Motorsport News Issue 227 - March 20-April 2, 2002

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NEW SERIES III FALCON XR8.

A HELL OF A DRIVE.

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With a V8 punching out 220kW,Series III XR8’s performance is seriously wicked. And, thanks to a body-kit inspired by V8 Supercars, it has a look that’s just as mean. So go on, be a devil. See your authorised Ford Dealer or call 1800 503 673.

FEEL THE POWER OF 3

Fi www.ford.coin.au

We have Ignition

notorsmrt Issue 227

20 March - 2 April 2002

news and opinion 4

Turn for the worse? T8 at Adelaide gets tongues wagging

7

Goodwood, Oz-style Mega Historic festival planned for Melbourne

8

Not the Dart New FI ‘team' sent packing in Malaysia

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10 Dude, where’s my

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Sprintcar Morris heading for the dirt bowls?

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features Idldybl

56 The new breed We preview the 2002 Konica V8 Supercar Series

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race coverage , ,

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32 Ralf’s lucky break Schuey Jr leads a Williams 1-2 in Malaysia 44 Skaife chase The V8 Supercar series kicks off in Adelaide, and Skaife wins. Again.

54 Clipsal 500 supports it's Lambo frenzy as Stokell leads the way in Nations Cup 62 Harbour Rally New ARC season, new regulations, and a new race

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64 Panizzi stomps ‘em Pugs dominate Tour de Corse 6 6 Clarke is da man Adam takes the Australian Speedcar Title

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Photos: Cover; Team [iT Dirk Klynsmith. Marshall J Brock * Cass. Contents: Sutton●I debuts Imoges, Dirk Klynsmith

24 Motorcycles

60 Histories

70 NASCAR

7 2 Drag Racing

regulars 62 Rallying

67 Speedway

74 National Scene

76 Marketplace 3

It’s Team Brock!

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Where’s the steering wheel? Brock and Baird get cosy in the TB VX. THE long-awaited return to V8 Supercar racing by Peter Brock finally happened at Adelaide last weekend, when Craig Baird debuted in Team Brock colours.

As reported in MN months ago.

Brock has joined forces with Rod Nash and Ron Harrop in a two car Commodore team, with Baird running the ex-Tony Longhurst car in Adelaide while a new car is being built.

Brock unveiled the team in a launch in the middle ofAdelaide last week but, ironically, missed the races, having a long-held commitment to attend a Monaro Club function in Wangaratta.

“This partnership has some good S3mergy going with the three of us operating in our areas of expertise,” said Brock. “Rod is in control of the business aspects and day-to-day team management; Ron is the chief engineer and will keep the cars competitive, while I will be in charge of media and sponsor liaison, corporate hospitahty. merchandising and the like,” Brock said.

The team will run a second car for Brock’s son James later this season, with two cars running at Bathurst in October.

The crowd’s reaction to the team was huge. Merchandising had to be replenished with stock from Melbourne by Thursday night, and queues to see Brock on Friday were as long as anything seen for any team.

Baird was amazed at the response; “You come out of the garage and see 100 people standing there,” he said. “I say. You are here waiting for Peter, aren’t you?’And it’s always. Yes’!

“They love it. It’s gi-eat to have Peter back in the sport, not as a driver, but as a man who 4

understands drivers/ As yet, there are no naming rights sponsors for the team, but support has already been forthcoming from long-time Brock supporters Holden, Bridgestone, Mobil, NGK,Autotek, Eibach and Biante.

This is the second incarnation of Team Brock. In 1976,Peter and brother Phil Brock drove a private Torana L34 at Sandown and Bathurst, taking third at the mountain after Peter put the car on pole.

Photo by Phil

GRM tests Dumesny THE endurance driving lineup for Garry Rogers Motorsport may have firmed a little after the team tested Australian Sprintcar Champion Max Dumesny last week.

The speedway ace spent time with the team at Winton, running approximately 20 laps in Garth Tander's Commodore VX and almost 30 in the GRM-built 'Thunder' ute, which has the same mechnicals at a current model V8 Supercar.

"I am really hoping to have Max in our second car," said team owner Gamy Rogers.

"We need to test him again and to see how he goes. It has been a while since he has driven one of these cars, but having achieved what he has in the last couple of years, you would think he

would settle back in quite quickly.

"We are testing some other drivers and my ideal would be to pair Max with one of them."

Rogers would not elaborate, but MN believes at least one potential driver is from overseas.

Dumesny has some experience on the black stuff. Apart from his NASCAR experiences, he raced at John Sidney Racing Falcon in the 1996 Shell Series, hampered by a lack of experience for himself and the tyre technicians from Hoosier, whose tyres he was, uniquely, running.

Dumesny had a red-hot summer, adding the World Series crown to his Aussie #1, and took the MotorSport Award for the Speedway Racer of the Year. motorsport netos

NEWS ■F ■■

-H

No Courtney for Bathurst James Courtney for Bathurst? That was the strange rumour of Acielaide weekend, linking James to the new Brock V8 Supercar team via his manager and former Brock confidante Alan Gow. Gow immediately discounted the story: "I have been approached by three teams in the last year to run James at Bathurst and the answer is the same to all of them. James is firmly focused on the career path that we have decided on and no other type of racing will be considered."

■ With Alan Jones stepping into a Helix Falcon at Queensland and Bathurst, we hear that the favourite to fill his vacated drive alongside Anthony Tratt is none other than his own son, Christian. The former Nations Cup and Formula Ford man is likely to be confirmed for the seat in the next few weeks.

0YAMAHA SKILLEO

■ Sony (Playstation2) has signed up as AVESCO's timing 'technical partner'. Among the innovations already in place or planned for introduction are 'live' event timing screens on AVESCO's web site at V8 Supercar races.

Smoking fast: Mark Skaife negotiates Turn 8 at around 200kmh during Race 2 in Adelaide,

by PHIL BRANAGAN ADELAIDE’S new Turn 8 comer has won its fair share of fans and critics after the first use of the revised track for the Clipsal 500.

Even before Paul Radisich christened the concrete at Turn 8 in practice, there was much chat among the drivers about the changes and, with a number of teams trucking heavily-damaged cars back to their workshops after the race, there could be big changes before the race in 2003.

Whereas before the corner was a brake, downchange and turn, cars filing thought at around 140kmh, the new corner has been opened up substantially, the fast guys jabbing the brakes and turning in, stUl well in sixth gear when the cars were on fresh rubber and light tanks and on a hot lap.

The computers told the story, one team listing a series of entry speeds in the 205-210kmh zone which, in itself, led to some comments from the drivers. Most were unanimous about the opening up of the corner and the removal of the tyres on the outside wall, which 2S March 2002

have featured heavily in incidents to Brad Jones and Dean Canto in past years.

In the support categories, there was also a high level of enthusiasm for the Dunlop-sponsored corner, with Paul Stokell wide-eyed when describing his passing move on the outside of Jim Richards during the first Nations Cup race.

“It is almost flat,” said the Lamborghini Diablo GTR driver.

“Almost...”

To a man, the loved the comer for its challenge, but there were

"Personally, I would like to see some way of reducing the entry speed a UWe"

- Glenn Seton

also some comments about the need for continued development of the corner.

“I think what has happened is good,” said one of the drivers quietly, “but having a kerb on the inside would enhance the safety. If you tag the (inside) wall going in, you are going to have a big crash on the way out, and even if drivers behind see yellow flags, they might

(Photo by Dirk Klynsmith)

have slowed to 180 (kmh)before the get to see you. That’s still pretty bloody fast if you have no warning.”

During the meeting, Jason Bright, Steven Ellery, Todd Kelly and Glenn Seton joined Radisich in the Turn 8 victims’ club, while a number of drivers in the support races, notably V8 Brute drivers Jim Cornish and Garry Holt, also wore the wall on the corner.

Seton reflected their feelings of the drivers who crashed; “I think it needs a kerb to keep you away from the inside wall,” he said. “In my case, I had bent steering, I turned in a fraction early and ricocheted across to the outside wall. It was every bit as big as the Phillip Island incident (in 2000) except, fortunately, it was on the left-hand side of the car.

“It is a tad quick, especially as it is a blind corner; if anyone spins, you can’t see them in time to stop.

“Personally, I would like to see some way of reducing the entry speed a little.”

The drivers were consulted prior to the changes, which had resulted about in about a 3s reduction in lap times but, maybe, some more talking may need to be done before next year’s race.

■ 'Mort' is back. Graeme Brown now has a role with Network 10's commentary team, the former Bridgestone tyre manager 'reading' race strategies for the talkers as the races progress. Brown's expertise will be particularly valuable in the endurance races.

■ Ford Racing has a new man on board. Sean Managh has joined the blue oval as Strategist, the Kiwi's role being mainly in marketing Ford's teams through the season, ■ Good thing that the rules have changed at the Clipsal. With pitstops now allowable under yellow, TWR Racing's Jeff Grech and Matty Crawford showed outstanding race speed after the cars had made their slops, both red-clad personnel making lightning stops at the back of the paddock...

■ Congrats are in order for a couple who got engaged on Adelaide's podium. As a set-up for Nine's 'Marry Me' TV show, the groom-toJae popped the question on Saturday morning, the ruse aided and abetted by Mark .Skaife. We can spare you from having to 'enjoy' the show; she said 'yes'.

■ The Enforcer's popularity knows no boundaries. Russell Ingall was pleased to sign a 1/18th scale model of the #8 Castrol Commodore for Scott Chivers, who Is serving with the Aussie forces in Afghanistan. Scott's fiancee Harmony will be sending the model - and all of our best wishes north as soon as possible.

5

Bathupst 24-Houpl

AVESCO boss not happy with time and place ofPROCAR announcement 'in

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We’re going back to the Mountain! The Nations Cup cars kicked off their titie at a great track in Adeiaide. How many of them wiil commit to the Bathurst 24 Hour?

(Photo by Dirk Klynsmith)

by AARON NOONAN PROCAR Australia officially announced the Bathurst 24Hour race as a goer at Adelaide over the weekend, drawing the ire of AVESCO boss Tony Cochrane.

Witnesses have reported that the V8 boss was none too pleased that the organisation elected to make the announcement at ‘his’ race, reputedly launching into a fiery verbal barrage, directed at PROCAR’s Craig Denyer.

Nevertheless, the organisation announced an ‘in-principle’ agreement with the Bathurst City Council, which owns the Mount Panorama track.

A variety of issues, including pit upgrades, track marshals, resident access, freight for overseas teams, a television deal and the fact that there’s another race meeting in the state on the same weekend, remain to be resolved.

The race is scheduled to begin at 4pm on November 23 and end 24 hours later with a field of 83 cars, including Nations Cup cars, FIA N-GT cars, Porsche Supercup, GT Performance Class A and FIA Super Production.

“The deal has been done and we’re on our way to one of the most exciting motorsport events in the world,” said PROCAR Chairman and CEO,Ross Palmer.

“This is the fulfilment of a long 8

held dream of PROCAR. We’ve been planning this for four years and we believe it will be one of the special events in Australia.

“There’s been a lot of interest from the US,the UK and Europe.

We’re hoping to attract 15 to 20 international teams in the outright category mixed in with our categories.

“A huge job is ahead of us over the coming months, but we are prepared, we are realistic and we have a committed partner in the Bathurst City Council. The Mayor Ian Macintosh and the council and

its officers have been outstandingly helpful since we began discussions with them last year.

“They have been quick to see the potential benefits of a race with more than 80 teams, let alone the spectators, and hopefully the event will strengthen the council’s claims on the Federal and State governments for money to upgi'ade the facilities at Mount Panorama.”

The event will be managed by PROCAR's Special Events Manager Brian Lawrence, a wellknown and widely experienced

ft’s a goer: Brian Lavi/rence, Bathurst Deputy Mayor Brad Housmans, Ross Palmer and John Cowley face the press at the announcement of the Bathurst 24 Hour race.

(Pholo by Dirk Klynsmllh)

New Zealand motorsport identity who now lives in Queensland.

Just what sort of a crowd the race will pull is something of a guess, considering that it’s a mere month and a half after the V8 1000 at the same track.

Lawrence said that PROCAR was budgeting for a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000.

Palmer said that PROCAR was in negotiations for a television deal, including some live coverage of the event. Considering that it has a 2002 deal with SBS,that broadcaster would have to be considered the favourite.

PROCAR will attend an FIA NGT and European Super Production race meeting at Silverstone in May and the Nurburgring 24-Hour in Germany in June to seek entries for Bathurst.

Interest in the race since it first surfaced has been strong overseas, with a number of teams keen to head down under, especially as the various GT championships in Britain and Europe have finished by the November date of the Bathurst event.

Graham Nash Motorsport is planning on entering a Saleen and a Porsche 911 while 2000 British GT Champion Calum Lockie’s reaction is typical of many overseas drivers.

“I don’t mind what it is in - even a pram will do!” he said. motorsport rows

NEWS

Mike backs Juan

n Former Lowndes manager and

Gibson Motorsport murchandiso guru

Noel Watson has just signed his company up to handle event merchandising for IMG's five big races. The man who negotiated Lowndes's move to Ford provided some innovative marketing at Gibsons, so look tor some ritzy event racewear in the near future. n Brock fans might want to check out Peter's Big Charity Day Out, at Yarra Glen Racecourse, from 11am to 3pm on Saturday April 6. PB will be on hand to sign things, there'll be a Show & Shine, Brock’s Targa Monaro, a charity auction and plenty more. There's a $12 adult, $6 children, $32 family admission fee but all proceeds go to Brock Foundation charities.

Don’t let me go to the Steward’s box. It’s the same bloke from Silverstone 1999! Montoya confers on the grid, the Steward who handed out the penalty the same one who caused the drama with Schumacher finishing in the pits in 1999.

(Photo by Sutton-lmages) MICHAEL Schumacher has come out in support of rival Juan Pablo Montoya after the Columbian copped a drivethrough penalty for his part in the opening corner comingtogether in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.

“As for the rules regarding penalties,!think they should be made more consistent, although that might be difficult to achieve,” said Schumacher.

“I think we’ve seen far more extreme situations where nothing has happened, and today, a little touch and something was done.

“We don’t seem to have a veryconsistent situation. That’s something we may all want to improve in future.”

Montoya described the penalty he was served as “bullshit.”

“I think it was unfair to penalise me with the drive through penalty, because in my opinion 1 did not

cause the collision and this was a normal racing accident which was also confirmed by Michael in the media conference. The climb through the field was very exciting, even if I had to do it twice.

“I think the penalty came, basically, from what happened in the first race (Australia). I think the stewards wanted to show they are really strong and if anybody does anything ‘we are going to give you a penalty.

55)

Goodwood-style meet for Melbourne?

THERE could be a Goodwood-style Historic Festival in downtown Melbourne as early as next year.

Motorsport News has been told that a number of business leaders in the community, led by car enthusiast Lindsay Fox, are behind a plan to make March an almost non-stop month of motorsport nostalgia.

The Festival, based at the Docklands area around the Yarra River, would come a week after the 2003 Foster's Australian Formula One Grand Prix, which itself follows the traditional Phillip Island historic meeting by a week. That time period would encourage competitors from all over the world to come to Australia to partake of a motor racing holiday down under.

To aid this, it is believed that the Docklands precinct will be designated a customs area, to ease the way for cars to be imported into Australia with a minimum of fuss and paperwork.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed, above right, has become one of the most successful historic meetings in the world. Held on the estate of Lord March the week after the Le Mans 24 Hour 20 Mwco 2002

race, it has become the place to associate with the great cars and drivers of the far and recent past of motor racing.

There is also another Goodwood meeting, the Revival, at the actual Goodwood track, held annually in September.

Details of the Melbourne meeting, which already has the support of the City Council, are expected to be announced shortly.

- PHIL BRANAGAN

n We hear that David Auger will be racing in Asia this season. The Queenslander has sold his Alfa Romeo Super Tourer to a Melbourne team, and is shopping for an offshore ride in the Super Production category.

M There's some changes in terms of the men behind the scenes at HRT for season 2002, but it only looked for the better at Adelaide, considering the team's results. Jeff Grech is now in the position of TWR Racing General Manager, while Rob Starr takes over as team manager. Tony McLuckie has replaced Starr as Mark Skaife's engineer, while Lucas Docking handles the duties on Jason Bright's car. n An addition 'support' race before Sunday's second race of the Clipsal 500 was a push-bike fest, as Holden's finest raced the new Monaro mountain bike up and down the main straight. Cameron McConville came out the winner, for the record books. n Don't believe what you may have read elsewhere. Paul Dumbrell hasn't tested for the Valvoline/GRM team and is focusing on the opening Konica round at Wakefield Park on Easter weekend. For a Konica V8 Supercar Series preview, turn to page 56. n Highly experienced Aussie karter Troy Hunt is the team manager of a new karting team - TopGun Kart Racing Team - which will be launched this Friday.

He will drive for the team as he eyes off the elusive Formula A category which has so far eluded him, while Nathan Antunes will drive for the team in Junior Intercontinental A. The team are also planning to compete in the Monaco Street Race later this year. n Two of the fastest Formula Ford state racers may be sidelined for the 2002 Ford Racing Australian Formula Ford Championship due to budget.

Daniel Reinhardt, Daniel Elliott and Kurt Wimmer are all seeking additional backing to get them through the year.

7

McRae: wait and see

COLIN McRae still wants to race a V8 Supercar at Bathurst - but do not bet your house on it.

The former world rally champion, who raced touring cars 10 years ago, says that he wants to have a crack at Australia's greatest touring car event, but the problem may be finding a seat - and testing time - for the Ford Focus driver.

"There's been an idea from Ford in Australia about doing Bathurst, but would still depend on a few things, including the testing program between New Zealand and Australia," said McRae recently.

"It fits fairly well into the schedule because it's the week after New Zealand. I've said before that I'd quite like to have a go at touring cars again and that still stands."

But the specialised nature of V8 Supercars, and the limited testing time available to teams and drivers, would be have to overcome before the Scot had a chance to say yes or no to a drive.

Ford Racing's Manager Floward Marsden has had input into the decision-making process; "We have been asked to offer an opinion about it, and

that is what we have done, "There should be full realisation of how professional we are over here," Marsden continued."

Then there are three other issues; the local talent which is available to the teams here; the uniqueness of a V8 Supercar, which is a heavy and powerful car with narrow tyres; and the unusual nature of the circuit."

Marsden also pointed to the number of international touring car drivers, some with distinguished pedigrees, who have come to Mount Panorama and failed to make a positive impression on their Bathurst debut. While no names are being suggested, drivers like Alain Menu and Jason Plato, BTCC winners both, have hardly set the Mt Panorama tarmac alight.

And who would McRae drive with, if there was enough testing time available? There are five Level 1 co-driving seats still available, alongside Marcos Ambrose, Tony Longhurst, Simon Wills, Rodney Forbes and John Cleland, who will drive for the OzEmail team.

And there is already a link with the latter; McRae's father, former British Rally champion, Jimmy McRae, used to be Cleland's ... plumber.

- PHILBRANAGAN

Photo by Sulton-lmages

Frank and Ron not happy, Max

Different camps? Ron Dennis, right, will need the support ofother team ho,sses tike Tom Walkinshaw to block the new proposalsfor changes to the FI ,sporting (Photo in- Marsh^BVrmyEU) regulations.

WILLIAMS and McLaren have made it clear that they are not keen on a series of proposals to change the sporting regulations in Formula 1 relating to the supply of engines.

There are proposals that next year teams will be allowed to use only one engine per car per race weekend.

This is being presented as a way in which teams can save money and many of the smaller teams are going along with that argument, leaving Williams and McLaren in a minority.

The two teams have been suggesting that there are ulterior motives behind the changes, the suggesting being that restricting the number of engines will favour rival teams.

The body that will decide if the new rule will be adopted or not is the Formula 1 Commission.

This 25-member group has to get a vote of 17 in favour of any change. The 25 men in question are the 11 team owners, eight race promoters, the FIA President, plus representatives of two sponsors, the commercial rights holder, one tyre company and one engine manufacturer.

In order to stop the idea, McLaren and Williams need to find a block of seven other votes to get the nine needed.

There may be some support for a block from the engine manufacturers (and one or two of the teams) so that the vote could be a very close one.

- JOE SAWARD moiofsiion news

NEWS

Alesi’s Mac time

JEAIM Alesi recently returned to Formula 1 at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, where he conducted a three day test and covered the equivalent of four Grand Prix race distances in a 2001-specification McLaren Mercedes.

It is almost five months since the FrenchSicilian retired, having lost his seat in the Jordan Honda. The test is seen purely as a favour to the Grand Prix veteran from his new employer, DaimlerChrysler. Drizzle failed to spoil the experience for Alesi.

"It was a big week for me," he said.

"Special. If possible, I would like to go testing again in the future. It was fantastic to arrive and find my name on the McLaren. I have spent so long battling against them."

Alesi will race a Mercedes in the DTM touring car series this season.

- QUENTIN SPURRING

Plioto by MaretvBOTHWELL

n Kumho Tyres will back the 2002 MGF Trophy one-make series. The 205/45/16 Ecsta V70A tyre will be used by the entire 32-car field, which has only six seats remaining. The series will kick off at Phillip Island on April 12-14, n The latest rumour as to the backer of Team Green’s Indy 500 assault is 7-11 convenience stores, with Bud as an associate backer. Bud has taken the associate role in the past two seasons at the Brickyard with Galles Racing and Ganassi Racing.

Jaguar R2? R3? R2.5?

JAGUAR Racing may have scored three points in Austraiia but the team management is realistic enough to understand that the result was a fluke and it is uniikely to happen again.

The performance of Jaguar in qualifying in Melbourne and KL was depressing in the light of the team’s statements that the car had been much improved during the winter testing. This was clearly not the case.

The question now is whether the wisest course of action to limit the damage this year will be to go back to the old R2 chassis and develop this, rather

than trying to fix the troublesome R3. The problem is that electronic power-steering has been banned and so the drivers would have to use mechanical power-steering.

The R2 chassis was not a great success but it did develop as the season went on. During the winter, the car was developed to a B-specIficatlon but the potential for development is likely to be less than for the newer 2002 cars, and so Jaguar can be expected to fade later in the year.

The Jaguar R3 may have more long-term potential but the team will have to go through a lot more pain before the car becomes more competitive.

Team boss Niki Lauda confirmed in Malaysia that the team will run both the R2 and the

n Former Formula Fordster Steve GrocI made his GT-Production debut on the streets of Adelaide on the weekend. Groci has taken delivery of one of the two Volkswagen Beetle RSis run by the works team last season.

R3 back-to-back in testing at Barcelona this week to evaluate each machine's comparative potential for the year. Lauda has already confirmed, however, that the troublesome R3 will run at the Brazilian Grand Prix as there is no time to develop the R2 before the teams leave for Interlagos.

“We will race the R3 in Brazil.

That is for sure. We do not have the capacity or the time to develop three R2s in time for Brazil. Should we decide to revert to the R2 for a few races, Imola could be the starting point, but not Brazil.”

As an aside, whispers from within the team suggest that when Eddie Irvine lost a diffuser while testing the R3 immediately prior to the Australian Grand Prix, his lap times were affected by a full 1.4 seconds-for the better.

- JOE SAWARD/STAFF

n Rumours in the United States are linking both Team Penske and Team Rahal with a deal with Toyota engines for next season. In terms of Rahal, his team will run its first IRL race on March 24 at California Speedway, having entered Jimmy Vasser in the Miller Dallara/Chevrolet. n Eddie Cheever spent time between Flomestead and Phoenix getting a few things right in the head of young team-mate Tomas Scheckter, "My first reaction as a race car driver was to jump out of the car and use the Foyt technique of driver development - grab him and pound some sense into him," Cheever said of Scheckter.

"But that approach never had a long-lasting effect on me. Instead, we spent two days after the race, some of which were awkward, going through the differences between road racing and oval racing with Tomas. Tomas is very talented, and we expect nothing less than flawless execution from him every weekend.

Fie needs to understand that the races are won in the last 20 laps, not the first three. I hope that we have successfully drilled this into his head." n American Tyce Carlson has joined Buzz Calkins in retirement from the Indy Racing League. The 31-year-old crashed in practice at Phoenix on the weekend and made the decision to walk away from the sport with his health, particularly after some big crashes during his IRL career. The PDM Racing outfit therefore is looking for a driver with some sort of budget. Mark Dismore, Greg Ray and Memo Gidley have all been in talks with the team over the drive. n Japanese racer Shigeaki Hattori has taken over Calkins's drive at Bradley Motorsports. bringing EPSON as well as NISMO support.

The team will switch from Chevrolets to Nissan engines for the Yamaha Indy 400 at California Speedway.

9

ten

Davsi

home of

[motorsport] V8 Supercar Championship* ,Rd 2 Phillip Island ...

Apr 14

Apr 28 ... .Eastern Creek .

,Rd 3

May 19 ...Hidden Valley ..

Jun 9 ....Canberra

.Rd 4 .Rd 5

Jun 30 .. .Barbagallo Jul 28 Oran Park

.Rd 7

Aug 18 .. .WInton

,Rd 8

Sep 15 ...Old Raceway ..

Oct 13 ... .Bathurst

.Rd 10

.Rd 6

,Rd 9

Surfers Paradise

.Rdll

Nov 10 ...New Zealand ..

.Rd 12

Oct 27

by AARON NOONAN

Konica V8 Series* Mar 31 ...Wakefield Park

,Rd1

May 5 ... .Phillip Island ..

Jun 16 Oran Park

.Rd2 .Rd3

Jul 7

.Rd4

.Winton

Aug 4 ....Mallala .

Oct 12 Bathurst

I n I n II n I n

.Rd5 .(non Championship)

FIA Formula One World

I

Championship Mar 31 .. .Interlagos

.Rd3

Apr 14 ....Imola ...

.Rd4

Apr 28

,Rd5

Barcelona

May 12 .. .Al-Ring

,Rd6

May 26 ...Monaco .Montreal Jun 9

.Rd 7

IB Jun 23 Jul 7

.Rd8 .Rd9

Nurburgring .Sllverstone

.Rd 10 .Rdll

Jul 21 ....Magny Cours Jul 28 ... .Hockenheim

●Rd 12

IB CART FedEx Championship* .Rd 2 I B Apr 14 . . . .Long Beach ,Rd 3 Apr 27 . . . .Motegi . . . ,Rd 4 I B Jun 2 .Milwaukee .Montreal . .Rd 5 Jun 9 IB MotoGP Motorcycle Championship* IB Apr 7 Japan .Rd 1 .Rd2 Apr 21 . . . .South Africa IB May 5 Spain . . . . ,Rd3 .Rd4 May 19 . . .France . . .

I B Jun 2 Italy .Rd5 SBK World Super Bike Championship* Mar 24 . . .Australia .Rd2 Apr 7

.South Africa

.Rd3

Apr 21

Japan

.Rd4 .Rd5

May 12 . . .Monza Nations Cup Apr 7

.Symmons Plains. .

.Rd2 .Rd3

May 5 . . . .Oran Park Jun 9 Canberra

.Rd4

Jun 23 . . . .W/inton .

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M 0V9OI Oates in IM calendar were correct at the time of priniing. Please consu/l any tndlylduaf tracks andky associations tor data changes.

Sorlos or ovontii tolccnst on Network Ton ere inerkod v/ilh on asterisk. Chock your local Quidce for scroonino details.

Ringing more than just the Bell? Stephen Bell has been drivingfor Bill Mann if team in the WSS this season, hut could 'The Dude’hejoining him?

(Photo by Paris Charles)

The Dude for Sprintcars?

FOLLOWING on from our recent story regarding Steven Johnson's interest in racing Sprintcars during the summer off-season of V8 Supercar, Motorsport News understands another Level 1 driver from Queensland has approached a team owner from the same state about a possible deal for next season.

Our spies suggest that Paul Morris has approached a team that's already contracted to World Series Sprintcars apparently Bill Mann's outfit and has requested an idea of the money and logistics involved in fielding a two-car team either by itself or in conjunction with another team in a satellite-type arrangement.

When you add up the number of V8 racers who've either tested Sprintcars or are regulars at 'Saturday nights at the skids' during summer, it's not surprising that more and more drivers from the country's top road racing category are all keen on keeping themselves race-sharp during the summer.

The addition of a V8 driver to Sprintcar racing, whether a one-off or a full season of WSS, is an avenue untapped so far by either Holden or Ford, though Ford did express some interest in getting behind last year's WSS before the deal fell over at the last hurdle, thus the Ford-clad shirts of WSS staff at race meetings.

- AARON NOONAN

Courtney tops F3

JAMES Courtney topped the timesheets in British F3 testing at the Croft circuit in Yorkshire last week.

Courtney took his Carlin Motorsport Dallara/MugenHonda around the track more than a tenth of a second quicker than closest rival Richard Antinucci (Eddie Cheever’s nephew) in the Manor Motorsport car.

It was a bittersweet day for the Carlin team however, as their other driver, Michael

Keohane, suffered concussion in a crash at Toww Bend.

Robbie Kerr was third for Alan Docking Racing.

Earlier in the week, Courtney has ended the day in fourth place in testing at Oulton Park, following on fi-om a disappointing test at Donington that saw the Sydneysider end the day in seventh after his machine suffered a broken fuel pump, delaying his progress.

- MARK GLENDENNING

ALEX Davison is set for a busy year, the young Aussie to tackle the Porsche Supercup in addition to the German-based Carrera Cup. The 21-year-old will join Manthey Racing for the Supercup, which follows the European and American legs of the Formula 1 circus, and will remain with his regular Phoenix Racing squad for the Carrera Cup series.

Manthey Racing has won the past four Supercup titles with Patrick Huisman, who drives for the team alongside Bernd Maylander in the DTM. “I’m rapt,” Davison told us on Monday night.

‘T get 19 races plus a fair few tests. The cars are the same in each championship and that helps my cause in both championships. The Supercup does Imola, Barcelona, Al-Ring, Monaco, Nurburgring, Sllverstone, Hockenheim, Budapest, Spa, Monza and Indy.”

The Spa race is a joint Carrera/Supercup event, though Davison will stay with Phoenix for the event.

“I’ll drive the Phoenix car, which is backed by Hewlett-Packard again and Manthey will get another driver. It works out well for everybody -1 get points for both championships and the team still get their points for the team’s championship.

“The two teams are actually right across from one another at Nurbui-gring in an industrial park, so it’s worked out well in the end.”

Software AG will back Davison’s Supercup team, co-incidentally the same backer who sponsored the Carlin team with which he ran some one-off races in Supercup last year. The Melbournian will test at Monza this Thursday and Friday.

MEANWHILE, Davison’s younger brother Will has been busy hitting the testing trail in Formula Renault in the UK. Still coming to giips with the different machineiy, Davison was an impressive fourth on his first visit to Donington on March 6, though slipped in the highlycompetitive order to 14th at the twoday test at Croft on March 12/13.

Davison’s Motaworld team is scheduled to test at Oulton Park on March 19 and Brands Hatch on March 28, before the first round at Brands on Easter Weekend, March 30 to April 1. motorsoon news

NEWS

Ml for Supercup

n Australian David Clark will join compatriot James Courtney in the British Formula Three series this season.

The 23-year-old, who has won a swag of titles in karts over the past few years and ran in the national Formula Ford series at home last year, will drive for the Sweeney outfit.

Fie arrived in the UK to commence testing last week, ahead of the Championship curtain-raiser at Brands Flatch on April 1, Clark will be engineered by Russell Atkinson, who also looked after Russell Ingall during the Enforcer's British F3 campaign. n Paul Stokell will swap his Diablo for a Beetle when he takes the wheel of a factory-backed Volkswagen Beetle RSi in this year's Targa Tasmania.

The car will be the same as that campaigned by Tim Leahey and Matt Coleman in the GTP series last year, but enhanced with 18 inch wheels.

Peter Roberts, who navigated for Stokell in his previous Targa attempts, will again be back to read the maps.

Staying in the same coiours but adding a program in Supercup: Davison has backing for Carrera Cup from a printer company and Supercup by a software company. Fie shouldn’t be lacking for computer equipment ...

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Looking forward, or is that sideways, to Brazil: Briscoe has continued the testing trail for Nordic Racing.

(Photo by Sutlon*lmages) 20 March 2002

RYAN Briscoe and Rob Nguyen will be having a red-hot go at the International Formula 3000 championship this season but, on the form shown in recent testing, they may well be chasing Tomas Enge.

The Czech, who finished third in the series last year behind Justin Wilson and Mark Webber, has been in dazzling form at Silverstone recently, taking fastest time by a whopping 0.6s from his Arden Team Russia team-mate, Bjorn Wirdheim.

On both days, Briscoe was 14th, 1.1s and 2.1s respectively off the pace, but Nguyen was the big improver,jumping from 16th on the first day to seventh on the second in the Astromega car.

A week earlier at Imola, Brazilians Ricardo Mauricio and Rodrigo Sperafico led the way on the two-day test, with Enge third.

Briscoe was sixth on the first day, eight spots up on Nguyen, while Nguyen turned the tables the following day, his 12th two spots up on the Toyota FI test driver.

Attention will now turn to the Interlagos track in Brazil for the opening round of the series on March 30.

n A Ford-Cosworth powered Benetton B194, raced by Michael Schumacher during his first World Championship winning season, is to be auctioned over the Internet next week by ebay.co.uk. n Uwe Alzen was a fraction faster than Bernd Schneider, the man who beat him to the title in 2001, in an AMG Mercedes CLK domination of DTM tests at Paul Ricard, France late last week.

Timo Scheider lifted spirits in the factory Opel Astra team with the third fastest lap-time and not far off the pace.

The factory-assisted Abt Sportsline fielded a lone Audi TT-R, which was shared over the four days by Karl Wendlinger, team owner Christian Abt plus Matti Ekstrom and Martin Tomczyk.

The high-powered German series gets under way on Flockenheim's short circuit on April 21.

■ Toyota's new test driver Stephane Sarrazin had his first time in the TF102 at Paul Ricard, France over three days last week. Mika Salo and Allan McNish were on a touring break in Malaysia before the Grand Prix.

■ The new Mercedes-Benz engine for Formula 3 will have more tests before a decision is made as to its future.

Markus Winkelhock and Mucke Motorsport put the first miles on the 2-litre unit in a Dallara chassis at Vallelunga, Italy last week, but it was some way off being competitive.

- QUENTIN SPURRING/STAFF 11

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by JOE SAWARD/STAFF

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Winners and Grinners MARK Skaife and Greg Murphy received their 2001 MotorSport Awards at Adelaide last weekend.

MotorSportsman ofthe Year Skaife recieved a golden helmet, while Personality ofthe Year Murphy's was silver. MN photographer Dirk Klynsmith caught both TWR Racing drivers receiving their awards from Asst Ed, Aaron Noonan.

l.v

West sold

THE German tobacco company Reemtsma,the owner of McLaren title sponsor West, has been sold to Britain’s Imperial Tobacco for $10 billion.

The deal will make Imperial the world’s fourth largest tobacco company behind Philip Morris, BAT and Japan Tobacco.

Imperial was the first Formula 1 sponsor of any kind, entering the sport with 'Team Lotus in the summer of 1968 with its Gold Leaf brand. Its John Player Special brand later became one of the strongest brands in FI history and surveys today still indicate a perception in the public mind that JPS is still involved in racing. In 12

IT has yet to be officially announced, but there will be a major shake-up of technical staff at British American Racing within the next few days, with the expected departures of most of the current aerodynamic team, notably chief aerodynamicist Willem Toet and former technical director Malcolm Oastler.

There are also expected to be large scale changes in the marketing department at the team as Prodrive boss David Richards puts his own men into the struggling team.

Richards says that he has not made up his mind about drivers in the future but says that there is no reason to let Jacques Villeneuve go if the Canadian driver wants to stay.

There is speculation that BAR could be the destination in the future of Jenson Button, if he is ousted by Renault Sport to make way for Fernando Alonso. Button’s contract with the Enstone team finishes at the end of the year and although Williams has first option on his services, there is unlikely to be a drive with the team next year and so a new deal must be found.

Richards admits that he did have a meeting with Eddie Irvine

recent years, however, the company has not been involved in the sport, the last involvement being with JPS Lotus in 1986.

Imperial says that the purchase is a good fit, both in terms of brand values or in geographical markets. Imperial is strong in Western Europe, Africa and Australasia while Reemtsma is big in Eastern Europe and Asia.

It is unlikely that there will be any immediate change in West’s marketing strategies. McLaren is believed to have a deal with West until the end of 2006 when tobacco sponsorship in motor racing is due to come an end around the world.

- JOE SAWARD

at a petrol station near Oxford a few weeks ago but said that the encounter came about purely by accident. He said he was amazed that the pair were spotted together.

The other rumour doing the rounds is that the team will start to distance itself from sponsor British American Tobacco and could be renamed as ‘Prodrive Honda’for the coming 2003 season.

IVIPUII u

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r.' molorspon news

omingat BAR In FI, size is important

The future is ...? There are already changes at British American Racing; will Jacques Villeneuve and long-time engineer Jock Clear stay or go?

THE Williams PI team last week unveiled its new conference centre and museum, which is housed in the former BMW Sportscar facility on the 28-acre Williams site at Grove.

The impressive new facility is considerably more flexible than the original conference centre at Williams and can accommodate several groups of visitors on the same day. While the team’s sponsors have first call on using the facility, it is available for hire to other organisations.

Williams is also believed to be considering the construction of a second windtunnel at the site as the current 50 percent rolling road facility is now much in demand and most of the rival teams are already using two windtunnels.

-JOESAWARD

Eddie gets ’Enri

THE future of Prost Grand Prix technical director Henri Durand is settled. Durand will become Jordan's director of development and design, reporting to the technicai director.

The funny thing is that the role of technical director is currently vacant, following the split (yet to be officiallyconfirmed) with Egbahl Fiamidy. The delay in announcing that is believed to be due to contractual issued between the two parties.

Durand, left, has been active in Formula 1 since 1984, scon after he left the Ecoie Nationals Superieure de I'.Aeronautique et de I'Espace. Durand spent four years with Ligier before heading to Italy where he worked closely with John Barnard at Ferrari. The result of this partnership was the radically-shaped Ferrari 639.

In the middle of 1990, Durand left Ferrari and became the head of the aerodynamics at McLaren, a post he held until last year when he was recruited to lead the design team of the Prost AP05.

Unfortunately only one of the chassis has been built, although the intellectual property rights to the design have been acquiied from Prost by the controversial Phoenix Finance Ltd company.

- JOE SAWARD

NEWS n Rubens Barrichello came in for some criticism during the drivers briefing in Malaysia, with Eddie irvine and Jacques Villeneuve in particular being very critical in their condemnation of the Brazilian for his role in the first corner crash in Melbourne. Barrichello apparently defended himself robustly. On Sunday he almost caused an international incident as he headed for his grid position by scattering the King of Malaysia's official party which was taking a look at the cars. Fortunately the Ferrari missed everyone and dignity was quickly restored. n French liquidator Cosme Rogeau has announced plans to auction off the Prost Grand Prix assets in May. The FI cars which have not been sold to the Phoenix Finance company will be sold at auction on May 6 while the team’s machinery, tools, furniture and computer equipment will be auctioned on May 15-16-17. Both auctions are expected to take place in Paris. According to our sources there are some valuable machines inside the Prost factory but beyond that there is little of much value to rival teams. n The famed Indianapolis Pagoda is to become known as The Bombardier Pagoda, in a naming deal with the Canadian executive jet constructor.

Bombardier, the owner of Learjet, has a strong customer base in motor racing circles and is also sponsor of the Kelley Racing team in IRL. As part of the deal Bombardier will help to fund the Indy Racing League this year.

The 160-foot-high Pagoda on the track's straight opened in 2000 as part of the upgrade which the facility underwent prior to the arrival of Formula 1 racing but the tradition of a pagoda at the Speedway dates back to 1913. n Eddie Irvine has won a court victory over a British radio station which used his image to market itself.

Irvine sued Talksport radio over documentation published in 1999 to attract advertisers. The Flonorable Flugh Laddie of the Chancery Division Patent Court ruled that Irvine did have a case but warned that Irvine need not expect much in the way of damages for such a minor infringement. The principle has, however, been established to stop companies using the image of drivers without their permission. n The Italian company Fiia has agreed a deal with Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher which will see the Ferrari star paid $6m a year simply to wear Fila shoes.

Schumacher will also take part in Fila's future advertising campaigns. Fila has also just launched a Ferrari Collection as part of a three-year deal with Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro.

-JOE SAWARD 13

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COSWORTH Racing, the sister company of Jaguar Racing, has confirmed that it will producing a 3.5-litre V8 engine for use in CART in 2003.

The new engine will not carry Ford hedging as is the case at the moment with Cosworth’s turbocharged units but it is possible that Ford’s Premier Automotive Group brand Lincoln - or, maybe,even Mazda - will be

used instead. Lincoln has been used on the Dyson cars in Can-Am series in the USA already.

Cosworth says that it hopes to be able to supply up to eight CART cars next year, a move that will generate considerable income which will help the funding of the Jaguar Racing FI program.

The Formula 1 program needs as much financial input as possible with the Ford Motor

Company cutting back on its sporting activities as it tries to economise.

The move is also seen as heralding a potential return to Indianapolis, the engine rules for the CART and Indy Racing League running along similar lines from next year. Development is expected to start in the next month.

-JOESAWARD

Back to Indy?

Al Unser Sr on the way to winning the 1978 Indy 500 in his Chapparal LolaCosworth.

4

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by JOE SAWARD THE tawdry battle over whether or not there should be a 12th Formula 1 team this year was due to be settled today(Wednesday) when the FIA World Council meets in

Paris.

It is expected that Phoenix Finance Ltd (which has now changed its name to DART Grand Prix Team Ltd) will be told by the FIA that it does not have any right to compete. The team, which claims that it bought Frost’s entry from a French liquidator, failed to appear in Australia and in Malaysia, although some equipment did arrive in Kuala Lumpur but this was impounded by the authorities because of customs irregularities. The 30 mechanics(made up of people from TWR and Frost) who had been sent to Malaysia thus had nothing to do. The crew was headed by TWR touring car team boss Ken Page.

The team was informed by the FIA on Tuesday that it could not

I The Australian Sports Sedan Championship in the 21st century I

PORCHE, FERRARI and DODGE VIPER PRODUCTION SPORTS, TRANSAM, GT, PORSCHE CUP, TWO LITRE SUPER TOURERS an(d other vehicles are now able to compete in the AUSTRALIAN SPORTS SEDAN CHAMPIONSHIP at rounds with the V8 SUPERCARS.

I

Following sweeping changes to the championship rules n Production Sports Cars. Transam. 6T. Porsche Cup. Super Tourers and other cars, including V8 Supercars, can run as invited classes, eligible for event trophies and prizemoney. but bound by their category regulations. n Many earlier V8 Supercars and Porches, with only minor changes, are able to be log-booked as genuine Sport Sedans, with all the associated performance freedoms, wings, wheels, weight, horsepower etc. and would be eligible to compete equally for the championship.

n Minimum weights (although not enormous) have been implemented for the championshio. For example a 6-litre powered car has to weigh 1125kgs including driver. It will allow teams with lesser budgets more chance at getting on the podium. The cost of building a competitive race car will be reduced. n Changes have been made to the multi-valve and rotary engine multipliers. There is now a reduction of the multiplication factor from 1.4 to 1.3 for multi-valve engines, and rotary powerplants come down from 1.8 to i.7S. allowing 20B rotaries to be turbo-charged. Turboed multi-valve engines will fall

into a lower weight class. A greater variety of engines configurations will be fighting it out at the front of the field and no longer are Chev V8s expected to dominate. n To streamline the championship further a committee of state delegates has been transformed into a CAMS recognized club known as the National Australian Sport Sedan Association (NASSA).

National competitors (current membership exceeds 40) will take control of the national competition and work closely with the Victorian. New South Wales and Queensland state-based associations in regard to the rules and their implementation.

CHAMPIONSHIP DATES April 12-14. Phillip Island (V8 Supercars) June iS-16. Oran Park (Konica V8s)

July 6-7. Winton (Konica V8s) TBC July 13-14. Oran Park (V8 Supercars)

September 13 15. Willowbank (V8 Supercars) Nov 29-Dec 1. Sandown (V8 Supercars)

Any persons wishing to obtain further information on the AUSTRAUAN SPORTS SEDAN CHAMPIONSHIP for Sports Sedans and Invited Categories or NASSA. should contact the Vice President Barry Jameson on 041? 7S7 769 or Fax 02 4528 4217 14

moiorsport news

ere be 12 teams? take part in the World Championship this year because the entry and the rights of Prost Grand Prix had not been included the sales of assets by the liquidator.

An FIA statement said: “Having examined the judgement of the Tribunal de Commerce de Versailles the FIA’s advisers have noted that the court has not transferred Prost Grand Prix itself nor made any attempt to transfer the Prost Grand Prix entry in the 2002 Formula 1 World Championship, either to Phoenix Finance Limited or to Mr(Charles) Nickerson.”

If Phoenix wishes to compete in 2003,it can make an entry and pay a performance bond of$94m to the FIA. According to documents which have now been made public in France, the owners of Phoenix (whoever they may be)accepted that there was a risk that the rights purchased would be ruled worthless and agreed not to try to recoup the money from the liquidator of Prost Grand Prix.

Thus Phoenix has spent $5m and bought nothing but a few old racing cars.

In response to this, Phoenix issued a press release suggesting that the company is going to be taking legal action against the FIA in an effort to take the place its claims on the Formula 1 grid. The press release was distributed by an Arrows representative, Helen Shergold, who changed shirts shortly before starting to hand out the statements, adding to the

Who’s who: Charles Nickerson raced as Chuck Nicholson, here at Donington forTWFi in 1984. general belief in FI circles that the whole business is being orchestrated by Tom Walkinshaw.

The team attached a statement in English purporting to be confirmation addressed to FIA President Max Mosley that the Prost entry had been signed over to Phoenix on February 28. The odd thing about this is that five days later Mosley told The Times newspaper that “we are waiting for an official communication from the purchasers of the Prost assets but they do appear to have major difficulties if they want to join the grid.”

FIA sources say that the

federation did receive the document in question but that it was considered to have no legal value by the FIA lawyers. However there is no official confirmation of the receipt of the document or of its relevance.

While this was happening, it emerged that Phoenix had changed its name to D.A.R.T Grand Prix Team Ltd and then changed the name back ' to Phoenix again. There was I obviously some reason for j this but the corporate ^ I juggling act left most of the ^ FI paddock cold.

The most confusing thing ^ of all was that, having » constantly denied any y involvement other than as a ® consultant, Walkinshaw’s role ■' in the team was once again U brought into the spotlight by ™ the new name as D.A.R.T was one of the earliest of the TWR Group companies in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The firm distributed Dunlop racing tyres in Britain (the name standing for Dunlop Auto Racing Tyres Ltd).

Forgetting the issues of who owns what and when one document or another was signed, the cars, if they were ever allowed to race (and there are crash-test issues involved as well), would be unlikely to ever qualify, as the performance of a cobbled-together 1998 engine package (which was not quick at the time) with a 2001 chassis (which never performed very well) and a gearbox of indeterminate age and provenance is hardly likely to have Ferrari, Williams and McLaren shaking in their boots.

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NEWS n The German lubricant company Liqui Moly is to return to Formula 1 after an eight-year absence as a sponsor of Jordan Grand Prix for the next two years.

The Ulm-based firm has a long history of involvement in the sport, notably in the 1980s with the late Manfred Winkelhock. Liqui Moly sponsored Winkelhock's efforts with ATS and RAM and after he was killed in a sportscar race at Mosport Park in 1985 the company later sponsored his brother Jo Winkelhock's efforts to qualify an AGS in the 1989 FI season. Liqui Moly reappeared in 1993 with Sauber but in recent years has been in Formula 3.

■ The new Ferrari F2002 is responding to treatment in Italy as the team’s test driver Luca Badoer continues to put more miles on the new car. But there is still a long way to go and Rubens Barrichello has yet to have any miles in the new car. The old F2001 was very competitive in Melbourne but the team's worries that the huge tyre advantage over the major Michelin runners in Australia would not be repeated in the higher temperatures in Malaysia proved true.

■ Tommy Suharto, the man who was behind the plan to hold a Grand Prix in Indonesia a few years ago, has been charged with masterminding the murder of Supreme Court judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita in July 20001. The judge had previously sentenced Suharto to 18-months in jail in a corruption trial. Suharto, the son of the former Indonesian president, raced in the 1990s under the name Flutomo MP and went on to become the head of the Indonesia national sporting authority and was behind the construction of the SentuI racing circuit near Jakarta.

- JOE SAWARD

By Allan Schofield y/eU.,'SETc4 Avip KAPi9,Cii llA'Jp Toi.p 'BA to St.cKTi1?4 8 TdB %M PoM'T II

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by JOE SAWARD

The Future Tourer is Orange; Sidebottom Sr leads the entries for Oran Park’s Power Tour opener.

F Tourers go Bio-nic THIS weekend’s opening round of the Future Touring category at Oran Park will be sponsored by Bio Fuel.

The V8 series, part of the Motorsport Promoters Group’s Power Tour, has attracted a good field of entries, with Ray Sidebottom, who won all the races in 2001, starting favourite in his APS Racing Commodore VX.

Also Commodore-mounted will be

Sidebottom’s son Shanan,Bruce Williams, namesake Steve Williams, Mark Telfer and Geoff Parker, while Leanne Ross will fly the Ford flag in her Falcon.

Former Production Car ace, Sydney’s Terry Bosnjak, wiU return with Peter Muir’s Mitsubishi Magna.

THERE have been vague rumours for the last couple of years that the Ferrari car company could be floated at some point in the near future.

The company is 87 percent owned by a one of the Agnelli Family's holding companies. The Agnellis also control Fiat but Ferrari is not a direct subsidiary of the giant Italian industrial company. The remaining shares are owned by the Ferrari family(10 percent) and by a consortium of banks(3 percent).

The family patriarch Gianni Agnelli says that whatever happens, the Agnelli Family will retain ultimate control of Ferrari.

The company has done remarkably well in recent years under the guidance of Luca di Montezemolo, both on the racetrack and in terms of sales.

The company does not want to dilute the brand and produce more cars and so has been diversifying into other automobile-related

I The Australian Sports Sedan Championship in the 21st century I

PORCHE, FERRARI and DODGE VIPER PRODUCTION SPORTS, TRANSAM, GT, PORSCHE CUP, TWO LITRE SUPER TOURERS and other vehicles are now able to compete in the AUSTRALIAN SPORTS SEDAN CHAMPIONSHIP at rounds with the V8 SUPERCARS. Following sweeping changes to the championship rules n Production Sports Cars, Transam. GT. Porsche Cup.

n Minimum weights (although not enormous)

Super Tourers and other cars, including V8 Supercars, can run as invited classes, eligible for event trophies and prizemoney, but bound by their category regulations.

have been implemented for the championshio. For example a 6 litre powered car has to weigh 1125kgs including driver. It vdll allow teams with lesser budgets more chance at getting on the podium. The cost of building a competitive race car will be reduced.

n Many earlier V8 Supercars and Porches, with only minor changes, are able to be log-booked as genuine Sport Sedans, with all the associated performance freedoms, wings, wheels, weight, horsepower etc, and would be eligible to compete equally for the championship.

n Changes have been made to the multi-valve and rotary engine multipliers. There is now a reduction of the multiplication factor from 1.4 to 1.3 for multi-valve engines, and rotary powerplants come down from 1.8 to 1.75, allowing 2 OB rotaries to be turbo-charged. Turboed multi-valve engines will fall

into a lower weight class. A greater variety of engines configurations will be fighting it out at the front of the field and no longer are Chev V8s expected to dominate. n To streamline the championship further a committee of state delegates has been transformed into a CAMS recognized club known as the National Australian Sport Sedan Association ( NASSA).

National competitors (current membership exceeds 40) will take control of the national competition and work closely with the Victorian, New South Wales and Queensland state-based associations in regard to the rules and their implementation.

CHAMPIONSHIP DATES April 12-14. Phillip Island (V8 Supercars) June 15-16. Oran Park (Konica V8s I

July 6-7,Winton ( Konica V8s I TBC July 13-14. Oran Park (V8 Supercars)

September 13-15, Willowbank (V8 Supercars) Nov 29 Dec 1, Sandown (V8 Supercars)

Any persons wishing to obtain further information on the AUSTRALIAN SPORTS SEDAN CHAMPIONSHIP for Sports Sedans and Invited Categories or NASSA, should contact the Vice President Barry Jameson on 041? 757 769 or Fax 0? 4628 4217 16

motorspon news

NEWS

shares?

Mika, Keke finnished MIKA Hakkinen and Keke Rosberg have decided to end their long-time management arrangement.

Rosberg has been guiding Hakkinen’s career since the early days, helping Hakkinen to land sponsorship from Marlboro and helping Mika to get an FI drive with Team Lotus in 1991. Two years later it was Rosberg who suggested that Mika step back and take a year as McLaren test driver, a move which set Hakkinen up for his long career with the Woking team and his two World Championships.

Hakkinen stood down at the end of last season, saying he was taking a sabbatical year. This left

f 4

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Rosberg with only Olivier Panis as a customer in FI. Rosberg says that all the contracts are in place if Hakkinen wishes to return to FI next year but that is not expected to happen.

All the major drives in FI in 2003 are already filled and Hakkinen is not likely to try his luck in the midfield. McLaren managingdirector Martin Whitmarsh says that if Mika wants to test for McLaren this year, a car will be made available to him.

The fact that Rosberg and Hakkinen have gone their separate ways would seem to suggest that Hakkinen is not likely to return to -JOE SAWARD

Sell my Ferrari shares and buy Goo Remover: Ferrari looks to have been preparing for a stock float for some time.

(Photo by Sulton-lmages) customer than Ferrari.

The Formula 1 program is unlikely to be affected by any flotation, as it has long been self funding thanks to the input of major sponsors.

businesses, including insurance and financing, merchandising and as the owner of the Maserati car company. Maserati is being revamped and the products are aimed at a slightly less affluent

VB

The 2 ofus: Hakkinen, with wife Erja, is now manager-less. (Photo hy Suiton-lmagcs)

Round S

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17

News BTCC Honda breaks cover HONDA'S new BTCC Civic broke cover at Goodwood recently and was pronounced a winner by Andy Priaulx, the team's lead driver.

"It looks brilliant and felt quick straight out of the box," said Priaulx.

Honda has a track record of winning races but not titles in the BTCC and its motorsport boss Paul Ormond said: "I don't see why we can't win the title in our first year. We must be successful." n Tor Sriachavanon is this week's winner of the odd story award. Tor hails from Thailand but has been racing in Britain in F3 for a number of years now under the wing of Bob Graves. So strong is the relationship that Bob has adopted him and Tor has taken out British citizenship and become Tor Graves. British commentators send their eternal thanks to all concernedi n Former BTCC Champions RML (Ray Mallock Limited) has confirmed its intention to race in the British ASCAR championship this year. The series, which is busy poaching names from the BTCC, runs on ovals at Rockingham and Lausitzring in Germany. RML's team will be headed by 1993 British F3 Champion Kelvin Burt, with a second driver to be confirmed. n Britain's burgeoning ASCAR Championship has added two more scalps to its entry list. German exPanoz driver Klaus Graf has signed on the dotted line, as has Arnd Meier. Meier has raced in Champ Cars in recent years, although was second to Jarno Trulli in the 1996 German F3 Championship. n TOCA 4, the latest incarnation of the big-selling PlayStation game, is to hit shop soon. To be launched in the UK in June, the new game will be a touring car fan's dream, featuring DTM, Australian V8s as well as BTCC. A total of 42 real cars and 38 tracks are planned. n Swedish racer Fredrik Ekblom has signed for RBM Racing to drive in the FIA European Touring Car Championship. The car is to be built

by Schnitzer for whom Dirk and Jorg Muller will drive. n Ex-BTCC racer Vincent Radermecker has landed a drive in the French Touring Car Championship.

Radermecker will drive a SEAT Toledo for the SNBE team while Macau Grand Prix winner Soheil Ayah has signed for the Solution-F squad to drive a Peugeot 406.

- DAVID ADDISON 18

FHolden countdown

Another Kiwi kid tests aiong with FFordster Wiil Power

by AARON NOONAN

FOLLOWING in the wheeltracks of Scott Dixon, Matthew Halliday, Simon Wills and James Cressy, there’s yet another yoimg New Zealander looking at campaigning on this side of the Tasman in Formula Holden this year.

Recently-turned 16-year-old Nelson Hartley tested for the Ralt Australia team in the ex-Chris Staff car at Eastern Creek on March 11 alongside Formula Ford championship runner-up Will Power.

Hartley is the latest of Kenny Smith’s proteges to come from NZ and left team owner Graham Watson impressed. Power ended the day fastest on new tyres with a lm23.72s in the ex-Alan Gurr Reynard, while Hartley ran a lm26.22s lap on old tyres.

tOHMV)

Gurr, baby: Will Power tested the Reynard here driven by Alan Gurr at Canberra last season.

(Photo by James Smith) unable to benefit from the input of former category race winner Leahey.

The category is next scheduled to test at Phillip Island on April 2, where a number ofAustralian, Japanese and New Zealand drivers will be in attendance to vie for seats with the aforementioned teams.

Also in attendance was Murphy Motorsport with drivers Peter Hill and Roger Oakeshott being assisted by former driver Tim Leahey, while Akihiro Asai ran both of Hocking Motorsport’s machines.

Oakeshott had to finish his day early due to a valve-train problem,

Slight hack to BTCC ^l^Obltiesure j

r KAUBERJ AARON Slight, who has been linked with every tin-top championship in creation of late, has finally committed to a season of BTCC in a Barweii Motorsport Vauxhall Astra.

Slight heard of the spare seat via a text message from his manager and flew from NZ to Snetterton to test the car and signed the deal the day after.

Slight drove in the BTCC last season at Donington for Peugeot and had also been looking at running in the Konica V8 Supercar Series.

The Kiwi joined the rest of the BTCC teams in testing, where the works Vauxhall Astra Coupes topped the times at the first TOCA test sessions.

James Thompson and Matt Neal set the pace in the morning and afternoon sessions respectively with the latter's afternoon time of 1 m28.028s just pipping Thompson to overall first place by 0.179s.

A

Back in Britain: Slight tested his new Astra, ahow/wiile DavhfTeslie put the (Photoi by Suiion~lmages> first miles on the new Proton Impian, below.

Only the MGs of Anthony Reid and Warren Hughes were able to break the stranglehold of the Astra Coupds, giving Vauxhall's Team Manager, Ian Harrison an encouraging start to the season.

"Today was all about continuing our winter test programme and getting a better idea of where we are in

comparison to the other teams," said Harrison.

"I'm reasonably happy with the day's progress but certainly not complacent. We had transmission problems on two of the four cars which we need to sort out but apart from that, we had no major problems which is a good sign."

- DAVID ADDISON motorsport news

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Mexico/Phoenix Honda hedging its CART bets r

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3® l IS l!..i

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WITH only three teams now using its engines in CART(Nunn,Green, above, and Fernandez), Honda is getting serious about its teams winning the FedEx Championship Series.

It's so serious that it's placed orders for as many as seven Lola chassis for its Reynard-using teams (Nunn and Green) as a safeguard against a possible lack of development by Reynard with rumours of financial troubles for the company continuing to circle. n In the high-tech world of Champ Car racing, the simple things can cost you time. The explanation for Patrick Carpentier missing his compulsory pit window on lap 31 was really simple. Crew chief Phil LePan apparently used the wrong channel on his radio when he tried to call his driver in ...

"We wanted to use the radio instead of the pit board so other teams wouldn't know the strategy we were on," Carpentier said. "But I never got the call on the radio because my crew chief was on the mechanic's channel." n The CART grid for the 2002 season opener featured 20 cars, as opposed to the 28 cars that ran last year. In the space of 12 months, the landscape of Champ/Indy Car racing has changed dramatically, with Marlboro Team Penske (two cars), Blair Racing (one car) and Mo Nunn Racing (one car) are heading to the IRL, while Patrick Racing has downsized from two cars to one, Forsythe Championship Racing has shut down, and Dale Coyne's team has been inactive since partway through last season. n Max Papis made his 100th career Champ Car start at Monterrey in his first run for the Sigma Autosport Lola/Ford team. The Italian worked his way up from 18th on the grid, running ninth at the end. n Those pounding the pavement in Mexico looking for drives included the new 'Supersub' Memo Gidley and the man he took the mantle from, Roberto Moreno. Expect to see Gidley in an Indy 500 entry sometime in May after he lost his drive at Target/Ganassi. while the Brazilian Moreno, who sat on pole as recently as the Honda Indy 300 on the Gold Coast, has been replaced in the Visteon car by Townsend Bell.

20

mECATE S3*r'‘

Three from three: da Matta toolt bacl<-to-bacl< wins on the Monterrey circuit in Mexico, malting his winning streak total three after wins last year on the Gold Coast and at Fontana.

(Photo by Sufton-lmages)

Mope da Matta Newman-Haas pilot takes third CART win from three starts

New colours and a better result: Christian Fittpaldi, above and above right with da Matta, has a new backer in pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, and the new colours obviously helped! {Photos by Boyd/Bolhwell Photographic) Canadian was slowed with an air “It is great for the team, and I

by PHIL MORRIS have more sweet memories from jack that had failed, meaning that this place. I can’t wait to come his team had to use a manual jack.

NEW rules for pit stops The new CART rules meant that back. It’s difficult to push 100 designed in order to have a percent for the whole race. The each car had to stop within a 27 lap proper race rather than a fuel race was 10 times more fun, 10 window and change four tyres, economy run led to a tight first times more challenging, and much though this new addition for 2002 round of the 2002 FedEx more up to the driver than before.” caught Tagliani’s team-mate Patrick Championship Series in the da Matta was the pace-setter, Carpentier out when he didn’t hear Tecate Telmex Monterrey holding out Dario Franchitti for the call to pit on his radio and had Grand Prix in Mexico. the chequer after a late-race to serve a drive-through penalty, Newman-Haas Racing’s dropping him to seventh.

Cristiano da Matta made it backcaution let the Scotsman get closer.

Michel Jourdain Jr took fourth Being baulked by the lapped to-back Monterrey wins, scoring on home soil in his first drive for his third win from three starts. He Tora Takagi didn’t help Franchitti and he held off da Matta’s team Team Rahal, though team-mate won last year’s final two rounds on the Gold Coast and at Fontana.

Jimmy Vasser wasn’t so lucky, mate Christian Fittipaldi. taken out by Townsend Bell at the “Takagi was completely holding “I was talking to Michel first corner. Kenny Brack’s first me up,” said the Scot.“He had no (Jourdain Jr.) and I was asking interest in the blue flag. He was a run for Target/Ganassi Racing him if there’s some place to rent in complete idiot.”

Monterrey,” said da Matta, who came to an end at the same point.

Home-town hero and poleman Tagliani ran fifth ahead of Scott clipped Shinji Nakano during the Adrian Fernandez led the early race, damaging his front wing, Dixon, Carpentier, Paul Tracy, Max running, before Alex Tagliani though it didn’t affect his speed.

Papis and Oriol Servia (on debut “Every time I come here, it’s just stormed past and took his Player’s for PWR,formerly PacWest). so great. It was one of those Reynard to a sizeable advantage Points: da Matta 21, Franchitti 16, weekends where we didn’t have to before da Matta emerged from the Fittipaldi 14, Jourdain Jr 12, Tagliani work very hard to go fast.” pit stops as the leader after the 10, Dixon 8, Carpentier 6,Tracy 6. moiorsooft nowt

CART/IRL

Hot Penskes in the desert 'f'

u^

HAVE the floodgates opened for Marlboro Team Penske in the Indy Racing League?

Expected to be the team to beat in this year's all-oval series, they snared a 1-2 in the second round of the year at Phoenix on the weekend. This time it was Indy 500 Champion Helio Castroneves holding out team-mate Gil de Ferran, above, with Pennzoil Panther's Sam Hornish Jr taking third despite losing fifth and sixth gear, from Eliseo Salazar and Al Unser Jr, in his second race for Kelley Racing. Tomas Scheckter's second drive with Red Bull Cheever Racing ended a little bit better than his first. Rather than take his boss Eddie Cheever out, the South African retired with engine failure.

Castroneves took the lead from his team-mate on lap 183 of 200 and pulled clear of his team-mate, to record the team's first win since it became a full-time IRL squad.

Naturally, the Brazilian took to the chain link fences surrounding the one-mile oval to celebrate his win.

"I waited for the right moment, and when the right moment came, it was mine," Castroneves said of the pass he made for the lead on de Ferran.

Twofrom four: Castroneves now has a 50% winning record in the IRL after hvo starts last year IPhotos

Ron Mci)uceniy'inJ\Tacing com)

Points: Hornish Jr 89, Castroneves 85, de Ferran 80, Salazar 62, Ward 44.

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21

Sebring 12 Hour Saleen slugged THE Saleen S7R was hit by massive performance penalty ahead of the opening round of the American Le Mans Series on Saturday.

The four GTS class contenders entered in the Sebring 12 Hours were forced to run with 70kg of ballast and 15 percent smaller engine air-restrictors.

Saleen headed into the race believing that that they could count three race S7Rs towards the 12-car production minimum. A rule clarification in the run-up to the race meant that the nine road cars in production were not enough. The extra weight and reduction in engine power meant that the best of the Saleens qualified nearly 3.5sec behind the pole-winning Corvette C5-R. n British sportscar racer Johnny Mowlem has landed a factory deal with Saleen for Le Mans.

There will be no works S7R at the 24 Hours this year, but the Porsche specialist's Saleen contract will mean that he is placed with one of four factory-supported cars entered for Le Mans in June.

"The deal is just for Le Mans at the moment, but there is potential for more races. Petit Le, Mans looks pretty certain. Hopefully this will put me in a good position for next year," said Mowlem. n Yannick Dalmas, four times a winner at Le Mans, was testing the Audi Japan R8 on the Mine circuit in Japan for three days last week. The car will be operated at Le Mans by Team Goh, which has offered Dalmas a seat alongside Hiroki Katoh and Seiji Ara. Dalmas is also weighing up options with ORECA and Pescarolo Sport.

- GARY WATKINS/ QUENTIN SPURRING

Performance Quality

Audi takes Sebring

AUDI have made it three wins in a row in the 50th running of the famous Sehring 12 Hour Sportscar race in America.

Johnny Herbert, Dindo Capello and Christian Pescatori ended up the winners of the gruelling opening round of the American Le Mans Series, while team-mates Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Tom Kristensen were delayed in a collision which caused a number of unscheduled pit-stops.

The Audi mechanics changed the steering, but that took away any chance of the combination repeating for the German manufacturer, and they eventually

finished fifth.

Making up for the factory car’s loss was the Champion Racing 2001-spec Audi R8 driven by Andy Wallace, Jan hammers and Stefan Johansson, which took second though one lap down.

“It was a great race and as hard as always,” said Capello.

“It was incredibly hot. We did

Ha, we won, you didn’t! Capello and Herbert celebrate their Sebring success, three stints in a row right from the beginning which was really difficult in these conditions. Of course we were luckier today compared to the number one car.”

Nine laps off the winners was the third-placed Riley & Scott/Elan of Jim Matthews, Guy Smith and Marc Goossens, in what was a strong field of prototypes. The Panoz challenge fizzled,(see story opposite page).

while Jonny Kane surprised all by qualifying the 675 class MG Lola in third. Suspension problems delayed its charge and the brand new Cadillac’s struggled to hold their pace with a variety of teething problems.

Chevrolet took the GTS class with Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell and Oliver Gavin at the GT class went to the Porsche of Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen.

I

Best of the non-Audis: The Riley & Scott was the best non-German mobile home. Powered by the Elan V8 (Photo by Sutton-lmages) used by the Panoz team, it recently finished second at the Daytona 24 Hour.

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Stars and stripes

96 entries for Le Mans 2002 P/tiHft by SuUon-lmagex

THE Automobile Club de I'Ouest has received 96 entries for the 70th edition of its Le Mans 24 Hours, only eight of which are guaranteed a slot in the race which is set for June 15-16,2002.

The selection committee will sift

m '15

through the applications to establish a maximum 48-car entry, plus six reserves, to attend the annual Le Mans prequalifying and test day on May 5.

The applications, significantly up on 2001, include 44 LMP900 and LMP675 Sports-Prototypes, the balance of 52 being GT cars. The eight seeds are headed by the 2000 and 2001 winner Audi Sport Team Joest which has confirmed a three-car assault.

The other teams with an assured

f nnnnnnn

Aussie in the Stars and Stripes; This is the updated Panoz David Brabham will nm during this year s ALMS and Le Mans 24 Hour, which debuted at Sebring on the weekend.

entry are Pescarolo Sport (Courage C60), Corvette Racing, RML (Saleen S7R) and the GT contenders Seikel and Freisinger (Porsche 911s). The AGO expects to publish its final list a few days after the Sebring 12 Hours - after we go to press.

-QUENTIN SPURRING

THE updated Panoz LMP-1 kicked off its 2002 campaign at the Sebring 12 Hour with mixed results.

David Brabham’s machine, which he shared with Jan Magnussen and new recruit Eric van de Poele, suffered an engine failure after two hours, while the other car of Bryan Herta, former BMW driver Bill Auberlen and David Donohue was looking strong for third place until late race brake problems dropped it to eighth.

"Today's result is disappointing for the all the crew who have worked very hard in the past couple of months," said Brabham.

"I really am disappointed. Luck never seems to be on our side at this place, but now have to put our heads down and concrete on the Le Mans test day."

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Bikes

Bayle for CH Red Bull?

0

ONLY a red flag can stop Troy Bayliss in World Superbikes, it seems.

The Ducati-mounted Aussie was in dominant form in the opening round of the 2002 championship at Valencia in Spain, taking an all-the way win ih Race 1 and coming from

v«.

YAMAHA looks to be making a back-up plan if Garry McCoy cannot race in the opening round of the MotoGP Championship at Suzuka on April 7.

The Aussie, who broke his leg in testing (see last issue), is struggling to be fit to race and reports suggest that the Red Bull team recently tested JeanMichel Bayle at Valencia as a standby.

McCoy’s team-mate, 19-yearold Californian John Hopkins, has no actual racing experience on a 500, so Bayle, who retired ft-om GP racing two seasons ago, could be a useful fill-in for the team.

- r '‘

(u behind to pass team-mate Ben Bostrom and Aprilia's Noriyuki Haga in Race 2.

The defending World Champion was confident but subdued after the race.

"In the race Ben and Norick were going quick early on and I was getting frustrated and

..

□ □□ making silly mistakes," he admitted. "I knew Colin (Edwards) was coming so I had to make a move which I did and was able to lead when the red-flags came out."

Edwards moved past his countrvman to take third in Race 2, and was delighted with the improvement in the Honda between races.

"It was hard work out there, we couldn't get the thing working in the first race and the set-up we achieved here in the tests did not work," he said.

In the first race I couldn't got the hike to 5?toor hut we mnrte

'5;

Hayden, Honda take Daytona 200 NICKY Hayden has added another achievement to his growing CV by winning the prestigious Daytona 200.

After being beaten by a length in the race last season by Aussie Mat Mladin, this time Hayden, the pole sitter, was dominant. Only his Honda teammates Kurtis Roberts and Miguel DuHamel looked capable of staying close to his Honda RC51, and DuHamel stopped early with a mechanical problem.

Roberts’s challenge ended with a shredded rear tyre which dropped him to sixth.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Jamie Hacking took second from Aussie Anthony Gobert, the Yamaha racer riding bravely after spending Friday night in hospital with a shoulder injury, and then having brother

Aaron admitted to hospital after a crash in the Supersports race.

The younger Gobert badly broke his right leg and suffered back injuries but, after recovering consciousness in hospital, is expected to make a fidl recovery and the team says he may be racing again in May. Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom was fifth.

“It feels so good, you know,” Hayden said. “The race was so long.

This is what I went to bed thinking about as a kid. The Honda was so fast and we had a really advantage.”

Defending Champion Mladin didn’t get to make it three Daytonas in a row, the Suzuki factory star having to withdraw from the race after a highside during the raceday warmup. moiorsport news

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ome years ago a WhatXiike most about them iis^the ^meii. Smeil is the most coiieague in the press corps was interviewing a evocativfe'oiaU tho^enses and strawberries aivva^s makejme Formuia 1 techni.cal director about sensitive aspects p.f a feei warin and,|ecure. They lort fbbai controversiai new car, The _ This comes areic interview yy^s jiot going Weil. ● . w»fronf marfy yeai^s^ggo when, hitdh-hiking tp a Formula 3 The engineer was waffling a , race'ih'Nogaro in the deepest iot and beginning tg.say "N6 darkest south-west Fr^ce, I cqimment", which is aivvaVs a found myself caught in t!ia bad'sign, , middle of a dark and nasty "OK," said the reporter.

"Let's talk about forest long after night had strawberries... fallen. It looked as though I The designer was confused ■ iwpuld have to sleep jjj a_ditch by this but the pair discussed but then along came^ strawberries for a while and battered old van, driven by a battered old fellow who then parted company without any rancour. decided to.stop. I climbed aboard with a sense of intense People rarely disagree about strawberries. ; relief and discovered that the

van was fuil of strawberries.

One never forgets such things.

Strawberries like a good subjectseemed for discussion for most of the Malaysian GP weekend because most of the FI team bosses were unwilling to discuss even the weather.

Negotiations over new regulations and such matters were at a critical juncture and everyone was very sensitive about everything. There was also all the rubbish going on over the Phoenix FI team.

But reporters must at least try to ask questions.

"I'm not going to tell you," said Bernie Ecclestone when asked about the meetings.

"You'll have to try someone else."

Perhaps I should have tried the subject of strawberries.

Eddie Jordan merely waved a digit at the sky (at least I think he was pointing at the sky although normally one uses the first finger rather than the third).

Ron Dennis said "Yes" when !● (qsked if the talks had been l|^^(^^structjye but then he vvpuld nC^ say what he had been talking about.

Sir,]Fi;ank Williams made the Sphinx l^gk animated when the subject was broached and other team^g^sses ran and hid.

That meant that Jthe only people left to talk to were the

untrustworthy ones and one is never wise to trust them to teli YQU even the»d§YJ>f the week.

B

ecause information about the meetings was so hard to come by, attention switched from the paddock to the race track (a Curious concept) and the qualifying session on Saturday took on an exciting significance rather than just being a lot of noise which interrupts the negotiations (which on occasion it can be).

Qualifying, over the years, has become a bit of a lunch party for me and my pal Mike.

For the last three or four years we have had a regular slot at the Honda motorhome where we eat some of the finest food ,jn the paddock and .yvatch the action with TVs and monitors.

If one needs to know immediately'after the session who has done what there is not a lot of ,point: in going out on the circuit because you come back with no idea of what has happened.

And you miss lunch.

The lunch party is the most enjoyable part of a Grand Prix weekend and has developed into a half quiz game, half cabaret affair which has a language aU of Ifs own.

Drivers are referred to bV nicknames so that anyond who does not know what is happening will hear odd discussions about the

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don't impresj, memlifiht, f, ahd |HHing before the I And what abomidacques questioner revealed a Villeneuve on a fast jap? remarkable secret. It was "Patsy Cline singing written by Ian Fleming, the J?razy?" journalist, secret agent and Alex Yoong? treasure-hunter who is better are greeted with j/'*' impersonations. It is all vei^ ■^"Billy Joel's The Longest known for creating the Time?" amusing. superhero James Bond.

"All I have to do is Dream by What was the real Chitty \ hen there is no the Eyerly Brothers?"

Chitty Bang Bang? came motorhome (at the long "Let's call the whole thing another question.

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Rather than listen to the Overgrown kids will It was built by the exotic Polish Count Louis Zboroswki prattling and scrieeching of^p/ remember this song from the commentators one should use and was a Mercedes chassis 1960s ipusical car movie called MP3 electronic software to fitted with a 23-litre Maybach C^jj|/..Ghjtty B^ng Bang, ad dj® the pleasure of a wl to some engine which had been used bli qualifying session. One click [rdati Tfecently, is an to power Zeppelins during of the mouse and one can add en World War I." History of the advi Wagner's Ride of the Valkyrie pf the magical car And its major claim to fame? to a Michael Schumacher that saiB tijroiign the seas "Well, in August 1922 jt^^ qualifying lap. and flies throdgTi the air as its suffered a high-speed tyre failure and crashed into (and It really is ame^ipg how eccentric inve'h.tprjXfractacus perfect it is. Try it af hbrne Potts, and his i^^l^nting right through) one of the and see what I mean.

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Concepts. The ideas were We marvelled at the useless Grandpa Potts to outwit the soon flying aboiit. if a Jaguar dastardly Baron Ind the evil knowledge we had at our is on a flying lap what should Child Catcher IH'this non-stop fingertips and went back to we play? advehturb for dlj ages". watching the cars going round "there is no such thing as a and round, wondering what Name the autnof ef %iitty Jaguar flying lap," said Chitty Bang Bang? someone tunes and quiz questions will asked. someone meanly. come to mind in qualifying in "How about Shania Twain's Brazil.

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Five Minutes With ...

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Craig Bair

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Tilings looked glum for expat Kiwi Craig Baird when SBB dropped him afterjust ene season, mow he's back, headfining an expanded Bed Nash team which now, officially, has those magic letters attached:B-B-O-C-K. Be spoke with PBK BBAmCAm In the midst of a hectic Adeiaide weekend MOTORSPORT NEWS:What’s it like inside Team Brock?

CRAIG BAIRD: It’s great. It’s such a nice, relaxed environment.

At this stage, we are still running the same car that we ran last year with Tony Longhurst. We have already started on a new car, and I would say that it will probably take us half the season to be in a position to start to challenge some of the other teams.

At the moment, we are in that mid-pack, running from 15th or so.

We were 12th in the first practice session, we made the top 50 percent in qualifying, and we were 14th in that. We opted not to use a new set of t3rres; we felt we could have gone quicker, but it was my decision and it was wrong. I felt we needed a green set of tyres for the Run-Off...

We will probably step forward a little bit. I felt if I could run inside the top 20, that would be good.

At the beginning of the season in Melbourne, 1 looked at the entry list and went to cross off the names that we thought would be ahead of us. Nowadays,it is very hard to actually cross one off! Eveiy year, you see that everyone raises the game. It’s like any sport; you keep moving forward.

through the races and go to the Every team in the pit lane has end.” good people in it. There are people So that’s what we did in the first who were with a good Holden team race. I made an awful start, and or a good Ford team and they have that put me behind cars which moved around - for family reasons, or whatever. were struggling for set-up. I passed If you go back five years or so, Larry Perkins three times in the race! We had some wheels jam in the good teams had their people and the Privateers had their mates the pitstop and I ended up behind him again, so I was losing a second come and help them for the weekend. That has really changed a lap until I got past and then I could run with the likes of now...

The first time I drove a V8 Longhurst and those guys.

But the team is Supercar,for Dick Johnson’s good - with Peter there, and Ron team, when Harrop and Rod you wanted to "ITS nice to be back in a Nash. They all pass someone, full-time ride, one that can have their own you got onto strengths. the straight make it happen in the Ron is always and you passed future to make it into a them. Now, no flat-out, looking, matter which thinking of what top-five position" needs to be done, car you are in, -Craig Baird first with this car everyone has and then with the the same sort new car. Having of horsepower ... some are better than others, but people like that on board makes it all exciting. I have never worked it is so competitive! with him before, but Ron is Our plan for this weekend was to keep it straight. Peter said,‘‘I don’t probably the smartest guy in Australia when it comes to ideas care if you qualify 30th - we know whether it comes to the car itself, we don’t have a front-running car, or something to do with strategy in but let’s get through all the the races. practices with no damage, get Then there’s Peter. I can bounce a lot of things off him, but he is still low-pressure - he enjoys his racing, he enjoys everything that he does.

That’s nice to be around.

And Rod is there on the business side. He looks after that very, very well, so it’s a good balance within the team, which makes my job easier.

It is always easy for someone to go into a team and say, “I tell you what,in six months time, we will

The other other red team: Baird gets to grips with the Team Brock Commodore VX in Adelaide.

(Photos by Dirk Klynsmith)

be able to take on those guys.” But they usually never have a platform to work on. But this has got some serious people around it. What they are saying is actually real; you can see it. It’s not just talking about it the people are here who can make it happen.

It’s nice to be back in a full-time ride, one that can make it happen in the future to make it into a topfive position. At the moment, we are working our arses off to challenge for a top-10 position but, hey, it’s a matter of time and, as usual in this business, a matter of money.

MN:What about the public’s reaction? There are already, in the first race of the championship,a lot of people walking around in Team Brock gear.

CB: It is unbelievable. We started with merchandising on Thursday and we had to send back to Melbourne to get more almost straight away. Everyone has been amazing. That makes my life a lot easier.

You come out of the garage and see 100 people standing there. I say,‘You are here waiting for Peter, aren’t you?” And it’s always,‘Yes!” They love it. It’s great to have Peter hack in the sport, not as a driver, but as a man who understands drivers.

People relate to Peter. They can go and talk to him and have a look, get an autograph or whatever.

They love it and, so far, they love buying the gear, and it’s been gi'eat.

I think even Peter has been surprised with the reaction.

Merchandising went mad. People were waiting and waiting for Peter - it is probably good for my profile.

I have not done a lot of racing in Australia; I am still probably better-known in England than here, even though I live in Australia. It gives eveiyone a buzz, moiorsport news

INTERVIEW

!

Nick Heidfeld

Living in the Qui Nick Heidfeld and Sauber are becoming a threat to the Big Three teams in Formula One. He told ADAM COOPER about life in the Swiss/Malaysian team

now stake a claim to the Although Minardi can honour,Petronas-backed Sauber is effectively the local team in Malaysia.

And this year race day could hardly have gone any better for the Swiss outfit, as Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa both made the points.

That result came as a massive relief to the irascible team boss, who has endured some tough ‘home’races over the past four years- and saw both cars trashed at the first comer in Melbourne.

A couple of hours after the race, Heidfeld sat in Sauber’s office behind the garage, reflecting on his afternoon’s work.

“Of course it’s a lot better than the last race, and I’m satisfied,” said Nick as he tucked into his hardearned reward, an unusual mix of steak and spaghetti. “It was not possible to have a better position this weekend.”

Although he was beaten by Jenson Button’s Renault in the race, Heidfeld had in qualifying reaffirmed his claim to be best of the rest by taking seventh. That’s as much as any outside Ferrari, Williams and McLaren can really aim for.

“The car was better in the race and warm-up than it was in qualifying, because 1 had a little problem on Saturday morning and

lost a bit of time to set up the car, but as you said seventh, was the maximum anyway for qualifying.

“Definitely it’s like a pole position here, although last year I managed to be sixth twice, but that was only when some other teams had a big problem or did something wrong.

Otherwise seventh is the maximum.”

Sauber’s problem on race day was the one also faced by Ferrari - the Michelin runners had the upper hand. The blue cars could not run a single stop strategy, so it was a question of how fast a two-stop on Bridgestones would be.

It’s a measure of how strong the Swiss team now is that they were at least able to consider the McLarens -immediately ahead on the grid as a realistic target. Nick knew he would only be able to take advantage of his lighter fuel load by getting the jump on them at the start.

“We looked at the times before and we were quite sure they’d go on a one stop, and we knew by calculating that probably they were going to hold me up on the first lap, so I expected it.

“I had a good start, and I was alongside Coulthard. It was hard but fair - when 1 saw it was Coulthard alongside me I was quite happy because I know he’s not mad!

Then he outpaced me through the Photos by Marsh/Bothwell and Sutton-lmages

next corner.

“I was pushing hard, and I think in the first three laps I was quite a lot quicker, as they probably had graining. I was close to overtaking Coulthard, but I wasjust not close enough. I nearly got him once, but I was not really alongside him.

Anyway,there was no chance to overtake him anymore.”

Heidfeld running close behind the two McLarens was quite an impressive sight while it lasted, although the different strategies meant that it was artificial. In fact his real opposition was Button, who initially was a little bit behind. But when Heidfeld made his first stop the Renault driver got ahead, and he stayed there for the duration.

“I just pushed as hard as I could.

I knew Jenson would be quick in the race with the Michelins, but I didn’t expect him to be so quick. On the second pit stop my front anti-roll bar broke, so I didn’t have that for the last stint, which was a bit strange, but the car changed less than 1 expected.

“I’m happy with fifth, but a bit disappointed that Renault were so much stronger. Definitely we learned something on the set-up again. We also had a few new parts on the car on the aerodynamic side, and also mechanical, because we had a few problems in Australia that seem to be sorted now.”

Peter Sauber’s day was made even better by a solid run to sixth

by Felipe Massa, but in truth the Brazilian was a little disappointing on his second FI outing. He was well off his team mate's pace, and for a long time he sat behind Enrique Bemoldi’s Arrows. It was only attrition ahead that promoted him into the top six.

Nevertheless it was a welcome bonus point for Sauber in a year where every point is going to count.

As last year it’s logical to assume that the top six spots are reserved for Ferrari, Williams and McLaren, and in normal circumstances the rest will be largely relying on bad luck afflicting those ahead if they are to pick up the odd fifth or sixth place.

Last year Sauber surprised everyone by taking fourth in the constructors’championship, and logic suggested that a repeat in 2002 would be highly unlikely as

the opposition got its act together.

However, the early indications are that the Swiss team has a chance of repeating its feat, or at worst dropping one spot to fifth.

In theory Jordan, BAR and Jaguar all have the resources and works support with which to beat Sauber, but all are struggling for various reasons. The team with the obvious potential to steal fourth is Renault, and that could be the battle to watch as the season develops.

“I think this car is better in every area than last year’s,” says Heidfeld. “I was sure we were going to build a car, 1 was just not sure how good the other teams would be.

We are probably a bit closer with our car than some other teams, who are at least at the early stages, because we didn’t have any major problems, and we were able to find a good set-up. I think there’s still more to come, for sure, but I think we are using our car quite well, maybe better than some others.”

Sauber is one a handful ofteams yet to suffer a mechanical retirement this season, so the good news is that last year’s trump card

V . .

ck Lane "When I saw It was Coulthani alongside me I was quite happy becausa I know lirs not madr I

FORMULA ONE

AddsamESpmraCOLOUR toi/iaurRacm^^ith

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- Nick Heidfeld

- reliability - is again going to be a factor.

“As we hoped it would be after testing. In testing we had nearly no problems, and today as well no really big problems.”

Next stop is Brazil, where Heidfeld scored a well-deserved third in last year’s rain-affected race.

“It’s too early to say if our car is good on a slow or quick track or whatever, but obviously I’m looking forward to that race as I was on the podium last year. I’m hoping that the circuit will not be as bumpy, although I don’t think it will have changed. They’ve probably just put a new layer on. One day the circuit will be as high as the pit wall!”

Heidfeld made a lot of people sit

up and take note last year, and while Ron Dennis ultimately thought that Kimi Raikkonen was the better bet, Nick could yet make upward progress. Time is on his side.

“I don’t think that I have to try to prove something. I read somewhere that I have to try to be extra good just because Kimi went to McLaren, but I never said that. It would be stupid to try and push only for that reason. I’m a racing driver, I always give 100 percent, and I try to beat everybody.

“Of course I would have liked to go to a top team, but first of all I was contracted to Sauber, and I feel very happy there. I think I did a good job last year. I’m still young, and I think I’ll get my chance.”

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31

Malaysian GP

WiHiams broke a six-year drought of one-two finishes when Ralf and Juan greeted the chequered fiag at Sepang. JOE SAWARD reports from a hot and sticky Kuaia Lumpur on a day that saw Schumacher Junior triumph as a smorgasboard of misfortunes put paid to his ciosest rivais

Photo by Suttoft-imugi .

fflotoispon news

FORMULA 1 the Malaysian Grand RALF Prix Schumacher with a dominant won display in his Williams-BMW, but the real battle should have been between Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya.

The two men clashed at the first comer and both were delayed as a result, the Ferrari having to pit for a new front wing and Montoya later being given a new ‘drivethrough’ penalty for causing “an avoidable accident”.

After the race, both he and Schumacher agreed that the incident had been a racing incident, and both agreed that the penalty seemed to be very harsh.

With the two favourites out of the way, Half Schumacher had to fight off Barrichello, but it was an easy battle. The Ferrari driver was on a two-stop strategy while the Williams was on a one-stop.

It was clear that the Williams route was the better choice in the circumstances and when the stops were all over Half had an advantage of more than 20 seconds over Rubens. He did not need it. A few laps later, the Ferrari blew up and Half was left all by himself..

I*?.

It was, soaRalf Schumacher “almost perfect race” but said, the real story of the Malaysian Grand Prix was not that Ralf won, but rather that Juan Pablo Montoya did not. In a perfect world that would have been the result.

Montoya was quicker than Ralf all weekend but at the first corner of the race he came to blows with Michael Schumacher - and suffered at the hands of not only the World Champion but, to add insult to injury, from the FIA stewards as well. After the race even Michael Schumacher said that he felt that Montoya’s ‘drivethrough’ penalty had been overly harsh.

‘I think we have seen far more extreme situations where nothing has happened,” Michael said.

“We do not seem to have a very consistent situation. That is something we may all want to improve in future.”

Montoya was less diplomatic, as one would expect: “I think it was very unfair,” he said.

“I gave Michael room, he understeered a bit and touched me and that was it. It was a racing incident. I think that after what happened at the first race they went a bit extreme and I had to take it!”

The first corner clash spoiled what could otherwise have been a

> w

20 March 2002

Pholo by MarJIyBOTHWELl.

continued on page 34 33

Malaysian GP continued from page 33 great race between the two men who are emerging as the major forces in FI this year - as it was expected they would.

At the start, Montoya got away faster from his second position on the grid. Michael Schumacher did what one expects him to do and came across the road to block the progress of the Colombian.

“He has done that plenty of times,” said Montoya,“and I knew he was going to do it. It was quite predictable. He always does it. So it was just a matter of getting a good start and then being with him in the braking area because I knew that if I could stay on the outside then when we came to the next comer, I was going to be on the inside. I was not going to give him a lot of room, but I gave him enough to get around the corner.

“He understeered a little bit and we hit. It was a racing incident.

Very simple. I was fairly pissed off when they gave me the penalty.”

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Montoya was pretty annoyed at Michael Schumacher as well. As he went past the Ferrari, which was hobbling back to the pits, he gesticulated in an irate fashion.

Up in Race Control, they had different ideas on the subject(as they often do) and they decided that Montoya was to blame. How they reached this conclusion is something of a mystery, but then Nazir Hoosein, the chief steward, has a bit of a bistory of making weird decisions, notably at Silverstone in 1998 after which he lost his licence to be a steward for a year...

The only good thing one can say is that the penalty was not as severe as it might have been. Tbe FIA last winter dreamed up a new penalty called a ‘drive-through’ and this was applied to Montoya.

That cost him about 20 seconds.

He had of course already lost a chunk of time on the first lap around 10 seconds on the leader Barrichello - and then there was added time lost as he ducked and weaved through the traffic. This meant that he was half a minute behind Rubens when his debt to society had been paid.

The punt that Montoya received from Michael pushed him wide in the first turn and as he teetered on the edge of the circuit the front of the field went past him, Barrichello leading Half Schumacher, Raikkonen, Coulthard, Heidfeld and Button. Also ahead of Montoya on the road were Trulli, Fisichella, Salo and Sato.

The first targets took careofof each other.

At the start the second lap, the two Jordans collided, Sato running into the back of Fisichella. The pair were dicing behind Salo and there is no doubt that Sato made a mistake, a big one.

“I am really sorry about what happened,” said Sato.

“I apologised to Giancarlo immediately after the race and he took it very well which I think says a lot of good things about his character.

“There is no point on dwelling on it,” said Fisichella. “I think he has learnt his lesson.”

The sound of the engines roaring drowned out any noise of weeping which may have emanated from the Jordan garage. Both cars were eventually repaired and they ran on all afternoon, finishing ninth and 13th, but that was not much consolation for the team.

The demise of the Jordan team allowed Montoya to move onto Salo’s tail and he quickly dispensed with the Finn. Trulli continued on page 36

QUAUFYING Malaysia POS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10

n

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 34

DHWIR Michael Schumacher Juan Pablo Montoya Rubens Barrichello Ralf Schumacher Kimi Raikkonen David Coulthard Nick Heidfeld Jenson Button Giancarlo Fisichella Mika Salo Heinz-Harald FrenUen Jarno Trulli Jacques Villeneiive Felipe Massa Takuma Sato Enrique Betnoldi Pedro de la Rosa Olivier Panis Allan McNish Eddie Irvine Mark Webber Alex Yoong

CAR Marlboro Ferrari F2001 Compaq Williams.BMW FW24 Marlboro Ferrari F2001 Compaq Williams.BMW FW24 West McLaren-Morcedes MP4/17 West McLaren-Mercedes MP4/17 Sauber-Petrcnas C21 Mild Seven Renault R202 DHL Jordan Honda EJ12 Panasonic Toyota TFI02 Orange Arrows-Cosworth A23 Mild Seven Renault R202 Lucky Strike BAR-Honda 004 Sauber-Petronas C21 DHL Jordan Honda EJ12 Oranrje Arrows-Cosworth A23 Jaguar-Cosvjorth R3 Lucky Strike BAR-Honda 004 Panasonic Toyota TFI02 Joguor-Cosworth R3 KL Minardi-Asiatech PS02 KL Minordi-Asiotech PS02

TIME lm35.266s 1m35.497s lm35.89ts Im36.028s 1m36.46Bs 1m36,477s 1m37.199s 1m37,245s 1m37.536s lm37.694s lm37.919s 1m37.920s lm38.039s lm38.057s Im38.14ls lm38.284s lm38.374s 1m38.390s tm38,959s 1m39.l21s 1m39.454s lm40.158s

n M

ICHAEL Schumacher took pole position in Malaysia but don't stop reading. It was a lot more interesting a session than it might have appeared to be, and offered a lot more promise for the race than qualifying did in Melbourne.

The weather and the tyres were the most important issue.

After Melbourne the Michelin men were smarting but were confident, with some justification, that in Malaysia the higher temperatures would get them into the picture.

It was certainly hot in Kuala Lumpur, Hot, humid and hazy.

The haze was caused by huge fires which had been burning quietly in peat bogs in the region for days and days. It gave the track a rather smelly mist and was thick enough to block out the sun on occasion.

The rains came and went (as they tend to do in this part of the world) and so there was always a chance that the weather would play an unexpected role.

Out on the sticky tarmac on Friday the action was finelyn balanced between McLaren and Ferrari while BMW Williams was obviously in with a shot. Fastest on Friday afternoon was the monosyllabic Kimi Raikkonen, a man who makes Mika Hakkinen look garrulous.

That is not the issue of course because his job is to drive fast not to sell soap powder and driving fast is something that Raikkonen does very well. This is a sources of some irritation to David Coulthard who seems to have been having more than his fair share of bad luck in recent weeks.

Coulthard's McLaren lasted just three laps in the morning session on Friday before the rear bodywork caught fire because of an overheating exhaust system or an electronic problem (depending on who you talked to). The fire marshals did the business and David, realising that he needed to get the car back so it could be

repaired, came up with the unsual idea of pushing it for nearly a kilometre (a feat of Herculean proportions in the humid conditions). The rules state that "a car may only be pushed to remove it from a dangerous position as directed by the marshals" but the clearly it was felt that Coulthard's route-planning was acceptable...

This meant that David was able to get some running in the afternoon session and he ended up second to Raikkonen which made McLaren look pretty good.

And so to qualifying and Alex Yoong's inevitable moment of glory when he came out first and so was on pole position for a few minutes (four to be precise). Takuma Sato then put his Jordan on pole. This lasted for two minutes before Jarno Trulli started the more serious attempts.

He was toppled by Raikkonen, who in turn fell victim to Coulthard. The baton was then passed to Montoya, Ralf Schumacher and, just before the half hour was up, Michael Schumacher. Montoya responded with a second run but then Schumacher M's second run took nearly half a second off Juan-Pablo's best, although he snuck closer with his third run with 15 minutes to go.

The last few minutes seemed to promise a great deal but really failed to deliver as the only excitement was the arrival of Barrichello in third at the very last moment.

Montoya was slightly annoyed that he had not made the best run possible (his best sector times having been done on different laps). If he had got all three together he would have beaten Schumacher to pole - but he was not too bothered, because overtaking is possible in Sepang.

Ralf Schumacher is not a man who likes to be beaten by his team mate and he was keen to point out that he could have done better than he did if he had found a better set-up moiorsiiort news

FORMULA 1

0

V_>t

The big One-Five-O: Michael Schumacher registered the Prancing Horses 150th pole position when he topped the sheets at Sepang last weekend. After four years. Schumacher remains the only dri er to ha e started the Malaysian GPfrom PI. iPhoio.K by Sutiim-lmagn.

(yeah!). He was five-tenths down on Montoya.

Behind the top four there was an appreciable gap back to the two McLarens. Raikkonen was quicker than Coulthard again but the margin was tiny. Both men complained about the balance of the cars (or rather the lack of it) and the speed traps revealed that perhaps the Mercedes-Benz VI0 is not as powerful as some of the other motors, although discussion on this subjects seems to irritate anyone who comes from the Stuttgart region of Germany.

Formula 1 Division II on this occasion was led by Nick Heidfeld - no surprise given the pre-season testing pace of the Saubers.

Felipe Massa's difficult FI career continued as "something went wrong in the front right suspension" and he wobbled to a halt and had to zip back to the pits and take to the spare car.

He was 14th but reckoned that he could not have done better.

Button was eighth and he 20 MircO 2002

achieved it in the spare car after his own chassis had an engine problem. Despite this, he showed that he had the measure of Jarno Trulli.

Next up was Giancarlo Fislchella who looked good once again in his underpowered Jordan. Given that the new Honda engine is rumoured to be lacking around 100 horsepower compared to the best engines at the moment, ninth on the grid was not a bad effort although Fisichella said that he did make some mistakes on his fastest lap.

Takuma Sato was six-tenths slower, 15th on the grid and given that he never really qualified in Melbourne - was able to claim that this was his first experience of an FI qualifying session. He admitted to a couple of mistakes and said that traffic had slowed him (remarks which showed that he is a quick learner in the ways of FI drivers).

Mika Sale's 10th position on the grid was another impressive performance for the new Toyota

team, which had done much better to date than was expected.

Allan McNish did not have such an easy time of it and had to switch to the T-car because of a transmission problem on his first lap out and so had to be content with 19th.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen was 11th quickest in his Arrows which was a good effort and a sign that the Arrows is a car which can play around with the others in Division II. Enrique Bernoldi was three-tenths down on Frentzen and 16th on the grid.

British American Racing did not look very good and the rumblings of change are now audible. Jacques Villeneuve was 13th on the grid but he was as honest as ever.

"The car," he said simply, "is not fast enough". Olivier Panis had a day which he will be happy to forget with a litany of mechanical dramas which ended up with him in the T-car and 18th place.

Jaguar Racing was ahead of

the Minardis but about a second off the pace that one might expect (being beaten by the customer-engined Arrows is hardly impressive).

"We must keep our cool, be logical and move forward in a systematic way," said team boss Niki Lauda.

"I am finding it very hard to get to grips with this car," said Irvine. "Pedro has done a better job with it and that is probably down to his style of driving."

Mark Webber was however only three-tenths off Irvine's pace while Alex Yoong was seven-tenths behind but, at 105.1 percent off pole position, was in a better position than some thought might have been the case.

"Qualifying both cars less than four seconds off pole time is not a bad result from our point of view," said team boss Paul Stoddart.

True enough. Minardi men used to dream of things like that...

- JOE SAWARD 35

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continued from page 34 conveniently disappeared with an engine problem and so Juan Pablo stalked Button and nailed the Englishman on lap 7. He was sixth. Then came the penalty and suddenly he was back down in ninth again with two Toyotas and Button to deal with.

The Toyotas were soon out of the way along with Heidfeld (lap 27) and Barrichello’s Ferrari conveniently expired on lap 40 (although it was clear by then that the Ferrari was beaten anyway) and so Montoya was left with Button in his gunsight. It was a joyful little joust - and the Williams took a little longer to find a way past the Renault than you might expect.

From then on, it was just a cruise to the flag half a minute behind Ralf A Williams 1-2.

Both men were happy enough but actually neither was truly happy. Ralf knew that he would have been beaten but for his continued on page 38

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So near, so far: The sporadic Montoya vs Michael battles from last season look like being stepped up a notch in 2002 if Malaysia was anything to go by. Both made three stops en route the podium, with Montoya, top, eventually getting the edge. Meanwhile, Jenson Button, above, looked on target for a surprise podium finish until (Photos by MarsIvBOTHWELLI his rear suspension let go late in the dying stages of the race.

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Mdlaysian GP continued from page 36 brother’s indiscretion and Montoya was annoyed because a win had got away from him.

Michael Schumacher had to work hard for his third place but it was well-deserved considering that at the end of the first lap he was back in 21st place ahead of everyone apart from the inevitable Arrows in the pitlane, HeinzHarald Frentzen having failed to make it off the start line again.

Michael drove hard, but it was the middle of the race before he was back in the top six and fourth looked like the best he could hope for until the last couple of laps when Button’s rear suspension went wrong.

“The car was running on three wheels,” said a disappointed Jenson later. “Obviously I am disappointed for myself and the team not to get out first podium but fourth is still a good result.”

“He was very unfortunate," Schumacher admitted.“But it was very fortunate for me.”

Michael got Jenson on the last lap of the race ...

“Eddie, are you near a screen? OK, in that case, don’t iook” The difficult start to Sato’s F1 career took a another turn in the \«orst possible way when he took out team-mate Fisichella. Both Giancarlo and Eddie should be used to this though, with Fisi having been wiped out in similar circumstances back in 1997 by Ralf Schumacher.

Taking things too iiteraiiy: When McLaren showed DC a pit board saying 'Push', this probably wasn’t what they had in mind.

(Photos by Marsh/BOTHWELL)

from both cars; Sauber ended up Nick with Heidfeld points taking fifth place and Felipe Massa sixth. The two men were both a lap down at the end, but the speed and reliability of the Swiss cars gave an indication that we can expect to see a lot more points this year. The disappointment of Melbourne was, in part at least, forgotten.

Toyota once again did well surprisingly so - with Allan McNish keeping his car on the road and finishing seventh, although he nearly ended up in a sand trap on lap 15 when he was under pressure from Montoya.

Mika Salo also did well, running in the top six early. If his electronics had not started to misbehave he

continued on page 41

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FORMULA 1

t i

V,

GLOBAL MACHIIMERY COMPAIMY

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“Bloody hell, the weather never does this in Finland” Kimi Raikkonen, above, took the Lawrence of Arabia approach to dealing with the soaring temperatures, while some of the Jaguar guys had different ideas, below.

(Photos by Marsh/BOTHWELL)

Stevie I I I

I only started modelling three years ago after winning the Miss Indy in Canberra where I have lived all my life. Isince then entered in the Queen of Clubs and recently I was in Melbourne for Miss Formula Fever while the Grand Prix was on. I do mainly photographic and catwalk modelling and also some television work.

I love the kS Racing and myfavourite team would have to be the Dick Johnson Racing Team. I have worked atfour V8 race meetings and love the fact I can actually get paid to be involved in a sportI enjoy.

I've been at Universityfar the last two years studying Advertising and Public Relations and have one more year. When Ifinish my degree I would like to travelfar six months overseas and hopefully model while I am there.

I am in the process ofputting together my own website.

A

Asfar exercise I enjoy boxing and swimming and tiy tofit this in between my studying and modelling.

Ispend a lot of time with myfriends having dinner parties or going to the movies and to relax I read or keep company with my crazy cat "Mischu".

For more pictures of Lauren visit www.sppromotions.com.au

[a Promotions PO Box 4052 Patterson VIC 3204 Phone/Fax 03 9557 7750

Call the CMC Help Line for the location of your nearest CMC Power Tool stockist, or to order the latest CMC catalogue EMC Help Line 1300 BOO OOl 39

Malaysian GP

o o

Highlights from the post-race press conference Q; Ralf, it seemed to have been almost a perfect race for you...

Ralf Schumacher; Yes, it was almost a perfect race. But the team did a fantastic job, the car was just there, almost perfect the whole race, especially the second stint where there was even more rubber on the circuit.

It was just an easy game. I was amazed at how quick the car was today. I still can't believe it to be honest. It's all down to the team, 1 must say..

Q: Some tyres came in almost slick; did that put the handling off, did the wear concern you?

RS: We were worried about the tyre wear before the beginning of this weekend and we had very high tyre wear. Towards the end of the stint the tyres went off a bit but it was never a problem because the car was so well balance, it could take it.

Q; Juan Pablo, talk us through the incident at the first corner?

Juan Pablo Montoya: We had to go around the outside of Michael because he moved to the right.

We got to the corner. I gave him enough room. I talked to him already and he said he had quite a bit of understeer. He touched me and that was it. To me it was a race incident. I was a bit pissed off because 1 thought he under-steered off into me, which is why I went like that to him, but that was it. It was a bit frustrating because thocar'was very good. I did the fastest lap of the race.

Q: Did you think the drivethrough penalty was unfair?

JPM: I think it was very unfair. I gave him the room, he under steered off a bit, he touched me and that was it. It was a racing incident. 1 think that after what happened at the first race they went a bit extreme and I had to take it. The stewards had everyone saying 'they should have done something' and they didn't in Australia.

Q; Michael, how did you see the first corner incident?

Michael Schumacher: You can see it from two ways. Obviously, if he had opened up more, we wouldn't have touched, but wasn't willing to do this so there wasn't any room for me and we touched. I didn't see a drama in that. It was a shame. I lost my front wing and had to come in for a pit stop and obviously lost a lot of time on that lap, plus the pit stop. But it was an exciting race in the end.

Q; Do you think Juan Pablo was dealt with harshly today?

MS; To be honest, yes. 1 think we've seen far more extreme situations where nothing has happened, and today, a little touch and something was done.

We don't seem to have a very consistent situation. That's something we may all want to improve in future.

Q: Ralf, could you have imagined this result?

RS; Didn't look like it yesterday, di?Mf71 was six-tentlis slower than Juan, and just didn't get it right in qualifying. Today, 1 was certainly a bit lucky with'the two

Strong and if anybody does anything we are going to give you a penalty. Bullshit like that. tf

running into each other, but the car was simply perfect, the times were there and I could control it from there. I was slightly slower than Rubens on a two stop, which is perfect.

Q: Juan Pablo. How was the car after the incident?

JPM: A little bit in the front of the floor where Michael's wing went in but that was it. Nothing major. It didn't really affect the car at all.

five laps to go.

MS: No, it's true. I kept on pushing. There are moments when you think 'let's try'; there's always an opportunity, sometimes, and it came up. It was very lucky, you can't foresee this, but if we had started to ease off some laps before the end, maybe it wouldn't have been enough to catch him up again. Thanks to that, and the car being reliable and very consistent, I was able

to do it.

Q: And then the climb, through the field, how was that?

JPM: It was going really well until they told me I had a penalty. Had a few words on the radio and then couldn't do anything; just drove through and had to do it again. It was quite good, with the strategy I had, I couldn't do anything about Ralf because I was already behind him so I think the best I could have done was second.

Q: Michael, your third place was pretty last minute; what happened with Jenson?

MS: Not much. He had a suspension problem, I would assume, because the car was out of balance quite a lot. He couldn't brake so he was very unfortunate. It must have happened on the last couple of laps. It was very fortunate for me, obviously. I'm very happy but that's the way things go.

Q: It didn't look as though you were going to make it with

Q; Juan Pablo is it difficult to accept the fact that sometimes you depend so much on someone's judgement?

JPM; No, it is racing. I think we are all intelligent enough to behave ourselves and 1 gave him room, he has the room, he under-steered a little bit and we touched and that was it. You can't expect everything to go your way. No. We were racing and accidents will happen. That was the first one and it probably won't be the last one.

Q; I was not referring to you two on the track, but the stewards who took the decision to give you a penalty.

JPM: Yeah, I think the penalty came, basically, from what happened in the first race. I think the stewards wanted to show they are really strong and if anybody does anything we are going to give you a penalty.

Bullshit like that.

FORMULA 1

111

WEBBER’S

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GP DIARY Malaysia

n Extra kick: A swig of the sponsor’s stuff helped both Saubers into the points, although neither driver has probably slept a wink since. (Photo by sunon-images) continued from page 38 might have scored points. Having Michelins obviously helped, but it was a good effort from the new team.

The sameThe could not beare said for Honda. engines clearly underpowered at the moment and while the Jordan seems to be a reasonable chassis, the BAR is clearly not very good. Villeneuve finished eighth in Malaysian but it was triumph of survival over speed. A technical shake-up will come shortly.

Jaguar had another poor day with Irvine going out with a hydraulic problem after losing time when he had his front wing removed by Alex Yoong, who was not looking in his mirrors. Pedro de la Rosa lost his front wing in an early clash with Olivier Panis but he finished 10th at the end of the day which was rather better than Panis, who had his car grind to a halt early on with a technical problem,

B

oth Minardis retired although Mark Webber had made the most of a one-stop strategy to work his way into the top 10, before an electronic failure grounded his car - and the Arrows had a fairly dreadful time again with Frentzen left on the grid at the start(although he did eventually join the race several laps down)and Bernoldi running out of petrol just before his first pit stop. He had already made his mark on the race though when, echoing his performance against Coulthard at Monaco last year, he made life rather more difficult for the pursuing Ferrari of Michael Schumacher than one might have expected.

The race was always going to be a battle of the tyre companies and on this occasion Bridgestone was 20 MatCk 2002

outgunned by Michelin, although the fight is still a close one.

“Today, I was certainly a bit lucky with the other two running into each other,” said Ralf, “but the car was simply perfect, the times were there and I could control it.”

Who would have thought that after the first two races BMW Williams would be off in the lead of the FIA Formula 1 Constructors' World Championship?

RESUJSMalqisianfa; March 17 2002.56 laiis/310.408lans BMW Power

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

Driver R Scliumacher Montoya M Schumacher Button Heidfeld Massa McNish Villeneuve Sato de la Rosa Frentzen Salo Fischella

Ih34m12.912s +39.700S +lm01.795s +lm09.767s + 1 lap +1 lap + 1 lop + 1 lap r- 2 laps t 2 laps + 2 laps + 3 laps ^ 3 laps

FASTEST LAP Montoyn ImSO.OOOs RETIREMENTS 14 Barrichello 15 Webber 16 Irvine 17 Yoong 18 Raikkonon 19 Bernoldi 20 Coulthard 21 Panis 22 Trulli

39 laps (engino) 34 laps (electrical) 30 laps (clutch) 29 laps (gearbox) 24 laps (engine) 20 laps (fuel pump) 15 laps (engine) 9 laps (clutch) 9 laps

DRIVERS POINTS M Schumacher 14, Montoya 12, R Schumacher 10, Raikkonon 4, Irvine 3. Button 3, Webber 2, Hoidfeld 2. Salo 1, Massa 1.

CONSTRUCTORS POINTS Williams.BMW 22, Ferrari 14, McLarenMorcodes 4, Jogiiar-Cosworth 3, Renault 3, y Minardi-Asintoch 2. royota 1.

rhcloa button Images

In the-end it was-the classic item a switch which took$2 us out of a possible top 10 finish in Malaysia.

I’d just completed our one fuel and tyre stop, the car - despite a small hydraulic problem - was pretty okay, and I was set to press on (albeit feeling the heat a bit) when the car simply stopped; the engine switched off as I approached Turn 1 for the 35th time...

It was a shame from a number of points of view, not the least that our strategy and tyre choice was working out and we looked to be headed for a top ten finish.

The team had split the options, with team-mate Alex Yoong trying the two-stop routine. On a light fuel load, that had enabled him to run quicker early on and he ran in front of me until his first stop - by which time it was clear to me that one stop was definitely the way to go.

We’d come back quite well after a frustrating Friday, when I'd made a mistake and dropped off into a sand trap. The clutch mechanism didn't quite respond a hundred percent, so I couldn’t drive out of the sand and it cost us the session. Then the engine failed on the out lap in the aftenoon. Two proper timed laps was all we had to show for the day...

Saturday was better. We were able to test the Michelins properly and decided to go with what they call the 'option' tyre.

That done, we managed a couple of set-up changes which meant I had a reasonable car for qualifying - although 15-16

laps really isn’t enough to get to grips with Sepang. It’s quite a demanding circuit.

With Melbourne’s qualifying sesson being rain-affecteci, this was to be my first full-on dry qualifying session and it was a good learning experience - how to best use the four runs; the whole process of having just one full lap each time out to maximise your effort.

We only fell three-tenths short of knocking off one of the Jags again, so I couldn’t be too disappointed...

The software guys had sorted out the Melbourne glitches, so we were set up for a full electronic ‘launch’ at the start and it worked well. Alex, running light, got away better, so I settlecf in to a rhythm as soon as I could, knowing that as time went by, things would start to go my way.

Something that didn’t go my way was another important item - the drink bottle. It was 43 degrees outside - what it was inside the car I hate to think.

And nothing to drink. We tried to arrange to grab a drink at the pit stop, but it didn't work out either.

So by the time the engine just switched itself off a couple of laps later, I have to say I was getting a bit dry.

So ... disappointing, but at least we know the race was going to plan. A top 10 was on the cards, which for us is good.

Next: Brazil. I have of course run there in the F3000, so that's a plus. After that, there is some testing scheduled prior to the team's ‘home’ race at Imola which will be important for us.

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Ciipsal 500

The Holden Racing Team has never been heaten on a Ciipsal 500 Sunday and Mark Skaife made it seven from eight for the Dream Team with an emphatic 2002 victory.

PHiL BRANAGAN and AARON NOONAN report on the V8 Supercar Championship opener

F

I^OUR years of the Ciipsal ' 500 and four years the Holden Racing Team has claimed the race around the streets of Adelaide.

Mark Skaife was simply brilliant all weekend,the defending Champion taking pole and both races on his way to the perfect start to the title.

While he was in fine form, the misfortune and odd mistake claimed team-mate Jason Bright, who dominated the first race with a brilliant drive until slapping the wall and the modified-from-lastyear Turn 8.

A strategy blunder made things harder on Sunday, as did fading brakes, but at least he has some title points to kick off with.

HRT’s TWR Racing ‘cousin’ Greg Murphy,took two podiums for 44

Kmart Racing after starting from 15th, while Garth Tander and Steven Richards made it the perfect weekend for Holden, taking a third each in the two legs.

There were Fords there - honest - but, after Marcos Ambrose qualified third fastest, a variety of disasters conspired to make it almost an all-Lion affair.

Just as the partying and general atmosphere was hot, so too was the weather, many of the teams experiencing problems and experimenting with various cooling devices.

A record crowd rolled in, again, the new season-opening status of the races seemingly adding to the ambience of an already great event.

But despite the change in tyres and all of the pre-season banter, red is still the colour of V8 Supercars.

Practice and Quaiifying nder flawless blue skies, a

u

change from the Grand Prix supports, 45,200 punters rolled into the parklands of the City of Churches to witness the first day of the new school year proper.

If the evidence of Albert Park was that 2002 was a slightly improved version of 2001 Michael Schumacher, Valentino Rossi and Troy Bayliss being pursued by a pack of wanna-bes the opening salvos of the new V8 Supercar season were little different, but only on the surface.

The contenders were led by the HRT pairing of Skaife and Bright in the first session, but they were split by Craig Lowndes in the

second. In the second session, Skaife was a convincing 0.9s clear of the pack, on a day when one daily newspaper referred to the TWR Racing teams as ‘The Evil Empire’...

Still, among itself, the pack was close, Todd Kelly leading the chasers in Prac #1 and Marcos Ambrose and Tony Longhurst in

Prac #2.

Qualifying would be a two-part opera. The first session, for the faster cars, ended a little predictably, Skaife leading Bright and Murphy, who was mad at himself for losing a potential ‘pole’ when he was delayed by a pitexiting Jason Richards. Still, he was confident for the shoot-outbut then so was Bright.

While all this was going on, though, there were signs that 2002 moiorsport news

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I need a bigger trophy case: Skaife led all practice sessions, took pole, won the races and waved the trophy In Adelaide. Next year, he will have to do something special to top this ...

The Max Factor; Max Wilson dazzled the locals in qualifying, the #65 Falcon topping all the Fords bar Marcos Ambrose's in qualifying.

(Photos by Marshall Cass and Oirk Kiynsmith)

was not going to be an exact copy of last year. For example, there was no hint of resignation at Garry Rogers Motorsport, as if the cars were not going to get any better without surgery. After practice saw the Vs in the back half of the field, continued on page 46 20 March 2002

Clipsal 500

f Qualifying

Not Happy, Jan

Mallala's PreQuatifying turned out to be a joke. CHRIS LAMBDEN was there

THERE is one thing everyone is agreed on: this must never happen again. A confusion of internal TEGA rules and regs saw far too many V8 stars at Mallala for a sudden-death shoot-out to get onto the grid for the Clipsal 500.

Some were forced to be there - others chose to in order to protect 'weaker' members of their own team.

It also meant that a number of drivers who should hawe been in prequalifying, copped the free ride into the Clipsal field. It was a farce, a joke.

Enough said.

And in the end, it went, pretty much to form disappointingly. Quite a few observers were quietly hoping that one, just one. Superstar would have a technical glitch and fail to make the cut, leaving officialdom with the quandary of all quandaries . . .

However, none did.

In the end, 15 cars started the split 20-minute sessions to decide 11 spots.

HRT nominated Mark Skaife (instead of Rick Kelly in its Young Lions car) and the defending Champ simply used the day as a chance to test the new Dunlops on a low-grip surface. It proved worthwhile.

Skaife leapt out of the gate, put in a lm07.86s then changed rear springs and front shocks to find four-tenths of a second late in the 20 minute session and re-establish car 1 at the top of the time sheets.

Tony Longhurst was last of this first eight (1 m08.54), but would find three cars from the

slower group beating the time, to leave him 'on the bubble'.

In the end, most likely challenger Greg Crick spun on what would have been his best 'fresh set' lap and Tomas Mezera ran closest on tyres past their best, but failed by three-tenths.

The sad thing is that, on sheer pace, both could and should have been on the Clipsal 500 grid.

Never again . . . please?

Qualifiers (in order): Mark Skaife, Craig Lowndes, Simon Wills, John Bowe, Greg Murphy, Wayne Gardner, Neil Crompton, Cameron McLean, Larry Perkins, Todd Kelly, Tony Longhurst.

Non-qualifiers: Tomas Mezera.

Greg Crick, Dugal McDougall, Ross Halliday, Trevor Ashby did not start the timed session.

■t ■*

'*'] POS

NO

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

1 2 51 16 65 888 17 00 600 8 34 4 15 10 11 31 66 5 35 27 54 02 36 9 021 24 46 40 29 75 7 43 3 21 50 18

1 2 3 4 5

Skaife Bright Ambrose Tander Wilson

DRIVER

MarkSkaife Jason Bright Greg Murphy Steven Richards Max Wilson John Bowe Steven Johnson Craig Lowndes Simon Wills Russell Ingall Garth Tander Marcos Ambrose Todd Kelly Mark Larkham Larry Perkins Steve Ellery Tony Longhurst Glenn Seton Jason Bargwanna Neil Crompton Craig Baird Rick Kelly Wayne Gardner David Besnard Jason Richards Paul Romano John Faulkner Cameron McLean Paul Morris Anthony Tratt Rodney Forbes PaulWeel Cameron McConville Brad Jones Stephen White Paul Radisich

1:22.7698 1:23.1881 1:23.2154 1:23.3237 1:23.3419

CAR

HRT Commodore VX FIRT Commodore VX Kmart Commodore VX Castrol Commodore VX Betta Falcon AU OzEmail Falcon AU Shell Helix Falcon AU 00 Motorsport Falcon AU CAT Falcon AU Castrol Commodore VX Valvoline Commodore VX Pirtek Falcon AU Kmart Commodore VX Orrcon Falcon AU Castrol Commodore VX Super Cheap Falcon AU Betta Falcon AU Ford Credit Falcon AU Valvoline Commodore VX 00 Motorsport Falcon AU Team Brock Commodore VX EA Young Lions Commodore VX Caltex Havoline Falcon AU Caltex Havoline Falcon AU Team Kiwi Commodore VX Ultra Tune Commodore VX G&J Gardner Commodore VX VIP Pet Foods Falcon AU Sirromet Commodore VX Toll Falcon AU 00 Motorsport Falcon AU K8iJ Thermal Falcon AU Lansvale Commodore VX OzEmall Falcon AU Ultra Tune Commodore VX Shell Helix Falcon AU

Top 15 Shoot-out 6 7 8 9 10

^

Ingall Bowe Lowndes Perkins Wills

1:23.4492 1:23.6022 1:23.6533 1:23.6735 1:23.7880

11 12 13 14 15

Johnson Richards Kelly Larkham Murphy

3

TIME

1:22.1273 1:22.1829 1:22.2803 1:22.6620 1:22.8995 1:22.9192 1:22.9776 1:23.0312 1:23.0439 1:23.0692 1:23.0984 1:23.1792 1:23.2515 1:23.2648 1:23.2723 1:23.2807 1:23.2953 1:23.3598 1:23.3793 1:23.5164 1:23.5448 1:23.5598 1:23.6512 1:23.6532 1:23.7269 1:23.7336 1:23.7664 1:23.7822 1:23.9094 1:23.9646 1:24.2887 1:24.4092 1:25.4089 1:25.5182 1:25.7128 No Time

1:23.8466 1:23.8904 1:24.0552 1:24.1842 No Time

U8SCS Round 1 Clipsal 500 continued from page 45

/ can do this with one finger: .Skaife anil Perkins iliseass the merits of PreQnalifying. while Lowndes gels an with hnsiness in front of an eini>ly Mallala grandstand.

11 t.

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Garth Tander dragged his way to 11th, while Jason Bar^anna was only a tenth from making the top 15.

The results of qualifying meant

that some fast drivers were in the ‘slower’ 50 percent group. From the first session, Skaife, Bright, Murphy and Richards made it a Holden 1-4 but it seemed that everything after that was up for grabs from the slower group. The drivers who progressively sat ‘on the bubble’ before being bumped were pretty well known; Wayne Gardner, Glenn Seton, Longhurst and Steve Ellery ...

It was pretty entertaining and went right down to the final lap of the session, with Mark Larkham dragging the Omcon Falcon to 14th at the last second. But the big news of the session was being made in another Ford, and it was not a man of V8 experience. It was Max Wilson.

The Brazilian was amazing.

After the Briggs team ventured to Mallala’s PreQual session with Longhurst and Wills (current

Bathurst and Konica Champions, do not forget), it would have been acceptable to see the former Champ Car driver blown away by his experienced team-mates in the opening gambit of the year.

The three cars started with similar set-ups, so he was playing catch-up from the off, running two sets of tyres before he went out to simulate a run-off lap; an out lap, a flier, in.

He was fifth. No; let’s rephrase that; HE WAS FIFTH. In a class where experience counts for a lot, first time out in a championship qualifier, he was fifth.

“I didn’t know exactly where I could be,” he said later in a slightly American/South American accent.

“The top 15 or 20 cars is where I thought I could be. I am pleased to be up front.

Understatement, it is called.

Even for a man with experience in SOOhp Champ Cars and in FI testing, it was a brilliant effort.

It looked even better considering who had not made the run-off; Seton was struggling with comer speed, hampered by low front-end grip; Ellery thought he was safe moiorsport news

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(

U8 SUPERCAB CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES “until I watched the whole world drive past me in the second group”; Neil Crompton felt he was having to use up his attention driving the car after a long break from qualifying duties; Gardner and David Besnard were together, both struggling with set-up; and Brad Jones was mystified by an engine glitch which stranded him on the track twice during the session.

So, to the run-off. The gainers were Ambrose and Tander. The Pirtek car bucked around the track in what-is-becoming-familiar fashion, Marcos dragging it to provision pole until the TWRs appeared. He would keep third.

Tander was thrilled to be fourth, while Bowe was satisfied, but not rapt, with seventh.

But the losers had tales to tell.

Murphy was the biggest; at Turn 4, already a tenth up on what he hoped would be a pole time, he went in too hard, ran onto the grass on the exit and walled the left-rear comer. The damage was bad enough for him to park immediately. He admitted fault and would line up 15th.

Johnson also said Mea Culpa.

He set the fastest first sector before he “screwed up”, tagging the tyres and bending a steering pin, losing 0.7s in the last two sectors.

He was 11th.

The other man to feel aggrieved was Bright. When he hit the anchors for Turn 4, he felt like the car had stopped dead. The engine mapping was awry and every straight was going to cost 0.3s.

Despite that, he was on target before he came to the back of the pits, from where he lost 0.7s to Skaife’s pole lap.

“Gee I have a fast car,” he said disconsolately later.

Skaife was on pole for the 35th time in his career, after what he described as “a reasonable lap”.

Minimum fuss, maximum return.

He sure is good at this.

But it was another huge effort

inside wall.

Radisich stayed in the car while medicos leapt to the scene, followed by a concerned team mate Steven Johnson and Brad Jones, who also stopped on the scene.

"It just had more understeer on exit," explained The Rat. "I can't say if there was something on the track, but we had changed a rear roll bar setting the lap before, and it just pushed from mid-corner. I just ran out of road."

The car looked like hell; Radisich looked only slightly better before the car was trucked back to the pits. He was knocked around and bruised, but the major damage was restricted to the car.

Never say never. When the session ended, the car was pulled to bits and work started in earnest to fix it for Saturday. The list of what needed fixing was long; the body shell was kinked, the doors were stuffed, the suspension corners were destroyed, along with brakes, the wing, tail-lights, roll bars, bodywork, etc. Both the engine and the gearbox had their mounts broken, such was the impact of the hit.

The DJR crew was split in two, with a 12 hour shift which worked overnight returning the car to some kind of condition at Gilbert Body Works before it was returned to the track around 6am, where the second half of the team took over while the 'overnighters' recovered before returning to the track for the race.

Radisich missed the warm-up as the team wasn't satisfied that the car was as close to spot-on as they could get it. The race ended early for him with a blown engine, but it was still a pretty huge effort to get the car racing at all.

THE history of the Clipsal 500 J 1 I

i ■*

says that you can start at the back, drive fast and smart and still win the race.

Craig Lowndes has done it.

Mark Skaife has done it. Jason Bright has done it. And all now stride among the giants of V8 Supercar racing ...

Okay, maybe that is a little heavy, but Paul Radisich was hoping for a repeat of history after crunching the Shell Helix Falcon into the unforgiving concrete in Friday practice. The car had just swept through the now-fast Dunlop Corner early in the session when the car veered into the outside wall. taking off both left corners before sliding across the road to tag the right-rear on the Going Home: The Rat got ojfmore lightly that The RatmobUe, both recjuiring a lift back to the paddock.

(Phofos by Marshall Co.m and Dirk Klynsmiih)

continued on page 48

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20 March 2002

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41

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continued from page 47

by Wilson. Small of stature, Wilson repeated his effort and would line up for his first championship race fifth. FIFTH. Skaife had some of his thunder stolen by the rookie but didn’t look that miffed afterwards. After all, Schumacher had to give best in the headline department when Mark Webber took fifth at Albert Park, and Michael is going along quite nicely, isn’t he?

- I'

I am not leaving my wing man! Bright leads the field away in Race 1, with Skaife running tail-gunner.

Blue Steel: Ambrose ran hard in qualifying to be the best of the Fords in third place. (Phoiosby waishaiicassandcnhscarter)

" t 'Zr*

Sc'

▼..

Race 1 (78 laps) Ifweather Queensland the best in thehas country, do not tell that to the South Australian Tourism Commission. While the VIP 500 finished in a deluge, raceday at Adelaide dawned perfect one day....

Skaife won by 4.26s, his first Saturday win in the race, but before one says, “not another HRT win”, the story of the race was not car #1 but car #2. Bright led away from the start, with Skaife in hot pursuit, the two reds blasting away from their pursuers at about a second a lap.

That is an awesome statistic, dear readers. One second times 78 laps equals lm28s and, with the leaders lapping in the high-24s and low-25s or better, the pace they were setting would have seen them lap the entire field, save for the intervention of Safety Cars, weather, famine or other such variables.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. The early going saw a fair old sort-out in the pack, Wilson going backwards as he came to grips with racing a V8 48

Supercar, rather than qualifying one, while Murphy started steadily before picking off cars one by one to move through the field.

Radisich had gone already, the car losing an engine and negating a brave rebuild, while Gardner and Wills were done, the trail of Helix around the track having not prompted, apparently, the use of an oil flag right around the track.

The two Fords clanged into each other and the wall and struggled in to retire.

And Bowe’s strong qualifier came to nothing when the OzEmail car stuck in gear. JB came in and three laps were spent freeing it, later setting the fourth fastest lap of the race. McConville lost an engine and stopped on the exit to Turn 4.

Meanwhile, all was not

necessarily well with the cars that were still running. Longhurst started to suffer from fuel surge problems from lap 5, while Steven Richards found that his brakes were not loving running close to other cars; they were overheating and fading badly, never quite coming back to 100 percent. ’That would later lead to him tagging Bargwanna into a spin, while Jason got another apology when Seton came over to say sorry for banging into him later on, sending both into the wall.

Tender was having no fun in what was formerly known as the clutch department, which would cause him problems when he came to his pitstops, Garth admitting brutality by banging it home at the second stop. But it was still going, and going pretty fast.

Ingall was having dramas too.

“After five laps, I thought I was going to win,” he said later. “After 10 laps, I started to have doubts.

After 20 laps, I knew I wasn’t going to win.”

The problem was the power steering. It started to fade, then got worse. By mid-race. Ingall was already starting to feel the pinch from a bad cold, but he struggled home to be the final finisher.

Another Holden man under the weather was Rick Kelly; after feeling wobbly for a few laps, the Young Lion gave best to his malaise when the team called him in for rehydration and treatment.

The team played ‘Safety First’ and withdrew him for Sunday. continued on page 50 moiorspori naws

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WHERE THE FAIMS AMD THE CARS ARE THE STARS W9

Clipsal 500 sauna-like racecars.

It was another case of the Safety Car causing more problems. There And Todd Kelly was also having must be a bettor way of making a drama, a broken blade having sure full-course yellows do not rendered his front roll bar cause more trouble than they are unusable. worth.

Oh yes, the leaders. Bright While the leaders sprinted away looked to have Skaife under control from the field again, Todd Kelly until the pits beckoned on lap 25, was about to incur the wrath of the resuming in order and undelayed officials by failing to yield to the even potential ‘free’ stops allowed lapping Ambrose and Murphy, but (when John Faulkner planted his Eller/s strong run behind them VX into the tyres) didn’t halt their (he was seventh) was about to end progress. in the wall.

Then came the Great Tander Wilson had lost some major oil debate. The actual leader when the and Ellery found it- on Turn 8.

Safety Car appeared was Anthony The Supercheap AU slammed the TVatt, who pitted at once, leaving concrete, and out came the yellows Tander and Todd Kelly between and the clean-up crews. And out the Safety Car and the HRT pair. went Ellery’s crew; the chassis was They trailed around like that for twisted and it was not a fixer for some time, the Valvoline and Simday.

Kmart cars apparently about to be For four laps. Bright looked to lapped. But, towards the end of the have Skaife covered as he sped race, Tander got his lap back and, through the edges of the clean-up in one fell swoop, moved from 11th powder but, on lap 72, he found a to third. little too little grip and pounded the But two hours later, there was wall. He struggled around for a lap much chat that Garth was going to before the broken Watts Linkage be flung from the podium. While forced him to park, exiting with the the officials pointed out that they demeanour of a man who had just had made an error and redressed thrown away a certain win. it, team managers pointed back “Only on the last part of the the fact that Tander had received a comer was I touching it(the clean ‘bonus’lap and passed a number of up powder),” he said. “I wasn’t cars on the timing screens without going super-fast- it understeered having to pass them on the track. towards the wall and ...”

The suggestion was that he was Bang. Game over. Skaife said about a half-lap ahead of where he later that the sport is a hard should have been. business. He is right.

Discussions went into the night, So Skaife cruised home,Tander and resumed at Sam Sunday took a controversial second and morning. The decision was that the Murphy a third which looked results stood. GRM,after copping miraculous after starting 15th. some rough decision in previous Ambrose and Lowndes came home Clipsals, were happy campers, for Ford ahead of Richards, who got other teams less so, but no-one Longhurst’s spot when the Betta grumbled overly much and car was forced to pit for a fuel knuckled down for another day in continued from page 48

I n

Fun at the Hairpin: Actually, after 2001, It was pretty quiet there this year.

Back to business: Jason Bargwanna made the top 10 in both races.

And the crowd was bulging: In some places more than others ...

THE RACE IS ON Yes, Finishline® is back, bigger and better for 2002 season.

The easiest and most popular V8 tipping game is back and ready to go for the Australian Touring Car Championship.

Winners for each round will receive fabulous prizes of Team gear, Model cars. Magazine subscriptions and much, much more.

The overall winner will take off the mega prize which we will announce mid season.

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Sweet Sixteen: Steven Richards made a good start to his season with Castrol Perkins with typically gritty drives to sixth and third.

est on l ine Diecast Model site. nioiorsport news

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES surge-prompted splash with a handful of laps left.

Behind came the lapped Johnson, Kelly, Bargwanna and Perkins, who lost early ground \vith a spin at the hairpin, while Baird was 12th from Rodney Forbes, who ran on the same lap as the leaders and inside the top 10 after a smart pit call until he ran out of speed late in the going.

And for Baird, in his first run in ‘Brock’colours, it was a good result, having just missed the top 15.

Peter’s reaction? Not seen, at least; not at the track. He was in Wangaratta for a Monaro Festival.

The great man’s commitments know no bounds ...

Race 2(78 laps) Sunda/s damn hot. second race was hot, Did we mention it was hot?

Even before the race, there were more problems in Shell Helix world, as Radisich was taken to hospital after the morning warm-up, complaining of sore left ribs from his Friday shunt. The approach for the Rat was to take it softly and stroke the #18 car home to gain some points.

It was working until the throttle jammed at 70 percent application and he shut it down on lap 26, only for it not to return.

It was 34 degrees ambient, 48 on track and nearly 55 in the cars.

Anyone would have thought we were at Hidden Valley, but overall, it was a photocopy of the Saturday race. Skaife won. Bright had the speed but the mountain he needed to climb courtesy of his Saturday mistake was too tall - simple as that.

The former grabbed the race by the scruff of the neck on lap two by passing Murphy and simply didn’t give it back, while Bright’s sheer speed and determination couldn’t outweigh a blunder in pit stop strategy and a late race spin and nudge with the wall.

Having said that, it was an awesome race. Just like the three previous Adelaide 500 events. It had it all. Passing, strategy, accidents and heat. While Skaife and Murphy always seemed in control, the different pit stop strategies left the total result always in question. The change in allowing cars to pit under yellow flags left the race nowhere near as artificial in creating excitement.

In the end, Skaife was superb.

Murphy pushed him all the way and held on for second, the duo mindful of how easy it is to make a mistake on such a demanding and unforgiving circuit and thus they approached the job at hand with an element of caution.

20 Maich 2002

continued on page 52

V8SCS Round 1 Cllisssi 500 Race 1 - 78 tam Pos Driver I Skaife 2 Tander 3 Murphy 4 Ambrose 5 Lowndes 6 S.Richards 7 Longhurst 8 Johnson 9 T.Kelly 10 Bargwanna 11 Perkins 12 Baird 13 Forbes 14 Larkham 15 J.Richards 16 Tratt 17 White 18 Seton 19 Bowe 20 Jones 21 Ingall DNF Bright DhlF Besnard DNF Ellery DNF Morris DNF Wilson DNF Faulkner DNF R.Kelly DNF Romano DNF Crompton DNF Weel DNF McConville DNF McLean DNF Wills DNF Gardner DNF Radisich Race 2- 71 laps 1 Skaife 2 Murphy 3 S.Richards 4 Lowndes 5 Bright 6 Tander 7 Ingall 8 Bowe 9 Bargwanna 10 Johnson 11 Larkham 12 Kelly 13 Weel 14 Perkins 15 Gardner 16 Wills 17 Romano 18 Longhurst 19 Jones 20 Forbes 21 J.Richards 22 Besnard 23 Tratt 24 McLean 25 Morris DNF Ambrose DNF Baird DNF Seton DNF McConville DNF Radisich DNF Crompton DNF Faulkner DNF White DNF Wilson

Race Ume Fastest lap 2:05:33.3660 1:23.7200 2:05:37.6300 1:24.7452 2:05:38.6377 1:24.8388 2:05:39.4182 1:24.5867 2:05:41.4373 1:24.9022 2:05:49.5490 1:25.1468 1:25.0061 2:06:49.3037 1:24.8381 77 laps 1:25.1458 77 laps 1:25.4496 77 laps 1:25.7172 77 laps 1:25.3760 77 laps 1:25.6625 77 laps 1:25.5355 77 laps 1:25.6049 77 laps 1:25.4587 76 laps 1:27.1862 75 laps 1:25.5202 1:24.4869 73 laps 1:25.5098 69 laps 1:24.3076 67 laps 1:23.8834 72 laps 1:25.3321 71 laps 1:25.1330 58 laps 1:25.4200 58 laps 1:25.3413 56 laps 1:25.9454 53 laps 1:25.5111 48 laps 1:26.1059 1:25.3029 38 laps 1:25.7876 20 laps 1:26.0910 16 laps 1:25.7709 15 laps 1:25.4166 3 laps 1:26.2954 3 laps 1:28.3240 2 laps 2:05:03.9534 2:05:08.0470 2:05:22.4773 2:05:24.3217 2:05:24.3587 2:05:28.0340 2:05:35.6696 2:05:38.8679 2:05:40.0169 2:05:42.6880 2:05:59.0340 2:06:03.8517 2:06:15.0481 2:06:18.4231 2:06:22.9811 77 laps 77 laps 77 laps 77 laps 75 laps 73 laps 73 laps 71 laps 65 laps 67 laps 49 laps 26 laps 25 laps 22 laps 16 laps

1:24.3395 1:24.6222 1:25.0859 1:24.8867 1:24.4794 1:25.1231 1:25.0709 1:24.7332 1:25.2021 1:24.4946 1:25.7447 1:25.1526 1:25.5733 1:25.4917 1:25.5304 1:25.4026 1:25.9622 1:24.9546 1:25.5243 1:26.2976 1:25.4488 1:25.6353 1:26.4935 1:26.2279 1:26.2917 1:24.9767 1:25.3136 1:25.7470 1:25.9874 1:26.1093 1:25.7159 1:26.2343

Ck Points: Skaife 400, Murphy 288, Tander 240, Richards 192, Lowndes 192, Johnson 120, Bargwanna 116, Kelly 108, Ambrose 104, Longhurst 102, Ingall 96, Bowe 92, Larkham 92, Parkins 92, Bright 88, Forbes 70, Richards 60, Jones 54, Tratt 54, Baird 48, Weel 44, Gardner 36, Wills 34, Romano 32, White 32, Seton 30, Besnard 22, McLean 18, Morris 16.

51

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CIlDSal 500 continued from page 57 “We made a few conservative changes but the car was very good yesterday and we had a car that wouldn’t bite me, which is very important around here,” said Skaife, who didn’t have the initial plan of back-to-backing on his pit stops, though he wanted to hold track position.

“When I got behind Jason(who had yet to make his second stop), I didn’t want to get in a battle and I wanted to make sure we had some tyres for the end. That’s what this category is all about-looking after your tyres.”

But the story of the race down the order was Bright.

With a mid-pack start, the #2 VX was one of the quickest things out there. Under brakes it was a weapon, but that would prove his downfall in terms of building a better pointscore, as the brakes went away at the end after a strategy that saw him with a stop to go and a bunch of cars with all stops completed right behind.

Rather than back-to-back like Skaife and Murphy, Bright did one stop during the SC period that was brought about to retrieve Radisich’s car. With one to do, he pushed as long as possible to lap 51 before pitting, only for the Safety Car to come out when Glenn Seton clipped the inside wall at treacherous turn eight, bouncing into the outside wall with a huge thud.

Bright pitted and ended up eighth in the queue. His fresher tyres saw him carve through the field, though then the rear brakes started to fade and he spun from third on lap 66 at the hairpin.

“I had too much rear bias and was locking (rear) brakes for the last 10 laps. I just worked them too hard in fighting through on the fresh tyres,” reported Bright, who was mindful of the need to avoid going down a lap if he himself pitted too early while back in the pack.

“We had arguably the fastest car here but it was my mistake that put me there, so I have to wear it,” he added.

Murphy was clearly happy with his recovery from the hit with the wall in the Shootout, the Kmart team a little bit slower to get to grips with the new Dunlops than their red counterparts.

“The car was a lot easier to drive than yesterday,” said Murph.

“It was definitely a tougher day but we were close. At the end of each stint, Skaifey’s tyres were holding in there a little bit better than mine were. We had a long conversation about what we were going to do last night and again this morning.

“We’ve struggled to start with on S2

Let me show you: Bright and Lowndes tangled on the final corner and then had a sprint to the line, Brighty being run fairly close to the concrete by Mr 00.

Smokescreen: Todd Kelly struggled home in 12th place in Race 2 after having a concrete moment at Turn 8.

(Photos by Dirit Klynsmith)

the new tyres in getting our head around it and working away. We’re well on om' way with coming to grips with it pretty good.”

His former team-mate Richards was another to star, taking third on championship debut for Castrol Perkins Racing. Always in the fight for a podium result, the Victorian came under attack from more than one car for a podium finish, first from Ambrose in the race’s closing stages.

Ambrose had the same strategy dilemma as Bright,though he missed out on points when the Pirtek Ford’s engine blew on lap 68 as he closed to Richards. He too had fresher tyres and was charging.

But Richards had another challenger in Lowndes. The 00 Motorsport Ford was strong

throughout the race, the decision to back-to-back stops the right one, though his tyres were a bit newer than Richo’s at the end. But Richards stayed strong and held onto third, Lowndes fourth.

“Last year there were a fair few times I was under pressure too but I wasn’t far enough up the grid to be noticed,” reported Richards.

“It was nice to be in a good battle. We almost did om'stops back to back. Our car wasn’t as good as the other two guys with its rear tyres so it was a case of hanging on. Craig was going to catch me but I could see behind him Brighty was catching. He actually got past but then I got back through when he spun.”

Bright plugged on to take fifth, clear of Tander(who conceded that he probably missed out on pitting

at the perfect time by a lap), Ingall (from 21st on the grid), Bowe (another superb run from 19th), Bargwanna and Johnson.

Todd Kelly never quite had the car to fight for a podium all weekend,though he was running eighth on the last lap before slamming the wall Bright-style.

The Kmart car was running out of fuel and, being mindful of staying out of the way of the following Bowe, he got out too wide around the blind turn eight and slammed the wall, limping home to 12th.

So, after the concrete confines of Adelaide, Phillip Island’s flat-out sweeps beckon for Round 2. Maybe it will be different there; quick, who won there last year? Skaife did. Dominated.

Maybe this year the others can avoid another Redwash. Maybe ... motorsport news

Book your tickets to the 2003 Clipsal 500+ before June 30 this year and pay the 2002 listed price for your tickets.

And they can be the very same seats you enjoyed this year - or leave it up to us by getting in early and we’ll ensure you get a great view.

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m clipsal500.com.au

Nations Cup/GT-’Performance/Formula 3

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TTie comeback kid; A lack oflaps in qualifying and a subsequent long nightfor the Ldmborgfiit&crew'trere'v/ei »Jr,l rewarded by Paul Stokell with the championship lead.

Lambo leads Cup Sto/<G// and Bovs/e share wins in Adelaide

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by AARON NOONAN THE opening round of the Nations Cup Championship was a direct photocopy of the non-title support races at the Australian Grand Prix.

Paul Stokell's Diablo GTR was again the class- of the field throughout the three races, taking races one and three, dropping race two to John Bowe (PHR Scuderia 360 Michelotto), despite only doing two laps in qualifying due to a late night/early morning repair job and starting sixth.

"It broke the input from the gearbox into the diff and the boys had to replace the diff centre, the shaft and the whole box," said Stokell, the team working until 10am on Saturday to have the car ready.

The recently-arrived yellow GTR that the team has purchased ended up being raided as a mobile spare parts unit to complete the job!

Race one was a tight contest, and perhaps the best advertisement for parity among the new Porsche GT3 Supercup, Ferrari 360 Michelotto and Lamborghini Diablo.

Jim Richards out-jumped

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It got better; After having his transporter robbed before the meeting, Jim Richards proved his class, bouncing back to take handy championship points.

(Photo by Marshall Cass}

Bowe from the rolling start and proceeded to pull away from the pack. The Porsche was in a class of its own, though Stokell had the GTR slicing its way through the field.

It took pretty much the full 12-lap distance, but Stokell picked off Bowe (around the outside of the fast turn eight!) and then dragged in Richards on the last lap to take the chequer.

Bowe held out the Porsche, clear of Geoff Morgan's Viper and Peter Fitzgerald's GTS, while Sam Newman surprised many by taking out Group 2 in his 360 Modena Challenge.

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A Very Important Flyer; Tony Quinn s new Supercup car certainly did lift the (Photo by John Morrix.-.\fpix) skirls through the Senna Chicane.

54

Race two was somewhat more of a snooze. Bowe jumped ahead and wasn't headed, Stokell holding second over Morgan, a fading Richards, D'Arcy Russell, Peter Fitzgerald and Tony Quinn.

Sunday's third race was in much warmer conditions, though Stokell had enough to come out on top from Bowe, Morgan (who really had a struggle to keep cool in the tight confines of the Viper's cabin, actually going through three driving boots after they were burnt during the races!), Richards, Fitzgerald and Quinn, who picked up sixth after Russell spun at Mistral Hairpin.

Newman was on target to pick up another Group 2 win, but a tank-slapper ended up handing the win to Porsche GTS driver Dean Cook, in only his second-ever Nations Cup race.

The PRQCAR Championship Series moves to Symmons Plains in Tasmania on April 6 and 7.

Points: Stokell 175, Bowe 171, Morgan 145, Richards 140, Fitzgerald 116, Russell 108.

I- : A LIVELY opening round of the GT-Performance Championship was one of the highlights of the support cast for the Clipsal 500.

In his return to the category, 1999 GTP Class B champ Geoff Full took his new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII to pole positions and two wins on the streets of Adelaide, though it was never an easy contest.

Defending champion Brett Peters(Subaru Impreza STi) ended up second in both races, though trails Full by seven points in the championship chase.

“That was a great way to start the season, but I don’t expect it to continue,” said Full, referring to the sheer power of the 300kilowatt HSVs,the most successful at Adelaide being Peter Floyd’s example.

“This was a Mitsubishi track but next we go to Symmons Plains in Tasmania and the power of the Holdens will be a big threat.”

Graham Alexander,in the older Evo V Mitsubishi, and Floyd both took a third and a fourth each in the races.

Perhaps the most spectacular moment of the weekend came in the first race. The debuting TE50 Falcon of Trevor Haines ended up on its roof at the Senna Chicane after a slow and clumsy-looking roll started by contact with the tyre wall. He was uninjured in the incident, which occured on the race’s last lap.

Another to emerge from an accident was HSV driver Craig Dontas, after he was clipped by Steve Knight.

Points: Full 31, Peters 24, Floyd/Alexander 18, Boatwright 11.

-AARON NOONAN ffloiofsoon news

ADELAIDE SUPPORTS

II House Two debuts of differing success leveis: Geoff Full’s new Lancer Evo 7 was hot on debut with pole and two wins, above, while Trevor Haines, below, had quite the opposite occur in race one with his TE50.

(Photos by Marshall Cass and John Morris^pix)

BRONTE Rundle Motorsport was simply the class of the field in the first round of the Australian Formula 3 Championship at Adelaide, though things didn't entirely work out as planned.

Darren Palmer, above, returned to the team in style with a victory in the BRM team's 2001 Dallara, taking a first-up win. It all turned pear-shaped in race two, when gearbox selection problems three laps from the end ended up slowing the Queenslander to a walk, allowing young Vctorian team-mate James Manderson to pick up the win from Kiwi flyer James Cressy.

Cressy, in his second start in F3 and first for Piccola Scuderia Corse, damaged a tyre in qualifying and replaced it with an 80-lap old tyre with his original starting grid position of fourth guaranteed, though changes to the sporting regulations in the category to bring it into line with Formula Holden meant that he was sent to the rear of the grid,

leaving Cressy very unimpressed.

The Piccola machine worked its way through to sixth in the opening race, behind Palmer, Manderson, Mike Beeley, Chris Coombs and Graeme Holmes.

Palmer led race two until the gear selection problems struck, and limped home in fifth gear, albeit still on the podium in third.

“I was on the radio to the team asking 'has he got a problem?' and there wasn't much response. He (Palmer) blocked me a bit but I made it through,” said Manderson.

Paul Stephenson's return to the category didn't go to plan, the former national champion having gearbox problems in the first race that meant he was forced to launch the car in second gear.

He pushed on only to spin out a handful of laps later, while the gearbox gave out completely in race two, leaving him with two DNFs for the weekend.

AARON NOONAN

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Konica V8 Supercar Series

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The Konica V8 Supercar Series returns to race tracks with a live round scheduie for 2002, and it begins over the Easter weekend at Wakeheid Park. AARON NOONAN does the crystai baiiing and makes his predictions for the season

V8 Supercar Series will YELAR of the see athree new crop ofKonica V8 young guns take to the tracks, though unlike season 2001, the quality has slipped just a tad.

While the series shrinks from six rounds to five with the loss of Lakeside, there’s still plenty of reasons why the V8 feeder series will be one to keep an eye on.

Firstly, there’s a change in racing format. Rather than the three-race sprint format of the last two seasons, in 2002 there’ll be two 20-minute ‘sprints’ (including a race two reverse grid race) as well as a longer, 35-lap final.

Secondly, there’s mostly a bunch of, well, sophomores, having a second crack at the Konica Series in a bid to break through into a Level 1 drive just like last year’s Konica King, Simon Wills, who steps into the CAT Ford this year.

The favourite for the series in undoubtedly the man who pushed Wills all the way last year - Paul Dumbrell.

No longer running under the umbrella of the Gibson Motorsport outfit, he still retains a Holden product link through the purchase during the off-season of the exRussell Ingall Commodore VX, as well as a Gibson link.

Former team manager Marty Brant, who left GMS at the end of 2000 to establish his own business.

Independent Race Cars Australia, will run the car for the Victorian teenager, who has undertaken just one test at Winton in his new stead.

It’s vital for Dumbrell to remain focused all season, as his handful of excursions off the road last year were only offset by the grid system for race two rather than complete recoveries plotted and executed from the driving seat.

While former Level 1 Holdens were the successful weapons in the Konica Series last year, Dumbrell will have to not only have to focus on ensuring he limits the mistakes 56

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Fast Ford flyers: Ford are well represented In this year’s Konica Series.

Michael Simpson will be one to watch, above, while Ford Credit Racing, below, will run a car in selected events for Owen Kelly.

(Photos by Dirk KlynsmithI

that probably cost him a better shot at last year’s title, but also the threat from a pack of Ford drivers.

Heading the blue oval brigade is the experienced Greg Crick.

Shunned after a difficult Queensland 500 experience with the Pirtek operation last year.

Crick proved at Bathurst in the 3M/Halliday Motorsport car that he’s still a fine operator of a V8

Supercar. Crick will drive the exDJR AU that Greg Ritter and Cameron McLean took to fourth at Bathurst last year, while Halliday remains in the team’s ex-CAT car. ’While there are plenty of regular Fords to run in the series, there will be an interloper into the series, with Ford Credit Racing to run a car for endurance co-driver Owen Kelly at a handful of rounds.

The move is sure to give the

KV8SS leaders more incentive to do well in the rounds where the Victorian-based Tasmanian will appear.

Of the regular Ford brigade, Harris Racing has expanded to a total two-car operation. Last year it ran Kevin Mundy’s car as a customer car, though this time continued on page 58 moiorspart news

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Rivals, team-mates and back to rivals: Leanne Ferrier, below left, and Paul Dumbrell, below right, were rivals in the 2001 Konica Series before they teamed up the endures. For 2002 they’re back to racing against one another.

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All returning for 2002: Terry Wyhoon, above left, was a giant-killer in 2001 in his ancient Commodore, whiie Dale Brede becomes a Ford man in 2002, above right. His oid NRC Commodore, below, now is in the hands of Matthew White.

(Photos by Dirk Klynsmith and John Morris/Mpix)

continued from page 57 around. Dale Brede has joined the fold along with backer Gulf Western Oil, to drive the team’s exDJR AU, while Craig Harris steps into the team’s first in-house built Ford.

The combination of experience and enthusiasm should be one to watch, though the Harris team, while being superbly presented at all rounds, has perhaps been an underachiever, considering the equipment it has had at hand.

Brede will be engineered by Matt Boniface; the duo worked together at NRC Racing last year.

Speaking of NRC,the car which Brede ran last year will again appear, though in the hands of 38

2000 Series runner-up Matthew White. Having purchased the car late last year, the former AUSCAR champ has decided to go down the Konica route rather than gamble continually on the pre-qualifying lottery of the main series.

Another of last year’s debutante is back in the diminutive shape of Leanne Ferrier. While Garry Rogers pulled the pin on running a car in the Konica Series, Ferrier instead will step ‘back’into the exGeoff Kendrick VS Commodore run by Fastlane Racing in Perth.

The ex-HRT car has undergone a massive overhaul during the off season and looks to be the best of the older Holden brigade.

The overall spread of the field is somewhat thinner than last year.

Konica V8 Supercar Series

Wakefield Park Rd 1 - Entry List No 25 26 30 47 49 56 58 61 64 68 69 72 74 76 77 78 81 84 87 88 89 90 93 94 95 98 99 140 161 666 TBA

Driver i Sponsor/Car Kitome/Lubrimaxx Commodore VS Terry Wyhoon Peter Doulman Doulman Automotive Commodore VT Bob Thorn Super Cheap Auto Falcon AU Craig Bastian Bastian Motorsport Faicon EL Ric Shaw Ric Shaw Performance Commodore VS Actron Air Falcon AU Kevin Mundy Derek Van Zelm House of Kolor Commodore VT 3M Falcon AU Ross Halliday Paul Dumbrell Independent Race Cars Commodore VX Diesel Tech Commodore VS Shane Beikoff Robert Jones Spies Hecker Commodore VX Smith's Trucks Commodore VT Robert Smith Fleetcare Commodore VS Leanne Ferrier Matthew White VIP Petfoods/NGK Commodore VT Richard Mork v8Racing.com Commodore VS Mark Porter Hydrolink Falcon AU Tim Rowse Rowse Commodore VS Daniel Miller Air-Liquide Commodore VT Rod Salmon One World Sport Falcon EL Castrol Falcon AU Craig Harris Dale Brede Gulf Western Oil Faicon AU Michael Turner A DI Electrical Supplies Commodore VT Simpson Racing Falcon EL Michael Simpson Mark Howard Simpson Racing Falcon EL Ron Searle Transtar Express Commodore VS Grant Eliod Sydney Star Motorsport Commodore VX AJG Commodore VS Wesley May Clyde Lawrence Lawrence Racing Commodore VS 3M Falcon AU Greg Crick Phil Nicols Madcap Ferel Racing Falcon EL Chance of a Lifetime Falcon EL Grant Johnson

though the entry number for the opening round at Wakefield Park looks like it will threaten 30.

Michael Simpson’s team will do its bit to boost numbers by running a three-car operation. Simpson will again nm his ex-Besnard Falcon EL now in blue warpaint, while Mund/s Actron Air car will be run out of the Queenslander’s team in addition to another EL for Saloon Car racer Mark Howard.

Wildcards without recent KV8SS experience include Peter Doulman, Bob Thorn in a Supercheap/Ellery Ford, Derek Van Zelm, Robert Jones(in a new VX)and Kiwi Mark Porter in an ex-Paul Weel Falcon AU. Throw in Ron Searle’s Mike Quinn-run car and Chance of a Lifetime Competition winner Grant Johnson, and there’s plenty of drivers in the mix for another season of Konica action. moUHsport news

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Mustang Donnelly

NSW vs Victoria clash WHAT billed as the of thewas Group N Historic tintops resulted in three resounding victories for Sydney’s Ross DonneUy driving his impressive yellow 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 at the Australian Grand Prix.

It was sweet revenge for the Sydneysider, who had to settle for second place behind Victorian John Mann when the Group N cars last appeared on the Grand Prix program at Albert Park in 1999.

A massive field of 42 cars contested the Shannons Historic Touring Car races, and qualifying was dominated by the flying ToranaXU-1 of Trevor Talbot, who recorded a best lap of 2m 23.026s to grab pole position from Donnelly.

Mann was next best in his 1968 Ford Mustang ahead of Rob Burns’s 1971 Chrysler Charger.

Several other Mustangs were towards the front of the grid followed by Tino Leo’s 500hp Monaro, and the stage was set for a top encounter.

Race one on the first day of the carnival saw Talbot first off the line but it didn’t take the big guns long to overtake the more nimble XU-1 on Albert Park’s longish straights. Donnelly powered home ahead of Mann, with Talbot finishing strongly in third place.

A big accident involving Burns’s Charger ended a promising run for the Victorian driver while he was challenging the three leaders.

Brake failure was the cause of his spectacular exit from the race, and Bums was lucky to escape serious injury.

He stayed on to watch the other two races and now has a major rebuild program ahead.

The second race next day was almost a repeat of the first with Donnelly taking the chequered flag from Mann, but this time Michael Miceli(1965 Ford Mustang)eased ahead of Talbot’s XU-1 for third place.

In the small car class, Paul Truelove took the honours in his 1964 Lotus Cortina ahead of Wes Anderson (1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Super) and South Australia’s John Bryant in a 1963 Lotus Cortina.

Donnelly scored a winning hat trick in the final encounter in front of a record Saturday crowd of 112,000 fans, but he had to work hard for his win.

After a slowish start he first had to wear down Talbot’s XU-1 and 60

Power grid: The roaring Group Ns revived memories of a golden era in Australian Touring Car racing when they (Photos by Marshall Cass) took to the Albert Park circuit.

then set about the task of catching Mann’s Mustang, but once he got in front he was cleaurly superior.

After starting from the back of the grid following an electrical problem the previous day, Gary Treloar was making real progr-ess through the field in his 1971 Chrysler Charger, only to have a spin which ended his chances.

Miceli finished a strong third in the final eight lapper ahead of Cam Womer(1969 Ford Falcon GT HO)and Leo(1971 Monaro).

The winning hat trick reversed the positions when Donnelly and Mann last met at Albert Park.

“We were leading in 1999 when I blew a clutch on the last lap, and John took the win, so it’s good to

come back in the new car and take the win,” he said.

The ‘new’car was imported from the USA as a road car and Ross Donnelly paid special tribute to Tilley’s Automotive for its race preparation.

Without their help we wouldn’t have made it,” he said.

- BRIAN REED moiorsport nsws

The best damn Histeric Garage in tewn SINCE the AGP came to Melbourne,the Tattersall's Historic Garage has become one of the most popular trackside displays and a 'must visit'for fans who are interested in comparing the old and the new.

This year's theme focused on smaller capacity sports cars that played such an important part in Australia's motor racing heritage during the 1950s and '60s, at a time when it was customary to drive the car around during the week and then go racing in it at weekends.

Featuring strongly in the display this year was an impressive line-up of Colin Chapman's sleek Lotus XI s and Australia's answer-the Elfin Streamliner.

A number of pretty Lotus Elites also were on show.

Going back in time were three superb Alfa Romeos - the 1930 1750 Super Sports of David Jones, Diana Gaze's 1929 1750 SS Zagato and the Zagato-bodied 1930 model of Terry Valmorbida.

Other Italian thoroughbreds included American Tom Price's stunning 1955 Maserati 250Si and Clive Smith's rare 1956 Maserati 150S, seen for the first time in Australia.

Special guest at this year's AGP meeting was once again Sir Stirling Moss, who, when he wasn't signing autographs, was seen behind the wheel of a 1956 bobtail Cooper sports car.

The Type 39 1460cc Cooper is

20 Msrcti 2002

Briefly Historic DIRECTOR of the Dunlop Tyres Targa New Zealand, Mike John, has already closed entries for this year's event with the start still eight months away.

Already 180 entries have been received by the organisers which include "quite a few Aussies."

A similar situation applies with the lead up event, Targa Bambino, which will be run on March 24, This year there will be 100 starters (normally it is 60)- maybe a new name will be needed for this one! n Elfin identity Peter Brennan had the sad duty of informing MN that fellow Elfin Owners and Driver Club member Geoff Wieland had passed away on March 10.

In Peter's words: "(Wieland was) a dedicated family man, a keen supporter of all motor sports,a true friend to all who had contact with him. We will miss him.

Keep it on the black stuff Geoff."

Familiarface: Sir Stirling Moss is a regular around the Historic Garage at the Australian Grand Prix. from the Peter Briggs collection in WA and was originally campaigned by Bill Patterson.

It was the bobtail Cooper more than any other car that finally convinced Jack Brabham to stay on in England and persevere with his motor racing, and the rest is history.

In all, there were 42 selected cars that were on show and which had opportunities to do parade laps of the Grand Prix circuit during the carnival.

In addition to the selected sportscars, around 25 other exotic cars enhanced the display.

Heading the list was a Type 8CTF Maserati, one of only three built from 1936 onwards to combat the might of MercedesBenz and Auto Union in Grand

Prix racing. One competed at Indianapolis from 1936 to 1940 as 'the Boyle Special' and was successful in 1939 and again the following year in the hands of Wilbur Shaw.

The car on show at Albert Park is owned by American Dean Butler and was built in 1938 for Luigi Villoresi to drive in the Tripoli Grand Prix. After seven laps, it held a 15-second lead over the Mercedes and Auto Unions but retired with a broken gearbox.

Dean Jones also brought along his 1931 26M Maserati for his visit to Australia - a car with a fine pedigree, having been campaigned by Tim Birkin and Whitney Straight.

- BRIAN REED

Going, going, gone

ALMOST SI.6 million changed hands at the Shannon’s Grand Prix Auction in Melbourne on March 11.

More than half of the 75 lots being auctioned were sold on the day, which featured a heated bidding war over a one-owner, fully-restored 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GT Coupe. The hammer eventually fell to an Australiaribased buyer for $187,000 an Australian Dino record.

Other significant cars included the supercharged 1927 Lombard AL3 that finished third in the

HISTORICS

1929 Australian Grand Prix. The Lombard, which competed in Australian Grands Prix until 1934, and also won the 1930 Mount Gambler to Melbourne Reliability Trial, went to a Melbourne buyer for $130,000.

There was enthusiastic bidding for a fully-restored 1961 Chevrolet Corvette that eventually ended at $100,000; a 1959 Jaguar XK150 S Roadster sold for $95,000; a 1970 Italian Iso Grifo seven litre coupe went for $90,000; and a 1931 Packard 845 Deluxe Limousine, which

went into the auction unreserved, eventually found a new home for the price of $85,000.

A 1930 Ariel Square Four 500cc was quickly snapped up by a bike enthusiast tor $17,000.

Bidding for memorabilia was also keen, with much interest being on the gloves worn by Mark Webber when his CLK somersaulted at Le Mans in 1999. The signed gloves were expected to bring around $4000, however modest bidding saw them go for just $1500.

- MARK GLENDENNING

n Entry forms and supplementary regulations are now available for the Austin 7 Club's annual Historic Winton meeting (the 26th) to be held this year on May 25-26.

For the first time at Winton the Group C touring cars will be seen in action, provided a minimum field of 20 cars can be assembled. The Group N cars will be out in force as usual, so tin-top fans are promised plenty on the program.

Another first at Winton this year is a new secretary for the meeting.

After 15 years Brenda Campbell is taking a well-deserved rest (although she remains Competitor Liaison Officer), and husband Grant takes over as secretary.

For further information contact Grant on (03) 9592 9310(h) or 9596 2777(w) n The famous British motorcycle company Triumph will celebrate its centenary with a 100th Birthday Celebration Ride from Melbourne to the Gold Coast starting on March 25.

One lucky rider who completes the entire course will win a trip to England which includes a visit to the Triumph factory. It's well worth being in the draw! n A few events for the diary; March 22-24- 10th Annual Chryslers on the Murray, Albury.

March 23- VSCCA Sprints, Eddington.

March 23- the Victorian Classic and Vintage Speedway Club's fund raising display for Kids with Cancer, Flemington Racecourse.

March 24 - the Victorian Classic and Vintage Speedway Club's Family Day with events for all classes, Avalon Speedway.

- BRIAN REED/STAFF 81

Tour de Corse

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RENCHMAN GiUes Panizzi has secured his crown as the Tarmac King of Rallying with a dominant win done on the Tour de Corse, taking the lead on the very first stage and leading aU the way to the finish in testing conditions.

Peugeot swept the podium, with Marcus Gronholm taking second and Richard Bums third.

But the joy was overshadowed by another massive accident for Ford’s Colin McRae, which could see him out of the Catalunya Rally this week.

The Tour de Corse’s organisers had been praised for bringing in extra safety measures on a rally in which twisting roads and sheer drops evoke fear and respect in equal measures. But two stages from home, McRae’s Corsican curse returned when he understeered off the road and into a tree on a quick third-gear left-hander.

The Scot was taken to hospital with concussion and a broken finger, underlining the danger of the Corsican mountain roads.

Francois Delecour was consistently quicker all day and finished 11th.

As was predicted, Citroen Xsara driver Philippe Bugalski was the best of the privateers and, after a slow start, he finished the day in eighth.

Day 2

its Peugeot tightened stranglehold on day two, with Panizzi streaking away from the start, despite the fact that rain had started overnight and was still pouring as day dawned.

As a sign of his speed, the Frenchman finished the opening stage in third - after puncturing the right-front tyre. That allowed him to pull a 14s gap to Gronholm, he and Burns cautious in the slippery and unpredictable conditions.

Colin McRae was only out of the top 10 on one occasion and jumped from eighth place to seventh over the first couple of stages, while Burns was straggling on the opening tests dropping time and allowing Makinen to move up to third. But the reigning Champ was soon back on top of it and fought back re-take his podium The 46th running of the Tour Corse got underway with 61de position by stage four.

Sainz was also looking strong, crews departing the island’s capital of Ajaccio in warm and dry moving from sixth to fifth during conditions, in stark contrast to the the morning with some rapid times and a trouble-free run. opening two rounds of the WRC. Taking charge of the event from After failing to score in Sweden, the word go, Panizzi blitzed the Makinen’s bid for points ended on asphalt, winning four of the day’s the fourth stage when he five stages and eventually finished aquaplaned off the road and out of Leg One with a slender three the rally. Solberg was having an second lead over Gronholm. up and down day, climbing to Bums kept a steady pace to top a fourth before dropping time on the superb day for the French final stage of the day to finish in seventh. manufacturer, which fulfilled its Further back in the field the promise of absolute domination.

However not far offfrom the new Hyundai WRC Evo 3 showed Peugeot trio was the Subaru duo of some of its potential on debut, Petter Solberg and Tommi with Armin Schwarz jumping five Makinen. Solberg was the stronger places to be in ninth and climbing.

But it was all-Panizzi at the of the two, often finishing stages in front of the field as the the top three but a mistake on tbe second last stage saw him lose Frenchman finished the day in almost a minute to the front Ajjacio with a commanding lead of runners and drop down the order.

40 seconds on Gronholm, with Burns a further 26 secs back in Makinen was able to move up the order and finished the day in third. fourth place, 40 seconds behind the “The feeling in the car in the rally leader. wet is incredible; I’ve never bad a By the end of SS5, Carlos Sainz car that felt this good in the wet,” was the highest-placed of Ford’s he said. “We worked very hard trio in fifth, 10s behind Makinen before the rally and this is really and in a strong position to attack good for the team. Yes I had a on day two problem with the tyres on the first Team-mate McRae was just stage this morning, but tbe feeling outside of the points in seventh with the car is good.” while Marko Martin ensured that all three Ford Focus RS drivers were in the top ten by finishing in TV /TcRae sstarted the final day on ninth place.

Alister McRae was less than full-scale attack, winning the opening stage of the day and impressive at the wheel of the moving ahead of Bugalski to Mitsubishi, struggling to stay in fourth place by a massive 16 secs. the top 20 and eventually finishing Sainz was also gunning for the the day in 18th, while team-mate 62

Day 1

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moiorsport news

WORLD RALLY Hola Senor Colin IT appears Mexico is amongst the most likely hosts for a new World Championship rally in the Americas, according to series promoter David Richards.

Next month's Rally Corona Mexico in Leon is thought to be the most likely candidate for World Championship status. But Richards was not forthcoming on how soon it would be before either the Mexican rally or the other preferred candidate, Turkey, join the series.

Richards is known to favour the expansion of the World Championship beyond 14 rallies but faces opposition from the manufacturers, whose budgets are already stretched. One thing Richards is proposing is that any new non-European rally would pay freight charges to answer the manufacturers' main objections.

"We've got to make transport costs more sensible," admitted Richards. "We've got to make rallies better value and increase the TV coverage."

Plans to host a World Championship Rally in the are on ice for the near future, however a snow rally in Canada - the Charlevoix, is also touted as a possibility as the WRC circus plans its entry to North America by stealth.

Sixes, not sevens

'S. French Kiss: Gilles Panizzi, above, was in a class of his own on the island of Corsica, heading a Peugeot 1-2-3.

And Philippe Bugalski was fourth Getting Petter all the time: Solberg, left, was the best ‘foreigner’, taking two points for Subaru.

Carlos and Luis go hard: Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya, left below, head home to Spain in fourth place in the championship.

Results 1 2 3 4 5 6

Gilles Panizzi/Herve Panizzi Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen Richard Burns/Robert Reid Philippe Bugalski/J-P Chiaroni Petter Solberg/Phillip Mills Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya

Peugeot Sport Peugeot 206 WRC Peugeot Sport Peugeot 206 WRC Peugeot Sport Peugeot 206 WRC Piedrafita Sport Citroen Xsara X4 Prodrive Subaru Impreza WRC M-Sport Ford Focus

3h54m40.3 3h55m20.8 3h55m20.8 3h56m42.5 3h57m08.5 3h57m13.1

Drivers' points: Gronholm 18, Makinen 10, Panizzi 10, Sainz 9, Burns 7, Loeb 6, Rovanpera 6, C McRae 4 Solberg 3 A McRae 2.

Manufacturers' points: Peugeot 36, Ford 20, Subaru 16, Mitsubishi 5, Hyundai 1.

WRC Round 3 Tour de Corse Frenchman only 3s behind in fifth.

Two stages later, the wheels fell off the Ford attack - quite literally - with McRae sliding off the wet road and into a tree.

Although co-driver Nicky Grist walked away unhurt, McRae was taken to hospital with a possible concussion.

With McRae out, Sainz’s job was to score as many points as possible for Ford but Solberg had other ideas and, with a concerted attack, the young Norwegian moved from seventh to fifth on the 20 March 2002

final two stages to trump Sainz and give Subaru two manufacturers’ points.

Delecour had hung in but again showed the Mitsubishi WRC needs more work with seventh place, four and a half minutes behind Panizzi, but simply not good enough for Ralliart, particularly given Alister McRae’s 10th position at the finish.

But it was a day that will be remembered fondly by Peugeot’s three drivers. Panizzi beat Gronholm by 40s, with Burns a

further 12s in arrears, while Bugalski’s fourth made it an allFrench affair.

Teams have only a short break until the fourth round of the Championship only a few hundred kilometres away in Spain this weekend, where the tarmac could again prove to be Panizzi’s best weapon.

Gronholm now holds a strong lead in the title with 18 points to the 10 of Makinen and Panizzi in what is proving to be a fascinating season.

PEUGEOT chief Corrado Provera has denied any plans to replace the 206 with a World Rally Car version of the 307 or that a 307 prototype already exists.

Commenting on photographs of what appears to be a 307 WRC, he said, "How could there be pictures of something that is not yet existing? I am not saying that the 206 will not one day be replaced, but we have no plans. It is very competitive on most rallies."

He maintained that the 206 will certainly be Peugeot's front-line rally car when the 2003 season starts.

Suzy right on Q SUZUKI is anticipating much improved performance on the second round of the Junior World Rally Championship in Catalonia after intensive testing in Spain.

Suzuki's Ignis was originally developed for the Asia-Pacific Championship and therefore wasn't best suited to tarmac, which predominates in the Junior world series. The car had minimal testing before the Monte Carlo Rally and the fact that Niki Schelle managed to score points was seen as a bonus.

In Catalonia, the three cars should benefit from more power and torque, along with redesigned rear suspension that provides more negative camber.

- JON THOMSON 63

Harbour City Rally Ed Ordynski painted the Harbour City red in the ARC curtain-raiser two weeks ago with a performance that pointed to a great battle for the title in the months to come. JON THOMSON was there.

E

D Ordynski and Mitsubishi gave Subaru plenty to think about in the opening round for this year’s ARC,and signalled a possible changing of the guard in Australian rallying after six years of Possum Bourne dominance.

Driving his brand new Evolution VII Lancer on a brand new rally based in Sydney, Ordynski avoided trouble in treacherous conditions to score wins in both heats of the King St Wharf Harbour City rally, coming home ahead of Cody Crocker on both days.

While Possum struggled with tyre problems and an illegal refuelUng incident, there was evidence of some strong competition in the year ahead as the often slippery and difficult to judge Watagan forest roads presented plenty of challenges.

Heat 1 The highlight ofwas the event attention wise the Super Special Btage organisers bad built on the Wharf8 complex alongside the harbour with more than 7000

people packing the tight 1.1km circuit to catch the action.

It was a tight test and caused more than a few problems, particularly for Simon Evans who took a wrong direction and was penalised three minutes for his trouble.

Japan’s Osamu Yamaguchi in his Evo VI Lancer was fastest on the tarmac, using his Japanese tarmac rally experience to good stead.

However once in the forest the next morning, things changed dramatically.

Yamaguchi struggled to get to the first forestry stage with a diff problem, but it was Evans who threw the cat amongst the pigeons, scoring fastest on the first four stages as he fought in vain to claim back his three minute deficit.

Michael Guest showed he had lost none of his speed, taking the ex-Mark Thompson Evo V into the lead despite not being as quick as Evans.

Guest led by 3s from Ordynski after the first of five forestry stages with Bourne back in third chasing the Mitsubishis ahead.

Two stages later Guest was out, going off the road on a fast right hander as a result of an uncharacteristic late call from co driver Dave Boddy.

Ordynski was now in command but, in stage wins, Evans was in control taking fastest on the first three stages climbing to 13th place as he chiselled away at the penalty. If not for the penalty, he would Have been 41 BeCB clear.

As it was Ordynski led Crocker by 19 3GCS after stage four with Bourne in trouble and dropping time after a puncture slowed his progress.

The Subaru team was apparently using a new compound which was not coping with the Watagan conditions, while Ordynski seemed to have the right Pirelli for the job and was pacing himself at the front of the field.

Evans’s lead would have been 52

King of the Hi

seconds after Stage 4 but on stage five it was all academic as he retired the privateer Subaru with engine problems.

The second Ralliart Mitsubishi ol‘ Spencer Lowndes WBS well behind the leading pack as the Victorian came to gnpe with the

Evo VI and overcame problems early in the day. He was eighth and improving as the day wore on.

Then there was drama for Subaru when Bourne ran out of fuel on the final stage of the day.

The Kiwi procured some fuel from a farm house and got going again but was apparently stranded by a series of three punctures. He

was later excluded from heat one and had his licence endorsed for illegal refuelling.

Crocker was also penalised a minute for early check-in but after a steward’s decision on Sunday that would be rescinded, leaving Ordynski the first heat winner by 19 seconds from Crocker.

Surprise packet of the heat was WA-based ffiwi Stu Warren, who took third in his Evo IV Lancer finishing ahead offellow Perth resident Dean Herridge in his first run in the factory Subaru.

Local privateer John Mitchell was fifth ahead of David Hills who was consistent all day taking sixth in his old Evo III Lancer.

Just the second run on the Super Special remained. Ordynski cruised around safe in the knowledge that he would draw first blood in this year’s series.

Dean Herridge clipped the wall and had to push the car across the finish line costing him time as well as doing hidden damage

Heat 2 Early on Sunday morning Herridge’s Saturday night mistake saw him pay dearly. The factory Subaru stopped with engine failure on the long transport north and was out of the rally.

Subaru’s tyre choice again proved problematic for Bourne as he copped two punctures on the Guest appearance: Michael Guest, left, was right on the pace early on, but his weekend was cut short after a trip into the trees.

(Photo by Noil BlacKboum)

moiorsport news

RALLY SUPERSERIES Rally Briefs - I' rv-'

HEAT1 1. Ordynski/Stewart Mitsubishi 1.09.28 2. Crocker/Foletta Subaru 1.10.03 3. Warren/Judd Mitsubishi 1.10.43 4. Herridge/Macneall Subaru 1.11.28 5. Yamaguchi/Dodd Mitsubishi 1.11.41 6. MitcheliyCadman Mitsubishi 1.11.47 7. Atkinson/Atkinson Mitsubishi 1.12.23 8. Lowndes/Randell Mitsubishi 1.12.49 9. ForsbergAWhybum Mitsubishi 1.13.26 lO.Sullens/Rabbelt Subaru 1.13.39

ARC Round 1

HEAT 2 1. Ordynski/Stewart 2. Crocker/Foletta 3. Guest/Boddy 4. Mitchell/Cadman 5. Yamaguchi/Dodd 6. Warren/Judd' 7. Pedder/Feaver 8. Middleton/Benefield 9. Neale/Neale 10.Atkinson/Atkinson

9 00.57.16 00.57.26 00.57.56 00.58.01 00.58.40 00.58.42 00.59.01 00.59.10 00.59.24 00.59.48

Rally of Sydney

Ed-ing towards a new era? Early signs from Ordynski and the new EVO VII, left, suggest that the 2002 ARC could be the hardest-fought title In years(OK. we /rnowthat’s not saying much, but...)

Fuelling the problem; Kabillion-time Champion Possum Bourne, below, had a 'character building’ weekend that culminated in the Kiwi being stung for a refuelling illegality.

(Photos by John Morris/Mpix)

opening test of the heat, stranding him mid-stage out of the rally.

With two Subarus out, it was all down to Crocker to defend the blue team’s honour on the stages.

However it was again Ordynski clearly adapting to the new Evo VII and relishing the conditions posting a time 12 seconds faster than Crocker to lead.

Guest was taking a more measured approach in the Walkden Mitsubishi slotting into third looking to score points ahead of getting his new and more competitive Evo VII Lancer.

Ordynski had just two stages to complete before the run back to Sydney for the finish and he completed the run with ease, despite the fact that Crocker was able to claim time off him in the closing two tests to be just 10 seconds adrift at the finish.

Guest’s performance was enough to net him third another 30 seconds back, with John Mitchell’s old Evo III coming home fourth with Yamaguchi taking fifth and Stu Warren sixth.

The result was a glowing endorsement for the new ARC

rules, showing up to six potential winners are now in the mix.

The car has been very'good strai^t out ofthe box,” Ordynski said.

“It is a real credit to the Ralliart crew how well they have built and prepared the car in such a short space of time. This is a dream start to our championship campaign.

“Now we’ve just got to do what we’ve done in this rally 10 more times in the remaining five rounds of the series.”

The Championship now moves to Busselton in WA for the Respect Yourself Forest Rally on April 6-7.

CHAMPION sailer and former circuit racer Warwick Rookiyn had his best result since switching to rallying 12 months ago taking the Formula 2 class - ironically on the edge of the place where his greatest sporting success has been recorded Sydney Harbour.

With sponsorship from the same people who sponsor his Olympic class 49er skiff, Rookiyn outpaced the other F2 combatants and was faster than many of the turbo 4WD frontrunners on the tight and twisty King St Wharf stage. n Possum Bourne was lucky to make it to the Shakedown at the Super Special on the Friday before the rally after spending the morning testing at Oran Park. Bourne proved that Kiwis can fly arriving by helicopter for media duties on the edge of the Harbour. n Bourne's fuel problems on Stage 6 saw him receive a gentle slap over the wrists from Stewards after he was deemed to have committed a service outside the designated service park. One steward was heard to remark that he was amazed that Bourne got the car going at all, given the quality of the fuel. n Spectator figures from the Harbour City Rally indicate it was Sydney's biggest spectator sporting event over the weekend, attracting around 17,000 people over the three days. The Super Special on Wharf 8 attracted enormous crowds and organisers are already looking at ways of expanding the stage for next year. n The tyre war in rallying intensified in Sydney, with the majority of works cars on Pirelli including both Ralliart Mitsubishi and Team Subaru, while wild car privateers Michael Guest and Simon Evans proved the Italian maker won't have it all their own way this year.

Evans was clearly quickest on Saturday on the unfancied Yokohama which will also be used by the Pedders while Guest was on Michelin's and led for two stages before going off after a bad call. n Scott Redder missed the opening round and the chance to use his new Evo VI Lancer because he was on his honeymoon in Africa.

The young marketing manager for the family-owned suspension company booked his wedding a couple of years ago safe in the knowledge that the ARC usually started in April. Once the date for 2002 was announced he tried to get the bride to switch dates, but this proved unfruitful. The new Mrs Redder is clearly the boss in that household.

- JON THOMSON 6S

NASR Australian Speedcar Title

Clarke clicks King Clarke: Adam Clarke, left, had to race the best in Australia, including Mark Brown, above. The NASR-sanctioned event was run in (Photos by Paris Charies) line with the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. ;.5„a £av.

by DAVID McNABB

T

HE‘Hunter Valley Hurricane’,Adam Clarke has successfully defended his Australian Speedcar 'Title after a thrilling, crash-marred 40-lapper at Speedway City on March 16.

Clarke was simply superb, hunting down and dispensing with the previously undefeated Mark Brown to finish ahead of Sydney’s Brett Morris and WA’s Jim Little, leaving the Adelaide track’s infield littered with many hard-luck stories.

Brown was the only driver to complete his heats undefeated, and after knocking off Clarke in the pole shuffle, the newly crowned Victorian State Champ’s Gaerte/Stealth looked to have a decent chance of netting a longsought Australia #1 ranking.

The Metalcorp Recyclerssponsored event had drawn over 30 of the nation’s top pedallers to the SA venue for the second consecutive year, including a trio of well-credentiaUed New Zealanders.

“This is great racing, real close and without the constant stoppages we have at Western Springs,” enthused Kiwi Lance Beale. Indeed, all the 16 heats ran 66

the 10-lap journey non-stop and while the opening night's track slicked off later in the evening, the racing surface on Saturday held up very well to the punishment.

Repecharge, with this quartet One of the major casualties from gaining the vital transfer placings.

Friday’s opening roimd was last Brown admitted to severe year's runner-up Darren Jenkins, nervousness before the A-Main but who finished behind race winner showed little signs as he scooted Craig Brady in heat three, but a the Rondalee No.42 to a handy badly smoking car signalled lead over Clarke, Brady, Dave trouble. “We’ve either fried a Lambert, Troy Jenkins, Morris and piston or dropped a valve,” said the Little.

Sydney Brown ran youngster as "We had the car set up quick early, he faced up to opening a sizeable tor the second half of sitting out the gap over the pack remainder of the race and that's the but his advantage the show. was negated on Both Brown way it unfolded" six when and Brady led - Adam Clarke lap Neville Lance’s the bunch on Gaerte/Murphy points after tangled with the wall, taking out the opening night and remained Beale, who had nowhere to go. atop the leader board just ahead of Other retirees included Tom Clarke, following Saturday's final Watson Snr, Lambert and Tim round of heats.

Evans, who rolled his Stealth A most entertaining pole shuffle saw Brown remain as the sole spectacularly, but out front it was Brown trying to cover the constant undefeated entrant, earning that attack by Clarke, whose Smith & coveted inside front row position for the A-Main.

Woods Infinity was making serious challenges before the halfway Queenslander John Davidson stage. and Grant Draney finished ahead of NSW’s Chris Gardiner and WA Almost to plan, Clarke slipped under the hapless Brown on lap 19 youngster Toby Gibb in the

and began putting real estate between himself and the other 12 cars still running. Brady in third place kept up the pressure on Brown but with eight laps left, it was Brady who spun at the same time as Brown pulled infield with fuel system problems.

Morris now advanced to second placing but Troy Jenkins couldn’t hang onto third, half spinning with a handful of laps remaining.

Little gratefully inherited fourth place ahead of Steve Graham, Gibb and NZ’s Graham Standring in the unique Sesco/Harris entry, with the leaders remaining in that order as they crossed the line.

“We had the car set up for the second half of the race and that's the way it unfolded,” said Clarke.

“I can’t acknowledge enough the effort put in by Steve Smith and the guys. This is great!”

At the other end of the scale, an understandably upset Brown recounted how blocked injector nozzles had helped cost his campaign dearly while Lambert’s Stealth had been sidelined by a broken universal joint. moiorsnort news

SPEEDWAY Cutts takes Krikke Boys race at Bunbury THE S10.0000-to-win Krikke Boys Memorial race fell to Terry Cutts at Bunbury on the weekend.

Quickly becoming one of the more prestigious events on the Sprintcar racing calendar, the end wash-up saw Paul Farrell and American Paul McMahan filling the remaining podium positions.

n Grand Marshall for the

Winner of the battle and winner of the war: Avalon winner Saillard runs to the inside of series Champ Mike Van Bremen.

(Photo by Brett Swanson)

Saillard scores

by BRETT SWANSON TWO nights of racing in the Southern Shootout at Avalon on March 9/10 saw four big winners, as John Vogels and Canberrian Darren Saillard both scored their first feature wins.

But the ‘Flying Dutchman’ Mike Van Bremen sealed his second consecutive PRC Super Sprint Series and Peter Knight secured the 360 championship.

The weekend was full of dramas and interest right from the outset as Van Bremen and wily veteran Ian Lewis were still locked in a championship contest which ended on Sunday night when Lewis suffered engine failure.

After knocking on the door of a Sprintcar feature win throughout the past season, Cobden’s Vogels finally achieved that which most pundits knew he could, by winning the 20 lap PRC A-Main after a smooth and faultless drive from green to chequer.

“It’s about time,” said an elated Vogels as he struggled to overcome his excitement and extricate himself from his Graham’s Cleaning Supplies Cool chassis.

“There was only one good line to run. You had to be really careful. I was grateful for the red at the start as our set up was out and we had the chance to fix it. I was lucky with that raid-race spin. I had to jump on the brakes to avoid the other car, and I just managed to avoid stalling it.”

Following the Cobden charger across the line was the pair of number nines, Saillard getting the 20 March 2002

Metalcorp Recyclers 2002 Australian Speedcar Title was none other than George Tatnell.

A winner of the Bob Tattersall Memorial, World Speedcar Derby, Australian Speedcar Grand Prix, and twice a winner of the NSW Speedcar Championship as well as being a three-time Australian Speedcar Champion,'Gorgeous George' was the first person to win the double, that being the Aussie Speedcar and Sprintcar Titles in 1988. n Stephen Bell took victory in the Energy Release Sprintcar Stampede in Brisbane on the weekend. Driving the ex-Destiney Hays car, Garry Brazier took second having started ninth on the grid, with Darren Jensen third in a hard-fought race.

Fourth place went to Darrell Hodges with Todd Wanless fifth and Tony Bridge sixth.

Finally a chequer! John Vogels broke through for a win at Avalon.

(Photo by Brett Swanson)

upper hand on Rod Matthews after a race long duel.

Van Bremen edged further away in the championship chase after coming through the B-Main, while main rival Lewis failed to start the feature when the Melbourne International Truck Centre J&J refused to lock into gear thanks to a broken universal joint.

Sunday night was Saillard’s turn to taste victory but his win wasn't as easy as Vogels’s the night before.

Saillard led Van Bremen away in the A-Main, while David Swayn became involved in a tangle and spun on lap 16, taking himself out of a top five placing.

With just seven laps to go a potentially nasty incident occurred when Troy Sheills’s front wing simply tore off and flew through the air. This final caution flag almost spelt disaster for Saillard as he sought his maiden feature.

His left rear tyre was going flat and it was unlikely that it would survive seven racing laps without blowing apart. However, he handled the increased stagger well and never looked like spinning.

Van Bremen, who had the championship sewn up but had not won a feature, realised with just three laps left that Saillard had a problem and pounced as the leader slowed a couple of seconds per lap.

Van Bremen pushed but Saillard held on, as did the tyre, which finally exploded as he took the chequered flag. Jeremy Warren held onto third from Steve Knight, Grant Anderson, Peter KJiight, Darren Russell, Matthews, Ron Dalton and Shiells.

Final points: Van Bremen 2479, Lewis 2124, Matthews 1948, Vogels 1771, Warren 1586. 360 Final Points: P. Knight 1840, Mngilton 1720, Bourhe 1700,J. Smith 1360, M. Smith 1240.

n Grant Tunks was a winner at Parramatta on Saturday night, defeating Wayne Skipper and Robbie Farr. Tunks's RM Race Fuel JohnBoy has been a standout performer at recent PCR meetings but after forging past Skipper's Stockman's Steak House Eagle on lap 10, Tunks took control and despite a few race restarts, continued on to score a win, his first PCR A-Main victory in seven years. Farr took victory a week earlier. n Brett Leadsman has swapped his regular Squirt in the Dirt Maxim for the ex-Kerry Madsen BikeBiz Craft Bros machine. Fitted with Leadsman's powerplant, the #86 Sprintcar has been in top form with Brett picking up a few heat victories. n After wrapping up back-to-back SRA Championships in Victoria despite not winning a round, Mike Van Bremen has continued his winning ways, with victory in the Fireball Derby at Wangaratta over the weekend.

John Vogels and Darren Saillard backed up their Avalon SRA wins by taking second and third places.

- GREG BOSCATO/STAFF 61

TT

Going all Aussie

Americ

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Danny Amato is making an all-Aussie Super Sedan, with his own chassis and Holden V8 engine. BRETT SWANSON takes a look at the new project

THE 'Bacchus Marsh Bullet', Danny Amato, has decided that he's had enough of monkey see, monkey do.

Rather than buy a new Super Sedan chassis and run the ubiquitous Chevrolet engine, the Danny Amato Racing Team (DART) & Chev Off-Road 8i Marine Engines (COME) have combined to produce a one-of-a-kind Aussie racer.

Amato decided it was time to build his own chassis and has spent considerable time in his Bacchus Marsh workshop constructing the first DART chassis.

"We've learnt so much from building this car that we can incorporate into our next car," saidAmato.

"I just wish we'd done it 10 years ago."

Powering the DART will be a COME-built 355 cubic inch Holden powerplant. Sam and Izzy Blumenstein from COME have been building race engines for over 25 years and Sam firmly believes in the potential of the Holden.

"Whether by design or luck, the Holden head has good potential. It has a five percent valve angle, small high velocity ports and it has an extremely good (ignition) burn," he said.

The particular engine to go into the DART is a VT 304 cubic inch block, with four bolt mains, COME caps and a COME 355 modular cast iron stroker crank.

It also has bushed lifter bores, 5.7-inch H-beam COME rods made from 43/40 steel, ARP 7/16ths cap screws and off the shelf Keith Black flat top pistons.

The camshaft is another COME product, being the CSBR160, which according to Blumenstein, "gives 251 at 50 on the intake and 262 at 50 on the exhaust."

"People say 'why don't you use six-inch rods?' There's no advantage in running six-inch rods in the RPM range I'm looking at.

"The shorter rod is quicker out of the turn, it has more leverage and sucks more 68

-1 j

Vi#

> it I

She’s a beauty: Sam Blumenstein and Danny Amato with the Holden V8 on (Photo by Bmi Swanson) the dyno that will power Amato s new machine. mixture in early in the valve actuation.

"This motor won't make the peak horsepower like the expensive Chevs that some of the other guys are running, but in the 3500 to 6500 rev range it is more responsive and accelerates quicker than the Chevs."

U

Whether by design or luck, the Holden head has good potentiar

-Sam Blumenstein on the Aussie V8 This motor saw figures of 600 horsepower on the COME dyno with a fuel setting that was leaner across the mid rev range.

However, Blumenstein has opted to leave the motor in a configuration that produces a maximum of only 570 horsepower, but gave 10 to 12 more pounds of torque right across the range.

Speedway is a relatively new market for the drag racingoriented COME concern and hence this first engine is definitely built on the conservative side.

"There's definitely plenty more we can get from this

engine but for the moment we'll just run it as it is and see how well it goes," added Blumenstein.

"People think you have to have a Chev, but the Holden has a lot of potential. I think Larry Perkins would still be running the Holden engine in his V8 Supercar if he was allowed to."

With this potentially untapped market in mind, COME will be releasing their own blocks in the very near future.

"The alloy block is 1000 percent definite and should be available mid-year.

"As for the steel block, we're not sure when that will happen because we need to do some more testing to settle on our final wall thickness," Blumenstein concluded.

Meanwhile, Amato can't wait to get his hands on some decent Aussie Holden V8 horsepower.

"We've still got a bit of work to do with the fitting of the engine to the chassis and all the plumbing, fitting out of exhausts and so on, but we're hoping to get a couple of runs in the new car in March and April before a big go next season," he said.

More

by AARON NOONAN WHILE the 2001/2002 World Series Sprintcar title is over, drivers are already plotting their attacks on the 2002/2003 series and there are quite a number of drivers keen to become part of the action.

While Americans Donny Schatz and Brad Furr will return, Daryn Pittman looks set to join forces with Reeve Knack’s Titan team and there’s a whole host of local drivers who want to be a part of the WSS travelling roadshow.

Queenslander Todd Wanless and New South Welshman Marty Perovich have also expressed interest in running next season.

“The Series has taken a giant leap forward in the past six months and it would be exciting to be a part of it next year,” said Wanless. “I’m pretty busy with work right now, and I do have to coordinate my sponsorship program to come up with some funds to do it right, but yes I’d like to give the WSS a real shake.”

Fellow Queenslander Nathan ‘Nitro’ MacDonald, Mike Figliomeni, Victoiian Champ Mike Van Bremen and Kerry Madsen have all also registered interest, moiorsport mws

SPEEDWAY

an for Easter Trail Photo by P«|iiChan»»i

want WSS

And among the interested ... New South Welshman Marty Perovich is one of many keen to run World Series in 2002/2003.

(Photo by John Morris/Mpix)

Max Dumesny Motorsport Australian Distributors for

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20 Marcti 2002

THE 23rd Easter Sprintcar Trail may have an American winner for the first time in its long and prestigious history with the surprise entry of World of Outlaws star Paul McMahan,driving for the powerful WA-based Monte Motorsports team,left.

The USA driver will add further appeal to this ever-enduring threenight event, set for Avalon, Borderline and Premier Speedways beginning on Good Friday(March 29) and concluding on Easter Sunday March 31.

A total of $80,000 in prizemoney is up for grabs and a $10,000 bonus pointscore fund on offer to the overall series winner. A field of 45 cars has entered, with the Aussies headed by current Australian Champion Max Dumesny.

Another first in this year’s trail could be a clean sweep of the three nights. Sydney’s Robbie Farr was in line for the elusive perfect score of three from three wins after winning two legs last year, until a broken front axle at Avalon cost him the $5000 aggregate cheque after victories at Geelong and Mount Gambler.

He lost narrowly to Dumesny in the points aggregate last year by 43.5 points.

In this year’s trail, every state of Australia will be represented with Queensland’s Stephen Bell, Darren Jensen and Andrew Scheuerle entered, while South Australia will have Karl Enderl and Darryl Downing. The West is not forgotten, with American McMahon set to be joined by his team boss Luch Monte.

Tasmania, coming off a feast of Sprintcar racing of late, will have the father-son combination of Robin and Jason Dawkins and compatriot Tim Hutchins, while the Victorians will have the biggest line-up.

Ian Lewis, Mike Van Bremen, Phil Johnson, Daryn Maggs, Jeremy Warren and Ken Veal look well set to do well in the series and a slice of the Easter goodies.

- GEOFF ROUNDS

Rgliomeni beats Dumesny in WA WHILE Max Dumesny was expected to be the main man in the Kings of Wings event at Quit Motorplex in Western Australia, it was local hero Mike Figliomeni in his seif-constructed FiGhter chassis who upstaged the Australian Champion on March 9.

Dumesny began his night in the best way possible by topping time trials with a single lap time-trial record of 13.45s.

Visiting American Paul McMahan, driivng for Luch Monte prior to an assault on the Easter Trail, nearly didn't make the feature due to fuel pump failure, though a first corner crash involving Mike Sully meant a complete re-start and the American was in the field. It simply wasn't to be, and he ended up losing oil pressure in the #2 machine and headed to the infield.

Figliomeni was too strong for Dumesny, who had to fight off a feisty Ken Sartori for second place.

"A large part of tonight for me was to try some things out there with my crew in relation to some setup ideas in view to the World Series rounds here next season," said Dumesny. n Wagga International Raceway and Kalgoorlie International Speedway have put their hands up for World Series Sprintcar rounds next season.

"There may be a couple of tracks that we raced at last season that we won't be visiting this year," said WSS's David Lander, "but we're keen to look at an increase in the number of rounds as well."

"We need to conduct as many rounds in Western Australia as possible to justify the travel, so Kalgoorlie works in nicely with us probably as the last round in WA after Bunbury and Kwinana."

The two venues join No'rthline Speedway in Darwin and Arunga Park in Alice Springs, which have indicated interest in conducting rounds of WSS this year. n Darrell Hodges led all 20 laps to win at Brisbane International Speedway on March 9. He led home Ricky Mitchell, Kathy Kelly and Tony Bridge.

2002 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINTCAR SERIES Devils Bowl Speedway March 16

1. Joey Saldana 2. Craig Dollansky 3. Mark Kinser 4. Danny Lasoski 5. Johnny Herrera 6. Brad Furr 7. Jason Johnson 8. Tim Shaffer 9. P.J. Chesson 10. Jac Haudenschild

11. Randy Hannagan 12. Stevie Smith 13. Kraig Kinser 14. Gary Wright 15. Brooke Tatneli 16. Danny Wood 17. Matt Cievenger 18. Ricky Logan 19. Biake Maliory 20. Tyler Walker

Standings to March.15 1.Steve Kinsor . .

2.Danny Lasoski . .

3.Mark Kinser . . .

4.Stevie Smith ...

S.Joey Saldana ... e.Tim Shatter . .. .

7-Brad Furr 8.Randy Hannagan O.Donny Schatz . . lO.Craig Dollansky

.752 .708 .707 .682 .665 .659 .647 .641 633 .629

89

Atlanta Briefs TWO drivers failed to make the Atlanta field - Carl Long and Ron Hornaday, driving the CLR-entered Ford.

The seven drivers taking provisionals again included some heavy hitters - Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Brett Bodine, Casey Atwood, Dick Trickle and Jeremy Mayfield.

The latter was a real surprise as his Evernham team-mate Bill Elliott captured the pole with a 191,542mph lap over second fastest Ryan Newman's 191.463 lap. Mayfield could only muster a 188.61 Omph speed. Matt Kenseth blew a piston and switched engines forcing him to start the race at the rear of the pack. n NASCAR hauled oft the Pontiac of Tony Stewart, Dodge of Ward Burton, Ford of Ricky Craven and Chevy of Dale Earnhardt Jr. after the Atlanta race for wind tunnel evaluation at the Georgia Lockheed facility.

Photo by

D Ciarx

n Michael Vergers, above, a Dutchman now living in Oxford, England, qualified fifth for the Atlanta ARCA race and finished fourth in his second ARCA event. He aims to compete in eight ARCA events to establish recognition with NASCAR and then attempt four Winston Cup races later in the season.

Vergers competed in the UK ASCAR series in 2001 and entered the Atlanta event in a Bob Schatentered, ex-Ricky Craven PPI Taurus with backing from Bruich Laddich, a brand of malt whiskey. n Shawna Robinson was told by NASCAR to pick up her speed in the Atlanta race. After being lapped twice in the early going, she did speed up, but only finished 34th, 15 laps off the pace.

Photo by Martin D Clark

n Brett Bodine's Ford featured backing from Hooters, above, in a one race deal for Atlanta, with the company then apparently deciding whether to put their dollars in with Bodine's self-owned operation or build a new team for ARCA driver Kirk Shelmerdine.

- MARTIN D CLARK 10

Stewart gets one

by MARTIN D CLARK

TONY Stewart won an extremely competitive and non-controversial Atlanta 500 on March 10,leading 11 times in a race that featured 34 lead changes.

PTrst out in Dajrtona with engine woes, Stewart has been fast to re bound and was happy with the win.

“We’ve been in the top five the past three weeks, so that makes me extremely excited about the possibility of what might be ahead of us,” said Stewart.

The win moved him to fifth in points following Atlanta. After eight races last year he was 13th, only to finish the year runner-up in points to Jeff Gordon.

“We’ve got to go out and keep doing what we’ve been doing these past three weeks,” concluded Stewart on what could be a great start for a stab at the series title.

Stewart took the lead for the final time when he passed Ward Burton with 23 laps to run. Burton took on right side tyres only on the final pit stop to lead after the penultimate caution.

Stewart headed Dale Earnhardt Jr for the remainder of the race as Burton was dropkicked back to seventh with his old tyres by the culmination of the 325 laps,‘Little E’finishing 0.376s in arrears.

Rookie Ryan Newman got the jump on pole-sitter Bill Elliott at the start and his Penske Taurus led the first 15 tours before Kurt Busch headed the fray, Stewart hitting the front for the first time on lap 40.

Five-time Atlanta winner Bobby Labonte was spun on pit road by Jimmy Spencer during a stop at lap 139, with Labonte retiring to the garage area just past halfway with an expired engine after he over-revved his Pontiac to correct it following the spin.

Again, several teams suffered engine failure put down to the new one engine per weekend rule.

Michael Wdtrip, Brett Bodine, Hut Stricklin, Jeff Green and Kevin Harvick all suffered the same fate.

Again youth showed through, rookies Jimmie Johnson and Newman both posting top 10 results, with Johnson a superb third, using for the most part, the cars that Hendrick team-mate Jeff Gordon drove in 2001.

Final result; Stewart(Pontiac), Earnhardt Jr.(Chevy), Johnson (Chevy), Kenseth (Ford), Craven (Ford),R Wallace (Ford), W Burton (Dodge), Martin (Ford), Marlin (Dodge), Newman (Ford).

The Pontiac can’t be THAT bad! While Joe Gibbs Racing looks at switching to Chevrolets, Tony Stewart, above, may have done something to turn the thinking process around by winning at Atlanta. Ryan Newman and Bill Elliott, below, led the field away in the 500-miler.

(Photos by Sutton-lmages and Martin D Clark) ‘,N ''A ;t

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NASCAR announced in Atlanta that new pit road penalties would be put into place at Darlington, the rule changes affect speeding on pit road, right.

The current penalty for speeding entering pit road is a 15 second hold on pit lane, and a stop and go-penalty for speeding on exit of pit road. The new ruling constitutes the car will drive-through pit road.

NASCAR's explanation of a drive-through is to travel the entire length of pit road at the designated pit road speed without stopping.

Should they speed on the drive-through they will be brought back in a second time for a stop and go penalty.

Should a driver speed both on entry and exit they will again be brought in for a stop and go ...

NASCAR also enforced a new seat belt safety requirement in Atlanta, where no seat belts will have a mid-belt adjuster on lap belts.

That is something the studies carried out for the governing body say helped cause the death of Dale Earnhardt, when 'dumping' of the belt in the adjuster took place and helped to fray the belt.

- MARTIN D CLARK

motorspon news

NASCAR Darlington Briefs I I s I O

More of Marlin

by MARTIN D CLARK

STERLING Marlin qualified nth,but started last in Simday’s Darlington Winston Cup event when his team changed an engine in the Ganassi Dodge after final practice.

However,the handicap did nothing to spoil his chances of victory as he took the lead with 57 laps remaining to win the event by three seconds over a surprising Elliott Sadler.

“The longer we went, the better we ran,” said Marlin,above.

“I followed Dale Earnhardt round here a few years back and I learned from him how to get though these turns.”

The points leader going into the event further padded his advantage over Penske rookie hot shoe Ryan Newman in the standings.

“This is a real confidence builder and adds to the way we finished at the end of last season,” said Marlin, whose Dodge did, however, take three trips through post-race inspection after the car appeared to be too low. Eventually it

received a clean bill of health.

Atlanta winner Tony Stewart looked set for a consecutive victory, taking the lead with 74 laps to run in commanding style, but got tangled up with an out-of-shape Buckshot Jones and slammed the wall before Jimmy Spencer sideswiped Stewart.

Stewart was airlifted to hospital and kept overnight for observation after being unconscious for a brief period of time and complaining of lower back pain and numbness in his left foot. As we closed for press he was expected to make a full recovery.

The returning Steve Park took the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr just 18 laps into the event, but he was the first caution on lap 38, when, passing the lapped Stacy Compton,the two made contact.

That sent Park spinning and he collected polesitter Ricky Craven.

Jeff Gordon lead following pit stops and headed 174 tours in total through the halfway mark, while Dale Jarrett retired when a piece of debris apparently knocked off the oil pump drive belt, leaving his Yates engine starved of lubrication and in pieces.

Sadler and Kevin Harvick had their best finishes of the season in second and third respectively.

s-

Final result; Marlin (Dodge), Sadler (Ford), Harvick (Chevy),Earnhardt Jr, (Chevy), Newman (Ford), Johnson (Chevy),R Wallace (Ford), Kenseth (Chevy), J Gordon (Chevy), Elliott (Dodge).

Points standings; Marlin 825, Newman 726, Kenseth 682, R Wallace 677,Johnson 667,J Gordon 664,J Burton 650, W Burton 640, Martin 638, Earnhardt Jr. 621.

Divorce flled on Mon I CHAM]

NAsm. 200.

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ONLY 43 entries were received for the Darlington Cup event, so no drivers were sent home following qualifying.

As usual, seven driver used provisional slots to make the field, including Buckshot Jones, Terry Labonte, Hut Stricklin, Rick Mast, Casey Atwood, Andy Hillenburg in Dave Marcis' Chevy and Shawna Robinson, who slapped the wall in qualifying. It was the first time since 1997 that a Cup qualifying field did not exceed the number of cars allowed to make a full grid.

Outside pole sitter Ryan Newman was forced to a back-up Penske Taurus and to the rear of the grid after he gave the wall a hit in final practice.

CHAMHONSHitifc

-- 1,' g«: Halfofeverything: Does this mean that Brooke Gordon gets halfof this cheque as well as use ofa corporate plane?

(Photo by Sfartm D Cltirkl

AMAZINGLY,former Miss Winston Brooke Sealey - who became Brooke Gordon in 1994 - has fiied for divorce against husband Jeff Gordon, citing that he has committed adultery.

Always at the Champ’s side, Brooke has not been seen this year, and Gordon would not comment on the situation in Darlington except to say that a release will be given to the press in the immediate future.

It’s a known fact that there were issues early in the relationship between the couple, Gordon’s mother and step-father John Bickford, who steered Gordon’s career in the early days.

The couple moved to Florida from North Carolina a few year back and own two homes in the Palm Beach area. According to the divorce papers, Brooke has asked for exclusive use of the primary home, an $18 million US ocean front home of 23,000 square feet, plus ownership of a Porsche, Mercedes and use of one of the Jeff Gordon corporation planes.

- MARTIN D CLARK

n Jim Smith, owner of Ultra Motorsports, Is apparently none too pleased with Ray Evernham, above, who released driver Casey Atwood for Jeremy Mayfield during the off season and announced he had formed a partnership with Smith.

Atwood was moved to Smith's team under the pretence that Ultra would share information with the two Evernham operations.

Apparently, not too much data has been given to Smith's operation and this led to crew chief Kevin Crams's departure after Atlanta and Buddy 'Red Dog' Barnes shifting up the ladder to replace him. Evernham was seen on more than one occasion visiting the Atwood garage during numerous practice sessions in an effort to boost the team. n Todd Bodine, recently released from the now closed Haas-Carter Motorsports #66 team, has found a full-time ride with Herzog Motorsports in the Busch Series, replacing Andy Houston who competed in just three events with the team. n Starting this weekend in Bristol, NASCAR will impose penalties tor teams that change engines before racing. Penalties could include loss of points, practice time, or loss of qualifying speed. Quite how the rules will be kept consistent remains to be seen.

- MARTIN D CLARK II

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One for the boss

LARRY Dixon, reaching his third-straight POWERade Drag Racing Series final round, grabbed his second victory of the season by downing beer rival Kenny Bernstein 4.62/319 to 4.67/319 at the 33rd Mac Tools Gatomationals last weekend.

Also victorious were Tony Pedregon in Funny Car, Darrell Alderman in Pro Stock and Credg Treble in Pro Stock Bike.

Hot weather and a tricky racing surface threw a curveball to the fuel racers, as a normally tight Gaineville racetrack became a tuner’s nightmare.

Fuel teams were also trying to figure out the new Goodyear slick in hot weather conditions for the first time this year.

While the weather played havoc with most of the teams, veteran tuner Dick LaHaie had a handle on the conditions from the onset of qualifying, as Dixon grabbed the pole with a 4.60/321 and never relinquished it.

On Sunday, the Miller Lite team was flawless, going quicker every round with 4.68/313, 4.66/313 and 4.66/314 wins over Andrew Cowin, Shirley Muldowney and Paul Romine, before saving their best for last to stop Bernstein in the finale.

Dixon’s 18th career win ties him with Darrell Gwynn and Muldowney for the 25th spot on the NHRA all-time win fist and also increases his point lead in the standings to 105 over Bernstein.

Bernstein advanced into his second final of 2002 with 4.73/314, 4.68/316 and 4.67/313 wins over Bruce Litton, Tony Schumacher and Cory McClenathan.

n

Tony Pedregon defeated Funny Car newcomer, Gary Scelzi, in the final round,5.09/281 to 5.75/197.

The race was close until the powerplant in Scelzi’s Toyota went south at mid-track, slowing the White Cap Celica and allowing Pedregon to leg out a cylinderdropping victory.

“I think I salvaged the day for my boss,” Pedregon said of John Force, who suffered a rare Gainesville first-round loss for the first time since 1989.

“We’ve had a car capable of vanning more races, butjust haven’t gotten it done. We dropped a hole at the other end and I was hoping Scelzi wouldn’t go around me. I might have had to run into him if that had happened, hut the thing picked back up and we got the win.”

Pedregon and the Castrol Syntec/KISS Mustang started from the seventh qualifying spot at 5.00/314 and took a 5.00/312 bye in the opening round when A1 Hofmann was a no-show. A second round 4.96/317 took out Whit Bazemore in the second frame, and a 4.99/316 stopped the CSK ‘blue’ car of Johnny Gray.

Scelzi trailered Tim Wilkerson in round one with a 4.90/314, but made withdrawals from the bank ofluck for the rest of the day to reach the final round. A second round 6.19/148 took the win when John Lawson redlighted away a 5.09/293 and in the semis, Scelzi survived a side-by-side,fyre-smoking, triple pedal job to post a 5.48/270 to 5.55/253 win over Ron Capps.

Scelzi’s strong showing moved him into fifth in the point

standings.

Three-time series champion Alderman scored his first Pro Stock victory since Englishtown 1997 when he hested Jeg Coughlin in the final round, 6.92/200 to 6.94/200. The victory was the 28th for Alderman.

The Mopar Parts Dodge Neon recorded earlier 6.91/200, 6.90/201 and 6.90/201 victories over Steve Schmidt, Tom Hammonds,and Warren Johnson before outrunning Coughlin in the finale.

Coughlin’s Jog’s Chevrolet Cavalier won a mail order parts battle with Mark Pawuk in the opening frame,6.87/200 to 6.91/200 and a .404 light secured a 6.98/199 to 6.90/200, holeshot victory over Jim Yates in round two. In the semis, Coughlin scored a close 6.91/199 to 6.91/201 win over surprise Pro Stock newcomer Mark Whisnant.

Craig Treble defeated reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle series Champ Angelle Savoie for his second career win. Treble’s final round 7.24/184 was enough to hold off the 7.26/184 of Savoie, who had posted teens in the three previous rounds.

Shannon Jenkins was victorious in the first AMS Pro Mod Challenge exhibition, stopping Mitch Stott in the final round on a holeshot, 6.33/222 to 6.28/226.

Jenkins nitrous injected ‘68 Camaro had earlier defeated the similar aspirated machines of Rickie Smith and Ed Hoover, while Stott’s blown ‘63 Corvette had taken out the blown entries of Chip King and low qualifier (6.30)

Mike Ashley.

- DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

2002 POWERade Drag Racing Series

Tornu Larry Dixon Kenny Bernstein Tony Schumacher Doug Kalitta Cory McClenathan Clay Millican David Grubnic Rhonda Hartman-Smith Doug Herbert John Smith

333 228 206 183 182 179 118 118 117 113

nMNYCM John Force Del Worsham Tony Pedregon Ron Capps Gary Scelzi Johnny Gray Gary Densham Scotty Cannon Tommy Johnson Jr Whit Bazemore

250 216 202 199 175 174 171 164 138 125

no STOCK George Marnoll Warren Johnson Jim Yates Bruce Allen Tom Hammonds

220 219 207 202 187

ma STOCK on Craig Treble Angelle Savoie Shown Gann

115 97 76

Points atter Bainesville, n motorsnort news

DRAG RACING Drag Briefs

1

A RECORD-QUICKEST sideby-side Top Doorslammer race was among the many highlights of the 2002 Westernationals at Quit Motorplex on March 2-3.

The Doorslammers put on a show fronn the outset, with Victor Bray planting himself at the top of the qualifying tree with a 6.105s run on Saturday.

Kapiris set the tone for the weekend by trailing with a 6.106s, with Gary Phillips and Brett Stevens posting 6.30s and 6.3-1 s runs respectively to qualify third and fourth, while surprise Nationals winner Ben Bray was among those who failed to make the cut.

Phillips was sent packing by Dave Koop in the first round, and he was joined by Stevens, who suffered a backfire at three quarter track and fell to Peter Hamilton. Kapiris sealed his spot in the next round with a win over Robin Judd, leaving Bray to go one better by trailering Dave Simpson with a national record-setting 6.16s.

Bray recovered from an early scare when he lifted all four wheels off the track in the semis to down Hamilton 6.47 to 6.5. Kapiris, meanwhile, had an easier time of it, taking just 6.18s to end Koop's weekend.

All signs pointed to a corker of a final, and Kapiris and Bray more than delivered, Kapiris had 0.03s on Bray at the lights, and held his advantage to take an amazing 6.15s to 6.18s win in the quickest side-by-side Doorslammer race ever seen in Australia.

Despite a smallish field of just seven, the Top Bikes still put on a show courtesy of Jay Upton and Ian Ashelford. The pair produced a pair of side-by-side six second runs, the latter of which saw Upton beat Ashelford 6.78s to 6.85s in a race that produced personal 26 Marcd 2002

best times from both riders.

Ashelford was left to solo in the final, though, after Upton hit the wall and was thrown from his bike after winning the semi final. Upton's injuries were restricted to minor cuts and bruises, and damage to the bike was reported to be minimal.

Elsewhere, Mai Bulley defeated a redlighting Ron Newton in Competition Eliminator, Rob Demamiel was

too strong for Graeme Simms in j Super Stock, Rhett Loughheed , took down Ray Easson In Comp j Bike, Shane Wynd downed Sydneysider Michael Voase in Super Sedan, Julie Neiuhof took the Mod Bike trophy over a redlighting Reece Shelley, Jason Gill was king of Super Street after beating Brian Hanich, and Mathew Johnson walked away with the J/D trophy under his arm.

SHIRLEY Muldowney and Andrew Cowin exchanged words at the top end following the third round of qualifying at the Gatornats.

Apparently, Cowin did not care for what he felt was a lengthy staging procedure by Muldowney. Cowin got out of his car and walked past Muldowney with his hands up in the air, as if to say, "What was that all about?”

Muldowney, offended by Cowin's gesture, jumped out of the car and chased Cowin down, shoving him in the back and attempted to enlighten him to the laws of drag racing in her eyes.

"She took forever to come in,” said Darrell Gwynn. "Andrew was all the way in and our clutch was sitting there burning before she even thought about staging. I don't care who you are, that's ridiculous. She got fired up and was screaming at him. Andrew just walked away. He played it right. I told him not to get sucked into her games."

"He's got some nerve," said Muldowney. "They hung me out big time two years ago at the Finals and I didn't say a word. I'm in my car down there and he comes over and starts mouthing off, then walks off. I got out, so I just ran over there and got his attention." n 2001 IHRA Pro Stock World Champion Gene Wilson has replaced Mark Osborne as the new driver for the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon out of Nickens Brothers Racing. Wilson's first outing in the Dodge produced a 6.88/201 effort, just missing the tough Gainesville show.

Quite a weekend: Kapiris and Bray put on an amazing display in Top Doorslammers, top, that culminated in the quickest side-by-side race everfought in the class. There was also plenty ofclose racing on two wheels, above, while for others, below, the weekend was memorablefor other reasons ...

(Photos hvJon Gali

n Jim Dunn has fired Al Hofmann as driver of his Pontiac Firebird.

Apparently, harsh words between the two were exchanged in the staging lanes before the third round of qualifying. The result had Hofmann climbing from the car, packing up his gear, and leaving the facility. The team obviously missed that session and were thinking to re-qualify the car with Bruce Sarver at the controls in the final session, but elected to sit out.

The team's previous 5.04/297 left them in the 10th spot and set for a round one match with event winner,Tony Pedregon. With no driver, the K&N team missed the call and gave an easy bye to Pedregon. n Don Garlits attemped to qualify his own car in Gainesville. Swamp Rat 34, complete with driver canopy, monostrut wing and crewing help from Dale Armstrong and Bob Brooks, hazed the tyres to a final shot 509/289, good at the time for the 16th spot. One pair later, Garlits was knocked out by longtime rival, Chris 'The Greek' Karamesines, who in turn, was bumped out in the following pair by Andrew Cowin's 4.99/277.

- DAVID OSTASZEWSKI 73

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national A BRute-ilul Adelaide scene

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It’s getting bigger: A near capacity field showed up at Adelaide, 12 (Photo by Dirk Klynsmith) months after the category debuted.

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A RECORD field of V8 BRutes turned up at Adelaide’s opening round of the title, with a whole host of new names from other categories filling the timesheets.

Formerly the ‘King of Mirages’, Warren Luff made his BRute debut a successful one for Nilsson Motorsport by winning an actionpacked race one.

The Commodore driver led home a 1-2-3 for the General, with Gary McDonald and James Brock filling the podium.

Out of a V8 ride. Dean Canto turned his hand to a Ford AU BRute, though was disqualified from fourth place after a nudge with Ian McAllister on the first lap that saw the latter’s Ford hit the wall on the Brabham Straight.

Allan Grice made his debut in the class, taking eighth after a lowly grid draw; the grids decided by drawing from a hat.

The 59-yeai--old ended up sixth for the round, one spot behind last year’s champ. Rod Wilson, who was only having a one-off run in the category for the year.

‘Tve had nine years in politics and now I’m interested in having a bit of fun and showing that there’s still a life for the over-50s,” said Grice.

“I’m not prepared for the

professional commitment of a V8 touring car, even if I was quick enough, but the V8 BRute series should be pretty competitive and good fun.

Race two was a reverse-grid six lapper and it ended up a ‘Mad Dog” mauling, as Channel Ten’s own Grant Denyer took his VIP Pet Foods Ford to a win, before a fivecar pile-up stopped the final race on Sunday, when Jim Cornish tirmed Garry Holt around, setting off a chain reaction at the blind comer at turn eight that destroyed a handful of formerly pristine BRutes.

Only three laps were completed, with the result declared in favour of Luff from Mick Donaher and Damien White, the Quirk’s driver suffering gearbox problems all weekend.

ALSO part of PROCAR’s sup port package at the Clipsal 500 was the GT-Production class.

With the Class B cars joining from the GT Performance class from last year, a new handicap starting system has been introduced in order to spice the action up a little. Nathan Pilkington managed to run down the smaller cars in time to take two wins in his Mitsubishi FTO. -AARON NOONAN moiorsport news

NATIONAL nnro

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sufficient entry numbers to form the class.

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The tyres will now possibly be used for the category at the first round of the Road King Karting Series at Shepparton on April 13-14.

Juniot Developner.t ProcfiT!

It's Timefor supportfrom Sime: Anglo Australian Motorsport s newjunior development program has its first driver in Damian Mayer.

(Pholtiby UuIimI Siuw i ANGLO Australian Motorsport has formed a Formula Ford 'Junior Development Program' for season 2002, with successful karter Damian Mayer the first driver chosen.

Meyer was selected from four other drivers after a test at Wakefield Park and will run the New South Wales Formula Ford title this year.

The team, which was formed in 1996 by Tm Beale, has had success with drivers such as Tim Leahey, Michael Simpson, Drew Kruck, Nick Agland and last year's NSW Champion, Jack Lynch.

Former Formula Ford and Konica V8 driver Shane Flowison has taken on a management roll with the squad, with the aim for the team to eventually run in the national FF series and then the Konica V8 Series.

Sime Tyres and DB Dynamics are supporting the team, with the first NSW round being held at Eastern Creek on March 9/10, where Meyer (in a Stealth chassis), scored two second places.

The 25-year-old from Ashfield in Sydney started racing at age nine and has been the number one CRG factory driver for the past six years, and currently races Clubman Fleavy and Formula Rotax.

Fie won his first Australian Championship at age 14 in 1991. Fie is currently Formula Rotax Fleavy Australian Champion, and also Formula Rotax NSW State Champion, a rare double.

The new program is designed to make the transition to car racing for karters a lot easier, at the same time grooming them with media training as well as on-track experience in a bid to move up the racing ladder.

March 23

■mP"

(Pholo by Neil Hammond)

Digging for Goid

n Former Champ Car racer Bryan Herta retains his strong links with karting. Not only does Herta own the Las Vegas Karting Centre, he has now been elected President of the North American Karting Association.

Herta has also been instrumental in developing the 'CART Stars of Tomorrow' karting series in the United States. n The 40th annual AKA National Sprint Kart Championships will be held at Archerville Raceway, Launceston over the Easter long weekend.

While the circuit will be used for official practice in the week leading up to the event, finals for all classes are scheduled for Sunday, March 31.

- MARK WICKS

Event

Venue

Nitro Funny Car

Kwinnana Complex

22-24

Power Tour

22-24

World Super Bikes

Phillip Island

Grand Annual Kart Titles

South West

24

Blue Sky Knight: Ken Knight leads Calvin Pusterla in the 944 Challenge.

THE AKA has approved the Bridgestone YHB tyre for Formula 100 at the National Championships at Launceston this Easter weekend, although at the time of writing it was doubtful there would be

13

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Karting Briefs

29-30

Oran Park

Tin Tops Drag Racing

Willowbank Raceway

30

Konica V8 Supercars

Wakefield Park

31

Aust

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Road Championship

Grifmh

PERFECT conditions met com

Kelvin Twist’s Mazda RX7 was

29-Apr 1

Historic Speedweek

Mallala

petitors at the Winton Gold Cup on March 9 and 10, with strong fields throughout the classes.

Seventeen cars ran in the

dominant in Improved Production.

Marc Cini (Porsche GTS) and Russell Butler (Westfield Clubman) were the class of the

29-Apr 1

National MG Meeting

Adelaide

29-31

National Sprint Kart Championship

Porsche 944 Challenge with wins shared between Mark Eddy, Brendan Morter and Ojars Balodis, while Cameron Prince used his Commodore Cup car to best effect in the combined Sports Sedans/ Commodore Cup event with two wins and a second.

Marque Sports fi eld, while 27 starters made the Formula Vee

Ken Wright clean-swept the HQ Holdens with three wins, while 29 Mandl 2002

contest a tight one. Tony Bouquet took two wins to Andy Nethercote’s one, while another Tony, Pugliesse, was the best of the Formula Ford category, which was sadly in need of numbers that a Formula Libre class could provide.

- NEIL HAMMOND

Launceston

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A

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Easy to fit Extra Power Max Engine Protection Used by the Mitsubishi Ralllart WRC team.

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Trmde enquiries welcome

AUSrnAL

Ph. 02 975B 19BB

f

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Hybrid Developments 02 9966 0899

A

Williamstown Dyno Tune 03 9397 1211

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Ph Byran Miller ● Mobile 0417 274 507 ● Ph 02 9524 3389 ● 1 Tamba Place Lilli Pilli NSW 2229 ● Email castemracoparts@hotmail.com 76

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ph 03 9738 1588 factoty 5 48 Matvem Street Bayswater 3153 Mod 0418 374 841

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PERFORMANCE & REUA6IUTY ●NEW NODUIAR CASTING :iSlON CNC MACHINED. GROUND TO AQING TOLERANCES ‘SUrT 308 RODS. BALANCER, FLYWHEEL, UP OR ROPE MAIN SEAL HARROP ENGINEERING AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

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Where sealing Is a science

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minm, AUSTRAL

Ph. 02 97SB 1966

I

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Fmw. Qg QTS6 11SS

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Large inventory held in stock Sheet - cut to your requirements, sold per square foot Tubing, round, square, solid rod per linear foot Aircraft aluminium Billet metals 2024T3, 6061T6, SCAT, Rresleeve

Hawker Pacific

Call us today with your requirements Freecall 1800 654 983 Freefax 1800 808 158

0:0:0 Race logistics

RACE l^istIcs interstate transport ALL ROUNDS ALL CLASSES

Fuliy enclosed custom built race car transporters Professional race car logistic and event specialists Security for car and equipment Contact Neil Griffiths

I

on 0418 474 816

race@tnt.com.au ■●terieert iMt

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9

r Castro! Perkins ] Racing Team^

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tfc.

RACING BATTERIES

%

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i^Hi Flow / Alloy Heads

HI PERFORMANCE ENGINE PARTS

The ultimate power fix for your Holden l Available for early and VN Style V8

and Electrical Components for severe environments

l Super flow potential compared to ported iron heads

Hawker Pacific

l Greater thermal efficiency and half

Ph: 02 9708 8503

the weight of iron

Fax: 02 9790 3306 Email : custservice@spares.hawkerpac.com.au

www.yellaterra.com.au Ph 03 9555 5522 Fax 03 9555 4152

g^RAilME m^ams

THE HIGHEST QUALITY GEARS IN THE RACING INDUSTRY

State DIstrlbutora

NSW:(02)9678 9977 QLD:(07)3808 1986 VIC:(03)9794 5177 WA:(08)9353 1155

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l Custom ground roller, solid and hydraulic profiles using unique computer controlled machines for unrivalled accuracy l Matching race valve train components

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CRANE

PERFORMANCE & RACE DIFF GEARS & ACCESSORIES

COMPOMOTIVE MOTORSPORT WHEELS

VIC 03 9386 5331 NSW 02 9676 86S5 SA 08 8387 3522 WA 08 9293 3500 TAS 03 6273 7555 NT 08 8941 5388 5IUC«Y QLD 07 3217 1188 lYRf SERVICE www.stuckey.com.au

dry sump OIL F>l*U*l<0

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pushrods Ph 03 9357 0469 or Fax 03 9357 0001 Visit our website: www.crowcams.com.au

The USA's first choice In race valve springs now available in Australia l /4s used by top US teams including Hendricks Motorsport (NASCAR), John Force(Funny Car), Warren Johnson (Pro Stock) l Specific super duly spring desigp for endurance (circuit, speedway and marine)or Drag Race applications deliver

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www.performancewholesale.comau If SEte

SMSMI au sthal i Ph. 02 graa 1966

Trodo onquiriot ¥f«{como

a

FaxJll.9758 I^SS.

I

RACE PRODUCTS

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World's leaders in Motorsport Safety Technology Helmets ● Suits ● Boots ● Gloves ● H.n losses ● Crow Ge.i

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5/mpson Safety Equipment Australia 91 Rookwood Road Yaqoona NSW ;i99 9791 6001 Fax 02 9791 6002 AUSTRALIAN 0<SIRlBUTORS

02

Team

^design^

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Raceteam Adrertisin^ that realty Stands OntH Pra^ssiana! design ex'printing customised to suityou. Gryour raceteam.

Contact Dave on P/t; (oz) 11010S18 Mobile: CEWZ Oil 481 www.dmaidesgn.eont

North Melbourne

03 9326 6088

● Offroad cars ● Motorbikes ● Boats ● Hot Rods ● Street Cars ● Circuit Cars Contact Paul Weel on

07

55 981

drawings to 07 55 981 980 IfANPmmT ANp All AUSTRALIAN MADF 20 Mirek 2112

499 or

J l Available in economical cast iron Street, Ij versatile iron/steel Street/Race and all i steel SFi approved Race versions Ph 02 6921 5126 Fax 02 6921 7536 Visit out website www.precisionparts.com.au

>

OO omrmi, o« II. -

Binail: info&dmacdesgn.com

Sydney Unit 6

race;

79 Newton Rd Wetherill Park 02 9609 1101

Competition disc pads ● Race brakes ● PaqicI ● Hawk ● Endless ● Performance Friction Over 10 years experience of brake modifications and upgrades for road and race. Caliper conversion 1. 2. 4 & 6 piston. Custom made disc rotors.

M«nwr«c(vrM a diitribui of. r* High paHormant* S racing dltc braki

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● duel dll accessories for all motorsports Quality ● Price ● Service

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RADIATORS, INTERCOOLERS & OIL COOLERS

I l Easy to read computer etched timing R marks

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dei the reco^nitienyoH deseffve m'th High performance engine components for over 30 years.

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consistent pressures and longer spring life.

Availablo from the exclusive Australian dlstrlbirtor

ipERFORMANCE

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CAMS'

a huge range of one piece super duty

Ph: 08 8363 5566

Fax: 08 8363 5633 TECHNOLOGIES ^WpTY. LTD. www.cranecatns.com^u

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including PSi(USA) valve springs and

Australian Importer and distributor: Phone(02)9678 9977 www.rocket.au.com

m

l Fast proFle design service to your requirements

Phone (07) 3808 1986 Visit our website for your nearest distributor.

www.performancewholesale.com.au

liDYNAGEAR Antrirlca’s premium oil pump & timing component menufacturer.

1809001 rmgisfrmd every pump Is ell tested for correct pressure « volume.

Quellty essured.

SMUEI AUSTRAL I Ph. 02 9758 1966

r

A

Trade enquiries welcome Fan. 02 9758 1135

A /> 77c V7 7, nicsri^ 7/

DrivePerfonn full-day program can double as your C3 licence i Jfnu-s evaluation - $330 iwiuliHilf.

Enjoy a great day with Championship level instructors in small groups. The following dates are currently available: ● April 4 - Wimon ● May 5 - Winton ● July 21 - Winton Call 1300 720 60S to book. All credit cards accepted.

notorsDon rbuhs

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m race shop

wrnmrnnjsz CUSTOM FABRICATION Specialists

●Intercoolers ●Oil Coolers

uirmviouL

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AIR RESEARCH

'mssT

Performance Manifolds^^ TRADE ENQUIRIES WELCOMEI Will suit V8, 2V or 4V Cleveland. \, Up to 30ft/lb torque nd 40 hp gain over

Contact yonr state distributor...

Hardiman Auto Supplies (02) 9771 5877 Motorsport Connections (02) 9838 7272 (03) 9794 5177 Victorian Speed Pro Performance Wholesale (07) 3808 1986 Crone Technologies (08) 8363 5566 Gogear Racing Services (08) 9443 44^00

similar manifolds.

We also have manifolds to suit: XE, XF 250 X-Flow Falcon - $440 iiKgst

^Blue & Red motor Holden - $440 mcgsi EFi manifolds - coming soon.

Ph 07 3800 9188 f.. 07 3800 9177 ABN 23 091 653 815

E

ce rwofMCc/iiMO

SuperFlow engine & chassis ●

Corporation DYNO'S, FLOWBENCH, DATA ACQUISITION & DYNO SOFTWARE

- ^ RCS - The new racing clutch system from Sachs ● 5.760 combinations possible ● torque range 300 - 1800 nm ● individual tuning to any vehicle Sachs Eloge Australia F>ty Ltd Ph 02 9875 5388 Fax 02 9875 323p.

Email: info@sachs-boQe.com.au

g^FORMANCE WHOLESALED

Phone (07) 3808 1986

Visit our website for your nearest distributor.

www.performancewhoiesak.com.au 1

21 Kellets Rd Rowville 3178 Ph 03 9764 281 I Fax 03 9764 8740

:^YOIOfAMA RACING AV#N TYRES

Distributors (or Victoria and Tasmania Your high performance tyre and suspension specialists

V

Steel Main Caps to suit most V8 applications Manufactured in USA by Pro-Gram Engineering

Ph 03 5339 5/59 Fax 03 5339 2/44

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Capri Components

V6-RS3100, MKll & MKlll 1600 Datsun 240, 260, S80ZX & 300ZX Tuning-repairs mods-spare parts LAWRIE

NELSON

Tel 03 9710 1091 Fax 03 9710 1887 20 Kerrs Rd St Andrews

LF*'' ^

PERFORMANCE CAMS& VALVE TRAIN COMPONENTS

PR^PARATinM Aj££b e:im[?iimee:ring .● FORMULA FORD ● b^*HISTORiC^

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coMPcn maRBPa □35 99S19G1 □4^3B 53069S MlNOAMCTTQRaPaRrT@PRIMU».

RADIATOR

LOCK-DOWN SAFETY CAPS —T' ^ A H!i Enterprises can help you with any dealer enquiries by Phoning 0413520852 email: myent@ozemoil.(om.au

J

Also available from \ Ameriran Tire & Racing Services (02) 9790 757!

PerfacmnnteWhalesnle (07) 3808 1986

IKRNMMNa

nuNBme

The Finest in High Performance Pfumbing, Hoses, Hose Ends and Fuel Fittings

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Distributed nationally by:

Sold in Australia by

'hi

Available for Commodore VN to VT EF to AU Falcon, BMW, Lancer, Magna & Excel Ph 08 8371 1500 Mob 0418 600 751 JkL/TOMOTI^C

ph:334l 7223

S>EEDFLOW q Premium Motorsport Hose & Fittings!

~r . *»-.

^

h

fnhouse 2 <£ 4WD Dyno Hire: We drive U tune if you prefer

ril

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●Radiators ●Exhaust Systems ●Intake & Exhaust Manifolds

liifwwSfiGStatgr^cCT!^

WHITE FACED DIALS

*Es:si Ijsipxi

Phone (02) 9678 9977

www.rocket.au.com

j

Importers Clearance Dir

2-day CAMS C3/R2/R5 Licence Courses @ Oran Park monthly. $605 in your car, includes C3/R2/5 Observed Licence Test and C3 Lecture. R2 OLT can be completed in a single day for $385.

Peter Finlay's International Racing Drivers School For more info ph 02 9873 1773, fax 02 9871 1018 or email peter@finlays.com.au

www.ffinlays.cpm.aM

mm~ tTir j

( xtrcnw racing products /

TRADE ENQUIRIES WELCOME salesefocketindustrles.com.au

Public I

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Lazer car racing helmets FIA Approved suitable for all motorsport applications includin open wheel competition, fire proof lining, all new superseded stock, while stocks last. i '7-

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4ny tolour as long as it's while!

Bruce Collins Enterprises Pty Ltd I 2/10 Pilgrim Court Ringwood Vic 3134 ' Ph 03 9873 3091 Fax 03 9873 2015

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2

gii S de/jvery to oil moiorcopitol ^

PORTABLE FLOORING ,1 Workshop

Marquee Floor

I Display Areas I Access Paths

Installs quickly Rolls up for storage

w

^^k/^FORMANCE T^twHOLESALE’S;

Phone (07) 3808 1986

Visit our website for your nearest distributor.

iinim.pertermahccwholcsak.com.aii 78

www.pro-floor.com ● ph 03 9804 3455

This space could be yours ■oiertport ■sub

iFREE Sedans/Sports Cars

MARKET PLACE

Classifieds

Forward to Motorsport News Free Classifieds, 357 Nepean Flighway Brighton East 3187. Fax: 03 9596 5030. Email: mnews@mnews.com.au. Make sure to list your category.

Pontiac Trans Am Sports Sedan, Built by K & A Engineering. Best of everything. Motec. Air jacks.

Data log, 5 Speed Hewland, Loads of spares. Just rebuilt for new season. Available with or without engine. P.O.A. Phone (07) 5441 7700 BH or (07) 5448 5569 AH. 228 Sports sedan. Ford Cortina TF, 351 WINDSOR fresh engine. Alloy heads. Roller cam. Roller rockers. Dry sumped, 600 + HP

Subaru RC Turbo, ready to rally. New Goodman engine, top hp, log book, homologation papers.

Engineers certificate LSD, full cage. Has been refreshed but never used, heaps of doors, panels, spares. Cheap to keep. 4x4 with all the potential to thrill. VJB-777. $11750 ono. Ph 0418 115 551. 228

VK Commodore. Full Group A specification, fresh 5.0 litre complete with Getrag box including new clutch. Harrop running gear. Full Group A feulling system and Simmons wheels. As raced by Clearahan/Wiliiams 87/88. Original paint ready to race. Suit new Group C/A category. With log book. $35,000, ph 0418 994 566.228

Big brakes, Koni fully adj shocks. Super t 10 box. Full floater 9 inch Ford diff, fab front end, big rose joints all round, simmons wheels. All moulds. New paint. Ready to race $25,000 ono. Contact Frank Sola on 0412328124 or 0359402478.228

Club car LH Torana, s/b Chev with dry sump, Tilton clutch, top loader, full floating 9 inch, 4 pot brakes all round, fresh paint, ready to race, priced to sell asap, $ 11500, ph 02 6374 1303. 228 Ford Sierra, 2.3 turbo 3 Door Hatch.Suitable for racing only. $5000 ph 0419267375.22s

Holden HZ 1979 stroked to 326ci, VN injeaion heads and manifold, L34 crank, forged pistons, roller rockers, Wade mild cam, Supra 5 speed, factory air, power steering, rear discs, GTS dash, long range tank, Koni/Lovells suspension, new tyres, tinted, immobiliser, 170,000kms, 40,000kms this engine, second owner, absolutely immaculate, $9,000, Sydney 02 9731 1103 or 0413 271182. 228

Torana

Sports

20 Marco 2002

Sedan,

LJ-XU1,

fresh

logbook, spares $5000 ono, ph Steve 02 4982 6834 ah. m

Triumph TR8 marque sports car. Rover V8, 5 speed gearbox, 4 wheel disc brakes, spare set of wheels and tyres. Immaculate front running car at a fraction of replacement cost. $30000 ono. Ph Peter 0412 084 062, work 02 9971 1212.228

VR Commodore, 5.7 It Holden, new motor, injected, dry sump, Motec, 5 spd, Harrop front end, 6 pot brakes, spares, etc. Running as a Sports Sedan. Ph Steve 07 3397 7833 (w) or 07 3398 4692 (ah). 228

k [/

2 litre Sports Sedan, winner 2000 SRS and 2001 U5SA championship, MKII Escort - full space frame, fibre/g panels, rolling chassis, fully refurbished for 2001/2002 season (not raced). Suit Ford engine. No expense spared - new suspension, Hewland gear train, LSD, race clutch pack, numerous extras. Bargain at $18000, Ph Luke 0418 582 882 228 Nissan Bluebird TRX, 2-litre Improved Produaion car, built in 1999 and only 10 races old.

Fully worked SR-20 non-turbo, Motec-4/8 injection, Koni adjustable suspension, Willwood adjustable pedal box, big RX-7 brakes. Also available; spare SR-20, gearbox and f/glass moulds.

Ready to race. Consistent race winner. Reluctant sale $13,900, ph 0412 201 199. 228

mt

absolutelyfree*

‘Motorsport News Classifieds are FREE for private sales. Classifieds from motor sport traders are accepted Imarked with a ●) and must be prepaid at the following per issue rates: S5 per 10 words (min SIO per ad), photo SIO. Further enquiries to our advertising department on 03 9596 5555.

Classifieds can be mailed, faxed or emailed. Classifieds are not accepted over the telephone.

engine, new wheels and tyres, runs great looks great, heaps of new stuff, plenty of spares, very neat and well maintained car $7500 ono ph: David 0428442411 (NSW). 228

Escort MKII Club Car, strong 2 litre engine. King suspension, current spec Bond roll cage, Sparco seat, Sabelt 5 point harness, locked diff, current logbook, on registered trailer, heaps of spares, $4000.00 Ph 0418 421015.228

2 issues

33!

Ford XM, 170 Pursuit, 3 spd man, triple Strombergs, Koni shocks, Yoko tyres, yellow with blue interior, log booked historic race car, heaps of spares, must sell, front-running class car, XMRXD141197B18113M. 22a

Datsun 1600 Improved Production car, L20, twin Webbers, electronic ignition, 4W discs, CR gearbox, R180 diff (5.1:1 and 4.8:1), near-new tyres, spare set of wheels and tyres, CAMS

Morrs Cooper S, Group N logbook, full alloy cage, Koni suspension. Formula R's, LSD, SCCR gearbox, good engine condition, new clutch, not raced since 96, excellent cond, can deliver to Melbourne, $13500 ph Peter 03 6229 6472 or 0419 141 641 226 Ex Dick Johnson driven race 81 rally prepared 1991 TX3 4WD. Competed in Targa 1992 - 94, plus numerous hill climbs and circuit racing throughout Australia. No expense spared in maintaining this exceptional performance vehicle. Complete with 8 point cage, heavily modified brake & chassis, excellent duco. Sell less engine & gearbox.

Absolute bargain. Spent well over $50,000, Sell $7,000 or $27,000 with drive train.Leave msg or SMS 0414-063-889 Troy. 22s Alfa Romeo Super Touring car, Alfa Romeo 155 built by Alfa Romeo factory for BTCC, original log book, ex Richards ASTCC, independant Championship winner 2001 and 3rd outright, 250kms since complete rebuild, expensive spares package including engine, gearbox, 70 gear ratios, 40 wheels, panels, tyres etc, too many to list - spares list

available on application. This is the most reliable and affordable Super Tourer available.

Contact David Auger 0418 794 240.22s Alfa GTV road race car, track or rally, 300hp motor, brand new MotecM48, Bilsteins Quick Rack, straight cut g'box, new clutch, LSD, AP 4 spot front and rear pedal box, plus more spares. $19500, Ph Ewan Jones 02 4956 5577 (w) 0438 577 837. 228 Subaru WRX STI VIII, Gr N or GHTP full road rego currently road car - Drummond SUSP, full cgae, STI standard seats plus carbon race seats. 3" exhaust spares inci turbo $42000 Rego VUH-755. Ph Ewan Jones 02 4956 5577 (w) or 0438 577 827. 228 Opel Monza, Originally imported to Australia by Norm Gown from GOWNFIINDHAUGH for Group C homoligation purposes. Vehicle converted to club/Targa car with Bilstein coil over suspension, race brakes, set up for Turbo RB-30 and 5-speed.

Vehicle suitable for collector or competitor, being reluctantly sold below cost as unfinished project. $9500 ono. Ph ah 03 5152 2003. 22s HQ Holden race car, NSW #52 Div One car, front running car, loads of spares, wheels, gearbox, diff and more, dyno sheets, available $6500 or make a reasonable offer .Ph Peter Hogan 02 4646 1033 24 hours. 22b

6 litre Chev Capri, space frame, cambered rear, counter lever front, Harrop brakes.

Liberty box. Cola crank, JE, H beam Eagles, alloy heads. Pro Series carb, 7th last round Aust championship, 2nd 2000 QLD c/ship, ultra reliable with heaps potential. 30ft enclosed trailer, sleeper and lounge included. $35,000. Ph Brett 07 4634 8562 ah or 07 4633 1807 bh 228 Peugeot 405 Super Tourer 1991, fresh 295 bhp engine. H pattern 6 sp X-Trac. Car only 7 meetings old, ready to drive in S/T champ or 2 It S/S. Will consider dismantle.

VGC, $22500, ph 0417 703 773 or 07 3343 2733 bh. 228 Mazda RX3 club car, 13B quad throttle body, fuel injected, fresh motor not started, 5 speed straight cut box 5th 1:1, tandem trailer, much more, dyno on sale, $12000 ph 07 3841 0310 .228 Falcon EL XR6 race car. Chrome Moly cage, 2 X 300hp engines, Bilsteins, spool, heaps of spares, 18 wheels, tyres some new. Needs front panels. Suit rally car, club car, improved production. $25000 Ph Syd 0402 336 530.228

4

II ■●fi

€

i

Yep another HQ race car, winner of 5 Australian Hilldimb class wins. Never beaten five years of competition. No expense spared, comes with fresh top HP engine, nothing to spend. Delivery assistance. All offers considered, must sell, Ph Peter 02 9642 2979 or 0410 734 191. 227 79

National series for only $16,000, latest spec fresh engine and gearbox, spares, ph 0418 395 566.227

m I

V

I

4age 20Valve engine, 5 speed, kings springs, TRD clutch, seat, harness, logbook, plus spares $4250 ph 0409 537345 or 03 53329333.227

Open Wheelers

M /

Saloon Car VP Commodore, new car had 3 races, fresh engine, - loads of spares including cage, shell with tilt trailer, very tidy, for lease with or without support, travelling to all national rounds, ph 0415 229 590. m

; Formula Vee Bee Cee, fast competitive car, lap record holder at Willowbank short circuit. Fresh

HQrace car number 68, Top 5 in 2000 NSW state championship. Fresh engine only one meeting old .Spare wheels and tyres as well as other spares. Ready to race .

Assistance given to new owner. $5,500 . PH Garry on (02) 96255918 (BH) or (02) 96257008 (AH). 227

Welsor Sports Racing Car, Ford Engine, Rocket GBox Harry Galloway bodywork.

Suitable as is for Group R Historic Full history provided. Sell due to new project. $19,500 ono Ph 07 3217 3374 leave message or phone 0409 277 975.227

Nissan 280 ZX, Improved Production car.

Built 1998. Willwood brakes, Bilstein fully adjustable suspension, full weld in cadge, RB-25 engine, to much to mention, plus spares. Almost ready to race. Cost $40,000.

Sell $13,000. Phone 0418139646.227

engine, new brakes, tyres, wheels and body panels, comes with numerous spares and enclosed trailer Car only $8500, complete package $12500, ph 07 5594 1242 or 0409 762 118.227

Lotus Super 7 Cosworth S2, Genuine faaory built car. Complete documented history including original UK MOT card issued March 1965. Currently all in alloy, in S3 spedfications with Syd Fisher twin cam, quaife gearbox and escort rear end. Original chassis, 1500 Cosworth pushrod engine and dose ratio gearbox. All original components to be sold with the car induding standard axle, alloy wheels, two sets of guards, 2 nose cones and panels plus much more. Enough parts, exduding a chassis, to build a second car. Offers around $60000. Ph Mike Wilson 03 9439 3111 or 0417 551 205.228

Silver Arrow 25th Anniversary edition Go Kart. With BP Engines blueprinted J engine this kart is ready to race and continue on winning.

Assistance given to new owner. $2400 . PH Gany on (02)96255918(BH)or(02)96257008(AH). 227

-5

I Saloon Car #95 VN Commodore, done only 3 meetings, all new parts used ran competitively without testing, spare engine and parts, business committments reason for sale $18500, Ph John BH 03 9742 3234 AH 0409 796 372.227

Ralt RT4 81, Aust F2 fitted with 1600 Golf FT200 complete with spares. $25500, ph 0428 650 850.22s

Group Nb Morris Cooper 5, Multiple Championship Winning Car. Fresh high HP 1293CC engine (1 meeting since rebuild).

BMC Straight-Cut gearbox, Salisbury LSD, 3 sets wheels/tyres. Some spares included.

Spare engine available.$ 16,000, Ph Cameron 0412 918 927. 227

Elfin 630B Atlantic 1976, Chassis completely rebuilt 2001, fresh BDD Cosworth zero kms

.

'I

O/ Group C Dolomite Sprint, ex Ron Hodgson/Bob Morris ex JAGPARTS/Gerald Kaye. Original full log book history 76-82 ie 5 Bathursts 4 Sandowns 3 ATCC. Full restoration/rebuild - one entry since broke long-standing class record. Redy to race in Histories or suit serious collector $26500 ono Ph 0412 670 422. 227

Commodore Cup car, join this exciting V8

70

v2/

Fastest Saloon Car in the country, 2001 Results: Wakefield Park and Lakeside Konica rounds, Pole position. Lap record. Race Win QLD 500 Support race Winner Ready to Win again & nothing to spend.

Must Sell $25,000 Ph Kurt Kratzmann 0419 705531, bh (07) 3368 1188.227

Toyota Corolla Hatch, Quick Glub Car,

Arrow AX6 silver anniversary, 40mm axle, 2 sets of tyres, 1 set of wet tyres, front hub extentsions, 2 x KTIOOS Yamaha engines. Comes with spare sprockets, chains, stand and cover. $4000, Ph 03 9546 8538. 222

Formula Ford Swift FB89,complete. Suitable for super sprints, hilldimb or pre-'90 F championship. $10,000. Ph. 0417 495 839 (Sydney). 228 Ralt RT4 81/147, FT200 complete minus engine, stored for last 15 years, $24000 Aust, fax 64 9274 8642 N2 email ksmith@titan.co.nz. 228 Formula Vee, fresh engine and paint, not used for five years, great 1st car $1500. Also trailer to suit small car $1250 or $2500 the lot. Ph Sean 02 4628 8280 or swap senior go-kart. 228 Complete Go Kart Package, ready to race. With J motor. Excellent condition (qualified 11th Aust titles).

Lots of spares and accessories induding: trolley, all sprockets and chains, spare carby, hubs, axle and tyres, tacho and temp guage, wheel alignment bars, all lubricants, matching suit, boots and gloves plus many other spares. Is a very competitive package and would be perfect for anewcomer to the sport. Will give assistance with set-up etc. $3500, call Steve on 0438 645 192 or 02 9686 8001.22a

Imaculate and race ready $55,000, PH 0419 777 229. 227

Drag Bacing

1937 Fiat Topolino altered, 125 inch Pluger torsion bar Funny Car chassis, complete or roller. Has run 7.43@180mph soft tune up. Will suit KB. Show quality finish, all the right bits. 14.71 blown small block, glide etc, has made 1165hp in 8001b heavier vehkde. Ring for more details. Complete $35000, roller $18000 ph Bob 07 3824 5311 after 4pm.22a 1934 Ford Coupe, has run 7.6@178mph, all new paint, glide, converter, diff and helix 1400thp small block, all new over $60000 spent. Roller $20000 engine $22000, box and converter $3000, take both with enclosed traler $70000, ph Bob 07 3824 5311 after4pm.22a Wanted: share partner/driver, with sponsorship or money to help run and maintain mid to lew 7 sec supercharged hotrod or purchase drivetrain and run car.

All offers confidential, phBob073824 5311after4pm.22s

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moiortpoii news

MARKET PLACE available, $14K ratios, over 300 in stock to suit DGB, GF6B, TPT, FT200. CCI Ph 0418 925 767.

Modified Production VL Commodore,6 meetings old, wry fight strong car Speed Shop 200hp BNG Wilksood pedals, Quidsteer, adjust suspension, VT brakes, fibreglass moulds,20 alloy wheels and tyres, $9000 Ph Colin 07 5482 4318.228 Super Sedan VP Commodore, complete car less motor and box, with spares, $1000 ono 0408 475 662. 228 Modified Production Sigma, very competitive qualified 13 Aust tide in /tibany WA. Lots of spares, $7500 all offers considered. Ph 08 9726 3380(h)or 08 9780 8232(w). 227

Pans

l Oil coolers- heat exchangers, Earls, Setrab, Serck, 6-70 row, new/used, also used water to oil heat exchangers, over 100 in stock. CCI Ph 0418925 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. CCI 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. CCI Ph 0418 925 767.

Fully enclosed triaxle trailer, ex-Jim Richards, single car, full length annexe, benches, tyre racks, storage area, 4 years old, normal towbar set-up.

Must be sold, $ 11,500, ph 0419 524 752. iii

Odier

Strong street/strip/track engine.Hear running. $1200 ono PH 02 66247593 ah (N.5.W.) 22a Nissan SR20 motor, new, built by Goodman engines. Wolf computer, 250 hp, dyno sheets, $10500, ph 0428 650 850. rrs

993 RSCS gearbox, completely overhauled and fitted with steel synchros.an LSD and a low diff ratio of 3.44.1 (STD).$8,500 - Contaa Chris on (02)9418-3711 (W)or 0412-048-251.228

6 Cylinder parts for sale, 2 cam shafts, 35/75 (Ivan tye) and a 104 waggot . Romac bolt on harmonic balancer 1.6 chev roller rockers with

Enclosed trailer, approx 30ft electric brakes, will fit sedan or sprint car etc. To be sold by auction at Airport Auctions No 20 Woorang St Milperra. Sale date 27/3/02. Ph Craig Taylor on 0408 204 056.228

guide plates and brass bobbins. 2 veriejet carbys ex-malrose,ex-Halliays engineering. Ported and flowed blue motor manifold,JP high volume water pump, steel 186 crankshaft, finer filter air filter $550 or nearest offer. Please phone 02-66247593 A/H NSW. 228 Ralt RT4 ground efforts sidepods, new $3500, ph 0428 650850.228 Chev Fuelie heads ported by Rams, roller rockets $1600, Manley forged f/t pistons -t-30 new suit 6" rod $800, TRW pistons on rods $300, ph 0427 007 900.228 Kaditcha Formula Pacific rear suspension new $1000, Formula 2 rear wing,2 sets of end plates and OK catch tank wing mount $800, ground effect side pods and brackets $600, ph 07 3800 5903.22s Chev Bowtie 184 block, new with Oliver caps$4000 ph 08 9349 8959(Perth). m Pro Action 14' heads, hand ported, brand new with flow sheets, $7500 ph 08 9349 8959(Perth). 227 Group C A9X Super T 10 with Hurst shifter, A1 condition, not used since full service including synchros and bearing kft, $2350, ph 0412 670 422.222 Group C A9X Salisbury 10 bolt Detroit locker, still in Harrop packaging following routine service, $1500, ph 0412 670 422.222 l Race seats, top quality imported race seats at wholesale prices. Ph 02 6562 7762 or 0412 785 486.

● Brake calipers, discs, pads. Mega range, new/used, exc condition - AP, Alcon, Brembo, Outlaw, Willwood. Overnight delivery, CCI Ph 0418 925 767 ● Hewland, DGB, 5 speed transaxle, top condition, new 9:31 CWR ratio choices and spares

20Mirci) 2002

Automobile Yearbooks, 14-34 (1966 - 1986), excellent condition. 1958, 1959, 1960 & 1963 no cover sleeves on these four. $1,000 the lot Ph. Sydney 02 9987 0330.22B

Drive available in C/Cup car, full prepared and run by professional team. Running with Power Tour eight rounds. Feeder category to Super V8. Contact Garry 02 4577 2779 or 0407 272 165. 222 Magazines, Motorsport News 150 issues from #1 $200, Auto Action 478 issues from #40(April 1972) $350, Racing Car News 300 issues from 1968 (virtually complete) $275, Ph Glenn (Auckland NZ) 00 64 9 571 3341. 227

Nissan RB2S with twin turbos. Ideal racing motor or fantastic street beast. Sump and engine mounts currently configured to suit 240-260Z $3750 Haltech E6K also available. PH:0417 188 334 (Perth). 211 Engine rebuilding stand,heavy duty, fits any motor, very little use, cost over $300,sell for $150.

Ph 03 9720 5667.227 Toyota I8RGEU 2 It twin cam, twin 40mm side draught dual throat delorto, electric fuel pump, tuned 1 1/2" extractors, 2" exhaust, steel 5sp, view at www.geocities.com/stan_remmus. Comes with free RA40 Celica on custom suspension. $1200 otx). Ph Jim 07 4163 1670 or kremmen@gmx.net. 227

Wanted Exp race engineer seeks full time position with leading Melb-based race team. 24 years experience, can fabricate, weld, turn spanners, data aquisition, superior technical ability and much more. Ph Andy 0427 847 776.228 CAREER DESIRED S.E.QLD., /\ircraft Engineer seeks appointment into motorsport workshop. You'll gain an employee, 20 years aviation experience, driven by safety, productivity, customer satisfaction and self motivation with a pro-active approach. The/titlines loss could be your gain. Contaa Scott,/Alexandra Hills, 0438 795 790, bensonsonalex@bigpond.com. 228 Autosport (English) magazines, 1983 to 1996, $200 the lot, buyer collerts, Ph Karl Taylor 0425 251 125.228

Fan van, purpose-built for selling T-shirts, hats, parts etc. Plenty of storage 240 volt power, very tidy, towed with ease by Chev Blazer 350 V8 auto. Complete outfit $14000 would separate ph 07 3888 5934 or 0409 895 934.228

36 foot MRT gooseneck trailer, coupled to Chev Silverado dual cab, trailer has 12 + 240v power work bench, tyre rack, heaps storage, sleeps 4. Suit most size sedans, tidy inside + out.

A well-maintained Chev dually 454 auto makes the ideal tow rig. Sell complete $39,000 would seperate or trade larger transporter. Ph 07 3888 5934 or 0409 895 934.22$ 72 Ford Bus, 6 cyl turbo diesel, seats 8, bunks, storage area, rear section for racecar $11500 ono, ph 0243334070 or 0408246032.rj8 Fully enclosed triaxle, on 14 inch wheels, lots of storage, benches, drawers, sink, 12/240v wired, electric brakes, insulated, $11500 ono ph Wayne 0413 617 798 or 07 3287 7715. 228

MotorSporlTours^ ■mnci»K$K2

● ONE CALL DOES IT ALL, Phillip Island - Vic V8 Supercar 12-14 April 2002, MOTO GP Championship 18-20 Ort 2002 from $379 per person. Eastern Creek - Sydney V8 Supercars 2628 April 2002 from $479 per person, Hidden Valley Raceway - Darwin V8 Supercars 17-19 May 2002, Legends of Motorsport 22-25 August 2002 from $649 per person, V8 Supercar 400 Canberra 7-9 June 2002 from $499 per person, Barbagallo Raceway - Perth V8 Supercars 28-30 June 2002 from $499 per person, V8 Supercar 1000 - Bathurst 10-13 October 2002 from $319 per person.

Most packages include Accommodation, Breakfast, Track Ticketing, Paddock Pass, Circuit Transfers, GST, MST Event Kit (Cap, Sunglasses, Poncho, Ticket Holder & Lanyard, Comfort Kit). Enquiries & Bookings contact the Team at Motor Sport Tours Pty Ltd Ph 07 4691 5833 Fax 07 4691 5733 Mob 0412 900 228 Postal AddressPo Box 83 Oakey Old 4401

● Clutches, 7.25, 5.5, 5.0 single, twin, triple plate, sintered or carbon, AP-Tilton-QM, new/used. Spare covers, rings, plates also available. CCI Ph 0418 925 767. ● Pedals, brake/clutch, floor mount/hanging, new/sued. Aiso available, bias valves, bias cables, master cylinders, resenrairs etc, CCI Ph 0418 925 767,

Damon Hill's seat from his 97 campaign in Melbourne. Only one in Australia. Photos avail, $500 ono email dspeedstar@optusnet.com.au or ph 0412 397 177.228

Automobile Year Nos 1 to 21, Aust Motor Racing Yearbooks No 12 to 16, also Bathurst Yearbooks and some race programmes and race posters. Ph 0411 404 560 ah. 22s

. Super T-10 Tex Racing gearbox, rebuilt c/w shifter kit alloy rods. HD ext housing (magnesium).

Gears 1.23, 1.61, 2.43. Call Rod 0414237 811, 03 8329 0702 (w), or 03 9654 0707 (h). 228 Icom Radio system (RR), In car kit and Pit radio.

Head set, charger etc, as new.$2500 Ph Chris 0413139811.228

HSV 'Priority Classified' VT documents, inci pricing, perf and tech specs, conf letters Crennan - Walk, HSV in-house letters, Ige photos and GTS trim samples etc In HSV folder. Price incI postage. $100, ph 07 46393308.228 v8touringcars.com This sought-after domain name is forsale, (serious offers only). Contact details on the web site www.v8touringcars.com. 220

M.A.N Pantec, Aero kit. Long range tank, 15 Speed R/Rover, Kitchen, Shower etc. New Tyres, CB UHF, Recaro seats. Driving lights, HUGE Annex, Ultra reliable. Fast, Cheap rego. $35,000, Phone (07) 5441 7700 BH or (07) 5448 5569 AH. 228

GTR Skyline engine, 3.0L engine with Gibson

Holden 6 cylinder. Bill Man bottom end.XUl spec cylinder head. Brass button Race clutch.

l Radiators, aluminium, new/used, single/dual pass, top quality, large range, various sizes, suit all applications, fr $300. CCI Ph 0418 925 767.

NISMO modified front struts (One Pair), Teflon-lined inserts, Bilstein shocks, modified caliper mounts for BIG brakes, HD springs, brand new adjustable, locking platforms, fabricated heavy duty camber/castor/toe plates allowing custom settings, fabricated strut bar mounting plates, just overhauled. Slot straight into 1600, Tarmac Rally or Circuit Racing. $600, 0410 658 463. 228

new valves, new gaskets, new bearings, now total seal piston rings, new water pump, sump tuning gears, MSO ignition plus spares must sell $8000 ono ph 02 9707 3965. rrs Motorsport RB 2.6 head and cam. New IHi 370hp roller bearings, Motec injeaion, Cosworth pistons, Billet rods, 700hp, test-drive car, $26,000, ph 03 5037 6902 ah. m

l Air jacks, new/used, large range, most applications, quick release handles available, top quality. C.C.I. Ph 0418 925 767.

ItansDOrters/Trailers

ceramic coated pistons, new head, new cams,

Email - motorsportours@ozemail.com.au Web - www.motorsportours.com.au ● Driving suits, top brand imported race suits, boots, gloves etc. Many styles and colours at wholesale prices, Ph 02 6562 7762 or 0412 785 486.

CF Bedford Racecar Transporter, Enclosed 15ft tray with lockable storage in front section, tyre racks, winch , 4mtr alloy ramps , lights , long range fuel tank, alarm, full length enclosed annex, suit small sedan or open wheeler. $10 OOO.Contact 5MEATON MOTORSPORT 0418 883 973. 227

Bmnes

253 Commodore Cup 99/2000 spec, used twice VGC, plus 2 bare blocks std bore, 4 heads for rebuild, 1 crank std $4800 ph Garry 02 6383 3341.228 Toyota 2.2L 3SG engine, new crank, lightened heat treated + slot pierced, new argo rods, new

Navigator for Targa Tasmania, with experience.

Fast 2402. 8-22 April 2002. Call Ben Brooksby 0402 133 721.228 Any parts to suit Cheetah Mark 6 Formula 2, including 2T Celica motor, adapter plate for Holinger gearbox etc. PLease contaa Edward Gavin 0409 794 033.228 Wanted A9X Torana, ex Group C, complete car or will consider body shell. Ph bh 03 5428 3916.228 Wanted to buy, dub car-sports sedan-formula libre etc.tas/vic.approx $10000. ph 0407871554, email knight2bigpond.com@bigpond.com. 22s Exp race engineer seeks full-time position with leading Melb-based race team or manufacturer, 24 years experience, can fabricate, weld, turn spanners, data aquisition, superior technical ability and much more, ph Andy 0427 847 776. 22B Scaletrix cars, buildings, parts, spares etc, interested in all things Scaletrix. Don't throw it out, I might want it. Ph 02 4392 1524.22B Sponsors wanted for 2002 Konica V8 Supercar team. All budgets catered for. Maximum exposure guaranteed. First in, best dressed, ph Barry 0418 455 043. 227 Anything HDT, Hats, Shirts, Jackets, Flags, by private collector. Phone Wade on 02 4647 2923, or kiggins@bigpond.com.au. 227 I have experience in V8 Supercar crewing, inci wheel changes, refuelling, car prep etc, and am seeking involvement at Adelaide 500. Other categories also considered. Call Matt 0419 734 387 or 08 8178 0847. 227

81

OPINION

■Motspgtt EDITORIUSnUfT

Editor: Phil Branagan ● editor®mnews.com.au Assistant Editor: Aaron Noonan ● noonz@mnews.com.au Staff Journalist: Mark Glendenning ● mark@mnews.com.au

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82

A spiritual moment

Tconvener at

Isn’t life funny? You grow up with a love of motorsport, which only grows as you reach your teens.

Finally, you get a job and your passion drives you to buy, fix, or build whatever machine will get you on the track.

You put your heart and soul into your racing, always wanting to compete at that big meeting, in a higher class, to show the world what you can do. Money dictates that your road car is a 70s Falcon, not the Testarossa, GT40, or even Dino that you would like it to be.

Over the years you have your occasional victories and lap records, but never quite get the opportunities you had hoped for.

Time passes and the family car becomes a Suzuki, and the strain on the family budget caused by racing can no longer be justified. As dreams fade, you finally let your CAMS license lapse.

You read in a magazine about two fellows who have dedicated their lives to cricket, and as a result are able to go out and buy themselves new Ferraris ... hmmm. But that’s okay, you don’t care because, for the first time, you’re going to see a Grand Prix.

You make the pilgrimage to Albert Park to take in the sights, sounds, smells and spirit of motorsport Mecca. But what do you see when you get there? Some dickhead footballer who, through sheer public profile, has gained the opportunity to crash a beautiful new Ferrari into the back of a beautiful new Lamborghini. It makes you wonder...

Having said that, fantastic weekend. Everything was well organised from PA acoustics to the movement of the multitude in and out of the venue. And the Formula Ones sound every bit as great as I thought they would. Bugger the earplugs, what a beautiful noise.

Dale Harrison Lenah Valley, TAS

Send us your thoughts: mail; 357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, VIC 3187 fax: 03 9596 5030 email: mnews@mnews.com.au need to stop beating up a boring V8 race because it makes them

look silly.

The Clipsal 500 was not an exciting race, rather the opposite boring. Watching Mark Skaife running away with it makes a mockery of the series.

Shaun Hughes teamslipry@optushome.com.au ED: Remember McLaren’s domination of FI 2-3 years ago?

Things do turn around, hut it’s up to the other teams to lift their game - sooner rather than later, though...

Also disgruntled

After sitting down to watch what should have been a wonderful start to the 2002 season, sadly we are faced, once again, with a one sided championship.

It’s clear now why Shell withdrew their support. I cannot believe the ignorant, narrow minded and selfish attitude of TWR and their apparent belief that this series will survive another championship to HRT. Admittedly, the HRT and now KMart Racing cars are the

benchmark in the series under the umbrella of part-foreign ownership in TWR. Going with this overseas control is the obvious access to a myriad of technical enhancements the other teams can only dream about.

To say this advantage is not good for the sport is a gi'oss understatement, and I for one can see the writing on the wall for the death knell of this series. Parity is no longer a Ford/Holden issue but rather a TWR/Ford/Holden matter.

Wake up AVESCO, wake up TWR. Tony Cochrane, put your immense entrepreneurial skills into action and even the playing field or slowly watch the demise of this once great (and even) sporting series.

Michael Kirby michael.kirby@customs.gov.au

Ralf and Rubens share blame I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your magazine. For up to date info on all motor racing, I find it the best - bar none. Yours is the benchmark.

Also, congratulations to Mark Webber, Paul Stoddart and all of the Minardi Team for a terrific effort at the Australian Grand Prix.

Although it would have been better for more cars to have finished the race, I thought all of the Minardi team performed extremely well. I watched the telecast with interest, and most people seem to be blaming Ralf Schumacher for the first corner debacle.

I think it was both Half’s and Barrichello’s fault - Half’s for being too aggressive, and Rubens’s for moving back and forth. Very unsportsmanlike.

If Rubens had not moved across ‘one or two centimetres’, Ralf would have not made the comer.

Thanks again for a great read.

Gary Black Yaroomba, QLD

Disgruntled

When are CAMS and AVESCO going to wake up and do something with the HRT cars?

If they keep going like this, the so-called premier series in Australia is going to be a big bloody joke.

This is not a Ford vs Holden thing, this is a fan thing - getting bored by HRT winning everything because it bas the biggest budget.

The series needs Fords to win and it needs other Holden teams to win too - not just HRT. For God’s sake AVESCO, do something about it before your series dies a boring death.

Channel lO’s commentators also

t^-

... and nobody else is in sight: For some readers, the sight of the dominant Skaife/HRT combination is becoming a iittle too familiar.

(Pholo by Dirk Klynsmilh)

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53

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