Motorsport News Issue 302 - February 9-22, 2005

.■ FI: WEBBER ON THE NEW WILLIAMS THE IXIEWS BEHMIMO THE IXIEWS CO C/5 CO CO

cn

news

No. 302 February 9-22 2005 Australia $5.95 NZ $7.50 inci GST

HRT s Super$taj!

Signing

Dick & Gienn spin the beans - on each other! f 3.

3

d

at 60.:

RALLY STAR ATKINSON ON THE EVE OF HIS WRC DEBUT

CilliP GAMS Group Of Companios ~ include Comp Cams Valvo Train Conmonents, FAST'" / Fuel Iniection & Manlfolds,j/ ZEX™ Niirous Systems a

●

*</■

i

i

lEX^»>WetaDry R^NItrous Systems li- srcomponentsje^ i

large range'ot Powerhouse Tools auailahle!

i

t

PEINIIlMCf

VISIT us ONUNE FOR OUR FUll PRODUCT RANGE AVAIIARIE FROM YOUR NEAREST DISTRIRUTOR. www.performancewholesale.com.au

■wholesale Ph: 07 38081080 ■ yv IJ s T R A. I. I A T r Y I. r o

motorsport news

Issue 302

9-22 February 2005

4 7 8

)

www.mnewS:.Goriiju„ay

Two Janies bond Enduro HRT drives for Courtney and Richo Lights, cameras, colours New Supercar paint schemes In the Nick of time Heidfeld gets the nod over Mark’s ex

12 Daytona 10-Hour Aussies stopped early so we did, too 16 ARC at Bathurst Atkinson misses out on the Mountain!

25 Motor Mouth How I drove a Williams, by Andy Prialux 26 Box Seat Joe Saward’s favourite time of the year 82 Talk Converter Who’s the Boss - or the Barra?

iV

y

features 28 Five Minutes With G. Fisichella and F. Alonso The boys in blue lift engines 30 Five Minutes With Marcos Ambrose He likes a Porsche - but he loves a Ford 32 Friends like These Glenn Seton and Dick Johnson are now a V8 Supercar item 38 Six Decades Brock speaks about V8 Supercars and life at (almost) 60 42 Look Mum! No Tusks! A look at Webber’s company car, the BMW.Williams FW27 46 Black Hat Theory 30 years back, Don Nichols and Shadow [briefly] ruled FI 48 Truth or Friction? How do those PR guys got away with do it? We asked how 52 I am indecisive. No, I’m not Mattias Ekstrom; DTM one week, rallying the next 56 Kanaanorama Tony K stops in before defending his IRL IndyCar title 58 WRXing in Sweden About to jump in the deep end - that’s our Chris Atkinson 62 Hail the King No, page 38 is Brock. This is the king of the dirt... Steve Kinser

mOtOfSDOrt news

HRT's Supersi

classic Madness Kerry Madsen made the vvife happier ...

BEVEAI.K

I"

n Photos; Cover; Marshall Cass.

I Coventry Studios ria'UD I Contents: IRL IndyCar Series, I sutton-images.com

regulars

22 Bikes 66 Speedway

68 Drag Racing

60 Rallying 70 National Scene

75

Marketplace 3

Courtney's HRT Skaife signs V8 rookie for Sandown and Bathurst- and Jim's back too!

by PHIL BRANAGAN THE Holden Racing Team will take a secret weapon to the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 this year-James Courtney.

The Aussie international will join Holden's factory team and drivers Mark Skaife, Todd Kelly and seven time Bathurst winner Jim Richards in the Reds'assault on the classics in two 2005-spec Commodore VZs,the second of which is nearing completion.

The appointment of both Courtney, 24, and Richards is expected to be confirmed at HRT's season launch in Melbourne next Tuesday.

It will be Courtney's first appearance as a V8 Supercar driver, after a career that includes a Japanese Formula 3 crown,a British FF title and a stint as Jaguar Racing's FI test driver. The Sunshine Coast-based

driver, right, will again compete in the Japanese GT Championship this season for Toyota's factory team.

The return of Richards to Clayton poses some interesting questions for the team. Recent practice by HRT and other teams indicates that Skaife and Kelly are likely to share the lead entry, as they did in the last two Bathurst 1000s, leaving Richards and Courtney to share the other Commodore.

Richards drove with HRT in the endurance races in 2002 and '03.

Richo and Skaife are firm friends and the pairing of the duo last time around yielded a stirring win in '02, perhaps prompting ideas that the team may decide to repeat the scenario this season.

However,the following year Richards shared his HRT entry with Tony Longhurst and he not only out-

qualified Skaife (third versus seventh)in the Shoot-out, he finished ahead of the lead car in fifth place after a spirited dice with son Steven.

Last year, Richards father and son teamed up in the races with the Castrol Perkins team but problems at Bathurst(including hitting a kangaroo)left them well down the order.

Recently, Richards Sr was quoted as saying that he felt Steven's best chance of winning Bathurst was with a regular V8 Supercar driver.

Whether that proves to be true, with the two now driving with competing Holden teams, remains to be seen.

In the meantime,both 'Jameses' are expected to have seat time in the HRT cars during the team's six test days during the course of the year in the build-up to the Sandown race on 11 September.

We are going West and we

But will they drive together? Johnson Jr, left, and Seton are looking for successes in their Westpoint Ford BAs. 4

AS MIMews reported exclusively last month, Dick Johnson Racing will look much different this season after securing a new sponsorship deal from Westpoint.

The team has signed a long term deal with what-is one of Australia's largest privatelyowned property and financial services companies and, while no details of the length of the deal have been confirmed, MNews believes that it is for five years, with another five-year option, Johnson and Westpoint Finance National General Manager Sean Niven confirmed the deal at the Brisbane Motorshow yesterday.

"We chose Dick Johnson Racing for a number of reasons," Niven said. "Firstly the team has a following that other sports and teams can only dream of; to be linked to this gives Westpoint an immediate and sizeable profile.

"Secondly; Westpoint is impressed with how Dick

motorsportnews

[«

T i.

mm

V8s go for launch

I

AVESCO will have its official season launch for 2005 next week at Homebush in Sydney. Among all the glitterati and dancing bears at the knees-up, one thing you will see is the new-for-05 and reliveried WPS Safety Cars - which will be missing one thing; four circles on the grilles.

As we told you some months ago, Audi will not be back and a new manufacturer has committed to the deal. No, we will not tell you who it is ... we have to leave some cats in the bag.

i>

: n Also absent is a naming-rights sponsor for the V8 Supercar Development Series. Konica Minolta will not be replaced this season, AVESCO Chairman Tony Cochrane stating on Monday: "The Series will continue as it is. Whether we have a sponsor or not will not impact on it one bit. It has been a great success in the past and I am sure that will not change one bit."

re feeling Blue Johnson Racing goes about doing business. We believe we share a similar operating ideology; we both carefully plan and rigorously execute everything we do. Our businesses are built on the basis of clear and strategic thinking and then forward success."

Johnson pointed out that Westpoint's deal was a boost for the whole category, not just his team.

"Westpoint has never had an association with motorsport but it decided upon V8 Supercars because it is the fastest growing sport in the country.

"The V8 Championship reaches millions at the track and at home, and those that support it are one of the key target demographics for Westpoint's business interests.

Steven Johnson will be joined at DJR by Glenn Seton, who will race for the team for the next two seasons. Long-time DJR sponsors Ford, Shell, Dunlop and Cabcharge stay with the team, though Shell (which has had

9februanr2005

naming rights with the team since 1987) will take a smaller role this season.

Seton said that he is delighted to race for his long-time rival.

"I think that DJR is a team with a lot of history," he said, "Dick has been the Ford icon in Australian motorsport right up to his retirement, simply because of what he has created since the 'Big Banger' days. It was a team that, in the early V8 Supercar days, was our biggest challenger, with Bowie [John Bowel involved and Dick himself, and the rivalry was intense; friendly, but intense."

Likewise, Johnson is enthusiastic about having Seton in his team and is looking to fill in one hole in Glenn's CV-with a win in the Bathurst 1000.

"If there is any one thing I would like to deliver to him, it would be a win at Bathurst," says Dick. "That would make his career a lot more complete.

- PHIL BRANAGAN For more on Johnson and Seton, see pages 32-37

n We just got the nominations for the Australian Sport Awards, which honour excellence in all areas of sport. The major nominees are the usual lot, with square-jawed swimmers and chicken-chewing cyclists, but it is good to see that Network 10 has a nomination for its motorsport coverage. The opposition looks brutal - cycling and lacrosse but we reckon that Bill Woods has until Wednesday 2 March to get the tux pressed and make it to Darling Harbour to smile nicely for the cameras...

Business as usual

n To tackle the new pit stop rules in V8 Supercar, where only two rattle guns are allowed per car per pit stop, Larkham Motor Sport has introduced a 'pit stop practice car' to its workshop, A dedicated pit stop crew has been selected, who will train three times a week at the gym and with the pit stop car. The car is an exLarkham AU. Another Larkham AU that is getting a birthday is the 2000-model Mitre 10 AU that is currently at Gold Coast TAPE. The TAPE, which has a dedicated Motorsport class, are going to restore the car to its former M10 glory. The car is best remembered for Larko's maiden race and round win at Calder Park, In other LMS news, the team are currently constructing a new Palcon BA, which will hopefully be ready for the endurance races in September and October.

DENCAR is back in the hands of co-founder, Dennis Watson.

The Dandenong, Melbourne-based fabrication business, which had been owned by Kees Weel's PWR group of companies, changed hands over the Christmas/New Year period.

The business will continue to operate as usual.

"It is not really news," said Weel on Monday. . "It was just a normal part of business. There is not much to tell."

Dencar will continue its preparation of Holden Commodore V8 Supercar body shells, as well as its k. other

■Sir

m 5

i

n Fans of Stone Brothers Racing can get on down to the champion Ford team's base at Yatala, Queensland, for their annual fun day.

Knowing those SBR jokers, there's sure to be plenty of fun and games for all the family so keep Saturday, Febraury 26 free from 10am-2pm.

5

Buying and Selling 2005 V

MNews on Monday.

"It will definitely be ready for Clipsal. It's a sister car to the HOLDEN'S three HMSone Mark (Skaife) debuted at supplied teams, Holden Symmons Plains last year so it's Racing Team, Kelly Racing ideal to have both of them on Team and Super Cheap Auto l the track as soon as possible."

Racing, have finalised a game The new car is destined for of pre-season car selling.

Todd Kelly to start the 2005 HRT currently has a.car season with. nearing completion in its With HRT's new jigger Clayton workshop, although coming on stream,the flow Team Manager Rob Starr was down effect has seen Kelly non-committail on whether the Racing purchase chassis #048 new chassis #06T would be on and #049 from HRT, Rfck Kelly the girid at Allbert P'air'k. wifi start the season iih: ehassis "Ihe plani is.to have the car #048, w.hieh. was last seen In ready for the Gir-aindi PisIx,:b:ut the hands of Jason Plato it's too eaidy to say," he told before it helped John Cleland flip onto his roof in the „i

by GRANT ROWLEY

#049 was the car that Skaife drove in 2004 until handing it to T.Kelly for the final three rounds of the year. HRT will not pass #049 down to KRT until the new chassis is complete. Garth Tander will begin the season in KRT's current chassis #043(the '03 Bathurst winner) before the team take delivery of #049.

The net effect of this sees KRT sell Greg Murphy's old chassis #046 to his new team SCAR CPWR Racing:). The car is a favourite of Murph's and the team's new recruit yyill use ji| this year. Chassis #046 is^ best remembered for itsjhaffl^ in the Kiwi's 2002 fathuiS five

ii

Chris Csrler

GT bad - V8 good

THE cancellation of the Shanghai round of the Japanese GT Championship set for May will impact on the V8 Supercar race at the same track - but oniy in a positive way.

The demise of the Japanese fixture means that the way is now clear for the AVESCO race to take centre-stage, according to Chairman Tony Cochrane.

“What have we got to do with Japanese GTs?” Cochrane said on Monday.

“The only impact that this has tor our race will be a positive one.

It gives us a free run into our race in Shanghai.”

Sources indicate that there was nervousness about the proximiy of the two dates late last year and that the promoters of the GT event pulled the pin early to avoid running too close to the V8 date. We believe that the GT race may be rescheduled tor 2005 with an autumn date, possibly in September.

6

Ingall anmRogers U

Two of the heavy hitters in Australian V8 Supercar racing unveiled their 2005 war paint last week.

Russell Ingall, who finished second in the Supercar Series last year, will drive the entire season with Vortex 98 on the doors after originally promoting the Caltex high-octane fuel at the final round of the last year's championship at Eastern Creek.

The popular Stone Brothers Racing star is confident the new scheme will impress the punters.

"I think it looks pretty mean," he said at the launch at the Brisbane International Motor Show.

"I think the designers have got it pretty right with this one."

Garry Rogers on the other hand has totally revamped his cars design after several

f

Rotorua to ^ailenge ^V8 round NEW Zealand's north island city Rotorua has expressed its interest to the NZ Government,IMG and AVESCO about holding a street race in 2006.

Up to four circuits remain a chance to host next year's race, including Rotorua, Hampton Downs, Manfeild or the proposed Wellington street race.

Ideally, AVESCO wants a race close to Auckand - the most popluated area in NZ. Rotorua is a three-hour drive from Auckland.

The original five-year deal that saw the V8 Supercars venture over to New Zealand ends in April this year. It will be the last time the Supercars visit Pukekohe due to the sub-standard facilities and the track's increased involvement in horse racing.

Auckland was originally slated to hold a round of the championship in 2006, however, traffic issues within the capital city forced the local government to shelve the plans at the request of some disgruntled locals. motorsporinews

iV

l/ar Paint Unveiled

1

IB

covets off their respectivm new seasohweapoh^ B R

f .<i

‘ :ii

S B

3^ Convention S Exhibition .- e

R £

V

It

N

ic

I'61

yi-link

>1

ej. -i

*

'^3 \

A 1

Wimsepca

Nick to suss MW's joint

NICK Cooper is the winner of Motorsport News's Check out Mark's Place Competition.

The Tasmanian's entry was adjudged the winner from hundreds entered for the contest, which will allow Nick and his wife Catherine to fly to Melbourne to attend the 2005 Fosters Australian Grand Prix for all four days, with five nights' accommodation. Pit Lane Walk Passes and get some GP merchandise.

As well, the Coopers will have a tour of the BMW.Williams pit complex with none other than Mark Webber.

"I spent a fair bit of time on the entry," said a delighted Cooper.

"I have never been to the Grand Prix before but I am a long-time fan. I have never entered the competition before but it is a great prize."

Thanks to all who entered the competion.

9 February 2005

Doing it in the streets THE AGP and Melbourne City Council confirmed this week what we told you a few weeks back - that there will be a full-on GP car parade through the streets of Melbourne on the Wednesday prior to the event (March 2).

Sponsored by Cadbury Schweppes, the 'circuit' will wind along Flinders Street, left into St Kilda Road for a u-turn outside the Arts Centre, back to a right-hander at Collins Street, another right at Russell Street, to rejoin Flinders. The parade is scheduled for 12.30pm.

We await final confirmation of the other big AGP promotion - a sprint across Sydney Harbour Bridge by Mark Webber in a Williams on the Sunday prior to the big race. n Australian Drag Racing is heading to China.

The Bob Jane initiative will see more than 10 of Australia's best drag cars, including four Top Doorslammers, two Alcohol Cars, two Funny Cars, plus a pair of Jet Cars and a bunch of quick steet cars head to Shanghai International Circuit in either April or May this year.

A number of high-profile Aussie racers have confirmed their attendance, including Victor and Ben Bray and Rachelle Splatt, n Further to our drag news item regarding the landing of the first new generation Pro Stock car in Australia (see page 68) our spies tell us that Pontiac's first quarter-mile racing version of the GTO will be tested in the windtunnel this week. With drag legend Warren Johnson and current Champ Greg Anderson both expected to debut GTOs later in the year, could we see a Holden Monaro version on Aussie tracks soon after?

«

seasons with only slight changes to the corporate colours.

As with 2004, Repco dominates the side of the car while loyal oil GRM supporter Valvoline remains the main focus on the bonnet.

New team signing Andrew Jones will partner Cameron McConville in his second year with the Victorian team.

mm

■ James Cressy will utilise the services of Paul Cruickshank Racing for his attack on the 2005 Carrera ' Cup Championship with his '04-spec CCup car that was used by Tim Harvey in last year's British series.

■ As if meeting David Besnard in the flesh is not a big enough thrill, imagine how Sheryl Sacher felt when he gave her the keys to a new car.

Bezzy handed over the keys to the Brighton East, Melbourne resident last week, below, after she won the 'Win a Ford XR8' competition, conducted on WPS Racing's website (www.wps.net.au).

WPS Racing team owner Craig Gore thanked all entrants for their participation and promised to introduce a similar competition for the 2005 season. Let's hope it goes to Brighton East again ...

7

●r

Dynamik case set to go ahead But... what then?

THE FIA International Court of Appeal will hear the matter brought by Team Dynamik on February 24 but it may be some time before the appeal is concluded.

The Court will hear written submissions overTD's appeal over its penalty applied by the V8 Supercar Court of Appeal, which came after the team was found to have breached the category's testing regulations by conducting a test at Woomera in South Australia in late August, 2003.

But the FIA court must first determine whether TD's appeal falls within its jurisdiction. Should that be proved,the court will then set a date for a hearing later in the year.

Should the court find that the matter does not fall within its jurisdiction, the any ongoing appeals will depend on what Team Dynamik principal Kieran Wills decides to do next.

Heidfeli

Kart!

by JOE SAWARD

Karthikeyan and Monteiro at Jordan

THE new Midland-owned Jordan Formula 1 has announced that it has signed India's Narain Karthikeyan, right, and Portugal's Tiago Monteiro for 2005.

The team is also talking about running tests witlr Russian driver Roman Rusinov in the future.

While this is good for the sport in some ways,in that it will create more interest in India and in Russia, the decision to go into the new season with drivers without any Formula 1 experience is either brave or foolish.

It is not unusual for Formula 1 team newcomers to seriously imderestimate the level of performance in FI because they have been successful in lower formulae.

This was seen clearly with BAR, which relied heavily on Reynard, and also Toyota, which was successful in rallying and sports car racing before entering FI. The Midland team is headed by Colin Kolles, a Rumanian who has had some limited success in Formula 3 and by Trevor Carlin, the boss of Carlin Motorsport, which has had considerable success in recent years in the British Formula 3 Championship.

Both Karthikeyan and Monteiro are men who are well known to Carlin, having driven for his Carlin Motorsport in the junior formulae.

Karthikeyan was Carlin's first Formula 3 driver in 1997 and went on to win the team's first F3 race in 1999.

Karthikeyan also won a race for Carlin in the Nissan World Series.

Monteiro raced successfully for Carlin in the Nissan World Series.

Rusinov has a decent pedigree having come out of the French Formula Campus series and gone on to Formula Palmer Audi and European Formula 3000.

The arrival of Midland

WHILE Nick Heidfeld has been announced as Mark Webber's 2005 team-mate, the deal is on a race-by-race basis.

However,the chances of the German being hauled out of the car are slim, unless his level of performance slips markedly as time goes on which seems unlikely.

Whether Williams is prepared to admit it or not.

rr

management has not been smooth however with a number of Jordan staff either leaving or resigning in recent days. The most important of these is technical director Mark Smith who joined the team just a few weeks ago after completing the "gardening leave" which followed his departure from Renault FI last summer.

Rumours that Gary Anderson will take the role of technical director are not true. Anderson is working as a consultant to Dallara on a part-time basis on the Midland FI project but we have heard rumours that even he is not happy and is quitting that role.

-JOE SAWARD

Gnnding Teeth Ferrari points finger at'quick' gearboxes THE design of the latest generation of FI gearboxes is being challenged by at least one team.

It is being suggested that that the latest generation of gearboxes, which feature extremely fast changes (that can be measured in just a few milliseconds) amount to continuously variable transmission.

But amounting to CVT and being CVT are two completely different things. The rules, as they are written, state that "continuously variable transmission systems are not permitted".

The idea of CVT has been around since the 1960s but it was not until the 1990s that the Van Doom company in Holland invented a belt strong enough to meet the requirements. CVT is the most efficient means of transmission for a car, linking the input shaft from the engine directly to the output shaft to the drive systems.

It continuously adapts to provide the optimum power required and does away with the need for a

gearbox. With CVT,the transmission ratio can be varied to allow for an infinite number of ratios.

This is,clearly not the case with the current generation of FI gearboxes, which have a set number of gear ratios - usually seven. There must therefore be a break in drive as one shaft switches to another.

The point of interest is the speed at wliich this is now being achieved by the latest cars like BAR-Honda's 007, right.

According to the teams we have spoken to, the issue of transmission development has been raised

by Ferrari. The Italian team has been claiming that costs have been accelerating as quickly as the gearboxes but the other teams say that this is not the case at all. They say that while gearboxes are marginally more expensive to manufacture, they now last considerable longer and so are much more cost-effective.

-JOE SAWARD

motorsport news

f--

T i

i gets the BMW Nod the signing was also likely affected by the need to keep the relationship with BMW on the straight and narrow. There have been suggestions that Munich is less than happy with Williams performance over the past couple of seasons and could look at alternatives for 2007 although there are no obvious leading teams likely to be in the market for a new engine deal at that time.

An unhappy Antonio

►-

Pizzonia, told of the decision less than 30 minutes before the team launch last week, has initially suggested that he will stay on as test and reserve driver - although the subsequent sighting of his manager boarding a plane for Detroit suggests the Brazilian is checking out the options in the US.

Should he depart, it may leave the Williams team slightly vulnerable in terms of a test/reserve driver. Most

Brodie is back ROSS Brodie is back. The long-time motorsports man at Shell is now handing the sponsorship end of Westpoint, DJR's new sponsor. Now that's what we call creating continuity ...

experienced options are under contract elsewhere - although Webber and Heidfeld both exhibit a strong workload capacity when it comes to test work.

With 2005 settled, the interest will now come later this year when the level of BAR'S performance will dictate whether Williams takes up an option on Jenson Button, at Heidfeld's expense.

See page 42 for more on the new Williams and Webber's impressions

n Nicolas Kiesa is a likely candidate for the second seat at Minardi for 2005, alongside Dutch driver Christijan Albers.

Stepping up from Formula 3000, the Dane made his Formula 1 debut for Minardi in 2003, replacing Justin Wilson (who had left to join Jaguar Racing) for five races, Albers, Kiesa and Israeli driver, 41-year-old Chanoch Nissany, all tested this week at Misano, although icy conditions at the Italian venue kept them back to only one day. n The Istanbul Otodrom is now nearing completion in preparation for the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix on August 21. Designed by Flerman Tilke, the Turkish circuit will have 14 corners and a main grandstand that will accommodate 25,000 people.

The overall seating capacity of the racing track, located on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, is 130,000.

●

I

&uct

I

1 I

"^lianz

RBS

i^EwmmRAS^ ^

ORIS

2

Planned DNFs?

Theissen points to loophole in new rule

h UfCJCy STRIKE

owracow

MU” »

rr

9 February 2005

i

ma

BMW technical director Mario Thiessen has highlighted an anomaly in the 2005 'two-race' engine regulations.

Speaking at the launch of the BMW.Williams FW27 in Valencia, Thiessen, right, was outlining how the drivers would operate under a reduced rpm regime during practice and went on to query the penalty system for those who have to change an engine ahead of time.

"The penalty for an engine fault will be considerably tougher than for any other component," he said.

"Replacing the engine before first I qualifying will result in a 10-place , „ demotion on the grid, and after i I qualifying, it is demotion to the back ' of the grid. Only if the driver fails to IS finish the race can the engine be : I replaced without penalty, so the

■ Renault FI boss Patrick Faure says that it is by no means certain that the team will stop using Mild Seven after the end of July 2005 when new British and European legislation comes into force to stop tobacco advertising. This is an interesting attitude, given that the European Union has a directive which states that "sponsorship of events or activities involving or taking place in several member states or otherwise haying cross-border effects shall be prohibited" after July 31. British American Racing boss Nick Fry recently said that: "Clearly for races in the EU, we cannot advertise on the car beyond July of this year", but Renauit does not agree, Eaure said that "it is not clear to us what the European Union ruie is after July 31."

■ Jordan Grand Prix technical director Mark Smith has departed the Silverstone team following its takeover by the Midland Group.

Smith had only returned to Jordan last month, having left for Renault FI in 2000.

environment will be very demanding in 2005.

"There is also a question mark in the new rules, as a driver may deliberately fail to finish a race in order to have the advantage of a new engine for the next GP," he said.

■ With a view to the future.

Lucky Strike BAR Flonda ran three young drivers, all with a solid success rate in Formula 3, at the Valencia circuit in Spain this week.

Adam Carroll, James Rossiter and Alan van der Merwe were given evaluation runs in an interim car while the team also ran its new car for Takuma Sato and Jenson Button and test driver Anthony Davidson over all three days.

- SPURRING/SAWARD/STAFF

9

r. l

Minardi takes a plunge All-new car, all-new drivers, and two Jordans in the crosshairs

suuon-tmagcs.com

MINARDI will launch an allnew car for 2005 as it aims to leap-frog over Jordan and move up the FI grid.

The cash-strapped Anglo/ltalian team has run the same chasses over the last three seasons. In fact, one of the team's 2004 racecars was the same chassis in which Mark Webber scored fifth on debut at Albert Park in 2002!

With development of the team's 2004 stilted, the technical department of the Faenza-based team concentrated on the new-for2005 rules for most of last season, with one eye on vaulting past Eddie Jordan's team this year.

The PS05 is said to have a radical aero package, featuring a different nose and engine cover to anything seen to date.

"Our preparations are going really well," Minardi principal Paul Stoddart told autosport.com.

"The new car is due to be ready in time to be racing at Imola and it will be a radical change. You haven't seen a Minardi that looks like this, I can tell you."

While a final date for the car's unveiling is yet to be set, as we were olosing for press the team was close to completing its driver line-up for 2005 with Denmark's Nicolas Kiesa due to be named as Christijan Albers's team-mate.

The team's third driver has not yet been named, however there are a number of candidates with their names in the hat.

Stoddy opens fire AUSSIE team owner Paul Stoddart is leading the bid by'The Nine' (non-Ferrari) FI teams to convey their displeasure to the FIA concerning the way plans for the future of the sport have been implemented.

The FIA chose this week to release some documents that have flowed between the two groups,including a lengthy letter from Stoddart to Max Mosley, wlrich outlines the reasons that the teams and the FIA have become increasingly estranged in recent months. It is clear from this letter that Stoddart is representing the views of the others teams.

"Rightly or wrongly," Stoddart wrote,"the events of the past six 10

months have left the vast majority of the team principals feeling that the FIA and indeed yourself are working against the teams on most issues and are moving further and further away from the role of independent regulator.

"The purpose of this letter is to try to avert a further season of conflict

and controversy."

The letter calls into question the legality of the 2005 Formula 1 rules and regulations.

"Many teams were concerned that the process and procedure had not been followed," the letter says, "notably that the fax vote had been sent on 19 October requiring a response three days later and stating

that if no such response was received, the FIA would consider that the proposals meet with the approval of the non-respondee".

In his conclusions Stoddart said that "the whole debate has done little to dissuade the teams from an ever-

increasing view that the FIA only exists to protect Ferrari and Ferrari's interests.

"It cannot look good for the sport when on the face of it one team can exert so much influence particularly as it appears, in the absence of any other credible explanation that this influence may have caused the FIA, a so-called independent body to abandon its stated objective."

-JOE SAWARD

Gordon’s Gone WELL-KNOWN Formula 1 designer Gordon Murray has left McLaren after 18 years with the organisation.

In recent years Murray has been involved with the design of the McLaren road cars but, when he joined the team in 1986, he was one of the most respected of all the Formula 1 designers, having won world championships with Brabham in 1981 and 1983.

Fie designed the Brabham BT42 and its successors, which explored such unusual ideas as surface cooling and the famous Brabham ‘fan car’, which applied an idea tried by Chaparral in CanAm to suck the air from beneath the car to create ground-effect. The car was outlawed by the FIA. Fie went on to design the BT55, a radical design that was so low that it became known as the ‘skateboard Brabham’.

Murray was also involved in the success of McLaren in the late 1980s and his McLaren FI road car won the Le Mans 24 Flours at its first attempt in 1995. f.'

£ ©

- JOE SAW/^D -■ -i '●

1 sutlomimiificsxom

moiorsportnews

T i

Marlboro Masters no more -V»

AS winter's FI testing program continues in Spain, one thing is clear - no-one has taken their eyes off Ferrari.

Michael Schumacher and Rubens

THE Dutch government has just ratified the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which will spell the end of Marlboro's sponsorship of the annual Formula 3 race known as the Marlboro Masters.

The future of the event will now depend on the locals being able to find alternate sponsorship to keep the race going. The Marlboro Masters has been one of the most important F3 events for the last 15 years, the list of winners including David Coulthard, Jos Verstappen, Takuma Sato and Christian Klien.

Ferraris are fast, it is not entirely clear which cars are running what.

Ferrari will run a development of its 2004 car, called the F2004M,above, complete with front 'under-wing'on the nose, m the first four races of the season and, until the cars appear at

Albert Park in March, the opposition is hoping that the Scuderia is stiU playing games.

Schumacher topped a recent test at Valencia, beating Jenson Button's BAR-Honda by almost 0.4s on the same dayover the course of more than 120 laps. Barrichello was third fastest from Nick Heidfeld.

One car that we can be sure is in 2005-spec is the Renault R25. Both blue cars looked impressively stable from the time they took to the track in Valencia and,better, the cars' new VIO engines have run rehably. Alonso's

lml0.309s was the only time within cooee of Schumacher and opposition teams are clearly impressed with the new car from Enstone.

In the light of all that, Alex Wurz turned in the fastest lap of the week at Valencia in his McLaren, which was a 2004/05 hybrid. He was seventenths clear of Alonso, who broke into the nines in his Renault.

WHILE testing times remain an inaccurate guide, all the signs are that the new Renault R25, with its unique V-keel front suspension layout, is going to be a very competitive car indeed.

MNews' pitlane spies are suggesting that Renault, Ferrari and McLaren look, at this early stage, to have created 2005 contenders which look good 'out of the box'- although Ferrari's 2004M is, of course, an interim, car for the first four races.

"This year it is necessary that

we win races, with a plural," Renault FI chairman Patrick Faure said this week.

It is an important year for Renault because of the arrival in a couple of months of new chairman Carlos Ghosn, who will have to decide whether or not it is worth investing in FI if the results do not justify the investment. He will also decide whether or not he thinks that the team management needs to be changed.

At the launch of the new car, Flavio Briatore was telling the

media that he might decide not to stay when his contract with Renault runs out at the end of the year. There is no certainty, however, that he will be offered a new contract.

Development of the R25's aerodynamics has been disrupted somewhat because chief aerodynamicist Dino Toso is fighting cancer at the moment and so his deputy John Tomlinson has played an important role. The team will soon get the additional expertise of James Allison who ■s currently enjoying 'gardening eave', having left Ferrari late

Barrichello have emerged from their holidays to join test drivers Luca Badoer and Marc Gene and while the

Meanwhile,Minardi's planned test at Misano last week was cut short due to snow,at the same time as a lack of snow may change conditions in the WRC round this weekend in Sweden...

- JOE SAWARD

9 February 2005

n McLaren protege Lewis Hamilton has signed to drive for the ASM team in the Formula 3 Euroseries.

The team dominated the series last year with its three drivers Jamie Green, Alexandre Premat and Eric Salignon finishing first, second and sixth in the series. n Paolo Colon! has declared his ambition to return the family name to Formula 1, and is to establish a UK base for his Colon! Motorsport GP2 team. He has appointed as its technical consultant Sergio Rinland, the Argentine engineer who has worked in the RAM, Williams, Brabham, Dallara, Forti, Benetton and Sauber FI teams.

Coloni's father, Enzo Colon!, ran an unsuccessful FI team between 1987 and 1991, when he sold out to Andrea Sassetti, who relaunched it as Andrea Moda. The team has been a front-runner in recent FIA Formula 3000 seasons. Its Dallara-buiit GP2 cars will be raced by 2004 Minardi Formula 1 driver Gianmaria Bruni and probably Richard Antinucci. n Minardi has signed Israeli Chanoch Nissany as an official test driver for 2005. The move creates a piece of motorsport history for Israel but Nissany is 41 and only started competing in motorsport only three years ago.

A Budapest resident, Nissany has carried out occasional tests for Jordan Grand Prix and Minardi, and has competed in three FIA Formula 3000 races for Colon! Motorsport.

In Israel, after confirming that Nissany will not take part in any Friday Grand Prix testing, Minardi chief Paul Stoddart explained: "I derive considerable satisfaction from the fact that, once again, Minardi is able to contribute in a practical way to the very worthwhile goal of raising the awareness of Formula 1 in an area of the world where the sport has not previously had a significant profile. That can only be a good thing."

-SAWARD/SPURRIIMG

11

Sonic's new boom Aussie Reynolds and Jane to lead Sonic Motorsport's inaugural tin-top attack

Briscoe, Ambrosi

by GRANT ROWLEY SONIC IVlotorsport is likely to field two Porsche GT3s for David Reynolds and Rodney Jane in the 2005 Australian Carrera Cup Championship.

Sonic and Reynolds teamed together last year to win the prestigious Formula Ford championship. Reynolds is close to finalising his sponsorship package for the new season, but as MNews went to press, the 19-year-old could not confirm that he would complete the entire season.

"It's a category that I really want to do," said the reigning FFord Champ.

"But at the moment, I haven't completely sealed the deal, so I won't start counting the chickens until they've all hatched."

Reynolds succesfully tested a Porsche at Calder with Greg Murphy Racing last last year.

Jane has entered his own Bob Jane T-Marts-backed car for the past two years but has elected to drive for the rookie team in 2005. The team will

THE Aussie assault on the

SUrdulI C^ts

use Jane's two current Porsches.

It will be a busy year for the Champion Victorian team. Not content with running just two Porsches, the team will field two Formula Fords for David Sieders and Dean Fiore in the National championship while entering two other FFords for Victorian State runners Todd Fiore and Tim Blanchard.

The Champ wants a GTS: Reynolds, right, will team with Rodney lane, above, at the expanded Sonic Motorsport.

.V'

/

other forms of racing he has tried his hand at over the past few years, so he was the ideal candidate. We've had a relationship with him in the past from our Formula Flolden days, so we know how well he operates."

Gurr, who is currently in the midst of a long term driver management contract with Paul Morris Motorsport, will carry Sirromet and Konica Minolta backing, as well as namingrights support from Glenfords Tool Centres this year.

- GRANT ROWLEY

^visdh

0, ^jw0sm —' Tool Centres

Labricants

/ohn Morris/Mpix

12

Cr-:

Formula Qu

Gurr goes with Glenfords ALAN Gurr has been confirmed as Greg Murphy Racing's second Glenfords Tool Centre driver for the 2005 Australian Carrera Cup Championship.

Gurr will join '04 driver Fabian Coulthard and another yet-to-be-named pilot in the Championship-winning team.

Team boss Kevin Murphy,the father of four time Bathurst winner Greg, said the addition of Alan is a bonus for his Victorian team.

"We believe he is going to go very well," Murphy said.

"Alan has been extremely competent in all

Daytona 24 Hour came to nothing last weekend,with both entries striking problems.

Tire all-Down Under entry of Marcos Ambrose,Craig Baird,Paul Morris and John Teulan was looking like a contender in tire race when the car stopped with gearbox problems in the ninth hour. The effort had an early setback when Morris crashed the TRG Porsche GTS, right, in the first qualifying session and,after repairs, Ambrose set a time good enough to place the car third in class. ^ However, part of the accident damage was to the rear engine cover and,following scrutineering, the rear wing would found to be around 10mm too high on one side.

As a result, the car started at the rear of the grid.

A strong opening stint by Baird put the car in contention for tlie class lead until the car stopped after 271 laps with its gearbox woes.

In the Daytona Prototype class, Ryan Briscoe's endurance racing

Power still in the loop WILL Power is still gunning for a drive in Europe for 2005, despite a late end to negotiations with Worid Series

by Renauit team Draco.

The Queenslander had been working on securing a deal with the Italian outfit, for which he tested late last year, however the deal to race for the team is believed to have fallen through.

Power remains upbeat, however, and said that he still has a few options in the air.

"We’re still talking to a few people,” he told MNews.

“The World Series by Renault drive would have been ideal, because I felt that the car really suited me, but there’s still some time to get something else organised. You never know what can happen.”

Power, who competed in British F3 last year and tested a Minardi FI car at Misano last November, is likely to return to Europe in the next couple of weeks in an effort to get his 2005 program finalised.

-MARKGLENDENNING

motorsport news

ET7F1

T

s Daytona Destiny

a

5 3 ' D O 5r

KIWI Matthew Halliday tested a Champ Car at Sebring for the Mi-Jack Conquest team last Friday. But the test almost did not happen.

"I was in the hospital sick as a dog and I finally left about Bam, and then came here and rested until 10;30," said Halliday.

"I felt like death but I didn't want to miss this. I think it went pretty well, we ran a lot of laps, and I felt pretty good in the car. This is a good team. They've got good people. I think they're on the verge of doing something really good here."

Halliday ran over six hours in the Mi-Jack/Conquest Reynard.

Nissan World Series runner Bruce Jouanny joined Halliday in testing for Mi-Jack, while former Jordan FI Friday driver Timo Clock joined Ryan Hunter-Reay in testing for Rocketsports.

!and Co couldn't match the Pontiac SunTrust team career could not have got off to a better start when Scott Pruett

year-old Elliott ForbesRobinson.

Without doubt the two most popular chassis are the Riley and Crawford, with a multitude of powerplants from GM,Ford,Porsche, BMW and Lexus/Toyota.

Multimatic, Doran,Fabcar and Chase aU seem to be the less desirable chassis with a handful extra of both the

put the Lexus-RiJey he shared with Briscoe and Luis Diaz on pole position in qualifying.

Pruett led the field away but the car was slowed by an accident when Diaz was driving, which cost the team 23 laps while repairs were made.

More delays in the second half of the race relegated the car to 48th place.

"This was just a huge race for me overall from a career

Crawford and RUey cars electing to make their debut Aussie, Aussie, Aussie: at Homestead-Miami next month to Ambrose, Baird, Morris and Tuelan held further swell the fields for future standpoint," said Briscoe. "I really their own in the tough American races. enjoyed the camaraderie and look forward to getting another shot at it Sportscar classic.

Some of the cars aren't pretty and as one 'old school' crew chief again next year." final two hours with a broken At the end of tv\'o laps around the stated,"Everyone who's been clock, the Riley Technologies Pontiac gearbox. At the time the Crawford around Sportscar racing long enough knows that these cars are shit boxes, SunTrust team of Wayne Taylor, Max was just seconds behind the SunTrust car, which went on to Angelelli and Emmanuel Collard but everyone is driving the same shit box." came up trumps after only one clinch the victory after completing With NASCAR behind the series it minor 'off' for Collard tlirough the 2527 miles or 710 laps. night, Tire deciding factor in the race The latter team did rally to finish can only grow if they continue to was the demise of the Andy Wallace, third on the podium behind fellow keep the rules tight.

- MARTIN D CLARK/ Boss Crawford stablemates Jimmie Tony Stewart and Jan Lammersdriven Crawford Pontiac inside the PHIL MORRIS Johnson, Butch Leitzinger and 62-

estion Mark

3 8

vr OS openwheel seat

Wil l

r

I

Powei

Finding a higher Power: Will Power is holding onto the overseas dream.

9 February 2005

Cameron McLean's foray into the 2005 Aulfralfa^Sarrora Cup Championship will carry the backing of Sherrin Hire - and he ,says that he will be looking at taking home trophies in his first year in the category.

McLean has picked up backing from Mike Sherrin, who is a keen motor sport competitor himself.

McLean's Porsche GTS wjll carry Sherrin's company logo, like the Porsche, above,that Sherrin co-drove with Alister Bye at the recent Mount Buller Sprint event in Victoria high country.

"I'm really excited about this series," said the former driver of just about anything that has four wheels and an engine.

"They are fantastic cars, the organisation of the series is second-to-none and you get to race at all the great tracks around the country.

McLean will use Scott Shearman's ex-GT3, and said he wants to win races in his first year.

"We are looking at giving Jim Richards a fair old push along.

The competition this year is going to be really tough but we'll be going for the wins, no doubt."

McLean will test the car twice before his debut Carrera Cup event at the Australian Grand Prix.

- GRANT ROWLEY

Halliday sick for Champ Cars

n As predicated by MNews Issue #300, a British driver will contest limited rounds of the V8 Development series.

British Le Mans youngster Adam Sharpe will join the series, driving for Darrel Dixon's Fortec Motorsport, from the fourth round at Queensland Raceway in July. In the meantime, he will drive Binnie Motorsport's new Lola/McLaren LMP2 in the Le Mans Endurance Series in America while completing his university studies.

Dixon is currently searching for a driver to contest the first three rounds of the development series in the ex-Dexion Racing Ford Falcon.

Sharpe carriers dual AustralianBritish nationality. n Work is currently going on at Brands Hatch to increase the run-off areas at the exit of the Druids hairpin and at Graham Hill Bend. These are part of a programme to improve track safety before the arrival of the A1 Grand Prix series in September. It will include a realignment of the Westfield bend to allow for more run-off areas. n It will be boffin heaven at the upcoming Australian Motorsport Show in Melbourne, with a series of technical and business motorsport seminars having been included in the proceedings.

Among the topics being covered will be international motorsport marketing, e-commerce/website development, rollcage design, aero, brakes, and safety gear. Included among the speakers will be FPR's John Russell, Bernard Twist from the UK-based Advance Composites Group, and Stand 21 Engineering's Gerald Bonnet.

Entry to the seminars is free for all visitors to the Australian Motorsport Show. The show, being held at the Royal Exhibition Buildings in Carlton, runs from 18-20 February, For more information, call 03 9598 9101.

-JOESAWARD/STAFF

13

Send Me in Ceach!

A rebuilt Dumbrell says he is ready for racing, not politics

Piquet.

Two decades afterim

CHRISTIAN Jones Motorsport has acquired some well-pedigreed machinery for the 2005 Asian Formula Three Championship, having bought top cars from both the Championship and Scholarship classes of last year's British Formula Three series.

CJM will soon take

A .

#/

y♦ 4 n

\

k\

t-'

.

II f -

-

It-

'i.

W.

AFTER a successful shoulder reconstruction, Paul Dumbrell is looking forward to the 2005 V8 Supercar season and is not going to sidetracked by the fact that his place on the grid is in jeopardy after the Licences swap that went on during the off-season.

Team Perkins Racing, the outfit run

by Larry Perkins, wiU compete in 2005 imder tw'o Level 2 liceneces, neither of which have guaranteed starting positions m the 32 car capacity grid races.

Two wildcards will be selected by Wayne Cattach, CEO of AVESCO, and one of those has been confirmed for Dumbrell's Bathurst-winning team-mate Steven Richards.

Dumbrell, though, is not letting the media discussion affect his pre season regime.

"I trust Larry and have left all the politics up to him," he said.

"I'm reading in the papers what

everyone is saying and doing but it is not fazing me.I'm there to do a job and I plan on making the most of the opportunity at Team Perkins Racing.

"The shoulder reconstruction went reaUy well. I'm building up a lot of strength and it will be ready for the opening race at the Grand Prix."

Dumbrell was also confident that a seat alongside Richards in the endurance races would be his -if he can prove himself worthy.

"Over the past couple of years, teams who have put their two regular

drivers together have achieved the most success. I think the same wUl be said this year, and to have both myself and Richo together would be the best outcome.If I can prove I'm capable of backing him up,then I think we'll make a strong combination."

One change this year is that Dumbrell will race a Commodore VY/VZ and not an older car, as he did in 2004 when he started the

QUALCO/VW

aui:otr/ y’VOKDHAM

championship in a VX,above.

- GRANT ROWLEY

A Lesson in Numerology $6^ A CHANGE is as good as a holiday. That's the reasoning behind Paul Morris's move to number 67 for this year's V8 Supercar Championship Series, abandoning his usual number,29.

Morris has decided that he would like a change, and so the fresh number was acquired.

101

Why 67? It is the year of Morris's birth.

Seems sensible enough, as long as you are open about age-related matters.

The Britek gang have also revealed their numbers for the new season, adopting the opposing numbers philosophy with Steve Owen to run 25 and Matthew White 52 on their Britek Motorsport BA Falcons.

The Fleet of Feet gets PCR Seat PHILLIP Scifleet will replace Marcus Zukanovic in the Paul Cruickshank Racing AU Falcon for the 2005 V8 Supercar Development Series.

Cruickshank was quick to snap up the Sydneysider to partner Warren Luff after Zukanovic was forced to

ACTRON A/R

pull out of the drive due to the increasing business commitments of his family's automotive body repair business in Melbourne.

Zukanovic has moved back to Melbourne after being based in Queensland close to the PCR team in 2004, and will now focus his attention on winning the 2005 V8 Utes g Championship.

Tm really disappointed to miss out j| after a solid year in 2004.1 was 1 looking forward to developing on

what I had learned to hopefully go well this year," said Zukanovic.

"I'm just going to have to do a bit of work and look forward to 2006. But there is always the ute and I'm more fired up than ever to go well in that.

With the ute,it is only a weekend thing,but if I do V8s,I want to be full committed and that's still where I want to be."

Zukanovic is also Ukely to appear in the Commodore Cup series. His father Mick is a prolific builder of the cars and is keen to get Marcus into a car to prove their worth.

Scifleet had a limited campaign in 2004, only competing in the first half of the season after falling out with Rupprecht Motorsport.

-CHRIS JORDAN

motorsport news

T i

Jones swap their cars!

f'r Dads fought out the world title, Christian gets Nelsinho’s Dallara delivery of the Piquet Sports Dallara F303 that was driven to third in the championship

by Nelson Piquet Jr, and the TSport Dallara F300 that was driven to victory in the Scholarship class by Ryan Lewis. The latter is a former Carlin Motorsport car that has seen service at the hands of Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson.

"These new cars for my team will ensure that CJM continues to be competitive and I look forward to continuing my relationship with Neil Brown Engineering with the supply of the powerful Mugen engines," said Jones.

Jones looks set to race one of the cars himself as he goes out to defend the title that he

won last year, and says that he is currently looking at additional drives throughout the year that will not clash with his Asian F3 commitments, including the F3 race at Indy in October. The second seat is still up for grabs.

The Asian F3 season will kick off in the Philippines on

Brabs’s Aston mates named ASTON Martin Racing has finalised deals with David Brabham, Tomas Enge, Peter Kox, Pedro Lamy, Stephane Ortelli and Darren Turner to race its new DBR9 GT racecar in its 2005 programme, which will begin next month in the 12 Hours of Sebring. All the drivers drove the new car in the ALMS test at Sebring on 31 January. n BAR intends to race in Australia next month with a radical new gearbox, developed by Honda, which is said hardly to interrupt power delivery. Rival teams have suggested that the new transmission is a form of continuously variable transmission, which is banned in Formula 1, but Honda VP Otmar Szanfnauertold Autosport. "In our system, there's a break in power, so it doesn't breach the FIA regulations.

The system is a lot quicker than before, but it's not a CVT." The gearbox also has a finite number of gear ratios, unlike a CVT.

April 10.

n Durango Formula, the Italian team that is making the switch from FIA Formula 3000 to the new GP2 category, has signed Ferninando Monfardini and Clivio Piccione for 2005. Monfardini drove for the Durango-affiliated AEZ team in last year's F3000 championship, while Piccione won in the British Formula 3 series with Carlin Motorsport.

lll

while Davors car's at BRM

LEADING Australian F3 team BRM will take delivery of its new Dallara F304 this week.

car at Albert Park.

"I have driven the 04 model Dallara at Bahrain and Spa,

The team has bought the ex-Menu Motorsport car that was driven by Australia's Will Davison for much of the British Formula 3 championship last year. It will be driven

by Barton Mawer in the Australian Grand Prix support races, after which it could either remain in Australia or be flown out to compete in the Asian F3 series. iVtawer, who is looking to return to the British F3 Scholarship class this season after debuting in the series last year, said that he was looking forward to sampling the

so to be in another 04 at Albert Park is really great for continuity," said Mawer.

"It will be a great help not.to have to switch between models while I'm getting ready to race overseas again."

BRM, meanwhile, has confirmed that it wiU run Tim Slade, Nic Jordan and Marc Williams in 2005, and may possibly add further drivers to the line-up in coming weeks.

- MARK GLENDENNING

n Lewis Hamilton has landed a plum drive for the 2005 F3 Euro Series battle. Hamilton, a race winner in the championship for Manor Motorsport last year, has switched to ASM, which took Jamie Green to last year's title.

The decision has been taken in consultation with Hamilton's manager Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren's CEO) and this marks a thawing of relations, which had become decidedly frosty last year after Hamilton wanted to go GP2 and Whitmarsh advocated another year of F3.

S

1^:

9 February 2005

n Canadian driver Bruno Spengler, a former front-runner in the Formula 3 EuroSeries, has been signed to partner 2004 EuroSeries Champion Jamie Green at Perrsson Motorsport in this year's DTM touring car championship. Spengler will drive the team's 2004 racecar, while Green will have the latest version.

n Hitech Racing will continue in the British Formula 3 series this year, in addition to entering a team in GP2, The team has signed a deal with 2004 Formula BMW Champion Tim Bridgman, The 19-year-old driver is one of the first drivers to have been signed up by the marketing company 2MB, which was set up recently by former FI drivers Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell.

- SPURRING/ADDISOIM

15

Schwartz thwarted I SKODA factory driver Armin Schwartz's I season has gotten off to a rockin' start, with : the German being relegated to spectator ! status at this week's Swedish Rally to allow the injury that he sustained in Monte Carlo to i properly heal.

I Schwartz dislocated his left shoulder in the - second leg of the event when his car clipped a n wall and rolled into a shallow ditch.

"Naturally we are all disappointed for Armin, but we said in Monte Carlo that we would be guided by medical staff over when he was fully fit to drive in competition again," said Skoda's Martin Muehimeier.

Schartz's seat will be filled by Finland's Jani Paasonen, who will act as support to the nominated points-scoring cars of Janne Tuohino and Mattias Ekstrom.

Which Way to Bathurst?

New date, new place for NSW ARC round AS reported in MNews last : October, the NSW round of the ; ARC will shift west from Sydney and the Central Coast this year, with a change of date accompanying the move.

The move to Bathurst has ! apparently been a hard fight for organiser Kirk Marks who, I according to sources in Bathurst,

16

“was seeking some major backing from the Bathurst Regional Council” to secure the transfer west.

However, it is believed that the move was inevitable given the massive problems encountered in organising the rally in the Central Coast hinterland, where the National Parks and Wildlife and Police were making increasing demands on the rally organisers.

the rally have been transferred from Forestry NSW to the National Parks in recent times, creating plenty of headaches, while the rapidly growing population in the area added to the difficulty.

Marks hopes that ARCom will also ratify the NSW event as the final round of the drivers’ series on October 28-29, taking over the date initially assigned to the Rally of Melbourne, which would , have clashed with the start of \ .the Victorian Spring Florse '4', Racing Carnival. ‘ ^ This would mean that Melbourne would move ^ forward to September 2-41 - JON THOMSOK

Corolla x4 TOYOTA'S ARC ranks are set to receive a boost, with privateer Martin Lintott securing the purchase of a latest-spec Group N (P) Corolla Sportivo.

According to rally.com.au, Lintott will take delivery of the Corolla shortly to become the first privateer to buy a prototype Group N machine.

"I'm looking forward to driving what is a full factoryspec car," Lintott said.

The Corolla, which will arrive on Lintott's doorstep in late March or early April, will be run separately from the three-car factory team of Neal Bates, Simon Evans and Ben Barker, and will be prepared by Lintott's existing crew.

motorsporinews

T X

mm

ADR gets its girl

I

WITH just two more sleeps before he makes his WRC debut, Chris Atkinson is going through his final preparations before joining the field at the Swedish Rally.

Atkinson had his first drive of the WRC Impreza last week, and said that he was happy with the way that he was settling in at the Subaru World Rally Team.

"While the drive wasn't an actual test, I spent the majority of the day in the car and was able to get a good feel for the car and give a clear picture of what to expect, which now makes me even hungrier to get back in the seat," said Atkinson after the shakedown.

"I'm really excited to have this opportunity. Even though it's only been a couple of months since my position was announced, it feels like I've been waiting for ages now -1 want to start competing."

Atkinson's debut will be made sUghtly more complicated by the unusual weather conditions that are expected this weekend. Sweden's familar snow appears to have gone AWOL,leaving competitors facing the prospect of running on frozen gravel. This will place a premium on looking after tyre studs - something that Atkinson had little experience of in Australia and Asia.

"I'll just be concentrating on improving each day," he said."The key target is to get experience and finish the event."

I -

For more on Chris Atkinson's lead-up to hisfirst WRC round, please turn to our interview on page 58.

French influence for Ford? ●k.

E FORD is looking to take 1 advantage of the imminent departure of key WRC rival Peugeot by making a strong play to sign the French team's engine builder for 2006 and beyond.

Reports in French newspapers over the past week have suggested that Peugeot's engine builder Pipo, based in Valence, has been approached by Ford and is keen to sign on with the Blue Oval j to replace the loss of Peugeot ,>j work come the end of the year.

Ford has not confirmed the report, but logic would suggest that an asset such as this would

sutton-

H not be passed up by a company I looking to dominate the WRC 9 when the French teams depart.

Peugeot has long been said to have had the most powerful engines in the WRC and Ford will be developing a new engine when it switches to the latest generation Focus in 2006. The new car will use a new all-alloy engine that has virtually nothing in common with the'current Zetec engine used by the M-Sport run cars.

M-Sport engineering chief Christian Loriaux is said to be keen to work with the French team's engine builder, and with Ford selling its specialist engine company Cosworth, responsibility for the rally engine program has been taken over by the Malcolm Wilson-run M-sportteam.

- JOIM THOMSON

.WIJMJl -

e

O ooo ● 9 February 2005

● Pedals (Floor Mount or Pendant types) ● Master Cylinders ● Balance Bars & Adjuster Cables ● Lever-adjust (the best) Prop. Valves ● Spare parts

Also

ALAN Docking Racing has announced that it will be running Susie Stoddart in the Championship Class of the British Formula 3 series and Formula Palmer Audi champion Jonathan Kennard in the National (Scholarship) Class.

It is the first time that the team has contested the National Class despite its long and successful association with Formula 3, which includes winning the title in 2002 with Robbie Kerr. n Fiend Durand, the former Jordan technical director, has reappeared in racing in the United States as the technical director of Red Bull Cheever Racing in the indy Racing League. Durand had been in Formula 1 for more than 20 years, starting out as an aerodynamicist at Ligier and ending as Technical Director at Jordan in 2002 and 2003.

Flaving dropped from the racing scene for much of 2004 Durand was put into contact with Cheever through the Mecachrome organization which is working in partnership with Cheever and has since taken up residence in Indianapolis. The 44-year-old will oversee the activities of Alex Barron and Patrick Carpentier. n Joao Paulo de Oliveira is about to embark on his seventh season of Formula 3- and he is only 231 The Brazilian is set to join the works Toyota team TOM'S for a season in Japan, after parting from rival team M-Tech.

■ Ford and Holden representitives will be at Coffs Harbour's Ex Services Club on Saturday the 12th of February at 7:30pm.

Rick Kelly, Steven Richards, and Dick Johnson Racing's new recruit Glenn Seton will attend to raise vital funds for the charity 'Just 4 Kids'. The funds raised go towards Playscheme, a Red Cross program coordinated in the Coffs Harbour Hospital.

There will be a Playstation 2 V8 Supercar competition, as well as an auction and dinner.

- SAWARD/SPURRING

Disiribuled throughoul Ausiralia by EARL'S PERFORAAANCE PRODUaS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 12 Sionley Slreel, Silverwoier, NSW 2128 Ausifolio

Genuine GIRLING Master Cylinders, Kits, Fluid Reservoirs, Caliper Seals.

Not forgetting Tilton Clutches, Super Starters, Diff/Trans Pumps....

Phone: (02) 9748 601 !

Fax: (02) 9748 6241 Email; eofis@ozemail.com.au Visit our website ol www.earls.com

EARL’S pettFOtlMAHCt PWOUCTS

17

Edmonton Toilers EVEN if the weather is freezing [Ed: not by Melbourne standards] work continues on the Finning International Speedway,the venue for the 2005 Edmonton Grand Prix for Champ Cars.

The 3.2km airport circuit will host the Champ Car World Series on the weekend of July 15-17. The Toyota Atlantic Championship and the TransAm Series during is also part of the Edmonton racing card.

The race will mark a return for the Trans-Am Series to Alberta, Canada's capital city, which hosted a round of the championship (at Edmonton International Raceway) in 1971 and 1973.

"This event should be fitting return of the Trans-Am Series to Edmonton," said Trans-Am Executive Director John Clagett.

"The airport layout is perfect for the door-to-door, nose-totail racing for which the TransAm Series is famous. Fans will see virtually the entire track during the event, giving them an up-close look at the racing action. The circuit also sports a wide racing surface and plenty of passing opportunities, so it should be a thrilling race."

"The majority of the fans will be able to see 90 percent of the circuit," said Edmonton Grand Prix Director of Operations Tom Doerksen, "and that will certainly add to their enjoyment of the event."

As much as 70 percent of the track will be repaved between now and the mid-summer race.

- PHIL MORRIS

A Maserati Compromise

IT appears that the controversial Maserati MC 12 may yet compete in the 2005 American Le Mans Series, j The car, which is based on the Ferrari Enzo street Super Car from the 24-Hour, was barred

by Le Mans organisers Automobile Club de I'Quest because dimensionally it did not meet their regulations. The ACO maintained that position even after Maserati had modified car in an attempt to appease the French rules makers.

Maserati claimed that Le Mans authorities backed away from an agreement that would

have permitted the car to race in the GT1 Production category of the series, even though it remained ineligible to run at the Sarthe itself.

But now it appears that a compromise has been reached between officials of the ALMS and ACO. It appears that a compromise will be reached that will allow the current version of the Maserati to run in the ALMS until to June, when a second revised variant, meeting the criteria demanded by Le Mans will be completed.

-PHIL MORRIS,

He Shoots and he, um, well...

AUSTRALIAN Formula 3 team Piccola Scuderia Corse(PSC)has confirmed part of its plans for 2005, with LA-based Canadian Cody Leibel set to join the squad.

Leibel, a former minor-league

hockey player-turned-socialite who is best known in the States as part of Paris Hilton's clique, has already tested the car in Australia.

He will remain based in Beverly Hills durmg the season and commute

to a Sydney base in Australia to race.

His previous motorsport experience includes stints in the Formula Palmer Audi series in the US. - MARK GLENDENNING

iir n l -t

TRAINING SEMINARS BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT

» MELBOURNE ECU: TUES FEB 22 ADL: WED FEB 23

<55

»BRISBANE |V ECU: SAT MARCH^ I ADL: SUN MARCH 13:

To register please contact Cassandra Davis at MoTeC Research Centre Visit vA/\A/\A/.motec.com.au, email training@motec.com.au or call 03 9761 5050 motorsport news

IVIuller; Astra is slower WAN Muller has admitted that the new BTCC Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch is not yet as quick as its predecessor. The old car was raced for three years, while development has just begun on the new car.

It is wider than the coupe and better under braking," said Muller.

"But it is less good aerodynamically and hence, slower on the straights.

The aerodynamics mean that it will be hard to improve this, so we have to be quicker though the corners.

Ricky returns to F3

F5ICKY Occhipinti is to return to the Australian Formula 3 ranks this year, after confirming the purchase of the former James Cressey Dallara 301, above.

Occhipinti has already tested the car at Wakefield Park and Winton, after which the car's Opel powerplant was sent back to Spiess for a freshen-up.

"I've run F3 cars before (in 2002), but James's old car is a really good car and it's got all the good bits. It felt really good when we tested it

f Duetc

and I'm looking forward to getting the engine back from Spiess," said Occhipinti.

The car will be run by the same team that worked with on the car during its Cressey days, Paul Grimm and his Starion Enterprises team.

Occhipinti still owns his Formula 4000 car and is contemplating a campaign in that also at selected rounds, but is clear in his focus of Formula 3 being his priority. He is currently awaiting the delivery of a new Holden Motorsport V6 engine.

n Luca Badoer, a Ferrari test driver since 1997, has agreed to another two years helping the team develop cars for Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

Badoer is now officially the 'third' driver, which means that if a replacement is needed, he is likely to get the nod over Marc Gene, although it must be remembered that Badoer was passed over when Michael Schumacher broke his leg in 1999, when the team decided that it would hire Mika Salo. n GlaxoSmithKline-owned 'Lucozade Energy' drinks has been announced as the official drink of the World Rally Championship.

-SPURRING/SAWARD

HEADANB

buikp Devkes at a dramatkalSy reduced cost. We have new stocks of all models in-store now for the 2005 season.Call into any of our stores now to view these and Australia's the most comprehensive range of HANS® approved helmets from Bell or Aral.

R/ICEOE^R 9 February 2005

(Model 20RE) Adelaide l Ballarat * Brisbane l Cairns * Canberra * Central Coast Darwin l Gold Coast l Hobart l Mackay l Melbourne l Newcastle Perth l Sunshine Coast * Perth l Wollongong * Auckland NZ Freecall 1800 804 778 to reach your nearest store www.revolutionracegear.com.au 19

f

Muller on Bobby's African bug Ice, again Mystery ailment sidelines US racing star

Andros Trophy number eight for ice expert Yvan

WAN Muller has yet again won the Andros Trophy Ice Racing Championship, after securing the title with two rounds remaining by winning Round 6 of the series in France two weeks ago.

Muller, also a Triple 8 V8 Supercar endurance driver this season, captured the win in his Kia Rio and also chalked up the second consecutive manufacturer’s crown for the Korean make in the world’s most prestigious ice racing championship.

Jean-Phillipe Dayraut was second in a Fiat Stilo and third was four-time Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost in a Toyota Corolla.

ANOROS

FACTORY VW driver and NASCAR star Robby Gordon has been downed by a mystery illness after returning home from his first foray into the Dakar Rally.

Gordon checked himself into hospital for tests after returning from Africa and feeling poorly.

"They took all kinds of blood tests to make sure I don't have malaria or anything like that," said Gordon.

"Hopefully we can get all this cleared up and I can get on with things. I just want to be careful I don't get myself in a situation where I catch one of these diseases or something like that from Africa - I did breathe an awful

lot of dust."

After losing his regular NASCAR Nextel Cup ride with Richard Childress Racing in the Cingularbacked Chevrolet, Gordon was drafted in by Volkswagen to run the Dakar in a Red Bull-sponsored Touareg. He was able to vie for the lead with former world rally champion Colin McRae until he rolled on Day 6 of the epic rally.

While able to continue, Gordon was well back in the field and finished 12th in the car division in the overall standings, some 21 hours down on winner Stephane Petterhansel in a Mitsubishi.

- JON THOMSON/STAFF

CrMi:.*

w o.

■sistr- ' t .

m It

jcs.com

Saturday $ 15* Sunday S2S ^ WeeHend pass S3S

motorsportnews

T 1

mz^

Mo Nunn sells to Hemelgarn MO Nunn has sold his IRL IndyCar operation to Ron Hemelgarn.

Hemelgarn was one of the original team owners of the IRL, running Buddy Lazier to victory in the 1996 Indy 500 and 2000 IRL Championship, Hemelgarn Racing will have 2004 Infiniti Pro Series runner-up, 29-yearold American Paul Dana, as its driver and has a four year sponsorship deal from the American Ethanol industry for its number 91 Toyota-powered Dallara.

0 . >-

CRIST1ANO da Malta will return to the Champ Car World Series this year,following the announcement that the 31-yearold will drive for PKV Racing, da Matta, the 2002 series champion,joins 1996 champion and team co-owner Jimmy Vasser in a two-pronged attack on the 2005 Championship.

‘The addition of Cristlano to PKV Racing’s driver line-up gives us the strongest team we have had in our three year existence and one of the most exciting in Champ Car history," said team co-owner Dan Pettit.

■‘Cristiano is, obviously, a tremendous driving talent, a past champion, and a driver who knows how to win races."

Commenting on the team’s

chances during the 2005 season, da Matta said, “I watched how PKV Racing progressed last year. The team definitely made improvement from the first half of the season to the second half, "I am looking forward to racing with Jimmy Vasser and with the addition of Jim McGee and his staff I am confident we will compete at the highest level.”

“Coming back to the Champ Car World Series was an easy decision for me. From a racing standpoint it is the most competitive series in the world and one that puts a premium on the driver’s ability."

‘The decision to join PKV Racing was not a difficult one. I really only talked to three teams and in the end the best opportunity

II

,9 tf

3

for me was at PKV Racing." da Matta left the series and the Newman-Haas team after winning the championship in 2002 to try his hand at Formula 1 with Toyota.

After 28 races da Matta and Toyota FI parted ways mid-season last year, da Malta’s best F1 finishes were three sixth place finishes. He replaces Mexican Roberto Gonzalez at PKV. The off-track make-up of the team has also been strengthened, with the recent addition of McGee as General Manager. McGee has overseen nine Champ Car Series victories and four Indy 500 wins.

His most recent championship came at Newman-Haas Racing, with Nigel Mansell in 1993.

-PHIL MORRIS

■ HVM Racing, the Keith Wiggins-run team that formerly enjoyed sponsorship from Herdez, has confirmed that it will run Mario Dominguez in the 2005 Champ Car Worid Series.

Dominguez was iinked to the Midiand FI project, but it now seems that if this association comes to fruition, it wiii see Dominguez cross the Atlantic for the 2006 FI season.

HVM has lost the support of Herdez, but appears to be close to a deal with another Mexican backer, which could also see 2004 PKV Racing driver Roberto Gonzalez drive a second HVM car.

2004 HVM driver, American Ryan Hunter-Reay, is said to be close to signing to drive a second Rocketsports entry, to partner Alex Tagliani.

Sparco utilises the latest in design and composite technologies to\-; ensure that modern day motorsport is Safer - Faster - Lighter ij

A

■1

1 s

m

0

\

Carmyth Underwear Nomex and carbonfibre thread.

The lightest and most breathable undGrwBar gvgt oroducGd

W

I I I I

4,

I

I

X-Light Incorporating panelling in the

X-Light 300 Suits Beware of imitations

Hans-compatible Harnesses, Seats and Helmets With the introduction of head and neck supports, comes a new range of products specifically designed to be used in conjunction with the ‘Hans’ device.

Call IIKD today on 1800 797 344 about your requirements for the 2005 season 9 February 2005

i

1

1

I

I

I

i

I 21

Jeremy's Superbike 1

»

A

Nostalgia at Suzuki

JEREMY McWilliams is to switch to the British Superbike Championship.

The 40-year-old from Ulster will race for the Stobart Honda team alongside Gary Mason and Michael Laverty in a three-man team aboard Honda Fireblades.

"BSB is second only to MotoGP in status and I'm thrilled to be racing here this season," said McWilliams. "I've been wanting to race in BSB for a couple of seasons now but it was a

case of waiting for the right ride with the right team and Stobart Honda is the one that fits the bill perfectly."

The veteran of 150 GP starts was competitive in 250s before moving up to 500s, then MotoGP, below, racing for both Aprilia and Proton.

He will race on Dunlop tyres in the 13-round series, which kicks off at Brands Hatch on Easter Monday (28 March).

SUZUKI has unveiled its 2005 GSV-R MotoGP racer at Bridgestone's New Year Reception in Tokyo.

The paint scheme, which did not show any major corporate supporter, includes mainly Suzuki corporate colours, and has been inspired from previous Suzuki racers, including the World Championship-winning RGV of Kevin Schwantz.

"It looks fantastic, in my opinion," said team manager Paul Denning. "I'm proud to be associated with such a great looking motorcycle. It's significant the new design was revealed at Bridgestone's headquarters, demonstrating the close links between Bridgestone and Suzuki."

The bike's racing debut on j April 10 in Jerez in Spain.

MOTORSPORT DZ02G

I

►

i:>.

■f

SP73R

SP85R

DOU

i:

Supersport Race

QUEENSLAND Queensland Raceway Champion’s Way Willowbank QLD 4306 Tel 07 5461 9100

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Kostera’s Tyre Service 7 Mead St Kalamunda WA 6076 Tel 08 9293 3500

TASMANIA Fulton Enterprises 41 McKenzie St Mowbray TAS 7248 Tel 03 6326 9199

SOUTH AUSTRALIA City Discount Tyres 147 Sherriffs Road Reynella SA 5161 Tel 08 8387 8233

VICTORIA Stuckey Tyre Service 828 Sydney Road Brunswick VIC 3056 Tel 03 9386 5331

NSW & ACT Gary’s Motorsport Tyres Unit 3,13 Penny PI Arndell Park NSW 2148 Tel 02 9676 8655 motorsport news

BIKE NEWS

Doohan, Honda, Over MICK Doohan is no longer an official Honda man.

The five-time world SOOcc champion, who until recently was general manager of the Honda Racing Corporation at MotoGPs, will not have his deal renewed,according to Managing Director of HRC,Satom Horiike. He named Tsutomu Ishii as the new general manager of HRC. "It is time to stop working with Mick Doohan," Horiike said at the first pre-season test session, which finished at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia last month.

5pariia RacB5uit5 [Fully FIA AppravEd] all Momex from $833

A

2DD4-2D0g^ KUPPAIM HARNE55E5

'i

Factory 9, 19-H5 Grange Rd Cheltenham VIC Fax D3 9585 5388

5parcD Crew ^if^Runner from $148

[Fully FIA Approved] L Momex K. from

Sparco Raceboots [Fully FIA Approved] MomexMB^^^ from $260 9 February 2005

DUCATI Corse has announced that it will take part in the 2005 World Superbike Championship with a new title sponsor, Xerox. The announcement was made recently during the international media launch of the team in the Ducati factory in Bologna, Italy.

The deal, which will initially run for two years, will see the team renamed Ducati Xerox Team. The partnership marks the second year of World Superbike sponsorship for Xerox, which was introduced to the world of Superbike racing in 2004 with Stefano Caracchi's satellite Ducati NCR team. n The Ten Kate Honda World Superbike Championship team has completed a three-day test at the Almeria circuit in southern Spain in the colours of new sponsor, Winston.

The team tested a revised CBR1000RR and a new CBR600RR, which has been heavily revised for 2005.

New Supersport signings Katsuaki Fujiwara and Sebastian Charpentier were joined at the test by the ailAussie Superbike pairing of Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge before the team packed up to continue its test program at Valencia.

"As a rider Mlick made a big contribution to Honda but it is now time to work with our own staff.

"Mick had mainly been an adviser to riders and sometimes our staff."

Honda domination of motorcycling's premier class ended last season when Valentino Rossi and his crew chief Jeremy Burgess defected to Yamaha and won the MotoGP title at their first attempt. But Horiike said that the Aussie engineer would always be accepted back at Honda,should he decide to return'home'.

"If Jerry wanted to come to Honda we would welcome him,anytime,for sure," Horiike said.

Bparca Gloves

Copying? Maybe

New B004

range of products now available Sparco IVIechanic Gloves

Ph D3 9585 534D

1

now available 4 Check our new

Sparco Helmets'^ CZ"

reduced prices an the entire range of

n [Fully FIA / Approved]/ Momex from $B5D

5pari [Fully FIA Approved] i Limited tii only from SparcD Racing IHarness [Fully FIA Approved] from $333 i

from $11

3k/

Gparco Racing Steering Wheels from $233

n

FIA APPROVED RACE HARNESS ...unbeatable value at...

MODEL:RED-200 - FORMULA

WED/ONE :

RGD-200 372" with fixed ends and loop Crotch Strap

■■■$399

COLOURS. RED, BUCK, BLUE

EXPIRE:2009

Dealer Network,

PRICE CHECK on equivalent harness March '04 Wiltans $620 Sabelt $565 Soarco $599

SYDNEY

HOBART

02.9709.4655

03.6234.1044

RACEilUWt-SPBDME

mmr

PHIUJP ISLAND Eimmamm

PERTH

cmrsmcm

03.5952.6011

08.9344.4444

TOOmOMBA

ADELAIDE

Bimmmim

MODEL: REU-300 - ELUBEAR RCU-300 372" with clip-in ends

■■$299

RCU-301 with 2"V-Crotch fixed

■$329

RCU-302 wlth2"V-Crotch Clip-in

■■■$339

COLOURS. RED, BUCK, BLUE EXP1RE;2009 PRICE CHECK on equivalent harness March '04 Sparco $470 ...No other brands )

MODEL: REU-200 - SUPEREAR RCU-200 3"/3" With clip-in ends

■■■$399

RCU-201 with 2'’V-Crotch fixed

■■$429

RCU-202 With 2"V-Crotch Clip-in

.■$439

c

COLOURS. RED, BUCK, BLUE

PAY LESS AGAIN...

^ When you trade-in your old harness at SPECDZONE y

EXP1RE:2009

PRICE CHECK on equivalent harness March ‘04 Willans$765 Sabelt $565 Sparco $530

ADDED VALUE! ALL FIA HARNESSES

BY ERB HAVE UEHTWEIGHT ALUMINIUM ADJUSTERS PLUS EYEBDLTS INCLUDED

HARNESS FEATURES >

PRECISION TURNBUCKLE

EYEBOLTS INCLUDED

ALUMINIUM ADJUSTERS

)

mtosm

07.4632.6650

08.8332.8811

BAumr

OOOLBORN

fiuuAtrnz»(ffiiW77S

03.5332.8022

spaum

02M22.9728

UisijI

...-.I,

wmw.speedzone.com.au"'^

.HM ERG UTCH4JNK HARNESS

^CORONA EXTRA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

2005 #YAMAHA Phillip Island a Superbike Werld Champienship m APRIL 1st - 3rd Camping, Corporate a General Information Ph; (0315952 2710 General Admission a Bar SBK bookings Ticketmaster? on 1300136122

fSS PHILLIP ^ ISLAND C

I

R C

U

A,

-fc.

wiMW.pliilliplslandcircuit.com.au ^YAMAHA

V

Victoria

The Place To Be

24

moiorsport news

So, Andy is Handy

D

RIVING a Williams-BMW at Valencia is something that I am not going to forget any time soon.

I found out about it at the BMW Motorsport party in Austria in December. What I had to do to get ready was to change my training a lot, from a cardio/endurance workout to a stamina and strength workout. I had to concentrate on the upper body and neck to be strong enough to do enough laps in the car. I also booked myself a Formula 3 test to make sure 1 could left-foot brake, which you cannot do in a BMW Touring Car. I was stoked to be asked, I had waited for a chance for this to happen. The team was pretty happy with the result, they said it was the first time a driver had been able to do the number of laps they wanted in a first-time test.

It was a half-day that turned into a full day. I was doing lap times that were compatible with the other guys on old tyres and I never got a chance to go out on new tyres, because I had an engine problem and then a gearbox problem in the afternoon.

It feels fantastic when you are going out pitlane into the

"Having the comiilaiice to brake at 90 metres cemertremEQOmles

iis

I nn

*&iPmihowlitif$elsiOiilriy$a

track. You sit so low, looking at two ginormous tyres in front of you, behind a steering wheel that looks like it comes out of a fighter plane. Opening the car up out of the pits is something that you do not forget. I have driven big cars before, with F1type-engined cars in the UK, but nothing prepared you for the acceleration. It blew me away!

Unbelievable, but the braking is even more astounding. All left-foot for a start, but having the confidence to brake at 90 metres before a second-gear corner from 200 miles an hour ... it's difficult to focus your vision into the corner while you are still braking. It seems like the throttle is jammed and you are never going to stop it.

But you get to the point when you think,'this thing has four wheels, a throttle and a brake and I just want to get a time from the thing'. It almost gets better the faster you go, while a Touring Car gets worse the faster you go.

The reason we do this job is because we have a feeling for a car. I felt comfortable after a couple of hours but I always knew that there were areas . where I could improve. I was pushing myself quite hard.

Mark Webber phoned me the next day and said that there were a lot of positive comments going around. Then I got a call from Williams the

following morning and my name is on their list now. That is great; there may be the possibility to do some more work for them. Will I get another chance? We'll see!

The World Touring Carthis Championship starts year and I am looking forward to it.

Although there are new manufacturers coming into it, there are a lot of the same drivers so I am going into it with the same attitude I have had in the past. I want to become a World Champion but it is like the V8 Supercar Championship; it is not getting any easier from year to year. I just hope that the BMW team and my package is at a level where we can do what we did last year.

I have to change my approach a bit this year because they have changed the ballast rules. If you won a race last year, you would end up with 40 kilos in the car, so the next weekend would be slightly average. Now, you get more weight,60 kilos, and they are not going to take the weight off after a bad weekend. You could be fighting for sixth, seventh or eighth or lower.

I screwed it, really. I won at Donington with 40 kilos, maximum ballast. I got a break on the first few laps and maintained that position. '

Motor Mouth

with Andy Priaulx

The series will be really competitive. We have the Mullers, Gabriele Tarquini and a whole bunch of talented drivers fighting at the front.

Every single race will be a challenge.

I

am not sure if I am going to be able to race a V8 Supercar at Sandown or Bathurst this year.

It really depends on whether BMW will let me do it, or whether the races might clash with testing here. I think that I did a good job when I came out the first time - I made the shootout at Sandown - but the cars take a lot of adjusting to.

The driver has to get the best out of the tyre all the time.

I would like to achieve a lot more. I love Bathurst, I love Australia and I would like to write a chapter about the place one day in my book!

The Season Beckons n

There is a chance that Minardi might be abie to get off the back of the grid and perhaps even score some points this year if the cars are reliablerr

-It may not hurt ifsome of their tests are not mterrupted hy snow, either...

FORMULA -I

I

T struck me the other evening that the winter is nearly over and there are buds on the trees, and soon we will be heading into the spring.

That means that it is time to dust off the suitcase and get back into the swing of travelling all the time. You know that feeling when you go swimming and take a deep breath before going under?

Well, that is what it feels like.

Once the season has begun things rush along and beforewe know it, it's the summer again. Ever since I predicted that Ayrton Senna would be the World Champion of 1994, 1 have always shied away from making predictions about the season ahead because in FI, you just never know.

And this year it is more difficult to caitl because the cars are different and no-one really knows where they are in relation to the others, because all the cars are slower than they used to be and so no-one is quite sure if they are better or worse than the opposition.

The benchmark has yet to be established and one can never really tell what is happening in testing, because there is always potential for 'funny business'from teams looking for that last-minute sponsor.

The one thing I do know is that up and down the FI paddock there are a lot of people hoping that Ferrari does not walk off with the title again.

That would be the worst case scenario.

9 February 2005

I love the Formula TVthe figures because it is a bit 1like kind of creative accountancy that has caused such problems in the United States.

You have to figure out each year how they have managed to make it look good this year.

Last year was simple; there were 18 races, so it is hardly surprising that the figures went up for the season as a whole. They did not go up when you look at the average audience for each race. This year we have 19 races, so I guess the figures will keep rising.

At this time of year, I try to avoid travelling as much as I can but I did go to the Renault launch the other day in Monaco, main pic. It was nice to see the sunshine.

The launch was the usual throbbing music and hot air and you have to be a rocket scientist to tell the cars apart these days, but it was a chance to see a few of the troops and hear a little gossip.

In the course of proceedings a man came up to me and asked me if I would like to go to Moscow at the end of February to see the Midland launch. The truth is that I cannot go because I am committed to be somewhere else but I did want to go and meet these people who have taken over Eddie Jordan's mob and caused such chaos.

Red Bull Racing is struggling to get everything ready following its recent political upsets but Midland-Jordan is in total chaos. People are leaving in droves and when I rang someone at Silverstone the other day, I heard a tale of woe about a bunch of Formula 3 people taking over an FI team and thinking that the people they know from their world will be the right people to get them success in FI. Oh dear. One cannot help but feel that we might have heard that story before and seen it all happen with BAR and Toyota but newcomers to FI will not be told, because they have enjoyed success in other formulae and just do not understand that life is very different in the big, big game.

Ah well, it will provide us with plenty to write about, no doubt. It will also do one other thing of note: it will give Minardi half a chance to get off the back of the grid. I make no bones about the fact that I am a big fan of Paul Stoddart.

Not only has Paul kept the team alive but he has also wpn the respect of the other team bosses for his intelligence and willingness to fight for a cause he believes in. In recent months, he has played a huge role in creating unity among the teams and while it might all fall apart tomorrow, it is still an amazing achievement.

The launuh the usual thpchuing irnis''; »id hct ah' and you have to be a rocket scieitist to tefl the cars apart these days

II

The team still has a tiny budget compared to the rest but it goes into the new season with two useful drivers (assuming that Nicolas Kiesa is confirmed as the second) and once the first few races are out of the way,the team will get a new car.

This, we hear, will be a big advance on the current machinery, as technical director Gabriele Tredozi and his design team have had nearly two years to think about new ideas and the team hopes that the new car, a strong driver line-up and the same engines as Red Bull Racing will give it the chance to move up the order in 2005.

The turmoil at Jordan is going to have an effect on the team's performance and Red Bull too may not have it easy, so there is a chance that Minardi might be able to get off the back of the grid and perhaps.even score some points this year if the cars are reliable.

I

t is a long way from where Minardi is to where the big teams are but for a long, long time, Frank Williams was a nohoper at the back of the FI grid. Fie survived and pulled the tearp through. Maybe Stoddy can do the same. ^ Australia may not be doi'n'g much flag-waving for Minardi in the course of the F1 season but Minardi is waving the flag for'Australia - and that deserves recognition and support.

Five minutes with

Fisi amiFernaa

Since Renauit roiieti the 2005R25out of the truck, the new ear has been going iike a biue bliw in testing. UnderstanUabiy,its drivers cannot wait untii the season kicks oft at AibertPark >aa

QUESTION: Giancarlo, do you feel ready for the season ahead of you?

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA: Absolutely. It is a good feeling to be back with this team: I know the people well, they know me and we have worked hard during the winter to get things working smoothly. Since I was last at the team, though, the ambitions have changed: Renault are In Formula One to win the world championship and it is a privilege that they have chosen me to be part of it.

It is important to feel they have confidence in me and from my point of view, I am excited to be in a top team that I know can win races.

Q: For 2005,the engine must last for two weekends: what is it like to drive the RS25?

GF: I could tell straight away it is stronger. When we ran in Valencia, there was still work to do to fine-tune the mapping, but I could feel it was better in the mid-range and at the top end.

Things look quite positive at this point.

Q: You had your first taste of the R25 last week: how was it?

GF: I was very excited as soon as I saw the car - the shape is very aggressive, and even in the garage I had a good feeling with it.

When 1 did the first lap, I was comfortable straight away and had confidence with the car.

The biggest difference to the R24 is in rear end stability: the new car is much more consistent through the corners, and if it does break away, it is more predictable and easier to control. There are not many kerbs in Valencia, but it felt like the ride was better too. Overall, I think it is definitely a good step forward.

28

In 2004, we were always battling tor the podium places. rr Now, we must take the next step

11

-Alonso sounds confident. That means he must expect wins this year Q: Some people have said that your smooth style will suit the 2005 regulations: what do you think?

GF: I hope it will. I have a lot of experience running long stints in the races, and have learned a lot about race strategy since I was last with the team. This year, we will have to be quick but also save the tyres during the race, and I hope I can do that with this car.

For the moment, the signs are quite promising. Of course, we cannot be sure until we arrive in Melbourne, but what I can be sure of is this: before driving the car I was already looking forward to the season; now, I am really looking forward to it.

Q: Fernando, what can you tell us about the R25?

FERNANDO ALONSO: The first feeling with a car is very important. When I saw the R25 in the garage last week, I was very impressed: I had seen the wind tunnel model, but it was still a surprise to see how good it looked. It might be quite

similar to the old one at first sight, but there are lots of new things: the sidepods are much tighter, and the cooling and exhaust exits are very different for example.

The first impression was very good on the track. I felt that I could trust the responses of the R25 straight away.

Q: How does the handling compare to last year's car?

FA: The R25 feels more constant on the long runs. We cannot compare them directly because the downforce levels are lower for 2005, but compared to our interim car, the traction and braking stability are much better, .which will be very important on the long distance tyres for 2005.

The car responded as we expected to the first set-up changes, and we now need to concentrate on understanding its character and pushing forward on performance. I still have some work to do to adapt the car to my style, but that is a normal part of the learning process.

Q: The RS25 engine is also brand new: how did it perform?

FA: The RS25 was a very nice surprise: from the driver's seat it felt more powerful straight away and I was impressed with the driveability. With the new regulations doubling the life of the engine, the team at Viry has done a fantastic job to produce a stronger VI0. We still need to fine-tune its characteristics to exploit the potential, in areas like throttle mapping and traction control, but that is only a matter of time.

Q: The team's aim is to be fighting with Ferrari: can you do it?

FA: I won't have any clear expectations until we arrive in Melbourne but in terms of what I hope for, I would like to be fighting for victories this year.

Mentally, I am stronger and even better prepared. We need to be quick during the race weekends and fighting at the front of the field for podiums and wins.

It will be a long season, and it is a big job to be competitive against our rivals, but I am confident in the work of the team during the winter.

In 2004, we were always battling for the podium places.

Now, we must take the next step, molorsport news

f i

Fm minutes with...

Marcos Ambrose

The Daytona 24 Hour was uihmateiy a disappointment tor the deubie V8 Supercar Champion but he came away with some positives.

PM.BSAnUBAnispoke to him in Fiorida 5

MOTORSPORT NEWS: What was it like arriving at Daytona and driving the track?

MARCOS AMBROSE: The experience was fantastic; that is why I canne over.

I wanted to do a 24 Hour race and I have a lot of friends from around the world who are in racing, I have had a great time. It was a lot of fun and, hopefully, I will be able to stay in contact with them in the future.

It was the best field of international drivers that I have ever seen; there were 62 cars, four drivers in each, with NASCAR champions, former Le Mans winners, ex-FI drivers and so on. To have all those guys in one room was pretty special.

MN: How much track time did you get before the race?

MA: I had about eight laps ... no, 10 laps! We had a few dramas.

We were playing catch-up from the start. The deal that John Teulan put together was not what actually eventuated.

The car was not in as good as a condition as what we thought and, in the end, that was effectively our demise.

The gearbox was an old one and we did not get the chance to pull it apart and check it out thoroughly enough. It had some old parts in it.

The boys who came over were ail volunteers and they did a great job. They gave us the chance to do well in the race and we looked pretty good; we were leading the class after eight and three-quarter hours, but that is just the way it goes.

MN: What happened in qualifying?

MA: Paul [Morris] had a mishap on the first day, he actually hit the wall. That was in the first hour, so we lost the two-hour night session after that and that put us back.

30

Ford Falcon! I miss my number one Ford Falcon, to be honest, I just appreciate the Stone Brothers team and the work that goes into our V8 Supercar. It is not until you drive something else that you realise how good it really is.

I am not saying that anything is wrong with the Porsche but it is just a production car. It is a hotrodded production car but you cannot expect too much.

"The Porsche was okay, hut its not a Ford Falcon! Ifs not until you drive something else that you realise how good it rr really is -Ambrose after hijs first taste of Stuttgart’s finest I went out and qualified the next day and we did a time good enough for P3 in the GT class but we were excluded. When Paul crashed the car, it actually lifted the boot up a fraction and the rear wing was too high on one side, by about a quarter-inch. So we went from P3 to the back of the grid.

Craig Baird jumped in the car to start the race and he backed it up again with his second stint.

Basically, we were three-quarters of a lap in front of the rest of the field and storming on, but that is just the way it goes.

MN: What are your impressions,first of the track and then of the car?

MA: The track is great. It is a real challenge for a driver.

You have a mile straight, which basically has a 180-degree corner in the middle of it but the banking allows you to stay flat.

The Prototype cars were great to be around as well, they were passing you all the time and you had to concentrate on not holding the other guys up while you maintained your own pace.

The event is gaining in stature, there is no doubt. The strength of GrandAm is going to grow and there are a number of good teams involved. Chip Ganassi was here, running four cars and there were a lot of Atlantic teams, a lot of IRL teams, and there is going to be more.

MN: How was driving the Porsche?

MA: It was okay but it's not a

MN: Your enthusiasm for the race is obvious. Do that mean that you are going to become a regular driver in the event?

MA: I would like to think that it would be possible to come back, I think that the experience was solid but, to be honest, you probably have to commit to it early on to get a good ride. A lot of planning would be needed.

I would only come back, to be honest, in a Prototype. In the GT class, it is just too hard. I would love to try and win the event outright.

MN:The fact that the drivers have performed so well, in a car that was not, maybe,the best in the class, would not have hurt your credentials.

MA: We have held our head up high. There is no doubt that we did a great job.

We were comfortably faster than the sister cars from the TRG team,from which we based ourselves, and we were leading the race, on merit, from the back of the grid.

We had good guys working on the car to give us the chance to get up there, Ryan McLeod did a great job as crew chief to keep it all together and we gave it a shot.

We went at it hard. We were not going to be conservative with our strategy, we went out there to bust butts and we showed that. motorsport news

tr-.

T l s: W'^

- r-ir:* f*

vS-

<Am

(Hi 1

cuaff.-

The Men in f

32

motorsportnews

X .

V8 SUPERCARS

Glenn Seton strikes out on a new path this season,forging a partnership with iongtime Ford rivai Dick Johnson. PHiL BRANAGAN spoke to both men about their prospects

T

Bue 9 February 2005

HERE are a lot of things that still seem the same. Glenn Seton still talks like he always has, he is still more concerned with how fast his race car is than whether he has 'cap hair' or not and he is looking forward to his next race rather than looking back on a 20-year career and two championships.

But the Seton of 2005 is not the same Seton of the 1980s or 90s - or even the Seton of 2004. To put it briefly, tire smile is back.

Over recent years there have been times when, clearly, Seto was about ready to scream. He was a frustrated racing driver at Ford Performance Racing and it had way more to do with the fact that, after 14 years as an owner/driver in the biggest game in town, he was now 'just' a racing driver. More than once, he was asked by those who knew him how he was dealing with the fact that FPR was, visibly, failing to deliver on its potential and that he was suffering as a consequence.

Being a professional racing driver, he never let out what frustration he must have been feeling. He kept trying (some would say he kept banging his head against the wall) and, when it became obvious that he played no role in FPR's future plans, he looked around for another ride.

Ten years ago, it would have been unthinkable that Seton would drive for Dick Johnson. But times change; Glenn needed a drive and Johnson needed a driver. Seton was, literally, on his doorstep. The two talked, DJR's Steve Chalker did the deal and, just like that, Seton was a DJR driver.

"I saw Glenn from virtually the day he started," says Johnson."He had an Escort in those days and 1 saw him at Oran Park. Probably the most memorable part I remember was when he was in the Nissan Skyline at Bathurst[Ed: in 1987] when he was slipping and sliding across the top of the mountain.

"In the early 1990s, he had everybody pegged. We came out of the era of the good old Sierras and we stepped into these big bruteful V8s and things started to go the other way.

And Seton could hardly be happier about the move.

"I tliink that DJR is a team with a lot of history," he says with enthusiasm.

"Dick has been the Ford icon in Australian motorsport right up to his retirement, simply because of what he has created since the 'Big Banger' days. It was a team that, in the early V8 Supercar days, was our biggest challenger, with Bowie [John Bowej involved and Dick himself, and the rivalry was intense; friendly, but intense. We were battling for the Ford money, of course, and the support of the Ford fans.

"The team has had some great results over the years but it has also had some slumps, like we all do. I would have to say,from the outside, DJR has worked hard behind the scenes to try and get back to the top.

Looking at it now, it is exciting to be here.

1 have to say that the team missed

continued on page 34 33

continued from page 33 the Bowe Era. Having a driver that understands the cars a fair bit... John was good at that. The history of the team, the results of the team, show tliat. Going into it, equipment-wise the team has what I would expect to get the job done properly - actually, they have a little more than I expected. Now being able to look inside the team, DJR has a lot of good people and a good culture, even with the sponsors. Chalks, Dick and [team manager]Dean [Orr] all are passionate about getting tlie team to where they want it to be. They look after their people very well and that is a really exciting part of DJR." The last comment is telling. We do not know the inner workings of FPR but, clearly, the Ford-backed team marches to its own beat. That is not to say that FPR management is right or wrong, but there were times in the last two years when Seton looked like a square peg in a round hole.

Now, he faces a different prospect.

DJR may have struggled for results over recent seasons but the signs are that the team's BAs are on an upward curve in terms of development and speed. Better still, Johnson and Chalker have secured the team's

/ like what I see:

future with a long-term deal with financial services and property group Westpoint. So, coincidentally, Seton arrives at Stapylton at a time when the cars have changed from their trademark red and yellow livery to 'Seto friendly' blue.

Johnson said that he is delighted with his new driver.

"The first thing we looked at was that we knew Glenn was still very, very hungry and that he had a point to prove," says DJ. "Glenn has always had a bit of talent. He has always driven very r

i^nlinental TYRES - ENGINEERED IN GERMAN'

TOUCH THE EDGE The new ContiCompetition Cl tyre opens new dimensions for performance! l Racing soft compound with special grip improver l Low pitch and reduced tread depth l Highest grip up to the limit l Shortest braking on wet & dry roads

ft '/

^ ..

Last year Seton raced for FPR and battled with the #18 DJR Barra of Warren Luff in Adelaide, above.

This time around, Seto gets to drive that car and number and might suit up in the enduros with Steve Johnson, left.

I used to do this: Seton is a man used to success, right, with two ATCC titles on the mantlepiece.

V8 SUPERCAR FOR SALE » V8 SUPERCAR POR SAI.E

FAICON AU EX SBR A rare opportunity to purchase a car with race-winning history.

l Last SBR AU built. Win ratio is second-tonone, including the 2003 Konica Championships for driver, Mark Winterbottom. l Winner of final round 2004 Series as prepared by SBR and leader at Bathurst until tyre blow-out. l Minimal racing miles with only three maingame events and no major accidents. l As raced at Bathurst. Has recorded maingame times at most tracks and fast enough to win in 2005. l Engine aiways maintained by SBR, l Inc scares. POA

l Also Available with above, or separately: l 96 Iveco Mt3500 Prime Mover. 830km with just 30km since fuli deaier engine rebuild. Full aero kit, alloy steers and chrome drives + Three Car Transporter. New white paint. $140k. l Also V8 SuFjercar hospitality and pit equipment

l Maximum safety at high speeds

AVAILABLE IN 4 SIZES For your closest approved Continental Tyre Dealer ©1300 1363 43 or visit www.continentaltyres.com.au 34

motorsportnews

V8 SUPERCARS well indeed and I certainly believe that he has what it takes to win races.

"He is an absolute breeze to work with, no drama whatsoever. He likes to have input and it is a pleasure to work with people who have no preconceived ideas on how things are. The good thing about Glenn is that he has been a team owner and he understands how life is on the otlier side of the fence, as well as being a driver. He understands the expense involved and he understands and appreciates the car that he has rmder him. Really, he appears to put his

"The first thing we looked at was that we knew Glenn was still very, very hungry and that he had a point to prove ir

-Johnson on Seton

mind to the job at hand."

So, how does Seton compare his old and new teams?

r‘'

"I would have to say that there were a couple of years where the team struggled with the cars. They have invested in people and equipment and I can see that the team has made headway in the last 612 months.

"I can say that, in terms of equipment, DJR and Ford Performance Racing are fairly similar.

Both have CNC machines and shock dynos and all the things you need to do the job properly. They are pretty even in that sense but FPR has the biggest and best workshop you could possibly have. DJR does not have that, in terms of its size, but it is

absolutely as good. He moved into that factory in 1998 and it would have been absolutely the best in the country then; you have to say that, when you look at that, Dick set tlrat ball rolling.

"The team has tlie merchandising shop out the front, the museum and also runs a 'Konica' program to help bring young guys on. That has to be good for the team in both the shortand long-term and it feels good to be a part of that."

And, after driving for, effectively, a , car company that owned a race team, Seton is a lot more comfortable in his new team.

"The difference is that Dick Johnson is a racer," he says.

"He has been there and done it. He knows what it takes to drive in races and win them. His life, his passion, is to have his race team and to be successful. FPR is owned by people who have the experience in motorsport but, I suppose, do what is good for their business - which is to sell performance cars.

"That suits me. You always want to be somewhere where the people are passionate about motor racing. The team has passion about the team going forward, in a motor racing sense. It is not related to selling motor cars."

Geographically, the move was a smart one, with Seton now based in Queensland's south-east corner after two decades in Melbourne.

Coincidentally, former team-mate Craig Lowndes cited that as a major reason that he jumped to Betta Electrical Racing for 2005.

Seton is now starting to look like a Banana Bender, with a lot more colour than he had in past years. He has even bought a boat but, before continued on page 36

;yYOKOHAMA MOTORSPORT From circuit to tarmac, gravel and dirt, Yokohama develop Motorsport tyres to suit your race car.

For professional service and expert advice contact: NSW/ACT Gordon Leven MotosportTryes 02 4735 4500 03 9764 281 1 VIC/TAS Traction Tyres QLD TyreTech Australia

A032R

m 1' iiS

i

■K

9 February 2005

A005

07 3262 7833

North Terrace Tyres

08 8362 4417

NT Darwin Tyre Service WA Victoria Park Tyre & Brake

08 8981 831 1

SA

08 9361 2044

A006

4l

f

» 35

continued from page 35 you start imagining massive cabin cruisers (like those of some drivers we might name)his is a six-metre runabout.

Seton says that being close to the team is about much more than easy commuting.

"That was part of joining DJR; I want to be a bit more technically involved with the team. At FPR, tliat was very ... restricted. I missed that.

Also, the day-to-day camaraderie, being involved with the guys on the floor, I can do that. I am only 15 minutes [drive] from the workshop so I can go any time I want. I can have that camaraderie and be involved technically with the team.

They were good reasons to be a part of it.

"I get to have some input into what I want in my car. My decision is not final, and I did not expect that because I do not own the business, but I can hopefully help them to run at the front of the field."

This season, he faces a new team-

mate in Steven Johnson. After a patchy few seasons, Johnson the Younger is starting to look like he did five years ago, when he showed signs of being a regular visitor to the podium. Apart from being different physically, the two drivers are different breeds of driver.

"Steve has, probably, a different approach to me;I am always wanting to know what stuff is going on, and wanting to learn teclmically, with the car. I have been in that area all my life; that is not going to change.

"Steve is different. He wants to turn up and drive the car. I do not see any differences in that area being a negative; there will be times when he can help me, and others when 1 can help him. If one of us is struggling and the other has an idea on where

win at Bathurst. That would make his career a lot more complete.

"When we went to the Bathurst test days in 1992, he had a Falcon and we had a Falcon. His engine was pretty average and ours was half alright but he got his act together and it was disappointing to see him have Bathurst won and have valve springs break with, what, 15 laps to go? I really felt for him then but, hopefully, we can rectify that for liim."

Even in the very early stages of his DJR career ("I have had only one test ●:r day with the team")Seton feels that this season will be a step in the right direction.

he wants to go, we can sort through that with the guys."

Will they drive together in the endurance races?

"If that happened, the only hard thing would be the difference in size and height. Steven sits back a lot further tlian I do and having drivers of differing sizes might be a problem.

But I do not see an issue in us teaming together. At the end of the day, I think that he is a really good driver and I would welcome the opportunity to drive with Steven.

"I would like to go to Bathurst and start the race; that would be my number one."

Bathurst also represents unfinished business for Dick.

"I am passionate about doing well tills year. There are some things that I want to prove; tliat I can do the job, I can win races and maybe a championship. That is my goal for this year.

"I know that the GP meeting will be a test session for us but by the time that Adelaide rolls around,I feel that we will be up there."

Does that mean a third title is realistic?

"If there is any one thing I would like to deliver to him, it would be a

His life, his passion, is to have his race team and to be successful. FPR is owned by people who have the experience in motorsport but, I suppose, do what is good for their business - which is to sell performance cars"

W

- Seton on Johnson

"That is very difficult to say. There is a lot you need to have right to win a championship these days, with the way that things are structured.

Consistency is the big thing and I think that we have got that. You need that, and reliability and then it is a matter of making sure that you have enough car speed to be in front all the time and finish every race. I am not sure if we are actually going to be good enough to win the championship but we will be giving it our best.'

§

Touch, slide, whammo!

Seton was pressuring John Bowe for the lead at Bathurst in 1995, left, when he looked inside the struggling DJR Falcon exiting the Cutting. The resulting contact forced JB into the inside wall. bottom left, and then across the track, below. Tbe car was taped up in tbe pits, allowing it to limp back onto tbe track.

toohe

RED RlTTEi

motorsport news

V8 SUPERCARS

It'S the Humpy Wheeler There was a time, a decade ago, when the Johnson-Seton chat was less friendly...

GLENN Seton and Dick Johnson have been butting heads for two decades.

In the Ford Sierra era, Johnson's team had the fastest RS500 Cosworths in the country; no, it had probably the fastest in the world. Of all the teams that did battle in similar hardware, it was Seton's Peter Jackson-backed cars that got closest of all to the red rockets.

Then came the V8 era. Seton won the title in 1993 and,two years later, John Bowe lifted the crown for DJR. The rest were, at that stage, still playing catch-up to the rampaging Henrys from Brisbane and Melbourne.

The two men could not have been more different. Johnson is about as mediaperfect as a racing driver/owner can be; you literally do not want to miss a word.

So adept is DJ that he has done numerous TV appearances that have taken him, and the sport, outside the normal boundaries of motor racing and into the media mainstream.

Seton? Not the same animal. In public he speaks fairly well but, as a naturally less grerarious man than Johnson, he never looks as comfortable in the spotlight. Behind the scenes he is fine, chatty even, but that is behind the scenes.

And there is a history between the two.

Johnson once labelled Seton of having the personality of a speed hump.

"It was just before the Phillip Island at the start of the [1995] year," explains Seton.

i

I

"It was a rivalry thing; I am quite a quiet person and the interaction that I had with DJ in those days was fairly minor. I suppose that he saw me as being a quiet person and he labelled me as a 'speed hump'."

Never one to get mad, Seton got even.

"We went to Phillip Island and we put on the back of the car,'Beware, Speed Hump Ahead'. We came out that weekend and absolutely kicked their butts. I will never forget it.

"We were the biggest rivals out there, from 1993 to 95. Both of us had the aim to beat each other, firstly because of the Ford situation and also because of what happened in 1995. The best opportunity for any team to win the championship in those years was either GSR or DJR." And then came the Bathurst 1000 in 1995.

"I had been following Bowie for 10 laps or so," Seto says. We came out of The Cutting and he had no drive; he had been struggling for tyres for a while.

"As we came around the bank there, the right-hander, your normal line is to drift out wide to the concrete fence. He

The best opportunity tor any team to win the championship in those years was either GSR or DJR

W

ff

-Seton remembers the mid-1990s

had a really bad drive out of there and I went to go inside him. I was about, what, a third of the way alongside and he decided to close me out. We came in contact, I turned around and we went into the bank."

And what is Dick's view on the incident?

"I am sure that it was not the best move in the world," he says. "With old JB, it is like trying to pass a kidney stone. He is one of these guys who protects every move and I think that Glenn was trying to intimidate him, and get past, because it is not exactly a place where you can get past someone ...

"JB, in his normal way, was protecting his line and it all came unstuck."

So, not hard feeling then?

"We had a dust-up," Dick smiles. "You have to have the same attitude as the Yanks do with NASCAR;they fire people off the road left, right and centre, all the timel But they do not seem to get too aggro about it. Their day comes eventually."

And now, of course, when Dick says 'they', he means 'us'. Johnson and Seton. Seton and Johnson. Whichever way you lay it out, the combination promises much for fans of the Blue Oval.

Circumstances change and never says never - but this kind of makes you wonder why something like this has never happened before ...

- PHIL BRANAGAN

/

A dish best served cold: Seton and Alan Jones, above, streak away from the opposition at Phillip Island in 1995.

9 February 2005 . -Jk

-

The Wonder Years Brock 60? Yup, Australia's touring car icon hits another life nnilestone this month. He may well have driven his last race, but Brock still has an eye for the sport which made him and, as CHRIS LAMBDEN discovered, a view or two on where it’s going

P

ETER Geoffrey Brock turns 60 on February 26. A few weeks ago,in a low-key Historic touring car race at Symmons Plains, he drove a Torana in what he insists was absolutely his last-ever motor race.

Brock first retired, prematurely as it turned out, at Bathurst in '97.

When he pulled into pit lane at the end of the first stint, the HRT Commodore he shared with Mark Skaife was leading the race.

It was billed as his retirement race.

The car started from pole,led, but subsequently retired. But when Brock pitted, it was leading. A fairy-tale retirement, you would think.

Brock set off on a post-race life not unlike that of former FI champ Jackie Stewart - much in demand for the corporate world; earning more than he had as a driver.

Temptation came a year or so later.

Trying to create a platform to assist son James into V8s, Brock was part of two less-than-successful incarnations of the Team Brock concept. Last year came the opportunity for one last Bathurst, with HRT. The Brock/Plato combo was a top 10 long-shot but that was never tested as Plato crashed the car early. Brock never got a race lap.

Last month the UK's Motosport

magazine voted Brock number two in a Top 20 Toirring Car Drivers Of All Time poll. Frank Gardner, a superstar of the 60s in UK tourers in a massively wide-ranging motorsport career, was the only other Aussie in it, ranked sixth.

Now Australia's highest-profile motorsport face of the past three decades is 60. Time is going by.

"Peter Brock would have ignored the whole thing, quite successfully, but a number of people - particularly Bev and her cohorts - have dreamed up a few things to do with it," says Brock.

"1 said 'so what'. They reckon it's a big deal. 'It's just another year, Bev', "No,no, they said. This is a significant time ...

"The only significance as far as Peter Brock is concerned is that there are stiU a lot of things I'd like to do in life that 1 haven't done. That means things that are interesting to me- not necessarily driving a racing car or even being involved with a team.

"There are other things Hike to do.

1 like to see the country; deal with people; 1 like the idea of mentoring and that kind of stuff- there are a lot of young people crying out for it.

And there is the matter of having a farm and having time to do those farm-like things."

While Brock,like Stewart, has found wealth and a busy schedule in his post-motorsport life, he is still aware that his profile and view can affect things in and out of the sport that made him famous: "Driver education is something that's important, and that leads into life skills in general. I see motorsport as having the ability to make a rather large contribution to society in general, and I'd like to be in a position to encourage that and ensure it happens.

"If 1 can use my profile as a motorsport person to do something outside of motorsport, then motorsport is going to win, because it does increase your demographic.

"There are too many people who only see motor racing in terms of the allied industries and the die-hard fans. You've got to move outside of that.

"We saw that recently, with the tennis, where it got a bit of national fervour going, and where a lot of people got interested in what was going on - despite the fact that they're not that interested in the nuances of tennis itself. They wanted to see an Aussie win, of course, but there were the grunts and groans, the on-court antics ...

"You'd hope that with the GP

To be honest, based on the recent experience with HRT, I get as much satisfaction taking peopie around in HRT's ride car. It's okay, we're more or iess on the pace, and you're giving people an experience they probabiy won't forget!"

W

'ft

-Peter Perfect closes the door on any thoughts of a V8 Supercar comeback

38

coming up there'd be a number of people out there, not necessarily FI fans, thinking 'Mark Webber - an Aussie can actually take it to these foreigners'. That's the sort of thinking motorsport needs to embrace."

Motorsport has changed massively during Brock's reign - especially over the last decade, with the emergence of TEGA and AVESCO and the professionalisation and commercialisation of top level racing in Australia.

While acknowledging the need for a modern sport to embrace that, the almost'closed shop' nature of V8 Supercar racing is, he suggests, going too far: "Ultimately, there has to be hope for people to come along and say 'okay.I'm going to have to win the Development Series, or finish somewhere on the podium m that series, in order to be able to step up the next year.

"I'd like to see a promotion/relegation system in place which says'hey, you haven't performed too well and this team over here is really running red-hotthey now have the right to go out there and step up to the main V8 Supercar game. Most sports have that: soccer has it; in motorsport NASCAR has it with the Busch series.

"1 believe we have to have that, to enable people to move into the main game. If they are shut out of itbecause of, effectively, money - then ultimately the competition will suffer."

Brock appreciates the technical excellence of the modern V8,but questions whether it is almost too good for the spectacle the public want to see: "Driving an HRT car, which is about as good as it gets, is like driving a Swiss watch. The cars are just beautifully put together and when you drive them you have the feeling that this thing has got zero rolling resistance, zero mechanical drag etc etc. It just feels like a work of art, which it is.

"The modem race car reflects the effort that has gone into getting the last little bit of performance out of

continued on page 40 motorsport news

continued from page 38 any given area that the rules and regs allow you to tinker with.

"However, there is a sameness about the cars. Certainly, the cream still tends to rise to the top, but what would you do to add in an X-factor ...

"I'd like to see tyres opened up a little again. It's simple to do. Inviting in other manufacturers,such as Yokohama and Bridgestone, brings additional dollars into the sport, and provides an obvious performance difference from track to track.

"The cars probably have a bit too much downforce. They probably behave themselves too well. If you get slightly out of shape on a corner in a modern car, or miscue your braking by a couple of metres, that lap time is going to be shot to pieces.

So,it doesn't encourage spectacular driving. It encourages driving which is absolutely on the limit and in the groove - a bit like FI is.

"So although technically you can say 'that car is going fast; that driver is doing a brilliant job' the car doesn't show that to the public as readily as it might do. On the other hand,if you've got a car, a tyre, that can cope with a bit of attitude, that you can give a bit of curry and it comes back for more ...

"I notice it with the PR2'drive car' that I have driven for HRT. It's a V8 Supercar, but with the old Bridgestones on and ... I enjoy that!

"I remember Mark Skaife saying 'don't get too used to that, because when you put the control tyre on,it just doesn't do those things ...'

"And so it was. When I started to drive the current race car, around Winton, the boys were letting me know I'd dropped two-tenths down a straight because the car had got a bit out of line coming out of the corner!

"So maybe,if you're going to stick with a single tyre brand, you look at the type of tyre we've got; its performance specs. Maybe we can get something which allows us to get back to more spectacular racing.

"I guess you can also look at

tuning-down the performance of the wings on the car, So the car will move around a bit more - then put a tyre on which will allow a driver to have

they've got some sort of Hollywood deal happening. They just need to lighten up a bit..."

Brock is adamant that he won't

a major go without seriously adversely affecting the lap times."

Anything else? Brock has watched with interest the new breed of young motorsport professional and has an interesting observation; "There is a need for V8 Supercar drivers to lighten up just a little and not take themselves quite so seriously; to understand it's a great privilege to be out there.

"The worst thing you can do is to start believing what your own spin-

race a car again. Not on a track, not in Targa, not in a Safari. That's it.

"There are a lot of people around who want you to be part of what they are doing,for whatever reason: to get a sponsor over the line, whatever ...

"When I stopped in '97 it probably was too early. I probably stopped because I didn't like the way a few things were happening and I thought 'look. I'll just get out of this; walk away;it's fine - I've had a pretty good innings.'

«r

"There is a need for V8 Supercar drivers to lighten upjustaiittie and not take themselves quite so seriously; to understand it's a great priviiege to he out theren - Brock passes on some tips to the current generation

doctors are churning out. My advice to them is don't read it! Be true to yourself, down-to-earth and reasonable.

"Get along with the public. If you've got an opinion, express itdon't get into politicaTcorrectnessand you'll be happier as an individual.

"The result will be a sport which is fairly entertaining and emotionally charged, with a bunch of characters in it who understand what life's all about and live it to the fullest. That's better than the political correctness we sometimes see and what I see some of them swagger up pit lane and the public doesn't know who they are! Some of them have no public profile - yet they act like

"I could have walked away and not gone to a race track again in my life - in fact it was Bathurst the following year before I did! I didn't really see a V8 Supercar race in between and I got a lot of work done around the place and earned a lot of money -far more than when I was racing!

But I found a few other events that I enjoyed doing and I hoped I could have a bit of a thrash around with nobody taking any notice. Thatceased to be valid because in the end, people would come along and say 'if you go into this event, we'll make all this happen for you'. I'm talking Targa, Safari, that kind of stuff.

"My other reason for doing the subsequent races was that, really, I

would have loved to give James a bit better start. It seemed that tlie way to get some sponsors out there interested always involved the pressure for me to drive: 'if you drive, Peter, tlien we can do X,Y, and Z.' "One thing led to another and I found myself back in this competitive world of motor sport without having the real heart for the competition.

"I've never ended the love affair with driving pieces of machinery around a race track, but that's entirely different from the competitive business where you've got to be better than everyone else.

"As a kid, and for many, many years, if I wasn't beating someone else, life was pretty crook; I thought that I was doing something wrong. I wanted to be the fastest on every time sheet. That sustains you.

"But once you get to the point where you think 'I'm doing alright; cruising around here, not making a mug of myself and, hey, on race day you never know what might happen' you get to that point where you stop being the competitive person.

"To be honest, based on the recent experience with HRT,I get as much satisfaction taking people around in HRT's ride car. It's okay, we're more or less on the pace, and you're giving people an experience they probably won't forget!"

So now,shortly, Peter Brock is 60 and busier than ever - although not on a race track - with sponsor and corporate appearances and endorsement work. He's also on the Board of the Grand Prix.

There was some subtle pressure for him to turn up at the recent Mount Buller HillcUmb event, but in the end he sent an email to a friend linked to the event saying'No car, no money, no time, no interest!'

"That's perhaps a little spurious, as I was actually quite keen to know how certain people had gone. It's a fabulous event, but I had something else completely different on for that day and I'm not missing it (driving) one bit."

Would you buy a car off this man?

THE major event surrounding Peter Brock's 60th birthday will be a fund-raising breakfast at the Australian Motorsport Show,on Friday February 18.

Proceeds will go to the Peter Brock Foundation, which supports a number of programmes aimed at helping those who need a bit of a kick-start in life.

Neil Crompton will host the 7am breakfast, at the Show's Royal Exhibition Building venue.

Guest speakers will include colourful swimming coach Laurie Lawrence, Olympic medallist Matt Welsh and the mercurial Peter Daicos, former star of Brock's beloved Collingwood footy club.

Holden has stepped forward to pledge a

Holden Astra to the fund-raising breakfast, which will be among the items auctioned on the day, which also includes Brock's Holden Racing Team driving suit from last year's Bathurst 1000, one of his original open face racing helmets, a painting by renowned international motorsport artist Don Packwood and corporate hospitality passes to this year's Foster's Australian Grand Prix.

Tickets for the breakfast are just $165 (-fGST) of which $50 will go straight to the Peter Brock Foundation.

Enquiries for remaining seats and tables should be directed to show promoter Lisa Skaife (03 9598 9101 or infoOaustralianmotorsport.biz).

motorsport news

ir-

f

II YOU HAVE THE HEEB

WE HAVE THE SPEED

^ -iSL

^ ot

iX-k-1

l Australia's ONLY dedicated motorsport show l Race cars from Drift to Drags and all things in between l Racegear and team apparel l Motorsport Theatrette l Technical Seminars l CAMS Information Centre

FEBRUARY 18-20 AUSTRALIAH ROYAL EXHIBITION BUILDINGS MOTORSPORT CARLTON MELBOURNE VICTORIA ’ ' P:(03)9598 9101 R (03)9598 1901

SHOW

_

200 0

www.austral ian-motorsport.biz

Williams FW27:Cono /I

-A JUIUB,

E3 R-*

T

HIS is the car in which Mark Webber hopes to revive the fortunes of the BMW.Williams team,starting with the Australian Grand Prix,in March.

After Williams' 2004 experiment with a 'twin-keel' chassis and the infamous walrus nose, the team has pursued a more KISS-style approach to 2005, unveiling a car which Technical Director Sam Michael describes as "reflecting our philosophy of concentrating on the fundamentals.

Our focus throughout the design cycle has been built around simple variables that affect performance. such as reducing weight and friction. while increasing stiffness.

As a consequence of this focus. we have reverted to a single-keel configuration for the front suspension geometry.

"We have also been aggresive with our cooling, as witnessed by the extremely low engine bodywork and continued on page 44

42

motorsportnews

FI TECH

ntrating on Fundamentals

3i

Power Australia expects ... The front-line troops at the BMW.Williams launch (left to right, above): Sam Michael, Mario Thiessen (BMW), Nick Heidfeld, Mark Webber, Antonio Pizzonia, Patrick Head and Frank Williams.

With a higher front wing and reduced undercar diffuser effect, Michael says that massive CFD computer prediction programs have started to All images: sutton-images.com regain the 30 percent downforce loss.

9 February 2005

●»--

I

Webber: FW27 has lots of potential

I

A

FTER his first three days behind the wheel, Mark Webber has expressed himself pleased with the brand-new FW27 Williams, although he cautions that there is still work to do to develop the car into a front-runner.

"The new regs have made it quite a challenge for all the teams

to get on top of things in a short space of time," he told MNews.

"The FW27 is a beautifully engineered car - the lightest car they've ever built. It's almost like a big F3 car.

"With the car as light as it is, the variables as to placement of ballast for best balance and tyre durability open up further.

"The basic design has very good potential and it's now up to us to work on that, to develop aero efficiency as well as pure downforce."

The next weeks of testing are crucial for all teams in terms of evaluating their new cars and extracting early performance.

Williams is no different.

"Everyone is aiming very high with this car," Webber said "We've probably got a little bit of pace to find at the moment, but we're not worried by that- that's, what GP racing is all about," After a weekend break, Webber was set to return for another solid week's testing this week!

continued from page 42

have fundamentally limited the expansion raho of the air in the diffuser and reduced the ground effect of the front wing, the net result of which is a reduction of around 30

tool to assess the implications of the new rules, and to consider a wide range of potential solutions. We have scaled up our computational resource by a factor of three times. We augmented our in-house capability with the use of HP's Bristol Laboratories computer farm, which allows us to run computations using

external resource at peak load times, such as during the new car design phase," explained Michael.

"As a consequence of all of this additional capability, we ran almost 100 percent more aerodynamic models in CFD this year to investigate the optimal solutions under the new regs."

the large sidepod undercuts.

"Reliability is the final area we have been determined to pursue, and we have made significant progress, specifically with the gearbox, which has been ruraiing on-track since November 2004 without problems.

"The changes to the rules devised by the FI Technical Working Group

percent of downforce witlrout reduction in drag. We have worked hard to recover as much lost downforce as possible, primarily via predictive means."

"Prediction, using computational fluid dynamics(CFD)was our main

Boffins galore: This bank of computers and technicians are required to monitor data during FW27 testing ...

Believe it or not!

The Williams BMW FW27 design process involved: n 1,3 terabytes of aero data processed in CFD (1 terabyte is a thousand million bytes), equivalent to 69,333 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica n 250,000 man hours of design time, with a further 250,000 man hours required in fabrication and build. n 4500 drawings were produced in the design of the FW27 chassis. End-on-end, these drawings would stretch for 5350km with a further 4000 expected to be produced to support the FW27's lifecycle. By the end of the 2005 season, drawings will 'reach' from London to Buenos Aires.

B Each BMW P84/5 engine contains 5000 individual components, and takes 100 man hours to build. BMW have historically produced approximately 200 engines per season, but this figure will reduce in 2005.

B The BMW engine weighs less than 90 kilograms. At 19,000rpm, 316.7 revolutions and 1583.3 ignitions take place each second in the BMW FI engine. At the same time, 9500 engine speed measurements are made, the pistons cover a distance of 25 metres, and 550 litres of air are drawn in ... motorsportnews

we mmide as Mark Webber makes his debut behind the wheel of a BMW WilliamsFl car at Melbourne s 10th Grand Prix.

Ymmuld be cheering Australia’s first podium in almost 25 years. Four-day Grandstand tickets from $359 per persons

ThePlaceToBe

LQj

Permm/aJ'

Visitgrandpr/xxormai 'Conditions of sale and entry apply.

^ FOSTER'SAUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX2005

Chasing Shadows In 1975,Shadow moved from being the Easybeats to Formula One's Team to Beat-for twe races. PHIL BRANAGAN loeks back on one of FI's mystery teams

s

I

II

Man in Black: Don Nichols, above, literally emerged from the shadows to take his US team to FI. At Brazil in 1975, below, Jean-Pierre Jarier was so far in front there was nobody in his mirrors - until 10 laps from home.

RETRO FI

T

HE start of a Formula One season is enough to get any motor racing fan's nerves tingling.

There is mucli to witness at Albert

seem like a cross between Days of Thunder, Bobby Deerfield, The Thomas Crown Affair and Clear and Present Danger.

Shadow revolved around its owner, Don Nichols. Information about the man is sketchy, at best, because his life prior to FI involved service in the US intelligence community. Rumours suggest he was involved in the CIA's program in Korea during the 1950s but what is known is that Nichols appeared in Japan in the early 60s, selling Firestone and Goodyear tyres and consulting on the design of some of the Japanese race tracks, including

Park; new cars, new drivers, so many possibilities. There is even a new qualifying format(we think) but, in reality, the race for pole position is likely to go to Ferrari. Williams, BARHonda and McLaren might get a look in but, apart from those eight cars, it is hard to see a'minnow' pulling off an upset.

But what if Jacques Villeneuve took pole for Sauber? Or one of the Russian-owned Jordans scored pole?

Nah,it will never happen.

But it used to. Thirty years ago, the best and the brightest in FI spent a fair bit of the start of the season - and

Fuji.

most of the early races - chasing Shadows. Or, more accurately, one Shadow. To explain the history of the American-owned team, you would need to make a movie that would

k

5

5

drivers, Tom Pryce joined towards the end of the year. Southgate got to work on the DNS and Shadow was starting to look like a racing team.

For the opening race of the season in Buenos Aires, Shadow was ready; Jarier took pole by nearly half a second from the Brabham of Carlos Pace, with local hero Carlos Reutemarm and Ferrari's Niki Lauda filling the second row.

But on the formation lap.

Shadow's fairytale start came crashing down. Jarier broke a crown wheel pinion and failed to make it to the start of the race.

Before the next race in Brazil, there were rumours that Ronnie Peterson

Back in the USA in 1968, Nichols established Advanced Vehicle Systems, which built a CanAm car for the 1970 season. After George Follmer won the title two years later, Nichols landed a major sponsorship from Universal Oil Products and set

was about to quit Lotus and join the 'other' black team, but they proved false. This time around, Jarier took pole by an even bigger margin, 0.8s, while Pryce repeated his Argentine performance by qualifying 14th.

Reutemarm won the start but the

up a British operation to build Formula 1 cars at Weedon in England.

Considering the times, when engines could be sourced easily from Cosworth and transmission from

Frenchman shot past after five laps and pulled a gap of 25 seconds. With 10 laps to go, the DN5 began to

Hewland,it came together quickly.

Designer Tony Southgate was headhunted from BRM and the team was run by Alan Rees,formerly of March. Southgate built a prototype (in his garage at home!)and Follmer debuted the Shadow DNl with sixth place in South Africa in 1973.

The following year, new drivers were hired to steer the DN3(DN2 was another CanAm car). Peter Revson retired in the opening two races before he was tragically killed in a test in South Africa but JeanPierre Jarier started to show some speed, taking third in the International Trophy at Silverstone and repeating the trick at Monaco.

After trying out a number of

But on the formation lap, Shadow's fairytale start came crashing down.

Jarier broke a crown wheel pinion and failed to make it to the start of the race. misfire and stopped shortly after with fuel vaporisation. Pryce has already had an accident so all the team had to show from two promising performances was four DNFs. And it was never the same again.

Pryce won the International Trophy but at the end of the season, UOP pulled the plug. Pryce had finished a respectable 10th in the Drivers' championship with eight points but Jarier was only 18th on 1.5, a number that in no way represented what a weapon the car had been in the heat of South America.

In the Constructors' pointscore, Ferrari, Brabham, McLaren, Hesketh and Tyrrell distanced themselves from the minnows, which we led by Shadow.Immediately behind were Lotus, March and Williams.

With little funding, the team struggled with 'B' versions of the DNS in 1976. Pryce was killed in South Africa the following year but his replacement, Alan Jones, surprised the world when he won in Austria. But by the end of the season, the team was breaking up; Oliver, Rees, Southgate and much of the staff headed off to start a new team.

Arrows.

Nichols hired designer John Baldwin to finish the new DN9,but when the new Arrows A1 was unveiled, it looked suspiciously similar to the Shadow. Nichols sued and won,leaving Arrows to park its new car and start - and finish - a new one in barely eight weeks.

Shadow struggled on with pay drivers until 1981, when Nichols sold the team to colourful businessman Teddy Yip, who renamed it Theodore. Over the following seasons, the Shadow name remained on the cars, at least, until the team produced the Theodore TYl. In terms of actually scoring points.

Shadow had atrocious luck but, when it came to setting the pace in FI, the opening races of 1975 were as good as it ever got for the men in black.

And, Nichols? As in all good spy yarns, he disappeared. He is probably watching still, from the

'3^

Le Fast and Le Furious: Shadow showed glimpses ofspeed later in the 1975 season. At Zandvoort, Jarier held second for much of the race until a flat tyre allowed Niki Lauda's Ferrari to sweep by into second, above. iff

47

In Sn

In V8 Supercars, the PR war over column inches and sponsor exposure is as toughly-fought as the batties on the track.

MARK GLENDENNING taiks to two of the leading Ministries of Information.

Y

OU see evidence of their work everywhere, even if they themselves hover just outside the edge of the public spotlight.

Most of it is stuff that you probably take for granted - a story in a newspaper, an appearance by Greg Murphy or Marcos Ambrose at a store opening, Craig Lowndes signing autographs behind the garage half an hour after qualifying, or, if you are attending a race in corporate suite luxury, having your team's star driver turn up as the guest speaker while you attack the buffet.

Like every other aspect of a professional sport though, most of this activity is planned right down to the minute, and the responsibility for making it all happen tends to ride on the shoulders of the team's Public

Relations(PR) person.

A V8 Supercar PR guy (or girl - PR is probably the least genderimbalanced aspect of motorsport in

Australia) can appear in any number of guises over the course of a race weekend - one minute a diplomat, the next a babysitter, later a driver manager, tlien a ponytailed marketing executive. Occasionally, if the situation (or their employer) demands it, they will don an amusing animal suit.

More specifically, their role is a combination of what would probably be two or three jobs in many other sports, with elements of media liason, sponsorship management and general driver mollycoddling. It's a position that has become increasingly important over the past few years, as sponsors search for greater returns on increasing investments.

As is the case with drivers, journalists and every other occupation in motorsport, there are good PR operators, and there are bad ones. Two of the best are Brett

"It's a difficult one to express, but it's all the major Holden V8 teams, pretty much. There's HRT,PWR and KRT within the office, but there's more to it than that- there is Perkins

'Crusher' Murray,(who personally looks after SBR and, through his

and Garry Rogers ...

"How it works is that the teams

company BAM Media, also services a number of other clients including Orrcon Racing) and Tim 'Plastic' Pemberton(who heads Pemberton Publicity, which handles all of the Holden Motorsport teams in a relationship that extends back to the days of disco).

As leading PR agents from each side of the V8 Supercar manufacturer fence. Crusher and Plastic routinely fail to see eye-to-eye on any given situation.(Indeed, any V8 journalist will tell you that their verbal jousts are a highlight of most press conferences). But both agree that their job demands different things, according to the needs of their clients.

"I guess the way we run this business is that we do different levels of things for different levels of people," said Crusher.

"In regards to SBR, we actually have an arrangement where we work with the sponsors - we have an association with Caltex, Pirtek and D Bosch. We service those clients, and through that we also service the .5 3 drivers and make sure that they are = looked after at the tracks, make sure that they get to the right places on . time, make sure that they are wearing the right gear. We are continually feeding them with information over the weekend that will help them in certain circumstances. And that also happens with Ross and Jimmy (Stone), and Ken Douglas. And I'd like to think that we do that at a level

holo^

We like to promote all of the Holden drivers together as a group because it becomes a good bonding session - and we figure that the guys are less likely to punt each other off the track if they are reasonabiy good mates.

"Ford buggered this up when they started waving tennis doilars at our blokes from over the fence...n - Tim ‘Plastic’Pemberton, Holden Motorsport PR guru 48

higher than anyone else.

"Basically, when we have a client of that sort of stature we become part of their business. We have to get to understand their business, and what they want from the PR program, and what they want from their involvement in sponsorship. They all require something different, so it is a matter of analysing that and working out the best communication system and how we do it."

"We represent Holden Motorsport teams," explained Plastic, who supervises a number of staffers that concentrate heavily on HRT,PWR, Tasman and KRT.

\

operate differently as to how they want to spread communication around the place. We help out whatever their internal structure is some of them have internal operators, some of them don't. They all like to operate different ways.

"You just work in to support the teams in however they wish to operate. Which could be more, or less, in terms of PR input. It's as required.

It's just different from team to team."

The increase in professionalism within the sport over the past few years has created an environment where sponsorship and marketing require as much energy as the workshop. According to Crusher, the big advantage of PR for teams is that it handballs the business side of the game to someone else, freeing up the teams to get on with doing what they know best.

"I guess what we are trying to do is, we are trying to take that side of the business away from the race team so that they can concentrate on going fast," he explained.

"Obviously as you win the responsibilities become greater,

motorsport news

INSIGHT

inner Cunning stunts: SBR won the PR war in Canberra if'

in 2002 with this little gem, above, while Holden struck back by reuniting Murph with the famous 'Five minute'portaloo at Bathurst in 2003, above right.

When PR goes wrong: Former MN man turned Holden PR bloke Gerald McDornan

A

after a long day at Sandown in 2001, right.

Fight night:

>nfoya

Another of Crusher's clients is the

Indy 300, which saw him in Don King mode for the 'title fight' between Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti in 1999, far right. which places more emphasis on what we are doing. They(SBR)have got to try to keep ahead of everybody else, so they've got to work harder, and we've also got to work harder to keep the sponsors happy, keep the media happy, keep the fans happy, and try and keep the whole tiring glued together."

The increasing influence of sponsorship has put more pressure on all concerned to find ways to make the relationships work. Not many companies are content to hand over a cheque in exchange for

9 February 2005

Dirk Kiynsmitb

signage on the car any more, which means that it falls to the PR and marketing team to find new and inventive ways to get the names out there and build brand awareness.

"It's about how sponsors can get the best bang for the buck," said Crusher, "And we are in the ideas business - we need to keep creating ideas and servicing them better. Race teams need to come up with ideas to stay ahead of the opposition, and so do we. And we've come up with some ideas with regards to how we present

stuff, and how we look after people ... a lot in the last couple of years.

"Things like our online image service and all those things that other people aren't doing - although 1 see that a couple of people have decided to lift their game a bit.

"How you do it depends on what part of the media you are aiming at.

You need to come up with stunts or ideas that are going to grab their attention, and the branding comes with that.

"You've just got to be thinking all the time. It's a 24 hour-a-day job, and

everyone that works for me lives and breathes the business. And if they don't, they won't survive in the business. It's as simple as that.

"I think a lot of young blokes that get into the business think it's all champagne and rubbing shoulders and getting to hold the drivers' helmet. Well, that's about two percent of the business. If you think of an idea at three in the morning, you've got to get up and write it down and make it work."

continued on page 50 49

This business is either creation or control”

11

- Brett ‘Crusher’ Murray, SBR PR man(amongst other things)

continued from page49 "The whole thing is a lot more competitive than what it used to be," agrees Plastic.

"If you go back 20 years, there were only two or three teams that had any sense of marketing at all, and that was the Holden Dealer Team, Alan Moffat and Allan Grice - which were Attention seeking: Skaife points to a generation gap during Peter Brock's first 'comeback'at Bathurst in 2002, above, while Bezzy and Marcos avail themselves of a tank in Darwin in the same year, below.

"You've got to make it fun for the drivers," reckons Crusher.

all supported by cigarette sponsors that wanted value for money.

"But now there is probably 20 teams out there arguing over available space in the media,so you've got to be on the ball to get your fair share.

"All the sponsors are different.

Some operate through their own internal resources, and some depend entirely upon the team or manufacturer resources. It's different with each sponsor as to how they want to do this, so again you just work in with what they required."

According to Plastic, part of Holden's strategy is to capitalise on the profile of its drivers.

"We work largely around the driver profiles and trying to maximise those," he said.

"Some are very easy to work with - Greg Murphy and Mark Skaife in particular, because they've got very high profiles, and anything they do or anything they say is more likely to have credence than it might from a lot of other drivers. So you have that factor coming into things. . "But you have to come up with fresh ideas relative to where the teams are operating through the season. Some do well, some are not doing so well, some have reasons, some don't. You've just got to be on the ball on a daily basis to stay on top of what's going on."

As well as working with the bigger names, there are also efforts made to promote the image of the stars-in-

waiting, such as Rick Kelly. But while having a couple of Bathurst wins under the belt certainly helps, it is still a long process.

"You've got to bring the young blokes on," Plastic said.

"But it doesn't happen overnight.

And with the V8s you've got to get a success record going for yourself to really get noticed. If you've got no success record at all, it doesn't matter who you are, you are not going to get much coverage."

Another trademark of the Holden approach is to promote its drivers in groups - as evidenced by campaigns such as the 'Gladiators' poster in 2000, or the recent'You've Got To Have Heart' dip that was played on superscreens at all V8 rounds from Sandown onwards.(Both of those sprung from the imagination of Plastic himself).

"From a Holden perspective, we like to promote all of the Holden drivers together as a group because it becomes a good bonding session and we figure that the guys are less likely to punt each other off the track if they are reasonably good mates," Plastic reasoned.

"Ford buggered this up when they started waving tennis dollars at our blokes from over the fence ..."

"The business is either two things," concluded Crusher.

"It is either creation or control. If you are winning you've got to control (publicity), and if you're not then you've got to create it.

"The beauty of being with SBR is that we've been able to do both, we've been able to create it and control it at the same time, which probably hasn't been seen in the category before.

"So we are getting a pretty good run, and obviously the results help, but you've got to make hay while the sun shines, as they say."

motorsportnews

Dealing With The Unexpected SOWIETIMES Mohammed must go to the mountain; other times,the mountain comes to Mohammed.

Or, in PR-land, sometimes you go looking for publicity and sometimes publicity finds you, whether you want it to or not.

As much as a PR person would love to be able to control even/ situation that may arise with their team, there will always be things that they didn't- or couldn't- plan for.

Knowing how to handle a potentially negative situation by minimising the impact (in a worst-case scenario) or spinning it into a postive is where the PR luminaries can become a team's strongest asset.

Taking the fireworks between Mark Skaife and Russell Ingall at Eastern Creek in 2003 as an example. Crusher says that he was already in damage control mode before Ingall had stepped out of the car.

"It was like, well, how are we going to sort this out?" he said.

"In those instances, you may work with the other side and say, when the current affairs shows come chasing you you come to an agreement and shut it down for the betterment of the sport and the betterment of the sponsors and the betterment of everybody else.

n

X I

Mobiim ‘ SB

Hoventry Studios

"But I think that is sort of common across the board.

You've just got to be able to manage those situations.

"It wasn't a great situation for either Mark or Russell, but you just try to treat it as best you can.

"There's always a positive, you've just got to find it.

"Sometimes it is a lot harder to find than others. But there is always a positive there somewhere and sometimes you've got to say, we've had a problem, it should or shouldn't have happened, and we've just got to deal with it'."

- MARK GLENDENNIIMG

Under the pump Three hypothetical crises, and how Crusher would cope

1. Your team has been caught testing illegally at an airstrip. What would be your first response?

CRUSHER: Resign.

2. Your driver pushes a pitlane reporter and is caught by the TV cameras.

CRUSHER: Work out if the pitlane reporter deserved it, and have a bit of a laugh.

3. Your driver is caught speeding at 40km/h over the limit on the road.

CRUSHER: Hong, long pause). Good question. First of all. I'd establish whether he was doing 40 km/h over the limit.. , Obviously you would use any influence you had to reduce the impact, and then you would have to reduce any negative public backlash.

I think you just need to go into control mode. If your relationship is good enough with your driver, then in that instance he would ring you straight away.

Formula

1

High-end Motorsport.

n

It's not about racing.

//

\t's about winning.

How many racers compete to finish last? It's their desire, their will and their machinery that combine to achieve success. Engineered in Schweinfurt, Germany, the world's leading race teams rely on our aerospace technology, FI experience and engineering excellence to enjoy race winning performance. Shouldn't you?

TRIPLE EIGHT 2F Sachs Race Engineering.

Triple Eight Race Engineering l PO Box 233 n Albion l QLD 4010 Phone: 07 3332 8600 n sachs@tripleeight.com.au

9 February 2005

RACE ENGINEERING

SACHS ENGINEERING

51

What to do, whopo t

4s reigning DTM Champion, Mattias Ekstrom is Europe’s answer to Marcos Ambrose. As potentially the next star of World Rallying, he’s also Europe’s Chris Atkinson. CHRIS JORDAN spoke with this thoroughly interesting 26-year-old Swede MOTORSPORT NEWS: It was a fantastic achievement to win the DTM championship last year. It must have been very special to win your first major championship.

MATTIAS EKSTROM: Yeah, I mean, I have been working at it for a very long time, 1 will say the only thing is that it is so difficult when you have been working at something for so many years and finally when it was through, it was difficult to let it sink in, I would say it took me about a week before I could realise it, I think that happens to everybody when they have their first big success like that.

MN:It was a pleasing time for you, and also for Audi to win the DTM,as they have a proud motorsport heritage.

ME: Yes, they were also happy because that was the first time that Audi were coming back as a works squad in the DTM and they were very happy that they were successful straight away.

MN: It is an interesting time in European touring car racing at the moment, with the World Touring Car Championship picking up some momentum.

Do you think that the DTM will remain the premier touring car category in Europe?

ME: I would say that the upper

t

hand that the DTM will have over the World Touring Cars is that the cars are more exciting to watch because they are faster and I don't see that ex-Formula 1 drivers would want to do World Touring Cars, But DTM is still quite fast and I think that it is a good step down (from FI) because the cars are still quite fast. But if you go to the World Touring Cars, 1 don't think there are so many that are wanting to do'that.

Then, on the other hand, the World Touring Cars are. I've kiliiubui

Formula 1 cars and World Rally Cars, are very high-tech, you know. But the DTM cars are very mechanical - we have no traction control, we have no ABS, we have a normal sequential gearbox, no paddle shift. Starting we do manually, so it's pretty much up to the driver to handle the car when the car is ready.

I mean, CK with the World Touring Cars it is the same but if you look at the cars they are not as powerful. With World Rally Cars you have ABS, you have

So all these places are always nice to go to.

MN: DTM seems similar to V8 Supercars in Australia, both in some aspects of car configuration and the directions of professionalism.

Do you hear much of V8s in DTM racing circles?

ME: Yeah, I know it a bit, because I got an offer to drive there. I got an offer to do some races in 2003, before doing the full series in 2004. It was a good friend that I've known for some time that made me the offer.

But I have such a good drive here with Audi, so I could not go because I wanted to stay and win the DTM. And when I had Motors Television, I was looking at it quite a lot.

"WopM Towing Cars are, I've noticeil, a bit 'cheaper'for the manufacturers. But it is very seldom that a good show is ciiemif you know!

MN: A lot of European touring car drivers really struggle to come to terms with V8 Supercars. Do you think that if teams in Australia sought DTM drivers they would be able to adapt a lot better?

ME: I mean, as far as I know, on your cars the downforce is not as good as ours. Our downforce is a bit higher but you have more horsepower. I'm not sure if that is 100 percent true, but that is what I have heard over here.

:strom on the WTCC vs DTM sutton-images.

noticed, a bit 'cheaper' for the manufacturers. But it is very seldom that a good show is cheap, you know! '

traction control, you have semi automatic shifting and in Formula 1 it is pretty hot with all these ... 'help' functions.

MN:The DTM cars seem like real driver's car, with all that power and grip. Is that part of the category's attraction?

ME: Many of these motor race cars these days, like your

MN:The DTM is proving quite a success and is very professional. Is it a good series to be a part of and to be the champion of?

ME: Yeah, I think the organisers, the ITR, have been very clever because when you are going to an event, there is not only racing there. There is plenty of other things to do that is catching attention for spectators and you don't have to be a true racing 'freak' to come to DTM races.

You can go and watch and you can go and eat nice food and you can listen to some music on Saturday evenings, where there is very often a concert. There are other things to do, so that is good.

It is also good that as drivers and teams, we always get to go to race tracks that are in good condition with pit garages and all this stuff, and at Nurburgring you have the hotel at the racetrack.

MN: Quite true. V8 Supercars have much less downforce, but run over 600 horsepower.

We don't run things like a rear diffuser like the DTM and the cars are much heavier here as well.

ME: I think a DTM driver would be able to handle it a bit better than other touring car drivers, because they are more used to having around the same amount of horsepower.

MN: Going into the 2005 DTM season, your team has changed a little, with Allan McNish and Dindo Capello coming into the Audi squad.

Do you think that the team will be stronger for their inclusion?

ME: Yes. I mean, it is always good

motorsport news

52 t

ogo? for some new names and new ideas and new spirit to come into the team. But on the other hand, experience goes a long way. 1 don't say experience helps you to fly, but it helps you to walk.

You have to do your best, but for guys like Capello and McNish and (Mika) Hakkinen to go for the championship it would be difficult.

I mean, the first races you have to be spot-on straight ^away, and that is not so easy.

But I am happy that they are there, because like I say, new guys bring new ideas.

MIM: How about yourself. Is everything looking good for you to defend your title?

ME: Yeah, I feel OK. The championship starts all over new and it's the same for me as for everybody else. Even if everybody says that they want to be champion, it makes very little sense - it's a new season and a new year and nobody has any points and everybody starts from the same place. You have to try the best you can again and I think the team will be well prepared, as well as me.

MN;You mentioned Mika Hakkinen. Has his inclusion in the series created a great deal of hype and interest?

ME: In Sweden, I would say that when he signed, thefe was some small news and notice that this had been done, but I would say that it has not been as big as I expected it to be.

But once the season i

9 February 2005

L

is starting it will take on the speed again, but I was expecting more attention on him. But I think that because it is our winter season, motorsport is not what n there is to write about. But once we come to testing and driving in the first races there will be a lot more attention to his name.

MIM: Of course, another ex-FI driver, Heinz-Harald Frentzen joined the DTM in 2004 and probably didn't do as well as he, Opel and everyone in general expected him to.

ME: Hmmm, you know, sometimes he was very fast! I think that something that is good - some people say good, some people say bad - about the DTM is that you can look very stupid by being not so far off the pace {laughs).

I mean, if you look time-wise, sometimes you may feel that you are not

that far off the pace, but you look stupid because it is so close. I would say that I expected him to be faster in the second half (of the season) but he wasn't, so I was a bit surprised by that.

MN: Christian Albers was one of your rivals for the DTM title in 2004, but now he has gone to Minardi in F1. Young drivers like Gary Paffett and Jamie Green are trying to follow suit.

Do you think that the DTM is a place to be noticed by FI teams and the manufacturers?

ME: Yeah. I'm pretty sure that if you go to DTM and you want to go to Formula 1 that you are not destroying your career in any way, because the cars are quite similar to a single seater. I mean, it's not a body shell like you have in other touring cars. You have a carbon monocoque and also the

chassis are more or less built like a single seater, so the feelings are quite the same. Also we have quite a lot of downforce.

Also, working with a manufacturer at this level is good because these are big teams and you are part of a big family when you are joining a manufacturer in the works teams and yeah, 1 think that this is all good experience to collect.

MN: What impact has Opel's decision to pull out of the DTM had on the series? Did it come as a shock or did you see it coming?

ME: You know, I cannot say that we saw it as a big shock, because some people were saying that because they were not getting success that they might puW out and that rumour had been around.

If it had been all quiet. like if Mercedes said tomorrow that they would pull out, then I would be continued on page 54

continued from page 53 surprised. But that was not the case, so no.

MIM: It didn't take long for MG Rover to announce their plans to join the series, not long after Opel's announcement. It must be a sign of health that despite Opel's financially motivated decision, other manufacturers are keen to join the DTM? ME: Before you see the cars and see how they are going it is difficult to say how they are going to go. But it is good to see another manufacturer coming in, that is for sure, because it would be difficult only with two manufacturers.

more a rally freak than a racing freak because where I grew up, the closest race track is two hours away, but the rallying was around in the forest all the time.

So I would say the dream to drive a World Rally Car I have had since long ago.

I mean, the difference is that once I started to drive myself, 1 said 'no, no, I don't want to do rallying. Everything is too dirty; it's too early in the mornings'.

MN; Last year was when your rallying stepped up, when you competed in some WRC events driving a Mitsubishi in the Production World Rally Championship (Group N).

ME; Yeah, I did two events in Sweden. One round of the Swedish championship, and then Rally Sweden.

MN: You're being modest...

ME: Yeah, I won the Rally

I have been a racing driver for 10 years and rallies, I have done 25 in my whole life...

If

MN: You did the Race of Champions at the end of 2004.

Did the drivers treat that as a bit of fun, or was it very serious amongst all the drivers?

ME: I think you can say that everybody takes it for fun until they sit in the car, then everybody gives it 'full puli'. It was great to meet some other drivers and to have a try. It is a very different style at that track.

Normally they have that event at the Canary Islands on gravel, but it was tarmac at the Stade de France. So I would not say it was so much racing, but I think that some other drivers agreed that it was not so much rallying.

It was just having a great show for the spectators.

MN: Onto the other side of your career now. How long have you had an interest in getting into the top levels of rallying?

ME: I mean, when I was a kid I was born in the countryside and you can imagine that you are

54

-Ekstrom, obviously, is a fast learner

You know, it is a different lifestyle that you need to have.

Then I enjoyed doing the racing a lot, and I still do have a great time. Somehow, I changed to collect some new ideas and motivation to try rallying.

Sweden in Group N overall and then I also went to Catalunya and drove in Group N and won it overall there as well. But that was not as hard for competition as Sweden, but it was still my first taste of tarmac.

MN: Most of your career has been spent on circuits racing touring cars. Until recently, your rally appearances were rather sporadic.

ME: Yeah, I mean I've only done mostly some very local rallies. In the Swedish championship, I think I have done maybe five Swedish championship events one on gravel, four on snow and then four times I have done the Rally Sweden. The rest is really 'round the corner' rallies very short, very local, only local level, not the big time.

MN: Did any of your touring car experience help on the tarmac in any way?

ME: In Spain it is difficult ■because you cut the corners a lot and there is a lot of gravel brought onto the road, but trying to have a feel for tyres and so on, for sure it was helping.

But the car was more heavy, less power and four-wheel-drive so it was different, but for sure I had some advantage being a race driver, because it was better than going there without any experience.

MN: You have now stepped the rallying up a notch, driving a full Skoda Fabia World Rally Car. Skoda, of course, is part of the VW-Audi Auto Group.

Has Audi been a help in allowing you to try your hand at rallying in the Skoda?

ME: Yes, you know, they are always very understanding when I go and speak to them and I ask for some wishes and some ideas. They are always very open and friendly to me, which I appreciate a lot, because these days, it is not easy to do all these things that you want to do.

But I have to say that the whole VW-Audi Group has been very nice and the communication is good between the brands in the group, so that is also why it is possible to do it.

MN: How are you,Skoda and Audi going to manage your time and commitment to each,so that your efforts for one brand will not hurt the other?

ME: Between DTM rounds, the rally will not happen. I will do the Rally Sweden and then there is no more rallying. Then I will do DTM and maybe after that season I will do some rallying again.

MN: How many WRC rounds does it look like you will be able to do?

ME: It is only Rally Sweden at the moment. What else after that, at the moment if something else is coming up, I do not know.

MN: Rally Sweden this weekend will be your first World Championship rally in a WRC car. Some added pressure was brought on you last week, when the Skoda team decided to nominate you as one of the cars to run for

'if

. . .[W.W. .w,.,[W

shoulder in a crash during Rally Monte Carlo) and they told me that I was driving to score manufacturers points, well ...

It will not change the way I drive the event, but it is good to have the trust that they think that I am able to do it. I'm happy for that, but on the other hand, I know my performance is not increasing just because I will be driving for points.

The only thing I am focusing on at the moment is going to the rally and doing my best from the first stage to the last stage and doing a clean event. You know, starting good on the first and finishing good on the last and giving us all a fair result because that is, I think, what the team deserves and are looking for as well.

MN: Your only previous event in a World Rally Car was two weeks ago,the Dan Andersson Minne Bally in Sweden. Is it true that you stopped your car just before the finish of the last stage, as not to affect the results of the local championship?

ME: Yeah, I mean, the thing was when you come with the Skoda Works squad and we are this big

here in Sweden.

So I said we will take it as testing, so we did not want to drive over the finish to destroy anything for them because I believe that it is not fair that we come and do one event and they drive a whole year for it and I don't want to destroy that.

We were happy to be a part of it and that was it. We got some really good experience as well because that was very close to where the stages for the Rally Sweden will take place.

MIM; With such limited experience, how are you going getting used to carrying a passenger and coping with pace notes?

ME: Yeah, I mean, I have to admit that every time I have a 'moment' it is like taking the plug out and the memory is emptied. This is one thing, which is difficult. Also, when you are in very twisty sections and are travelling at high speed and you have to collect a lot in the head that is also when 1 feel that I am not perfect.

But when everything is running OK and the road is like Sweden and I am driving on the

limit, and not over it every once and a while, then it works pretty well. It is only when something special is coming that i don't feel that I have the experience.

MN: You are from Sweden,so snow is not new to you, but it seems a daunting event to make your WRC debut.

ME; Fortunately, the Rally Sweden is one of the few that I have done many times. But unfortunately the winter has not been so good here and we don't have so much snow.

But for me, it is natural because I was born with snow and when 1 was young we had many months of 'real' winter and that is one of the favourite events that I've always had. It is not like gravel or tarmac - before you try it, it is difficult to explain how the feeling is.

MN: Do you still have a good sense of grip, or is it just one long slide, corner to corner?

ME: No, you have grip. But you have to keep your foot down and give it more throttle and you will slide a lot more.

Flow should I say ... you have the same grip even if you are sideways or straight. On tarmac, if you are sliding you will lose some grip and you have to keep it nice and steady, but on snow you can go with a bit more attack and still be fast and brake a bit too late and lock the wheels a bit and still have the same amount of grip and still slide around all the time.

So it is a very special event.

MN: Looking ahead to 2006.

Do you see yourself swapping between the two cars again, or will you choose one and concentrate on it?

ME: I don't know to be honest. I want to be where it is the best.

and DTM is very good. As long as DTM is so good I enjoy that.

To get a drive in the World Rally Championship is not easy so I will be ... flexible. I know that I am a very good racing driver - as a rally driver I have a lot to prove before I can take part in the World Rally Championship. So racing is for sure, the safer version.

MINI: You say it is safer career option ...

ME: I have been a racing driver for 10 years and rallies 1 have done 25 in my whole life {laughs).

MN:So what if you were offered a seat in the WRC full time?

ME: It is difficult because there are a lot of things that need to be considered if I was to do that.

It's not so easy. If I decide to stop my racing career it would be a huge thing in my life, so I don't know yet what will happen.

Rally is also facing some tough times with manufacturers leaving and it will be more difficult to get a drive and it is many things like that that you have to consider before you decide. I would say that the connection with Audi is so good that I don't want to jeopardise my racing career when I have a very, very good team and 1 really enjoy working there as well.

MN: You have the strong support of a manufacturer in two forms of the sport - the best of both worlds some would say. Other drivers must be jealous of you?

ME: I have always been thinking a bit 'wide' and doing different stuff. I do some quad racing, some jet ski riding and go-karting as well. So I really enjoy doing a lot of different things.

5S

o

□ tv 0

HM.

0

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Is there any extra pressure going into this season as the defending Champion?

TONY KANAAN; Obviously everybody is going to be looking at you and comparing what you did last year to how you do this year. But really, it's a completely different season and I'll be starting from scratch again.

I'm going to pretend I didn't win anything and I have to win again. People are going to want to compare but they shouldn't, because we had such a fantastic year and I really believe it will be tough to back it up. We are starting from scratch.

MN: Is there anything different you'll do in preparation for the new season?

TK: Not really. Obviously we have to work twice as hard to repeat our feat from last year.

Keeping focus, keeping the team working together and keeping myself fit as well.

I didn't do anything different to win the championship last year, so I

mim S) (sJd

0

don't think I should do anything different to win it again.

MN: Your season last year was based on consistency, rather than bulk wins. Is that the strategy you'll employ again this year?

TK: I don't know. We've got to check out what we have in our hands. Every year we have to try to adjust with the equipment that you have.

We'll certainly know more after the first race but obviously the consistency doesn't hurt, so I think we should try and keep that going. I would like to win more races than I did last year, though.

MN: The adoption of road and street races is a new concept for the IRL this year. Is this the best thing for the series?

TK: I think so. I think we are definitely going in the right direction. The only thing we are missing now is going to Australia!

I definitely think this is a positive step for the IRL. Many

A

D

0

AQi^ So

SK

'It had been a long time since I'd turned left and right. But it's like riding a bicycie - after a couple of fans and spins, you are back up to speed tl

- fCanaa/i on getting back in the roati racing groove

fM-

A

I K

S OuLf 15J&

a

of the guys joining the IRL are road racers so 1 think it will make it the most competitive season on record.

I came from a road course background so this is ideal.

For me, an oval will never win against a road course.

MN: Initially, how have the cars - which were built for ovals - adapted to the roadjjjjg courses?

SQBI TK: I've been very impressed. , They did adapt really well. I was very surprised actually, I thought it would be a little worse. I love it. The brakes were good, the car behaved OK and it was fast. I really enjoyed the testing and I'm looking forward to our first road event at St Petersburg in April.

MN: What about yourself and your rivals? Will it take a while to get in the road racing groove again? ^ TK: It was kind of weird in the ^ beginning because it had been such a long time since I'd S turned left and right. But it's | like riding a bicycle - after a i

^ -'Ij

ElEVEH

56

>

IRL INDYCAR

o Q couple of falls and a couple of spins, you are back up to speed.

MN; Will this make life for the rival Champ Cars series more difficult now that the IRL are on road courses as well?

TK: You never know what's going to happen. We are both trying to survive.

We are not trying to kill them and I hope they are not trying to kill us. It's obvious that it would be better to have all of us racing together. You'd have all the best drivers and teams and more people watching.

Right now though, we just need to do the best we can and we'll see where that puts us.

MN; Honda really dominated last year. Where do you see the toughest opposition come from?

TK; From everywhere! We are the team that everybody wants to beat right now but I really think Toyota is going to step up^You can't count out the Rahal/Letterman guys either and they'll be hard to beat.

have too many problems.

MN:The Daytona 24 hour was run last weekend and many of your IRL rivals were there.

Why are you on the sidelines for this one?

TK: Yeah, that was a shame but I have been in Brazil and didn't have enough time to spend talking to people to organise something proper.

I'm certainly disappointed that I wasn't there. Hopefully I'll work something out for next year.

I did the race in 1998 and I would sure like to do it again.

Sealing the deal: Tony Kanaan won last year's IRL Series for Andretti Green Racing with 15 consecutive top five finishes.

MN:Toyota has brought Australian Ryan Briscoe into the series in an attempt to get back on top. What are your impressions of him and how do you think he'll mix in with the fold?

TK: I think Briscoe is the guy we are going to have to keep a close eye on. He has good team mates in a good team and he's been plenty fast. He'll do a really good job and all of us are going to have a watch the rookie.

MN: Do you think it will be difficult for him to get to grips with ovals?

TK: At the beginning, it will be difficult for him. Ovals are not easy but 1 don't think he has a problem with going quick so I guess it will be a matter of getting seat time.

He's already had a couple of tests but racing is a completely different thing. It's going to be different for him, but I've seen him drive. I don't think he'll

MN: Are there any events around the world that you'd like to contest before hanging up the helmet? (not that we're suggesting you need to retire anytime soon!)

TK: The V8 Supercars in Australia. I am not kidding you just because I'm talking to an Australian. I'm dead serious. I always told Neil Crompton that I'd like to test one of the cars. The cars and the series really interests me. Some touring car experience would be good, but I like Supercars a

Ready for Tak

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Can you start by filling us in on what you've been up to since Monte Carlo?

CHRIS ATKINSON: Yeah, we've obviously been pretty busy since then, basically back at the factory spending time on the car, getting an understanding of it and changing a few bits; practicing changing things that we might have to change, and so on.

We got to have a run in the car last Monday at MIRA, that's the shakedown facility that the team uses. It's basically just a tarmac testing facility, but it was good to get a run in the car and just get a feel for it.

MN: So having finally got your hands on a WRC car, what was it like?

CA: Pretty cool. It's an awesome car. It was really nice to drive surprisingly easy. It does everything right. It does 58

everything that a rally car should do, and it does it really well.

Everything it does is fantastic, and it gives you really good feedback compared with what I'm used to, being a specificallybuilt race car as opposed to a Group N car, which is a road car that has been converted. So it is a whole other level, and that feedback is really helpful in getting the most out of the car.

MN: You sound a bit surprised at how responsive and forgiving the car was - was it different to what you had been expecting?

CA: No, I guess it was pretty similar to what I had expected, because I had already sat in the car a few times.

You know what the power is going to be like and everything like that, but it was really nice to position on the road and so on.

It's just controllable, which is what a rally car should be. In the

changing situations, you want to be confident and be able to control it and adjust it easily, and' that's what it does.

MN: Was there any sense of having reached a personal milestone when you jumped into the driver's seat for the first time?

CA: I was pretty relaxed, but obviously it was pretty nice to get in. I guess the main thing is that you don't want to stall it the first time you drive it. So I got away with that, which was good I (laughs). That was my key target for the day.

MN: And how is it all looking for Sweden?

CA: It's pretty interesting weather at the moment...

MN: There's no snow!

CA:- 1 can't see any snow from where we're staying at the moment, and we are staying

right near where the stages are.

So obviously it's still cold, and the roads are still frozen gravel, but you never know what can happen in the next few days. It will be interesting. We'll just wait and see.

Where we're testing tomorrow (Tuesday) there is actually snow, so we have to try to get rid of some of that snow so that it replicates the conditions of the rally.

MN: How does the prospect of running on frozen gravel as opposed to snow change the situation for you?

CA: I think it will nearly almost be worse than snow. In that situation you really have to look after your studs, and if you lose all your studs and come to an icy bit, it's pretty easy for it to be all over.

So it will be more difficult conditions if it stays as it is now.

With snow, you've got a

motorsporinews

eoff constant grip and you know what it's going to do. That's the challenge if it stays as it is at the moment, but it's the same challenge for everyone.

MN:Yeah, but it's an interesting situation in which to be making your debut, isn't it?

CA: Yeah, but it's a situation for us to get experience. There is no pressure to go out there and try to match those other guys. It's more about learning from every stage and every kilometre that we do.

MN: You've already had the Monte Carlo Rally as an opportunity to see how the team functions in a rally environment. Was that a useful experience to take into this weekend in Sweden?

CA: Yeah, definitely. It was good to sit on the outside and watch, and go and watch services, and talk to the engineers, and see

9 February 2005

This time iast year, Chris Atkinson was two months away from starting his first crack at the ARC. Now, he isJust days away from his WRC debut with Subaru.

MARK GLENDENNING tracked him down in Sweden what was going on from that perspective.

So it definitely helped me to come together with the team and build up slowly, rather than jumping straight in the deep end.

So it was a good opportunity, and we learned a fair bit from the weekend, and it just made us more hungry to get in the car and get out there next weekend.

MN: You were very hands-on with your car last year in the ARC. How involved is the driver in what goes on once you get to the top level? Does he help make decisions relating to the car, or does the team just go and find him when it's time to drive?

CA: The driver is completely involved, and that is part of what we have been doing over the past two weeks.

We've been spending a lot of time with our engineer, even having dinner with him, and

sitting down and going through diff maps and things like that, and planning what's going on.

And during the rally you are always talking and giving feedback the other way to your engineer, as well. So it's all part of the team.

No one person makes the decisions, and everyone is there to help and to try to get the most out of the car and the driver and so on.

MN: You're in a situation where you have a co-driver who has done all this before.

CA: Yeah, Glenn (Macneall) has been really good. He has done the Swedish recce before, so that gives him an idea of what to expect.

He is pretty relaxed about the situation, so we are both pretty confident and are working hard on making the most of it, but not letting it overawe us, either. So it is a good balance.

MN: Are you setting a target for Sweden,or is it just about finding your feet?

CA; Obviously I would like to do certain results over the weekend in terms of seconds per kilometre and improving on each day, as those targets go. But it's different when you are dealing with such difficult conditions: you don't know where you could end up.

There's no way that we are going to get a result like we did at Rally Australia in terms of outright position, but I think a better result could be had in terms of ... it would be a worse position, but in terms of achieving something on my first time in a World Rally car, and in my first time on ice.

If we can get to the finish and show improvement, then we will have done our job. But we're not out there to set our sights on beating someone or anything like that.

59

Subaru calls for more cars

Lapworth: Give us 3-cap teams

Loeb needs Notes DESPITE winning the opening round of this year's title in Monte Carlo, reigning World Champion Sebastian Loeb has made a new plea for the FIA to re-consider its ban on gravel note crews on the WRC Loeb believes that on safety grounds alone, the use of gravel crews must be a part of the WRC again and that cost is not a factor.

The FIA banned gravel notes last year in an effort to reduce cost, however they were re-introduced as a temporary measure for the last few tarmac rallies in 2004 after a number of highspeed crashes on the Deutschland Rally.

Teams were allowed to use the crews on the Monte last month as an exception because of the danger of unpredictable snow and ice.

"I would say that gravel note crews, specifically on Monte Carlo, are indiispensable," said Loeb. "It's much too dangerous not to have them. I think they're important for safety elsewhere too."

Citroen Sport boss Guy Frequelin commented; "If we can find a way of providing a service for everyone, fine. If we can't, we should keep gravel note crews on tarmac.

It's particularly important on the Deutschland."

One solution may be to have pooled gravel note service, as was employed at last year's Rally Australia. In Perth, Denis Giraudet,former co-driver for Didier Auriol, wrote notes, which were available to crews at the start of each special stage -JON THOMSON

A CALL for WRC teams to be allowed to run bigger teams to make up for a reduction in manufacturers has come from Subaru boss David Lapworth on the eve of the Swedish Rally.

Lapworth says the FIA should give some thought to increasing the size of works teams and cites tlie many changes in regulations over the past decade have made for a reduction in entries.

"The regulations have been changed plenty of times in the past 10 years, so there is no reason why it can't be done this time around," said Lapworth.

"1 don't see why you couldn't have more cars over the next couple of years. I agree that we need to have a strategy to increase tire number of cars. We'd need time to think it through.

"The recommended number was reduced from three cars to two for 2004 when the championship was expanded from 14 to 16 rallies, so why not increase the number of cars to

make up for the reduction in works teams."

Lapworth's call comes after many observers had expressed fears that there are too few cars taking part. This has led to the new 're-entry rule', which allows crews to restart the next leg after retiring, with a five-minute penalty per stage missed.

The supporters of smaller teams have argued that extra cars mean extra expense and complication tliat deters new manufacturers.

However,Suzuki has often run a team of four Super 1600 cars in the past few years and Ford will run four Focus World Rally Cars on most World Championship rallies this season but of course will only be able to score points witli two nominated cars.

Team managers say the expense is not increased greatly witli the addition of another car or two and that the largest expense is shipping the equipment and crews to an everincreasing number of far-flung rounds.

-JON THOMSON

FIA sends in the Man from HANS VOCAL protests from many of the leading WRC drivers at Monte Carlo has led the FIA to dispatch its safety consultant Hubert Gramling to the Swedish Rally this weekend to sort out problems with the newly-mandated HANS device.

Gramling, the prime mover behind the adoption of the HANS device in rallying, is hoping to sort out a range of fitting problems with the device that caused many of the leading stars to be rather hot under the collar.

The HANS device apparently caused discomfort in stages for many of the top drivers while others complained that it came loose during stages.

Gramling has claimed that some teams had not adjusted seat belts to make best use of the HANS and that some of the seats currently in use by teams are unsuitable.

60

For it to work properly, the seat belt shoulder straps should be 15 degrees from the horizontal.

However, the angle is dictated partly by the shoulder strap holes in the back of the seat and partly by the height of the occupant. Unfortunately, most seats are made from a standard shell that does not take into account the user's height.

Helmets are also a concern, with some drivers lengthening the tethers attaching the helmet to the HANS to grant more head movement.In some cases, this also allowed the helmet buckle to swing forwards rather than backwards, abruptly shortening the tether.

In Monte Carlo, crews were not required to present the HANS at scrutineering, which means that there has been no formal check to make sure that the device is being worn correctly.

Harri Rovanpera's HANS came loose on one Monte stage and Mitsubishi engineer Mario Fornaris has said that there is room for improvement with the design and use of the devices.

"This device was not designed especially for rally cars and to be used in this environment is very special," Fornaris stated.

"We will have to modify something, but we need more testing before we know what."

Gramling carried out the crash testing on behalf of the FIA to establish whether the collar, widely used in top-level circuit racing, could reduce head and neck injuries in rallying. He sees it as the first step to improving safety and is known to favour redesigned seats.

-JON THOMSON

moiorsportnews

(f'

RALLY NEWS

For Sweden, hire Norwegians FORD has named Norwegians Flenning Solberg and Cato Menkerud as nominated drivers for next week's Swedish Rally. The pair will join BPFord World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Flonkanen as Ford's named points scorers.

Gardemeister's BP-Ford team mates Roman Kresta and Jan Tomanek will be eligible for drivers' points but will not score for the manufacturers' series. n Speaking of Swedish changes, Jani Paasonen will contest the event for the Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team. The 29-year old Finn will replace Armin Schwarz in the Fabia WRC while Armin recovers from the shoulder injury he sustained during the Monte Carlo Rally.

Blue Corner, Red Corner: LWR has switched from Mitsubishi to Subaru to run a satellite team in the ARC.

Les's Subaru Deal 2-year ARC program for Benni and the Jet- is that Kangas?

by PHIL BRANAGAN LES Walkden Rallying(LWR)has pulled off a major coup with a twoyear deal to run a Subaru satellite team in the Australian Rally Championship.

LWR will field two Group N Production Class Spec C Impreza WRX STis alongside Subaru Rally Team Australia in the 2005 and 2006 championships. The armouncement was made last Friday at the Brisbane Motor Show by Subaru Australia General Manager, Nick Senior.

For 2005, LWR will run Benni Tirant as its number two driver. No number one driver has been named but rumours suggest that Walkden will reunite with his former Mitsubishi driver, Finn Juha Kangas.

"This is a major initiative that gives young rally drivers a genuine opportunity to build a long-term career in rallying," said Senior.

"It offers every possibility of aspiring to the highest level, as demonstrated by Chris Atkinson.

"Subaru and LWR have committed to give an up-and-coming driver the number two position in the satellite team for a full season.

"If they perform well, there are several options, including elevation to number one in the satellite team or

9 February 200S

being promoted to Subaru Rally Team Australia."

The 2005 Subaru Rally Challenge driver considered the most likely to get into the WRC based on age, speed and ability inside and outside the car, will get the opportunity to compete in the 2006 ARC in a left-hand drive LWR Impreza WRX STi. "We have an established relationship with Subaru,including working with Dean Herridge before he was promoted to the ranks of SRTA,so we're looking forward to

developing that further," said Walkden. n Victorian Tirant, 20,finished second in the 2004 Subaru Rally Challenge in an Impreza RS, above.

"It's a fantastic chance for me," he said. "It's great to be going into a lefthand drive car this early in my career.

Hopefully it'll quickly become second nature and that gives me all the more opportunity to aim high.

"Tm very grateful for the opportunity and look forward to performing to the best of my ability."

n Corona Rally Mexico organisers have confirmed the route for their 2005 event. The rally will cover eight special stages, 14 in total, and have 356.17 competitive kilometres in a total distance of 929.89km. The route never strays further than 50km from rally headquarters, making it among the most compact in the 16round series.

The rally was voted the secondbest event in the 16-round series on its debut last season and also received the Star of the Rally award for its achievements. n Ed Ordynski is worried the Australian Rally Championship may be in for a difficult year, given recent dramas with teams and rules.

Ordynski is not confident that he will be playing a role in this year's Championship, thanks to the uncertainty with the Mitsubishi Ralliart team and believes that potentially only Dean Flerridge and Cody Crocker will contest every manufacturer's round of the ARC in 2005.

"With Mitsubishi still to confirm, Toyota unable to run at Rally Australia, Chris Atkinson in the WRC and the privateers only contesting four rounds each, the Subaru guys will be the only ones at every round," said Ordynski. "it is a bit worrying and I don't think many people have realised this is what will happen.

"The loss of Chris Atkinson will be a big blow and if Mitsubishi isn't there, it will be another blow.

"Toyota is apparently currently attempting to get some sort of dispensation to run at Rally Australia and that will be a big help, but you can't get away from the fact that some of the most competitive locals won't be there this year."

- STAFF/THOMSON

61

The Kin

i

Steve Kinser is preparing to shoot for his 20th Wc Outlaws Championship and isn’t showing any sig slowing down. He spoke with CHRIS JOt MOTORSPORT NEWS: What is your favourite aspect of coming out to Australia to race?

STEVE KINSER: Oh,I enjoy a lot of it. I enjoy the people and I have a lot of friends over here. I really enjoy the Australian people and I enjoy the city of Sydney.

All racing people are pretty good no matter where you go, but this is sort of special. I have been coming over here quite a bit for quite some time and I've got a lot of friends here, so I enjoy coming over and seeing them.

MN:In your hugely successful career, you have won so many races and championships. Does one event or moment stick out in your memory?

SK: I don't know about that - we've had a lot of success everywhere.

Probably the thing that sticks out the most is being able to run as good as we have for as long as we have.

That's what I feel is as special to me as anything.

MN:Do you still approach every race meeting the same way?

SK: Yeah. You just try and get all your work done and prepare. We've been doing it for quite some time, so we sort of know what to expect.

There is a lot of work to do in only a couple of months over December and January each year to get prepared to run for the next 10

months. That's what makes it pretty tough to come over here.

Most of the guys are back home. A lot of the main guys are back home getting prepared for this year.

So we just come over here to have a little fun and these cars we bring here (to Australia) are the cars we ran at the end of last year, so they are cars we were not going to run anyway, but there are still plenty of good race cars here to put on a good show.

MN:Is coming out here also a good way to sell your cars?

SK: This car is sold,(ED: to Shane Krikke for Ryan Farrell to drive) but even if we didn't sell it, it's not a hassle. We would just leave it here because we plan on coming back.

MN:Do you get much of an opportunity to follow other forms of motorsport?

SK: Yeah, I get on top of it, but I don't get to go and be around it very often.

Running the IROC Series has let me get to know a lot of other drivers from different classes and different divisions of racing. That's always a fun series for me.

I've had opportunities to do things with other drivers, mostly promotional things. But I don't get the opportunity to go and see a whole lot of racing -I'm too busy running Sprintcars.

MN:Do you think that people from John Monh/Mpi

the other categories of racing appreciate just how tough the 97night World of Outlaws Championship schedule is?

SK:I think anybody that knows about it knows that it's probably got the toughest schedule of any form of racing that there is.

We just keep moving and a lot of hard work goes on here and it is sort of a shame that we've got a lot of guys that work on these cars and put a lot of hours in and they just don't always get the pay and things that they deserve.

MN:Your son, Kraig was World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year last year, but he now looking at other career paths as well. What do you think of that?

SK: He's going to do the Silver Crown thing and do a little pavement racing.

He's going to run with Kasey Kahne's team in the Silver Crown pavement cars. He just wanted to try something else and he's young enough now that he can get out and try to do a few other things.

He can do other things if he wants, he can always come back to do this.

But having,said that, he is only going to miss a few races - only four or five races.

MN:Does he have a preference between following the NASCAR direction or the World of Outlaws?

SK: No,I think he is just wants to try some different things and see what he likes. Now is the time for him to try different things and see what he likes.

The family trade: Steve ponders as Kraig busies himself in the background.

02

MN:NASCAR seems to dominate the US racing landscape. Where does speedway and World of Outlaws fit in and is it getting the coverage it deserves?

SK: We still fill the stands up everywhere we go at all the facilities we have,so I think thafs the main thing. I think as long as we keep filling everything up ifs going to be strong.

Right now there is no racing category that is getting the coverage that the NASCAR circuit is. But we don't have the facilities to run at like they have. But it does alright, we are still doing well.

MN:You have mentioned how taxing it can be to come out here at this time of year. Would you like to see even more rounds out here and more Americans coming out here to race them?

SK:In our situation, it makes it pretty tough and it interrupts our off-season when we are trying to get prepared to run 100 races this year. So I just don't know when we could fit time in to do it.

It's hard to fit it in with what we are doing now,even though we are having fun while we are doing it.

I'm pretty fortunate that I have enough guys that I can split them up and half of them can come here and half of them can stay in the shop back home.

It is a little interrupting when you are trying to get prepared for the New Year.

MN: We have just completed the second running of Outlaws Down Under at Parramatta. It has gone very well but are there any things you might like to see changed or improved?

SK: Everything is pretty good. They put on a pretty good show here. I've no complaints really at all. Like I

motorsport news

\nelcn said, everybody has been fun to be around and it's a fun trip to do.

We are sort of between things right now so that we can fit this in, but I don't know if we could ever fit in two or three races at different tracks.

None of us could stay more, or do more than what we are doing now.

Some of the guys come out here and race quite a bit, but in my situation it's just too hard to do.

MN:You race so often and have done this for so long. How do you keep motivated?

SK: It's just something that I enjoy.

It's something that I've done for so long so it's just a lifestyle for me now.

I've been doing it for so long; if I ever tried to stop racing I don't what I'd do with my time. I guess I'll figure that out when the time comes.

MN:So you have no idea what awaits you after driving?

SK: Oh,I'll probably stay involved in racing somehow.

MN:How involved are you with Kraig's career. Do you like to let him

make a lot of his own decisions and leam from his own mistakes?

SK:You've pretty well got to learn things on your own,if you know what I mean. There is not much you can do.

You can try and give a few little pointers here and there, but you've got to leam to race on your own.

MN;Kraig is a little older and has done a little more racing than the likes of Kevin Swindell and Mitchell Dumesny. Do you have any advice for Sammy and Max is

guiding their son's careers?

SK: No,those guys pretty much know what they are doing. They know as much about racing as I do, so as far as Sprintcar and dirt track racing goes, they couldn't have anybody better helping them.

MN:Does it feel strange at all having Kraig, Mitchell and Kevin all racing?

SK: It's sort of funny seeing everybody's kids start to run, yeah.

You know you've been around a while, I guess {laughs).

Where the magic happens: The Kinser's workshop adjoining their home in Bloomington, Indiana, is a hive of activity while the boys race in Australia.

9 February 2005

63

(

' I m

w

ARRNAMBOOL'S Sungold Stadium has become a happy hunting ground for Sydney speedster Kerry Madsen. After winning his Australian title at the Victorian venue two years ago, he's has now bagged the most prestigious Sprintcar race in the country, the 33rd running of the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, held two weeks ago.

The'Mad Man' was in awesome form all weekend, taking out the Australia-America Challenge on Night 1 and winning three of his four heat races on his way to a commanding A-Main feature win.

Madsen couldn't contain his jubilation.

"I can't believe it, we've finally won one," said Madsen."To all my crew, sponsors and supporters thanks so much. I didn't think we really could afford to come here and do this, but now 1 can go home and tell my wife Tm not broke like I thought I would be."

With the Aussie title just one week

away at Murray Bridge, the rest of the country had better put their thinking caps on about how they can match the Mad Man's speed.

Americans dominated the top 10 positions, witlr Shane Stewart and Donny Schatz completing the podium after a frantic second half of the race, where the pair raced hard and clean all the way to the flag.

'The American onslaught on -L Australia's premier Sprintcar race continued this year, with 10 of Uncle Sam's best in attendance, including 1978 wirmer Jimmy Sills.

Sills fought an uphill battle after he retired from the first heat on Night 1 after a spin and some steering damage.

Max Dumesny got the vocal locals excited by winning the first heat on Night 1, with Jason Johnson, Tim Kaeding, Madsen, Travis Rilat, Stewart and John Vogels the other heat winners.

16 cars contested the 15-lap CMain, which saw a great dice between Darrell Hodges, Ken Sartori

and Terry Bracken. All three had a bite at the lead, with Hodges eventually taking the win from Bracken, Sartori and Phil Johnson.

Luke Dillon ran his patented highline to lead the B-Main early until Garry Brazier took the lead and the win. Adrian Maher and Tim Hutchins joined Brazier and Dillon in transferring to the A-Main.

Madsen won the start and led Rilat, Dumesny and Tatnell away as Schatz fell back through the field as he carefully brought his hard compound tyres up to speed. Dillon caused the first stoppage on lap four when he spun, with Brazier retiring with a flat left rear soon after.

Madsen edged away from the restart as some intense battles raged further back. Kaeding was working hard as he moved forward, so hard in fact that he blistered his right rear tyre, which blew apart on lap 22 just as he had grabbed third place from Dumesny.

This yellow was a godsend for Schatz, who had been on the brink of being lapped. The wily Outlaw had

Yanks everywhere: Stewart, above, and Schatz, below left with Madsen, headed a fleet of Americans. But they were no match for 'our Kerry'. carefully brought his hard compound tyre up to speed, and over the final sprint to the flag he really got motoring after languishing back in 13th place to finish sixth.

With four lapped cars in between the two front cars, Rilat was unable to mount a challenge on Madsen and had to settle for second place ahead of Stewart, Dumesny, Green, Schatz, Farr, Pittman and Tatnell.

On Night 2, over Schatz started with gritty win Hamiagan in a Heat 11 and then Rilat was fortunate to escape with only minor damage when Adrian Parr was nudged sideways in front of the pack. Farr ran over the front of Parr, Danny Reidy flipped and Rilat piled into Parr. Farr and Rilat were able to continue as Kaeding ran hard to the chequered flag.

Vogels became a casualty of Heat 13, when he was squeezed into the wall. Green recorded the win as Troy Shiells and Stewart crossed the line in an almost dead heat for second. Jeff Judd won Heat 14 from the front and Terry Bracken just held out Tatnell for the win in Heat 15.

Schatz was again leading in Heat 16 when lapped traffic allowed Madsen to slip under both cars for the win. Rilat was leading Heat 17 until squeezed by Kaeding, who claimed the win.

The exit from turn four was proving a drama for many drivers who were running the wall, as the cars running the bottom groove washed up track on the exit.

Stewart and Dumesny won the next pair of heats, and then in the

moiorsponnews

SPEEDWAY

Kerry ‘Mad Man’ Madsen did Australia proud in Australia’s nnost prestigious speedway event, the Grand Annual Classic. BRm-SWANSON was at Warrnambooi to witness his flag-to-flag victory final, Tatnell was flying until tlie car suddenly stopped, having broken a cam stud.

Tatnell exited the car on track and tried to find a reason for the car's demise before buckling back in and hoping it would re-fire, which it didn't. Following this the likes of Harmagan,Stewart and Phil Johnson all got stuck in to help change the engine. Jason Johnson inherited the heat win.

The B-Main had some minor drama when Anderson clashed with Newnham on lap six with the latter spinning. Stephen Bell in the Domain Ramsey #2 car had nowhere to go and spun into Newnham.Bell was able to restart but elected not to.

"How much faster do you want me to go to the back?" he quipped.

Mark Wells was able to win the 20lap event from Brad Sweet with Hodges,Bracken, Sartori, Brazier and Hutchins all missing out.

Madsen and Rilat had wound up on top of the pile with equal points and once again Madsen started from pole. Behind this pair came Stewart, Dumesny,Schatz, Green, Farr, Jason Johnson, Pittman, Kaeding, Tatnell, Hannagan, Farrell, Maher, Vogels, Little, Wells and Sweet.

As the green flag flew on the 40lap feature, Madsen held out the challenge of Rilat. Madsen ran low and Rilat high. While Rilat appeared to have good drive out of turn four, Madsen was able to repell his charge each hme by moving high.

"1 don't think he did it on purpose every hme, but I reckon there was at least twice when he did." Rilat stated.

In the end it would make no difference as Rilat's tyres went off and Madsen was simply faster than everyone else.

Farrell became the races first rehrement on lap 13 as Madsen conhnued to pull away. As he'd done the night previously, Kaeding was

9 February 2005

hard on the gas against the wall and moving forward. And just like the night before, he worked the tyres so hard the right rear tyre blew again after 31 laps,just when it looked like the race was going to go non-stop.

Such was Madsen's speed that he'd just lapped Jason Johnson and was about to lap Rilat when the final caution period occured.

With six lapped cars between Madsen and Stewart, his first Classic victory was assured. Stewart, on the other hand, had been in a huge battle with Schatz and that continued, with Stewart getting the nod in the end.

Dumesny was the next Aussie home ahead of Green, Farr and Rilat, the last car on the lead lap.

Kerry Shane Stewart Donny Schatz Max Dumesny Trevor Green Robbie Farr Travis Rilat Jason Johnson 10. U1

Daryn Pittman Randy Hannagan

Brooke Tatnell 12. N10

Adrian Maher Mark Wells

14. N20 15. V91 16. V70

Troy Little Brad Sweet John Vogels

ire M

the 2005 CLASSIC

ponny King Stews AS if he hasn't taken enough trophies away from Australia this summer, Donny Schatz was the winner of the prestigious Kings Challenge two weeks ago at Mount Gambler's Borderline Speedway.

Schatz, left, started the final from pole, giving him the advantage on the one-line race track.

Max Dumesny, Tim Kaeding, below left, Travis Rilat and Darrell Hodges completed the top five finishers in a race in which all but Jason Johnson finished.

Twenty nine cars entered the traditional lead-up event to the Grand Annual Classic, and time trials proved unbelievably close. Texan Rilat set the pace with a lap at 11,234s with 27 cars all covered by a second.

Indications of a one-line track were evident from the heat results that saw Stephen Lines win two heats off the front row, while Darryl Downing, Darren Mollenoyux and Danny Reidy all won heats from a front row starting slot.

Schatz took advantage of some others misfortune to win the final heat from position eight. Ken Veal and Robbie Farr were the lucky two who transferred into the A-Main from the B-Main, while Schatz won the dash.

Schatz led Dumesny and Kaeding away, with Rilat the only one to make progress when he passed two cars into the first turn for fourth where he remained until races end. Hodges moved from eighth to fifth and Dillon followed him through for sixth.

Farr was the big mover, climbing from 16th to finish seventh, ahead of his Titan team-mate Pittman.

- BRETT SWANSON

nn

Brazier stars FORMER Australian Sprintcar champion Garry Brazier took out a sensational Sprintcar A-Main victory last weekend,defeating the fast finishing Troy Little and Adrian Maher in one of the most electrifying performances seen at PCR m years.

Brazier, belozv, after coming from the C-Main, had to start at the rear but forged forward to take the lead late in the race and after surviving a last lap challenge from Little.

It was vintage Brazier, racing the ex-Kraig Kinser Maxim and running a smaller 372 engine. Brazier set third

quickest time in qualifying but didn't go directly to the scales, resulting in his time being excluded and relegated back to position 48 in the massive 53 car field.

It didn't stop there. After finishing fourth in Heat 4, Brazier was disqualified for being over the noise limit and had to come through the CMain (which he won)then the BMain (third), qualifying him into the A-Main from position 23.

While Troy Little had jumped into the lead. Brazier was the master out on the slick PCR track and was into

T on"*!

66

motorsportnews

SPEEDWAY

Madsen hits back at rumours

ipt says goodbye SHANE Stewart won the inaugral Smorgan Steel Sprintcar Nationals, held last weekend at Adelaide's

Speedway City.

Stewart took out the $15,000 A-Main in an impressive 35-lap, non-stop performance. The win book-ended Stewart's season ; nicely, as he won the first and last events of his Australian season.

"To win the last race of our trip over here this year is really nice," said Stewart.

"It's a good way to finish things off before we head back - home for the (World Of) Outlaws season next weekend."

"The track was rough tonight which made racing through lapped traffic difficult, but to be the best in this business you need to be good on all sorts of tracks.

"We got an early break on Kerry and Ryan and then did what we needed to get the win.

Stewart now heads home to

KERRY Madsen has angrily denied claims he had used an illegal traction control device at this year's Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.

The Sydney driver has told The Warrnambool Standard newspaper that he had never used such device and couldn't afford to if it was legal, "To tell you the honest truth I don't have $10,000 to spend on something I don't know would work," said Madsen.

"I've never run it, I wish there had been a check of the car and then there wouldn't be any of this bullshit."

Madsen, 33, was so much quicker than everyone else that scurrilous and anonymous claims have circulated that Madsen used a traction control device during his dominant winning drive at this year's event.

Madsen said he understood a traction control device retarded an engine to give a Sprintcar optimum traction on the racing surface. He said he talked to US driver Donny Schatz about traction control devices.

"He said he used one when they were legal in the States and he hated it. If I was a millionaire I might try it, but I'm just like everyone else. I'm just trying to pay the bills."

his World of Outlaws commitments, where he will be one of the favourites for the Rookie of the Year title.

Following Stewart home were Australians Kerry Madsen and Brooke Tatnell, with West Australian Champion Ryan Farrell fourth. Farrell impressed early after time-trialling fastest, and after an early race battle with Jason Johnson, was able to catch, but not pass, Madsen and Tatnell.

A very determined Tatnell tried to chase down Madsen through the lapped cars in his Australian swan song for the 2004/05 season, as he will now return stateside to commence his Outlaws campaign.

Unfortunately for Tatnell, he was unable to advance. Johnson lost touch with the lead pack as Max Dumesny, Robbie Farr and Phillip March each rounded up the Supaloc Eagle.

- STAFF/PARIS CHARLES

amid PCR carnage second with just 11 laps remaining.

Brazier hounded Little, and in traffic. Brazier made his move and took control. Little fought back over the last two laps and while he momentarily regained the lead.

Brazier blasted back on the run to the checker to score a brilliant and slender victory over Little, with Maher moving into third towards the end.

Making up the top six was Marty Perovich, who held second for a number of laps, then an impressive

Ian Madsen (also coming out of the B Main)and Brett Loadsman.Pole sitter Craig Brady was second to Little early but dropped down the order late to pick up seventh position while Bruce White who was also running strong early finished behind in eighth.

"Once I took the lead, and since 1 haven't been racing for a long time,I sort of forgot how to finish the job," Brazier told MNews."I knew I had a buffer and the car was working well.

It did the job tonight."

The opening lap of the A-Main was marred by a huge crash involving Grant Tunks, who rode over Brady's rear wheel and end for ended in turn 1, pictured below. The crash bent the ' roll cage and Tunks was transported to hospital after the race for observation.

There were a number of major crashes during the night, including yoimg Jimmy Thomson who flipped over on the main straight in Heat 3.

- GREG BOSCATO

I

W

I I " I

●I

’jf

n An interested onlooker at this year's Classic was PWR supremo Kees Weei.

"We have a number of cars using our radiators and performance products and it's a good chance to see how the teams are going with those particular products," said Week Weel denied interest in forming a Super Cheap-PWR Sprintcar team.

"No, I don't think I could afford it," he joked. "It's a sport I like to watch but it's costly when these boys crash. You never know, though." n Second generation South Australian star Michael Burford proved to be the pick of the 360ci Sprintcars competitors, claiming back-to-back feature race victories at the Smorgon Steel Recycling Sprintcar Nationals, Burford debuted his new self-built Lightning chassis and the car proved quick straight out of the box. West Australian driver Scott Milling was the strongest threat to the Burford, finishing second.

-ROUNDS/CHARLES

Hoosier Tire Australia 2004 WORLD OF OUTLAWS CHAMPIONSHIP Australian Distributors for

^ ^ RACING TIRE for more information on Hoosier Drag and SpeedwayTyres call:

NSW: 02 9679 1990 ● Fax 02 9679 1187 Via 03 9331 6477 ● Fax 03 9331 7444 SA; 08 8332 0800 ● Fax 08 8364 0296 9f8bruary2005

WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS 2004-2005 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS

1.

2.

3.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

. . .Max Dumesny Robbie Farr . . .Shane Stewart . . .Brooke Tatnell , . .Jason Johnson . . .Darrell Hodges Mark Wells .Mikci Van Bremen . . . .Danny Reidy

10.

11.

12, 13.

14, 15.

16.

17, 18,

. .John Shore . .Tony Moule .Terry Bracken .Ben Atkinson . . . Ian Lewis . . .Travis Rilat . . Luke Dylan . . . . Ken Veal

19.

20, 21 22.

23 24 25

. . Phillip March . . .Mark Reuter . . .Mark Reuter .Darryn Pittman , ,lan Thomsen . .Allan Woods . , .Leith Ahifors

.Dylan Jenkin

67

SECOND-GENERATION racer Phil Read claimed his first-ever win when the Australian Top Fuel Series visited the new generation Quit Motorplex in Perth for the first time on January 28-29.

Read, who has struggled since taking over the reigns of the Auto One/Snap-on Tools/Wyrm's dragster from his father, legendary Top Fuel racer Jim Read, also ended rookie Darren Morgan's three-race winning streak, downing the tyre-smoking Lamattina Brothers dragster with a 5.07s/265mph run in the final round.

"Hey, it feels pretty good to win, especially since this was the first time we've been able to get out of the first round since I've been

charge in his semi-final win over Steve Read, and coming within onethousandth of the track ET record with a 4.804s.

"It's been a fairytale, but everything good comes to an end.

There's still more in the car and the more we run the more we get on top of what we're doing," Morgan said.

Qualifying proved to be ultraexciting, with the top three drivers all dipping into the fours, Morgan setting the pace with a scorching 4.80s/312mph, Terry Sainty and Steve Read in the Santo Rapisarda machine.

Sainty's run was one of the major highlights of the event, the all-Aussie

driving," an elated Read said.

"To get this first win is very important for me and the entire team."

Gulf Western Oil fueller, powered by Sainty's own three-valve billet engine, recording a 4.97s/298mph.

Sainty's fairytale came to an end against his eventual winner Read in Round 1, ignition problems slowing the GWO dragster against Read's 5.04s/291mph.

Local hero John Buchanan enjoyed his first championship outing, recording a 5.85s in qualifying before being taken out by the Santo's Cranes car's first round 4.98s/274mph.

The next round of the Australian Top Fuel Series takes place at the second annual Carline Mufflers Summernationals, being held at the Western Sydney International Dragway on 18-20 February.

-ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN/STAFF Championship Points; Morgan 310,S.Read 200,P.Read 180, Sainty 140, L.Shepherd 120, B.Shepherd 100,DiFilippo 60, Smith,Buchanan 40.

For Morgan, there was consolation in extending his lead in the series and resetting the track speed record witli a new personal best 314mph

(‘points are after three of four rounds with the final of the rain-

Defeated, but not beaten: Morgan continues to lead tbe Australian Top Fuel series.

This from Wackyland

AMERICAN Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert doesn't get out and about that much.

Well, that's our guess anyway, considering at the launch of his new warehouse last month he also showed off for the first time his jetpowered Quad Bike!

The weird and wacky world of the quarter-mile racing is alive and well ...

THE next generation in Pro Stock has arrived in Australia, with Ian Brown's new Pontiac Grand Am breaking cover in Melbourne last week.

Brown's Don Ness-built machine is the first 'plastic' Pro Stock car to land in Australia since ANDRA opened up the rules to the current model US cars late last year.

The new generation cars feature carbon-fibre 'spec' bodies and a standardised 45 inch front overhang, and were introduced in the US for the 2001 season after both the NHRA and IHRA sanctioning bodies expressed

interrupted third round to be decided during qualifying at the Summernationals)

Morgan to the MAX NHRA drag racing veteran Larry Morgan has signed zMax's line of micro-lubricant products as the primary sponsor of his Dodge Stratus R/T Pro Stock car.

Morgan has 16 national event victories during his 21-year professional career and finished fourth in the 2004 NHRA POWERade Series points standings. zMax micro-lubricant is a pure lubricant that offers money-saving benefits. Unlike a variety of popular engine treatments, zMax contains no solids such as Teflon, PTFEs, zinc, or moly and does not contain potentially damaging chlorine derivatives.

TheS TOP Fuel racer Terry Sainty joined drag racing's elite 'four-second club' during qualifying for the Western Nationals at the Quit Motorplex on January 28, becoming just the 13th driver to record a four second elapsed time in Australia.

Making Sainty's 4.873 second blast all the more special was that his car, including its uhique three-

- DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

^m

n

irnYMomm

I

J faaCTp

ism

Brian White Media

DRAC RACING

ion has landed their concerns at tire liberal body modifications being mrdertaken by some of die sport's leading chassis builders.

A dual Australian Super Stock Champion, Brown is hopeful of making the full-time step up to Group One by die Winternationals in lune

and is currently exploring engine options.

"Once you get the taste for running at the front, you don't want to race any other way," Brown said.

"We're thrilled with the car, it's a

beautiful piece, and we want to make sure we get the right engine to match.

We have five or six options and we'll sort through those. I'm hopeful we'll be on track in time for the Winternationals."

- GERALD McDORNAN

Aussie Dave on sponsor’s diet ZANTREX-3, America's most successful high-energy weight loss formula, will be the title sponsor of 'Aussie Dave' Grubnic's Kalitta Motorsport Top Fuel Dragster in this year's NFIRA championship.

"We were fortunate enough to have Zantrex-3 come on board with us at the end of the 2004 season and we knew then that we make a good match," Grubnic said at the launch. "They are excellent partners for our race team and I am so looking forward to representing them both on and off the race track."

The Zantrex-3 Top Fuel car will be wrapped in the familiar blue packaging of the product's bottles. In a short test last season, Zantrec-3 rode with Grubnic to his first NFIRA win at the $100,000-to-win Budweiser Shootout at 'The Strip' at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in November. n Gary Densham has successfully secured sponsorship for his Funny Car operation for 2005.

The Californian will be backed by Racebrioks, a new collectables company that manufactures threedimensional, laser-etched racecars inside illuminated glass bricks for numerous NASCAR teams.

The company plans to move into NHRA Drag Racing with Densham serving as their 325mph spokesperson.

aint marches m valve, billet aluminiuim engine, was entirely designed and built by himself and his engineer father, Stan, in the family's Sainty Speed Works workshop in Sydney.

"It's a dream come true," Sainty, 33, said.

"This was a huge team effort and we couldn't be happier - in fact, we're all stilil a little nunabi!" ^ Renowned for theiir—

engineering ingenuity, the Saintys bucked the tradition of purchasing equipment from the US when they made the switch from racing boats to drag racing in the early 1990s, preferring to develop their engine and build their own cars.

"To achieve a personal best and record our first four second run proves that we are heading in the right direction.

And knowing that we built virtually everything in-house makes it all the more rewarding," he said.

The next goal for Sainty is to break the 300 miles per hour barrier. He hit 298mph terminal speed on its record blast in Perth.

Sainty gets his chance next week at the Carline Mufflers Summer Nationals at the WSID.

n Tony Schumacher blasted to a track-record 4.46s on his first pass last Monday at 21st annual National Time Trails at Firebird international Raceway.

'The Sarge' ended the day with a 4.49s/324mph that not only matched Doug Kalitta's Sunday best, but came with a blistering 278mph half track speed, Kalitta motored to a 4,497s at 327.43mph, but was not in attendance on Monday, so test driver Ben Marshall took over in the new Attac-chassied, Mac Tools dragster for one pass which ended abruptly with tyre smoke. Marshall also took three shots in Scott Kalitta's machine and ran a best of 4.51s/326mph but lost traction on the other two. Team mate Dave Grubnic put a best time together of a 4,50s/323mph, bettering his 4.54s/288mph effort from Sunday. n Pro Stock driver Kenny Koretsky has purchased Nitro Fish Wear, the company that sponsors his NHRA Pro Stock Dodge Stratus R/T race team on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Koretsky will become the Nitro Fish CEO and chairman of the board.

- DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

69

scene

edited by

Grant Rowley

Back in Production The 2005 Australian Production Car Championship is new and nearly ready for Wakefield

by GRANT ROWLEY THE Australian Production Car Championship has readied itself for life after PROCAR with a new class structure,format change and new entries.

The Production Car Association of Australia is the group that will control the rejuvenated category as the Heads of Agreement is due to see the PCAA obtain the category management rights in the next few weeks.

The series itself has been divided into three classes, down from four last year.

The classes are based on a power-toweight formula with the most powerful cars being in Class A. Cars in that class will be the traditional rivals of Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores.

Class B will see a battle between a group of Honda Integras and Toyota Celicas, two of which are entered for long-time series driver and CAMS President Cohn Osbourne Only four-cylinder cars are allowed to play in Class C. The Proton Satria Gtis will be back, however,it is not known whether reigning class Champion David Russell win be behind the wheel.

Other cars in that class include a Citroen Xsara, a Ford Focus and a brand-new Toyota Echo for 18-year-

2005 Australian Production Car Championship Calendar 1 Feb 26-27 Wakefield Park, NSW 2 Apr 16-17 Mallala, SA 3 Jul 2-3 Qld Raceway, Old 4 Jul 23-24 Eastern Creek, NSW 5 Aug 20-21 Philip Island, Vic 6 Sep 17-18 Oran Park, NSW 7 Dec 3-4 Eastern Creek, NSW

old Lauren Gray. The car will be prepared by the family team,but calls for support from Toyota Australia have fallen on deaf ears.

The car wiU be ready for Round 1 at Wakefield Park later this month.

Toyota has also pulled the pin on Learme Ferrier and Rick Bates's program for the new season.

The Production Car championship is a largely unmodified series, where cars are,basically, straight from the showroom floor. Other than the n control Yokohama tyre, engine management is free, as is exhaustfrom the header back as long as it exits from the rear of the car. The brake caliper compound is free, while the disc size and type must remain standard. Each

car has a regulated ride height and minimum weight, which can be altered to meet parity adjustments.

CAMS has advised the PCAA that the category should not be known the APCC due to confusion with the newly-named Australian Performance Car Championship (formally GT Performance).

Meanwhile,John Houlder (Falcon XR8)and Derek Hocking(Commodore SS)enjoyed demonstration races at Wakefield Park's recent Monster tractor pull event.

Hoctog jumped the start in the first race and was disqualified, while the pair took a win a piece in the final two three-lap demonstration races.

Oh what a feeling: Toyota will be represented in the Production Cars series with an Echo for Lauren Cray, top, while the Ford verses Holden rivally will continue with the Houlder, above, taking on Derek Hocking.

Island Historic gains momentum THE largest field of historic racing, sports and touring cars ever assembled in Australia is heading to Phillip Island between February 25-27 for the annual Phillip island Classic historic meeting.

The event, presented by Shannons and TattersalTs, will see 450 vehicles face the revered Isla ex-Formula registered f A stand-0 Beatrice Lol

take to the Adelaide street circuit at the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in 1985.

The Beatrice Lola will be making its first Australian race appearance since the Adelaide street race, in which Jones retired it on lap six.

Sportscars, Formula 5000s and other

extremely rare machinery will be on track and on display over the three days. Circuit entry costs $15 on Saturday,$25 for Sunday, with weekend tickets just $35. rj

SCENE

by GRANT ROWLEY

r/”-

aEBi

mE i^S Motor^port News closed;fibE ipress, the ; final entries for the opening:rO;und of the 2005 Victorian State'Oircuit iRacing;Series at South Australia's IVaallala ilVIotor Sport Park this weekend were beingi taken. iLeadiiirngj the'P-oirntiiniill'aford!'©ntraints wll!be Sowie IWI'otorsport'S twoscar outfit Offodd Fiore aimd1ii!tin Bi|ah:ch'aird., After success iin Western Awstraillif^StliPfo’Bd! seraes» iFioiiie'(ihoves aeross to the Victorian series iin an attennpt to gain more experience ©ni the East Coast oiineuiits before j emlba rkiimgi om a Natioinaif iprofiraimi.'MialMa wili I ibe iBil'amihardi'S ifFord! deibut.

CAMS deveiOpment diriwer giradiuate Pauf iLaSfcazesfci willlli Start the year as one of Ihi© favourites in; an;ofder irnodel Sipectruim, while iMiarkiMcNaillly will have the Austraiiian manufactuireS:newest etessis =the 0'HO - at his diisposall.

South Austraian Sprint Karrter Niie'k Percat is a'late entraint, iruininiinig the ex-Adaim Kliunyk MygaieSJi9T. Jack Perkins, Soni of Vi legend harry, is an .iintenestimgi entrant ilni a privatilyHprepared;Van. ©iemen RiF 92. Originally,'Perkins w|s t© contest iboth the Victorian Fotmiuila ford season and the Ausssie RacingiCar series, however,the fi-year-oid has elected to concentrate on his Formula Ford' progrann. iFominiulla Vee ihas aHlairge field entered, as does Marque Sports,which will'start the season with it cars onithe'giridi ILyndoni Punshon, ap0.vB, will,ibe lOo'fciingi tp nhake it three®hanspionShip

Wiaum VJi

HEi

Vie vs §A: Round t of Vic State Series i$ this . .. l - weekend at MailInla, but there^ nd Wavid ^MoOkes ' MemoriSi WtQphy pn offer in-a-roW in his mighty Robnell 302 SCR. limprovediProduction does inoliacfc depth either. Niatianail Champidn Ray ilHlisiop Cameron van;den Duingen and Leanne iFerrierfainderwiilHi be looking tO;riiiake i|!ie djiffifuilt for reigningi state win ner Tony Sfcininer.

Other classes contesting the Vie State series are ;M!Ss, POiFsOhe 944s, SpOrt Sed'3ns and ; GirouipiN;. ; The Fid iWoiden class vvli contest four ofits rou nds in the VSCR iinOl uding!ilVl'alllalal and four with the VMIRC. . i Motorsport News will; have every angle ofthe ^ Vic State Series coveFedi^ih2Q05i A free:calendar| is in the centre of this issue and'the popuiar Vic State Racer magazine will: be awaiiable free inside MNews to su bscri^rs andiiiriS'ViStOria, lasmanla:and South: Austrafia:.

New South Wales state irunners can also expect 3: calendar soon and;the NSWState Racer magazine in 2005 as well.

liEBBl

KI3B1 Elilil BltiWWlMIRl

Under 2L Sport Sedans join VMRS THE Victorian under 2 litre Sports Sedan class will feature on the AASA-sanctioned Skye Sands Victorian Motor Racing Series this year.

Having been part of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Series last year, the Under 2 Litre association have swapped onto the rival Victorian bill after the State Circuit Racing series wanted to combined them with open Sport Sedans. This scenario was not suitable for the Under 2 litre teams, so they have jumped ship. The category is expected to have as many as 20 cars in the field.

The AASA series has six rounds split evenly between

9 February 2005

Calder Park Raceway and Winton Raceway.

The presence of the Under 2 litre drivers and teams is a boon for the VRMS after their inaugural series last year failed to draw big fields. To combat the lack of fields, the VMRS has announced a major incentive prize for entrants in the series. One lucky competitor will win a trip for two to watch the Chinese Grand Prix, which is the final round of the Formula 1 World Championship.

The prize includes all airfares, accommodation and circuit transfers plus a lap at speed of the new circuit in a special BMW ride car.

- GRANT ROWLEY

Change of scenery: The Under 2 Litre Sports Sedan Series will join the Victorian Motor Racing Series in 2005.

71

Wave of Support

Supefcar stmts lend hand in tsunami charity race at Gladstone

: GARTH Tander showed he : has lost none of his karting skills when he and five other I V'8 Supercar drivers competed at Queensland's .

Gladstone karting circuit two weeks ago in aid of the . Boxing Day tsunarni.tragedy.

Tander started hiis career in karting liike many of today's i V8 Suipercar drivers, aind was ! a popular winner on the day.

Fouir races were held at the : hot and humid harbour city Pedaling hard: Paul Weel, above, couldn't match Garth Tander, below. for Tander, Jamie Whincup, Will Davison;, Steven Ellery, Paul Weel and Garth Walden.. prior experience on the track Boxing Day tsunami in SouthEast Asia has taken the lives of The meeting started in back from his karting days. i sensational fashiion when Paul Weel experienced a bit over 290,000 people. former Holden team-mates of bad luck but was able to Fundraising events like this Tander and Whimcuip clash at chalk up a race victory, while have been taking place all over Walden, who had never raced the world, and the V8 karting I the second turni. Ellery and karts before, had a tough Walden also got miixed uip iw charity day raised over $10,000, the Incldient, and the race was. time adijiustlng;. including $100 donated from The karts used were each of the six drivers. ' Galledi iprematuirely. prepared by local kart owners Tander, b.ei@ w ieadimg In other classes on the day, ; iBIII&ry, went ©in;to wini two Of and, aipparently, the off-track Jarrod Smith won Midgets, Justin Smith claimed Rookies pit work to sqeeze an extra I the foiuir races tenth out of each ma'chiine while Scott Klease, Gamepon Tasman iiWIOtorspoirt driver was just as hectic as,the' n Whlncuip finished second; ©iiii; racing on the track ; the day With a raeej^J;etory>, Rosembla1f^:l^'a|fj!iew;R^^^ J 'ahead of ©awisdh;, v®ho ;ha# At the time oTprlnting,the -^

-.iA

^ m

Wall: Clufc MATTHEW Wall has been one of the stand-out performers of Australian karting for several years now.

The Melbourne driver has won Australian titles in Senior National, Formula Australia, Rotax Light and Formula 100. But there is still one he's yet to get- the coveted Clubman

Light trophy.

MNEWS:You're heading to Perth for the Nationals but it's more than just defending the FIDO Title?

MATT WALL:Yeah, I'll try and defend the Formula 100 title, but I want to race Clubman Light. It's the only (major) class that I haven't won the National Title so I want to do that before I retire. We'll also do Formula Australia for J&A Tuning because there's some good competition in that class in WA. MN:At the age of 26, are you thinking of retirement?

MW:Tm getting pretty old and one of the oldest out there. Clubman Light is probably the hardest to win.

Queensla THE Queensland circuit racing season opened on February 6 with Queensland Raceway’s first AASA ‘One Day Wonder’ meeting of the year.

Four divisions of racing cars took to the track, and there were stars to be seen in the Sportscar Division, with a pair of VIP Pet Foods Porsches fighting against the Peter Brock Bathurst-winning Monaro. in the end, honours wouid be split between the three with points going the way of Kiark Quinn (three wins) ahead of Tony Quinn (two wins) and Rob moiorsponnews

NATIOilAI.SCENE

Karting Briefs

iman Light or bust Coopers Phi

'S

done that ourselves.

MN: What about CIK? You won the last round in 2004.

MW:If they get enough entries we'd run Formula A but I'm not interested

especially now that everyone has got back into the class, so I'll give it a go over the next two-to-three year period.

MN:That's the Nationals, but what else will you race this year?

MW:Clubman,some Rotax and Leopard -1 want to win the car. It's good that there are decent prizes to win.

MN:Well, most of your international karting resulted from winning races in Australia.

MW:Yes, three Rotax World Finals and the European Rotax race in Austria. The prizes from Rotax, DPE and Sniper gave me the opportunity to do that because we couldn't have

in running against nine people.

Maybe FA and ICA should be combined and made into Formula 100? There's a Formula 100 series in Melbourne (Geelong) that looks pretty good.

MN:You've had a go at car racing in . the past. Any plans for more?

MW:I did some Formula Ford two or three years ago. It's an experience karters should try and do but we didn't have the money to do the testing to get confident in the car. But teams in car racing are not interested unless you bring money. You're better off in karts than at the back of a Formula Ford field.

Anyway,there's nothing better to watch than a Clubman Light final at state or national level, or running 20,000rpm in FlOO - that's a real buzz.

NSW's DEREK Cunningham experienced the highs and lows of international karting in America recently.

Competing in the opening two rounds of the Florida Winter Tour at Homestead Raceway, Cunningham took a first-up win in Senior Rotax Heavy. Driving for the Canadian First Karts team, Cunningham qualified third and took second in the pre-final before blitzing the Yanks for a 14 second win, and fastest lap, in the Final.

Round 2 wasn't so great.

Cunningham was again fast, this time qualifying second, A crash in the opening lap of the pre-final dropped him to the tail of the field but he still managed to recover to second. The final was looking promising as he shadowed the leader in the opening laps but, after the first-place kart hit a barrier, Cunningham collided with a stray tyre forcing him into the fence and writing off the kart. He returns for the next two rounds at Moroso Motorsports Park this weekend. n The Victorian and Adelaide Superkart clubs are engaged in membership drives for 2005.

Both clubs are offering 'come-andtry' sessions at their first race meetings for the 2005 season. These are particularly aimed at Sprint karters as the switch to Superkarting for the MAX 125 class requires minimal technical changes. The first meeting at Mallala is February 20 while Superkarts return to Calder Park, now running under AASA,for a Saturday twilight meeting on March 19. n Bundaberg's Dromeside Raceway has closed for a couple of months to allow the club to reconfigure the circuit. Having received a $74,000 grant to help finance the works, the club hopes to have a reprofiled 800m x 8m circuit ready for racing some time in April,

Cunningham crash: After holding his own in the opening rounds of the Florida Winter Tour, his crash, below, destroyed his kart.

n DPE has confirmed that the second and third place drivers in the Red Bull KartStars series will get to have a test of a V8 Supercar.

An official announcement regarding which team is expected shortly.

Meanwhile, the company has indicated that KartStars will run on a new-spec chassis that has not yet been released.

The entry price into the series includes all the components required to upgrade. n The Combined Districts club at Llthgow has put out a challenge to all NSW clubs to field two drivers In each class for their Ultra Challenge in July.

Organisers are encouraging the clubs to determine a system for selecting their team drivers. Cash prizes will be offered to both the individual drivers and their club.

- MARK WICKS

nd AASA kick-off Sherrard in the Monaro taking the other win.

Superkarts struggled in the 38 degree heat. In the absense of the 250 Internationals, it was Nationals racer Duncan Crisp (ADE 250) who dominated, taking all six victories ahead of a squabbling group of John Hedges (Stockman 125), Bob Roberts (Stockman 125), Tim Philip in his first 125CC start and Neville Crisp (PVR 250). Sole 80cc starter Russell Jamieson was second for the day on class points with Hedges third. Hedges also won

9 February 2005

the days competitors lucky door raffle for a ride in a two seat Formula 1 car, which will visit QR mid-year.

Sports Racing was won by Ryan Morrow (Sirch 297), who was leading a trio of visiting NSW AF2s ahead of the modified Mazda MX5s of Henri van Roden and Brian Falloon.

The Sedan class was an all Escort affair, with the Lexus V8 Sports Sedan of Agela Lechner taking the trophy from Glen Newell’s Mk 2 and Aaron Hodges Mk 1.

- MARK JONES

Bathurst legend: Rob Sherrard in the Bathurst 24 Hour-winning Monaro took a race win a gainst the dominent VIP Petfoods Porsches.

73

NATIONAL SCENE

Legends Williams wins at Ruapuna, while Muir’s F5000 comeback brings memories flooding back

ROGER Williams was the man to beat at the second round of the 2004/05 Flexoplas NZ Express F5000 Challenge series at Christchurch's Powerbuilt International Raceway at Ruapuna Park last Saturday and Sunday.

After claiming pole position, the Auckland man won all three class races, each from Christchurch drivers Murray Sinclair and Stan Redmond, both in Lola T332s.

Williams cruised to victory in Race 1, but was placed under pressure from Sinclair and Redmond in both of Sunday's races.

Redmond enjoyed a competitive weekend, beating both Sinclair and Williams off the line in the first and third races, and holding second place behind Williams for five of the first race's eight laps after Sinclair outbraked himself on lap four.

Sinclair claimed the place back on the last lap, though at that point the brakes on Redmond's Lola T332 were well past their best.

Fourth overall in the first and third races - and a disappointed DNF in the second - was Adelaide driver Aaron Lewis in a McRae GM1.

Another Australian, legend Bob Muir made a special appearance in Stuart Lush's Matich ABO. Fuel injection problems thwarted any progress, though, for Muir. Flis highlight came in Race 3 where he finished ninth.

After two rounds of the four round series, Sinclair leads heading into Teretonga Park this weekend.

Points: Sinclair 140, Abbott 112, Redmond 108, Williams 104, Clements 87.

A legend returns to the cockpit: Sydneysider Bob Muir, right, drove a Matich A50, but ran into fuel injection problems during the first two races.

The 65-year-old raced Formula 5000 cars in Australia and the US in the 1970s.

Above, Adelaide's Aaron Lewis steered a McRae CM1 to fourth overall while, top, Roger Williams crushed his oppo nents in the all conquering CM1.

Island gets early Bike fix A

'■

I'.

2;

THE 12th Annual Island Classic for motorbikes was held at Phillip Island last weekend, with rain on Saturday spoiling a faultless event.

Teams from New Zealand and the United Kingdom competed against Australian riders for the International Challenge. Tmes for the 10 fastest riders from each team were combined by points over four races to decide the winner.

Australia finished ahead on 435 ahead of New Zealand on 245 and the UK 203.

Victorian rider Stuart Loly, above #7, had two wins and a second to lead the Australian charge with standout New Zealand rider Richard Scott, above right #65, taking one win, a second and two third places.

M

UK rider James Clark won the second race by the narrowest of margins after Loly encountered ignition problems. Flis 12 second lead was guzumped on the finishing line. Clark also finished third in the third race.

The Phil Irving Perpetual Trophy was decided from selected events with NSW rider Russell Fairbairn claiming the win for the third time in four years. NZ champion Ginger Molloy came second with Stuart Garner from the Northern Territory third.

Dave Cole took the honours in all four 500 Classic races, claiming Barry Sheene's lap record in the fourth race.

- JAMES SMITH

International representation: Team UK, above, were no match for their Australian and New Zealand counterparts. moiorsportnews

INDUSTRY NEWS

impact Magna Fuel IMPACT Racing

Latch strap prevents

Restraint Systems.offers a complete range of Latch & Link and Rotary Cam 4,5, 6,7 and 9-point Systems.

All setups and

VH Irl 1^1

configurations are now available for all types of racing. Open Wheel,

VH flC

Stockcar, Drag Racing, Sprint C ar, Rally, Junior Drag, Quarter Midget, Sport

/^S inadvertent release, flV A quick release Latch HI and Link with integrated fW dual adjusters also features a lever that closes the latch

JHf gap to prevent inadvertent HK release Impact's "lost motion" ■Qf’ Rotary Cam System requires rotation past a preset No Release Zone to disengage the

Drift and more are

feature combines with

catered for in this extensive range.

Standard or custom systems built to your specifications feature Impact's exclusive T7 webbing

' || the no-snag ^ face plate design to prevent |s inadvertent disengagement U Impact's exclusive 3-way anti M sub belt link design is available

which was designed specifically for motorsports.

The laterally ribbed webbing works with Impact's patented adjuster, like a ratchet, to help prevent webbing creep while the

f for both Latch & Link and Rotary Cam. For more information on all Impact Racing products contact VPW on 1300 659 904 or visit www.vpw.com.au

IMPACT'S new G1 open wheel glove now features reversed outside seams for improved comfort and feel.

grip patch are new features of the Gl. Knit fire resistant Nomex’’''^ covers the back of the hand with an additional

New Cl Constructed of super soft, hand-

layer of:Soft knit Nomex® next to the hand for

hugging suede.

resistant shell. The

■ly

lightly padded wrap-around palm patch and knuckle guard add extra comfort and abrasion resistance Additional

improved safety and fire resistance.

Py The new Gl is ■ / available in adult f sizes S/M/L/XL and three colours, black, blue and red For more information i this or any other pact Racing products dactVPWon 1300 659 or visit

reinforcement patch on the thumb and a wrap around suede forefinger

www.vpw.com.au

A PETROL engine needs approximately 680 mis of fuel for every 100 horsepower it produces, this is important

to consider when increasing | the performance of your engine. If your cars fuel pump does ^ not have the capacity to deliver the correct

j SM Iffi «

quantities of fuel at the right pressure you may losing performance at critical times.

The MagnaFlow racing fuel systems are designed for high performance street applications and top-level racing. Available to suit fuel injected systems as well as carburetted cars, MagnaFlow manufactures prenuum high performance fuel systems which have been developed in close association with top level professional race teams.

MagnaFlow can supply complete fuel systems including pumps, filters, and regulators, anti reversion plates, fuel cell kits, fittings and adaptors for most high performance applications.

Nitrous fuel pressure kits are available to suit one, two, three or four stage nitrous applications. Air bleed systems are available, which Magna Flow recommend for use with all nitrous pressure control units to eliminate air from the fuel system.

All MagnaFlow pumps are hand assembled; then flow tested to ensure maximum

Sponsorship Inquiries Welcome Martini Racing Products P/L. 38 Henderson Rd Rowvilie Melboui VIC 3178 H Ph. 03 9763 0977 or Tony Cuschieri 0418-385948 http;//martinirac ing.net ||

9 Februarv 2005

wear and reliability.

There is no metal-tometal contact within the pump itself.

Inside is a combination of stainless

these high-quality pumps that are topped with custom-built motors.

The custom-built motor and

steel polymer and hard-coated parts, aU precision- machined for ultimate performance.

For more details contact Quantum

exclusive vane/rotor designs provide cool low-amperage operation for

Racing Industries on 07 3290 5911or visit www.qri.biz

win with Martini RacingFuels

Win with Martini Racing Fuel Motorsport 102 ULP Pro Stock 110 ULP

reduced

■A -X '

performance. Computer-machined aluminium bodies are the base for

Liquid Horse Power Win with more power Win with less cost

75

RACING FUELS CAMS & FIA Approved

Unleaded race proven alternatives to pump and Avgas National Office: Hi-Tec Fuels Pty Ltd 02 4659 6396 VIC; Race Fuels Pty Ltd 0419 511 517 SA; Performance Fuels SA 1300 726 084 OLD: Elf Racing QLD 07 3269 6823 TAS; Devonport Performance 03 6427 0700

www.racefuels.com.au

Hi Flow I Alloy Hoods The ultimate power fix for your Holden mPESrOMMMCBBHQlHE^T^

● Available for early and VN Style V8 ● Super flow potential compared to ported Iron heads ● Greater thermal efficiency and half the weight of iron

Ph 03 9555 5522 Fax 03 9555 4152 WWW,yellaterra.eom.au

75

news

rai® shop RACE SHOP gives you the opportunity to promote your products and services to the widest possible range of motorsport competitors and enthusiasts. Advertising in RACE SHOP costs as little as $75 per issue! Call Brendon Sheridan on 03 0407 007 286 now!

mm

,«

>1

1300 659 904^*^ ^^^

i;n»Hisnani ' sales@vDW.coni.aii

vpw.com.au

vpw.com.au

I

1300 659 904^CVPW salBs@upw.com.au

upiv.com.au

ONE PIECE RACE PUSHRODS

/

As used by top touring car, speedway & drag racing teams.

a

l .080” wall chrome moly .S'

3

1

Available from:

diamett

l .050" length steps

/V;

l .080" wall hardened steel ^ NEW street race version Jl

p:03 9357 0469 f:03 9357 0001

I lor Auur»!i&.All trade enquirletihoUd be dirceied t ■j fTi Ph.0297581966F«.02 9758 1155 EmjiUifoOfjbrBXomju

visit our website: www.crowcams.com.au

Competition

LSD’s & Gears

B a lancers

The True Performance Alternative

New expanded range for details call Vic 03 9873 5400 NSW 02 4577 2400 SA 08 8340 4333 Vic 03 9553 4200 QLO 07 3274 4797 WA 08 9331 8488 Vic 03 9887 3833

c

Hi

B

1

‘ ● Extremely durable bonded dampening material ● Easy to read computer etched timing marks ● Available in economical cast iron Street, all steel SFi approved Race and new Serpentine for Chev, LSI, LTl etc Ph 02 6937 8888 Fax 02 6921 7536 Visit out website www.precisionparts.com.au

tmmnATINUM The world’s strongest and most affordable shaft type roller rocker

Custom Made To Specification i,T

CHOW CAMS

also available

P.

r

Aw

"

I Mirudxluren 4cp6inlcddltUibutoi fer Aintnlb.AH trade cnquirfM ihoiid be diteeled

Autri !i tr 4 Ph.0297»1966Fsu.0397581155 ErraihlnfoOtsbroxeriLiu

76

l available in

from6.00"to 10.00”

NSW:Motorspot Connection 02 9838 7272 VIC: Revolution Racegear 03 98738700 WA:Go Gear Racing Services 08 9443 1457

fy?JTpj3(i

l one piece construction

● Available In twin shaft and unique single shaft designs for all parallel and cant valve engines ● Strongest race rocker available with unique lifetime warranty for road and race applications

Ph 03 9555 5522 Fax 03 9555 4152 www.yellaterra.com.au

/

/

FLYWHEELS

^Hi PERFORMANCE ENOINE PARTS,

The ultimate in strength & safety Your choice of standard weight or lightweight steel l Availabte for all popular applications including Ford 6 cyl, Cleveland and Windsor V8, Holden 6 & V8, Chev SB & BB V8 l

Ph 03 9555 5522 Fax 03 9555 4152 www.yellaterra.com.au

CROWCAMS

● Fast profile design service to your requirements ● Custom ground roller, solid and hydraulic profiles using unique computer controlled^ machines for unrivalled accuracy

f

● Matching race valve train components ^ including a huge range of one piece super duty pushrods

mn

CAMS

j

Ph 03 9357 0469 or Fax 03 9357 0001 Visit our website: www.crowcams.com.au

r P' %itK<t'uy S^ccicc S

●V

●dU’

Superior strength Exact stem to seat concentricity Closely controlled margin heights Fully machined combustion faces Swirl polished underheads Hard chrome stems Hard tips

Mamrfecluteti appointed dHuannor for Auilnlla. A] itadeenquirlet thouldb* direeted l PhOJ 975a 1966 rat02 97581155 fmaitlnMfibreeomau

motorsport news

RACE SHOP

Cuvmr/ ENGINE

MMCHELilU

PA

I

'

Australia's Isrgsst range, J tor over 400 engine applications

A u a T P A I I A Pti.0297Sai966F«.02WS9n5S EfTUJhl

Official distributor of Michelin Motorspoit tyr in Australasia

i'fTg

IE NGINES

For Motorsport tyre requirements contact:

EUROPEAN

■" ‘TECHN I QUE 338 Swan Sc Richmond VIC 3121 Ph 03 9428 5547 Technical Support contact Trevor Sheumack 0418 548 578

\4

ef® ●I I L H O WE

rfc»l

ENGINES WITH >»/777Wf 3 Engine building from control classes to supercars 3 Hot street to full house roller cam drag engines 3 Dog/Gearbox conversions 3 Chassis tuning and test day development Ph Phil Howe @ Howe Power Engines 0418 131 4S8 or email howpower@bigpond.net.au

nUNEvOF MCrrORSPORT

Syxorf titotmrsfiort K^ofmx

Quick Scale”$2450

"At last an affordable fully featured electronic setup scale is available in Australial'' ^ “ 37Smm Billet Aluminum pads ’ 5 display modes j ● Kllogram/Pound option ● Accurate to 1/10 of 1% “ Colour coded cables with military connectors ■ FACTORY 7/1-7 FRIARS ROAD, MOORABBIN VIC 3189 ● PHONE 03 9553 4200 ● FAX 03 9553 4270 ● MOBILE 0412 988 824 ● EMAIL sales@m-msporl.coni.au « WEBSITE: www.m-mspor1.com.au

t

V -

l Full FIA range in stock l Bold down,detachable or wrap around ●Available in red,black or blue ● Supreme quality at sensible prices

TYRES

,1.1 ■imTOT

Aluminiun] CompetitiDn Wheel Nuts 0-60 Tp Pressure Gauges

WHBNYOURUFE

Unit 3/13 Penny PI, Arndell Park NSW 2148 p 02 9676 8655 f 02 9676 5300 ● e qarydunlop@ozemail.com.au

www.garysnnotorsporttyres.com.au

^4,D6PENDS0NIT^J;^ Gary's MotorsportTyres Unit 3/13 Penny PI. Arndell Park NSW 214^'

f^RANE w^ams

M PERFORMANCE CAMS £r MAVAmTRAINXOMPONENm

Camshafts

Roller Lifters

Roller Rockers

Ignition Systems

Valve Springs & More!

CRANE TECHNOLOGIES PTY. LTD.

Phone 07 3808 1986

or visit our website for your nearest distributor.

Phone: 08 8363 5566

www.performancewholesale.coiii.au

P (08) 9258 7700

m steel Main Caps to suit most V8 applications ^ S^EEDrLO^^ VI Premium Motorsport Hose & Fittings! Wf rr.

1

I

Contact your state distributor...

Hcirdiman Auto Supplies (02) 9771 5877 Motorsport Connections (02) 9838 7272 (03) 9794 5177 Victorian Speed Pro Performance Wholesale (07) 3808 1986 (08) 8363 5566 Crane Technologies Gogear Racing Services (08) 9443 4400

HS-7B LIGHTWEIGHT HOSE Composite Construction, Smooth-bore Teflon, Silicone, Nomex Compatible with all Engine & Gearbox Rulds Largest Range of Hose Ends Available,

HANS Compatible models available

,, nothing E!JES OMES CLOSE^ Gary's Motorsport Tyres Unit 3/13 Penny PI. Amdel! Park NSW ^ p 02 9676 6655 f 02 9676 5300 ♦ e garydunlop@ozcmail.com.au

9 February 2004

Higher Vacuum Capacity Tighter Bend Radius Crimped in House Extremely Light

03 S339SIS9 SS^£M Fax 03 5339 2144

Sold in I Australia by

[xclushieMsttaliaii aisuiMBi

Titanium Ualue^,-*.*'^ LncKs. Retalne^.

Guides & Seat Insen^^M AVAILABLE NOW! ^

WHOLESALE vmw.g9notn1ancewnoi8saie.com.au rfemrnnHiiiinc

PEKFOKMAMaE FFODUCTa ^ World’s #1 range of race car seats Ergonomic design for ultimate driver comfort Largest range of colours and styles a Latest materials for driver safety

Str30®4y’60»90°120®150«180° Larger Inner Diameter

COtAPOMOTIVE MOTORSPORT WHEELS

VIC 03 9386 5331 NSW 02 %76 8655 SA 08 8387 3522 WA 08 9293 3500 TAS 03 6273 7555 NT 08 8941 5388 QLD07 3217 1188 fYRE SERVICE www.stuckey.coni.au

Fax: 08 8363 5633

www.cranecams.com.au

Manufactured in USA by Pro-Gram Engineering

; I i

#

All new 2004 range now available (9 models) Suitable for all forms of motorsport Innovative design, latest materials and manufacturii processes are used to ensure ultimate comfort and ventilation Lightweight without compromising strength and safety o

DON'T SETTLE FOR SECOND BEST

Gary’s Motorsport Tyres Unit 3/13 Penny PI, Amdel! Park NSWj2148^ p 02 9676 8655 f 02 9676 5300 ♦ c garydunlop@oicmail.com.au

worlds Leading Valve Spring Manufacturer

Specific spring design to suit endurance circuit racing, Speedway, Drag Racing & , Marine applications.

RADIATORS, INTERCOOLERS & OIL COOLERS ● Offroad cars ● Motorbikes ● Boats ● Hot Rods ● Street Cars ● Circuit Cars Contact 07 55 98T 499 or Fax drawings to 07 55 984 398

HANDBUI LT

&

AL

I ' by leaaing NASCAR, NHRA VB Supercar 1^. teams ^

m

To order design & manufactur capabilities.

FiciAL Australian Distributor ntum Racing Industries 13290 5933 www.qri.biz

77

RIICE SHOP

Eastern Raceparts l Mocal l Aircraft Bolts - Girling l Goldine l Silverline

PREPARATION IS EVERYTHING » Homologation to CAMS/FIA specificiations »Tube bending/tube sales l Seam welding/bodyshell preparation QUALITY WORK » ON TIME * EVERY TIME 19 Citrus Street Braeside VIC 3195 l Ph 03 9587 7772 Email fabraications@bigpond.com.au l www.rollcages.com.au

World’s leaders in Motorsport Safety Technology Helmets l Suits l Boots l Gloves l Harnesses l Crew Gear l and all accessories for all motorsports Quality l Price l Service

Ph/Fax 02 9526 6666

Ph Byran Miller l Mob 0417 274 507 l Ph 02 9524 3389 < 1 Tamba Place Lill! Pilli NSW 2229 l Email easternraceparts@hotmail.com

STEP 2 RACEBOOTS High suede

©DIRECT

ELPRO

If

Reducers Alloy Donuts Ram Tubes Canisters Oil Tanks Wheel Arches Tank Ends End Caps

L''

Roll Cages

To FIA/CAMS specifications CDW/COS 350Mpa Tube ^Chrome Moly 4130,650 MpaTube Weld-in or Bolt-in ->A1I cages TIG Welded to highest standards Design, certification and cage Spaceframe design and fabrication homologation available 4 Car construction and assembly FACTORY 7/1-7 FRIARS ROAD, MOORABBiN VIC 3189 l PHONE 03 9553 4200 l FAX 03 9553 4270 l MOBILE 0412 988 824 l EMAIL sa!es@m-msportcom.au l WEBSITE: www.m-msportcom.au

sparco

l Racewear l Seats l Harnesses l Etc...

SAVE up to 30%

r Make your own signage

Banners \oaWS70BS8

*=^T,on 630

CAMS racing and rally licence courses ® Oran Park monthly $680 in your car.

Includes lecture and OLT.

ACL

International Racing Drivers School for more info ph 02 9873 1773,fax 02 9871 1018 or email peter@finlays.com.au WWW,fin lays.coin.au

Racing Car Jack l_lcjt-Uwolgf-«t AlLimur-iium Alloy

<t9Qc;* /

Ph; (07) 5493 7444 Fax; (07) 5493 7131 \A/At7irtFi email; ianandlou@powerijp.com.au ' * all prices include GST. Freight Is additional.

78

Fortaereinformatlen sadta, demonttratloBXOHtBd:

1

Email aeldei@inelbp(.otg.au

RACE SERIES

^^.Lightweight pistons and pins Double spiral pin locks ' Anti friction skirt coating Fully machined crowns Symmetrical valve pockets Low friction, high performance rings

A

on 0418 474 816

race@tnt.com.au

LONGACRE ;

Computer Scales

i'

November and December Only

AREX Computing PO Box I SI Montrose Vic 37iS Pli0397St 1J42 Eox03975lr2173 Mob:04(IS455S4I

HIGH PERFORMANCE FORGED PISTONS

iFormula Ford Zetec Drives - $650 for 40 laps in our Van Diemen 98/99 Zetec cars. No pre-requisites.

Held monthly.

l 1000kg Capacity ● Lo\« Saddle Heigh ● Tested and approx Australian Standa AS-2615-1995 * 12 month warranty ●Weight 15kg rt

DynoLog Dynamometer

039561 7300

2 tonne capacity

l Toke monnol control or hands-free l Accurote, Repeatable, Versatile l Loral design, support, development, installation and on-sile training l Top names demand top equipment lasers inr NIZPRO, HSV, HUT X John Sidney Rating) l Engine, chassis, go-kort or motorbike

Displays

ALL ROUNDS ALL CLASSES Fully enclosed custom built race car transporters

Contact Neil Griffiths

Kemorkalile Wimiows of ©pportumity for Engine Experts

Transporter

Race logistics RACE LOGISTICS interstate transport Professional race car logistic and event specialists

Tel: 02 9709 4655 for Dealer Info.

- FROM $2200 6s:

Ph 02 9756 0202 Fax 02 9756 0203 sales@simpsonraceproducts.com.au

Security for car and equipment

Phone: 03 9768 2383

uoMPLETEPackage

2009 expiry, lightweight buckle, 3" webbing, clip in ends Black, Red, Blue S point- $539 l 6 point - $579 FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY Aust 5tandard 4 point belts fr $145

1

www.elettra.com.au sales@elettra.com.au

Race Car

AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTORS

FIA HARNESSES

i (SlSate/f Racewear The latest range ofEuropean styled, high quality, shiny Nomex"racing suits.

Simpson Safety Equipment Australia 11/62 Newton Road Wetherill Park NSW 2164 Ph 02 9756 0202 Fax 02 9756 0203

Part No: 72585

Ph:03 9543 6222

P

Ilolku www.holley.com

For further information call

Austral Distributing Company Pty Ltd.

Riverwood NSW Established 1974 Ph 029534 5466 Fax 029533 2891 Email austral@zipwortd.com.au AUSTRAL Visit our website: traldistributing.corh.a

Cost Effective Data logging ●Up to 13 inputs plus 2 outputs ● Logged data displayed graphically, numerically & real time through dash

LECTOOvSJgS

● Overlay Data from previous laps or sessions ● Technology gained from over 10 years logging data

For further detafls ph; [0214648 0030 www.msedata.com.au

Holley Performance System Distributors I Call 08 8132 1888 for your nearest distributor

FuUycm Machined l 100% Critical Inspection on every piston l Creates more vacum and constant vacum than any other piston l Less Blowby, More ring seal more Horsepower. l Used by leading US racers and V8 Supercar teams

OFFiCiAL Australian Distributor Quantum Racing Industries

p 07 3290 5911 f 07 3290 5933 www.qrLbiz motorsport news

news

/ //AynLsxjA^mTn online classifieds F/nd hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.my105.com

SEU

your motorsport vehicle, parts, memorabilia with our all-new combined magazine/ internet classified service. Courtesy of an agreement between Motorsport News ■r and internet classified service my105.com, your advertising will appear in both for as little as $25. Yes 3 months on my105.com AND one insertion in Motorsport News for just $25!

HOW? Just log on to www.my105.com and follow the prompts!

Alternately, you can still use the classified form on these pages (surcharge applies for the service of entering the ad onto my105.com)

SPORTS SEDAN

LOG ON NOW

Chrome/Moiy Torque Tube Space Frame, magnes uprights, Koni fully adj, Harrop 4 pot,20B Triple rotor Kim Ledger, Hewland Transaxle FGB 200,slick & wets wheels, spares etc. $60,000 Not Neg. Richard 0412320940.

IT’S THE SMART WAY TO SELL YOUR EQUIPMENT! 1999 GT3 For Sale A

Fastest non Cup Car in Aust. Recent body refresh. Recond Biistein Shock pkge, rebuilt g/box, diff, brakes. Upgraded ECU, Motec data logging, extensive spares incl 4 sets of wheels.

Ready for Targa or the Porsche Drivers % i challenge or Aust GT sports cars. All original GT3 Road parts. Road Reg NSW. $150,000. |L Tim 0409090932.

i

■

www.myl05.com/7999

www.myl05.com/75926 Formula 3

I The best F3 available! Fresh Renault engine, I gearbox, diff and brakes. New driveshafts, mastercyciinders and belts. No more money to spend. Spares available. PDA Neg. Aaron I 0409 298 108.

Twin Cab Truck and 5th Wheel Trailer - .

&

Duel Cab, 650,000 KLM. Seats 6 .Excellent '^hhdition Inc Sony Stereo,UHF, Currently running NSW,QLD,VIC. Trailer fits (3 X Formula 500s) or (Sprinter and mule) or sedan. Ample room for spares, price includes tool boxes, racking, generator ready to go racing. Rego till 7/05. $52,000.00 ONO. Steve i Gaunt 0418612300/0242570412.

www.myl05.eom/2O717

www.myl05.com/5771 Sedans/Sports Cars

Suzuki Swift GTI, This was rebuilt as rally car, suit track aswell, very low k's, mild cams, lightened flywheel, LSD, Adj Biistein suspension. Half Cage, ISinch Rims, Rego 07/05, RWC, too much too mention, heaps of spares. $6300 Or Best Offer. Ben 0402 303 229 247. www.myl05.eom/20758

Honda Integra "Type R", As driven by Adam Beechey to victory in last round of 2004 GT Production Championship at Mallala: Built by Wayne Park in 2000 from new car, CAMS approved roll cage, proflex shocks, 3 sets of wheels, drybreak fuel system and heaps of spares. Ready to win 305 in 2005 series . $25,900.00 ONO, www.myl05.com/69972

Lancer Improved Production Car, Fresh engine, twin webbers, new headers, full weld in cage, CAMS log book, volvo front brakes/sigma rear with brake bias valve, koni shocks with coil overs, momo seat, willans harness, dry cell battery, alloy fuel cell, 14“ wheels A032rs tyres, heaps of spares. $8500 Or Best Offer. Peter 0409 303 743 491. www.myl05.com/97774

m

EL

0

Porsche GT3 Cup Car, MY2003 with 2004 update package. Maintained perfectly (no race mechanical failures), recent motor, gearbox and chassis refresh (no major shunts). Spares, Motec, Radio and other Equipment. Trailer and/or Transporter also available. Setup, track, dyno, shock, parts life and other data. Price is negotiable for quick sale or swap for MY2002 with 2003 303 updates, Stephen 0418 685 575. www.myl 05. com/19254

9 February 2005

Suzuki Swift GTI MK1, Swift GTi Mk1. U2 sports sedan. Full cage, race seat, 4 point harness, 4 wheel disc's, koni shocks and adjustabie suspension, 14" slicks. Fresh engine, Autronic, LSD, Grp A Drive shafts etc. Plenty of spares, wheels, engine, brakes, standard seats and trim. Reiiable and enjoyabie first car. $7500 ONO. Steve 304 0404 802 901. www.myl05.com/94843

t.COQZU &

For sale or lease 4 Twin Cam Corollas, Troubles Racing offers for sale or lease 4 race ready twincam Corollas, these class winning championship cars are presented in excellent condition, the cars are suitable for Sprints, State Race Series and combined Touring Car Events. Also Endurance drives available. We offer junior development programs and assist in OLTs. To start your 2005 race year contact Michael. 0418 377 303 372. Mick 0418 377 372. www.myl05.com/28823

II Mazda RX7 Improved Production, Jon Waterhouse Built 13B Bridgeport, Ceramic Race Seals, 48IDA Weber Carby , Multiplate Clutch, 2-Piece Tailshaft, Rose Jointed Watts Linkage. Adjustable Strut tops, Lge Diam Biistein Shocks, Big Brakes. Three sets of wheels and 2 Diffs, Large Radiator and Oil Cooler. $18400 Neg. Michael 303 0262805972, www.my105.com/27474

Torana XU1, Biasted.seamwelded,steel cage.Tangerine 2 pack thru out.New motor off dyno incl. carillos.roliercam, webbers,msd,etc. 4spot brakes,Tilton master cyl./Bias.Sand bent extractors.alum radiator & fuel tank. 8 x7" Hot Wires & tyres.SPARE race eng. comp, balancer to clutch. Completed 3 race meetings. . $40,000 Not Neg. Leo 08 9 641121 8.

303 www.myl05.eom/84902

79

LOTUS MOTORSPORT 200 ELISE, Imported in knock downform , Lotus Motorsport Australia has assembled this Motosport 200 Eiise to factory specifications. The car has never raced in the UK or here and has new everything! Big brakes, blueprinted standard motor, roller barrel! throttle bodies, Motec, Safety Devices cage, Corbeau seats, and much more.

Great reliable car for Production/Marque Sports or could be a potent Sports Sedan with an upgraded motor. A similar car won the 2001 Production Sports car championship in 2001 beating Porsche GT3's. Due to the closure of Lotus Motosport Australia, this car is being sacrificed at $100,000. Normal new price would be $170,000. Call Peter Landan on 0418 207 600. . $100,000. Peter 0418 207 600.

303 www.myl05.com/38796

HQ Holden, Probably the best presented HQ in the country, no expense spared. New motor, gearbox, diff and suspension.

Recently upgraded to 2005 specs. Ready to race with heaps of spares. $6,500 Neg. 303 Diego 0402 114 593. www.myl05.eom/92940

QLD Racecars, 1 OLD Gemini Senes Car, front runner, fresh engine, great series, $4,000. 1 HQ, front runner, fresh engine, 2 sets wheels (1 set Prostars), $5,000 "Job's On", Cam 0419 768 662.

303 www.my105.com/72179

Ford Escort Mk1 excellent condition, excellent condition, used three times in 2004 supersprints only, great club, targa /eastcoast classic car or just use for supesprints. log booked, always garaged, great handling fast and reliable, also as new blue/white race suit, gloves, shoes and bag ($1,100 neg). $11,500 ONO. Sasha 0418 680 293.

303 www.myl05.eom/80136

Ferguson Racer, Faster than most modern sports cars! 3.5L Rover - 4speed gearbox, independent rear-end with 3,9 locked, 3,9 open, 4.4 open and 3.4 LSD diffs.

Adjustable Konis, Quickrack, fuel-cell, spare wheels, motor and gearbox. Used for sprints, hill climbs, motorkanas. Can do historical events but not log-booked. 9500.

David 0407642435.

303 www.my105.com/69255

Improved Production Suzuki GTi, under 2 litre NSW Champion 2001, 2nd in 2004, new engine, fresh box and paint, finished every race in top 3, race winner, pole and fastest lap setter in 2004, massive amount of spares. $15,000 ONO. Grant 0410681526.

304 www.myl05.eom/28021

Commodore VT 98 Suit racecar, Complete car Suit use as racecar.cant be registered for road use available with or without drive train, or interior,engine conversions available 3.8, 3.8 suppercharged, 5.0 liter,5.7 liter. $6500 as roller. Ted 0412 288060.

303 www.myl05.com/61998

Improved Production Datsun ISObsss, 180BSSS Coupe,red/white/blue nat aspirated sr20 wt,5speed,4:1 locked diff,6 point alloy roll cage,koni adjustable front shocks,180SX rotors,hilux calipers.momo race seat & sparco 5 point harness,4 near new A032R tyres.spare sheii.eams log booked,ready to race,3rd under 2lt 2004. 6500.00 ONO. Brett 07 38896583.

303 www.myl05.eom/77059

Studebaker Supercharged, CAMS log book Nb Road Registered Paxton supercharged Studebaker V8 . Roller cam,big H.P.with all the best gear.TIO 4sp.Dana diff w/-28 spline ford axles & locker.Tilton bias/master cyl.setup with 4 spot calipers.Road Registered.Ready for Rally or Race . $20000.00 Neg. 08 96411218 / 0407958433.

303 www.myl05.com/99367

BMW E36 M3, BMW M3 Coupe in Estrol blue with Black leather interior and all BMW original options. Orginal condition thoughout, no modifications, near new brake rotors, pads & tyres. Always garaged since new. Rego to 6/05. -111,000 KM, Great condition, $60,000 ONO. David 0401 718 762. www.myl05.eom/448C

Suzuki Swift GTI Club Car 91, High twincam 16v engine, locked diff, Koni Shocks, new seat and harness, VGC paint and body kit, very quick, suit improved production, sprints, hill climb, OLD TPT Mod plate for easy road registration. Car in OLD. 303 $8,500. David 0402 351 678. www.myl05.eom/95208

VL Group A ex-HDT, brand new rolling chassis, full-floating cambered HARROP 9in diff, AP-Brakes all round, Doug Nash 5speed, Bilstein coil-overs, 17in wheels, 350 Chev needs assembling, features SCAT Crank/Rods, 18deg Alloy-heads, HRT 8 throttle-body intake manifold, setup for dry sump, V8-Supercar exhaust, all brand-new parts used, suit Improved-Production or Sports-Sedan, P.O.A, Marty 0417289169.

303 www.my105.com/5965

TiviFwayto sell your gear! From lust$25* lustlog on

(*$25 applies to ads entered directly onto my105.com) Advertising can also be supplied using thisform ($10/$15 surchageto textonly/text -f pic advertisements) Advertisements will appearin next possible issue of Motorsport News PLUS the 1.;" i05.com websiteforthree months.

Please read & cross the desired services and calculate the total.

online classifieds gj Standard ad and one iniusion into Motorsport News' = $35 Category: □ Sedans □ Open Wheelers

news Description:

□ Parts □ Engines □ Trailers

□ Speedway

□ Wanted □ Photographs

□ Drag

□ Jobs

□ Other

Please keepadsto no more than 50 words, plus up to 6 photos if desired.

□ Plus Photo Processing fee $5 ADDITIONAL OPTIONS:n Extra issues X $25 per issue □ Feature ad on Motorsport News and my105.com homepage for $75 per issue

=—

TOTAL = $

I enclose a ctieque/money order/credit card details for the payment or the total amount above,

□ Bankcard □ Visa or □ Mastercard Card no Name _ Address Email Ph(

)

Signature _ Card Name

Exp_/

Forward your classified to: fax 02 96471177 email mnews(Smy105,com postal address My105, PO Box 6751 Silverwater NSW 2128.

NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS Please use the form provided and print clearly. Please note

we are unable to return photographs supplied for use in classified ads. Ads will appear as soon as possible after receipt. MN/myl 05.com classifieds are for the sale of private goods and vehicles only, not business advertising Photos marked “proof will not be used.

motorsport oews

Open Wheelers

Aussie Racing Car, 40 Ford Coupe, Be on the grid for the Clipsal 500, Fast reliable Car, Top 10 Runner in the right hands, Spare Wheels and Enclosed Trailer. $ 303 36,000 Inc. Colin 0415 286 986. www.my105.com/14113

ll

2004 QLD No. 1 RX7 FOR SALE, 04 QLD & 03 NSW State Champ, Morgan Pk & Hidden Vly lap records, 04 National heats winner, >$100k in parts alone plus Motec data. OFFERS OVER $40,000. Simon 0733496075, www.my105.com/28426

Mazda RX7, Motor was recently rebuilt with 300hp.Car consistantly in top 8 in Queensland.Car has always been maintained by Qualified mechanic.Volvo front brakes,mazda rear end,konies all round. $10,500 ONO. ANTHONY DUNN 0732100244 / 0738486489 www.my105.com/72209

Ralt RT20, Large Number of spares, wings, slicks, wets, suspension, body moulds, PI Dash, Ratio's and three sets of Wheels. All Componentry to fit Formula Holden Engine.

Compliant for Historic Racing or hill climb.

303 $27000 Neg. Michael 0262805972. www.myl05.com/94313

IT

Japanese Formula J, Japanese Formula J, (similar size to fornula Ford), Ideal for club or hillclimb use. has onboard extinguisher system and spare set of wheels. $6500 Neg. Ted 0412288060 / 0412 288060, www.myl05.com/85851

F/Vee 1600 Elfin NG90, with all 04 updates.

Recent 3rd place at Eastern Creek NSW state championship meeting 02/05/04.

Fresh engine, gearbox, full bare chassis rebuild only 6 meetings old. All receipts, Dyno figures, photos etc. Always immaculately presented, only teh best parts, comprehensive spares package, etc. $19,000 Neg. Russell 0404 804 859 (after 305 4pm). www.myl05.eom/75340

,

Parts STOLEn GEAR PLEASE CALL UJITH lAFO stolen 20 Gear Ratio Sets, suit Hewland, FT200 FGB etc. Anonymous phone call identifying person selling such gears greatly appreciated. Chas 03 9752 7639 (b - ah), 303 www.myl05.com/86582

9 February 2005

TILTING CUSTOM TRANSPORTER, Immaculate tilting transporter built to the highest standards with NO expence spared.

Kitchen, bedding, insulated, generator, compressor, elictric winch, sink, work bench, and heaps of storage and much much more. Travelled less than SOOOkIm. .More photos available. $39900 ONO. Paul 0400933030.

303 www.myl05.com/71359 Race Car Transporter, 43 ft, 2 car capacity, tailgate lifter, gen set, full size awning, storage cupboards & drawers, kitchenette, 4 bunks, water storage. Good condition.

303 $47,000 ONO. Phillip 0424 496 577. www.myl05.com/6662

For Lease Supra 1 to 1 5th gearbox. Close ratio gearbox, syncro mesh. Full slide on gear set, Albins cut gears, 1 to 1 5th gear, this box was used in winning under 2 litre improved production car for further information please call. 3990.00 Neg, Justin 303 0416 00 88 98. www.myl05.com/86931

Tailgate loader, suit semi or ridged van.

Complete with platform, hydraulic unit, . winch & remote control. Ideal for open wheeler or small sedan. $10,000 ONO. 303 0419 362 479. www.myl05.com/92835

www.mvl05J»ini Formula 2 Kaditcha, Completely restored and eligible tor Group R Historic (Ground effect parts included). Mounted Wets, Gear Ratios, Spare Nose Cone and Rear Wing.

Only selling due to lack of use. 37990 Neg. 303 Paul Nelson 0412558386. www.myl05.eom/5039

2C Supersports 4 Hire/Lease, These superquick 2C Supersports lap quicker than an Aussie Race Car and not far off Carrera Cup times. Well maintained & easy to drive.

Avail for drive days, local sprints, club races up to QLD & NSW State Championship events, www.killa.com.au for more details.

304 Mike 0418753256. www.myl05.com/69986 Lease Opportunities, available for the 'Touring Car Challenge' and F4000 - 2005 seasons. Super Tourers, Future Tourers, V8 Supercars and Reynard F4000s. Rod 02 304 6562 7762 / 0412 785 486. www.myl05.com/48007

Racing Car Driver Required, 2005V8 Development Series, V8 Development Drive available for lease in ex SBR Falcon in 2005 which includes maintenance and preparation of car between rounds and at events, including transportation of car to all rounds from Yatala based workshop. Lease would be for seven rounds including Bathurst. Only serious parties please call 0424 496 577. Phillip 0424 496 577.

303 www.myl05.com/63555

Sponsor ^ek

Engines

www.sponsorseek.com.au

-'I'-*-

Porsche 993RS, Regular class b winner, enter in nat. Porsche series, prof, prepared to win class B, strong motor, uni chip, gonzo exh.,loads of upgrades, lightweight stripped body, big red brakes, Upgrade LSD, 8x18" wheels, spare tyres, proflex shocks, data logger, only raced 2 seasons, contact for full list. $75,000 ONO. Russell 0411724176.

306 www.myl O5.com/1836

Transporters/Trailers

Motorsport Jobs

944 Challenge - Must Sell, 944 Challenge.

Clean & straight with recent respray, 10 laps only on fully rebuilt engine, latest mods including blade adjustable rollbar and race radiator. $34,000 must sell. 0418 995 500.

303 $34,000. Geoff 0418 995 500. www.my105.com/98544

Near New GT3 Cup Car, Brand new never marked or damaged body, just 3,000klms only competed in 6 events, lncl.2004 upgrade, fully prep, for season 2005.

219,000 inc GST. Russell 0411724176.

306 www.myl05.com/98245

DJR Spec V8 Supercar Engine, SVO Heads, DJR Manifold, Cross Ram Fuel Injection, New Isky Springs, Roller Cam Crane, JE Forged Pistons, 1_A Enterprise Rods, Aus Crank, Full Billet Front, Billet Distributor & Water Pump, Dry Sump Pump.

Engine done under SOOkms since last full rebuild. $15,000.00 ONO. 0424 496 577.

303 www.myl O5.com/15552

3.2 CARRERA, Complete 3.2 Carrera engine not used since refreshed early 2003: standard pistons & cams, 12 plug, optical ignition, multi coil, fully mappable engine computers, race headers. Includes tinware, clutch, flywheel & exhaust. $15,000; Images on email request. by emile@PittwaterStyle.com.au. 15000 Neg. 303 EMILE 0299187800 / 0299187818. www.myl O5.com/16602 Waldock V8 Supercar Engine, Yates Heads, JE Pistons, Krypto Crank, LA Enterprise Rods, SVO Block, Dry Sump, Done very little work. $15,000 ONO. Phillip 303 0424 496 577. www.my105.com/11141

/ am very happy with the service I received. Ail three of the enquiries you forwarded were firm buyers and it was sold on a first come first served basis.

Again thanks. /. Hills

Get it seen Get it soid!

Where Sponsors find you!

Post your proposal today national

$60

exposure for 3 months

www.sponsorseek.com.au 81

7“

■'IJI.'II'I T

■MORPtrt WWW liiiiin ews .com.au EDITORIM STAFF

Editor: Phil Branagan »editor@mnews.com.au Deputy Editor: Mark Glendenning » mark@mnew5.com.au National Editor: Grant Rowley “ grant@mnews.com.au Staff Journalist: Chris Jordan »chrisj@mnews.com.au

PRODUCTION

Adv & Graphics Co-ordinator: Viv Brumby ° viv@mnews.com.au

ADVERTISING

Brendon Sheridan - PR Driven Tel: 03 9877 7271 Fax: 03 9877 7207 mobile: 0407 007 286 “ ads@mnews.com.au

ADMINISTRATION

Managing Director/Publisher: Chris Lambden “ publisher@mnews.com.au

CONTACTS

357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East Vic 3187 (PO Box 7072, Gardenvale, VIC 3186) Ph: 03 9596 5555 Fax: 03 9596 5030 Email: admin@mnews.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS

F1: Joe Saward, Adam Cooper, Paolo Filisetti Europe: Quentin Spurring, Gary Watkins, David Addison US: Phil Morris, Martin D. Clark Speedway: Brett Swanson, Julie Pearce, Geoff Rounds, Tony Millard (UK), Greg Boscato, Daniel Powell Rally; Jon Thomson Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski (USA), Nick Nicholas, Ken Ferguson National: Mark Wicks, Sean Henshelwood, Mark Jones, Erin McCowatt Photographers; Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Bothwell Photographic, Marshall Cass, Nigel Snowdon & Diana Burnett, AFl Images, Neil Hammond, Allsport, John Morris/Mpix, Frank Midgley, Peter Bury, Mike Patrick (UK), Chris Carter, James Smith, Paris Charles, Bob Potts Motorsport News is published by Australasian Motorsport News - ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Printed by: Offset Alpine Printing Pty Ltd, Lidcombe, NSW. Distributed by: NDD Ltd Material published by MOTORSPORT NEWS is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Freelance contributions are welcome, and while all care will be taken, Australasian Motorsport News does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted.

Go easy on Barra

I love the mag and am not one to complain, but your people keep referring to the BA Falcon race car in your articles as a 'Barra' (Two BARRAS in Bruce's backyard, page 6 in Issue #301).

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the name given to the 4,0-Iitre, six cylinder BA Falcon engine and the title seems inappropriate for a V8 Supercar.

If your journalists must refer to the BA Falcon V8 by its engine name shouldn't it be as the "Boss" as every Ford fan knows it as. I know it seems insignificant but as a loyal Ford fan and publisher it is annoying, as you never refer to Floldens as anything but what they are.

James Carter big@graphicart.com.au ED: We do not mind complaints at all!

We checked with Ford and confirmed this; BA and/or Barra refer to the whole family of Falcons, regardless of whether they are sixes or eights, or turbos. On the other hand. Boss refers only to the two engine variants of the V8 road car, neither of which have anything to do with a V8 Supercars.

The racers do not use a Boss engine, but rather a Ford Racing/SVO-based unit.

So, if it is okay with you, we will keep Barra.

Questions on Holdens What is happening with the VZ Commodore aero package?

It is my understanding that under Project Blueprint, neither Holden nor Ford can alter their aero package, other than minor cosmetic adjustments. As the VZ is really just a new bonnet, grille and taillights version of the VY, I would consider this to be a cosmetic change and therefore the underside of the splitter, and the rear wing need to be the same as those of the VY. Am I correct? There doesn't seem

have been thinking about it for a while and would really love it to

happen.

i

convener Send us your thoughts: mail: PO Box 7072, Gardenvale, VIC 3186 fax: 03 9596 5030 www.mnews.com.au to be much being said about this at the moment and, with only a couple of weeks to go before the start of the season, I am getting a bit concerned that Holden might be up to their old tricks of trying to pull a shifty, just so that no-one has time to analyse and maybe address any changes.

Please let me know the situation.

Dean Turner dturner@sppmotorsport.com.au

Why is it still 18 degrees?

I would like to see an article in your magazine where you ask a few questions to the guys at TEGA and AVESCO about how, two years on, there will still be cars racing in the 2005 V8 Supercar series that don't comply with Project Blueprint.

I am of course referring to the Chevrolet 18-degree engine debacle.

Evan Lehepuu evsJetterbox@hotmail.com

V8 Finale for the Thunderdome Wouldn't it be great to see the V8 Supercar Championship hold a round on the Calder Park Thunderdome?

I realise the politics involved between Bob Jane and AVESCO, but I

DIVI

The Thunderdome needs a redevelopment, but it would be worth spending the money for such an event, because the crowd would be massive.

V8 Supercars would need some, but not a drastic, adjustment to run on the Tlumderdome. Just different suspension arms to add some stagger, and possibly a change to the rules by TEGA to allow special 'oval configuration' pick-up points.

Despite what some circuit racers might say, there would still be a great deal of driver skill needed to win a V8 Supercar oval race and it would definitely lead to some passing - something which is severely lacking in V8s at the moment.

They could also run V8 Utes and Saloon Cars as the support categories. Wouldn't this make for a true Grand Finale, rather than running at a near-empty Eastern Creek?

Geoff Hopiuood Gold Coast, Qld

Selling itself short

I don't want to give the impression that I'm bagging Network's Ten's motorsport coverage. I'm not technically, I think they do a pretty good job with the V8s and FI (okay, so I get the shits when it's delayed unnecessarily).

But I won't ever be convinced tliat the motorsport network takes motorsport completely seriously, (seriously?) when the news on the Williams car launch, involving our own Mark Webber, slots into the 5pm news after cricket, tennis, golf and off-season limited-interest player news from both AFL and rugby league. Rugby league! In Melbourne?

Understandable from the other networks, but Ten is FI (and V8) territory. What message does that send? Why is this so?

Keith Anderson Fitzroy, Victoria

nail If ia

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

SUBSCRIPTtONS

1 year $148.50 Australia (ind GST) Overseas (Air Mail): New Zealand, PNG, Malaysia, Indonesia, Phillippines, A$210 Hong Kong,Japan A$270 US, Canada, Europe

2 years $285

$390 $495

Post your cheque/money order to the address above, fax your credit card details (Bankcard, VISA, Mastercard, or Amex) to 03 9596 5030 or email to admin@mnews.com.au

82

Mark, what more do ive have to do to please your people? Reader Keith Anderson feels aggrieved that the launch of our boy Webber's car was shuffled back in Network Ten's priority list.

motorsport news

"1

Australisfs Leading Importer of Performance Automotive Producti

euery part for power l <9nflioa Products ●otstnouten ● OHs »CaK ●CDIIonltion

Performance equipment for four. six and eight cqUnder uehicles

THE SOUflCE

/wceocMcrmcMO; ● CooUnsSMstens

● Fuel SustetBS

t jflHSEN ● 382>3S1 aeoeland ftilou Ualve Cooerr

● Extruded Billet Forged niumbihKn Ptstons ● OEtMPtstenftoaiUMt ●CDCDiiMOdlnedSUrts ● SKScalRmgfrsoKS ●OtaoMdfiitsMPioBmts

lO

● Portable UJealher Stations ♦ Practice Trees ● Hand Held Ucer Heat Guns

> flic f Kllnpiilsher S>jsl

● Rortitg Fuel Systems ●FuelPumiis ● Regulators ● Filters ● Accessories

● Trans DIdnItel

● “tSP" forged 4JM Steel Connecting Rods ● H-Beam or I-Beam ●Honda .Toyota .Dodge ●ntdsubisiii.Cheo'j.mssdn .Subaru .ford

● electronic Delay Boxes ● Bullet l^f Pouiergllde Componeots

● Electric Cooling Fans ● Electric Water Pumps ● Transmission Coolets ●Poioer Steering Coolers

● High Pertormate Stoned or Drilled Disc Dr^es

● High Performance snicone ignition leads

● nitrous sgsiems ● ttiummium Heads ● Cofhiitniois ●WaterPumps ● CraleWolois ● Performance ft lumlnlum inanllolds ● Hnd more

● Rccessofles ● Unes ● mechanical Fuel l/\|^lon

● Bug Catdiers «BM Catchers ● Buzzard Catchers

\

rA n'

● Hip Performance Starter motors 6 ftlenators ● Oo^ Billet alloo water oumos & flccesorfes

● Street & Race Tachometers ● Shin Lights ● Performance Gauges ● Data Rcaulslllon instruments

[1^

● Rulomallc 6 marniol Shifters G Accessories ● Transmission Products. Klls 6 Accessories ● street 6 Racing Torque Conoerters

I ■

□AVIESj CRAIG-

● Worlds Best cngincWcitdrs. ● Studs ● Boils ● nuts ● Washci ● 12pl Ruts ● Wheel Studs ● Ring Crsnoresso

● IMoersaiTurtw Timers

> HankMeStreetfi Rate Perfonnance(ngine Parts ● Cr«lu *IMs ●Camshafts *UalgeTrain(Mnotttnts

● penormance pmon Hssemows

VI

;i.

IF

.)

f

lilEOiniG FUBi PUMPS

i

I

u: t

: i.

● Electric6RechanlcalFudPumps ●Regulators ● Champion Cold Racing SparR Plugs

● Rood Demon ● Speed Demon ● mighty Demon ● Race Demon ● King Demon ● fl tcessories

● 4.B6 8 Cylinder

● Racing Clutches

● Forged, one piece chrome alloy wtieets

iPERFORMANCE gaskets! ● Gdshri Sols ● Coaversion Gashrls ● Intake.Exhaust Cadieis ● Oil Pan Gashets ● HmO Orfihrlt

child/^BH ● 67l687isuper Charg ● 671 6 871 Super Charger Kits ● Performance Canless Rinas

NWNtJIEWUNbS

● RodBrai<ngs ● main Bear ● Cam waimgs ● lldre Se Unarhi QS

sooDumMmmmmg ● Stan«ard 6 High Uolume oil Pumps

● IT Street Tyres ●EiOragSUdis ● Front Runn ● ra otorcyde fladng Tyres

● Camshafts ● Ualue Train Components ● Rodters

● Performance ftccesories 8 Toots

Trade Eguiries Welcome Ph: (02) 8825 1900 f Fax: (02) 90251911, email: sales@rocketinil.Gom For the latest full product listing on all the products we stock please visit our website.

● cam Gean ● flex Plates ● rly wtieeis

PERFjm^0E'PAirrs ^

M A

● ford Rating Polished Ualue Covers ● ford Racing Chrome Rlr Cleaner nssemhiles 6 accessories ● ford molorsporl Breat

k:/.VF

/

[2£aaE3© ®afuI?®KIlKfu8 ● Tltanhin Halves ● Special Alloy Ualves ● Radog Ualves

● High Performance Ignition & fuel Systems ● Billet “Ready to Run"'Olstrlbutors ● Colts ● Performance SparR Plug leads ● Injectors

'41.

■'i-7 .T

●£d-

V

Si?

WWW. r o c k e 11 n fl - c o m

1

i

Why do champion motorsport drivers choose Yokohama tyres?

That’s

r

y

i1

S-.fyi.

™ (●.*.,T“i-

I

V. '1 =

il\STE\N

l;'

I

!: A

' *1

m

m

m

m Available from Yokohama key dealer 131 509 Bob Jane T-Mart 13 26 25

y^YOKOHAMA

i