Motorsport News Issue 190 - October 13-26, 2000 by V8 Sleuth

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Inside: Suzuka, Sandown & Willowba

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There's nothing like the thrill of being amongst it all at the 2000 Qantas Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The smell of fuel, the speed, spills and skills of the world's fastest riders. Fuel the passion and book your tickets now. General Admission Adult - Season (all 3 days) $99, Friday $30, Saturday $44, Sunday $60. Grandstand - Adult $214 (all 3 days). Campgrounds - From $71. All prices include GST. Conditions of sale and conditions of entry apply.

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2000 QANTAS AUSTRALIAN A

WWW.grandprix.com.au l<

PHILLIP ISLAND l 27 - 29 OCTOBER 2000 CAMPING & TRAVEL PACKAGES 1300 300 701 l VIP MOSPITMITY(03) mm 7im so¥ur.P0SH

moiorsport Issue 190 13-26 October 2000

INSIDE

News and Opinion

6 8

12 27 28 84

Ferrari wins! Schuey's +988 +898 2000 title V8 Supercar calendar 2001, A Race Odyssey Ecclestone slamis IMone Onya, Bernie, we hate them,too Motor Mouth Bright gets ready for Indy 300 The Box Seat Saward gets odd in Tsu City Talk Converter Bernie, so do our readers

Features 26 30 32

Jenson Button in Japan FI’s baby stars at Suzuka Paul Weel Cool Runnings for Queenslander Blundell looks for FI Test role likely for Briton

Race Coverage

22 24 34 46 54 58 66

Houston Champ Cars Vasser is bigger than Texas Brazilian 50Occ GP Rossi wins, so does Roberts Sandown Shell Series The Rat, Ellery and the rest Japanese Grand Prix Michael's title, Mika gracious Saxon Safari Rally Poss, Poss, Poss, Poss, Poss Konica Winternats Willowbank in Springtime! Queensland Sprinters It's almost Summer...

Regular Departments

^□mca COPIERS ♦ FAX llii ] l tl lU

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Photos: Cover: Sutlon-lmages and John Morris/Mpix. Contents: Dirk Klynsmith, Sutlon-lmages, Scott Soto, Slipstream, Marshall Cass.

24 56 65 66 70 71 72 78

Motorcycles Rallying Drag Racing Speedway IMASCAR Histories National Scene Marketplace

Finally Ferrari But is the party over at Maranello for Brawn/Byrne? Craig

Options contin

MICHAEL Schumacher won the 2000 World Championship at Suzuka on Sunday. The Ferrari driver scored a narrow victory over Mika Hakkinen after a close race between the two in Japan. But Schumacher's success may make life difficult for Ferrari, as the existing technical team could break up as a result of the success. Rory Byrne has been wanting to retire for some years, but was convinced to stay on, while other engineers are interested in returning to Britain, having spent a lot of time in Italy. After Schumacher’s victory, Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn said that he has now fulfilled his ambitions with Ferrari.

"We’ve had four really.tough years at Ferrari and this hard-fought victory is a dream come true," said an emotional Brawn after the German took the win and the title. , ‘When I came to Ferrari, this was my ambitioti and to achieve this , championship title is the end to that ambitioh at last.” Brawn and Byrne are under contract to Ferrari until May 2002, but, with the 2001 car already designed, it is possible that both men could move on. . There are several other Ferrari Kisses goodbye? Speeulation has Ross Brawn,seen employees who may decide to move on, celebrating with Michael Schumacher after his dramatic win last notably electronics man Tad Czapski and Sunday, heading home to England, as too could Brawn's rightteam co-ordinator Nigel Stepney. (Pnoio by Sutton-fmagas) hand man, Rory Byrne. JOE SAWARD .

contract nearer

Negotiations with Benetton continue, long-term deal possible NEGOTIATIONS are continuing which could well see Mark Webber with a long-term contract with the Benetton Formula 1 team. Webber met with team boss Flavio Briatore last week and emerged feeling "very positive" about the outcome. "We had a good meeting and hopefully there will be something concrete to talk about publicly in the not too distant future," he said. Webber and manager Ann Neal are understandably reluctant to jtalk too frankly about the detailed Content rf the disrus.sicns with

Benetton until everything is in place, but the vibes from them and the team itself are positive. As reported in our last issue, Webber is expected to take on a hectic testing role with the team in 2001 while contesting F3000 with the Super Nova team, with a degree of the current discussions centring on his future after that. In the meantime, the news that Webber was scheduled to test for the team at Silverstone on Wednesday, as Motorsport News closed for press, confirms that his n nnr.v

simply be the Renault FI team, is well under way. The team is awaiting delivery of the first of Renault's all-new 110 degree VI0 engines in order to get in some preliminary testing, in an interim 200B car, before the November FI testing ban comes into effect. Later in November, during the testing ban, Webber and 2001 Benetton duo Giancarlo Fisichella and Jensen Button will head to Kenya for an intensive two-week fitness camp before testing i

CRAIG Lowndes’future should be known within a couple of weeks,according to industry insiders. The double Australian V8 Supercar champion has, we hear, resolved the legal stand-oifrelating to his personal contract with TWR and is expected to opt for one ofthree realistic offers on the table. Latest rumours still involve at least one Ford team (Stone Bros?), with a couple ofintriguing Holden options now doing the rounds. Apart from the previously reported Kmart Racing option, persistent rumours still link Lowndes with one oftwo all-new Holden teams. One ofthese involves Tbny Noske and the Prancing Horse group, already with a strong presence in Nations Cup. Motorsport insiders rate this as a serious option, although the team isn’t talking much at present. It does seem to have substantial resources and has already proven itself a serious outfit with its approach to the Production-based Nations Cup category this year. The second re-activates a concept mooted over a year ago-a new Holden-backed team run by former HRT technical advisor and component manufacturer Ron Harrop. Harrop has constantly denied such a project exists - but at the moment,a fortnight is a long time in V8 racing... At least the saga appears to be drawing to its close - and a number ofother drivers looldng for a 20001 spot will be grateful for that...

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motorsport news

NEWS

decision soon

je to surface for Holden Racing Team’s ace

Watson Joins the fray...

^u HiDecisions, decisions; While everyone continues to speculate as to where Lowndes will be next year, Craig just continues to smile.(afi images)

NOEL Watson,former manager of Glenn Seton and the man behind the current Ford Tickford Racing set-up, has bobbed up in the on going 'Where will Craig Lowndes be in 2001'saga. Lowndes' legal representatives have retained Watson, who split with FTR acrimoniously at the end of last year, as a consultant to advise on Lowndes'future management. Watson confirmed that Lowndes and his'team' were currently looking at three options for 2001. "We are exploring all of the opportunities that have been put before us and, once we've had a chance to look at everything carefully and concluded our discussions with HRT,then a decision will be made," he said. "Obviously we're getting closer to a decision and time is running short [for 2001], but we have to look at the development of every opportunity and what would works best for Craig. "Until that time,there really isn't much to talk about." - GERALD McDORNAN

stays put with Kmart by GERALD McDORNAN GREG Murphy wiU stay at Kmart Racing in 2001. Mui’phy’s position with the team was re-confirmed to him by team owner Garry Dumbrell in the past fortnight, the affirmation dispelling rumours the Kiwi, who had a contract in place for next year with the team,could be replaced by Craig Lowndes. “Garry has confirmed everything is on for next year and I’m excited about that,” Murphy told Motorsport News 13 October 2000

on 'Tuesday. “We’ve definitely turned the corner, made a lot of progress with the car and had a number of positive changes within the team and I’m extremely happy with where Kmart Racing and myself are heading in 2001.” Murphy, who is well known for wearing his heart on his sleeve while also not being afraid to show his emotions, was obviously troubled this season with the slow progi'ess of the team early and the constant rumours of his replacement by Lowndes. “We got off to a slow start in

the season we really didn’t capitalise on the ‘flow’from om- Bathurst win and that made a great part of the season tough to get through. “Also, the rumours about Craig have all come from outside the team and they’ve been a little unsettling for both myself and Steven [Richards]. “But we have a great team and everyone is working well together and we are now in a position where we can focus on Bathm’st and next season. It’s all looking extremely good for Greg Murphy and Kmart Racing.”

Marcos to test for FTR MARCOS Ambrose will test for the vacant Ford Tickford Racing seat within the next fortnight. Ambrose, who has had a lough season in F3 in Europe, was originally linked to a Bathurst drive with Larry Perkins and has now been identified as one of two possible replacements for Neil Crompton next year. n Our spies in the USA are suggesting that John Delia Penna was not the only Champ Car team owner impressed with Jason Bright’s test at Firebird last month. We hear that Chip Ganassi, who had been planning to test the Aussie sometime, was making favourable comments about the Queenslander and Jason could be in a red Lola-Toyota soon after his return to the USA. H Bright’s next test will be in a Falcon. He will test Shell Helix’s AU at Queensland Raceway on the Wednesday after his debut in the Honda Indy 300. After Sandown, he said he couldn’t wait to drive a car "where you sit three feet off the ground"... n Team Kiwi has completed its final test session at Pukekohe in readiness for its debut at Bathurst next month. Drivers Angus Fogg and Jason Richards have undertaken an extensive program, with one mid-week test at Ruapuna Park reportedly attracting more spectators than a usual race meeting. n PRQCAR's Ford and Holden V8 ute series, the Ute Muster, is believed to have received final official approval from CAMS. PRQCAR management met with officials from CAMS on Monday, before also meeting with company execs from both manufacturers. n Ross Palmer has sold his two Nations Cup Ferrari 360 Challenges to concentrate on being solely the promoter of the category. "When I received the invitation to sell, with the assurance they would remain in the series, it made sense to do so now instead of later," he said. The identity of the new owner is none other than Prancing Horse, which would take their 360 count to five cars. J

V8 Supercap lendar set

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THE calendar for the 2001 Shell Championship Series was announced at Sandown on the weekend, with a number of changes to race formats and a few in relation to venues. Two longer races of 100 kilometres each with compulsory tyre changes will be the standard race format for the majority of rounds in next year’s championship, which will also feature top 10 or 15 Shootouts at each round in a bid to spice up the racing. u We are introducing two new

Cochrane confirmed at the laimch that AVESCO was seeking the co operation of the WA Government in hosting a street race. “They must be nervous about how much longer they will have the (WRC)rally (Australia),” he said. “We have a more than viable alternative.” He also confirmed that any return to Tasmania was unlikely, saying that the state was “out of n the loop. Perhaps one of the bigger changes is the change back to

exciting events to the calendar as well; the Australian V8 Ultimate Sandown and the first ever international round being the V8 International New Zealand,” said AVESCO Chainnan Tony Cochi-ane. AVESCO will enforce a maximum grid capacity of 32 cars at each of the standard Australian rounds and will return to Barbagallo for the final time after Shell Australia provided additional support to take the V8 circus to Western Australia.

October ofthe Bathurst race. However, the long weekend date will not be used until 2002, as the AFL and NRL grand finals clash with it in 2001. The 2001 FAl 1000 will be run on October 7, with Pukekohe and Sandown following to round out the schedule. Queensland Raceway vfill not

2001 V8 SUPERCAR SHELL SERIES CALENDAR, RACE FORMAT AND POINTS SUMMARY Date

Venue

Shoot-out* Format

March 24-25

Phillip Island

Top 10

April 5-8

Top 15

April 28-29

May 12-13

June 7-10

Adelaide Clipsal 500 l Sydney Eastern Creek Darwin Hidden Valley Canberra CMC 400

June 23-24

Perth Top 10 Barbagallo R'way

July 14-15

Melbourne Calder Park

Top 10 Top 10 Top 15

Top 10

Top 10 Sydney Oran Park Top 15 9 August 24-26 Ipswich Queensland 500 Top 10 10 September 8-9 Benalla Winton Raceway 11 October 4-7 Bathurst Top 15 FAl 1000 12 November 9-11 Auckland Top 10 Pukekohe

July 28-29

13 November 30 -December 2

Melbourne Sandown Grand Finale

Top 15

Pit**1

POINTS/PLACE 7 8 9 10

12 13 14 15 16 17 18-32

24 24 32 64 24 24 24 24 16 16 32 16 16 16 16 16 16 24 24 64

21 18 15 12 8 21 18 15 12 8 28 24 20 16 12 56 48 40 32 24 21 18 15 12 8 21 18 15 12 8 21 18 15 12 8 21 18 15 12 8 14 12 10 8 6 14 12 10 8 6 28 24 20 16 12 14 12 10 8 6 14 12 10 8 6 14 12 10 8 6 14 12 10 8 6 14 12 10 8 6 14 12 10 8 6 21 18 15 12 8 21 18 15 12 8 56 48 40 32 24

6 6 8 16 6 6 6 6 4 4 8 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 16

3 3 4 8 3 3 3 3 2 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 8

Sun 100km T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 33 30 27 24 21 18 15 12 8 6 Sun 100km T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 33 30 27 24 21 18 15 12 8 6 Sun 1000km T/F 240 208 192 180 168 156144 132 120 108 96 84 72 60 48 32 24

3 3 12

4 4 4 4 4 4

2 2 2 2 2 2

Sun 100km Sun 100km Sat 250km Sun 250km Sun 100km Sun 100km Sun 100km Sun 100km Sat 25 laps Sun 25 laps Sun 50 laps Sun 20 min Sun 20 min Sun 20 min Sun 20 min Sun 20 min Sun 20 min Sun 100km Sun 100 km Sun 500km

Sat 100km Sun 100km Sun 100km Sat 150km Sun 150km Sun 150km

T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 T/F 80 70 64 60 56 52 48 T/F 160 140 128 120 112 104 96 T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 T 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 T 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 T/F 80 70 64 60 56 52 48 nil 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 nil 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 nil 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 nil 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 nil 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 nil 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 T 60 52 48 45 42 39 36 T/F 160 140 128 120 112 104 96

T T T T T T

40 40 40 40 40 40

35 35 35 35 35 35

* Shootout - each Shootout carries series points on an 8, 6, 4, 3, 2,1 basis. 8

32 32 32 32 32 32

30 30 30 30 30 30

28 28 28 28 28 28

26 24 26 24 26 24 26 24 26 24 26 24

33 30 33 30 44 40 88 80 33 30 33 30 33 30 33 30 22 20 22 20 44 40 22 20 22 20 22 20 22 20 22 20 22 20 33 30 33 30 88 80

22 22 22 22 22 22

20 20 20 20 20 20

27 27 36 72 27 27 27 27 18 18 36 18 18 18 18 18 18 27 27 72

18 18 18 18 18 18

16 16 16 16 16 16

14 12 14 12 14 12 14 12 14 12 14 12

10 10 10 10 10 10

8 8 8 8 8 8

6 6 6 6 6 6

Pit - indicates compulsory tyre change (T) and fuel stop/s (F) moiorsnori news

NEWS The Human Quote machine AT Sandown, with the announcement of the 2001 Shell Championship Series and Konica V8 Supercar Series calendars,Tony Cochrane was again in fine form, working the throng of media like putty in his hand. Here are some of the doozies... “We had a slight altercation with CAMS,but we've kissed and made up. I don't know if Wayne [Cattach] did the tonguey, but I know I didn’t!”- on the recent CAMS/AVESCO fallout and subsequent make-up.

Grand Finale: Sandown will host the final round in 2001's SCS. (Pholo by Dirk Klynsmilh)

hold a sprint round, its only date being the Queensland 500 and that has been pushed further back in the year to August. Teams will also be returning to the Melbourne Grand Prix and Honda Indy 300 on the Gold Coast for non-championship races, making 15 appearances

for the season. Network 10 will continue to telecast all events, in a combination of same-day and hve broadcasts. Ten is in the final year of its deal with AVESCO,but Cochrane said that he was “looking for more” with the network. -BRANAGAN/NOONAN

Konica; new name,6 races AVESCO'S newly-renamed Konica V8 Supercar Series will take in six championship rounds and one non

Konica V8 Supercar Series

championship race in 2001. A new venue to any form of V8 Supercar competition is Wakefield Park, which will host the first round of the series in February, making it the first Supercar race of the season. The Konica series drivers will also have a 30-lap non championship race as a support to the FAI 1000 in 2001 for teams and drivers who don't qualify for the main race, which will be limited to 48 cars next year. "The top four drivers will be given an opportunity to compete in the Shell Championship Series at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and the Queensland 500, and the top eight at the FAI 1000 at Bathurst," said Tony Cochrane at the series' launch at Sandown on the weekend. AVESCO has dumped the misleading and confusing 'kites'

Rd Track Date 1 Wakefield Park Feb 25 2 Oran Park March 18 3 Winton May 6

13 October 2000

4 Phillip Island 5 Lakeside 6 Mallala NC Bathurst

May 27 July 8 August 12 October 6

tag, as well as deciding to pay points right through the field. The burning issue of Level 1 team involvement in the series has led the body to require all Level 1 teams with the intent of running the Konica Series to seek, and be granted, AVESCO board approval. Each case will be dealt individually. The race format of three 20 minute races will remain, with the top ten on the grid inverted for race two rather than the top six which was the case this year. - AARON NOONAN

“[Olympics Minister] Michael Knight is the only person in the world who's never made a mistake”- admitting to having made an error in naming the secondary V8 Supercar series the 'Lites'. “Having observed Ron Walker and his team and their professionalism, personally I'd be shitting bricks”- on the perception that the WA Government is concerned about losing Rally Australia to Victoria, therefore showing why they need to 'invest' in a V8 street race. “I can say that because the truth's not libelous”-TC explaining why he couldn't be sued for calling the organizers of the 2 Litre Super Touring Bathurst 'dunderheads'. ‘Was that an official Holden question on Toyota's official position in regards to running in the V8 series?”- the response to Sunday Herald-Sun journalist (and Holden spin doctor) Tim Pemberton's question about if and when Toyota mightjoin the series. ‘We're all prostitutes; and they found our price”- Cochrane on going back on the support bill of the Surfers Paradise Indy GP next year, having previously said 2000 would definitely be their last appearance. ‘We're going to embarrass the New Zealand Government so much that they'll have no other option but to give us a street race over there”- Cochrane talking about how big next year's Pukekohe race will be. His aim is to have the government invest in street race for the following year. l - GERALD McDORNAN

n Bernd Schneider has clinched the first championship for the new-look DTM 2000 series. He has wrapped up the title with one round to go at Hockenhem, clear of Opel’s Manuel Reuter. n Peugeot has confirmed its participation as a factory outfit in next year's new-look British Touring Car Championship. They will definitely run two factory cars, although the models are yet to be decided. Peugeot Sport Director Mick Linford is optimistic that another two cars will join them. n Teams in GTP are starting to grab their co-drivers for the Bathurst Three Hour in November. Six-cylinder touring car class winner Daryl Coon will be joined by 1997 Three Hour winner John Bowe, while Ed Aitken will be joined by John Faulkner in the HSV which JFR built. The duo finished second last year in a Porsche 911 RS/CS, while Nissan's 200SX Spec R is expected to debut in the hands of Mark Brame and Chris Kousparis. n Rick Kelly, a stand-out in this year’s Formula Ford championship, had his first taste of wings and slicks at Phillip island recently in the Murphy Racing 92D Reynard, From ail reports, the 'Infant' was very impressive in terms of lap times and speed. n Alex Davison has narrowly missed his first podium finish in the German Porsche Carrera Cup at the Nurburgring when he spun out of third place on a wet circuit. He managed to rejoin and finish seventh. n One of NRG Racing’s seats has been filled for the upcoming Tasman Series in New Zealand. Kiwi Daynom Templeman will drive the Reynard 95D which Dale Brede used this year. n Simon Wills will join the Lyall Wiiliamson-run BMW team in New Zealand for the Pukekohe 500 in November in place of Craig Baird. He will join Brett Riley in the Schedule S-spec BMW 320i. Paul Radisich will also be a starter, in a Falcon team with Formula Holden driver Matthew Halliday. n Oops Dept: Our apology last issue for getting Phillip Island’s ‘Island Magic’ meeting in a tizz contained the wrong date. The meeting will take place on November 25 and 26 and regs are still available at www.piarc.com.au. Sorry, again. 9

ten

, home of |i [motorsportj Shell Championship Series V8 Supercars* Oct 15... .Gold Coast . . .|Non championship) Nov 19 ...FAi 1000 - Bathurst

Rd 13

World Superbike Championship* .Rd 14 Oct 15... .Italy

FIA Formula One World Championship Oct 22

,r.d 17

Malaysia

FIA World Rally Championship* .Rd 12

:□

Oct 15 ... .Italy Nov 12 ...Australia ...

.Rd 13

Nov 26 ...Great Britain

.Rd 14

NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series Oct 22 . . . .Daiias . .

Rd 23

Oct 19 . . . .Houston

Rd24

Nov 12 . . .Pomona

Rd 25

FedEx CART Championship Series* Oct 15 . . . .Australia Oct 29 . . . .California

Australian Rally Championship* Rd7

Nov 12 . . .Rally Australia

SOOcc World Grand Prix Motorcycle Championship* Rd 15 Oct 15 . . . .Pacific . . Rd 16 Oct 29 Australia

Budgetary restraints: If the tobacco companies leave F1, what will Jordan do for support? The line starts here...

More pain for ... but South Africa says "No" to tobacco (Photo by Sutton-lmages)

American Le Mans Series* .Rd 10 Oct 15 Laguna Seca .Rdll

Oct 29 . . . .Las Vegas . .

rt.

.Rd12

Dec 31 . . .Adelaide . . .

Shell Championship Series V8 Supercars 2001* Albert Park . . .(Non championship) ,Rd 1 Mar 25 . . .Philip Island Mar 4 Aprs

.Adelaide

Apr 29

Eastern Creek

,Rd2 .Rd3

May 13 . . .Hidden Valley

.Rd4

B^JunlO Canberra . . . Jun 24 . . . .Perth

.Rd6

.Rd5 ,Rd7

|rijuly15 . . .Calder Park .

rt en1

home of 'motorsport 1^

All event dales in this calendar were correct at the time of printing. Please consult any individual tracks and/or associations ior date changes.

Series or events telecast on Network Ten are

I I

marked with an asterix. Check your local guides for screening details.

THE FIA has pulled off a clever move in its battle with the European Commission over tobacco advertising. For some time it has been clear that the controversial 1998 ban on tobacco advertising which allowed Formula 1 to continue with its tobacco sponsorships until 2006, while all other sports had to stop in 2002- was going to be rejected by the European Court of Justice. The FIA pre-empted the announcement of the official rejection by annormcing that it will introduce a total ban on all tobacco sponsorships by the year 2006, on condition that the World Health Organisation’s Convention on Tobacco Control agrees. The WHO’s 150 member states around the world are due to meet soon to discuss what will in effect be an international anti-smoking treaty, including a global ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship. This will only come into effect if all the “bi^ countries agree to accept it and so it is unlikely to be universally accepted before 2006. Despite losing its battle in the courts, the EC will try to revive parts of the ban which were not judged to be unacceptable. A variety of advertising and sponsorship restrictions could be adopted, because they do fall under the internal market legislation and are not health issues over which the EC has no control. The FIA’s announcement gives the sport the image of being supportive of the proposed cutbacks, but at the same time sets the stage for tobacco companies to continue in FI until 2006 without the worry of the European directive restrictions. On the flip side, despite the possibility that the tobacco companies might want to pour more money in in the meantime, a number of teams have already addressed the issue by finding non-tobacco title sponsors, or dis-associating themselves from tobacco companies. The trend has been highlighted in recent days by Alain Frost’s decision not to continue his association with Gauloises. - JOE SAWARD

Saudi ban on Firestone rubber THE government of Saudi Arabia has become the first to ban Firestone tyres, following the recall of 6.5 million of the company’s 15-inch tyres as a result of a series of tyre failures in the United States. The company is being linked to at least 101 fatalities which allegedly resulted fi’om tyre failures. Since the crisis began, Bridgestone (Firestone’s parent company) has lost 47 percent of its stock market value.

Firestone’s public relations repre sentatives have said that the Saudi reaction was “uncalled for and extreme” and protested to the US government about the ban. Bridgestone says it has plans to revive the Firestone brand, but it is expected that the name will be axed because of negative publicity, with the company using the Bridgestone name, which has a postitive image thanks to the company’s FI participation, instead.

THE South African government last week adopted new anti-tobacco legislation, approved in 1999 under the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act. The new law bans tobacco advertising and restricts smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants. The law will not be enforced for the next three months while South Africans get used to the changes. The tobacco advertising ban will come into force in April. It remains to be seen whether this will have any direct effect on the country's dreams to host an FI race, but it cannot help matters. Bernie Ecclestone flew to South Africa in August '98 to discuss the proposed ban with the then-president, Nelson Mandela and a deal was agreed to take FI there as soon as there was an opening in the calendar. But since then, the rand has dropped against the US dollar and the South Africans have not been able to complete the deal. As part of the arrangement, Ecclestone agreed to send teams to South Africa for winter testing, but to date this has been limited to just a handful of teams. motorsport news

NEWS n MIA from Sandown was Barry Oliver. The long-time voice of V8 Supercar racing was told by doctors to rest and not to make the trip to Melbourne, but the Tasmanian was heard in a phone hook-up from home in Launceston on Sunday morning. n Also missing from Sandown was Max Papis. The Team Rahai Indy ace was due to have a look at the local scene in transit to Surfers, but a late change in travel plans scuppered the Italian’s trip to Melbourne. I S I

n Speaking of Oliver, he was the latest lucky recipient of a ride in Neal Bates’ WRC Corolla

Further changes to either Commodore or Falcon unlikely I "it"I’ve just blew me away. ^ done eight Targas, but Iby^HRISiyVMBDEN DESPITE the release to V8 Supercar teams of test results indicating a remaining disparity between Falcons and Commodores in the areas of fi’ont downforce/lift and drag, any change in spec prior to Bathurst is unlikely. TEGA’s Technical Committee released the results of its initial testing, undertaken five weeks back at Corowa airport in northern Victoria, to its teams at the weekend. However, while the results illustrated the disparities.

inclement weather at the tests and a need to refine the testing process further has left the TEGA Technical Committee to maintain that more testing is needed. TEGA Technical Chief Paul Taylor is currently assessing other possible venues. The initial tests showed that while rear downforce on both the Shell Falcon and HRT Commodore used were similar, the Ford lacked front downforce, but was a winner in terms of straight-line drag. Indications that Ford Racing chief Howard Marsden would seek to assess and introduce an improved front-end set-up for the Falcons

prior to Bathurst in November were this week discounted by, among others, Holden Motorsport’s John Stevenson: “Sure, we can improve the Falcon front downforce - at the same time as we address the drag imbalance,” Stevenson said. “You can’t selectively fix one of the differences, without addressing the others - and that’s before we start talking about the extra 50hp they have... “Once another set of tests are done and the process refined a little, then I think we will, as a group, start to look at ways of equalising all the aspects.”

on lucky to survive %

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A GLENN Seton was lucky to survive a high-speed testing accident at Phillip Island on September 27, the wreck leaving the Ford Tckford Racing driver severely concussed and with cracked ribs. Seton was at the Island with Bathurst co-driver Neil Crompton and FTR enduro driver Wayne Gardner, the trio testing both current FTR AU 13 October 2000

'M 'V

Falcons, which had been used in the SCS by Seton and Crompton this season. It is believed Seton stepped into the #6 car after Gardner requested his assistance in sorting its handling. Seton was reported to have been travelling in excess of 210 kmh when the impact happened at 'Murf's' corner.

you just can’t compare them... that Corolla is just awesome, indescribeable," said the four time winning Targa co-driver. n That ‘other’ Baz, Mr Sheene, was a busy lad before the Sandown meeting. The Network 10 motor mouth was a guest judge at the Louis Vuitton Concours in New York, an event which coincided with NYC’s fashion week. n Dual Olympic gold medallist Mike Diamond was present at Sandown on Friday, filling the passenger’s seat of Craig Lowndes’ HRT Holden during the media ride session. The ace marksman, who won in Sydney with Peter Brock’s autograph on his cap, is a long time racing fan and impressed all with his enthusiasm for the racing. The gold medal looked nice, too ... n Speaking of Olympians, 1500m freestyle gold medalist Grant Hackett will be the Grand Marshal for the Honda Indy 300 this weekend. Funny, considering that HSV have just launched the ‘Hackett’ gold Commodore and given the superfish one of his very own. Better not tell John Crennan ... n A new name in V8 Supercar racing is CarPlan. The largest car care company in Europe will adorn the flanks of the Imrie Motor Sport Commodore for Indy and Bathurst. Rodney Crick will be in the car at Bathurst, his co n ’’ driver yet to be announced. Sports Sedan hot shoe Tony Ricciardello tested the car last week at Calder. 11

Nine blasted for GP fiasco

Ecclestone apologises to Aussie fans for television decision FORMULA One boss Bemie Ecclestone has apologisedi to Grand Prix fans over Channel Nine’s decision to delay coverage of the Japanese GP. The race was televised late on Sunday night, after the network made the decision to delay the broadcast due to news commitments. “I have chased Channel 9, but it does not seem to have made any difference,” Ecclestone said last week. “You can be assured that we are not sleeping on this. I am sorry for the manner in which Formula One supporters are being treated. They are worth more than that.” Nine, which has broadcast FI racing for almost 20 years, delayed its Melbourne and Sydney coverage of the race(which was scheduled to start at approx. 4:30pm,AEDST) and showed instead a 1990 children’s movie. The Never Ending Story, Part II. The Network had concerns that, if shown live, the race would have run past 6pm, at which time it had scheduled its news bulletins.

“The six o’clock news is pretty important to us, and that is the reason,” said Nine spokesman, Brendon Moo. The time difference between Suzuka and east-coast Australia at two hours, and with a 1999 race time of Ih31ml8s,it was likely that the race would not have been concluded prior to 6pm. The network showed the race live in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, states in which different time zones meant that live coverage could not reasonably have been expected to have clashed with its news bulletin. This is not the first time that Nine has been criticised by the Formula One Association. At the end of 1998, the FOA reportedly spoke to Nine representatives regarding the network’s lack of qualifying reporting, and ‘timeshifting’ of races to fit around its other late-Sunday night commitments. But while Nine may be under criticism for its handling of the

Who wants to be a Channel 9 viewer? Not Bernie Ecclestone left. (Photo by Sutton-lmages)

race, there appears to be little alternative. There is no live Australian cable coverage of GP racing, FOCATV’s digital pay-perview coverage will not he available for at least three years and Nine is believed to hold the free-to-air rights to FI for at least the next

two seasons. Viewer reaction to Nine’s programming has been unprecedented in the written media. To see what MN’s readers made of the whole thing,turn to Talk Converter on page 84. -PfflLBRANAGAN

'TUftc, I kn.»

I...-

by JOE SAWARD ' GAULOISES Blondes has announced that it is ending its ^ association with Piost Grand

agenda. Or, you

Prix. (you know,like you do for cricket) and wing it

waSnraS£™tni^Jorc::^cf,whichhaddodieFo.^ ‘‘'Tve« Ecclestone hasn’t figured o realised that there's plenty of us FI fans, you g

”

None of these conspiracy theorists wool W them (he’s my cat). douU'-heShSpSavethefaithful^mai^^^^^^^ wee small hours, with the jug of coffee at the ready. Regards, Editor Motorsport News

up„gfjts next season and beyond.

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The news brings to an end a relationship which dates back 24 years to when the French national^ tobacco Societe d’Exploitation Industrielle des Tabacs et Alumettes (SEITA) began supporting Gtiy Ligier’s new Formula 1 team in 1976. For much of the time the team ran Gitanes branding, but since the end of 1995, the team has been using the Gauioises brand instead. Our sources at SETTA say that the company had every intention of con ti nuing with Frost Grand Prix in 2001. The details of why Frost decided to cut his link.s wdth the govenament are not yet clear. The implication in al this is that Frost is now confident that he has a big new sponsor for next year,●. The word on the street in the

Suzuka paddock is that Frost may have a sponsorship deal with the Japanese eamera company Canon as part of his package of deals next year’.

The Japanese photo^aphie company was in volved in sportscar racing in the early 1980s and then moved to Formula 1 as a major sponsor of Williams between 1985 and 1993. Frost is negotiating with a number of companies as he looks for a replacement for Gauioises Blondes. The Preneh tobacco company says that it is not going to he in Formula 1 next year, except as a trackside sponsor at the Monaco Grand Prix. The firm has decided that it will now expand its involvement in motorcycle racing with an increased involvement in the 5G0cc World Championship vrith plans for title sponsorship of four or five Grands Prix, a bigger presence on signage and expansion of its involvement with indmdual teams. metersDort news

NEWS m

iPh'oto bv Honda-Ge.

RICARDO Zonta has been named Jordan Grand Prix’s test driver for next year. The announcement means that Zonta will continue his association with Honda, presumably in the hope that he will one day find a place racing for one of the two Hondaengined teams. Zonta hag had a difficult two years with British American Racing, but had been talking about racing for Sauber next year, so Zonta’s decision to join Jordan would seem to suggest that the opening at Sauber is no longer available with the Swiss team looking at signing either Pedro Diniz or Kimi Raikkonen. There is no room for Zonta with McLaren which has signed up Alexander Wurz to replace Olivier Panis as its test driver. Zonta’s best option was to join Jordan or leave Formula 1 to race in America. The news means that the other top teams looking for experienced test drivers are going to struggle, as the only available driver with a lot of experience at the moment is Jos Verstappen and he is expected to stay where he is at Arrows if an agreement can be struck with Tom Walkinshaw. That may take some time to decide, as it remains to be seen whether Arrows will have a full budget next year. -JOESA’WARD

n The never ending merry-goround of Bathurst drivers continues. James Brock will make his debut in the FA11000 with Terry Wyhoon in the car Wyhoon has campaigned all season, while Matthew White is yet to announce the co-driver for his ex-Perkins '97 Bathurst winner. Ryan McLeod will revert to the JFR VS which he ran in this year's Lites series with co-driver to be announced, while Graphic Skills Racing will run Saloon Car drivers Shane Beikoff and Tim Sipp in the ex-Trimbole/Mezera car. Wayne Wakefield will be in the ex-Heffernan VS, which has been repaired since its crash in last year’s race. n We hear that Ric Shaw, who has sold out of GT-P (having sold his Mazda RX-7 to Bob Pearson), will run in the '01 Konica series in the ex-Layton Crambrook Commodore VS. n Canberrian Mark Zonneveld will be in the Nations Cup field for the penultimate round of the championship at Indy. The former Super Touring driver will drive the Dodge Viper V10 formerly driven by Mike Conway for Austmo Racing. n Aussie Home Loans will be the backer of the Honda Young Guns races on the Gold Coast this weekend. The races will feature 10 of Australia and New Zealand's best young drivers in identical Integra Type Rs.

Photo by Peugeot Sport Media

n Right place, right time: PR man Paul Marinelli received an unexpected lift to Sandown. Returning from the Konica Winternats at Willowbank, Marinelli found himself on the same flight at Jason Bright and Honda Indy PR bloke, Brett Murray, who offered him a ride to the track in Bob Jane’s helicopter, provided by Network 10. Ten minutes, Tullamarine to infield. Nice...

FROST is expected to annouiice shortly that it has signed Frenchman Henri Durand to be its new technical director. The team has not had a technical director since the middle ofthe year, when Alain Frost firod Alan Jenkins after a group of French engineers within the team rebelled against the Englishman’s ideas. 13 October 2000

Durand was involved in the design ofthe Ligier-Renault JS23 and JS25 and in 1986 his JS27 helped the team to finish fifth in the World Championship. In 1987 Durand accepted an offer from John Barnard to work at Ferrari and Durand developed the radical 639 and 640 designs which were very successful in 1898 and 1990. In the middle of 1990, when

_Prost was fighting for the World Championship, Durand left the team to replace Mike Gascoyne at McLaren and he has been head of McLarens aerodjmamic programmes ever since, worldng in the windtunmel at the National Physical Laboratory in Tbddington. Frost is expected to announce Dm-and and other recruits in the weeks ahead.

U Speaking of Murray, he may be getting a new gig in CART. ‘Crusher’, who has spent the last season with PacWest, is believed to be talking to a number of rival teams for 2001 and appears certain to leave Bruce McCaw’s outfit. n Present and accounted for at Sandown was Stephen White. The former Euro FF and FRenault racer is looking for a V8 drive, with his most recent V8 experience three years ago with HRT’s Young Lions team. White could be a good opportunity for some team ... 13

2001GP dates THE FIA World Motorsport Council has announced the 2001 Grand Prix calendar. A three-week gap has been created in the calendar in August. This has been done by moving the French GP to July 1, a week after the European GP at the Nurburgring. The British GP returns to its traditional date in mid-July and Austria has moved to May 13. The three-week gap comes .after the German GP on July 29. Testing in that period will not be allowed, and further restrictions have been put on testing, with no testing on a Monday after a Grand Prix, and no testing at Silverstone, Magny-Cours, Monza or Barcelona within 28 days prior to the events at those tracks. The full calendar is: Australia (March 4), Malaysia (March 18), Brazil (April 1), San Marino (April 15), Spain (April 29), Austria (May 13), Monaco (May 27), Canada (June 10), Europe (June 24), France (July 1), Britain (July 15), Germany (July 29), Flungary (August 19), Belgium (September 2), Italy (September 16), United States (September 30) and Japan (October 14). - JOE SAWARD

Surgery for McRae FOLLOWING his high speed crash in the Corsican round of the World Rally Championship, Colin McRae underwent an operation on Monday to reset broken cheek bones which he suffered in the accident. While the smash could have been totally disastrous in terms of McRae’s championship hopes, both Marcus Gronholm and Richard Burns were unable to take advantage of the Scot’s retirement, leaving four points separating the trio in the title chase. McRae’s father and manager Jimmy said that Colin was keen to drive in the next round of the title at San Remo. “He looks as if he’s been 10 rounds with Mike Tyson” he said. “But he shouldn’t have any discomfort in the car from the cheek and his vision is OK.” The Ford team met with the FIA following the crash to discuss rally safety, with McRae’s team mate Carlos Sainz saying that WRC events should have a Formula 1-like medical team committed to the series.

Struggling: Colin McRae is determined to be fit for San Remo. (Photo by Sutton-lmages)

Dar CHRYSLER’S Dallara-built prototype will race an aU-new version of its troublesome Mopar V8 at Le Mans next year. Factory engine builder John Caldwell said the 2001-spec engine would borrow little -including neither the block and heads-from this year’s unit. “Basically it is a completely new motor,” he said. “It is a much more full-on progi-amme than this season, which was really just a test for us.” The new engine is due to run on the bench for the first time in November and should test in next year's Chrysler before the end ofthe year. -GARY WATKINS

By Allan Schotleld

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NEWS

Caddy back for more by GARY WATKINS CADILLAC is set to return to the Le Mans 24 Hours with an evolution of this year’s disappointing Northstar LMP. The General Motors marque will design an all-new car for next season, but it is urdikely to be raced at the June enduro. “It is probably unrealistic to think in terms of a crash-and-bmn all-new progi-amme,” said GM Racing boss Herb Fishel. “We aren’t going to get caught in a situation where we are testing

and racing at the same time.” Fishel maintained that it would be “worthwhile” taking an updated 2000 car to next year’s 24 Hours in June. He claimed that the Riley & Scott-built Northstar LMP was only “80 percent efficient” when it appeared at La Sarthe this year. The new car will be designed by Nigel Stroud, who was responsible for the 1991 Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B. Fishel refused to confirm the Briton’s appointment, but said that he hoped to recruit a name designer. “All you have to do is look at Le Mans and where the successful cars came from,” he said.“We are optimistic we will be able to have one of those gifted people.” The new Caddy is expected to be built in Britain by a number of sub contractors. That fits with a statement from Northstar programme manager Jeff Kettman that Cadillac “would take advantage ofthe British motorpsort cottage industiy”. Fishel said that the car would have a “significant American content,” but Cadillac insiders have discounted rumours that former Champ Car constructor AllAmerican Racers or Swift could be involved in the project. A sizeable race programme has been promised in both the American and European Le Mans Series next year. Back for more: Cadillac will have a new car next season.(Sunon pic)

Audi to go fop somo Special K DOUBLE Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen looks odds-on to take Allan McNish’s place in Audi’s American Le Mans Series squad next season. A winner at Le Mans in 1997(Porsche) and 2000 (Audi), Kristensen right is favourite for the seat that McNish is vacating to take up a test deal with the Toyota Formula 1 team. 13 October 2000

“It would be nice to be involved full-time,” said Kristensen, an occasional with the Joest-ran Audi team this year. “I have suggested to the team that I would be interested.” Audi sports boss Dr Wolfgang Ullrich claims that no decision had been made, but admitted “if Tom would like to be part of our team,I would like that a lot.” -GARY WATKINS

Billion dollar Senna THE late Ayrton Senna is thought to have generated US$500 million (approx. S950m), much of it posthumously, according to his sister, Viviane. After his death, at Imola in May 1994, his sister set up The Senna Foundation to help underprivileged children in the driver's native Brazil. Most of the income earned from the Senna name since his death has gone to the charity. "The dramatic growth in income for the charities must have something to do with the Senna blood. It makes things accelerate. Today, we have 276,000 children in different nI projects. During his 10 years in Formula 1,Senna is believed to have amassed approximately $250 million from various salaries, merchandising and sponsorship deals. Insurers paid his wages for the remainder of his contract with Williams after his untimely death at Imola, and merchandising sales soared due to the massive interest that arose following the star's fatal accident. A three-day mourning period in Brazil was a testament to the public feeling for Senna and global sales of Senna merchandise and rights have topped $150 million. - QUENTIN SPURRING

n Absent from the Sandown SCS round on the weekend was the Greenfield Mowers team. The team elected to skip the event in order to concentrate on the build of its new car, which will be run next year for Cameron McLean. n We hear that Lamborghini Australia is going to land a brand new Diablo GTS for next year’s Nations Cup series and the factory is seriously considering a second new car when it becomes available. n The Stewart Racing Formula 3 team (a subsidiary of Jaguar Racing) is to test American racer Phil Giebler shortly. Giebler is currently competing in Class B Formula 3 in France. We hear that there may be other young Americans testing the cars with the names of Alex Gurney, Derek Hill, Buddy Rice, Patrick Long and Josh Rehm all being possible candidates. Jaguar boss Bobby Rahal says that he would like to run a young American driver, but he will only do so if the American is competitive. n We hear that an emergency board meeting has been called for the board of the British American Racing holding company. The meeting is due to take place in around three weeks and may mark the showdown within BAR between the various factions involved. It will be interesting to see whether or not Craig Pollock is replaced as chief executive of the team by Barry Green... n CART is currently looking to replace Bobby Rahal as its chief executive. One name we have heard being mentioned in relation to the job is that of Chris Pook, the boss of Long Beach and a close associate for F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. n Former World Champion Nigel Mansell has been signed up to drive one of the fleet of two-seater Formula 1 cars which have been built by Paul Stoddart's European Formula Racing. The team has built six cars and two more will soon be

Sutlon-lmages

completed to allow the ^ company to stage bigger promotional events in which sponsors, suppliers, customers and media can be given the chance to experience the thrill of Formula 1. - JOE SAWARD 15

Toyota at Fuji

Red versus Silver: McLaren and Ferrari are rivals on the track and now Ron Dennis is taking it off-track. (Photo by Sution-lmages)

by JOE SAWARD McLAREN'S Ron Dennis complained on Saturday at Suzuka that he did not think it was right that there should be an FIA steward from Italy for the final race in the World Championship between Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher of Ferrari. In recent months, Dennis has continually refeired to what he believes is a rather too cosy relationship between Ferrari and

the FIA.

While many people in the FI paddock think that Dennis goes a little too fai- on occasion in his assessments, there is no doubt that the groundswell in the sport is that the FIA does nothing to help itself change that image - and the Suzuka weekend has added two more pieces of ammunition for the FI conspiracy theorists. "It's unsatisfactory in a race which could decide the World Championship that one of the stewards is Itahan,” Dennis told FI reporters, adding that he had raised the matter with the FIA, but had been told that it was not going to be changed. Mosley is obviously aware of the suggestions being made and last week did try to shrug them off, commenting that: “there are a couple of teams that have a rather limited view of things and they see favouritism towards FeiTari. That's paranoia!” 16

The problem for the FIA President is that in the paddock, a lot of people are not sure. Dennis does not help himself by his constant griping about collusion but Mosley, who is usually such an adept politician, has not helped his own cause by deciding that there should be a change in the interpretation of what is sporting driving and what is not, and by having an Itahan steward at the Japanese race. Stopping strategic blocking in FI is probably a good thing, as it is not good for the image of the sport. But this should not be done on the eve of a World Championship showdown, particularly when the governing body did nothing last year in Malaysia when Schumacher blocked Hakkinen throughout the race, as the German tried to help the stumbhng Eddie Irvine win the World Championship. To declare such behaviour to be unacceptable 12 months later, when roles are reversed, is leaving the FIA open to allegations of bias towards Ferrari, particularly as McLaren needs to have its drivers working together if Hakkinen is to win the title this year. Mosley is not usually tills clumsy. The presence of Roberto Cause as a steward in Suzuka is similarly difficult to understand. Causo has been a steward on a number of occasions in recent years, so his inclusion is not outrageous. He was the FIA steward's advisor and FIA observer between 1994 and 1997, before being appointed permanent

steward of the World GT series. But the timing in the circumstances is wrong and Mosley would have been wise to have spotted the situation before McLaren drew it to the attention of the world. The problem is that Cause has on occasion acted as a legal advisor for FeiTari, notably at the FIA International Court of Appeal last year after Irvine and Schumacher were thrown out ofthe Malaysian race for a technical infringement. The FLA.is keen to improve its image in FI, but these decisions have done nothing to help that. The whole problem has been made worse by the fact that there is a serious clash of personality between Mosley and Dennis. The two men seem to have no respect for the other, despite their impressive backgrounds and the very presence of one in the same room as the other seems to cause irritation to both. This problem is not going to go away and at the same time is not a good situation for the sport. It would perhaps be wiser if the FIA and McLaren sent deputies along to meetings to overcome this problem. Dennis could be ably represented by Martin Whitmarsh, wLdle the FIA has several people who could fulfil such a role, although Mosley would be unwise to send along his actual FIA Deputy President as Marco Piccinini is best Icnown for having worked for many years as the sporting director of Ferrari.

AS we suggested in April 1999, the Toyota Motor Corporation has confirmed that it is negotiating to buy the Fuji International Speedway, which is located close to its Higashi Fuji technical centre, where the company is developing its racing engines. The Mount Fuji track, which is located in the shadow of the famous dormant volcano, hosted the Japanese Grand Prix in 1976 and 1977, but in recent years has not been used for any international events. Originally planned as a 2.5-mile oval with 30-degree banking at either end, the project ran into difficulties after the main straight and one banked turn had been finished. In the end, a road course was built to use what had been built and this was opened in 1965. The fearsome banking did not

Singapore GP? THE Republic of Singapore is again looking at the possibility of hosting a Grand Prix somewhere on the island of Singapore. Motor racing was banned in 1973, but in the late 1980s, Singapore was a serious candidate for a Grand Prix on a purpose-built circuit close to Changi Airport. The race was to have been funded by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board and the organisers of the Australian GP in Adelaide were brought in to help develop the idea. Land near Changi was set aside to be used for a racing circuit, but the ground proved to be unstable and eventually was turned into a new golf course. There Is only a small chance that the new project will get off the ground because the Formula 1 calendar is now so busy that there is almost a full calendar for the next five years. To complicate matters, a number of newcomers want to hold races, notably Bahrain, Dubai, Bali and South Africa. - JOE SAWARD laoiorsport news

NEWS

looks track ;

last for long and, after several huge accidents, it was deserted and a link road was built to join the main straight with the road course. Toyota refuses to say what it intends to do with the facility, but a massive redevelopment is expected and it is likely that the track would bid for the Japanese Grand Prix contract in 2007. Fuji is currently 80 percent owned by Mitsubishi Estates, with the remaining 20 percent being owned by a building contractor called Taisei. Toyota does not currently have a race track, but rival Honda owns both Suzuka and Motegi. If the deal does go ahead, it is likely that Fuji will be rebuilt with a combined oval and road course so that it can be used both for Formula 1 and oval racing and for car testing. - JOE SAWARD

TOMAS Scheckter, the son of 1979 Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter, has been signed to be the Jaguar Racing test driver in 2001. The 20-year-old South African replaces Luciano Burti, who has been promoted into the race team as team-mate to Eddie Irvine. Scheckter's recruitment by Jaguar underlines the team's policy of building up its own stars with the Stewart Racing Formula 3 team, which is now a subsidiary of Jaguar Racing, although it remains under the control of Bruce Jenkins, vvho has been running operations , with much success in recent years. Scheckter was beaten to the British formula 3 title this year by Antonio Pizzonia of Manor Motorsport, which also won the British title in 1999 with Mark Hynes. Prior to

Eyes like his Dad: Tomas Scheckter will suit up for Jaguar as test driver. that, however, the Stewart team won six out of seven titles, with drivers Mario Haberfeld, Johnny Kane,

Ralph Firman, Jan Magnussen, Kelvin Burt and Gil de Ferran. -J01SA1WARD

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conflict looms Mugen staying on?

Rebadged Peugeot/AMT engines a possibility for Minardi

MUGEN is expected to announce next week that it will be continuing its involvement in FI as an independent engine builder. The company is owned and run by Hirotoshi Honda - the son of Honda founder Soichiro Honda and has been involved with Honda motor sport activities since its formation in 1973. Mugen has been working on El engines since 1989 when the company built its first protot3rpe FI engine. In 1991 Mugen began preparing Honda VIO engines for Tyrrell, but the following year the engines were renamed Mugen and were entered for the Footwork team. Mugen

went on to supply Team Lotus, Ligier, Prost and Jordan. The company scored its first FI victory at Monaco in 1996 with Olivier Panis driving for Ligier, while Damon Hill and HeinzHarald Frentzen have added victories to the list. Mugen has always received help from Honda, but now that Honda has embarked on its own FI programme, Mugen has been told that all Honda help will stop. Mugen is in a position to build its own engines, but most of the designers are Honda employees who will soon return to Honda. Mugen remains an ambitious company and the gossip in Japan was that Hirotoshi Honda has

-I!

decided to buy a supply ofAMT engines and run them with a Mugen badge. Sources suggested the engines will be supplied to Minardi, which wiU run Toranosuke Takagi. Takagi dropped out of FI this year to rebuild his career in Formula Nippon. He has dominated the series and now needs to move on. Minardi had been expected to use Supertec engines next year, but it seems that negotiations with Supertec were not agreed and the Italian team has now changed its mind. The rebadged AMT engines are expected to begin testing in Arrows this week in Barcelona. -JOESAWARD

Testing times in FI for Blundell? by JOE SAWARD MARK Blundell has lost his drive in the CART series after five years in America with the PacWest team. Blundell had been sponsored by Motorola, but the company has decided to join Michael Andretti at Team Green and,so, Blundell has lost his drive, with New Zealander Scott Dixon expected to take over at PacWest. While there are a few drives open in CART for next year,Blundell’s record in the United States has not been very spectacular. He has scored only a couple of wins in CART,at Portland and Fontana way back in 1997. Blundell is hoping to

return to FI to rebuild a career for himself in Europe. Although he is only 34, Mark was Williams’test driver as long ago as 1990. He raced for Brabham in 1991,tested for McLaren in 1992 and then raced for Ligier in 1993. After a spell with lyrreU and half a season with McLaren in 1995 he went to America. The current trend in Formula 1 is towards experienced test drivers and BlxmdelTs experience might be very useful for a team such as Williams, which has a lot of development work to be done in the next couple of yeai’s.

See Mark Blundell interview on page 32.

A MAJOR clash of dates has arisen following the announcement of the Shell Championship Series calendar, with next year’s final round of the V8s,the Australian Ultimate V8 Showdown at Sandown,scheduled for the same weekend as Adelaide’s American Le Mans Series decider. ALMS promoter Don Panoz announced the schedule for next year’s American Le Mans Series in the US last week,just a week prior to AVESCO’s announcment of the 2001 SCS calendar, with both organisations picking the December 2 weekend. To complicate the matters further, the Adelaide race has also been scheduled as the last round of the new European Le Mans Series, the move designed to attract more teams to make the trip to Australia to decide their championships. The ALMS/ELMS series will be run to the same rules, with five rounds counting towards each championship. The ALMS and ELMS share a number of events, including the Sebring 12 Hour, a venue to be announced in Europe, Jarama, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and the Race of a Thousand Years in Adelaide. Organisers of each series have yet to comment on the conflict. 2001 American Le iVians Series Texas Mar 4 Mar 17 Sebring Apr 14 Europe (TBA) Jarama May 20 Sears Point Jul 22 Portland Aug 4 Mosport Aug 19 Quebec Aug 25 Laguna Seca Sep 9 Petit Le Mans Oct 6 Charlotte Oct 21 Nov 11 Sepang Adelaide Dec 2 2001 European Le Mans Series Mar 17 Sebring Europe (TBA) Apr 14 Jarama May 20 Estoril Jul 15 Salzburgring Aug 5 Vallelunga Sep 2 Petit Le Mans Oct 6 Adelaide Dec 2 notBrs^sn atut

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No BERNIE Ecclestone says he is not planning to sell-his family's stake in the Formula One group of companies. The news means that the automobile industry bosses, who met this week in Paris at the Salon de I'Automobile, will have to deal with Thomas Haffa of EM.TV if they wish to acquire a shareholding in the business. Staying in formation; Salo is leaving Sauber, but will Diniz stay on, despite rumours having the family buying into Prost. Haffa bought half of (Photo by Sutton-lmages) Ecclestone's company in the Spring, but his plans to create a central merchandising structure for FI flopped when some of the big FI teams (notably Ferrari) informed him that they were quite able to offer a bigger budget than THE FoiTOula 1 drives for 2001 Signing up Diniz is an obvious happy with the current marketing Parmalat, it is logical for Prost to move for Alain, because Pedro will arrangements. are running out, but,for the sign up Gene. bring US$10m of Parmalat’s According to our sources, the moment at least, there are still This would mean that Diniz will decisions to be made with money which would be very useful problem is that teams are aiming have to look at Sauber again, as for different market sectors, with for the team as it tries to pay for Prost, Sauber,Arrows and the drives on offer with Arrows and some concentrating on massthe Ferrari engine deal Prost has Minardi. Minardi have little to commend market merchandise and others In recent weeks Prost has been signed. them. specialising on top-end, highProst would like to get hold of in heavy negotiation with Pedro Sauber would certainly like to quality products. the Telefonica sponsorship, but Diniz about a drive, but a deal has have Diniz's sponsorship from After Haffa's failure, his this appears to involve signing yet to be stimck and there are Parmalat, as he needs to top up his investment in FI has made little Marc Gene and that would mean increasing signs that the Brazilian budget as Red Bull is scaling down sense and he is under pressure Diniz couldn’t partner Jean Alesi. could stay at Sauber. its involvement. from EM.TV shareholders to sell Replacing Alesi is not Rumours suggest that Diniz has Sauber has negotiated a bigger and concentrate on EM.TV's core understood to be an option, done a deal to own a part of Prost, sponsorship deal with Petronas, business. Haffa says he is willing because Jean has a contract and but the structure of the business is but he still needs more funding. to sell, but is believed to be asking selling a Diniz-Gene partnership to so complicated that it is impossible Diniz will help to provide this. US$2bn ($3.8bn) having paid only sponsors would not be easy. to tell what is being sold to whom. Sauber remains keen on signing US$1.6bn six months ago. This means that Alain will However, a deal has been struck Kimi Raikkonen, but at the EM.TV is highly-leveraged and, probably end up taking either moment the Finn's management and our sources say that it does with shares worth only half of Diniz or Gene, but not both. not involve the much-rumoured says it is not interested in a testing their price when Haffa did the FI With Telefonica expected to be Asian consortium. contract and is holding out for an deal, he is now exposed. FI drive. A further drop in the share price Signing Raikkonen would be a would put Haffa in a position radical move for the very where EM.TV would be vulnerable conventional Sauber and for a«ttkeover. Raikkonen would be a huge risk, Tfjfcar companies are keen to as his only experience to date has buy Wo FI so that they can been one season in Formula recoup some of their investment Renault. by controlling more of the income For Sauber to sign him straight from the sales of the sport's from that series would be the promotional rights, v biggest leap for a young driver At the moment, the teams gel4 since Team Lotus signed FF 47 percent of the TV revenues, = champion Roberto Moreno in 1981. but that figure would rise to Moreno competed in F3 in ’82, but around 75 percent if the car stood in for an injured Nigel Mansell companies were successful in mid-season and failed to qualify. their bid. There would also be a The drive did Moreno's career share of the fees paid by circuits considerable damage and it was to hold races, believed to be not until the late ’80s that he was around US$100m a year. able to rebuild an FI career. If a deal can be struck between At 20, Raikkonen has time on Wrsten applications to: Haffa, the car companies and the his side and it would be wiser for General Manager teams, the revenue of each of the him to have at least one season in 7 Ford Tickford Racing FI operations could rise from the Formula 3 while working as an FI current level of around US$1 Om a FORDTICKFORD RACING 31 Rhur Street test driver before jumping into year to around US$25m. Formula 1. Dandenong VIC 3175 -JOE SAWARD -JOESAWABJO nolorsport saws 20

Diniz to stay at Saubop?

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iassep Glajms fipst whi since 1998 Sights of Houston; Vasser asks his team-mate Montoya if his ‘send off present will earn him an Indy 6P pit pass next year left De Ferran s second stop cost him the race below left. Andretti struggled to 13th. having gone through a tough day below. (PhOlCF. by SutlonJmrtQrrJRncrAccrrr.;

WHOLE Gil de Ferran dominated the majority of the Houston Grand Prix,it was Jimmy Vasser who did the winning,the American taking his first win since CaHfomia 1998. Yasser’s success lay in his fuel strategy. While the other runners employed a two stop steategy, Vasser instead opted just for one. While it was quite a risk, it paid off and Vasser led home team-mate Juan Montoya, with de Ferran third. “The whole time I’ve been team mates with Montoya, I haven’t won a race,” said Vasser. “It’s good to finally give him a present before he goes, something to remember me by. Maybe I’ll get a paddock pass, or something, when the US FI Grand Prix comes back next year.” Vasser also became the 10th different winner this season, as well as winning the first race for Tbyota on something other than an oval. The result for the Ganassi team amazingly, considering the season the/ve had, keeps both drivers in title contention, albeit as long shots. De Ferran had led 69 laps and built a comfortable cushion over Vasser before his second stop, but resumed in third, a position he would hold to the end. His team-mate, Helio Castroneves, didn’t leave Houston with many friends, Montoya critical of the Brazilian’s driving. “It’s a bit pathetic,” said Montoya. “The only way he tries to defend is when you go to the outside. He just bangs wheels with you and pushes you offinto the tyres.” Paul Tracy finished fourth to leave him in second on the pointscore, even despite a close brush with Castroneves in the pits, the two narrowly avoiding contact. Castroneves finished fifth, while Michael Andretti’s final season at Newman/Haas continued to fluctuate, hit from behind by Alex Taghani, who had been also hit from behind by the newly-crowned Rookie ofthe Year, Kenny Brack.Andretti was classified 13th, out ofthe points. Another title contender, Roberto Moreno,finished 11th and now slips to third in the points. De Ferran is now in the box seat for the title, with a 19 point break over Ti-acy. The streets of the Gold Coast and the super speedway at California will make riveting viewing, vrith the top nine drivers all in mathematical contention. Points; de Ferran 153, Ti-acy 134, Moreno 131,Andretti, Fernandez 127, Montoya 122, Brack 118, Castroneves, Vasser 117.

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ThE WnningEdgEis... New dynamic range of quality motorsport product now available... * Offraad l Karting l Circuit The Houston Rocket: While Wears went on and won in Houston, Bright was left in the barriers. (Photo by Sutton-lmagesi ANY chance of Jason Bright pulling back ground on his rivals in the Indy Lights championship was snuffed out at Houston. The Australian was involved in a multi-car pile-up along with Scott Dixon when Jonny Kane blew a gearbox in front of them. Both of them were out of the race,leaving Bright’s team mate Casey Mears to take the victory and put himself in a three-way fight for the title at California at the end of the month with Dixon and Townsend Bell.

1 don’t have the words to describe how this feels,” Mears said. “It’s been a while since I’ve won a race. My first couple of years in Lights were tough. Things started to come together last year when I joined Dorricott Racing. “We have great engineers,but I tip my hat to Gerald lyier, who engineers Jason Bright’s car. Their pre-race testing was the difference in all of the team’s success at Houston. Gerald found a new set-up worked well on this circuit. We test hard and learn from it.”

Audi 1-2 in 'Little' Le Mans

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AUDI have continued their overwhelming domination of the American Le Mans Series with a 1-2 in the Petit Le Mans. Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello and Michele Alboreto shared the leading car, while Emanuele Pirro, Frank Biela and Tom Kristensen followed them in second. Australian David Barbham and Jan Magnussen were unlucky not to do better than third after the Dane was forced off the track after an early Safety Car period, causing front suspension damage. Brabham also lost a lap when mistakenly waived by the Safety 13 OclObBr 2000

Car and Magnussen’s final attack on Biela was thwarted by Capello, who was several laps up but still delayed the Panoz, allowing the seoond Audi to be runner-up. McNish now moves into the title lead, after Jorg Muller’s BMW suffered a late race spin and replacement rear wing. American Bill Auberlen was lucky to escape from the other prototype BMW, when it flipped in the same fashion as the Mercedes’ at Le Mans last year. He emerged unscathed, while Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins and Franck Freon won GTS for Chev.

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Everyone knows where they stand: Kenny Roberts was quick to point out who desen/ed to be number one. Next year’s number one? Valentino Rossi secured second in the championship in his first year on the 500s. Look out next year... (Photos by RaceAccess)

by JOOS VAN DER KUIP iii Brazil WHILE Valentino Rossi celebrated a strong win in the Brazilian Grand Prix last Saturday, Kenny Roberts was overjoyed at finishing sixth, the result giving the lead Suzuki rider the 2000 500cc World Championship. 'Twenty-seven year old Roberts made history by becoming the first son to emulate his father by winning the World 500cc Championship, sixth enough to secure the title for the American with two races remaining. W However, it should be noted that at three-quarters race distance, Roberts looked as though he would need another race to stitch up the title, the American trailing in ninth. “I was a long way back, but I finally got into sixth. I’m more relieved than elated at this moment,” explained the World Champion. “This has been a 27-year wait because, ever since I can remember, this all I wanted to be. The race was tough; I was trying not to push too hard, but more aggressive guys were coming by”. Rossi fought off the considerable challenge of Brazilian Alexander Barros and Aussie Garry McCoy to win his second race of the season and cement his second place in the Championship. “This win is very important, because my first win was in the wet and it means more to win in the dry,” said Rossi, who has also won 125 and 250 races at the Autodromo Nelson Piquet.

I had a lot of wheelspin late in today’s race, but I think I controlled it well and I pushed 100 percent all the way to keep Alex behind me. I’m very happy.” It was not such a good day for Championship leaders in the 250 and 125cc races. Frenchman Olivier Jacque saw his 250cc Championship lead reduced to nine points after he crashed out of the 22-lap race won by Japan’s Daijiro Katoh. Jacque led at the start, but then went of the circuit and re-started in last place. He fought back, but while fighting for 12th he crashed out. Chesterfield Yamaha Tech 3 teammate Shinya Nakano made a dreadful ri start, but fought back -HewSOOsa to fourth place and closes the points gap Wofitl €hampim on Jacque. In a superb finish to the race, Katoh, riding his Axo Gresini Honda, crossed the line 0.064s in front of Shell Advance Honda’s Tohru Ukawa, with Italian Aprilia rider Marco Melandri third. Italian Roberto Locatelli saw his 125cc Championship lead slashed to just eight points after he retired from the 21lap race with mechanical problems. His Aprilia team-mate, Simone Sanna, won the race from the Benetton Playlife Honda of Masao Azuma, with the Derbi of Youichi Ui in third place. Ui was running fourth until the last corner when Mirko Giansanti crashed out of third, giving Ui three more vital Championship points. Ui went into the race 24 points behind Locatelli.

This has been a 27-year wait because ever shice can remember,this is all I wanted to be

Roberts

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Honda will hit back; Doohan MICK Doohan believes Honda wiU hit back in 2001,the five time 500cc GP World Champion conceding the manufacturer’s six year stranglehold on the championship is all but over. “Kenny’s got the title in the bag, so it’s probably the end of an era for Honda; but he, or anyone else hasn’t dominated the season, so next year looks open,” Doohan said prior to the Brazilian GP. Doohan, now HRC’s General Manager of Racing, said Honda’s fall this year could be partially attributed to injuries and illnesses suffered during the pre-season period by its lead riders, Alex Criville and Tadayuki Okada. “They missed a lot of Honda’s testing which didn’t help, because much of the development of the new bike was left to riders with

regroup for next year and he said its future title aspirations could rest with Italian Valentino Rossi.

‘Valentino is improving all the time and he’s got a good team to help him,” said Doohan. MEANWHILE the all-conquering HRC Repsol-Honda team hasbegun shuffling the decks, with a large portion ofits crewmembers being told after the Valencian GP to look for work. All but one of both Sete Gibernau and Tady Okada’s teams were told they wouldn’t be kept on for 2001,individual team chiefs Hideki Iwano and Simon Bleasdale both believed to have won

less experience,” said Doohan. “At the same time, the other manufacturers and teams lifted

reprieves from the sackings. It was reported that the team members had been previously told they would be kept on next year, farmed out within the organisation to other teams with Gibemau’s

their game, possibly because they were motivated from being beaten by Honda for many years.” Doohan predicted Honda would

certain and Okada’s anticipated departures, with insiders saying the recent news has been received “like a kick in the teeth.”

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REPORTS from Switzerland have Formula One team Sauber looking towards making a move into Grand Prix Motorcycle racing in 2002. It is believed the team, headed by Peter Sauber, has begun construction of a bike to compete in the MotoGP series when the twowheel world championship series is revamped. Renowned Japanese engineer Osamu Goto, who worked with Honda during their dominant period in FI during the late 1980s/early 1990s before moving to Ferrari,is reported to be working on the project for Sauber. The Swiss company was reported to have already begun construction of a three-cylinder SOOcc two-stroke engine, but has since changed its program to suit the new rules. The new rules will allow bikes with four-stroke engines of up to 990cc to compete against the current two-stroke, SOOcc machines. Sauber is set to join a number of other companies believed to be readying for the new championship, including Ducati, MV Agusta and Kawasaki.

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FORMULA I

Button the Boy Wonder in Wonderland %

There can have been no better indicatSon of Jenson Button's talent that his performance at Suzuka. He outqualified team-mate Half Schumacher in fifth, and then after a bad start finished in the same position. ADAM COOPER caught up with the rising star. MINI; What do you think about Michael winning the title? JB: Obviously, I've watched him in the past, and saw him win his last World Championships. In the last few years he's been very, very unlucky. I think it's great for him to get the championship now, and 1 think he deserves it for his driving this year. MN: What about your own race? JB: It's been a good weekend, but it's just a pity about the start - not that it would have made any difference anyway. MIM: What went wrong? JB: I don't know. I think I was looking behind or adjusting the radio or something. I wasn't really concentrating! I couldn't find the bite point, and stood still most of the time trying to find the bite point while everyone else was moving. It won't happen again, or not like that. But it didn't really matter, anyway. MN; Were you happy to see the rain? JB: I think it was interesting, it made it good fun. If it didn't rain I'm not sure I would have finished fifth - maybe I would have finished sixth behind Half. In Turn 9, he just got it a bit sideways, went across the gravel, and came back on behind me. MN: Do you think he was holding you up? JB: I was catching him, but I wasn't close enough for him to hold me up. I think I was about a second behind him in the end, and then he went off. It was perfect for me, but not so 26

good for him. We've got some points now, and it's pretty much secured third in the championship for BMW and Williams. They're quite happy. We've just get a good race in the next one, and, hopefully, get a good qualifying and three points. If Jacques (Villeneuve)

It's good to actually get some points and finish fifth. In the last two races I've been in a good posifion,hutl haven't been abie to finish due to different n things. doesn't get any, that puts me seventh in the championship. That's what I'm looking for. MN; We tend to think that this is a very difficult track to learn. Do you think you've proved a point again by being so competitive? JB: Yeah, I proved it is bloody difficult, because it was, and it took a long time. I got to grips with it in the end. On Saturday, I think the reason we looked so slow was that we were doing a lot of race set-up work on old tyres, which definitely needed to be done. It's a great circuit, it really is, but it does take time. I can't wait to get back here. MN: What about the Japanese fans - did they overwhelm you a bit?

Crossing paths: Jenson Button looks at home on the Ginza Strip in Tokyo. (Photo by Mark TJwinpsoa/AUsport}

JB: I think they're fantastic. To start with, I thought it was a bit heavy, crowding around you when you come in to the paddock. You can't even walk in - you have to run round them. And, when we came on Sunday morning, they were everywhere across the car, and we couldn't get in! But it's good that there are so many enthusiastic fans. MN: Are you pleased that you're finishing the season half a step ahead of Half? JB: I haven't finished yet! Qualifying has definitely been great, and the last few races

have been very good - apart from Monza, which was our own fault. It's good to actually get some points and finish fifth. In the last two races. I've been in a good position, but I haven't been able to finish due to different things. MN: What about Malaysia? JB: I can't wait. From what I've heard, it's tough, but most of the drivers don't know the circuit that well, so it's good circuit to go to, I think. I've heard Williams weren't too quick there last year, but we'll see. I think it's going to be very hot, which doesn't help us. motorsport news

OPINION

I'm a Della Penna I Fella 'm really happy after having two days testing Della Penna's Champ Car at Firebird Raceway for'two days. Getting my first run in a Champ Car is something I've wanted to do and have been working . towards for a long time. To have it finally happen makes me extremely happy. Firebird is not a track where the FedEx Series races, but it wasn't a bad place to test for Surfers. It's hot, which it will be at home, and the straights are short and the corners fairly bumpy. It's physical, and you don't get much of a rest around there - most of the corners are second, or even first, gear. But you have to go somewhere to learn how to put down 900 horsepowerl The engines are really smooth these days, and one thing that they have worked on really hard is to make them driveable. That makes the driver's job much easier. Compared to an Indy Lights car; obviously, it gets down the straights a lot quicker. It's heavier, but in the corners, it gets through a little slower because of the longer wheelbase. We were testing on a lowdownforce track - on a quicker track, with more wing, it would be much different. We will be working really hard to stay in the area where Della Penna has been qualifying previously. It would be great to do better than that, but it's not realistic to expect to be able to beat the Ganassis of the world. Della Penna hasn't done that before: we have to go out and do

13 Ociabtr 2080

a solid job, and try not to make any mistakes. Doing that will do a lot more towards getting a full time drive next season than throwing it into a walll When I was here driving V8 Supercars full-time, it looked like it was never going to happen for me in Champ Cars. It was a big gamble, but we have managed to get into one in the first year, with the help of the Queensland Government, Budweiserand Gillette. I'm very fortunate that it's me getting the chance.

anything to that. It gets so much television, so much exposure and is bigger than anything else in the US - even CART. But proportionally, I think that V8 Supercars are as big as NASCAR, when you take the population into consideration. In that sense, they are on a par. Even if the secondary NASCAR series, like Busch and West are well-sorted out, they don't seem to matter, as far as the big picture goes. In road racing terms, the TransAm series is nowhere like as professional as V8 Supercar racing. It's absolutely nowhere near as competitive as the V8 Supercar series, because the manufacturer support is all going into NASCAR and there's nothing left for anything else. The TransAms are just like a bunch of Privateers.

“rom the 'outside', the V8 Supercar circus still looks great. It's getting stronger and stronger all the time. One of the disappointing things, from my point of view, is the 2001 calendar, which 1 have just seen. The Bathurst date will clash with the Champs Cars in the USA so, hopefully, that means I will not be able to race at Bathurst next year! The grid just seems to be getting better and bigger every riving for Dick Johnson year and the professionalism has Racing at Bathurst is going to just grown and grown. A lot of teams, regardless of where they be great. were on the grid, have taken big It's always a buzz to be going to Bathurst steps, and anyway, but moved up a level. That's all going around "Pra|ioptioiialy,ltiiink there in a Shell good. tliat V8 Superraps is as Falcon is There's really big as NASCAR,vwhen you something that not anything to I have been compare it to in take the popuiation into the USA. looking forward consMeration. In that to all year. Obviously, NASCAR is V8 Supercars sense,they m on a are very huge. It's enjoyable cars impossible to - Bright on MB Supercars to drive, but compare

Motor Mouth

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that was something I could not see myself doing for the next 15 or 20 years. Getting a good result there would make it a great year. Even if I had only done Indy Lights this year it would have been a good year as that's something that I have been trying to do for a long time, and finally getting into a team like Dorricott Racing was a terrific opportunity. But add to that the Indy race with Della Penna, and DJR's Falcon at Bathurst, and that makes it a huge year. I would like to have good results at both Surfers and Bathurst and, if you asked me to pick just one, that would make it a tough choice! As far as my career goes, a good result at Surfers would mean most to me for the future, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to win another Bathurst! Paul Radisich and Steven Johnson have showed that the cars are capable of winning the race. Once I get past this weekend. that will be the race I will be looking forward to.

Go,

f*o, I iniher, Umim\ hnunr: up f/h' Ri-\n(in'~ hfVnUi he n il! tlrnr .// Siirfa'^ ihi^ 't 27

SiouxI City, The wita BoxJoeSeat Sawam

t was very early in the morning on the media bus that wends its way from the hotels of Shiroko, Yokkaichi and Tsu City (pronounced as in Sioux City, Iowa). The journalists and photographers onboard are weary (because Europeans in Japan tend to wake up in the early hours of the morning as a result of time differences) or have problems with Japanese telephone systems, which cannot keep pace with computer technology. This means that electronic communication out of the Suzuka area can sometimes be rather difficult. There is always a lot of looking into other people's Windows at

Suzuka, trying to work out communications settings. “How do I switch this thing from Tone to Pulse?” you will hear them say. I had a lot of those problems this year for no obvious reason at all, beyond the fact that I have a new computer. The man from the Internet Service Providerwho sounded like a very American person from Kansas had said blithely in the middle of the night that “there are sometimes problems in some of the smaller countries" when I asked him how to fix a particular glitch. One can only laugh at such things. Perhaps I should have pointed out that the computer screen into which he was gawping had probably been made in Japan, a small country in Asia which, for the last half century, has been the powerhouse of Asia and which now owns a number of important organisations within corporate America. I wondered briefly if he knew where Japan was on the map.

ne of the downsides in travelling as much as one does in Formula 1 is that one can lose the magic of travelling. You end up not being impressed by anything because you think you have seen it all before. It is a very dangerous situation

because if one is not careful, it becomes a long stream of complaints. And Japan is where you hear them most from European journalists, because nothing in Japan is ever easy for them. One of the nicest things about Japan is that people try very hard to make foreigners feel welcome. It is not easy to understand what is going on when you do not speak a word of Japanese and all the writing is impossible to decipher. Everything is more difficult, whether you are ordering meals in restaurants or catching trains. But there are many wonderful things about Japan as well, and one of the great pleasures for me is to go round the shops in Tokyo and see all the latest technological gizmos available. In general, Japan is about two years ahead of the rest of the world in technology. After a night on the town in Tokyo, it is time to navigate your way through the organised chaos of Tokyo Central Station, where, if you stand still long enough, the whole of Japanese life will pass you by in the ebbs and flows of people. It is marvellous to watch the organisation in action. The trains come and go on time and pinkfrocked cleaning ladies descend on the carriages like locusts at harvest time. Everything is

"But there are many wondmlul things about Japan as well, and one of the great ptesures for me is to go round the shops hi Tokyo and see al the latest technological gizmos avalaUe.in general,Jam is about two years ahead of the rest of the world in technology" When East meets West: Schumacher arrives at Suzuka, where his every move was recorded by a thousand tiny camcorders. Techno orange; FI is also full of gizmos, like this, er, thingo on the Arrows shows. (Photos by Sutton-Umges)

molorsport iwis

the buzz ofFI

planned to the minute and it runs like clockwork; The Shinkansen bullet trains, which have always been marvels of technology, are developed each year. The latest 700 series Superexpresses have been in the windtunnel and, as a result, are uglier than ducklings. But they whisk you across Japan at impressive velocity. It is all very practical. On the run down to Suzuka this year, I was reading in The Japan Times newspaper about a rather less practical mode of transport called the Maglev, which is the next generation of ultra high speed train, a superconducting magnetically-levitated machine which has been developed by applying a lot of aerospace ideas to the construction of trains. For the last three years, Maglev development has been centred on a 10 mile section of concrete “guideway" near Yamanashi, which is about 90 minutes outside Tokyo (depending on the traffic on the roads). Travelling at 560kmh {!), the Maglev train would do the same trip in 10 minutes... The problem Is that it would be obscenely expensive, because of the costs of building the guideway through the neverending towns that make Japan's coastal plains. Great technology notone of always practical,isand the great secrets of success in FI is the ability to make things work and to do it quickly. Otherwise you end up with such great racing disasters as the BRM H16 engine or the Life W12. Both were interesting ideas, but neither ever worked very well. The other day, I heard about a small airfield in Gloucestershire (for people from Kansas, this is in England, a small country off the coast of Europe) where they have had problems with birds colliding with aircraft. In order to scare away these little flocks of flutter/things, airports usually 13 Ociobir 2000

people such a buzz is this urge to seize the mMient. Abnost everyone invoived in FI is a risk-taker ol some form or another. At one way, most of those involved have risked ali in wOigettoFI and The Man with two Red Schus: The Japanese are masters ofimitation, as these clones of Michael Schumacher left, no, right and Rubens Barrichello prove.

successfid"

The Great Divide: Even in English, Japanese can be hard to understand (below).

11% cam enfom mafor smatfs carnm^eiciion betweam the tast ~^ est machtmes on earth resmttmg from uttlmatettl high tech-^ mtqmes and oar own imdMdmai ahitttres as a consectaemce of these techniqmes. mcessant spirit

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employ nasty big birds, but brilliant boffins dictated that tape recording bird distress calls was much more effective. In practice the airport officials found that it was more effective to play Tina Turner songs very loudly. When I got to the paddock in Suzuka, I was soon discussing about practicality versus technology with an FI engineer from a team that had best remain nameless. "The trouble with these research and development guys is that they talk a good game, but after four years, we have yet to see any results," he said. "We have been having the same meeting over and over again. It is a waste of time. They

do not understand that we need to develop things with which to go racing.” Formula 1 likes to think of itself as a sport which pushes back the boundaries of technology but, the reality is that the sport is more about the application of aviation technology to the automobile. Some of this will later spill over into production, but most of the ideas are too expensive for mass production engineering. Automobile industry people say that the value of Formula 1 is not in advertising nor in the technology involved, but rather in the sport's ability to solve problems quickly. FI has a very unusual culture

which can be translated into road car development programs. The sport helps to develop the minds of the young engineers. In the real world it takes weeks and even months to get thing fixed. FI teams get things done in a matter of hours. You take your chances because, if one does not grab at an opportunity, someone else will have made the same move. The thing that gives Formula 1 people such a buzz is this urge to seize the moment. Almost everyone involved in FI is a risktaker of some form or another. At one point along the way, most of those involved have risked all in the hope that they will get to FI and they have been successful. Sometimes one wonders how many make such leaps of faith and fall short of their targets, and fall back into normal life. There are tim.es when we all think we would like to do such a thing but living in the real world soon begins to feel like a pretty dull lifestyle. And suddenly, being on a bus in the early morning, wending its way from the hotels of Shiroko, Yokkaichi and Tsu City up to the race track in Suzuka seems like an infinitely sensible thing to be doing... 29

Paul Weel

BEFORE you can run, you have to learn to walk.And so it has been for Paul Weel. The former motorcross racer, whose PWR radiators are used by virtually all of his competitiors on the track, has been one ofthe big improvers in the category since his debut in 1998. Weel’s road to V8Supercar racing hasn’t been the tradtional karting/Formula Ford route either. A successful Supercross racer, Weel broke both wrists in a crash in Townsville and spent six months off, losing interest in the sport. His father, Kees, had raced in off-road racing and Paul then took to stadium truck racing, quickly becoming the man to beat. "We won the championship and then Allan Bradshaw from Yokohama, who was one of our sponsors, asked us what we were doing for the next year and recommended we go V8s. We bought Steve Ellery’s old Konica EL and away we went.” Weel knows all too well how tough it is to mix it in the V8 Supercar category with the multi-million dollar budgets of the leading teams, but some strong results have put the 20year-old in the spotlight as one of Ford’s men of the future. The Queensland 500 saw Weel and co-driver Greg Crick qualify in the top 10 and lun strongly until retiring, while at Sandown over the weekend, top eight finishes certainly will

have done nothing to disappoint the top brass in Broadmeadows. With a team of three full-timers, Weel and the K&J Thermal team are continuing the climb up the V8 ladder, But according to Weel, it’s the experience of nearly three years that have made the difference. “Experience,for one, and having a good co-driver (in Greg Crick),” he says. “Quahfying has been a difference as well. We qualified 10th (at Queensland) and it’s a lot different than starting 20th and being stuck amongst the pack. “ This is our third year and Greg’s got so much experience, as he ran his own team for so many years, that he can fast track a lot of things. This year we’ve given him plenty of test miles, so he’s going just as quickly as me! “He knows that this will be one of the last years where he’ll be quicker than me! He’s a great help.” Weel debuted a brand new Falcon AU at Sandown (the third AU built by the team) and, with a top ten round result under its belt after just one meeting, the signs are looking good. While Mark McLaughhn currently builds the V8 powerplants, the team is working on it’s own in-house engine program for next year. “I know that Ford are very happy with what we’ve done for them, so next year we’ll have a bit more support. A lot of these teams have been around for years and

iDotorgpsn BBWs

FIAIVJU

And you can use them as cake trays! The PWR radiator, left, is the radiator of choice among V8 Supercar teams. Weei’s father Kees was the first person in Austraiia to start producing aiuminium radiators when he bought in an aluminium furnace.

(Photo by OIrk Klynsmith)

Ihimiimimmiiimiii tiiuiiWiunHillim

He knows that this will he one of the last years where he'll he quicker than me!

-Paul Weel on Greg Crick

Does Thermal Products mean underwear for Canberra next year too? The K&J car with Weel behind the wheel has had some good showings of late. He and Greg Crick head to the Mountain in November in a new car, keen to improve on the eighth place they scored last year. (Photos by Slipstream Photographic and Dirk Klynsmith)

we’ve knocked them off a few times. I think Ford likes seeing some ofthe littler teams getting up there and mixing it,” said Week Another element in the team’s mix is Phil Curtis, formerly of DJR. “Phil’s probably brought us to the next step. If we have a good weekend, we can break into the top 10, and if we have a bad weekend, we still race around 20th, so he’s brought us up and helped us to upset some of the big guys.” Even at the opening round of the series at Phillip Island, Weel had blasted from 22nd on the grid to sixth before contact with Glenn Seton sent him back to 12th. A successful strategy also helped the #43 to fifth place in the first race at the GMC 400 in Canberra. The kid has clearly got pace when things go his way. Queensland, though, was the meeting where it mostly came together. “Our aim was to qualify top 10 and finish in the top five. We didn’t quite get the second part...” said Weel. “When we started, we gave ourselves three years to reach our

expectations. We haven’t had any funding from anywhere else either. It’s all been from my business and Kees’business,” Although it doesn’t seem it, the PWR logo is on just about every VSSupercar. It’s just that you have to take the front off the car to see it. Previously, teams were importing radiators from overseas at great cost. Now Weei’s business supplies them at a more cost effective price, as well as quahty. “Before we started our first year, we were doing one or two here and there. Kees(Paul’s father) bought in an aluminium furnace from the States and started producing aluminium car radiators. “We were the first people in Austraha to do that and then we saw an opening where people were buying racing versions from the States that were very expensive and low quahty. “We though we could do something cheaper and that’s what we’re doing. There’s a fair bit of research and development involved and we try a lot of the stuff on the race car.” So that would make it ‘cool on Sunday, sell on Monday?’

Weels in Motion

Paul Weel is the one ofthe faces ofthe future for the Blue Oval. He’s on the up following the Queensland 500 and Sandown and heads to Bathurst in November eager to improve on his two top 10 finishes from two starts. AARON NOONAN caught up with the Queenslander who, when he’s not racing is churning out radiators for his on-track rivals.

13 October 2000

Mark Blundoll

Home Three years ago, Mark Blundell looked like the Coming Man In Champ Car racing. By the end of the month he will lose his ride with PacWest Racing and Is looking for a future as an F1 test driver. ADAM COOPER spoke to the Brit MN: Was it a strange feeling to see FI cars at Indianapolis, especially because your team is based here but you've never personally raced at Indy? MB: It's probably not such a strange feeling because I've never driven there! In one respect it's kind of tough. In another respect it's interesting to see the FI environment inside the oval. I've been there and had a look round before. It's one of those places like Monza or Silverstone, where you go in and you get a little bit of a chill in the spine. MIM: What do you think of this year's FI title battle? MB; It's been pretty reasonable over the season, but there's still not been enough overtaking. there's still not been enough action. That's something they need to address. The championship is still alive and Motorola Man: Blundell looked the goods in CART, but the decline of MercedesBenz and PacWest Racing has caused him much frustration. (Photos ft V Sutton-ltnagcs and CART}

anything that goes down to the wire is good in whatever sport. MN:You said in IVIontreal a couple of years ago that you got a real buzz when you saw and heard the FI cars in action again. Did you have the same feeling this time? MB; It was the same. I have to say that I've actually got a few situations that I'm looking at, and maybe I might come back and test again. I'm still only 34, I'm no different to Olivier Panis in age. I've got the experience. I've done it before, and I think I can do a good job for somebody. The professionalism is something that I very much feel at home with. WIN: So is there a still a feeling that there's unfinished business? MB: Unfinished business for me in FI, definitely. I never had the right equipment at the right time. I finished in the top 10 in the World Championship twice, and I've been on the podium three times, but I was never in something that was capable of winning a GP. I've driven GP-winning cars, but only in the testing role. WIN: So you’ve had some discussions? MB: Yes. I've had some interest. And I think that the deal Panis has done with McLaren is kind of like what I did back in '92. It just didn't have the profile and media attention then. In fact, I probably started the trend way back in 1989-'90 with Williams. It becomes more and more important as the schedules get heavier and there are more commitments for tyre testing. WIN: Does it frustrate you a bit when you hear Ron Dennis talking about stability and giving his drivers indefinite commitments so they can motorsRsrl news

INTEKVIEW

Boy

concentrate on their driving? Both you and Martin Brundie never had that kind of reassurance... MB; We were in a tough situation. My situation was very different even to Martin's. I took the role as test driver and then immediately became a race driver, and it was difficult because it was on a race-by-race basis. The reasons for that were to try to keep me on the boil, but I think, from my side of things, I

rm still only 34,I'm in ditlerenttoOIhrierPmiis in age,I've got the experience. I've done it before, and I think I can do a good job for somebody" - Mark Blundell wanted something different, but the team thought that was the best thing. I think the strategy they have now is the better one, and 1 think that's been seen. But I did a good job. I outqualified the other guy a few times, and scored a decent amount of points with only doing 15 out of 17 races. I came away with my head held high and no problems. MN: The other guy, Mika, was obviously good in those days - but did you see him as a double or even triple World Champion? MB; I see a lot of guys out there as potential World Champions, if they're sitting in the right equipment. That's the bottom line. It doesn't matter who it is, they're only as good as what's underneath them. If something underneath them is not up to the job, they're not going to do it. MN: What's gone wrong for you this year in Champ Cars? MB; Exactly that, exactly that. Unfortunately the situation in general has just slid downhill, and I no longer have something underneath me that's capable of winning races. I think that's been quite evident. 13 October 2000

Action Stations: Blundell was at McLaren five years ago, and may end up returning there as a test driver in 2001. Get off. Junior! Blundell looked good in 1997, in spite of this whack from Al Uuser Jr at Mid-Ohio. (Photos by Diana Burnett iiiui RaceAccess)

MN: What's the major problem? MB; It's a lot of things. Not one component makes up any deal, but if you walk down any pitlane and asked people why their winning, they won't tell you anything in particular-they'll tell you a number of different things. MN: After a year like this how hard is it to find a seat somewhere else? MB: I'm not the happiest guy in the world at the timing of the whole event. That hasn't helped me one little bit. I'm going to have a good look around. I've got a lot of stuff I can look at, there are a lot of things that I'm interested in, and I've got to make the right decision for me at the right time.

MN: How did things unfold with the team? MB: There's a lot of areas which I can't talk about yet. It's a little bit complex and there are still things going on at this point. One thing I can tell you is that it's nothing to do with the performance on my side, and the team owner would be the first guy to tell you that. MN:What about your old pal Johnny Herbert- do you think he's got a chance to make a fresh start in the States? MB: I've been talking to him, but to be honest I'm not sure where

he's going at this point, and I'm not sure whether he knows where he's going. So we'll see. CART is no different to anywhere else. It's an international series which is highly competitive. You can't just walk across and just join it. MN: If you come back to Europe are you going to miss your life in Arizona? MB: It's been good, it's been enjoyable. MN: But not if you don't have a job to keep you there? MN: Having no job in any environment is always difficult! 33

SAMDOWN

The day that Paul Radisich and Steve Ellery raced ...

^_*

Millenium Qualifying; GERALD McDORKrifikN Race; PHIL BRANAGAN MARK Skaife may have taken a big step towards sealing the 2000 Shell Championship Series at Sandown,but Ford and Paul Radisich took a giant leap into 2001 with a dominant display at Sandown last weekend. While much was made of The Rat ending Holden’s 19-round winning streak, it was the way that Radisich’s Shell Helix Falcon won the two races and took third in the other that marked Ford as Back In Contention. After missing pole by 0.1s, the former BTCC star basically won as he liked and only settled for third in Race 2 after he had figured that he was already on pole for the final. More, Steve Ellery starred all weekend, qualifying third and running 4-1-2 to take second overall. Better, he withstood all kinds of pressure from Skaife but didn’t flinch to take the silver back to Queensland. Skaife was third on the day from Craig Lowndes, while Garth Tander made the best of a bad weekend to stay within mathematical range of the 2000 title. After a touch with Russell Ingall, he started Race 2 from the rear instead of pole but a charge to 10th and another in Race 3, saw the damage kept to a minimum. There was another startline incident involving Larry Perkins, whose stalled car was crunched by Steven Richards at the start of Race 2, this time without the carnage of Oran Park. At one stage, in one of the races, there were only four Holdens in the top 13 on the track. Okay, Ford have had a lousy year but, on the evidence from Round 12 at Sandown, the tide may have turned ... 34

Shell Championship Series Round 12 7-8 October 2000

Qualifying At times, the season has been tedious, especially considering the reign of the usual suspects at the wheels of various Commodores. But, the recent events in Sydney gave everyone the much needed break and so just about everyone involved in the series - and those overloaded on the five rings - were eager to get the action happening again at Sandown. With the arrival of the weekend, after a week of near perfect weather, came one ofthe infamous

Melbourne curveballs - rain, which sent the team mules into a frenzy to quickly revert to the textbooks for a fast wet set-up. The rain, enough to annoy, was only intermittent, but enough to remain a hindrance to all while trying to sort the cars for the critical qualifying sessions. Remember, nowadays,in such a competitive category like the V8 Supercars,if you miss out in qualifying, your weekend is usually ruined... The two practice sessions were run with the usual suspects in their normal positions although, as the conditions continually changed on the track, the timing would throw up a surprise every now and then. It was only natural, with the race line drying as each session went on. The big question for qualifying was, would the normal two sessions, which spht the fastest and

Saturday Fever: Lowndes took his fifth poie of the season. (Photo by Dirk Klynsmith)

.vf-

■sterspert news

slowest cars down the middle into two 25-minute sessions, be combined into one? With the slight rain persisting, it didn't take long to find out that they would, therefore complicating issues further. The combined session gave drivers more of an opportunity to stay out on the track, extending qualifying to 40 minutes, although it also presented the problem of many more cars on the track. When qualifying had come to its conclusion, it was obvious that those used to running up the front weren’t overly happy with the amount of traffic, most believing they’d get a better run in downtown Sydney during the Olympics! But, thanks to the combination of the two groups and again the continually drying line, quahfying threw up no less than 28 changes in top spot-including Neil 13 October 2000

Crompton, Jason Bargwanna, Steve Ellery, Mark Larkham and Lan-y Perkins -something that hasn’t created as much excitement for some time. The critical point rested with when the hne would be dry enough for the adventurous to switch to shcks and go for ‘the lap’and would the traffic be light enough to enable each driver to get the most from the tyres. It was obvious that HRT would have hked to get the championship locked away for Mark Skaife at Sandown, to give both he and Lowndes the opportunity to go to Bathurst trying to win. An HRT front row would have provided the perfect opportunity, but despite the team producing the two most potent Commodores in the field, Lowndes sat on pole, Skaife some continued on page 36

Flag of honour: The Rat takes The Flag at The Track. After threatening, Ford came right at Sandown, Radisich leading home a 1 -2. Long time between drinks: So the Ford fans started making up for lost time.

(Photos by Bob Potts and Oirk KJynsmith)

SANDOWH I

continued from page 35 four spots back, the HRT duo squeezing a trio of Fords. Lowndes was naturally pleased with pole, while Skaife believed everything was right, except that he just didn’t get the lap he needed at the time. It seemed to be the reason for quite a few more... “We all got caught up in traffic; I just seemed to get the right lap at the right time,” Lowndes said of the final moments, which saw four different pole sitters in literally a few seconds. “We’ve done a race distance already on those tyres,” Skaife offered about the extended session. “The car was fine, I just didn’t do a good job of getting a clean lap when I needed one.” Still, Skaife was three spots ahead of series rival Tander, exactly where he needed to lie. On the flip side, he wasn’t too pleased with what he perceived to be blocking from Russell Ingall, a missing headlight solid evidence of the action he took. Radisich ended up second in the new #18 Shell Helix DJR AU,the kiwi more than pleased with the result considering the car stopped in the first practice session, a crew member having forgotten to tighten up one wheel... “Like everyone else, it was just a matter of timing and tr3dng not to get too much traffic,” he said. Team-mate Steven Johnson’s name also appeared near the top of the list during the session, but during the shuffling, he ended up in 15th. Still, Junior was making progi-ess. Following the ‘Rat’ and ahead of Skaife were Ellery and Tbny Longhurst, the two Ford drivers revelling in the ‘Calderesque’track. Ellery was more than pleased with his efforts to qualify a career hest-equalling third in the Super Cheap Autos Falcon, pointing to a new, bigger braking system that has given him confidence in the car. “When I'm confident and enjoying myself, my driving is better,” he said. “Looking at the results - it's easy to say that the changing conditions may have helped us to move up the front, but I can't take anything away from my, or the team's, efforts. We've been in the top five all day, and I believe we deserved the result.” Ellery was confident that there was even better news to come and there was... Tony, as always, was happy with his run - “I had fun out there and the car was good. It was a very exciting session and I’m now looking forward to tomorrow.” Longhurst’s Stone Brothers 36

Flame out: Tander plodded through the murk to qualify eighth (Kiynsmith) team-mate Craig Baird wasn’t as happy, the kiwi having put the Pirtek AU near the top of the field for much of the session, although a critical error on the entry to the back straight was costly in terms of timing. Baird finished way back in 16th - not the place to be... The remainder of the top 10 comprised Ingall, Larkham, Tander, John Bowe and Bargwanna. Ingall was happy with his now black Commodore,the former ‘Silver Bullet’ at the front of the pack, which produced the last shuffle of positions in qualifying. “I was at the front and Craig was at the back of a five car pack ... maybe it should have been the other way round,” he mused.

"Vlte've been in the top flve all deserved the resuR" -Ellery after t/ualifying third

Team owner LP had to finally settle for a spot just'outside the 10 in 11th, the veteran quick to point out he’d been blocked. “I was pretty happy when I was first, but that Neal Bates blocked me,” LP offered. The rain obviously had an effect on LP, not recognizing that it was twin brother Rick driving, not Neal... Tander hoped for more, although

POS DRIU£R 1 Craig Lowndes 2 Paul Radisich 3 Steve Ellery 4 Tony Longhurst 5 Mark Skaife 6 Russell Ingalt 7 Mark Larkham 8 Garth Tander 9 John Bowe 10 Jason Bargwanna 11 Larry Perkins 12 Paul Morris 13 Neil Crompton 14 Greg Murphy 15 Steven Johnson 16 Craig Baird 17 Rodney Forbes 18 Brad Jones 19 Cameron McConville 20 Mike Donaher 21 John Faulkner 22 PaulWeel 23 Steven Richards 24 Trevor Ashby 25 Steve Reed 26 Rick Bates 27 Paul Romano 28 Dugal McDougall 29 Derek Van Zelm 30 Rod Nash 31 Mike Imrie 32 Anthony Tratt 33 Tomas Mezera 34 Damien White

ORR TIME 1:12.4891 Holden Racing Team Commodore VT 1:12.5037 Shell Helix Racing Falcon AU 1:12.5979 Super Cheap Racing Falcon AU Caltex Havoline Falcon AU 1:12.6589 1:12.7387 Holden Racing Team Commodore VT Castrol Perkins Commodore VT 1:12.8104 1:12.8658 Mitre 10 Ford Racing Falcon AU 1:12.9953 Valvoline Cummins Repco Commodore VT 1:13.0851 CAT Racing Falcon AU 1:13.1916 Valvoline Cummins Repco Commodore VT 1:13.2122 Castrol Perkins Racing Commodore VT 1:13.2433 Big Kev Racing/Nemo Commodore VT 1:13.5774 Ford Tickford Racing Falcon AU 1:13.7043 Kmart Racing Commodore VT 1:13.8699 Shell Helix Racing Falcon AU XR8 1:13.9864 Pirtek Racing Falcon AU 1:14.1172 Wynns Racing Commodore VT 1:14.1177 OzEmail Racing Falcon AU 1:14.1596 Fram/Repco Tools Commodore VT 1:14.1654 Ultra Tune TDK Racing Commodore VT 1:14.2898 Team Asia Online Commodore VT 1:14.3179 l< & J Thermal Products Racing Falcon AU 1:14.3734 Kmart Racing Commodore VT 1:14.6640 Lansvale/Optus/ PPG Holden VS 1:14.8002 Lansvale/Optus / PPG Holden VS 1:14.9280 Colourscan Falcon AU 1:15.9053 Romano Racing Holden VS 1:15.9736 Pepsi-Cola Commodore VT MES Racing/Scallywags Socks Commodore VT 1:16.4826 1:16.7149 Autopro Racing Commodore VT 1:16.9164 IMS/Carplan Commodore VT 1:19.4012 Toll Racing Falcon AU 1:20.4711 Densitron Commodore VT 1:20.5621 One World Sport Falcon AU

# SCS Round 12 Sandown Int’l netorsDsn Daws

^SHEll CHAMPIONSHIP StBIES Not driving, watchii^

Crucial timing: Just as the track was at its fastest, Baird lost the Pirtek Falcon - and track time - in the Esses. (Photo by John Morris/Mpix) the Valvoline/Cummins driver was still within striking distance. Apparently the striking distance would bring him undone the next day... Bargs’spot on the grid later proved to be where he finished in the first race, perhaps giving a true indication of how little passing actually takes place amongst the lead cars. Like the others, Bowe’s name was constantly being thrown to the top of the list in the lottery for pole, as too was Larkham, both having to settle for, at least, spots at the pointy end. FTR’s lone effort with Neil Crompton produced 13th on the grid,just behind the ‘gooremoving’ VT of Paul Morris, Eagle-eyed, Cheery: Seton keeps an eye on Crompton’s progress during qualifying.

(Photo bv Dirk Klynsmith]

with the soon-to-be-departing Ford driver just over a second off pole. The Kmart team had a decidedly different qualifying, Greg Murphy in 14th, with twotime race winner Steven Richards back in 23rd. For Murf, his car was perfect, “better than it’s been in a long time,” but traffic kept the #12 from recording any better when it mattered, while Richards just missed the run. Quite simply, despite the car being fine, the time ran out. The only problems now presented to the teams concerned how the weather would turn out on race day and, if it was dry, what amount of changes would

be made, or how a good setup could be worked out in the minimal 15-minute morning warm-up.

Race 1(16 laps)

Melbourne is an odd place. The weather can play tricks. But at Sandown,it was behaving itself. While before and, later, after the V8 Supercar races it looked threatening and dark, every time the cars fired up and headed onto the track, the sun came out. Funny place, Melbourne. The crowds rolled up (approx. 20,000) and the racing started. The front few rows made good continued on page 37 IN (IIS s5

YOU would think someone who hadn’t missed a round of the Sheii Series in 11 years wouid be a iittie more on edge than what Gienn Seton was, but the Ford Tickford Racing team owner seemed to be in his prime in the Sandown pit area iast weekend. Seto’s well-publicised testing shunt at Phillip Island less than two weeks before the crucial penultimate round of this year’s series meant Ford’s leading chance in the V8 Supercar title hunt was ruled out of contention. Instead, he self-assigned himself to overlooking Neil Crompton’s second iast drive with the team. Strangely, he seemed to enjoy the experience... "Naturally, being a racer I want to be out on the track, but I don’t think I’ll have any problems making the switch to running the team on race day when I’m finished driving," Seton said confidently of the role many other great drivers have struggled with. The two-time Touring Car winner was an interesting observation. While pit lane was littered with crewmembers that watched the start of each race before dashing inside the garages to get a better look on the nearest TV, Seton maintained his position out the front of the garage, always looking at the track and his car. A few times, when Crompton was feeling the pressure from behind, he’d actually dash out into the middle of pit lane to make sure he got a better, uninterrupted view. His look was always intense and his expressions telling of someone constantly thinking... "There’s actually not many great race engineers around in this sport and very few that actually understand how these cars work, what they need," Seton said. "This weekend Neil had some initial problems and I was able to understand what they were and make the changes. That experience is just so hard to come by." Still, despite making positive changes and enjoying the experience on the sidelines, the experience an enforced one, Seton is looking to get back into the seat where he believes he belongs for a number of years yet. "I was bloody lucky with what happened at Phillip Island, firstly to get out without too much serious injury and to have Bathurst seven weeks away," he says. "Thankfully, my head is clear with the incident and I’m not scared, so I can’t wait to race again and go to Bathurst fit and with a chance. "I’ll have no problems here In the garage when my time comes, but that won’t be for a few years yet.” - GERALD McDORNAN 3?

Holden’s lead: But not for long. Lowndes beat Radisich away in Race 1, but the Falcon soon blasted past and took the win. (Photo by Dirk Klynsmiffi)

continued from page 37

while Skaife was throwing everything but the kitchen sink at getaways, while Bowe made a Elleiy. The sheer speed of the shocker, and Johnson was having a Supercheap car, aided by good close look at the horse racing traction, meant that the partition as he tried to find room championship leader was being on Crompton’s right. frustrated at, literally, every turn. But, for the HRT duo,it couldn’t And they were falling behind the leaders, with Radisich(who had have gone much better. Lowndes matched Radisich and took the Lowndes close right up behind him)almost 7s clear of the thirdlead, while Skaife made his way placed battle by the flag. past Longhurst into fourth by the first corner. But it was Skaife who got the Further podium spot. On lap 13 he got a back, though, there had been barrelling run out The straightline speed of the contact. Jones of Dandy Rd and was between pulled to Ellery’s Falcons was showing. The right. He swept McDougall and Rat was sale from Forbes and around the purple Lowndes's intentions, while bows of the emerged with a Falcon at the Skaife was thro wing smoking right right-hander in a front tyre and everything but the kitchen pretty bold move, bent steering. sink at Blery especially for He and Forbes someone trying to pitted at the tie up a end of the lap. championship. The order was Lowndes, Behind Ellery came Longhurst, Radisich, Ellery, Skaife, Tander, Larkham, Perkins, Bowe, Longhurst, Ingall, Tander, Bargwanna, Johnson and ... Larkham, Bargwanna, Murphy, Richards. It had been another Perkins, Bowe, Johnson, great charge from Richo Jr, blazing Crompton, Richards, Baird, past 11 cars in the first 10 laps. If Donaher, Weel and Faulkner. only he had been let on for Then we had an unusual sight. qualifying... For once Lowndes, the King of the While one Kmart car was flying, Cold Tyi-e, wasn’t blazing away the other was having a shocker. from the pack. Radisich was all On lap 4, Murphy had a spin at over him and, on lap three, he Shell and lost 14 places. He forced Lowndes into a slip at recovered to 19th at the flag. Easternats corner (the tight left Ingall hadn’t finished the race hander leading onto the back after being nerfed out of sixth on straight). The VT had its exit lap 5 by Tander (see breakout). speed compromised and the AU “I was lining up to pass him,” belted past, immediately said Tander. “He went over a kerb establishing a three length lead. and came down where I was and I The straightline speed of the Falcons was showing. The Rat was safe from Lowndes’s intentions, continued on page 40 38

Hitting and Missing WITH the Race 2‘reverse grid’ format, the battle for sixth in Race 1 was ali-important. Ingall was holding out Tander, but the Castrol VT whirled around in the final corner on lap 5 after a nudge from the Vaivoline car. Ingall was stuck for the rest of the race, while Tander went on to finish sixth. But, after the race, Tander was called up by the Stewards and, after deliberation, sent to the rear of the grid for Race 2. So what? So, what if Channel 10 had captured the incident? Like the Murphy/Morris clash, which saw the Big Kev VT sent spinning by the Kmart car, what if Ten video had prompted Race Director Tim Schenken to stop/go Tander there and then? It would have made it a very

different weekend. Tander would still have been in the Race 1 ruck, but Mark Larkham would have been promoted to sixth and would have started Race 2from pole, not sixth (as he did when Tander was DQ'd). With the speed shown by the Larko car in the races, as it had shown at Calder, he could have won Race 2- and changed the entire weekend. There was plenty of talk of TV at Sandown, much of it over Nine’s shoddy treatment of the Japanese GP. But coverage is arbitrary; sometimes the cameras get something, sometimes they don't. It's just one of those things. This episode showed that, sometimes, not being on the telly is the best thing that can happen to you ... - PHIL BRANAGAN

1 4

rKK IM *

You win some: Morris was caught on video and served a Race 2 Stop/Go. but Tander served his penalty after Race 1. (PhMi by Oirk Klytamth) ■oiersBort rsws

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continued from page 38

"Ijuststuned up

gave him a tap.” “I just got unloaded,” said Ingall for his part. “The damage was pretty conclusive. Considering there was no video evidence - and to my pleasure they (the stewards) did a pretty good job.” Russell Ingall saying the stewards did a pretty good job. Yep; the Olympics have had a big impact on the national psyche ...

Race 2(18 laps)

With Tander gone to the rear, Longhurst assumed the mantle of pole man, with Ellery alongside. 40

-Perkins after stalling Tander had Ingall two rows behind him ... Ellery made the jump, but noone was watching. In an unfortunate replay of his Oran Park crash, Perkins had stalled and Richards, travelling at considerable speed, hit him threequarters on. The left rear hub was torn off Perkins car(several erasjust missed it), while Richo limped around on three wheels to try and get into the pits to prepare for Race

3. He had it two-thirds of the way around before he cried enough. “I just stuffed up,” admitted Perkins later. The crew looked at fixing the car, but the job was too hard and LP was through for the day. Johnson was at the back after getting an elbow at Turn 2, and the Safety Car was out for two laps, which was two laps too long for Bargwanna. He ran over some debris and, while the subsequent flat tyre didn’t slow him down much,he peeled off for new rubber and resumed last. ' And Tander had had a tap during the first lap, sending the steering off-centre. Which made what was to happen next even

more impressive ... Oh yeah, the race. Ellery held the lead from Longhurst, but the mover, inevitably, was Radisich. He sized up Lowndes and shot past, and made the move on Longhurst at the Shell sign (natch) on lap 6. Lowndes was anxious to follow, sneaking by at Easternats and leaving Tony with a bonked front hub to deal with for the rest ofthe race. Ellery didn’t say anything about his mirrors after the race, but he would not have liked what he saw if he looked. Skaife had the eyes and the lights on and was throwing everything at the Queenslander, getting almost alongside in the final comer. But Ellery had straightline speed and knew it; so did Skaife, who was keeping an eye on the points. Craig Hasted, who builds Ellery’s engines, had done his part and Steve responded by doing his. With a little horsepower and some dogged driving, he never flinched and took a well-deserved maiden ATCC win by 0.6s. Even among the HoldenphUes,it was a popular win. molorsport oews

3 SHELL CHAMPIOHSHIP SERIES

And The Rat had done The Math. “I knew that I would be on pole once I passed Craig(Lowndes),” he affirmed later. He got within 0.3s of Skaife and wasn’t going to commit hari kari trying to get by. Lowndes was fourth from the impressive and smooth Larkham, who had Bowe all over him, who had Crompton all over him. In the Ford fight, Weel had made an impressive charge, admitting his brand new AU was “much different” to his older car. “We changed everything (after Race D,” he said. “We were understeering all over the place, but what worked on the older car

doesn’t work on this one. It’s much different, but much better.” Longhurst held on for ninth, while 10th was ... Tender. After hammering through the cars in the 20s, he had picked off the ‘teens’ carefully and closed on the top 10, keeping the points loss to Skaife to a minimum. Behind him Ingall made it to 13th, running about the same times, but finding it harder to get through. And that made it an all-Ford front row for the final race. History books to the Editor’s desk, please. Murphy’s dreadful run continued on page 42

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SCS Round 12

Sandaififn International RACE TIME E/lAP O N igg Bac81 -18 laps 1 Paul Radisich 19:31.5243 1:12.4510 4 19:32.2500 1:12.4664 11 2 Craig Lowndes 3 Mark Skaife 19:42.3019 1:12.9470 4 19:43.5540 1.T2.8625 4 4 Stave Ellery 19:44.0655 1:12.9391 5 5 Tony Longhurst 6 Garth Tander 19:44.4006 1:13.0898 5 7 Mark Larkham 19:44.9478 1:12.8590 4 19:48.7438 1:13.0389 4 8 Larry Perkins 9 John Bowe 19:49.3007 1:13.0333 4 10 Jason Bargwanna 19:51.7194 1:13.0958 6 11 Steven Johnson 19:51.8285 1:13.2295 7 12 Steven Richards 19:53.0776 1:12.9150 6 13 Neil Crompton 19:53.1144 1:13.3402 5 14 Craig Baird 19:54.1836 1:13.4482 7 15 PaulWeel 19:54.7581 1:13.2308 7 16 MikeDonaher 19:56.4783 1:13.3407 -7 17 Paul Morris 19:57.4332 1:13.1326'4 18 John Faulkner 19:58.1232 1:13.6185 10 19 Greg Murphy 19:59.3491 1:12.8462 12 20 Cameron McConville 20:07.6214 1:13.9834 10 21 Rick Bates 20:10.0753 1:14.2343 16 22 Tomas Mezera 20:21.2994 1:14.5011 3 23 DugalMcDougall 20:22.9307 1:14.5120 3 24 Brad Jones 20:24.2913 1:14.4275 4 20:25.5830 1:14.5395 4 25 Trevor Ashby 26 Steve Reed 20:25.8744 1:14.5127 4 27 Paul Romano 20:26.7540 1:14.9414 6 28 Rod Nash 20:41.0621 1:15.3640 13 29 Mike Imrie 15 laps 1:16.6221 9 30 Derek Van Zelm 15 laps 1:15.8512 5 dnf Anthony Tratt 13 laps 1:14.8303 3 dnf Russell Ingall 4 laps 1:13.1201 4 dnf Rodney Forbes 1 lap 2:44.2444 1 dns Damien White Race 2-18 laps 25:04.4251 1:12.9337 6 1 Steve Ellery 2 Mark Skaife 25:05.0703 1:12.8628 13 3 Paul Radisich 25:05.3753 1:12.4984 8 25:05.9795 1:12.2935 8 4 Craig Lowndes 5 Mark Larkham 25:07.9004 1:12.5597 8 6 John Bowe 25:08.2575 1:12.6979 8 25:08.7205 1:12.6254 8 7 Neil Crompton 8 PaulWeel 25:13.7688 1:13.2147 8 25:16.4394 1:13.3394 9 9 Tony Longhurst 10 Garth Tander 25:18.3874 1:13.0383 9 25:19.2637 1:13.3339 12 II Craig Baird 12 John Faulkner 25:20.7643 1:13.2799 10 25:22.9405 1:13.0152 15 13 Russell Ingall 14 Mike Donaher 25:27.8551 1:13.2742 12 15 Rick Bates 25:28.8859 1:13.8728 12 16 Cameron McConville25:33.6330 1:13.6833 8 17 Jason Bargwanna 25:33.7332 1:13.1119 8 18 Tomas Mezera 25:33.9164 1:13.5561 8 19 Brad Jones 25:37.9810 1:13.9860 9 25:40.9079 1:13.3182 14 20 Greg Murphy 21 Steve Reed 25:42.2340 1:14.2859 9 25:44.0812 1:14.2668 8 22 Trevor Ashby 25:45.2497 1:13.4884 12 23 Paul Morris 24 Steven Johnson 25:45.4722 1:13.3586 18 25 Paul Romano 25:46.4623 1:14.6731 9 17 laps 1:13.0991 8 26 Rodney Forbes 27 Derek van Zelm 17 laps 1:15.5494 10 28 Mike Imrie 17 laps 1:16.3406 14 29 Dugal McDougall 17 laps 1:14.3156 6 dnf Rod Nash 10 laps 1:15.5331 8 dnf Steven Richards Olaps dns Larry Perkins dnsAnthony Tratt Race 3-18 laps 1 Paul Radisich 19:33.6491 1:12.5831 8 19:36.2307 1:12.9250 6 2 Steve Ellery 3 Mark Skaife 19:36.6529 1:12.9373 7 19:37.2192 1:12.8914 7 4 Craig Lowndes 5 Mark Larkham 19:37.9037 1:12.8324 5 6 Garth Tander 19:41.8854 1:12.8854 5 19:43.1126 1:13.0943 6 7 Neil Crompton 19:43.3400 1:12.6796 6 8 Russell Ingall 19:44.0913 1:13.1439 5 9 PaulWeel 19:47.0886 1:13.1087 7 10 Craig Baird 11 John Bowe 19:47.4426 1:13.2455 8 19:47.8646 1:13.0672 8 12 Tony Longhurst 19:52.9487 1:12.7554 7 13 Steven Johnson 14 Jason Bargwanna 19:55.6630 1:13.2128 7 19:56.5432 1:12.7585 8 15 Greg Murphy ' ^ 19:57.2244 1:13.0174 7 16 Mike Donaher 17 Steven Richards 20:01.4479 1:12.9810 7 20:04.3355 1:13.8871 7 18 Rick Bates 20:07.2735 1:14.0574 8 19 Steve Reed 20 Cameron McConville20:08.8560 1:14.3076 5 20:09.1737 1:13.9326 4 21 Brad Jones 20:09.6855 1:13.4472 10 22 Rodney Forbes 20:11.0033 1:14.0070 5 23 Tomas Mezera 20:25.2318 1:14.5171 6 24 Anthony Tratt 25 DugalMcDougall 20:27.8539 1:14.2271 6 20:46.2678 1:15.6837 5 26 Derek Van Zelm 27 Rod Nash 15 laps 1:15.1541 5 dnf John Faulkner 12 laps 1:13.4294 6 Slaps 1:14.0153 4 dnf Trevor Ashby dnf Paul Morris 5 laps 1:13.4791 4 dnf Paul Romano 4 laps 1:16.7290 2 dns Mike Imrie dns Larry Perkins 42

Ford, Credit: FoMoCo boss Geoff Polites hands Radisich a cheque (actually an lOU)for $10K.

itelnte his'vih?v^$^opiuiivi^ continued from page 41 continued when he inadvertently punted Morris off on lap 9, earning a stop/go and leaving him 20th and Morris 23rd.

Race 3(16 laps)

Starts are important and Paul Radisich made this one stick. He

beat Ellery away by about a metre and took the line into Shell Mastercard, wiggled through the esses and then, basically, disappeared into the yellow and red ether. He won by 2.6s, slowing down. Ford boss Geoff Polites’s $10,000 was finally taken. Ellery had the same gig again; hold out Skaife for 16 laps. Again,' despite having the kitchen sink on board for Race 3, Skaifey couldn’t find a crack in the Super Cheap armour and Ellery held on for second, and second overall on the

day.

The HRTs went into the first

corner side-by-side, with Lowndes taking up a watching position behind the champion-elect. That’s the way they finished, with Larkham right behind. The Mitre 10 car matched the Reds for speed, and pole in Race 2 would have made a world of difference.

fheic I’v Siii’siUiaii l^wu2i?ic k-wti. - * The other battle was Johnson versus Bargwanna, which was a replay of Ellery and Skaife, with straightline speed versus cornering pace, but with the odd episode of paint swapping. It was all pretty straightforward, really. Put the Fords on a straight and they go forwards. And they ain’t too nasty around the corners, either. Holden’s Mark Skaife is probably not too concerned about the rest of 2000, but the blue oval brigade can’t wait for the start of 2001 ... Points after 12 rounds: Skaife 1402, Tander 1193, Lowndes 1142, Seton 1049, Radisich 1044, Murphy 904, Longhurst 866, Ingall 827, Bargwanna 814, S.Richards 787, Crompton 745, Larkham 694, Bowe 679, Perkins 644, S.Johnson 639, Baird 546, Faulkner 460, Ellery 406, Kelly 395, Morris 357, Weel 331, B.Jones 297, McLean 234, McDougall 205, McConville 186, Forbes 183, J.Richards 120, Ashby 119, Reed 114, Poole 103, Besnard 96, Ritter/Leahey 88, Wills 80, Donaher 77, White/Wyhoon 72, Macrow 64, Stokell 56, Cleland 48, Mezera 46, R.Bates/Nash 40, Scifleet/Full 32, Doulman 28, Cotter 24, Tratt

This time, Tander made it , through to sixth, ahead of Crompton, Ingall, Weel and a Ford battle between Baird, Bowe and

22, Peters 21, Flolt/Willmington 8,

Longhurst.

Romano 2, Heath 1.

Smerdon 4, Robson/Miller 4,

n A number of Ford executives’ delight at winning Sandown couldn't be concealed, but so couldn’t the lingering disappointment of what could have been at the Queensland 500. Apparently, a number of senior Ford officials from the US were present at QR for the recent 500 and were amazed that their teams counted themselves out of contention by not being able to count. Sources, thankfully, have the US officials supporting the Australian motor racing efforts. n Just how popular is HRT's merchandise? Weil, an interesting observation during practise on Saturday showed, in one grandstand section, that of the 60 people sitting down, 11 had various sorts of HRT gear. Just two others wore Ford gear, while another two had Castrol Racing merchandise. From there, you can probably do the numbers... n Talking of HRT, Craig Lowndes’ newer VT, the same car he and Skaife used to win the Q500, was 'rested’ for Sandown and is ready for Bathurst. The team has, apparently, 4.5 VTs ... n The atmosphere around the Perkins camp, more specifically the Perkins family, was a little bit subdued following a break-in of their home on the Friday of Sandown. n Craig Baird’s mind may not have been on racing. The kiwi has just become a dad, with the birth of Breanna just after he returned from his recent US TransAm drive. Congrats. moiorsMort news

GTP by AARON NOONAN SANDOWN’S final round of the Australian GT-Production Car Championship may have seen the changing of the status quo. The HSV GTS 300kw macliines of Ed Aitken and Tony Scott took a win apiece, finally ending the strangehold of the four-wheeldrive Japanese rocketships from Mitsubishi and Subaru, as well as the potent RX-7 Mazda. While the V8 pilots enjoyed their race successes, Mark King was an even happier man, having clinched the outright title. The title was never in danger as main rival Ric Shaw had pulled out of the series completely, leaving King free to win the title no matter his finishing position. Race one wouldn’t have been the ideal way to go out, though. King had made a break on the rest of the field as they held one another up and looked set to cruise to the finish, but Aitken pulled clear and hauled in the Evo to take the lead on lap nine down the back straight. But that wasn’t it. King got into the back of the HSV at XR Corner and the big beast slewed around. The only problem was that King went to duck to the left, while Aitken’s car was spinning back in that direction. The two made contact. King limping around with a flat rear tyre, while Atken continued in the lead (such was the gap to Wayne Boatwright’s Subaru in third place), to eventually win from Boatwright, Scott, Scott Jacob and Gary Deane. Jacob was keen to get ranning

13 October 2000

The King of GTP

HSVs shine with double victories in race two and, with the two HSVs outdragged by the 4WD WRXs,the Austar car hit the lead briefly but bounced off onto the grass coming onto the Brock Straight and gave it back to Boatwright. By the time the HSVs had got moving, there was a fair task ahead of them. They hauled in leader Gary Deane and set off into the distance. Despite the lapped traffic, they continued onto the flag separated by 0.3s with Boatwright third ahead of Deane and Grant Kenny. King was sixth from the back of the grid. "We had a shocker in race one," said King."But I made up for it I guess in race two. It was kind of fun starting from the back" The class titles were also clinched. David Wood had the edge again over Wayne Russell’s BMW to claim the Sports Touring class, while James PhiUp’s Falcon All XR8 dominated the V8 Touring class. Daryl Coon was the most successful driver in terms of class points all year and won the six cylinder touring class, while Kosi Kalaitzidis gave Proton another trophy, the Satria driver taking out the four-cylinder class. Final Points; King 133,Shaw 103, Hughes 76,Aitken 75,Ale.xander 71.

Holden heroes: Tony Scott and Ed Aitken, above, shared the wins, the former narrowly winning race two. (Photo by Chris Carter) The champ: Mark King, left, could have missed the race and still have won the title. (Photo by Dirk Ktynsmith) Wait for me! Michael Hopp’s debut in the Toyota Starlet was pretty lonely as the field belted down into turn one. (Photo by DiiK Klyosmilh)

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ROUND 6BUNDABERG SPEE

ROUND 1 BRISBANE INT. SPEEDWAY

7th October 2000

ROUND 2BRISBANE INT. SPEEDWAY

21st October 2000

ROUND 7BRISBANE INT. SPE

ROUND 3BRISBANE INT. SPEEDWAY

4th November 2000

ROUND 8BRISBANE INT. SPE

ROUND 4TOOWOOMBA SPEEDWAY

11th November 2000

ROUND 9BRISBANE INT. SPE

ROUND 5BRISBANE INT. SPEEDWAY

18th November 2000

ROUND 10LISMORE SPEEDV

(RAIN DATE 9th December 2000)

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3rd March 2001

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2nd December 2000

ROUND 12BRISBANE INT. SPEEDWAY

17th March 2001

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16th December 2000

ROUND 13TOOWOOMBA SPEEDWAY

24th March 2001

EDWAY

26th December 2000

21st April 2001

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ROUND 14BRISBANE INT, SPEEDWAY FINALE

24th February 2001

(RAIN DATE 19th May 2001)

www.raceteams.com.au

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MICHAEL Schumacher won a glorious victory in Japan, after a race-long battle with Mika Hakkinen in treacherous conditions at Suzuka. For most of the race, it was what GP racing is all about, a fabulous demonstration of two men going head-to-head in evenly-matched machinery. And,so, Fein-ari has finally done it. After 21 years, they have a World Drivers’ Champion. McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen was generous in defeat. It was all too good to be true. Gracious winners and losers. In Formida One.In 2000. Who would have thought it? 46

Qualifying Suzuka is one of tnie great tracks in modem Fomiula 1 racing. It is an interesting track layout and the drivers love it for its changes of direction and elevation. It is a challenge to get it right, and overtaking is not impossible. The crowds are large and enthusiastic, but in a polite way. And yet, the thing that makes Suzuka a great race track is not any of this. It is the fact that the circuit has been a place where Fonnula 1 history has repeatedly been written in dramatic fashion. Suzuka has enjoyed the advantage of having held the last, or the penultimate, race in the World Championship for the last 14 years, and what races they

have turned out to be. The story began in 1987, when Nigel Mansell crashed in qualifying and went home with a bad back, leaving his Williams team-mate Nelson Piquet, to be World Champion. A year later, there was not a dry eye in the house as Ayrton Senna drove an amazing race after stalling at the start to secure his first World Championship. So many of the Suzuka memories are linked to Senna. In 1989, it was at Suzuka that Alain Prost took Ayrton out of the race in the closing laps to ensure himself the World Championship title. But Senna survived the assault (Prost was not an expert in such matters) and he restarted and drove several astounding laps to

snatch back the victory. The FIA fumbled and bumbled, and Ayrton was thrown out of the results, giving victory to Sandro Nannini. One always forgets that Nannini won that race. The following year. Senna took revenge on Prost and wrapped up his second title by driving into Alain at the first corner. This mess led to an emotional 1-2 result for Benetton, with Piquet and a tearful Roberto Moreno. In 1991, Senna dominated the race, but handed over the victoiy to his pal and team-mate, Gerhard Berger, to say ‘thank you’for the Austrian's efforts. In 1992 Mansell did the same for Riccardo Patrese, but in 1993 it was back to racing again, when moiorsport news

FORMULA ONE

Senna won another great victory in his McLaren-Ford. Twelve months after that, Senna was dead and Damon Hill was the new hero. That day, he was quite brilliant, and beat Michael Schumacher fairly and squarely in hon-ible weather conditions. In 1995, Schumacher won when the two Williams drivers fell over one another, while in 1996, Jacques Villeneuve's chase of Hill ended when a wheel fell off his wagon. Two years later, the title was settled in Hakkinen's favour, when Schumacher's Ferrari blew a tyre as he raced through the field, having started fi'om the back of the grid. continued on page 48 13 October 2000

Jmt9€snese GP continued from page 47 Such gi-eat events leave a mark on a place, perhaps only in the minds of those who remember what happened there. As a result of all this, there is always something a little sinister about the cramped Suzuka paddock, because for years, we have been there long after dark as controversies have been fought out and insults traded. Every year, one arrives with a curious sense of anticipation and bad memories. The paddock is much as it always has been, which is absurdly small and cramped. How Max Mosley and his gang can go on bashing Silverstone when Suzuka is still in the World Championship is a bit of a mystery, but that never stops them. Every year there is talk that the Japanese will upgi-ade the place. As in previous years, we had a World Championship showdown and lots of political manoeuvering in the paddock. Ron Dennis was seeing reds under every bed (as usual) and Ferrari was relying on Michael Schumacher to work magic with a car which is still clearly not a match for the McLarens, although the latest Bridgestone t^e seem to have given Ferrari a little hint of a boost. The competition was barely disrupted by a small earthquake on Friday. Areal earthquake, rather than a paddock version. This gave everyone something to write about, because Friday was worthless(as usual)for everyone other than the FI engineers. Saturdays are when Formula 1 gets serious and, so, Schumacher's domination of Friday was quickly forgotten, as Hakkinen set the fastest time in the morning sessions, beating Schumacher by a tenth of a second. The story of the morning, however, was Jenson Button in third place, but he had used new t3Tes and, so, it did not seem to be hugely significant - although it did underline the fact that Jenson has a vague idea how to drive Formula 1 cars. In the afternoon, we were treated to a most entertaining battle for pole position between the two World Championship contenders. The action did not really begin until the first half hour had slipped quietly by and, then, Schumacher took pole, with Hakkinen a tenth slower on his first run. A few minutes later, Mika sliced a few hundredths from Michael's pole time and went ahead. But Michael's second run took a tenth off Mika's best. With the time ticldng away, both men came out again for Round Three, and Hakkinen sliced a few hundredths off pole again. But

i I

-i L,'

Honda territory: Villeneuve had one of the Suzuka specials go ‘bang’ in practice, forcing boss Craig Pollock to leave a voicemail. Gauloises Blondes have no fun: Alesi retired (again) when the Peugeot went bang (again), leaving him to walk in (again). (Photos by Sutton-lmages (again))

Schumacher's response was 0.009s better. In the final moments, Hakkinen went for it again. “I was not able to get the power down well enough coming out of the chicane,” he explained. “I lost twotenths of a second.” The telemetry down at McLaren confirmed the fact that, at the apex of the last corner, Hakkinen was a tenth ahead of Schumacher. But such is the way with FI at the moment. It does not matter if the gap is the blink of a humming bird's wing. It is enough. In quahfying, 0.009s equals eight metres of road when the grid lines up on Sunday. Schumacher was where he wanted to be, even if Hakkinen should perhaps have been there if all had gone well. “I knew it was going to be tight,” said Schumacher, who did not have time for a fourth run at the end of the session. “Actually, this position is not as important here as at some other races, because the surface on the main straight is not very abrasive on the racing line. On the inside, it is more abrasive, but more dirty. I

"In qualifying, 0.009s equals eight metres of road when the grid lines up on Sunday"

POS DRIVER 1 Michael Schumacher 2 Mika Hakkinen 3 David Coulthard 4 Rubens Barrichello 5 Jenson Button 6 Ralf Schumacher 7 Eddie Irvine 8 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 9 Jacques Villeneuve 10 Johnny Herbert 11 Alexander Wurz 12 Giancarlo Fisichella 13 Pedro de la Rosa 14 Jos Verstappen 15 JarnoTrulli 16 Nick Heidfeld 17 Jaan Alesi 18 Ricardo Zonta 19 MikaSalo 20 Pedro Diniz 21 Marc Gene 22 Gaston Mazzacane

am ready for the fight tomorrow.” Hakkinen was in a more sombre mood. “It was a great battle for pole position,” he said. “We were making adjustments to the car throughout the session but, unfortunately, on my last run, I was not able to get the acceleration absolutely right.” David Coulthard was third on the grid, but he was not really in the picture when you looked at the stopwatch. He was four-tenths off Hakkinen and “reasonably happy”, given that he had been strugghiig to find the right balance during the morning sessions. “I felt confident enough to really attack the circuit,” he said, “but we still didn't make enough progress to get pole position.” Everyone said they would be on the pace in the race, but that is not unusual. Drivers are, by nature, optimists. The fact the Rubens Barrichello was fourth fastest was not of earth-

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

TIME 1m35.825s lm35.834s Im36.236s lra36.330s lm36.628s 1m36.788s lm36.899s lm37.243s 1m37.257s lm37.329s lm37.348s lm37.479s 1m37.652s lm37.674s lm37.673s Im38.141s !m38.209s lm38269s 1m38.490s 1m38.576s Im39.972s lm40.462s motorsport news

FORMULA ONE

Five world champions; Sir Jack Brabham and John Surtees made the pilgrimage to Honda’s anniversary celebrations, joined by Gerhard Berger, Satoru Nakajima and Aguri Suzuki. Doohan wins! No Murray, it’s Michael. Note punter on other bike, following team orders ... (Photos by Sutton-lmages)

shattering importance. Rubens was just a fraction of a second slower than Coulthard. He had a spin during qualifying and was twice called to the weight check and, so, was unable to complete all the rans he wanted to do. “We decided to try something different with the set-up on the last run,” he said, “but I never got the chance to see if it would have worked.”

Often this year, Ferrari has been competitive in qualifying, only to lose out to McLaren in the race because of tyre wear. But, for the Japanese GP, we had an unusual situation, as Bridgestone decided to bring only one type of tyre, working on the principle that everyone was going to chose the medium tyre. These were new,and rather more durable than early versions of the same tyre.

In theory, more durable tyres would favour Ferrari. “The tyres are good,” said McLaren's Adrian Newey “although a little harder than we'd like. The medium compound tyre is comparable to the hard tyres that Bridgestone brought here in 1998 and, at that time, we ran on soft tyres.” But Hakkinen said it made no real difference.

continued on page 50

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iwciffese GP continued from page 49 “If you were to have tyres that were a little softer than the ones we are running now,it could be a problem,” he said. This time, Schumacher said he was not worried about tyre wear. In the paddock, there was the usual Suzuka talk of plots and counter-plots of destabilisation, and all the rest of it. There were questions raised about what would be allowed as strategy and what would not, and whether or not it was a good idea to have an Italian who had represented Ferrari in the Court of Appeal as one of the stewards; but all of this was really not relevant. It made for some stories, but the results were there on paper. The rest was a sideshow. Behind the heroes, the third row of the grid was peopled by the two Williams drivers and, once again, young Button was ahead of Ralf Schumacher. That was impressive, particularly given that he had not raced at Suzuka before and Ralf Schumacher spent a season racing in Japan in Formula 3000 and has since raced at Suzuka every year in FI. “It is one of the best moments of this season for me,” said Button. “It's amazing! But I cannot start celebrating yet - obviously, tomorrow, I have to finish the race.” Ralf said that he had not been very lucky, as he could not find the right set-up in qualifying. Patrick Head revealed the Ralf was losing time on the straights and reckoned this was odd, as the two drivers had similar settings. Usually, the two Honda teams are on the pace of the Williams, but on this occasion, they were not in the running, and seventh place went to Eddie Irvine's Jaguar. This was a good effort, given that the car is a bit of handful. “I'm really pleased it all came together,” said Irvine. “I don't think I could have found any more time in the car. I was on the limit to the point where the car was sliding around a bit. Maybe a perfect lap would have given a couple more tenths, but there is no such thing as perfect lap of Suzuka.” Johnny Herbert was 10th, fourtenths slower than Irvine, and a little bit annoyed, because he was held up on his fastest lap by Jos Verstappen in his Aitows. “It would have been nice to get an extra tenth and get into the top eight,” he said, “but we are definitely in the ball park.” The fastest of the Honda-engined men was Heinz-Harald Frentzen in eighth place, but this was not a great result for the Silverstone team.

The German reckoned that this was not a bad result, given the handling problems he had during the session. “The car just does not seem to be performing well on this track,” Heinz-Harald said. Jarno Trulli agreed. He was back in 15th on the grid, having been the victim of power steering trouble in the high-speed comers. He was not happy at dl. Just behind Frentzen was Jacques Villeneuve in the BARHonda. This was a pretty disappointing showing, given the team's pace in recent events. Honda had produced one ofits ‘Suzuka specials’(as usual) and, while this had a lot more power, it was rather more bmtal and made the car handle very differently. This resulted in Villeneuve having spins in virtually every session. Jacques blamed the tyres. Well, he could hardly blame the engine. Ricardo Zonta was very disappointed to be down in 18th place on the grid, the Brazilian losing half the session while his engine had to be changed. This was described as “some late changes to his car between practice and qualifying” in the team press release, which was not really telling the trath. Still, this is Honda. Benetton was 11th and 12th on the grid, with Alexander Wurz again outpacing Giancarlo Fisichella. This was not really surprising, given Flavio Briatore's statements in Indianapolis, which cannot have helped Fisichella's confidence. Both he and Wurz seemed to be mystified about why the car was so slow.

"tt is one of the best moments of this season tor me.ft's amazing! But I cannot start celebrating yet-obviously, tomorrow, I have to finish the race If

- Button on qualifying fifth

Thirteenth and 14th on the grid were the two Aitows, with Pedro de la Rosa ahead of Jos Verstappen by two one-hundredths of a second. De la Rosa had to overcome a string of mechanical problems, while Verstappen straggled with handling. Behind the errant Trulli were the two Frosts, with Nick Heidfeld ahead of Jean Alesi once again. “It was difficult for us to have done better,” said Alain Prost,“so we should not be too frustrated.” The two Saubers were out ofthe fight at Suzuka, with Mika Salo and Pedro Diniz lining up 19th and

Start of the Battle: Michael, who continues to criticise the driving of others, did his Zig and Zag act at the start, (Photo by RaceAccess) but Hakkinen still beat him away to take the lead. Note Button, far left in pit lane (!) molorsport news

FORMULA ONE At the back {as usual) were the two Minardis, which was no surprise at all. Thus,it was strange that Gastone Mazzacane declared himself to be “totally disappointed” with his grid position... No-one else in the world was.

Race(53 laps)

■●v

Kid in Suzuka land; For a 20-year-old GP rookie Jenson Button starred in Japan, qualifying and finishing fifth behind the red and silver juggernauts. (Photo by Button-Images)

20th. Salo had electrical problems and had to switch to his T-car, which was set up for Diniz, while the Brazilian went into qualifying knowing that his two fastest laps were going to be disallowed, because he had driven around the circuit in the morning session after his engine blew up, spraying oil everywhere. The stewards decided to give him some shock treatment and it undoubtedly hurt Pedro. “The penalty certainly compromised my qualifying and will, of course, affect my race tomorrow,” he said.

The morning warm-up saw Michael Schumacher fastest by half a second, with Hakkinen second fastest. Throughout the morning, rain threatened, but there were only spots now and then. The skies remained overcast and the atmosphere heavy. The cars lined up on the pre-grid and then, when it was time to depart, Hakkinen's McLaren was smoking nastily. It looked bad, but later it emerged that it was simply an overfilled hydraulic system leaking slightly. The car was still smoking when they came back to the grid for the start but, when the lights went out, Hakkinen was the quickest away from the line. Schumacher was slower away and immediately sliced across the road to block Hakkinen in his usual unsubtle fashion. Given the FIA's sudden conversion to good sportsmanship, it was a little odd that we did not immediately see Race Director Charlie Whiting rushing down to the flag-waving tower with a black and white flag for bad behaviour. But no, there was not a sign of him. It seems that sporting behaviour is still only defined as strategic blocking as opposed to... urn... well, strategic blocking. Oh, never mind, Haltkinen was not fazed by it and jinked past the slow-moving red thing in his path and took the lead. Michael was second. Coulthard had also been slow away, and this meant that he was disputing the same piece of tannac as Barrichello and the fast-starting RaU'Schumacher. The residt of this was that David and Ralf nearly collided, and Rubens had to lift to

Everything in Japan was red; Ferrari is humungous in the Land of the Rising Sun. Villeneuve had Ferrari red hair and the locals even had prancing horse kimonos. Thankfully, some continued to dress for practicality... (Photos by Sulton-lmages)

avoid smacking the back of them. As this was happening. Button had to take avoiding action. All this meant that Coulthard was third, with Ralf fourth, Irvine fifth and Barrichello sixth. Button was seventh. And so, the battle commenced, with Hakkinen and Schumacher trading tenths. The chipping process did not really start until

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lap six, when Mika began to edge away. It took until lap 18 for Hakldnen to get to 2.5s clear and then the pair of them began to get into traffic. On lap 22, Hakkinen came into the pits. It left Michael in the lead. On the next lap Schumacher went into the pits and, when they were continued on page 52

JwmnesB GP continued from page 51 both back out, the gap between them was exactly the same as it had been before. “We made some adjustments at the first stop and they helped,” explained Michael later. It also helped that the conditions were changing. Rain was spitting down onto the circuit, and there was a hint of greasiness about the race track. Suddenly, Schumacher began to claw back the lead. On lap 30, Halckinen had trouble with de la Rosa's Arrows and lost a second. Schumacher was back in touch. The pair diced through the traffic, with the gap coming and going and Michael was fortunate not to be taken out when he and Zonta touched while Michael lapped the BAR-Honda. And then on lap 37 Hakkinen dived into the pits again. Schumacher knew that now was the moment he had been waiting for. He had enough fuel to go another three laps. The conditions were still treacherous, and there was traffic, but he went for it. On lap 40 Michael pitted. On the way in, he had to dodge a spinning Wurz Benetton. “I did not think I had done enough,” he explained, “but, as I went down the pitlane, Ross Brawn was saying:‘It's looking good, it's looking good’. Then he said;‘It's looking bloody good.’It was the most amazing moment of my racing career.” The timesheets reveal that Schumacher and Hakkinen recorded the same time on the In lap. They spent the same amount of time in the pitlane, but Michael's Out lap was over four and a half seconds faster than that of Mika. In part, that was due to the change in conditions during those three vital laps. In part, it was due to the fact that Mika had trouble with his new tyres. “I was sliding everywhere,” he admitted. There was also (would you believe) de la Rosa's An’ows in the way again, but the Spaniard cost him only a few tenths on this occasion. When Schumacher came out of the pits, he was ahead by four seconds, and that was that. Everyone knew it as well. All Michael had to do was to keep the car going and not fall asleep (as he did in Indianapolis). For three laps, Michael went away by a tenth here and a tenth there, and then Mika fought back. Chip, chip, chip. And then there was traffic. In the closing laps, Michael backed off and Mika closed up dramatically, but he was still 1.8s behind at the end. S2

I still got the blues for you: Wurz a/mos/changed history when he spun on the pit entry, forcing Schumacher to sneak past. The Ferrari made it, just. Maybe Benetton needs a new driver in Malaysia ... (Photoby Sutton-images)

"I believe that, to be a good winner, you have to be a good loser as weir

-Hakklsten on Scfiumacher’s win After the race, Jean Todt reckoned that the victory had come from the set of new tyres which the team had saved during qualifying. As Hakkinen also left the pits on new tyres, it is hard to see the logic of this, but it does not really matter. Michael had won. Hakkinen was dignified in defeat. “I believe that, to be a good winner, you have to be a good loser as well,” he said. And, so, Ferrari has finally done it. The interesting thing now will be to see whether the team can survive success as it survived failure. Failure tends to bond people together and make them work harder, but success can be destructive. Ambitions have been achieved, and there will be some members of the Ferrari team ho will now relax a little, and others who will move on elsewhere. Perhaps, by losing the World Championship, McLaren has cleared the way for more titles in the future. We shall see... It would be nice to say that it has not been an acrimonious season, but that would not be true. After Suzuka, we had the rival teams shaking hands and kissing each other(boys and girls, you understand). It would be nice ifit was always like that. One gets the feeling that such

things are nigh on impossible in these days of high-pressure commercialism. Still, it is nice to see from time to time. The battle at the front overshadowed everything else. Coulthard was third after an uneventful race. Barrichello made it through to fourth place, having recovered the places he lost to Irvine and Ralf Schumacher at the start. Fifth place went to the impressive Button. He had made a bad start, but was able to recover, jumping ahead of Irvine at the first pit stop and then getting the better of Ralf Schumacher when he made a mistake on lap 30. Ralf should have finished sixth, but on lap 42 he spun out while trying to lap Gene's Minardi. “I appreciate that he came to apologise after the race,” Ralf said. As a result of this, the final point went to Villeneuve, which was not a bad effort after a difficult weekend in which the team struggled with the tyres and the peaky, but powerful, new Honda engines. Zonta ended up in ninth place, his only incident being the brush with Schumacher's Ferrari. “I moved over as far as I could to give him room,” Ricardo said, “but he still managed to come over so much that we touched.” Jaguar Racing finished seventh and eighth - with Herbert beating Irvine. This was a great result for the team, given the current situation. It was not a great result in the overall scheme of things, but you cannot have everything. There was a moment when it looked as though Herbert and Ii-vine were going to collide, and the

men in green were holding their breath until they emerged intact. Behind Zonta was Salo in the Sauber and behind him was Diniz. Both men rued their poor quahfying positions. De la Rosa came home 12th. The car was a bit of a handful until the second pits stop, when the team did some rapid mods. These worked well and,in the closing laps, Pedro overtook both Fisichella and Trulli. Verstappen's race ended after nine laps with a glitch in the gearbox. Trulli was 13th, and it was not a great day for Jordan. Jarno had decided on a three-stop strategy, but had been held up being Frentzen early on. Three stops was obviously not the right choice, because Jarno was 12th at the end of the first lap and 13th at the end of the race. Frentzen raced his T-car, but retired when he suffered a hydrauhc pump problem which screwed the gearbox. If Jordan had a bad day, it was an even worse day for Benetton. Fisichella dropped from 12th to 20th on the first lap when his anti stall system left him chugging off the line. He finished 14th. Wurz failed to finish, after he spun off and the anti-staU device failed to live up to its name. The only other man to make the finish was Mazzacane, who was two laps down at the end. His team-mate. Gene, went out with a blown engine on lap 47. On this occasion the only team not to get a car home was Prost. That was pretty much business as usual. Jean Alesi had another big engine failure, while Heidfeld suffered a suspension failure, motorspori news

FORMULA ONE

What they said later Q. Michael, you're World Champion for the third time and you’ve

worthy World Champion for two years. Your reign is

won it with Ferrari. How does it feel?

over now, however:

How do you feel?

Michael Schumacher: Similar to Monza - but

Mika Hakkinen: (smiling) So sad... Anyway, congratulations to

don't expect me to burst ■

into tears this time.

Michael.

Again, it's... it's difficult to find the proper words

It has been a great season: very tough. It has definitely been very interesting, too, with lots , of ups and downs for us.

for such a feeling. There was such an outbreak of

emotion initially, when I

Red with envy: Schuey and tech man Ross Brawn are just friends ...(PhowbyBaceAccess)

crossed the line.

On the other hand, I

The conditions today were so difficult; Rain, then no rain, then a little

understand that

bit and a little bit more.

to be a good winner, sometimes you also have to be a good loser.

[eventually] it is another

The upgoing and the downgoing through the season... and then finally

That doesn't mean

to achieve it with a

victory... the way we did it.

MUEFS^j^pan GR

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5^ lapsiiKIO^GkmG

I mean, the fight went to the last corner, thanks to Mika. He could have made it a bit easier for me! It was

simply... outstanding, and there are no words to explain it better than that.

Q. It's been five years since your second title in 1995, with Benetton. Have there

been moments during that

period when you thought it Pos 1 2

Driver Wl. Schumacher Hakkinen

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Coulthard Barrichello Button Villeneuve Herbert Irvine Zonta Salo Diniz Trulli de la Rosa Rsichella Mazzacana

12 13 14 15

Race time Ih29m53.435s Ih29m55.272s 1h31m03.349s 1h31ml2.626s Ih31ml9.129s

52 laps 52 laps 52 laps 52 laps

52 laps 52 laps 52 laps 52 laps 52 laps 51 laps

FASTEST LAP

Hakkinen Im 39.189s (212.830kph) on lap 26 RETIREMENTS 16 Gene

18 19

20 21

46 laps (engine) R. Schumacher 41 laps (spun off) Heidfeld 41 laps (rear suspension) Wurz 37 laps (spun off) Frenlzen 29 laps (hydraulics) Alesi 13 laps (engine) Verstappen 9 laps (gearbox)

DRIVERS POINTS

M. Schumacher 98, Hakkinen 86, Coulthard 67, Barrichello 58, R. Schumacher 24, Fisichella 18, Villeneuve 15, Button 12,

Frenlzen 11, Trulli 6, Salo 6, Verstappen 5, Irvine & Zonta 3, Wurz & de la Rosa 2. CONSTRUCTORS FOUNTS

Ferrari 156, McLaren-Mercedes 143,

Williams BMW 36, Benetton Supertec 20, BAR Honda 18, Jordan Mugen-Honda 17, Arrows Supertec 7, Saubor Petronas 6, Jaguar Cosworth 3.

wasn't going to happen again? MS: No. I didn't think it would

never happen again. But

obviously every year it didn't

happen, it got longer and longer. You somehow get more upset that it doesn't work finally, even though we always felt we had an opportunity. But we couldn't use it, for many reasons. Finally [to have done] it is great. It's simply great. Imagine what's going on right now in Italy. That must be simply amazing... Q. We heard an extract of

your radio conversation with Ross Brawn. What was the discussion

between you two around the time of your second stop? MS; When we saw Mika

going in for his pit stop, we knew we had a couple more laps to go. We also knew they would be the two crucial laps.

driver's turn to win. And

The problem was the traffic. I wouldn't say it was too easy to pass [those cars], because it cost me a little bit

you have to be very happy about coming second or losing, but [it's good] to allow some enjoyment and pleasure for the driver who has won. That is for Michael at the moment. He has done the

best possible job this year,

of time, and then when I

while we weren't able to do

entered the pits there was a Benetton spinning in front of me, moving backwards, and [

Naturally, I feel a bit disappointed. But at the

didn't know where he was

going to go. So I thought, 'It isn't enough.' Simply. It was spitting with rain, and I [thought I] wasn't going as fast as I should have been.

Then when I came in, Ross

was giving me an update, saying, 'It's looking good, looking good down the pit lane, it's an SOkph speed limit.' But I was just waiting for the words, 'It's not

looking good enough,' because [from the pits] you cannot see where your competitor is. But then he said, 'It's

looking bloody good.' That was obviously an amazing moment. And from then on

you hope that nothing breaks on the car.

But the rain was still going on and off again, which isn't helpful, because the man in front doesn't want to make a

mistake, while the man

behind has nothing to lose; he has to keep pushing. That wasn't the ideal circumstance. But at the end

of the day it doesn't matter whether it is ideal or not: It

was enough.

Q. Mika, you have been a

same time I [have the

memory] of having won two years in a row, in 1998 and 1999.

Life - and racing continue. We have to keep fighting, and I am sure we will see exciting racing in the future, too.

Q. David, you will understand that we have

concentrated on the toptwo battle. How was your race?

David Coulthard: I had a very

quiet race, all the way from the start. I didn't have too much of a battle and for me it

was just a question of trying to keep the car on the track in what were very difficult conditions.

Q. Michael, as you mentioned, Italy is already celebrating Ferrari's first driving champion since 1979. How will you be celebrating tonight? MS; We haven't planned anything, in fact I asked everyone not to plan anything. We intend to improvise. 1 am sure we will do something... S3

Saxon Satari by JON THOMSON

POSSUM Bourne equalled Ross Dunkerton's recox’d of

five Australian Rally Championships by claiming victoi-y in both heats of the final round of the Austx’alian

Rally Championship Super Series, the Saxon Safari in Tasmania.

The battle between Bourne and

Toyota rival Neal Bates for the

title fizzled early after Bates

suffered a 12 minute delay early in Heat 1, virtually ending his hopes of taking the Championship. Much of the drama of the rally actually happened in the days before the start, when Bates had a

major crash during testing, and Bourne blew his Subaru's engine. Cody Crocker claimed his third

straight Group N title, despite being beaten in Heat 1 by Ed Ordynski. The Subaru driver

bounced back on Sunday to take the Championship.

Possum makes it five

tities straight

Heat 1 Neither Bates nor Bourne gave any indication of the problems encountered over the previous two days, attacking the opening stages.

They set equal times on SSI before the balance tipped slightly in favour of Bourne on the next, with the Subaru taking a Is advantage. Then disaster struck for Bates; a

camshaft sensor failed, stopping the car for 12 minutes on SS3.

“The car simply stopped in the stage, and that was that,” he reported.

“The cam sensor stopped working, so I had to fix that, and it took a little while...”

The delay dropped Bates well down the field but it didn't diminish his attack as he drove to

recover as many places as he could.

Bourne, on the other hand, found it hard to keep concentration after Bates' demise; “It is hard to drive these cars

without driving them 100 percent. It simply makes it harder to drive. It also made it hard when on the faster sections this afternoon the

windscreen wipers could not keep up with the rain!” said Bourne.

The fight for Group N and the ,

minor placings was to have similar overtones, when Crocker

punctured on SS3, dropping him out of the top 10. Ordynski had to beat Crocker to

retain a chance at the group N title and now he had the chance to

capitalise, but privateer Stewart

Reid in his Lancer was fighting hard to beat the factory driver. Reid was quickly onto the pace, sa

taking a second off Ordynski on SSI, and equalling him on the next to be ahead on SS3.

Ordynski managed to fight back to take second outright as the day wound on, and eventually the win in Group N by just 4s. Dean Herridge was the next

best in his Impreza, taking hold of fourth outright as he battled to

Paul Pyyvaara's V6 Holden Ute was the one to beat again in the Aussie Car Class, particularly when key rival Peter Menzies fell off the road in his Falcon XR8. Menzies didn't hear a call from his co-driver and tackled a corner

too fast, going off backwards in fourth gear. The car suffered little damage, but he was stuck fast.

blizzard conditions had made

things even tougher. With snow gathering on the hills, tyre choice was critical. Bourne chose a soft compound gravel Pirelli, while Bates chose an open-cut gravel Michelin. It seemed that Bourne had

Herridge, and into fourth place, at the end of the leg back in Hobart. With problems again besetting him, Brett Middleton's 10th place was another disappointment for him. His Subaru had a fuel pump

a win by three minutes from Melbourne Age motoring writer, Toby Hagon, in the media car.

made the right choice, taking 7s off Bates on the opening stage of the day, and a further 23s on the 26km second stage. In Group N, it was a similar story, with Crocker choosing the softest compound open-cut Pirellis, while Ordynski went for a soft compound, gravel-cut. The Crocker choice paid off as well, giving him a 40s advantage over the

Heat 2

when he slowed with broken front

failure early in the rally, costing a

After a torrential downpour the previous afternoon, the stages were sodden and muddy, while

crew to change major driveline components at the next service.

an overnight freeze and near-

Bourne and Crocker had no

stay in touch with Reid, while Spencer Lowndes in his Lancer

wasn't far behind in fifth place. Crocker fought hard throughout the day's seven stages to get back ahead of both Lowndes and

lot of time, while the combination of

a new gearbox set-up and a new co driver also conspired against him.

Second Aussie car home was the

Commodore of Mark Walkden, son of rally patron Les Walkden. Ashlea James and Toni Feaver

took the Proton Rally Trophy once more all but securing the title with

Mitsubishi.

Ordynski's plight worsened left suspension mounts, forcing his

molorsgort news

RALLY SUPCRSERieS 1»;

Keep the number, Possum: Bourne and Stacey above had to overcome all sorts of problems. Red, white and blues: Bates and Taylor left went hard but fell short again. More of the same: Crocker was the class of Group N.

'Tm just glad we had our engine problem last weekend and not this one" -Possum Bourne

(Photos by Joel Sirickland)

EARirS

problems like their rivals and grabbed time off them over the next three stages, with Bates doubting he could have caught Bourne even without his problems. Ordynski was again engaged in a tight struggle with Reid, who was driving well on the same stages on which he suffered a massive crash in 1999. Herridge was right behind them, trying hard to keep a grip on the Privateers Cup race. Behind him, Lowndes was forced to drive on a flat at one stage was suffering from excessive tyre wear, and couldn't match the pace he had set the previous day. Middleton was out on the fifth stage of the day with a broken clutch, while motoring journo Toby Hagon had a hair-raising moment on the same stage when a rear suspension arm broke at over lOOkm/h on the Proton media car. He managed to stop the car without any further damage, but was out of the rally. James made sure of things in the Proton Rally Trophy with a strong hold on the class heading to the finish. Joe Lombardo finished second, while Todd Reed left the road during the second last stage of the day The Aussie car class was much tougher on day two for Pyyvara in the Ute, with Menzies back in action and attacking in the Falcon. But Pyyvara appeared to have his measure while Walkden again put in a strong challenge in the Commodore. Despite Bates chasing hard. Bourne was too far ahead and crossed the finish line to take the win and his fifth consecutive Australian title. “I'm totally rapt,” beamed Bourne. “The car has run faultlessly all weekend. I'm just glad we had our engine problem last weekend and not this one.” The focus for local crews now turns to WA for Telstra Rally Australia in November.

Pre-event fun POSSUM Bourne must have thought his title chances were all but shot when the engine of his Subaru failed in testing just days before the start of the Saxon Safari. With Tasmania not being the epicentre of Subaru rally operations, the team had to airfreight the required parts, including a new cylinder head, from Japan. The engine was back together and the car was finished and tested on Friday. Bourne claimed it felt better than ever, which was obvious from his performance. But the drama in the battle for the top placing did not end there. Neal Bates and Coral Taylor, who had a helper from TTE in Europe for the event, went testing after the media day on Thursday. On the last run, the Corolla went off the road on a fast sixth gear corner. “I had always wondered what it would be like to go off on a corner like that and now I know!’ said Bates. A mammoth effort was put in by the TTA crew and a local smash repairer in Hobart, and the car was presented for scrutineering on Saturday morning. Unfortunately for Bates, his problems continued in the rally ending his ARC hopes. -JON THOMSON

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13 October 2000

four cfe Corse GILLES Panizzi took a long time to record his first WRC win but, when the opportunity came, he seized it with both hands,taking the Tour de Corse in France. The French driver, who lost the 1999 Monte Carol Rally after crashing his private Subaru WRX on the final morning, cruised home to a 33.5s win, aided by Peugeot team orders which kept team-mate Francois Delecour in second place. Carlos Sainz took third for Ford, in an event which saw many of the big names of the sport crash out of the all-tarmac event. Colin McRae totalled his P'ord Focus and was hospitalised after the event, while the Mitsubishis of Tommi Makinen and Freddy Loix also plummeted off the tight Corsican cliffs, both drivers escaping with only minor injuries. Richard Burns and Marcus Gronholm had no answer to the Continental road racers, filling fourth and fifth. The two are now 1-2 in the Drivers’ Championship, separated by only two points.

messed with, hammering past the Brit and taking the lead on SS2 from Delecour. The pace of Peugeot’s 206s was telling on the opposition. Burns faded after making bad tyre choices, and suffering a soft brake pedal, while Makinen was(again) battling the suspension on his Lancer. The title looks as well as gone and the Finn is, obviously, impatient for Mitsubishi to greenlight its WRC car. But worse awaited his team mate. Loix speared off a cliff on SSI, sliding 30m backwards down a ravine. He was okay, but the car was history. Also losing a car was Subaru. On his first event for his new team. Better Solberg was out on SSI with a broken gearbox. “It would have been good to get

Day 1

Burns set the pace on the first stage, but Panizzi was in no mood to be

Red and Bluing

Peugeot went 1-2 at home, but Francois Delecour was not a happy man after team orders gave Gilies Panizzi his first WRC win. JON THOMSON reports

the tarmac experience; I'm desperate for some tarmac experience,” said the Dane. At the end of the day, Sainz was praying for rain to improve his hopes of catching the flying Pugs. He got it...

Day 2

Things started badly, when SS2 was cancelled due to masses of spectators reportedly hurling stones at course cars before the competitors came through. When the cars got going, Panizzi extended his lead, taking the first three stages, but Delecour fought back on the final two stages of the day, taking the final SS by 0.02s. To make matters worse, Panizzi has stalled at the start of the final stage, costing 13 seconds and the lead to the other 206. Sainz was hovering in third, 25 seconds back and happier with the

Focus's balance in the damp conditions, fl've been driving very hard we can't go any quicker,” he said. “We have had no problems at all apart from the Peugeots being fast...” But, while the conditions had helped the Spaniard, it had done no favours for the remaining Mitsubishi. Makinen hit “something hard”(according to the crew)on SS9, breaking a front wheel, a track rod and a brake connection, the World Champ losing three minutes. Simon Jean-Joseph had also had dramas, with an oil fire on SSll. The crew managed to extinguish the flames and he continued onto the next stage. At the end of the day, the order was Delecour, Panizzi and Sainz, with Burns consolidating fourth, lm04s behind the Ford. Gronholm had a good day to move into fifth from the Focus of Piero Liatti.

Joy for the Boys: Gilies Panizzi left and below took his first WRC win in Corsica, jumping ahead of Francois Deiecour right, who iooks weli peeved with Peugeot’s team order, n’est-ce pas? (Photos by Sutton-lmages)

1 WOULD RALLY Days

The first stage was a flat-out race between the two Peugeots, and Panizzi seized back the lead. Delecour was strugghng after the team decided to change the computer mapping for the diff. At the same time, Sainz ensured that the event would be an allPeugeot affair when he lost the power steering, losing lml5s but not third place. With no threat to a 1-2, Pug team management stepped in and issued team orders; Panizzi would win and Delecour would be second.

* e?uccoT

On top of his diff problems, that made Frankie even less happy; “From my point of view, I don't hke it and it is not the sport,” he

said.

“They(team management) don't understand what you have done, and it is so easy for them in any case, but you have to accept it.” An indication of his displeasure came on SS15. With the drier conditions now favouring the Pirelli runners, Emms took fastest time, but Delecour bested Panizzi to take back the lead - temporarily. “The team needs to have more confidence in me. In five years I have no accidents on rally or test. This is the reason I have so much difficulty to accept this,” said the clearly disgruntled Delecour. But he accepted the team’s decision. allowing Panizzi to take back the lead on

Crash Team Racing: Colin McRae tumbled out of the event. “I'm really happy because it wasn't obvious that I would come back to competition and win, but everyone was expecting

something,” said Panizzi at the

finish.

“I was quick in the dry, quick in the wet -1 can be quick everywhere. It's my first WRC win, and it's fantastic.” Second-placed Delecour said it was a fantastic result for the team.

SS16, which decided the event.

“I don't feel so good inside personally, but I guess that's normal.”

1 Panizzi /Panizzi Peugeot 4:02:14.2 2 Deiecour/Grataloup Peugeot +0:33.5 Ford +1:12.6 3 Sainz/Moya 4 Bums/Reid Subaru +1:30.9 5 Gronholm/Rautiainen Peugeot +1:57.1 Ford +2:53.8 6 Liatti/Cassina World Drivers Championship Gronholm 46 points, Burns 44, McRae 42, Sainz 41, Makinen 28, Kankkunen 18. Manufacturers Championship Ford 83, Peugeot 74, Subaru 63, Mitsubishi 35, Skoda 8 and SEAT 8, Hyundai 5.

WRC Round 11 Tour do Corse

The battle for fourth, between Burns and Gronholm, had edged closer to Sainz, who had been driving at 100 percent to stay on the podium. The battle for third was taken by Sainz, leading Bums home by 39s, while Gronholm (still on only his fifth tarmac WRC event) was impressive in fifth from Liatti. Next stop, Italy. Five points cover WRC leader Gronholm from fourth-placed Sainz, with Bums and McRae sandwiched in between. Plenty to play for on the roads of San Remo ...

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Willowbank

wintep time in Spring

THREE months after the original intentions, the 2000 Konica Winternationals and the ANDRA Australian Drag Racing Championship Series finally came to a close. It was October 7 and it is now Spring, but the event was finished all the same... Rain, funny how if fell in June, interrupted the conclusion to both the event and series, much to the annoyance of many spectators and 70 odd racers //ho couldn't make the return trip to one of the world's premier drag racing facilities. After the barrage of world class performances in June, the Winternats 2 proved to be a little less spectacular, although 18 ANDRA national records were set. At the same time, national champions were crowned in all

of the brackets, with m.ost going the way expected. It would have to be said that the standard of racing in Top Fuel was below par, although this should be lustified with the observation that the nitro teams are struggling with the problems of having all too few opportunities to race during the past 12 months. The lacF of opportunities, or options of two nitro classes, is robbing the sport and the paying public of what drag racing can really offer... While the flame-throwers had problems. Top Alcohol, Top Doorslammer and Pro Stock produced the absolute class racing that we've come to expect from the vehicles that are more kind to being tamed. Veteran Jim Read was the

Three months late, but better late than never. The 2000 Konica Winternationals has finally come to a close, bringing with its ending many highs pip lowi. KEN

FERGUSON reports oil ^klpighlights from'. Willowbank Rac^wa^4M

the event while Darren DiFilippo secured his first ever championship title. Read top qualified in June with a 4.99s/275mph pass that stood for low elapsed time of the event and no other team looked like challenging the star n fact, at the conclusion of qualifying Roy Smith was second with just a 5.82 and DiFilippo was fifth (10.82) qualifying enough to take the title. Read received a first round bye and shut off after a checkout launch, while Steve

pushed away from the start line due to camshaft problems with a new pair of heads on the Sainty engine. DiFilippo shut off... The two Reads went head to head in the semis and the Gregory's car showed how to do it with a 5.10/266 downing Steve's 5.31/238 in the Santo's Cranes dragster. Due to the shortage of cars, DiFilippo received an automatic win and idled down-track... In the final. Read got what he deserved, the win, with a 5.08s run only being slowed by a

Western Sydney Mctomiex proponent David Coox] t"e perfect opportunity to sho.'.case our sport to the people that reary needed to see t," Read said. "Drag racing is a great spo't and we're pmud that we ve been abie to get tlrs Gregory's Pubfcations fueller to tne f'nis.n ine first w-t.en it coucteo. ms day couid be significant for the future of our sport Significant wns also can-ie -n Top Alcohol and Top Doorslammer. with Gary Ph i;;os and Victor Bray first past tne post when it counted, albe’t

:es. A: 9.14c"' or Fr os\ DO ''ts nva; Ms'n B'e.' a.^ "-.Per C' tot ■A tn a rac a o.' 246 Ro.n--ac a'a 5DC \ r cress 'e tc P- os. a amo S so: 5.--5 ,\asn t Qcoc a. tne-' was f^e ■: S' p/-. :es tci oweo A' ra-.ied to D ssc C3: tne 245●'-on O : ne So'etv sa"-; O sio.v P-. ■ ;C a .ucas 0 bra-.'-'g a^ea Id c 6'*.; Pmau

limnictUm manual: Jim Reads (jre^7if's^ Pu tfi event. In tfu T(?n Fueli rare n f ihmwirJim dim-nei Hir.v R, 13 October 2000

■

Blow them off...

GARY'Phillips was using a PSI

t-.i

supercharger on his Lucas Oils dragster, as opposed to the usual

Whipple blower that the eight-time champion normally uses. While no performance differences were

detected, Phillips will stick with the ‘other' screw for the moment. He

Castml g;

will test it on his Studebaker Top Doorslammer in the next month.

■ For the first time since 1983,

Top Alky racer Steve Reed raced without the help of his dad, Jim. Jim was taken to hospital on the Friday

/?t7c/nps F,/

morning of the event, suffering from extremely high blood pressure.

Thankfully, everything was okay and Jim was released and sent home.

The last time Jim missed a race,

j Steve won, but no such luck this time. Best wishes to Jim... l

n The rest of the Reed family

Thriller in Manila: It wasn’t quite AH versus Forman, but Victor Bray and Robin Judd had the Top Doorslammer title on the line in their semi-final clash. Bray survived for his fifth consecutive championship.

were at Willowbank for the

Winternats re-run, with Steve being joined by wife Debbie in Top Alcohol and son Daniel working with Tony

And the Rumble in the Jungle: Gary Phillips and his team dug down

Wedlock’s Pro Stock team.

championship. A qualifying crash

deep to win a record sixth consecutive which left the Lucas Oil Products dragster badly damaged wasn’t enough to rule him out.

■ Peter Kapiris fronted at Willowbank with a radically altered Studebaker doorslammer, the Melbourne fruit and veg king departing from the 'decked' rear body, to the proper, classic Stude lines. Kapiris' new-look car also carried wicked 'bat-wings,' along with an alky dragster-style rear wing.

(Photos by Marshall Cass)

downed Koop in the first round, before needing to oust Judd himself to decide the title in the

semi-finals, helped Bray. "That was the sweetest win

of my career, considering the

■ Robin Judd stunned the drag

year I've had," said an emotional Bray about his toughest season, which

racing world with a brilliant 6.17s run

from his Stude 'slammer during June's original Winternats, but when it all counted this time around,

included the death of his father

and serious injuries to wife Maree at a regional display earlier this year.

unfortunately things didn't go to plan. In the all-critical semi-final against Victor Bray, which decided the championship, the blower belt flew off, while the burst panel also went adrift. It seems some damage, which occurred in the first round, wasn't

detected in the pits. ■ The reaction to the Classic Carlectables 1:24 scale model of

Victor Bray's Castrol Chevy has been outstanding, with all stock having been bought by retailers around the country. The model is a stunning replica of the car that Bray used to ●break both the world ET and speed records back in 1995. Make sure you secure one before the stores have sold out...

■ When will 16-year-old Ben Bray follow in his famous father's

footsteps in Top Doorslammer? As soon as he is old enough is the answer, with 'little' Benny now taking back possession of dad's

Customline, which Lucky Belled and Steve Stanic have been using for the past 12 months. Ben apparently already has an engine, cobbled up from dad's parts bin, ready to go and he's 'eager as' to get behind the wheel of the car. 60

continued from page 59

opposition, but Ithink this one

Thankfully, Phillips emerged unscathed and, despite being

said later.

counted out of the

Phillips, with it all on the line,

and out, but the team fought hard to overcome anything that was thrown in our way, "Mark [Brew] pushed us hard and nearly got there, but you can't just say we're out of the race. Others did and that's why we fought. And that's what makes champion teams like mine..." Bray's chances of taking a fifth

had to win to retain the

consecutive title had also looked

championship. Brew had to win to take it away... At 9.17pm Saturday night, a pair of 5.78s runs from the two had everyone on the edges of

shakey back in June. The living legend was languishing in eighth on the qualifying ladder and not performing to his best in the infamous Castrol Chevy, while rivals Robin Judd and Dave Koop looked the goods.

will really stand out," Phillips

championship by the track announcers, he wasn't yet beat. Yes, the car was damaged, but repairable.

A frantic all-night thrash enabled Phillips and Brew to set up a classic final round that will be remembered for some time.

their seats; but, with the win

light glowing in Phillips lane courtesy of a .434s reaction time, it had all been decided. To

Phillips, a sixth consecutive title...

"I've had championships where we've belted the

"We were written off, down

What a difference three

months makes, Bray improving his position in the final qualifying sessions and then doing what was needed to go on and win the title. Andrew Searle, who

"I didn't win the final, but I

won and, even though I'd never thought any race would mean this much to me, this one does." It would be remiss to not talk

about Brett Stevens, the event winner, who took both his Jack

Daniels Studebaker and Harley to the final in Top Doorslammer and Top Bike. Despite Bray ruling himself out of the event win with a final

round red light, Stevens earned what he got, the Jack Daniels Studebaker putting together a string of strong passes, culminating in a final round 6.38/219.

continued on page 62

I didn't win the flnal, but I still won

- Victor Bray on his fifth championship motorsport news

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Willowhmk n Defending Winternats Top Doorslammer Champion Andrew Searle's departure from this year's event was cruel, with the starter motor on his ACME Fibreglass Customline packing up on the line. Apparently the 10-year-old Starter was sick of chasing that roadrunner... n Rumours actually had a 'representative' from a well-known starter motor company ringing a quite dejected Searley on his way home. Understandably, the 'rep' didn't get much of a hearing... 9 Interesting to note that seven of the eight cars in Top Doorslammer were built by Murray Anderson, the exception Searle's Customline, although that is a direct copy of one of Anderson's cars and carries Anderson Race Car components. Anderson's cars, or cars carrying his components, have won almost every single round of Top Doorslammer since its inception in 1995. Quite a record... a Tony Wedlock's joy at winning the first round of Pro Stock was shoit lived with the veteran being bounced for his car being seven pounds light on the scales. Wedlock, who won the Winternats in '95, changed only the tyres on the car between qualifying and racing and was naturally mystified as to how his Pontiac could drop 25lbs. - KEN FERGUSON

continued from page 60 The burly Queenslander also looked like he might take Top Bike, having been just as consistent aboard his 'Overkill' powered Harley, but Jeff Smith edged out Stevens for the win with a final 7.30/190, the win also ensuring Smith another national championship. "Two finals and one win is a great accomplishment for myself and my hardworking team ... something we can all be very proud of," said Stevens, who, like Bray, was quite

emotional, "The track management also helped us out, running the alky cars before Doorslammer, which gave me time to get back here and get out of the leathers and into a driving suit. I thank them for that, and the crew. We've had a great day." The Pro Stock title was already in the bag for Peter Ridgeway, but the Melbourne veteran returned with his Speedflow/No Fear/John William Auto Sales Olds just to make it more emphatic. Having top qualified in June

with a 7.61/179, Ridgeway continued on to re-write the record books with each and every pass, only Jon Andriopolous getting close in qualifying with a 7.65/175 from the Auto Concepts Lumina. In the final, Ridgeway downed former champion Bruce Leake with the quickest official pass ever, a 7.60/178 to Leake's fourgear breaking 7.78/174. "We came back to Willowbank comfortable with ourselves for having won the championship and that's given us the opportunity to try a number of things which we wouldn't normally be game to in a points situation," Ridgeway said. "We've run a new engine and a new transmission, and we've also tried some different

It’s not on if its not on: Even the TV cameramen come well preparedfor the nitro burners... Championship launch 1: Darren DiFilippo didn’t have a great event in terms ofnumbers, but he sewed up his first Top Fuel championship. (Photos hy Marshall Cass)

^£lmmpionshiip launch 2: I’clcr Kidgcn-uy nus ^^lahlinantIn <winning lih .siwnd Pro .Stork lillr MmtHdimlmljJr/iighi Winicrnitr.s.

●. »/ ● »

Ton Fuel QUBlIfyiBB Driver, State, Vehicle

1 2 3 4 5

MPH

4.994 275.23 Jim Read, Gregory's Uyehara TFX 496 5.820 247,11 Roy Smith, Atholwood&Smith Sainty 496 8.896 86.32 Robin Kirby, Pennzoil Swindahl KB 496 Steve Read, Santo's Cranes Hadman KB 498 9.215 70.29 Darren Di Filippo, Redback Hadman TFX 496 10.828 77.27

RayRd 1 Driver

W Jim Read L bye W Steve Read L Robin Kirb W Darren Di Filippo L Roy Smith SBRil-riaBls

MPH

89.06

.537

8.676

.515 .556

5.376 244.97 5.609 222.11

89.37

.518

9.148 broke

.476

5.101 266.43 5.317 238.60

W Jim Read L Steve Read W Darren Di Filippo L bye

.524 .716

28.282

W Jim Read L Darren Di Filippo

.497 .471

5.086 231.84 11.066 61,58

FlRRl

60.02

neiarsiiRrt news

^Agonica wintbbmat< suspension settings and to know that our planning has worked out is extremely satisfying.

weighed in seven pounds light after his round one win. Like the four-wheeled variety, the two-wheeled Pro Stock Motorcycle category saw the incumbent champion, Sam Scerri, take the win to cap off a solid year. Scerri, wheeling Trevor Birrell's Adelaide-based Dutch Master Suzuki, advanced to the final where he defeated Melbourne's Chris Godeassi. In the supporting Group 2, 3 and 4 brackets, the results ' were just as interesting and the racing as hotly contested. „ Perth's Grant O'Rourke - won Competition, taking his AA/G Torana to a stunning 6.57/206 win over Charles Van Ysseldyk while Melbourne's Wayne Robson defeated Graeme Walker for the honours in Super Stock, setting the /VMS national record in the process. John Adin

The competition is always stepping up and it's only dedication from my family, crew and sponsors that allows me to keep ahead and receive the accolades. Hopefully, they get as much enjoyment from our second championship and third Winternats title on the trot as much as I do." Performances of note in the heads-up tin-top class included rookies Jay Watson, John Barbargallo and Jason Grima, who both qualified in the sevensecond range to make the field. Grima took out the more fancied Andriopolous, while Barbargallo was reinstated into the field when Tony Wedlock's Pontiac

defeated Alex Kidas in the final of Comp Bike and Nigel Colder won gold in Modified by downing Graeme Frawley. Super Sedan was won by Allan Farrer over Dave Foreman, Super Street was taken out by Paul Doblien .. over Steve Sander, Super Gas by David Gauldie over Dale O'Dwyer, Mod Bike by Andrew Le Dilly over David Stevenson and Guy Henry over Kerstyn Dance in Junior Dragster {Full results on page 64). Taking out ANDRA ADRS championships in Groups 2, 3 and 4 were: Rod Rainford (Competition), Les Heintz (Super Stock), Perry Mackie (Comp Bike), Scott Fitzpatrick (Modified), Mark Lee (Super Sedan), Paul Doblien (Super Street), Dale O'Dwyer (Super Gas), Andrew Le Dilly (Mod Bike) and Mark Allen (Junior Dragster).

1116 WlllteiTiatS

by the numbers... EIGHTEEN national records were broken at this year’s Konica Wntemationals,the number quite surprising considering the amount oftime since the event’s original date and the re-run and the subsequent changed conditions. Gary Phillips capped off a great event in Top Alcohol by also re-writing the T/AD terminal speed record, while Peter Ridgeway set both ends of the Pro Stock records with his Speedflow/No Fear Olds Cutlass. One ofthe most amazing performances came from Perth’s Grand O’Rourke, who took nearly a quarter of a second offthe national AA/Gas mark, previously set by Victor Bray in 1994. Competitors may only set ANDRA National Records at certain events and they must back up the new marks with a second run within one percent. ANDRA Stewards must check vehicle specifications and weight and fuel types where they affect the class of the vehicle, before the records are awarded. Class Driver

ET MPH 246.04 G Phillips P Ridgeway 7.60 179.93 S Scerri 173.14 G O’Rourke 6.67 206.71 R Burke 134.73 W Robson 142.81 C/MS D Fairfull 10.30 133.29 164.65 C/CB D Peatey A/SB A Kidas 8.94 AMA R Hansen 7.65 170.07 SS/BB AKajewski 8.44 160.26 SS/CC S Sach 9.22 142.27 T/AD Pro P/B AA/G F/G A/S

I Sights of the Winternationals: You can always be assured Brett Stevens will have something different, and he did with these cool 'Scotty Cannon ’ Oakleys above left. Queensland, ah, what a great place above right

-KEN FERGUSON

(P/iolus by Marshall Cass)

Top Poorslammer

Qualifying

Qnalllylng

Driver, State, Vehicle

1 2 3 4 c 0 7

Mark Brew, Romac Meyer BAE 463 5653 246 58 Gary Phillips, Lucas Oil Uyehara KB 482 5 750 245 23 Paul Shackleton, Shackleton Meyer KB 481 5.852 231 01 Wayne Newby, Newby Blowers Meyer 469 5.860 232 68 n Transport Oldsmobile 540 5.924 235 73 R^jnOakey, American Auto Uyehara 482 5.950 231 84 Debbie Reed, Reed Transport Chev 376 6.249 200 62

Round 1 Driver

W Mark Brew L bye W Steven Reed L Wayne Newby W Paul Shackleton L Dean Oakey W Gary Phillips L Debbie Reed Semi-Finals W Gary Phillips L Paul Shackleton W Mark Brew L Wayne Newby Final W Gary Phillips L Mark Brew

13 October 2000

MPH

.515

5.764 244.43

.447 .523 .463 .591 .586 .498

6.211 237.72 6.136 249.45 5.813 235.23 6.497 192.14 5.748 246.04 6.391 178.43

.539 .465 .434 .447

5.741 245.50 9.026 93.87 5.753 244.17 5.842 234.13

.434 .477

5.786 242.33 5.784 239.36

Driver, State, Vehicle

1 Robin Judd,'53 StudebakerBAE 511 6.179 22026 2 Andrew Searle, ACME'57 Customline BAE 5116.250 22277 3 Les Winter, Winter's Smash'55 Chev BAE 504 6.349 18 14 4 Victor Bray, Castrol Racing'57 Chev TEX 511 6.358 223.55 5 Peter Kapiris, Kapiris Bros'53 Stude BAE 518 6.417 19938 6 Brett Stevens, Jack Daniels '53 Stude BAE 5146.443 216 45 7 Dave Koop, Tectaloy '55 Chevrolet 526 TEX 6.495 221 24 8 Steve Stanic, Castrol Racing '57 Cusso KB 526 6.670 217 71 Round 1 Driver

W Andrew Searle L Dave Koop W Brett Stevens L Les Winter W Victor Bray L Peter Kapiris W Robin Judd L Steve Stanic bye Semi-Finals W Brett Stevens L Andrew Searle W Victor Bray L Robin Judd Final W Brett Stevens L Victor Bray

.526 .639 .892 ,.434 .482 .514 .434 .786

Pro Slock Qualllylno

MPH

6.421 207.47 6.589 219.94 6.392 217.92 broke 6.477 225.34 6.929 151.41 6.330 218.55 6.766 197.37

.457 .510

6.446 215.83 broke 6.479 224.44 7.865 181.89

.645 .357

6.386 219.29 6.378 219.19

Driver, State, Vehicle

1 PeterRidgeway,Speedflow/No Fear Olds 352 7.615 17921 2 Jon Andriopoulos, Auto Concepts Lumina 352 7.651 175.85 3 Bruce Leake, Theuma&Leake Cutlass 352 7.722 177 09 4 Tony Wedlock. Ultimate Financial Pontiac 353 7J84 17633 5 John Barfaagallo, Barbargallo Ford Probe 337 7 818 17442 6 Jay Watson, Jay Watson Beretta Chev 331 7.836 175.37 7 Jason Grima, Ford Probe 343 7.949 17248 8 Craig Hasted, Cragar Perf Ford T'bird 343 8.009 174.62 Roaad 1 Driver

W Bruce Leake L Jay Watson W Jason Grima L Jon Andriopoulos W John Barbagallo L Tony Wedlock* disq under welBht W Peter Ridgeway bye Saml-Flnais W Bruce Leake L Jason Grima W Peter Ridgeway L John Barbagallo Final W Peter Ridgeway L Bruce Leake

MPH

.610 .464 .486 .483 .399 .438 .482

7.764 175.30 9.969 97.28 7.941 17222 9.100 109.66 7.972 170.71 7.874 158.28 7.654 179.07

.627 .478 .440 .270

7.845 175.74 8.022 152.23 7.640 179.14 7.781 171.69

.544 .523

7.601 178.78 7.787 174.42

fc^AK:onica llVinvernats results Top BIIIO Driver

W Jeff Smith L Brett Stevens Pro Stock Motorcyclo W Sam Scerri L Chris Godeassi Group 2 Competlllon Driver (Class)

Reaction

W Grant O'Rourke (AA/GI L Charles Van Ysseldyk IB/D) Super Slock W Wayne Robson (A/MS) L Graeme Walker(C/G) Couipotltlon Bike W JohnAdin L Alex Kidas Groups 3 s. 4 Modltlod Driver (Class)

W Nigel Golder L Graeme Frawley Super Sedan W Allan Farrer L David Foreman Super siraei W Paul Doeblien L Steve Sander Modified Bike W Andrew Le Dilly L David Stevenson Super Gas W David Gauldie L Dale D'Dwyer Junior Oragster W Guy Henry L Kerstyn Dance

.509

MPH

.512 .485

7.309 190.76 9.259 104.17

.497 .512

7.715 172.61 7.989 163.99

Index

MPH

.441

6.95 7.67

6.574 206.71 7.564 177.03

.417 .469

9.60 8.62

9.531 142.27 8.566 161.41

.417 .722

8.84 9.04

8.615 152.70 9.206 133.77

Reaction

Dial'In

10.01 8.62

10.093 118.55 8.607 153.85

.428 .429

9.72 8.73

9.740 137.28 8.719 151.16

.444 .441

12.37 12.51

12.367 108.22 12.506 109.41

.453 .481

9.49 11.74

9.549 128.32 11.878 114.62

0.435 0.465

9.900 9.900

9.873 132.82 9.842 134.77

.405 .457

8.83 10.25

8.864 10.310

.473 .522

je:

MPH

72.59 62.14

^atiheWinief (FHiiUyby Miriiuill CtsiJ

^Jsxoturaspwiiia^e m p h is.

Schuey and Dixon crash out GARY Scelzi added to his record season in Top Fuel with another win, while Jeg Coughlin also stitched up his first ever Winston Pro Stock Championships, but all the attention in Memphis last weekend was directed towards Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon. Schiunacher, Scelzi’s biggest threat in the Top Fuel Championship, and Dixon both crashed heavily, ironically while both were racing Scelzi; Schumacher in qualifying and Dixon in the final round. Schumacher’s wing broke on his pass, the car unloading and heading into, then over the right side retaining wall. The Army car began a series of violent rolls, breaking apart with the cockpit finally coming to a rest in the grassy infield. Reports had Schumacher unconscious when help arrived, but he regained consciousness before being airlifted by helicopter to a local hospital. He suffered just

a broken left tibia as well as injuries to his right ankle and was released Sunday afternoon. In the final, Dixon appeared on his way to victory after Scelzi smoked the tyres, but when the win light began to glow through the haze in Scelzi’s lane, something had obviously gone wrong. Dixon’s car, while travelling past the half-track markers at some 267mph, had snapped into two just ahead of the drivers cockpit, with the rear half sailing straight into the air before landing with the rear t3Tes in Scelzi’s lane. The car continued sliding past the finish line, rolling irom side to side, finally coming to rest in the shutdown area. Dixon was reported to be alert and responsive before being transported to a local hospital. Following the semi-final round, Dixon’s car had slowed to a bouncing stop and the crew worked feverishly before the final to straighten out some bent tubing in the middle of the car, close to the area

that broke in the final round. “I enjoy winning, but not like this,” said Scelzi afterwards. “Lan-y was ahead and would’ve won. For me, this is a pretty tainted win. I saw pieces of his car flying all over the track.” Ron Capps, after posting six runner-ups this season, posted a final round 4.92/297 to stop Whit Bazemore in the Funny Car final. The win was his first in two years. The Funny Car field was the quickest ever; Force led for the 99th time with a 4.870/304 and was anchored by A1 Hofinann, who was in 16th with a 5.024/291. Thirteen cars produced four-second passes. Jeg Coughlin won his 10th event of the season while also clinching his first Winston Pro Stock Championship. Coughlin stopped Scott Geoffnon’s Dodge in the final, Geoffrion having top qualified with the quickest Pro Stock run in history, 6.809. - DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

Kuhlmann’s 6.00 slammer stunner

AMERICAISI nitro doorslammer racer Bill Kuhimann has just missed out on recording the first ever five second elapsed time for a sedan. S Kuhimann, the first VA doorslammer racer to ever top 200 mph back in 1987, recorded a stunning 6.001 s pass in his IBUl Summit Racing'68 Corvette % I Nitro Coupe during a Super I Chevy event held at Columbus, summitraoM-' 1 Ohio, on September 17. The pass also included a 234mph terminal speed, surpassing So near, yet... ‘First over 200’Kuhimann was also nearly ‘First under six seconds.’

; Q-

Australian Victor Bray's 233mph world record. Kuhimann backed up the run the next day with a 6.06/210, although the Summit Corvette then couldn't hold it together to run a five second pass. The controversial Super Chevy nitro coupes are allowed to run a 50 percent nitro dose, while also not being required to run operating suspension as do IHRA Pro Mods and ANDRA Top Doorslammers. - DAVID OSTASZEWSKI molsrsiieri nsws

Seventh heaven

DRAG RACING Joe Gibbs out

Scelzi/Johnson set Top Fuel season record, Force wins #90

GARY Scelzi set a new single season Top ^ Fuel record when he took his seventh win of the year, the two-time NHRA Champion driving his Alan Johnson-owned Winston fueller to victory at the Heartland Park, Topeka on October 1.

^„

^I I ° 2

Scelzi needed a holeshot to win against opponent Doug Kalitta, both drivers recording 4.67/303 passes. Sadly for the Aussies, Andrew Cowin failed to qualify in the K&N Filters/Auto Meter fueller, Scelzi leading the field with his 4.60/309.

n The NHRA has ruled that the new Hemi engine will be the only accepted engine combination for any Dodge Pro Stock cars, effective January, 2001. The new rule, which was made as a joint decision by the NHRA and Mopar, means independent racer Alien Johnson, who has proven to be more competitive than the factory-backed cars over the last two years, will have to make the switch from the current Dale Eicke-built wedge headed combo he currently uses.

. John Force claimed his 90th career win in Funny Car and seventh at Heartland Park in a final round defeat of Ron Capps and the US Tobacco Camaro Z28. Force’s Castrol Mustang thundered to a 4.93/291 to stop Capps, who lost traction just off of the starting line. Force had top qualified and set the low ET at 4.85/299. Jeg Coughlin defeated Darrell Alderman in Pro Stock, the win his ninth of the year. Coughlin overcame a slight holeshot for the 7.02/195 to 7.08/194 victory. Bob Panella defeated Dave Spitzer, 7.67/175 to 7.69/174, for the Pro Stock Truck victory. The win gives PaneUa a 172 point lead over rival Randy Daniels and moves him closer to capturing his second straight points title. - DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

AS predicted in MN (#189), NFL Superbowl-winning coach joe Gibbs has confirmed that he IS pulling the pin on his Top Fuel team, leaving Cory McClenathan and the MBNA team without work. Cory Mac's chances of a paid ride in 2001 look slim at this point, while crew chief Wes Cerny is again being linked with Kenny Bernstein.

Watchful eye: Team owner Johnson oversaw Scelzi’s win

Critchley's points move

IHFi/K Rro Mod irTtle oh&so tightens

TROY CritcMey has moved to third in the MRA Pro Modified points with a strong effort at the Presidents Cuip Nationals inBudds Creek, Merryland,on October 1. CriteWey equal top qualified with a 6.26/224 and then advanced to the second round, where he was I defeated in the quickest side4yside Pro Mod race in history by eventual winner Steve Vick 6.35/223 to 6.36/223. Fred Hahn and Jhn Oddy moved back into championship contention with their Summit Racing Corvette left by advancing to the semi-finals, while ai’ch-rival and points leader Quain Stott failed to qiuaiify. Hahn ran as quick as R23. - DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

B David Grubnic and Andrew Cowin are unfortunately high up on the list of the season's leading oildown offenders on the NHRA tour, the Aussies ranking first and seventh, respectively. Grubnic has oildowned the track 11 times in the first 19 events, costing himself and the team US$6,000 and 10 championship points, while Cowin's car has left six deposits on the track. There have been 155 offences during the season, with fines costing teams $96,500. n Del Worsham has confirmed the Checker, Schucks, Kragen team will again campaign two Pontiac Funny Cars in 2001, with both Frank Pedregon and crew chief Dave Fletcher re-signing to run the team's 'blue' car. Former Whit Bazemore/Bruce Sarver crew chief Rob Flynn has also signed with the team on a permanent basis, Flynn joining as co-crew chief on Del's car. n It has been reported in the US that leading drag racing artist Kenny Youngblood has been jailed for 12 years following a conviction for tax evasion. It was reported that Youngblood failed to pay taxes between 1992-'94, stating he had no income during those years. -DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

2000 WIMSTON DRAG RACBNG SER8ES CHAflfflPflOMSHfiP POIMTS AT OCTOBER 8. Winston Top Fuel Champioiiship 1. Gary Scelzi, Winston 1663 2. Tony Schumacher, Exidc Batteries 1537 1440 3. Larry Dixon. Miller Lile/MBNA 1281 4. Joe Amato,Tcnneco/Dynomax . 5. Doug KaJitia, MGM Grand Hotel 1269 6. Kenny Bernstein. Bud King Racing... 1177 7. Cory McClenathan, MBNA ., 1008 876 8. Bob Vandergriff 807 9. Doug Herbert, Snap-On Tools 10. David Gmbnic 733

13 October 2000

Winston Funny Car Championship 1. John Force. Caslrol GTX Mustang 1659 1369 2. Ron Capps, US Tobacco Camaro 3. Jerry Toliver, WWF Racing Camaro .. 1353 4. Tony Pedregon, Casffol Syntec M/lang 1201 1142 5. Jim Epler, WWF Racing Camaro 998 6. Scotty Cannon. OakJcy Camaro. 7. Whit Bazemore, Kendall GT-1 Camaro.949 8. Del Worsham.CSK Pontiac 937 874 9. Dean Skuza, Mateo Tool.s Avenger 10. Bruce Sarver 871

Winston Pro Stock Championship 1827 1.Jcg Coughlin. Jeg's Olds Cutlass 2-Kurt Johnson. ACDeico Camaro, 1295 1277 3. Ron Krisher, Eagle One Pontiac. 4. Warren Johnson. GM Pontiac,.. 1239 5. Mark Pawuk. Summit Racing Pontiac . 1052 6. Troy Coughlin. Jeg's Olds Cutlass 1009 957 7. Richie Stevens. Valspar Pontiac. 926 8. Jim Yates, Splitflre/Pcak Pontiac 9. Darrell Alderman 811 10. Bruce Allen 768

Lander/Super Sedan iQggeriieads DAVID Lander’s planned $130,000 season for Super Sedans at Newcastle Speedway is in dire jeopardy, after a iast minute faiiing out between Lander and the strong Newcastle Super Sedan Club on the eve of the speedway’s opening night. Lander ‘sacked’the club when the two parties failed to reach an agreement on some rule changes and is now determined to go ahead without the assistance of the club. When the Australian Saloon Car Federation (ASCF) recently agreed to affiliate with the National Association of Speedway Racing (NASR), it was subject to a five-point agreement. One of those provisos was that the ASCF would have input into the rules and regulations set by NASR before they were implemented. This has not happened and is now the stumbling block between the NSSC and Lander. NASR’s rule 3.6 appeal has left the drivers believing that they are having the right to appeal taken from them. The other problem is the rule which says that any car that stops on the track will be sent to the rear,(as in Sprintcars) regardless of whether they were the cause of the stoppage. These two points alone have riled the NSSC members, the bulk of the drivers agreeing to stand by their decision to boycott the races. The NSSC and Lander held meetings to try and resolve the issue, but Lander is unwilling to bend and, as a consequence, a small field of about half a dozen local cars was all that was expected for the opening night on October 7. The dispute may see Lander forced to supplement the expected small fields with interstate drivers at a significant cost. - BRETT SWANSON

He’s in there somewhere: Dean McComb won both of his heats and tied in the Shootout, but ended up on his lid after a startline incident in the feature race.

Building the Bridge

haven't even touched our car so I Caims-based Davis had his own TONY Bridge has taken the roll-over in his second heat. The think we’ve got a lot to go yet." lead of the Titan Garages Hard luck stories characterised team had just enough spares to Queensland Sprintcar Summer Shootout after a dramatic repair the car for his pole position the nights for McComb and Davis. McComb won both of his heats and start in the feature race, only to opening round at Brisbane have the wing blow apart while tied with Bridge and McDonald in International Speedway. leading with six laps to go. Bridge was sixth in his first heat the Shootout, only to roll and and a close second to Dean Paul Lindberg(CUB Eagle) crash during a startline incident in McComb in the second came through to claim third in the feature, like round of heats, before Jensen, benefiting from tying three ways with the misfortunes that McComb and Nathan McDonald in the 3x3 befell Davis and Kruck. Shootout. Late in the feature, In the feature race, Lindberg hurt his engine, leaving the green #0 car Bridge was caught to limp home and unable behind the rolling car of to defend his second McComb in a startline incident and took the place from Bridge in the restart from the rear of dying laps. Defending champion the field, before Todd Wanless was fourth storming through to finish second behind in the feature, after being Darren Jensen. slowed by tyre problems and a crash in the second "It's how we want to heat which was hard start," smiled Bridge. enough to break the diff. Darren Jensen The second round will Winners are grinners: QSSS round one feature (SercoAViseco Maxim) winner Darren Jensen. be held at Brisbane took the feature race International Speedway, win after drama hefell Archerfield on Satm-day October the feature race. the early race leaders, Scott Davis McComb’s team-mate Kruck spun 21. and Drew Kruck. off while in second in the feature "I was quietly confident," he Points: Bridge 67,Jensen 60, McDonald said. "To win the first night is a big confidence booster; to let you know you're as competitive as them. We

Max Dumesny Motorsport Australian Distributors for

Xoostrr

^^ RACING TIRE

For more Infomation on Hoosier Drag and Speedway Tyres call:

NSW;02 9679 1990 l Fax 02 9679 1187 VIC 03 9331 6477 l Fax 03 9331 7444 SA:08 8332 0800 l Fax 08 8364 0296 66

and challenging for the lead after earlier problems with a leaking fuel line restricted his heat runs.

57, Lindberg 55, GessnerAVanless 53, Hodges 51, Scheuerle 49, Thorley 47, BeU/McComb 41.

2000 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SERIES POINTS SCORE Lowe's Speedway,6 October 2000

Point Standings to 6 October, 2000 1. Steve Kinser 2. Sammy Swindell. 3. Mark Kinser 4. Danny Lasoski .. 5. Stevie Smith.... 6. Joey Saldana... . 7. Dale Blaney 8. Andy Hlllenburg. 9. Johnny Herrera . 10. Donny Schatz ..

9043 8828 8827 8768 8643 8355 8329 8286 8100 8020

H.Jac Haudenschild... l2..Tim Shaffer 13. Daryn Pittman .... 14. Danny Wood 15. Greg Hodnett 16. Dean Jacobs 17. Brian Paulus 18. Brooke TatneH 19. Paul McMahan 20. Randy Hannagan...

8019 7789 7659 7407 7160 6027 5994 5373 4180 4024

I.Mark Kinser 2. Steve Kinser 3. Donny Schatr 4. Stevie Smith 5. Craig Doilansky 6.joey Saldana 7. Paul McMalian 8. Greg Hodnett 9. Danny tasoski 10. Dale Blaney

11.Tim Shaffer 12.Sammy Swindell 13. Daryn Pittman 14. Kenny Jacobs IS. Danny Wood 16. Brian Paulus 17.Andy HiHcnburg la.Jac Mjudenschild 19.Randy Hannagan 20. Dean Jacobs

notorsport ntws

Farr at PCR

opening quite a gap, before Farr came through to second after some trouble with traffic and also THE season opener at several stoppages. Parramatta City Raceway saw With the track becoming slick, a field of 30 Sprintcars present it looked as though a classic to contest the Lord Mayor’s battle between the two was Sprintcar Cup meeting, with a looming, until Dumesny withdrew mixture of old and new drivers. with just five laps left to run with New faces in the sprintcar ’a broken crankshaft. ranks included Troy Little in the Farr took the feature win, second Linigen #25 car, Chris foiiowed by Bob Pym, Kevin Moore, Ryan Marshall, Les Porter, Garry Rooke, David Dougherty and Talk about Clay tannery. Louise Jenner also made a camouflage! welcome return to racing in the Warren Ferguson, Gough and Gilmour#16 car, right, blended in with after her long recovery from the scenery, while illness last season. Pino Priolo, below, PCR had a few off-season had a strong opening improvements to show off, run at PCR to claim including a new safety fence third. around the turn one and turn two area, a new concreted pathway to give spectator access to the back straight area and a new wheelchair viewing area. Robbie Farr looked lightningfast from the beginning of the night in the EWT Auto Dismantlers #56 car, sporting a spectacular paint job with a purple wing. Heats proved mostly uneventful, with some good racing and winners included Peter Attard, Farr, Brett Leadsman and Justin Mineef. The six lap Stars Dash was won by Attard, followed by Farr and Trevor Shields. Max Dumesny won the B-Main, followed by Troy Little and Chris Lowe. Dumesny took the lead of the A-Main with 10 laps left to run. by JULIE PEARCE

R fijj 1^(3

Dates set THE Melbourne Mini Sprint Club has announced the dates and sponsors for the 2000/2001 Super Series. The series will kick off on November 11 at Horsham’s Blue Ribbon Raceway,followed on November 25 at Bendigo, January 13 at Premier Speedway Warrnambool, January 26 at Rosedale Raceway, February 17 at Nyora Racewa, and conclude on March 31 in Mildura. In between, cars will cross the Tasman for the TasmaniaVictoria Challenge at Latrobe Cascade Apple Isle International Raceway. A group of Apple Islanders will then head to the big island for two shows at Rosedale on March 3 and then the following weekend at Avalon. The Victorian Championship is slated for Bairnsdale on Easter Saturday (April 14). - BRETT SWANSON

Jackson and West Australian Pino Priolo. "It was a shame that Max had the trouble that he had, because I really would have liked to race for the win," said Farr. "He was leading and we were running second, so we had a bit of work cut out for us, but that’s the way it goes and we’ll take the win any way that we can get

SRA signs up THE Sprintcar Racing Association of Victoria has signed Autopro as its sponsor for what will now be known as the Autopro Super Sprint Series. “We are organising for more crowd participation by having the scramble position drawn from children in the crowd and many handouts being given away at each round,” said SRA Series organiser Ian Vale. One hour shows of each round of the series will be broadcast on C7 Sport. Warrnambool’s ‘Diggin In The Dirt’ radio host Stuart McCarthy will be the series commentator.

m title for SA

ADELAIDE’S Speedway City will host the 54th Australian Speedcar Championship next Februai’y. The three-day meeting, which will be run from February 22-24, will be the first to be jointly run under the auspices of the division’s new controlling body, the NASR Speedcar Competition Management Board. “We’re proud to have an Australian title here and we believe we’ll do an excellent job,” said Speedway City’s Wendy 'Turner. “Run much along the lines of last year’s successful Australian Sprintcar Championship, this title will place Speedcars back where they belong at the forefront of the sport.” Defending champion Mike Figliomeni will be keen to equal Warrenne Ekins’s tally offour national titles at the event, which will be supported by AMCA Nationals on the 23rd and Super Sedans on the 24th. Ekins and Figliomeni are said to be highly likely to base their i-acing activities in Adelaide for some additional pre-championship practice prior to the race weekend. A naming rights sponsor is yet to be secured. -AARON NOONAN 13 Octobar 2000

SPEEDWAY

\ l

Firing Figliomeni: The defending champion will be headed to Adelaide (Photo by Brett Swanson) for his title defence. 61

Rush/Jacobs

Cartwright shows the way HAVING returned to racing after retiring as 1982/83 Austraiian Super Sedan Champion, John Cartwright showed the youngsters how to do it at the East Coast AMCA National Classic at Newcastle Speedway on September 30. The veteran took out the gruelling 40 lap final, leading home 19-year-oid wiz-kid David Robertson and the ‘more seasoned’ adversary, Bernie Gordon. Before he could claim the almost seven foot high winner’s trophy, Cartwright had to fight hard against an old adversary in Graham Lillford. The 'Lill and Carty’ show lasted near enough to 20 laps, with the Lillford Exhaust machine hugging the kerb line and the Wollongong #44 running the high groove. Never once was there contact, never once was there less than an honest passing move. Until Lillford’s immaculate #2 developed fuel pump problems, it looked for all the world that they’d share the win. “It was great racing with Lill like that. I knew we could race like that without touching and that makes a big difference, believe me,” breathed Cartwright on the dais. Robertson nearly scored one for the ‘kids’, when a yellow light restart gave him several tantalising looks on the inside of the gritty veteran. With the track starting to dry on the highiine, a combination of commitment to stay there and throttle control to keep the car straight was desperately needed. “I thought I had him there a couple of times, but he had a good line up there and I couldn’t get him this time,” smiled Robertson. - WADE AUNGER

by WADE AUNGER

THREE-time All Star Circuit of Champions Series winner Kenny Jacobs and 10 times Australian Sprintcar Champion Garry Rush have joined forces for an attack on the big money Aussie Sprintcar shows between December 30, 2000 and February 3,2001. Jacobs was announced last week as the American driver to take the wheel of Rush’s second Pick ’n Payless/Radio 2UE Maxims for the five week, nine race, schedule. “My son Garry will drive our first car from the start of the PCR 2000/2001 season,” Rush Sr confirmed,“and Kenny will join our team in a second car from December 30 until after the Gough and Gilmour CAT 50,000 race.” For Rush, the decision to hire Jacobs was an easy one. “We looked at a number of different drivers, but I believe that Kenny is still one of the best drivers in the USA today and he was pretty keen to do a deal with us.” Jacobs is indeed keen. “When an opportunity comes up to race with Garry Rush, you have to take it,” said Jacobs from the States. “There are some real good paying races down there now and I think we can get some of that prizemoney.” Rush has yet to finalise his itinerary for the Pick ’n Payless / 2UE operation. “The Warrnambool Classic and The Kings Challenge offer some good money and Brisbane always pays well around the middle of January. But we’ll be looking at our form and our spares inventory after the first two or three shows at Parramatta before committing ourselves to further travel,” said Rush. Jacobs has only run at PCR once, diiving for Sean Carren in 1996. “I can’t wait to get back to Sydney,” he said.

Hapves foi Have a nun;; Harves will drive Brett IVIbrris’ #17 Speedcar fcr a few laps. (Photo by Bratt S’Manson] |

SPEEDCAR and touring car great John Harvey has been announced as the Grand Marshal for the 51st Australian Speedcar Grand Prix at PCR, which wili pay $10,000 to win. These days, the 1983 Bathurst 1000 winner spends more time behind the desk in his work at Holden Special Vehicles, while son Gavin races in the Mitsubishi Mirage Series. Harvey is even going to have a crack at running a current day car in a special media session on the

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Tucker Ime Series focuses on Vic end SA Rushing into 2001: The Rush team and Kenny Jacobs (inset) win join forces for selected races. (Photo by Watren Bridge) n

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Thursday of the Australia Day weekend. Sydneysider Brett Morris will hand over the keys of his brand new Gaerte-powered Stealth to Harvey. “I don’t mind letting him have a run,” says Morris. “The guy knows what he’s doing when he’s behind the wheel of a racecar, so I have no doubt he’ll do OK. Harvey won't be the only 'special guest,’ with current Australian Champion Michael Figliomeni bringing fellow West Aussies Neville Lance and Joe Little over to tackle the Sydney stars. The “Hunter Valley Hurricane,” Adam Clarke, will go into the event as one of the favourites and is gearing up for a new season with car owners Bob Woods and Steve Smith. Clarke now joins 1999 PCR Medallist Ian Black as team driver for the ‘Smith and Woods Saturday night special’ operation. 13 October 2000

THE Victorian Formula 500 Association’s popular Tucker Time Series will feature heavily in two states during the nine meetings that the championship will be contested ovei’. Last season, the series was also held at New South Wales venues, but organisers have decided to race in Victoria and South Australia due to a decrease in numbers throughout NSW. Association secretary Ken Willsher said the more compacted series will benefit drivers and spectators across the main two states. ‘We’ve programmed the series a bit more tighter due to the lack of support in New South Wales last season and this should be of great benefit to eveiyone around Victoria and New South Wales,” he said. “It should be great racing,just the same.” The Tucker Time Series will commence at Avalon on December 8 as a support class to World

Series Sprintcars. It will be one offour appearances by the F500s with the WSS. A right-rear control tyre will also be introduced to the class this season to help combat rising costs within the series. The tyre required to be used by drivers is an American Racer tyre, an offshoot of the US-based McCreary

Tyres “It’s a major step for us to be using a control tyre, but the main reason is to keep competitors on the track and racing,just so their tyre bills don’t become too inflated over the season,” said Willsher. The Stampede Series, which was held throughout south west Victorian speedways, will also figure prominently on the racing calendar, taking in Laang, Premier, Hamilton, Avalon and Horsham venues. The Australian Formula 500 Championships are scheduled between April 13-15. - GEOFF BOUNDS

Video gaming Outiaws

RATBAG, makers of the successful ‘DirtTrack Racing’computer game based in Adelaide, have signed a three year exclusive deal with the World of Outlaws to produce a series of racing games. The company is developing a game based Expect this, but Outlaws style: A on the Outlaws series for release on Sony Playstation 2 screenshot from Ratbag’s Dirt Track Racing Sprintcar game. in the later half of 2001.

CURRENT NSW Street Stocker Champion Brian Mackney put the finishing touches to his original play for the 2000 ‘Stocksville’ event with a convincing victory at Newcastle Speedway. Night one of the event was conducted in June, but foul weather postponed the final night until September 30, when Mackney, fellow Lismore driver Dave Wilson and local heroes Rob Maunder, Gary Morris and Darryl Norrie all shared the points between them. Going into the 40 lap final, Norrie sat on the front row with Wilson, with Mackney sitting one row back in the amazingly quick AtoZ Wreckers LX Torana. Norrie led the first lap around, but Wilson squeezed the JAX Tyres Cortina by and sped off to a commanding lead. Lapped traffic was hectic (24 cars started the main), but Wilson maintained the upper hand for seven and a half minutes before the first restart of the evening halted proceedings. Mackney had closed on the Cortina and then raced by and ran off to a healthy margin. Wilson had one serious go at regaining the lead in traffic, but Mackney was off and running in search of the biggest trophy in Australian speedway - the seven and a half foot tail Stocksville Taj Mahal.’ Norrie faded, while Newcastle favourite Morris never really recovered from a half spin in turn two. Maunder stepped up to the plate to get the Hunter Valley into the top three. - WADE AUNGER

Bunbury in 2001 BUNBURY City and Regional Speedway has been announced as the venue for the 2001 Western Australian Sprintcar Title. The event will be run on Good Friday. “We are so thrilled to get the chance to run WA’s biggest oneday Sprintcar event,” said promoter Des Ferris.'The BCRS management team see this as acknowledgment of the great work we are doing at the track." The track will see its first action for the new season on October 21 for Marlows Sprintcar Grand Prix, which is the first round of the Wild West Sprintcar Series. 69

NASCAR

spooks'em out

NASCAR stands firm on Gordon JEFF Gordon and the Hendrick Motorsports' penalty'for using a non-approved manifold recently stands after the team’s appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission was denied. Crew chief Robbie Loomis was fined US$25,000 and the team docked 100 points for the use of a magnesium manifold in the Richmond race, which they won, on September 9, Team manager John Hendrick has yet to decide whether to pursue the matter further with NASCAR,as he believes GM should be held responsible and not the team, as they supplied the part. 1 Ricky Craven is apparently the top candidate for replacing the departing Bobby Hamilton at Morgan McClure Racing and the coveted Kodak ride. Craven has been with the under funded Mid West Transit team for 18 months and this is his first opportunity to move back to a major operation following post concussion syndrome in 1998. Robert Pressley, the current driver of the Jasper Ford, has also had talks with owner Larry McClure.

THE fat lady isn’t singing yet, but Bobby Labonte has her ready after winning at Charlotte on Sunday to pad his Winston Cup points advantage to 252 over sixth placed finisher Jeff Burton.

Labonte took on four tyres during the ninth and final caution on lap 307 and took the lead from two tyre-taker Jeremy Ma3dield, with just six laps remaining. “There was a lot of good cars there all day long,” said Labonte. “Jeremy had a real fast race car, but I guess he only had two fresh tyres. I guess we scared a couple of the guys with the Frankenstein on the hood,” he said of his car, which bore a ‘limited edition’ paint scheme. Labonte’s fourth win of the season also netted an extra $40,000 from Winston for leading the points and winning the race. -MAETIND CLARK

;Se.c,upe: Bobby Labonte may have secured,the Winston Cup.titles fPbofo by SuUon-ifPegesj

JIMMY Vasser was due to test one of Chip Ganassi's Winston Cup NASCARs last Friday, with the former FedEx CART Series Champion expected to undertake the test under the watchful eye of Andy Graves. Vasser, who has lost his seat with Ganassi's TARGET-Toyota Champ Car team for 2001, is believed to be in line for a ride with Ganassi's 4 NASCAR team next year, the team having yet \ to decide on who will permanently replace r ( I the late Kenny Irwin. I The test, held at the one mile non-NASCAR fed sanctioned Lakeland Speedway, Florida oval, was run under the watchful eye of experienced NASCAR crew chief Andy Graves, Graves having worked with Vasser S, briefly during his CART sojourn last year. The team kept details of the test close to themselves, with little news expected before a § Vasser returns to the US from this weekend's CART race in Australia. Seatfitting: “Andy Graves says a NASCAR cockpitfeels like (Photo by RaceAccess) - MARTIM D CLARK the Champ Car,just the other way around. ’t

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TON¥ Stewart makes no bones about the fact that be dislikes the fiat, haifmilb Martirnsville Speedway,but that didn’t stop the Joe Gibbs driver from taking the pole and then going on to win the October 1 race i^ the win his fifth for the season and the second in a row. “It’s getting better,” Stewart proclaimed following his win. “Ijust want to thank tire three

B The infamous Wood Brothers above made their 1000th Winston Cup start at Martinsville on October 1, although with driver Eiliott Sadler needing a provisional to make the field, it wasn't the celebration they hoped for. After starting in 43rd, Sadler finished 32nd. n Kyle Petty made his return to Winston Cup racing at Martinsville, Petty driving his late son's Sprintsponsored #45 Pontiac. Kyle, who finished 31st after starting 27th and cutting two tyres, will also run at Homestead next month. H The promising Casey Attwood, who will run for Rookie of the Year honours in 2001 with Ray Evernham's Dodge operation, qualified 22nd at Martinsville in his second Winston Cup start. Attwood suffered a flat left rear tyre in the : early going and ended his day 25th. 70

guys a® tliie back grandstand who kept booing me ... they just made me more determined and they played a part in this victoiy. Theijgestures drove me to victory lane!” . Stewart won ahead ofBale Earnlrardt and race dominator Jeff Burton, the win mai-gin 0;672s. ; Points leader Bobby Labonte stdifered front-end damage in the i pits, but stii managed to bring the i second Gibbs car home in 10th. ! = MAiUPIN © CLAifiK ;

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And the same to you: Stewart used the gestures of three ‘fans’ to inspire him to win.

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HISTOUeS

The last of the titans by BRIAN REED

DURING recent weeks we have been frequently exposed to the five interlocking rings that symbolise the ideals and aspirations of the Olympic Games. Back in 1932, a blatantly plagiarised version offour interlocking rings came into being in Germany, with the establishment of Auto Union AG. It was a conglomerate offour local manufacturers: DKW,Wanderer, Audi and Horch, brought about in a last-ditched effort to remain viable dming a period of extreme economic difficulty in the countiy's history. Around this same time,the acclaimed engineer Ferdinand Porsche had set up his consultancy office in Stuttgart, and Auto Union was to become his first client. Apart from developing new road cars, Porsche was assigned the task of designing a racing car, and the Horch plant became the location for the construction of three cars to conform with the new GP racing formula introduced in 1934. After some persuasion, Adolf Hitler agreed to help subsidise the project(he was already heavily committed to backing the Mercedes-Benz race program), and Hans Stuck and the Prince of Leiningen were nominated as drivers. The first testing of the radical Auto Union 'P' car on January 12, 1934, caused a sensation at the Avus track, in fi-ont of an enthusiastic audience of engineers, propaganda personnel and politicians, including Hitler's aide Major Bnickner. The 4.35-htre, supercharged V-16, mid-engined race car went on to break seven world speed records and one international class record in its first year of competition, and Hans Stuck became the 1934 German Road and Hillcbrnb champion. With rivalry heating up between the great(Jerman cars carrying the three-pointed star and those with the four interlocking rings, the next Auto Unions produced 375hp at 4800rpm, and Stuck lapped the Avus circuit at a staggering 260.52km/h. Such was the level ofinnovation at Auto Union in 1935, the race cars boasted air jacks enabling them to be lifted in one second, and a portable electric starter - aids that revolutionised pit work. 13 October 2000

ii t.

Another Age, Another World: The stars of the 1930s; from left Rudi Caracciola; Bernd Rosemeyer; Caracciola meets The Fuhrer; Mercedes-Benz’s streamliner and Auto Union’s version bottom.

Briefly Historic

By winning three Grands Prix in 1936 for Auto Union,the great Bernd Rosemeyer became European racing champion. He also won the German hdlclimb championship while Stuck continued to break world speed records held on the autobahns. The following year 380,000 spectators lined the Avus circuit to watch the 520hp Type 'C' Auto Union register a race average speed of 261.51mi/h, after recording a staggering practice lap of 283.7km/h. Engine output continued to grow to 560hp, along with the rivalry between Rosemeyer for Auto Union and Rudolf Caracciola for Mercedes-Benz. On a fatefiil day in 1938, the two met face to face on the autobahn near Frankfurt,in a two-way battle to break a world speed record. Caracciola shattered Rosemeyer's record of406.3km/h

with an average two-way run of 432.692km/h. In spite ofincreasing wind gusts and warnings from the Auto Union engineers, Rosemeyer set off to make his attempt. His first run at 429.49Ikm/h was marginally better than Caracciola's, but on the decisive return leg, a sudden wind gust caught his car. Rosemeyer lost control and was killed instantly. Thereafter, Auto Union’s Grand Prix program lost momentum and the following years saw the proud company play catch-up to the allconquering Mercedes-Benz and eventually fade from the scene. Today,Audi still carries proudly the four interlocking rings emblem, and is back vrith a vengeance in competition. We will have the opportunity to see their latest racing sports cars in action when the Le Mans series arrives in Adelaide for the Race of 1000 years on New Year's Eve.

THE latest round of the Victorian Hillclimb Championship, at Mt. Leura, Camperdown, on September 23-24, proved to be a great day for Historic racing competitors, with a number of new records being established. Wayne Sayers, driving the Elfin GTS of George Spanos, broke the Group Lb under 1500CC sports car record twice on his way to victory, finally leaving it at 36.44s. Another Melbourne driver, Bob Morrow (Elfin 620FF), not only broke his class record, but also the outright Historic record when he blazed up the hill in 31.45s on his final run. Ray Sprague left a trail of rubber to the top of the climb in his wonderful sounding AMX touring car, taking his Group S class with a time of 35.46s. Other class winners were Ray Da Costa (Minda Clubman) 32.30s, Stephen Schmidt(Morris Cooper) 34.69s, and Daryl Duff (Datsun 240Z)43.00s. The meeting was organised by Geelong's Ford Four Club. Next hillclimb for Historic competitors in Victoria will be at Morweli in November. n Spokesman for the VHRRs Historic Sandown on October 23-24, Noel Robson, has described the 330 entries for the meeting as "a fantastic response." The meeting will feature a Tasman Challenge with racing cars from New Zealand and Australia reliving the great days of the Tasman Series. For Historic race fans, this one's a 'must'. n - BRIAN REED 71

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Aaron Noonan

AUSTRALIAN SPORTS SEDAN CHAMPIONSHIP Come and catch me: Dominic Beninca leads Peter Fitzgerald and Martin Wagg onto the back straight. (Photo by Dirk Klynsmith)

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by AARON NOONAN IT’S been a while between drives, let alone drinks,for former GT-Production car champion Dominic Beninca, but the Victorian showed that he still possesses the same speed at Sandown on the weekend,taking two victories from two starts. Beninca, who was driving Chris Stannard’s GT2,scored pole in the first qualifying session, but could only manage 10th in the second session when the rain came. The action began almost as soon as race one began,Trevor John ending up the loser of a three car squeeze through turn one. Beninca was quick to run away out in front and establish a safe gap over the pursuing pack, which was led by Tony Quinn (GTS),Peter Fitzgerald (GTS)and Martin Wagg (993 Supercup). A newcomer to the Porsche Cup series for the weekend was former Audi works Super

Touring driver Matthew Coleman. Unfortunately,luck wasn’t on the Victorian’s side, belt troubles which had struck in qualifying had struck again and Coleman was out. The traffic was quite thick with some 26 cars entered over the weekend and that helped a few of the front runners make up some ground on Beninca. Beninca, Fitzgerald and Wagg dropped off Quinn and the positions stayed the same at the chequered flag. Beninca backed it up in race two, but this time things were a lot closer. Fitzgerald was only down 2.3s at the finish, the duo home ahead of Wagg, Quinn and John. While all of the weekend’s racing was actually pretty processional, one man was sitting on the sidelines enjoying it nevertheless. Simon Froude had already taken out the championship after a truly superb season in his GTS and took a well-earned weekend off...

NOBODY could match the awesome power of Tony Ricciardello’s Alfa GTV at Sandown in the final round of the Australian Sports Sedan Championship. The West Aussie won both races, even despite an early spin in race one. which needed two attempts to get running after a startline accident saw it re scheduled to later in the day. He also lowered John Briggs' 1996 record for the class, slashing the mark from 1m11.94sto 1m09.44s. Kerry Baiiy was his consistent self in the Nissan 300ZX to take two second places, while Barry

Jameson's Falcon filled third place in both races. Baily’s pair of runner-up positions were enough for the Tasmanian to clinch the national title over Ricciardello by a narrow margin. Des Wall's Toyota Supra had a fourth and a sixth, while Ivan Mikac's RX7 flew the rotary flag with a fifth in the first race. Darren Hossack {Saab V8) had a weekend where the results didn't really flow, spinning at the same time as Ricciardello, recovering to grab fifth after a retirement in race one. - AARON NOONAN

Third of the pack: Barry Jameson, right, grabbed two thirds at Sandown, the Campbelltown Frames and Trusses Falcon not quick enough for Bally and Ricciardello. iPhoto by Neil Hammondi

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Out in front: Ton'. Ricciardclio uas Mmplv donnnant in iho tinal round o| the AusUalian .Spoils Sedan Chanipion'^hip. t '"'t maisrsBort naws

NATIONAL

Building back up South Oz apprentices getting hands-on

IN today’s modern era of professional high level motorsport, big budgets, high technology and specialised know'ledge are paramount for success. But try telling that to a young South Australian V8 Lites team out to impress the motor sport world. Halliday Motor Sport was formed in late 1999 after a number of years ofjunior level motorsport competition, including HQs, Commodore Cup and GTP racing. Team owner/driver Ross Halliday purchased the ex-Allan Moffat Cenovis Falcon after it had been all but destroyed in a major accident at Bathurst in 1998. The EL was bent and twisted at every angle. He soon put in action a plan to rebuild the car to competition standard once again and commissioned the Adelaide-based MTA Group Ti-aining Scheme to manage the massive project. The full rebuild program took in apprentices from all walks of the automotive life, including panel beaters, mechanics and auto electricians, all dedicated to the opportunity to effectively ‘build’ their very own V8 Supercar. In early 2000, on the eve of the first round of the new V8 Lites

The finished product; From car to wreck to car again, the Falcon has had its fair share of love and care since Halliday purchased it. While the team has upgraded to another car, this one has taught apprentices about motor sport. series, 3M Australia signed on to support the team. In a program called ‘The Apprentices versus The Factories,’ 3M Racing has tackled the entire V8 Lites series in the rebuilt, but uncompetitive EL Falcon. After upgrading to a newer and highly competitive ex-Paul Radisich EL Falcon just before the Queensland 500,the future looks bright for the wholly South Australian team. The program has led to the establishment of a special program within the MTA Group Training Scheme, where apprentices from all fields of the motor industry are given the opportunity to become involved in the racing project. From rebuilding racing gearboxes and diffs, to understanding suspension settings and adjustments.

13 October 2000

What a job! The MTA apprentices took what was left, top left, and quickly had the car, left, on its way to repair and eventually the V8 Lites series.

the program is filhng a void in apprentice training. With the move to more competitive equipment, the team is now embarking on a bold plan to take on the professional teams at

the FAI 1000 this November. “These guys are great, they are all extremely dedicated to the job at hand and more than anything, they are keen to learn as much as possible” said Halliday.

O'Brien too good HISTORIC TOURING CARS

PETER O’Brien was simply tod strong in the Historic Touring Car support races at Sandown. The XY GTHO Falcon qualified on pole by almost a second over Laurie Donaher’s Ford Mustang and the older version Mustang of John Mann. O’Brien was simply not threatened and won both races.

with Mann and Donaher filling the runner-up spots in the races. The meeting was simply a Ford whitewash. The top qualifying Holden was James Brock’s Torana in sixth, but engine problems left him a race two non-starter and it was left to Tino Leo’s Monaro to charge from the back of the grid. -AARON NOONAN 33

Luff and Evans team up

wet and windy one

VICTORIAN MOTOR RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS by AARON NOONAN Pugging away: Luff and Evans will team up in the 3 Hour. SERIES leaders and teammates in the one-make Logical Mirage Series, Warren Luff and Dean Evans are going to team up to challenge the 3 Hour GTP Showroom Showdown at Bathurst in November in the EssCarGo Racing Peugeot 306. Luff has driven the 1.8-litre machine to many class wins in the sprint rounds of the GT-P races and has Bathurst experience in a wide variety of cars. Evans, on the other hand, will be making his Mountain debut, having been the only driver to steal a race win off Luff in the Mirage series.

AKA swtiches rubber THE AKA has confirmed a switch of tyre for the ReSa class In 2001. Having originally been allocated the MG MZ Yellow tyre for next year, it has been agreed that the MG AZ Red is a far better option for the class, offering a little less grip but much better durability. The AZ Red will retail for $199 per set, around $30 less than the softer MZ Yellow.

Sponsored drive A SPONSORED drive in the 2001 APS Racing CIK'series is up for grabs. PCR Australia will support a driver in the Intercontinental A class and will be looking at the winner of the ReSa Champion of Champions meeting to fill the position. The Champion of Champions will be conducted early next year, possibly at Eastern Creek, and is open to drivers who have finished in the top six of their respective state’s Gold Cup ReSa series. The top six from Oceania’s ReSa support class will also be eligible. - MARK WICKS 74

THE weather wasn’t kind for the final round of the Victorian Motor Racing Championship at Sandown on October 1, with the large fields of cars across the categories aU running for cover and wet tyres at differ ent times during the day. The weekend also played host to the final round of the Australian Formula 3 Championship, which was sewn up by Victorian Paul Stephenson’s 1996 Dallara with a victory in race one. James Manderson picked his way through the spray to take race two, while Stephenson spun on lap two. Bronte Rundle took second in race one, driving in place of Darren Palmer, while Mike Beeley filled the position in the second race. The Mazda domination of Club Car racing continued, Mario Caligari heading home Bryce Norton by two seconds. Will Davison further stamped his claim to the Formula Ford title, taking the win driving the exMcColl RF98 from Glen Hastings and an impressive Matthew Tate. Group N featured a Ford versus Holden battle, but the power ofthe Mustangs of Michael Mceli, Chris Stephen and Greg McPherson was too much for the Tbrana ofScott Slater. The Under 2-litre Sports Sedan race was declared with no result, after Luke McPherson’s Escort crashed heavily. A strong field of Commodore Cup cars were on hand, with Craig Domaschenz too strong for David ‘Skippy Parsons in the Tascar #15 machine. Phonse Mullen filled third ahead of Geoff Emery. The HQ Holdens got the worst of the conditions, though Andrew Nowland made the best of them to win from Russel Lang and Glen McDonald. Hot charger award went to Mark Wicks, who sliced his way through to seventh from 20th on the grid. A broken wrist didn’t stop Christian D’Agostin taking

One from two: James Manderson (#88) heads Ian Black (#71) through Dandenong Road Corner. The former picked up one of the race wins. (Photo by Chris Carter)

the mighty Python to a win in Marque Sports over Lyndon Punshon(RobneU 302 SCR)and Mike Roddy(Jaguar), while Andrew McDowell narrowly outpointed Mort Fitzgerald for the MG pointscore win. A swarming pack of Formula Vees did nothing to stop Hart Mason’s strong of strong runs, the Jacer driver winning ahead of Andy Nethercote and Daniel Reinhardt.

Racing while it was dry: Lyndon Punshon (above) got in a spin in race one of the Marque Sports class. Amazingly, the field avoided him! Two wheeling my Torana: Gary McKay heads through turn one in his XLI-1, (Photos by Chris Carter)

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NATIONAL

World’s best for Oceania Titles

Vee wars: Daniel Reinhardt leads Hart Mason, Ray Colenson, Andy Nethercote and Joseph Chan. Mason would be the dominant driver of the class over the weekend. (Photo by Neil Hammond)

WINTON again proved its worth to club racing with round two of the Winton Motor Racing Masters on September 23/24. The Formula Vees were as competitive as ever with much lead changing, passes under brakes at turn one commonplace. Hart Mason, Andy Nethercote, Daniel Reinhardt and Ray Colenso were the lead pack all weekend. Mason’s five wins showed that he knew how to be in the right place at the right time and the opposition was so good that Colenso and later Reinhardt set new lap records to leave the mark at 1m37.9975s. Sports Sedans of all capacities. Club Cars and a Westfield Marque Sports combined to make a field of contrasting and competitive racers. Steve Newing’s Datsun battled with Michael Robinson, who debuted the ex-Hubbard Commodore. The V8 power created a huge advantage but, by Tank Corner, the Datsun had shown the stopping ability to lead. Until the long front straight that was, where the V8 powered by to take the win. Barry Proudfoot (Datsun 1600) was never far from contention in third. The final event, without

13 ociobar 2000

D D

Oh,the memories of Group A: It’s not Richards, Skaife, Fury, Olofsson or (Photos by Neil Hammond) even Lambden, but Terry Ashwood. Robinson, left Newing at the front. It was close, with Newing by 0.04s, but Proudfoot proved his pace by setting a new record for the under 2 litre cars at 1m32.1124s. A small, but varied, field of Group A and C touring cars was shown the way by Michael West (Commodore), with Willie van Wersch (Commodore) having the glory of leading from the sweeper to the new circuit before leaving the blacktop. Terry Ashwood (Nissan Skyline HR-31) was always among the placings and Gary Collins (Commodore) had speed but a lack of durability. The Thomson team cars were the best runners early in the HQ Holdens, Guy Thomson leaving Michael O’Keefe to fend off Russell Lang, Peter Flaimer and

John Moore. Later events had changed results as problems affected the lead team, with Long gaining victories from Moore. A nice touch to the field was the Safety Car. A HQ ute, no less! Dennis Dew buzzed the Formula Libre field in his motorcycle-engined Pirahna to defeat Matthew Tate and Ricky Occhipinti. The final race was Formula 2 for two starters and Tate defeated Occhipinti. Just as well they both finished, for what we would call it? Formula One, rhaybe? The third round of the Winton Masters will be held on December 2/3 and will feature the HQ endurance race which features two legs ot two hours. -NEIL HAMMOND

A NUMBER of the world’s best international kart drivers will be coming to Australia to compete in the FIA Oceania Championships on November 11 and 12. To be held at Raleigh Raceway in Coffs Harbour, Oceania 2000 will see the internationals return for the first time in almost two years. Fields for Formula A, Intercontinental A and Intercontinental A Junior will compete with ReSa as the official support class. A recent development from the CIK in Europe will now allow Formula Super A-licenced drivers to compete in Formula A and it is hoped this will further increase the overseas contingent. Local importers have indicated there has been a considerable amount of interest from their respective factory teams in Europe, with a number of manufacturers, including Tony Kart,PCR, Fox/Biesse, BRM,Swiss Hutless and Haase interested in sending drivers and/or personnel to compliment the local teams and drivers. Heading the list of Internationals is last year’s Formula A winner, Finland’s Toni Vilander, who will once again race for the PCR team. Vilander will be joined by Migell Celso in FA and an as yet unnamed Japanese driver in Juniors. Tony Kart are another who may send several drivers, local importer Jim Morton saying the factory team is excited about returning to Raleigh. At this stage, he is anticipating that Ryan Briscoe and current World FSA Champion Davide Fore would be the most likely drivers, plus, possibly, Sauro Cesetti for Kosmic Kart, although as yet nothing has been confirmed. “It’s two weeks before Japan (World Cup),so hopefully they will race here, have a holiday for a week and go to Japan,” he said. Unfortunately, one of the factoi^ teams that will not be coming is Top Kart. However the Austrahan Top Kart team will be out in force and is to be headed by Troy Hunt who has now returned to Australia from his European season. -MARK WICKS J5

Waking field in by MICHAEL SHAW WAKEFIELD Park played host to the New South Wales State racing championships on September 16/17 with tight racing and strong fields.

Sport Sedans

Joseph Said (Fiat) won all three races with ease. In the first, Said led from Darryl Knuckey(Gapri). Knuckey ran wide in the new infield section, dropping him to third behind Norman Stokes(RX7), before re-passing. Races two and three were repeats of the first, with Said winning from Knuckey and Stokes.

Formula Ford Justin Watt leapt into the lead from second on the grid, only to run wide, giving the lead to Jack Lynch. Both Lynch and Clayton Pyne succumbed to the same fate at the same place. This left Mark Winterbottom leading from Grant Ashby, Watt, Lynch and Stephen Austin when the race ended. In race two,Ashby led from Winterbottom and Watt. Watt charged into the lead after Winterbottom pulled out, only to run wide two laps from the finish. Ashby regained the lead and won in front of Lynch.

Production Sports

Bill Pye (Elise) started magnificently to get ahead of Peter Landen (Elise). Landen passed Pye for the lead and shortly after Pye ran wide in the infield, but recovered to finish third behind Paul Murray(RX-7). In race two,Pye again started well to pass pole-sitter Landen, but Landen worked his way back past a few laps later and pulled away. Stone finished third from Murray and Emlie Jansen.

Betta days ahead: Justin Watt couldn’t quite hold out the competitive pack of Formula Fords at Wakefield Park. by V

Tlie second race was much closer, with D’Aquino denied the win hy Mason by 0.27s. Puccio finished a further six seconds behind in third.

Fisher8tPO^

T» -

Group N

Mark Ullrich (Ford Fairlaine) roared away from the field, only to have the Morris Cooper S of Ian Stewart catch up and attempt a last corner lunge. It was almost successful, with Stewart passing Ullrich onto the straight, only to have the V8 power by at the finish line. Bob Hayden (EH Holden) finished close behind. Ullrich took race two, but only after an even closer battle with Stewart.

Limited Production Phil Poat led from pole and won from Bruce Tavener by 0.5s. Third was Chris Barry, a further six seconds behind. In the second race, Tavener got the jump on Poat at the start, but

on lap seven Poat tried to move up the inside into the last corner and clipped Tavener, putting both into a spin and Tavener out of the race. This let Barry win comfortably from Brown and the recovering Poat.

Formula Vee Ken Smith led away from pole, but dropped to 10th by the finish. On lap three, Ian Chivas and fourth-placed Michael Kinsella spun together at the top of the circuit. Benjamin Porter won from

Bruce Colbey, Ian Chivas and Gary Ogden. In race two Smith came together with Colbey on lap six, putting Smith out. Seven-tenths covered the winner Chivas, Porter and Kinsella.

Formula Alfa Chris Douglas(GTV 105)led, while Alan Lewis(Alfetta GTV) hounded Douglas until a brake lock up on the last lap let Douglas have an easy win. The second race was again won by Douglas, seven seconds ahead of Milan.

i? i

Winners: Joe Said’s Fiat was the class of the Sports Sedan field, while the Lotus Elises (or should that be Lotii?) of Peter Landen and Bill Pye dominated Production Sports.

(Photo by Michael Shaw)

HQs Mark Mason managed to pull a gap on Daniel D’Aquino in the first race to cross the line three seconds up. John Puccio followed them with Ian Kegg fourth. 76

nelarspon nsws

NATIONAL

QR's meeting of the state

QUEENSLAND state championship racing returned to Queensland Raceway’s ‘B’ circuit, which cuts out the back straight and turn three loop,on September 24. Jeff Barnes (Pontiac TranzAm) was too good in Sports Sedans. Gary Hamilton (Datsun 1000Rotary)took second ahead of Jeff Haley(Rover Vitesse-Chev). Barnes retired on the last lap of race two, leaving Hamilton to win from Haley. The final handicap race was won by Sean English (Ford Escort-Rotary) after Haley

getting a gap at the start and gradually pulling away from Simon O’Dell-Pontana(RX7)and Colin Giblett(Commodore)in the championship race. Horton won the second race ahead of Giblett, who pulled away from O’DellFontana after his spoiler broke. Giblett won the Reverse Grid race from Peter Lettice (Galant) and Andrew Hutchison (RX2). Cameron Wilson pulled clear at the start of the Geminis race, but behind, Lange, Nicholas, Wood, Argiro and Colin Smith put up a desperate battle for second. Lange

1 1 SIDCHROME Tools has put their support behind a youth kart racing team in Victoria. Aligning themselves with Pro Karting in Melbourne, the team currently has six drivers, ail decked out in Sidchrome livery and all using Arrow chassis. “It’s good for the sport and good for Sidchrome to be starting with young drivers,” commented team co-ordinator

Andrew Love. Pictured at the team’s launch are (left to right)Jordie Lindstrom, Jace Lindstrom, Mathew Hayes, Travis Cocks, Brad Cocks and James Love. Team driver Jace Lindstrom will be competing at the final APS Racing Series round at Geelong next weekend. - MARK WICKS

Spare parts for sale Barnes storming: Jeff Barnes’ Pontiac was simply the one to beat in Sports Sedans at Queensland Raceway.

(Photo by Mark Jones)

was black-flagged. Shane Hart(Bee Gee)bolted from the first race restart in Formula Vee, with Dale Press (Elfin) second. Hart won race two, while Ed Gair won a fierce battle for second over Ed Doherty(Bee Gee)and Press. Tucked among the Racing Gars for race three. Hart was the top Vee in eighth, ahead of Gair and Doherty. Marcus Marshall(Spectrum) retired early from the Racing Cars event, leaving Will Power(Swift)to lead with Ian Moncrieff(Van Diemen) behind. The two collided and spun, giving the round to David Partridge(Van Diemen). Race two saw Marshall home over Power and Moncrieff Marshall won race three ahead of Power and Partridge. Tom Horton(RX3) was the class of the Improved Production field,

13 Ociober 2000

eventually pulled clear with Nicholas claiming third. Lange faded to third behind race winner Wilson and Nicholas in race two, while in the combined HQ reverse grid race, Nicholas held onto fifth at the end with Wilson eighth and Lange ninth. Craig Yates took out the first HQ race ahead of Jake Camilleri and Ron Lovi. Yates and Camilleri staged a fierce battle for race two with Camilleri taking the lead. Lovi took second with Yates fading to third. The reverse grid race saw Allan Smith get up for the win over Rod Boyle. Glenn Jenkinson (Mallock 1300) and Matt Lowe(JMW 1300) gapped the field in Sports Cars until Lowe faded, giving the win to Jenkinson. In a combined race with the Racing Cars, Jenkinson was eighth. -MARK JONES

l 1 X Tex Super T10 - Reco, with shifter, Xratio " 1 X Tex Super T10 - Reco, with heavy duty magnesium extension housing “ Large variety of Super T10 Clusters imput shafts(NEW) also available Richmond Clusters & imput shafts with heavy duty 1st gears l 2 X V8 Supercar fuel churns with red necks l 2 X Victor high pressure air gauges " 1 X Car female dry brake unit l 1 X Close ratio Aussie 4 speed - excellent condition with bell-housing & shifter " Obergs-a number to choose “ Oil cooler - different sizes

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World record BMC Filters BMC Ail’ Filters, supplier of air filters to many Formula One teams, has released a range of filters to suit most popular cars in Australia. The factory Audi, BMW,Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche racing teams all utilise BMC Air Filter filtration products, with their performance being proven by the race results. Audi scored an impressive 1-2-3 podium sweep at the Le Mans 24 Hour in France with an incredible display of speed and reliability. On the local scene, BMC emits are leading the highly competitive Centmy Batteries G'TP Nations

Cup Championship Series, with the Porsche CTd of Jim Richards leading Mark Noske's Prancing Horse Automobiles Ferraii 360 Modena and the similar model Porsche of Peter Fitzgerald, all three running BMC Air Filters. All BMC Air Filters are built with the same strong and lightweight materials for best performances. The filtration is obtained by 4 plies of cotton gaze, with special low viscosity oil to stop the micro dust. The filters are washable and can be reused many times. For more information on the full BMC range, phone 0418 385 970.

Classic Carlectables,famous for their V8 Supercar diecast models, has released a 1:24 scale model of the Victor Bray world record breaking '57 Chevy Top Doorslammer. The model is an accurate representation of the car in which Bray broke the world record on June 9, 1996. The model includes a detailed roll cage and instrument cluster. The model includes a certificate of authenticity, personally signed by Victor and is a limited edition of 8,000 pieces that will not be reproduced. Another range of models that has proved to he very popular is

the Classic Carlectables 1:64 scale V8 Supercars. These are designed to be toys rather than a collectable but still maintain a high level of accuracy and detail. Priced at only $5, they are an ideal way to keep the kids away from your valuable collection. It may pay to buy two of each of these, as it can be hard to watch them being buried in the sand pit. To secure this unique piece of Australian motorsport history, or to see the latest offerings from Classic Carlectables, visit your local model shop, or contact Pitstop Model Cars on 03 9743 1100, or Exclusive Models on 02 9746 3104.

●U'TTOf OOCMS.AMH0

Victor Bray. The latest model from Classic Carlectables

iew designer suits More Dash

Revolution Racegear has relaunched Its RPM range of racewear for 2000 with bold and eye-catching colours and designs. Offering customers a full range of individual suit options, including off the rack designs or custom made suits to your team's requirements, Revolution Racegear now has over 35 different styles in single, double and triple layer. With the stamp of approval from motorsport's international governing body FIA and the Australian governing bodies CAMS, ANDRA, ASCF and AKA the RPM range is suitable for any form and level of motor racing. "We do a lot more than than just import and sell racegear. The design and manufacturing of suits and associated apparel is an integral element of our business," said Dale Rodgers, Managing Director. "Each product is designed and manufactured with Australian conditions in mind and the material, fabrics and design are under constant review." Revolution Racegear is Australasia's largest specialist retailer of motorsport and motoring accessories and equipment. Call toll free on 1800 804 778 for your nearest outlet. 78

YeUa Terra has released a new model VN- style Holden V8 alloy head, known as the Dash 11. With The Dash 11, Yella Terra now offers customers a choice of high performance alloy heads to suit every model Holden V8. The Dash 11 offers flow potential of 520 horsepower out of the box and close to 700 horsepower flow with professional porting and features the very latest in combustion chamber design to extract even more power from your V8. The Dash 11 is also available in EFI versions, with fuel injection notches

machined into the intake ports at the factory, Prices of Yella Terra performance heads have reduced significantly due to the GST For further information, contact Yella Terra on 03 9555 5522, or visit www.yellaten-a.com.au

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MarKetplace

Classifieds 2 issues

absolutelyfree*

*Motorsport News Classifieds are FREE tor private sales. Classifieds from motor sport traders are accepted (marked with a ●) and must be prepaid at the following per issue rates: $5 per 10 words (min $10 per ad), photo $10. Further enquiries to our advertising department on 03 9527 7744. Classifieds can be mailed, faxed or emailed. Classifieds are not accepted over the telephone. Forward to Motorsport News Free Classifieds, PO BOX 1010 North Caulfield 3161. Fax: 03 9527 7766. Email: msnews@ozemail.com.au. Make sure to list your category.

Sedans/Sports Cars

I,!

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Commodore Cup car, absolutely no expense spared, fresh engine, spare wheels and tyres, good list of parts. $25,000 ono. Ph Allan Walls 0418 319 533. 191

Bilstein coilovers, 19 piece moly cage. 2nd 2000 Vic Titles. Phone for details. Ph Rod 03 5792 2527. ,9. Club Car TE Cortina, 6 cyl 350hp, top loader, one meeting since refresh, quick and reliable car with heaps of potential. Comes with trailer and spares. $9000 ono. Ph Ken after 5pm on 02 9605 7517. 191 RX7 Sports Sedan, 13B PP, 300hp, 5 speed turbo gearbox, alloy roll cage, spoilers & flares, 10 and 12 wheels, Volvo disc brakes, log book. $8999 ono. Ph 03 9792 9526. 191

tion. Vic rego, RWC. $5000 ono. Ph Justin 0415 622 563. ,91 Ford Escort, 76, mod gen, one owner, 79,565 kms, new tyres, as new cond, $2750. 83 WB 1 tonne air, pwr/str, alum tray, 6 cyl, 4 spd, 176,220 kms, tow vehicle, as new condition. $8750. Ph 03 5852 2232. 191

i-'torcort I _ flBSf ■ .{ 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. iw

Falcon EB Sports Sedan, Auscar 5.0 Windsor, c/r top loader g/box, Harop brakes f&r, alloy Group A radiator, Koni shocks, strong reliable car. $22,500. Ph 0416 204 947 or 03 9772 0941 ah. 191 2402 1971, extensive restoration mech & cos metically. No modifications, a very collectable car. Reg & RWC if required. $7500 neg. Ph 03 5222 4036. 190

Lotus Super 7, 1961 S2, 1500 Cosworth Grp M, near concourse, history, spares plus tilting trailer. $42,500 ono the lot. Ph 03 9818 0551 or 0419 524 398. 191 Sports Sedan RX7, half completed project comes with lots of Mazda spares. Also available P76 V8. $5000 ono. Ph 0417 880 899. 191 Terrapin hillclimb/race car, BMC 1275 engine, wings & slicks, new coil over shocks, new wheels, dismantled. $4000. Ph 02 9379 8390. 191 '92 N14 Pulsar SSS, factory prepared '92 Bathurst 2 litre class winner, spares valued @ $10,000 and including LSD, race suspension and too much to list. Road registered. $13,000 ono. Ph 02 6562 3100. 191

Ph 02 9773 1909. 190

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, dual axle trailer with enclosed front. $20,000 the lot. Ph Rick 02 4267 4882 bh. 190 HQ race car, blue/purple, new tyres, suspension, roll cage, complete less seat S harness. $2000. Ph 03 9510 4159. 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, TIO 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

1964 HD Holden, mint condition throughout, original paint, never crashed, always garaged, ideal for auto museum exhibit or collector. Reluctant sale, comes with 1 year rego. $7000. Ph Michael 02 9130 4877 or 02 9398 8420 after 6pm. 191

Capri 350 space frame, V8 grunt, low cost, call for full specs, long history, race ready, spares. $18,500. Ph 07 3262 7911. 190

Gemini Coupe Sports Sedan, roller, eight 16" wheels & tyres, big brakes, log book, $4000. New steel APfour spots $150 each. Ph/fax 02 6734 2259 or 02 6732 3353. 191

Mini Under 21t Sports Sedan, 1380 iron head, S/C drop gears, competition flywheel, Omega pis tons, 13.5 to 1 compression, 45mm Weber, Ford vented disc brakes, 13" front wheels, CAMS log book, quick car, ready to race. $4950 ono. Ph 02 4684 2117. 190

Mazda RX3 Sports Sedan, 13B turbo race engine, ex-Ric Shaw car, Needham C/R box, LSD, 4 wheel discs, 10x15 slicks (near new). Ph 0413 383 102 or 02 4945 8968. 191

Mazda RX4, sedan, 1974, pointy nose model, VGC black interior, no motor, RX7 5 speed setup, 13B excellent extractors, exhaust, no rust, many spares. $950. Ph 0407 502 573 or 03 9314 6030. 190 Mustang Grp N, big HP, fully sorted, top $ spent. 2 sets wheels, 3 diff ratios -t Detroit & GoidTrak centres, 2 sets Hoosiers, spare engine, front springs etc. Potential Nc front runner. Trailer avail able. $46,500. Ph 03 9696 5800 or 0418 318 934. 190

E30 BMW 3231, 5 speed, 15" Simmons, pwr steer, air, Eibach strut brace & suspension, K-Mac adjustable, Unifilter, immaculate inside &out & much more. $12,800. Ph 03 6394 3541 or 0407 543 006. 190

Open Wheelers

Formula 3, Dallara F3 95/96, extensive spares, enclosed trailer, spare engine also available. Total package or separately. Ph 0418 310 571. 191 Rally car, well sorted championship-winning Gemini Series TC Gemini, 1602cc Arthur Jackson built engine. Control camshaft. Goodridge braided brakelines. Pagid brake pads. Bilsteins. Racetech seats. Extensive rollcage. Spare wheels and tyres. Logbook and 6 months rego. $5000 ono. Ph 02 6227 0133 or 0408 218 715. 190

FJ Holden Sports Sedan, blue Holden motor, Toyota gearbox, LSD diff, has won many rounds of NSW Hiilclimb Championships. Plenty of spares, wheels, panels etc. $4000 ono. Ph 0428 661 284 or 02 6644 9411 ah. 191 Torana Sports Sedan, 202, C/R box, Detroit locker, Stratos seat. Bond cage, triple Webers, some spares, wheels, tyres, includes rego trail er. Lost interest. $5000. Ph George 02 4952 5078. 191 EB Falcon Sports Sedan, dry sumped Clev, 5 speed, Harrop floater, rotors and calipers,

13 Ociober 2000

Nissan Skyline GTR R33 V Spec, 1996, stunning condition throughout, 42,000 genuine kilometres, fastidiously maintained. Quicker than many 'race cars', near new tyres, alarm, fully optioned, complianced. $66,500. Ph 0403 377 189. i90 HQ Monaco, 1972 LS Coupe, 253 auto, gunmetal grey, velour interior, very straight, paint needs atten-

Commodore VL, high performance 308, Aussie 4 speed, 9” locker diff. Simmons wheels, profes sionally prepared shell & cage. Excellent condition, suit Sports Sedan, with spares. $9500. Ph 02 4946 9554 or 0407 905 039. 190 Mini Sports Sedan, competitive car, many good bits, hear running, may consider wrecking. $3500.

4 March 732/A F5000, recent ground-up restora tion, log books, certificate of description, Australian history, some spares, lightweight trailer. Offers invit ed for serious sale. Ph 02 4456 4519, fax 02 4456 4619 or Email twinfalls@shoal.net.au 191 Go kart, Arrow chassis, new plastics, new powder

coating, Kartegh super seat, very little use, best looking Arrow around, immaculate condition. $1300 ono. Ph 0409 219 032. rsi

Quick, reliable race car. $6000. Ph 08 8242 0151

HRISTIES

Swift SC95K, complete $23,500. Rolling chassis $20,000. Previously owned by Marcos Ambrose, Christian Jones. Top HP Speedtech engine, includes ratios, Ohiin adjustable shocks. Ph Ron 02 9524 0995 or 02 9542 1038. 191 Formula Ford Van Diemen RF96, race ready, fresh two pack paint, 2 sets wheels, jacks, stands and some spares. Ph 02 4447 1855,0410471 855 or 02 4421 5471. 191 Formula Ford Spectrum 07/'99, rolling chassis for sale with Motec dash. Exc condition with spare wheels and ratios. $34,000. Also looking at possi ble lease packages for 2001 National and Vic State Series. Ph 0408 066 106. 191

Formula Vee Manta, ground up chassis rebuild and powder coat, motor and gearbox 2 meetings 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 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. 190 Go Kart, PCR, only raced twice, comes with KTIOOS and KT100J, trolley, suit, helmet, boots & gloves. Also, heaps of spares. $3800 ono. Will swap for Escort RS2000, registered & in good con dition. Ph 07 5465 7729. 190

Arrow AX6 Silver Arrow, 40mm axle. Club Championship winning chassis, very consistent, maintained to highest standard. Sell as rolling chassis, assistance to buyer if needed. Selling to make way for new chassis. $2000. Ph Kurt 0428 834 618. 190

430. 190

Go Kart Benson, 96 IA024 frame. Blueprinted Yamaha KTIOOs. 34mm axle, Frt camber caster adj Equipement and spares included. $3000 ono. Ph Gavin Mosher 02 6227 0133 or 0408 218 Spectrum 07 Formula Fords, 2 1999 model cars 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. 190

Formula Vee, top condition, enclosed trailer, huge spares, nose, g/boxes, body moulds etc.

Tilton/AP, twin plate clutches, 7/8 x 20", Earls oil coolers 25 row #12 $250, 13 row #13 $175. Terratrip 303, used once. $775. Ph 08 8278 5988 evenings. 191 Brembo 4 spot calipers, red, off 928 GTS x 4, $2500. Ph 03 9555 5969 or 0410 699 296. 191 Rebel rims,(5) 15x10 with nuts and valves to suit Torana. $500. Ph 08 8581 1560 ah. 191 Mini Cooper S, SCCDR box & diff, reco $875. Mawer composite mags & Bridgestone tyres, four, perfect cond 10x7 $585. Bond alloy roll bar $150, Repco full harness race belt, new. $120. Ph 03 5852 2232. 191 Helmets, x2. Spectra o/face with intercom. $500. Harnesses 3", 4 pt, Securon $250. RPM 2", 4 pt $100. Air jacks x 3 $100. Discs 2x14"x1.25", new $900. Ph 03 6234 4563 or 0403 097 423. 191 Commodore Cup car, complete shell only. Glass, doors, etc. Full roll cage, suit race or rally. $2000. Ph 08 8522 5541. 191 Reynard 1990 bodywork, complete. 2 noses, 2 radiators and brackets. $900 ono. Ph 02 4774 2267. 191

Superkart 250 int, 96 TZ250G Yamaha, Stockman 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 equip ment. See the kart Oran Park Oct 8th. $15,000

l Pedals, brake/clutch, floor mount/hanging, new/sued. Also available, bias valves, bias cables, master cylinders, reservoirs etc. C.C.i. Ph 0418 925 767. » Hewland, DGB, 5 speed transaxle, top condi tion, new 9:31 C WR ratio choices and spares avail able, $14K ratios, over 300 in stock to suit DGB, GFGB, TPT, FT200. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767. l 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. Ph0418 925 767. l Racecar parts, brake parts, chassis stands, diff oil pumps, exhaust collectors, fuel cell accessories, oil filters, quicklift jacks, ratio boxes, radiator caps, springs, spoilers, wings etc. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767. l Uprights, fabricated/cast, fronts/rears, various sizes, new/used, also CVs, driveshafts, wishbones, rockers, pushrods, all top quality, exc condition. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767. 8 Radiators, aluminium, new/used, single/dual pass, top quality, large range, various sizes, suit all applications, from $300. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767.

Speeilway

Super T10 gearbox, and Commodore conversion kit. Z ratio road box $1700. Auscar mags S 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. 190 Off Road Race Parts Sale, Ph 0414 367 997 for list. 190 L34 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

715. 190

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. i9o 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. i9o

23/16 Hilborn fuel injection, with pump and air cleaners. $2000. 1 near new Stealth crank. $2000. 1 set Oliver rods 8. $1200. Ph 08 9452 2808. 191 MSD Promag, ten times more output than con ventional magneto, built-in rev limiter, like new. $2350. Ph 0418 514 444 or 03 5176 2257. 191

Formula Ford Spectrum 06, fresh Lamer engine, ratios for Victorian tracks, '98 Bathurst winner. $25,000, trailer also available. Ph Karl Bond 03 9741 7302 or 0428 540 670. Available end of November. 191

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

l Brake calipers, discs, pads. Mega range, new/used, exc condition - AR Alcon,’ Brembo, Outlaw, Willwood. Overnight delivery. C.C.i. Ph 0418 925 767.

Pans d Utiiacfsiiiiir

Formula Vee, NG Elfin, fresh motor, new chrome wheels & tyres, new floor, seat and harness. Ready to race, nothing to spend. $7500 with registered trailer or $6500 without trailer, ono. Ph 02 4871 3940 ah or 02 9604 7680 bh or 0408 112 652. 191

ono. Ph 0408 667 729. igo

ah. 190

766. 190

Holinger gearbox, 5 speed manual, fully reco by Holinger Engineering & unused since. $8950. Ph 0418 369 899. 190 Ford Gold Trak, limited slip diff centre, suit 9". Ph Ross Donnelley 0408 463 777. 190 e Air jacks, new/used, large range, most applica tions, quick release handles available, top quality. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767. l Clutches, 7.25, 5.5, 5.0 single, twin, triple plate, sintered or carbon, AP-Tilton-QM, new/used. Spare covers, rings, plates also avail able. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767.

eiFO

S.D.A.V. Hot Rod, car and all spares. Proven win ner, holds 2 track records, methanol, 350 Chev, just rebuilt and sealed for legality, Lee power steer ing box, quickchange gearbox, ready to race, very reliable. $15,000 ono. Ph Peter 03 9746 7640 after 7pm. 191 EL Falcon Mod Prod, 1/1 built, costs only $4000. Ph 07 4164 3085. 191 Sprintcar outfit for sale, 1 complete Gambler Sprintcar, 6 meetings old, 1 complete Gambler chassis kit, powder coated, 1 Donovan alloy engine, fresh, 700+hp, spares package, ready to race. $45,000, urgent sale. Ph 0427 995 230. 191 Cylinder heads, Brodix 10, just recond. $2250 ono. Ph 08 9355 4000 or 0419 995 505. 191 Mini Sports Sedan, competitive car, many good bits, hear running, may consider wrecking. $3500. Ph 02 9773 1909. 191

RAEING FUEL & LUBBICANTSJ

Speedway Mini Sprint, Datsun 1200, twin 45mm Weber carbys, on methanol. GX head _ lot of work done - much more, independent sus pension, spare fuel, spare tyres & more. Very competitive car & ready to race as last season. $5000 ono. Ph Damien 0407 559 519 or 03 5996 3552. 190

m ELF racing brake fluid, dot 5.1 + full range of synthetic race lubricants, 2 stroke, 4 stroke and octane booster. Ph BMR 03 9793 5555.2

Speedway Super Sedan SA26, car built by Kim Cottrell & 5ASCAR Engineering. Constant podium finisher and has won many races and champi-

5HH8 Send is year classified ads and we’ll ran them for FREE* Cotcoonf: □ Sedans □ Open Wheelers DSpeedway DDrag DParts □ Engines □ Trailers □ Wanted □Photographs GOther

Description;

Please keep ads tonomorethan

30words,plusa photo if required.

' ^

Name; Address:. Ph( 82

)

NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS Please use the form provided and print dearly. Please note we are unable to return photographs used in dassified ads “ possible after receipt. ‘FREE Classifieds are for the sale of private goods and vehicles only, not business advertising (Trade advertisers see Classifieds header for rates). Photos marked "proof" will not be used.

metorsiiort news

onships. Recent complete rebuild including sand blast and powdercoat. Updated running gear including Torque Link with soft / hard springs, 5 near new Eagle Wheels and fresh rubber. $11,000 ono or consider swap for 360 Sprintcar roller. Ph Alan 0419 030 911. 191

new tyres, dual fuel, 5th wheel, tow bar etc, truck in VGC, 35 ft trailer, 5 beds, sink, stove, microwave, fridge, lots of storage, fully enclosed canopy in excellent cond. Ph Mike 03 9793 9113 bh or 0414 730 018. 191 Chev Suburban, Silverado 4x4, 8 sealer, 400 Chev, front & rear afl, power steering, dual fuel, Hayman Reese toVAar, very clean truck, tows large trailer extemely well. Ph Mike 03 9793 9113 bh or 0414 730 018. 191 Ford F100, ex-Ambulance, 84/85, 12 mths reg, 4 new tyres, new bed, stove etc. Bull bar, 2400kg tow pack. Excellent tow/storage race transporter. $12,500 ono. Ph Mark 0408 965

736 619. 191

Quick change, Reynard 92D, large selection of gear ratios, complete brakes, shafts. Will suit Formula Holden. $18,000 ono. Ph 0417 880 899. 191 Nissan JFJ20 turbo, race engine. Fully race pre pared. Competition clutch, T04 turbo, Cosworth pistons, inci g/box. $6850 ono. Ph Phil Howe 03 9449 5221 or 0418 131 428. 191 Rotary 13B PP, ex-Sports Sedan, incI 51mm Weber, hear running. $3800. Ph 0407 992 390. 191

PBotographs

Super Sedan Pontiac Trans Am,327 Chev, 4 spot calipers, wide 5 hubs, quick change diff, new alum seat, tell tail techo, p/steer rack, spares. $14,500 ono. Ph 08 9355 4000 or 0419 995 505. 191

Isuzu SBR Dualcab, updated drivetrain, new Pantech, checkerplate, rear ramp door, Duratorque tow bar, electric brakes, tyre rack, just passed RTA inspection, low kms very clean. Must sell, $15,000. Ph 0414 248 855 or 02 9527 1901. 191 Transporter, 8x2.5x3, electric brakes plus break away, aluminium cladded, wired with full lighting and powerpoints, superwinch, work bench, cup boards, aluminium checkerplate floor. Full length enclosed awning. $13,900. Ph 0414 248 855 or 02 9527 1901. <91

316 148. 191

HM Headers/Crow Cams exhaust system, complete twin-cat high-performance exhaust sys tem to suit 5.0ltr VN-VS Commodore. Stainless steel headers, all bolts/fittings. New, still in plastic wrap. Adds about 15% extra power/better fuel economy. Cost $1,400, sell for $1,200. Ph Gerald 0419 898 954. 191 USA NASCAR postcards, will buy or swap early or current driver handout postcards. I have late 1990s and current postcards signed & unsigned to swap. Ph Ben 03 5261 3438 after

182. 191

Litre Sprintcar, fuel inj 1500cc Laser Sport engine, quickchange diff, 6 point Simpson belts, good beginner's car, complete car with trailer. $5000 ono. Ph 07 4121 2061 or 0418 798 777. 191

Otlier The Great Race books, volumes 14-17 cover ing the years 1994-1997. Offers. Ph Aaron 0438

7pm. 191

Large range, of motoring magazines, inc full set

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. 191

Engines

Sports Car World, Racing Car News and many thousands of others, also motoring books. Ph 08 9279 7003 or fax 08 9377 3939. 19» Great Race books, numbers 5(1985), 6(1986), 7 (1987), aiso original Great Race book (19601980). Excellent condition. Ph Anthony 08 8351 4801 ah. <91 Michael Schumacher/Eddie Irvine, 1998 1/18 Minichamps Ferraris. A1 boxed condition. Sell together $550. Large collection 1/43 scale FI. Private collection. Ph 0408 680 243 or 02 4268 0243. 191

Bell helmet,sports 2, forced air, large, good con dition. $490. Ph0412 779 999. 191

.0 ;

r‘

k-:

Speedcar, 94 Cox hi-bar, Hallibrand diff, power steering, bladder tank, all alloy 2.4 Itr, fuel inject ed Renault, dry sump, carillo rods, forged pistons. Motor dismantled & damaged. Complete car with spares & enclosed trailer. $6800. Ph 07 3204 5786. 191

Super Sedan '9S Corvette, strong 327 Chev on methanol, 2 spd box Q/C, p/steer, body moulds, spare new chassis, heaps of spare parts, /LSCF rego. $16,000 ono. Ph 0416 241 006 or 02 9622

Mallala Masters 2000 photographs, most Club cars, HQs and Group N. Some photos of other cars. Ph David Batchelor 08 8634 5310. 191

Wanted Flathead Ford V8 1939, Offenhauser heads, Scintella Vertex Magneto, Rootes type supercharg er, 2x2" SU methanol carburettors. Built by Mike Davidson. D ports, Chev inlet valves, steel fly wheel. Ex-Amilcar Ford Special. Many spare parts included. Ph 0407 501 629. 191

1264. 191

Drag

1988 Adelaide Grand Prix, lam seeking any videos, magazine articles etc on the Premier's Trophy Race for Sports Sedans, specifically featur ing the Veskanda. Ph Doug Jendry 0411 464 444 or 08 9214 2590. 191 NASCAR sheetmetal, used quarter panels, bonnets, rear spoilers, front clips etc, required by nostalgic collector. Ph Ben after 7pm 03 5261 3438. 191 AP racing, 5 1/2" dutch centre rings and plates with 10 X 1 1/8’ splines. Worn-out AP or Tilton plates with these splines will also be OK. 15" x 7" jap import 4 x 114PCD wheels, suit front wheel . drive. Prefer 2 or 3 piece wheels or just split rims. Ph 07 3814 3762 ore-mail esp@hypermax.net.au 191 Toyota MR2 and 3SGE, competition parts. Anything considered to upgrade GTP car to Sports Car class. Need LSD, 3SGE or GTE com plete engine for rebuild, or possibly jap import 1/2 cut. Ph 07 3814 3762 or e-mail esp@hypermax.net.au 191

'On a mission dragster’, car has run 7.95s@165mph, 630hp Chev 370ci by Headsense, brand new AFR heads. Cola crank, billet rods, Hilbourn inj, best of everything. Bob Grant Glide, A-1 6200rpm converter, 35 spline billet rear end. $20,000. Ph Phil 0412 315 889. 191 Cortina Mk 2, 400 SB Chev, alloy heads, engine set back TH 350, 3.7 axle, Holley MSD, MalloryWeiand, runs mid 12s, also car trailer. $5500. Ph 07 3356 8483. 191

TransDorters/Trailers Ford FI50 1989, walkthrough integrated, air & stereo. Carpeted, rear luggage area, red and white, excellent inside and out. $25,000 ono. Ph 02 9791 0797 or 0417 029 397. 191 Trailer, 6.4m x 2.5m x 2m tandem axle, electric brakes, 2 side access doors, rear door, car ramps, display door. Insulated root, 12v/240v power, 3 windows (with screens), professionally built, never used. $11,900 ono. Ph 02 4464 3565. 191 33ft tri-axle, trailer 8ft wide, 7ft high, electric brakes, living and workshop area as new, wired for 240 &12 volt, fridge, cupboards, fitted for 2 Formula Fords or would take sedan. $15,000. Would consider trade. Ph Tony Jory 03 6326 5555 or 0418 130 133. 191 Tandem car trailer, 12 mths rego, tool and parts boxes, mag wheels, tyre rack, tows well. $1500 ono. Ph 03 9873 0046 bh or 03 9725 4844 ah or 0413 141 485, ask for Darryl. 191 Ford F250, reco 351 Cleveland, new clutch. 6

13 Ocioher 2000

Flowbench, 6000, and reliable, in QLD only. Ph 07 4164 3085 ah. 191 Alloy small Block Chev, Air flow cylinder heads, T&D Rocker, Cosworth pistons, Lucas mechanical injection. Ex-F5000 Hillclimb Car. 600hp plus. Ph 07 3846 5230. 191

Historic Open Wheeler, Formula 2 or 3, prefer ably with log book & COD. Must be basically sound, minor cosmetic repairs OK. No unrealistic prices. Ph 02 6367 3222 ah. 191

Chev 18 degree, motor, dart head, aluminium heads, bow tie block, T&D shaft rockers, Crower crank. Oliver 6" rods, JE pistons, fully recoed by Rob Benson. 650hp. $17,500. Ph 0418 514444or 03 5176 2257. 191

Quickchange differential, centre section & side covers for 3" C.A.E. pin drive, or complete unit. Ph 03 9850 3267. 191

Aluminium 18 deg, Chev heads, Jessel roller rockers, bow tie manifold, complete top end. $7500. Brand new Brodix dash 1 aluminium heads, complete with valve and springs. $2600. Ph 03 5176 1355 or 0418 514 444. 191 Chev engine complete,010 block, dash 8 heads, carillos rod, 9/16" hank TGE crank, dry sump, headers & mufflers. $8000. Ph 03 6334 1385. 191 Chev 327 U, pro built roller race motor, carrillos etc, unstarted since being built, owes over $13,000, must sell, with spares $7,500. Ph 03 5144 5293 ah. 191 Toyota Twin Cam, 3SGE, rear wheel drive, motor perfect for 2 litre Sports Sedan, complete with harness, injection, plus Phill Ryall Weber manifold if required, also bell housing. $900 ono. Ph 0418

Sponsors wanted, for driver in VSSupercar and GTP for Bathurst 2000 and series 2001. Ph Daniel 0419 257 921 or Mark 07 5485 4713 ore-mail : natoll7@hotmail.com 191 Sponsorship wanted, for GTP Nations Cup car for Indy 81 Bathurst and full season (or round by round) for 2001. Ph 07 3325 0489 or 0417 775 507 or e-mail: impex@ozlinx.com.au 191 Toyota Sprinter AE86, set of orange Koni shocks wanted. Have TRD Tokico shocks for exchange or will buy. Ph03 9889 1149. 191 Jawa 4 valve engine, for F500, Prefer 898 with carby and ignition but ail deals considered. Ph Bob 0429 915 994 or 02 9679 1499. 191 AP lockheed,4 piston brake caliper, 1 1/2" diam eter pistons, part number CP2361. Ph Barry 03 9796 4588, 191

Drivers suit, Revolution-RPM triple nomex layer XL, white top with navy blue bottom and navy blue stripes on arms and chest. No advertising on suit and in good condition. $600. Ph 0412 779 999. 191

Radio equipment. Motorola two-way. 4 hand helds, 1 in-car and three portable with 3 avia tion headsets, Spare batteries and desktop charger, microphone for helmet and button for steering wheel, plus cables. $1900. Ph 0412 779 999. 191 Grand Prix ports, mint condition in unopened boxes. Adelaide 89/90/91/92/93/94, Melbourne 96/97. $600. Ph 03 9720 2472 ah or 0418 546 216 bh. 191

Large collection, of posters and prints of all types of Fords, Holdens, old and new. Dick Johnson and John Bowe limited & cert. I have 2 of these rare prints at $150 each. Ph 07 3359 4081 or 0412 011 700 for list. 191

Holden HQ, one ton ute tow vehicle. VP SS inj 5.0L, 5 speed, top unit, white two pack paint. $8500. Ph 02 4447 1855 bh. 191 PI system 1, with mini dash, suit car or gokart. 10 channel beacon. Heaps of extras and hard case for storage. $3000. Ph Simon 0410 500 007 or 02 9959 5117. 191 Engine dyno, will hold big HP, complete with pumps, exhaust etc. Can supply as manual con trol or fully automatic & computersied. Can also assist with installation etc. Call for more info. Ph Mike 03 9793 9113 bh or 0414 730 018. 191

FI Racing magazine, April to Dec 96 $20, Jan to Dec 97 $20, Jan to Dec 98 $20, Jan to Jul 99 $10, or $60 the lot, plus post. Ail in excellent condition, no offers. Ph Andrew 02 4948 4472. 191 Jaguar XK220, handbuilt model in Aust, 100 only, $200. 49 Mercury Brooklin $100, both mint boxed. Ph Andrew 02 4948 4472. 191 Books wanted to sell. Autocorse Indycar year books. 1st edition 1993, 2nd edition 1994. Excellent condition. $50 each. Ph Scott 03 5025 7293. 191 Bell M3 helmet, brand new $1100, Tranzam suit, brand new $750,2 layer Mondial suit, brand new $550, 1 set red race boots, worn once, size 9-10, $100. Ph 0419 242 025. 191 Dorian timing, transmitter with charger and sedan mount. The transmitter was only used once, original packaging, perfect condition. $440. Ph 07 3372 3609 or email: stevek@ozlinx.com.au 191

OPINION

gioMrspMi EDITORIU STUFF Editor: Phil Branagan Assistant Editor: Gerald McDornan Staff journalist: Aaron Moonan

PRODUCTION Adv & Graphics Co-ordinator: Viv Brumby

AOVERTISINO Advertising Manager: Brendon Sheridan

RDMINISTRRTION 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

CONTRIRUTORS General: Grant Nicholas, Dattyl Flack, Tony Glynn, Mark Jones, Jon Thomson F1: 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 Henshelwood, Michael Shaw Photographers: Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Bothwell Photographic, Marshall Cass, Nigel Snowdon & Diana Burnett, Tony Glynn, AFl Images, Neil Hammond, Slipstream Photographic, ThunderPic, Phil Williams, Allsport, John Morris/Mpix, Frank Midgley, John Bosher, Lynley Reid, Mike Patrick (UK), Daniel Wilkins, Wayne Nugent, Peter French, Chris Carter Artist: Bernie Walsh Cartoonist: Allan Schofield Motorsport News is published by Australasian Motorsport News - ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Printed by: PMP Print 37-49 Browns Road Clayton 3168. Distributed by: NDD Ltd Material published by MOTORSPORT NEWS is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Freelance contributions ate welcome, and while all care will be taken, Australasian Motorsport News does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted. Opinions expressed in Motorsport News are not necessarily those of Australasian Motorsport News or its staff.

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Bazza rules, OK?

cricket, golf and tennis play havoc with normal scheduling. Channel Nine’s pathetic treatment of FI just gets worse. The litany of problems with their telecasts have been

'Ere, wots all this rubbish in the papera ababty my mate Barry Sheene (Sheeney). All you people jus' better leave Bazza alone else I might 'ave to come over there an' bang a few 'eads tagewer. I enjoy lissenin' to Baz. Anyone wot's on last name basis wiv all the BIG name drivers in Supercars is awright. 'Ow many owers in the commentatin' game can get away wiv Lowndesy, Skaifey, Forbesy 'an so on. Bazza, that's 'oo. E's a bloody champion, e is. An anower fing, that letta from Warren Taylor stickin' up for Baz. Onya Wazza. I can tell ya for fac' that Bazza does know Jack Schitt. E was a German motor bike race when Baz was orf in search of world championships on that famous #7, long before Foggy wos just a little bit o mist in 'is ol muwer's eye. Any'ow, I 'ope you people 'ave got the message ... lay orf! Fanks, Bob Smith (Smiffy) NorfBlackburn, Vic

Join the queue I would like to complain and inquire as to why Channel 9 delayed the Japanese Grand Prix by 10 and a half hours. Last year the GP was on during the day. This year it was on during the night at 11:30 pm. This is unfair to all who watch the

widely published and are well known, but as we saw earlier this year, Daz thinks all negative comments are cause for derision or irrelevant. G & L Barlow Email:e810123@dynatfiiiejcom.au

daytime race. Bernie E. even rang Channel Nine about the lack of coverage not only the Japan and Malaysian coverage - but the lack of footage of qualifying. I called Foxtel, whose motorsport commitment is outstanding and they said everything is numbers, so fans please ring Foxtel and request them to look into it. The more the better. On a closing note, Channel Nine might want to research that FI turned on around 300 billion viewers(FI Int. Aust Ed, quoted on each time a TV is turned on, each race), with our boy Webber closing in on a drive, could this not only increase the following in this part of the world? Andrew Hedges EmaiL-AHedges@austtxdandcom.au

Ten’s biggest fan I thought Ten’s coverage of the Indy weekend last year was hopeless. For 11 hours of television they only showed five races and that included the Indycar race. By the end of the telecast I was totally and utterly sick of everyone going on about what a great social event the Indy is. This year, less dribble and more racing. Not only has RPM not done a tribute to Joey Dunlop, they didn’t even mention who won

Motorcycle Racer of the Year 1999, ain’t any of the Australians good enough for Motorsport News to present the award? Aren’t Mick Doohan,

What can we do to rectify this situation?

No pushing now ...

tdevising the GPs,there’s not much wecando aboutitFOADigitalisnot available,Pay-TVisa tness andyou andlare stuck.And, unsurprisngly Nuk knows that...

the Indy 500 (still the biggest open wheel motor race in the world). Talk about piss weak! As for the motorcycle awards for the Australian

GPs throughout the season and support the Nine Network.

Christine Robinson E-mail: cmrob85@hotmail.com

Ed;Nine’s not ourftwouriie network at the momenteither, Barlow(s),eversince theyfiredEerri AntteEennetiey. This Japan GP deemon hites, basically.But, until someone else showsinterestin

Wayne Gardner, Troy Corser, Garry McCoy, Daryl Beattie, Kevin Magee, Rob Phillis, The moment we waited eight hours to see; Mai Campbell good enough Michael Schumacher and Jean Todt celebrate for you guys? Come on Motorsport News, in Japan. Our readers want to throw the (Photo by Sutlon-lrrages) one of our Australian legends champagne bottle at Nine! should be presenting the trophy.

I usually don't complain about much, unless I'm put out of a race by contact with another driver, but Channel Nine has surely cut off the nose of the FI viewing public in Australia, airing the second last round of the FI season, which cotild decide the championship, hours late.

Instead of the 3pm start last year, it’s 11:30pm like it or lump it! And when I tried to contact Channel Nine about the situation, I was told Channel Nine had other commitments. Surely they knew the FI season included Japan, and surely they know Japan - for Australia - is a

Queue in an orderly fashion

Daz and AJ are lucky to see all FI GPs Uve (as opposed to us viewers of Nine), especially the last two. Thank goodness for live Internet sites - not as good as TV, but at least LIVE. Japan finished at 6:05 i^DST. Surely Channel Nine could have decided to show the Championship deciding race(s) live and delayed the news five to ten minutes (or even longer)- after all, they let

Steven Hall, Bajool, QLD Ed;Just to show editorial non bias, we ran an anti-Thn letter, too. I don't agree with you re 10, Hall; and we would love to have Gardner, McCoy or Doohan at the 2001 Motorsport Awards. We’ve asked Mick a few times in the past, but he’s been unable to get there. Here’s hoping for next year’s knees-up.

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