Motorsport News Issue 314 - July 20-August 2, 2005

■ WILLIAMS TOYOTA? HONDA? COSWORTH? THE IMEWS BEHMIXIO THE IVEWS

No. 314 July 20-August 2 2005 Australia $5.95 NZ $7.50 inci GST

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ISSN 1320-9744

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motyyimon news

Issue 314

20 July-2 August 2005

www.mnews.com.au

news aiMl opinloii r

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features

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Sorted? Has SCAR got on top of Murph’s woes?

6 Richards in Yellow? DR eyes another FI team 8 Power to Burn Will breaks through for Bilbao win 10 Formula Future New Ford engines are on their way 17 DTM Legends Prost beats a (probably injured) Mansell 25 Motor Mouth Max Mosley: FIA Prez, skiier, gymnast 26 Box Seat Saward gets a Silver Stone in his mouth 82 Talk Converter Danica fan mail (we know it’s you, Foges)

28 Five Minutes With Dario Franchitti Finally, a win for the Scot in Nay-ashville 30 Five Minutes With Dean Canto The fast man in V8’s second series speaks 32 End of the Semester At the mid-point of the V8 Supercar. Championship Series we look at who is doing the Job and who needs to pick up their game 64 The Brooke Look Tatnell Jr tells how it looks from the pointy end of Outlaws

race coverage

I 44 On England it’s One for Juan No it's not the score in the cricket but the report on how Montoya finally broke his duck at McLaren 52 Thunder Dome Dean Canto leaves them breathless in Sydney 58 Crocker Island Cody does it again in the Safari ARC round WIlUAWS tOtOttT HOHOOTCOSWOBTHf 60 The Same Old Story Really, Sebastian Loeb is amazing. This was his sixth straight win

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Photos: Cover; Colin Reuben and sutton-images.com Contents: Holden Motorsport, 'Sip sutton-images.com, John Morris/Mpix and Honda Racing Media I CANTO i EARNHARDT

regulars 20 Stateside 66 Speedway

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22 bikes

Drag Racing

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62 Rallying Nationai Scene

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Marketplace 3

Gore’s Independence Day Mupph CRAIG Gore is calling for a new and independent board ofTEGA. The Wright Patton Shakespeare and WPS Racing boss circulated a 15-page document to other team owners at Darwin's V8 Supercar Championship Series round that called for a spill of the current board and the appointment of an independent board. He also called for changes in the distribution of funds between the teams, as well as changes to the control of merchandising and communications.

Gore has listed several examples of previous legal cases that, he says, demonstrate that motor racing is subject to the same anti competitive rules as business and suggest that the current structure of TEGA may potentially expose it, and its directors, to investigation and possibly action by the Australian Competition and Consumer

Commission (ACCC), the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Department of Fair Trading, Gore's clear implication is that by having team owners sit on the Board of TEGA, they are in a position to influence their own investment in the series.

The four members who currently sit on the board are Roland Dane, Mark Larkham, Garry Rogers and Mark Skaife.

The Chairman, Kelvin O'Reilly, is an independent appointee.

Gore has proposed a number of actions to be implemented, including appointment of an independent entity to oversee voting by the stakeholders of TEGA on a new structure.

Gore's paper has had a mixed but predominantly negative reception by other team principals. Some have suggested that he is aiming to be elected to the board himself while another suggested that at

Dirk Klynmitli

the very least, teams were now going to have to seek their own independent legal advice to establish whether any of Gore's claims are valid.

"The last thing we need to be doing now is spending more money on lawyers," he'said.

"Now, it looks like we do not have a choice."

PHIL BRANAGAN

GREG Murphy is one of the few to emerge from a week of V8 Supercar testing happy that progress has been made with his car.

Wlrile Murphy is confident that the problems encomatered with his newly-updated (to HMS engine) Super Cheap Commodore at Darwin have been rectified after a day on a damp but drying track at Phillip Island, other tesing around the country appears to have been limited in its success.

The SCAR team was the only one to test at Phillip Island last Friday (HRT,HSVDT and FPR cancelled due to tlae impredictable weather), but was able to back-to-back its two cars and convince itself that things were back on track.

"We got four and a half hours in," Murph told us on Monday,"and I'm pretty happy that we are on top of it.

Darwin was a whole lot of little things associated with the change of engine. The car felt pretty good at Phillip Island - not as fast as we have been in the past, but I tlunk the conditions were responsible for that.

IMZ Deal Gets Thumbs-Up V8 SUPERCAR teams and drivers have expressed overwhelming support for the two-year deal struck for V8s to race at Pukekohe.

Under the auspices of a new promoter.

Capital Streetrace Management (headed by Dean Calvert, former General Manager of IMG NZ, which promoted the Pukekohe race for the last five years), the race will become a 'flyaway' air-freight race, thereby saving the downtime characterised by previous seafreighting arrangements.

NZ company Placemakers has agree to continue its sponsorship for at least the next two years as CSM seeks a new location for the NZ race for 2008 and beyond, "This is fantastic news for all the Kiwis involved in the V8 Supercar Series," enthused multi-NZ round winner Greg Murphy.

"Not only is it the logical decision to be going back to Pukekohe, it is also the right one. It was vital that we continue to race in front of NZ race fans while we continue to look for other options such as a street race.

It's not only a case of us wanting a street race - New Zealand fans deserve an event like that."

At this stage, following Wellington's withdrawal from the negotiations to host a race a few months back, there are no concrete proposals on the table in terms of a replacement venue. However, the proposed new Auckland circuit south of Pukekohe is expected to be operational by then and there 4

Dirk Klynsm

is now an extended period of time for both Auckland and Wellington Councils to overcome the red tape which stymied both bids earlier - should either choose to have another look at the proposition.

"Of the street race options, I guess our preferred option would still be Wellington," AVESCO CEO Wayne Cattach told us on

Monday, "if they can overcome that dreaded Resource Consent issue.

"There's no doubt our preference is for a street race, but certainly the reputed $35 million investment in the new purpose-built track south of Auckland looks interesting and there should be something concrete there by that time." motorsportnews

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Moving Forward

SCAR make gains in testing; Queensland teams not so lucky "I'm a lot more confident now -1 guess we'll see at Queensland Raceway."

A number of otlrer teams have

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taken advantage of the breather betVi'een Darwin and Brisbane to use up a test day, including a number of the Gold Coast-based Ford teams and,in Melbourne, Team Dodo,Team Castrol Perkins and GRM. Weather at Queensland Raceway was initially damp,then quite windy-conditions not ideally suited for conclusive testing.

"No,not the best," confirmed SBR's Ken Douglas."Like most others, we weren't able to get through everything we'd hoped to. We did, however, give Luke (Youlden) and Warren (Luff) good time in the cars. They both settled in extremely well."

At Winton,Steven Richards' day was curtailed by an engine problem in the Castrol VY.

$200p000 Sandown Revamp?

THE Sandown 500 may become an internationally-licensed race in order to ease the use of 'import' drivers by V8 Supercar teams.

AVESCO CEO Wayne Cattach is due to meet with Melbourne Racing Club officials shortly to discuss options in relation to the $200,000worth of work required to bring the venue up to international licence spec.

"A number of teams have asked us to look at it - an international licence - as tliey want to use international

drivers for Sandown and Bathurst," Cattach told MNews on Monday.

In the past, some drivers have been able to make use of the concession

allowing one change of licence nationality a year to take part, but those needing to return to their own competitions overseas prior to yearend have been excluded. Now,it seems, sufficient numbers of teams wish to explore the 'import' option that AVESCO is seriously looking at what is required. With promoter IMG less than likely to stump up money

for structural improvements for a once-a-year event, AVESCO is pinning its hopes on the owners of the facility.

"We are hoping the MRC will look at the idea seriously," Cattach said.

"Obviously they'll be looking for some indication from us as to the long-term viability of the venue as a major race venue. I see no problem there -it's a terrific urban venue and

the long distance race falls at just the right time leading into Bathurst.

- CHRIS LAMBDEN

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201Uly2005

New livery for WPS... on Friday LOOK for fresh colours on one of the WPS Racing Falcons this weekend.

Yep, David Besnard will be wearing new hues at OR and they will be ... Who knows? The team has obviously decided that publicity is a bad thing and will unveil the hues at the track this Friday, which guarantees a minimum of media attention. Our insider tip is that the 'wow factor' of the announcement will justify the team's actions ... n After four years as SBR's Operations Manager, Matt Cousins has resigned from the dual V8 championship winning team. Cousins will now spend the next six months concentrating on managing the rapid growth of Fluid PR, the public relations agency he co-owns with wife Martine. The recent addition of Triple Eight Race Engineering to Fluid PR's client base was the catalyst in his decision.

"Ross and Jimmy have been fantastic to me over the past four years," he said, "and I didn't want a clash of interest situation to arise with me having working relationships with two Ford teams. Something had to give."

Beyond that. Cousins wiil be assessing further V8 Supercar and Motocross/Supercross opportunities as they arise. n A1 Grand Prix has announced the signing of Melbourne's Mick Webb as its Australian motorsports manager. Well known in local racing and performance car circles, Webb has, in recent years, devoted aii of his time to his SVO Motorsports company in suburban Ringwood.

"The advent of A1 GP racing heralds a new challenge in my life", said Webb. "The prospect of playing a pivotal role in the debut year of this new formula will be both exciting and demanding.

Webb will take charge of the Australian team at Brands hatch in Septemer. n If your collection of recycled musical cliches from the 1980s is incomplete, look no further than AVESCO's first foray into music.

Yup,'A Full Tank of Rock' will bring back all those songs your therapist thought were electroshocked from your mind years ago.

The CD, featuring tracks from INXS, Floodoo Gurus, Cold Chisel, Australian Crawl and Hunters and Collectors, went on sale last Friday and is available from Sanity, HMV, JB Hi-Fi, Leading Edge Music, Kmart, Target, David Jones and wherever CDs are sold.

And just when you thought it could not get worse - Vol II will be available next May. 5

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FORMER BAR boss David

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by JOE SAWARD

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Richards is involved in talks to try and save the ailing Jordan FI team.

Richards has been sitting on the sidelines in FI for the last nine months after Honda decided that it wanted the team to be run by Nick Fry (this is believed to be because of Richards's long-established links with Subaru, a Honda rival in the Japanese automobile market).

Richards says he is satisfied with his life at the moment, rimning the Aston Martin sports car team, spending more time with his family and letting his ISC empire take care of the World Rally Championship.

But there is no doubt, despite his denials, that Richards likes being an FI team owner and the opportunity to acquire Jordan is not one that he is going to ignore.

The team is in a mess, with many of the original staff having departed since it came under the control of the Midland Group. Tlris organisation does not seem to have a clear idea of

what it is doing in FI,amid rumours that some of those involved in the company do not want to be there.

Certainly nothing is being invested

h williams at Sixes and Sevens

as Frank Webber confirms team uncertainty as ponders engines testing continues without him

MARK Webber has confirmed what looked apparent at the French and British Grands Prix - the revised Williams FW27B simply isn't fast enough.

As with the FW27 launch in January, the revised car has failed to deliver on-track what its aero engineers promised in the wind tunnel.

The team has subsequently claimed some improvement after a three-day test at Jerez. The acid test will come in the next fortnight, at the German and Hungarian Grands Prix.

A frustrated Webber and team-mate Nick Heidfeld could barely compete with Sauber and Red Bull at Silverstone, and that after the team wheeled out an FW27 for the German on Saturday to at least get a direct comparison between the two cars. The older car proved faster.

"We clearly don't yet know how to get the best out of the new car," was the most optimistic comment from Webber post-race, as the team headed for a crucial test at Jerez without him. Recovery from burns sustained at Magny Cours was set back by the British race, so the Aussie is taking an enforced

TOYOTA? Honda? Cosworth? The rumour-mill continues to grind on about the engine source for Williams in 2006 and beyond.

Rumours in the past week that Honda might use engine supply to negotiate the release of Jenson Button from his likely 2006 Williams commitment seem to have been just that - although the dismissal of the option by the parties might well in the past have been the strongest indication that it was on!

Logistics are suggesting that the Grove team may be faced with a season of Cosworth power before switching to the much-discussed 'Lexus' (Toyota) option. One thing is becoming more and more certain Williams will not use BMW after this year. break.

The chief problem that Toyota has The balance of 2005 could be a struggle for the team as it in supplying Williams immediately is seeks to redress both its engineering shortfall and the that it has a deal on the table with departure of BMW at the end of the year. There are already Jordan Grand Prix. Our spies tell us suggestions that BMW is in 'endurance' mode, simply aiming ..I that an agreement has been made, to finish races, less concerned with outright pace. With the I but that everything is dependent on possibility of on-track success in 2005 now slim, work on the i money because the Russian owners 2006 V8 is now a priority. p of the team need to come up with - JOE SAWARD I something in the region of US$10m to 6

pay for next year's engines.

If they can do this by the end of July there is a problem for Williams because we hear that Toyota cannot easily provide three teams - if at all.

There are other problems involved, not least that if Williams has to pay for its engines in 2006, the team may not be able to afford to pay for expensive drivers. In addition there are questions as to whether all the current Williams sponsors will stay with the team in 2006 or whether some will want to go with BMW to Sauber. The word in the paddock is that Allianz will go to Sauber and that HP might even follow. The American computer giant was not very happy about what happened in Indianapolis and has been looking at its involvement in FI for some time.

It is worth noting that the name of David Richards has also been mentioned in relation to some aspect of a deal but we find it hard to imagine that Frank Williams and Patrick Head are going to part with shares in their company after all these years of refusing to do so.

-JOE SAWARD

motorsportnews

NEWS

eye on Jordan anything like that, given that there are now only two years left on the current Concorde Agreement, which pays the smaller teams about US$15m a year.

The team is probably worth s around US$30m and would then I require substantial investment to I pay for engines(which would be a I mimimum of US$10m)and more for ® new personnel and equipment.

Eddie Irvine and his Russian at the moment and time is ticking by if the team wants to be in situation to backer Roustam Tariko are not compete in 2006. willing to pay US$66m either, but do want to buy the team, while It is said that Midland is asking US$66m for the team but no-one Richards appears to be working on a seems to be willing to pay this deal for a manufacturer to pay for because the team is not worth the team and let him run it.

The suggestion is that this could be Korea's Hyundai. The firm does have big ambitions and FI would s '■ certainly help its growth around the world. The link with Richards is strong as, until 2004, the Koreans were competing in the World Rally Championship. Korean interest in FI is growing and there are plans for an FI race in Korea in 2009 ...

Would you like Fries or lll Doorknobs?

PAUL Stoddart will shortly announce that Robert Doornbos is to join the Minardi team, alongside fellow Dutchman Christijan Albers.

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Doornbos has been test-driving this year for the Jordan team, spending $150,000 a race. A deal to race at Minardi for the rest of the season will cost him a little more than that but will be a much better investment for the future.

The Minardi drive has become available because Austrian Patrick Friesacher has been unable to get his sponsors to pay up.

The confirmation of Doornbos's deal will be a big boost for Dutch FI fans although the atmosphere within the team is going to be very interesting as Doornbos and Albers do not get on, as both see themselves as the natural successor to Jos Verstappen, who is currently still the biggest name in Dutch racing. Putting the two drivers up against one another will answer the question of who is the faster of the two but it may mean that Minardi is not as relaxed as is usually the case!

-JOE SAWARD

over

Coulthard signs so expect Rubens and Jenson to stay put a:

announced that David Coulthard has extended his contract and will

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stay with the team in f 2006.

4 [t is anticipated that he will be teamed with ^ Tonio Liuzzi, who is UDddrstood to have a racing Eontract already in place wSh the team. The drivers will ilgcethaFerrari-en^ned Red Bull RB2, which is currently being designed by M®-k Sm3h and his team at lotion Keynra. The team is also Bcpected to have somelocm of deal with American ^ott Speed.

The announcement brings to an end speculation that DC VA*eulci move to BAR-Honda ne)d year to replace Jenson Button. Button was initially expected to leave BAR to join Williams, butthe chances are that he has a clause in his contract regarding a charrge of engines there, and that 201UIV2005

open market once again.

This was the logie ^ behind rumours last Week that Button could

Red Bull

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y be on bis wgyfb Ferrari.

This does not seem VSty likely as thBsffare no regl signs (despie provocative comments from the Brazilian) that Rubens Barrichello. who has a contract for 2006, will move on.

BAR e keari to hold on to Button and that may mean that the taa.m will hav^o renegotiate fhSi numbers.

It is worth noting that BAR is sh^ngthenHjg its driver Iih3-up vSh the announcement at Sil\®sto^ that Adam Carroll and Jamis Roaster will |oin Button.

Takuma Sata Anthony Davidson and ErraquB Bernoldi to help the team’s test programme and learn about Formula 1.

5 - JOE SAWARD

BAR FI car to hit the salt BAR Honda is going to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in October to see what ultimate speed an FI car can achieve in a straight line.

A 2005 BAR-Honda 007 will be driven either by James Rossiter or Adam Carroll (probably the former).

Besides being fitted with a mandatory parachute to aid braking and having "everything that helps it go fast round corners removed", it will run in normal configuration with the wings trimmed out. The run is being staged as a promotion for Lucky Strike and the BAR Honda is expected to reach speeds around 400kmh. n Olivier Panis gave the Toyota V8 its first shakedown runs at Jerez last week, the RVX06 proving to be reliable, if around 200 horsepower down on the current VI0 engines.

Panis reported that the engine is at the beginning of the development process and will progress rapidly in the months to come but reckons t';at lap times will around two seconds off the current ones.

■ WilliamsFI may not be using BMW's new 2.4-litre V8 next season, but the team ran it for the first time on-track in a three-day Michelin test at Jerez at the end of this week. Nick Heidfeld and test drivers Nico Rosberg and Antonio Pizzonia were on duty at the Spanish track.

British Grand Prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya was fastest in the test for McLaren Mercedes, from Takuma Sato's BAR Honda. The V8s were around 5s off their pace and both were unreliable.

■ The Turkish Ikhlas news agency reports that 15 barrels of suspect materials were recently discovered in a field not far from the Istanbul Otodrom racing circuit, which will host the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix in August.

The authorities told the news agency that the barrels of 'contaminating materials' had been found 4km from the circuit but it is not clear exactly what was in the barrels and where exactly they were located.

■ Williams FI primary sponsor Hewlett-Packard will soon announce a restructuring plan that could lead to major job cuts as the computer company cuts costs.

This could have an effect on the company's FI sponsorship, which was inherited when the firm took over Compaq. It is known that Hewlett-Packard was less than impressed by what happened at the United States Grand Prix.

Reports suggest that HP could axe as much as 10 percent of its current workforce, which is currently around 150,000 people.

- SAWARD/SPURRING 7

Tatnell wins WoO AFTER threatening with a string of ultra-impressive results in recent times, reigning Australian Sprintcar Champion Brooke Tatnell has finally taken a World of Outlaws feature win for season 2005.

The A-Main victory, achieved at Cedar Lake Speedway on July 4, was Tatnell's second Outlaws feature win and the first for Tatnell’s team, the newly formed Rush Racing.

Tatnell qualified third fastest and was strong throughout the heats. Starting from the second row in the A-Main, Tatnell worked his way past legends Sammy Swindell and Steve Kinser to get to the lead, slipping past Kinser of lap 11 and never relenting his ascendancy thereafter. Tatnell was simply unstoppable on the night.

"After the last yellow, I knew we had it from there because lapped cars were the only thing that was going to cost us," said Tatnell.

"I wasn't going to beat him on an open run anyway," said 19-times and defending Outlaws Champ Kinser.

"When I saw the final yellow come out, I knew I was done," Daryn Pittman, driving for the Australian-owned Titan Racing team, was 13th.

Tatnell's first Outlaws feature win came in August 13 in 2003 at Jetmore Motorplex.

Tatnell remains the only Australian to have won a World of Outlaws feature race, although Kerry Madsen has been a winner of a preliminary feature at Outlaws Downunder at Parramatta City Raceway.

"We've been this way all season long," Tatnell told MNews.

"We jumped straight off a plane and the first night out we were fifth. It's something like only two races out of the 8

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Aussie, Aussie, Aussie: Tatnell, above, won his second World of Outlaws feature two weeks ago at Cedar Lake Speedway.

Pictured below, Tatnell used this car to claim his first win in '03 at Jetmore Motorplex.

''Ate everyone'else ipi§fd!,‘ got'ba,ck"'iint© ■the jleadL^^^T^^l- tlSat was it. feejMenSi isi a . ' L CQiftenitiioin after saprjng ; race.vuln| ini successiye' goj^icirCuit.-wei’^en't; ● . round'sipf tiie%orlcl:$ene,s, ■' beenM'-rhany re^ll^.uiicli; r >1. 'tracl^Bft*i:his;^ne^h'adi somew .. %ib,Y?Renault. ^ . - ^The Queenslander's-g;00d' feafly g0.0'djfast cbr'nifSifJlt . run started at-Le Mans two was a really good feel;ingft@F| Ibe oultiiini front. SiUrcTea ni iin' ● : weeks ago, where 90400,0 : spectators watched;the leaplin iwith'o ut a ny oth er ca ns. driver lead from start to a'ro;u!ndt!me.^ihad ailinsiost. . i fo rgottennwihat that was' finish in the 27-|ap second liker , race.

"I wointhe start' and' eatpe Power ;had: earlier fiini^e^i Iback Oiut fiifth after the foyifflhtfp the sprint race;: C - jPrtnSttterei Poweir t'U®n;erdl-- i- ^ ipitstop,,'"^^ iPower told' MNews.

StUlshots.i

past 25 that's we've been outside of the top 10." ' "When we won our first one in the #66 car, I mean, that was totally unexpected to most people because we were a budget operation and we passed Sammy Swindel l on the last lap to do it. People weren't expecting it.

"Right now, people have been expecting it because we have been running so well and we've been consistent.

"To win at Cedar Lake - I've had some good runs there in the past and I wanted to win that race. I felt I lost a race there last year that I should have won because of a yellow flag.

"If you can win an Outlaw show anywhere you'll be happy to take it!"

- CHRIS JORDAN For more on Tatnell see page 64 for MIMews's interview and page 66 for the news on his new Australian drive

Ready to Contain

THE latest step in TEGA's cost containment initiatives has seen a number of the teams have input into the process.

Last Friday was the cut-off point for teams to respond to a paper issued by the TEGA Board that outlined its costcontainment guidelines for the short, medium and long-term.

TEGA Chairman Kelvin O'Reilly said that he expected to receive more replies from the teams this week.

Some of the issues that may have been raised by the teams include addressing the technical issues, expanding the number of common components in use in the cars to either reduce cost, extend engine life or both, or applying the containment measures to the events. That may mean changing the calendar, tinkering with the formats of the events themselves or even enforcing a limit on the number of personnel travelling to rounds of the championship. motorsportnews

NEWS

SBR pair sorted

hiis attemitions t,Q. tme inauguirail street race at lil bae rm Sipaim, where he stairtedi his weekend ©ifif dm the iriigihit mote by pptailiifyimfi on the firomt irow foil? iboth races, iinCliuidiimig! biis secdmd; pole positiom of the year for Race 2.

Wiith both,races staiptimgi under Safety Car eomditioms d ue to Gomcerns aboiut Ibumips on the eiitiCuiil, Power was trapped behimd pol'esitter and poiints leader lobert Kuibica for the openiimg spisimt race.

But for the secomdi outiingi the tables were tuemedl, amd'Power led ewery tap (iptstops motwlthstamdliingi);l:©i take the wimi.

STONE Brothers Racing has confirmed its endurance driver line up. As predicted, Warren Luff will partner two-times series Champion Marcos Ambrose, while Luke Youlden will link with Russell Ingall in the Caltex Falcon.

This confirmation also means that since Ambrose and Ingall have driven with Stone Brothers at Bathurst, they have always had a different partner each time. Ambrose has been joined

by Wayne Wakefield (2001), Paul Weel (2002), Ingall (2003) and Greg " Ritter (2004), Ingall has shared duties with Ambrose (2003) and Cameron ' McLean (2004).

i|> knew that thiis was a good Qpp)_0irtui(niity fer me, becaiuse khavetn'l beein-t# most of the tracks that we race at, but mo.-'Oraie has beeifi here,;'' ihe sffld. "f|5 pitted eairliy Ibecaiuseljr didiml't wamt to be caiuigiht omt iby a Safety 'Cair, amidi.worked for us. i 'It was essemiiali for us to come iher®, push lhairdi amid^ get some; poimts."

Power will get his nextoppontumity to eat into Kubica's Championship lead -whemi the series rolls up at OsChersHebem ini' Germiamy ©ni ;^ugust ^ IWi^RK GbiimilNIMIN©

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WiscorRemains Red Sydneysider to stay In IRL IndyCars for another season

RYAIM Briscoe looks set to contest a second season of IRL with Chip Ganassi's Target team.

Although no official announcement has been made just yet, the word from last weekend's round was that all three Ganassi drivers - Scott Dixon, Darren Manning and Briscoe have re signed for 2006.

While the news is good in one sense, it suggests that the path back to FI for the Sydneysider may be a tough one.

Dixon and Briscoe both registered their best result for the year at the Nashville Superspeedway at the weekend, finishing sixth and eighth respectively, while team-mate Manning was accidentally taken out by race leader Tony Kanaan when the front suspension on the Andretti Green Racing Dallara broke as the two ran side-by-side.

- PHIL MORRIS 20JUIV2005

n Jason Richards has hailed a court's decision to award him his unpaid wages from his 2003 season with Team Dynamik as "an outstanding result, not just for myself but for all V8 Supercar drivers."

Richards was awarded $41,704.44 plus interest by the South Australian District Court after successfully sumg Team Dynamik for wages and a percentage of merchandise sales.

Team Dynamik's counter-claim of $720,000 to cover race car damage, future loss of profits and lost sponsorship was dismissed, "This is the end of a long battle, and the result vindicates what we have been fighting for - that is that the contract that I entered into in good faith should be honoured," said Richards, who has since found a home at Dodo Racing.

"This sends a clear message that a driver's employment contract is a legally binding document. It closes the door on something which has been hanging over my head for almost two years. The payout will be welcome, but it was the principle I was fighting for and this is the right result."

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motorsport news

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life

It's Si

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by GRANT ROWLEY

Big changesfor FF Engines get 'sealed’, wings held over until 2007... maybe

FORMULA Ford will undergo the biggest changes in its history in 2006 - but it will not have wings.

A decision to have the small open wheelers fitted with wings front and rear has been put off until at least the 2007 season but the update to the Fiesta engine will go ahead as planned. Ford is expecting its batch of 40 engines to arrive in Australia by sea freight in late September or early October. Deposits of $4000 are being made by competitors by the end of the month.

While the change from the venerable 1600cc pushrod Kent engine to the modern 1600cc DOFIC Fiesta is a significant one, perhaps even greater are the changes in how the units will be scrutineered. All 40 engines will be delivered to Frank Lowndes and dynoed individually to ensure that each engine's power characteristics fall within accepted limits. Then all engines will be sealed and delivered to competitors.

This is a substantial change from the system in place now, where competitors of specialist engine builders have bought parts and developed engines on their own. To this point, scrutineering has been conducted post-race but the new system means that FF will become a sealed category, similar to Formula Vee. Any perceived shortfalls in engine power will be investigated by Motor Improvements in Melbourne and, should changes be made to an engine, it will be re-dynoed 10

It's an FF Fiesta Festival: Teams will be working hard in the off-season to fit the new Ford Fiesta DOHC engine, left, into existing cars, like Dean Fiore's Van Diemen, top.

and resealed.

Ford will continue to subsidise engine purchases but rather than a parts subsidy, that process will now apply to whole engines, which will be available one per year to registered competitors.

The Formula Ford Association will also investigate whether control components will be used in future engines.

The current cars will be modified to take the new engine while the existing Kent-engined cars will be eligible to compete at State level. The FFA will also investigate how best to integrate Fiesta-engined cars into the State series, perhaps with an appropriate restrictor for the more powerful engine.

Borland Racing Developments is developing a conversion kit for its chassis and kits for late model Van Diemens are under development at Adelaide's K&A Engineering. A converted chassis, which has been undertaken by Warwick TAFE, will be on display in the paddock at Queensland Raceway this weekend.

In the meantime. Ford Racing boss Ross Booth is thought to

be in favour of seeing the FFs run with 'neutral' wings (ie, ones that produce no significant downforce) in 2007 to make the cars more relevant to the Fiesta brand. This is despite the fact that a number of competitors have suggested that, with the required expense of investing in new engines and updated chassis, cosmetic wings are just another cost item to be replaced in the event of an accident.

The implementation of the new engine means that the local series will use the same motor as in Britain for the first time in more than a decade - but the UK FF series will not feature cars with wings ...

- PHIL BRAIMAGAIM

EXPECT Craig Lowndes to be partnered by Adam Macrow in the upcoming endurance races.

Macrow,the current HPDC V8 Supercar Series leader, will join Lowndes in the #888 Triple 8 Engineering Falcon, while Steven Ellery will be teamed with French star and reigning British Touring Car Champ Yvan Muller in the #88 Bettabacked car.

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When Lowndes signed with Triple 8 mid-2004, he recommended that Macrow should jom the squad for the endurance races after the pair spent time together at Ford Performance Racing in 2003 and 2004. This led to Macrow securing a drive with HPDC team Howard Racing for this season.

Macrow starred at Bathurst last year, storming from the rear of the field into the top 10 in a strong opening stint in the FPR Falcon he shared with Alain Menu.

... as Matt finishes the squad FORMER Carrera Cup driver Matthew Coleman is the final piece to Team Perkins Racing's endurance driver puzzle.

Coleman will partner Christian D'Agostin in the #24 Castrol Commodore, while in the other TPRprepared cars, Alan Simonsen and Alex Davison will be seen in Autobarn colours, and HPDC driver Tony Evangelou is expected to link with Anthony Tratt in the Toll Ipec Commodore.

And of course,last year's Bathurst pole-sitter Steven Richards and Paul Dumbrell will lead the charge.

- GRANT ROWLEY KM

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Davo to suit up in DJR #19 at QR AS predicded by Motorsport News three months ago (MNews #307), Will Davison will drive a Dick Johnson Racing AU Falcon at Queensland Raceway this weekend.

The car will be supported Breakaway Direct.

"I'm excited to be racing again," Davison said. "I'll be honest, I've had enough of the cycling and the swimming, I just want to get in the car and drive. It's been a long time coming.

"This week's V8 round gives me " the opportunity to get some miles.

I'd like to mix it with the guys at the front without getting in the way, I obviously don't want to interfere with the championship too much."

The car will run under Brad Jones Racing's #19 Level 3 licence.

Macrow set tojoin Lowndes for Sandown, Bathurst

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Be Careful what you Wish for Cam and AJ plan a 900km ‘warm up’ for Bathurst 1000

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NOPE,Cameron McConville and Andrew Jones are not trading their Commodores for Malvern Stars and going after Lance Armstrong.

But the Garry Rogers Motorsport duo are training hard for their Climb to the Mountain bike ride from Melbourne to Bathurst, with the aim to raise funds expected to total over $50,000 for the Make-AWish Foundation.

The ride will commence at Albert Park's Grand Prix circuit on Friday September 16 and conclude 10 days later on Sunday September 25 with a lap around the famous Mount Panorama race circuit. McConville and Jones will return a fortnight later to race in the Bathurst 1000.

"We set out m our initial planning of Climb to the Mountain to create something that would be a real challenge, not just a token or half hearted event," said McConville.

"There's been plenty of planning going on behind the scenes."

Tlie riding group will make stops at Seymour,Shepparton, Wangaratta, Albury, Wagga Wagga, Murrumburrah, Canberra, Boorowa and Cowra before ending the ride at Bathurst.

201uly2005

n Former racer Geoff Leeds has been appointed the Investigating and Prosecuting Officer for the FlPDC V8 Supercar Series for the remainder of the season. Leeds is a former Bathurst entrant, Sports Sedan driver and most recently raced an Aussie Racing Car. n The new A1 Grand Prix series has announced the bulk of its international TV deals, which it says will mean that the races will be broadcast live into a possible 290m households in 50 countries.

The deals include the Al Jazeera network, which covers the Middle East, Epoch Sports, which covers eastern Europe, ESPN Star, which covers Asia, SABC, which covers South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. In addition there are deals with Sky in the UK and in Italy, a contract with TAF Sports in the Balkans and a deal with Televisa in Mexico. n Just Marketing International Ltd, a motorsports-only agency, has appointed John Flogan as senior associate of Global Strategy.

Aussie Hogan is best-known for his former role as head of Marlboro's international sponsorship programmes from the mid-70s to late-90s, encompassing the halcyon Marlboro McLaren days and the later switch to Ferrari. Most recently, he spent a brief period as commercial director at Jaguar Racing. n Jenson Button has been awarded the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy in recognition of his Formula 1 performances in 2004.

Jenson received the trophy from Richard Caborn, the British Minister of Sport. The trophy is awarded each year by the Motor Sports Association to the British or Commonwealth driver who scores the best results in any given season.

-STAFF/SAWARD 11

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You want more overtaking THE FIA has announced details of its survey of Formula 1 fans, which took place before the recent debacle at Indianapolis.

The online survey attracted a total of 93,000 responses and revealed some crashingly obvious race fan requests such as more overtaking and more emphasis being placed on driver skill.

Sixty-nine percent of the respondents said that they

wanted more teams and 84 percent want 18 or more events a year.

The most popular racing circuits were Monaco and Spa with 55 percent and 53 percent of the vote respectively, with Silverstone third ahead of Monza and Suzuka.

Almost all the people who responded to the poll watch the races on TV but only 76 percent of the fans watch all the races.

The FIA says that the results support its plans to change the sport to make it more fanfriendly. There have been a number of criticisms of the survey, which argue that the answers available did not allow them to say what they wanted to say and that, being in English, the survey failed to address the desires of anyone who does not speak the language.

-JOE SAWARD

THE post-Indy stand-off, which threatened to explode Formula 1, is over.

Faced with a imited front from the majority of FI teams, the FIA has backed down on its guilty verdicts against the Michelin Seven, citing 'new evidence'.

The new evidence, presented to the FIA Senate last Thursday, convinced the eight-man Senate (which includes Australian Jolm Large) that the FI teams were contractually bound to Michelin and had been expressly prohibited from racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,and that the teams and the FIA could both have faced serious legal difficulties if they had not taken the courses of action they chose to take.

The Senate then ruled that

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disciplinary proceedings were no longer in the interest of the sport.

The FIA - especially President Max Mosely - had,it seems, underestimated both the resolve and the strong position of the teams in the Indy aftermath. It was clear from the very start that the teams were not going to back down on the question of running with unsafe tyres and

Max, Drivers Square Off

AFTER a period of semi-public gamesmanship, a posse of FI drivers is expected to meet FIA President Max Mosley in Cannes,the day after the Hungarian GP- at a time when most would be embarking on their mid-year break.

And according to GPDA director David Coulthard, the spectre of a driver strike hangs over the gathering if concerns of safety issues are not correctly addressed.

The meeting follows a volley between the two, initiated by an irate call from Mosley to Coulthard, after the drivers publicly supported the Michelin teams' stance at the US GP. Mosley subsequently cancelled a scheduled meeting with drivers at Silverstone (despite travelling to the race) after Coulthard publicly criticised a number of aspects of modern FI. "All these rules - qualifying, single laps and 10-place penalties - are not designed to wreck races, but the consequence is that they do," 12

Coulthard said.

"If you go out early in one race, you have to start early in qualifying for the next. That means you have a bad qualifying, because physically you just cannot go quicker than someone else who has an equal lap later in the session because the track is in a better condition.

"So it is a handicapped FI system we have. You are handicapped if you have an engine failure, even if it is no fault of the driver, and then the crowd are deprived of what may be a fantastic race, as they were in France.

"All this shaking the grid up artificially. Why? Ultimately cream rises to the top during the year and shaking the grid up only allows other lesser people on the grid to influence the outcome of what could be a great World Championship."

Following Mosley's Silverstone cancellation, the drivers issued a previously-drafted open letter to the FIA President saying that they were "concerned to learn

that during the course of this telephone conversation (with Coulthard) you suggested the FIA might withdraw support for the ongoing safety initiatives of the GPDA." The letter added that previously Mosley had "dissuaded driver representation in Paris for the World Motor Sport Council meeting" and added that "the GPDA believes that safety issues are of the highest importance and are disappointed not to receive the full support of the FIA President in this matter."

The letter was signed by all the current drivers apart from Michael Schumacher and the three men who drive for Red Bull, including Coulthard.

GPDA director Mark Webber said at Silverstone that he was not impressed by Mosley's decision to cancel the meeting.

"Personally I find that a very offensive comment. We are talking about elite sportspeople who have to perform and remain

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m calm under some of the most extreme circumstances. We are not naughty schoolboys."

Webber added that the invitation to Mosley remained open, "We want to talk about safety, not about the regulations," said Webber. "We n don't want to run the sport."

- JOE SAWARD moiorsportnews

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would take the FIA to civil court if that had to be what happened.

Mosley misjudged the mood in Indianapolis (he was not there) and then further added to the strains with his attacks on the teams.

The FIA World Council then undermined its own credibility by deciding that the teams involved were guilty of "acts prejudicial to the

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interests of a competition".

This was obviously an imtenable position faced by the resolve of the teams to fight, even if it meant that the Formula 1 World Championship would be blown apart and it seems that finally the message got through to the FIA. All that was needed then was a

means of escape and, thankfully, the

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unspecific 'new evidence' conveniently emerged at just the right moment to save the day.

The Senate is a body which takes FIA decisions when circumstances do not permit a meeting of the World Councils. Its decisions must be confirmed by the next meeting of the World Council.

-JOESAWARD

... And There's Compromise on the Rules, Too

FOLLOWIIMG its backdown over post-Indy team sanctions, the FIA is now backing away from its 'anti-technology' stance as rules for 2008 and onwards are prepared for FI. It is now promoting the concept of hybrid systems, which it labels as "useful technology".

"Deployment in Formula 1 would greatly accelerate the rate of development of such devices as well as promoting public acceptance and consumer demand," the FIA said last week via a statement.

"In the research and development departments of the major manufacturers there are certainly many other new and interesting technologies under development which could useful ly be deployed in Formula 1.

"It is also possible that major manufacturers not currently in Formula 1 might wish to come into the World Championship with their new technologies without necessari ly becoming engine suppliers."

The FIA further justified the move by saying that the recent survey of Formula 1 fans around the world revealed that a high number of fans feel that advanced technology sets FI apart from other motor sports.

Among the other elements in the FIA statement 20 July 2005

was the suggestion that aerodynamics may not have to be cut as much as original ly announced and that it would be an option to place a limit on the amount of downforce a car can generate rather than constantly trying to change regulations to contain performance.

If this was the case, so the argument goes, there would be more emphasis on reducing drag, which is useful for the car industry, and there would be no reason to ban some of the aerodynamic devices that are now illegal. The FIA added that measuring this would be easier with a control tyre.

The FIA also hinted that it will be willing to compromise on common components saying that "we must never lose sight of the need to keep at least 20, preferably 24, cars on the grid. This means that permitted technologies must either be relatively inexpensive to develop or of a kind which bring paying technology partners into Formula 1."

The next step in the process of compromise will be publication of the teams' own version of what is wanted from the rules in 2008. This will be published at the German Grand Prix and it is expected that compromise wi ll eventually see the two sets of rules merged into one.

- JOE SAWARD

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Lawyer tells fans: ‘Don’t take FI Indy refund’ AN Indianapolis lawyer is advising fans that they should not accept Michelin's offer to refund tickets from this year's United States Grand Prix - lest it affect their rights to claim damages.

It is arguable whether anyone would actually be liable for damages, given that there are plenty of legal precedents for the cancelling of sporting events and thus an implied risk in buying tickets, but obviously the lawyers are keen to press on in the hope that a court might find against all those involved.

■ Bernie Ecclestone's ForrDufe7.com website is currently conducting a survey asking FI fans about qualifying.

The choice on offer is between a 60-minute session split into two 25minute sessions with a 10-minute break, the times of the two sessions being added at the end; or a 60minute session during which cars would be eliminated based on the times recorded. After 15 minutes five cars would be knocked out (and thus take 16th to 20th on the grid). A second 15 minute segment would eliminate another five cars (and fill places 11 -15 on the grid) and then the final 10 cars would go head to head for pole. In both case the cars would run without any restrictions on fuel.

■ IRL stand-out Adrian Fernandez, 42, who ran the Mexico Busch Series race in a Fiendrick Chev back in March, is planning on running four more events with the Fiendrick Busch team.

Fernandez will drive at California on September 3, Texas on November 5, Phoenix on November 12 and the season finale at Homestead-Mlami on November 19.

■ CFiuck Rider, owner of the nowdefunct Bahari Racing team from 1986 to 1999 for which Michael Waltrip and Johnny Benson drove with Pennzoil backing, died on July 8 at the age of 64. Rider originally co owned the team with Dick Bahre.

Later, Lowrance Flarry and Rider bough out Bahre, who continues to build engines for short track racers.

■ Joe Nemechek has signed a multi-year contract extension with MB2 Motorsports and sponsor Army.

Team-mate Scott Riggs has been offered a three-year extension to stay with the operation, but he's waiting on a sponsor to replace the exiting Valvoline before he makes a decision.

■ Due to a produciton error, our last issue featured a picture of Aussie F3 racer Barton Mawer that wasn't actualy him at all!

Apologies to Bart - forgive us mate.

- SAWARD/CLARK/STAFF 13

by GRANT ROWLEY

i WEST Australian Nathan Caratti will make a I start in this year's Formula Ford Festival at ; Brands Hatch, England, in October.

The 20-year-old has inked a deal with Team I JLR and will compete for outright honours in a i Van Diemen RF04/05-spec machine in the I ZeTek class. !

Caratti, who drives for Fastlane Racing in I this year's Australian Formula Ford j Championship and currently sits eighth in the I series, went to the Festival last year as a I spectator and liked what he saw. He will test i with the team once or twice beforehand to get

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accustomed with the different spec car and engine.

"The team is very professional and one of the front-runners in the UK series," he told MNews on Monday.

"They've got a lot of experience."

The cars he will drive are slightly different compared to the ones raced in Australia. The engines deliver between 30-40 more horsepower and the brakes are also larger to compensate for the extra speed. But essentially, the chassis are the same.

- GRANT ROWLEY

ANOTHER V8 Supercar is heading to the United Kingdom to compete in the Britcar championship.

Adam Sharpe Motorsport has purchased one of Howard Racing's Falcon AUs and will use it in the Britcar series alongside the Dexion AU,pictured inset, that the team purchased last year. The car was shipped to England last Friday. The ex-PWR Falcon was last raced by Cameron McLean in the 2004 Development championship.

Two weeks ago,Sharpe won two 100 minute races at Brands Hatch in his ex-Dexion Ford.

Britcar is a series similar to Australia's former Nations Cup category. For 2005, it has thrown its doors open to more cars, including GT Cup cars. Super Tourers, BTCC, DTM,ETCC,other GTs, plus Australia's own V8 Supercars.

Britcar's big race is the Silverstone

while Spectnim Step Closer

PLANS for an all-Aussie attack on the Formula Ford Festival at Brand Hatch have stepped into the next phase, with Borland Racing Developments receiving confirmation that its Spectrum chassis will pass all technical obligations if entered into the highly-regarded event.

"We have all the technical stuff signed off," said Borland's Paul Zsidy. "It's just a matter now of getting the logistics sorted. We have given ourselves a two week deadline, so our heads are down and bums up."

BRD will only need to make a few small changes to the configuration of its locally-designed and built cars to ensure eligibility. Changes include shock absorbers, bell housings and wheels.

"Most of the discrepancies in the rules were different wording for the same rules," Zsidy said."We just wanted to make sure that everything was sorted at our end before we explore our logistical options."

Zsidy confirmed that if they decide to race at the Festival, they would take the cars over prior to the meeting to give the drivers and cars a test beforehand.

"If we are going to do it, it's going to be proper," he said. "There is no way we'd go over and take the car straight to a race meeting."

This development follows up on the story revealed in MNews (Issue 312), that BRD, the constructors of the Spectrum chassis, has made initial plans to take Shane Price, belom, Brett Hobson,Paul Laskazeski and John Martin to compete in the 1600cc class in the Formula Ford Festival.

-GRANT ROWLEY

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Australia’s AIGP chassis is sorted... driver announcement awaits AUSTRALIA’S A1 GP team has taken another step closer to its track debut after being among the first to be ailocated its chassis and engine package during a baiiot in London two weeks ago.

The car, which will be prepared by expat Alan Docking and housed along with the other cars in the series at A1 Technical Innovation Centre at Silverstone, is scheduled to test for the first time on August 3-4.

“We’ll primarily be using the test to bed the engine and components in, and ensure all systems are operating correctly,” said Alan Jones, who is heading the Australian team.

“Driver selection isn’t our priority at the initial test. It essentially allows us to get the drivers behind the wheel and get them comfortable in their surrounds, along with allowing the team to gather some data ahead of the major test at Paul Ricard at the end of August, when the race for driver selection will really be on.”

According to Jones, negotiations with

prospective drivers are at an advanced stage.

“We’ve had discussions with the drivers and we are now preparing contracts for them,” Jones said.

“The team will comprise some of the brightest talents in Australian motorsport and I’m sure sports fans Australia wide will get right behind A1 Team Australia and give us the support we see normally reserved for the Wallabies or our national cricket team.”

Will Power, Will Davison, Karl Reindler and Christian Jones are all believed to be in the frame to drive the A1 GP car at some point, however one driver told MNews last week that they had heard nothing from Australia’s A1 GP team since an initial approach shortly after the team’s launch earlier in the year. But with the inaugural season due to kick off at Brands Hatch in the UK on September 23-25 before arriving at Eastern Creek in November, expect the first confirmations to come sooner rather than later. motorsport news

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Supercars in UK Howard Racing AU offto UK, and there are calls for even

24 Hour, where up to four drivers can share the duties.'The event is

due to the fact that the Supercar seems to be the weapon of choice compared to its rivals.

The car's have received so much acclaim over there, that there have

scheduled for mid-September and there is also a chance that even more Supercars could be sold to the UK

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FABIAN Coulthard finished an impressive 10th in his Porsche Michelin Supercup debut at the Silverstone Grand Prix two weeks ago.

The Kiwi native, who won the prize as the leading driver under 30 in the Australian Carrera Cup, qualified in 11th place out of 20 cars, and finished 10th place in the 12-lap race, one spot ahead of experienced Scottish team-mate Peter Dumbreck.

Coulthard drove for the factory Porsche squad.

"I wasn't personally happy with my result," Fabian said.

"But the Porsche guys said that for a VIP driver to jump straight into the top 10 is pretty good,so I shouldn't be too upset.

MICHAEL Patrizi has experienced the ecstasy and the agony of motorsport at Rounds 7 and 8 of the Formula BMW Asia Championship, held last weekend at the Goldenport circuit in Beijing, China. f Patrizi qualified second for both races, and in the first race embarked on a tremendous battle for the lead ^ with series leader Salman Rashid al Khalifa. “ I followed him really closely and , just set him up for the end of the ' race," said Patrizi.

"On the last lap I knew what to do and I went inside of him at the hairpin and for the next two or so hours I was able to enjoy being the race winner."

After the celebrations quelled, Patrizi, pictured below, was handed a 30 second penalty for having his car's nose fractionally over the white line of his grid at the start, putting him back to eighth place.

"I can't complain because rules been calls to get more to compete, are rules and I was 50mm over the and even run their own V8 Supercar line. There was nothing I could do. class inside the Britcar championship.

One of the other teams protested Could this be the start of something me and that's that. I just wanted to big? look to the next race."

In Race 2, the West Australian was again in the thick of a battle for the lead, taking the ascendancy with ei four laps to go only to lose time n * » when losing grip on a slippery kerb on the wet track, eventually finishing second, the best placed rookie driver for the round.

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"We struggled for a bit of straightline and lots of exit oversteer all weekend. We tried everything to dial it out but nothing seemed to work.It

was just one of those freak things.'

Patrick Huisman from the Netherlands won the race.

- GRANT ROWLEY

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Patiizi denied win, takes podium

With 29 ea rs taking;to the grid> Reindler stayed outoftrouble to take V0th in both races.

Fellow Australliiain ©arton Mawer was sensational in; Race V. He finished seventh Outright (andi first in class);, but wasn't as lucky in the second race. He was ^ initially involved in an early race clash wihieh eliminated five ears. He eontin ued with a

broken front wing, but later hit the wall at over ISOkph when a rear tyre let go into the Paraboiica. Mawer battled with an under-performing car in the last race but peddled it home for fourth in class.

Barton!continues to lead the National class, while Reindler took home five championship points.

n Meanwhile at Croft in England, Nathan Antunes has had a forgettable weekend in the British Formula BMW Championship.

Antunes qualified 10th and eighth for the two races, but failed to finish either. n Ronnie Bremer has left Champ Car team HVM Racing ... then shortly afterwards, announced that he has signed for the Keith Wigginsoperated team for 2006.

Bremer's funding levels were insufficient for him to keep the HVM seat, which is now occupied

by Alex Sperafico. n Podium placers in the remaining rounds of the Formula Ford Championship will get to celebrate with St Huberts Pinot Noir/ Chardonnary sparkling wine from one of the Yarra Valley's finest vineyards.

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WTCC: It’s ’Hama Time ALL cars in the 2006 World Touring Car Championship will race on Yokohama tyres.

The Japanese company will replace Michelin, which has supplied the FIA Touring Car Championship since 2001.

Michelin's deal expires at the end of the year.

"This appointment is a great honour to our company," commented Kazuyoshi Sekiguchi, marketing manager of Yokohama Europe.

"In Japan our technicians are already working hard on the new 17" tyres for the 2006 FIA WTCC. We are ; taking it very seriously, and our plan is to start testing as : soon as possible in order to | evaluate different solutions ! before selecting the control j tyre for the next season."

I Yokohama's first meeting as control tyre supplier will be the FIA European Touring Car Cup at Vallelunga on Octobgr 16.

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IN hot conditions, Briton Gary Paffett has won Round 6 of the DTM Championship on the Norisring street circuit.

The young Mercedes driver headed home a string of Audis fronted by local favourite Christian Abt and defending DTM Champion Mattias Ekstrom, followed by Allan McNish and Martin Tomczyk.

Heinz-Harold Frentzen was again the top Opel driver, with sixth place.

As usual, the tight Norisring layout provided the record

crowd with several major accidents. An eight-lap Safety Car period was needed after Rinaldo Capello had a hard impact in his Audi, and a further caution period ensued when Jamie Green went too deep into the sharp Turn 1 hairpin, taking himself and fellow Mercedes driver Mika Hakkinen out as a result.

Paffett now leads the series, ahead of the Audis of Ekstrom and Tom Kristensen.

Points: Paffett 44, Ekstrom 41, Kristensen 28, Hakkinen 17, Alesi 17, Abt 16.

Mac ti me at Roush him the best in his future endeavours

NEXTEL Cup star Jamie McMurray will join Roush Racing in 2007, when he will take the wheel of the #6 Ford that will be left by the departing Mark Martin.

McMurray wiU spend next season completing his current deal with Ganassi Racing in the Texaco Dodge ahead of his switch to Roush's Blue Ovals.

"Jamie's made a decision to go in another direction after we've both fulfilled the commitment that we made to each other in 2002," said Chip Ganassi.

"We didn't do a good job of conveying to Jamie where this team is headed, but we expect a lot of success with Jamie for the rest of this year and next year, and we wish

beyond that."

The deal leaves Roush with the immediate problem of filling the seat of tho #6 car for 2006 between Martin's departure and McMurray's arrival. Rumours suggest that Ricky .'"r Craven, who drives for Roush in the . 1. I X Craftsman Truck series, is at the head of the queue, However Martin, who was preparing for a new role as leader of Roush's Truck campaign next year, has not ruled out delaying the move and staying on in Cup for an extra season to fill the void.

An extra season with Martin would be a huge boost for Roush as it seeks to secure a sponsor for the #6 car after the current deal with Viagra expires at the end of this year.

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Hits is what Marcos is aiming for

FORD has taken the wraps off its new NASCAR car.

The new Ford Fusion will join the Nextel Cup and Busch Series ranks at the 2006 Daytona 500, replacing the current Taurus. It is based upon the production model of the Fusion, which is due to

16

arrive in American showrooms in a couple of months.

The 2006 Fusion will become the first all-new nameplate car for Ford in 38 years, following on from the 1968 trackand-showroom debut of the Torino.

"The Fusion represents the new face of

Ford cars," said Marty Collins, General Marketing Manager, Ford Division.

"And racing it in NASCAR competition allows us to get that new face in front of the millions of race fans who follow NASCAR racing in person and on television."

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Rubens is ‘50-50’ RUBENS Barrichello, whose Formula 1 contract with Ferrari runs through 2006, has rated the chances that he will stay on next season as only 50-50.

"Every time I say something a bit critical about Ferrari, people believe that I'm leaving already," he told Brazilian media. "But I do have a keen interest in what Toyota and Flonda are doing. I think there's a lot of potential lying idle there. The facts are that I have a contract for 2006 and the chances that I stay are 50-50."

Prost takes Legends

ALAIN Prost has won the DTM's 'Race of Champions', held at the Norisring last weekend.

Prost was joined by Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jolmny Cecotto,

Jody Scheckter and our own Mick Doohan in the race, which awarded the winner $805,000 to be donated to several charities.

Three five-minute stints were held

for the six former world champions, each done in the three makes of the

DTM;Audi, Mercedes and Opel, above. Points were awarded according to the results of each session in order to determine a winner. _

"I'm particularly proud on the fact that we succeeded in getting all tlie six World Champions into our idea right away," said HR Chairman Hans Werner Aufrecht.

"They raced for the good cause without asking for a fee and provided the motor racing enthusiasts a unique show."

1 truly enjoyed the racing," said I Prost. i' The cars resemble Formula cars a

^ lot. 1 was truly impressed by the 3 performance my friends delivered out Count the titles: L to R, Alain Prost, Johnny Cecotto, Jody Scheckter, Mick there on the track. They have raced Doohan, Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi surround race organiser this kind of cars for the very first time and they delivered in fine style." and ITR President, Hans Werner Aufrecht, at the Norisring last weekend.

n Okay, the consonants B, M and W may not be fhaf popular at Grove just now but the German company is staying committed to the WTCC. "Nothing has changed in terms of our commitment to touring cars," BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said recently."BMW without touring car racing and touring car racing without BMW is unimaginable." n Fabrizio Giovanardi may have felt like a smarty-pants after his WTCC win in Mexico but he will pay for it at Spa. The Italian will carry the maximum 60kg ballast in his Alfa Romeo, while young Spaniard Antonio Garda will pack only 5kg less in his BMW.The BMWs of title contenders Dirk Muller and Andy Priaulx have lost 20kg each and will have 40kg. n Americans may not be known as mad MotoGP fans - but maybe they should be.

After an 11-year absence, the big bikes drew a lot of punters to Laguna Seca. On Friday, the crowd was 40,520; on Saturday, 55,201 and on Sunday 57,932 people watched Nicky Hayden win his first GP. That's a total of 153,653, a number topped by only 2004 GPs (Jerez, Catalunya, Sachsenring and Valencia).

r ^ Product Safety Recall Taiwan Racing Products ^ 2010 Motor Sport Harness FIAD-203.T/98 FIA D-203.T/98

MADEINTATAWN j

Team Brock would like to offer the chance to get involved in one of the most exciting and competitive categories of Australian Motorsport, V8 Ute racing.

In accordance with the FIA notice of July 6 2005, Open Wheel harnesses with the FIA code FIA D-203.T/98 have been withdrawn from competition and are prohibited from use, This harness is manufactured under various brands in

We have one Holden VS Ute drive available for the remaining rounds of the 2005 Championship.

All you require is C4 license, drivers apparel and of course $ and well look after the rest.

Team Brock has space available for one car in its Pantech ex Melbourne to the following rounds; l Rd 5 HPDC Mallala l Indy 300 and « Symmons Plains Supercar Rd 12 Contact J. Brock 0417 ISO 947 20 July 2005

Australia including RPM Racegear, Ifyou have purchased a belt with this code number, please return it, with proof of purchase immediately to your retailer.

Revolution Racegear will only accept RPM branded belts as returns, For further information please call 03 9873 870^^

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SlBASlIilNI Bourdlais and Newman-Haas Racing reminded their rivals just why they are defendingi Champ Car Champions at the series' inaugural visit to Edmonton, Canada last weekend.

The event heraldiedl am enormous success for the fledglliim§ series, with over 200,000 fans visiting the three-day event held at the airport circuiit.

Bourdais started the race from a lowly fOth, but worked'hiis way up to the lead to finish just aihead Of his team-mate Oriol Servia, pictured above.

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ITAftaiB Alimendinger and Justiih Wilson led away from, the front row of the grid, with faui Tracy the only car able to challenge the pai r im the open ing half of the race.

All three cars took the lead at various stages, but when the final round of pit stops were completed as a result of a caution for the crashed HVM car of Bjorn Wirdheim, it was Allmendinger who had the lead.

But it ail turned to muck for Champ Car's emerging team when Wilson spun during the Safety Car period and Allmendinger made contact with a wall on the restart, ending his race.

Bourdais then emerged as the leader

New Heights

JUSTIN Wilson captured his first Champ Car World Series victory at the Molson Indy Toronto two weeks ago. The win marked the first for both the lanky Brit and his team, the new emerging force in Champ Car, RuSport.

Wilson, left and below, was rmming second to Newman-Haas's Oriol Servia in the latter stages of the race, before pulling off one of the moves of the season to go around the outside of the Spaniard at Turn 3.

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Allmendinger and Forsythe's Mario Dominguez crashed.

"It seems hard to believe that we've actually finally broken the duck," said Wilson.

"I think this is something that's been on the cards for the last couple of races and we can move forward from here now.

"On the third lap, I decided 'this is the one I'm going for', and I managed to get a good run and closed right in on Oriol. It was good, clean racing.

"I couldn't believe it when I came out in front and realised I then had the chance of taking it all the way to the end." sutlon-imjgcgxom

after slowly corning through the pack, .J holding out Servia withiTracy keepingu0Utl| Wilspn for the finalipodium position.

Team Australia's iMianeus IWlairshali enjoyed a change in fortunes, gaining his ! best result to date with^eighth,, one spot behind team-mate AlexTagliani.,- .. ^ ' "I have ihad' a hadfunrof iuck, espeiially j i n qual ify i ng," said Marsha 11 . " But today i it ail turned around and I had a ifeliil'l^ j good car in the race." ^ lyiiCRRIS Points: Bourdais 182, Tracy 161, Wilson 152, Servia 135, Allmendinger 122 Vasser 115, Tagliani 1 11, Dominguez 104, Glock 90, da Matta 88, Ranger 82.

Alex Tagliani again flew the Team Australia fl ag high, with a strong performance for third place, his second podium this year and for the new team, and this time in Tagliani's home country.

Tagliani, below, was relieved that the race was not restarted, having suffered a puncture from debris from the late-race incident, running the final laps under the safety car with a deflated Bridgestone.

Team Australia's second car was not so fortunate, with Marcus Marshall again enduring a disappointing weekend. He crashed out when Nelson Phillipe spun in front of liim on lap 65.

Title protagonists Sebastien Bourdais and Paul Tracy again made controversial contact, Tracy clipping the Frenchman as they exited pit lane.

Bourdais was forced to pit with a deflated tyre as a result, while Tracy continued on in the lead, albeit with half his front wing missing.

But when a caution was needed to rescue Cristiano da Matta's PKV Racing Lola, pit lane was dosed, as per Champ Car rules, until the field was fully bunched behind the safety car. As Tracy waited for pit lane to open, his car ran out of fuel, ending his weekend. Bourdais recovered to finish fifth, one spot behind Jimmy Vasser, and maintained his series lead.

-PHIL MORRIS

.

STATESIDE

Frontman THE Andretti-Green Racing juggernaut is near unstoppable at the moment in the Indy Racing League, with Dario Franchitti winning the latest round at the concrete Nashville Speedway.

Such is AGR’s current strength, the Honda-powered team still managed to win, despite AGR losing three of its four cars mid-race to mechanical failures.

For Franchitti, the win was a welcome relief after a season of great pace but poor luck. The now-traditional Gibson guitar trophy, as well as a drenching on the humid night from team mates Bryan Herta, Dan Wheidon and Tony Kanaan, greeted the Nashville-based driver in Victory Lane.

“I wanted that guitar,” said Franchitti. “It’s great to win in Nashville - at home. You always want to win races. That’s why I do this. To do it at my home race now, what is my home race, is extra special. It’s so sweet to win races.”

Second was Sam Hornish Jr, who managed to slip by Patrick Carpentier on the final lap, as the Canadian was off-sequence on his pit stops and was forced to conserve fuel to reach the

20 July 2005

flag. His cause was aided when team-mate Alex Barron and Vitor Meira came together, sparking a spectacular crash coming onto the front straight, pictured below.

Ryan Briscoe had his best IRL result to date by finishing eighth, and it could have all been a lot better for the Australian, as he was in the top five before an incident set him back.

“I was working my way up when I was passing (Tomas) Scheckter on the outside and he pushed me up into the wall,” said Briscoe.

“I had to come in for a new tyre and almost lost a lap. It was disappointing because we really had the car for a top five finish but the Target Toyota was definitely competitive and we’ll look to be stronger in Milwaukee.”

Panther Racing had a terrible race day after Tomas Scheckter scored pole position, with the South African retiring with engine failure late in the race, and Tomas Enge fracturing his T12 and L1 vertebrae after he backed his car hard into the wall.

-PHIL MORRIS Points; Wheidon 347, Kanaan 274, Franchitti 269, Castroneves 260, Hornish Jr. 256, Sharp 230, Meira 219.

19

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DALE Earnhardt Jr. finally returned to form, picking up his first win since Phoenix last November at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10.

Earnhardt's win came after a late two-tyre pit stop and holding off race dominator Matt Kenseth, who took on four tyres, by 0.291 s over the final 11 lap green flag run.

"We can say we had a fifth place car today," said Earnhardt.

"We would have been happy with that, but we put ourselves in position to win and today it paid off."

"You hate not to be a gracious loser," remarked Kenseth, who headed 176 of the 267 laps, "but it's tough to lead almost every lap and get beat at the end on pit strategy."

Kenseth, the 2003 champion, only moved into the top 20 in points the previous week as the Roush team works on getting its season turned around, and the runner-up slot was a much-needed shot in the arm.

Tony Stewart suffered a hard wreck during practice and was forced to start at the rear of the field in a back-up car for the second year in succession at the 1.5 mile track, but after coming off two straight wins he managed to pull out a well-deserved fifth place finish.

Jeff Gordon continued his downward slide, finishing 33rd after struggling with a loose car midway through the race and then getting hit from behind by Mike Bliss on lap 249. Gordon failed to finish the race for the sixth time this season and dropped to 15th in points, some 502 behind his team-mate Jimmie Johnson. , Blistered tyres were again a factor, just like recent events at Michigan and Pocono. This time, the right rear seemed susceptible to problems, with the compound probably too soft for the high temperatures. Those that hit the wall due to tyres issues included Carl Edwards, Elliott Sadler, Michael Waltrip, Dave Blaney, Jeff Burton and Johnson, the latter saving his tyre before it came apart and making an early pit stop. He gained back his lost lap later in the race to finish third.

- MARTIN D CLARK Final result: Earnhardt(Chevy), Kenseth (Ford), Johnson (Chevy), Vickers (Chevy), Stewart(Chevy), Mayfield (Dodge), Rudd (Ford), Kurt Busch (Ford), Mears(Dodge), Martin (Ford).

Kentucky Lawyers KENTUCKY Speedway, a host venue for the NASCAR Busch and Truck Series, is filing a lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corp, both of which the France family own,saying the two organisations have violated federal antitrust laws in the manner that they award Nextei Cup events.

The suit also alleges that NASCAR reserves new Cup dates for newly constructed or contracted ISC tracks. The Kentucky 1.5 mile facility is a state of the art track that opened in 2000 and seats 66,000, in addition to the usual array of luxury suites.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction against NASCAR to ‘cease and desist from their unlawful monopolisation and conspiracy’.

- MARTIN D CLARK

20

All About SUNDAY at New Hampshire Speedway was all about Tony Stewart, winning his third race in the last four and heading 232 of the 300 laps at the one-mile oval after a spirited battle with the Busch brothers late in the going.

"I knew we had sometliing special today," commented Stewart."We really didn't change much all day. I played with them most of the race, but that last rim I didn't play at all.

With Kyle (Busch) getting under us a couple of times and challenging us for the lead, we really couldn't be lazy and not run hard."

Kurt Busch made a great comeback from an early spin and two pitstop bungles to finish rurmer-up.

"We brought the same piece back that we won both races with here last year," said Busch."But Stewart was good today. He's on a roll. We'll give it to him."

Stewart's Joe Gibbs team-mate Bobby Labonte finished third as he attempts to squelch rumours about his departure from the team.

"We needed this," remarked Labonte.

"We've been close but we haven't had the luck to go along with it."

Kyle Busch ended his day with a

great fourtli place finish just aliead of Greg Biffle, the pair making contact with some hard racing toward the end, wliile outside front-row sitter Kasey Kalme posted sixth for his best finish since his win at Riclimond in May. Ganassi Racing had a horrible race, with Jamie McMurray getting planted in the wall by his future Roush team-mate Matt Kenseth.

While Casey Mears suffered engine issues and Sterling Marlin a cut tyre.

Jeff Gordon looked headed for a least a fourth placing and a turn around of

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STATESIDE

Tony Waltpip Walks LESS than a week after DEI announced it will field a Cup . teann for Martin Truex Jr. in 2006, Michael Waltrip has announced that he will not be ! back behind the wheel of the i DEI #15 Chevrolet in 2006. j "®'s a Itlil'e sad, | buit thiimk I fm connifoirtabie aibout the i deeisiioniI've ntiiade," salidi [ Waillriipi

"We've been working hard to put the deal together through at least 2006, but we never were able to get it accomplished."

Rumours have Waltrip going to the Haas Chevy to replace Mike Bliss and possibly taking spomsor MAPA with Mtf;.

Kinser for NASCAR? KRAIG Kinser, the son of World of Outlaw Sprint Car driver Steve Kinser, is rumoured to be joining MB2 Motorsports in 2006.

Either AC Delco or Quaker State sponsorship is tipped to fili the void left by the departing Vaivoline and driver Scott Riggs. n David Stremme, the replacement for Sterling Marlin at Ganassi Racing next year, made his Cup debut at Chicago, finishing a promising 16th. n NASCAR whisked away the cars of Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Rusty Wallace, Jeremy Mayfield, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth after the Chicago race - two from each marque. All were taken to the wind tunnel for aero evaluation.

his recent string of bad luck, but he suffered brake problems inside the final 20 laps.

- MARTIN D CLARK

n Veteran Busch Series crew chief Harold Holly, who joined PPI Motorsports at the end of last season, has parted ways with the team, even though a team statement says otherwise.

Holly apparently has another position with what could be a multi car team. Hamilton and Holly enjoyed success together in the Busch division, but Holly was unable to deploy the same spark at PPI. - MARTIN D CLARK

Final result: Stewart Chevy, Kurt Busch (Ford), B Labonte (Chevy), Kyle Busch (Chevy), Biffle (Ford), Kahne (Dodge), Newman (Dodge), R Wallace(Dodge), Earnhardt(Chevy), Kenseth (Ford).

Point standings: Johnson 2672, Biffle 2592, Stewart 2587, Rusty Wallace 2442, Kurt Busch 2347, Newman 2347, Martin 2320, Mayfield 2385, Sadler 2276,Jarrett 2254.

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Happy BiPthdi

Haga gives Yamaha its breakthrough

TROY Corser may be even further ahead in the World Superbike Championship now but Noriyuki Haga gave Yamaha a 50th birthday present with the Rl's first win of the season.

Nine years after he dominated at the SBK's last visit to the Czech Republic, Corser was untouchable In the first race but in a restarted second outing, Haga became the first man in the history of the series to miss the top 16 in qualifying and win a race, coming from behind to take an impressive victory.

James Toseland {Ducati Xerox)fought through the Race 1 pack to score second, with his team-mate Regis Laconi third.

PSG-1 Kawasaki rider Chris Walker, who topped the qualifying sessions, took fourth.

Corser, #11 right, was smart enough to realise that Nitro Nori had the speed in the second outing and followed him home at a safe distance l ahead of Chris Vermeulen (Ten

AT first look, America's first premier-class bike Grand Prix in 11 years was pretty run-ofthe-mill.

One guy topped practice, qualified on pole and led every lap. Difference was, at Laguna Seca, it was not Valentino Rossi dominating, it was local hero Nicky Hayden.

Honda's ace from Kentucky scored his maiden win in front of 57,000 enthusiastic locals and, to make things even better, Rossi could not go with the Repsol man, leaving it to team mate Colin Edwards to chase him home. For the first time since Kevin Schwantz and Wayne Rainey went 1-2 in the 1993 Spanish GP, the Stars and Stripes scored the quinella. "it's a dream come true and it's the first time I've won anything since 2002, except a dating game on television said a thrilled Hayden.

"Everything worked well and I rode my heart out for the whole race. When the gap got smaller to Colin I just stayed focussed and kept pushing."

22

Rossi, who has now won six of the eight GPs this season, was philosophical after the race "I made some mistakes with the setting of the bike in practice so it was not 100 percent for this race," he said, "but I have learnt a lot about Laguna, especially following Nicky and Colin. I was the first European rider to finish behind the Americans so I'm happy about that."

To make him even happier, arch-rival Max Biaggi was behind him in fourth and Marco Melandri dropped further back after tangling with Alex Barros on the opening lap. Melandri's team-mate Sete Gibernau was next while Troy Bayliss held off a charging group to finish sixth with Makoto Tamada, John Hopkins, Shinya Nakano and Loris Capirossi close behind.

Suzuki's John Hopkins was the third American rider in the top eight.

Points: Rossi 186, Melandri 107, Biaggi 100, Gibernau 95, Edwards 93, Hayden 85, Barros 74, Capirossi and Nakano 55, Bayliss 47.

Kate Honda) and Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France).

Garry McCoy came to grief in a big way after he was involved in a collision with Jose Luis

America Show

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LAGUNA Seca's Grand Prix showed that there is more to bike racing than just looking good - but when you look good, you look real good.

The first American race in 11 years was sponsored by Red Bull and almost everything at the track was painted in the blue and silver hues of

the Austrian power drink (someone is really going to have to explain why that is to me one day). The Suzukis of John Hopkins and Kenny Lee Roberts ran in Bullish hues and Hopper, above, finished a good eighth, 30 seconds to the better of the 2000 World SOOcc champion. moiorsporinews

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ADVERTISEMENT

Formula 3-Hie Viable Path to a Motor Racing Career RECENT comments from the

media and the motor sport industry have been made regarding the sustainability of Formula 3 in this country.

This debate has centered on the

and Bilbao, and currently holding down second place in tire standings.

Ryan Briscoe is competing in the IRL and Marcos in Champ Cars.

In the 2005 season 19 drivers have scored points in the championship

Chassis Costs: The chassis are carbon fibre and 2002/2004 cars, wliich comply with current FIA Safety Regulations, can be imported for approx. $120,000 - $140,000 including spares ready to race. The

cost of running a Formula 3 campaign and the long term viability of the category. We aim here to dispel much of the misinformation that has been circulated and state the facts

Japan.

LONG TERM VIABILITY Since the formation of Formula 3 racing in Australia the category has steadily grown and gained a reputation as a breeding ground for future national and international champions.

In 2000 CAMS granted Formula 3 full Championship status and in 2005, for the first time, Australia's most coveted title, the Australian Drivers Championship - Gold Star.

This recognition demonstrates the faith placed in the category by CAMS and demonstrates the continued growth and long-term future of the category.

In 2006 Formula 3 competitors will be competing for the 50th running of the Gold Star and the Formula 3 Association is planning an extensive promotion to mark this auspicious occasion.

The following house hold names - Mark Webber, Ryan Briscoe, James Courtney, Will Davison, Russel Ingall, Marcus Marshall and Marcos Ambrose - all competed in F3 before moving onto bigger things.

Currently Barton Mawer and Karl Reindler are competing in British F3 with great success, while Christian Jones won the 2004 Asian F3 series.

Will Power is competing in the World Series powered by Renault, winning in the past fortnight at both LeMans

24

longevity of the engine.

As with all National Championship categories. Formula 3 charges a nominal series and membership fee to cover the cost of CAMS and administration costs.

THE CARS & ENGINES The cars run under FIA regulations and are tlrerefore turn-key operations. Any competitor can purchase a car from a recognized FIA competition, bring it to Australia and compete without any modifications required.

To contain costs the Association has strict criteria for chassis

regarding F3 racing in Australia.

No-one has disputed F3 cars are exciting to drive and, with the strict rules in place, create exciting close racing with each season creating multiple winners and tight championship contests. Formula 3 is internationally recognized as the natural progression to FI and is conducted in 28 countries with Australia recognized as the leading series behind England, Europe and

safety reasons). The engines are controlled by a 26 mm air restrictor which limits the revs and ensures

and seven drivers in the Trophy Class. Seven new drivers are competing in the Formula 3 championship series and Formula 3 grid sizes continue to be healthy for a full Championship series.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP Competitors in the Championship class are competing for two exclusive titles, the 2005 Kumlro Australian Formula 3 Championship and Australia's most coveted title the 2005 Australian Drivers Championship - Gold Star.

Formula 3 is competing on the new AMRS program which evolved under CAMS direction from the discontinued PROCAR series. The AMRS series has run in SA, VIC, NSW and QLD this year and offers motor sport fans a great variety of competitive racing supporting F3.

Formula 3 has secured a position on the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix program as well as the A1 World Series event to be held m November this year at Eastern Creek. NOTE: As a prerequisite to driving in an A1 car you will need to have first competed in Formula 3.

THE TRUE COSTS OF COMPETING IN F3 There has been a lot of speculation and misinformation circulated about the cost of running a competitive Formula 3 car. The true costs are as follows:

1999/2001 cars are still competition winners and can be purchased for approx. $60,000 - $70,000. These cars are capable of winning the championship and individual races as this year has shown.

Trophy or 'entry level 'cars can be bought for $35,000 to $45,0000, which allows a competitor a viable way of entering the series before progressing to the F3 Championship and Gold Star. This system is successfully used in England via their National class cars.

eligibility in Championship and Trophy classes which gives the competitor up to a 6 year life cycle for his car at Championship level and a further 6 years of competition at the Trophy level.

The 2002-2004 chassis was allowed to enter the Championship this year and seven of these 2004 chassis are currently competing in the Championship. This represents an investment of over $1 million by Australian F3 owners - a resounding endorsement of the category.

CONCLUSION Formula 3 has established itself as a

Engine Costs: All championship engines are produced overseas and can be rebuilt in Australia or sent back to the manufacture for

viable proposition for both the professional and the family teams with a long-term future. The capital cost of a chassis can be amortised

servicing. A typical overseas rebuild costs approx. $8,000 to $15,000 plus freight and taxes, and an engine can do in excess of 3000 kms or a

over six years of the Championship and has a further life of six years in Trophy. The engines will give 2 years of competition before a rebuild is required.

The competitor has exposure on at least four hours of free to air TV

minimum of 2 years racing. Local rebuilds are at a lesser cost.

Trophy class engines are considerably cheaper and can be rebuilt for around $2500 to $3000 with the same longevity of racing service.

Competition Costs: Entry fees are $880 per two-day meeting and covers promoters entry fee and garaging.

The Association has strict rules in place to contain the cost of competing. Testing is restricted to one day per meeting during the season. Only one set of slick tyres, costing $1190 per set, is allowed per race meeting (wets are unlimited for

as well as on Foxtel during the year, allowing great exposure to sponsors.

Formula 3is a proven,cost effective international wings and slicks category that will develop all the skills that our young drivers need to succeed not only here but overseas.

For more information on this exciting category visit our website on www.formula3.com.au or contact our Category Administrator Jeff Mattner on 0418 814 411

molorsportnews

i

The Ancient Art of the Backflip 0 T

HE ability to perform a graceful backflip is an essential part of any politician's arsenal.

If you're really good at it, you can even introduce something that you were campaigning against five minutes ago and start championing it as a brilliant new l flash of genius and be confident that a sizeable chunk of the *“ general population will not notice.

In the backflip department, the FIA's recent form has it on a par with those 13-year-olds that come out of the gymnast factories in China. But then again, it has had a lot of opportunities to practice in the last couple of months.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council's change of heart regarding the charges laid against the seven Michelin-shod teams after the idiotic events of the US Grand Prix is the most recent example. FIA President Max Mosley was always

adamant that Michelin was to blame for the debacle at Indianapolis, but given the fact that the tyre supplier is just that - a supplier to the teams - there was not a lot of direct action that the governing body could take.

Nailing the teams allowed the FIA to give the impression of authority and leadership, assuming that we disregard the fact that an even better way of doing that would have been to sort the problems at Indianapolis out when tyres first became an issue on the Friday.

The whole point was to divert the blame anywhere away from the FIA, just as the point of last week's decision seems to have been to quietly put the fire out before things got uglier than they already have. You could speculate that the FIA underestimated just how much damage would be caused to the sport by letting things go as far as they did at Indianapolis, but it's possible that those in the halls of the FIA offices at Place de la Concorde in Paris have since had a moment of clarity.

Even the most narrow-minded politicians know that there are times when the only way to move forward is to compromise.

n the other hand, some of the recent proposed modifications to the technical regulations are another story.

The number of changes to FI's engine regs in the past five years alone are proof enough that this is not new territory for Max. Flowever the latest batch, earmarked for 2008, is not so much a blueprint for the future, but rather the latest move in a convoluted battle for control of the sport beyond the current Concorde Agreement. The future authority of Max and the FIA are under threat from all sorts of angles. Mosley has very vocally lost the support of Paul Stoddart, is fast losing the faith of many other team owners, and has also managed to lose the sympathies of a sizeable chunk of the drivers.

Is the FIA's backflip over technology in FI at the British GP - where it suddenly announced its support for introducing some new technologies into the sport after speaking out against it just a couple of weeks ago - yet another move in the chess game, or a genuine recognition that its previous position was untenable and that compromise is needed to get the whole train wreck up and running again? You tell me.

From a fan's point of view, I almost don't care what the FI technical regs are anymore. But just about anything has to be better than the current crop of

’Sr

Motor Mouth with MarkGlendenning poop, inbred.machines that are incapable of racing within 200“",''"'^'' metres of each other.The title battle that is looming between ' Fernando Alonso and Kinhi Raikkonen deserves better than this.

0

f course, you don't have to go all the way to Formula One to find backflips. Australian Fornnula Ford has just done'a little one ^11 of its own in deciding that the planned wi'hgs package will now be missing from the cars in 2006.

In my book, this is a good thing, as the cons of sticking cosmetic fibreglass wings to Formula Fords seem to outweigh the pros, but unfortunately it is only a temporary move. When the cars roll out in 2007, they will look 'aero', even if the wings don't actually offer much beyond advertising space.

Again, it doesn't seem necessary to me, but it fits in with Ford's marketing strategies, and they are the ones spending the money. But hey, having FFord with dicky wings is still far better than not having FFord at all, particularly with some added spice about to join the mix in the form of the new engines.

Early 20th century publishing magnate Ernest Benn reckoned that politics was "the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy."

If he'd added something about ’ the ability to execute a neat backflip - reverse double-pike optional - then he would have 3 been spot-on.

An Ode to Ye

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HAVE a confession to make so ! will say it quietly: I like going to Silverstone.

I guess maybe it is because 1 do not get to England much these days but when I do in the mid summer for the British Grand Prix, the gently rolling countryside seems like a very green and pleasant land. It is a world of country houses, village fetes, pony clubs and girls who say "OK, Yah" if you ask them really nicely. It is a lovely part of the world if you can afford to buy a country 'hise'.

It never ceases to amuse me that when you arrive in Silverstone you are greeted by a sign that says Silverstone Please Drive Carefully. You cannot help but smile and think of the great feats of derring-do that have been done there. Silverstone is one of the great racing circuits of the world. The critics will tell you that it is just an overgrown airfield, the child of an austere age, laid out on the runways and perimeter roads of the old air base. It was never planned nor landscaped. It just happened.

It is true Silverstone has none of the manicure and money of the modern tracks in Bahrain and Shanghai. And it lacks the grandeur of Spa or Monza. But it is place where the Formula 1 World Championship first began and has been a regular venue ever since.

You can forgive the place for having an inferiority complex. As an airfield, it was very unglamorous, teaching pilots (and American pilots at that!) to fly, while nearby Finmere was the place from where the heavyweights of Bomber Command flew to bomb the bad guys. Time has turned the tables: Finmere became farmland with only a Sunday market on what is left of the great runways.

Silverstone has become the star of the region: at the heart of 'Motorsport Valley' and the centre of the global motor racing industry.

And yet Silverstone comes in for abuse.always Perhaps it is that the British like self-abuse.

The irony of London winning the Olympic Games in 2012 is that Britain rarely does very well 26

SILVERSTONE Please drive carefully 9!

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"The critics wili tell you that it is just an overgrown airfield, the child of an austere age, laid out on the runways and perimeter roads of the old air base. It was never planned nor landscaped. It Just happened ti

in athletics and the one sport in which Britain truly leads the world is Formula 1. Silverstone is both a cause and an effect of that. It was the cradle of the industry and the sport.

Silverstone was always about good racing. Before I stepped through The Looking Glass and entered the wonderful world of Grand Prix racing, I was a regular and I remember only good days.

Don't mistake me for a misplaced patriot. I left Britain 15 years ago to live among those heathens who do not have the Olympic Games in 2012 and yet, I still feel protective of Silverstone.

The British are an island race and fiercely proud of their sporting stars. Each June the papers are full of Tim Henman, in July the British racing drivers get their moment of glory. In fact at this time of year there are only two drivers in Formula 1, at least according to the colourful British media: Jenson Button and David Coulthard. One can read stories about their lucky underpants and about the girls in their lives. You can read about how fame and fortune has not changed them and how they had a near-miss the other day in a private jet - as, of course, we all do from time to time.

“This year the rumour-traffickers had problems because DC has already announced his plans to stay with Red Bull Racing in '06.

This means that the only possible speculation about the aerodynamic duo is about what Jenson will do in 2006. Everyone knows that Button needs to ■ collect 70 percent of the points of World Championship leader Fernando Alonso by August 1 in order for BAR to hold on to him.

This means that Jenson has the somewhat daunting task of scoring 44 points in three races.

Impossible, you may think - but let us not forget that in FI nothing is irnpossible and the Spaniard could easily do something wrong and be docked points by the FIA. If that does not happen, Williams can intercept Jenson and put him alongside Mark Webber next year.

Ah, but nothing is ever simple in FI because although Jenson has a Williams contract in his trousseau, there could well be a clause in this that stipulates that the team has a factory engine and as.Sir Frank Williams is not saying anything about engines at the moment, this could mean that Jenson ends up on the open market.

Despite the talk of Ferrari (which is wishful thinking) the chances are that he will end up at BAR again.

That will be fine. Next year having DC in a Red Bull-Ferrari and Button in a BAR-Flonda will give us plenty to get excited about.

Even at dull old Silverstone.

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it has been a tough season ton the Scot but he tunneti ait Uat' < arounii with a victory in the Firestone inity 200 at ntashvHie. He spohe afterwariis about racing, winning ami... guitars QUESTION: Congratulations, Dario. Our hometown man at his hometown track. He has his guitar. Talk to us about your day.

DARIO FRANCHITTI: Where to start? We'll start at the start, I guess. Off the green flag, 1 made a move around the outside and got up into second place. The car was so strong. I was able to pass Scheckter not long afterwards.

Then it was just a matter of keeping the pace, saving fuel out there. The car was really good.

No degradation from the tyre. 1 was able to run as quick at the end of the stint as I was at the start of the stint.

We came in, we lost a little bit coming into the first pit stop because the eight guys behind us made it difficult for us to get in, so we lost a bit to Tony, but then Tony had his problem. 1 guess it was a wheel bearing.

From then, we were fighting to stay up front.

I came out of the last pit stops to discover the two Red Bull cars ahead of me and I was a bit surprised about that. Barron made it very difficult for me to get past. When I would make a move to the outside, he would block, which you're not supposed to do, I was surprised about that.

In contrast, it's a race with Patrick. Patrick Carpentier was just brilliant. We've raced against each other pretty much non-stop since '97. That restart, we were inches apart between one and two. We made it through. I got up in the gray. In three had to back off. We came back at him, managed to make the pass. That was it.

The biggest problem I felt was the rain under yellow. I was just thinking, 'If this cloud breaks and I lose this race because of the rain, it's going to pretty much sum up our year.'

But it held. There we go.

28

last laps basically. I was just praying nothing would go wrong.

Yeah, it was definitely a weight off my mind, put it that way, to make the pass.

Q: With your family, maybe you can get free guitar lessons.

DF: I don't know. I think I'll be okay there. I'll call Wy [ED; Dario's mother-in-law, Wynona Judd] tomorrow morning and see what she says. I could definitely do with learning. My brother's racing in California at the ALMS race. I hear he's pretty excited about the prospect of the guitar because he's been taking some lessons. I might have a fight on my hands.

Q: You said they didn't tell you about the failure, but how concerned were you knowing the other three team-mates were out? You knew two of them were mechanicals, correct?

DF: No. I thought something was funny with the way Tony crashed coming up to that yellow. Just didn't look right. I saw the rear of the car drop. But I was concentrating too hard to put two and two together that it was probably a wheel bearing. As I say, they didn't tell me what the other guys had.

We made a lot of adjustments.

We changed stuff this morning to stop that happening in the race. I was confident my guys' had done all they could. You can't worry about everything.

Q: How difficult was it with the frustration of the season?

How about Tony's gesture with Victory Circle with the ice water?

DF: Let's start with that. I'll get him back, believe me. Next time he's in Victory Lane, I'll'have to try and rig a crane or something, throw about a hundred gallons on his head. I'll think of something. We will get him, believe me.

"I'm going to keep doing my job and keep pushing as hard as I can,trying to win races tt

- Dario describes the rest of his season

You always want to win races.

That's why I do this. I do it to win races. To do it at my home race now, what is my home race, is extra special. Sad my wife is not here. She's working. But I'll get to see her tomorrow, so that's pretty cool, Q: When you went around for the pass to take the lead, did you say,'That's it. I've got this one won'?

DF: I've been doing this a while. I learn not to say that because as soon as that happens, something goes wrong. Basically once I passed the #83 car, I vl/ould have been surprised if anybody had the pace to close the gap in the

Q: Can you evaluate the performance of Danica Patrick? Do you mind sharing the attention with her?

DF:Well, first of all, I think there's a lot of drivers out there tonight that did a better job than Danica. I think Danica did a good job, but there were a lot of guys out there that did a better job.

I think she fought very hard actually on one of those restarts, got a small block on me, which I was surprised about. But she's a fighter. When she gets a chance, she fights hard for positions and stuff.

But like I say, I think we - \ personally, I'm looking at Patrick Carpentier finishing third up

there in a car that hasn't been competitive all season. For me, that’s probably one of the stories of the night.

Q: You talked about the problem this morning in the practice session. How difficult of a problem mechanical-wise was it to deal with?

DF: It really wasn't that difficult at all. It didn't take long to change. The modifications, again, they were bolt-on modifications. They weren't a big deal.

What was a big deal was when it did let go in the middle of the corner this morning, I was trying to catch the thing before it hit the wall. A bit of a heart-stopping moment, especially with my team-mate Dan Wheldon inches off the back of my car. Almost took two of our cars out. But it worked out okay.

Q: You never want to see your team-mates do poorly. It seems like it gives you an opportunity to make a gain in the points. Talk about your chance in making most of that opportunity.

DF; I'm absolutely going to make the most of the opportunity.

We've had some terrible luck the first part of the season. I'm going to keep doing my job and keep pushing as hard as I can, trying to win races, trying to be up and beat the guys in front of me for the championship.

Q: We have the few tracks you won at in the next month. Is this the turning point for your season? Now are you trying to make a run for it [the title]?

DF: Who knows? I've been trying to make a run for it all year. I've been doing the best I can. I've had a car to win five plus races.

Hopefully I'll have a car to win another five. We'll close the dea as[we did] tonight.

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ean Canto

Fact:Dean Cante has no hair. Fact:Dean Canto is the fastest unsigneil driver tor 2DD6. While only sixth in the HPDC V8 Series, GRANT ROWLEY spoke to him ahout the past, present and future MOTORSPORT NEWS: Besides the crash at Wakefield, everything seems to be right in 2005. Agree?

DEAN CANTO: I agree. We showed how strong we were at Wakefield in the first race, I had quite a comfortable buffer over Luffy (Warren Luff) in the first race, but unfortunately we couldn't carry that through in the next two races.

MN: You've won five races from eight so far this year, and you didn't start two of them!

But you're 80 points off the lead. Is this an unjust points system?

DC: Well, it is designed to drop your worst round. They did that in (Mark) Winterbottom's year, but they aren't this year. It does pay off consistency, it might not be fair to the guy that wins most races, but that's the way it is and that's the rules that everyone has to play to.

MN:So how do you approach the rest of the year? Will you sacrifice positions, or go out there win everything you can?

DC: I'll just approach it like the first part of the year. Obviously we have a very strong car in qualifying, as long as I don't have any starts like I did in Race 3 at Eastern Creek, I should be okay.

I'm fairly good in traffic. The reverse grid race was pretty exciting and the car was strong in that situation. I could pass people pretty much anywhere. I'm not going to hold back, but I'm not going to do anything stupid.

Adam Macrow made a mistake by turning (Tony) D'Alberto around. 1 don't know how many points he lost but they'll all count at the end of the year.

I'm still going to push hard. I would have liked to have won that reverse grid race. The car just wasn't as strong as it could have been.

30

individual?

DC: Yeah, for sure. Between losing a drive, not securing another one, losing my hair, all the pressures ... I'm a lot tougher skinned. Nothing really fazes me.

Next round, Queensland Raceway, home track advantage.

Look out there - could be three from three!

MN: You just said the car can be improved. That might scare some of your rivals!

DC:(laughs) Yeah. It's a tough sort of thing. Just two practice sessions is not a lot of time. We can't test(ED: DJR's Development team is grouped with its main series team, which means they only test two cars).

We got the car 90 percent in practice and from qualifying we de-tuned it a bit to be a little bit more consistent on the tyres. It wasn't a comfortable set-up. We thought about a bigger change but we were nervous so we took the tentative approach, which didn't really pay off until the last race. * MN: Given the Wakefield Park start-line shunt, are you a fan of the reverse grid races?

DC: Eastern Creek was good fun. One thing they could change is to just reverse the top 50 percent and bottom 50 percent- not the whole field. I think if they just did that, you'll get a lot more cars to finish, and it will still be good to watch.

MN: Queensland Raceway next. You can't test, but you've done enough miles to know where it turns left, left, left and right.

DC: It's been my test track for the last five years, really. The only laps I've done there in my car are sponsor rides.

MN: DJR is on the brink of a top result in the main game.

Regardless of who you partner at Sandown and Bathurst, do you think you'll be in with a shot of winning?

DC: You've only got to look at Steve (Johnson's) results last year. Luff and him were on the podium at Sandown and finished in the top 10 at Bathurst.

It will just be a matter of competing with the front guys.

Obviously Darwin showed that they can do it, and either combination of driver will be very competitive.

MN: Do you have a partner preference?

DC: It would be an engineering feat for myself and Steve to drive together! It doesn't matter.

If I drive with Steve, it will be easier to jump in as the seat will be a lot further back. But I'm not fussed, whatever they decide.

MN: You've been very fast at Bathurst. Is there a reason why you are quick up there?

DC: I don't know. I guess the last two years I've had to pull my finger out and show the guys what I can do so I can secure a drive. That's a bit of the reason behind it but Bathurst is not one for the weak-hearted and I always seem to produce my best there.

MN: You started your V8 career by winning the inaugural development series, but since then it's been a roller coaster. Has the highs and lows made you a tougher

MN; Will we ever see your hair come back? What have the doctors said?

DC: They don't really know about the condition themselves (Alopecia). I only went and saw a doctor when it all first happened just to make sure I wasn't sick. I had tests and all was okay. They just told me to sit back and wait. If it does, it does, if it doesn't, I can still drive a racecar fast.

MN: Were there any positives that you could take out of the year with Briggs?

DC: Yeah, Briggs gave me a break, which got me up there and it did help me a little bit. 1 still had made a bit of an impression by the end of the year. When I got over the hair thing and got on with it, 1 was producing results.

MN: Next year is fast approaching. Is a main game V8 ride the only serious option?

DC: That is the number one priority. Failing that, 1 still want to be driving, but I want more than just a seven round development series. Maybe Carrera Cup, that's a pretty tidy series and the more driving you do the better you'll be.

Ideally though, V8 Supercars is where I want to be MN: You don't have a contract for next year. Have you got your resume sorted?

DC: Yeah, after Eastern Creek, management has updated my results lists. They are coming up to Willowbank to speak to a couple of people with me. motorsporinaws

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E are half-way home.

As Murray Walker might have it, with half of the 2005 V8 Supercar ^ Championship Series gone, there is half to go.

The opening stanzas of the series have seen a lot of action in a lot of different places and a nightmare schedule for the teams. From the most-eastern round of the series in Auckland to the most-western in Perth,from Sydney to China and then to Darwin,teams have been clocking up the Frequent Flyer points.

But that all changes now.

The calendar becomes a little more sane and teams can take the time to plan the rest of the season, rather than race the clock to have the hardware ready for the next round of the series. This has already resulted in a flurry of recent testing.

The big change for the second half of the season is to formats. To this point, every round has featured either two or three races; at Queensland next week we get the first single-race round of the year, which will bring the teams themselves more into play. It

also means that a DNF is a disaster; three times as many points can go out the window in a heartbeat.

Then we need to consider that the Sandown and Bathurst enduros will require two drivers in each car, which places a number of

championship hopes in the hands of some lessexperienced drivers. We also need to consider that drivers must drop their worst round scores before the final three

rounds of the year and that the series finale will take place at Phillip island - a track notoriously hard on tyres.

So, with all that in mind, now is a good time to take a look at

U8 MID YEAR REPORTcrr

a:

Playing the second fiddle to perfection Inspiring- Todd Kelly THE 2005 season has so far been one of two parts for Todd Kelly -the bit that came before Eastern Creek in May, and the bit that came after it.

The early part of the year is ^ i the bit that Todd would like to foroet a new car

championship and detail who is doing the job, who is not. who starred, who crashed too much and venture some questions for the run home ...

points behind Russell Ingall (without taking the dropped worst round into account). How quickly things change.

Car aside, the other element to Kelly's performances this year is simple he is driving extremely well. Mark Skaife has had a number of weekends

experienced team leader.

HRT promised at the start of the year that 2005 would see Team Red return to form, and over the last couple of rounds they have started to deliver upon that. In six weeks, Kelly has manoeuvered himself into r a a position where he wil oe

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Voodoo?

THAT great American philosopher, Forrest Gump's mother,likened life to a box o'chocolates; you never know what you are going to get.

Mrs Gump may well be a fan of the HSV Dealer Team. In just half a year, the renamed squad from Kelly Racing has tasted the highs and the lows of V8 Supercar racing and, pretty much,everything else in between.

Take Adelaide,for instance. Rick KeUy was on pole and looked like being one of the drivers to be reckoned with,especially in qualifying. Four rounds later in Shanghai, with the world watching because of his Buick colours (if nothing else) Kelly qualified last.

Then, to confound matters completely, both Rick and team-mate Garth Tander make the podium next time out,in Darwin.

What the hell is in the water in Clayton?

"To be fair, Adelaide was probably not a fair indication of where we were at the time," says team manager Rob Crawford. "Rick has had his ups and downs and Garth has had appalling luck."

Crawford is right. Tander has had a target on him this season and has been caught up in any number of other peoples'incidents. As for Kelly, it is understandable that a yoimg driver with a new team-mate would be keen to assert himself. He has over-driven at times, the VZ being dragged to apexes at warp speed,,whereas the Rick of old

would subtly convince the car to the apex before hitting the loud pedal. That is what makes him so smooth (particularly in the wet).

But there were signs that he was back with the program in Darwin. Both drivers shine at distance racing and the team appears to be over the mandatory HMS engine honeymoon dramas that afflict PWR now. So HSVDT should be on the pace from now on but, as Forrest's Mama used to say, you never, never know ...

-PHILBRANAGAN

TODD KELLY WOULDN’T STAND FOR ANYTHING LESS "Some of the races we do these days are pretty demanding in a physical sense, so you need every advantage you can get. The Stand 21 is everything I want in a helmet, it’s the lightest forced air helmet you can get, its airflow keeps me much cooler than anything I've ever worn, and you know it's safe because it’s got that Stand 21 sticker on it.

Just like the Stand 21 HANS, you know it’s been thought out a bit better.

There’s no doubt it gives me an advantage. There are a fair few guys who are wearing them now, and I think that says something."

From Helmets to Hans® and suits to boots experience the Stand 21 difference for yourself.

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motorsportnews

U8 MID YEAR REPORT

The Rat Lives Inspiring- Paul Radisich

by MARK GLENDENNING Inspiring - Jamie Whineup GLIGME'S abound that copid describe Jamie Wfhincup's i season so far, but we'll' ; sidestep all of them and : simply say that he has I delivered: all that could have I been expected of him> plus ' interest. : Forced to watch the 2004 ; season from the grandstands : after a. testing rookie year in a diifficult car, the young i Victorian focused ai of his energies into putting together a plan to restart his career.

The result? A seat with Team Dodo, and a fourth outright in : China as the highlight of regular forays into the business end of the field.

"I still go about things in the same way, but the result in China does give confidence, and a better understanding of the car," ' Whineup said.

"You get to know what the feeling is up the front. I still go about my job the same way, but I think the more that you run up the front, and the closer to the pace that you can be, the more you learn and the more understanding you've got of that feeling."

Enough has changed since last season for this to

effectively be a $ecoiid: 'rookie year' for Tasman . Motorsport, and on eoirrent form the future looks bright.

The Dodos are stii very rhuch- iiDi a development phase, but both Whineup and Jason Richards stii have a knack of punehiing above their weight and deltivering results that, on paper, should sometimes be beyond them.

It is only a run of bad fuck on Richards's part that has prevented the team from having both cars in the top dozen on a regular basis, and there is still plenty more to come from both the chassis and the engines.

At present, Whincup's deal is only for this season, but on current form it is hard to imaging reasons not to keep him on into the new year.

In the meantime though, Whineup is just getting on with the job.

"I never expect anything," he stated. "I just go into a race meeting and give 100 percent, and wherever we end up is where we end up.

That said, I never expect to run mid-pack, either. So I just go as hard as I can."

So far, it seems to be working.

- MARK GLENDENNING

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LATE last year, there was much whispering behind transporters in the paddock about what the future held for Paul Radisich - with a popular train of thought suggesting that it involved a lot of lounging around on boats or trading in antiques.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Nobody has ever accused The Rat of being slow, but his move from Triple Eight's BA Falcon to a PMM-builtTeam Kiwi VZ Commodore looks to have added another five years to his career.

Third in Shanghai - Team Kiwi's first ever podium - is the obvious highlight of the year, but Radisich has been lurking around the top 10 just about everywhere that the team has unloaded the car-■' so far this season. The Team Kiwi Commodore is not currently a match

for cars of the SBR or HRT ilk in outright speed, but it sits comfortably with a clutch of other teams who are knocking on the door.

Radisich reckoned that consistent finishes around fifth or sixth in Darwin were a good representation of where the car is at right now, but with the advantages that come from PMM now running two cars, coupled with Alan Draper's recruitment to look after the horsepower side of the equation, things are looking up.

Radisich's performances also reflect well upon PMM's Technical Manager Paul Ceprnich. The South African has long enjoyed a good reputation, but without meaning any disrespect to Paul Morris, it is only noyv that we are really starting - “ . W" to see just what these cars are capable of.

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filings can only g Uninspiring-Davisons, Andrew Jones and David Besnard

Forgiven, not forgotten: If you're not inside the top 12 in the championship, you will be upset about some moments of 2005. But for the Davos, above and above right, A.Jones, top, and Bezzy, below, its been nothing short of a nightmare.

IT is hard to mention the things that are disappointing in the first half of the season without upsetting people so, if someone is going to cop the bullets, it might as weii be the Editor.

The first thing to mention is the

Marshall Cass

iack of speed - or even appearances - of the Davison brothers. Aiex has been hamstrung by a car that rareiy appears (at ieast in his hands) and which is, visibly, dog slow when it does. Will has been ousted by the whole Team Dynamik experience, the most frustrating thing being that so many people counselled him to go anywhere else but there before the season started. We really hope both Davos show some speed when they get seat time in the season semester.

The second name on the list is Andrew Jones. It is a tough world in the Big League and the current Series II Champ has found that there is nowhere to hide, particularly when incidents occur.

The only comfort he may take is that no-one really expects anything much from the second GRM entry.

But in this category there is one standout. In a half-season of multiple-race rounds, it must be really difficult to score almost no points but somehow, David

CHAMPIDNSHIP^

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/KABTSTAHS CHAMPIONSHIP 2^niij5CIKIntercontinental Junior Max KartStars intercontinental C A

Junior Intercontinental A Joshua Scott 140 Richard Rapa 124 Fergus Symes 110 Andrew Gillespie 95 Domenic Marciano 93 36

Daniel Ricciardo 140 Paul Pittam 136 Glenn Powles 122 Steven McGarry 100 Dominic Albanese 48

Bart Price 145 Daniel Erickson 116 Matthew Wall 105 Scott Harrison 99 Jason Bums 97

Jason Pringle 128 Kristian Lindbom 125 Michael Sam Abay 116 Jordie Lindstrom 102 Bradley Tyrell 102

Luke Ellery 138 Jono Taylor 132 Nicholas Foster 120 Kyle Ensbey 108 Dean Matheson 104 motorsportnews

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Please China, don'tjudge us on Otis!

Worst Race -Race 2, China

et better Besnard has managed it. The sight of the WPS car spearing off the track (usually backwards) Is becoming as tedious as it is common.

If he was a rookie, somehow it would be less drastic but it should be remembered that Bezzy started at SBR at the same time as Marcos Ambrose. In his fifth season in The Show, DB is being outscored by his former team mate in the points by a ratio of 4:1.

At present, Besnard remains probably the unfulfilled talent in the series. One senior driver advised him some time ago, “I know you are a good driver, so just go and drive like one.”

We hope that things turn around. After three teams in five years, there cannot be that many chances left...

WE sincerley hope that none of the larger-thananticipated crowd at the Shanghai V8 Supercar round left the track early after witnessing Sunday's processional first race.

The race's lap chart was actually similar to a dead man hooked up to a heartrate monitor. Flat-line city.

From third on the grid, Mark Skaife used some slick pit work by his FIRT crew to get him into the lead.

That folks, was about it.

Besides the turn one and two bump and grind (and Greg Murphy launching his car into the air on a sand dune), it was a bore.

Other than this race though, the V8's first venture to China was an undeniable success.

Despite a few minor issues with the way the whole deal was exectuted, {detailed in MNews #312) it is safe to say that the Supercircus will be going back to China town for the foreseeable future - and beyond.

Best Race - Race 2, Adelaide THEY are the most popular men in the business, and they are what make the business of V8 Supercars such a success.

Russell Ingall, Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife staged one of the most enthralling. entertaining and exciting battles ever seen in V8 Supercar racing during the mid stages of the second leg of the Clipsal 5000 in March.

While eventual race-winner Marcos Ambrose led from the front and skipped into the distance, Skaife started from the back of the field after Race 1 problems. Lowndes was almost immediately placed in close proximity to his former Flolden team-mate after a lap one, turn one clash with Steven Richards. Together, the pair picked their way through the field for nearly the entire 78 laps.

It was when they reached Ingall though that activities got really interesting. If you taped the telecast and were smart

o>rNi ,

enough not to record the latest Big Brother evicition over it, then check out the trio bouncing over the turn one kerbs in synchronisation. Priceless!

Ihgall was the first to drop out of the fight when he flatspotted a tyre, which eventually went flat.

Lowndes, above, soon got past Skaife to finish second, one in front of Skaife, But we shouldn't be in so much awe of this their efforts.

Lowndes: Skaife; Clipsal; burn from the stern ... This a sounds far too familiar.

- GRANT ROWLEY

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VS MID YEAR REPORT

JSiil

Bluest Crash - Craig Baird and Paui Dumbreii DON'T kid yourself, this incident was very messy, and lucky not to have worse consequences.

Jamie Whincup, Craig Baird and Paul Dumbrell were all running in close proximity in the third race at Pukekohoe, when Whincup ran wide on the slighty damp road. Whincup gathered himself up, while Baird slowed and moved to the inside of the track to avoid further complications. But Dumbrell had the same idea, except he

wanted to make a gain out of the situation. They biffed, forcing Baird to slide backwards into a pole (turning his Falcon Into a Focus) and Dumbrell hit both sides of the tracks armco.

Dumbrell was later fined $15,000 and docked 75 points for his part in the clash.

An honourable mention in the crash category should also go to Brad Jones, who tipped his car on its roof two meetings in-arow at Pukekhoe and Barbagallo.

And the 'Murph Man' needs tp be included here as well.

Although not a big impact, he did get some major 'hang-time'.

. s.

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Effective^ Spectacular Best Move- Todd Keiiy on Steven Richards, Race 3,Shanghai, Turn 1, Lap 13

by CHRIS JORDAN IT was as effective as it was spectacular, Todd Kelly’s pass on Steven Richards for the lead of Race 3 at Round 5 in Shanghai.

Most passing moves made at the end of a long straight involve a solid combination of momentum, slipstream and out-braking, but Kelly didn’t merely slipstream Richards down the front straight and power down the inside, he out-cornered him.

This move was all about poise.

38

car control and carrying superior car speed into the never-ending right-hander, without ever running the HRT Commodore wide.

While still behind Richards, Kelly pointed the nose of his HRT Commodore at an early point on the corner’s apex and simply drove inside of Richo as the Castrol car broke in a more conventional manner, washing off speed in a straight line. Kelly however, was turning in like he had a high-grip open-wheeler underneath him.

Kelly enjoys the engineering challenge of being a racing driver.

and it was clear to see as his car showed immense road holding in this awesome move on what is a long corner not suited to a heavy touring car.

This is the kind of pass that can only be executed if a driver has complete faith in the front-end grip of their car. Kelly simply rolled his car into the long corner, leaning on its front-left tyre in a place where most were still in a straight line. The move put him into a race and round winning lead.

Since that move, he really hasn’t looked back ...

●s

t-

motorsportnews

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FTER a long dry spell with a big fat zero in the win coluniin. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally turned the corner and won in Chicago on July 10.

But why the lacklustre performance until the third placing at the Daytona night race, backed up with a Chicago win that must have felt like his first?

Over the off-season, the DEI teams of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael WaJtrip swapped its crews and, amazingly, its inventory of cars, giving Waltrip Earnhardt's 2004 crew and machinery and vice versa. Since that point both have been winiess, but on paper Waltrip is performing the better of the two. So what's going on with the magic number eight car and its icon driver?

Apparently Jr. didn't make the decision to swap crews, but it was a known fact that there were constant squabbles between tris crew and car chief, father and son combination of Tony Eury Sr. and Jr. (Dale's uncle and cousin from one of his late father's previous marriages).

"When you've got something good I guess you should leave it alone," said Eury Sr. "I guess we made a bad move over the winter. Our cars down there in the number eight shop weren't as good as we thought they were."

Junior got a new crew chief in former Busch North Series driver Pete Rondeau, but qualifying and race results left nothing to show for the change, with the pair apparently not communicating well. Enter veteran Steve Hmiel, DEI's technical director, who took over from Rondeau at Charlotte in May. Yet despite the change, results were still not forthcoming. Soon, Earnhardt Jr had fallen to 18th in points. Compare that with 2004, when he won six times and lead more than 600 laps.

It's even possible that the sport's highest profile driver may not make the cut for this year's Chase to the Nextel Cup. "As long as it's mathematically possible, we'll just try to keep working at it," said Junior. "Even when the Chase opportunity is

gone, we've still got to show up at the race track and try to win."

Amazingly it was rumoured that NASCAR was considering the idea of fans 'voting in' one driver who does not make the Chase via the points system, leaving the door open for Junior and Jeff Gordon, who has also been in a slump lately, to edge their way in. But the governing body later denied those rumours, stating that the sport will remain a performance-driven business.

"At this point I don't care about the championship," remai-k^d.

Gordon. "All I care about is getting our stuff going amdi getting^ ourselves to be in races where we put ourselves in contenfilSIW win."

Earnhardt Jr is not at fault for lack of appears to communication between the the DEIapparent teams, but there be a lack of leadership since Teresa Earnhardt took over the helm from her late husband. She's rarely seen in public, but maybe a bigger shake-up is needed in order to get to the bottom of the problems that very obviously exist. Now it seems that Hmiel is steering the ship and information is being shared between the two teams, and perhaps Hmiel is standing up to Junior - who can be a handful on the radio. ' , Hmiel also has a pair of new chassis'cem'ing sho-rtiy that have ., been built to Earnhardt's liking, as opposed to hand-me-downs from Waltrip's stable. So maybe,just maybe,that's what it will take.

There has even been talk of Little E leaving DEI for Richard Childress Racing to drive the number three made famous by his father. He has admitted that before his career ends he would like to drive the #3 car, but he has a contract with DEI through to j 2007 and jumping ship doesn't mean the problems will go away. ' i RCR would have to be on top of its game ,otherwise all eyes will be on them if NASCAR's superhero doesn't perform with them - ' or any other team,for that matter.

Prior to his recent win in Chicago, you could almost have forgotten that Dale Earnhardt Jr was out on the track. So what has gone wrong for NASCAR’s biggest name? And what is being done to turn it around? MAR^ Ct QLARK investigates

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Juan Pablo Montoya put his 2005 troubles behind him and took an emphatic win at Silverstone. JOE SAWARD watched the Colombian’s maiden win in a McLaren

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"UAN Pablo Montoya's victory in the British Grand Prix looked like a close race. And in many ays it was.

Traffic popped up and now and then and made tilings difficult but what was clear was that Juan Pablo Montoya drove as fast as was needed to win the race, but without pushing his McLaren-Mercedes too hard. That is how it is done these days in the world of the two-race engine. There is no need to win by a huge margin.

Thus what looked like a tense race

between Montoya and Fernando Alonso actually flattered the Renault, underlined by the fact that Montoya's best lap was two-tenths off the best recorded by Kimi Raikkonen - and the two men were just under half a second faster than Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso. In other words, they had the pace when they needed it. McLaren s^ has the strongest car at the moment.

One might argue that Montoya's victory was almost a setback for the Woking team because what was really needed at Silverstone was a maximum points score for Raikkonen.

The points system was designed to keep championships open when one team was running away with wins but the counter-effect of that is that 44

the difference between victory and the minor placings is small and so making up ground is tough.

Every point counts and when all is said and done Raikkonen left Silverstone two points belrind Alonso from when he arrived. It highlighted once again that the engine failure rules are counter-productive.

After Kimi suffered an engine failure on Saturday morning, dropping his 10 places on the grid, he never had any realistic chance of victory. Once again, he came thundering through the field and ended up third at the finish. Even that was a bit of a bonus because the place ought to have gone to Giancarlo Fisichella, although his continuing run of dreadful luck saw the Renault veteran stall as he accelerated away at the final pit stop,

T

he outcome of the race was

probably sealed at the start when Montoya went off the line brilliantly.

He did not even have to think about Jenson Button, the next man up the grid, and by the time he got to Copse Corner, Juan was on the outside of Alonso. He was not planning to lift.

The sequence of comers that followed gave him the advantage and at the entrance to the Becketts complex Alonso decided that he had

P Not today, Fernie: Alonso challenged Montoya as he resumed after his pit stop but bad to settle for second place at the chequer. too much to lose to go on with the challenge. Montoya took the lead, knowing full well that it had been a game of risk analysis.

"He had more to lose than I did," Montoya said.

A rather strange (and in the end, unnecessary) Safety Car period was declared within a few moments of the move. Back on the grid, Takuma Sato's BAR-Honda was sitting immobile, the Japanese driver having pushed the wrong button in his cockpit as he cruised towards his grid position. Takuma was distraught, which is not surprising given that his career in FI is beginning to look as

though it is on the Une. By the time the cars reached the spot, however, the car had been pushed away so there was no danger. A lap later the race was on again but the restart provided no opportunities for action up front.

Montoya was off, with Alonso shadowing and trying to stay with the grey car. In the end Montoya pitted first, by which time they were in traffic and it was a question of trying to get a clear lap at the right moment.

Alonso pitted a lap after Montoya and when he emerged, it was touch and go as to whether the McLaren

Pi

motorsportnews

into would still be ahead. But Montoya made it.

The two men then played foliowthe-leader again for another 22 laps but as Montoya had the lighter car he gradually edged away into a seven second lead. Alonso was

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planning to go further but had to make up the time that was lost and once again traffic played a role.

McLaren said that the victory was more to do with predicting the traffic delays and reckoned that it had gained the advantage by bringing in Montoya just as he was coming up to slower cars. Renault seemed a little less flexible.

At the end of the race, the two men were just two seconds apart and while,for those involved, it had been an interesting and tense race,for those watching at home on TV it could not be described as a classic FI encounter.

The strategies brought FisicheUa to third place and he looked to be a solid bet for the podium until the final pit stops he stalled and lost a few vitd seconds. By the time he was going again, Raikkonen was through and ahead. Raikkonen's was the drive of the day, notably in the mid-race when he found himself on a charge but coming up to the slower Alonso.

There was no messing around and Kimi pulled off a very neat pass as 20 July 2005

they braked to go into Stowe Comer.

The other cars were never really in the hunt. Button had done well in qualifying and drove a sensible race, without drama, but the BAR-Honda is still lacking outright speed and so second on the grid became fifth in the race.

"It was evident that we can't expect any more from the car at the moment," he said."We came here hoping that we would benefit from our improvements but they obviously didn't go far enough and we are still some way behind."

The Ferraris looked completely lacklustre from start to finish despite the two drivers going for different strategies; Rubens Barrichello stopped three times, whOe Michael Schumacher stopped twice. The result was pretty much the same and the pair trailed in sixth and seventh, leaving the final point to go to Ralf Schumacher, who had used harder tyres than his team mate Jarno TruUi and was able to race better. Jarno ended the day ninth, the last man who was not lapped.

At the end of the race, Raikkonen relieved his frustration by setting the fastest lap of the race on the final time around Silverstone.

"What else was there to do?" he said.

I FOSTER’S

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So the Tennis is Off, then?

Montoya shows that he is no Juan-team wonder MONTOYA has not had an easy time at McLaren. In part this has been his own fault.

He injured his shoulder and then came back too quickly.

At Monaco he did not help his cause by being dumped down the grid for brake testing Ralf Schumacher in practice. And then came the radio screw-up and red light fiasco in Montreal.

"It's a great feeling winning my first Grand Prix for McLaren," Montoya said.

"The start was perfect, and I managed to get by Fernando in a wheel-to-wheel dice. I was really going for it and knew that he had more to lose than me. I just wanted to win the race. It was then all about staying ahead and our strategy combined with two excellent pit stops really helped me to manage that."

- JOE SAWARD 45

Qualifying

Something Blue^ Something Blew

Many went to Silverstone expecting a straight fight between McLaren and Renault- and that is what they got in qualifying. JOE SAWARD reports

Qualitying f

ESP 1 5 Fernando Alonso Mild Sevefl Renault FI Team 1:19.905 FIN 2 9 Kimi Raikkdnen West McLaren Mercedes GBR 3 3 Jenson Button 1:20.207 Lucky Strike BAR Honda COL 4 10 Juan Pablo Montoya West McLaren Mercedes 1:20.382 ITA 5 16 JarnoTrulli 1:20.459 Panasonic Toyota Racing BRA 6 2 Rubens Barrichello 1:20.906 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro ITA 7 6 Giancarlo Fisichella Mild Seven Renault FI Team 1:21.010 JPN 8 4 Takuma Sato 1:21.114 Lucky Strike BAR Honda GER 9 17 Ralf Schumacher 1:21.191 Panasonic Toyota Racing GER 10 1 Michael Schumacher 1:21.275 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro CAN 11 11 Jacques Villeneuve 1:21.352 Sauber Petronas AUS 12 7 Mark Webber 1:21.997 BMWWilliamsFI Team GBR 13 14 David Coulthard 1:22.108 Red Bull Racing GER 14 8 NickHeidfeld 1:22.117 BMW WilliamsFI Team AUT 15 15 Christian Klien 1:22.207 Red Bull Racing BRA 16 12 Felipe Massa 1:22.495 Sauber Petronas IND 17 19 Narain Karthikeyan 1:23.583 Jordan Grand Prix NED 18 21 Christijan Albers 1:24.576 Minardi FI Team AUT 19 20 Patrick Friesacher 1:25.566 Minardi FI Team POR 20 18 Tiago Monteiro No Time Jordan Grand Prix

FI 11 SILVERSTONE .T.3i0f3r.Ertiic;

FORMULA ONE T was clear from the very start of practice at Silverstone that McLaren was going to be the car that had to be beaten, as it has been in the recent races.

The Renaults used to be the best cars but that edge is now gone and Fernando Alonso is going to have to do what he can to hold on to his lead in the World Championship, Right now, he is 26 points ahead and Kimi Raikkonen is having a run of bad luck so Alonso looks safe - but unless Renault starts to pump out some more performance, things may well change.

The testing at Silverstone had seen a McLaren down in the 1 ml 8s and that got everyone's attention, so when the official practice began for the British Grand Prix it was no surprise at all to see McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa setting the pace, beating Toyota test driver Ricardo Zonta in both Friday sessions. The fastest of the regular racers was Juan Montoya, followed by

Not the time to mention that wacky Finnish sauce ad: Raikkonen is getting plenty of practice pushing his McLaren. For the second straight race, he lost an engine in practice - and 10 grid positions for the race.

Raikkonen. Then there came the two Toyotas and Fernando Alonso's Renault.

The Friday running was relatively incident-free apart

Tackling the Big Issues of Grand Prix racing

THE FIA's recent poll of Formula One fans revealed that a small percentage of viewers think that the cars should be replaced by naked, middle-aged men.

Okay, we made that up but you might have thought otherwise at Silverstone. As part of a lost bet.

Daily Express motor racing correspondent Bob McKenzie downed the strides and ran a lap of the British GP track in nothing more than McLaren paint and a wellplaced protector.

McKenzie was bold enough to predict that last year's McLaren was

20 July 2005

such a dog that he would run a lap of the track in the nicky-noo if it won a race. Of course, Kimi Raikkonen won in Belgium,so it was all systems streak for Bob. "McLaren only won once last year -but once was enough," McKenzie said."A bet is a bet."

McKenzie bravely put up £100 for baby charity Tommy's, which is supported by McLaren boss Ron Dennis. Donations we also received from fans so the suffering of McKenzie -and those who watched

- was for a good cause.

We hear that David Coulthard offered $15,000 if the run was done in suspenders and stockings ... is there something you want to share with us, DC?

from the fact - bizarre though it may be-that Michael Schumacher ran into the back of Nick Fleidfeld's Wiiliams-BMW as they were heading into the pits. The World Champion admitted that he had not been paying enough attention.

On Saturday, we saw Alonso come to the fore in the morning but the big story of the session was that, for the second weekend in succession, Raikkonen's engine failed. Flad this happened 24 hours before, it may not have been as drastic; the team determined that the water pump had failed and that the unit could be changed with the engine in situ - had they had a few hours up their sleeves.

But with qualifying looming, ^ there was no choice. In went a new VI0 and, one assumes, a Whole lot more fuel than if it was all normal. Kimi was going to have to mount another charge.

While all this was unfolding, the Toyotas were still quick, while Jenson Button's BARFlonda was also showing signs of pace when the engines revs were turned up in the final preparations for qualifying.

Button was obviously keen to make a big impression with his home crowd and was on the pace in qualifying. For a while, there was the enticing (but rather unlikely) idea that Jenson might be about to get pole but then in the final minutes of the session Alonso proved to be a party-pooper and stole pole position. The fans were happy that Button was on the front row but pole would have been

nice. Button admitted that he was worried about starting on the dusty side of the road.

"There's always a chance of a podium," Button said. "But if we make a mistake, we won't have it."

All the usual suspects made all the right positive noises about Sunday but logic dictated that the man who should have all the cards in his hand for the race was Montoya. But then with Montoya there has, in recent months, been a question mark over whether or not he would do something silly.

As for Raikkonen, it was the same old story. Under the circumstances, carrying what would turn out to be a lot more fuel than the opposition, to qualify third was remarkable, "There's nothing I can do," said the Finn. "I just have to drive as quickly as I can and we'll see what happens. It's not the way to try to win the World Championship but hopefully it will be the last time."

The others were there or thereabouts but no-one worried that Jarno Trulli might win the race from fourth on the grid. Nor was anyone worried about Rubens Barrichello in fifth.

Giancarlo Fisichella was sixth but nothing ever seems to go right for Fizzy and so he was never really a threat.

Michael Schumacher was ninth but Ferrari is off the pace right now and not looking like a team that is going to challenge for the championship - unless there is a remarkable turnaround by the team, Bridgestone or both.

47

F>CUS ON WEBBER

And you thought it couldn’t get worse?

Nobody really thought things would get better for Williams in the week between France and Silverstone - and they didn’t...

AFTER a mediocre French Grand Prix weekend, Williams went to Silverstone at least hoping to get a better handle on its multi-million dollar investment in the FW27B revision. In the end, the team left the British GP desperately in need of some extensive test mileage after having reverted to the older car to try and get a direct comparison.

The frustration was clear, The aero department had confidently promised fourtenths of a second; tire reality was less.

Indeed, the weekend was to suggest that, at this point at least, the newer spec was slower than the old.

After Friday's two practice sessions, with both Webber and team-mate Heidfeld in newspec cars, and both reporting problems in getting a good balance, a big decision was made. Heidfeld, nearly a second off on comparative timing, agreed to have his car converted back to FW27 spec. There seemed little to lose.

Saturday morning's sessions showed the change to be a plus, Heidfeld closer to Webber and reportmg a generally 'happier' car.

Despite the team spare - available for Webber this weekend - being an FW27 and needing just the engine transplanted from Webber's primary car, time proved to be against managing that prior to qualifying. So for the first time, the duo went in with completely different cars.

"In terms of the weekend.I'd have preferred to run the FW27," Webber told us post-race,"but there was a case to be made

that running the two would help in evaluating where we are with the new car."

In the end, on similar fuel, Webber qualified 12th, Heidfeld 14th. And it was clear that, barring rain or some unplanned dramas elsewhere, race-day would be a long one.

It was. The two cars ran pretty much faultlessly, raced with the Saubers and Red Bulls, and finished 11th and 12th,lapped by the leaders. Not where Williams expects to

be.

Even the official Williams team press release, usually as optimistic as possible, couldn't hide the disappointment: Webber -"If you are starting from 11th position it is usually difficult to score a strong result unless you have a fast car. It w'as very hard for us today, as circumstances were similar to Magny Cours. We didn't have much of a chance quite simply because the car was not quick enough. There's a lot of work ahead of us and we need to get back to form, and do so quickly."

The team then headed for a major test at Jerez without Webber. Despite constant treahnent, the hip burns from Magny Cours had re-emerged during the race: "During the second stint, I could feel that things weren't a hundred percent," Webber said,"so the team and I decided I wouldn't drive at Jerez."

"And then it does this ..." Webber, right, isn't alone in suggesting that his team has a serious problem in the aero department.

Tough Times for the Prancing Hearses

THE British Grand Prix was little more than an embarrassment for Ferrari.

"Clearly, we are simply not fast enough at the moment," said Michael Schumacher after the event. "If you compare our performance from the two North American races to the last two, we appear to be going backwards instead of forwards.

We are just not on the pace of our main

48

competitors at Renault, McLaren or BAR." Team boss Jean Todt is also less than happy.

"Since a few races ago, we have moved backwards," he said. "If you see the lap times during the race, very often this year we did the quickest lap time or very close to the quickest. At Maany-Cours we were 1.3s off, here we were 1.2s

performance during the race because we were missing grip. If you take a few races ago,it's our competitors who had a drop in performance during the race, and we were very strong."

The difficult thing for Ferrari is that no-one seems to understand why this is happening.

-JOE SAWARD

motorsporinews

FORMULA ONE

So little time, so many changes PAOLO FIUSETTI paceO tram France to EnglanO to document all the latestin FI tweaks

WITH only three days to make after a brief debut in France, below. The car features Renaultthe dash from Magny Cours in the French countryside to style chimneys and a front box Silverstone in rural England, wing very similar to Ferrari's, as what could you expect in the did Sauber, which got two new way of technical changes? front wings, below right, on If you answered 'Not much', Saturday after delays with ' you are close to being correct transport from home base in Switzerland. but, as ever, there were small things to see at the British GP. Ferrari made some interesting changes to the front box wing X., and front wing endplates. The endplates, top right, had a bigger cross section and extend under the wing main profile.

Therefore, the box wing profile has increased its chord to provide additional downforce.

The endplates now feature a flat upper profile in their foremost section, increasing their cross sectional area. This increases front downforce by managing the airflow passing over the main wing profile.

Williams had an interesting 'll change, even if it was not entirely new. Following Renault's example in Spain, Williams had two small ears on the top of the chassis, right.

These slightly increase downforce at the front axle and better manage the airflow to the rear of the car.

The rest of the car showed the huge number of changes introduced in France, right.

Large exhaust chimneys gave way to generous Renault-style horizontal gills. Double winglets placed just behind the big chimneys were modified, ^LJ i"*' with the rearmost winglet ●i closer to the upper one.

This is clearly because ) of lower sidepods AU than the previous version, thanks to the reduction of the £E=» cross section of the 3 radiators.

Both cars ran in the Vi £>, same configuration on I Friday but Nick Fleidfeld abandoned the changes V and ran in older spec in qualifying and the race, with no noticable change in speed. These are tough times at Grove ...

Jordan continued development of its 'B' version

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20 July 2005

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49

FORMULA ONE

Juan to Remembop top McLapon

A happy McLaren Managing Director Martin Whitnnarsh spoke to ADAM COOPER

MOTORSPORT NEWS:It was a

way Juan got past Alonso?

great day for Juan Pablo but would you rather have it the other way round with Kimi in front?

MARTIN WHITMARSH:From a

MW:He made a good start and frankly we all realised that an, assertive manoeuvre with Alonso was

simple championship points point of view, then perhaps not. But I think for the team it is a good result, because Juan has had a tough time. Kimi is fairly formidable at the moment,and has been for most of this season.

MN:Is it between you and Renault now?

MW:I think that's been clear for some

to look after his tyres, and his rear tyres in particular.

From a few laps into the race he was completely mature,completely smooth,did exactly what he had to do. Obviously, he took a view on strategy, we told him,'right we need to open a seven second gap here', and bang, he delivered a seven second gap. He had a tough time with traffic

MN:Obviously the key was the start.

How impressed were you with the

time. We haven't puUed clear in the way that Renault have,but I think we're starting to now. A lot of the cars there are being lapped, and we've got a good performance. Renault are strong, but I happen to think we are stronger, but perhaps I'm biased! We'll see what happens in the current races.

Grand Prix of Great Britain I

^

Grand Prix 60 laps 305.256km RACE RESULT 1 ! Montoya 1:24:29.588 1:20.700 41 1:24:32.327 1:21.228 40 I 2 Alonso 3 iRaikkonen 1:24:44.024 1:20.502 60 1:24:47.502 1:21.159 43 4 Fisichella i 1:25:09.852 1:21.993 42 5 Button 6 M. Schumacher 1:25:44.910 1:21.675 23 7 Barrichello 1:25:46.155 1:22.302 41 8 R. Schumacher 1:25:48.800 1:21.960 46 9 Trulli 1:25:50.439 1:22.112 56 10 Massa 59 laps 1:22.466 45 11 Webber 59 laps 1:23.291 16 12 Heidfeld 59 laps 1:23.360 58 13 Coulthard 59 laps 1:23.089 44 14 Villeneuve 59 laps 1:23.210 16 15 Klien 59 laps 1:23.147 58 16 Sato 58 laps 1:22.551 54 17 Monteiro 58 laps 1:24.247 38 18 Albers 57 laps 1:26.182 53 19 Friesacher 56 laps 1:26.489 37

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50

consequence. But he figured that out for himself, and decided that he had

many thousands of kilometres. It's frustrating of course because if you have something that's consistently weak,then you can address it.

MN:So if it had happened on Friday afternoon and not Saturday morning you might have been able to do something?

MW: We may have been able to.

Constructors' Points: Renault 102, McLarenMercedes 87, Ferrari 74, Toyota 54. BMW.Williams 47. Red Bull'Cosworth 22, Saubcr-Petronas 13.

Jordan-Toyola 11, BAR-Honda 9, Minardi 7.

I MW:Juan settled down into a great g race. Early on he was ^ slightly overdriving, and the car looked a bit loose as a

Technically you can change the auxiliaries on an engine. It was part of that package. We don't fully understand what happened. It looks as though it was not a fatigue failure.

It's from a batch that's been nm for

engine change. It would have been difficult to change without breaking the seal, it may not have been an easy job, and we had limited time to get the car ready and get it out.

Drivers' Points: Alonso 77. Raikkonen 51, IVl Schumacher 43, Trulli and Barrichello 31, Montoya 26, Fisichella and Heidfeld 25, R Schumacher 23, Webber 22, Coulthard 17, Button 9, Massa 7, ' Monteiro, Wurz and Villeneuve 6, Karthikeyan 5, de la Rosa, Klien and Albers 4, Freisacher3, Liuzzi 1.

MN:Were you relieved when Alonso only did one more lap at the first stops?

MW:Clearly we're monitoring people's strategies, and it ran pretty much to the arrangements tlrat we expected. We decided that we had to open up enough of a gap to give us that margin that we needed.

I overall performance?

MN:Can you confirm what happened to Kimi's engine?

MW:It was a water pump driveshaft.

The water pump is in the auxiliary pump package alongside the engine.

You can remove it, but it's a question of time to rebuild the engine.

It happened at a point where we didn't have too much time,and therefore we were forced to make the

10 laps 1:25.257 st Fastest Lap Raikkonen on lap 60.1:20.502

tlie remaining races,and then we'll get the job done.

MN:What do you think of Juan's

massively important. I think weTl see liim in a new competitive spirit in the coming races.

ONF .Karthikeyan

neutral thing. The reality is he beat Alonso fair and square today, which I think he is capable of doing. What we need to do now is to make sure both our drivers finish in front of Alonso in

probably the right thing to be doing at the moment,as long as it's clean and fair.

I think for him to come and get that result, his first McLaren win, was

British

at one point, but then so did Alonso.

Traffic was difficult for botlr cars, and ultimately 1 think it was about a

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He

H/s title chase may have suffered a set-back, but Dean Canto's speed cannot be questioned. GRANT ROWLEY was at a damn chilly Eastern Creek

A

FTER finishing the previous round with a very bent car.

Dean Canto finished the third round of the HPDC V8 Supercar Series with a very big smile after he scored his second round win for the year at Eastern Creek Raceway two weeks ago.

In bitterly cold and windy conditions. Canto was superior. He qualified on pole, took a tight Race 1 win and again proved his strength in the final race, despite an average start.

Warren Luff stitched up a solid second overall, while Tony D'Alberto survived a Race 3 clash with series leader Adam Macrow to claim third

T

V-

outright in his Bellmont Commodore.

Keeping warm was one thing, but beating Canto this year is proving to be another ...

Race 1(12 laps) Simday dawned and windy.

Winton, Mallalacold or Phillip Island at their worst are warmer ... it was that cold.

Canto, Macrow and Luff all made equal starts and were locked together for the 12 laps. There was ho passing, no rubbing, and no one broke away.

Everyone expected Canto to tundle off into the distance, but it didn't happen. Macrow stayed with the

Canto and proved his worth as the series leader. Luff likewise was only a whisker behind but happy enough to collect the points.

While the leading three skipped into the distance, D'Alberto dug himself a deep, deep hole at the start.

But what made his start look worse was the fact that Jose Fernandez and Phillip Scifleet tore away like Top Fuel dragsters. D'Alberto dropped to seventh and was forced to play catch up from there.

The minor places were sorted on lap five when Scifleet nipped past Fernandez at turn four. Lee Holdsworth tried to take advantage and pass Fernandez around the

outside at turn five,but the pair clashed, which allowed the advantageous D'Alberto to swoop past both of them. It took D'Alberto six laps to get past Scifleet to claim fourth.

Holdsworth's run came to an end when his Commodore lost oil pressure. He completed the necessary race laps after a quick pit stop and finished dead last. An engine change was completed between races to ensure he would start at the front of the field in the reverse grid race (ironically, Holdsworth started from pole in the reverse grid race in 2004).

Grant Denyer wrapped up seventh place after a heroic pass on Mark Porter at the end of the front straight on lap five. Porter finished eighth from team-mate Gary MacDonald and Tony Evangelou.

Race 2 Reverse Grid (16 laps) For those customers track (allpaying 12 of you), they at the witnessed a clean,fair and entertaining race.

Holdsworth,courtesy of his pole position, was untouched at the front of the pack. Even a Safety Car period for Dean Savage, who beached his Jim Beam Racing Commodore in the

32

tnotorsporliiews

HPPC V8 SUPERCARS

Weather God

I

P

sand trap at turn 11, didn't allow anyone to get near him.

At the back of the pack though,it was not imcommon to see three cars spread-eagled across the track. While most got through unscathed, Fernandez didn't.

At the restart after the SC period, Fernandez drove around the outside of four cars at turn two in the move of the day. A lap later at the same spot, Gary Deane and Robert Jones got together, which turned Jones into Fernandez's front right wheel. Jones retired from the race, Deane was able to continue and Fernandez pitted for some treatment. The Fijitsu-backed car was soon out though due to excessive damage.

Holdsworth's fellow front-row

AS is the normal practice in any V8 Supercar event,the slower 50 percent of the field qualify first, while the faster 50 percent wait and watch in the garages.

Unless something major happens, the fast guys end out on top, and the slow guys get put in their place. At Eastern Creek, all this went to plan, but for a few brief moments, it looked like it could turn pearshaped.

As soon as the gate opened for the fast runners to set their times, the cold Sydney weather turned wet. The rain wasn't heavy, but it was enough to clean the track. The weather didn't last, and Dean Canto bagged his third pole in a row, which he could possibly thank his team-mate for ...

"I've got a contact or two at the bureau of meteorology so I called them 20 minutes before the start of the session to find out what was happening in the skies above Sydney," Channel 7 weather man and DJR's Grant Denyer said.

"We knew it was going to rain and then clear up so we knew not to go too hard at the start."

Canto ended up over 0.3s quicker than next best Adam Macrow, who was merely in front of championship rivals Warren Luff and Tony D'Alberto. Both Luff and D'Alberto claimed they were held up on their fast laps.

Category returnee Lee Holdsworth qualified a solid fifth, despite having trouble remembering which; braking

marker to take, due to him completing double duties in the V8s and Formula Ford.

[X ..

Phillip Scifleet was well down on the leading five, but content with sixth. Denyer, right, continued to improve and ended the session seventh from Jose Fernandez, who despite having no sixth gear, was happy to have speed. Mark Floward

J

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HPDCVBS Rd 3 Eastern Creek, NSW Pds/Nd I

Dr i ver | car/team | t i me

1 2 3

71 27 60

Dean Canto Adam Macrow Warren Luff

4 5

99 72

Tony D’Aiberto Lee Holdsworth

6" 7

65 81

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

26 37 30 31 41 98 69 42 28

Phillip Scifleet Grant Denyer Jose Fernandez

17 18

91 68

Mark Howard Tony Evangelou Mark Porter

Gatorz Racing Falcon BA Betta Electrical/Breakfree Res Falcon BA Decina Racing Falcon BA Tony D'Alberto Commodore VY Smiths Trucks / Lubrimax Commodore VY Doric Racing Falcon AU Summit/Jax Racing Falcon BA Fujitsu Racing Falcon BA Betta Electrical/Breakfree Res Falcon BA Dexion Racing Falcon BA Hyundai Construction Racing Falcon BA

Gary MacDonald

Kanga Loaders Racing Falcon BA MacArthur Fleet Service Commodore VX

Robert Jones JayVerdnik Dean Wanless

Spies Hecker Racing Commodore VX Hi-Trans Commodore VY

ISrarTtElirott

Gary Deane Shane Beikoff' Aaron McGill

19_ 32 20' 56 21 62

John Henderson Scott Leadsman

22 86 h' " 57 24 80 25 40

Greg Smith Dean Savage Barry Tanton Mark Papendell

Smartskipfalcon AU Custodian Wealth Buildera Falcon AU Shane Beikoff Racing Falcon AU Dux Hotwater Commodore VX Messertech Race Developments Falcon AU C and L Racing Commodore VX Fljitsu Ford Falcon AU Jim Beam/JPS Automotive Commodore VX Formula Group Falcon AU Superloc

starter John Henderson stayed in second for the first part of the race before falling to the speed of the fast guys. Porter was the first to relieve Henderson of the spot and stayed in that position until an aggesive but calculated Luff passed him at turn two on lap 14. Canto did the same two corners later and finished the race in third ahead of Porter, D'Alberto and Scifleet.

Canto's weekend was nearly turned upside down when the plastic passenger window fell out of place and swung in the breeze. He was given the meatball flag on the last lap, but no action was taken.

continued on page 54 20 July 2005

and Tony Evangelou rounded out the top 10.

Notable exemptions from the top bunch was the SER duo of Mark Porter and Gary MacDonald.

Porter flat-spotted a tyre early and couldn't get the gain he wanted from the second set, while MacDonald led the lower 50 percent qualifiers until getting shuffled back.

- GRANT ROWLEY

Kanga Unloading: Cary MacDonald turned Mark Howard around in the third race, above, but by then, the podium was already sorted. Right, Luff, D'Alberto and Canto display the silverware.

1:33.5443s Y:33.8644s 1l33.9I35s l:34.1977s 1:35.1739s 1;35.3439s ^;35.629^ 1:35.8261s *1:35l8955s 1:35.9229s 1:36.0179s i:36.3299s 1:36.8262s 1:373860s 1:37.9776s 1:38.0970s 1:3B.2012s 1:38.5S16s 'i:38.9675s 1:39.9527s 1:41.1638s 1:42.3041s 1:43.5346s

NA

continued from page 53 But where was Macrow? The Betta Electrical driver had made a poor start from the back row and took a self-confessed conservative approach through the field. At mid-race distance, he hadn't even cracked the top 10 but the Triple 8 endurance man eventually finished seventh.

Behind Macrow was MacDonald and Evangelou, who was involved in a tight dice with the Grants (Elliott and Denyer). Denyer actually gave Evangelou a serve or teo, whicli pushed his rear guard onto the tyre.

Before Denyer could pass the Dexion car, he ran wide and dropped Iris place

h-

5 <[

a

to Elliott. Dean Wanless finished 12th wliile Henderson fell to 13th in front of Scott Loadsman and Aaron McGiU.

Race 3(22 laps) he final race would have been a

T

total snore if Canto had got off the line OK. But as it turned out, he made an awful start, which dropped the Gatorz car to tliird. D'Alberto

took advantage and slotted into second behind Luff, while Porter made one of Iris typical blockbuster starts to sit fifth.

It only took Canto two tours to dispose of D'Alberto, and anotlier two to irip inside Luff for tire lead at turn 11. Luff didn't give in without a fight

lELLNiam

Holding Holden: Tony D'Alberto, above, scored bis second podium for the year. Lee Holdworth, right leading Race 2, made a successful return to the V8 Supercar ranks.

Storage Products for the Auto Industry from Yniir npyinn Riinolv Centre mm

moiorsporinews

HPDC V8 SUPERCARS though and they passed the front straight side-by-side. Canto had the inside running, and raced on to claim his second round win of the year. A slower car on one lap cost him tv\'o seconds and allowed Luff to close the margin,but even that wasn't enough.

Canto later said that he was over cautious at the start of the race.

"The officials told me that I crept at the start of Race 1 and that they were going to watch me," he said. "I don't want to talk about my start though! It made me work a bit harder for it."

Luff admitted that he didn't have the car speed to take the fight to Canto, but was happy with the points.

"1 just took the race lap by lap," said. "It was unfortunate that I didn't have the car speed. It was a good passing move on his part, a bit of a rub,but it was all fair."

The racing may have been aU-fair up front, but behind them, Macrow copped a penalty for turning D'Alberto around.

"I blocked going into turn two," D'Alberto recalled."He gave me a couple of taps which unloaded the rear of the car. It wasn't a big hit, but enough to lose some positions."

"It was a bit disappointing," Macrow countered."He backed off as I was accelerating and I touched him on the wrong spot at the wrong time."

D'Alberto lost his place to Scifleet, but soon got back by. Macrow dropped to seventh after the drivethrough penalty, but remains at the top of the series table.

Scifleet stayed in fourth, only to be overhauled by an impressive Holdsworth on lap 20. Denyer finished a solid sbcth, who again had to find a way past Porter who jumped him at the start. Denyer proved that the more miles he gets in these cars, the faster he's going to go. Watch out Canto!

Macrow,Porter, Fernandez and MacDonald rounded out the top 10.

Mark Howard was running with the top group before a collision with MacDonald at turn two spoiled his consistent run.

Evangelou got caught up with Wanless early in the race after the fast-starting Smartskip Falcon ran wide around Corporate Hill.

Evangelou pounced,but copped a flat front right after the pair collided.

Evangelou pitted for a tyre change, but had to visit the pits again when he exceeded the speed limit.

The series moves now from the cold and barren grandstands of Eastern Creek to the temperaturefriendly and packed grass mounds of Queensland Raceway this weekend.

D'Alberto will be the odd man out, as the three fast Falcons of Canto, Macrow and Luff use the circuit as their testing ground. Will they have an advantage? Can a Commodore get a round win this year? Is QR going to be warmer than EC? MNews can only give a certain answer to the final question...

20 July 2005

Best Ofthe rest MAKING the headlines this year in the HPDC V8 Series is tough. Canto is clearly the man to beat, but his misfortune at Wakefield Park means the big story now is; Can he bridge the gap to Macrow, Luff and co?

One driver who has had no headlines - and has no gaps to bridge - is Phillip Scifleet.

The Doric-backed driver has finished all bar one race in the top 10 this year, and is currently fourth in his Cruickshank AU Falcon, It isn't state-of-the-art

HPDCVBS Rd 3 Eastern Creek, NSW PoB I Driver|Race Time|Fastest [ Lap Race

equipment, but its doing the trick at the moment.

"The AU has always struggled with understeer," he said. "If you look at the lap times during the race, I'm only a few tenths off the BAs, but I lose most of my time in first few laps when the tyres are cold and tanks are full. There's not much else I can do with it.

"But I'm happy and the team is as well. I'd like to be able to challenge the leaders, but we'll just keep at it and hope to finish inside the top three."

- GRANT ROWLEY

1.

Canto

2.

Macrow

3.

Luff

Denyer Porter _

1^

19:36.5698 1:36.7724 'r9:3'9T343‘" '\:37.U67

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19:45.6314 T9:59.6771

1:38.0612

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20:06.8116

1:38.9965

6

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1:37.8202

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14. Howard

20:13.7784

1:38.0657

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15. Verdnik

20:14.3900

1:37.7675

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1:38.4858

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20:28.4040

1:39.7504

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20:37.3750

1:41.0217

9

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20:48.7040

1:41.8818“"’7’

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23. Henderson

11 laps 11 laps

1:44.0186 1:40.4566

24. Holdsworth

11 laps

1:37.1649

2

DNF Leadsman

10 laps

1:40.9181

5

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1

Holdsworth

29:44.9235 1:35.3928*

2.

Luff

29:55.3150

1:35.4539

12

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29:57.2420

1:35.4265

12

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29:59.4571

f:36.884o’

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D'Alberto

6.

Scifleet

30:01.7118 30:07.3689

1 :_3_6^5«0 _ 13 1:37.1015 13

7.

Macrow

8.

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_30:0^8787 30:09.5465

1:35.93_70 __13 1:37.3239 11

9.

Evangelou

10^_Elliott 11. Denyer 12. Wanless

30:16.6341 1^37.3789 13 30:17.8855 ”l:l8V2T57” lV 30:20.1033 30:21.2026

1:37.7741 _ 11 1:37.1651 11

13. Henderson

30:24.0285

1:39.2358

14. Leadsman

30:30.4269 30:36.3680

1:39.0593 _J3 1:38,6173 11

30:41.593^ 30:47.8485

1:38.6659 _ 13 1:39.5104 \3

18. Deane

30:51.2329

1:40.7822

15

19. Papendell

30:54.0281

1:39.3984

16

20. Tanton

31:27.8583

1:43.3681

7

DNF Smith

14 laps

DNF Savage DNF Verdnik

1:40.0658 1:41.5550

7 3

10 laps

1:40.7988

7

DNF Fernandez

10 laps

1:40.5462

7

DNF Jones

9 laps

1:40.6458

2

15.

McGill

16.

Howard

17.

Beikoff

Race 3

11 laps

11

22 LAF>5

1.

Canto

35:18.4957 1:34.9024*

6

2.

Luff

35:19.0749

1:35.3115

8 6

3.

D'Alberto

35:41.1487

1:35.5945

4.

Holdsworth

3^48.4063

1:35.72_5_6_

5.

Scifleet

35:49.'8463"”l:36.7J56' 7 35;52'5265 ’T:'36.4219 ’ ’l2

6._ l^n^r_ 7.

Macrow 8._ 9.

Porter_ Fernandez

10. MacDonald 11.

Reverse grid .. typical: Savage spun into the sand trap early in Race 2, top. Deane and Jones got together as well, above, which damaged Fernandez's front right, plus his chances of a good result.

5

19:44.4618 _’l[3'7’5292 19:44.5917’ "l:'37.i727

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# Window & Door Hardware to//c Doric

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35:52.7835

1:35.4850

36:08.9700

1:37.0440

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36:11.1316

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36:29.5747

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36:51.5411

1:38.9687

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14. Howard

36:52.0334

1:38.0565

3

15. Papendell 16. Henderson

35:20.1970

1:38.8745

3

35:22.1784

1:38.9327

7

21 laps

1:40.3605

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17.

Beikoff

18. Deane 19. Leadsman

21 laps 1_:39^5452 _"9 21 laps"l:39.9436 "s

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21 laps

1:37.4185

21 laps

1:41.7508

14 2

22. Savage 23. Wanless

21 laps

1:41.9986

3

19 laps

1:37.8482

3

DNF Tanton

15 laps

1:43.4754

15

DNF Jones

4 laps

1:39.4398

3

HPDCVBS POINTS Macrow 526, Luff 502, D'Alberto 494, Scifleet 488, MacOoanId 472, Canto 444, Porter 396, McGill 389, Howard 380, Eiliott 343, Fernandez 310, Beikoff 309, Papendell 303, Wanless 302, Denyer 282, Evangelou 252, Smith 241, Henderson 238, Leadsman 237, Deane 221, Brede 168, Wallis 150, Holdsworth 140, Verdnik 128, Tanton 126. Savage 118, Jones 30

55

HANE Price took his first Australian Formula Ford round victory at Eastern Creek two weeks ago.

The young Victorian lost time on a patch of oil on the first lap of the first race, but stormed through the field to eventually claim the fourth round of the series, and a slice of second place outright.

"The car was awesome all weekend," tine Caltex Havoline Spectrum 010b driver said. "1 think 1 had the fastest car out there, which I hope continues for the rest of the season."

This was the second National Formula Ford round at the western Sydney track in as many meetings and local driver David Sieders made it two poles in a row in his Sonic Motor Racing Services Van Diemen RF04.

Price jumped Sieders at the start of Race 1 but tripped on oil at turn eight, allowing Sieders to lead for the majority of the race. He was only threatened by Kiwi Jason Liefting, who headed the field briefly on lap two.

Price dropped down as far as 13th before mounting an amazing comeback. He finished third ahead of Brett Hobson and Nathan Caratti, who drove well after an average qualifying session.

Runaway championship leader Daniel Elliott suffered an off-track

Price and Sieders haui in Eiiiotts big championship iead excursion, which holed his radiator and put him out of the race.

CAMS Rising Star Paul Laskazeski was running strongly in second place until he picked a wrong gear and bent a whole swag of engine bits that aren't meant to be bent.

Race 2 saw Sieders fire into the lead quickly and make a break. He was brought back to the pack though when the Safety Car was called out to remove the stranded Fastlane Racing cars of Mark McNally and Caratti after the pair embarrassingly ran into

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each other at the turn eight hairpin. pulled off a big move at turn two on the penultimate lap. Heading on to The race restarted on lap five, but more chaos reigned before the cars the main straight that same tour, he dropped a wheel in the dirt, allowing had even passed the start finish line.

Price through for his maiden round Elliott, Anthony Preston, win.

Laskazeski, Grant Doulman and a host of others tumbled over each Having scored no points from the first two races, series leader Elliott other as the slow-moving Safety Car needed a change of luck. That came peeled off. Preston, Elliott and in Race 3 when he finished third, Doulman were out, while Laskazeski nabbing Liefting on the last lap for continued with minor damage. the final spot on the podium.

Amongst the confusion. Price Elliott's Eastern Creek woes may slipped past Sieders into turn one make this the round he rues as and raced on to victory. Sieders was Sieders and Price are now just 15 blind though, as his left wing mirror n had fallen off, and he couldn't see points adrift with four rounds to go. where Price was.

The next stop for the series is at Queensland Raceway this weekend.

Lee Holdsworth, who was doing double duties in Formula Ford and Liefting grabbed fourth place, plus third for the round, while the HPDC V8s, was the star of Race 2.

Holdsworth,Laskazeski, Hobson and After a Race 1 DNF(when he picked Joel Spychala rounded out the top first rather than third gear), he . eight. stormed his way through the pack Fiore's difficult weekend was and pounced on Hobson and Liefting made even worse when he was taken while they squabbled over third. out of the last race after a hit in the Holdsworth rounded them both up left rear by Caratti. within a few laps to take third, -GRANT ROWLEY leaving Liefting in fourth from Hobson and Dean Fiore.

Points: Elliott 163, Sieders 148, Price 148, Price led the majority of Race 3 and Liefting 118, Fiore 88 Hobson 82, McNally 58, Caratti 54, Andrew Thompson 46, Spychala 46. was only not in front when Sieders

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The pitfalls of turn two: Dean Fiore, above, got a major hit from Nathan Caratti in Race 3, while below, Lee Holdsworth was lucky not get the same treatment from Brett Hobson.

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: Can anybody stopXody Croeke/s^ charge towards the 2005 ARC title? m

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HEY say achieving the perfect recipe for success is the key to victory in rallying, and Cody Crocker appears to have found all the ingredients in exactly the right proportions.

Crocker clocked up his sixth straight rally victory with his win in Round 3 of the Australian Rally Championship in Tasmania, posting another dominant performance at the wheel of his Subaru.

Combining equal amoimts of skill and daring with a large doUop of great service back-up and a dash of luck, Crocker has clinched wins in three International events and three ARC rounds and is well on the way to securing his third consecutive national championship.

Crocker's speed and consistency has set the standard so far and the fast and treacherous conditions in Tasmania's Huon Valley proved no obstacle for the Victorian, who won Heat 1 by 39.6s and Heat 2 by 33.2s.

38

m Not even a damaged gearbox early on the first day prevented Crocker from clinching the win, his crew swinging into action to change the unit in just 20 minutes at the first service on Saturday morning.

"It was a tough weekend, we've been flat out and pushed by everybody," said Crocker.

"It's certainly not been easy. I think everything went right for us and everybody else had a bit of trouble at some stage. I was fortunate to have got a lead and not have to push some of stages were incredibly slippery.

"It's all the more sweeter because our crew had to complete the gearbox change; their hard work kept us in the game,and undoubtedly helped us to victory."

Crocker won 10 of the 12 stages on Day 1 and posted an equally dominant performance on Day 2.

Scott Pedder turned over a new leaf after crashes in the two previous rounds caused him to rethink his

approach. Taking second in both heats and second overall for the weekend,Pedder was rewarded for his adjustment and was ecstatic at the end of the rally.

"I realised I was probably overdriving the car, especially after looking at some of the vision," said Pedder.

"So I did some soul searching, went back to square one and made the car easier to drive as well as adopting a more sensible approach and it seems to have worked."

Pedder's crash in Queensland had presented Alan Heaphy's Mitsubishi team with a few headaches,not the least being having to remove a display car from the front of the team's headquarters at Dandenong which involved demolishing a wall.

This car was turned into Tedder's competition machine for Tassie, and he was so rapt in the machine he now wants to use it for the remainder of the year.

TTie demise of Simon Evans after a

rollover on stage four of the opening day removed some of the intensity of the fight behind Pedder. The Toyota driver had moved to an early lead on Day with Crocker's gearbox problems aiding his cause, but the balance quickly changed.

"I missed the line on the corner, went out wide, and dropped the front of the car into the hole and it stopped on its roof. In my experience of rollovers,it was a soft one," Evans said.

His crew changed the windscreen at service and had the hardcharging driver back out, but he was never able to challenge from that point on.

Punctures meant Evans was never in the fight in Heat 2,leaving the battle for third to Juha Kangas in the Walkden team Subaru and a fast and consistent Jack Monkhouse in his Lancer.

In a rally marked by more bad luck for Toyota, team leader Neal Bates had a turbo pipe come loose early on

motorsportnews

fort *1*^ *Vl^,

Straight from the showroom: Mitsubishi's emergency measures to get Redder back on the road after Queensland worked a treat, above, but the red cars still couldn't do anything about Crocker, left. ,v,

\

RESULTS HEAT 1 SATURDAY 1 Cody Crocker/Dale Moscatt Subaru Impreza.

2 Scott Pedder/Glen Weston

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3 Juha Kangas/Julia Rabbett

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4 Jack Monkhouse/R Cochrane

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Day 1, dropping him to 24th before fighting back to eighth, while young team-mate Ben Barker was forced to retire with drive failure on stage nine.

Kangas was pleased with third on Day 1 ahead of Monkhouse,while privateer Steve Glenney's fifth was impressive, finishing in front of Brad Goldsbrough and youngster Benni Tirant.

1 A Thile Toyota had the major share V V of misfortune,Subaru's Dean Herridge was not without his dramas,losing time after an off in muddy conditions early on Day 1 before eventually coming home ninth.

Herridge recovered on Day 2 to fight for second place with Kangas and Pedder, with the works Subaru driver taking third behind Pedder.

Kangas's consistency gave him third overall for the round.

It was Kangas' third podium this year, and made up for the disappointment of not being able to 20 July 2005

at04SB3s

5 Steve Glenney/Bernie Webb ilMMS: :Subaru Impreza 6 Brad Goldsbrough/Paul Humm SubarMm0feM 7 Benni Tiran1/Ben Searcy > "Su'baru.Impreza' 8 Neal Bates/Coral Taylor defend his Safari Tasmania victory from last year.

With those pesky punctures, Evans finished the second heat in fifth, 45s behind Crocker, while Bates suffered more problems with the Corolla's intercooler hose,loosing boost for almost 15 kilometres of the rally's longest stage.

Sydney motor dealer Kevin Shaw produced the surprise performance of the event, claiming second fastest on the opening stage of Heat 2 and taking sixth outright in his Lancer Evo VI. Will Orders posted a near-perfect performance to win both Heats in the Subaru Challenge, making up for some bad luck in Queensland.

With three rounds down and three stiU to go, the Championship moves on to South Australia in the first week of August, where Crocker will be aiming to extend his winning run while the likes of Pedder,Evans and Herridge will be hoping to loosen his grip on the title.

Af least it got some TV time: Evans, above, got some good times out of his Corolla (at least, he did when all four wheels were pointing downwards) while Kangas, below, picked up more points from a consistent weekend.

laBlbyota C^blla

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HEAT 2 SUIVIDAY 1 Cody Crocker/Dale Moscatt 56:36.Bs L Subaru Impreza 2 Scott Pedder/Glen Weston 57:10.2s Mitsubishi Lancer 3 Dean Herridge/Bill Hayes

Slubaru Impreza

57:12;0s

4 Juha Kangas/Julia Rabbett

Subaru Irrfpreza

57:lB:ls

5 Simon Evans/Sue Evans

Toyota Corplla

57:23.0s

6 Kevin Shaw/John Allen

Mitsubishi Lancer

57:39,6s

7 Benni Tlrant/Ben Searcy 58:19.6s Subaru Impreza 8 Ben Barker/Damien Long

P?-Tdyota Corolla'

58:30.25

Points: Crocker 123, Herridge 70, Evans 62, Kangas 52, Goldsbrough 44, Pedder 36, Bates 28, Monkhouse 28.

ARC RD3 TASMANIA 59

Argentina's WRC round was a reflection ofthe previous five for Sebastien Loeb.JON THOMSON reports on the latest installment ofthe Frenchman's record streak

s

EBASTIEN Loeb continues to rewrite the record books as the 2005 WRC season unfolds, claiming a record sixth straight win (and his seventh for the year)in a tough and hard-fought Rally Argentina.

The Citroen driver had a fight on his hand through most of the three days of the South American round as Peugeot rival Marcus Gronholm took the fight to him until a lack of fresh rubber over the closing stages blunted the attack.

Loeb's victory breaks compatriot Didier Auriol's record of six wins in a season. However even Auriol didn't claim as many consecutive victories, with most believing the Citroen pilot should extend his winning streak across the seven remaining rounds this year.

60

Gronholm tried hard to break Loeb's grip on the Argentine trophy, particularly on Day 2 when the Finn won four of the day's seven stages but used up his tyre reserves doing it.

Despite being down to his last two tyres, Gronholm was able to hold off Subaru's Fetter Solberg, whose third place left him pondering his evaporating Championship hopes.

No matter which way it is viewed, Loeb's performance was dominant, the Frenchman taking fastest times on nine of the 22 stages.

"For sure, we weren't expecting so much at the start of the season," said Loeb."To win six rallies in a row like this is incredible, it was the win most difficult to obtain this season.

"It's been really tough in the conditions, we've had everything, Marcus was pushing very hard

behind and I had to drive very hard all the time in difficult conditions. A lot of time I was close to a mistake."

The Argentine round was in stark contrast to the brace of hot dusty rallies over the past two months and dished up near-freezing weather and damp roads along with the enormous number of water splashes that are the signature of the South American rally Citroen boss Guy Frequelin was delighted Loeb was able to win in the very difficult conditions.

"It's a good result, especially as the terrain is very different from the recent hot rallies. It shows we've got the performance in any conditions," said Frequelin, who was also pleased that young Belgian charge Francois Duval brought his Xsara home in eighth and - more importantly unscathed.

With the mercury diving to around four degrees and occasional ice patches adding to the challenge, Gronholm had his work cut out, particularly with only two of the softest Pirellis available for the final leg's five stages. The conditions and tyre situation was enough to deter him from an all-out offensive,so after the day's first stage, both he and Solberg settled for their podium places.

"We were just trying to finish," said Gronholm,"it was not possible to catch Sebastien, it was so slippery.

Second is OK,but not when the same guy is winning six times in a row."

Solberg looked to be in a good position to challenge for both second and potentially the win until a brake problem on Day 2. The Norwegian had some stones caught between a

motorsport news

Mitsubishi 41, Skoda 8.

WRC 9 ARGENTINA rear wheel and the brake caliper, which loosened the caliper and released the brake fluid,losing valuable time and after that he was never in a position to challenge.

"We lost all the brake fluid so zero brakes, I blocked it after the stage and then on the last stage I went off twice," said a still optimistic Solberg.

"It's been a good weekend generally, there are small details that we have to improve. If we hadn't had the brake problem we could have been fighting at the top."

It was a steady and measured effort from Aussie Chris Atkinson, who brought the second Subaru home in ninth place.

Atkinson was as high as seventh during the opening leg and hovered just inside the top 10 across the final two legs, with the goal of finishing 20 July 2005

and getting some miles under his belt following some disappointing results recently.

"The pace all weekend has been good and I'm pleased that, since there have been so few retirements," said the Queenslander.

"I can set good times against the top guys while still driving comfortably. It takes some experience to go flat-out here. I'm pretty happy, for the first time here it was good."

Ford's Toni Gardemeister and Mitsubishi's Harri Rovanpera enlivened the final two days with a torrid battle for fourth place. The pair constantly swapped stage times, with both recording stage wins on the final leg. In the end it was Gardermeister who won out, taking fourth by six seconds.

Rovanpera proved that the

Mitsubishi continues to improve and should be a contender in 2006, when its passive front and rear diffs will be the standard rather than the exception.

Peugeot's Markko Martin brought his 307 home in sixth place in what was another disappointing performance from the Estonian, who continues to rue his switch from Ford to the French maker.

Duval earned points for Citroen, taking eighth but relieved at having avoided major dramas and brought the car home in one piece.

In fairness Duval was on the wrong tyres for the final day's loop but still managed to hold off the rapid Citroen privateer Manfred Stohl, who took the last championship point in eighth place.

Nasser Al-Attiyah posted an

excellent drive to take top spot in the Production category.

Loeb has extended his lead in the driver's Championship to 27 points over Solberg, who has Gronholm just three points behind in third while Gardemeister is another point behind in fourth and Martin two points adrift in fifth.

In the Makes standings, Citroen took 12 points to Peugeot's 11 and leads by six, with Ford third, a further 28 points back.

The championship heads back to Europe in early August for the roller coaster ride that is the Rally of Finland, the fastest rally in the Championship and one the locals dominate. The question will be, does anyone - even Gronholm - have the speed and consistency to prevent Loeb from making it seven in a row?

61

$

Loeb may go

Private Kronos looms for ‘06

SEBASTIEN Loeb looks likely to drive a private Citroen Xsara in the 2006 World Rally Championship ahead of a full factory return to the WRC in 2007.

Loeb will drive a privately-run Citroen Xsara campaigned by French rally preparation speciahst Kronos, with backing from current sponsors Total and Michelin and strong 'backdoor support'from Citroen.

This move will allow Citroen to honour its obligation to the board of its parent company PSA to quit rallying at the end of this year without losing its star before a full return the following year.

Loeb is known to be on the : JACK IMIloiiikhduse will I compete Jn Rally Adelaide, ^despite having his ARC car ! destroyed'in a road crash.

I

MiGiPiikhiQiuse's Miitsuibishii Lancer Evo V'i was hit by a truck iin the smaiM SA town of Coomaindook, about an hour's dirive east oti Adeilaiide., Monikh O'Use amdi hits father Biii were towing the ear home after competiing ini the Tasmanian ARC round, where he finisihedi fifth overall.

The ex-Ed Ordynski/Scott Pedder ear was damaged so badlly that li'ttle is sailvagiabile from the ineiident. Meither Mionikhoiuse noir hiis. father were hurt.

As Motors po rt News closed

for press, there appeared to be two alternatives to getting Monkhouse back into action for Adelaiide. One depends on how hiis insurance company will act on his claim and whether there is sufficient time to fix the white cair in time for the event.

The other possibility could be that Monkhouse could drive one of Ralliart's Evo Vllsi. The car that was ' damaged by Pedder in Queensland is under repair at the team's Dandenong HQ and team boss Alan Heaphy said on Monday that it was "a possibility" that the car could be finished in time for the SA event.

shopping lists of just about every other team and the privateer plan will allow Citroen to 'warehouse'its star while the new C4 is developed for a debut in early 2007.

The Alsatian has a great relationship will Citroen boss Guy Frequelin, who spotted the former gymnast's talents and gave him a chance in Super 1600 cars, where he proved his speed and skill.

Unlike Peugeot, which will now turn its attention to a Le Mans project with a diesel-powered Sportscar, Citroen has been fighting a rearguard action to stay in the sport.

Frequelin's plan will satisfy all requirements and enable him to retain iris key personnel maintaining the momentum the company has inrallying.

-JON THOMSON

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MARCOS Gronholm could be . a mdnj:h away from becornfng a Ford driver.

Ttje two-time World Rally champion has admitted to having talks with Ford rally bo"ss Malcolm Wilson regarding joining the blue oval for 2006.

Until now, speculation suggested that the only two options the 37-year-old had were retirement or a drive with Suzuki, should the Japanese maker decide to enter the championship.

Gronholm has been with Peugeot since 1999 and the combination has resulted in

Timing is Everything Now Colin McRae throws his hat into the driver ring

’;

MITSUBISHI is quietly confident that iTv^lTB^’S^’inaht force iii tm 2006 WRC following the banning of active front and rear diffs.

The Lancer has been fast and competitive this year despite the fact that it runs passive diffs and many believe it has stolen a march on the opposition by developing the car ahead of other teams. Other teams are only now starting to develop passive set-ups as they had hoped the FIA would reverse its decision to ban active front and rear diffs.

However, the FIA has been resolute in its decision to ban active diffs and reduce the cost of World Rally Cars. Prodrive is reported to be in the process of developing new diffs for its Subarus under the new restrictions One probable benefit will be for spectators and TV viewers as some of the sideways action will return to the sport. Active front and rear diffs have made rally cars very precise and clinical in their handling and removed oversteer from the equation.

-JON THOMSON 62

COLIN McRae has declared he is ready to resume his WRC career - if the right offer comes along.

McRae's only problem at this stage ■appears to be the fact that there are no offers being made.

The 1995 World Rally champion was dumped by Citroen at the end of 2003, and even his championship-winning team Subaru was not interested when Richard Burns fell ill.

McRae declared that that he didn't want a full-time drive and turned his attention to the Dakar Rally and while Dakar remains his priority, he

admits that he likes the idea of

driving a top rally car again.

"If somebody said, 'Here's a deal for 2006-07, have another really good crack at it,' I think next year would be the year to do it," McRae said. "There would be a very good chance after a f -A ’, i .1 lay-off with the right team behind you."

Many believe, however, that McRae is a spent force and in a driver's market flooded with talent, he will struggle to snare a top drive after a two-year lay-off.

-JON THOMSON

motorsportnews

i

RALLY

Cheaper by the Dozen - Monster

Ford?

16 victories and two titles for French team. Despite two

tough seasons with Peugeot's 307, which have resulted in only a single win in Finland last year, Gronholm remains confident that he can match it with rallying's new generation.

If I have the right equipment I am still capable of winning," Gronholm told rallye-magazin.de. "Ok, I have had two bad years, but if I get a good offer I will continue racing.

I have spoken with Malcolm Wilson. We have already negotiated once back in 1998 and have spoken again now but there is

nothing to publish. Perhaps in August...

It would appear certain that Subaru will keep Petter Solberg and that Mitsubishi will hang on to Gigi Galli. Ford appears likely to keep Toni Gardemeister, so three seats (one with each team) may be in play. With a number of drivers now on the market due to the pull-out of Peugeot and sister company Citroen, and Sebastien Loeb, Marrko Martin and Francois Duval joining Gronholm on the driver market, competition for those seats is going to be pretty fierce ...

SUZUKI has joined the call to reduce the number of WRC rounds in a bid to cut costs and better utilise resources.

While the FIA has been proposing apparently 'expensive' ideas to save costs, most manufacturers believe that reducing the number of rounds from 16 to 12 is the easiest and cheapest way to reduce budgets.

"My opinion is now I am sure 16 is too much - 12 is a good number," Suzuki competition boss Monster Tajima said.

Tajima also dismissed rumours that Suzuki had decided not to build a WRC contender.

"No decision has been made yet, we are making preparations for our next-step car, but I don't know when.

This is only a decision for Mr. Suzuki.

He says he is very interested in the Junior World Rally Championship and if we win this year, they will make a decision."

He guaranteed that any successor to the forthcoming Super 1600 Swift would be a World Rally Car. n Neither man nor beast could stop Sebastien Loeb on the Rally Argentina, in a country noted for its fine steaks. The Citroen driver has revealed that he collided with a cow on SS7 of the eventi After whacking La Vache at slow speed on the La Cumbre-Agua de Oro stage, Loeb went briefly offcourse but still finished within 4s of stage winner Marcus Gronholm.

"I was very lucky," Loeb told WRC.com. "It could have been much, much worse."

The cow did not return phone calls before MNews went to press.

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IWo Wo M

UCH has been written this year about Australian racing exports continuing this country's fine racing tradition of strong results abroad.

Without doubt, Brooke Tatnell is one of our very best products at the moment, plying Iris trade on the gruelling and ultra-competitive World of Outlaws Championsliip this year.

On July 6,Tatnell won his second World of Outlaws feahire, finally getting to the Winner's Circle this year after a string of podium finishes.

"We've been this way all season long," says Tatnell after sitting down to a meal on a rare night off. It is actually tire first time he can remember eating a meal in recent times without having to rush.

"We jumped straight off a plane and the first night out we were fifth.

It's something like only two races out of the past 25 that's we've been outside of the top 10."

What is making many stand up and take notice is not just TatnelTs recent win - the only other Outlaws feature win captured by an Australian was also TatnelTs work,in 2003- but that it is coming so soon into his newest Stateside deal, a drive with the brand new Rush Racing team.

"Wlien I won my first one in the #66 Stilhhoti.comjiu car,I mean, tliat was totally 6? unexpected to most people because we 5' were a budget operation and I passed Sammy Swindell on the last lap to do it. People weren't expecting it.

"Right now, people have been expecting it because we have been running so well and we've been consistent. I've had some good runs at Cedar Lake in the past and I wanted to win that race. I felt I lost a race there last year that I should have won because of a yellow flag.

"If you can win an Outlaw show anywhere you'll be happy to take it!

The Old and the New: Top, Tatnell has raced once with the #1 aboard, at We've had a lot of good runs this year, PCR late last season. Above, what was originally the end of Tatnell a lot of seconds and the nights that we Motorsport, when Brooke won the World Series final in Adelaide. have run second, we have usually run Below, Tatnell's new Australian boss Shane Krikke 'blesses'his car with second to Steve Kinser. It is not like holy water at the World Series launch in Sydney last year. the nights we have run second Steve has had a bad night or whatever. It was good to turn the tables."

So what is it that makes the TatnellRush combination so strong,so quickly, when so many of the other teams and drivers on the Outlaws tour have been

H

doing it for so long? It would seem that the fact that the team was'purpose built'for TatneU has something to do with the current strong working relations and resulting success.

"It's a brand new operation and this whole deal was based around me.

"When they first spoke to me they wanted to know who I wanted as a

crew chief and what I wanted here and what I wanted tliere. The whole thing was based around me and the biggest thing we've got now is my crew chief Troy Renfro.

"Troy was my crew chief back in 1999. Are there better crew chiefs out .' there? Yeah, possibly. Are there better ' drivers out there? Definitely. But it is a chemistry, and him and 1 definitely have a chemistry and work together better tlran most."

Of course, TatnelTs US season was unfortunately postponed for several weeks as he tried to sort an immigration glitch caused by the changing of the US Immigration Act. While TatnelTs mate Randy Hannagan was able to drive the Rush car for those first few weeks to accrue points for the Owner's points tally, Tatnell started way behind the 8-ball when he finally arrived. Amazingly, he jumped straight into the tlrick of the battle at the front.

"We have come a long way for having missed the first four rounds.

We are sitting fifth in Owner's points and are getting pretty close to catching Kraig Kinser for fourth in Owner's points.

"That means a lot to me and I think we have also moved up to eighth in Driver's points.

"My goal at the start of the year was to run top five in points and win five features. We are sort of getting part way there. After I missed tire first four races, if someone had asked me where I expected to be,I would have said tliat if I can end up top 10, Td be happy. So we have exceeded all expectations(ED: Tntnell currently lies eighth in points) that anyone had of us as a first year team."

With the first win of the year out of the way,a big target is now the Knoxville Nationals in August.

Tatnell is gearing up for a big attack on the mother of all Speedway events.

"We've gone through and found a chassis that we liked and ran it a few times and put it aside for the Nationals.

We've got one motor that we will run on the qualifying iright and hopefully that wili get us locked into the A-Main and then we will put a different motor in for the Saturday night, wliich won't be as explosive,it will be a little bit more tame, which will be a bit more controllable when the track slicken's right off for the A-Main.

"I mean,it's definitely a big goal. I have always believed in my own ability and I've always said that if I ever get a good shot at it with a good team then I want to try to win Nationals one year. We've got a shot at a top five finish, an awesome shot at a top three finish and we have a

motorsportnews

SPEEDWAY

One Result Both at home and Stateside, Brooke Tatnell is getting theJob done. CHRIS JORDAN spoke with the Sprintcar star tried to give me as much time as he could before we made a decision.

realistic shot at winning the Nationals. I don't want people to think that I'm cocky or arrogant, but that's what I really believe. We've got a shot this year of putting Australia on the podium for the first time."

An Knoxville interested will spectator be TatneU's at new Australian boss,Shane Krikke.

Tatnell may have done exceptionally well slotting into his new US team, but the transition wiU be slightly different at Krikke Motorsport.

At Rush,TatneU started from scratch.

At Krikke,he wiU join the team for its 25th year of operation. After a few years of struggling with the ever-efficient but under-funded Tatnell Motorsport team that Tatnell and his equally-famous father George ran,TatneU is excited about the new combination, which wUl give him the equipment he deserves in what wUl be an epic battle between himself. Titan Racing and Robbie Farr, and of course,five-time World Series Sprintcars Champ Max EHtmesny and his Valvoline-backed operation.

"Yeah,I'm excited about it. It was a situation where I came close to doing a deal Shane (Krikke) last year but my dad asked if we could do one more year together, so we did.

"Winning the Australian Title sort of threw a spanner in the works because winning that thing made me want to run Australia #1 under our own race bamier. Unfortunately we don't have the financing to do it. I had a date (to find a major sponsor by) that had been pushed back three times. I have to take my hat off to Shane. Shane didn't pressure me and 20 July 2005

"It hasn't been a huge thing for me.

I can have a lot going on in life and the racesuit to me is like a Superman cape. When I put that racesuit on I can block a lot of tilings out, whether it be injuries or whatever and that has probably been my strongest point throughout my career, other than being aggressive.

"Getting the deal done witli Shane and knowing what we are doing yeah,it's good.I'm looking forward to it and I'm definitely excited. But there is also a sad point that for the first time for years we aren't going to have a Tatnell Motorsports car out there.

Who knows what the future holds, but I'm definitely looking forward to having a big year with Australia #1.

It will be strange to not see TatneU's uncle Joe driving the Tatnell truck into the pits come November, and after being so hands on with his race cars up to this point, how will Tatnell handle driving at Krikke, where the approach to racing is on an Fl-like organisational level. Time will tell, but Tatnell will probably always maintain a 'get your hands dirty' approach to his racing - and not only on his own car, yoimg Kenny Griffey being an example of someone who Tatnell has vastly assisted of late, much to Griffey's admiration.

-V.

"We've get a shotHris—^ year of putting Australia

atthe Knoxville Nationals with Rush Racing, the new gun WoO combination pictured beiew..

So, the US Speedway season nears itsas pinnacle, how is Tatnell finding the Outlaws scene, now tliat he is in a competitive fuU-tune Outlaws ride?

Does the 90-odd show Outlaws series get the recognition it deserves?

"To the general public it stiU gets shadowed a bit(by NASCAR),but if you look at it right now Kraig Kinser has deals to go NASCAR racing.

"Kasey Kahne,Jeff Gordon,Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman,I mean all the guys in NASCAR,are speedwayorientated. They've come through USAC or World of Outlaws. So to the people in the know, yeali, they are taking notice. But World Series in Australia still leads the way in promoting Speedway and Sprintcar racing - nothing comes close."

Tatnell is now one of the guns in arguably one of NASCAR's most traditional talent pools in the Outlaws. So does he have an opinion of Marcos Ambrose's chances when he turns to Speedway,albeit of the NASCAR variety?

"You're still a monkey behind the wheel and you are stiU only as good as your equipment.I mean,I don't think it matters(where you learn your craft), I think I proved tliat a little bit.

"For Marcos,he just has to have the time to get into a good team and get laps. No different to me going road racing. I still have the passion and

desire to go road racing if I can do it in the right manner. I know I can be fast and I know I can take it up to those guys,but its all a matter of time.

I don't think it matters whether you've come from Speedway." / So,would Tatnell leave the door open for a switch in racing disciplines?

"Definitely, I'd love to. I miss circuit racing because that is where I grew up. I started my racing on pavement(bitumen) go karts and I miss that racing scene. I had a dabble at the two-litre (Super Touring) tiring, but that was a restricted'dabble, because we didn't have the budget to do it right. It taught me a lot and yeah. I'd like to have another go at road racing. Yeah, I'd like to have a go at NASCAR,but by the same token.I'm very happy living the life that I'm living right now."

So he should be. No one works harder at their career than Brooke Tatnell. He has an intensity few possess and throttle control that most traction control computers could only dream of,something that sets him apart from many A”ssies on the slick US tracks.

He is doing us proud over in America and his toil is paying off handsomely. Good luck at Knoxville Brooke,and bring on World SeriesMax vs Brooke vs Robbie vs the Rest wfll bring the house down!

<tiike‘DiUrkk.Li

Bacchus n

by BRETT SWANSON

It's Over Crump concedes- Rickardsson's too good IT was a Grand Prix of mixed fortune for the three Australians at the Czech Speedway GP two weeks ago as Tony Rickardsson produced yet another remarkabie performance to compiete his fifth GP win of the season and his fourth in succession.

Jason Crump, right, had looked unlikely to qualify for the semi-finals before producing an inspired ride in Heat 20 to get the three points he needed to make the semis.

But the final proved an anticlimax as Crump trailed in last behind Rickardsson, Bjarne Pedersen and Jarek Hampel.

Ryan Sullivan was enjoying his best GP this year but failed to progress beyond the semi finals.

Leigh Adams again found the GP tough to demonstrate his true ability, as he shows in Europe’s domestic ieagues in which he is normally almost invincible.

Rickardsson, pictured top in centre of podium, simply outclassed the opposition in the Markets Stadium, taking the chequered flag ahead of Pedersen and Hampel with defending champion Crump back in fourth piace.

Rickardsson now has a massive 54 point lead over Crump and could clinch his sixth individual World title In his home country of Sweden on August 13.

“I really don’t know why things are going so well,” said Rickardsson. “I am sure I will be beaten sometime but at the moment I am just enjoying myself.”

Crump has accepted that Rickardsson will regain the crown.

While Rickardsson is the model of consistency - with five wins and a second in six Grand 66

BACCHUS Marsh Speedway will roar back to life this season thanks to a new agreement being reached between the track's owner and Formula Motorsports Group Pty Ltd (FMG).

"This licensing agreement heralds the rebirth of the Speedway facility that promised so much in the late 1990s," said FMG Director Ray Solomon.

"The task before me is to build on the very great potential of the facility, which in my mind was never fully realised. I don't underestimate the difficulty of the task ahead and the work required to make the Speedway facility ultra-successful in the future, however I am here for the long haul and I have never been one to back away from a challenge."

Bacchus Marsh Speedway was bom to massive success on April 24,1999 when a crowd quoted as being 12,000 -but estimated to be around 18,000 strong - braved a cold April night to witness a brilliant tliree way fight for the 1999 Victorian Sprintcar Championship. Max Dumesny,Garry Brazier and David Murcott fought out a thrilling battle crossing the finish line three-wide in the order stated after Dumesny had pulled off a desperate

Prix rounds - his opponents are struggling.

“Tony is absoiutely briiiiant and has shown us all what being professional is all about,” said Crump.

“Good luck to him though, he works so hard on everything and his equipment is briiiiant!”.

Crump, who had only scraped into the semis, inflicted a rare defeat on Rickardsson but both went through to the last four.

Rickardsson was quickly away in the final and never looked like being caught while Hampel spent most of the four laps keeping Crump at bay.

Bjarne Pedersen has now moved up to fourth place, behind Rickardsson, Crump and Nicki Pedersen, while Leigh Adams, Antonio Lindback, Greg Hancock and Hampel currently fill the other automatic qualifying places for 2006.

-TONY MILLARD Points: Rickardsson 145, Crump 91, N.Pedersen 78, B.Pedersen 66, Adams 64, Lindback 59, Hancock 58.

last lap squeeze through lapped haffic to take the lead and the win.

After such a stunning start, the venue struggled to maintain tliis level of success when it kicked off its first full season of racing in the 99/2000 season. The venue eventually fell into financial trouble and the season culminated early with the running of tlie Australian Speedcar Title in Marcli.

Butch Morley,one of die founding members of the MSDAV,the / forerunner of the SRA,saw the potential of the venue and worked hard to convince the clubs and

drivers that they should give the track another chance under his guidance.

This rebirth, however, proved unsuccessful, not helped by the cancellation of the reopening night due to a light tower generator failure.

In the intervening years, there has been plenty of rumours about various people trying to resurrect the venue.

The venue has not been totally idle, with a couple of low key shows for some of the non-VSC (independent) classes and it has also been relatively popular as a test track.

The new agreement is exciting news for Victorian and interstate competitors, who relish the thought of running their cars on the big southern speedway,above right.

Solomon is under no illusions as to

ffrooAe Uims Mean AS MNews closed for press, World of Outlaws organiser DIRT Motorsports was on the verge of offeringing Brooke Tatnell and Rush Racing membership to the exclusive Outlaws'Mean 15'.

The Mean 15 is a group of 15 teams and drivers that are contracted by DIRT to attend every round,handsomely compensated with prize money and provisional starting slots.

With the Rick Wright-owned car not living up to the expectation of attending each round,DIRT established a 'March to the Mean 15' competition between TahieU,Terry McCarl,Jason Solwold and Shane Stewart, below right with Tatnell,for the available spot over four rounds.

Going into the final night held Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway's Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup,Tatnell was a clear leader in the'March' points tally, 66 points ahead of McCarl and merely needed to start the A-Main to win the March.

"It means we get a little bit more tow money," Tatnell told MNews.

"I didn't come out here to run World of Outlaws just to say I was an Outlaw.I came here to run against the best and beat the best.

"Whether we are a member of the Mean 15 or not, it doesn't add anything special to me. What is special to me is being competitive and beating Steve Kinser."

-CHRIS JORDAN

SPEEDWAY

Aapsh reopens Big, fast Victorian track to reopen with new pronnotor

Big and Fast

the task that awaits him, realising it will be hard work to remove the tarnish left by two failed promoting bodies.

"We’ve looked at what needs to be done and the first major task will be to try and win back those fans who left here last time vowing they'd never come back, The other problem we've got this season is trying to arrange some race dates in a calendar that is already pretty full and doesn't have many holes in it," FMG is looking at this venture as a

long term operation and has set in place a solid business plan and is prepared to run in the red during the initial rebuilding stages.

"It's taken a while to get everything worked out and signed away but we believe we can make a real good go of this," said Solomon.

"The track's owner is excited about us bringing the track back to life as he realises it is a massive waste to have it ordy being used for test and tune sessions. We have a combined plan for continual improvements and

And Madsen gets a win!

KERRY Madsen has collected a win and a fourth at the recent Wells Fargo Twin Features night at Knoxville Raceway. Madsen time trialled fifth fastest, before going on to win the opening of the two A-Mains held.

Fellow Sydney-born driver Skip Jackson was sixth in both features. n Steve Kinser was victorious in one of Speedway's most prestigious events, the Kings Royal at the Tony Stewart-owned Eldora Speedway last Saturday night. Kinser slipped by Joey Saldana on lap 30 of the40 lap A-Main and held on to win the event for a sixth time.

Brooke Tatnell and Daryn Pittman both had heats wins that sent them straight to the A-Main, with Pittman finishing eighth and Tatnell 22nd.

Craig Dollansky used a new car to lead all 40 laps at Powercom Park on July 6. After qualifying fastest, Pittman was 20th in the feature for Titan Racing and Tatnell 19th.

Donny Schatz then bounced back to form to win his fourth feature of the season at Route 66 Speedway on July 9. Tatnell was second in the first of five rounds that count for the March to , y the Mean 15 and Pittman was 14th.

Tatnell then picked up another second, this time to Stevie Smith at the Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park. Pittman was 15th.

THE reopening of Bacchus Marsh Speedway will present a new challenge to teams, as the track is quite long and fast by Australian standards, and is some 30 metres wide.

After winning the opening AMain at the Bacchus Marsh Speedway in 1999, this is what Max Dumesny told MNews about the new venue: ‘To be able to run three-wide at full throttle without being close to the wall is great.”

“We’re touching on 120nnph down the straights as we start to slide into the turns -this most certainly is one fast race track and it will provide plenty of excitement for the fans and the drivers in the future.”

enhancements that we think need to be made and we hope we can work with the other Victorian tracks, drivers and clubs to get this venue back up and running and complimenting the other mainstream Victorian tracks of nearby Avalon, Ballarat and of course Warrnambool."

n Lock the following dates into your diary- World Series Sprintcars has announcea its calendar, below.

Proton WSS 2005/06 R1

Krikke signs Tatnell

AS reported in Motorsport News #312, Brooke Tatnell will drive for Krikke Motorsports for the upcoming Australian Speedway season.

Tatnell and Krikke Motorsport boss Shane Krikke agreed to terms just days afti atnell's win in the Outlaws event at Cedar Lake on July 6. Krikke will fly to the Knoxville Nationals on August 10-13 to see his new star recruit compete and settle on some finer details.

However, one detail that seems to have been agreed to is that the Krikke Cool chassis will bear the Australia #1 that Tatnell won so brilliantly at Murray

Bridge earlier this year.

"We've been talking on and off for about 18 months now and to finally clinch a deal is really exciting, particularly as it coincides with our 25th anniversary as a team in Sprintcar racing" said Krikke, pictured left.

Krikke's priorities lie in the Proton World Series Sprintcars, the Grand Annual Classic and the Australian Title, as well as the Krikke Boys Memorial in March if Tatnell's US schedule permits. It is not yet known whether Tatnell will drive for Rush Racing or Krikke Motorsport at Outlaws Downunder III in January.

S’

3

?5-

a.

Brisbane

R2 Rockhampton R3 Toowoomba R4 Speedway City R5 Echuca R6 Avalon R7 Latrobe R8 Latrobe R9* Speedway City RIO* Murray Bridge Rll* MtGambier R12* Avalon R13* Warrnambool R14* Warrnambool R15 Wagga R16 Mildura R17 Brisbane R18 Toowoomba R19 Brisbane

Sat Nov 12 Wed Nov 16 Sat Nov 19 Sat Nov 26 Fri Dec 2 Sat Dec 3 Fri Dec 9 Sat Dec 10 Mon Dec 26 Tue Dec 27 Wed Dec 28 Fri Dec 30 Sun Jan 1 Mon Jan 2 Thu Jan 5 Sat Dec 7 Wed Jan 11 Fri Jan 13 Sat Jan 14

* Jumbuck Specdwcck rounds

Hoosler Tire Australia 2005 WORLD OF OUTLAWS CHAMPIONSHIP Australian Distributors for

Xoosirr

^^ RACING TIRE

For more information on Hoosier Drag and Speedway Tyres call:

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

20 July 2005

Eldora Speedway 15/007/05

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

... .Steve Kinser . . . .Jason Meyers Tim Shaffer .Jac Haudenschild . .Chad Kemenah .. .Brooke Tatnell .. .Danny Lasoski . .Craig Dollansky Tim Kaeding . ...Donny Schatz

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

.. .Jason Sides .. .Dale Blaney ..Joey Saldana ..Terry McCarl .Paul McMahan .. .Greg Wilson .Shane Stewart . .Cody Geldart . .Brian Paulus , .Stevie Smith

2005 Standings to 15 July 2005

5893 1 Steve Kinser.

5601 2 Jason Meyers 3 Craig Dollansky .... 5529 5409 4 Kraig Kinser..

5301 5 Donny Schatz.

5297 6 Danny Lasoski 5177 7 Paul McMahan 5114 8 Brooke Tatnell.

5060 9 Shane Stewart 5059 10 Tim Shaffer..

5016 11 Daryn Pittman, 4975 12 Tim Kaeding. , 4972 13 Terry McCarl..

4917 14 Brian Paulus. , 4793 15 Joey Saldana, 4762 16 Jason Sides . , 17 Jason Solwoid .... 4511 18 Brandon Wimmer.. 4233 19 Sammy Swindell... 3697 20 Kevin Swindell .... 2862

67

Morgan Darren Morgan is the quickest man in Australian drag racing. GRANT ROWLEY caught up with the Victorian

I

T'S a balmy Queensland day.

You're at the final round of the Australian drag racing championships at Willowbank and you've just set the quickest pass in Australian drag racing history. Add to this the championship that you bagged at the previous round and, all in all, life ought to be pretty sweet. Right? Not if you are Darren Morgan.

The Mildura resident may be one of the friendliest people in the drag racing paddock, but he is a hard man to please.

In his rookie Top Fuel season, the 40-year-old set the 10 quickest times in Australian Top Fuel this season. You can add to that statistic the coveted Nationals crown and the championship, but Morgan has put the highs of the 2004/05 season in the past. Despite being one of few able to complete the quarter mile at full noise on a regular basis, perfection is the only acceptable outcome when he goes racing.

"We are really happy, but we are disappointed in other areas as well," he said. "We worked really hard to make the car work, but there were times that we let ourselves down, which wasn't 68

evident in the performance an results.

We've only been racing for 12 months so getting a handle on the whole picture was always a struggle. We smoked the tyres in Perth because the clutch management moved around and we didn't know to allow for that.

It's just things like that.

While he may be disappointed in some areas, Morgan acknowledges the reliability that the car has displayed.

"The only time we hurt parts was the second-last meeting in Sydney when the tension wrench was set wrong," he explained. "In Queensland, we ran the quickest pass in the country, but our final pass kicked the porcelain out of the spark plug. We still ran a 4.88 on seven cylinders!

"In that same meeting a bit earlier, we smoked the tyres and slightly marked a bearing. Other than that there has not been an engine part damaged. The gaskets are good ... the oil could have gone back in it. Not many people could say that they've gone over the finish line under full power, and we did it on lots of occasions.

I'm not saying though that it is going to be like that forever."

\\

Alan Johnson might come out in the New Year... that would he preny cool"

- Morgan, above, is keen to have American iegend Johnson come to Austraiia to have a took at his former car

M

organ started drag racing in Modified Eliminator and worked as a mechanic with renowned Australian team owner Graham Cowin for a number of years, both in Australia and in the United States.

The Lammattina brothers bought his current fueller from Alan Johnson, who with driver

Gary Sceizi captured three NHRA championships before he closed his own team and joined Tony Schumacher's US Army team as crew chief, capturing yet another title last year.

Johnson, considered by many to be the best Top Fuel crew chief in the world, has actually been surprised at the consistent numbers Morgan has been able to extract from the car.

"Alan might come out in the New Year to have a look at what's going on," he enthused, "That would be pretty cool. We bought the car from him and he's been blown away at how good we've done. He's really impressed."

But simply buying a leading car isn't the answer. Morgan agrees that having a good tuner on board is what has helped him seal the deal.

"Preparation is one thing, but

motorspon news

DRAG RACING

The heat is on SOARING temperatures approaching 40 degrees could not stop Tony Schumacher,Robert Hight and Warren Johnson from winning their respective classes as the NHRA kicked off the traditional western swing with the Mopar Mile High Nationals in Denver last weekend.

White Media

Sion

Schumacher stopped Don Sosenka, Doug Herbert, and Cory McClenathan before defeating final round opponent Morgan Lucas, The Army dragster recorded a winning 4.61s at a track-record speed of 331.45mph to hold off the Lucas Oil dragster's 4.77s/309mph.

Hight notched his second Frmny Car victory of his rookie season with a final roimd win over Phil Burkart, 4.89s/316mph to 5.65s/187mph.

Driving the AAA of Southern California Ford Mustang, Hight ran the table in Denver by setting both ends of the track record (4.79s/322mph), qualifying number one and winning the event. He opened his race card with wins over Jeff Arend and Tommy Johnson Jr. In the semis, with the point lead on the line, he took out Gary Scelzi.

After 90 second long staging battle, Johnson drove to his third Pro Stock win of the year, defeating a redHghting Dave Connolly with a 7.13s pass at 193mph. The 'Professor' was unbeatable in the early roimds, as he drove his GM Performance Parts n/lceCAfl RlUMBtNC

Billes: Crash Man

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Western swing: Warren Johnson, above, and Robert Hight, beiow, won at Denver last weekend in hot conditions.

Pontiac to victories over Erica Enders,Ron Krisher and Jim Yates.

Ryan Schnitz became the first rider to win two events this season when he defeated Antron Brown, 7.51s/184mph to 7.55s/176mph,in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final.

Earlier Schnitz, aboard his Buell, stopped Michael Phillips, Harley VRod competitor G.T. Tonglet, and fellow Buell-powered rider. Chip Ellis.

- DAVID OSTASZEWSKI POINTS:Top Fuel: Kalitta 891, Schumacher 848, Dixon 820, Grubnic 792, Lucas 792.

Funny Can Force 837, Scelzi 782, Hight 775.

Pro Stock: Anderson 941, Line 926,Johnson 913.

Pro Stock Bikes;Tonglet 511,Brown 472,Sampey 455.

Goi^StarAgpHoU

p 5:

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AL Billes suffered his second major crash during the month of July in the second round of Torco Pro Modified qualifying at the IHRA event in Milan.

The parachutes on the Summit Dodge Stratus malfunctioned on the heels of a run that netted Billes an unofficial track speed record at 231.OSmph. Billes went into the sandtrap with enough speed to send the car into four barrel rolls. He exited the car unassisted and was transported to a local hospital for further examination.

Billes was already recovering from a concussion and a severe case of whiplash sustained during armatch race accident in Lancaster, New York, just two weeks earlier.

Team owner Jim Oddy was visibly upset as he loaded pieces into the team's transporter.

"That's it for me," Oddy said. "I'm through with drag racing. Two was enough for me. I am not going to get my driver killed.'" n Top Fuel driver Clay Millican bagged $106,000 by winning the Rocket City Nationals at Alabama's Huntsville Dragway during the July fourth weekend.

Millican and his trusty Werner Enterprises dragster defeated Tim i Gibson in the final at the eighth-mile facility, clocking a 3.24s at 256mph.

Millican walked off with the top prize of $101,000 for the win plus an additional $5000 for being top qualifier in the eight-car field. His low qualifying shot of 3.18s at 262 mph set a new track record. In the earlier rounds, Millican defeated Roger Dean, who fouled, allowing Millican an easy 3.24s win and John Smith where Millican won, 3.28s to 3.67s.

2

% the tuning job is just as important. I think our man Johnny Marshall (?) has done an awesome job.

"Everyone says we've got big bucks, but people have to remember that we built the trailer, the benches, the awnings, just about everything we built ourselves. Really, it's been quite cheap, and best of all we haven't hurt any of our parts."

While Morgan has only raced at the elite level of drag racing in Australia for just over 12 months, he did admit that expanding the team is one of the long-term plans ... funding permitting.

"We would expand if the money was there," he said.

"We'd like to do be able to do it ourselves but if a customer was there then we'd do certainly look at it."

20 July 2005

n Team Werner may debut its new monostrut Top Fueler in a test session soon following Memphis.

If the test goes well, the innovative entry could compete at Norwalk during the IHRA World Nationals. Several other teams are apparently following suit, but it could be Gainesville before the second monostrut car hits the track. n Pain in his right shoulder and upper back has forced Kenny Koretsky to step out of the Nitro Fish Wear Dodge Stratus driver's seat for the next'three races. .

Mike Thomas took over the driving duties in Denver, kicking off NHRA's annual Western Swing.

IWU^I^TEAM ownePSSn'ScShOmac^rIp ji ^dxll to^i^lve the new Torco Ge'afffQe^ippjjbragsifr^f&WMiiii :_j i Sehuiiiaeher Racing. .. ' ' The team made its planned debut Ini iiehwerj^ltilliglahie | , qualifying the car into the tOth spot at 5iiis7'l®im,p;,ibuf fe:llit0,> ij i Doug,Hierbert in the opening,round. ., The second team Top.fuel entry is a.prtner to the U.S. Army Top ; Fuel Dragster driven by two-time champion Tony Schumacher, above, ! and as mentioned in the last issue, is.tuned b.y_ Richard Hogan.

DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

n Advance Auto Parts Inc, has signed a new multi-year agreement to continue primary sponsorship of Cruz Pedregon's NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car. The company initially signed with Pedregon prior to the 2002 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season.

- DAVID OSTASZEWSKI 69

nadona Green v Yellow v Red scene

edited by

iBoWcy

lilley takes lead in Historic Tourers

by ERIN McCOWATT

BRAD Tilley took the lead in the Biante Historic Touring Car Series in Round 3 at Eastern Creek two weeks ago after the main straight and built gap a Paul Stubber claimed the gap over the rest of the race, to be unchallenged for the win in round in his quick Camaro. the 10-lapper. TIley held second Only 13 points now separate position for most of the racev'but the top three in the championship, with Stubber and was relegated to third by lyiason.

Stillwell drove a solid race, >■Steve Mason just behind Tilley.

Stubber took overall honors for>- ■ finishing fourth''9h“ead of Jabfe the round in his Camaro with Elsegood's XY Falcon. ' two wins and a fifth. Second for Stubber made a brilliant start the round was Tilley, bringing his in Race 2, but it was Tilley a^in XY Falcon home with a win and who lead the early laps. Stubb'fer two thirds. Mason just beat and Tilley swapped the lead Chris Stillwell to third outright, throughout the race, but an finishing consistently with two incident caused Stubber to fall back to fifth place. Mason and second placings and a fourth. A massive field of 40 cars Stillwell kept out of trouble to finish second and third. contested the round.

Race 3 was marred by a In the NB class, Scott Fleming powered his Lotus Cortina into' -i- (Safety Car on the ,^peninq lap when Joe McGinnes buried his first, followed by the pair of , Falcon GT in the sandtrap., ‘ ■ Falcon Rallye Sprints of Bill After the restart, Tilley had the Meeke and Roger Oliver. lead, with' Stubber sitting in third Fleming also took home the behind Mason. Stubber passed 'Drive of the Meet' trophy. both Mason and Tilley and Tilley got the jump off the start established a race-winriing gap. in Race 1, leading the field into turn one. Close behind him were Stillwell and Mason diced for the Stubber and Mason. Stubber minors, with Stillwell finishing second, from Tilley and Mason. passed Tilley in a drag race on

pirkKlynsmilh

Interest mounts in Premier State Cup

AN interesting situation has developed in the Rotax classes of the NSW Premier State Cup two weeks ago.

Jason Hryniuk and Kristian Lindbom lead the Rotax Light series after the fourth round at Oran Park on July 9-10, but neither will contest round five due to a date clash with the Rotax Nationals.

The PSC series is unique in that the five rounds simply determine the grid positions for the Grand Finale at Newcastle where it'll be a winner-take-all $10,000 slug-fest.

Both drivers encountered problems in qualifying in Sydney; Hryniuk's crew had mistakenly fitted an incorrect compound wet tyre to his

70

kart in the first session anci

Lmdbom's engine failed to start the second. Regardless, it came down to a last lap battle, Hryniuk pulling off another spectacular lunge on Lindbom down the notorious corkscrew.

Lindbom got revenge by winning Clubman Light while Hryniuk also won Clubman Heavy. Kel Tresseder's win edged him further away from Scott Simpson in Rotax Heavy but Simpson easily holds the advantage in Clubman Super Heavy. Joshua Scott was again the dominant jimior with two victories Junior Clubman and National Heavy) while David Stevenson (Junior National Light), Joseph

Mawson (Midgets), Grant Dyga (Rookies), Daniel Stein (Senior National Heavy) and Thomas

Phillips (Senior National Light) claimed the other classes.

-MARK WICKS

moiorsport news

NATIONAL SCENE

Ihe old two,one Former champ beats defending Champ at EC

BRUCE Heinrich continued his championship dominance at Round 4 of the Australian Saloon Car Series at Eastern Creek last weekend after a clean sweep in all three races.

In a massive field of 36 cars, Falcons scored the top three positions with Clint Harvey finishing second for the round ahead of Queenslander Jake Camilleri.

Harvey took the early lead in Race 1, but was closely followed by Heinrich. After dicing for the lead, Heinrich passed Harvey on lap four and went on to seal the win. The battle for third was the one to watch, with John Goodacre, Kris Walton and Camilleri in the mix. After some close racing, Camilleri finished third at the end of the 10-lapper.

In Sunday’s freezing conditions, Heinrich got the jump at the start of Race 2 and proved unbeatable. Harvey held onto second for the duration of the race. But again, it was the battle for the top five that kept the small crowd watching. Goodacre held onto third for the first half of the race, but was passed on lap seven by Camilleri. Steve Kwiatkowski made a good recovery to finish in the top five after replacing his engine with an ex-taxi unit on Friday.

Harvey made a great start in Race 3, and started to open up a gap back to Heinrich and Goodacre until the Safety Car was called out.

Andrew Hamilton buried his Falcon at turn one sandtrap on lap three.

Heinrich took the win, with Harvey coming in second and Matthew Lovell third.

- ERIN McCOWATT Points: Heinrich 376, Goodacre 292, Kwiatkowski 272, Loveii 257, Camiiieri 240, Harvey 229, Johnson 177, Drewer 154, Hansen 122, Jamieson 97.

n

r.

n

I I A dream ride atthe Island with Dick Johnson or John Harvey-in a GTHO I Falcon or XU-1 Torana respectively.

The nostalgic ride oi a litetime! I ilk-

Two lucky MNews readers and/or Historic Touring Car spectators - one Holden fan, one Ford fan - will win this superb prize courtesy of series sponsors Biante and MNews.

We'll fly you from interstate to the Grand Finale at Phillip Island, provide overnight accommodation and track access, and sit you down for the ride of your life-with a legend of Australian motorsport, in a legendary car, at one of the legendary circuits. Wow! Simply fill out the official entry form below (or an entry form available in the AHTCA paddock area at race meetings) and mail it to us prior to any of the round-by-round entry deadlines. Enter as many times as you like, but only on official entry forms(no photocopies). One entry will be drawn at each entry deadline to win an AHTCA merchandise pack. All entries received throughout the season will go into the barrel for the final draw for the two major prizes.

The ride of your life!

Venue Barbagallo(WA) Eastern Creek(NSW) Mallala (SA) Bathurst(NSW) Eastern Creek(NSW) Phillip Island

Kiwi joins Aussie Ranks

AUCKLAND resident Ian Spurle will join the Aussie Racing Car ranks at Queensland Raceway this weekend, r The former to uring car and TraNZam driver will step into the #14 Loctite AU Falcon for the rest of the season from QR onwards.

Also joining the series is young driver Glen Baker from Breeza, in country NSW. He will 20 July 2005

%.

Date Mays July 10 Aug 21 Oct 9 Oct 30 Nov 27

n

Interim prize closing date June 30 Major Prize July 29 entry Sep 22 Oct 20 closing date Nov 10 November 10

●ford & Holden pictured above for illustration purposes only

Mail this form, including the BIANTE Model Cars logo, to Motorsport News BIANTE AHTCA Competition, PO Box 7072, Brighton, VIC 3186 by the interim prize closing date (above) Name _ Address Email Phone am a FORD / HOLDEN fan (circle your favourite brand!)

IT 1=^

fitnes Smith

drive a Falcon AU sponsored by Clubb Coolum Beach Resort.

- GRANT ROWLEY

I I I I I I

IFull competition entry terms and conditions on the Motorsport News website, www.mnews.com.au. Winners will be notified by phone/mail/emaill.

For more information on Historic Touring Car Racing, check out the website www.iiistorictouringcars.com.au

BIANTE motorsport ( J L news

^ MODEL CARS

71

Another Young

Ashley Cooper has not been in Commodore Cup long, but is already leading the competitive championship. CHRIS JORDAN spoke with the 25-year-old about why it has come so easy

M

OTORSPORT NEWS: You have not been in

Commodore Cup long?

ASHLEY COOPER: I did three or

four races last year. I bought a VH Commodore and part of the deal when I bought that was that a VS shell came with it. So I just did a few races in the VH last year and then sold it off to build up our VS for the start of this season.

MN:Commodore Cup is the kind of category where a few of the front running guys have been in the class for quite a while,so did you think that the good results would come so early?

AC:Probably not. When we ran the VH a few times last year we knew it wasn't as good as what the front blokes had. But we were constantly at the front five or so cars and picked up the occasional third.

So we thought that when we built our own car, if we did it well, we would be somewhere up the front. But yes, it probably has gone a bit better

172

to plan than I would have thought.

You always think that you will be up there, but I suppose it has gone a little bit better than I actually thought.

MN:The cars look like a lot of fun to drive. Is it a good class to develop your driving?

AC: Yeah,I think it is. I really do. I have driven a couple of other saloontype cars and Commodore Cup, with a V8 and the power and grip and all the rest of it.

I have spoken to a lot of people who have driven these and have driven Supercars and they reckon that it is similar in some ways to the power and grip of a Supercar.

I do think that they are as close as you will get to a Supercar m a sedan-type category. I thmk it

You always think you are going to be up there, but I suppose it has gone a little bit better than I actually thought" - Ashley Cooper on his Commodore Cup series lead really good breeding ground,because it is tight, close racing as well, which can only be of help.

MN:You mention V8 Supercars. Is that a place where your aspirations

lie in motorsport?

AC;It is always in the back of my mind but the dollar situation is always there, but if we could get the right sponsors on board, then yeah.

We have been hunting around for sponsors and have been lucky enough to pick some up for the Commodore Cup car to help run that.

I'd love to do it at some stage, but it is just a matter of knowing the right people and having the money at the right time. 1 want us to do it, but at the moment I want to focus on this year and if we can pull it(the championship) off this year, you never know what might happen the year after.

Once we have had a bit of success

NATiONAl.SCENE

Lion

Marcus the win, Cooper the lead

in this and know have the right people working witla us, Supercars has been mentioned a couple of times, so we are hoping to try and do something.

MN:Your car is actually liveried to look similar to a Holden Racing Team car - is that a link with the Holden dealerships that sponsor you?

AC; We are pretty big Holden fans obviously and so is the guy that built the car. So we thought we would always try and imitate them with our colours. We liked the look of their new cars, so we sort of went off of what they had.

The Holden thing is tied up with our major sponsor. Capital Finance.

They are more in it for an entertainment aspect, with me taking people for rides in the car at tlie track. From an exposure point of view, they want to help their dealers out, so depending on what state or what areas we are racing in, we put one of their dealers on the car as an avenue for advertising for them.

■V It works well for everyone and Castrol is another sponsor of ours, so it lets the dealers that are in our corporate box to

deal with the people from Castrol. It all ties in pretty well and I have been talking to people about sponsorship and they have said it is all about networking, so it is good to have some great people behind me and to give something back.

MN: Commodore Cup seems to be going from strength to strength at the moment with more and more new VS models at each round.

AC: Yeah I think it is, I really do. The cars are very close and I don't think it will be too long before we are under the old lap records set by the VH. Everybody has said that they are a lot nicer to drive than the VH, with power steering and aU the rest of it.

I have only been involved in the last 18 months, but I used to follow it fairly closely and I know that it almost died there at one stage, but know we have about 25 cars at every round and it is really kicking the class along into a new era.

MARCUS Zukanovic Dirk Khnsmith took a clean sweep, winning both races at Round 4 of the RDA Rotors Commodore Cup at Eastern Creek two weeks ago.

While Zukanovic went on a tear at the front of the field, Ashley Cooper maintained his championship lead after taking pole position, a second and a third.

Geoff Emery won the start of Race 1 and lead The Zuk in front: Cooper and Zukanovic until Marcus avoided the dust fight, above. lap three when Zukanovic moved into second.

Zukanovic then took the lead on lap seven to score an impressive win. Emery finished second, with Cooper third. Stephen White was the hard charger, moving from last place to fourth over the course of the 12-lap race.

Race 2 saw some excellent racing at the front of the field.

Cooper lead the opening laps, but had Emery, White and Zukanovic extremely close behind. Zukanovic pushed from fourth to pass Cooper on lap eight and take the win. Emery and White battled hard for third, with White emerging on the podium.

Tony Bates held a solid fifth until a lap nine encounter with a foam sign on the exit of turn one smashed his windscreen and relegated him to seventh.

David Gittus and Brett Holdsworth fought a race long battle, eventually placing fifth and sixth.

Newcomer Greg Braddon crashed heavily at turn one on the final lap. Cooper leads the championship, followed by Holdsworth and White.

- ERIN McCOWATT Points: Cooper 424, Holdsworth 384, White 375, Emery 367, Zukanovic 342

Bathurst HoWen w

■ —*

«av-

lohn Morns/Mpix

73

NATIONAL SCENE

Spice up your life

o

1

I

THE Spices Catering Cup was held at Barbagallo Raceway on two weeks ago, making up the fifth round of Western Australian State Championships.

While Sports Sedans and HQs were off the schedule, there were two extra categories, with Historic Racing Cars and Historic Groups J,K,L and S staging races.

Rob Poynton was unstoppable in the opening historic event, blitzing the field with his Ralt RT4 with pole and an easy win in the first race. He was penalised for the two handicap races, allowing Mathew Lyford and Lance Cardawine to share the wins.

In the J,K,L and S races, Ted Jordan, Greg Eastwood and Sarah Eastwood won a race each.

Wesf won: Paul Fiore, above, and Leigh Turner, below, took home the silverware. The Racing category, bottom, bad some highs and lows ...

§7

s' 1ASTICS.

In Formula Ford, Mark Douglas's winning-streak was finally ended by : Simon Wheeler. After narrowly edging William Hall for pole, Wheeler took his first win of the year in the first race. Douglas was back on top in Races 2 and 3, winning both comfortably.

Paul Fiore continued his good results in Saloon Cars, recording three comfortable race wins from pole. The results set Fiore up well for the roimd of the national series scheduled at Barbagallo next month. Brad Boley was second to Fiore in all three races.

For the first time this year, aU three Formula Vee races were won by the same driver. After losing out to James Straker in qualifying, Derek Burns put on a great show to dominate the opening two races. He had to work harder for the final race win though, with just 0.5s covering Burns,Straker and Jez Hammond at the flag.

In Street Cars, Kerry Wade and Graham Stones enjoyed a day-long battle.

After grabbing pole, Wade seemed to have more pace in the early stages of Race 1. Stones came back late in the race,finishing just a couple of tenths back in second. Race two was much the same with Wade taking the win. Stones got the better of Wade in the final race. Mark Anderson won all three races in the 2 litre category.

Leigh Turner put on a great show in his crowd-pleasing Mustang. After setting a blinding pole lap of 1:05.71s, Turner seemed to have no problem holding off John Tarr and Greg Barr in the first Historic Touring Car race. Race 2 handicap was won by Ken Shufflebotham in a GT Cortina. Turner was 13th.

John Tarr took the win in the final race ahead of the two Toranas of Ron Moller and Greg Barr.

- ANDREW VAN LEEWEN

Karting Briefs

THE provisional results for Junior Clubman from the AKA Nationals at Easter have finally been ratified.

Victoria's Grant Smith has been confirmed as the Australian Champion in the category with WA's Christopher Reindler second and NSW's Tommy Quinlan third.

n Sam Zavaglia has continued the tradition of Aussies doing well in Superkarts at Laguna Seca. Zavaglia, aboard his Australian Stockman/ Honda, placed fourth in the Superstars of Superkarts race that supported the recent US Motorcycle Grand Prix. The flying French champion Damien Payart won the race ahead of Americans Kyle Martin and Eddie Lawson. Three other Australians also competed; Warren Mclilveen (7th, just behind Kevin Schwantz), Ron Valentine (8th) and Gerald Seibert who DNF'd mid race. n At the latest World Motorsport Council meeting, the CIK-FIA announced that it will be awarding the "Lotta Hellberg Award" each year.

74

The special award will be presented to the junior driver who performs best at the annual Viking Trophy, the most prestigious JICA event on the international calendar. Hellberg enjoyed one of the most successful karting careers a female has achieved.

After hanging up the helmet a number of years ago, she was part of the management of the PDB-Gillard team.

She passed away in February as a consequence of cancer.

n Arrow karts got on the podium : at the Jacksonville round of the US Snap-on Stars of Tomorrow karting series, but it wasn't Bart Price doing the driving. Price had planned to contest the event(MNews #311) but last minute licensing issues forced him to withdraw or risk losing his Australian licence, American ICC rookie Stuart Marsell drove the Arrow for BTK Motorsport and placed third and second in the two finals. He also qualified fastest for Final Two. - MARK WICKS

Nationals preparation invaluable WITH the 2005 Rotax Nationals coming up in September, Geelong’s annual Val and Joyce Findlay Memorial on July 9 presented a perfect opportunity for Rotax drivers to prepare for the Australian Championships.

The large fields for both Light and Heavy, which incorporated the first event of the hyperstimulator.com 5-Track Challenge, included a number of interstate drivers and former champions.

David Sera showed his intentions by winning Light ahead of Matthew Wall, Cameron Thorpe, Jason Pringle and Troy Woolston. Interestingly, all five drivers were aboard the new Arrow B-Max, which was making its official race debut.

Aaron Rintoul beat Michael Pereira in Heavy with Brett Davidson, was was making a comeback to racing, in third.

The Formula 100 Titans series

completed their second round with a field of 15 drivers. Wall (Arrow/Parilla) took a controlled win but had to fend off Paul Pittam (Trulli/Parilla) during the final. It had been a deserving recovery for Pittam who spun out of the opening heat and destroyed an engine in race two. After winning a heat, Cameron Thorpe (Arrow/Parilla) was third.

The traditional Memorial Handicaps at the end of the day’s racing were won by Billy Carroll (Midget/Rookies), Nicholas Johnstone (Juniors) and David Sera (Seniors).

Other class winners were James Sera (Clubman Light), Trent James(Formula Australia Light), Liam Morey (Midgets), Justin Tate (Junior National Light), Lee Mitchener(Clubman Heavy), Daniel Rochford (Junior Clubman), Jordan Ford (Rookies) and Joshua Hughes (Junior National Heavy).

- MARK WICKS

motorsportnews

INDUSTRY NEWS

ALTRONICS has released a handheld practice tree, which allows you to practice your lights anywhere, anytime!

The Quick Tree is a handy device which allows racers to test their launch and reaction

LSX itrous PERFORMANCE Wholesale now has in stock a complete,easy-toinstall kit that makes big power for LSX’’’" manifold-equipped LS1/LS6 engines.

The intake manifold, for LS1/LS6 engines, has revolutionised the performance intake manifold business andthe new ZEX™ LSX™ Direct Port Nitrous System takes performance to a new level. The manufacturer claims increases of 75 to 250hp, utilizing a patent-pending injector nozzle that delivers optimum nitrous and fuel atomization.

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For further information and pricing visit www.performancewholesale.com.au or call Performance Wholesale direct on 07 38081986.

Great FX RNR AutoFX has released the latest in automotive customising with their amazing see-through window graphics.

New to Australia the Auto FX see-

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These graphics are ideal for those who always wanted the stunning look of airbrushing without the high cost involved - and if you get bored

20 July 2005

with the image simply remove the old one and replace with the latest design.

AutoFX window graphics are easily fitted and produce professional looking results. Each AutoFX comes complete with simple three-step DIY instructions - and no special skills or tools are required.

To ensure a great look and a product of high quality RNR AutoFX source their pictures and images from professional photographers and graphic artists.

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The Quicktree can be set for 0.5 second or 0.4 second lights and for a Full or Pro tree.

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transferred using the latest state-ofthe-art large format printers, ensuring a clean and crisp high quality image of unequalled clarity.

RNR AutoFX are printed onto high quality vinyl and are guaranteed for 12 months. The unique design performs a practical function while adding style. The RNR AutoFX blocks the suns UV rays and keeps the interior cool.

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CLASSIFIEDS

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your motorsport vehicle, parts, memorabilia with our all-new combined magazine/ internet classified service. Courtesy of an agreement between Motorsport News 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!

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IT’S THE SMART WAY TO SELL YOUR EQUIPMENT!

HQ Kingswood 40

j 308 Brock Motor, Aussie 4speed, 10 bolt .; LSD, 6 point steel cage, quadrant/Bilstein suspension, superlites 14inch x ISinch, cams Im 3J log book. Eligible for group N, spares |ft package, ready for circuit racing on a budget H or Tramac Rallies. $9,500. Doug 02 6742 3001 or 0412 751 823 (ah).

Jtl

www.my105.com/70268

1995 Chev Camaro Z28 convertible 1-^ A/C, Alloy wheels, central locking, immobiliser, m - I airbags, alarm, leather seats, body kit

Mazda RX7 Series 5 Turbo, Winner Standard Specification Class Targa Tasmania 04 & 05.Excellent condition, Cams approved cage. Fresh engine before 04 event. Log book Australian delivered.

Registration AOE 57R. $13,990 Neg. Carey 315 (02)49659202 A/H, www.myl05.com/18384

Mazda RX7 13B, PP injection. Microtech MTX8, Needham 5spd, full floater rear end 4,1, 4.4, 4.8 gears, adj watts link, 4 spot calipers, Dickward front and rear. Last raced 02 finished 3rd in class, 5th overall in NSW championship, must sell due to other project. $14,500 ONO. Berry 0402 998 633 or 02 6241 0678.

315 www.myl05.eom/50296

including high rear wing, ABS, cruise control, driving lights, power steering, new paint. $ 44,500 Or Best Offer. Brett 0417005755.

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<

www.myl05.com/76898 Sedans/Sports Cars 2ltr sports sedan nat. champ 03/04, A class leading car that will be sold ready to race.with 2 sets of rims.some moulds&parts. car is ready to race &win. $20,000 ONO, david 0357273202 / 0357273328, 315 www.myl05.com/6548

streamliner. Extensive racing history.

Logbooked as LB car. Now fitted with BMCA but first car in Australia fitted with Ford Anglia motor. Garaged for 30years but refurbished recently. $29,950 Or Best Offer.

Graham Dell 0296301553 / 0296301553.

315 www.myl05.com/21233

Tranzam Super Saloon GT1 Race Car, US Protofab chassis. Four meetings old since baremetal rebuild. Hendrick NASCAR engine one meeting old over 720hp drysump. 4 speed magnesium housed Probox. 2000 Camaro glass body. Lots of spares inci moulds. Amazing fast car READY TO RACE. Email questions to: richard@davidreidhomes.co.nz. $70,000 Not Neg. Richard Freeman 0064 21 541177.

315 www.myl05.com/94325

20 July 2005

Escort Mk1 Project Car, in excellent condition built for supersprints, & hillclimbs, 1600 Kent engine, twin 40 Dellortos, extractors, ‘ electronic ignition, 5-speed Sierra box, Capri front end, gold superlites, alloy cage, fuel cell, extras include unassembled 2 litre engine, fibreglass flares, 4x7in Hotwires, many spares. Geoff 0408 118 087. $9,000 ONO. Geoff 0408 118 310 087. www.myl05.com/42648

1976 Ford Escort Club Car, Cams iog book, full roil cage, brake bias, near new Yokohama Advan tyres on 7’ Rebel wheels, 12mths since full ground up rebuild. Heaps of spares including motor, diff, gearboxes, body panels etc. Includes single axle trailer with hydraulic override disc brakes. This vehicle is in excellent condition. $12,000 ONO. Darryl (07) 4630 8210 (home) / 0409 315 615 255. www.myl05.com/25493

VK Commodore Sports Sedan, 350 Chev top loader and 9 inch diff. Mid mounted engine. New seat belt, new brake pads, adjustable suspension. Log book, will separate, reliable car. $16,900. Greg 0417 315 580 760. www.myl05.eom/47036

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Honda Civic, Brand New Paint, Professionally Detailed , Low K's, BuddyClub Body kit- front back and sides, Clear Tail Lights 16 inch Rims, Immaculate inside and out. 10 months rego. 95% tyre tred. selling due to going overseas. 16,000 matt 0415687885. www.my105.com/64093

Aussie Racing Car, Mike Russell's championship winning FJ Holden bodied car in near new condition with spare whells, tyres. Custom open trailer available $2,000. $30,000, Mike 02 4647 3094 or 0411 442 315 949 www.my105.com/76762

BMW 320i New Zealand Touring Car, ExInternational Motorsport, Championship winning history. As raced by Craig Baird, Jason Richards and Brett Riley. Includes spares package. Spare engine also available. $49,000.

Peter Millener 315 6421399565 / 6494136516. www.myl05.eom/72502

Datsun Sunny 3J Club Car, Professionally built lightweight race car, CA-16, EMS, Willwood Callipers, Monster Brakes, Fabricated Neg Camber Disc Brake Rear End, Welded 8pt Cage, New Dunlops Fitted, Fully sorted, easy to drive, stops & turns exceptionally well. Log Booked & ready to go, comes with 2 spare engines & spare set of rims. 11,000 Neg, Gavin 0416 065 510, 315 www.myl05.com/3494

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●> 4

64 Mustang, Mustang Race Car 1964 Nb, logbook ex condition left hand drive New rolier engine over 400 H.P Topioader button clutch twin plate 9” Detroit Locker Alloy Roll cage Kelsey Hayes 4 spot front calipers Koni shocks Very competife & reliable car.

315 45,000. Shane 0733926699. www.my105.com/14888

Torana XU1 Group Nc, One of Australia's quickest and most reliable Torana's, with times and results to prove it! Professionally maintained, full ground up rebuild March 2005. (Dyno sheets) etc. Immaculate car throughout, spares include gearbox, new wets and rims. Turn key ready to race, just been prepped for the next state round. $38,000 ONO. Mark 0407 801 126 or 03 9572 1376.

315

MGB, MGB, Group Sb, excellent 64 shell, Rowntree motor done 2 meetings since rebuild, Needham close ratio box, LSD, good history. Many spares available. Over $40,000 spent. Custom trailer $1,800. $18,000 ono. Will trade. Tim 0417-654770 . $18,000 ONO. Tim 02 65835955.

315

www.myl OS.com/22931

M%

ft

Alfa Romeo gtv6, fully rebuilt drivetrain fully welded in cage new sparco seat and harness new memo wheel and shifter to many things to mention all receipts and log books. 15000 ONO. adrian 0416028906.

315

www.myl05.com/59627

p>

group c a9x torana, group c touring car 1977 bob morris 4 door a9x bathurst torana , original gmp&A 4 door race shell 1 of only 10 ,fully restored with original cams log books .fresh tate engine, full race and ownership history offers in excess of $110,000 call Chris 03 9725 4441 0407 889 910. www.my105.com/16347

Porsche 944, Build for 944 Series, 2004 Championship winning car, no expense spared, current spec engine, spare wheels and tyres, Sparco fire system, EC, $35,000.

Kane 0408 103 815.

315

1987 SIV Mazda RX7 Targa Car, Aust Delivered SIV RX7, built for Targa 2005, finished 1st in class, new paint, fresh 13BT engine, SV box, diff & turbo, Koni adjustable suspension & Lovells springs. Cobra seats, G Force harnesses. Steel cage, CAMS Log Book, long rego, extensive spares Ph Wayne 03 63401487 Freight easily arranged. $T7K ONO. 03 63401487.

315 www.myl05.eom/84404

www.myl05.eom/69044

Hurd/Krause Torana, Chev powered 300KW LX Torana, Freshened Engine, This car has at least 4 National Titles, Numerous State Titles. Won Maliala IP nationals in

www.myl05.com/95521

2000 Times Phillip Island 1.47, Symmons 1.00.39, Baskerville 59.4 This car requires a serious driver. $26000ono.

Mark 0408133510 / 0363695416.

315

VW Beetle Turbo Sports Sedan, Tube frame, coil over suspension, Avon slicks, mounted wets, hot Subaru RS Liberty Quad Cam, Avo Turbo, EMS Management system, 300 BHP, Kombi box, Detroit locker, spares, trailer, hill climb car, very competitive. $20,000 Neg. John 0417 454 402. www.myl05.com/95122

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313

%

www.myl05.eom/49063

SPORTS SEDAN, Mazda RX7 Current Under 2.5L ASSA Vic Champion, 1999 Improved Production Championship Car. Fresh 13B Bridge Port, Fuel Injected Dry Sump, Motec, Rose Jointed suspension, watts linkage. Spare Diffs incl. torson limited slip, Slick/ Wet Wheels. $15,000 rolling chassis READY TO RACE. $25,000 Neg. Graeme 0407367480.

315 www.myl O5.com/15361

TOYOTA CELICA GT4 GRP A, TARMAC RALLY CAR.PREPARED BY WHITE HOT MOTORSPORT/OUTRIGHT WINNERS TARGA TAS 05),MPC TUNED,15TH OUTRIGHT/CATEGORY 8 & CLASS WINNER TARGA TAS 2005.FULL ENGINE/TURBO REBUILD FOR TARGA.BILSTEIN SUSPENSION.FULLY OPTIONED MOTEC M4.NEAL BATES ROLL CAGE.SPARES + MORE. $30,000 315 Neg. David 0415257470. www.my105.com/40196

U2L Datsun 1200 Coupet, Former U2L state and national championship winning car, still posts competative times. Has been freshened up recently, and is in very good condition. Spare parts package included. $12,500 Neg. Stephen 0412 046 462.

314 www.myl05.com/75684

SEDANS/ SPORTS CARS, RSI 600 BDA ESCORT.Cams NC log book.twin cam CK49 body shell,1660cc BDA engine,close ratio gearbox,LSD, watts linkage, antidive, bilsteins, AP clutch, alloy fuel tank and radiatoqworid cup crossmember,ect. $45000 ono. Phone Collin: 0438 441 480.

313 www.myl OS.com/34924

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motorsport news

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CLASSIFIEDS Bikes

Open Wheelers luj

H

Cil

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JtV.I.'.l f'oKnmtfmM

F3 Dallara 01 Spiess, Winner Mailala, Gold Coast Indy 2004, Currently fastest 01 in Aust, Engine Fresh from Spiess before Wakefield Park. Car race ready BRM prepared. Spares package available. Will trade road car. Phone Gil 0418856227. .

315 $70,000 gst Inc. www.myl05.eom/3607

Regretfull sale Mazda rx-3, run's low 13's all day on street tyres and full street trim and weighs 2300 lbs engine is a 13b race bridgeport, hurley seals all the good bits in it . series 4-5 box 3" custom tail shaft , hilux diff 4:88 ratio, dragway indy pro's 15x7 plus brand new tyres. $18,000 neg Or Best Offer.

Darren 0418871492 / 0434093474.

314 www.myl05.com/50736

Ideal For Formular Ford Transport, 3 tonne, 6-pallet space Tautliner with gates & lift, carry total of 2 half tonne in weight, air cond, low kms, 10 mths rego. $22,000 Neg. Nick 0418580060.

316 www.myl05.com/32924

husqvarna adventure tourer, factory adventure tourer with elec.start.long range fuel tank.heated grips.bike is in exc. condition. $7,800 ONO. david 0357273202 / 0357273328.

315 , www.myl05.com/34889

Speedway Karts for sale . Si

Farrell S/Sports car/trailer, second outright SA Hillclimb Champs, 2003-04 outright sports car record Colingarove 13,1600 record. 16-2000 reo, fast and reliable. $18,000. Andrew 08 8373 2820 (wk) 0438 317 943 799 / 08 8357 6485 (ah), www.myl05.com/30977

1200 f/vee. Run in (unraced) top hp Rigeline eng. Memo quickrelease s/wheel, year old Sparco 3" harness. 2 sets of tyres/chrome wheels, Dunlops & Bridgestones. 2 sets of ex-pipes 3 mufflers.

Heaps of spares, and open frailer with tyre rack and rego. 10 500 Neg. Lee 0409 858 314 949 / 98028252. www.my105.com/18833

372 maxim race ready, 372 maxim completes race ready, onlyS races since rebuild 410configureable, ti bolts & carbonfibre body, spares include, new top&front wings, wheeisS tyres, bars, shocks, gears, pannels, fuelpump, frontaxie compiete,+ much more just add fuel, must sell $38000. 38000 Neg. peter blake 315 0410445695 / 0296392547. www.myl05.com/57453

Transporters/Trailers

trailer for sale, tows good .suit motorbikes,aussie race car,or speedcar. tyre rack and work bench. $4000, paul 315 0413382802. www.myl05.com/54772

Race Car/Rally Car tow or Service Vehicle, Van body with side and rear acess.Tow Bar. BAG Cabinets.Generator.

Interior and exterior lighting. Water Tank.

Waste oil Tank. Tyre Racking. $94,000.00 + GST. Alan 0398953668 / 0419324949.

315 www.myl05.com/56693

250 inter superkart. Unfortunate sale due to upgrade. Very fast, top 3 finisher in QLD. Recent engine rebuild and clutch replacement. This package comes with loads of spares, including 1989 TZ 250 Twin with pipes, barrels, cylinders, jets, gaskets, sprockets. Chassis, fiberglass jigs to either build or repair your own plus heaps more. $9500.00 Neg. tyrone gautier 0402897416.

315 www.myl05.com/32349

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www.my105.Gpih K.

Elwyn 003,1986 with Nissan N/A SR20 240 HP new engine - Autronic ECU. CAMS/log book perfect condition with many spares Eastern Creek 99 secs Wakefield 62 secs Oran Park South 42 sec. Oran Park GP 73 secs (by a grey old 95kg beginner). $28,000 ONO or as a formula ford roller $22,000 ONO. Spares include coners, panels, etc.

313 Steve 0412 711 481. www.myl05.com/59575

Purpose Built Race Trailer, 48FT PURPOSE BUILT RACE TRAILER 4.1m HIGH. FITTED OUT FOR RACE CAR, WALL CABINETS, ROLLER DRAWERS, BENCH/OVERHEAD UNDER CUPBOARDS. 3.6m MEZZANINE FLOOR, TYRE RACK, DROP DOWN TAILGATE, COMPRESSOR, 7KVA GENERATOR, LIVING QUARTERS. $93,000.00 ONO. Tony 03 5940 2034 / 0419 109 915.

315 www.myl05.com/35594

Car Trailer, Single axle trailer with ramps and winch. Will suit small car. As new tyres and brakes. 2200 ONO. Charlie 02 316 49843327. www.my105.com/87238

lercoi

I

Coliectable/Memorabilia Collectable books. The Great Race 19811996, Bathurst progs 1985-1997 & video tapes (Shell Touring Car Series) and others etc. . $2,250 ONO. Allan 43 221190 / 0418 315 488368, www.myl05.com/44994

Parts Racing Wheels, Magnum lOinches x 15, 5 Spoke Ford Pat, 4 mounted with slicks (Hoosier), 4 mounted with rain (Dunlop), $100 each. 2 x Mickey Thompson drag slicks 280inch x 9inch x 14inch brand new, $400 pair, 2 x Dunlop rain tyres, 290 /620 /15inch. $50 each. Joe 03 9546 9400.

315 www.my105.com/43668

20 July 2005

Perfect Race Car Transportation Solution, This truck and trailer combination is the perfect race team solution. Truck has dual fuel 454 chev with 300 litre gas tank, auto, CD player, Dec rego & seats 6 comfortable. MRT goose neck trailer fits 2 F3's and spares. Fully lined with power, anex, side door. May seperate. $60,000 316 ONO. Michael 0417 462 664. www.my105.com/40221

Dodge Racecar Transporter, 318 V8, Dual Fuel, HD ramps, fold down bench with vice, tyre racks. Needs TLC but its all there Suit local racer. $6000. Gary 0418832664.

315 www.my105.com/60552 Car Trailer Tandem, tyre rack, tool boxes, winch to suit. Large car ramps. $2,595.

315 Keith 03 9792 9526 (w). www.my105.com/3488

I am very happy with the service I received. Aii three of the enquiries you forwarded were firm buyers and it was sold on a first come first served basis.

Again thanks.

I. Hills

Gef it seen Get it soidl 81

■'IJI.'IM 1T

nUNSIMIt www.iTinews.com.au

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor: Phil Branagan ® editor@mnew5.com.au Deputy Editor; Mark Slendenning ® mark@mnews.com.au National Editor: Grant Rowley “ grant@mnews.com.au Staff Journalist: Chris Jordan » chrisj@mnews.com.au

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82

Wheels in (com)motion

I enjoyed your article 'Wheels in Motion' (MNews #312).

Australia needs a platform where young drivers can build their skills and progress, either in Austraha or overseas. Other sports, such as tennis and cricket, have progressed internationally because their administration have put in place significant programs to enhance the careers of young sports starts. Motor racing in Australia needs to do the same.

There is a lot of misinformation and false perception aroimd the advantages and disadvantages of the various paths a young driver with talent and budget can take.

Young Australians need a development path. This would be endorsed by CAMS and supported by the general motorsport community.

Andrew South Andrew.South@vizzi.com.au

Open-wheel change needed

Congratulations on your analysis 'Wheels in Motion' (MNews #312) expressing your views and Irighlighting the plight of open-wheel racing in Australia today.

Your articles have clearly identified the precarious position this category currently finds itself. As Chris Lambden aptly pointed out in his 'Winning Formula?' opinion article (MNews #307), some open-wheel formulae in this country are 'teetering' and unless some firm decisions are taken and some future direction initiated, this aspect of our sport will suffer.

It's time Australia took stock and had a very close and critical examination of our open-wheel categories at a National level and the direction in which they are heading.

I fully support the well-held view that it's time we bit the bullet and adopted an all-new category as our premier open-wheel class.

Clearly, there are some exciting opportrmities on the horizon and you have alluded to both. Formula Toyota and Formula BMW. A very pro-active approach needs to be adopted by our authorities in this regard and CAMS should be closely examining both Formulae. On the last occasion a global manufacturer became serious about 'entry level' open-wheelers.

Formula Ford was born.

We must look to our sport's governing body, CAMS, to shine a light and lead'the way forward, examining the best options for our young drivers to build their careers and hone their skills nationally in readiness for the main game, if/when an opportunity presents itself.

Two new and exciting open-wheel Formulae are there for the taking.

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converter Send us your thoughts: mail; PO Box 7072, Gardenvale, VIC 3186 fax: 03 9596 5030 www.mnews.com.au with two large, successful global manufacturer's support no less. What are we waiting for?

Why are we waiting until these other fledgling Formulae 'wither on the Australian motorsport vine'? Is it not possible for our motorsport government to adopt a proactive approach to examine and put in place some form of succession plan?

John F Benson johnb@mopro.net

V8s needs a ‘Danica’ Everybody has seen first-hand the effect tire emergence and success of Danica Patrick has had on IRL in the US. For the first time in years I taped Indy just because there was the potential of a woman winning.

The potential increase in worldwide media exposure and the resultant increase in motorsport marketing opportunities somebody like Danica provides is nothing less than huge and long overdue.

Imagine if we had a competitive female in V8 Supercars. The audience would swell by at least one third as would the spread of potential sponsors and that would be good for everybody.

That we already have this lady in Leanne Tander (nee Ferrier) is something that needs to be

acknowledged. Leanne performed as good as the guys in the Konica V8s and is nowadays slaying them in Improved Production. To its credit, GRM gave her some support a few years back but that just seemed to end before it got properly started.

Leanne has already proven herself in FF and V8s and other classes, how about some of the better teams at least giving her a test. And CAMS and AVESCO this is something you should also.be backing in the long-term interpst of the sport.

Motorsport in Australia won't make an impact in the mainstream media until we have something really different to offer, such as our own home grown Danica Patrick.

And isn't greatly increased Supercar media coverage just what Tony Cochrane been wanting? jim Thorn via email

FIA should look to NASCAR The FIA only had to take a look at the NASCAR Pepsi 400 on July 4 to understand how to apply penalty (or not) by the governing body.

The rain delayed event finished around 1.30am their time, yet every fan stayed to the end. Why? Other than a sensational race, time and time again racing incidents took place that were adjudicated and resolved without penalising the racing or the show for the fans. For example, a full race stoppage was avoided by simple changing the track. Yes! they ran the cars through pit lane behinci the pace car avoiding a complete stoppage while clearing the track. A typical V8 Supercar pitlane bingle resulted in 'no further action' and so on.

What the FIA,and CAMS for that matter, still don't understand is that the stunningly successful NASCAR, runs on one main rule.

Rule 1 - 'we are here for the fans' followed up by rule 2 'when in doubt, refer to rule V. No wonder Ambrose is busting to get into to the world best motorsport spectacle!

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Making a splash: MNews's analysis of open-wheel racing in Australia seems to have clone just that.

motorsport news

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