Motorsport News Issue 325 - December 21, 2005 - January 3, 2006

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ROCK OIM! DJR unveils its brave new look

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Issue 325 21 December 2005-3 January 2006

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Living on Bourbon Street The Jack Daniel’s is on LP!

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Reverse of the Nerds V8 team owners still not thrilled

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Hello, Ron? McLaren signs a 10-year Vodafone deal io Not a Xmas card Wildcard!

And Britek wants it for Seto 12 Frank and Bernie Williams signs up for some Concorde 25 Motor Mouth The Ed must be phone shopping again 26 Box Seat Nightie night Joe. Snuggle up warm, now 82 Talk Converter Seton for HRT? Urn, not likely

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28 Five Minutes With Larry Perkins LP, we will bring the ice and mixers ...

30 Five Minutes With Ryan Briscoe No job (yet) but he has been very busy 32

ingall, out loud He celebrated, went home, moved house and then spoke to Motorsport News. The Enforcer tells it like it is 38 No black smoke here Audi's new Le Mans challenger goes ‘burn’, not 'bang' 42 V8 Supercar Review Looking back on another classic season for V8s 52 Fernando Can Do The FI year had some great racing and a new Champion

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Photos: Cover: Peter Bury, DJR and Marshall Cass Contents: Dirk Klynsmith, CCWSLAT/Greg Alleck, suttonimages.com

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Drag Racing

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National Scene

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ARRY Perkins has announced a major three-year sponsorship deal with US-based bourbon brand Jack Daniel's.

The three-year deal,said to be worth $10m over that time,removes any doubt about the future of Perkins'team and brings a new household-name, non-automotive sponsor to V8 Supercar racing.

"To say I'm happy would be an understatement," LP told MNews this week.

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"This is a major international brand, and their involvement with my team will very much mirror their successful involvement in NASCAR in the US. "We win run a pair of Jack Daniel's cars,for Steven Richards and Paul Dumbrell. This package certainly enables us to maintain the continuity within the team and should allow us to challenge even harder for the championship."

Interestingly,Jack Daniel's 'brand' number is seven, the race number under which Rod Nash has run the Autobam entry,from Perkins' workshops, this year. Perkins and Nash have thus,for obvious reasons, negotiated a swap of numbers, leaving LP with numbers 7 and 11 -

DICK Johnson is no longer just a team owner of a V8 Supercar team.

The motor racing legend launched his two new brands V8 Telecom and FirstRock Home Loans - plus the team's new livery, merchandise and further corporate support in Brisbane last week.

The famous #17 Ford Falcon will be piloted by Dick's son, Steve in First Rock colours, while the team's new signing Will Davison will drive the V8 Telecom-branded car.

FirstRock and V8 Telecom is an independent, Australianowned organisation that is part of the Dick Johnson Group of companies - which was 4

subject, it seems, to V8 Supercars Australia rubber-stamping: "Yes,it was the obvious thing to do,so that's in their hands. We'll run Richo in number 7 and Paul in number 11."

Existing sponsor Mack Trucks has also increased its backing for the team.

Michael McShane,Regional Director for Brown-Forman

Beverages, the local importers of the Jack Daniel's brand, told MNews the sponsorship would match its NASCAR one,concentrating on a 'responsible driving' message: "The US involvement is grounded in that message -Pace Yourself, Drink Responsibly. Our message will be Designate a Driver," he said.

"While some alcohol companies have shied away from motorsport.

Jack Daniel's and V8 fans have, really, been together for years!

"The V8 Supercar audience is 70 percent adult- the average age of the TV audience is, I believe, 41. It fits us perfectly.

"And I'd have to say that when we told our staff the news,they were thrilled!"

For more, see Five Mimites luifU Larry Perkins, page 28.

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exclusively reported by MNews in late-November (issue #323).

Another interesting backer that DJR has introduced to the fold is Warner Brothers, the popular name behind some of n the world's most prominent cartoon characters. Car #17 will have the Flintstones on the rear quarter panel, and Davsion's car will feature characters from the Wacky Racers. motorsport news

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Perkins expects to unveil his first Jack Daniel's car in February, but MNews'graphics whiz has come up with an electronic version of what Steven Richards'2006 challenger will look like ...

The Price is Perkins Price will make the step up into V8 Supercars after finishing second and the top rookie in the 2005 Australian Formula Ford Championship. Price has dabbled in V8 Supercars previously, racing in the 2004 Development Series support race at Bathurst for the Holden Young Lions team and both he and Jack have been accumulating V8 Supercar experience in a Perkins's ride car this season.

"It should be really good next year driving for Larry," said Price. "It is . good to be doing it as a two-car team and I'm glad to be running with Jack."

"It is nice to have next year's plans Ford Championship,as well as sorted early so Jack and I can start working as a part of Perkins working towards next year."

Motorsport in this year's V8 Supercar -CHRIS JORDAN Championship.

JACK Perkins and Shane Price will spearhead a two-car campaign from Perkins Motorsport in the 2006 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

Larry Perkins's Holden squad will make its first full-time foray into the V8 Supercar feeder championship just as the main series Perkins squad has secured backing from Jack Daniels, but the Fujitsu Series cars will not run Jack Daniel's are their primary sponsor.

MNews first linked Larry's son Jack to racing in the Development Series last issue. Jack has previously driven in the Victorian State Formula

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21 December 2005

You did what with Lowndsey?

THE pre-Christmas period sees a number of sponsor/fan ride days as V8 Supercar teams round out their year. But a Ride Day can be a risky thing - ask Tripie 8 or Tasman. With his race car sideiines briefly, Craig Lowndes was chauffering passengers around QR in a roadbased T8 showcar, only to suffer brake failure at the end of the back straight and wall the car. No-one was hurt, but we hear the passengers were actually elated - it's one thing to ride with Lowndsey, but how many get to crash with him?!

"We always have concerns about n ride days," said TEGA Chairman Kelvin O'Reilly. "It is a subject we continue to look at as a whole. I know the benefits they bring to the teams but, like anything to do with racing, safety is paramount."

During the same frenetic week, Tasman Motorsport also suffered a mechanical problem, which pitched one of its cars into the wall at Winton, again with a passenger along for the ride. Again, was no-one hurt, thanks to the stringent safety requirements. n Tony Manson has been appointed to the role of Special Projects Manager at Cup Car Australia.

Manson previously worked for V8 Supercars Australia as Operations Manager for five years. Manson's role will include the identification and development of expansion opportunities for Cup Car Australia within all forms of motorsport.

MNews hears that the expansion could be offshore. n BMW has confirmed that Australia's Michael Patrizi will be receive a fully-funded deal from BMW Motorsport to drive in the 2006 Formula BMW UK Championship.

As we reported last issue, Patrizi will relocate to England early next year for the deal, which makes him a part of BMW's junior driver ladder system, "This is a great opportunity provided to me by BMW," said Patrizi. "To be linked with a manufacturer at this stage of my career is very important for any young racing driver."

This will be the second year in Formula BMW for Patrizi, who this year finished second overall and was the rookie champion in the Formula BMW Asia Championship this year. n Super Cheap Auto Racing's Christmas party at last week's Mornington Cup horse races near Melbourne proved to be a profitable affair with every member of the team collecting from the bookies on the Race 2 winner... Ambrose!

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Tradition continues Ex-GRM pilot gets Tasman gig ANDREW Jones will race for Tasman Motorsport in 2006 after signing a one-year, plus one year option, contract this week.

Jones, who like his predecessor Jamie Whincup found himself without a drive at Garry Rogers Motorsport, won the drive after a three-man test at Winton last Monday.

Luke Youlden and Nathan Pretty were the other two drivers tested.

"All three of them got on well with the team and fitted in, but I'd have to say that Andy was the one who got straight onto the pace," which is important bin V8 Supercars," team principal Kevin Murphy told MNews

on Monday.

"The fact that he has a full V8 season behind him, with a Development series win the year before, also helped him."

Jones, who marries fiancee Michelle on January 6, is understandably thrilled to get one of the last remaining 2006 main-game rides to be decided: "It's exciting to step into a team that has come so far in the last 12 months with podium finishes at the two biggest races of the year at Sandown and Bathurst. The team has a really great vibe to it, and that's important too."

AN extraordinary general meeting, along with a Board spill, could be the ultimate result of the V8 Supercars Australia (V8SA) Board's resolve to continue down the 'reverse grid' path despite a majority of teams expressing strong disapproval of the move.

Following its final Board meeting of the year, at which it discussed a letter from 12 teams asking for a review of the decision, the V8SA Board endorsed its decision to introduce a reverse grid race at three-race events in 2006 and prepared an extensive press-release outlining its reasons - which include support from V8 broadcasters Network Ten and some drivers, including a couple whose teams remain opposed {see right)\ Unless the Christmas break numbs the current feeling among teams, MNews believes the matter is likely to be 're visited' in the New Year. Whether the outcome is as dramatic as a Board challenge remains to be seen, but many teams remain very unhappy, as much at the process by which the decision was made as the decision itself.

"If any Board continues to make decisions that go against the wishes of the majority of its shareholders, then a challenge is always on the cards," one team pcincipal told US.

Watch this space ...

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WPS Considers Fujitsu V8s Licen Queensland team shelves Carrera Cup plans - opts to look for emerging talent

by GRANT ROWLEY WPS RACING is likely to enter a car in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series in 2006.

The Queensland Ford team tested six young drivers at Queensland Raceway last week, with a view of looking at who would best suit the role as the team’s Development driver.

The move by WPS Racing to enter a car in the Fujitsu V8 Series comes with the news that the team won’t enter two cars in the Carrera Cup championship, as they had intended to do.

“With us building two new cars for the main series next season, it has left us with out two current cars as spares,” team manager Keith Evers explained.

“With the change in the Fujitsu 6

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“At this stage we are just looking at entering one car. We want to get a young guy who we

can build up. Someone who we can use in the endurance races and develop through the year.”

Lee Holdsworth, Shane Price, Daniel Gaunt, Marcus Zukanovic, Stephen White and Ashley Walsh all had a stint in the team’s two Ford Falcons at QR.

THE V8 Supercar Championship Series may have a reduced grid to 33 cars - or maybe even 32- next season.

The Touring Car Entrants’ Group (TEGA)is close to fulfilling its iong-held plans to reduce the number of licence holders to 32 and thus allow all entrants to compete in all rounds of the championship. At the moment, 34 licences exist and the top 30 cars automatically enter all races.

Two of the bottom four licences - Britek’s, Toll’s and one of Larkham’s and Dynamik’s - will rely on two ‘wildcard’ entries to be determined by V8 Supercar Australia.

But TEGA held a teleconference last Friday to

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Teams still agitated over reverse grid racing WAYNE CATTACH(V8SA CEO):"The board remains resolute that the reverse grid format will freshen the sport for its fans and sponsors by adding extra entertainment value and a dose of the unpredictable. The V8 Supercars Australia board has critically reviewed submissions from stakeholders and a cross section of media reports before affirming its decision.

"There are a number of precedents in professional sport where rule changes have increased the popularity of the sport without adversely affecting the brand or its traditions.

"We all recall when Kerry Packer unveiled one-day cricket and when the so called pundits claimed it would be the end of the game as it was known. One-day cricket is now in many ways the lifeblood of the game but does not take away from the traditions of the sport.

"What is important in the new format is that the best team and driver should still win the event and potentially the Championship. The feedback received from some drivers and teams is highly enthusiastic about this change as it is in the best interests of the sport."

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RtCK KELLY: "I can't wait to get out there and have a crack at it.

Now that we know it is happening let's get on with it and stop whingeing. It will be great to be at the back trying to work your way through the field.

"That will also reward the guys who are good at passing. To be honest I'm really looking forward to {: it - it really puts a whole new perspective and dimension on racing.

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Todd Kelly: I here are only a handful of blokes in this Senes who can race and conae through fiom the back of the grid. It sounds like tun and it wi spice things up."

Kim Jones:"Our core business is gntertainment. What we as a sport

need to do is grow our fan base and the best way to do that is to add excitement for the spectators and television. A reverse grid will do exactly that. If we can get the entertainment factor right we can take on the world.

Our industry is about risk management. m sure there will be

some accidents and people will make , mistakes but that's our sport and we have to live with that. Just like when we first introduced compulsory pit stops you will find the majority will work it out | fairly quickly and settle into strategies. | "And the cream will always rise to ; T: the top no matter what."

ce Scramble Dynamik gone - Gurr and Coulthard promoted to main game discuss the option of buying back one of the licences. We believe that this is the #75 Toll Level 2 entry under which Anthony Tratt previously raced.

Recent moves have seen the two Level 1 licences held by Tony Longhurst transferred to Rod Nash, one of which will be used to run the Marty Brant-prepared Autobarn entry, which MNews believes will be driven by Owen Kelly.

The second Longhurst licence has been on-sold to PMM, which already runs two entries for Morris and Paul Radisich. The team will run a third entry with backing from a number of sponsors, including Konica Minolta. The car will feature two

21 December 2005

The Curr Machine: Alan Gurr is now a part-time V8 main series driver. He'll share a seat with Fabian Coulthard.

drivers who will alternate the seat during the season - Alan Gurr and Fabian Coulthard.

That would leave Nash’s L2 licence to go to Paul Cruickshank Racing but without its number 7 attached, as Nash and Larry Perkins have worked out a deal to transfer that number. That would be subject to approval by V8SA though we hear that the news of LP’s Jack Daniel’s deal was met with great enthusiasm at world HQ,so mark that down as a done deal ...

One effect of all this is the effective demise of Dynamik.

The troubled Adelaide-based team now has cars and spares but no entries into the main series.

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PSST! Like things black and rubbery?

Then leap onto russellingall.com and bid on one of two tyres used by Russell Ingall to seal the deal at Phillip Island. Two tyres from the #9 SBR Falcon are being auction to raise funds for the Starlight Foundation.

The tyres are individually cased, come with an image of some post race celebrations as well as a certificate of authenticity from TEGA - they will be auctioned separately and will be freighted to the winning bidders courtesy of Dunlop. The auction will run through until midnight on January 31. n Marco Holzer has won the inaugural Formula BMW World Final and will be given a test with the BMW Sauber FI team for his victory.

Holzer, 17, won all of his heat races and the pre-final before finishing second in the final behind Nicholas Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg, however, was given a 10-second penalty post-race for not keeping a consistent pace while leading the field as the Safety Car pulled into the pits.

Australia's Nathan Antunes turned in a stunning drive in the final to finish fifth after starting the final back in 18th place. Antunes led home a train of cars that diced furiously all race that included the other Australian present, James Davison who was 10th from 16th on the grid. n Shannons in now in the Motorcycle Insurance business. The long-time supporter of all things motoring launched its bike insurance campaign on December 10 and yes, that pretty average head on the TV ads is Network 10 mouth Daryl Beattie. The company offers a number of interesting features, like coverage for riding apparel in the event of a tumble. n Speaking of drivers on screens, Alex Zanardi (or someone pretending to be him) could soon be on a big silver one. A US production company has bought the screen rights to the Italian's autobiography, and has reportedly already commissioned a screenplay. Talks between the studio and various production companies are now under way. n She may be single no longer but Danica Patrick is still popular.

The Rahal Letterman Indy Car driver heads the voting for the US Sports Academy Female Athlete of the Year Award. Patrick leads the way from gymnast Nastia Liukin, baskettsall player Yolanda Griffith and swimmer Natalie Coughlin.

Voting is by fans around the world at usatoday.com and ends on Christmas Eve, 7

Jumps Ship

But will it be Alice in Schumi-land?

McLaren has snared a 10year primary sponsorship deal with long-time Ferrari sponsor Vodafone, starting in 2007.

While pundits were predicting a McLaren/Intel partnership (see other story), McLaren boss Ron Dennis has instead snared a bigger catch: "We were very close to a deal with Intel," Dennis confirmed.

"We got to the press release stage, but this was a better deal for us. We have been talking to Vodafone for three years and it is a very good fit."

Vodafone spokesman Peter Bamford said that the current deal with Ferrari had created "a measurable effect" on the Vodafone brand and added that "we need the global platform that FI offers" but said that Ferrari was not willing to offer the same kind of deal as McLaren, although the financial commitment was about the same.

"Ferrari is very shaped and established," he said. "The title sponsorship was very important to us and we wanted to be associated with winning and with leading edge technology.

We also wanted an alignment in terms of culture and values.

This is very important to us and to McLaren. We fit very well with McLaren."

The deal is for 10 years with a value in excess of US$500m.

McLaren is expected to race in 2006 with an 'interim' livery.

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without, in effect, a naming rights sponsor, A return to McLaren orange?

AT the same time,the announcement obviously digs a major hole in the Ferrari budget for 2007, but we believe that the team is already in advanced negotiations to do a deal with Alice,the broadband service of Telecom Italia.

Alice is expanding fast at the moment in Europe, and Telecom Italia, which sponsored Ferrari a few years back with its TIM mobile brand, has earmarked US$2,5bn to develop the brand in Italy. Alice has already entered the French and German markets and undoubtedly has bigger ambitions around the world.

Alice is already investing in Moto GP as an official partner of the Marlboro-funded Ducati motorcyle team.

There have also been suggestions that Alice might become the sponsor of Valentino Rossi next year in an Alice Yamaha team. Rossi is testing for Ferrari more and more and may end up racing for the team in 2007.

The link to Ferrari also makes sense, as part of the marketing package adopted by Alice is its association with red. Its Internet portal is called Rosso Alice, and it is already the sponsor of the America’s Cup yacht 'Luna Rossa'.

- JOE SAWARD

ADRIAN Newey was almost a Honda man before he agreed to join Red Bull Racing.

Nick Fry, above with Newey, the team principal of what is now Honda Racing, has admitted that the team discussed a deal with the star designer before he announced he was leaving McLaren.

According to January's edition of FI Racing, BAR-Honda technical director Geoff Willis approached Newey some months ago. The two men worked together at Williams in the early 1990s.

"Geoff did have a few discussions with Adrian," Fry told the magazine, "but, in the end we concluded that there was no role for an individual like Adrian at Honda. Everyone at Honda understood that."

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RED Bull Racing has confirmed that David Coulthard will be joined at Red Bull Racing in 2006 by Christian Klien and that Tonio Liuzzi is being relegated to Scuderia Toro Rosso, where he will drive a Cosworth VlO-powered car alongside America's Scott Speed.

The driver line-up is now complete, with Robert Doornbos acting as the test and reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and Switzerland's Neel Jani doing the same thing for Scuderia Toro Rosso.

The news is significant in that it means that America will have its first fuU-time FI driver since Michael Andretti back in 1993. Having said that. Speed is not going to doing much other than learning- the team has the sum total of four Grands Prix of experience between the three drivers and will be running with the old rev-limited Cosworth VIO

engines, while Red Bull Racing will be using the new Ferrari V8s. Both teams will be running on Michelin tyres.

There are some within the RBR organisation who believe that Liuzzi has more potential than Klien, but it seems that the Austrians did not want to hear that. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future, as Liuzzi might be justified in thinking that his career development is being frustrated.

In the meantime. Red Bull Racing's RB2 broke cover last week when it took to the track for the first time during testing at Silverstone, above.

The Ferrari V8-powered car completed a limited number of laps with David Coulthard at the wheel while the team performed a series of system checks. The RB2's technical specifications will be revealed at its official launch in March.

-JOE SAWARD motorsporinews

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Less is More McLaren Mercedes principal Ron Dennis continues to press for a reduction in the Formula 1 calendar, which has been expanded to include 19 races in 2005 and 2006.

"We have football [soccer] saturation at the moment and we should avoid putting ourselves in the same situation in Formula 1," he said. "There should be three clear months with no races: just like individuals burn out, I think the public needs a break, and we could use it to rebuild the expectation of a new World Championship, We should keep the number to 16 or 17 races."

Dennis proposes to achieve a reduction by trimming both Germany and Italy back to one Grand Prix each, instead of two at present.

"For me, the German race should alternate between Hockenheim and the Nurburgring. And if you asked me, do I want to race in Italy twice or once in Italy and once in Russia, it's a no-brainer. We're competing in a World Championship, so we shouldn't be rejecting Russia over having two races in Italy."

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Au Revoir Michelin leaves FI - with a parting shot at the RA

MICHELIIM has announced that it will leave Formula 1 at the end of 2006 - but has left the door open for a return under changed circumstances.

The company has a philosophical disagreement with the intended 'one-make' FI tyre regs and has signalled that it will be gone after one more season.

Michelin fought the idea of a control tyre but at the FI Commission at the end of October the company was deserted by one of its teams and a key vote on tyre regulations for 2006 was lost.

"This decision is the result of profound differences between Michelin's long-standing sporting philosophy and the way Formula 1 is managed by the regulating authorities," said Edouard Michelin.

"The differences no longer provide a clear and sustainable environment to justify long-term investments. For Michelin, leaving Formula 1 in no way represents abandoning motorsports, to which the Michelin brand has been committed for 117 years. If Formula 1 's ways of functioning were to .be significantly modified, Michelin would not hesitate in proposing its services to the different teams once again."

There has been considerable antagonism between Michelin and the FIA since Indianapolis.

Michelin has rarely missed the opportunity to criticise the federation, and the FIA has rarely missed the chance to take a snipe at Michelin.

Neither side has helped the situation.

- JOE SAWARD

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21 December 2005

AS MNews closed for press came late news from Europe that Super Aguri was about to get the go-ahead to enter the 2006 World Championship.

The latest word from Japan is that Aguri Suzuki, left, has now secured the US$48m needed to pay the FIA its deposit to enter the championship.

We hear that Aguri has also agreed to sell some of the company to Softbank, which will also be his primary sponsor, and it is expected that Softbank's connections in the technology world and some its shareholdings in other companies will result in additional sponsorships for the team.

The problems appeared to have been in securing the signature of MFl Racing, which has very little to gain from helping out Suzuki. Clearly, there has been pressure brought to bear, probably from Bernie Ecclestone and Honda,and the way now seems clear for the new team to race update cars based on 2002 Arrows chassis, which have been beefed up to pass the crash tests, so will be overweight.

New cars are expected to appear in time for the European races.

-JOE SAWARD

n The word in Brazil is that Nelson Piquet Jnr could be seen in 2006 as the second test driver at Honda Racing FI, The team has confirmed drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello and it is clear that Anthony Davidson will be the third driver once again.

The team already has Adam Carroll, James Rossiter, Danilo Dirani and Alan Van der Merwe under contract. n McLaren will decide in the next few days who will be the second test driver alongside Pedro de la Rosa.

There are believed to be three drivers in line for the job; Alexander Wurz, the current incumbent; DTM Champion Gary Paffett, and Formula 3 Euroseries Champion Lewis Hamilton. All three drivers have also been talking to BMW and it is likely that one of them could end up working with the Munich team.

Hamilton is expected to race in GP2 next year with the ART team, his budget coming from McLaren, and the team may then decide to sign him up as a test driver in 2007, n Construction of the new Honda Racing FI wind tunnel at Brackley is already finished, ahead of schedule, and commissioning will begin before Christmas. One of the men behind the project, Australian engineer Willem Toet, has left the team. Toet has been working in FI for the last 20 years, initially at Benetton and later with the Reynard FI project. He then returned to Benetton before being poached by Ferrari until 1999 when he joined BAR. There is currently no word on his plans for the future.

-SPURRING/SAWARD 9

TEGA wants Lex Lasry QC to head V8 Court HIGH profile lawyer Lex Lasry QC may lead V8 Supercar's revised Judicial system next year.

TEGA is seeking to have the Melbourne-based barrister installed as the permanent Chairman of its three-man Court of Appeal.

The move is part of a review of the category's judicial procedures described as "sweeping" by TEGA Chairman Kelvin O'Reilly. As part of the new system, the court would have a permanent Chairman and Deputy Chairman and a third person, drawn from a supplementary pool.

"We want to empower the Chairman to make decisions along the way," said O'Reilly.

"We have found with cases like the [Team] Dynamik [matter] that the court was not able to make decisions as it went. We have modelled the new structure on some of the structural elements of AMSAC." Lasry has been a Queen's Counsel for 15 years and represented convicted drug trafficker Van Nguyen, who was executed earlier this month in Singapore. Lasry also presented a report to the Australian Law Council regarding the Guantanamo Bay Military Commission trial of Australian David Hicks.

He has been on the panel of the Court of Appeal for some years and chaired the Team Dynamik hearing in 2004. TEGA has requested that Walter Sofronoff QC, Queensland's SolicitorGeneral, take the role as deputy chairman.

"With the calibre of people we wish to have involved, it should lead to a better system," concluded Q'Reilly.

As part of its ongoing review of the judiciary, TEGA is also reviewing some the minimum set penalties of offences.

- PHIL BRANAGAN 10

Britek seeks Seton Wildcard up in the air so team speaks out

by MARK GLENDENNING BRITEK Motorsport is scrambling to secure two cars with guaranteed starts in all rounds of the 2006 V8 Supercar championship.

The team currently has a deal with Steve Owen for next year, however there are a number of obstacles that it must overcome in order to get a second Falcon onto the grid.

The main hurdle is the fact that the only one car will be guaranteed a start at the six limited-grid rounds, with the second car being dependant upon landing one of the two available 'wildcard' entries in order to participate. This in turn compromises Britek's sponsorship negotiations, as the team is unable to promise prospective backers that it can field two cars at every round, Britek last week went public with its desire to secure the services of Ford veteran Gleim Seton, a move that would give the team a driver with years of experience as well as a high fan profile and clout with Ford.

All of these things could swing things in the team's favour should they find themselves at the mercy of V8 Supercars Australia and TEGA for a wildcard entry. Larry Perkins used this strategy to great effect this year when he 'rescued' the #24 car by getting Steven Richards to swap race numbers.

"Glenn would be perfect for us, as we are a new team who could benefit from having someone with his experience and racecraft," Jewell said in a statement.

"We've spoken to Glenn and I'm sure he has a few other options, but we're doing everything we can to secure the backing to field him in one of our cars next year - although time is against us."

Irrespective of whether Britek manages to secure Seton's signature, competition for the two wildcard entries will be fierce. In addition to

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This could be you, Glenn: Britek boss Chris Jewell has laid down his marker and raised his hand in a bid to get one of Ford's favourite sons.

Britek (which runs tmder two Level 2 Level 1 licenses; a factor that both teams will expect to see work in their licenses), Paul Morris Motorsport favour when wildcards are allocated. will have its hand up for one to run In the meantime, Britek is in the its newly-added second Holdens(see midst of a complete rebuild of its separate story), while Larkham two ex-FPR BAs, which will be Motor Sport is also relying on rebranded BMl and BM2 for the wildcard entries for its #20 Ford. new season.

Both PMM and LMS are run under

New blood for DJ Jrs DICK Johnson Racing's Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series program will take on a different look in 2006.

Grant Denyer will remain with the Queensland-based team, and will be joined there by former Formula Ford driver Andrew Thompson and Marcus Ladell.

Thompson,the former KartStars champion is set to suit up as an official DJR driver in the Development Series in 2006 after spending the

better part of 2005 on the sidelines. Thompson, 18, only contested three rounds of a limited Formula Ford program with the Spectrum factory team this year.

Ladell is from New South Wales and has driven in various support categories in Australia.

An official announcement regarding the team's make-up will be made in mid-February.

- GRANT ROWLEY

motorsport news

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Drive it, win in it, keep it

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RENAULT Sport has shown its gratitude to Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso by presenting him with the R25 racecar with which he won six of his seven Grand Prix victories the 2006 season.

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Ryan Flyin' in PKV Lola

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Cruickshank confirmed for the Show PAUL Cruickshank Racing has confirmed its spot on the 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series grid.

The Queensland outfit has bought Rod Nash's #7 Level 2 licence and will campaign an ex-Triple 8 Ford Falcon, upgraded to 2006-spec.

Engines will be supplied by Stone Brothers Racing and the car will be driven by PCR's Development Series driver Phillip Scifleet.

The car will not run with the #7 on the flanks, though. Larry Perkins has done a deal with Nash so Perkins can run #7 to coincide with Jack Daniel's 'Old No.7' brand that is associated with the beverage company.

- GRANT ROWLEY

21 December 2005

experience in the CCWS Lola-Cosworth.

Briscoe was pleased with his speed.

"It was a shock when we heard about the Wheldon deal at Ganassi," he said. "But I am moving on and Champ Car looks interesting to me. I am really happy to have done this test and we will have more information on what I will be doing by early January.

"But this is a good option. PKV is a team on the rise and they want to win. They know what that is going to take some steps to progress."

Briscoe says that he is confident of success in the series, should he join PKV. "The way the team operates, we would definitely have the potential to win races in the first season. I would want to use my head, get through the races and get to the finish of as many races as possible and, maybe, come out with a few wins."

For more on Briscoe, see pages 30-31

■ Fisichella Motor Sport is to join forces with Coloni Motorsport for an assault on the 2006 GP2 title. FMS International is to be the name of the new team, which combines Fisichella Motor Sport and Coloni Motorsport.

The team will be run by Paolo Coloni and Enrico Zanarini, the latter also being Fisichella's manager. Fisichella Motor Sport will continue to run a team in the Italian F3000 series in partnership with Durango.

■ Five additional franchises will be issued for the 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix series, it was confirmed in Dubai at the weekend. In its inaugural season, the self-styled 'World Cup of Motorsport' is contested by 25 national teams. One of the new franchises is already earmarked for the United Arab Emirates and we hear one country that may be looking for an entry into the series is South Korea.

888 drops $8000 TRIPLE 8 Race Engineering has been found guilty of bringing the sport into disrepute.

The breach of rules comes out of

the Phillip Island round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at which Campbell Little, the engineer of Craig ^ Lowndes's #888 car,

■ Alonso Is now an online comic book character.

According to the newly-launched Sector 97, the universe is in all sorts of trouble (as is often the way in comics), and it is down to the newlycrowned World Champ, along with some mates named Salmi, Wark, Karrain and Maran, to do something about it. Presumably a cartoon Kimi is out of the question as his spaceship engine keeps exploding.

Those with too much time on their hands can watch Fernando save the world at www.sector97.com ■ Remarks made by Bernie Ecclestone during an interview this week with RTBF, the Belgian TV station, suggest that he is close to a deal that will make his Formula One organisation the official promoter of the Belgian Grand Prix at SpaFrancorchamps.

Briscoe impresses in Champ Car test but no deal-yet

LOOK for Ryan Briscoe to be in the Champ Car World Series in 2006.

As predicted in MNews last month, the Aussie driver, who lost his Target Team Ganassi IndyCar seat to Dan Wheldon, looks set to join PKV Racing for the 2006 season.

Briscoe, 24, ended his hiatus and recovery from his Chicagoland crash on September 11 with a Formula One test in Spain and a CCWS test at Sebring.

Briscoe set the third-fastest lap in the three day test and ran Newman-Haas driver and CCWS race winner Bruno Junqueira close. The Brazilian, having his first drive since his Indianapolis 500 crash in May, set a 50.9s pace on the bumpy Florida track, just ahead of former Jordan driver Giorgio Pantano.

Briscoe's best lap was a 51-dead and he was faster than Ryan Dalziel and Charles Zwolsman, both of whom have race

TT77?1

commented on the drive-through penalty Lowndes was forced to serve after a pit lane infringement when a wheel nut rolled into the fast lane while the crew were preparing for the car's compulsory pit stop.

The team admitted the breach and was fined $10,000, $8000 of which was

rv ji >

suspended until the end of 2006.

5 % 5

■ A1 Grand Prix has pioneered the use of a helicopter for removing stranded cars from dangerous locations during its races. The system was trialled in Dubai earlier this month. A lOOObhp Air Zermatt helicopter, equipped with a 50m cable and piloted by Samuel Summermatter (a veteran of 50,000 heavy lifts), removed a test car in a fraction of the time that conventional tow vehicles would have taken. A1GP has gained its insurer's permission to use the helicopter method in all locations where grandstands do not intrude.

- SPURRING/SAWARD/STAFF

11

Manufac

by JOE SAWARD

Happy New yp Look You won't want to miss the January 4 NEW LOOK issue of A/lotorsport News Full of great New Year break reading, including:

SKAIFEY

It's been a turbulent year for HRT's kingpin - he sits down for a lengthy chat with A/lNews and tells us how Janies Courtney got away....

WILLIAMS FI has decided to accept the latest terms on offer from the Formula One Group and has signed up to an extension of the current Concorde Agreement from 2008 to 2012,thus depriving the manufacturers group of a key player.

Although the manufacturers may think otherwise, there are only four important FI brands: Ferrari, Williams, McLaren and Monaco. With Williams having agreed to a deal.

Formula One Management now holds three of the four trump cards.

Mercedes-Benz,BMW,Honda and Toyota may all be big car brands but they are not especially linked with FI. This means that it will be much harder for any rival series to be started.

There are believed to be other teams (owned by manufacturers) that are ready to sign the deal on offer if a few details can be sorted out over the governance of the sport. This is important because while they accept that FOM is offering a decent financial deal, they are not willing to accept the way that the FIA has operated on occasion in the past.

By signing the new deal. Sir Frank WUhams said he hopes that compromise can win the day.

"The manufacturers and teams have been a catalyst for a number of far-reaching changes to the economics and admirristration of Formula 1," he said."We believe that the time has now come for everybody to remove the damaging uncertainty hanging over our sport and to commit to Formula 1 after 2008.

"I hope our decision will encourage the remainder of the Formula 1

DRIVE MY CAR!

This week we talk to the new V8 Supercar champ (see page 32) - next issue we drive his car!

Yes, an MNews exclusive as we tell you what it’s like in Russell's office as we hot lap at the wheel of the SBR Falcon.

PI M C Heaps of holiday news, views & opinion ■ _all in our new, easy-to-read look

ON SALE FROA/I WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4

community to join us and resolve any final details by working together. We aU have a duty to avoid a damaging split in our sport and I believe the undertakings we have from FOM and the FIA provide a fair basis for bringing everyone together in the interests of the sport."

These are worthy thoughts but there are some powerful egos to be overcome before a deal can be done.

The problem facing the manufacturers is that none of them has yet been willing to put their money where their collective mouths are and invest the money needed to actually launch their own championship. They have,however, tied themselves together so that noone can sign a deal with FOM until September 2006. This does not mean that they cannot announce that they will not be starting their own series, which would get rid of the current instability.

motorsportnews

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tuners lose Williams

No not Lauda, I said LOUDER! COSWORTH is claiming to have made history by becoming the first engine manufacturer to break the 20,000 rpm barrier on the track.

The engine apparently set the new record while Williams was testing at Barcelona two weeks ago. The team is now aiming at reaching 21,000 rpm before the end of the 2006 season. n As expected, the Indy Racing League and Honda Performance Development have jointly announced that the Honda Racing Indy V8 will be the sole engine raced in the IRL IndyCar Series, starting next season.

1

n Maude Kraines has died in California. The owner of Kraco Enterprises founded his own CART team in 1984, Michael Andretti taking its first win at Long Beach in 1986. Bobby Rahal drove for the team for three years and following a merger with Rick Galles, Kraines won the Indy 500 in 1992. Kraines was 84. £ 3-

Must-have Brunner? Blue Chip THE word from Cologne is that Gustav Brunner has left his job

as chief designer at Panasonic Toyota Racing with immediate effect.

The 55-year-old Austrian joined Toyota in May 2001 on what was believed to be a fiveyear contract. With the 2006 car already designed and perhaps no intention to renew the original deal it is, in fact, a logical moment for Brunner to depart.

At Toyota the design team is already working on the TF106B, ; which will appear at the San Marino Grand Prix and will be jan upgraded version of the I

TF106 that is currently being used in testing. This is in itself a car which follows the philosophy of the TF105B, and what is clear that since the arrival of Mike Gascoyne,the rate of improvement at Toyota has been increased.

There is already speculation that Brunner will be snapped up to be part of the technical team at Scuderia Toro Rosso in the years ahead.

Brunner has spent most of his career working in Italy, including two stints at both Ferrari and Minardi, and has always been happy there.

- JOE SAWARD

Sponsor

INDUSTRY predictions of a deal between computer chip giant Intel and McLaren have been confounded, with the company last week announcing a partnership with BMW Sauber.

The deal will include a technology partnership to develop BMW's worldwide IT infrastructure. As part of the deal, the two companies have agreed on the joint development of mobile devices in vehicles built by the BMW Group.

"Like the BMW Group,Intel also sets the highest standards of performance, innovation and quality for its products. For both companies, technological leadership is a fundamental goal," said BMW board member Burkhard Goschel."This partnership stands to benefit our IT, our customers and our Formula 1 team."

Intel is looking to expand into new areas of business and is particularly interested in mobile communication systems, ranging from telephones to hand-held and car-borne computers.

Ferrari has a high profile deal with Intel's major rival AMD. -JOESAWARD

mm

n AJ Foyt has found a driver for his IndyCar team. Felipe Giaffone, who secured a last-minute drive with the Texas legend at the Indianapolis 500 last May, will carry the famed number 14 on the ABC Supplysponsored Dallara. n Graham Rahal has joined MiJack Conquest Racing. The 16-yearold son of former Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal is the youngest-ever winner of the Star Mazda Series, and will join a new two-car Atlantic Conquest team. n Now here 1s a challenge to accommodate co drivers in one car.

RuSporters Justin Wilson and AJ Allmendinger will share a Daytona Prototype in the Daytona 24 Hour on January 28-29. Wilson, who is 1m90 tall and AJ, who isn't, will drive a Lexus-Riley with Mark Patterson and Oswaldo Negri for Michael Shank Racing, n Lola Cars International in Huntingdon, UK, is offering historic racing enthusiasts an authentic, limited-edition continuation series of the iconic Lola T70 Mk3B sportsracing car. Raced mainly with Chevrolet V8 (but also Aston Martin V8) engines, the original car was introduced in 1969 and won many international events, including the Daytona 24 Hours, as well as the inaugural Can-Am. The first of the new chassis will be shown at next month's Autosport International show at the UK's National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham, in the company of some of the men who raced the original T70 series.

-STAFF/SPURRING

13

Bozian Racing in 307th Heaven PEUGEOT will not compete in the 2006 World Rally Championship - but Peugeots will.

Long-time privateer team Bozian Racing will field a pair of Peugeot 307s for drivers Henning Solberg and Manfred Stohl. Backing will come from OMV, which sponsored Kronos Racing's privateer Citroen entry this year. Bozian, which will enjoy some level of technical support from Peugeot, will be eligible to score manufacturer points under the new 'semi works' M2 category.

Both drivers will run on a limited program, with Solberg in 12 of the 16 rounds, while Stohl will get one additional outing at Germany.

"To me this project is a confirmation of our performance and a big challenge at the same time," said Stohl. "I'm sure that we have a perfect package that should enable us to compete for top places once again.

Thirteen runs are a great basis that should give us a secure background right from the beginning."

Michael, look over your shoulder CURRENT World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb has reportedly asked Ferrari Formula One team principal Jean Todt to investigate the possibility of the Frenchman testing with the Italian team.

Loeb, who expanded his circuit racing experience with a drive in this years Le Mans 24-Hour, is rumoured to be extremely keen to test one of Ferrari's FI cars if the opportunity arises.

After a rocky year in Formula One, Ferrari is hard at work to recapture its former glory and with this in mind Loeb, isn't expecting an invitation in the near future.

"I'll push for it again soon, as soon as Ferrari go back to winning ways," said Loeb.

- RYAN LAHIFF

14

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ARCom 'Despicable'

BATHURST has been unceremoniously dumped from the Australian Rally Championship calendar in 2006 in a year of massive change for the national title.

The dumping of the Bathurst event means that the most populous state in the country is again without a round of the ARC,and it comes after just one running of the rally.

Instead, the Rally of Canberra,formerly a Manufacturers' round only, will now become a Super Series Drivers'round.

Bathurst Regional Council spokesperson Victoria Jackson told MNews the Coimcil was "annoyed and frustrated" by ARCom,and claims the Coimcil only found out that its event had been dropped when the calendar was published on December 9.

"We had been in discussion with ARCom about changing the date, however we were as shocked as everyone else when the calendar was published and we weren't on it," said Ms Jackson.

Bathurst Mayor Norm Mann described ARCom's conduct as 'despicable',saying there should have been more communication from the rally authority.

The council's chief engineer Neil Allen and its treasurer Bob Roach claim they were still negotiating with ARCom on Friday afternoon when they were made aware that the new calendar had been posted on the ARCom website.

"If we had dates we could work with rather than being dictated to, then it could work again," said Allen.

While the 2006 Bathurst rally was in the red. Roach said the Council was confident that the event would have turned a profit in 2007 and beyond.

"We had a three year option on the event and we were offered two dates: April 18 or August 26," said Roach.

"We were pursuing August 26 because the April date would have clashed with our new Festival of Motorsport.

"We indicated to ARCom very early after the rally this year that we wanted to exercise our option to bring the rally back in 2006. It is very disappointing."

ARCom Chairman Garry CormeUy denies the council's claims, and says ARCom both faxed and emailed letters to Roach at least five hours prior to the information about the calendar being posted on the Internet.

CormeUy insists that the dates Bathurst wanted simply did not fit into the calendar around the other events and leave the required three weeks between ralUes. "CAMS raUy manager Campbell Andrea drafted the letter to Mr Roach as soon as the votes were taken on Thursday night and a copy was faxed to him immediately," CormeUy said.

"Bathurst would have already known when it refused the AprU date that there was no other option for Bathurst to run in 2006, because its motorsport advisor James O'Brien certainly did."

-JON THOMSON

Taxpayers face Rally Oz Bill WESTERN Australia taxpayers are likely to have to foot massive bills to finance next year's final Rally Australia in Perth after it was revealed last week that major sponsor Telstra will almost certainly not be backing the rally in 2006.

Telstra, which has been the raUy's naming rights sponsor since 1999, has not struck a deal with WA Tourism

for the 2006 event, according to spokesman Andrew Gasper.

WA had hoped not to have to run the 2006 event, however the inabiUty to secure a new east coast promoter for the raUy has forced the government to honour its contract to the end.

WA Tourism Minister Mark McGowan has refused to comment to the media about the sponsorship shortfall, a factor that has put the rally issue back on the front page of Perth daily newspaper the West Australian.

'The rally has been in the headlines since Mr. McGowan stunned the

I

because there was no opportunity to extend beyond one year.

"If the (State Government) doesn't attract the same amount of money in 2006 as it has in previous years, then /l inevitably they will have to dig deeper into the public purse," he told ■>V the paper.

It is believed Telstra's sponsorship for the raUy amounts to around $2 million per year, making up the majority of the event's $2.83 million s sponsorship budget.

I Telstra's withdrawal would prove hugely embarrassing for Mr McGowan,who has continuaUy justified dumping the raUy on the world in March with his decision to grounds that Government funds would be better invested in other dump the event. tourism events.

The rally has already confirmed The Government contributed $5.94 that it has lost two support sponsors, Subaru and Palandri for 2006. miUion to the 2005 event, which was thought to be the last in WA until Former Rally Australia board CAMS told the Government it would member Rod Slater told the West Australian that it would be difficult to be holding it to its contract, -JON TH OMSON attract sponsors for the rally in 2006

Telslfa Rally Ai

motorsport news

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Mitsubishi Exits WRC So does Skoda: Things look grim for Championship

by JON THOMSON and RYAN LAHIFF WORLD Rallying is in crisis with news that neither Skoda nor Mitsubishi's works teams will be a part of the 2006 WRC. Mitsubishi dropped the bombshell last week after previously giving strong indications that it had committed to the WRC for next year.

"MMC realises that it must focus management resources on the continued promotion of the revitalisation plan," the team said in a statement.

Mitsubishi hopes to return to the WRC from 2008 after the completion of the revitalisation plan, which covers fiscal years 2005 to 2007.

This decision does not extend to the company's Dakar Rally campaign, which will continue.

The team, which won four successive drivers' titles with Tommi Makinen from 1996 to 1999 and the manufacturers' title in 1998, has struggled since it switched from Group A to WRC-style cars in 2001.

Skoda announced its pullout a week prior, with its ex-works cars likely to be campaigned by privateer teams in 2006. Already confirmed as one of the drivers for the Red Bull Team is 21-year old Austrian Andreas Aigner. A Skoda statement said that "a second driver with international experience will be confirmed shortly", with former Citroen driver Francois Duval widely tipped to be in line for the drive.

The second team, based out of the Czech

Republic, will be focused around Czech Champion Jan Kopeck. It will be a single-car private team, with Kopeck set to contest 10 European rounds of the 2006 Championship.

Senior Skoda management have confirmed that Skoda Motorsport will provide both teams with the same level of support, including the supply of Fabia WRC cars and a package of parts. Technical support will also be made available throughout the season and additional engineers will be provided on events.

The dual announcements follow Peugeot and Citroen's pullouts announced in 2004, and means just two manufacturers will officially contest the 2006 WRC - Ford and Subaru.

The withdrawal is something some pundits say could cripple the sport, which just five years ago had no less than seven works teams competing.

It also means that there is a long list of talented drivers joining the unemployment queue, including Flarri Rovanpera and Gigi Gain from Mitsubishi as well as Duval, Markko Martin, Colin McRae, Toni Gardemeister and Roman Kresta.

This makes Australian Chris Atkinson one of the luckiest men in the WRC, having already inked his contract with Subaru for 2006 and grabbing one of just five works drives for the new year, along with team-mate Petter Solberg, Ford's Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Flirvonen, and World Champion Sebastien Loeb, who will have a semi-works ride in the Kronos-run Citroen.

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If you are out of the WRC, press 1 IF anyone did see Mitsubishi's WRC withdrawal coming, it was certainly not star driver Gigi Galii. Having spent much of 2005 developing the Ralliart team’s Lancer the Italian, along with team-mate Harri Rovanpera, was informed of the decision by Mitsubishi WRC team manager Isao Torii only hours before it was officially announced to the press.

"When the phone rang, I never imagined that I would hear that Mitsubishi had decided to withdraw from the World Rally Championship," said Gain.

So upset by the news was Galii that he switched his phone off and refused to take calls from anyone.

"I was too shocked to reply to all those who wanted to know more about what was going on."

With many of the sport's prime seats taken, Galii is determined to get back to the top level.

"It won't be easy, but I'm trying all possibilities to get back in the game, even part-time. It was a terrible blow, but that’s the sport, that's life." n One man who will drive in the 2006 WRC is Toni Gardemeister. The Finn, recently dumped by Ford despite a consistent season which saw him finish fourth in the Drivers' Championship, has renewed connections with the Italian Astra Racing outfit and will steer a Peugeot 307 in a similar deal to that supplied to Bozian Racing. In the late 1990s, Gardemeister drove a Formula 2 SEAT Ibiza run by Astra on selected WRC events. n Toni's former Ford offsider Roman Kresta is staying in the WRC - but only as a test driver. Despite finishing 2005 as Ford's top points scorer, the Czech stays with M Sport to back up Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen next season.

e.

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n ARCom has Implemented a new regulation for the 2006 GARC. The new regulation states: "Any crew wishing to compete in any round of the Australian Rally Championship which CAMS, in its absolute discretion, determines has received significant commercial support from a Manufacturer, Importer or Distributor of that vehicle, will be ineligible to compete unless the vehicle make has been registered by the Manufacturer, Importer or Distributor with CAMS and any registration fee required for the purposes of the promotion of the championship has been paid to CAMS or Rallycorp."

ARCom Chairman Garry Connelly said the regulation has been implemented to ensure that all manufacturers contributed equally to the future of the sport.

15

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AUSTRALIAN Formula 3 Champion Aaron Caratti will make the step into the WPS Carrera Cup Championship in 2006.

Caratti will drive for his own team (Caratti Motorsport) and will move to Sydney within the next few weeks to begin an extensive testing program with the new car in January.

“It should be good,” said Caratti. “Everyone will have the new cars, so we’ll all be on a level playing field. We have quite a few test days planned to be able to get a grip on the new machines.

“My ultimate goal is V8s and hopefully doing the

■I

Carrera Cup series brings me a step forward to that goal. We thought about doing the Development Series, but the limited testing was the thing that turned us off it. Carrera Cup allows you to test more often and the cars are very good.”

Caratti Motorsport has been able to acquire one of the two Cup Car Team Agreements that was previously allocated to WPS Racing. WPS has now relinquished its licences to Cup Car Australia, with Cup Car to decide the new destination of the second Team Agreement in the coming weeks.

- GRANT ROWLEY

Swiss Cheese

SWITZERLAND finally ended France's eightrace winning streak at the latest round of the A1 Grand Prix at the Dubai Autodrome two weeks ago, with the two DAMS-prepared teams taking a win each.

Swiss driver Neel Jani led away from pole in the Sprint race to take a comfortable victory. France's Nicolas Lapierre would have followed him home in second but spun by himself on the penultimate lap, dropping him to seventh. This was the first A1 race that Lapierre has contested that he has not won.

Ireland's Ralph Firman then inherited second, but an electrical problem stuck his Lola in gear and dropped him to fourth, giving Enrico Toccacelo second and Italy its first A1 GP podium. Tomas Enge was close behind in third, ahead of Firman, Canada's Sean McIntosh and Indonesia's Ananda Mikola.

Again the feature race pit stops sealed the fate of many, with the car's wheel nuts still susceptible

to jamming on tyre changes. Two cars that avoided the problem were Britain and France, with Robbie Kerr leading from Lapierre as the laps wore down.

But Lapierre, keen to make up for his Sprint race mistake, chased the Brit down and got by with tyy.o laps remaining.

Stephen Simpson was third for South Afric^but a man unlucky not to be on the podium wa^ Mikola. The Indonesian car was running Mrd until Mikola threw it into the wall.

Australia again had a forgettable weekend, qualifying on the last row of the grid Will Davison managed to climb towards the points in the Sprint race only for gearbox problems to end his run. In the Feature, Davison again climbed into the top 10 and pitted at the same time as the Chinese car that" ended up finishing fifth. But like many others, the Australian pit stop was ruined by a jammed wheel nut, leaving Davison to recover to finish 10th.

Ittc:

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AUDI will stay in the DTM for the next three years, joining Mercedes Benz in entering cars in the touring car championship and saving the series from extinction in the process.

Audi had withheld its entry after the DTM's organisers ITR requested a minimum of 10 entries per manufacturer to compensate for the withdrawal of Opel. Audi did not su«on-/m.7ges.com

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Falken Tyres on the open road - in wet and dry conditions

want this, but has now confirmed its support, citing the concession of a new engine for its cars for next year and new rules aimed at cost-cutting for 2007.

"We are going to continue to work on strengthening the DTM's role as the most attractive racing series outside of Formula 1," said Professor Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG.

A1 Grand Prix Dubai Feature

30 laps

Pos i COUNTRY I Driver

1 France 2 Great Britain

Nicolas Lapierre Robbie Kerr

3 South Africa 4 Portugal

Stephen Simpson Alvaro Parente

^_£hina _ 6 Canada 7 Austria 8 Mexico

Tengyi Jiang Sean McIntosh Mathias Lauda Salvador Duran

9_Netherjands 10 Australia 11 Italy 12 Germany

josVerstappe^ Wilt Davison Enrico Toccacelo Adrian Sutil

13 New_Zealand 14 India

MattHalliday Armaan Ebrahim

15 Japan 16 Lebanon 17 Switzerland

Hayanari Shimoda Basil Shaaban

18 Czech Republic 19 Pakistan USA 21 Ireland 22 Indonesia 23 Brazil'"”

Tomas Enge Adam Khan

NeelJani

Philip Giebler Ralph Firman Ananda Mikola Nelson Piquet Jr

Alex Yoong 24 Malaysia * Al Team Russia did not attend Round 3

AT

I Race Time

56.17.068 56.20.782 56.23.758 56.25.067 56.47.856 56.48.411 56.51.510 56.52.570 56.53.213 56.53.414 56.54.000 '56.54.916' 5Z06J92 2^laps 29 laps 27 laps maps 26 laps 26 laps 7 laps 5 laps 4 laps 2 laps

France 106, Switzerland 75. Brazil 60, Great Britain 49, New Zealand 42, Portugal 39, Ireland 37, Netherlands 34, Malaysia 33. Canada 31. Australia 27. Czech Republic 24. Italy 21, Mexico 19. South Africa 14. United States 13, Germany II, Indonesia 10. China 6, Japan 6.

AZENiS ST115

Audi R1 unveiled MEANWHILE, Audi has also confirmed its latest Sportscar weapon,the RIO. The successor to the allconquering R8 is powered by a V12 twin-turbo diesel engine and was unveiled last week in Paris.

For more on the Audi R10 and its revolutionary engine,see our extensive feature on page 38.

57.66.5'r6

BP PaiMTS

21 December 2005

Audi's commitment to the DIM will see the series continue with both German marques fielding 10 cars each and new rounds at Brands Hatch, Le Mans and Barcelona are being planned.

Had Audi not remained in the DIM,we can only imagine how many phone calls V8 Supercar team owners would have suddenly fielded from 'suddenly-available' European touring car drivers...

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RT615

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THE Andretti name is returning to the Indianapolis 500- times two.

Not only will Marco Andretti join Andretti Green Racing, his father and team owner Michael will come out of retirement to race in the May classic.

Andretti III, 18, has been confirmed as the replacement for Dan Wheldon in the four-car team. He

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Ford Mcdli

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You Tracy Goes Public With NASCAR Rians CHAMP Car star Paul Tracy is planning to break into NASCAR in 2006, driving in the Busch Series on a limited schedule with Biagi Bros Racing alongside full-time driver Mark Green.

Tracy hopes to use the Busch stint as a stepping stone towards a Nextel Cup seat in 2007.

“My game plan was to make the transition in ‘06, but it really didn’t come together,” Tracy said, referring to his test with Richard Childress Racing.

“I've made another one-year commitment to Forsythe Racing. Jerry Forsythe has been gracious enough to say,‘go do whatever you want to do and try whatever you want to try’.

“My timetable is to be in NASCAR in 2007. We’re

getting the wheels turned now. Hopefully (in 2006) I can run 10-11 races in Busch and maybe a Cup race or two. Really, just drive as much as I can.”

Tracy was in Daytona recently to test an ARCA car owned by Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Driving School.

“It was pretty different,” Tracy said of his first laps. “Obviously, I’ve never driven here other than a Grand-Am car. I think we had a good run. I did an eight or nine-lap run and I think we ended up seventh or eighth quickest. I’m just trying to figure out where I’m going. I was flat-foot the whole time, trying different lines, and ran around on different parts of the track."

- MARTIN D CLARK

NATIONAL

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18

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AMERICA'S TransAm Series will not longer be sanctioned by Champ Car. "We have elected not to renew the

licensing agreement with the Trans Am Series," Champ Car president 'Steve Johnson said in a statement.

"We have enjoyed having the Trans-Am series compete at our events, our fans enjoyed the series and we wish the series and all its competitors, the best of luck in the future."

The 2005 series was won by Klaus Graf, who drove a Jaguar XKR for the Rocketsports team, which is owned by CCWS co-owner and multiple TransAm champ Paul Gentilozzi.

will join Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan and Bryan Herta, but it will be the Scot who carries the Jim Beam signage that Wheldon carried this season as Andretti, at 18, cannot legally endorse alcohol m tlie USA. Andretti is a graduate of go-karts.

Skip Barber's national series and won a title in Formula Renault 1600. He raced last season in both the Formula Star Mazda and the Infiniti Pro Series, winning three of the five races he entered in the latter.

Michael Andretti, 43, retired from driving two years ago after a long career in Champ Car racing and a

I

BRUNO Junqueira poured water on any ideas that he might still be suffering the after-effects of his Indy 500 crash by going like a blur at the Champ Car World Series first pre-season test at Sebring last week.

Junqueira wasted no time in getting back up to speed in his first hit-out in the PacifiCare Newman-Haas Lola since breaking his back in May, ending the test with the equal-fastest lap time alongside PKV's Giorgio Pantano.

Ryan Briscoe was also in action (see separate story) during the two-day test as a number of teams evaluated drivers for the new season.

Scotsman Ryan Dalziel worked himself up to speed with PKV after spending his first day in the car trying to get his Sportscar

motorsponnews

STATESIDE

St Keep Coming *I

on-images.com

season in Formula One. He shook

with the third generation driver siding with his father, you can be certain that he grandpa (stUl the only Andretti to taste the Milk at the 500) will be the proudest man at the track come the final weekend in May ...

-PHIL MORRIS

down one of his team's IndyCars at The Brickyard this year but was never likely to drive.

Of course, Michael and his father Mario continue to disagree over the future direction of Marco's career but t

I habits out of his system.

Fellow Brits Richard Lyons and Katherine Legge sampled Rocketsports cars, with both posting times around the middle of the pack, while Champ Car Atlantic graduates Charles Zwolsman and Tonis Kasemets also stepped up into more serious machinery, with varying results.

Zwolsman, who drove a third Team Australia car at the final round in Mexico City, played himself in gradually and finished up just behind Dalziel on the timesheets. Kasemets had a less successful day and was restricted to a handful of laps after firing the Mi-Jack Conquest car into the wall during the first hour of running.

Testing was scheduled to recommence at Sebring yesterday (Tuesday).

21 December 2005

I

Ferorcak: A Name To Watch IF Mikey Ferorcak challenges you to a race, pass.

That is the name of the driver who will not be racing in tire USAC Midget races at the Rumble in Fort Wayne on December 28-29.

The kicker is that Tony Stewart ivill be racing.

Confused? Well, it seems that the Nextel Cup Champ likes a bet, and last year picked up a longabandoned Midget racer in a card game. Stewart felt like having a race, Mike Fedorcak (father of the mythical Mikey) prepped the car and Stewart, a former winner of the Triple Crown of USAC racing, did what he does and kicked everyone's butts.

"Tony had a few laps in practice, the thing was popping and banging like it was going to blow up," USAC spokesman Dick Jordan said. "They dialed it in, got it working, he went out and just annihilated them, won the feature.

"When he pulls in Victory Lane and climbs out, the fans just went berserk."

So Stewart will drive the car (now nicknamed the Our Gang Poker Special) at the event, held on an indoor 160-metre track at the Fort Wayne's Memorial Coliseum Expo Centre.

19

Another sequel for LOTR MiA

THE German MotoGP will be staying at the Sachsenring until 2011.

Rights holder Dorna Sports and ADAC signed a new deal near Chemnitz to keep racing at the circuit last week. As part of the deal, the track will continue to be upgraded, continuing a process that has been in operation since the track first hosted the premier class in 1998.

Attendances have risen every year since the first race and the event injects an estimate $24,2m into the local economy of Saxony in the former East Germany.

IN other European circuit news, don't bother going to Estoril for the Portuguese round of the MotoGP championship on October 22.

The race, which is the penultimate in the series, has been moved to October 15.

The final round in Spain will run as planned two weeks later.

o 20

Jt I'ln bringing mates; Mika KalHo, centre, will be one offour Red Bulls in '06.

yet more Bulls

RED Bull has followed the example of its Formula One team and will field a second squad in the 125cc World Championship next season.

KTM win run its usual two-bike effort in the class and the new Red Bull Junior team will consist of Austrian Michael Ranseder and German Stefan Bradl, the son of former 250 ace Herman Bradl.

The team is expected to have its first hit-out in Spain next month. KTM will also supply its MotoGP engine to the WCM team.

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Stoner secures MotoGP ride and he's taking his team with him

CASEY Stoner has secured his seat in the MotoGP Championship - but not in the manner most people expected.

Stoner will race for Honda but, while he has tested with Sito Pons's team since the end of the season, above, the 20-year-old will stay with Ills Carrera LCR team. Team owner Lucio Cecchinello, who had been resigned to the fact that he would lose the rider who finished second in the 250cc World Championship,has secured Honda backing to move to the sport's premier class.

The move came about when Pons lost any hope of securing Camel backing for next season. The cigarette company is still backing Max Biaggi and Pons looks, at best, to run a single Honda entry next season.

That left a single-entry supply and Cecchinello, who was already working on a deal to move into the MotoGP class, got the call of a lifetime from Honda. That means that LCR, which bested the two factory Aprilias in the 250 title this season, can retain current sponsors, headed

by Carrera sunglasses, and that Dani Pedrosa may suffer from dejn vu in 2006.

"Casey contacted me to tell me that he was available and we quickly found an agreement," Cecchinello

21 DeGember 2005

told motogp.com.

"We just have to sign the amended contract... The new deal will specify that he will race for us,in the MotoGP class,for the two next seasons.

"It has been a pretty difficult period after the end of the season," added Cecchinello.

"Before the end of the championship, we were clearly looking at a move to the MotoGP class. We had the rider, an agreement with Yamaha and a spot on the MotoGP grid."

It appears likely that Pons will continue with a single entry for Carlos Checa, the two Spaniards having the support of DORNA, which runs the sport from ... Spain.

And that leaves Biaggi. With Honda,Yamaha and Suzuki all determined to be Max-less next year, Kawasaki remains the Roman's only hope of continuing in the Big Leagues next year. Kawa unsuccessfully approached tyre supplier Bridgestone to investigate the possibility of a third supply and was rebuffed.

But Biaggi himself approached the tyre maker and was more successful, so we may see yet Max aboard a green-and-yellow Kawasaki at Phillip Island's big test next month ...

I

1

SYDNEY 02.9709’4655 ADELAIDE 08.8332.8811 PERTH 08.9344.4444 TOOWOOMBA 07.4632.6850 HOBART 03.6234.1044 BALLARAT 03.5332.8022 ?

ifzoneiCom.a^ 21

The 2006 SBK title is shaping up as the battle of

Ipoy nBasIhoy

THE 2006 World Superbike Championship may be the Troy versus Troy show.

A showdown between Troy Corser and Troy Bayliss at the recent SBK test in Qatar was sidelined by an ill World Champion but the Suzuki rider still finished second in the three-day test in the Middle East.

Corser missed the final day of the test and a run on Pirelli's latest qualifying tyres but still looks to defend his title in style.

"We had some new Pirellis to try and they made a big difference to me/'said Corser.

"They are a significant improvement and they allowed me to lay the bike down in the turns instead of just putting it in there.

Now I can feel what the bike is going to do and really use the tyre more."

Bayliss was second quickest from Who are you lookin'at?

World Champ Corser, left, had his Qatar test cut short and that left Bayliss, right, to pip him for fastest time of the three-day test. cy X

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BIKE NEWS

Troy-free zone

He's Confident

Ducati team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi.

"I did a lot of laps and my wrist stood up well," said the man from Taree."1 did a fuU race simulation, with lots of laps in the 59s so things are looking good.I love working with the guys in the team, everything went really smoothly and now I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike again after the Christmas break".

The new Ten Kate Honda pairing of Karl Muggeridge and James Toseland were separated by all of 0.01s, while the Petronas pair of

Steve Martin and Craig Jones continue to struggle with the underpowered three-bangers.

The big unknown for the coming season is Kawasaki. Team Green's new ZX-IOR is a dazzling critter in street trim and the PSG team is not due to test until the new year.

Results: 1 Bayliss (Ducati)1:58.66,2 Corser (Suzuki)1:59.17,3 Lanzi(Ducati)1:59.40,4 Muggeridge(Honda)2:00.09,5 Toseland (Honda)2:00.10,6 Kagayama(Suzuki) 2:00.38, 7 Haga(Yamaha) 2:00.46,8 Pitt (Yamaha) 2:00.56,9 Martin (Petronas) 2:01.80, 10 Jones (Petronas) 2:02.56.

SOME new names are out to make life tough for the established stars of the World Superbike Championship.

Japanese 250cc Champ Shinichi Nakatomi has announced that he can contend for the title in his first year. Nakotomi, who will join Sebastian Gimbert and Norrick Abe in the Yamaha France squad, has raced for the last three years and completed his first SBK test in Qatar last week.

"I don't intend to use my first year in the championship as a learning year," he said. "I hope to be up there in the race for the championship."

Meanwhile Maurizio Perlini, who was the technical director to Lorenzo Lanzi before he joined the factory Ducati team, has recruited Gianluca Nannelli and Lorenzo Alfonsi to pilot two Ohiins-suspended Ducati 999F04S in the series.

Alfonsi will also ride in the Italian championship.

THE World is not enough for Suzuki and Ducati. Ben Spies has emerged from a rain-interrupted Daytona tyre test fastest on his Yoshimura Suzuki, edging inside Mat Mladin's lap record on his GSX-R1000. Spies edged out Ducati Austin's Ben Bostrom, despite the Ducati ride having a large off late in the test.

The two riders' respective team mates followed, Aaron Yates third fastest on his Suzuki from Neil Hodgson, Jason DiSalvo was fifth for Superstock Yamaha from Jake Zemke (Honda) and Roger Hayden on his '05 Kawasaki. Mladin missed the test as he recovers from off season ankle surgery. n Miguel DuHamel spent most of the recent Daytona tyre test familiarising himself with the Honda CBR600RR he will ride in the upcoming 200. The Canadian, who is one win shy of Scott Russell's record six victories in the race, confirmed that he would ride the bike only at Daytona before returning solely to the AMA Superbike class. n Still in the USA, Marty Craggiil will continue in the AMA Superbike title this season. The former Aussie Superbike champion will again ride a Mat Mladin-sponsored Suzuki GSX1000R, Craggiil ended the 2005 AMA title as the leading privateer in the series. n Despite announcing its withdrawl from Formula One at the end of the 2006 season (see news pages) Michelin has said that it intends to remain active in motorcycle racing. Michelin is the dominant tyre in the MotoGP and 250cc classes.

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21 December 2005

HOLOeN RACING T€AM

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Even quf trayel packages are unbeatable. /r

Motor racing's legendary Murray Walker has named the Clipsal 500 Adelaide The greatest touring car event in the world' and in 2006 it's going to be a world beater yet again.

There'll be 10 hours of V8 Supercar track action over four days, sensational air displays, grid girls galore, our four best concerts ever and eight race categories that will blow you away.

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i

Kimi’s phone, Black Jack and looking new for’06 J

LIST lately, I have been having quite a think about sponsorship.

A number of significant things have happened in the last two weeks. On the world scene, Vodafone has decided that enough Ferrari is enough and announced that it is off to McLaren for the 2007 season.

One wonders whether the company will continue its habit of not just sponsoring stars but including them in their ads; like the one with David Beckham househunting in Spain and Michael Schumacher getting a hiding from Luca Badoer on his gaming phone.

I think that Vodafone should take it further and tailor the actual plans around the personality of the drivers.

Imagine being on the Juan Pablo Montoya Plan, where you get to talk as much as you like so long as it is very fast. Or the Kimi Raikkonen Plan, where you get unlimited free SMSs but an expensive call rate because you actually talk very, very little.

Speaking about the ofnews phones, about what Dick Johnson?

I am guessing it will not be long before we see DJ's smiling dial on the idiot box, telling us that it would be a great idea to decamp from [insert name of telco here] and come across to

his phone company for some mobile/home phone action.

Ditto for the mortgage. The NASCAR experience shows that fans of the sport vote with their feet and, if they already have to spend for a phone and a roof over their heads, prefer to do so with the brand associated with their sport.

Okay, V8 Telecom uses Telstra's infrastructure (like Mobilenet, for instance) and some of the land's biggest mortgage providers stands behind First Rock. But if the laconic Queenslander can build a brand from it, and his team not only survives but thrives, there are not a lot of negatives that I can see.

Having said that, I still think he should have called the phone company 'Dicktafone'.

Maybe there will also be plans 'tailored' after drivers, like the Junior Johnson Plan, that allows bigger and bigger talk allowances as the season goes on, or the Where-there's-a-Will Plan, which allows unlimited free talk with family members.

But I would not want to be on the Seto Plan, where you sign up for two years and have the line go silent after one.

On the Holden side of the ledger, Larry Perkins has pulled off a coup by signing a deal with Jack Daniel's. Our mail is that there were celebrations both by the Moorabbin team and the sponsor and you do not need to be a QC to notice that the brand and the team look like a match made in blue collar heaven.

While the media is bound to be enthusiastic about the deal, for reasons relating largely to a taste for the sponsor's product, any number of people in the sport were counting LP out but he has proved them wrong.

Beyond that; it is a real coup for the whole sport to have a household-name brand backing our sport, and several have noted that this is a new sponsor to V8 Supercars, not a brand pinched off someone else's team or a minor sponsor 'ramped up'. So cheers JD and LP.

A

nd on that note, all of us at Motorsport News wish all of you a Happy and Safe ... look, we know it is politically incorrect to say 'Christmas' here but we hope you will understand and accept the

I would not want to be on the Seto Plan, where you sign rr up for two years and have the line go silent after one

Motor Mouth

with Phil Branagan

greetings in the spirit they are intended.

To all of our readers, advertisers, contributors, everyone in the sport and all of the sport's fans, we trust that you will stay happy and safe and enjoy some time off over the next little while. In between mouthfuls of turkey and pudding, and the odd jar of LP's new sponsor's product, we might sneak out ourselves for a few hours but other than that, we are pretty much working right through the holiday period.

Even better, we are the ones giving out the presents. The next issue of MNews is on the shelves January 4 and not only will it have all the up-to-date news and great summer reading, it will be the first issue of an all-new Motorsport News.

Following months of planning, we are giving your favourite read a revamp and a makeover and the features list of Issue 326 make it a mustread. So drag yourself out of the hammock, drive carefully to the newsagent and make sure you don't miss it.

Fired Up For A Bri T

said, with innocence writ large HE apartment where I live on his face. "That is so I can talk in Paris is rare in that it to you on the telephone." features a real, working fireplace. IMo, not one of those s a result of conversations things which has flames coming like that one, I try very hard out of gas pipes, but a place in the winter months to stay at where one can burn actual logs home, but despite my best ^smallish ones). efforts there are still some things Once a year a chiimneysweep which I have to do. In recent comes to do his business (the weeks I have been spending a lot insurance companies insist) but of time on the Euirostar, the very it is a great thing to have. fast train that rushes across If you have ever gone out France, pops under the English caimping in the big, bad world or Channel, and reappears watched the Survivor reality TV magically in England. Damned show (the things we do in the clever device! winter!) you wiilll know that man You arrive in the centre of without fire is a very sad beast. It London while planes from Paris is a primordiall thiingi. Sitting in are still iin the air and cars are front of a fire is a gireat place to pootling along the autoroute see life in perspective. coming into Calais. The nice Christmas is already upon us thing about train travel is that and whiile you lot, who liive you can work all the way uipside down,, are swanning (although wireless Internet about on beaches, over here it access would be nice) and there can get pretty miserable. are no distractions as mobile Until you have lived thirougih a phones find it hard to keep up luroipean winter you probably with a train at that speed. The don’t understand the need for fire. Christmas is a bit of a train company could obviously use some FT-styte technology to double-edged'sword as,far as I am eoneernedi. On the one hand I make the signals work.

My most recent trip was to the love the traditions, the Christmas McLaren factory to have some tree, the presents, the carols and so on. interesting discussions with the On the other hand, I hate it people from Vodafone about FI and their commitment to the because it is a sign that we in the business. The message was very world of FI are already halfway clear: the sport will rise about all through the winter break and it the bickering. The message is the will not be long before all these same down at Honda;the homely things will be snatched message is the same at Toyota; away again as we set off on the message, in fact, is the same another year on the FI almost everywhere. rollercoaster. That is not a Sure, Michelin has pulled out complaint because I like riding and gone off to sulk amid the that particular train, but it does extinct volcanoes of Clermontmean that one has to make some Ferrand but that is a bittersweet sacrifices which sometimes are necessity. Tyre wars, by their difficult. very nature, have to come to an A few years back I got a end because otherwise the Christmas card from my son development hots up to such an which he had made at school extent that people start to get with a drawing of a satellite hurt. going round the world.

"What's that?" I asked.

Forget the cost-cutting argument, because the teams "It's a satellite," the little boy

26

A

t4- ^ .

will spend the money on something else.

A lot of racing championships still put on a good show without the benefit of tyre wars and FI should be able to do the same.

The trend beyond thal; is for new people to come into the sport.

And It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. All but one of the FI teams are now properly funded and the sport is awash with blue chip companies. The geographical spread of the business is bigger and better than ever.

i

T

here is still a need to get a race into Russia and intp,lndia and to get more ihitaneshgoing^irf the United States^ibutfn'reaji^ terms the sport is ve'ryl|^|hy.

CVC,the people who are buying the commercial side of the business, reckon that the sport is not working at anywhere close to its potential and I think that is absolutely right.

So all things considered,the FI world is doing great. There Is a new generation of stars coming along to beat Michael Schumacher and that will add to the interest in 2006. All things considered the sport is in a very rosy state of health.

And that means that for a few more weeks I can go back to the fire...

moiorEDC7lne??s

OPINION

ght Future rl

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Five minutes with.

Larry Perkins

Larry Perkins has puiiei of the sponsorship tieai of the year to guarantee ttie survivai of his famous V8 Supercar team.

He spoke to CHRiS LAMBDEN about how it came to pass MOTORPSORT NEWS: Jack Daniel's, household name, three-year deal ... you'd have to be elated?

LARRY PERKINS: That-and more. It's a blue chip, top-shelf, five-star sponsor, whichever you choose. Elated is the minimum.

MN: Since it became known that Castrol wouldn't be with you in 2006,there have been varying suggestions that it could put your team at risk; that a suitable replacement might be hard to find. Did you have any of those thoughts yourself?

LP: Until you have something actually signed up, of course you're concerned. And from the time, in July, when Castrol said they were out until I did the deal with Jack Daniel's, there clearly was a gap.

There is a time when you're saying "what am I going to do nowl" But, to be honest, I didn't lose too much sleep over it indeed I was pleasantly surprised at the phone calls that came, from agencies, individuals, and companies enquiring about getting on board. They weren't tyre kickers, most of them.

So I was a bit more relaxed once those calls started coming in. I listened to them all, had some of them down here at our workshops, walked them through the situation of how I wanted to go racing, and how the interests of their company could be included. In pretty much all cases, I was invited to put something to the company - and interestingly the first one in turned out to be the top one too ...

MN:So Jack Daniel's was on the go quite early in the process?

LP: Not necessarily, but they were very positive about what 28

they wanted to do from the start. Their MD gave me a call; he was already quite familiar with our industry and my company, so there wasn't much explaining to do. In some cases, especially with agencies, they were unsure how it all worked ... but it was a pretty simple deal.

It's no secret that we were invited to put in a submission for the Toll deal - and we did, mainly because they did invite us to, but I'd guess you'd say everything's worked out pretty good ...

MN: How would life have been the team next year if you hadn't been able to put together a sponsorship deal of this kind?

LP: I'm not an inherently wealthy man, as the saying goes, who goes car racing to get rid of my excess money - as indeed some people do. I've no quarrel with that, but I'm not of that sort!

Clearly it would be difficult to go racing in a way that matched the best-funded teams in Australia. It would have been a crossroads situation for sure.

MN: Okay, people are talking $10 million over three years what does that allow you to do in terms of going racing?

LP: It simply means the continuity of my team, which is now in its 20th year; the team continues on uninterrupted in terms of staffing numbers; there's no downsizing. We can carry on with our R&D programme and our customer programmes.

It allows a seamless transition into 2006; there hasn't been a period when I've had to pull back. Now I've got absolutely guaranteed continuity for three years and more. We've got over the expense hump of the new engine and the new fiont

that Jack Daniel's would be just that, and yes it wasn't a case of recycling around the auto industry sponsors.

I did have calls from the sponsors of two other teams - I wasn't sure whether to be pleased or disappointed - but I was pleased I didn't have to entertain taking the call ...

suspension - it may sound light on paper, but that was a tremendously heavy hurdle for a team like mine to handle.

MN: Does it allow you to ramp up things like R&D,'go-faster' evolution?

LP: No doubt. We've still been doing plenty of homework andstill operate world's best practice in terms of many of our suppliers, procedures etc. We have to refine that still, and we've undergone an internal management process over the last month or so to identify what we need to do to win races consistently.

We reckon we've got the priorities listed clearly now.

Everything. We've got to have drivers sharing the load right the way through; we've got to have the fastest pit stops, not secondfastest, and so on.

MN:There must be a degree of satisfaction in introducing a brand-new sponsor to the sport;from outside the automotive area - and you didn't have to steal anyone else's sponsor!

LP: I'm very conscious of that and delighted it's the case. It was obvious as we went along

MN: Are your current cars in good shape, or have you got anything new coming?

LP: Both. Our current cars (with the exception of Tratty's customer car, the ex-Toll car) are in good shape, but we will be unveiling a shiny, new car for Richo in mid-February.

MN: Part of the Jack Daniel's branding includes the number 7. We hear you've negotiated with Rod Nash to swap 24 for 7, which is the obvious thing to do ... Richo in number7?

LP: That was one of my areas of concern! From day one, what concerned me was my ability to secure that number, yes!

It was technically owned by the Rod Nash licence, which I ran this year, and I secured the rights with Rod the day I knew I needed to, and I'm still awaiting rubber-stamping, if you like, from AVESCO. But Tony Cochrane has assured me as recently as last Friday that there's not the slightest reason why we won't be getting number seven.

MN: They'd be delighted to see a new major sponsor in the sport...

LP: One would hope so.

Certainly Tony was good enough to pick up the phone and call me and say that. That was pleasing.

And he assured me that number seven wouldn't get caught up in the same sort of nonsense that I acutely remember my number (11) got caught up in last year ... molorsportnews

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INTERUIEW

James Smith

21 December 2005

Five minutes with

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Just Uree months after his Cinc^oiami KU. crash, Rymi Briscoe got back to work in Ue Uggest way, testtng a Formria(hw Toyota hi Spain and a Champ Car in the USA. He tOU PitiL BHAmCAN aboutit MOTORSPORT IMEWS: Are you 100 percent after the accident?

RYAN BRISCOE: I am, and I am feeling fantastic. It has been a pretty intense couple of weeks and no physical Issues at all. I feel good and that Is a relief.

MIM: If anything will sort out your fitness level, it must be driving a Formula One car.

How did that happen?

RB: They were lacking drivers!

Olivier Panis was supposed to drive but he called in sick, I think Ricardo Zonta was in Brazil so they called me. So I got on a plane and flew to Spain and did a couple of days.

It was a great test and I really was happy to drive a Formula One car again and to catch up with all the Toyota boys.

MN: FI drivers have said in the past that, after a layoff from driving one of the cars, the first drive can be a physical shock literally. Is that how it was?

RB: No, actually. It has been almost exactly 12 months since I had last driven an FI car but I felt comfortable almost straight away. It is physical for sure but I did not have any issues at all.

Since the accident, I have been training pretty intensely and I knew I had to catch up. I was in top form and after a few laps, I remembered what it was like to drive a Formula One car.

I did a lot of kilometres in the cars in 2004 so it did not take much for me to get back up to speed.

MN: What were you working on?

RB: I was working mostly on a program with the Bridgestone tyres. We were working on some really basic set-up things to see what works best with the Bridgestones, which are new to the team. It has a different stiffness to the Michelin, so the 30

made. It was a fantastic couple of days.

MN:So is this the direction you want to move in?

RB: It Is an option I am looking at.

It was a shock when we heard .-r JL/ DENSO lii. r. about the [Dan] Wheldon deal at . ■m ● a Ganassl. But I am moving on and Car looks Interesting to r Champ me. I am really happy to have done this test and we will have i more information on what I will be doing by early January.

Driveability-wise, it felt really much the same as the VI0.

But this is a good option. PKV is a team on the rise and they You are always in traction control so it's similar in the rr want to win. They know that it is corner speed to the VI0 going to take some steps to - Briscoe compares the V8 with the VI0 progress.

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team has to learn all about temperatures, pressures, cambers, toes, all that stuff.

We were also running in the new car with the V8 engine so there was a lot of getting used to that.

MN: How does the V8 feel compared to the V10? Can you make comparisons?

RB: it's a bit slower down the straighti You feel the biggest difference from third gear to sixth. You get to the end of the straights with a bit less speed, so you actually brake later into the turns than before. Driveability-wise, it felt really much the same as the VI0.

You are always in traction control so it's similar in the corner speed to the VI0.

MN: So spectators will not be able to tell much difference?

RB: I don't think so. I don't know what the reason is for going to the V8, because we will be going a little slower at the end of the straights.

MN: The next thing we know, you are in a Champ Car in the USA.

RB: Yes. I did two days at Sebring and got in a lot of laps; I think that I got over 100 laps each day in the car. It was great; PKV are a great team to work with and I got a good vibe from everyone.

The test went very well. The times were quick and I really enjoyed driving the car. They are fast and fun to drive.

MN: From a distance, looking at the information that we have available to us here, it looked like you were on the pace pretty much straight away.

RB: I was feeling comfortable in the car and I guess that it is not a ton different to an IRL car on a road course. It is a big heavy car and you have heavy steering, a sequential gearbox with a manual shift and heavy brakes.

■ The big difference with the car was more horsepower and no traction control, so you have to set the car up more for the exit of the turns. You need to be careful on the throttle and watch the wheelspin.

But it was great. We did a lot of set-up work and the car was responsive to all the changes we

MN: How much of a factor is the fact that the CCWS has a race - a big race - in Australia?

RB: It's huge. There is a big following for the series in Australia and that is just one of the fantastic races on the calendar. It is one of the favourite races of the teams.

It would mean a lot to me to come and race in my own country. This is an important category and it would be a big thing for me to race at that level in my own country. That would be the best thing in the world.

MN: In the IRL, you were in contention to win races in your first year. So if you do going to Champ Car, what are your expectations in your first year?

RB: To take it to Newman-Haas as much as possible. It is a tough series and there are a lot of new tracks.

But the way the team operates, we would definitely have the potential to win races in the first season. I would want to use my head, get through the races and get to the finish of as many races as possible and, maybe, come out with a few wins. That would be the best, motorsportnews

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31

Ingall Unplugged l l l

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With the V8 Supercar championship trophy finally on the shelf, Russell Ingall talks to CHRIS LAMBDEN about ...Just about everything to do with 2005

MOTORSPORT NEWS:Okay,the trophy is in the cabinet, what else has changed in Russell Ingall's world?

different. I'll probably find it easier, in that I won't be so focussed on just one thing any more. By that I don't mean I won't be interested in

RUSSELL INGALL: There's a huge sense of relief at having finally ticked that box. It's taken, as some people remind you, 10 years,including coming runner-up four times though coming second four times in this championship isn't too bad. But, even though the 'strike rate' over that time has been pretty good, and I can't really complain, people only really remember winners.

So the weight on the shoulders is lifted. It frees up the anxieties -in fact I'm going to be very interested to see what my approach is to racing next year. Some people may think that now I've won the championship I won't push so hard.

Now that weight's gone and I can concentrate purely on racing, I think the attitude's going to be quite a bit 32

winning the championship again, but that I can focus on other aspects of my racing game,and how to improve it, instead of just concentrating on "what's the best way to win this championship that's the way we're going to do it."

It'll be a case of "okay.I've won it doing things this way; what mistakes have I made? Where can I improve?

And I can take a risk in trying a few things now, which I think will benefit life in general - things will be a bit happier around the place!

MN:You did seem a bit stressed as the year wore on ... I guess you've come pretty close before ...

RI: Mid-year, once it seemed we would be in with a shot at it, there's no doubt there was a bit of tension.

both in my private life and at work.

- I'm not one of those people who can leave all the stress at work;I tend to take it home-so you've got to have a pretty understanding wife.

Luckily Julia's been around the scene as many years as I have. She was around taking photos in the Formula Ford days ... she understands the sport. In this sport, if you didn't have a partner who understood the sport, you'd be flying solo pretty quick ...

MN:Second four times, as you say albeit primarily up against HRT at its peak and,latterly, Marcos [Ambrose] at his peak. What's changed about you, to make the difference?

RI: During the majority of my car racing - particularly in Europe - I've always had the win-at-all-costs attitude, no matter what. If there's a place there to be had, no matter whether it's for first place or 21st,

you have a big go.

That, up to a point, has probably cost me a bit. It probably cost me one of those championships - but that was the mentality I had.

Taming that has helped me get there. You've got to still be aggressive but a little bit more discerning. The points system and the format of the racing, which has changed from the early sprint-race format, where you had to go for it, no matter what, has also played its part in that.

There are many factors. Having a good toy to play with also helps!

You've got to have the equipment to do the job.

MN;Has the system forced drivers, including yourself, to 'play it smart'; to hold back?

RI: I think that's been massively over-exaggerated. One thing I've needed to improve on over previous

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1=11 r= o<?\ During the majority of my car racing, I've always had a win-at-all-cost attitude. It probably cost me one of those championships. Taming that has helped me get there.

11

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- Russell Ingall

years is qualifying. I look at the stats on my web site - there's a fair trend there! I just don't qualify well.

I don't know why. In my Formula Ford days it was pretty rare if I wasn't on pole. I don't know what it is about these cars which I just haven't quite got the knack of. But if you go aU the way back to when I started V8s, 1996,it has been qualifying which probably cost me championships, even back then.

Yes, you're right, most of the seconds were to HRT - Skaife and Lowndes - but also there were other factors then; like the open tyre format

21 December 2005

I've been getting in the ten, but not one or two. Lowndes and Ambrose have been the two best qualifiers in the game,but in terms of passing.

I've had to pass more quality cars than them throughout the season.

I've brought it on myself, but nevertheless, you can't pass that many cars and still be accused of being conservative!

(Bridgestone had some pretty handy rubber back then).

But still, it has always been qualifying that has cost me,and so it was something I really had to work on for this year. It's still not the best, but I had to make sure I was

MN:Did it frustrate you that in some corners you were being portrayed as some kind of neutered Enforcer? n RI: It frustrates me that some

consistently in the Shootout-ideally in the top half dozen - and most of the time I scraped in there!

Even so. I've often had to come from a little way back. So in terms of the suggestion that I've 'played it conservatively' I've actually passed more cars this year than any other driver. More top-line cars, at least.

journalists aren't doing their homework. They just mill around and look at the surface, a quick look at the result sheet, without doing their homework. If they actually digested the facts before making that sort of comment,they might look at it a bit differently...

I guess I do have a little issue with

some of the journalism in this coimtry...

MN:Go on.

RI: The level of the sport has gone up to an unbelievably high level and I wish some of the people who write for the newspapers and magazines would rise to that same level.

MN: Where does it fall short?

RI: Just facts. For example,I have the utmost respect for the people at Channel 10. Neil Crompton's raced a car, which is a big plus, but the rest of them, the Leigh Diffeys, Greg Rust, Bill Woods,do their homework. They look at the facts and figures. They go back over years and years and do their homework and that's why they're so good at their job. They're factual and they don't make silly

continued on page 34 33

Ingall on ...

ROeverse grid racing in 2006

'r=-

continued from page 33

MN; Gong back to what we discussed earlier - needing to pass cars to win the championship - that's going to be even more the case don't you think?

Rl: There are two hats here aren't there.

With a team hat on ... I'd hate to be a team

comments just based on what happened two days ago.

Don't get me wrong, there are some very good journalists. They know who they are - because they're the ones I do sit down and have a coffee with!- but there are others who could well do with a clean-out...

owner! People say there won't be, but there will be some major damage done.

Look at the desperation at the front of the field now - imagine that same pack at the back! It's going to be on. The crowd are going to love it...

The other thing is, 1 guess, that I don't suck up to the media. If people want to write a factual story and I respect their ability to write that story. I'll sit down and have a chat with them,but I won't suck

MN: The points at stake will be halved, with not much gain per placing. Don't you think drivers will 'play the game'as they have had to anyway?

Rl: Remember who you're dealing with!

Race drivers. When they pull'the helmet on, sensibility can go out the window!

MN: As a spectator, I'm looking forward to the concept of the pace-setters, the cream starting together at the back and having to pass the'less cream/ ...

Rl: Sure. With my driver's hat on, I'd be thinking it could probably work to my advantage. I've done plenty of races over the years where I've had to start from the back and push my way through to the front - in a lot shorter races than we've got now.

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up to them.

Some drivers do - which is why some of the media have their favourites - but for me,they've got a job;I've got a job. Do the homework,get the facts right; it's as simple as that.

The facts are that to win this championship you have to pass cars,finish races; you don't stuff it into the wall; you bring it home in one piece; and you bring it home in competitive spots, which I've done most of the time.

This is a very hard championship to just go out and bUtz rounds. Everyone's got their hard luck stories throughout the year and,some journos will say "but if so-and-so had finished this race, then the championship would have been different." Sure. I've got plenty of those stories too! There are probably two or three rounds that we might have won without a particular problem.

At the end of the day, the person with the most points wins... And you get there by winning races, winning roimds, being competitive all year, passing people ... If there's any genius can tell me another way...

\\

The thing is, I guess, that I don't suck up to the media tt

-Ingall explains his love/hate relationship with the press

It's all about percentages - if I just wanted to win rounds and didn't care about the championship then, yes. I'd probably have picked up more wins.

Is that smart? Who's got the trophy? ...

MN:I recall when Marcos first

MN:I guess people would point to the fact that Craig won several rounds later in the year...

Rl: Craig did a very good job at the end of the year, absolutely. But you have to put it into perspective: by then he had nothing to lose and everything to gain -1 had everything to lose and not much to gain.

won it, he was concerned about wanting to be a 'good'champion through the following year- is that something you have or need to think about?

Rl:(Thinks). I think I've already done that, from the perspective that I don't think anyone could say I haven't been entertaining over the years!

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L US SUPEBCABS I wondering what he's thinking -1 g probably picked that up from him!

But I'm not complaining - it's a good thing.

The only problem with Larry, sometimes,is his approach, but I'll tell you what, the sport could benefit greatly from listening to what he's got to say. He's got some good ideas about the way things should happen ... it's a shame they don't listen.

No doubt,I owe some percentage of this championship to Larry.

Everyone can see the respect I have for SBR,but Larry also taught me a lot along the way about how to go racing.

MN:What have you picked up at SBR,then, that has led to the extra step - the championship?

RI: With Larry it was very much grass roots, hands-on stuff. With SBR there's been a refinement on the technical side of it. Refinement; the last bit.

^ BOSCH

1 haven't been the clean-cut 5 stereotype -if you want controversy, I I haven't been too far away from it most of the time! At the end of the day, whether people love you or hate you, that's what they want to see.

What people see of me isn't put on.

They may think it's a bit of an act sometimes,but no, that's who I am.If I don't like someone,I tell'em. That's probably to do with hanging around with Larry (Perkins)for seven years!

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21 December 2005

MN:You very much did your V8 'apprenticeship'with Larry...

RI: Yes. A lot of things have been said about Larry over the years, but one thing which 1 respect him greatly for is that he's a very smart man. And he never leaves you

I don't have as much input into the set-up as I did at Larry's. They've got a different pecking order here: I still have input in trying to send us in tire right direction, and give clear and precise information on what the car is doing, but ultimately the engineers decide what is going to go in the car.

I may make suggestions, but ultimately they do it.

That took a bit of getting used to, because I came from that background of being hands-on, making my own decisions, even way back in Europe, bashing around in teams where I had to fend for myself. It took a while to step back from that- as the team is aware! But now I've buUt up a lot of trust in what these guys do. I just remind myself that'they know what they're doing,let them do the job, shut your mouth,just drive the car...'

continued on page 36

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35

INGALL on ...

The Points System WIN: It's been discussed to death - the apparent conflict between something that rewards passing, rewards winners and the desire to have a championship decided at the last race. Your view?

Rl: There's no doubt it's ainned at getting a champion decided close to the last round. As a total build-up (to the last race), it works. There was a big build-up to Phiilip Island. I felt it for the two weeks leading up to it. Lots of anticipation.

That wouldn't have been there if the championship had already been won. Yes, people would have been looking forward to the race but, amongst the crowd, there was a huge buzz about what was going to happen at Phiilip Island.

That's a bonus.

As a driver. I'd have loved to have wrapped it up at Indyi But, at the end of the day, it still comes down to who has been the most competitive over the year; who has finished more races: who has passed more cars regardless of the points system. At the end of the day, you're going to get a ton of points against you if you're sitting on the sideline. And you've got to be a top five contender all yearwhich is a lot harder than people think.

INGALL on The future of V8s WIN: Okay, you've got your wish, you're the new Tony Cochrane. What is the one thing you'd change; what is your biggest concern about the category, if any?

Rl: (Big pause) I know the overseas races were a success, or at least I think they are, financially, but I have a degree of worry about where we're going in terms of circuits in our own country.

The team owners don't seem to be complaining too much, so I have to assume they're doing okay out of the overseas races.

But it worries me that some of the circuits we've had over the past 20 years or so, are deteriorating, getting problems with housing encroaching toward them, and so on, and that we're going to start running out of race tracks.

MN: That is the down-side to going international - places like Winton, for example, miss out, as does its catchment area of fans.

Rl: We need to be careful that we retain some good permanent facilities. Having said that, to be fair, a number of circuits have upgraded their facilities as a result of the pressure placed on them by AVESCO (V8 Supercars Australia), but I believe we have to be very mindful of our role in helping and holding up local motorsport.

How are we going to do it? I'm not sure, but I hope it's on the agenda for the future, because without race tracks, we ain't going racing any morel I also think it's time for a bit of a fresh look at promotion of V8 Supercars. Doing poster signings in a mall just doesn't cut it any more. I think there's a bit more pro-active stuff we could do.

They've done the right thing in targetting women and kids - you can see the difference in the type of people coming to the races - but I still think there are new things we could be doing ...

I'd also like the teams, V8 Supercars, to take a little bit more notice of the drivers, rather than fobbing us off as idiots. We're not all idiots. We have a brain. A lot of us have been in the sport a long time and it would be good to be taken seriously.

36

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Then and now: Russell Ingall, above left in 2000 with Castrol Perkins Racing, finished second to Mark Skaife. In 2005, he finished second to nobody.

'Tve got immense respect (or him as a driver. If you can notch a few championship's up, you've done a good joh. But thafs about where it ends!

continued from page 35

MN: Getting back to your role as the Champion...

Rl: I hope I've had an impact on the championship in terms of entertainment value, and that won't change.

With the weight of needing to win the championship gone, I can get back to racing how I want to race. I think I can still do that. I tliink I can incorporate the 'harder' approach, but also do it smarter.

I've raced hard and tough and missed championships; and I've gone the other way and won a championship; I think now I can combine the two ... And if I can combine the two successfully, I reckon it's going to be pretty good!

I'm sure I can and that's going to be next year's approach.

Yes, holding the championship has its responsibilities in terms of promoting the series. But if the sport grows, so does my longevity within it, from a selfish perspective. So, it's important to be an ambassador, if you like. But we have so many personalities within the sport now, that

-

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everyone is an ambassador of sorts, not just the champion.

set-ups, always been strong over a distance, but I tl-iink some teams sacrifice that a bit in order to start

MN: So you've just ticked one box - what boxes have you got left to tick?

Rl: I'm still not satisfied that I'm

up the front. It's a balancing act, and it depends on the circuit - Indycar, Tassie, etc, bugger race set-up, you've got to be up at the pointy end, because it's so hard to pass.

Phillip Island and the now defunct Eastern Creek you have to have race set-up. Doesn't matter if you're on pole or not - if you haven't got a good race set-up, you're out of there!

driving the car to its full potential.

I still think there's more speed in me. I understand the car very well now - SBR have got some pretty cluey people to direct me in the right areas - but I still think there's more straight-out speed in me, to drive the car faster.

So the aim next year, right from the first test, is to extract that other ten percent. It's there - I've just got to tap into it.

Qualifying is (still) going to be high on the priority list - and that's probably a mental thing, so I'll do a bit more to get the head into gear better for qualifying.

MN: Talking qualifying... although time is quite short these days, do you change the car much, set-up-wise, for qualifying still?

Rl: I think some teams do, because it is such an important part of the weekend. I thirik they do, probably, to the detriment of their race set-up in some cases.

SBR has always had good race

MN: 2006; a new team-mate. How do you handle the arrival of a very well-credentialled young hot-shot in the team?

Rl: It was the same for Marcos. At the end of the day, Marcos knew of me, I came out firing at the first race, so it depends how you handle that.

Marcos is a fairly strong-willed guy and didn't let it get on top of him. In the end we pushed each other on.

It'll be the same thing this time.

You can either be worried, concerned, jealous of a team-mate - which does your head in - or just get on with it. And if he turns out to be pretty strong, you've just got to be on top of your game.

motorsport news

. V8 SUPEBCABS

I INGALL on ... ^ The Juduciary MN: From the outside in your case - not having paid a cent in fines this year - what track would you like to see it head down?

Ri: Yeah, not a cent!That's how I can afford to build a new house ...

We go in waves with the judicial system. One minute everyone's getting away with murder, then it changes and you're getting rapped over the knuckles for not having your collar straight enough on your race suit [ED: we think he means balaclava].

It's a tough one. No matter whether you love or hate the : Stewards, it's a tough job. You're trying to get down to the truth and, at the end of the day, most drivers are going to say "it wasn't me!"

Where I think it falls down is that there are many incidents which should be looked at afterthe race.

Often they've been dealt with during a race, only for information or circumstances which they didn't : know about to come up after the race, that would have made a difference. They're a bit fast on the trigger.

Just because I've got the championship, don't think I'm going to roliover and play dead It

-Ingall states his intentions for 2006 A lot of drivers would prefer a 'soft' team-mate. It makes you look like a hero within your own team, but it may not get you the results on the race track. SBR hasn't won three championships on the trot for no reason - they've had two drivers fighting and pushing each other as hard as they've been fighting everyone else.

I'm sure it's going to be the same now. James is a pretty cluey steerer; he'll pick it up pretty quick!

We'll go with it and go hard. The good thing is, he's a good lad too.

Straight away, you can teU whether someone's a pain in the backside or not- and he's actually a good laugh, so it should be a bit of fun as well...

MN:Further down the track ... we don't want to talk about the'R' word, but have you even thought about what you want to do once you stop actual race driving?

21 December 200S

RI: I'd like to think I've got a fair few years in me yet! ButfU know when it's time. It's something I won't particularly enjoy, the concept of stopping driving, because I love racing so much. But I'll know the point and when I do it'll be "that's it - on to the next thing."

I've got a lot of respect for Jim Richards. His name's on the trophy, but he's not big-headed enough to think "oh.I'm a former champion,I don't want to race something like a Ute or a Porsche," or something that seems Uke a down-grade. He'll race whatever. He stiU races,for fun,then goes to Bathurst and still punches in the numbers and is as quick as anyone.

I'd Uke to have that mental attitude.

I'd like to stay involved - perhaps through TV. I've done a bit with Ten over the years and actually like that stuff; or maybe some involvement with a team, maybe owning a team. I dunno,but m definitely stay within the racing scene. You never know,I might take over Tony Cochrane's job!

MN:Any last message for your rivals, your peers, going into 2006?

RI: Just because I've got the championship, don't think I'm going to roll over and play dead.

I'm going to come out harder and stronger next year!

Other than that, thanks reaUy, to the surprising number of teams,team members,drivers who've - while there were those put-down things appearing in some quarters of the media -expressed their support and respect for the fact that we won the championship.

In fact, that was probably the most rewarding thing out of the whole championship deal: realising that you had earned the respect of the people around the industry -some whom you would never have imagined and who were genuine in their happiness for you.

MN:Skaifey too (bearing in mind the recent'Superstars'fracas)?

RI: I said most of the drivers! But yes, to be honest, he did come up and shake my hand at Crown after the prizegiving dinner..

You have to separate your views on someone as a professional driver from your general view of them.

We're different people, but his name appears on the trophy a few times ... and, now knowing what it takes to get your name on there. I've got immense respect for him as a driver.

If you can notch a few of them up, you've done a good job somewhere down the line.

But that's about where it ends!

MN: And with the points system we have,a drive-through is actually a massive, massive penalty in some cases. A case for more post-race time penalties, of varying sizes,then?

RI: Yeah. A drive-through just kills you. You can put time on afterwards.

They just need to get it more right more often.

You're never going to get it perfect; Tim Schenken recently suggested I look at any other sport - cricket, footy - "and don't tell me you don't get dud calls there." He's quite right. You're always going to get some dud calls but I think we need to get a few more correct.

It also gets back to my earlier comments about the drivers. We do have the V8 Drivers Association and, as a group, we need to be listened to.

We should be siting down with the Stewards, away from the racetrack, and simply asking "are we heading down the right path" and them asking us stuff. If both parties took it seriously, and listened, there'd be a lot to be gained, on both sides. We might even come up with a better system...

37

Burning Down the V^Power Die

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HAT is a diesel? If you were playing the old television quiz show Jeopardy, and had to answer in the form of a question, that would be the appropriate response to How you top one ofthe most dominant Sportscars of all time?

That, unquestionably, Audi's R8 was.Five times it won the Le Mans 24 Hour race,its streak interrupted by Bentley's win in 2003 with the Speed 8- which was largely an enclosed, green Audi. In 77 races, the R8 scored 61 wins; six titles from the American Le Mans Series now sit in the cabinet at Ingolstadt. Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that the car's twin-turbo,4.4-Ktre engine never broke in any of those 77 races. Not once.

So if you are thinking that this is a hard act to follow, you are right. But last week in Paris, Audi Sport showed that it had not allowed its engineers

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38

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to sit on their hands while the 8 was belting the bejesus out of the records. They need to come up with something even better.

Only time will tell whether they did - but for now,they get a gold medal for different. The new car looks a little like the R8 but where that majestic engine once sat now resides a newly-developed V12 TDI diesel engine. The regulations for the 24 Hour(and heiice, the ALMS)encourage manufacturers to develop engines that push the barriers so Audi did, witti a 5.5-litre twin turbo that bums- not explodes- oil.

The reason is clear. For years,Europe's motorists have been enjoying the benefits of diesel-engined cars and visited petrol stations with less frequency.

Over the past decade in particular,low-sulphur fuels have encouraged manufacturers to invest more than ever in research and development of

#?

diesel-engined cars. The bad old days of waiting 10 seconds for the glow plug to warm up before the donk rattled into a smokey life are long over;these days,diesel-engined cars drive just like their petrol counterparts, but with better economy.

In most of Europe, diesel-engined cars coimnand the majority of the market.In Australia,importers that 12 months ago dismissed the idea of introducing'D'models to their showrooms here are quietly testing models to ascertain what specifications they will order, rather than if they will take them. Even in the USA,where gasoline is still cheap by world standards,low-sulphur fuel is encouraging makers to think more closely about diesel engines.

"The RIO project is the biggest challenge ever to have been handed to Audi Sport," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.

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motorsport news

SPORTCARS

House

Audi has unveiled the R10,the successor to the outrageously successful R8 Le Mans racer.

And the new car is a diesel... \

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The Le Mans project will help our technicians to

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"TDI technology has not been pushed to its limits in motorsport yet. We are the first to confront the chaOenge. The demands of such a project are accordingly high."

So are the rewards. Audi's motorsport program is a direct relative of its marketing program; Quattro was a massive success in rallying, the A8 was established by the DTM and US TransAm Series, the A4 swept everything in Super Touring and the R8 was the jewel!in the crown.

In Paris last week,the company wasted no time tying the new Le Mans challenger to its road cars.

"With the A8 4.2 TDI quattro, Audi already builds one of the most powerful diesel cars in the world," said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkom, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG.

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extract even more from TDI technology.

Nowadays,every second Audi is delivered with a TDI engine. We expect that the percentage of diesel engines will be even larger in the future. sj n As seven-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen drove the new RIO in front of the Eiffel Tower,the Audi engineers aheady looked pleased with themselves, having tested the car in secret two weeks prior.

Audi intends to debut the car at Sebring in March before it laimches its Le Mans assault.

Kristensen bidding to take a record eighth win in the French classic. The German maker will have

/ won Le Mans seven times so I can park here; Tom Kristensen steps out of the RIO in Paris.

diesel bragging rights to itself for a year;Peugeot win return to the scene of some of its biggest victories in 2007 with a diesel-engined Sportscar of its own.

continued on page 40

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39

The Things in the Back Room I

T was one of those smiles that are much more to do with what is not being said than what is.

The occasion was one of those dinners that, at first, everyone in the media business dreads. On paper, a dinner with a group of Formula One engineers sounds like a good chance to learn something but the truth can be different; I do not speak Engineering and they speak little else, so the prospect of them being quickly bored by dumb questions and me not understanding their answers to those asks was quite real.

Once I had proven beyond reasonable doubt that I knew very little about

thermodynamics,the subject turned to diesels. The man in question, who I cannot name but who was responsible at the time for an FI engine program, noted that he had just taken delivery of a dieselengined road car and was singing its praises.

"Too bad there are no diesel FI engines for you to play with," I mused.

"The rules do not allow it," he said (Ed: they do not, nor do they permit turbines or rotaries).

"But I wonder what power a 3-litre, V10 diesel would produce?" I asked into the ether.

And there was that smile, followed by a dissertation of

the power numbers of the unit; this much grunt at these revs. I am not allowed to repeat them - but they were suspiciously precise.

"What?" 1 said quickly. "Are you going to tell me you have built a diesel FI engine?"

"We build lots of things," he grinned.

As already noted, a diesel FI engine will not happen so, unless Max and Bernie have a change of heart or the manufacturers get their way, the Le Mans weapons will have to do. Audi's new V12, above, is shrouded in secrecy but there are some numbers available, like "more than 450kW' and the 1100 Newton metres of torque, which

dehnianded an all-new transmission not just'in the car but on Audi Sport's dynos.

Then there is the need to match the engine to the transmission; the usable power band lies between 3000 and 5000 rpm, about half-way up the rev scale used by the R8 .

"Long-term technology partners such as Bosch, Michelin or Shell support us in our quest," commented Ullrich. "Together we have the chance to write new chapters in the history books of motorsport and diesel technology."

If it goes anything like the R8, Peugeot better have its race face on ...

And it is not just the four-wheelers ...

AND,just when you thought that the diesel revolution was restricted to all things fourwheeled ...

This is the Star Twin Thiinderstar I2UI)TDI, a 1200cc, three-cylinder diesel-engined motorcycle. The Netherlands-huilt machine uses a heavily modified Volkswagen engine from the Polo added to specialist motorcycle parts. The result is a 210kg bike with 70 horses and - bike people will shudder at this number - 1 bONm of torque.

There is also a racing version, ny//f, with 95hp/220Nm but the number we like the best is that the road version returns around 2L/100km - lor those of us with grey hair, that is in lie neighbourhood of 117mpg.

Please Santa ...

40

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2005: The Year tiKmbn.Cm^

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HERE is much to be said about the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series.

It was the Year of The Enforcer; no, it was the year of Russell Ingall. By his own admission, Caltex's star put his aggressive instincts on hold for a large part of the season and played the 'points game'in order to first put himself in contention, then consolidate, then complete the deal.

Ingall has been both praised and criticised for doing that. It is fair to point out that Ingall won only two of the 30 races held during the championship but you also have to praise him for finishing aU of the 29 races he started. A100 percent finishing rate in any series is a monumental achievement by a driver and his team.

While Ingall was content to contain his animal instincts, his team-mate was not. Marcos Ambrose was the most controversial driver of the year 42

r

and clashed with his fellow drivers more than most. Many pointed to a change in attitude to the US-bound driven but no-one can argue with the speed with which he launched and ended the season.

Holden's teams waxed and waned.

The Holden Racing Team won three rounds and Todd Kelly and Mark Skaife were the General's best-paced steerers in fourth and fifth. But there n were times when it looked like a struggle, as it did for HSV Dealer Team. What can you say about a team that, in the same season, qualified a car last, and then was the best Holden team over the last two rounds?

There were shunts, arguments. controversies, a massively successful trip to China, hirings,firings and all the things that make V8 Supercars one of the must-see sports of the 21st century.

- MNews Editor PHIL BRANAGAN

motorsportnews

L 2005 V8 REVIEW

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Anothergruelling V8 Supercar Channpionship Series has been run and won, MOTORSPORT NEWS looks at wild md

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21 December 2005

IT'S been a long time coming, but Rusty finally did >it. The Russell Ingall who got this particular monkey off his back isn't the same one who frustratingly ran second all those times. Rusty played super-smart in 2005 and it worked.

There are tho^OUit^|here'mfe mgSon he wimped i|; dro^ifor pointf from d butith'afe.n^|feaHly^fair.“^ferd^ i daw ofFie, illSires&'i^e'^dlrive^ aifteFSlIlf^ , youfve got to have a go.whin'yb»i^

youiFself clumped to the back of the field by (a) asn,d‘ idiot, or (b)the b stewards.

But iin> 2005, Rusty'playednsmart and played the system as best he could.

The aggression mas controlled and he stayed calm. The tellliing stat is that Russell Ingall 2005-style paid not a cent ,l» fines. And that must, if they'd budgeted on past figures, have severely dented AVESCO (okay, V8 Suiperear Australial's income!

When you're hot^ you're hot HOLDEN'S 'other' Clayton team has endured a lot in the last 12 months. Everyone at the HSV Dealer Team certainly deserves their Christmas holidays this year.

This time last year, the team lost Greg Murphy and naming-rights sponsor Kmart.

Things didn't look too bad at all when Rick Kelly scored pole for the Clipsal 500, although the team's HRT look-alike paint scheme was universally condemned. This pole, however, only served to temporarily disguise an out of form and out of luck team.

Come Eastern Creek and Shanghai, Kelly drove in Buick hues, only to qualify last at The Shang. It all looked to be going very wrong.

But for the next round at Hidden Valley, both cars were oi podiui began a

run of form that made the early season slump a peculiar memory. What had suddenly gone right for the Dealer Team?

In MNews's mid-season review, we labelled the HSV Dealer Team the 'mystery of the season'. Nobody was sure what the team was about to do. To its credit, the team continued its upward march. To the surprise of some, new recruit Garth Tander came out on top out of the team's two drivers, finishing sixth in the championship to Kelly's eighth.

After both cars made the podium at the season final at Phillip Island, the team made noises about being the 'form Holden team' entering 2006. With Toll coming aboard to finally give the team a major sponsor, things are looking up.

THERE has been a disease of sorts in the V8 Supercar paddock for the past few years.

SBR has won the past three championships, but history shows that the Ford team that has finished second to the mighty Yatala team loses the plot.

In 2003, BJR were second-best blue ovals, and since then, have fallen well below that mark.

In 2004, it was Team Orrcon. But as the success was soaked up, the 'second-best' disease set in. Mark Larkham's mob were chronically off their best in 2005, even with the added ponies that the Stone Brothers were supplying them. LMS even

motorsportnews

PIECE by piece, Betta Electrical Racing has become one of the teams to watch in V8 Supercars.

Two years after Triple 8 emerged from what had been Briggs Motors port, the Ford team was the one with the speed. It took half a season for Craig Lowndes to absolutely gel with his race engineer Campbell Little but once they were on the same page, it was fun to watch.

The result was a season-high four wins (Eastern Creek, QR, Sandown and Indy) and ditto for five poles, including a scintillating effort at Bathurst. Over the opening six rounds, Craig scored points at an average of about 120 per round. Over the last seven rounds,they poured in at about 172 per round. And that included a chilly afternoon at Bathurst.

In the other Betta car, Steve Ellery was always playing catch-up after a season-opening wallbanger at Adelaide, that probably went a fair way to sealing his fate. He also crashed at Oran Park but was in good form for the rest of the year, highlighted by bringing a wounded car to third at Bathurst. That he was dropped for next season indicates what a harsh business this is.

Merchandising-wise,the team set the pace with a stunning facility and race-by-race gear; Roland Dane's choice of co-drivers was vindicated in both endurance races; the team is approachable and looks forward to a successful year in 2006.

If there is a negative, it is this; it only became apparent this season how much Lowndes has been wasted for four years, and how much the whole sport benefits from his presence at the top. Long may he smile.

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suffered a number of engine-related problems.

The first few rounds of 2005 was a case of Jason Bargwanna hitting things, and Mark Winterbottom breaking things. While some of these were through no fault of the drivers, their season never reaUy got started.

Will the disease continue to infect Ford's runners-up? In 2005, the second-best Ford team was Team Betta. Something tells us that a vaccine will be found to cure the disease before 2006 is out...

21 December 2005

we know,this is a^^aictable one, and yes, on behalf ¥f Hfieiraetqrsport^Satc'hing fans of Australia weM gqinf!tenpfead'the'caSe193111! mm' PStnjI^Vieyif^lbe^ifits system is rubbish and does abs:0:ut^®Mth%9it0lpS0Mfage racing drivers to, er, race.

WlnniifSftC there. And by the way, it confuses the i he® out of i^;, never im&dfthebilfnt I ;^.,iFa(liacy:.ThSt!its necessary to have a points system that ensures the championship goes I dSwrii to the fiinaii round.

Wrong! It ain't! Some of the best motor races (and crowds) have come at final races where the title has already been decided. Championship decided equals reduction in pressure, equals better race. With the finale now at the Island, a circuit of character, they will come anyway.

Especially if race drivers are programmed to race.

Solution: Okay, something a bit further reaching than MotoGP - but not everyone should score points. Why reward mediocrity? 50, 40, 34, 30, 26, 22,18, 15, 12, 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1, goes down to 15th ...

45

From this 'WO®RS;.lliiatiis «vhat issaldibyniiahyin^^ | through die bourse of any given W Supercar foda^ . ; i W'PS iBaciitng straggiles «,the major leagues.:lin. pa rtnershiiip 1 ; with Gaitegory aponsoirghips im Carrera Cup and Aussie i : 'Racers,, Craig ©pne-S team has been successful in raising the i I proile ofthe liinanGiail.services company. But the Gold Coast ‘ team, whiehjhas no Pondiibackingi, is no chailllenger to Stone ' n Brothers or Iriipfe 8:. !

The team may have(good!'budget but this year, it lacked i state-of-the-art bardware and drivers wiho ea® win at this ' ; level (Craig Baird fiinished: 23rd; David Besnard 25th). There ; was not en ougih speed:and top many Crashes. Rsecruiitiingi * i Alex lagiliani fer the enduirance events was a PR coup but bpt ; ; much else. ; Put it thiis way;)WPSiiha'dib@ suGcess to speak of liiiiii 2005 and : that, pretty miueh, met the .iispeetations of mainy iihipit ilainC

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IT was like one of those moments when you do not quite believe what you are seeing.

The flight with China Eastern was one thing, the airport another but the billboard next to the freeway, that showed Rick Kelly's 'Buick' racecar brought it home. Never has anyone seen a billboard 60 metres long, let alone one with a Commodore V8 Supercar leaping out, larger than ■ life, at the masses below.

Welcome to China. Before any team member, official or journalist set foot in the country, the controversy as to whether it was a good idea to race globally - at the perceived cost of a local event - raged. This is not about that; this is about the fact that, in the faces of massive and potentially terminal obstacles, the race happened. And it was a great success.

It was a success because any number of people refused to allow anything that might derail the event to do so, led by AVESCO 46

Operations Manager Kurt Sakzewski (who virtually stopped his life to run the Shanghai end of the show for months), TEGA's Michael Masi and freight guru Bill Gibson. If we were being really picky, we could complain about the airline that got us there, a Race 2 procession and the lack of this and that but, if it came to having exactly the same experience again, we would be there like a shot.

Six months after the dust settled, it is not the actual racing, the dazzling city or the whole China experience that stands out in our memories. For us, it is this fact; what we loosely refer to V8 Supercars - drivers, teams, officials, CAMS, fans and even us weasels in the media - came together, pulled out all the stops and made it happen. That it was so special was a huge, huge bonus. So roll on Shanghai 2006, bring on Bahrain and who knows where we are heading next . , .

PROBABLY the readers' letters we get are related to television coverage of motorsport: why is suchand-such not on; how did they miss such-and-such incident; why isn't it live? And so on. And by nature, when the average person is motivated enough to write in, it's generally a whinge.

But frankly, we reckon Network Seriously - as their own marketing catch-phrase has led to them being called - is serving up some pretty good stuff these days - especially when you compare it with a fair bit of the crap airing from overseas these days.

Broadcasting motorsport live, compared with anything played on a confined footy oval, tennis court, cricket pitch, or even a NASCAR oval, is a massive imdertaking. Ten puts in technology-wise, its lead cormnentator's background behind the wheel allows for intelligent comment and analysis, and there is a genuine enthusiasm among the onair team.

motorsport oews

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this!

TALK about turning things around.

Tasman Motorsport(nee Dodo Racing) doubled its fleet of V8 Supercars at the start of 2005 and gave GRM reject Jamie Whincup a role alongside the now-seasoned kiwi Jason Richards.

The start to the year wasn't anything special. Kchards had a strong run at Pukekhoe, and Whincup impressed at Shanghai, but other than that, they looked like soUd mid-field contenders.

Then, the turning point, or should that be the flipping point. Richards clashed with Paul Morris at Queensland Raceway,hit the curb and rolled four times in a frightening sequence of tumbles.

The Dodo's faced an uphill battle to repair the car for Oran Park in three weeks, which they completed successfully. The repaired #3 car

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Despite being constrained by commercial realities, it doesn't hurt to have an avid petrol-head, David White, as the Head of Sport on the Network either. Remember,Ten also has AFL,and we're head-to-head with the other football codes in their various States for most of our season.

Good work,guys.

21DeGemlier2005

qualified in the top 10 but didn't figure in the races. But it did figure at the next two events - Sandown and Bathurstarguably the ultimate races to shine.

Richards and Whincup finished third at Sandown,and led The Great Race with less than 20 laps to go before Mark Skaife showed them

how it is done. Nothing to be ashamed of though,and the fistpumping as Richards crossed the line told the story.

Jason and Jamie's end of year form also earned them great gigs for 2006.

JR back with Tasman, and Whinners at Triple 8 ...

Dynamik: Distant Memories TEAM Dynamik has managed to tread water in various guises in 2005 to survive to the final round. From what began as a highly-resourced two-car operation, the team now sits on the brink of V8 Supercar extinction after a forgettable year.

The introduction of Tony Longhurst saw an injection of some sponsorship through WOW,but what Longhurst also did bring was Max Wilson.

Wilson had arguably his best year in V8 Supercar in 2005, at least in terms of consistency. The Brazilian finished the year in 24th,sandwiched between the two WPS Racing drivers. Considering the way Wilson's year began - as a last minute replacement for Will Davison he faired reasonably well.

The second Dynamik car, however,did not. Simon WUls was once the lap record holder at Mount Panorama, a Development Series and Formula Holden

champion and a yoimg Kiwi on the rise. But now it seems that without his father's team,he will be without a full-time drive.

Off the record, many team bosses will tell you that if the Simon Wills of 2003(Dynanuk's first year in the main game)was available,he would be very high on their driver shopping hst. Now,they are not so sure.

If you want to sum up Dynamik's 2005 season,two pictures come to mind. The first is of the field filing into the first comer at the Clipsal 500, with Wills waiting in the pit-lane, serving a one-lap penalty for the Woomera incident. The second image is of the car launching over the fence at Sandown in a horrific incident that WUls thankfuUy survived.

Is Dynamik now waiting for the inevitable, or has it already been launched from the category? Either way, the team that was within a lap of winning the 2003 Sandown 500 ig a distant memory.

Super Egos THERE were times during 2005 that V8 Supercar drivers made us grind our teeth - and many of them were during V8 Superstars.

First, an admission. I did not watch all of every episode of the show. I tried but it was so bad that I usually lost the will to live sometime after the second commercial break. The best I could manage was almost all of the episode when Garth Tander filled in for the unwell Mark Skaife and everyone's game seemed to lift.

A panel show of personalities from the sport is not a new idea - The Footy Show is the most high-profile version of the genre in this country and, with things like the VB Bar, there was a thinly-veiled attempt to copy that format.

My problem with the show is that, with only drivers on the panel and noone to dilute their combative spirit, the show descended to combine the worst parts of Sesame Street and broadcasts of Question Time in Canberra. Once or twice, there were genuine sledges that got through the banter and, just when things looked like getting interesting, we got an ad break. The rest of the time ... well, if my kids acted like the drivers did, they would be locked in their room until they turn 18.

Highlights? Dick Johnson was full of spirit but the quiz was truly awful, and is it cruel to suggest to Network 10 that as a motorsport commentator, Tim Smith is as funny as a toothache?

We are pleased that 10 turned off the life support when they did.

Having said that, some of our chums at the network refer to a particular RPM segment as 98 Takes with Russell Ingall...

Dirk Klymmilh

Reversing Traditien BATHURST has a history of being unkind to internationals.

It's a fact. More often than not, when a big name international has breezed in for our two big enduros, they've either been daunted by the place (Bathurst) itself or, more likely, haven't been able to adapt quickly and productively to the unique driving style required to get comfortable and quick in a spool rear-end, rear-wheel-

drive V8.

There's a long list of failures and we must admit to emitting a collective groan when Triple 8 boss Roland Dane announced he would import Frenchman Yvan Muller, well-credentialled in British and Euro tourers, to co-drive with Craig Lowndes. That would be the weak link in car 888, we reckoned.

We were wrong.

Mixed conditions at Sandown probably helped, but regardless, Yvan handed Lowndes back a race-winning car. At Bathurst, he didn't put a foot wrong prerace and it wasn't he who scraped the thing along the wall when at the front.

So, bon chance Yvan. You made the

IT is no great surprise that there is an overhauled judicial system in place for the 2006 V8 Supercar season.

The judicial system attached to any form of sport is never going to be ideal for everyone. Those who 'lose' the cases will grumble; those who 'win' often grumble too, at the need to be dragged through the process. The people on the other side of the table from the drivers can never wm.

There were some controversial findings in 2005. No matter where you stand, the interpretations of the law are now often so comphcated that split seconds can decide who is in the right and who is not. Take the Ambrose v Murphy clash at Bathurst; according to MNews's understandings of the rulings in the earlier part of the season, there would not have been a 'no breach' result 50 metres further along the track at the braking zone.

There are always going to be biases involved. Steven Richards did seem hard done by at Surfers in his clash with David Besnard but Richo did himself no favours at Phillip Island, when he claimed he was hit in the rear by Todd Kelly when clearly, the contact was door-to-door.

And then there is Larry Perkins. Depending on what

side of the fence you are on, either he is being targeted by the judiciary or he has them all hypnotised. In its only case of the season, the V8 Supercar Court of Appeal's finding was highly critical of Steward Steve Chopping and IPO Peter Wollerman, both of who have legal training. As a result, changes are being implemented for 2006. Let us hope that things are clearer then.

motorsport news

WHILE there's a list of people who starred behind the wheel in '05, there are a handful whose end-of-year report might well say 'Could do better', or 'Didn't live up to his potential'- you know the sort of stuff the politically-correct education system dishes out.

Well, in V8 Supercars 2005, there were a handful of under-performers who, we reckon, will need to spend the off-season doing more homework ...

DAVID BESNARD: MN's office (which can be a cruel place) had a movie title ready to go for an (as-yet not done) Bezzie feature:'Bend It Like Bezzie'.

Says it all. Can be very, very quick. Has all the open-wheeler/international background, but just too many errors.

Write out 100 times 'I must concentrate all day - and be fitter'..

MAX WILSON: Another ex openwheeler international who really should be performing better after, is it four, seasons in V8s? Occasionally quick in qualifyijjg, but too often subsequently on the grass.

PAUL MORRIS: Has race wins on his resume and a smart team which is turning out well-respected equipment. Often in or around the top 10, but just one too many of those niggling incidents. As an indication of pace, caught and passed Skaife at the Island - but both were down the back after dramas.

BRAD JONES:The sight of Brad, slumped in

the drivers' seat at Bathurst, was an enduring one. It hadn't been a good season for one of the sport's longtime racers and Bathurst often a high-point - was over (through no fault of his own) on lap one. It's been that sort of year for Brad who's just occasionally come so close, but not close enough, to that big result in V8s. Is it time for the next generation? It's a tough decision to walk away - especially if you're part-owner of the team. And, hell, JB's older isn't he?

Numbers Game ONLY eight drivers won Ifr^unds of the V8 * I Supercar Championship Series this year.

Among that exclusive was Steven ^Richards, who won the Barbagallo "round of the series, right.

L^lt was a typical-Richo season rEonsistent and no nonsense - except vfor a slight blemish in the final round after a clash with Todd Kelly.

While seventh place might not have ^^en.the best overall result, the 21 December 2005

statistics of Richards' [season are telling.

He was the only Holden to qualify for every Shootout (so did Craig Lowndes and Marcos Ambrose). The #11 (or was that #24) driver finished six of the 13 rounds in the top five, and if it wasn't for his DNF at Bathurst (no fault of his own), his championship bid would have been well placed come Phillip Island.

Richards is too good a driver not to have a V8 Supercar Championship to his name. Can 2006 be his?

49

of 2005 E.idriver signing of the year was a long leiini the making, tom the moment that Marcos Ambrose |e'his l!slASCAR plans public at the 3tr^i[la«(aira#El'ffix in; March, the driver r^arlcet went into orbit. SB'R did not have to li|«l< a^finger to find a peplacement, because ifc-^anybody who had any kind of expiration!, exit clause or option in their deal that could see themi freed!pp for 2006 and beyond was on: theiphone.

Sn,the other side of the fence, Mark Skaife \ was il'OOking to secure the long-term future of hllRf's driving line-up, and he had his eye on James Courtney. Courtney and manager Alan Gow decided to stick with their Japanese GT program:for 2005, but to poke their toe into the V8 Supercar water by doing the endurance drives for HiRT. James duly rocked up for learn Red, drove admirably, and Skaife decided that he'd backed a winner. And this is where it gets messy.

Skaife says now that he had a verbal understanding - not an agreement, or a contract-that any involvement that Courtney had with V8 Supercars in the near future would be at the wheel of an HRT Commodore.

He even went so far as to offer Courtney a full time drive this year at the wheel of a third HRTsupported car alongside himself and Todd

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Kelly. Courtney a nd Gow declined, pointing out that James was making an extremely good living in Japan and was a serious title contender, and also expressed concerns that a third car would not receive the same level of support as the #2 and #22 Holdens.

Nevertheless, Gow left Skaife with the impression that Courtney still saw HRT in his V8 future, and he still believed this to be the case as recently as the Indy 300 in the Gold Coast- which is why he was not prepared for a phone call from Gow that began with the words, "You're not going to like what I am about to tell you ..."

It is difficult to imagine that Courtney was swayed by money. For one thing, he was already earning more in Japan than all but the very top tier of V8 drivers. Plus, SBR is not in the habit of paying astronomical driver salaries.

But what it did have to offer was a championshiprwinningi,car^^.pd |_n opportunity to move his career to Australia, something that was high on Courtney's wish-list. And for SBR's part, they have picked up a guy who is fast, level-headed, marketable and who will not be remotely fazed at the prospect of stepping into Marcos's shoes.

Motorsport can be a tough business, but as Mark Skaife learned, things are sometimes even more ruthless off the track than on.

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motorsport news

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L 2005 V8 RElflEW

Penalty Shots Lawyers, Guns and Money ONCE upon a time. a driver would sign a contract with a team and stay there. If he signed for next year, he would stay there then too.

Not any more, it seems. More drivers got the heave-ho during the year than ever before. Andrew Jones, Greg Ritter, Steve Ellery and Glenn Seton were all out shopping for new seats

by November and, if nothing else, this proves that this is a tough business.

Nowadays, contracts contain

performance clauses that give teams the option to change direction, if they so choose. Contracts are very complex; one deal dragged on l ong after both parties agreed to money, duration and bonuses, just because they could not get together on what the driver would do away from the track and what he would not.

How long will it be before a driver is dragged out of a function by a driver waving a few bits of paper?

AND there are things that are either Hot or Not, depending on which side of the divide you are watching from.

F’rinstance ... was the penalty awarded to Marcos Ambrose for a breach in the dress code too harsh? There are some who even suggest that he should have served a second drive-through penalty; one of Warren Luff’s offence and one for his own. And if the penalty is too great, should a fine apply?

What about the wheel-nutover-the-line call on Craig Lowndes at Phillip Island? The team claims that, since it was well before the car was due and pit lane was pretty quiet, there was no danger to anyone. But Lowndes got a penalty; Mark Skaife drove into the wrong pit at Bathurst and did not. Is that fair? (On that subject, what if the BOG Gases team had hoisted Skaife’s car into the air and left it there? Is there a penalty for that? But I digress.)

Perchance, there will be some changes put in play for the 2006 season.

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21 December 2005

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The New World Order

EVEN for someone who hates statistics.

Fernando Alonso's numbers from 2005 make incredible reading.

Im Hungary, Fernando had his front wing taken off by Ralf Schumacher at turn one. and after losing time in the pits getting it fixed he eventually finished 11th. In Monaco he was fourth after skittering around on dead tyres. And at every other race (barring the United States GP, where the Michelin-shod cars did not run) he was on the podium. having taken six poles and seven wins along the way. Oh yeah, and the World Drivers' Championship.

It's also telling that in 18 races, he only set the fastest lap twice. Over the second half of the season, the Renault was not a match for the McLaren in terms of outright performance.

But it had two advantages - first, it was reliable and second, McLaren's false start to

the season meant that the impetus was on K imi Raikkonen to close the points gap. He needed wins, whereas Fernando simply had to finish high enough to stop Raikkonen from making too big a dent in his lead.

The Spaniard capped his instinct to go out fighting at every race in favour of playing the points system to his advantage, and he was rewarded when the title fell his way with two rounds left to run. It was then, and only then, that he let his natural aggression shine, and his flamboyant drives in Japan and China were amongst the highlights of the season.

Alonso's success in 2005 was borne from a maturity and discipline that put a lot of far more senior drivers to shame - a fact that by all rights should have stood in direct contrast to his mantle as the sport's youngest-ever Champion.

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moiorsporinews

FORMULA ONE

a Remarkable Season

From the crowning oftheyoungest-ever World Champion to the farcical US Grand Prix, there were was plenty to mull over at the end of the 2005 Formula One season.

MNews looks back atsome of the highlights - and lowlights

Best Of Enemies

IT all looked so ... promising.

At last, our Mark Webber was in a decent seat at Williams; BMW had a fresh engine; Michelin was the tyre to have.

The numerologists pointed out that MW's Williams, an FW27, carried a #7 while in 1980, Alan Jones's FW07 Williams carried #27. Spooky.

In the awful two-session format, Webber drove the fastest lap of Albert Park in qualifying and regardless of who tripped over whom in Malaysia, Webber and Giancarlo Fisichella were scrapping for third.

So, what the hell went wrong? Lots; the FW27 was not a great car, the product of two windtunnels that refused to play together. When the car appeared, the team was alarmed that it had much less downforce that it was supposed to and the team played catchup from there.

Soon it was apparent that Williams and BMW were headed for a divorce and once it became obvious wins were out of the question, BMW were determined to save some face and played the conservative card.

Down went the revs allowed for the P84/5 VI0; it became common for BMW releases to quote Dr Mario Theissen saying there were "no technical problems". In other words, we did our job ...

Let us hope that all parties are happier with their new partners.

You want horsepower? Fine.

Here, take all the horsepower you want: Relations between Williams and BMW became increasingly strained during 2005, with the German company finally deciding to go it alone from 2006 onwards.

ON the face of it, any tyre maker winning all but one race in a category with open competition between makers can only be described as a success.

But Michelin will look back on 2p05 as one of the darkest periods in its competition history.

Yes, 18 GP wins from 19 races is a triumph but the sight of fans pouring out of Indianapolis in June, calling for sanctions against Michelin, was not something anyone wants to see again. l Michelin got it wrong, taking tyres to Indy that were not up

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news

FORMULA ONE

French Revolution AT first look, McLaren was the 'Lotus'of 2005 (ie, fast but frail) while Renault's R25 appeared so bulletproof as to be a threat at Le Mans and, possibly, the Dakar Rally.

The numbers do not back that up. If we take the season and 38 starts(two cars in 19 races) McLaren's MP4/20 failed to finish only three times more than the Renaults. Both cars wound on the podium 18 times.

McLaren won 10 races, two better than Renault.

What decided both Drivers' and Constructors' titles was when the cars broke, and which one. In simple

Gold

terms, almost all of McLaren's failures hit Kimi Raikkonen and all of Renault's appeared to aim for Giancarlo Fisichella. After his Melbourne win, Fisi had three straight DNFs and any ideas he may have had about the title were gone.

Maybe it's luck or maybe Fernando Alonso has better sympcitico than Fisi, but the Spaniard had only one mechanical failure, a suspension problem in Canada. Apart from 11th in Hungary and fourth at Monaco,he finished every other race on the podium. He was the RusseU Ingall of FI and both can compare #ls next March ...

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to the strain of the cars on the banking. The FIA failed to cover itself in glory by clashing horns with the company (who wants to open the Christmas gifts FIA President and Edouard Michelin exchange?) and the losers were the fans.

The sight of 14 cars filing into pit lane at the end of the formation lap will haunt the sport for a long time.

If there is good news from this, it is that the US Grand Prix will go ahead in 2006, with Michelin underwriting about $15 million in ticket refunds.

sulton’images.com

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To Deliver

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^ GREAT bloke. There is hardly a person in Formula One with many bad words to say about Giancarlo Fisichella.

Great driver? No, but very good. Great drivers take cars capable of winning championships to titles.

Fisichella has never done that; the Renault R25 was the best car he ever had and he finished fifth in the championship, four spots behind his team-mate.

True, the Italian was the victim of most of the Enstone team's ill-fortune and unreliability but that is not the whole sto^y. Even he admits that the team built the 2005 caT aTound Fernando Alonso's aggressive enttV-fo corners.

"In 2006, I'll have a team and car capable of letting me win the championship," Fisichella recently told Autosprint magazine. He added that he expected the R26 to suit his style more than the 2005 car.

That rather ignores the question of why? Renault did what it did with the R25 because, obviously, they saw a gain in doing so. In other words,they designed a car for Fernando to win in.

So, Fisico? A team changing a car to suit its number two, rather than the current World Champion? Maybe he and Colin Edwards need to compare notes ...

sulton’inhigcs.com

21 December 2005

55

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»y-- >;r:.’;li:OR:IVIteLaren, 2005 was a seasoh'of 1W.P ijai^s ir l^^^h’era'they;:performediilike bit Where. fh^-w'erb alhie^ sppernaturally quicker than €yety!,6ne':elsev 20 was ^,QliT3ajh6htally a.sensational Gar^as you would expect given X? itfiat'it was essentially an :pwjutipn of the rather good !MiP'4j4i9,g'fW/it'h-'Adriah l^ewey's;G0ntfaet schedulediitii expire imi&^season|he.later. extended through to theend Of the year),the aero . .. , . department was headed'iby ex^ Ijerrarifman Nick Tombasis, \ : with Mike.Goughian again

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mm FRANCHISE IS aOSED Due to circumstances out of our control, we have had to dissolve our Sydney branch.

Howard Reynolds @ Race Brakes would like to take this opportunity to inform you that their work ethics and integrity are still rock solid!

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FORMULA ONE

Hand Grenades

si!ipBrvisiin.gi thie chassis. The teaim weire visiiibily coinifident going into IWIellbourne, and were as shocked as everyone else when Kimai iRaikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya spent the whole weekend bombing around in the miidifield. The main problem tuirned oiut to be in the suspension geometry, where the team had been overly-conservative iin; theiir efforts to counter the new tyre ruiles.

The erroir was rectiifiedi once the team got back to Europe, and as the year progressed the McLaren began to deliver emphaticaiiy upon;its pre-season promiise. Mean while,on,the driver front, Kimi rarely put a wheel wrong;, and Alex Wurz and;Pedro lie la;Rosa deliivered in thieiir super-sub roles whiiile standiing in for the injiuired Montoya.

What was iperhaips most remarkable about the MP4-20 was how few visible developments appeared on the car in the iatter pairt of the year. Was it fundamentaiy so good that it onlliy reqiuiiired miinor tweaking, or was the team already focussing on next year? Either scenario looks ominous for everyone else as we look ahead to 2006.

BAAAARP baaaaarp baaaarp baaaaaaaaaaarp BANG. The 2005 season was not a good year to be Norbert Haug.

While all of the other teams along pitlane adopted well to the tworace engine rule, Mercedes-Benz seemed incapable of building an engine that could produce horsepower without also producing a cloud of smoke.

The problems reached a head in Italy, where Kimi Raikkonen suffered from his third engine failure in six races.

"We shouldn't be changing engines three times in a few weeks," Haug said at the time (no doubt with Kimi nodding his agreement in the background).

"When something like this happens you sit down with your guys, look in their eyes, put your hand on their shoulder and tell them we need to do a better job."

It's a bit of a stretch to say that it cost Kimi the 2005 title, but it certainly didn't help his cause. The heat will be on the threepointed star in 200.6..

Gone in a Puff of Smoke THE history of Formula One is littered with stories of success - and failure.

How many times have we seen men storm into the sport, having been successful in other arenas of business, take over a team and tell all and sundry how they were going to do things? You can figure out what happened next as,some time later, these people left the sport in controversial circumstances, sometimes even in handcuffs.

When Paul Stoddart bought Minardi, he had six weeks before the start of the 2001 season, no drivers, no engine and a serious level of debt. When he left last month, having sold the team to Red Bull, he did so with his head high; the team was debt-free, there were no scandals in the closet and the Minardi chapter closed in style.

In the intervening period,Stoddy proved that he could not only survive in the shark-eat-shark world of FI but that he thrived in that environment. The bloke may be a poster boy for the tobacco industry but he sure has staying power.

In short, Stoddart did good. He rebuilt Minardi, which was the second-favourite team of many fans in the sport. From the media's point of view, he was a dream come true; a politically-incorrect terrier who never walked away from a scrap. And how can you dislike a bloke who drives his own racing cars and flies his own airliners?

We would say goodbye and bid him a restful retirement but,somehow,there is considerable doubt that FI has seen the end of Paul Stoddart...

21 December 2005

57

Instant Karma SUCH was the season that Ferrari and Bridgestone shared that it begs the question; was winning all those titles the work of a great car, a great tyre of a great driver?

Certainly, there can be little doubt that Michael Schumacher was a great driver this year and the rest was awful. Ferrari simply did not get the F2005 to work anywhere except for Imola, where Michael nailed it to Fernando Alonso's rear wing over the final 10 laps of the race. And yes, he won at Indianapolis but that seems hardly to matter much.

The fact is that Bridgestone could not get a '300km' tyre to work anywhere near as effectively as MTchelin did, nor

anything like its '100km' tyres did in past years. The good news is that things return to normal in 2006 with the reintroduction of tyre changes.

There is also aniSlement of justice in what happened to Bridgestone in 2005.

The Japanese company so closely linked itself to Ferrari that previous clients fled to Michelin The Scuderia flaunted the testing agreement on the thin pretext that it 'deserved' more testing than other teams - and that testing itself was largely funded by Bridgestone.

So when what had been Ferran's edga turned around and bit it in the'arse, there was no sympathy in pit lane.

The Running Of The Bulls YOU could see the writing on the wall at the start of the 2005 season.

Rich guy - in this case, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz - buys a team (Jaguar Racing)from Ford, appoints his own blokes to run it and sits back to see what happens.

The pre-season testing looked OK at best, so with veteran David Coultliard and sophomore Christian Klien sharing the driving duties, all we had to do was wait for the inevitable excuses.

Five seconds into the season, we had an insight into what was going to occur. DC bombed past Mark Webber's Williams at the start and came home fourth at Albert Park.

The team's brains trust, Christian

Horner and Gunther Steiner, made sure that the cars were as efficient as they could be and were well-run.

On the face of it, platooning Klien and Tonio Liuzzi caused more grief than benefits but the move may pay dividends in 2006.

Another fourth for Coulthard in the European GP was as good as it got but at the start of the season, you would have got long odds on Red Bull scoring only four points less than BAR-Honda.

The latest fairy story is that the team wants Michael Schumacher for 2007. Crazy? This team has Ferrari power, and Adrian Newey starts work there next month.

Who's crazy now?

%

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Suzuka 58

♦ motorsport pews

FORMULA ONE

On The Radar YOU know that you've had a good season when,after years of ringing up and pestering teams to give you a drive, they start to call you.

Two drivers in particular put thennselves on the map this year. Years of running around in Frosts, Jordans and Saubers has almost ended Nick Heidfeld's career more times than he cares to remember, but the quietly-spoken German repaid Williams'(or was it BMW's?)faith with one pole and three podiums.

Part of his success came from a tendency to sit back and wait for things to happen; a habit that stood in contrast to Mark Webber's efforts to create his own opportunities. Heidfeld's first podium, in Malaysia, came about because of Webber's ill-fated attempt to wrest third from Giancarlo Fisichella - when both cars

sutton-imanes.com

IF even half of the Grands Prix were as good as this year's race at Suzuka, nobody would ever watch a ball sport again.

The stage was set in qualifying when late rain washed away the quicker guys' chances of a decent grid slot. Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher were all down the back.

Ralf Schumacher’s lightly-fuelled Toyota was on pole alongside the BAR Honda of Jenson Button. This promised to be Jenson and BAR’S best opportunity to prove themselves, and the fact that they failed dismally was only part of the story. By the end of the race, Jenson had gone backwards to fifth while some of the most enthralling F1 racing of the past to years was unfolding around him.

Raikkonen won with a stunning demonstration of overtaking that culminated with the Finn slicing past Giancarlo Fisichella to take the lead on the final lap.

Based on Kimi’s pace, McLaren could have been on target for a onetwo had Montoya not been cleaned up by Jacques Villeneueve on the first lap. JV was penalised, but does that compensate for us being denied the chance to see JPM trying to pass 19 cars?

Alonso underlined his right to the 2005 crown by passing outgoing champion Schumacher twice en route to third, a drive also highlighted by a stirring late battle with Mark Webber as the Williams fought to keep the Spaniard from stealing the final podium spot.

If you ae in the habit of taping the GPs, this one was one to keep.

21 December 2005

disappeared from the race, Heidfeld was there to pick up the pieces. There are times where the 'softly, softly' approach will not work, but it paid dividends for Heidfeld in 2005.

Further down the grid, Christian Klien, left, proved himself more than worthy of a full-time FI ride with his performances at Red Bull Racing - a gig made considerably harder for the young Austrian by the fact that he had to share his car (and housel) with Tonio Liuzzi.

He may have had only five point-scoring finishes to David Coulthard's nine, but Klien was forced to hand his car to Liuzzi for four races.

That he was just one position out of the points at four other rounds was also a superb effort given RBR's place in the FI pecking order.

tf-:

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happened to BAiR andi Honda?

After a '[ing and ugly battle, they had managed to get golden boy Jenson Button out of , the conlraGt that would have had him in a Williarns. They ended the 2004 season with a ' car that dSd everything but break through for that first win. They had political stability, with David Richards's former right-hand man at Prodrive, Nick Fry, installed to replace DR himself. And they had an engine partner that will not roll over until it scores wins, and lots of them. Al,l the pieces were there.

Instead, as the teams assembled in France for the eighth round of the championship.

Button and Takuma Sato had managed to amass a combined points score of ... zero. This, we can assume, was not part of the team's plans.

Things were not helped by BAR being thrown out of two races for a technical infraction.

They came back, made proclamations about being hungrier and revitalised, and were still slow. Button managed a third at Hockenheim and a couple of fourths, but it was not the kind of season that we went to court to have. Sato, meanwhile, spent much of the season driving in a way that did no justice to his undoubted talent.

The team goes into 2006 with a new name - Honda Racing FI - and the newer personnel, including Fry, Honda Racing president Yasuhiro Wada and sporting director Gil de Ferran, have had time to settle into their respective roles, which should make for a smoother year. For Button on the other hand, it is time to stand up and deliver.

59

Super Reaction to 2000

by JON THOMSON

AUSTRALIAN rallying will undergo its biggest changes in more than two decades with the announcement that the new International Super 2000 rules will be ushered into the title from July 2006.

■The new FIA Super 2000 rules allow manufacturers to construct rally cars that are powered by a two-litre normally-aspirated engine feeding the power to the ground via a control all-wheeldrive transmission.

The new rules will allow S2000

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cars to compete directly with existing Group N turbo 4WD cars such as those from Mitsubishi and Subaru with a system of parity through weight and turbo restrictors.

It is clear the S2000 rules will quickly take hold of World Rallying, with major manufacturers committed to building cars for the new category including Toyota, VW, Renault and Fiat. Ford's new entry into the ARC, which has been developed with a normally aspirated engine, could also easily be adapted to the new rules.

Toyota's face of rallying in Australia, Neal Bates, says Super 2000 is the right way to go for Australian rallying and it will be a huge success as more manufacturers develop cars for the category.

"It will give local distributors of European cars the chance to campaign in the ARC at a much lower cost."

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Head start: Super 2000 regulations have already been embraced around tbe world. This is an S2000 RunX developed by Toyota South Africa.

Bates confirmed that the S2000 know if a Super 2000 car will be any easier to develop than a Group N (P) strategy was the most likely option car, however the immediate benefit for Toyota in the ARC in the medium term. wiU be the end to any concerns over "It's more than likely that we'll parity because we'd be building to an head in that direction with the internationally regulated set of rules.

Corolla," Bates confirmed.

"From a technical point of view, Bates has committed to a fact from what I know they (Super 2000) cars have about the same power as a finding mission and will fly to South Africa in January to look at the S2000 Group N car with a lot less torque, but they are about 200 kilograms Corolla, which is being run by Toyota SA in the local national lighter. In theory, they should be an equal match. championship.

"I think the most interesting aspect "I'll be interested to see just how of Super 2000 will be the excitement they've engineered their cars factor for spectators. The cars will compared to ours," he said. "I don't

yet.

ARCom Chairman Garry Connelly said the move brings the ARC into line

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existing production car chassis and fit an existing production-based engine mated with the Sadev 4WD transmission.

CAMS has said existing Group N(P) cars wiU continue to be recognised and would continue alongside until such time as aU manufacturers move to S2000. It is believed that the existing N (P)cars would continue to be eligible to compete in a similar manner to older Group N cars, ultimately filtering down to state level. The exact detail of the transition has not been finalised

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sound like real rally cars. In my opinion current Group N cars are too quiet, and I think the noise factor is really what's missing in rallying."

Similarly, Ford's Steve HoinvUle agreed that S2000 was an attractive option for the future.

Ford was clearly privy to advanced information in building its new car, choosing to build a non turbo Focus from the beginning.

"I can't comment on our plans into the future, but as a company we obviously welcome the move," said Hoinville."Super 2000 offers a far simpler path for manufacturers who don't have access to the type of parts required to develop a Group N (P)car."

The control transmission for FIA S2000 cars is built in France by Sadev, a weU established and credentialed gearbox manufacturer.

Car manufacturers must use an

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Team Mitsubishi Ralliart require: 2x Mechanics lx Store Person This is an opportunity to join a professional motorsport operation

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motorsport news

RALLYING with international rules.

Stephane re-signs

"We expect that Ford and Toyota will look to adopt tire international rules in coming years, and this will also provide an opportunity for European car makers to enter the ARC," Connelly said.

"Although Group N and Super 2000 are comparable in terms of overall performance, the Super 2000 cars will sound mucli better and will be able to

STEPHANE Sarrazin has re-signed with the Subaru World Rally Team for 2006.

The 30-year-old Frenchman will contest four asphalt rallies starting with the Monte Carlo Rally in January, re-joining existing team mates Fetter Solberg and Chris Atkinson. Sarrazin will also play a significant roie in Subaru's tyre test programme.

be driven more aggressively,and they will certainly add an exciting dimension to the sport."

A number of other changes designed to reduce costs have also been announced by ARCom for the ARC. For 2006,ARCom will introduce a second tier of competition for privateers. Level One privateers will be determined by ARCom as those who wish to compete at an outright level, and will be eligible for the current Privateer's Cup class.

The second-tier competition will allow entrants on a reduced budget to nominate four events in which they win score points, which will count towards a new stand-alone series. They will also be eligible to contest the overall championship if tliey wish.

Competitors in the second-tier will be limited to 12 tyres for each event, and win use a control fuel, which will translate to a significant reduction in costs for the privateer runners.

In order to reduce costs and minimise tire time spent away from a team's home base, events will be compacted into four days commencing with reconnaissance on Thursday and finishing with prizes being presented at the Official Finish on Sunday.

A ban has been placed on testing during the week of tire event. Separate testing activities are to be provided in each state during the year.

The Case for the Defence SEBASTIEIM Loeb last week sampled the car that he will use to attempt to defend his title.

Loeb tested the low-tech version of Citroen's Xsara, which features passive differentials in line with new rules for 2006, which will be run by the Kronos Racing team as Citroen takes a year's sabbatical from competition.

The test took on both tarmac and gravel roads in the south of France, with Loeb impressed by the feel of his new car on the sealed surfaces but cautious on the loose surface stages.

"On asphalt there is less of a difference than there is on gravel, but the car feels much slower to react," the Frenchman said."It's harder work. It will be much easier to get caught out.

However, while the Xsara is an old car, it has been extensively developed over the years and I think we can still be competitive.

"I'm counting on defending my title, but it will be much harder. Marcus[Gronhoim] will be in the Ford, and we could & see in Australia that this car had a lot of potential." a - RYAIM LAHIFF

H Ford rally boss Malcolm Wilson is overjoyed with his new signing Marcus Gronhoim after the Finn's first test with the team.

Gronhoim spent three days testing the 2006-spec Focus in snowy conditions near Kail in Sweden.

"We're very happy with the feedback he's given us," said Wilson. "He knows what he wants In the car and he's very honest with the changes we're making to the car.

"It's good for a team to have someone who says what he thinks, and it really motivates them if they see a driver is quick and committed."

Gronhoim remains contractually bound to Peugeot until the new year, making him unable to speak openly about the tests, although the Finn was reportedly happy with his first outing in the Focus. n The Acropolis Rally has taken out the prestigious 'Raiiy of the Year' title for 2005, narrowly edging out previous winners Rally Finland and Rally Australia.

The voting panel noted: "The capacity crowd attendance at the Athens Olympic stadium was seen as a new high point for the WRC in a rally which has progressed in ever/ respect over the past three years."

- RYAN LAHIFF

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AFTER chasing Brooke TatnelTs tail tank for six rounds. Max Dumesny finally notched up his first feature win for this year's World Series Sprintcars Championship at Latrobe Speedway in Tasmania two weeks ago.

Dumesny and his wise crew chief 'Mouse' Green used a harder compound right-rear tyre for the feature and Dumesny bided his time early in the feature as Jason Johnson and Tatnell battled for the lead.

As Dumesny's car came on, he bridged the gap and sailed into the lead and drove away to the win.

The car was great and I found a bit of moisture down low on the main straight where you could really get out of the turn and get a run on someone," said Dumesny.

I found it in the heat race and I knew it'd be handy in the main event if no-one else found it too.

Tatnell pursued in vain, but had to

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WSS R7 LATROBE

Real Supercars

Richards and Kelly (and some journos) sample Sprintcars

by CHRIS JORDAN YOU will never find a more unique racing beast than a Sprintcar. They have masses of horsepower, huge aerodynamics and are designed to turn just one way all on dirt.

You could watch Sprintcar racing for years and years and never truly understand what the driving dynamics of the cars are like, unless of course, you are lucky enough to have a drive of one.

And so it was the Sunday afternoon following Round 5 of World Series Sprintcars that two

V8 Supercar drivers, two V8 Utes steerers and a couple of journos had the unbelievable opportunity to pilot-the most outrageous vehicles you could imagine.

The driving characteristics of a Sprintcar are so foreign that there was no chance of me getting Dave Magilton’s Ford-powered Maxim anywhere near its full

Weapons of choice: Jordan, left, and Kelly, right, have a steer. Kelly and Richards, above right, looked puzzled.

62

capabilities, but on a bone dry Avalon Raceway, it was still clear how violent 800 horsepower feels under your right foot.

After driving the car and then watching Jason Richards and Owen Kelly have a go in Brooke Tatnell’s Krikke Motorsport Cool, I can better understand how different you need to drive the cars. Richards was very smooth and drove about as fast as anyone could drive a Sprintcar by ‘keeping it straight’ - constantly correcting the car as it began to unload the rear end.

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settle for second. Johnson was third and fellow American Brian Brown

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was fourth driving the local Tamars Cars-backed car. Brown was the highest points scorer on both nights.

BROOKE Tatnell won his fourth round from six the previous night when he piloted the Krikke Motorsport Cool to victory.

"Things are going so well I can't believe it," said Tatnell. "We are getting on so well and the car is fantastic to drive."

As is usually the case, Dumesny was pushing Tatnell right to the finish, the Valvohne driver coming home second. Despite being shaded FianM R^.irei

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and much to team owner Shane Krikke’s amusement, had the car sideways and ‘on the noise’ the whoie way around Avalon.

“That was real busy in there the whole way round,” said a buzzing Kelly. “Can you imagine how busy it would be at full pace, with 23 other cars around you?”

No, Owen, I can’t. Never before have I jumped out of race car and scratched my head so hard wondering how they do it, and never before have I jumped out of a race car and wanted to get back in so much.

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Series crown by virtue of his consistency.

"I'm getting a bit sick of looking at the back of that thing," said Dumesny is his laconic style.

"So I'll have to start doing something about it."

Tatnell led away from Dumesny in the early stages, only for Tatnell to edge away on the gripped-up track.

Dumesny found a rough part of the track in Turn 3, allowing local gun Adrian Redpath to get to second.

Redpath would fade to fifth however as his car's handling declined, allowing Dumesny to advance to second in chase of Tatnell.

Third was Adelaide's Luke Dillon, left, the young driver admitting that the track was not to his liking, but that he was pleased to be taking a trophy back across the Bass Strait.

Robbie Farr and Johnson ended the feature in fourth and sixth, not on the pace of the leaders but vitally amassing points in their battle for third in the championship.

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WSS R6 LATROBE

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63

sequence by John Morrh/Mph

TROY Little again showed that he is the form driver at Tyrepower Parramatta City Raceway by taking out another sensational victory two weeks ago, his fourth for the summer.

Little was a flag-to-flag winner,finishing almost half a lap ahead of second-placed Mark Blyton, who had Peter Murphy on his tail right to the finish.

After nine rounds of the PCR Sprintcar Track Championship, Little is looking good for backto-back premierships. With the big American challenge just about to explode on the Parramatta track. Little is looking like one of the major local threats. At the final PCR

meeting before Christmas, Little won his heat, dash and then the A-Main, only missing a clean sweep after clocking only the sixth quickest time in qualifying.

Craig Brady finally showed some good form and after winning his dash race, shared the front row with Little in the A-Main. But Little simply forged away, leaving Brady to finish fourth ahead of Trevor Green and Ian Madsen.

The only major incident happened early in the Main after Jimmy Thomson flipped over in Turn 4, with Sam Walsh also rolling, pictured right.

- GREG BOSCATO Points: Little 2198, Maher 2146, Green 2132, Blyton 2092, Lawes 2064.

Little at Ba SYDNEY'S Troy Little and locallybased David Murcott put on a thrilling display of Sprintcar racing last Saturday night at Rolling Thunder Raceway, Bacchus Marsh in their battle for the RTR $5000 Sprintcar Challenge.

Murcott and Little had the crowd mesmerised in what was probably the race of tire season so far as the pair swapped the lead back and forth, constantly until it all came apart for Murcott in lapped traffic with just a lap to go. The Murcott melee also claimed third placed Adrian Maher, allowing Danny Reidy to snatch second place ahead of another duo of

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by GREG BOSCATO

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FORMER Sydneysider and now American resident Peter Murphy has returned home to Sydney, bringing his wife and children with him.

Murphy, right, had a ride lined up for the Christmas meetings at PCR but the deal fell over at the last moment. Steve Lynch then came up with an offer to race his new Eagle Sprintcar, far right.

Pete jumped in at Parramatta two weeks ago and after setting 12th time in qualifying, he was on the pace all night, impressing many by finishing third in the AMain - the highest-ever finish for that car.

"It wasn't bad," said Murphy.

"I just wanted to make the show (feature). The team haven't had the best of luck lately and we were good enough to finish second but I made a mistake in traffic.

"We had some issues with the steering box - something locked up in there, but it was fun.

Murphy doesn't know how long he will be staying In Sydney, saying he will again race

motorsportnews

SPEEDWAY

Outlaws still split WITH the National Sprintcar League no more after the withdrawal of support of the Richard Petty Driving Experience, 10 of the NSL's teams and nine drivers have joined with Brownsburg Promotions to form the National Sprintcar Tour.

Brownsburg currently manages the Grays Harbour Speedway in Eima, Washington and runs the 360engined Northern Sprintcar Tour.

The nine drivers are Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski, Jason Meyers, Brian Pauius, Shane Stewart, Tim Shaffer, Brandon Wimmer, Jason Solwold, Jason Sides and Lucas Wolf.

Wins

cchus Northern Territory cars in Allan Barlee and young James McFadden.

The return of the winged warriors to the big half miler was much anticipated, as was the season debut of the Texas Tornado Travis Rilat.

RUat quickly settled into the new car and was soon punching out rapid laps, as were Little, Miucott,Maher and Ryan Farrell. RUat's best lap of 13.1 seconds was at an average speed of over lOOmph,but his night was spoiled by an engine failure in the A-Dash.

At the drop of the green in the AMain Murcott got a slightly better jump but Little had the inside line and emerged down the back straight

with the lead. Little had Murcott right on his tail and Murcott eventually took the lead.

Grant Anderson was still running hard but as he tried to lap Barker going into Turn 3 he clipped the latter's front wheel,spun and then rolled. The next stanza of the race was an absolute blinder as Murcott aird Little fought a huge battle, which only intensitied when the two encountered lapped traffic. Back and forth the lead swapped,often twice per lap.

On the last restart for a spun car.

Little had the lead and the car was clearly set up for the end of the race as he was able to slowly edge away

from Murcott, who had not yet given up. As the two leaders and third place Maher entered Turn 2for the last time Murcott made contact with the rear of Brett Milburn's lapped car and headed infield as Maher ran over the inside wheels of the aOing Milbum.

Reidy managed to avoid the skirmish and grabbed second place from Barlee as Murcott rejoined the field and Maher hmped aroimd to take the chequered flag. An ecstatic Little proceeded to do a series of donuts on the infield having just taken his maiden RTR win and five grand to boot.

-BRETT SWANSON

hy back to PCR the Steve Lynch machine on Boxing night, after having a 'fun run' in a Compact Speedcar in Nowra before Christmas.

There is talk that he might stay and crew for his good friend Steve Kinser in the Outlaws Downunder II I.

2006 FIM Speedway Grand Prix FH Krsko, Slovenia Apr 22 R2 Wroclaw, Poland May 6 R3 Eskilstuna, Sweden May 20 Jun 3 R4 Cardiff, Great Britain R5 Copenhagen, Denmark Jun 24 Jul29 R6 Lonigo, Italy R7 Manila, Sweden Aug 12 R8 Prague, Czech Republic Aug 26 Sep 9 R9 Daugavpils, Latvia Sep 23 RIO Bydgoszcz, Poland

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n The preliminary entry list for the 2006 Chili Bowl is shaping as who's who of US motorsport.

The 20th running of the Chiii Bowl, an indoor Midget event at the Tulsa Expo Raceway, currently boasts 255 entries. NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, Jason Leffler and Kasey Kahne, USAC Silver Crown Champ Paul White and NHRA Top Fuel driver Morgan Lucas are all entered.

World of Outlaws stars Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell have both entered, as have their successful sons Kraig Kinser and Kevin Swindell.

Danny Lasoski and All Star Champ Chad Kemenah are also listed. n For the first time in four years, the 2006 FIM Speedway Grand Prix Championship will be run over 10 rounds. Series promoter Benfield Sports has announced the addition of a round in Latvia to the calendar, with ‘ the city of Daugavpils to host the Latvian GP on September 9. The Italian GP has been brought forward to July, the final GP now held in Poland.

m Australian Distributors for

n Trevor Green is now racing a new Australian-built Cool Sprintcar chassis, with his older Eagle chassis now returning home to Adelaide.

The Lewis-Green team will take the car to the NZ Outlaws meeting, missing the Grand Annual Classic.

Proton world Series Sprintcars 2005/2006 Championship Mountain Dew LaTrobe Speedway 10/12/05

2005/6 Standings to 10/12/05 lillil

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21 December 2005

65

Nation Australia’s NHRA Top Fuel drag racing hero ‘Aussie Dave’ Grubnic is back on home soil and looking forward to the Australia v USA shootout at WSID on Boxing Day. GRANT ROWLEY spoke to him MN: Have you had a chance to visit the Western Sydney International Drag Racing facility yet?

DG: I'm in Brisbane now, and I won't get a chance to get down there until the rest of the crew from the States get here. We'll head down there on Wednesday.

I have seen plenty of pictures of the WSID. I've spoke to some of the people I race with, like Mike Dunn, and everyone speaks very highly of it so I'm looking forward to getting there.

MN: Although the races at WSID and Willowbank are special one-off meetings, is the plan to go out there and win?

DG: You bet. We have my crew chief Jim Oberhoffer and the guys who work with me all coming. This is a serious deal.

When we take these startlines, doesn't matter where we are, we go with intention to win. Is there any other way?

MN: From the outside, what are your impressions of the local Australian drag racing scene?

DG: It's good. I obviously started my career here before I left for America, I've seen it goes through its peaks and troughs. And there are things that could be

worked on, but there are some really good points about it and it has a lot of advantages. Its an exciting period for the sport in the States and I hope that reflects on what could happen down here. And I'm looking forward to being a part of it every step of the way.

MN; Would you like to be able to come 'back home' and do these sorts of meetings again?

DG: Yeah, you bet. The current schedule with 23 national events and testing for the NHRA makes it difficult to find time. We start testing the weekend I get back - it's full-on. If these opportunities present themselves. I'd always like to come back.

MN:This year, you finished fourth in the NHRA Top Fuel standings. Next year, you are back with Kalitta Motorsport. Could Australia have its first NHRA champion?

DG: Yes, absolutey. That's the goal. That's what the team and I want to acheive. Our goal is to go out there and do that.

Top Fuel is very difficult and very competitive in the States, because you are up against very quick, and consistently quick, cars. We are going to work on the clutch department during testing.

But in 2006, we are going out with the simple and straight goal of winning the title.

by GRANT ROWLEY THE coverted Australian Drag Racing Nationals will be held at Willowbank Raceway in September in 2006.

Having occupied a November slot in the past, the move has come about due to the unfriendly Queensland weather that has plagued the Nationals over the past two years. In 2005, the Willowbank meeting was actually called off due to a weather forecast (that turned out to be correct).

ANDRA,along with Willowbank Raceway, has decided to move the meeting to Septemebr to try and avoid rain.

The meeting will be the second round of the Australian drag racing championships. Western Sydney's now-traditional opening hit-out, tire ACDelco East Coast Nationals, will be held two weeks before the Willowbank Australian Nationals.

The remainder of the 2006/07 calendar is still being finalised.

IHRA Nitro R ACE fans attending Hooters IHRA Racing Series national events in 2006 will get a bigger dose of nitromethane than in seasons past.

Torco Racing Fuels owner Evan Knoll and the IHRA have reached an

agreement that will create the Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Funny Car class, a professional class that will be part of IHRA's schedule at all 11 national events during the next three years.

With the number of multi-car teams contesting events on the NHRA side, the option of racing at the IHRA events is a plus for lower financed teams and an extra headliner for the IHRA. Teams that have struggled making fields and going rounds against the big guns on the NHRA tour may take a good long look at competing in the IHRA. Let's face it, with three Team Force cars, three Schumacher Racing Dodges, throw in the Don Prudhomme car of driver Tommy Johnson Jr, the Cruz and Tony Pedregon cars, and the two-car Worsham Racing Team,if you're a Funny Car racer, you're hoping you're quick enough to take one of the remaining five spots in the 16-car qualified field.

Several teams have already GG

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moiorsDortnews

als on the move

06/07 Drag Racing season to kick off at WSID - Wiliowbank to host the Nationals two weeks later to avoid the weather

committed to the new IHRA series, including Bob Gilbertson, Frank Pedregon, Mike Ashley and Dale Creasy Jr, right. There have also been imconfirmed rumours tlrat the IHRA's most successful Funny Car driver in history. Dale Pulde may compete in the series, and the Alcohol Funny Car team of Jim Sickles and tuner, Tom Anderson have considered a switch to nitro to rim the series.

With the IHRA's decision to schedule its events on non-conflicting weekends with the NHRA schedule. don't be surprised if you see some of the top cars on the NHRA side compete at a few of the IHRA events in 2006. Del Worsham won the 1992 IHRA Funny Car title, the last year that Funny Car was a part of its series. Gary Densham competed there in the late 80s and John Force has match-raced at Norwalk Raceway Park for Bill Bader every year for the past several seasons.

Although it hasn't been confirmed, rumours are flying about the three Schumacher Racing floppers of newly crowned NHRA Champion Gary Scelzi, Ron Capps and V^it Bazemore will appear at selected IHRA events during 2006.

"Evan Rnoll is a great supporter of my operation and we continue to

21 December 2005

review the schedules and plans for 2006," said team owner,Don Schumacher.

"We have not scheduled an IHRA race as of yet but our plans are not finalised at this time. I will support Evan Rnoll and Torco to the best of our ability at IHRA." Gilbertson, owner/driver of the Autolite XP Spark Plugs/Prestone Antifreeze nitro Funny Car, plans to compete at all 11 IHRA National Events.

With one IHRA nitro Funny Car victory to his credit, Gilbertson is looking forward to returning to the

series where he started his Funny Car career.

"We've had some good runs in the past at IHRA national events," Gilbertson added.

"Tracks like Rockingham,Epping, Norwalk and Cayuga are among my favorite tracks to race at and we're looking to make some noise and win the 2006 IHRA Nitro Funny Car Championship."

Frank Pedregon has plans to add a full, second Mopar Funny Car team to his team in order to compete in the IHRA. As an addition to his current operation that is scheduled to run the

DRAG RACING

NSW Government offers support THE USA verses Australia Boxing Day drag racing meeting at the Western Sydney International Dragway has received backing from the New South Wales government.

In a similar deal to what the A1 Grand Prix received for the 'Grand Prix of Nations,' the support is a massive boon for the facility and the event.

"It provides significant revenue for Western Sydney," said Premier Maurice lemma. "And WSID also provides a variety of employment options for people in the area as well. Both myself and the New South Wales Government are very pleased in the venue's ongoing success.

WSID CEO Jim Read told MNews that everything is in place for the USA versus Australia Top Fuel Bonanza on December 26/27.

Everything has shaped up," he said. "The NSW government has thrown its weight behind it and recognised that this is an international event. We are hoping that this event will become a regular fixture.

entire NHRA POWERade series in 2006, Pedregon says a search is underway to find a driver for the new team.

"I'm taking applications from interested drivers who can bring substantial funding as part of their deal," Pedregon said.

"I am providing a car that is a proven contender, the same car 1 ran 4.70s in this year. I'll also provide a crew chief and team to attack that series, with the plans of taking home the first championship of the IHRA's new Funny Car Series."

-DAVID OSTASZEWSKI 67

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Rowley

Leave R to the experts Heinrich and Corey sealed another Winton 4 Hour in front ofa competitive field

SOUTH Australian duo Bruce Heinrich and Neil Corey added another Winton HQ 4-Hour classic to their names in front of 36 other entries at the rural Victorian track recently.

Kevan Stoopman and Andrew Williams were second from the Glen

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McDonald and Brendan Avard entry.

Divided into two two-hour races, Saturday's edition was led by the Heinrich and Corey early until passed by both Stoopman and McDonald.

The race result was decided during the compulsory three pit stops, where slick pit work by defending Champs (Heinrich/Corey) gave them at least 15 seconds over their rivals.

By race's end,it was Corey/ Heinrich, McDonald/Avard and Stoopman/WiUiams. The 'never to be overlooked'local entry of former winners Michael Fitzgerald and Richard Whyte was next.

Sunday's rain-affected race saw Stoopman/WiUiams victorious, but second place (16 seconds up the road) was Heinrich and Corey, which was enough to see them take the overaU win.

The McDonald car finished third from Wayne King/Gavin Porteous, and John Wise/Adrian Brown, who made up for Saturday's disaster of running out of fuel.

A significant entry in the race was the Brock brothers -Peter and Phil.

The famous pair finished 14th and 18th to take 10th overall.

In other events at Winton, Sportscars was dominated by Luke Doidge's effective debut of his

recently-acquired Dungey Lancia. He won aU five races. The placings were shared by David Mackie, Michael Gibson and Scott Feldtmann.

David Skilton won three Saloon Car races in his Escort with Brian HaU next best in the Future Racer.

Hall took one win while Richard Howe was competitive aboard his Porsche 944. Geoff Leeds had two seconds on Saturday before packing early while Peter Gruber won the handicap.

Phillip Showers won three BMW E30 races and Geoff Bowles won Race 1 while Matt Martin was best in the handicap.

- NEIL HAMMOND

VV

Just Cars, Just Winners: National Saloon Car Champion Bruce Heinrich picked up his fourth Winton 4 Hour with Neil Corey.

SAGE signs Supercheap and Richards V8 UTE team SAGE Racing has scored a double

coup for the special Ute races to be held at New NZ Utes event boosted with two big names Zealand's Manfeild circuit in February next year.

The team, which finished third in this year's championship with Gary Baxter, has picked up Super Cheap Autos as its major backer for the NZ event.

The team will also have V8 Supercar star Jason Richards as co-driver for the inaugural race.

Richards said he is looking forward to the event.

"Clearly it's a competitive and tough style of racing and I'm excited to be a part of the SAGE Racing team and looking forward to driving with Gary," Richards said. "I can't wait to get out there and have a crack at it." moiorsponnews

i

NATIONAL SCENE

Taking care of business A BIZARRE red-flag incident unfolded at the ReSa Nationals at Port Macquarie on December 10-11.

The father of one of the junior competitors ran onto the circuit, grabbed the red flag and stopped the race as he was tackled to the ground by officials! Apparently the dad was not happy the race was started with karts out of position,so decided to take the matter into his own hands.

After a single-file restart, the Junior class was still plagued by controversy. Redspeed's Tommy Quinlan took a convincing win on the track but was penalised post-race for having started out of position. This elevated Damien Radosevic(PCR)to first ahead of Kyle Ensbey and Domenic Marciano.

In the senior classes, Jessica Golding, above, picked up another

title for PCR by taking the ReSa Light Championship. Fastest qualifier Jason Bums had been the pace-setter all weekend but after a brilliant battle with fast starting Peter Lawler, retired after a collisionwith team-mate Phil Lucas. Chris Jeffrey

then led before Golding got by late in the race.

Glenn Saunders(Redspeed) showed the yoimger drivers the way in ReSa Heavy beating home Andrew Torville and Mathew Bailey.

-MARK WICKS

I

Vega gets tyre contract THE CIK-FIA has awarded Vega the tyre contract for practically all of the major international championships in 2006, Part of the deal is that Vega will supply all competitors with their race tyres totaliy free of charge.

They will also supply prizemoney for event and series placings. n The number of Australians competing in the 2006 CIK Trophy of New Zealand next month continues to grow.

Arrow has announced that Bart Price and Matthew Wall will join the Intercontinental C field, WA's Paul Williams has already confirmed his intention to race ICC at the event for First Kart. n Karting is being taken to the kids. Channel Ten recently shot a segment on karting for its Totally Wild kids show.

The cameras headed to Eastern Creek where Kristian Lindbom and Emma Brown did the PR gig for the sport. The segment is expected to air early in the New Year. n Jason White won the Castrol Cup in Tasmania recently. In a rare appearance, White played the consistency card to perfection and steered his twin-engined Arrow to victory ahead of Brendan Dimsey (Arrow/twin super) and Shane Bond (Arrow/twin clubman).

Dimsey actually won most of the races but a spin in the first heat ruined his chances under the allpoints-count format.

MATTHEW Wall won the final round of the Titan Formula 100 Series at Todd Road last month.

Wall took an easy win, but the battle for second was intense with Aaron Rintoul, above. Cameron Thorpe and Dominic Albanese locked in battle.

Rintoul and Thorpe filled the podium making an Arrow/Parilla trifecta.

.imcifi ■r»r» r

21 December 2005

Si

The meeting, which was billed as a lead-up to the 2006 Victorian Championships at the venue, was also the final race in the hyperstimulator.com 5-Track Challenge for the Rotax classes. Nick Lacey won Rotax Light ahead of Troy Woolston.

Michael Pereira beat Brett Davidson in Heavy.

- MARK WICKS

A[●ms Pereira MICHAEL Pereira bowed out of karting with a third place finish in Rotax Heavy at the South Austraiian Championships recently.

Pereira has sold his entire karting package to a competitor in Queensland and will take up Formula Ford in 2006. Having purchased a ’98 Spectrum, Pereira plans to run the Victorian Formula Ford championships with backing from The Ettamogah Pub Group.

- MARK WICKS

n A group of Americans have set a new Guinness world record. The four-man team covered 1574 miles in a 24-hour indoor endurance record, smashing the old mark by over 500 miles.

The effort helped raise money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp set up in memory of Adam Petty, n The Phoenix Karts team scored a one-two at the Victorian Closed Ttles in Mildura recently, Matthew Hayes winning Clubman Light ahead of Andrew Mecuri.

Franky Costanzo beat Remo Luciani to the Clubman Heavy trophy while Mark Dorbolo had twin wins with victory in both Senior National divisions. Special black plates for the winners also went to Greg Mattschoss (Clubman Over 40), Stefan Millard (Junior Clubman), Justin Tate (Jnr Nat Light), Lincoln Benns (Jnr Nat Heavy), Cameron Waters (Midgets) and Jarrod Egan (Rookies).

- MARK WICKS 69

Engined to Excite For those ofyou who have not driven a Formula Ford, do it. Ifyou can’t, don’t read ahead, because GRANT ROWLEY will only tease you

A

S soon as I pulled into pit lane at the end of my Spectrum Formula Ford test at Calder Park last week,I had three things rush through my mind; 1. Must get CAMS license.

2. Must design sponsorship proposal.

3.1 need to enter the Victorian State Formula Ford Series.

Borland Racing Developments was kind enough to invite Motorsport News out to have a skid in its new Spectrum Oil,loaded up with the allnew Ford Fiesta engine that will replace the 'Kent' model that has served the category for 35 years.

Admittedly,the new car that we drove, pictured above, didn't have one of the 'racing-spec' engines that will soon be available to Australian Formula Ford teams, see breakout right. This engine was from a wrecked Fiesta and Borland have used it as its testing mule to get some miles with the different engine characteristics in its aU-new chassis.

On the same day that we tested at Calder, current FFord Champions Fastlane Racing was giving a similar engine its first run in a Van Diemen at MaUala.

Borland's leading driver from 2005, Shanefactory Price, took us for a couple of slow laps in a road car to show and tell us what to do and when to do it. And as nice as it was for Shane to do that, the track really doesn't take that much explaining. If 70

you have half a racing brain, then it's not that difficult to pick up. Calder Park is a pretty simply layout. Two big squirts and two second gear sections where,especially for a novice, you can really sink your teeth m.The only major caution Shane emphasised was the bumps on the approach to turn one. They always looked bad on television, but in real life, they could really bite, because the wall to your left isn't that far away ...

Something that wasn't so easy to pick up was the driving bit.There were basically three aims to the test; don't bend it, have some fun,and please, don't bend it. So needless to say, while we wanted to look like we knew something about driving a race car, we didn't particularly want to throw the thing off the track,Justin Cotter, 1999-style.

MNews staff journo Chris Jordan and 1 have both driven Formula Fords before, and to be quite honest, racing is in our blood. But finding the limit, particularly under brakes,is something that you have to slowly creep up on. We both got about 20 laps each in the car, but still, we were braking about 100 metres before Shane even thought about planting his foot on the tiny middle pedal.

And if you have a look at the data, most of the time that we lost was at the end of the two long straights. Our corner speed was kind of close to Shane's best. Just having the

The tuckshop is that way; Rowley gives Jordan some tips on the quickest way through the rough at turn one. While Paul Zsidy, left, is rather relieved to see his brand-new Spectrum return in one piece. confidence to know when and how hard to brake is something only experience can bring.

Jordan and 1 drove around,had a bit of an off each and eventually lapped about seven or eight seconds off Shane's best. That time would have been good enough to (just) qualify for a national round (if the track held a round),and would have placed us at the tail of a state series field. There is stiU some hope ...

Anyway, word jockeys enough spearingabout around in a ■race car. The real story was what we were sitting in.

The Spectrum Oil is an evolution of the OlOB that has been used in the past two championships.

The Oil was developed with the

new engine in mind. While the Duratec is in fact physically smaller than the 'Kent,' a number of systems changes have to be completed to the cars to allow them to be race ready, namely the drive-pulleys. Each of the competing chassis (Spectrum, Van Diemen, Mygale and for the first time Spirit) each have their own adjustments to make in this regard.

Early predictions are that the cars will be 5-lOkmh quicker down the straights. The big improvement, though, will come through the fuelinjection, rather than the carburetted Kent. Even with the limited Formula Ford experience we have here at MNews, you could feel the smoothness of the fuel-injection. Put a real race driver in the hot seat and, no doubt, lap records will fall at every track,

motorsport news

NATIONAL SCENE MoTeC

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"Hnding the limit, particularly under brakes, is something that you have to slowly creep up on"

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The proof is in the red line

ABOVE is the wheel speed data that compares Chris Jordan's best lap (red line), with Shane Price's quick one (black line) at Calder Park.

Clearly, Price has a lot more confidence under brakes. As you can see, he enters turn one at over 20kmh faster, and has braked about 200 metres earlier. Corner speed is similar, but the lap times aren't, About eight seconds, to be precise ...

The body work on the Spectrum has also been lifted up to accommodate the engine, which makes the driver sit lower relative to the body. This fact has also improved the safety side of the equation.

The wishbones on the Spectrum were also designed and constructed to be more durable. Originally, this was implemented to allow for the increased load that the mooted 'wings and slicks' would have created on the cars. The added aero has not been included for 2006 season, but it could be introduced to the national class in 2007.

Borland Racing Developments managing director Mike Borland says that the Oil is an evolution of the OlOB. "You always look at the deficiencies and try to improve on them," he said.

"We've addressed some problems that we had in the OlOB and tried to incorporate them in the new one, while considering the new engine and its characteristics.

"The engine has needed to be lifted up, and that will be the same for all chassis competing in the series. The lift has forced some relatively minor, yet carefully engineered rear-end geometry changes.

"It's been frustrating that we couldn't have more cars out on the track yet, but the delays couldn't be helped. We aren't far away now, so we'll soon find out the engine's real advantages."

21Deceinlier2005

Specs for FFord's Duratec

ENGINE leOOcc, lOOps DOHC, Ford Fiesta engine, producing around 125bhp, sealed on cylinder head & front & rear crankshaft seal covers AIR FILTER Control K&N Filter, supplied with engine ALTERNATOR Control, supplied with engine CLUTCH COVER Standard, as supplied with engine CLUTCH PLATE Control, supplied with engine COOLING SYSTEM Free, within current regulations ECU MoTeC M4, control, pre-set to FFA Specs. Supplied with engine FLYWHEEL Standard, as supplied with engine INLET MANIFOLD Control, supplied with engine OIL SCAVENGE PUMP Control, supplied with engine THROTTLE BODY Control, supplied with engine TIMING BELT COVER Included with the engine WIRING LOOM GR Motorsport control engine loom, supplied with engine EXHAUST To comply with control dimensions, fitted with a control collector.

SUMP Pace Products 1.6L Sump, control

THE Ford Fiesta 'Duratec' engine will make its debut in national competition from the first round of the Australian Formula Ford Championship on the streets of Adelaide in March.

Forty of the 1.6 litre engines have been shipped to Australia from England and will be distributed amongst teams within the next few weeks. The cost of the engines have been subsidised by the Ford Motor Company as part of its on-going commitment to the sport.

Already, Formula Ford is a fair way through selling the 40 donks, which are currently being prepared for distribution

by Frank Lowndes in his Melbourne workshop.

Originally, the engines were to be sent out by now, however, customs issues when the ship docked caused a delay.

But for you lovers of the famous Kent engine, never fear, it will be here ... for a while.

The 'Kent' engine will be used in competition for in all state championships across Australia.

According to Formula Ford administrator Margaret Hardy, the Kent will be used for the foreseeable future, but one day, it could be superseded in state championships.

"There are too many of them in Australia just to stop," she said. "I guess at some point the committee will allow the Duratec engine into state racing, but certainly no suggestion for next year. I guess it will depend on how much pressure we get from people with the new engine who want it in state racing."

- GRANT ROWLEY 71

NATIONAL. OHA l\/n=>IONS 2005 Motorsport News KartStars series with a consistent style, 1°t ASON Pringle this year's ended it with astarted bang, taking the last three finals in succession to beat Kristian Lindbom to the prestigious crown.

Pringle had not driven Rotax before this year, only driving one meeting in the unique class before this year's series opener in Geelong.

"Starting the year being consistent was just the way it worked out," said Pringle.

"Before the first round I only did one meeting in Rotax. We only got our kart three weeks before the KartStars opener,so 1 was still getting my driving style right and getting used to the Rotax at Geelong. The Rotax karts are different things to drive and it helps to have experience with the tyres, which I got as the season went on."

Midway through the season, the KartStars field switched to the newer Arrow B-Max chassis, and Pringle really suited the new chassis.

"The B-Max is easier to set-up and that helped us and really contributed to those last three wins. The B-Max requires less set-up work,it's just really good and easy to drive straight away. That really suited me,as 1 was still learning it. I became a case of 'just drive it,' rather than changing things aU the time."

The championship battle between Pringle and Lindbom was tight heading into the final round at Bolivar, but Pringle dominated it.

"Bolivar has been good for me before," he said. "It was good to go so well there. Eastern Creek was different. 1 had never been there before and Kristian (Lindbom)just drove away. He goes really well there and has done so much testing there."

Pringle enjoyed his year of racing KartStars. One-off race wins are good,but nothing beats the satisfaction of winning a championship held over four rounds in four states.

"It was a good year and 1 really enjoyed it. I had done the Junior Blitz (now Junior Max)series before and had lots of fun in that as well. It's

"1 had never driven and Formula BMW or Formula Ford before,so it was good to have the test with Borland at Winton and then the BMW

great fun to travel interstate and race on different tracks. It's a big challenge to put a season together.

You can get bored racing the same tracks and people in your home state." n Pringle's prize was an invitation to the Red Bull Formula BMW test at

test. It's great to have the chance to get used to driving a race car."

"Portugal was an awesome experience. I met up with lots of other barters who won drives at the

Estoril in Portugal, and the whole experience was one that Pringle enjoyed immensely.

made the cut to the final part of the test, so that was good."

"At low speed, the Formula Ford

test. Wesley Orr from South Africa was one and we still talk, 1 actually made lots of friends at the test. 1

^ Coming of age

AS far as karting is concerned, 2005 was Luke Ellery's coming of age.

Last year, Ellery was a good, consistent Junior Clubman competitor at club and state level; Oakleigh club top point scorer, second at the Victorian Closed Titles topped off with fourth at the AKA Nationals.

With the introduction of Junior MAX to the Motorsport News KartStars series, Ellery stepped up to the plate on a National level.

Dominant at the opening round at Geelong, Ellery then strung together consistent placings before arriving at the last race of the final round for a winner-take-all shoot out with perennial rival Jono Taylor, Ellery responded to the massive pressure and stalked Taylor before pulling

and Formula BMW,above, feel pretty similar, but on a sweeper the FFord feels on the edge and just about out of control. With the downforce, the BMW sits perfectly. You just have to get used to the downforce and keep your foot in it!

"The sequential gearbox in the BMW was actually trickier than the H-pattern in the FFord in some ways.

At Estoril there are times when you change down from sixth to second and you have to count each gear so you get the right one. It's a bit like an Intercontinental C gearbox kart."

Junior M/iX-

Luke ELLERy the winning move and squeezing through.

The win enabled him to go to Europe and compete in the Red Bull runoffs and test a Formula BMW. It was a massive learning curve for the 16-year-old. Just a week earlier he was trundling around the back of the pits at Winton in a road car learning how to use a clutch and change gearl Now in the senior ranks of karting, Ellery will concentrate on Rotax Light at the bigger meetings.

"In seniors there are not as many psychos driving over the top of you," he said. "They are tough, but (at least) give you some room."

Having acquired a taste for open wheelers, Ellery now has a second-hand Spectrum FF and plans to run that some time next year. motorsport news

NATIONAL SCENE

Hie VIP’nieatment

5

Easy does it

AARON Caratti won't admit that the 2005 Formula 3

Forntuls 3:

Aaron CARATTI

Championship was easy, but the fact is that he didn't need to even turn up to the last round at Eastern Creek. The title was already his.

His 2005 campaign started out with Astuti Motorsport, but switched to Insight F3 after two rounds. Caratti told MNews that while the split wasn't an ideal situation, good things came from it.

"Our first win at Mallala was good, and that was while our team's interruptions were at their peak," he said.'"To come out with the win - our first win - was very special. The fact that we broke a driveshaft in the first race also made it a bit more rewarding.

"Breaking away from Astuti wasn't that much of a hindrance. 1 think it

actually turned out very well for everybody. We got a new guy on (Garth Walden)and he did a fantastic job. He'd never done Formula 3 before and he got onto of it really quickly. He did a fabulous job and the cars were faultless for the rest of the season."

So now with the converted

THE last time Western Australian Formula Ford team Fastlane Racing won the competitive title was back in 1997 with Garth Tander.

In 2005, Daniel Elliott gave Fastlane its second championship, and it was all set up in the opening two rounds when he won the first six races of the year.

"1 didn't expect to win the first round, in a way," Elliott said. would have been happy to run in the top three or five, but to win it comfortably. was really good. It motivated

everyone in the team and put me f on a bit of a high because I knew I was capable of running at the front. Winning that weekend helped from there onwards.

"Unfortunately we didn't win anymore rounds. It wasn't that I didn't want to win, it would have been nice to take a few more, but that is just how it goes. We were on the podium plenty of times and to even get in the top three in a national class is pretty good."

Australian Gold Star under his wing, what next?

"We are looking at Carrera Cup,and that's probably what's going to happen," he said."We are looking for potential sponsors, and we'U try to do that for two years and move on from there. I think you need two years to figure out how to best drive the cars."

Dream Maker Another Open-Wheel Tifm

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PETER Hackett has his sights set on furthering his motor racing career after securing his second Australian openwheel title this year.

Hackett won nine out of the 10 Formula 4000 races he contested this year after he missed the first round of the series.

It was a big year for 'Hollywood.' As well as winning F4000, he tested for two prominent international teams.

"I'm well on my way to taking the next step in my career," he said. "Earlier this year, I tested with the Australian A1GP team and Team Australia's Champ Car Atlantic team and achieved great results. I have been approached by teams and am currently in negotiations to take a partnership to the next stage.

"It has been a big year for me, the highly professional team at Ralt Australia have done an outstanding job on the Reynard all year. The car has been faultless and I couldn't have won the championship without them.

Hackett won the Australian Formula 3 Championship in 2001, and has returned to that category for sporadic appearance.

Hackett also drove for Team Lamborghini Australia in the Australian GT Series, finishing second.

21 December 2005

HE didn't race in Australia, but Ben George was one of the best Aussie barters of the year. The lanky Tasmanian was hired by a new private team (Team-V) to run its Intrepid/Rotax operation in Europe.

George won the Austrian Rotax Championship for the second time after he won it last year for Tibi Kart with Kart Shop Austria.

"The season ran relatively smoothly" George said.

Indeed, he won the championship with a round to go. But the same could not be said of the European Championship. After missing the opening round, George encountered several mechanical problems. Despite a strong run at the last round, he was forced to sit out the final with a bent chassis.

Racing on an Austrian licence, Ben received a wild card entry to the Rotax World finals in Malaysia.

"It was my first run in an RMl and I really enjoyed the experience," he explained.

"It was difficult to drive as I have never used front brakes before and

found myself making a few mistakes."

Despite this, he was in contention and held second position for much of

Euro Rotax MAX:

the final.

"I was a little disappointed to lose a couple of places, but fourth was still a pleasing result.

"Racing here in Europe ... this is what dreams are made of."

73

NATICDNAL. CH/\l\/IPIONS 200S

E3y Grant Ftowley

Holden Together

IT took a while for Geoff Emery to rise to the top of Commodore Cup in 2005.

Bag of performance Cars:

peter FLOyo

AUSTRALIAN Performance Car Champion Peter Floyd had sorted his game plan for 2005 before the season had started.

After a disappointing first rormd, he bounced back with consistent drives, and duly dominated the final three events. His series win was his fourth in the all-Commodore category.

"We had some reliabilty issues at the start, but we picked up on those problems and won the series," he said. "Last year was fairly easy, but this year we had Marcus Zukanovic, Steven White, and Ashley Cooper who was very consistent.

"There was nothing out of the ordinary in the season. Just winning the series was our highlight."

"Prior to the season starting, we talked about the sorts of things which have gone wrong in previous seasons and what we needed to do to finish well in the championship," he recalled."To finish well in championships, you need to finish races."

The season had shaped up to plan.

And in a series where a different

Dtrk Ktynsmth

Little Aussie Mozzie TIM Monte finished the first round of the Aussie Racing Car Championship in the wall. But the popular Canberrian followed it up with four round wins-in-a-row, and sealed the crown at the last event at Symmons.

"After the first round, everything was looking shallow. I was 30th on the ladder," he told MNews.

"There was a bit of a break between the first and second round and 1 went over the car with my mechanic to figure out some things. We won every race at Wakefield Park and followed that up with more round wins after that."

In the last three events of the series, Monte only won one race after Paul Kemal went on a winning-streak. But even with all of Monte's mid-year victories, his series lead was only marginal, due to the extremely tight points structure.

"After four wins in a row from five rounds, you'd think you would be closer to the top," he chuckled. "There is no real reward for winning, you just have to play the consisent game and hope that others also have one or two bad rounds," Monte will move into the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series in 2006 with Sydney Star Racing, and said he has learned a lot from his time in the Aussie Racers.

"Now that I've won a championship, I know how to prepare yourself mentally for each race and round. Once I get a bit more time in the car, it will just a matter of learning the car and its icharacteristics." „-- _

iBissm Aussie Racik ^"BCars: Tim MONTE

person won every round,consistency would be paramount. At the final round at Phillip Island, Floyd had a good enough buffer to cruise the round - but things changed at turn

Australian CT: Bryce WASHINGTON I BRYCE Washington won the inaugural Australian GT Championship and Porsche Driver's Challenge in 2005.

I couldn't compete with the torque of the Lamborghini, but the parity between (Peter) Hackett's Lambo and our Porsche was fairly equal in the end," he said. "I actually didn’t think I even had a chance of winning, but it worked out.

"Hackett was really fast, and Greg Crick came for the last round and he was solid.

"I would like to run in the GT series next year because the will be a few more people there.

"In Carrera Cup,the second half of our season was great. At Bathurst and Indy, we were fast but the last couple of rounds we didn't have luck.

I want to be up in the top three every round, but we came a long way from the start of the year."

GOlillN Osborne^ harne sits at the top of the CAMS^iSt o^ employees, and In 2005> he also sits at the head ofthe Production Gar pack.

"We sta rted;the year thinking we could probably have a shot at challenging for the title, but that wouldi only cofne about about from reliability, rather than ; outright speed," he said, "Early; we had a good , combination of speed andl i reliability. We were n comprehensively in:the lead; i at the half-way mark,so after S that we just realised that we need;to keep the car going I withi no dramas. [ "But we did have problems, I and in all iplaces, the last i round.In the first race (that moiorsporinews

<

NATIONAL SCENE

Tricks mate) Trevor (Schuemack)," he said, "The last time I looked in my rear vision mirror, the cars were four or five car lengths behind me,and all of a sudden I got walloped. I just was not expecting it.

"I didn't realise who hit me at all, until we came to a stop and I looked across and saw Trev's car upside down.

"But in the end. I'm very happy to have come away with this season and take the championship.

"There is a lot of luck involved in motorsport, and in some cases you make your own luck."

Man for all Makes HE won it in a Holden in 2004, and now he has won it in a Ford. Does Damien White have much left to achieve or prove in the Yokohama V8 Utes Championship?

The simple answer to that is probably not.

But that's not to say the stalwart of the V8 Utes category won't return to the fold in 2006.

But before the new season starts. White's 2005 effort was set up in the opening rounds of the championship, however, he only clinched the title in the final race after a strong fightback from Marcus Zukanovic.

"When we won the championship in a Holden and made the decision to run this year in a Ford, we knew that Marcus was going to be the biggest threat," he said.

"He's done a lot of different driving in other

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James Smith

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categories and at one stage he did six races in six weekends. Put simply, the more racing you do, the better you'll be. He was always going to be a threat.

"If you look at fastest lap times for the year, Marcus had more than us, but he also made a few more mistakes. They had an innocent mistake go against them at Wakefield Park, but the fact is you can't make them when the series is so close."

At the end of the Ute series, the pair were seperated by just eight points.

And to add to his championship-winning season. White drove with Jose Fernandez in the V8 Supercar endurance races with Britek Motorsport. The pair finished both races, with 17th at Bathurst their best.

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C0iunited:f©r p©ints),,illihadi a spin, and struggled tp tp get back up to a points SGtriingiipositiion, "'Miy giuys. were lust liintemt ; o:ni making sure we ibad a car j tha n eouil di riUn^ as cl'e-anlly as i possiibfe amdi we were able to i do that in the last race and; win.the title. "iFwe bee n> a; atrgnigi i supporter of produetlon ear racingi lin' Australia for TiB ; years. Thecategorv is i financially affordable, logistically manageable and iK'm. looking!forwardi to-eomlng; back to defend!the crown.

"The guys in my team have i worked ineredlb'ly hard this i year. They proved its just as i much a team's sport as wet as the!pers©n behind the wheel."

I 21 December 2005

Ricciapdello joins Club 5 WESTERN Australia's Tony Ricciardello is now five-time Sport Sedan Champion, equalling Kerry Baily's record.

Ricciardello won every race, bar the second race at Wakefield Park where a radio miscommunication saw Hossack pip him at the last corner.

"We had a bit of interference with someone elses radio and I got confused with what lap I was on," he said. "Darren got past me on the last corner, and I just thought that I'l l try do the same next lap. We got caught out.

"The Alfa is one of the best race cars to drive, anywhere,"

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he told MNews. "There is no time to rest. It twitches, its quick and its the fastest sedan race car in Australia. It's an awesome thing to drive."

franzam:

^ony mccUKOELLO 75

INDUSTRY NEWS

!□

DJ Port

When Dick Johnson hit a rock while leading the 1980 Bathurst 1000 his race was over. While at the time the incident seemed to be the end of his career, it was to be the turning point and catalyst for a successful career at the top of Australian motorsport. The following year Dick Johnson secured the first of his Bathurst victories and cemented him self as the Ford driver to beat.

Ceramic Innovations Legends of Bathurst - Signature Series, recognises the achievements of the man who rose from a backyard privateer to profes sional driver and team owner. The fourth release in the five part series, Dick Johnson, is now available.

The Series pays tribute to those who have set their places in Australian motor racing history with outstanding results on the mountain. Larry Perkins, Allan Moffat and Peter Brock are also currently available with Jim Richards to follow.

Each commemorative port is presented in a unique embossed and 24 carat gold stamped book cover with the drivers name and volume number on the spine, which forms and integral part of the display. Inside, along with the port decanter is an individually numbered certificate of authenticity personally signed by the driver and a 16-page booklet covering the driver’s career and Bathurst history.

Each decanter holds 500ml of Bullocks Tawny Port. The driver’s details and Bathurst results are featured on the bottle with 24 carat gold decaling. A minted medallion featuring the driver’s image also adorns the bottle.

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WDNNER

Warwick Thompson of Barnawartha Victoria has had his ioyalty to Border Bandag Tyre Service in Aibury NSW rewarded in more ways than one. As the winner of the Yokohama ‘Win a V8 Racing Ute’ competition Warwick wiii be driving home in a V8 ute packed with aimost twenty grand worth of race inspired parts.

To enter the competition, you simply needed to purchase two or more Yokohama tyres and fill in an entry form. When Warwick visited the Border Bandag Tyre Store to purchase a new set of tyres for his Holden Commodore the last thing on his mind was winning a V8 ute with all the fruit.

"I have bought all my tyres from Border Bandag since 1988 and would never think of going anywhere else", Warwick told us. "When I went to replace my tyres I asked for another brand, Graeme who has always looked after me suggested the Yokohama S760 would do the trick. I travel around 1000 kms a week and this set of Yokohamas has been great", says Warwick.

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Each drivers decanter is limited to a production run of only 1000 units which is set to make this a very sought after and collectable series.

The Dick Johnson Legends of Bathurst - Signature Series is available now from Ceramic Innovations for only $175.00 including GST plus $15.00 postage and handling within Australia For more information on Legends of Bathurst - Signature Series or any of the Ceramic innovation range visit www.ceramicinnovations.com .au or phone 03 9555 9011.

Graeme Edgar of Border Bandag is excited that one of his long term customers has taken out the ute. "I am very happy that Warwick has won the Yokohama V8 Racing Ute, he has been coming to us for many years", said Graeme.

"Yokohama tyres are a consistent performing brand of tyres that you can recommend to anyone with confidence because they are a proven performer that gives nobody any grief", says Graeme.

Warwick was given the choice of a Ford BA Falcon XR8 Ute or a Holden VZ Commodore SS V8 Ute. Having once owned a XY GT Falcon, in quick time he chose the Ford. Warwick was presented with the new wheels by Yokohama representatives at Border Bandag on Friday 25th of November.

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2000 Porsche GTS

FOR SALE

Fully rebuilt GT3, new paint, gearbox diff rebuiit, motor done iittle work since rebuild, Moteo Data logger, air jacks,2 x sets wheels, steel & carbon doors and bonnet many spares registered & log booked for tarmac or circuit racing. $150,000.00 Not Nag. Gavin 03 9737-9886 / 0417 200- 290.

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www.my 105.com/81696 2C Supersports 4 SALE or Lease

Well maintained & easy to drive. Selling the lot, will lease cars until sold. Race OLD & NSW State Championship events. Car #27 $35,000, Car #28 $25,000, Bussa $4,000, XJR1200 $2500, FJ1200 $1,500. MAKE ME ANY OFFER ON SPARES! www.killa.com.au for more details. Mike 0418753256.

Ford Escort - Improved Production

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Leanne Tander’s Improved production Mazda,R)^ A,

Mini Improved Production, 2005 Australian Nationals winner class A. 1430co Strocker built to highet standard, done ISOkm's. Straight cut Tranx, Omega, Jacknight, ARP, Autometer Roller Rockers, ultralight, SPAX 12 way shocks, Hilos & much more, build cost $4,500. car Is imaculate, comes with custom biult trails. $15,000 ONO. Sean 0408829394.

327 www.my105.com/94482

Hi-Lite Your Ad Block Coloured Ads Coming Next Issue Log on to for Details 21 December 2005

\ Fresh 2ltr Sierra Cosworth motor, 5spd Cosworth In gearbox, quaife gears, Motec engine HI management, AP 4spot callipers, Koni adjustables, anti-dive kit, no expense spared, car has had total rebuild. Very clean and presentable car with over $45,000 spent. Only 1 race meeting old - ready to race. $25,000 Neg. Louie 02 9673 5929 / 0431 693 830.

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www.myl05.com/69986 Sedans/Sports Cars

Tarmac Rally car(log Booked)twin cam shell, 1800CC big value B.D.A, dry sumped, too many extras to list. $25000 for roller. $45000. JOHN 0418 736 869 / 07 38804973.

Aussie Race Car, AU Facon, Ready for new season, top ten finisher near new car, $38,000. Jim 02 9743 8316.

326 www.my105.com/88632

Porsche 928 Racecar, 350 HP. Crossdrilled crank, high lift cams, ported heads, Motec M48 injection, LSD. S4 brakes (4 spot), aluminium panels, roil cage, 18" and 16" wheels, well-sorted and reliable racecar. 1'49" Phillip Island, Suitable for Marque Sports, Porsche Challenge, Club Sprints. $45,000 ONO. Troy 0438928930 / 0398181980. .

326 www.myl O5.com/19536

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, 1st 2005 NSW & Victorian State Championship i 2nd 2004 Nationals Pole 2003 Nationals Gome's ; complete, or rolling chassis, depending on requirements. The car was completed in December 2002, recent back to bare metal respray. PI Dash and Data logging system, Ohiins & Bilstein Dampers. Nissan 4-spot GTR Brakes. Contact Mark. $35,000 Complete Neg. Leanne Tander 0419 697 976.

Gemini For Sale, Gemini TE sedan currently logbooked and competing in NSW Under 2L Improved Production Series.Extremeiy reliable and inexpensive way to enter club motorsport.lsuzu 1998 cc G200 motor moderately worked , webers, 4 wheel discs, full cage, current Sabelt 5 point harness, LS dif, brass bunded clutch, 2 sets mag wheels including good A 32 R tyres, other spares. $4500 Contact owner. $4500 Not Neg. phillip 0299539192 / 0422920212.

326 www.myl05.com/75458

Datsun Stanza 2ltr Sports Sedan, Worked SR20 (one meeting since freshen up), EFl Hardware quad throttle bodies. Wolf computer, Konis all round. Adj. front struts.

Nissan 5 speed. Vented disks. 2 sets 15x8 Globe wheels, 1 set Dunlop 225 slicks (one meeting old), 1 set intermediates, Willians 3" harness. 3 diff ratios. Winton 1m 36s, Calder 1m 5s. 860 kg, $13,500, or $10,500 with stock injected SR20. $13,500. Craig 0419266972 326 www.myl05.com/78212

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TR7 V8 RACE COR, TR7 V8 SUIT PRODUCTION SPORTS OR TARMAC RALLY 5L 500HP ROVER V8 WITH WILDCAT HEADS DRY SUMPED HOLINGER 5SP AP 6 PISTON BRAKES STACK INSTOMENTS THIRD IN 05 VIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS A FAST AND RELIBLE PACKAGE WITH REALISTIC MAINENANCE COSTS MAY SELL AS A ROLING PACKAGE. 55,000.00 Neg. 8384 6933 / 0408 818 031.

326 www.my105.eom/40064

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Escort 1600, Escort 1600 Crossflow completly modified quaifft LSD 4.1 spot brakes alloy cage sparco seats 8 inch superlights cheap targa, club car to many mods to list immac car. $18,000 ONO. Gary 0414 552 933 326 www.myl05.com/41572

ThB fastest Group N Historic Mustang in Australia, Rare opportunity to purchase race winning Group Nc Historic Touring Car. 1969 Mustang Fastback with 351 Windsor.

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Current holder of lap records, Melb GP Albert Park & Adelaide Clipsal tracks. This car is very well sorted and maintained to extremely high standards. $148,000, $148,000. Euan 0419 362 479.

326 www.myl05.com/28385

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NC XU1 TORANA, Well known reliable car.

1 owner 9 years, 300HP roller engine (3 meetings old) Brand new Advans, ready to race with all spares including 4 diff ratios, 1 spare gearbox, 4 spare wheels, galvinised tilt trailer and Dorian timer. For more infor call Mike DYER (02) 9982-1233. 35000 Not Neg. Mike 0299821233. www.myl O5.com/170

FALCON EB, 9th in 2005 National Series driven by Tom Drewer. New Milton engine only two meetings old. dyno sheets.two sets of wheels, spare body panels already painted, new seat belts, large number of spares. $16,000. mike 08 8278 1706 325 www.myl 05.com/90076

Group C Cooper S Original, Group C Cooper S Original Log Book, Fresh 1293cc Eng Split Webbers, Straight Cut Gear Box, Salisbury Diff, Alloy Cage, Top Cond, Class Winner NSW Hill Climb Championship, Very Reliable. $19,500.00. Garry 02 6662 2822 BH

Nissan 300Z race car, 600 HP @ wheels, twin turbo V6, MOTEC, multiplate clutch, Holinger, quickchange LSD diff, AP brakes. penske shocks, supercar front uprights, 18” wheels. $80,000 Neg. David 64 4 2328097 or 64 274468483. .

326

Falcon Saloon Car, Almost every mechanical comoponent has been replaced in the last 2 years.Car has Heinrich Head, currently leading state series, and competive at National level. The car is well sorted and ready to race. Has lots of spares Inc gbox, std motor and body shell with panels. $15,500. Daryl 0417 672 700 328 www.myl05.eom/82079

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RACE AND PERFORMANCE CLASSIFIEDS

?7777 Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.my105.com Get it Seen, Get it Sold Open Wheelers

AXTELL SUZUKI HILLCLIMB SPECIAL, SUZUKI GSX1127R Engine Flat slide carbs Methanol Avon slicks front 13X7, rear 13x11. Aluminium skinned body, keviar/carbonfibre wing package. Currently third outright in OLD. Australian class titles Old super sprint championships. Mount cotton-10.30 sec, Grafton-46.05 sec, Gippsland park-31.36 sec. Price starts from $11,000 to $17,000 depending on engine configuration.

Includes spare parts- ring for list. Need room for new car. $17,000.00 DEPENDING ON ENGINE Neg. Chris Lake 07 5533 9439.

327 www.my105.coiri/SS618

Chevron B42, Group 'Q' Historic European F/2 oar. Ex Ricardo Pafrese. Car can ran us European F/2 or Atlantic. Fittedwith 2 Litre Cosworth BDG. Excelient Car and Engine. $100,000. Peter 03 9439 8986,.

327 www.myl OS.com/32556

Collectable/Memorabilia Historic BT, Brabham 18, possilby the most original 18 in the world. Historic Log Book and C of D as raced by Jamie Lamer. $110,000 Not Neg. Peter 03 9439 8986 / 0419 379 024.

327 www.my105.com/27901

Magazine Collection (Motorsport News), Almost Full Set of Motorsport News magazines - only small number missing.

Contact for price. Russel 02 4456 1594, 326 www.myl05.com/27794

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Longacre Corner Weight Scales, newl new! all models available. Lowest prices In Australia. John 0418 320 517 326 www.myl05.eom/88073

1977 Elfin 630B Formula Atlantic, Built 1975-76 originally ANF2 with 1600 pushrod Ford, Purchased David Craig {C&C Autos) 1976-79 converted Ford BDA. Restoration

by Brook Motorsport to represent vehicle as raced 1977. Fresh Ford Cosworth BDA {dyno time only) by Superior Automotive using genuine Ford Cosworth parts and rebuilt FT-200. CAMS Certificate Description, Group Q Log Book. Eligible for Historic Formula Atlantic & European Formula Two Association events. Spare ANF2 nose, radiator & wets. Will sell BDA engine seperately. $60,000 Neg. Rod 0428290010 / 0247519677.

326 www.myl05.com/20757

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Nascar for Sale, Nascar'Pontiac complete with 600 + hp motor. The car has Thunderdome and circuit racing set up, big brakes, full floating 9" diff, Bilstein Shocks, triple plate ciuth. Aluminum radiator, new harness etc etc. It would make the ideal donor car for a sports sedan or improved production. 29,000. Daryl 0417 672 700. .

326 www.myl05.com/38956

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Holden VU Ute S Pac, Auto Ute Make good tow vehicle GTS Mags 10 Months Rego 47,000 km Phone Ted 0412288060.

324 $19,500 ONO.Ted 0412 288060 www.my105.com/2741 Transporters/Trailers, 6-cylinder turbo diesel/6-speed/power steering/long range loaded tanks/beavertall/spring ramps/tiedown points/2 side access doors/alloy bullbar with driving lights/good tyres (near new cleanskins on steer)/sept '06 registration (vio)/new windscreen/stone guard/exhaust brake/air-conditioner/h.d tow hitch/ mounted airtank/24v lights in pan/tidy and fast truck that has been well maintained/508000km/will easily take falcon/commodore sized vehicle/ ph. 0416 19 47 63. $21000 Neg, david 0416194763.

326 www.myl05.eom/82010

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Log on to Zoom 2005 Victorian Champ Formula Vee 1600, Best of everything. Fresh engine and trans.

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326 www.myl05.eom/S7550

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OPINION

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Explanation needed on A1 Team Australia Has anybody worked out why the supposedly well-performed Alan Docking Racing that is running our A1 GP effort, together with the wise words from our own Alan Jones, has managed to put our car at the rear of the grid for how many recent events?

Surely all the teams have exactly the same access to the cars, this was the spirit of AIGP, yet our team consistently finds a way to start the Sprint race from the back of the grid. Will Davison has proved that he can advance the car during the one hour Feature event but why can't we get it a bit further up the grid for the Sprint event?

If anybody has a good reason 1 am happy to listen but 1 am extremely disappointed both with the results and with the quiet acceptance from our motorsports media to date.

Send us your thoughts; mail: PO Box 7072, Gardenvale, VIC 3186 fax: 03 9596 5030 www.mnews.com.au It was decreed that all cars would compete using B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A road tyres.

While 1 was still at school then and could not attend the meetings, 1 read aU the reports and saw the pichires in all the motorsport magazines of the day.

By all accounts the drivers enjoyed it as much as the spectators. I'd even be tempted to drag my Torana out of the shed, and light up the T/As for a trip up to Oran Park or The Creek.

Could be worth watching.

Brad Woodhams Callala Bay, New South Wales

Points the problem in V8s

I have read with interest the recent

articles concerning the reverse grid races and I think the idea is crap.

Simon Dale (Talk Converter, MNews #324) makes a valid point that the points system should reward winning, which the current system does not. Currently, we have drivers who if they can't win, cruise around to accumulate points.

My proposal would have a race win valued at 0 points, second as 10’ points, third as 30 points, fourth as 60 points, fifth and 100 points. From fifth you just keep adding 50 points so sixth will get 150 points> and so on to 20th. Everyone outside the top 20 gets 900 points, including the DNFs, with no dropping your worst round.

I'm not saying that this system wiU cure all, but it's just something to stimulate discussion.

Matt Pearce Woodville North, South Australia ED: So let's see ... nine wins and one DNF earns the same as ten fifth

Seto to HRT for Bathurst glory

Could Glenn Seton partner Mark Skaife at the endurance races in 2006?

I don't think it is too far-fetched, as HRT has had some long success in recent years, with the elder statesmen such as Jim Richards and Tony Longhurst.

There are few good available seats on offer - none of which could really be considered a serious contender.

I'm sure Skaife would be keen to see his old friend's career off with a longawaited Bathurst victory.

I'm sure the HRT publicity machine would milk the story of one of Ford's favourite sons finally

World Series vs GP2(calm down, Renault runs them both anyway...)

When Mark Glendenning interviewed Bruno Michel did he think to challenge him about his claim that GP2 TV exposure was massive and that the Renault World Series is an inferior series, given that you are an Australian publication?

I've seen absolutely zero GP2 coverage but there has been plenty of Renault World Series on Fox Sports. If I were an Australian racer looking to give sponsors some value, I'd pick the World Series (or the F3 Euroseries) over GP2 any day.

In fact, apart from Nico Rosberg, I'd be hard pushed to name one other driver from GP2, while RWS has proven a good showcase for Will Power and a host of others with an excess of talent over cash.

Bernard McMinn Mawson, Australian Capital Territory MG: I did ask Michel about GP2 TV coverage in Australia, but we edited it out for space. His answer was: "It's really too bad. You are one of the very few countries that doesn't get it. But you have it on Eurosport."

I've attended rounds of both GP2 and WSR and as far as I am concerned they both rock. But comparing the two is precarious, as GP2 is essentially one rung above the Renault series on the ladder Will Power was actually working on a GP2 deal for 2006 before his Champ Car drive came together.

I'm not sure that I agree with your suggestion that GP2 represents cash over talent either, given that Rosberg was joined on the 2005 grid by the likes of Scott Speed, Heikki Kovaleinen, Nicolas Lapierre, Alexandre Premat, Gimmi Bruni, Neel Jani and Nelson Piquet Jr ...

llil

places ... you're kidding aren't you?

Reverse time, not grids

I'd come to every race if they ran them all as reverse grids. I'll be the bloke at the entrance to the dummy grid during qualifying, selling sandbags ...

But I have a better idea. I think it's

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news

Goodrich Challenge. Remember that?

82

converter

Australia is being represented here and I am not very happy with the results to date and I would appreciate an in-depth article on this issue.

Jeff Sheppard Newcastle, New South Wales

time to go back - back to the future to a galaxy (would you believe a state?) far, far away.

Back in the 1970s, I think it was 'Wannaroo Park that ran the B.F.

m

achieving success at The Mountain in a Holden. Should the pair win the race, expect to see Seton announce his retirement on the podium.

Food for thought.

Matt Treacy Montrose, Victoria

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"Davo, meet your new engineer. He doesn't say much, but don't let that put you off." Reader Jeff Sheppard would like some questions asked of A 7 Team Australia.

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