Bruce Harris have won the MSCA 6 Hour Relay race at Winton. They finished three laps clear of the other Porsche Centre Melbourne team, while the Arese A'Racers Alfa team were a strong third. 15

NATIONAL Karting Briefs TONY Kart has won the European Junior Championships, Manfred Ammermuller taking the series having won the finai round. Jean-Pierre Guignet(Tony KarWortex) claimed second ahead of Francesco Antonucci (CRGA/ortex).

.5-

Vaientino Sebastiani (Top Kart/Pariiia) took home the Cadet Green Fleimet Trophy. Vega tyres were used by the top four finishers in each class. n Regular ReSa Cup competitor Timm Weitzel is expected to make his APS Racing series debut on home soil at the Geelong final next month. Weitzel will use Tecno chassis with Bartolo tuned Parilla engines. ■ DAP is set for a return to racing in Australia. Ken Mitchell of Racing Kart Services in Sydney has received a number of chassis from the DAP factory to undertake evaluation tests. There has so far been no news of who will drive. ■ Want to enter a team in next year's World Championship series? It'll cost $US50,000 per two kart team, although you'll get it all back if your team races in every round. -MARK WICKS

ITALY’S Davide Fore led home an impressive TOny KartA/ortex/ Bridgestone 1-2^3 at the World Karting Championships in Portugal recently to take his second Formula Super A World Title. Fore took command of the FSA final from the start, etching out a gap to team mate Franck Perrera (who was fastest qualifier) with the rest of the field well behind. The battle for third was the one to watch as Australia’s Ryan Briscoe moved up before being crashed out by Bruno Vroomen (Top Karl) in the closing laps. This elevated Heikki Kovalainen to third with Max Orsini s privately entered CRG/Parilla fourth, and Benjamin! fifth on yet another Tony Kart Vortex.

Qualifying looked promising for the Aussies, with Briscoe third, Ben Horstman seventh (although he would lose this for being underweight), and Troy Hunt 26th. Briscoe ran from the front and ied on more than one occasion over the weekend. “I was confident that I couid win the race,” Briscoe said. ●‘But when i got to third (having started 10th) Fore and Perrera had already made a break from the rest of the field." Horstman (Biesse/Fox) also worked his way back into contention before a collision with Rubens Carrapatosso caused a DNF. Hunt had to qualify for the finals via the repecharge, but made the field and went on to finish an excellent eighth. England's Colin Brown headed

Test run New tyres for ’01 for Murray Bridge by MARK WICKS

THE AKA National Conference has seen a num

AUSTRALIAN Karting Association officials, Go Kart Club of South Australia executives, and members of the Murray Bridge Council recently attended an evaluation run of the street circuit in Murray Bridge which win host the Murray Bridge Street Grand Prix in May 2001. National Track Inspector Mick Stott suggested a change to the first comer due to concerns over first lap incidents, by adding a loop which will extend the initial design by some 120 metres. The track was then set up last weekend in full race mode for an evaluation and demonstration day under fuO AKA steward control. Reif Corbett, David Clark and Jason Holding were due to evaluate the circuit in Formula 100 karts in order to give the track committee any feedback. J6

ber of significant changes to the rules of Sprintkart rac ing in Australia. The outcome that wEl

effect all sprint barters is the awarding of new tyre contracts for the next three years. Vega won the coveted Clubman class with their XSL tyre ($199), Dunlop SLl ($185) for National/Midget/ Rookies, Bridgestone YGK ($225) for Rotax MAX, Formula 100 and Twins, Maxxis HG3 ($208) in Piston Port and Formula Australia while ReSa will use the MG MZ YeEow ($229). The other significant decision was the removal of the ARC water-cooled engine from the Clubman class next

year (although the air cooled version is still eligible) before Clubman reverts back

to using the Yamaha KTIOOS only from 2002. It wiU still be permissible to use imported chassis in Formula Australia (using ARC and ARC/Yamaha Hybrid engines) for another year (although not at the National Championships) but only Australian-made karts will be allowed the

following year. Despite the AKA publicly indicating their wish to reduce the number of classes at National Championship level, light and heavy divisions of ReSa and Rotax MAX have now been approved and Senior National keeps its Championship status. Kevin Jenner was returned as AKA President with NSWs Ross HiE 15ce President.

a Top Kart/Gomer/Bridgestone i> 2 taking a narrow win over Ciivio Piccione in the Formula A finai. Brown and European Champion Lewis Hamilton (CRG/Parilla) lead away at the start of the final which turned into a spectacular display as Brown. Hamilton, Piccione and Loic Duval (Tony KartA/ortex) scrapped for the win, aii leading at some stage. Robert Kubica (Birel/ltalsistem) charged up on this group before Hamilton's chances went up in smoke with an engine failure. This allowed Brown and Piccione to drive away for the win ahead of Duval, Kubica, and Lucas di Grass! (Tony KartA/ortex). - MARK WICKS

Talk to us! NATIONAL Scene is continuing to grow, as we bring you up to speed with all of the action from a wide range of categories. This issue we feature Super Trucks, Sports Sedans, the Tord MAX Challenge and a whole lot more. So do you want coverage for your category, club, association, or event? Well let us know! Reports, news and general interest material regarding upcoming events are all welcome. > Exposure in National Scene is of great value to categories as well as drivers looking toomake an impression in the sport. Send your material to: National Scene Editor PO BOX 1010 Caulfield North 3161 Ph - 03 9527 7744 Fax - 03 9527 7766 email: msnews@ozemail.com.au motorsRori news

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1970 XW GT, Brambles red, 351C, 4V, 4 speed, 9" LSD, ground up resto, 17 awards from 7 shows. You won't find better. $28,000. Ph 0408 349 754. is9 Gemini Series Coupe, fresh top HP engine, excel lent steel cage, new Sparco seat & pedals, many other new components, comes with 1996 model tandem axle trailer. $6200. Ph 07 3372 3609. 109

Nissan Skyline GTR R33 V Spec, 1996, stun ning condition throughout, 42,000 genuine kilo metres, fastidiously maintained. Quicker than many 'race cars', near new tyres, alarm, fully optioned, complianced. $66,500. Ph 0403 377 189. 190 nT-atSiiyiiji,";;:/

Mini Sports Sedan, competitive car, many good bits, hear running, may consider wrecking. $3500. Ph 02 9773 1909. 190 HQ race car, blue/purple, new tyres, suspension, roll cage, complete less seat & harness. $2000. Ph 03 9510 4159. 190

Terry Wyhoon NASCAR, all spares, pit cart, pit gear, one of the best NASCARs in Australia. $70,000 the lot. Ph Terry 0408 555 821. 190

240Z 1971, extensive restoration mech & cos metically. No modifications, a very collectable car. Reg 81 RWC if required. $7500 neg. Ph 03 5222 4036. 190

Capri 350 space frame, V8 grunt, low cost, call for full specs, long history, race ready, spares, $18,500. Ph 07 3262 7911. 190 Commodore VL, high performance 308, Aussie 4 speed, 9" locker diff. Simmons wheels, profession ally prepared shell & cage. Excellent condition, suit ●'-Sports Sedan, with spares. $9500. Ph 02 4946 9554 or 0407 905 039. 190

29 September 2000

MG Midget Sportscar 1973, rare round wheel arch, in excellent condition. RWC. $9800. Ph 03 5436 1223. 189

Torana Sports Sedan, 3 NSW 6 cyl titles, mid mount 202, Duggan head, semi space frame, ind rear, R200 diff,5 speed box, spares inc: diff, g/box, diff ratios, wheels, moulds, plus heaps more. Also, duel axle trailer with enclosed front. $20,000 the lot. Ph Rick 02 4267 4882 bh. 190

Gemini Series rally car, 1984, full build just com pleted, usual Gemini rally preps - cage, camber, exhaust skid plates strengthening etc, Bilstein shocks, 11 mths NSW road rego, fully engineered. Never completed, car & engine prepped by Arthur Jackson. $4950. Ph Russell 02 8923 5327 bh or 02 9456 1128 ah. 190

Torana Hatchback, 5 litre, alloy heads, big Willwood brakes, Simmons wheels, 3.7 9" diff, modified, T10 gearbox, 120lt drop tank, 384 rear wheel HP. Cheap to run, fun to race or hillclimbs or sprints. 67.27 around Wanneroo. $16,000. Ph Brad 0418 933 344 or 08 9459 0617. 190

1962 Lotus 23, fabulous history, FIA papers. absolute mint condition. View on my web site at WWW. victoriainn.com.au/lotus or call 02 9817 5654 anytime. $100,000. 1B9

Consider real

offers around

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RX7 Sports Sedan, built by factory Mazda Motorsport for Le Mans. Completely rebuilt, new 3 rotor turbo, fuel injected motor, close ratio 5 speed, 20 sets of interchangeable ratios, 12 sets of BBS 16x10, 16x12 3 piece rims. Twin package $50,000. Will sepa rate, roller $15,000,3 rotor complete dry sump system to computer $18,000, PBS box $10,000, AP callipers $6000, Rims X 8 $4000. Ph Robert 0418 974 351. is9

Nissan Siuebird PRC raiiy car, 218 turbo. Inde pendent rear suspension, 2 box, 2 diff, Bilstein adjustable suspension, 4 wheel disc brakes, new paint, cage, exhaust, windscreen, log book, homolo gation papers. $7200 ono. Ph 03 9337 2993.’fw

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V6 Capri Ciub Car, highly developed, spare engine, panels and wheels. Konis, Detroit locker, big brakes. $9500. Ph John 03 9801 9907 or Neil 0418 517 257. las

HQ racer, top 10 QLD, fast, consistent, heaps of spares, new diff, suspension, motor. Must sell, $4900. Ph 07 5520 4855 or 07 5593 6368. 189 RX7 Series il, 20B triple rotor, fuel injected, built and raced by Ric Shaw. Immaculate presentation, recond gearbox, Simmons and mounted wets also. $25,000 obo. Ph 0418 951 072. 199

Onen Wheelers

Sierra Cosworth, rare 1988 4 door Sapphire model. Unmodified and in mint condition inside & out. Full factory options including air-con. $28,000 ono. May consider trade or part-trade for interest ing 3J, Marque Sports or Group C car (no rotaries). Ph 07 3814 3762. 189

Arrow /AX6 Silver Arrow, 40mm axle. Club Championship winning chassis, very consistent, maintained to highest standard. Sell as rollingg chassis, assistance to buyer if needed. Selling to make way for new chassis. $2000. Ph Kurt 0428 834 618. 190 Formula Vee, Elfin NG chassis, freshly painted & car recently rebuilt, trailer with rego to June 2001. $5600. Ph 02 9534 2369 ah or 0418 283 430. 190

Spectrum 07 Formula Fords, 2 1999 model cars

Flolinger gearbox, 5 speed manual, fully reco by Holinger Engineering & unused since. $8950. Ph 0418 369 899. iso

as rolling chassis, complete with Motec dash setup. Both cars in excellent condition with spare wheels & ratios. Setup info available & assistance can be arranged for new owner. $35,000 each. Ph Keith 0408 066 106. rso

Ford Gold Irak, limited slip diff centre, suit 9". Ph Ross Donnelley 0408 463 777. iso

Formula Libre chassis, to suit autocrcss, sprint/hillclimb $600. Ph 03 5664 4219. Could be cor verted to

Galloway-developed, race-winning Spectrum 07, Speedtech engine, MoTec, spares package, with assistance given to new owner. $37,000. Trailer also available. Ph Owen Kelly 0419 896 382. .90

open class Odyssey. .S9

MR2, only raced 5 times, engine tuned by Tony Sims, 2 sets dry, 1 set wets on rims, get into Superkarting's top class with the best equipment. See the kart Oran Park Oct 8th. $15,000 ono. Ph 0408 667 729. 190

ASP 340B Historic Clubman, genuine 1972 340B racing clubman with original log book and history. Totally unique, only road registered racing ASP, therefore eligible numerous classes. $POA. Ph 08 8264 2948. 190

Formula Vee Spectre, brand new chassis, never turned a 'wheel,fresh engine and spare. 3ilstein shocks, many spares, forced sale, must sell. $2800 ono. Ph 0413 547 999 or e-mail daradng@one.net.au. .s9 Elva DKW Formula Junior, 1959, front engine. Stored for over 35 years, chassis plate number 100/74. Very rare car. A$25,000. Ph Ken Smith 64 9 2748646 or fax 64 9 2748642. 189 Formula 3 Reynard 903, state Series winner, 2 engines, spares include wings, wheels, ratios etc. Excellent condition. $38,000. Ph 02 9743 5357. .89

Superkart International 250cc, new Anderson chassis, complete Kelgate running gear, 256 Rotax power. This kart is in as new condition and comes with many spares. If you are upgrading you must see. $15,000. Will consider trade. Ph 0419 236 233. 190 250 International Superkarts, #2 (NOW #1) Stockman chassis, RS250 Honda (97-2000) motor, fastest in Australia. 1 year old. $18,500. #43 Stockman chassis,RS250 Honda (94) motor, two meetings only. $16,500. Ph 02 6765 9310. .90 Go Kart, PCR, only raced twice, comes with KTIOOS and KTIOOJ, trolley, suit, helmet, boots & gloves. Also, heaps of spares. $3800 ono. Will swap for Escort RS2000, registered & in good condition. Ph 07 5465 7729. .90

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Midget/Rookie European HS 60 kart, brand new 900 HH chassis, 30mm adjustable rear axle, front caster/camber adjusters with adjustable height, excellent looker and fast performer. $2250. Ph Viktor 07 5533 1231. .89

Go Kart Benson, 96 IA024 frame. Blueprinted Yamaha KT100s. 34mm axle, Frt camber caster adj Equipement and spares included. $3000 ono. Ph Gavin Mosher 02 6227 0133 or 0408 218 715. .90

1976 Cheetah Mk VI, the only F2 version of the highly successful F3 Cheetahs. The only Cheetah eligible for Historic Grp Q to run a twin cam Ford engine, a FT 200 trans-axle and wide wheels (12 inch & 14 inch) as in the 76 F2 formula. Recently had a no expense spared restoration. Lightweight fully secured enclosed trailer is included. $45,000. Ph Bruce Kennedy 02 9436 3021 bh or 02 9440 0950 ah. 189 Brabham BT16 1965, F2, chassis number F2.12.65. Lucas downdraft Ford, very original. A$43,000. Ph Ken Smith 64 9 2748646 or fax 64 9 2748642. .89

Superkart 80cc Honda CR, Stockman chassis, engine by Tony Sims, kart has good history, 2 sets dry, 1 set wets, tyres and rims, kart will be at Oran Park 8th October. Get into superkarting with the best equipment. Ph 0408 667 729. is9

Spectrum 06B, complete with top HP Lamer engine. Best 06 on the market. Full factory history. Parts and ratios included. $30,000. MoTec available. Ph 0417 000 099. .89

Parts

Super T10 gearbox, and Commodore conversion kit. Z ratio road box $1700. Auscar mags & speed nuts, 2 sets, $100 each, slicks, Dunlop new 225/50/15", Formula R $450, full set. Ph 03 9432 9482 or 0418 500 287. .90

Ralt RT4 1982, chassis number 292 FT200. Complete minus engine, all original condition. A$20,000. Ph Ken Smith 64 9 2748646 or fax 64 9 2748642. .89

i^v ^ gyT 4^

Formula Vee, top condition, enclosed trailer, huge spares, nose, g/boxes, body moulds etc. Quick, reli able race car. $6000. Ph 08 8242 0151 ah. .90

250CC International Superkart, 1995 Zip Eagle, chassis, 256 Rotax motor, Aprillia Internals, Dellorto carb, motor rebuilt recently by Alan Utten. $10,500 ono, various spares also for sale. Ph 08 8296 5511 or 0412 005 866 . is9

Tyres & rims, Dunlop wets to suit Sports Sedan. 2-280/625-15, 2-290/680-15, 90% tread. $800. Ph 02 4736 7826. iss Group A tyres, Dunlop slicks new to suit VL, 1290/625R17 2-290/650R17. $1000. Ph 02 4736 7826. IBS

Superkart 250 int, 96 TZ250G Yamaha, Stockman

Formula Vee Manta, ground up chassis rebuild and powder coat, motor and gearbox 2 meet ings since full rebuild. Everything brand new, top 3 car in Queensland. 1.04.2 at Lakeside, 12 month old enclosed trailer, spare front arms, full set spare rear arms, rims & tyres. Nothing to spend, trackside assistance if required. $9500 ono. Ph Trent Usher 0407 240 375 or 07 3862 3074 ah. 190

Repco F5000 parts and engines, F2/F3 parts and engines, FHolden parts and engines. Elfin wheel and upright patterns. Clearance sale, used/new racing parts. Ph Rodger for info 08 8277 0979 bh or 08 8278 5146 ah. iss

Off Road Race Parts Sale, Ph 0414 367 997 for list. 190 >-34 Torana Sports Sedan running gear, float ing 9" diff with Detroit locker. Watts link, Simmons 16x10 wheels, coil over shocks. $2950, will suit other S/S project. Ph 0412 156 766. 190

Flydraulic clutch bell housing, complete to fit a Holinger gearbox, suit Group A Commodore or Sports Sedan. $1600. Ph 02 4736 7826. iss Brake calipers,four spot to suit early Mustang /Appendix J, in top condition. $800. Ph 02 4736 7826. las Chev titanium inlet 2.08 exhaust valves 1.60, $1100 set, Yates titanium valves 2.10 and 1.60, $1100 set, Holley HP 950 Methanol carb. moreso bowl extensions and jet tuning pack as new, $1000. Ph 0419 655 701. iss Escort Twin Cam, gearbox, complete. Good condi tion. $700. Ph 03 9763 9160. las Serck oil thermostat with push-on fittings. Unused, suit club racer etc who does not want to over-cool oil. $50. Ph 07 3814 3762. les Chev block,4 bolt, OlOstd bore 350, $550.2 bolt 010 std bore 350 with sonic test, $450, 1 set Carillo rods 6" with Carr bolts, $1500. 1 set Iron eagle 2 heads, new in box, $1300. Recall tacho $275, Vertex Magneto with ss leads, suit small block, $800. Ph 08 8556 1203. m Mazda rotary racing plugs. Champion N80 and N555Q, equivalent to NGK BIO EGV and B9 EGV. 50 plugs cost $750, sell for $250. Ph 08 8357 2319. .89 18 R Toyota, billet crank, TRD rods, dry sump, ex-Peter Williamson Group C. Z Back An'glia, one piece fibreglass front & boot lid, passenger door. TaHlights & headlights. Ph Richard 0404 470 340. 189 Chev S/B, 5.7 Childs & Albert alloy rods, U brand new $850. Ph 0409 895 934. 189 Chev 5/B air flow research, 23 degree alloy heads, brand new, 590hp (flow report), comp with valves & springs. $3200. Ph 0409 895 934. 189 Chev S/B, cola crank, 5/8 just crack tested & reground. $1500. Ph 0409 895 934. ib9 Ford single rail gearbox,suit Holden V8,complete with all adapters & mounts. $450 ono. Ph 0419 947 971. .89 Ford 9" diff, suit Torana 3.5 LSD steel hat, 31 spline billet axles. HZ discs & master cylinder, 3000kms old, comes with tailshaft and handbrake cables. $2000 ono. Ph 0419 947 971..89 Chev SB rods,6" H beam. Scat 4340 with ARP 8740 rod bolts new $850. SCP 4 stage dry sump pump with manifold and pulley, used, $1350 . ib9 HQ racing spares, heaps of guards, doors, bon nets etc. Sealed gearbox, racing radiator, must go. Ph Greg King 0419 013 594. .89 » Air jacks, new/used, large range, most appli cations, quick release handles available, top quali ty. CCl Ph 0418 925 767. * Qutches,7.25,5.5,5.0 single, twin, triple plate, sin tered or carbon, AP-Tilton-QM, new/use^. Spare cov ets, rings, plates also available. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767.

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MarKetplace © Pedals, brake/clutch, floor mount/hanging, new/sued. Also available, bias valves, bias cables, master cylinders, reservoirs etc. CCI Ph 0418 925 767. ® Hewland, DGB, 5 speed transaxle, top condi tion, new 9:31 CWP, ratio choices and spares available, $14K ratios, over 300 in stock to suit DGB, GFGB, TPT, FT200. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767. ® Oil coolers - heat exchangers, Earls, Setrab, Serck, 6-70 row, new/used, also used water to oil heat exchangers, over 100 in stock. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767. ® Racecar parts, brake parts, chassis stands, diff oil pumps, exhaust collectors, fuel cell acces sories, oil filters, quicklift jacks, ratio boxes, radi ator caps, springs, spoilers, wings etc. CCI Ph 0418 925 767. ® Uprights, fabricated/cast, fronts/rears, various sizes, new/used, also CVs, driveshafts, wishbones, rockers, pushrods, all top quality, exc condition. CCI Ph 0418 925 767. S Radiators, aluminium, new/used, single/dual pass, top quality, large range, various sizes, suit all applications, from $300. CCI Ph 0418 925 767.

Drag

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Super Sedan Pontiac Firebird, reco 350 Chev, new Brodix heads. Winter q/c diff, too much to list, plenty of spares etc. On custom built trailer. $10,500. Ph 03 5884 3681. ™ 1934 Ford Plot Rod, fibreglass body, 305 Chev, powerglide auto. Ford diff, disc brakes, 5 point harness, new tyres & some spares, also comes with trailer with tyre rack. $4000. Ph 0409 212 590. isa IROC Camaro Super Sedan, Rayburn chassis, fresh 350, Brownfield 220 heads on methanol, plenty spares, Halibrand quickchange, complete car. $14,500. Ph 0417 015 849. ibs Chasie Pontiac body, top & bottom arms, rack and pinion. Front coil overs with springs. Rear leaf springs with 2" lowering blocks with u bolts & pedals & cylinders. $2500 ono. Reco alum heads, new valves, guides, colletts and retainers, ready to bolt on. $2500 ono. Ph 0403 301 849. lea

suit FFord/FHolden etc. Living

1988 Camaro, complete less-engine, has Lenco 4 spd, struts, US Pro diff, M.W Autometer, Koni, chute, cell, Lexan glass, BB Headers, tube chassis. ,1080kg W/BB welds. $AUS20,000 obo. Ph 0011 64 4 938 5426. to

Nissan EXA Coupe, full chassis, f/c cage, 9" diff, chrome moly 4link, powder coated black chassis, Koni struts, Koni shocks, Harwood fuel cell, MSD 6AL, with 2 step, nitrous oxide etc. Full wiring harness, chute. Centrelines polished Goodyear slicks & front runners. Commodore brakes. Sell as roller. $10,000. Ph John 08 8349 4988 or 0418 899 409. to

Soeeilwav graa' 'H—,AA

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Super Sedan Commodore, Dave Best chassis. Winters quickchange diff, 4 aluminium bead lock rims, ready to race, less engine and gearbox. $7500. Ph 03 5176 1352. to Stealth Pontiac Speedcar, with all the goods. Nothing to spend, USA gear throughout, plus spares, low mileage, will separate. Rolling chassis and engine. Looking for average driver to make a winner. 536-39,000. Ph 02 9875 1041 bh

quarters in front, tilts for easy loading cupboard, sink, fridge. $5000. Ph Keith 0408 066 106. to Tandem car trailer, tyre rack, mags, tool & parts boxes regd, tows well, good condition. Ph 02 6685 7890 bh or 02 6684 7495 ah.. TO 36ft Gooseneck trailer, suit any size car, wheel racks fuel tank, air tank, work bench, sleeps 6, air con,' cupboards, only 18 months old, very little work. ph 07 4958 1323

28' Gooseneck, with V8 dyna twin cab, fully lined trailer. 300 litre gas tank, llOkm/h +. $25,000, will separate. Ph 03 5940 2034 bh. to Nissan Turbo, 205,000kms, new tyres, air con, 2 owners, ex-Gibson. 7.1m Pantec, tail lift, bellylockers, side roller door, steps, 10x4 annex, floor ing. $40,000. Ph 02 9681 1829. ra Trailer, 6.4m x 2.5m x 2m tandem axle, electric brakes, 2 side access doors, rear door, car ramps, display door. Insulated roof, 12V/240V power, 3 windows (with screens), professionally built, never used. $11,900 ono. Ph 02 4464 3565. to Trailer, 18L x 6W x 6H. Electric brakes, fully enclosed annex. Workbenches, winch, alum ramps, will suit 2 Formula Fords or similar. $5500. Ph 0414 469 250. to

42ft transporter, 2 cars, hydraulic tail lift, fridge, microwave & TV, annex, racks and belly lockers, 5kva generator. 1986 Scania 92M single drive prime mover, recent engine rebuild. Very good. $80,000. Ph Mike 0418 223 914 TO

|traight, etc. Ph Andrew 0414 287 790. Will con sider shipping from interstate if necessary, to Toyota Supra close ratio gearbox, prefer TRD option kit with .880 overdrive. Ph 03 9870 4296. to Targa Tasmania 2000, lease Melbourne or Tasmanian-based car by mature, experienced driv er. 5 Targa class wins. Gold Targa trophy. Ph Peter 0418 184 456. w

Engines Yamaha KT100J, go kart engine, brand new, still in box. Series 2000. $800. m Chev race engine, new 4340 crank, new Eagle rods, JE pistons, splayed billet caps, dash II Brodix heads, methanol carby, full roller extractors, never raced, brand new. $15,000. Ph 08 9452 2808. to Go kart engine KTIOOJ. $800 ono. Ph 02 4628 3706. to Ford 351 Cleveland, high performance 450+hp, roller rockers, ported heads, less carby only. $3750 ono. Ph 08 8556 1203. to Chev 366 Super Sedan engine, 600hp, ex-Blair Granger Bris #5, built by Jack Bros, all parts 2 seasons old, track I heads, Ross pistons, I7A rods, BRC crank, CSS aerosol carb, good torque, (dyno) complete engine. $15,000. Ph 0409 895 934. to 350 Chev 010 4 bolt fully balanced, carillo rods, roller cam/rockers, rev kit, magneto, bowtie heads, methanol carby, starter etc, spare block and other parts, rebuilt by jack Bros. $9900 ono. Ph 02 6685 7890 bh or 02 6684 7495 ah. to Chev engine parts, 3-5/8" Cola crankshaft $1200. rev kit $100, 4 bolt block $300, Romax balancer $180, Crane 260 roller cam $250, tall boy followers $250. Ph 0417 015 849. m Ford 302 W, genuine Mustang motor + 3 speed toploader, currently in '67 Mustang, comes with full exhaust to suit Mustang/Falcon, motor has new 600CFM Holley, Hipo air cleaner & power steering pump.$2250 the lot. Ph Gerard 0419 554 019 or 03 9852 4520. tea Toyota G4A-E10 DOHC 20 valve motor. Quad throttle bodies and ram tubes, lightened flywheel, custom fabricated four into one header, extensive headwork, motor just rebuilt, receipts available in excess $4000, inc new pistons, rings, larger exhuast valves, compression 11:1, just run in, hear running, $2850. Ph Dennis 03 5968 8777. iss Ford 429/460 TFS A460 heads and intake, 429 block (thick webbing),4 bolt main caps, O rods, cost $6500, sell $4200 the lot. Ph Gerard 0419 554 019 or 03 9852 4520. to Brownfield 235 alloy heads, 2 7/16 inch Hilborn injection, K&N air filters, Jessel rockers, Isky tool springs. Crane roller cam lifters, rev kit, pushrods, alloy rocker covers. GC. $7500 ono. Ph 0412 738 604 or 07 3800 9982 ah. to Ford SOHC 2L, GPI, alloy sump, German block & BV head, tuftrided crank & rods, 520X cam. Vernier wheel, electronic ignition, Mahle pistons etc. $2200. Ph03 9546 8342 or 0417 239 641. isa

PhotoBraplis

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Rayburn chassis with body, fuel tank and ped als. A1 condition. $2500 ono. Also 2xwide five rims with bead locks $300 each. 2x window nets

Mawer racing wheels, or similar, 13" x 15" diameter, any width to suit U Torana, also fibreglass panels to suit U Torana Sports Sedan. Ph 0417 378 578. iss Whereabouts of, Peter Williamson's Group A Supra last raced at Bathurst, crashed on Conrod Straight in '86. Ph 03 9870 4296. T89 Nissan/Datsun R180 4.375/4.4, diff complete, locked or LSD, or ring gear & pinion set only. Tooth count 35/8. Nissan P/N 38100-V3506 or 38100-E4105. Ph Anthony 03 5021 3940 bh or 03 5023 0970 ah. to Toyota 3-SGE, competition motor, gearbox, dry sump, exhaust. Ph Dennis 03 5968 8777. to Mechanic, looking for role with race team, all levels of competition considered. Melbourne resi dent. Ph 0414 788 417. to Twin plate clutch, 5" or 5 1/2". Coils 2 1/2" ID x 350-450 pounds/inch. Ph Terry 07 3814 3762 or e-mail esp@hypermax.net.au. to

Other Dorian timing transponder, includes charger and mounting box to suit sedan. Perfect working order. $280. Ph 0417 399 162 or 07 3824 2818 ah. to Helmet,Simpson Super Bandit 8, brand new, white, amber visor, size 7 1/2. $400. Ph 0412 618 700. TO

Portrait of Peter Brock, by Philip Farley. Limited edi tion print comes with certificate of authenticity signed by Peter Brock, only 950 copies world wide 122/950, a must tor the collector, reluctant sale $1200. Ph 07 . 4128 4689, email asenna@bigpond.com to Bacchus Marsh based racing team, require crew personnel for Future Touring class (Ford team), must be competent and self reliable, experience would be an advantage. Must be willing to make interstate trips. For more info or enquiries, fax 03 5367 1945 or email - marshracing@hotkey.net.au. to Exhaust tube bender, 3 phase binnie, computer controlled, as new condition. $10,500. Can inspect in Castlemaine, Vic. Ph 03 5472 4116 or fax 03 5470 6966, email - farrell@iaccess.com.au. to Bolts & fasteners, huge range, GR-8, GR-5, 8.8, M/steel, rivets, unbrako washers, comes in 20x8 ship' ping container that is shelved and has carpet and lighting. Must see, must sell. $9000 ono. Can inspect in Castlemaine, Vic. Ph 03 5472 4116 or fax 03 5470 6966, e-mail: farrell@iaccess.com.au to

sprayed, rally seats, rear bench seat, CB, wide wheels, 5 months Vic rego. $8000. Ph 02 9639 3896 or 0418 639 207. to

S8pigm8er2000

Ford Escort Mk2, Club Car / sports sedan, rolling chassis preferred, must have approved cage,

33ft tri-axle trailer, 8ft wide, 7ft high, electric brakes, living & workshop area, will carry 2 FFords or sedan. *4 FI 99, LWB 4x4, 351 on gas and fuel, complete $20,000, will sep. Ph Tony lory 03 6326 5555 or 0418 130 133. to

Ford FIDO, ex-ambulance V8 auto, petrol/LPG, bull bar, tow bar, driving lights, CD player, re-

525 each. Lower control arms with ball joints $100 ea. Assorted shocks with kit & springs from $80. 2x Ultra shield seats 17" and 15" with upholstery 5150 ea. 1 Sharieen pump & power head $700. Chevy 406 built by Ivan Walker. $6800 ono. Aluminium radiator with thermo $250. Ph Jasqn 0418 861 224 or Mark 02 9790 7578. to

Under 2lt Improved Production car, wanted to buy, must be rear wheel drive, reliable &very competitive, prefer NSW-based car, but not essen tial. All cars/packages considered. Ph Grant 02 4368 1562. las

V8 Dirt Modified, SA 5, 351 Cleveland, approx 450hp, Halibrand diff, current rego. With many spares, complete front end,set of tyre and rims, bars, hubs etc. $6950. Ph 08 8556 1203. iss

Transporters/Trailers

XE Falcon, 460 engine. C-6 auto. 3500 stall. 9 inch 4,56 gears. Three quarter chassis, 15x14 and 15x6 Superlites 2, drag or show car, forced sale, $16,000 obo. Ph 02 4959 3257. is9

Wanteil

Mitsubishi Sigma sedan, car has many wins, comes with 14x7 trailer, race suit, all spares to go for moving sale, can run various divisions, must sell. Best offer. Ph 02 6963 6367. is9

Photographs for sale, from Mallala V8 Liles'of most V8s, also some photos of support categories. Ph David Batchelor 08 8634 5310. to TO-n

Driving gloves, nomex/suede padded knuckles. $135 inc post(rrp $165). Driving suits made to meas ure $595, suede boots $150, also socks, balaclavas. All FIA approved. Ph 02 9726 7331. to MOMO steering wheel, 250 mm, suitable for openwheeler, etc. In new condition. $230 ono. Ph 07 3263 69)9. to 2 race suits, 1 RPM Tranzam and 1 RPM Mondial, both size M, black and white. $750 & $575. Brand new. 1 Bell M3 helmet, brand new, white, still in box, never worn $1100. Race boots, red, worn once, size 9-10. $100. Ph 0419.242 025. to

Bell Sport2Helmet,size large. White with dear and dark ' visas. Excellent condition. $350. Ph 07 3263 6919. ™ Car trailer, 4.7m x 2m, checkplate floor, enclosed front light truck tyres, 20001b electric winch, 10 months rego, pull out ramps, hydraulic tilt top. $3900 Ph Scott 02 6331 4296 or 02 6332 4936. to

Photographs for sale, from QLD 500 10/9/00. V8 Supercars and support categories. Also OLD sprint round V8s. Ph Chris or Lynne 07 5483 8360. Some signed by drivers, authorised, im

Large range of motoring magazines, full set Sports Car World, Racing Car News and many thou sands of others, also rnotormg books. Ph 08 9279 7003 or fax 03 9377 3939.

OPINION r, rl

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EDITORIAL STAFF Editor: Phil Branagan Assistant Editor: Gerald McDornan Staff Journalist: Aaron Noonan PRODUCTION Adv & Graphics Co-ordinator: Viv Brumby ADVERTISING Advertising Manager: Brendon Sheridan ADMINISTRATION Managing Director: Chris Lambden CONTACTS 89 Orrong Crescent North Caulfield Vic 3161 (PO Box 1010 North Caulfield Vic 3161) Ph:03 9527 7744 Fax: 03 9527 7766 Email: msnews@ozemail.com.au GONTRIRUTORS General: Grant Nicholas, Darryl Flack, Tony Glynn, Mark Jones, Jon Thomson FI: Joe Saward, Adam Cooper Europe: Quentin Spurring, Gary Watkins US:Phil Morris Speedway: Brett Swanson, Julie Pearce, Geoff Rounds, Wade Aunger,Tony Millard (UK) Rally: Peter Whitten, Jon Thomson Histories: Brian Reed Drag Racing: Greg Ward, Jon Asher (USA), Dave Ostaszewski(USA), Nick Nicholas, Steven White, Ken Ferguson Super Speedway: Martin Clark (USA) National: Mark Wicks, Sean Flenshelwood, Graeme Burns, John Morris, Michael Shaw Photographers:Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Bothwell Photographic, Marshall Cass, Nigel Snowdon & Diana Burnett, Tony Glynn, AFl Images, Neil Flammond, Slipstream Photographic, ThunderPics, Phil Williams, Allsport, John Morris/Mpix, Frank Midgley, John Bosher, Lynley Reid, Mike Patrick (UK), Daniel Wilkins, Wayne Nugent, Peter French, Chris C-arter Artist: Bernie Walsh Cartoonist:Allan Schofield Motorsport News is pufalislied by Australasian Motorsport News - ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Printed by: PMP Print 37-49 Browns Road Clayton 3168. oTstributed by: NDD Ltd Material published by MOTORSPORT NEWS is copyright and may not be reproduced in fuii or in part without the written permission of the pubiisher. Freelance contributions are weicome, and whiie all care will be taken, Australasian Motorsport News does not accept responsibiiity for damage or ioss of materiai submitted.

Genius at work

included a lap of the circuit with Rusty. Nick and his family had a great weekend thanks to the generosity of Russell and Sue.

I’ve figured out what has happened to the yellow ribbon brigade at Albert Park. They have moved off-shore. When I timed in to the US

Well done guys!!!! Maxine Oliver

Grand Prix, there was a

ajo@iinet.net.au

number of signs around the track with SAP on them. I think that this must mean that we have seen the last of the

HQs, Salvos and Madonna

Save Albert Park movement at the Australian Grand Prix. I hope that Tony George will treat them with the respect that they deserve. P. Smith Email address supplied ED: Thanks for clearing that up, Smith. When the medication arrives after your group session, ask for seconds.

Giggle colours Having just watched the US GP,I was wondering if someone could explain to me why it was that Ferrari and Jordan didn’t have tobacco sponsorship displayed on their cars but McLaren, Benetton

and BAR all did.

Good to also see too that Channel Nine are again looking after their viewers by televising the Japanese GP which normally shows at 3pm Sydney time at 11.30pm. It had better he something pretty damn good to put it off imtU that time of night, but knowing Nine it’s more than likely something as trivial as Mercantile Mutual cricket. If they’re not committed to their Grand Prix telecasts, then it’s high time they handed it over to someone that is. Paul Ruxton pruxton@ozemail.com.au

Queensland Raceway, you have got to be joking! I went to the Queensland 500 and saw some fantastic

ED: Tobacco advertising is governed in the USA by a voluntary ‘one series’code.

stuff by the V8s, with the

Marlboro is in Champ Car racing with Penske, so the Ferraris had to run ‘blank’livery. Ditto for B&H, which is connected to Players. West is not sold in the USA, so the McLarens ran normal livery. And Lucky Strike is not involved in domestic US racing, so BAR ran as normal. Re the Japanese GP,I agree. It sucks. Ring Nine and complain.

Thumbs up We know that a lot of good work hy our celebrities goes unnoticed, but I think sometimes a little recognition is well deserved. Such as the heartwarming deed done by Russell Ingall and Sue Dilger of Castrol. They saw the story on ‘A Current Affair’ program of the young boy Nick who was refused permission to compete in the log chopping event at the Brisbane Show because he only has one arm. Russell noticed he was wearing one of his caps and decided to do something for him. Sue invited him to the

legendary red barons striking again! Now for the real question. What possessed QR to have modem day HQs? I would sooner watch the old HQs. And Formula Mirage? What a good name. Just when you think it’s going to be racing, it’s only a Mirage! Give me a break! Where were the GTP cars and Nations Cup? I didn’t go to the sprint round thinking that the big show would be at the ’500, only to find that the BIG show was not in town. Now don’t get me wrong I love the V8s, but seriously, what about some decent support acts? They don’t back Madonna with the Salvation Army Band ... We the spectators are being stitched up with higher and higher prices, but getting less and less for our money. And all we hear is that it is now bigger than ever. Give us variety, give us quality and we will pay for it forever. By the way, don’t put the kites with the V8s either, we want variety or we will go away.

Queensland race where they gave him the day of his life which

Ashley Johns cannon7@hotmail.com

Opinions expressed in Motorsport News are not necessarily those of Australasian Motorsport News or its staff.

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S9.

Signs ofthe times: Reader Ruxton wonders why teams such as McLaren (above), Benetton and BAR are able to run cigarette signage in the US. We told him why ...

(Photo by SuUon-Iimi^es)

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