Motorsport News Issue 328 - February 1-14, 2006

* EXCLUSIVE: The new Williams by Sam Michael THE NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS

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motorsport news

4

Larkogate

LMS and WPSget married

6

Guess who?

SBR opts for experience at enduros

8

Ominoussigns Kimialready unhappy with Mercedes

12 Nooooooo!

Is Spa offthe FI calendar again?

18 BiaggiinFl

Max follows Rossi-again

opinioii

'27 Motor Mouth

WrightPatton Shakespeare Larkham

28 Box Seat

How did you spend yourlast birthday?

30 Opinion

Fan access, Toyota and Zanardi

82 Talk Converter

Nojoined-up writing, please

\1 feature i

Issue 328 1-14 February 2006

www.mnews.cowi.aM

\ 32 Five Minutes With Warren Luff 34 Five Minutes with Alan Gow 36 Some Young Upstart We talk to the age-proofJim Richards 40 They haven'tlosta race yet Up close and personal with the new FI cars 46 We could have told you aboutthe Williams FW27... ...but we decided to letSam Michaeldo itinstead PHOTOS

48 A Giant Awakens

Cover: 1 DirkKIysnmith, Paolo FiUsetth sutton-images.com

Toyota in NASCAR. What does it all mean?

SO Outofthe shadows Kraig Kinser on Sprintcars, NASCAR and bloodlines 52 Two Aussies,Four Wheels

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SBKstars Troy Corser and MatMladin get together ,/irecM

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race 56 Orange People

national & international

Holland wins A1GP

58 Marcus at Monte But look outfor Loeb 66 Clay Pay Day

Schatz rules Parramatta

70 A Wet Classic

Warrnambool washed out

20 Rallying 22 Stateside 60 National Scene

trade

Contents: Geoff Grade, John Morris/Mpix, Brian White Media, sutton-images.com

II

66 Speedway 74 Drag Racing 77 Industry News/Race Shop 80 Classifieds

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LMSlicences returned to TEGA -Larko sells his team,buysstake in Gore team

phil branagan A FUNDAMENTAL shift in V8 Supercar racing has seen the end of Larkham Motor Sport and a new man at the head of WPS Racing - Mark Larkham.

The former driver has sold his two Level 1 licences back to V8 Supercars Australia and, effectively, closed down his team.With immediate effect, Larkham is now the managing director of the WPS team, with team founder Craig Gore's role now more in the business arena.

Larkham is now an equity partner in the new team - which after a day of spin by PR people, was predictably labelled a'super'team - and will be joined in the reformed outfit by his old sponsor, Orrcon, and a number of team members from what was LMS. "At the end of the day, this merger will provide us with the opportunity that we are all looking for in this business - the chance to be competitive,"said Larkham.

"I think the LMS and WPS operations complement each other perfectly. I look

forward to being Managing Director of the new team, working with a substantially increased budget and being involved with someone as dynamic and as passionate as Craig."

The move comes after Larkham publicly sought an equity investor in his struggling team. Last month,there were suggestions that he had arranged a partnership with Gold Coast businessman John Marshall, who son Marcus looked set to join the team as a driver. However, the formerTeam Australia Champ Car pilot now looks to have a seat at Paul Cruickshank Racing (see page 10)and Larkham was left by himself.

There are a number of'bigger picture'items that the Larkham/Gore partnership affects. WPS already had a deal for an engine program with

Queensland engine builder Craig Hasted,and that arrangement will continue. LMS's former engine supply deal, with Stone Brothers^acjng, expired at the end of the 2005 season.

The team will be based at the purpose-built WPS Racing workshop in Gaven on the Gold Coast, rather than the LMS base and Ormeau.

There is no information on whether the team will use the cars run by LMS last season,though this would appear to be the preference as several times during the course of 2005,the WPS drivers commented that their three-year old cars, originally built by 00 Motorsport, had seen their better days.

A number of V8 Supercar teams reported that they had had recent contacts regarding the purchase of some of the LMS team's equipment but none reported that the #10 or #20 cars were for sale. WPS has been building two new cars since last season but the most recent description MNews had of the progress of the program was that they were"a long way"from being completed.

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BARGS IS ALL DRESSED UP He was loyal to Orrcon Racing, now will there be anywhere for a former Bathurst winner to go? // 'l^hinktheLMSand M/PS operations complement each // otherperfectly Mark Larkham

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Mark Larkham to take the reins ofthe // merged operation Crai^ Gore

THE man most immediately affected by the Larkham action, Jason Bargwanna, faces an uncertain future.

While no comment has been made by the new team about drivers, MNews believes that neither David Besnard nor Craig Baird, who drove for WPS last season, had been re-signed for the upcoming season.

On the other hand, Bargwanna had what he believed was a deal for 2006, though he was not commenting on the matter on Monday.

"I do not feel that it is appropriate [to say anything]," he said. "A lot has happened."

The new team now appears to face a three-into-two situation, with all three drivers in the frame for two seats.

There are some factors that may sway the choice Bargwanna's way. Apart from the fact that he has more wins than Besnard and Baird combined, his profile with Ford and Orrcon is very high and both companies have stated in the past that they place a premium on loyaity.

"That is one thing that Bargs has in spades," said a rival team member on Monday, while Britek manager Chris Jewell said that if his team had a seat and the funding to run Bargwanna, "we would have him in a minute".

5

DodoHRT WE have already reported that we can expect to see small-ish Toll stickers on the Holden Racing Team Commodores this season, as part of the role that HRT owner Mark Skaife played in assisting the Toll/ HSV Dealer Team partnership.

In a completely different light, we also hear that there will be signage for one of the land's leading internet companies on cars #2 and #22. Who? We hear. Dodo.

Everyone thrilled? We hear, not.

LOOK for Glenn Seton to join Stone Brothers Racing for the endurance races.

Seton had been in discussions with Britek Motorsport about continuing fuil-time in the series this year but, when the Melbourne-based team confirmed that Warren Luff would drive the Fujitsu car, he quickly

firmed up an SBR seat.

Seton would not confirm the deal on Monday; "I have a few things under consideration," he said,"but it is early to comment at this stage."

Likewise,SBR boss Ross Stone said that the team was"some way off"announcing a deal for his

endurance drivers.

MNews believes that Seton is sought after by the team because of his profile and experience, not only with the endurance races but in the sport in general. As __ such,Seton,40, is an ideal driver to feature in SBR's successful and growing ride program, which would also keep him sharp for

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After exhausting pre-seasons over recent summers,things appear to be more settled this time around at Ford Performance Racing. The build of Mark Winterbottom's Ford Credit FPV Falcon build is progressing ahead of schedule and all will be finished in time for the team's first test day of the season on March 14.

FPR has switched its nominated test circuit to Winton Raceway for 2006.

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□ A rose by any other name may smell as sweet but numbers last forever. At least, they used to; Brad Jones is giving up all things 21 and taking number 14 this season, while his faithful 'Tonto' (that's John Bowe) will retain his usual 12.

The Australia Day honours have come and gone for another year and among the recipients this year was Tony Gaze. To give him his formal title, Mr Frederick Anthony Gaze, a former WWII fighter pilot and long-time motor racing identity, received an 0AM for service to the sport of motor racing. Gaze is also the 'step-grandfather' to Alex, Will and James Davison. □ Australian production car driver Dane Rudolph will head to the United States to attend the Richard Petty Driving Experience in preparation for a future career in NASCAR. The New South Welshman is keen to break into one of American's stock car leagues feeder categories full-time by 2007.

"I want to do drive in the Nextel Cup, like Marcos (Ambrose)," Rudolph said.

"We are looking at doing half a dozen races this year, and if a budget can be found, then we'd like to race in one of NASCAR's affiliated championships."

Congrats are due to Cody Crocker and his new bride, Nicki. The couple tied the knot in Melbourne last weekend, while the multiple ARC Champion's team-mate, Dean Herridge, was making the hard yards at the Mt Bullerhillclimb...

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Without MYSTERY surrounds the relationship between long-time team manager Dean Orr and Dick Johnson Racing.

Orr, known to everyone in the sport as'Curl', had Just returned from a four-week break last Monday when news came that he h ad been told to leave the team.

But in the following days, MNews sources suggested that was not the case and that he was still with DJR. DJR general manager Steve Chalker did not return calls when MNews contacted the team while Orr was not available for comment.

The 36-year-old is one of the more experienced team managers in pit lane, having won two Bathurst 1000s with Larry Perkins.

He joined DJR in early 1998 and moved briefly to Paul Weel Racing in 2000 before returning to the Shell-backed team the following season, when it won two rounds of the championship.

- PHIL BRANAGAN

CHINA Fi

WESTPOIM7

THE future of the Shanghai round of the V8 Supercar Championship is up in the air - but it will definitely not take place on June 9-11 as planned.

V8 Supercars Australia Chief Executive Wayne Cattach flew to China last week, and met with representatives of the Ministry of Sport, the Shanghai Motorsports Bureau, the Shanghai International Circuit and the event promoter the Shanghai Greenland Group. In a media statement.

V8SA described the talks as "productive, with a view to moving forward".

"All parties were unanimous in agreeing thatV8 Supercars and the event should form a major component of China's desire to develop Motorsport in the country,"Cattach said.

"There was also a very strong sense that the event was very significant, successful and extremely relevant to the

motorsport news

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news Sandown and Bathurst.

The team already has one of the paddock's most popular drivers in 2005 Champion Russell Ingall and Seton would compliment him,and James Courtney, perfectly. While it is too early to say which driver would partner which in the endurance races, it seems logical that Seton's experience would benefit Courtney more than

Ingall. So look for Seton In the Jeld Wen car and Luke Youiden to continue in the Caltex car with the big 1 on the door.

Youiden will also maintain his VIP Petfoods Carrera Cup drive.

In the meantime,Seto is planning to go back to the future and race a Group C Ford Capri in historic races...

- PHIL BRANAGAN

Luff and Puff WARREN Luff is preparing for a return to the V8 Supercar Championship Series after landing a seat with Britek Motorsport.

The Queensland resident will drive the #25 Fujitsu Falcon during the 2006 season, with an option to extend the deal for another year. Luff replaces Steve Owen,who is expected to be announced as Rod Nash Racing's new Autobarn driver.

"To be back in the main game is fantastic, and the people at Britek have been fantastic to deal with," Luff said.

"The plans for the year, and the future, are all very exciting.This is a great opportunity to be a part of all that.

I'm sure we'll surprise a few teams this year."

Luff made the leap from V8 Ute racing into the main V8 Supercar series with DJR in 2004,scoring Rookie of the Year honours. In 2005 he competed in the Development Series for PCR, driving the ex-Stones Brothers Falcon to second in the championship,and he also landed the plum endurance drive alongside Marcos Ambrose for Sandown and Bathurst.

Britek has also confirmed its program for the Fujitsu Series, with Jose Fernandez gearing up to take the wheel of the second of the team's recently rebuilt BAs. Fernandez, who will carry #26,finished seventh in last year's Development Series.

For more on Warren Luff, please turn to our interview on page 32.

—- 5W

IN AIR bilateral relationships between Australia and China.

"There are, however, a number of issues to be resolved in relation to the promoter, one of those being the date of the event. All issues were addressed although the nature of these discussions must remain confidential at this stage."

The next step is for the V8SA to discuss the matter at its next meeting on February 15. It said that three alternatives, which are confidential, had been presented to all parties.

However,the carefully worded statement - which was not issued to the general media but which was available on request fell well short of confirming that the first was that the race would happen at all in 2006. According to sources in China,the local authorities have a preference not to run a race this year and postpone it until mid-2007, rather than rush the race through. t February 2006

The second piece of missing information was what would happen to the rest of the calendar, should the'06 race go ahead. While the details of the proposed dates remain confidential, MNews believes that the most viable alternative is to connect the Chinese event to Bahrain, with the first option of an airlift to Shanghai from Surfers, followed by the race at the Sakhir circuit in the Middle East before returning to a rescheduled Symmons Plains before Phillip Island's Grand Finale.

The other alternative would be to leave the Tasmania event on its November 8-10 date, airlift the cars from Melbourne to Bahrain and then race in China - though that puts Shanghai in early December, on the onset of winter.

We believe that the most likely outcome is a postponement of the race until mid-'07 with a new race this June at either Eastern Creek or Winton.

SOUTH Australian-based V8 Supercar outfit Team Dynamik has dodged a bullet and will enter V8 Supercar races in 2006.

The fledging team is in negotiations with Britek Motorsport about leasing the team's second Level 2 licence for Simon Wills to compete with in this year's V8 Supercar Championship Series.

If Team Dynamik and Britek can reach an agreement,and depending on the outcome of other licence movements (re; Larkham Motor Sport), then TD driver Simon Wills could be on

the grid in every main series V8 round.The only factor that may affect this is that the #25 licence finished outside the top 30 in licence points and is subject to a wildcard entry.

While the team scales back to one main series entry,TD is certain to enter one, or maybe two of its Commodores in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

Kayne Scott, who currently leads the New Zealand Touring Car Championship, will head the Development Series attack, while the team has another spare car available.

- GRANT ROWLEY 7

Bymingfortwo nwreyears RORY Byne has agreed to stay on at Ferrari as a consultant for two more seasons.The 62-year-old South African was due to end his contract this year and hand over to Italian designer Aldo Costa but Byrne will stay on, helping out Costa and his team.

Costa is responsible for the design of the new 248 F1, although Byrne has been in the background. In future Byrne will spend more time looking at long-term projects.

The Mine racing circuit in Japan has been sold to Mazda.The 3.3km track, located in the far west of Honshu, in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, was built in 1972 and has traditionally hosted a Formula Nippon race each year with crowds around 70,000 but Mazda says that it intends to use the track as a testing facility and wiii no longer be holding races. The company already owns one test track at Miyoshi but this features no high-speed corners nor iong straights.

The Grand Prix Manufacturers Association has acquired a percentage of a company cailed the Home Test Drive Network, a system that claims to aliow TV viewers to'drive'in races as they are being televised. This works by using signais from the race cars embedded in the video transmissions to reproduce at home the exact movements of a car on the race track, allowing the viewers to feei and watch how the cars are driven.

The equipment wiil repiicate the data seen by the drivers but will also allow the viewers to feei the same sensations as the drivers, using pneumatic systems and real time data.The system will also allow fans to copy the data on to DVD so that they can 'drive'the races again whenever they want to.

McLaren is trying to revive its plans to produce a new road car to follow the current project with Mercedes-Benz. The team says that it is"increasingiy iikely" that there will be a range of sports cars designed and built at Woking in the future.

Wiiliams FI has announced that it is extending its technical partnership with Britain's QinetiQ company, a leading defence and technology company,and a new deal with Dutch multinational employment company Randstad.This is the fourth iargest empioyment company in the world with more than 2000 offices in 13 Europe and the United States.

-JOESAWARD

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NO 21st PARTY McLaren is struggling with its new MP4-21.

The test program of the car has revealed that all is not rosy, with the new Mercedes-Benz V8 engine in need of development. Initially there were just rumours but then Kimi Raikkonen went on the record and said that"the biggest part of the problem is the engine.

They are not where they should be and they need to improve. On the engine side we have a lot of work to do."

Raikkonen did at that"we are going to get there and there is going to be some improvement", but it is clear that he and others are frustrated by constant engine problems.The Finn suffered a series of engine problems last year, which had a clear effect on his chances of winning the World Championship.

The team knows that Raikkonen's contract will expire at the end of the year and are only too aware of the rumours that Kimi is looking at moving to Ferrari.

Juan-Pablo Montoya is also less than happy that the team has signed Alonso and that an option that McLaren had with him for 2007 was not taken up.

Montoya told Auto Moto und Sport in Germany that he will stay at McLaren if the team wants him but that if he gets an offer from Ferrari, Renault or BMW,he will take it.

The biggest blow, however, is probably the loss of Peter Prodromou,the team's top aerodynamic engineer, who will leave McLaren to go to Red Bull when his current contract ends in October or possibly sooner if a deal can be negotiated.

Prodromou has spent his entire career at McLaren where he began by introducing computational fluid dynamics to the team back in 1991.

-JOE SAWARD

GERMAN Markus Winkelhock been signed as a test driver by theMFI Racing team.

It is not yet clear who will be testing the car on Fridays as a deal was signed some months ago with Dutchman Nicky Pastorelli.

In recent weeks there have been rumours that Pastorelli did not have the sponsorship he had been hoping to find, if this turns out to be the case,Winkelhock may be seen running alongside Christijan

Albers and Tiago Monteiro in practice on Fridays at Grands Prix.

The 25-year-old is the son of the late Formula 1 driver Manfred Winkelhock, who raced for the ATS, RAM and Brabham FI teams in the 1980s before switching to sports cars in 1985. FHe was killed in an accident at Mosport Park when his son was five.

Markus finished third in the last year's Renault World Series.

-JOESAWARD

SUPER AGURI THE Super Aguri FI team has been given the go-ahead to race in FI this year.The news was confirmed last week by the FIA. This means that FI will once again have 11 teams running, although at the start of the year Super Aguri is going to be struggling as it intends to go into the season using updated Arrows chassis from 2002,main pic. If all goes to plan the new Suzuki cars will appear in April.

It is expected that the team will soon nameTakuma Sato as one of the drivers, with speculation suggesting that the second car will probably go to Sakon Yamamoto,though Roger Yasukawa is said to be in the picture. Yasukawa was born in California of Japanese parentage (his father now works as a marketing executive at McLaren)

and has dual nationality. He has strong links with Honda and raced with Super Aguri in the Indy Racing League in 2003 and with Dreyer& Reinbold Racing in 2005.

It has emerged in recent days that Super Aguri is only renting its space at the old Arrows factory and that in the longer term there are plans for the team to relocate to a brand new headquarters that is rumoured to be in Brackley, the town where Honda Racing FI is based.

The latest whispers say that the Honda Racing Development

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D'OH! WHAT A FEELING! Threeformer Toyota FIstaffcharged with theftofFerrari engineering software joe saward TFIREE former members of the Toyota Formula 1 team have been charged with theft.

Former team principal Ove Andersson, technical director Gustav Brunner and chief aerodynamicist Rene Fliihorst have been charged by German authorities after an investigation into a complaint by Ferrari.

engine operations will also move to Brackley from its current base in Bracknell, Berkshire.This would mean that all of Flonda's FI operations would be located in the same town, which certainly makes sense from a logistical

11 February 2006

The Scuderia claimed that former Ferrari employees Angelo Santini and Mauro lacconi stole information - believed to be based on Computational Flow Dynamics(CFD)software from the team and gave it to Toyota.The two men have subsequently been charged by the Italian police.

The Italian trial is due to begin in April but Italian justice is notoriously slow and there

point of view.

Our spies tell us that Super Aguri will move to a nevv development that is being planned at Brackley Sawmills.This should be completed by 2007.

-JOESAWARD

are likely to be countless delayed before any decisions are made.

The Germans, it seems, will be waiting to see what happens with the Italian case.The case is therefore likely to drag on for some years to come but there is no doubt that the charges have sent a strong message to the FI fraternity that using software from other teams in not acceptable.

Narain arrives with a Tata NARAIN Karthikeyan is to be the fourth driver at Williams FI this year, helping out Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg and test driver Alexander Wurz to develop the newWilliams-Cosworth FW28.

Karthikeyan comes with sponsorship from India's Tata Group, a huge industrial conglomerate.

The team took the opportunity of the launch of the new car to introduce a new company logo and to reveal a number of other sponsorship deals including the Japanese wireless technology company Mobilecast, which had been linked to a possible deal with the new Super Aguri FI team.

Williams has also announced deals with Finnish energy drink Battery, one of Nico Rosberg's sponsors in GP2.The Finnish energy drink is a subsidiary of the Danish brewing giant Carlsberg.

-JOESAWARD 9

PCR'S

Karting for kicks THE Gladstone Karting Club recently held its annual charity karting race at the northern Queensland facility.

Mark Winterbottom was declared the

grant rowley i ultmatG

winner,from other V8 Supercar stars Steve Ellery, David Besnard,Jason Richards, Tony D'Alberto and Formula Fordster John Martin. While the event was fun and relaxing, a race car driver's nature is to win at all costs. Allegations of'special tyres' and 'unsportsmanlike overtaking'were hot post-race topics...

Atari Australia has confirmed that V8 Supercars 3,the latest computer game featuring the V8 Supercar Championship Series, will be released on PlayStation 2, XBox and PC on February 23.

The latest instalment of the V8 Supercars Australia-licenced game will also feature the V8 Supercar Development Series.

Q Derek Daly has sold his Performance Driving Academy in Las Vegas to Robert Prevost, who was previously Involved for 10 years in the running of the Skip Barber Racing School before moving on to set up a company which created an online sales agency for racing schools around the world. Daly,52,is expected to spend more time looking after the karting career of his teenage son Conor.

The Mine racing circuit in Japan has been sold to Mazda.The 3.4km track was built in 1972 and has traditionally hosted a Formula Nippon race each year with crowds around 70,000 but Mazda says that it intends to use the track as a testing facility and will no longer be holding races.

The company already owns one test track at Miyoshi but this features no high-speed corners nor long straights.

FORD Performance Racing will not enter fhe Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series in 2006.

The factory Ford outfit has decided to sit out this year's feeder V8 championship and concentrate on getting its main series cars to the front of the field.

"We want to support the Fujitsu series, but 2006 is too early for FPR,"said commercial manager Rod Barrett.

"We think we have a good chance at the 2006 V8 Supercar Championship and to take our efforts away from what we want to achieve there would only be detrimental.

"It is our intention at this early stage to build a relationship with a young driver, develop him through the year with a view of entering a car in the 2007 series."

FPR now has three cars in its workshop, after the team completed the build of its latest car over the holiday season.The third car (exRitter/Brabham) will remain in the FPR stable, with the intention of contesting the 2007 Fujitsu V8 Series.

The team is also still on the hunt for a major sponsor for Mark Winterbottom's Falcon, which at this stage, is unlikely to feature FPV insignia on its flanks. Ford Credit will remain with the team.

- GRANT ROWLEY

IVIARCUS Marshall will spearhead Paul Cruickshank Racing's first foray into the V8 Supercar Championship Series this year.

The PCR Ford Falcon is set to enter the new season with major backing from GlenfordsTool Centres, with minor support from Doric and Ford.

The news that Marshall will soon be confirmed with PCR means that Phillip Scifleet, originally earmarked for the drive, will miss out on the full-time gig. Scifleet has been offered an endurance and testing role with the team, although he Is yet to make a decision on his 2006 plans.

Glenfords is known to the local racing scene thanks to Greg Murphy Racing's championship winning Carrera Cup squad, but the tool company has jumped at the opportunity to be involved with a V8 Supercar. Glenfords already has links with Marshall its previous arrangement with GMR was serviced by Stuart DeDear, an advisor of Marshall's.

Glenfords will maintain a large

on COUNTRY BOY!OUf»J iZj

McLaren is in the process of trying to revive its plans to produce a new road car to follow the current project with Mercedes-Benz.The team says that it is "increasingly likely"that there will be a range of Sportscars designed and built at Woking in the future.

Q McLaren protege Lewis Hamilton has finally been confirmed with the ART team in 6P2.The 21-year-old Briton will join Alexandre Premat, who has a year of experience in the series. The move is not a big surprise as Hamilton drove for the ASM team in Formula 3, the sister operation to ART and has financial backing from McLaren to secure the seat.

-STAFF/SAWARD

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IT seems we are going to have to wait a whole week before the Jack Daniel's Racing Commodores of Steven Richards and Paul Dumbrell are unveiled to the masses,so Larry Perkins is staying where he is,for now.

If we were being really picky, we would say that the black thing in the background looks suspiciously like the design we had in MNews #325. Instead of an invoice for designs costs, perhaps we could do a contra deal with the sponsor?

motorsportnews

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CHANGE OF HEART Marshall in; Glenfords in; Scifleet out of full-time ride

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presence in Carrera Cup with three PCR cars,see story right.

Cruickshank maintains that there are still some minor details to settle, but a formal release will be distributed soon via PCR's new media contact Media and Communication Services.

Marshali has been flirting with

the idea of racing in categories such as Champ Car, Japanese GT and A1 Grand Prix, but the lure of a season back in Australia with an ex-Triple 8 Falcon with Stone Brothers engines was clearly too tempting. It is believed that Marshall is still in the frame to drive Australia's AT GP entry at the

Indonesian and Mexico rounds.

Cruickshank's entry into the main series,first reported by MNews back in October last year, will see former Dick Johnson Racing wrenchman Lee Geyer take the role as lead engineer while Mike Sentch will be the number one mechanic.

OVERSEAS V8 DRIVERS THIN INTERNATIONAL drivers will be a little thin on the ground at Sandown and Bathurst this year.

The Super Cheap Autos 1000 at Mount Panorama will clash with the penultimate round ofthe WorldTouring Car Championship at Valencia in Spain on October 6-8, leaving a number of potential co-drivers on the sidelines.

Andy Priaulx, 2005 Sandown 500 winner Yvan Muller and Alain Menu all appeared to have likely invitations to return to the race while James Thompson, who will race in the WTC this season for Seat, was said to be keen to make his Bathurst debut.

There is no clash with the DTM,though the drivers who participate are typically contracted to either Mercedes-Benz or Audi and therefore unable to race another brand of car.

WorldTouring Car Champion Priaulx expressed his views last week; "I'm really disappointed about the date clash with Bathurst and Valencia," he said.

"I feel that it is bad for both championships, you guys don't get the'imports'from the WTCC 11 February 2006

... and PCR's Cup Cars get ^ A Davo!

THE complexion of Paul Cruickshank Racing's Carrera Cup squad has also changed,with a third car to be added for former champion Alex Davison.

GlenfordsTool Centres has ceased its sponsorship of the dual championship-winning Greg Murphy Racing and will now adorn PCR's three Cup Cars,to be driven by Jonathon Webb, David Wall and Davison. [ The extra Team's Agreement I and car was sourced for Davison from the Koundouris brothers, who also onsold their other agreement and car to Sonic Motor Racing to run WA youngster Dean Fiore.

GMR still has its sights set on running three cars in this year's WPS Carrera Cup,despite the loss of i Glenfords, who had backed i the Melbourne-based team I for the past two years. MNews understands that GMR is in discussion with 2005 driver I Ian Dyk about season 2006, as well as Anthony Tratt, who is keen to drive in a series full time in 2005 to keep ready for a possible endurance driver with the Toll HSV Dealer Team.

-CHRIS JORDAN

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"i and the WTCC drivers don't get a chance to race at one of the biggest and best touring car races in the world. It's a lost publicity opportunity for both Championships, as far as I'm concerned I will be back at the Mountain soon,so watch this space."

One international who is keen to come back to the endurance races is John Cleland.The double BTCC titleist, who has driven for Brad Jones Racing for the last five Bathursts, has split with the team in amicable circumstances. In a

decade at the mountain,the veteran Scot has finished in the top 10 six times.

"All things must come to an end and I have enjoyed my time with Brad and Kim,"said Cleland last week.

"Bathurst is one ofthe races I have most enjoyed in my career and I feel like there is a great opportunity to keep racing in V8 Supercars, which have provided some of the most enjoyable racing moments of my life. I love coming to Australia."

11

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Berger King FORMER Grand Prix driver and BMW Motorsport director Gerhard Berger is the third man to go public in expressing an interest in forming a new Formula 1 team.

Like Roger Penske and Prodrive founder David Richards, Berger has admitted that he is watching with interest to judge whether the FIA will succeed in dramatically reducing the costs of competing in 2008.

Fans of John Frankenheimer's famous 1966 movie 'Grand Prix'have been frustrated that the film is not available on DVD. Warner Home Video says it has no plans to put the film on DVD because there have been no requests for that to happen.

There are, however,fans who would like to see that happen and so anyone who would like to sign up to a petition for the film should go to www.grandprixondvd. com and fill in the online petition.

OH NO, NOT AGAIN IT is very unlikely that there will be a Belgian Grand Prix in 2006. Although the race is officially still on,there are problems because Bernie Ecclestone is unwilling to promote the race until the regional government has completed upgrading work.

The Belgians have US$16m to spend and plans for new pits and a new paddock area.This will almost certainly include the need to change the track around the'Bus Stop'chicane in order to create the space for the new buildings.

Ecclestone has been offered the chance to promote the race with US$5m in direct aid and another US$2.5m in sponsorship.

This means that it would be difficult for him to make a loss but he is insisting that the renovation work be done before the deal goes ahead.

The Minister-President of the Wallonia region, Eliodi Rupo,says that he cannot yet confirm that the race is cancelled but says he has been told that getting things done will be "difficult if not impossible".

Although Spa is popular with the Formula 1 teams,the reduction of the World Championship to 18 races would be greeted with enthusiasm as most teams are having trouble with stafffatigue at the moment.

7

The Motorsport Industry Association has named Australian Simon Webb as

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the manager of the new Motorsport Foundation.

Webb,formerly the acting chief executive of CAMS, will also be responsible for the MIA's membership development plans. Webb was the CAMS general manager of motor sport between 2001 and 2003.

The Malaysian national car company Proton has agreed a deal to sponsor the Malaysian A1 Grand Prix team.

The aim of the deal is to promote Malaysia and Proton to an international audience. A1 Team Malaysia has used drivers Alex Yoong and Fairuz Fauzy in the races so far and is currently ninth in the standings.

Super Aguri Fernandez Racing has announced that Kosuke Matsuura will stay with the team for another season, driving the Panasonic ARTA Dallara-Honda.

The announcement means that Matsuura is now out of the equation at Super Aguri FI. The next Grand Prix Masters race will be held on the new Losail International Raceway in Qatar over the weekend of 2729 April.

The GPM organiser has also issued provisional 2006 dates for Monza (18 June), Silverstone (13 August),TBA (1 October)and Kyalami(12 November).

-JOE SAWARD/QUENTIN SPURRING

AFTER months spent hidden away in design rooms and R&D departments,Formula One teams are starting to take the covers off the machinery upon which they will pin their hopes in 2006.

The Honda RA16, below, Ferrari 248 F[, right, and Williams FW27,far right, have all been unveiled over the past few days - and we take a peek beneath the skin of all of them in our technical feature starting on page 40.

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AUSTRALIA WINS FI! AUSTRALIA has won the FI in Schools competition.

The competition is for 11-18 year-olds to design and model FI cars,formed in balsa wood and powered by carbon dioxide that are then run on a 20-metre track.

In order to design the cars the pupils study such things as fluid dynamics to determine the best possible shape for their vehicles.

The teams were competing for the Bernie Ecclestone Trophy (a smart move by the organisers) and for three-year scholarships to study Motorsport and Automotive Engineering at City University in London.The winners were a team from Trinity Grammar School in Kew, Melbourne. Second place went to a team from St Albans College in Pretoria, South Africa with third going to the reigning champions Bloomsburg High School from Pennsylvania.

FI in Schools was launched in Britain in 2000 and has been given the right to associate itself with

Go you good things: The winning team,above, and car. right. And if any ofthatstuffturns up on the Wiliiams FW28, we'll know where Sam Michael got the

idea

the FI logo, which the Formula One group has trademarked.

The scheme is seen as a good way to get new generations involved in FI, both as engineers and as fans.The competition will expand to 23 countries in 2006.

-JOESAWARD

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GOING IT ALONE

BMW has launched its first factory team in the Formula 1 World Championship with the unveiling in Valencia,Spain of the new BMW Sauber FI.06 chassis which will be raced this year by Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve.

The team also unveiled its entire sponsorship package but there were no surprises with Credit Suisse and Petronas being joined by Intel and the mobile telephone company 02.

11 February 2006

The team was keen to play down any expectations that there may be saying that the season will be what team boss Mario Theissen called "a year of transition"as the team is upgraded.The team was making no comments about what results to expect this year.

The FI.06 will be powered by the new BMW P86 V8 engine while the chassis is the work of Willi Rampf and his team at Sauber.

- JOE SAWARD

: 13

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'It’s been an amazing ride.”

Dan Wheldon adds the Daytona 24 Hour title to his IndyCar crown and the Indianapolis 500 victory. Next, Miss Teen USA?

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Dring’em on!

Veteran Wood Bros crew chief Michael ‘Fatback’ MacSwain welcomes Toyota to NASCAR He’s Quite brave, really, to come in and share the circuit with the rest of us.”

Mark Webber lays out the FI welcome mat for Valentino Rossi

We have been a given permission to use AI Team Australia’s second driver Christian Jones as a possible replacement.

Okay, Al Team Pakistan boss David Sears eventually got an Italian to replace Adam Khan but a Christian in Team Pakistan? and "I was actually goingto ring offer him a ride on the Mat

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Mladin Motorsports team with Marty Cra^ill. As a number two

rider.”

Mat Mladin has a spot marked out for Max Biaggi

It is funny how taking pics of racing cars at nighttime makes them appear to have spots on them. This is the winning Dan Wheldon/Scott Dixon/Casey Mears Lexus Riley in Target/Ganassi colours at the Daytona 24 Hours over the weekend.Spicey, huh?

Toyota Motorsports Media

There is always something to see in Monte Carlo though Mikko Hirvonen,right,faded to take the time to take in the view when he drove through the countryside in his Ford Focus WRC06.

Ford Racing

14

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Dennis Moore Jr can wheelie with the best of them.

Check the single-handed effort at Parramatta, above.

Daniel Beard

Speedway officials acted swiftly to quell the potential cost threat of rear-engined Sprintcars, left.

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There are new noses afoot in FI-land, like Martini's Ferrari return, below, and Scuderia Toro Rosso's snazzy logo and matching bull's nostrils, bottom left. iutton-images.com

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DOME, the Japanese brand-name race car manufacturer, has given quasi-works status to Jan Lammers's Racing for Holland team, which has operated Dome sportsprototypes in Europe for the past five seasons. Under the new deal, RfH will compete at Le Mans this year with the Dome S101 that was run by the Japanese works team in 2005.

FITZGERALD Racing will expand to two cars for the 2006 WPS Carrera Cup Championship.

John Kaias, who finished second in the 2005 Porsche Driver's Challenge, will make the step up to Carrera Cup competition in a new Porsche 997, with his car to be run

Ecurie Ecosse, the historic sportscar racing team which won Le Mans in 1956 and was revivived in the 1980s by Scottish businessman Hugh McCaig, is planning a second comeback in this year's 24 Hours.

McCaig intends to enter an Aston Martin DBR9 in the blue-and-white Ecosse livery to mark the 50th anniversary of the team?s victory with a Jaguar D Type. Raced

by Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson, the Jaguar won by a lap from an Aston Martin DB35 driven by Stirling Moss and Pete Collins.

by Peter Fitzgerald's team.

Fitzgerald will again suit up for the series, making his effort a two-car assault.

Fitzgerald was originally the recipient of only one of Cup Car Australia's Team Agreements, but has been able to expand to two cars as a result of WPS Racing

There will be two races for Historic Sportscars on the Saturday morning prior to the 2006 Le Mans 24 Hours to mark the centenary of the race organiser, the Automobile Club de I'Ouest. The first will be for Le Mans racecars of the pre-war era (1923-39), and the second for cars built before 1954.

Each race will be started with the drivers running across the track to their cars, and will endure for about 40 minutes, with no mandatory pitstop. The ACO was formed in 1906 and one of its first functions was the trackside organisation for the world's first Grand Prix, staged at Le Mans.

-QUENTIN SPURRING

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and International Motorsport New Zealand returning the two ■ agreements each received in the initial distribution. ■ Fitzgerald and Kaias will have their first shakedowns of the new machines at Winton on February 11.

-CHRIS JORDAN

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The next Grand Prix Masters race will be held on the new Losail International

QThe increasingly successful Mil Milhas Brasileiros (Brazil 1000 Miles) Sportscar race at Interlagos will join the FIA GT Championship in 2007.

The announcement was made the day before this year's race at the Sao Paulo venue on January 21, which was contested by several current FIA GT teams with Aston Martin, Chevrolet and Ferrari racecars. This will be the first FIA GT event to be staged in South America and it is expected to be run at the start of each season.

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Raceway in Qatar. The race meeting will be run over the weekend of 27-29 April. The GPM organiser has also issued provisional 2006 dates for Monza (18 June), Silverstone(13 August), TBA (1 October) and Kyalami (12 November).

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AUSTRALIAN Rusty French will race in the 2005 Asian Carrera Cup Championship.

Like the Australian championship, Carrera Cup Asia, above, will upgrade to the new 997-model Porsche for 2006. French tested an older 996 model Cup Car at Sepang last year arid has now decided to embark on a full assault on the 2006 championship, which is run as part of the Asian Festival of Speed.

"The series is run at circuits I have never been to before, in many countries I have never visited before," said French."That appeals to me, so I thought'why not?'

"There are rounds at both the Malaysian and Chinese Formula 1 Grands Prix and the entire championship should be a great experience."

French will have a very busy schedule in 2006, also running in the Australian GT Series in one of his two recently upgraded Dodge Vipers when Asian Carrera Cup commitments allow.

DRINKS ON FERRARI i.

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DRINKS company Martini has confirmed that it is returning to Formula 1 in 2006 as an official partner of Scuderia Ferrari.

The drinks company has signed a multi-year deal with the team and branding will appear in the cars.

Martini wants to use Formula 1 to reflect its dynamic, cosmopolitan and sophisticated nature.

The company has a racing legacy that dates back to 1968 and has since been involved with a series of motorsport programmes, including Brabham, Alfa Romeo and Lotus in Formula 1, Porsche in the World Champion Series, Le Mans, World Rallying and the German Touring Car Championship and Lancia and Ford in both the World Rally Championship and the World Championship of Endurance Racing.

In addition to its sponsorship of Ferrari, and an anti-drink and drive campaign. Martini will also be sponsoring a new lifestyle TV programme in 2006, featuring all the glamour and action from the world's top motorsport series.Thirty-three episodes of Martini World Circuit will be broadcast worldwide, in six different languages, from the beginning of March 2006.

-JOESAWARD

motorsport news

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WE’RE aOING TO MAKE TUEZOM FORMULA r FOSTER’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND FRIX A ¥ERY SPECIAL FOUR DAYS FOR ONE MNEWS READER. AND MfCHELiN, WE’VE PUT TOGETHER A ‘DEHIND THE SCENES’ PACKAGE THAT WILL MAKE FOR A FARULOUS TIME. Simply by answering the question on the entry form you and a friend could win: Vs.-

l Air travel(from outside of Victoria), 5 nights accommodation, grandstand seats for two for the four days of the GP. i PLUS A

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MAX Biaggi may or may not ride in the Worid Superbike Championship, but he has driven a Formuia 1 car.

Last month, while many in motorcycle racing were waiting at Phillip Island to see if the four-time champion showed up at a Suzuki Superbike test, Biaggi appeared at Silverstone and had a run with the MF1 Racing team in a 2005 Jordan fitted with a Toyota V8 engine.

The 34-year-old Italian completed nine laps of the 5km British Grand Prix venue.

His reaction:"An amazing experience.The weather made it quite difficult but the car is a big toy, a big gokart. I didn't get anywhere near its limit, but I went fast enough to appreciate what levei of performance can be reached. On a bike, you're free, dancing on it to make it go fast. In an FI car, you're strapped in very tight.That was a weird sensation for me."

Biaggi plans no further tests but told the team he would accept an invitation to drive on a dry track surface.

-QUENTIN SPURRING

... BUT THIS GVY HAS DONE IT ALL BEFORE VALENTINO Rossi is to test for Ferrari this week in Valencia, and that is a clear indication that Ferrari is getting serious about the idea of running the high-profile motorcycle racer in Formula 1 in the future.

Rossi wiil test a Ferrari F2004 whiie Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa work on the deveiopment of the new 248 F1, which was unveiied iast week.

The fact that Rossi is beginning to test outside italy is a sign that

the team feeis that the biker has FI potentiai and now needs to broaden his experience to include tests with other drivers on the circuit.

It is worth mentioning that Rossi is going ahead with his tests despite the fact that he had backing this year from Marlboro rival Camel in MotoGP, an indication that Rossi himself must have sought approval for the testing, which underlines that he is serious about the idea as well.

-JOE SAWARD

traditional Easter weekend at Mount Panorama is a further recognition of the high regard in which the category is held in Australian Motorsport.

DO YOU WANT TO RACE?

The 2006 racing season will spark yet another leap forward for the Aussie Racing Car Series as the category builds on the amazing success to date. Aussie Racing Cars is now recognised to be the strongest national class in the country with huge grids and a diverse array of competitors. It is the most cost effective category for competitors to build their race craft and to use the experience gained as a genuine stepping stone to V8 Supercars and beyond.

No less than 3 drivers have progressed from the ranks of ARC to V8 Supercars this season.

In addition to those with a racing career path ahead of them the Masters section of the series provides a platform for drivers who are possibly not as dedicated but possess a strong competitive spirit and wish to focus on the pure enjoyment of campaigning a purpose built race car at all the biggest events in the country.

A revolutionary and exciting new fdmed event coverage package including the availability of in car cameras mounted in every car will ensure that every competitor is now in a position to guarantee that their sponsors will be shown. The DVD package will reach a much bigger audience and exceed the ratings of any previous event coverage resultant from the National distribution.

18

An Arrive and Drive arrangement is an effective way to be racing at all the big events without investing in the purchase of a car. The Works Team will do it all for you,just turn up and race. In addition to the thrill and enjoyment of being a part of big time motorsport your car can carry your sponsor signage or your company signage which includes the appropriate tax benefits.

Aussie Racing Cars are a major support of the V8 Supercars at tracks like Darwin, Clipsal, Indy, Oran Park and Sandown and in addition in 2006 will compete as the main draw card at Baskerville Tasmania.

The inclusion of the category with a series of race events at the Bathurst International Motor Festival which heralds the return of Motor Racing on the

More V8 Supercar Teams are using the category to bring young drivers into the fore as an integral part of their driver development programs.

There is a vacancy for a young driver to be signed for the season in BJR V8 Supercar Team backed program.

For further information re a drive call 02 96326667

www.aussieracingcars.com.au motorsport news

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ELI LANDS A DRIVE Young gun set for APRC while new boss fires a broadside at ARCom

The Boys GotSkills SUBARU World Rally Team performance director David Lapworth has given Chris Atkinson a verbal slap on the back after the young Australian's efforts in Monte Carlo.

THE undeclared war between ARCom and Subaru has seen the manufacturer inflict a body blow to the commission following the announcement that Les Waikden will run a twocar team for multiple Australian Champ Cody Crocker and young gun Eli Evans, below,in this year's Asia Pacific title.

Waikden had planned to run Crocker in the ARC, however ARCom's insistence that Subaru pay a manufacturer's fee forTV coverage because it deemed Waikden to be a manufacturer-assisted team will mean that all backing for the Tasmanian team will flow offshore this year.

Waikden was not backward in coming forward, firing a broadside at ARCom for the decision to declare his operation a manufacturer's team.

"In just one year they(ARCom) have lost the series sponsor,the longest-serving manufacturer team,the Icmgest-serving privateer team,the most successful junior series eve/and there is no longer atfevent in NSW,

"To finish in the top six in his first Monte Carlo is a major achievement,and he's done it at a very respectable pace," Lapworth said.

"He drove a very mature rally. He starts every other rally this year with prior experience, and if he can combine this level of control with the speed that he showed last year it won't be long before he's fighting for rally wins."

Daniel Carlsson appears set to drive an ex-works Lancer at the Swedish Rally. Carlsson was already planning to contest the event in a Group N car, but is attempting to make the step up to a WRC after a car became available at short notice. Ex-factory Mitsubish driver Gigi Gain will again steer a Ralliart Italyentered Lancer, while his former team mate Hard Rovanpera has entered a Citroen Xsara.

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on the hunt for a gravel specialist to steer its second WRC car. Manias Ekstrom will drive in Sweden, but will then return his focus to his DTM duties with Audi.

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"Surely no-one who knows anything about the sport is going to compare our operation with that of Toyota, Ford or Mitsubishi."

Despite pulling out of the Australian Championship last year, Subaru still faced obligations to Evans, who was owed a drive following his performance in last year's RS Challenge, and Crocker, who had a year remaining on his contract.

Subaru's first preference was to give assistance to the Waikden team to run the two drivers in local rallying, however ARCom declared that if the team ran in the 2006 ARC it would be obliged to pay the TV levy, understood to be approximately $300,000, or be deemed ineligible to score points in the championship.

-JONTHOMSON

i

Think you've mastered Colin McRae Rally 5 on the PS2 and are ready for the next step? Well, contact Red Bull Skoda.

The team admitted last week that it is still

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which happens to be the most populous state in Australia.There doesn't seem to be a lot of focus on the customer,"said an angry Waikden in a statement.

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GLOBAL CONE

THE 2006 ARC may see even more changes in the weeks leading up to the opening round, with a big shake-up rumoured at the Mitsubishi Ralliart team in Melbourne.

The Alan Heaphy-run team is still awaiting confirmation of funding for 2006 but has apparently had negotiations with one of the sensations of last year's title, South Australian horse trainer Steve Glenney.

'Glenney may join the team as part of a two-car operation, bringing funding with him, or he could be the only driver for the team if Heaphy does not reach an agreement with current driver Scott Redder.

Heaphy was impressed with Glenney's performance in the ex-works Subaru last year, where he matched and often bettered the stage times of many of the factory drivers.

It is understood that Heaphy has told Redder he will need to bring more funding to the tablei-if he is to s'ecure the drive again this year as the cash-strapped operation battles to secure its program for the year ahead.

Tarmac rallying could be a potentially lower-cost alternative for Heaphy and may provide Mitsubishi with the chance to continue to compete head-to-head with Subaru, which is also considering a tarmac campaign.

-JON THOMSON

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WHILE it has been rumoured for some time, it appears certain that title sponsor Globalstar has retreated from its two-year involvement in the Australian Rally Championship.

After arriving in a blaze of glory in 2004 the satellite telephone ; company's name has quietly disappeared from the sport, its name no longer appearing on the ARC'S official website following what is believed to have been an acrimonious split with the series.

Globalstar's naming rights agreement with the Australian Rally Championship was originally for four years, comprising an initial twoyear period with an option of a further two-year period.

In its press statement at the time of the company's decision to sponsor the series, ARCom said: "Globalstar's involvement with the Australian Rally Championship comes at a time when the profile of the sport of rallying is increasing as a result of International Marketing Group's (IMG) involvement in the series."

The complexion of the sport has taken on a very different hue in recent months. With just two months until the opening round of the 2006 ARC in Canberra the series finds itself in a difficult situation, losing its naming rights sponsor as well as the involvement of key manufacturer Subaru, which not only played a major role In awareness of the sport but also provided many support vehicles for rally organisers.

While Toyota and Ford are confirmed for the 2006 series there is still a question mark over Mitsubishi, which is yet to get a clear indication on funding for its ARC efforts this year.

According to one manufacturer's representative,"the administrators need to move quickly to shore up rallying, otherwise there will be no manufacturer involvement and it will return to a privateer championship".

The representative said.the recent happenings in the sport had made people within his company nervous, and while they were committed to the sport at the moment that could quickly change.

"There are plenty of other places we could spend our money, and If rallying does not deliver the appropriate returns we will be out," he said.

-JON THOMSON

1 February 2006

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TOYOTA

Son ofWood Bros... is thata nephew?

martin d dark in north Carolina AFTER nine wins in its third season in the NASCAR Truck Series last year,Toyota announced last that it will enter Toyota Camrys in the Nextel Cup and Busch Series in 2007.

BUSCH and Craftsman Truck Series driver Jon Wood will enter seven Nextel Cup races with his father's Wood Brothers team this season. Wood will then enter the Cup Series full-time and compete for rookie of the year honours in 2007. Michael'Fatback' McSwain, Wood's team manager, will crew chief the ride.

In the meantime. Wood Jr will pilot the #20 Ford Truck until Marcos Ambrose takes it over in April.

The long-anticipated move was followed up the next day with the listing of three teams - two of which were no surprise and one which, maybe,is.

Bill Davis, who is currently in a lawsuit with Dodge over funding when Detroit discovered Davis would field Toyotas in the Truck Series four years ago, will field two Cup teams. Michael Waltrip Racing will run two and a new organisation.Team Red Bull, will also compete with two cars.

One name missing from the launch was that of Roger Penske.The legendary team owner is the largest retailer ofToyotas in the USA,and owns more than 30 dealerships world-wide.The word within Penske is that their 400,000 sq ft facility will house three Cup teams again in 2007 and the Red Bull team is apparently to set up shop in Mooresville, North Carolina - a city in which Penske is already located.

Thickening the plot is the fact that the structuring of Red Bull Racing is being done by Canadian Marty Gaunt - a former employee with the Penske/Kranefuss

Q Following Roush getting all five of its teams in last year's Chase for the Championship, Hendrick Motorsports President Rick Hendrick has put his money where his mouth is and offered a US$1,248,52S bonus to be split among his four teams should they all make the cut this season.

The dollar amount came from his teams' car numbers.

-MARTINO CLARK

Don't settle for second best Sparco's new FIA approved helmet range is the result of an intensive research and development program covering all forms of racing. Drivers can choose from a range ofWind Tunnel Tested full-face models to open face designs complete with communication capabilities.

Of course all Sparco helmets are made using state ofthe art materials and manufacturing systems to ensure they meet the most stringent safety requirements. rnp RArF

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BREAKS COVER team back in the mid-90s. As Murray Walker might say, do my eyes deceive me,or is that a rat I smell?

With Toyota looking for up to 10 cars in the Cup series, signing a top-flight team is vital, and Davis has not been that in many years - if ever. While Waltrip's once-successful, self-owned Busch program has faltered to the point where he failed to qualify for several races in 2005,Toyota must be looking at a Penske, Ganassi (both of which have links with Toyota Racing Developments from its Champ Car/IRL programs)or Joe Gibbs-type organisation.

Currently,Toyota builds its Truck Series engines in-house and leases them to the teams.The same applies to the majority of the chassis, even though they're originally purchased from an independent chassis builder and when a truck gets torn up many go back to Toyota's chassis and fabrication facility to be repaired.

The Cup cars will not be run the same way.Some teams will build their own engines and cars, some will be built by Toyota, while teams will build their own cars in the familiar way and sole Toyota-sponsored cars will probably not be seen. Reports that NASCAR told Toyota they could not supply cars or engines direct to Cup teams is apparently not true, according to a Toyota source.

Three teams confirmed, Busch Cup program ~ but is Roger Penske Toyota's secret weapon?

Should I? Penske,right and McLaren's Ron Dennis.

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A1 TEAM Canada will run former

m I

Cunningham to defend IPS title KIWI young gun Wade Cunningham will attempt to become the first driver to win back-to-back Indy Pro Series titles this year when he again lines up for Brian Stewart Racing in the IRL's feeder series.

"For sure the goal now is to progress into the IndyCar Series for 2007,and so being in the Indy Pro Series for this year still seems to be the best way to get there."

Daytona 500 testing concluded on January 18 with the second of the threeday sessions. Jeff Gordon laid claim to the fastest speed at 188.466mph during the first session while Kyle Busch set the fastest single car speed during the second three-day affair with a 188.119mph lap.

Busch was also fastest in the two drafting sessions, posting a 190.25mph effort.

Champ Car and 2005 IndyCar driver Patrick Carpentier in the 'World Cup of Motorsport'races in Fundidora Park, Monterrey, Mexico,and in March at Laguna Seca,California.

"I'm grateful to [Canadian franchise holder] Wade Cherwayko for the offer,"said Carpentier, who will replace young Sean McIntosh in these two events.

"I won my last race at Laguna in Champ Cars in 2004,1 love the track and I know some of the other quick guys from the IRL are going to be representing their countries that weekend,so it's going to be a lot offun."

Meanwhile,Target Chip Ganassi

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Racing has declined to release Scott Dixon so that he could race for A1 Team New Zealand in the

upcoming A1 races, leaving Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday to drive.

-QUENTIN SPURRING

5 wrmcicci PAUL Tracy has done a deal to race in at least five of NASCAR's Busch Series events this year.

The 2003 Champ Car champion will race for Frank Cicci Racing.

Cicci used to be a partner in theCicci-Welliverteam,oneofthe oldest teams in the Busch Series but split with Scott and Jeff Welliver in 2001. He started up again last year and ran two-time Busch Series champion Randy Lajoie but without much success.

Cicci hopes that with Tracy onboard he will be able to return to success.

Cicci is in business with former NFL star Jim Kelly, who now runs a marketing business after a long and successful career as a quarterback with the Buffalo Bills.

-JOESAWARD

NASCAR announced on January 20 it will switch all three of its top divisions to unleaded fuel by 2008. NASCAR has no intention in the immediate future to change from carburetors to fuel injection.

Michael Waltrip has joined forces with Doug Bawel owner of Jasper Engines and Transmissions and former partner in the Penske-Jasper Racing number 77 car to form Waltrip-Jasper Racing. The pairing insures Waltrip will gain entry in the first five Cup events of 2006 based on Bawel's 2005 owner points even though Waltrip will run the number 55 NAPA Dodge which will be fielded and built by Bill Davis Racing as Waltrip forms his own team to run in 2006 headed by ex-DEI top gun Ty Norris and ex-Rusty Wallace crew chief Larry Wallace.

- STAFF/MARTIN D CLARK

A1 PATRICK

RAHAL Letterman Racing has linked with Paul Dana to remain a three-car operation in the 2006 Indy Racing League.

Dana,above, has left Hemelgarn Racing,taking theTeam Ethanol sponsorship with him to Bobby Rahal and David Letterman's team, which last year fielded entries for Buddy Rice, Danica Patrick and Vitor Meira. Patrick and Rice have been retained alongside Dana, leaving Meira without a ride.

-PHIL MORRIS

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MONTAGNY TESTS PKV

Renault tester looks to Champ Car as A/ls Legge has her fourth test day phil morris

FORMER Renault FI test driver Franck Montagny has become the latest driver to test a Champ Car for PKV Racing at Sebring.

Montagny and Katherine Legge both completed a day of testing at the Florida circuit last week as PKV continues to evaluate potential drivers for the 2006 season.

Legge's test was her fourth day in a Champ Car in recent weeks, suggesting that she is either the favourite for one of the PKV seats, or that team and series owner Kevin Kalkhoven is giving her every opportunity to be in Champ Car this season.

Montagny,left, is looking to a career in Champ Car, having been replaced as the official tester for Renault by Heikki Kovalainen.

"I'm here because I want to be here in 2006,"said Montagny/'I'm notthinking about FI at all. I did about everything I could do and they didn't give me a chance, I talked with Justin (Wilson)and Sebastien (Bourdais) and they told me that this was a very good championship and today showed me that there is a iot here and I want to be part of it."

"Franck did a nice job and was a real professional,"said PKV Racing team manager Jim McGee. "He has a lot of experience and it showed. But all of the people we have tested this off-season have all been very qualified drivers."

The PKV pair were Joined by Newman Haas Racing's Bruno Junqueira at Sebring.The Brazilian again showed that he has lost none of his speed after a lengthy rest through injury. rra ll

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opinion

SUDDEN IMPAa I

T was about the time that I was running around a support race paddock,trying to find things like the media centre,the caterers and the men's conveniences that I first bumped into a sandy-haired,smiling kid from Griffith.

I was trying to work out how to make a living as a motorsports journalist. Mark Larkham was trying to work out how to pay for this new racing car he had coming to Australia. Y'see, he had a sponsor and had ordered a Formula Ford from Van Diemen.Trouble was,the sponsor went broke and Larko was determined to not go with him.

So it was with some gratification that Larkham won his FF title. He had door-knocked every business in Griffith to keep his head above water,some of his crew travelled to races in the back of fruit trucks and somehow, he grafted his way through 1988.The following year, with Coffey Ford backing, he went wheelto-wheel with a rookie named Ingall and took the title. Even better, I got to write about it(and get paid).

Seventeen years later, we are still around (though much of our hair is not). He drives me mad, I do it to him and life goes on.

F

or the first time since he came back to Australia after a brief tilt at international glory,there is no Larkham Motor Sport team.

After battling through the Formula Holden years, which included an international win in the Indonesian GP, Larko established his own V8 Supercar team,first with himself driving a single entry and then,expanding to two cars.

He stepped down from driving two years ago and continued to run the team, which was

the second-best performed Ford team in 2004 (behind SBR). Since then,despite having Stone Brothers engines,the team has slipped, both competitively and commercially.

So now, Larko moves on to WPS,to try and make sense of what for two years has been a regular rear-of-the-grid outfit. No-one in the LMS bunker is giving many details away about why, how and when,the deal was done - but it was sudden.So sudden that, last week's rumours of the exit of sponsor Orrcon were put down,clearly, with news that the sponsor's arrangements for the Clipsal 500 were in place as late as last Friday. As late as Monday of fh/s week,there was an advertisement placed by WPS Racing in this very issue for staff, a need that became redundant because of the current influx of LMS staff, Larko included.

So, Larko goes on.WPS goes and on. As for the rest, details remain sketchy there is much to be sorted.

One man who appears to be caught in the middle of the situation is Jason Bargwanna.The man who wore the team's trademark #10 last season has a tough time of it, bearing much of the team's mechanical dramas and suffering (in silence) a frustrating 2005. No matter how much crap was going on around him, not once did I head him do anything but talk up the team and compliment them for working hard.

And take it from me,that is not something that all racing drivers always do.

MOTOR <ri

Phif Branaqan

But at the same time, it was clear that Bargs was keeping an eye open for other opportunities. An unimpeachable Ford source has told MNews that Bargwanna was the man at the head of Ford's preference list for the FPR seat alongside his old arch-rival Jason Bright, and the team itself has confirmed that it held discussions with Bargs. In the end though, Bargwanna was told by Larkham that he was a wanted man at LMS and,indeed, it was the other driver, Mark Winterbottom, who was released to Broadmeadows. FPR management is making positive noises about having Frosty on board, as they should, but I have no doubt that the other LMS driver was the preferred pick.

And now,it seems that Bargwanna was not wanted as much as he,certainly, believed. On Monday he was not talking to anyone,and I cannot fault his decision to stay silent while he is clearly upset.

LMS is gone.One of the establishment Level 1 licensees is no more. A young Mark Larkham was determined that he would not follow his FF sponsor into oblivion, and went on to fight another day. Let us hope that Jason Bargwanna does,too.

T

WENTY seven summers ago,there was a day that, with the benefit of hindsight, was a pivotal one in my existence.

Everything happened on the same day. It was my 18th birthday and that happened to coincide with the day that I left school. And, by chance, it also happened to be the day of the British Grand Prix. As a last birthday treat of youth, my parents took me to the British Grand _V ) Prix at Silverstone. My first motor race.That day we stood (uncomfortably, I recall) on a mound of earth at Becketts, watching the action. Alan Jones led the race in his Williams FW07 but something mechanical went wrong and he disappeared halfway through the race, leaving the race to his team-mate Clay Regazzoni, main pic. It was Williams's first Grand Prix victory.

I have been a fan of the Williams team ever since.They know how to go racing and do things properly. I am still a fan and now I count myself lucky to be a friend of Sir Frank Williams, * left, as well.

Before the corporate days of BMW,a Williams new car launch was tea and biscuits in the garage at a racing circuit, which was exactly what we journalists needed.We could talk to the people and did not have to worry about 3 the hoop-la and dancing girls that some teams % felt the need to employ.Things have changed t and nowadays the press corps is simply too vv

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big to fit into one garage so Williams hit on a new idea of having a proper sit-down lunch, in a nice atmosphere in the warm and familiar atmosphere of the Williams Collection, where one is surrounded by many old friends(the cars). This was very civilised and gave the event a very homely feel (deliberate I am sure).This was underlined by the team's press pack, which featured family snaps of team members when they were young made up like a photo album.

If the truth be told, I was not planning to go to the launch because these events are rarely cost-effective for freelance Journalists and almost all the information is available on the web within minutes of a car being launched.

So restricted are these events that one-to-one interviews are almost impossible,so there is no good reason to go,except to catch up with one's pals.The thing was that it was also my son's 12th birthday and I did not wish to leave before the dawn and come back late in the night and miss the whole day with him.You only get one 12th birthday.

So one day, while chatting Frank on the to 29 phone I mentioned that I to was not coming the launch.

He would not hear of it. if it was my son's birthday then Frank Williams was going to help out.Young William Saward must come to the

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formula 1 launch as well - as Frank Williams's personal guest.

You might think that having a father who is an FI journalist and a mother who is the press officer of the French Grand Prix, young William would be blase about such things but in reality he has been to only one race meeting in his life and was too young to remember that. Frank remembered the visit perhaps because the then four-year-old William did what kids do and said the first thing that leapt to mind when faced with a man in wheelchair.

"What happened to your legs?" he said.

Frank patiently explained that he had had an accident and that his legs did not work any more.The kid nodded sagely.That made sense.

Eight years later, we turn up at Grove and young William is impressed.'

"This doesn't look like a factory,"he says.

When he sees a box hedge sculpture of a racing car, complete with mechanics(a work of art if one knows about horticultural things) he says"Cool", which is the last thing I would have imagined.Then he meets all Dad's friends, has his hand crushed by the handshake of the tall Australian racing driver, but is impressed by the cars in the museum,the windtunnel models and particularly the scale model of the whole

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thing to fight model tank battles on.

With this in mind, I introduce young William to Frank's chief executive Chris Chappie, who used to be a Royal Marine Commando.William is impressed by that. And then we sit down for lunch and we find ourselves sitting on Frank's table(which is a nice gesture) and when anotherjournalist fails to show up,William moves seats and ends up sitting next to Frank, and the two chatter away in French and English.

When you try to explain to kids that they are doing things that millions of people around the -, world would die for,they never understand. It ; Is part of their charm.There are not impressed ;.by fame and fortune.

The new car is unveiled. What did young William think of that?

"FI cars all look the same," he says.

A point for the rule-makers to take on board, no doubt.

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Later we the haveConference some photographs taken around Centre. And, for one photo, William sits on the front wheel of the car in the foyer.

That's the car that won Williams's first Grand Prix," says the Williams man."The actual car."

Yes," I said."I was there. It was my birthday

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mSPRATION<

I

HAVE never made even a small attempt to hide the fact that I am a great admirer of Alessandro Zanardi.

PEOPLE POWER Motorsport News’s Chris Jordan speedway pit area and compare V8 Supercars could learn a lot from Sprintcar racing. the scene to the circuit racing After attending the Outlaws example. Drivers stand and sign Downunder event at Parramatta autographs within minutes of the City Raceway two weeks ago, I feature race's completion, and do so into the small hours of the cannot help but feel enthused and refreshed from the attitudes morning.The crews work around and the access that everyone the crowds and it all works.Just as had to the biggest names in the it has for years and years. Some speedway world. higher profile drivers have even Rather than the divisive screens been known to pull other drivers that are making their way into into line if they do not hang V8 Supercar racing (one V8 team around for long enough after the race for the fans. at Phillip Island had the back of its pit garage almost completely I know that varying versions , enclosed by the things),the stars of the pit walk are being and cars of the Sprintcar world experimented with in V8 Supercars, were out for all to see. and organised signings are great, If you coughed up the extra but can we get the punters more wedge to enter the pit area, you closely attached to the sport? were in Speedway heaven: so Feeling a part of something many of the biggest names in exciting is one of the most basic Sprintcar racing all within a stone's feelings that links fans to a sport. throw.The only form of barrier That's why they buy the ticket,the I saw all weekend was a strip of merchandise,the pit pass,the fan tape across the front of the Kinser club membership... team's tent. It was only there on The Indy Racing League may be on its knees, but one idea it has Saturday night(the event was three days), and after the peak of going for it is alleyways between the post-race autograph frenzy, it garages, where fans can walk was quickly removed. through and watch the teams work on the cars and the drivers I witnessed one race fan, a first time Outlaws spectator, venture converse with the engineers.They into the Kinser bunker amazed also have mass autograph sessions, that he was in front of the famous something V8 Supercars Australia green #11 Maxim. Steve Kinser is aware of, having tried it in the himself proceeded to shake his 2005 pit walks, only for the pit hand and have a chat. It made lanes to become overcrowded.

We now have one less team great viewing.

While I am not about to call in V8 Supercars,so surely there for'open season'on every team's would be some spare garages at pit garage, I do think that the V8 many venues where some sort of world has to be conscious of what 'garage fishbowl'could be tried. I the average punter gets in terms Just think that the V8 paddock of access to the stars and their cars. should be guided more towards the Outlaws model and less At present, the V8 paddock is in towards the FI model. For me,an danger of becoming an overpriced truck display. enclosed rear to a garage with a It is always interesting to dedicated autograph desk for your watch the post-race ritual of the sponsor's grid girls doesn't cut it.

30

strangers, he chooses to make our world a better place with his apparently tireless efforts to assist those in the community who His Formula 1 career may need help. While he was involved not have hit the heights many in a large fundraising effort last expected, but in a Champ Car, or year, behind his back, his efforts now a touring car, Alex races with were recognised by others and the skili and flair, not to mention he was quietly nominated,and the enjoyment,that i wouid like subsequently chosen,to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime event. to think I would have, had it not been for the minor detaii that i So it was last week when twocompietely lack the talent to do so. time Champ Car champion Alex On top of that,Zanardi accepted Zanardi and Leading Firefighter the outcome of his terrible 2001 John Branagan found themselves crash at the EuroSpeedway with in close proximity between Padua the grace of a Champion. His main and Venice, on the same day, as concern was, how long would it torchbearers for the relay for the be before he could hoist his young Torino 2006 Winter Olympics. son onto his shoulders? The man is, "It was pretty inspirational,"John said on his return to Melbourne. continues to be, an inspiration.

I am lucky to have a similarly "To think that we have been a part inspirational man in my life. of one of the biggest sprint events Quite apart from the fact that of the year is special.That is an my brother John earns a living honour that cannot be put into running into burning buildings words. It is symbolic,to carry that and risking his life to save flame that represents the flame within the athletes that drives

motorsport news

opinion

ILMEN Motorsport News Editor PHIL BRANAGAN

^^Zanardi accepted the outcome of his terrible crash with the grace of a Champion^^ them to compete.

"The horrific accident that Alex went through,to walk out of the hospital the way he did months later, and to this day, he is a special man. He was already respected by the locals because of what he achieved in his driving career but since then, he has become a hero to the rank-andfile, the man in the street in Italy. To think he started that day by carrying the torch, it went through me and onto others, and that there were oniy nine Australians invited to take part in the relay ... that will stay with me for a long time."

In a year when there is much to see and admire in the sporting world - imagine what the Worid Cup is going to be like - the Torino Winter Games may not generate a lot of interest in this part of the world. But having Alex, and others, give us cause to be inspired,even for a moment, makes the good things just that bit better.

THE GOOD OU BOYS-SAN Following a Truck successful entry intoannounced the NASCAR Craftsman Series, Toyota last week that it will step up the NASCAR ladder into the Busch and Nextel Cup Series in 2007 with America's best-selling car,the Camry.

Apparently Toyota had no interest in the'second division'Busch Series, but NASCAR said,"you want in? it's all or nothing!"

NASCAR is about as American as apple pie and banana splits and when the giant Japanese manufacturer entered the Truck Series three years ago,several of the diehard fans said they'd never watch another Truck race, and many i'm sure are saying the same thing again now with the latest announcement. But the manufacturer has got blood pumping again in the ultra-competitive'pick-meup'series with the addition of its Toyota-supported teams and as time passed,those that vowed to turn away are probably watching,just like they're now driving their Nissan, Honda or Toyota'utes'...

On the day Toyota made the Cup news official and opened up its bank vault, Ford announced it would cut 30,000 US jobs and close Mfacilities by 2012.The next day, German-owned DaimlerChrysler said it will slash 6000 administration positions worldwide,this after it cut back the Dodge Truck racing program at the end of 2005.

There is still the'buy American'thought process amongst the more traditional Americans(and mainly the blue collar sector that makes up a large percentage of NASCAR fans) but what has turned people to Asian imports over the years are the style, reliability, build quality and comfort factors - things US cars were lacking until recently.

What many of those knockers possibly don't realise is the Camry(which the Cup car will loosely resemble) is made in the bluegrass state of Kentucky and Toyota directly employs almost 32,000 Americans, plus another 110,000 at its dealerships.

Many of the'American cars'are now produced in Mexico and more autos are now made across the border in Canada than in Detroit. And if you look under the skin of an American car, like a GM-made Saturn, you find a ... Honda engine!

In my opinion,Toyota moving into taxi cab racing is a positive thing,even if it is at the expense of US open-wheel racing where they really had nothing left to prove.The'big three'manufacturers will have

Motorsport News NASCAR Editor MARTIN D CLARK 0

^^oyotfl moving into taxi cab racing is a fi positive thing^^

to dig deeper into their pockets to equal Toyota's spending. I predict they will win the championship in their third season.

I just hope they're in the series for the long haul and not blow the doors off the US competition by ^ showing'em how they do it under the land | of the rising sun - and then investing all their excess Yen I into drifting!

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Five minutes with

WARREN

The Queenslander is gearing up for his second tilt at the V8 Supercar Championship Series after signing 0S1 to lead Britek's charge. MARK GLEISIDEIMNING chatted with him about his new gig MOTORSPORT NEWS: Getting yourself back into the main series must feel like a pretty good way to start the new year?

WARREN LUFF: Absolutely.To be back in the main game is fantastic, and the people at Britek have been fantastic to deal with.The plans for the year, and the future, are all very exciting.This is a great opportunity to be a part of all that.

They are showing a lot of faith in you - Britek will be running a single car, and that puts you into a team leadership position.

Yeah. I suppose it is the first time that I have been in that team leader role, and it is a challenge that I am going to enjoy.

It's a great honour to be given that responsibility, and all the guys down there are very enthusiastic and very supportive, and I think that's going to be the key to the year. We're all going to work well together and keep our heads up and see what we can achieve.

Do you know what the situation regarding testing will be yet?

Not yet.That's still to be resolved.

The team is revamping its cars from last year...

My car for the main game and Jose Fernandez's car for the Fujitsu series are both going through a complete rebuild process.

I was at the workshop last week and both cars are basically a bare shell, and the guys are going over them with a fine-toothed comb

be a great starting point for us, and at least now they've got a season under their belt, we'll have some data wherever we go.

I suppose last year every round they went to was a new adventure, because they had no track data or anything like that.

Now,they've got a season under their belt and they've got that data, it's going to make it easier for the team and myself to arrive at a circuit with them having had experience there.

It's going to be a challenging year - one car, light resources, question marks over testing - what are you realistically aiming for?

I think ... the way that the

category is developing I think it's going to be a tough year for everybody. I don't think anyone is going to have an easy passage through the championship.

But the team is realistic as to what its performance goals are, and for myself, I am looking at certain targets throughout the year.

I think for us,the key is going to be finishing races.The reverse grid races are going to be incredibly important because I think you're going to see a lot of carnage in that race,and the key is going to be to finish. If we can finish races,that should hold us in good stead to be in a strong position, not only on weekends but overall.

We'd like to think that towards

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and making changes to improve the cars and get them ready for the season ahead.

Will you be able to use last year's data, or will the car be too different?

I won't know until I get to drive the car for the first time. We'll wait and see how dramatic the changes that they're making are.

But look, the data that the team have from last year will certainly 32

To y\/hat extent will you guys be planning your weekends around the reverse grid races?

It's all well and good to have the best-laid plans going into a season - or even in a race meeting. We all know that when the flags drops in race one,the plans usually end up going out the window!

We know that the important thing for us is to finish races and keep out of trouble, and that's going to be the key - especially in those reverse grid races. Some of the faster teams like SBR and FPR will be cutting their path through.

We've got to play it smart, and have our pit strategy right.

Also, this year with the championship being a bit different because there are not as many long races, it's going to be important to get that pit strategy right and pit at the right time, because it's not like you've got a longer race where you can make the time up. And that goes for everyone - everybody is going to have to reassess their pit strategy and how it's going to work for them.

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the end of the season we could start knocking on the door of some top 10 finishes overall.

"We all know that when the flag drops in race one, the plans usually end up going out the window!"

One thing in your favour is that you've had a lot of recent experience with reverse grids.

Yeah. I'm really looking forward to the reverse grid races. From doing two years in the V8 BRutes, it always created a fair bit of chaos.

But it's at those times that you've got to really drive with your head and stay out of trouble, because it's very easy to put yourself in a wrong position and end up being involved in someone else's accident.

So those reverse grid races are going to be very important, because you're going to see a lot of people not finish that race, which is going to ultimately hurt their starting position in race 3.

motorsportnews

interview

Five minutes with

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ALAN

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The lad from Melbourne told PHIL BRAIMAGAN about his plans as Chairman of the MSA, the good news about the British Touring Car Championship and why he is is not looking forward to the British CP MOTORSPORT NEWS; What is right with British motorsport?

ALAN GOW: It is actually very good at the moment. The amount of licence holders is up; the number of events is up. Some say we have too many events; in fact, I do, too. There is just too much motorsport in Britain.

The industry is quite buoyant at the moment. Like everything, it had a dull period for a time, but the manufacturing base and the sporting base is very good.

What is wrong with it?

Too much motorsport, like I said.

We are spreading our resources too thin - things like marshals, so on. There are a lot of little things to be tidies up and fixed but they are things that you would not want to relate to people in detail.

There is not a lot wrong with it.

So what is your role in that process?

I am just like the chairman of any company. You are providing protection and strategy and making sure that the organization is being run as best it can.

Does the MSA follow the same model as CAMS does here?

Totally different structure. The MSA is the governing body and a you have regional support for rallying and all that stuff, but it is centrally governed. It is a much more decisive organisation than CAMS because it is able to do things, implement things straight away, without having to get the approval of different state organizations, and whatever.

And obviously, it is a much larger organisation because motor racing is a much larger business in Britain. There are 36,000 registered licence holders competing on a medium scale and tons of others who are not licensed competitors, like autocross competitors, trials, so on.There is something like 70,000 competitors in the UK. 34

One criticism we hear from a distance is that there is not

Let's look at the BTCC How is the

enough money feeding down from Formula 1 to the'lower end' of the sport. Is that valid?

It is probably the same here - that not enough money filters down from V8 Supercar racing to the lower categories.

That is valid. Formula 1 leaves a

state of play in 2006?

It is looking really good this year.

We had a pretty ordinary year last year, but so did all of UK motorsport. The retail sector in the UK was badly down last year so any form of motorsport that was reliant on commercial sponsorship suffered.

huge vacuum behind it, because it soaks up a lot of money. But it has always been that way; I do not think it is any different now to how it was 20 years ago. National sport is different to international sport.

I am going to have nearly twice as many competitors at the first round of the championship this year as I had last year.That is impressive. We are looking really good.

*nhe WTCC has not diluted the British championship.

We have not lost any teams or manufacturers to the WTCC"

- Goiv is a supporter of the World Championship

You get that with anything, with any category that is so dominant within that particular sport. I am sure you could say the same with the AFL - does that leave a large vacuum for other ball sports behind it? I suppose it does.

True, but the difference between AFL and FI is that the AFL has an active, and visible, junior development program.

FI doesn't but nationally, you do.

There is a development program within the UK - I am bringing young drivers up. There is a matrix for talent development and the MSA has talent development programs going.

I am not trying to be too fair to Bernie [Ecclestone] but it is not up to Bernie to develop the series nationally. It is up to the national bodies in those countries.

The BTCC is heading towards Super 2000 [regulations in 2007].

Is that going to drive up the cost of competition?

No, it is about the same.The two technical regulations are so similar, if you sat them side-byside, they look very similar.

The only thing that drives up the cost of competition is manufacturers'homologation efforts. As far as the costs for teams competing in those cars, it is the same. We have had Super 2000 cars competing in the championship for the last two years and the cost for those teams is about the same.

As long as we keep cost controls regarding testing and so on, it limits what can be spent anyway.

A manufacturer cannot come into the BTCC and spend twice as much as Vauxhall, for instance.

You literally cannot spend it, unless you do it on hospitality or something. You cannot spend it on the cars, there are very strict guidelines in place to stop that from happening.

So the WTCC has not diluted the championship as many thought it might?

No, it has actually added to it.

If the WTCC was not successful, we would not have the Seats competing in our championship.

They would not build a car for the British market.

So the WTCC has not diluted the championship, it is something we feed off. We have not lost any teams to the WTCC; we have not lost any manufacturers to thee WTCC. A couple of drivers have gone but that is normal, they go off and do the WTCC or the DTM. We have not lost any teams or manufacturers, in fact, it [the WTCC] has added to our championship.

One of the roles of the Chairman of the MSA is to hand out some silver at the British Grand Prix. A slight irony?

Yes, that will be fun! I haven't been to a Grand Prix for a long time because I do not like going to Grands Prix. I suppose I will have to hand out a trophy, unless I can send someone else to deputise for me. I just dislike the thought of going to a Grand Prix.

There are a lot of areas that a chairman has to do things I would prefer not to. There are major motorsport events happening in the UK every weekend and I would have to go to a lot of them.

I doubt that I am going to win the'Husband of the Year'award.

I am going to be an absent husband and father this year but I discussed it with Anna, my wife, before I accepted and she was very forward, very supportive.

Maybe she just wants me out of the house...

motorsport news

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Carrera Cup has a new model car for this season (the 997). What are some of the differences?

ARRIVE, DRIVE9

Gentleman Jim Richards has driven justabouteverything.And at58, the seven-times Bathurst winner doesritlook like slowing down...yet GRAN I ROWLEYspoke to him

JIM RICHARDS:The only panel that is the same on the cars is the roof panel.

The doors are different, the rearguards are different.The car is totally different. Uprights, brakes, gearbox.The motor is very, very similar, but the whole car is different in every way. It's still a Porsche,so it has that distinctive feel.

It's more of a race car as well.

If you looked at them both, the'06 is just another step up. It's more like a race car compared to the older Cup Cars, which are modified road cars.They were fantastic, don't get me wrong, but this car is another step. It's a real race car - sequential box, full MoTeC dash, no key (switch and starter). It really looks good.

Does the car require a new driving technique?

I think most of the guys, including the experienced ones, are going to have to get their heads around the brakes.

We've done about 20 laps around Calder just to put some miles on the car, and the first thing I noticed was that the brakes are absolutely unbelievable.There is no ABS,so you there will be plenty of tyre smoke and flat-spots until the guys get used to it. You can actually control your braking better for different circumstances.

With the ABS, if you out-braked yourself, all you could do was hold

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John Morm/Mptx

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interview your foot on the brake and hope it would stop, which eventually it does, if someone happens to be in the way you hit them, because you had no control over what the car is doing. It stops at the speed that it's calculated to stop at. With the new brakes, you can put the brake on hard, lock a brake, get off the brake, put it back on again, modulate the pedal and actually position the car into the corner better than with the ABS. The biggest thing everyone will notice will be the brakes, but the whole car just feels a bit nicer.The gearbox is fantastic to use, you can virtually change gears with two fingers.

The new season has a few young blokes and new blokes. Who will you have your eye on?

I think it usually takes a year for the new drivers to get to the front. Fabian [Coulthard] took the 2004 season to get in the groove, and he won it last year.

Young David Reynolds had some horrific setbacks early on, but at the end was winning races. Fle's driving fantastic. Reynolds, Jonathan Webb,Alex Davison,these guys are going to be hard to beat.

Ian Dyk was strong at the end of last season, and then you've got the older

guys like myself and Peter Fitzy [Fitzgerald], who is hanging on around there.

Aaron Carrati was fantastic in Formula 3 and should be competitive, as will Dean Fiore, David Wall ... but it will take them all half a season to get to the front. You never know,they could come out and be straight there but no race car is an easy one to drive and different cars have different ways of driving them.You've got to know how the cars want to be driven. It takes experience to do that.

TheVS Development Series is going to be strengthened by main series teams this year.

Does Cup Car have the right formula to remain one of Australia's best categories?

The formula is right because the cars are fast.

The cars are nearly as fast as the V8s. On some tracks we are quicker than the Development Series cars, in the wet, we are as quick, if not quicker.

The class will always have a higher profile because it's a Porsche, it's that aura that they are right at the cutting edge of performance and technology.

Really, if you don't have any mechanical problems continued on page 36

"Some guys retire because they don't like coming second. I don't know why that is"

1 February 2006

37

continued from page 3S

WHY JIM DRIVES FOR MARK THE strength of personal relationships can be the difference between victory and defeat, especially in motor racing, where teamwork and communication is vital.

Jim Richards has shared three Bathurst victories with Mark Skaife, which is the equal to the most by any other pairing on the mountain.The duo raced as team-mates for nearly a decade, and Jim has nothing but absolute respect for his protege.

"I enjoy the Holden Racing Team, I enjoy the way they operate and I enjoy Skaifey's company,"Jim said.

"I know when 1 hop in the car, it's exactly the same as the car that Mark's driving. I don't have to do any testing. I don't have to change anything. All I do is say to the mechanics'If you make a change to Skaifey's car, put it on mine.'

"I've had a lot to do with Mark and the team and he knows how to drive and how to sort a car out. It would be silly for me to start trying to change things and make it go faster. I'm not going as fast as the car will go anyway, so that's the beauty of driving with a team like HRT." Having Skaife set up cars for Jim is nothing new,though. Back when the pair shared office space at Winfield/Gibson Commodore,Skaife

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did the majority of the testing and development while Jim was simply the hired gun.Ten years on, nothing has changed.

"Sometimes, people would say that he sets the cars up weird. Well, he didn't. When we were on Yokohamas and others weren't,the car needed to be driven around the tyre.The Yokohama tyre had some peculiarities about it. They didn't have a great deal of mid-corner grip, it needed to be into the corner hard, and out fast, and so,to make the car faster on the Yokohamas, you had to be set-up slightly differently, which made the car look unusual from the outside.

"And the fact is now,since the V8s have been on a control tyre, Skaife has had a car that is as quick as anybodys."

-GRANT ROWLEY

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or major crash damage, or mechanical problems derived by the driver, then the cars are very cheap to maintain.

Some people might laugh and think that's not right, but it is. We can go three seasons without touching the engine. We can go a season and a half without taking the gearbox out.

That may change a little with these gearboxes, but the cars are incredibly reliable. I can't think of another vehicle in any racing category that would be as reliable as these cars.

Besides your Cup Car entry, you've got six or seven rallies this year.

We've got six to do.

MtBuller Sprint, Rally Tasmania,Targa Tasmania, Rally Burnie,Targa NZ and Classic Adelaide. We've also got about 26 or 28 corporate drive days, plus the Carrera Cup season, and the endurance races.

There will come a time when racing won't be what you do on the weekend. Do you have a timeframe on when you'd like to wind down your commitments? (pause) I don't know what that timeframe is. I still enjoy it, I still enjoy what I do but eventually I'll stop some of it, and continue on with other bits. If your health is good,and you enjoy it, why not do it?

I don't think a driver needs to retire because there is a perception that he is too old. Some guys

retire because they don't like to come second, I don't know why that is. People retire for their own reasons. I'm a great believer that if you retire, you don't race.

1 won't retire, I think I'll just stop,and eventually.

I'll stop doing everything.

There'll be no hullabaloo.

I'll do it when I want to do it. I can't see myself doing it for another few years.

Would you stop circuit racing before the rallies?

If I was going to stop doing one particular thing.

I'd stop circuit racing and continue with rallying. You could say that the rallies are a lot more relaxing,fun style of event. But I still really enjoy driving the Cup Cars and the V8s on occasions. We'll see what happens.

There isn't much you haven't achieved in motorsport, but is there an event that you still want to win?

No. I never got into motorsport to win. When I started, I couldn't win because I was at the back of the field. I'd rather win, than not win, but you can't win everything, and I go into it to enjoy the driving.

Some of the drives that I've had to come second, third fourth or fifth are better than some of my wins.

Does a Targa win rate up there with a Bathurst victory?

For me it would.Targa is a personal thing. It's not what people think, or how big the trophy is, it's a personal thing.

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motorsport news

interview When you winTarga, you know you've driven really well. But you can drive just as well and come third. Every win that I get from now on is a bonus. Obviously there is not going to be a lot more of them. I've been racing 40 years, I'm not going to be racing another 40.

Would you like another shot at Bathurst with Steven?

Umm,yes, but at the moment to win Bathurst you need reliable, regular, front-running drivers paired together to give you the best possible chance to win.Steven and I could win Bathurst, Mark Skaife and I could win Bathurst, but I don't class myself as a regular V8 driver. If the rule makers enforced that regular drivers couldn't be paired together, I'd consider myself to be up there with the best of the non-regulars.

HIGHLIGHT?

Falken Tyres

Jim Richards has too many career highlights.Listed below are five ofmany moments thathe treasures "Qualifying the HRT Commodore third at Bathurst(2003).

To me,that was a highlight. As a part-time V8 driver, I thought I did a good job."

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'The Bathurst Super Touring race in 1998 was 1998 great. Myself and Rickard Rydell were no more than two seconds away from Steven and Matt Neal for the entire race. We drove the Volvo absolutely flat out."

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"Steve and I finished second together inValvoline carat Bathurst. Not many Dads get a chance to race with their sons in an event like that. It may not happen again. Who knows?

Will you be around to do a Bathurst with Clayton?

(Jim's grandson, four), (laughs). No, unfortunately. Maybe Steve can do that. He loves the cars, but whenever he comes to the workshop he's in the truck. He hops in there and plays in that.

'thoroughly enjoyed and really got a buzz out of driving NASCAR M in Japan against Dale Earnhardt, 199 5 Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin and all those guys. We qualified second and finished fourth. We were in a privateer team and to do that was personally fantastic."

Silly seasons are a summer regular these days. Do V8 teams still enquire about the services of Jim? Umm, yes. Nowadays, people see that I've been with Steve or HRT for three or four years and think that I'm locked away. But I must say, I like it that way.

'The thing is that that the 1992 M Bathurst was a highlight in its ^ ■P ' own. It was controversial. We I' .-" went from leading the race to crashing. We went from thinking we'd lost to celebrating. The 199 2 spectators had a lot of booze on board, they gave us a hard time, and right at that time I thought they were arseholes, which they were. Half an hour later, I would have had a beer with them!"

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

THERE isn't a lot of time in Jim Richards's life for fishing.

"No, I don't know what fishing is," he joked.

"When i'm not at a race track. I'm either driving to it, driving home from it or working in the workshop."

Richo's workshop is inconspicuously tucked away at the back of a block of some commercial units in Ringwood, Victoria.

There is no signage, no fanfare. Inside though, the shop is immaculate. Five Porsches, two full-time employees (Jim 1 February 2006

included) a motorbike, a tractor, trophies, pictures, paraphernalia, and the truck.

"It's a place to keep the cars, the memorabilia and the bits and pieces of rubbish out of the home. I'm here six and a halfdays a week.

"The only reason all the photos and paraphanalia are here, is because if they weren't where they are, they'd be in a box somewhere, so it's just as easy to have them hanging up."

- GRANT ROWLEY

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Put this in your Yaris: images of2006 Formula 1 engines are pretty scarce but Toyota has bucked the trend with pics ofthe company's newV8,theRVX-06.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH I

T seems to be all anyone in Formula 1 can talk about- what is going to happen with the new engines?

The move from a 3-litre VI0 at the end of 2005 to a new 2.4-litre V8 this year could change the pecking order in FI. What ended last October as a Renault-McLaren-Ferrari trifecta in the Constuctors'Champioship could be just a distant memory.

The engines affect the cars massively,and in every area.The smaller capacity engines will, in theory, produce less torque(not that there is much torque to speak of in an engine spinning to almost 20,000rpm)so downstream,the clutch and gearbox will be, in all likelihood, under less stress than they were with a VI0.Cooling demands are slightly less, so water radiators and oil coolers can be smaller, which means external bodywork (like sidepods)can shrinkand that means a rethink of the aero package - already evolving since the drastic changes in aero regulations at the start of 2005 - and updated again for this season.

It has been a long time since there has been a major shift in the fundamentals of Grand Prix racing. In one form or another,the VI0 has been around since the end of 1988, when Williams started track tests with the then-new Renault 3.5-litreVlO.The concept was initially scoffed at by the opposition, which were in either the V8 or VI2 camp but, as soon as Renault scored its breakthrough win at Canada, it was obvious that the design had merit.

Ford's V8 won the Drivers'title in 1994,and Ferrari continued with its VI2 until 1995 but the following year, all teams were using 10 cylinder engines,the FIA's concerns about escalating

costs prompting them to make the design mandatory.

But even within that stricture, there was much room for the engineers to move.The V-angie of the cylinder banks was the most visible variable, with Renault initially running a 72-degree design (the optimum angle for a VI0)and introducing a wide-angle 111-degree unit for 2003. It was troublesome but eventually proved itself before, oddly enough, Renault returned to the 72degree layout in 2004.

That is now a thing of the past.The V-angle for the new engines is set at 90 degrees, which is the optimum angle for a four-stroke V8.That is just one of the guidelines in place for the new generation of engines, with a maximum offour valves(two inlet/two exhaust) per cylinder, a maximum on the bore of the cylinder(98mm) and clear definitions of the makeup of engine components. Also, the centre of gravity is to be at a standardised position and the engine will not be permitted to be less than 95kg.

The latter two rules mean that, in some cases, the new V8s are approximately the same size as the VI Os that they replace.

What has changed is the power. Even with a two-race rule (which remains in place for the V8s), the best 3-litre 10s were producing upwards of950 horsepower last season, according to some well-advised sources.The 20 percent drop in capacity has resulted, in the short-term, of engine ratings dropping below 700 horsepower. We believe that Cosworth,for one, has breached the 700 barrier and expects as much as 750 during the course of the season,as the revs rise past 20,000 and keep going ...

To add to the intrigue, ScuderiaToro Rosso will

alone follow the path of retaining the VI0,in this case a Cosworth, but with restrictions to allow the power to be matched to the new V8s.This is fine in theory but, with the 5TR team running, in effect, updated Red Buli RBIs,and having drivers of the caiibre ofTonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed on board,there could be adjustments made during the season shouid the cars show speed.You can be assured that Liuzzi's pubiic comments that he couid score podium results this year did not go down weli with the team's management.

r

'Ere Terence,I can 'ear Kylie Minogue: No,these McLaren engineers are not making dodgy CDs. They are recording teams'engine sounds at a test. When the sound waves are anaiysed on a computer,the maximum can be piottedand,from there, a close oximation made for engine power and je. It happens all the time and yes,it's legal.

0

molorsportnews

formula 1

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BMtRYtfS MOTORSPORT TYRES

GIVES YOU THE EDGE

AIR FORCE ONE Copying Renault may be the thing to do, hut...

THE front ends of the cars will change substantially as the year goes on but,for the early testing at least,there was much carry over from 2005.

In one camp,the double-flaps that featured on the championship-winning Renault R25 are popular, with the two-tier wing appearing on the new BMW Sauber FI 06.The team also tested with a'conventional'single-stack wing, which was similar to that from last year's Sauber C24.

The two-storey wing appeared to provide the greatest benefits on medium-speed circuits, so look for the white cars to run this set-up at Bahrain and Malaysia.

In Italy, there was much to see when the Ferrari 248 was unwrapped at Mugello.The team continues along the single-wing path, the unit very similar to that from the F2005 that finished the 2005 season.

What was interesting was the variations at the front of the new car's chassis.The chassis at the front is clearly higher off the ground (1) than on the F2005, a fact visible due to the position of the upper suspension wishbone.

which is connected to the chassis at a point visibly lower than on the previous model.

The lower wishbones, on the other hand,are still connected to the chassis via a single keel (2)that features a sort of tiny vertical fin. This solution, say the engineers, is suited better than another keel solution,'zero'(ie, Williams, Honda)or'double'(BMW,Red Bull).

Then,there is the Toyota. When the TF106, opposite page, became the first 2006 FI car to turn a wheel in public in November, many mumbled that the car looked exactly the same as theTFIOSB, run at the end of last year. And they were right: the wings fore and aft were the same,the airbox, nosecone and sidepods were all straight from the 105B. What Toyota is doing is maximising its track time with an existing baseline before refining its aero kit for the opening three races.The Cologne-based team has already announced that it will have a new car-theTF106B-for Monaco in May.The aero kit for the current car will evolve before the first race anyway,so why not start with something familiar?

- PAOLO FILISETTi

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LEADING BRANDS COMPETITIVE PRICES;

Unit 3/13 Penny Place Arndell Park NSW 2148

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1 February 2006

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Toyota TFI06 IF anyone was looking for something new on the Toyota TF106 at its launch in France,they would have come away disappointed.

Designer Mike Gascoyne and his staff presented a car that was,externally at least, merely a development of the TF105B. All the interesting bits were

carefully enclosed in almost'retro' bodywork,at least until the tesing starts in earnest.

But there are some things we can glean from the new car's debut.The chimneys were pretty well identical to the VI O's but they could still be used with the smaller V8 in hot races like

1 Bahrain, Malaysia and the mid-summer European events.

The mid-wing has moved, but that is something that the team may well vary from race-to-race anyway, while the 'gills'in the sidepods (1) are something normally reserved for hot-weather events.

Honda RAI06 FOR Honda's return (in name)to FI (after buying the remaining stake in what was BAR-Honda), the RA106 represents a little bit of 2005,with a dash of'06 thrown in.

The car carries over a fair bit of last year's, like the boomerang shaped winglets placed in front of the sidepods(these were first seen in Canada last year), and the foreward-pointing 'blades'(2), which were more prominent at medium-speed tracks in 2005.

The sidepods are very small, and the car features a muchnarrowed airbox.TheVSs are likely to need much less intake than their VI Os ancestors, so that is one area that is likely to be refined by the aerodynamic engineers as the season continues.

Honda track-tested its V8 engine earlier than most of its rivals and the reappearance of its VI0 in testing has prompted suggestions that the maker was heavily revising its V8 - or, even, was developing a new one from scratch...

molorsportnews

formula 1

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THERE are several notable features on the latest effort from Grove, most notably a 'fin'on the engine cover.'

The Cosworth engine is one of the more compact and the engine cover has been shrunk dramatically compared to that on the VIO-powered FW27.Whether the fin stays on the car at high and low-speed circuits, or at all, remains to be seen.

At the launch,the car featured a 'triple-stack'mini-wing mounted on the rear of the sidepods, though this does appear to be something to distract the opposition rather than a genuine aero tweak.

Perhaps the biggest difference is in the new'seamless shift' gearbox, which allows faster shifting between ratios. And the team has reverted to a sevenspeed transmission after running a six-speeder last season.That fact should, at the very least, contribute to better starts.

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THE new Ferrari returns the team to the Old Days, when the Scuderia's cars were named after the swept volume of the engine and its number of cylinders.

The 248 has dramatically small sidepods and, most visibly, widemounted rear vision mirrors. Apart from looking good (!) the move has allowed the airflow along the cockpit sides to be less-disturbed had the mirrors stayed close to the 'conventional' position. It will be interesting to see if any other teams copy the change before the

1 February 2006

start of the season ...

The Ferrari also amply demonstrates the changes in the rules regarding barge boards.This year, the bottom of the barge board may be no closer than 50mm from the bottom of the reference plane (2) which, in plain language, means that the boards will have less of an affect on the airflow around the sidepods.

However,the smaller sidepods should allow the lost flow to be regained before the air passes the rear of the car.

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Available at Better Bike & Accessory Dealers or visit www.speeijsports.com.au

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he unveiling of the FW28 Williams last Friday is the result of the most concentrated and complex design period of the year, in our case, the changes that had to be accommodated were substantial - apart from the change to the more compact 2.4 litre V8 engine, we have also changed engine partner, to Cosworth, as well as tyre partner to Bridgestone.

While the change of engine manufacturer is one thing, it ir electronics. That's )f those ocess, but the launch ugh the

. It's an Dur-tenths ircuits. a couple issues in t recent ing, the

solutions are in hand and we expect.the gearbox to come on stream, in race terms, during the 2006 race season,

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hat can I tell you about the FW28?The basic phiiosophy for 2006 centres around the introduction of the 2.4 litre engine and the reduced power output. That puts an even bigger premium on aerodynamic efficiency (lift to drag ratio) and that provided the fundamental design parameter for the FW28.

Physically, that can be seen in a number of areas. The rear wing, with its 'decambered'tips, retains downforce in the centre whiie reducing drag at the outboard ends. While recent Williams cars have utilised iow sidepods, the FW28 features taller sidepods, which allows for a larger undercut and therefore smoother, more efficient airflow along the coke bottle to the diffuser and rear wing.

The reduced physical size of the engine and gearbox aliows for compact packaging within the rear bodywork, and it fits extremely closely to both. Indeed, I expect we'll burn a bit of bodywork when we first run the car, which we have to keep an eye on. I think that if you don't burn a bit of bodywork on a new car, then you haven't pushed the enveiopes hard enough!

Further forward, we've adopted a zero kee! design - thus keeping the lower-front wishbones out of the undercar airflow - to overcome the effect of the removal of lower 50mm of the forward barge boards under

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Overseeing the design ofthis year's Williams FI car has been particularly challenging, writes the team's Technical DiredorSAM MICHAEL 2006 FIA Technical Regulations and,at the front,further evolved the cascading front wing which we developed during the final two GPs of 2005.

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five. While those going to Bahrain may make a short-term gain in terms of their performance at the first race, we believe the extra tests allow us to discover any issues and react to them better and thus progress the overall development of the car better.

There are also weight distribution and suspension geometry changes to get the best out of the Bridgestone tyres. I'm really impressed with the Sometimes it seems that every FI team is under extra Bridgestone engineers that are working with Williams.They are pushing so pressure to deliver - but it's like that every year in FI. We are hard to develop the tyres for us. going into 2006 to re-establish Williams as a top team,able Even the revised qualifying format, with both low-fuel and race fuel runs, to run at the front. You've got to go into every year to win has had design implications in relation to the capacity and fuel cell design. but, more importantly, you have to understand what the engineering problems are if you are not winning,and fix the So, the now FW28 is a substantially different car to its predecessor and the Forn focus turns to the first on-track tests, taking place in Valencia (weather permitting) as you read this. wrong mosth All the wind-tunnel work and aerodynamic efficiency targets in the world are really just a starting point and the numbers aren't something you ca we tend to splash about because,obviously, it's something you don't n you've weeks! have a full picture on until you run on the track. We will put the car on the And track and immediately the development race starts on all aspects - tyres, about I engines, aerodynamics and weight. there's There are a couple of teams heading to Bahrain in order to undertake challer testing work in hotter conditions, but Williams will be remaining in Europe. that se Cost issues aside, testing in Bahrain would mean we could only get three the pui tests in before the first race whereas, by staying in Europe, we can manage

1 February 2006

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motorsport news

nactel cup

Getting that Jumpin’ Feeling T is somewhat ironic that Toyota's confirmation of its move into the Nextel Cup came shortly after Ford announced major cutbacks in its local workforce.

Last Monday,Toyota did what many had expected and announced its participation in the 2007 Nextel Cup and Busch Series. It will also continue its Craftsman Truck program, which is now in its third season.

"NASCAR welcomes Toyota to the greatest auto racing in the world,"said NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France, who made the announcement at NASCAR's Research and Development Centre in Concord, North Carolina.

"Toyota's entry into the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the NASCAR Busch Series is good for drivers, teams and the fans.This move provides for even more intense competition on the track between drivers and manufacturers, which will provide more excitement and fan interest.

Toyota's entry also provides more options for drivers and teams, which will increase the competition between manufacturers."

But not everyone welcomes the arrival of Toyota. Veteran team owner Jack Roush is ^ I I

wary of letting theJapaneseowned

I

company into motor racing's top echelon.

"If NASCAR manages to get in front of Toyota and tell them what they want to do and enforce it, they'll be the first sanctioning body that ever did that,"said Roush, whose team runs Fords in all three NASCAR series.

Gelicas on Route 66 are one thing, and Tundras in Craftsman Trucks another. But not everyone loves the idea of Toyotas in the Daytona 500 "I'll watch with some interest, I'd like to say from a safe distance, but my distance is not far enough to be safe."

Toyota did not get much more support from the Dodge side of the fence, "i'm concerned,"said team owner Ray Evernham."But NASCAR has to make sure that they keep a handle on it because, if(Toyota) has got a billion dollars to spend,they're going to wipe us out.

"If you can still win a championship on 20 million [dollars] and somebody else is spending 50 [million], it doesn't matter. But, if it takes 50[million] to win a championship, you're done. So, NASCAR, more than ever, has to police things.There's a lot of work to do on the competition side."

Some of the concerns of the'American'teams come from the model that Toyota has followed in its Craftsman Truck program.Toyota has developed the cars, including pushrod V8 engines(which Toyota does not manufacture for its road cars) and'customer'teams have run them in the events.

Toyota spokesman Dave illingworth said that will not be the case in Cup and Busch.

"There will be no Toyota branded teams or cars," he said."Teams will bring their own sponsorship and we will provide only technical support, much as the other manufacturers in those series have done in the past."

And, it must be said, after 24 years of racing in the United States, it is a little late in the day to be worried whether the maker is good for the sport or not.

For the record, around 65 percent of the cars Toyota sells in the USA are manufactured in the USA,and when the national dealer network is included in the total, more than 100,000 people in the USA are employed by the auto maker. Its Tundra truck, which has featured in the Craftsman series, and the Camry, which will be the base of the Nextel Cup and Busch programs, is built in Fiuntsville Kentucky, though sales growth with both models has prompted the fast-tracking of a new Tundra facility in San Antonio,Texas.

Last year the company announced plans to spend almost US$370m on expansion of its West Virginia and Alabama plants. In 2005, it sold 2.26m vehicles in the USA,a gain of 10 percent over 2003 - at a time when the auto divisions of US-owned General Motors and Ford are facing massive financial losses.

The fear of everyone else in the sport is that Toyota will come in,spend huge, win everything and then pack up and go home, leaving only scorched earth in its wake. In Formula 1 and IndyCars, it has spent big and the rewards have been modest. NASCAR will, no doubt, be vigilant that Toyota does not financially overwhelm the opposition the Nextel Cup. But, whether on the racetracks or main streets of America,Toyota is not going away anytime soon. Perhaps Greg Biffle, runner-up to 2005 Cup champion Tony Stewart[and who drives for Roush], has the right approach; "It doesn't bother me any," he said."It's free enterprise. C'mon, bring your best stuff."

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ALL HAIL KING KRAIG

MOTORSPORT NEWS: How did the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series testing go at Daytona?

KRAIG KINSER: Oh, Daytona's fine.

It's a big track so it's easy to do one single car run, because there are only two cars out on the track and you are not even close to each other.

So it was pretty easy on the single runs, pretty quick. We weren't the quickest car out there, but we were pretty quick. I was happy when I got in the draft and felt real good in the draft. We have got a long way to go before Daytona, but I'm definitely starting off well.

Over the past few seasons,the Busch Series has been the place where the young guys have gone to learn NASCAR, but this year they have ail joined the Truck Series. Why is that?

Definitely,they try to give people as much experience as possible before they get into Cup.So the Truck Series is one of the deals they push now and you can tell that by all the rookies they have in there this year.Twelve rookies and eight of them are connected to big Nextel Cup teams.

So you know you will have strong competition this year because you are against a lot of good Trucks and good drivers. So it's certainly turned into the place the NASCAR teams are sending their'drivers of tomorrow'.

So how has Truck gained preference over Busch now for young talent? Are the Buschwackers stealing all the good seats in Busch?

It's that a little bit, but one of the main reasons is that a lot of these young racers are being prepared on two-year deals, and two years down the road NASCAR will be coming out with the new car, called the Car ofTomorrow.

It's a little more boxey, a little more like a Truck than what the current Busch and Cup cars are like. They are just trying to make the cars a little more boxey and just slow them down a little and raise them up a little bit and they will be somewhat similar to a Truck.

So everyone is trying to get their young drivers into theTruck series just so they get that bit of feel of what it's going to be like in a couple of years.

Last year when I spoke to your father, he said he let you make your own career decisions. You now have a Driver Development deal with a Cup team(MB2

50

moiorsportnews

feature After winning the biggest race in Sprintcars in 2005, Krciig Kinser has completely emerged from the shadow of his legendary father. CHRIS JORDAN spoke to him about his move to NASCAR in 2006

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Look out Marcos:Although still 20, Kinser has clearance to run on the superspeedways, testing above at Daytona two weeks ago. He thenjumped on a plane tojoin his legendary father Steve in racing in Australia, left.

Motorsport) and a full season in the Truck Series (with MorganDollar Motorsport).You must make some pretty good decisions.

I actually had the deal pretty much done in the first quarter of last year, so we went through the rest of last year knowing that it could probably be my last year in full-time in Sprintcars. 1 definitely tried to make the best of it and definitely had a good season.

Last year your entire program seemed to be geared towards doing a NASCAR program in 2006, with the races you did in ARCA Re/Max Stock Car Series and the USAC Silver Crown Series, on top of the World of Outlaws.

Yes, most of the ARCA stuff was just to get clearance for the bigger tracks like Daytona. So the ARCA races were just trying to do enough to get a licence [for the superspeedways] and we did that and got our licence,so we are ready for Daytona.

You drove in all those varieties of speedway last year and have now tested Truck. What is the best car to drive?

Oh definitely the Sprintcar, by far!

I have so much respect for anyone who gets in a Sprintcar and there is just nothing like them in the world. 800-plus horsepower in a 1200 pound car, it's just... quite a ride.

A question you have no doubt

1 February 2006

been asked a thousand times, but does your life change after you win the Knoxville Nationals?

It definitely opened a whole new chapter in my book ... I mean,it hasn't really even sunk in yet. I'm still so happy and elated and it hasn't sunk in yet and it probably won't for a little while longer.

I still feel the itch and I still smile when fans or family bring it up. It is an awesome feeling and I just can't describe it.

We have actually had our team meetings and we have never set any total goals yet. But I'm definitely sure that we are looking to be the Rookie of the Year and looking to do much more than that as well and to have a pretty good year.

Have you heard of Australia's Marcos Ambrose? He wili also be a rookie in Truck this year...

I've heard of him, but I haven't had

"I Still feel the itch and l still smile when fans or family bring it up ... I can't describe it" - Kinser on his Knoxville Nationals win

Will you be able to defend the Knoxville title this August?

I think they are going to fly me back and forth. I have a Truck race that week so I think they are going to try and fly me back and forth so I can race.

Will you get to do any other Sprintcar racing this season?

I'll definitely get in a bit of Sprintcar racing, but not a whole season, or not even half a season.

But I will still be out there as much as I can and when I get an open weekend. I'll be there(ED:on the National Sprint Tour).

Have you set yourself any goals forTruck series this year?

the pleasure of meeting him yet.

He is one of that elite rookie type that we are going to have a lot of fun racing against.

Could you explain how NASCAR establishes who has earned a superspeedway licence, because Ambrose did not get one?

It's kinda ... look, it was a new deal to me too. Everything you do is (considered)for the clearance. I raced a small series last year in the ARCA Re/Max Series atTalledega (ED: where Kinser won in only his second ARCA race)just to get my licence for Daytona come February.

Last year we knew that if we were going to do a full Truck

season, we would have to do it just to get our clearance for Daytona. A lot of other rookies did it too but like you said there is a couple of them who ...well, out of the 12 rookies, there are only four or five of us who are actually racing at Daytona.

It's hard to look six months in advance into the next year and plan what you are doing. It [racing in ARCA] was just a task I guess, like taking a precaution, and you've got to take precautions when you have got to get clearances.

It's not a final thing, like'you can't do that', but it's just'not yet'.

I don't know what the reason behind the whole deal is, but I just know that they got one.

Your Dad is such a legendary figure and it always amazes me how people react when they meet him. Little children all the way up to grown men are awestruck and practically speechless when they meet him and shake his hand. How do you feel about that being his son when you see that?

I'm probably a bit used to it by now. It is real neat to have a Dad just like him with all that he has accomplished.

So I guess now that your own career is taking off you can try and set some of your own records.

Yeah, but no one will ever touch his records! Hopefully I can ... make a name for myself.

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HE Best Superbike Racer in the World looked weary.

Three days into a four-day test, many laps have been completed, most of them under the lap record. His Suzuki GSXR-1000 has been running like a train as item after item is checked off the to-do list. This test is paying dividends.

Time for a chat and I have to make sure I am up to speed, so out come the cheat notes and riders'biographies.

Born in the early 1970s in New South Wales. In the late '80s, started to make an impression in local production races before stepping into the international arena. A short and relatively frustrating GP career, with a team not ready to race rather than just appear, resulted in a career move to Superbikes. First international success came onboard a Ducati, before the rest of the grid was put on notice that this Aussie was going to be a contender. Come 2005, a careerbest season with a team that knew how to win.The result was a large'!'on the nose and this test was all about making sure it stayed there.

My only problem was this; was the best in the world the guy on the left or the guy on the right?

Troy Corser and Mat Mladin rarely appear in public together,so it is easy to get confused. Corser,the defending and two-time World Superbike Champion, is from Wollongong, races for Alstare Suzuki and lives in Europe. Mladin is a year younger than Corser, hails from Camden and makes his home in Henderson, Nevada.With his worksbacked Yoshimura Suzuki team, he was not only won the AMA title six times, he ha5 done so within seven years.

With one racing in the USA and the other not,the chance to get them together at a four-day test at Phillip Island was irresistible. We are not going to see the two face off on the racetrack, so this would have to do.

"When I was coming to this test, I read some stuff about,'It will be really good to see how Mladin goes against Corser"' said Mladin.

"You can't compare;their bikes are a little bit different to ours,the tyres are obviously very different and,to be honest, what Troy does does not interest me one bit. I am not racing Troy and I am sure he feels the same. He has a World Championship to try and win, I have an American Championship to try and win.

Our things are so different."

There are differences.The Suzukis

are similar, not identical, with Corser's Corona bike a little more'powered' than Mladin's.The Alstare bike has mega-expensive Mitsubishi electronics, including 'anti-spin'(that's traction control to you and me)while Mladin uses Australian MoTeC gear.

The biggest difference though is the rubber. In the SBK,all teams use Pirelli's control tyres, though there are several different variations available (and that is what this test was largely about). On the other hand, Mladin has free reign within Dunlop's warehouse and can even run the same tyres as the MotoGP teams. In fact, his fastest lap of the test was set on"' the same spec tyre as used by Roberto Rolfo at the PI GP last October.

"We know what they use, they probably know what we use,"added Mladin."The tyres are so different, so the settings thatTroy uses, I would not be able to use.The same goes back across [the other way] but there is some stuff that comes in handy during the season."

A potential double-edged sword for both men is that Suzuki is a year'out of step'with the other Japanese makers.

The firm's 2006 K6 model is a cosmetic revision of the successful K5, but Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha all have newfrom-the-ground-up 1000s ready to fight for the title. Not to mention Ducati, which has new riders (including former champion Troy Bayliss) on its 999s.

Corser does not see that as a problem; "We had a brand new bike last year and we got it to win the first race of the year.There's other teams in the paddock who probably have the equipment to win but probably do not have the feeling inside the team,the kinship, to do that on the track."

"Suzuki has worked hard in the off season,"echoes Mladin,"we are certainly not going to do anything to not make the motorcycle c ompetitive,that is for sure.

"When I saw how Troy was going in the world championship,that was really satisfying for us in America, because we had done a lot of the development on the bike over the years. When he got on it and went so well, started winning races, everyone in America was happy with that. When someone can get on a bike, even if it is set-up totally different, obviously there is a good platform there."

So, with the #1 s safely secured to the nose of the bikes, what will change this season? continued on page 54

When I saw how Troy was going in the world championship, that was really satisfying for us in America, because we had done a lot of the development on the bike over the years - Mladin

53

continued from page S3 "It is no different,"says Corser. "i am not going to defend the title, I am going out there to win in again. It is a new year, the number that I have is the number

It's Just a number

w

NILE Corser and Mladin rarely cross paths these days, once upon a time, one race used to brings the titans of the sport to one eventthe Daytona 200.

In days gone by, American champions like Kenny Roberts would take on Europe's best, like Johnny Cecotto, with wildcards thrown in, like Australia's Gregg Hansford,for a thrilling 200-mile crapshoot around the banking and through the infield of the famed Florida track.

Now, with the performance developments even in street bikes, the race has been deemed too demanding for Superbikes.This year, the 200 will be raced on 600cc Formula Extreme machines - and Mladin will not be racing.

"I think it was a great race many years ago," he laments.

"The Europeans used to come across and it used to be,almost,a one-off world championship. I am not a fan of the place at all; you are doing 320kmh on the banking on Superbikes and against a concrete wall on a 31-degree banking. It's not fun.

"Fortunately for us, the mini bikes are now the main race and we only have to do 19 laps on a shortened racetrack. Safety-wise, that makes life a little bit easier for us, that is for sure. Mark it as oneup for us, it is not disappointing for me. I treat is as testing now, I look forward to the end of April when the real racing starts on the real racetracks.

"Manufacturers pay a lot of importance on it, it doesn't make any difference to me. I have won four or five of them already.

Daytona used to be a big race but I do not think that its holds as much importance any more."

54

I won last year. You still have to go out and win races. You cannot look at what you have done in the past and think that you are going to defend it. There are new riders, and a few unknowns, really, so it is no different to last year. I do not change the way I ride whether I have number 11 on the bike or number one."

Mat takes up the theme; "You are only as good as your last race.That is an old cliche but it's true. When I go out there,everyone forgets about the six AMA Championships fairly quickly.The same for Troy. He won the title in '96 and if things do not go well, that gets forgotten fairly quickly. You have to back it up. You have to win in this game to get paid and be happy."

So, is there any chance of the two men facing off on the racetrack?

"Mat enjoys the American lifestyle and for me, it is the same in Europe,"says Corser."My wife is English and we hang out

with her family. Racing is racing.

Whether it is America or the World Championship,it makes no difference.

"Mat has been extremely dominant and I do not think that he will be beaten ever, to be honest. It will be a long time before someone holds that

My goal is to win the most world champlonshliis, Carl Fogarty holds that now and I want to beat it - Corser record for that amount of time.

My goal is to win the most world championships, Carl Fogarty holds that now and I want to beat it."

Mladin agrees; "I am 34 next month so I am not going to pack up and head to Europejustforthefun of it. We have a life in America, we have a two-and-a-half year-old child now and to go over there and race in Europe would be fun. But

it is not something that I need to do to be satisfied with my career, that is for sure.

"I do a lot of things that living in America allows me to do, with business and other things. I am not just involved with motorcycle racing any more,there are other things that go with it."

And that is, perhaps,the biggest difference between the two. Corser is the classic gun-forhire, bringing his speed to the team he judges to be the best for his career. On the other hand, Mladin has long-term links to his supporters; in a Jason Brightlike set-up, he runs his own team.

Mat Mladin Motorsports, which prepares a GSX1000 for former Aussie Superbike champion Marty Craggill. And Mat is not just sponsored by Yoshimura and Joe Rocket, he /s Yoshimura and Joe Rocket in this part of the world,through his Mat Mladin Imports business.

So,sadly, we will have to satisfy ourselves with the fact that the two best Superbike racers in the world will continue to race in separate series. Corser will not race in the USA series and Mladin is no starter in the SBK. Never the twain shall meet.

Except, guys,there is this race in Japan, at Suzuka, and it lasts for eight hours, and ...

Accustomed to success: Mladin,above,and Corser both did their share of winning in 2005 and look to be, at the very worst, co-favourites to win their respective crowns again.

motorsportnews

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IT was a case study of how cruel the media can be.

Here we were, at Phillip Island, and all the motorcycle media cared was, if Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa were going to race Superbikes in 2005.The World Champion was clear on his thoughts; "I do not care if they come or not,' said Corser.

"In their mind they might not be happy with it because they have come from that they think is the best championship in the world and Superbikes suck - ask any GP rider! Now,they are looking for a job and they think it's the best championship in the world.

"For me,they are not coming here because they want to win a world championship,they are Just looking for a ride next year.

If that is the case, so be it. But it really changes my approach to the championship ... it's no different.

It's another two bikes out on the grid.

'There has been some talk that Biaggi may be in our box. He may be on a Suzuki but he will not 1 February 2006

be in our pit box,that's for sure.

It doesn't worry me, he is Just another person on the track and someone else who will be behind me.

"For the championship and for that side of things, it will create a bit more interest. It is not going to be any bigger Just because Biaggi and Barros are coming to the championship. Maybe for the press to write stuff, to word it up. But I do not think that 5000, 10,000 more people will come to the races because those two riders are coming.

"We will see what happens. It has all been stories and speculation.

I am pretty happy with how the team structure works, me and Kagayama work fantastic together.

If we want to share information, we can, if we don't, we don't. It would Just throw a spanner in the works if you brought in someone different. At the moment,we are ready to race, right now,and it would be a shame to lose that feeling Just to bring in a top-level rider."

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DUTCH(

WHILE the champagne corks were popping in the Team Netherlands garage, A1 Team Australia again had its tail between its legs after the latest A1 GP round at Durban In South Africa last weekend.

THE GANASSI ALL-STARS CHIP Ganassi Racing won the Rolex Da)«tona 24 Hour last Sunday with a combination of its IRL and NASCAR drivers.

New ireeruiit Dan Wheldon joined Scott Dixon and Nextel Cup driver Casey IVlears in ' holding ion through a battle of attrition, with their own team changing gear sets and an alternator during a. night-time cautioni(and:losingi three laps in the process):to bounce back i and take the win ini 734 laps in their Lexus(ToyotaJ^powered Riley chassis, abo.we. , Taking second-place one lap down was the similar car fielded by IVlichael’Shank Racing for AJ^ Almendinger, i Oswaid'o Negri, Mark Patterson and Justin Wilson, while third n was the Alex Job-ownedi Porsche-powered Crawford Chassis of polesitter Lucas Luhr who,along with Patrick Long and Mike Rockenfeller, went into the event as favourites.

Unfortunately for the Job ear's maiden outing it suffered a broken CV joint boot while leading, dropping it to 36th position and eight laps down.

It battled back to regal n the lead in the ea rly hours of the morning^ only and battled back from 36th position eight laps down to lead again in the early :hourS( only for the CV joint itself to break at 6:2Sam.The car was three laps down at the finish due to cooling: problems, butlandi ng the final step of the podium was still a great achievement.

The Cheever-entered Lexus 56

Jos Verstappen put the Dutch into party mode following an exuberant display of overtaking to take the feature race win,and climb to the top step of the podium for the first time since 1992.Verstappen started the race from 16th on’the grid in a car featuring a nosecone borrowed from Team India after a skirmish in the Sprint race, and took the win with a heroic last-lap move on Switzerland's Neel Jani.

"I'm extremely happy with this," Verstappen said.

"The sprint race went wrong, but this victory makes up for all that."

Verstappen also very nearly won the Sprint race, but it all ended in tears with a misjudged passing attempt on Alexander Premat ofTeam France on the final lap. Premat went on to take the win.

"There was an opportunity and I had to take the chance," Verstappen said."Afterwards I was not happy that I did this."

France's run of luck finally came to an end when the team was given a 25s penalty after the race for pitting during a Safety Car period, leaving Jani in second place ahead of Portugal's Alvaro Parente.

Australia had a shocker. After topping the timesheets in Friday practice, Will Davison crashed the car early on Saturday,causing front-end damage to the car and sustaining an injury to his arm.The team finished qualifying in 17th, but recovered to ninth in the Sprint race with the help of a high attrition rate. Unfortunately, that was as good as things got Davison was wiped out by Team USA's Phil Giebler on the second lap.

"That was really disappointing," Davison said. "I was trying to stay out of trouble and gave him room to get by me,so to betaken out like that seems so pointless."

The A1 GP series continues in two weeks with the rescheduled Indonesian race at Sentul.

Points: France 119, Switzerland 92, Brazil 63,Great Britain 58, New Zealand 54, Portugal 50, Ireland 44, Netherlands 44, Malaysia 33,Canada 32,Czech Republic 30, Australia 29.

Crawford driven by Eddie Cheever, Christian Fittipaldi and Patrick Carpentier looked to be the car to beat through the late night and into the early hours of the morning but it fell out with engine problems with two hours to go,while the sister Ganassi car also fell foul to mechanical gremlins overnight.

Dixon received a penalty late in the race when he spun the then-third placed Brumos FabCar Porsche with 23 minutes remaining.The limping Darren Law in the Brumos car was running slow at the time and after the contact blew a tyre thanks to some errant bodywork, giving up third place to the Job entry.

Last year's winner Emmanuel Collard, driving with Ryan Briscoe (pictured), Max Angelelli and Wayne Taylor in the Pontiac Riley, was parked with heavy front-end damage after Collard was unable to avoid a spinning BMW M3 GT entrant.

- MARTIN D CLARK

_ 5Utton-images.com

A long plane ride for nothing: Team USA's Phil Giebler tries an overtaking move on Australia's Will Davison and gets it all wrong, above,leaving our man on the sidelines. left.

The Boss is back: Last time Jos, right, had this view from the podium, Nigel Mansell was winning the world championship...

motorsportnews

7-

OURAGE

I

Visit our park - it’s unlimited in here!

I

MAST AT WO

UA, 20I

In March Australia’s ILst tarmac rally driving team will be crowned “The Masters when Calder Park hosts Rally Masters - a challenging, action-packed tarmac rally staged entirely within the grounds of Calder Park.

To win the title, crews will have to master a range of demanding auto tests, including circuit sprints, drag racing, motorkhanas and go-to-whoas held on the iconic National Circuit, the daunting high-banked Thunderdome superspeedway, drag strip and courses set on other paved areas of the complex.

/orld ‘

As an added challenge, Calder Park will reopen the awesome Grand Prix Circuit - a combination of the National Circuit and Thunderdome - the same track that hosted a round of the 1987 World Touring Car Championship!

calder

R A L LY Come and experience all the fun, friendship and camaraderie of the glory years of motorsport at Calder Park!

March 11-12, 2006

For further details, entry forms and jB supplementary regs Ph:03 9217 8800 emaft ceast ©bobjane.com.au or visit-

tm-'

caliJerparkmatarspart.cam.au

1 February 2006

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ARCUS Gronholm may have cruised to an easy win on the opening rally of the 2006 World Championship, but reigning Champ Sebastien Loeb served notice that he would still be a force, despite being in a 'privateer' car.

Loeb took second to Gronholm by a shade over one minute, but had it not been for a crash on the first day,the Frenchman would have won by over four minutes.

The results served to prove what a lottery the Monte Carlo can be, but also again underlined the huge potential of Chris Atkinson, who was as high as second at the end of Day 1 before eventually taking sixth in his first tilt at the event.

It was a Monte that rewarded a conservative approach, with Gronholm admitting that at times he felt as though he was"driving like a grandmother".

Fiowever,the Finn's steady approach gave his new team victory in only the second outing for the new Focus and the first Ford WRC win since Catalunya in 2004.

Some might argue that Atkinson played it too safe and may have been able to finish higher, but for the Australian to claim sixth directly behind his tarmac specialist team-mate.

Frenchman Stephane Sarrazin, 58

will be an enormous boost to the Australian, particularly since his senior team-mate Petter Solberg failed to make it home at all.

For Gronholm, winning was a massive reward for his switch to the Blue Oval after a couple of enormously frustrating seasons at Peugeot.The 37-year-old proved he is still capable of matching it with the young guns like Loeb and Solberg, and now he has a car that will enable him to compete on equal terms. It was the Finn's first-ever WRC win on tarmac.

"This is the best feeling,"said Gronholm.

"I had a good lead and didn't need to get involved in a massive fight. It is fantastic to score so well on the first rally, and I'm really looking forward to driving on the snow in Sweden on the next round.

"It was not all smooth running.

We had some worries - a spin on Day 1 and then 1 had a vibration in the car and also some smoke in the cabin on the last day,so I was really afraid we might not make it.

But we are here, and very happy."

The Finn had a comfortable 2m05s buffer heading into the final leg, and took it easy over the last three stages to claim a 1 mOI s victory.

The final day may have been a doddle for the Ford driver, but it was a fight all the way for Loeb,

who ran down former Ford driver Toni Gardemeister for the second step of the podium on the very last stage of the rally over the infamous Col deTurini.

Loeb's problems started when he fired off the road on the very last stage of the opening leg.The off put the Kronos car out of the rally and left it stuck fast in the snow. Fiowever,the Super Rally rules enabled the Frenchman to restart with a five minute penalty on Day 2 and fight back from eighth at the end of the first overnight halt.

"I just got caught out,"said Loeb. "in the morning the studs gave us a certain amount of safety, but in the afternoon it was even more important to be aware of the amount of grip on each corner.

"I can honestly say that from the inside of the car this rally turned into a thrilling chase, and it showed us that our Xsara can more than stand up to the opposition, it's a very good sign for the future."

Loeb started the final stage overTurini just 6.2s behind Gardemeister, but ripped 27.5s out of him to claim second.

Gardemeister's team-mate Manfred Stohl took a huge gamble on the final day, running slicks while his opponents went for studded winter tyres.The Austrian was able to claim the first

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two stages of the day and close to within 20s of the other Peugeot.

The gamble very nearly paid offthe slicks were the right choice but it was too soft a compound, with a puncture costing him over the last few kilometres of the rally.

Fourth was still a fair reward.

Sarrazin station and in fifth Atkinson and sixth held on the final leg, despite both of them continuing to push hard throughout the final day. Sarrazin was nominated for points but Atkinson,the Monte virgin, was not and delivered no points for the manufacturer.

Atkinson's performance on the opening day had tongues wagging in the service park, with the young Aussie again astounding onlookers with his fearless performance.

"On the opening day we stuck exactly to our pre-event plan, we didn't any risks and ended up in second which was something we weren't really planning on,"said Atkinson.

"On the second day we had a few slow spins in the morning, and then we were massively too cautious on theTurini in the afternoon. I'd never done that stage before and everyone was warning us about how tricky it was. I took it too carefully and threw away some time.

motorsponnews

world rally

FOCUS

^ RALLY MONTE CARLO ●V

A i.

When is a privateer not a privateer? When it's a Kronos.

Marcus Cronholm drew first WRC blood at Monte Carlo, but Sebastien Loeb's Citroen was again going like a meteor.

JON THOMSON reports

Pos Driver

Nat Car/Time

1. Marcus Gronholm Fin Ford Focus RS Timo Rautiainen

Fin 4h11m43.9s

2. Sebastien Loeb

Fra Citroen Xsara

Daniel Elena

Mon 4h12m45.7s

3. Toni Gardemeister Fin Peugeot 307 Fin 4h13m.07.0s_ Aut Peugeot 307

Ilka Minor

Aut 4h13m26.2s

S. Stephane Sarrazin Fra ImprezaWRCOO

r

Stephane Prevot

%

"We didn't get any points until New Zealand last year, so to start the season with a few points is great."

For Solberg, the rally provided the sort of bad luck he had grown accustomed to in 2005.

He chose the wrong tyres on the opening stages and dropped to seventh before an oil leak caused irreparable damage to his engine on the last stage of the opening leg. The problem ended the 2003

Jakki Honkanen 4. Manfred Stohl

6. Chris Atkinson

and Xavier Pons in ninth.

Gigi Gain's run in the privateer Mitsubishi met with a premature end when he broke a steering arm on a rock after just four stages.

With Europe's freezing winter continuing to blast the continent, the WRC circus moves to Sweden on the first weekend in February, where the battle is sure to be heated despite the frigid conditions.

champ's point-scoring hopes.

Gronholm's Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen took seventh on the final day after a battle with Red Bull Skoda driver Gilles Panizzi.The Frenchman spun and tore the left-rear wheel from his car on the final day, completing the stage on three wheels. He eventually finished 10th behind two of the Kronos-run Citroens of Spaniards Dani Sordo in eighth

Fra 4h15m04.1s Aus Inrpreza WRCOS

Glenn Macneall

Aus 4h16m46.3s

7. MIkko Hirvonen

Fin Ford Focus RS

Janne Leht[p,en 8. Daniel Sordo

Fin 4h18m03.4s E Citroen Xsara

Marc Marti

E

4h18m59.1s

Drivers' Points: Gronholm 10, Loeb 8, Gardemeister 6, Stohl 5, Sarrazin 4, Atkinson 3, Hirvonen 2, Sordo 1.

Manufacturers'Points: Ford 14, Citroen 10, Peugeot 6, Subaru 5, Skoda 3

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1

Putting the Super in Saloons THE Saloon Car circus will travel In style In 2006,thanks to a new V8 Supercar-styie transporter.

TheTASCCO truck will go to every round and offers competitors and sponsors a comfortable meeting room complete with office, chairs, couch and kitchen facilities.

"You can live In It!" series administrator Les Morrall exclaimed.

The TASCCO truck Is the ex-David Gittus transporter.

Twenty four new Commdore VTs and Falcon AUs will line up In the National Saloon Car Championship by the end of 2006, while a handful of others will run their older cars until the new specification cars are ready.

Round 1 of the series Is at Wakefield Park on March 3-S. Motorsport News is saddened to report the passing of Alan Conynhgam.

Conynhgam passed away recently after a long and gallant battle against cancer. The popular New South Welshman predominately raced at the NSW state level, winning the 1987 NSW Sports Car Championship. He was 60 years old.

Negotiations between various Australian motor racing classes and television networks has seen some great packages confirmed.

The Nine Network will broadcast selected categories of the CAMS Series.

Extended airtime will also be be shown on SBS's Speedweek and Foxtel's Inside Speed, as well as in New Zealand, Asia and a new sport program in Europe.

AMRS categories Formula 4000 and the Touring Car Challenge also have television support on Speedweek and Foxtel. iTasman Motorsport will again give a young driver an opportunity to test one of its Holden Commodores at the end of the season.

After being involved in the'Search for a V8 Superstar'competition held in association with the New South Wales Formula Ford Series In 2005,this year, Tasman will offer the test to a Formula 4000 driver who has shown the speed and promise in the single seater class.

"Obviously I have a previous involvement with running cars in the category and I still firmly believe they are an ideal basis for developing the skills needed in V8 Supercars,"said Tasman Motorsport Managing Director Kevin Murphy.

m

din AUSSIES SET TO ENTER NEW SEASON WITH NEW, EXOTIC EQUIPMENT OUTMP

grant rowley FORMER Calder Park Thunderdome racer Ken James will drive a Corvette C5 in the 2006 Australian GT Championship.

The former Superspeedway race winner's Corvette entry is one of many new cars set to contest the second year of the Aussie GT series, which also incorporates the Porsche Driver's Challenge.

James has had the car for a number of months,[similar to the car picture main above],and has been completing upgrades, which will see it race in C6R GTS specifications, replicating the Le Mans entry with a yellow paint scheme.

The Corvette will be hardpressed to be the best American representative in the series though, as the Chrysler Vipers will be difficult to beat.

Final round winner Greg Crick and 2005 race winner D'Arcy Russell have both confirmed their entries in the VI 0-powered

V"'ii

I 1

American muscle cars. Rusty French is another likely Viper entry.

JohnTeulan and David Stevens will drive Ferrari's new F430 Challenge model,pictured above.

The F430 is a potent evolution of the long-running Ferrari 360 model that has been a mainstay on the local scene in recent times.

Teulan is confident the car can be ready for the Round 2 of the series.

2005 Ferrari driver Neil Bryson will implement a new engine and aero package in his existing F360 Challenge. Also set to race again is Ted Huglin in his 360 GT. The Porsche ranks are again expected to swell thanks to the recent eligibility of the 2004-

specification Porsche GTS Cup,as raced in the 2005 Carrera Cup. John Kaias, James Koundouris, MaxTwigg, PaulTressider, Ross Lilley and Claude Giorgi have joined the Cup Car squad set to challenge for outright victory in the series.

Meanwhile, Lamborghini continues to look at the possibility of racing the Gallardo in 2006.

Already showing impressive promise in Europe and the United States, a GT3-specification Gallardo would be the ideal weapon forTeam Lamborghini to use when the Australian GT Championship kicks off at Wakefield Park on March 5.

motorsport news

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national

FIVE BELOW NINE Jim Richards and Barry Oliver dusted the opposition in last weekend's Mount Buller Sprint TARMAC rally specialists Jim Richards and Barry Oliver convincingly won their secondsuccessive Porsche Mt.Buller Sprint ahead of 128 competitors last weekend at the rural Victorian location.

Aboard their trusty 2004 Porsche 911 GT2, Richards and Oliver were the fastest on each of the seven 16km stages held over the three day meeting. On five of the stages, Richards drove the car u nder the nine minute mark. Only Rex Broadbentand Chris Randall in a 2004 Daytona Coupe were able to complete one run under nine minutes.

Richards's fastest run was his third on Saturday when he posted an 8m45.90s -just 0.4s outside his course record of 8.45.S0S he set in 2005.

'We had a trouble-free run but we could never relax with Tony(Quinn)and Dean (Herridge) pushing hard' behind us on every stage," Richards said.

Queensland's Quinn and Keith Wenn in their 2001

Porsche 911 Turbo were second,finishing some 76.4s behind Richards/Oliver on the aggregate of all seven runs.

Australian Rally Championship runners-up. Dean Herridge and Bill Hayes were third in the factoryentered 2004 Subaru Impreza in an impressive tarmac rally debut,just ahead of the Skelta G-Force sports car of Ray Vandersee and Anthony McLoughlin.

Victoria's Jeff Beaumont and Jenny Cole took fifth place in their 2000 model Mitsubishi Evo 6, while Kevin Weeks and Bee Crunkhorn scythed through the field in the final runs to bring their VI0 Lamborghini Gailairdo home sixth,just 7.5s ahead of the identical Gallardo ofTasmania's Jason and John White.

The eighth and final dosed road Special Stage was cancelled on Sunday morning after an unrelated medical incident on the Mountain involving a spectator required an ambulance to enter the course. halting competition.

lb

Sights at the Mount: Below, Quinn,the Whites and Herridge were cheered on by the 'patriotic locals, above.

WHERE THERE'S A WILLIAMS. THERE'S A WAY Aussie Racer one day, CAMS Rising Star the next. GRANT ROWLEY^oke to Jake Williams aboutPeppingfrom ARC into the nextphase ofhis career

J

AKE Williams has taken an unconventional route to his open-wheel motor racing career.

After starting karting at the relatively old age of 12, Williams won numerous titles before retiring from the sport at 16 years old. In the last portion of his karting career, Williams'linked up with renowned talent-spotter Jim Morton, which became the catalyst for Williams entry in the Aussie Racing Car series.

With zero circuit racing experience, Williams was thrust into the tight and testing Aussie Racing leagues. He learnt the unique cars at his own pace, which was enough to be invited into the CAMS Rising Stars program. Now in its third year,the CAMS program harnesses and hones the skills of wanna-be open-wheel race car drivers.

This year, Williams will compete under the Rising Star banner in the Victorian State Formula Ford Championship with Borland Racing. It's new territory for Williams, but one which he wi relish.

"It was an honour to be picked out of some of the best young drivers in Australia,"Williams said.

'I was very happy to be picked as one of the CAMS Rising Stars.

"The program basically smooths the path to an open-wheel career overseas. CAMS is trying to help young Australians and turn them into Formula 1 drivers. You have to set yourself high standards and Formula 1 is what I'd like to do.

"My goal is to race openwheelers.That's the path I want to take and I consider the step from Aussie Racing Cars to Formula Ford as a leap forward."

Williams admits that it was difficult to get the Aussie Racer to the front of the field, but the tuition it gave him is invaluable.

"The series was a benefit,for sure," he said."The cars are hard to drive and are so much different to any other race car. I had to get used to driving a car with no grip.They aren't out of control, but they are on the edge and you have to drive them on the edge.

m

Experience with age: Williams had this tangle with a Sonic entry in the A1 Grand Prix support races at Eastern Creek in November.

To find it, you have to push the limit.

'We got a few top 10 finishes at the end of the year and I was happy with that in my first year.

It's cheap to run and it was good experience on the big tracks. It was a good stepping stone for me.

"Also, having the atmosphere of the racing at the big tracks in front of the big crowds was good."

For 2006,the Aussie will be replaced with a Formula Ford, and Williams only has eyes for the top prize.

"My aim is to win the Victorian Series. We are looking for some extra support to contest the whole

NSW state series as well. We are just taking things step by step at the moment. I'd like to do the National Formula Ford title next year, but we'll Just see what comes of this year first."

Before the racing season kicks off, Jake has kept himself busy by helping his Dad's painting business, and putting himself through training that would be on par with some of the Commonwealth Games athletes.

"I train five days a week," he boasted."! run four days a week, at about 7-8km per run. I also do weights four or five times a week.

It's a hard schedule."

"/l/ly goal is to race openwheelers. That's the path I want to take" -Jake Williams

national

GARRY’S GUY Nick Simmows is one of three fuil-time Canry Rogers A/lotorsport drivers. CHRIS JORDAN reports MOTORSPORT NEWS:You recently tested a GRM VS Supercar. How did the test go?

NICK SIMMONS: It went well. I did three sessions and got 20 laps in the dry and at the end of the day I had 10 laps in the wet.

It is all good experience for me. Garry seemed to think I went alright and it was my first time at Winton,so I came away pleased.

The power was good to feel and the gearbox was the hardest aspect of the car to get used to over the day. I came good with the gears as the laps went on and in the wet it actually had a fair bit of grip which surprised me, but with the power it had a bit of wheelspin.

When you decided on running Aussie Racing Cars, was the link to a V8 Supercar team something that enticed you to the class?

I was looking at doing either Midgets (Speedcars) in speedway or something in circuit racing, but when I looked at Aussie Racing Cars and the GRM link with the test drive was offered, I grabbed it, mainly for that reason.

I've always wanted to do circuit racing and my karting was done in sprint karts on

bitumen. I was just looking at all my options for 2005, because you want to see what's available to you.

I want to make my way up through the categories and get to the higher categories and hopefully get to main series V8 Supercars, so circuit racing is where I am.

The Aussie Racing Cars is a very competitive class and has a lot of guys who are almost specialists, having done it for several seasons how. Did you expect to get a round win in your first year?

After the first round in Adelaide, I knew it was going to be hard and the racing was tough, but as the year went on I got used to the car and the way it handled, and the improvement showed when I won the final round at Symmons Plains.

So the goal now is to always to be competitive and at the front right from the start.

Hopefully I can start this year the way I ended last year and win the championship.

So the 2006 goal is to win the Aussie Racing Car title. Where would you like your career to go beyond that in 2007?

<4

Wm/HBMO.

If all goes well, probably the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series is the goal. I've always loved circuit racing, but I keep all my options in my head. I want a career in motorsport and for that to happen you have to always be looking for the best option to get to the top level. If you're in speedway,that's Sprintcars and in circuit racing in Australia,that's V8 Supercars.

You will keep the link with GRM this year by driving the Valvoline Commodore in Aussie Racing Cars. Is it important to keep that link strong as you look to V8s?

Yes, definitely. The deal I have got gives me the opportunity to get known and to hopefully this year win the championship.

When I was racing karts, I always wanted to do Formula Ford, but when I actually got to the stage of looking at what to drive,the GRM deal was too god to refuse with Aussie Racing Cars.

My car was at the V8 Supercar Series launch last year in Homebush and I make sure that I go and say hello to Garry and the team at all the V8 Supercar rounds. Garry is actually really good as well and comes over to see how I am going in the Aussie Racing Car pits and checks up on all my results.

"in the wet, the V8 had a fair bit of grip, which surprised me" - Nick Simmons on his GRM V8 drive

Chns Carters l

1 February 2006

63

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i:

Aussie barterfor the United States?

IT is highly likely an Australian karter will be competing at the SKUSA Nationals in Las Vegas later this year - but it is still to be determined how they will be selected.

SKUSA (Super Karts USA) will run a TaG class at the event, and with TaG picking up pace in Australia, Chris Dell(who helped formulate the Australian TaG rules) told MNews it's likely they will send an Aussie to America, but it has not yet been decided how the person will be chosen.

"We still haven't come up with an answer" he said."It hasn't really been our intention to run a (qualification) series because we want TaG as a club-based class that condenses the classes at race meetings. So we still haven't decided what we'll do (regarding the selection process)."

Q Spectators will be closer to the action at Nepean Speedway after track renovation work is completed soon.

The new layout is 100m closer to the spectator area with no obstacles in view of the racing.The new layout will effectively give the complex two new tracks making a total offive different circuits for speedway karting at the facility.

The Champ Car World Series has entered into a three-year partnership with the Rotax Max Challenge in the USA. Champ Car has designated the category as the Official Karting Series of Champ Car and will now recognise the'Champ Car Rotax Max Challenge'as the first step in the Champ Car driver-development system.

"Given that so many of our drivers came up through the karting ranks, it seemed only natural that we would add one of the nation's most competitive karting series to our driver development system,"said Champ Car President Steve Johnson.

Q The recent spell of hot weather in Victoria contributed to the inaugural Australia Day Kart Wars endurance meeting at Geelong being cancelled. No replacement date has yet been announced.

Q AKA Tasmania named its karters of 2005 at an awards night last month.

The winners were Mitchell Evans (junior Driver of the Year), Matthew Holmes(Senior)and Peter Wagner (Official of the Year) who also won the award in 2004.

-MARK WICKS

AUSSIES IN NZ:

WALL & WADE WIN MATTHEW Wall won the Intercontinental C class at New Zealand's premier karting event for the year, the CIK Trophy of NZ.It was the second year in a row Wall has tasted success at the meeting, having won the 10Occ Formula A title last year.

Jason Lee (Birel) set an unbelievable time in qualifying that nobody could match for the rest of the meeting - including himself! Fellow Kiwi Ryan Grant (fVlaranello) was the one to catch, winning all three heats and the pre-final. Flowever, scrutineers found Grant's kart to have an over-dimension rear track and relegated him rear of field for the final.

Somehow avoiding the wrath of officials. Grant made a monster start to be running fourth by lap two of the 28-lap final and was soon closing in on Wall (Arrow), but Matt was not too concerned.

"I knew the kart would come on later in the race," said Wall, pictured above."It was like, the slower I drove,the faster it went."

Indeed, he set fastest lap of the race on the final tour as he cleared away from Grant for the victory.

Grant held second with Bart Price (Arrow)third.

Both Wall and Price experienced carburation problems early in the meeting, a similar drama affecting WA's Paul Williams (First). Williams's best

result was seventh in the pre-final.

Former world karting champ Wade Cunningham made a return to karts for the meeting, competing in the Formula 100Trophy event. Fie qualified his CRG fourth and cruised around for a win and two seconds in the heats. From there, Cunningham controlled the field, easily winning the pre-final and final ahead of Paul Cameron. It was an unprecedented third win of the CIKTrophy for Cunningham.

Australia's Jason Burns was in contention for a podium,carding a second in the heats and third in the pre-final. Contact with another kart in the final bent his axle and put him out of the event.

Jessica Golding made her debut in the F100 class and all manner of problems beset her. Everything from flat tyres to carby problems and failing brakes.

She managed to work her way into the top 10 of the pre-final when a reed valve broke. An opening lap crash eliminated her and several others from the final.

Warren White Jr qualified fourth in an incredibly tight Junior Restricted class. White was never out of the top six all weekend. Starting fourth in the final, he was shunted back to ninth, recovered to third but was shuffled back to sixth at the end.

-MARK WICKS

motorsponnews

national

QUICK DRAW THE Junior Top Guns at Oakleigh enjoyed the highest number of entries in the events history with over 120 kids fronting on two consecutive Friday nights.

Despite the heat, Melbourne's psychotic weather dumped rain on both nights. Leigh Nicolaou, right, wrapped up the Junior Clubman class with three wins over the four races that determined the'Top Gun'in each class.

The final went to Scott McLaughlin who mastered the slippery conditions, getting by race leader Daniel Rochford in

the closing laps. Steve Courtis enjoyed wins in two classes and wrapped up the Junior National Heavy Top Gun. Jarrod Egan won Rookies after a brilliant battle with Liam Morey(who won on night two) and Cameron Waters. Adrian Stratford wrapped up the series in Midgets despite Adrian Lazzarro,Thomas Randle and Ricky Capo winning the races. A strong second in Junior National Light earned Justin Tate the Top Gun while Joshua Milburn won both the Light and Heavy classes for'C&P'drivers.

-MARK WICKS

Massive Kart Expo

NERS

^^All pics Jenny Wade I

■r

OVER 250 exhibitors, from both the race and rental sides of karting, showcased their wares at the International Karting Expo in Germany in January.

Some of the highlights included various 'Super-Tag' 125cc engines, a collapsible steering column from CRG, a kart that can be road registered in Europe, various chassis for the new DD2 Rotax class, historic karts, lap timers and data acquisition systems plus all the usual karts, engines, teams and accessories for the new season.

Michael Schumacher also released his own hire kart, below.

-MARK WICKS

fkSiBS

t i

1 WHITE STAYED ^^VING performed well at the Trophy of NZ event Warren White Jnr stayed on in the land of the silver fern to compete at the City of Sails event in Auckland the following weekend.

He again came up against the best junior drivers the Kiwis baveto offer and despite some set-up problems due to his sw^l size, took viaory in the f?raf. He was offioatty classified SHtond as the meeting ran an aii-poinis-count format.

1 February 2006

POWER

STRUGGLE

nwESBotur

moM

THE latest round of the Toyota Racing Series has been dominated by Matthew Hamilton.

The meeting, held at Christchurch, was also the running of the Lady Wigram Trophy.

Hamilton qualified on pole and won all three races.

Daniel Gaunt still leads the series from Hamilton and Ben Harford.

Craig Baird pressed Fabian Coulthard hard in the Battery Town Porsche GTS Cup Challenge at Powerbullt Raceway last weekend, but could only manage to snatch one win from him. Baird also pinched the series lead from Ross Rutherford.

A week earlier in NZVBs atTimaru saw Angus Fogg beat series leader Kayne Scott and Australian Luke Youlden, pictured left.

The next round of the NZ series is at Manfeild on February 17-19.

65

speedway

F

OR the second consecutive year, Donny Schatz and Garry Rush's Pick'n Payless team have proven a superior package against the cream of the world's Sprintcar talent at Outlaws Downunder.

Schatz won each night at the third running ofTyrepower Parramatta City Raceway's international extravaganza. driving away from the field on the slick track. As his pursuers fought through the intense lap traffic of the 29-car A-Main field, Schatz sliced through the traffic like no other,the only car in the field that could run on any part of the race track.

What we just did was pretty unbelievable,to win eight out of nine nights,"said Schatz."The other night in that nine I pretty much gave the race away,so it's pretty awesome.

'We qualified good and did all the things we needed to and this has just been ... unbelievable."

Second in the feature was Daryn Pittman, an adopted Australian amongst the crowd as the Oklahoman drives for the Australian-owned Titan Racing.

To win the best of the rest prize was just reward for the likable Pittman, and a return on the huge investment of team owner Reeve Kruck, who missed the event as he recuperated from a neck operation.

Last year we finished fourth. this year we ran second,so we're improving," mused Pittman."But last year Schatzjust wasn't as dominant as he was this year. I mean, what he's just done here is just incredible. We were really good,just that he's great. I don't know what else to say."

The talk in the pits entering the final night was almost that of submission,as teams and drivers admitted that they didn't have many answers to Schatz and the his perfectly set-up J&J (a set-up honed to perfection over the Christmas and New Year's period. as most of his rivals were on

holiday or racing elsewhere).

But the likes of Pittman,Joey Saldana, Craig Dollansky and Danny Lasoski looked to have a fighting chance at topping Schatz when the North Dakotan could only manage fifth in the final night Dash. Dollansky won the

start and drove away to earn pole for the feature, while Schatz was fifth after he and Saldana almost collided coming out ofTurn 4, dropping Schatz down the order.

"I told my guys before that Dash started that I was not starting on the front row,"said Schatz."! didn't

ilm MS 1/

want to start in the frickin'third row, but I did. It was all that we had that we didn't have a crash there with me and Joey(Saldana).

He tried to win the race on the first lap of the Dash and he nearly cost us both a race car.

"But that's the way it goes, I mean,everybody makes mistakes. made one, he made one,we started out fifth, we are here now. that's all that matters.'

Saldana initially led the feature. before Pittman picked him off on the ninth lap to lead the pack as they approached lap traffic.

Further back, Dollansky also rounded Saldana, while Lasoski, Schatz and Brooke Tatnell diced for fifth.

But it was only a matter of time before Schatz stepped it up a gear and in traffic, his speed advantage was clear. Schatz grabbed the lead from Pittman at mid-race distance. andprbceeded'to drive away, Pittman held onto second. withstanding Lasoski's late charge on the low line. Dollansky was pleased with fourth after a disappointing visit last season. although he was unlucky not to reach the podium, when he was placed in fourth rather than third after the second restart of the feature.

That restart came as a result of Garry Brazier rolling in Turn i ‘«ra.

2 after contact with Robbie Farr.

Brazier quickly emerged from his wreck and walked the length of the circuit to remonstrate with Farr until officials pulled him away.

Each driver blamed the other for the incident, but the whole scene made great theatre for the crowd.

Farr's driving also delighted the crowd on Night 2, but in different circumstances. Farr drove the second Titan car to a spectacular win on Night 2 in the second dash, holding off Lasoski and Dollansky in a three-way shootout. Farr was ecstatic to have shown his home crowd that he is capable of running with and continued on page 68

continued from page 67 beating the world's best.

Another Sydney boy almost won the other dash on Night 2 in Kerry Madsen. Madsen and Saldana ran side-by-side for almost the entire duration of the race, and the winning margin was 0.069s in favour of Saldana.

Madsen did not enjoy his usual run of form at the Outlaws show.

A heavy roll on Night 1 when n Trevor Green slid inside the Knoxville Track Champ at Turn 4 put Madsen on the back foot for the rest of the weekend,and the Madman could only manage 12th in the feature.

Schatz So why isso dominant at PCR?We asked the man himself: "It has a lot to do with monkey-see, monkey-do,"said Schatz."Everybody else looks at everybody else's stuff and I don't look at anybody's! I just do my thing. If my car is not right, I keep adjusting it and adjusting it and adjusting it until I'm happy with it. Even when I'm happy with it, I keep trying things.

"Everybody else sees what's going on so they try this and

that and they get themselves so far from home base that they get lost. You've just got to focus on yourself and that's what we do.'

And what of Pittman? As the best of the rest, what do you think when you are entering a feature against a team that has been so dominant?

"You knew he was going to be good,"said Pittman.

"We got to the lead early and it seemed like 1 was there for a little while.

He wasn't real good in the dash and I guess anybody when they are out in front leading has wishful thinking that maybe he wasn't so good tonight, but once I saw that yellow wing near me I fought real hard.

"He blew by me and I tried to stay with him, but I didn't stay there for very long,so you knew that if he didn't blow up, he wasn't gonna be as bad as what he was in the Dash.

"The further back he starts the madder it makes him and we are normally better off that way! He's a great competitor and he's good at home, he's great here... I don't know what else to say!"

A King"s Conundrum for the Kinsers THE Kinser cars of Steve and Kraig endured their fair share of problems over the Outlaws Downunder weekend, keeping Australian crewman Peter Murphy quite busy.

On Night 1, Steve's car cut out during hot laps, then again on his qualifying run.The car was fixed in time to the King to record a lap, but then in his heat, Kinser's car belched smoke and flame. Kinser managed to preserve the car and

finish second, below.

Then in the Night 1 A-Main, Kraig's car failed to fire, forcing him to the sidelines to watch his father battle with a deflating tyre.

In the Night 3 feature, both the Kinser cars were back to their best and climbed their way up the order to be battling for sixth.

"I just couldn't get past him," said Kraig."I was fast enough, but he just always seemed to know where to put the car."

SWINGIN'SAM SPRINTCAR legend Sammy Swindell had a forgettable weekend in the Richard Petty Driving Experience Maxim.

Swindell actually swapped cars for the final night, switching from the car his son Kevin drove in last year's event to the newer of the Graham Racing cars, the same mount Sammy drove in last year's Downunder and in this year's $50,000 to win.

Swindell said that the newer car was"quite a lot better" but in the final 40-lap A-Main,they probably went too far in a set up change.

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"At least we moved forward from near the back to end up 13th,"said Swindell."It's a lot . better than it has been this weekend."

Son Kevin was in attendance at PCR, but did not drive in the Australian event as one of the Graham cars was already sold. Kevin stepped into a car at the New Zealand event the following weekend.

This was the final meeting in a three-year deal for Swindell Sr and at this stage he doesn't know if he will return back next summer.

- BOSCATO/JORDAN

motorsportnews

speedway

AUSSIE LEGENDS

THE Australian contingent at Outlaws Downunder III can hold their heads high.They performed admirably and won races in what will prove to be one of the best Sprintcar fields anywhere in the world in 2006.

Aside from his American team mate Daryn Pittman, left, Robbie Farr proved his qualities in the Titan Racing Maxim, "it was mission accomplished," said Farr."We wanted to come and run with these guys and be competitive. We ran a top five and a top 10, making all the A-Mains. I think we did ourselves proud."

But it wasn't all plain sailing for Farr as his engine dropped a cylinder after qualifying in Night 1, forcing the team to swap engines to a motor that team-mate Pittman is to use in 2006.

That engine was certainly fast, with Farr using it for the rest of Thursday and Friday night. But for Saturday another 410 motor arrived from Brisbane {they wanted to keep the Pittman engine as fresh as possible), that

V

V

Whattheysaid...

MNews PCR expert Greg Boscato compiled these quotes from those who just couldn't stick with Schatz.

giving the Farr three different engines over the weekend.

Skip Jackson was another Australian to impress,finishing third in the opening night's feature race when he slipped by Joey Saldana at the final corner of the race.The final night did not go as well for Jackson, who spent much of the feature dicing with old foe Max Dumesny for 19th.

Newly-crowned WSS Champ BrookeTatnell clearly had ample pace at PCR, but like many other teams that are not accustomed to 41 Od engines,Tatnell and the Krikke team never had the set-up to push the top three.

"I'm happy with the way I drove, happy with the team and happy with Al's (Felsch) motor.

"I made a decision in the pits about gear ratios that probably cost us a top five maybe a top three finish. We didn't have any problems all weekend, but I'm just disappointed on where we ended up. We should have ended up with a better result,just picked the wrong gear ratio."

"The race track was great,just we were no chance on it,just not in Schatz's league. You have to hand it to him, he's done his homework,did a great job and deserves to win."

- Danny Lasoski, third "We went back in the beginning until the tyres got some heat into them. We got into third and were going well again, but they put as fourth at the restart. I got better through the night and learnt some things through the week that will help us if we come back."

Craig Dollansky,fourth "it turned out to be a really good weekehd. It didn't start out real weiUiH by not qualifying well both nights.

We were just a bit off but still able to come from ninth to fifth and I'm pretty excited about that."

-Jason Meyers,fifth "I was a bit average, that's all you can say. I just didn't have things going my way. We made a little run on them but got caught in traffic the worst when we were running for second. It could have been worse but

Bi4mp bites Sleftoyi

it could also have been better. I got up there but got a lot of heat in the tyres and just couldn't get them back after the yellows."

- Steve Kinser,sixth

DUBBO-based Sprintcar racer Mark Blyton certainly stepped up on the Outlaws ^ &

weekend and was running well in the preliminary feature on Night i until clipping the infield bumps and rolling, left.

Blyton completed the following two nights, although he was in a great deal of pain."The crash just wore out the driver,"said Blyton, who finished 22nd in the A-Main."l'm feeling second-hand,only around 80 percent of myself.'

Despite the pain and repaired car, Blyton made it into all three features.

-GREG BOSCATO

THE Aussie stand-out over the weekend was West Australian Ken Sartori, who set the third and fifth fastest times in qualifying and was fifth in points going into the final night.

"We did the right things, we qualified well and came out of our heat races with enough points,"said Sartori.

"We got shuffled out of the way at the start of the AMain, but 1 managed to come back and grab three positions. I'm pretty happy and we love racing here."

Sartori has shared his racing between his home state and PCR this summer, giving him a good grasp of the PCR track. Dividing his time is a trend he is set to continue next season.

-GREG BOSCATO

1 February 2006

OUTLAWSDOWNUNDER III Pos

Driver

1 2 3

Schatz Pittman Lasoski

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Doilansky Meyers S Kinser K Kinser Tatnell Farr Saldana Sartori K Madsen Swindell Stewart Brown I Madsen Green Paulus

19 20 21

Dumesny Jackson Moore Jr

22 23 24 25 26 DNF ONF DNF

Blyton Solwold Tunks Wimmer Loudoun Allard Brazier Sides

A-Main - ^0 laps Race Time 29:17.6490 29J1.3120 29:23.8320 29:24.0610 29:24.8170 29:25.4240 29:25.5590 29:26.7750 29:30.3480 29:30.7400 29:31.1190 29:31.4630 29:32.8260 29:32.9370 29:33.0860 29:37.6220 39 laps 39 laps 39 laps 39 laps 39 laps 39 laps 39 laps 39 laps 38 laps 38 laps 29 laps 28 laps 27 laps

Fastest 14.7790 14J330 15.1960 14.9990 15.4150 15.1790 15.3810 15.1500 15.3840 14.41«r 15.8770 15.4660 15.6810 15.6020 15.5410 15.5870 15.4280 15.7280 15.9380 15.7360 16.0420 16.0840 15.8940 16.0650 15.8790 16.0820 15.9570 15.4750 15.5600

Lap 5 3 6 5 9 7 5 7 9 2 9 5 8 14 14 12 29 30 4 12 14 3 15 5 15 7 5 10 4

69

fmmmam Darwin younggun Ben Atkinson was barring long and hard at the bigge^feature ofhis life when rain brought about the cancellation ofthis year’s Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.

GEOFFROUNDS reportsfrom Warrnambool JL.

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THE Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic was again not short of controversy during Night 1.

Multiple crashes and carnage were the norm but the Premier Speedway Club was forced to defend one of its more controversial decisions during the event's long and prestigious history when a decision was made to grant current Australian Champion Brooke Tatnell a 'promoter's choice' entry into the C-Main despite him scoring insufficient points.

The decision upset several drivers who had scored more points than the former Classic winner. President Jim Lewis said the club decided to advance Tatnell into the last-

- *

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AUSTRALIA'S most prestigious speedway race,the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, was beaten by the unpredictable Warrnambool weather last weekend and was washed out for the first time in its 34-year history.

Mother Nature reared her ugly head on Saturday night and officials were left with no option but to abandon the event after meeting with drivers at noon last Sunday. No winner was declared, no trophies given and the prizemoney divided evenly across the drivers already qualified for theA-Main.

Premier Speedway Club president Jim Lewis said the club was"left with little option but to cancel the remaining two races, the A and B Mains, when persistent and drizzly rain continued to fall.

"We're pretty gutted at the moment,"said Lewis."The club made the decision when we did due to the forecast that we had at the time and what had already fallen during the morning."

Night 1 winner and potential polesitter Ben Atkinson said he

gasp qualifying race because of his 'entertainment value'.

"We never considered anyone else, we just decided to put him in because he was Australia one, irrespective of who the driver was," said Lewis.

Tatnell failed to complete two laps in the 15-lap race because of constant rear-end problems and finished night one with Just 28 points and lying in 44th place overall of the 57 cars competing.

To Tatnell and the Krikke Motorsport team's credit, they backed up for Night 2 action and added valuable points to their tally with a comprehensive heat win and a fourth in the C-Main to get through to the back of the B-Main before proceedings were cancelled.

[moiorsponnews

speedway

BENNY'S CLASSIC COMING OF AGE

felt "hollow" that he couldn't fulfil his ambition and win the Classic.

"I'm really disappointed that we had the chance to win the race. I didn't really even care about the money. I really wanted to win that big, prestigious trophy. There's some big names on it already and I wanted to be on it with them," said Atkinson.

"There's no point worrying about the money now because $30,000 for first is a fair bit different to the couple of grand or whatever it is we end up with now.

"We had everything going our way and to come to this place and run the Classic and then get highest points was never a position i thought I'd be in."

Max Dumesny believes he had his best chance in recent times to add another Classic trophy to his Sydney mantle.

"It's really disappointing but what can you do?,"said Dumesny.

"It's Warrnambool and it rains a bit here and this weekend it's happened, there's not a lot you can do about it now."

"We were looking really good going into the A (main) and I think this was probably my best chance in four years to win it again.

Americans Jason Johnson and Brad Sweet and Australian ace Garry Brazier ail agreed the right decision had eventually been made.

"It's a pity the rain came when it did but at least we all agreed on the payout,"said Johnson.

"It's good the way they've cut up the money for everyone in the A," said Sweet.

"There's not much more they couid have done and I'm happy now with the decision," said Brazier.

1 February 2006

The Cool man...

ONCE again one of the busiest men at this year's Classic was John Cooley of Cool Chassis. He was busy all through the night after Friday's action and mainly on his Cool machines with Brooke Tatnell, Phil March, John Vogels all among those needing attention.

Q One of the new additions to Premier Speedway is the impressive Turn 4 banking.

The new area, which was fully opened for the first time on Friday night, allowed another 2000 fans into the complex and it's already been dubbed 'Mount Max' by the masses after Warrnambool

DARWIN youngster Ben Atkinson stunned solid opposition including local crowd favourite Max Dumesny to win the Australia/America Challenge Cup at Premier Speedway last Friday night on the opening night of the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.

The 24-year-old grabbed a flag-to-flag victory dragging off his more seasoned rival to record the biggest win of his career in the 25-lap feature.

West Australian driver Luch Monte slipped under Dumesny for second in the remaining laps with Robbie Farr fourth.

“It would have to be the biggest highlight of my career," said Atkinson."! have never raced at the Classic before and to come here and win the feature on Night One is amazing."

Earlier during a heat race Atkinson nearly ended his evening when he eventually won his heat but then clipped the Turn 3 wall on his warmdown lap, pictured below.

His victory came 50 minutes after the race started,the lengthy feature including stoppages for former Australian champion Phil

March and American star Donny Schatz crashing on the main straight on lap two, which resulted in March rolling.

Schatz's night also ended with front wing and rear damage and although repaired on the edge of the track, he was denied a restart.

"My crew worked awfully hard to get me back but the chief steward said because I had no nuts on my Jacob's ladder I couldn't start because mine has pins,"said Schatz.

"I made someone mad tonight when I drove into the hot area in a n rflisunderstanding and I guess» that is the price I had to pay."

"But we can still win it," Schatz vowed after his first night demise.

Atkinson held his lead at all the restarts throughout the feature,the first for a rollover from American Jason Johnson in Turn 2 and the second as a result of WA's Ken Sartori rolling jp Turn 4. Eventually Atkinson drew away from Dumesny to take the win.

One notable mover in the pack was Sydney's Garry Brazier who came from 16th on the grid to finish seventh.

Sprintcar legend Max Dumesny.

The club is now planning marquees and plastic chair seating.

D^fowd figures for the twonight event also left promoters smiling with 8400 attending on Night 1 and just over 10,000 witnessing the action on Night 2.

A significant piece of speedway history was created at 5.38pm on the opening night of the Classic. Mitchell Dumesny, the eldest son of Max, made his Premier Speedway debut at the track his father has made his own over the past 20 years. The 17-yearold ran finished sixth in his heat, making the B-Main. Unfortunately a broken universal had the youngster kiss the Warrnambool concrete wall on the second night.

-GEOFF ROUNDS

C^Passlow FORD 77

?■

SCHATZTO No team ordersfor SKIP CLASSIC?

PCR Champions

IT was a sensational finish to the annual Champion of Champions Speedcar event at Parramatta City Raceway last Saturday night, when battling team-mates Adam Clarke and Michael Pickens crashed out with just three laps remaining giving the lead and victory to the third Seamount machine of American ace Tony Elliott. Todd Wanless was second and Stephen Brown third.

Early in the feature, USAC star Jerry Coons Jr took second from Pickens but the Kiwi quickly regained the position, leaving Coons Jnr back in third. Coons looked to be running strongly until a plug lead dropped off the American Tire & Racing Stealth While running in solid fourth,fellow American Brad Kuhn lost a side nerf bar that then was struck by Aussie Champ Steven Graham, putting both out.

After the demise of Coons, Kuhn and .

Graham, Elliott was in third and looking to give the Seamount team a trifecta. But after a late-race restart, Pickens took the lead from Clarke as they exited Turn 4 but entering Turn 1, Clarke tried to regain control with both cars crashing into each before flipping, below. With just a few laps to run, Elliott took the win.

geoff rounds DONNY Schatz has threatened not to return to race at the Classic in the future if the racing format isn't changed back to time trial qualifying.

"We come here to win and put on a show but if the people who run this race don't look at changing it back to qualifying then i doubt I'd bother being here next year,"said Schatz, who stayed on in Australia an extra week to

race at the Classic while many of his countrymen were racing in New Zealand.

"I just won't come here for the $1000 that we've ended up with today, it's just pointless. You can't do much about the weather but something has to be done about the format for the Classic."

His car-owner and seven-time Classic winner Garry Rush agreed that Classic quaiifying must be changed.

"We had the fastest car all weekend and we've come here to

win with a good driver and good team and car and go away with nothing and i blame our result on

KING OF THE MOUNT

ROBBIE Farr took out the prestigious King's Challenge at Mount Gambler's Borderline Speedway last Thursday night, giving the Titan Racing driver the ideal)lead^p to the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic the ' following two nights.

Max Dumesny was second and Jason Johnson third in the competitive feature.

Americans filled five of the top eight places, with Brian Brown fourth. Adelaide's Phillip March was fifth, leading home Donny Schatz, Paul McMahon and Blake Robertson.

EL PRESIDENTE Warmambool's Stephen Bell drove a faultless race to win the 360ci Brodix Tournament Of Champions Qualifying round at Sungold Stadium on Friday night.

Bell, a former national 360 Sprintcar champion, drove away with the win from his toughest rival Keith Giles of Western Australia, who was eventually forced out of the event with a deflated right rear tyre on lap seven of the feature race.

South Australian Darryl Wright's race came to an end when he hung his car on the Turn 2 wall in a violent crash.

After the stoppage. Bell left the field in his wake storming to another Warrnambool Sprintcar victory ahead of Michael Burford and Garry Chippendal.

-GREG BOSCATO/GEOFF ROUNDS

PAUL McMahon resisted an Australian charge to win the President's Cup at Avalon Raceway on the Wednesday leading up into the Grand Annual Classic.

McMahon and countryman Brian Brown made their car owner,Tasmanian Robin Dawkins,a happy man when the pair qualified first and second and won their respective Dash races to begin the A-Main from the front row.

Brown led early as McMahon dropped to fourth, but McMahon soon came to the fore and took the lead. McMahon was chased first by ian Lewis, until Max Dumesny found pace and sliced his way up to second. Dumesny fell short in his pursuit of the lead when baulked in lap traffic close to the finish.

Brooke Tatnell was in a comfortable second place in his Dash when he broke a differential gear and failed to finish, relegating him to 11th on the A-Main grid.The Krikke Motorsport team were able to affect repairs just in time for the final and amid the frantic

traffic on the tight Victorian venue,Tatnell passed both Brown and Lewis in an inspirational outside move to grab third at the final corner, giving partner Amy a birthday present for the next day.

-CHRIS JORDAN

motorsport news

speedway

MnumB I m the format thatWarrnambool now uses.

"They have had this format for two years and I've been complaining about it to them for that long.

"Some people are making decisions about this great race who have no idea of what it's like to own a Sprintcar and run one.To me,that's why the good drivers are being disadvantaged by the way the format of racing is at the moment."

Blake's Late A1 BRAD Blake has taken out the Australian Late Model Sedan Title at Kwinana Motorplex two weeks ago.

The'O'Show led the early part of the event before he surrendered it to the father and son duo of Ben and Brad Ludlow. Blake, below, reclaimed second from Ben and when Brad Ludlow struck engine problems, Blake set sail on his way to the Australian title victory.

Ryan Halliday finished in second place ahead of veteran Ben Ludlow.

- DARREN SUTTON

T'mB a

- 'A Ii

DESPITE the split in top level Sprintcar racing in the United States, Australia seems set to maintain a world-class field for the foreseeable future at Parramatta City Raceway's Outlaws Downunder event.

PCR promoter Brian Healey told MNews that he will continue to hold the Outlaws Downunder event, running it as a non-sanctioned meeting,signing drivers and teams from both the World of Outlaws Series and National Sprint Tour.

Outlaws Downunder IV is likely to be held earlier in January,thanks to th&Chili Bowl Midget event in Tulsa, Oklahoma also moving to an earlier date in

January 2007.

PCR will continue to run and promote the meeting with the Outlaws Downunder moniker, despite Healey's involvement with the NST. International Speedway Pty Ltd, owner of PCR,also owns the rights to the Outlaws Downunder name.

"1 would think that Craig (Dollansky) would want to come back,"said Healey."The deals the other three guys from the Outlaws have got, 1 think we'll see them back as well (referring to Donny Schatz, Brooke Tatnell and Daryn Pittman all driving for Australian teams)."

-CHRIS JORDAN

Razorback's Roi4t RYAN Farrell has dominated the West Australian Sprintcar Title at Bunbury City Speedway on Saturday night.

It was'The Razorback's third WA Sprintcar Title win and was also one of his most convincing.

Farrell's season in WA has not been what he had been expecting and this has been a big boost for the whole team.

"It was fairly exciting out their

Hoosier Tire Australia

tonight,"said Farrell.

"We had the car good and the team has really been working hard to give me the right set-up and we did it. Hopefully this will give us the momentum we were looking for to build on for the rest of the season."

Farrell's biggest rival for the title, Amercian star Dean Jacobs, pulled infield with a blown head gasket.This left Farrell to take

Proton World Series Sprintcars 2005/06 Championship

Australian Distributors for

Final Standings

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1 Febriary 2006

an impressive win on a dry slick track ahead of Jamie Maiolo and Michael Figliomeni.

- DARREN SUTTON

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READ DOUBLES UP"IN WA Phil*s new warpaint aiiS^n awesome holeshot in the final was more than enough to g^him'Sver the line at Quit Motorplex.

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports

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74

motorsportnews

drag racing the Quit Motorplex by taking his second Phillip Read continued his love affair Kwinana victory in as many years to vrith win the fifth round of the Australian Top Fuel Championship.

The meeting was Read's first in the ex-Dave Grubnic dragster, and with only six cars entered for the round,the odds of someone upsetting Australian champion Darren Morgan was at an alltime high.

The odd number of cars in the semi-finals gave Morgan a free pass to the final. He used what was essentially a test run well with a 4.80s/256mph.

Phillip Read's move to the final was almost as straightforward as Morgan's. Read had an easy run through the first round, with local racer Allan Dobson not recording a time. Read then used a 4.74s/312mph to eliminate a struggling Rachelle Splatt, who was initally impressive in qualifying.

With both Morgan and Read running consistently in the 4.7s throughout the weekend, the final was bound to be a fast affair. But while Morgan did a fastest ET of the meeting with a 4.68s/319mph, Read got the holeshot and took the win with a 4.71 s/319mph.

"I wish we could race here very round,"said Read, "it's not really the place.You always need a bit of luck. It was the first time with the new car, and we were lucky to beat Darren with a holeshot. It's a fantastic facility, but the next race is in Sydney and hopefully we can do it there too."

With extra points available for the Western Australian round. Read is still confident of grabbing the 2006 Top Fuel title.

"This result should boost us up to second, and with the bonus points for traveling, we should have gained 30 or 40 points on Darren.There are two races left and if he gets knocked out early, we will be the champions."

In qualifying, Morgan clocked a 4.73s/295mph, which was just enough to edge out Read's Auto One/Snap-On Tools team. His4.74s/313mph on his second pass was marginally faster than drag queen Splatt, pictured below. She took just one pass to grab the third qualifying spot. Her 4.84s/280mph fast enough to hold off'Pommy'Steve Read's best of4.90s/299mph.

Dobson was fifth fastest with a 6.41s/ 154mph, while Terry Sainty failed to lay down a full speed pass.

The Australian Top Fuel Championship heads to Western Sydney International Drag way on February 9-11.

Points: Morgan 378,P Read 338,S Read 280,Sainty 220, Grubnic 180,Splatt 150,B Shepherd 140, Cowin 110,Kalitta 100, L Shepherd 100.

1 February 2006

drag racing

GOING QUICK IN VEGAS TEST Man down!

SchumiRacing loses crew chief SCHUMACHER Racing Pro Stock crew chief Bob Glidden left the Mopar Pro Stock team in a huff last week.

I

Reportedly, the hiring of Sean Carlson to drive for the second Mopar-sponsored team was more than the multi-time champion could handle. Glidden had lobbied for one of his sons to drive the car but Carlson, a sport compact driver, was promoted to the position. After a weekend to cool down,Glidden returned to work, preparing both cars for final testing in Las Vegas.

The announcement of Carlson being named to the Mopar driving job is imminent.

Q Harley-Davidson, the only major U.S-based manufacturer of motorcycles, has signed an exclusive, multi-tiered sponsorship package with NHRA. The package includes designation as the Official Motorcycle of NHRA, title sponsorship of the popular NHRA Sportsman Motorcycle Series and an extraordinary promotion that will provide NHRA fans with the chance to win a number of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. □ Legendary drag racer'Dyno Don'Nicholson passed away on the January 24 after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.

He was 78.

Nicholson was voted No. 18 on the list of NHRA's Top 50 Drivers in 2001.

He was the first Ford campaigner to win a national event in Pro Stock, at the 1971 Summernationals, and he earned the NHRA Winston Pro Stock championship title in 1977 at the age of so. His career spanned the 1960s and 1970s when there were relatively few NHRA national events on the calendar, and the bulk of Nicholson's wins came in match race competition, where he won more than 90 percent of his races.

Nicholson holds the record for finalround appearances in the most NHRA eliminator categories, scoring either wins or runner-up efforts in Funny Car, Pro Stock, Super, Comp, Stock, and Street.

-DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

m

Will and Force stamp an early claim on Top Fuel and Funny Cars TOP Fuel rookie Hillary Will powered to the quickest pass of the pre-season NHRA Nitro BlastOff with a blistering 4.483s at 324.83mph down'The Strip'at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Flill, driving for Pro Stock owner Ken Black in a joint effort between Black and Kalitta Motorsports, shaded Brandon Bernstein, above, who clocked a 4.51s/326mph.

Doug Kalitta had a 4.55s/319mph best and Larry Dixon rounded out the top four at 4.59/273. Other four-second passes included J.R.Todd in the Dexter Tuttle Menards-backed dragster at4.63s/277mph, Australian David Grubnic at 4.67s/317mph, Clay Mlllican at 4.92s/222mph, and David Baca at 4.94s/217mph.

In Funny Car,the three Ford Mustangs from John Force Racing finished 1-2-3 during the session.

Force, inset above, carded a stellar

4.673s at 327mph, and backed it up with a 4.692s at 325mph on Monday. Rookie of the Year Robert Might was right behind at 4.690s at 311 mph.Team-mate Eric Medlen

was third best with a 4.699s at 321 mph.

The three Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Funny Cars filled out three of the next four positions with 2005 POWERade champion Gary Sceizi running a 4.70s/325mph, Ron Capps a 4.72S/317mph and Whit Bazemore a 4.824s. Don Prudhomme Racing's Tommy Johnson Jr. was also in the mix with a 4.75s/326mph in his Skoal Monte Carlo. Mike Ashley (4.89s) and Phil Burkart(4.95s) also dipped into the fours. Scott Kalitta shook down his new Chevy Monte Carlo flopper with a 5.02/297 best.

No major incidents occurred during the test, which is a first in recent times.

The pre-season now shifts to Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix for the 22nd annual National Time Trails.

- DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

AFTER his horrifying accident with Bruce Allen last season in Dallas, Kenny Koretsky will complete limited rounds of the NHRA POWERade Series season.

Taking his place and running the full campaign will be Mike Thomas, who will replace him in the seat of the Nitro Fish Wear Dodge Stratus. Additionally, Dave Northrop will run a partial schedule in another Nitro Fish Dodge.

- DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

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motorsport news

industry news

MoTeC

has announced the release of its all new 12 data analysis application.This new software was officially launched at the recent PRI Show in the United States, to industry experts and customers.

Designed from the ground up for speed and flexibility, i2 is the result of many years of intense development, bolstered by valuable input from professional motorsport teams worldwide. It offers new levels of customi sation, enabling every user -from amateur to professional - the ability to completely tailor their analysis and data management tools. i2's unique versatility provides a distinct advantage for MoTeC's diverse customer base, which now spans almost every form of motorsport around the globe.The release of this software not only ensures future growth for the MoTeC brand, it also helps to strengthen Australia's repu tation as a world leader in motorsport technology.

Those familiar with MoTeC's original Interpreter analysis program will notice significant advances in this new generation software, including an intuitive user interface based on Projects, Workbooks and

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MoTeC's increasing fraternity of drag racers will benefit from a number offeatures in i2 that have been created specifically for their sport, such as Auto Run insertion and specialised maths functions for clutch slip and wheel lift correction. Menus and terminology have also been modified to cater for individual motorsport categories. i2 offers two levels of functionality - i2 Pro and i2 Standard. i2 Pro is available now and requires the optional Pro Analysis upgrade on MoTeC logging systems, while i2 Standard is free for all users and will be released soon. MoTeC customers keen to start linking in car footage with their data won't have to wait long - Synchronised Video will be available for i2 Pro in the near future. i2 Pro can be downloaded free of charge at the website now - www.motec.com.au.

Contact MoTeC for more information by phone on 03 9761 5050, email support@motec.com.au or visit the website to download a brochure.

COLDEN ER

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Worksheets, enhanced Maths functionality, ainnost limitless ability to combine various components and a multitude of features to make analysing data more efficient.

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RDA Brakes have launched a new range of Gold Passivated, directionally grooved disc brake rotors for 2006.This new line is now available for all makes and models of vehicles in the RDA Brake disc rotor range, which is claimed to be the largest range available in Australia.

The discs are Zinc Plated and Gold Passivated to avoid corrosion, with blind dimples to avoid the problems normally associated with cross drilled rotors (cracking due to the weakened structural integrity).

The grooved discs are directional LEFT and RIGHT (nearside and offside of your vehicle). They are marked as such for easy identification and direct fitment with no modification required.

All quality brake products from Rotors & Drums Australia Pty Ltd are covered by a 12 months or 20,000 kilometre warranty against manufacturing faults.

For more information or the location of you nearest stockist visit www.rdabrakes.com.au or Freecall 1800 880 155

ONE PIECE RACE PUSHRODS As used by top touring car, speedway & drag racing teams. ● .080" wall chrome moly ● one piece construction ● availabiein5l6"&%” diameter ● .050" iength steps i from 6.00" to 10.00” \ ● .080" wall hardened steel NEW street race version aiso avaiiable f

Locker Detroit

is a pioneer in the field of performance differentials and is one of the leaders in the industry. Today Detroit Locker manufactures a complete range of locking Differentials which are durable and dependable in ail circumstances.

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The Detroit Locker provides maximum traction by delivering 100% of the torque to both drive wheels.Traction can be delivered in mud, snow, rocks and on the track with the latest Electrac, Truetrac and EZ locker.

For more information on the Detroit Locker or the location of your nearest stockist contact Rocket Industires on 02 8825 1900 or visit www.rocketind.com

This space could be yours.

Call Brendon on 0407 007 286 for details.

1 February 2006

79

I

RACE AND PERFORMANCE CLASSIFIEDS SELL your parts, motorsport vehicle or anything to do with motorsport via our internet classified partners my105.com -for as little as $35!* Yes,3 months on myl05.com, plus an insertion here in MNews, all for as little as $35.

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online classifieds

Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.my105.com V8 Supercar

V8 Supercar ready for 06 Fujitsu series, current spec fully prepared major spares package avalible all assistance given complete with race history, dyno sheets etc, will trade / deal. $145,000.0418 551 170.

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328

*(jf directly entered onto my105.com)

Honda S2000

HOW?

This car has been maintained at the highest level.2005 class a champion 2005 2nd outright production car champion Fluge range of spares Can give assistance If you want to win the championship in production cars then this is the car. $49,990 Neg. 02 49529129 / 0412677786.

Either log on to my105.com and follow the prompts(photo must be digital, if required) OR you can still advertise via mail/fax($10 surcharge applies)and send us your car photo if you require one($10 pic processing fee).

Type/write your advertisement clearly (no more than 50 words), nominate your category and include your pic(s).

Mail or email(include credit card and your details)- see addresses below.

Ads without pics may be faxed,along with your details/contact and credit card details.

Categories include: 5edans/Sports Cars; Open Wheelers; Speedway; Drag; Engines; Parts; Transporters/Trailers; Employment; Photographs; Wanted.

Standard ad(no pic) - my105.com & MNews $45

www.my105.eom/40979

328

Sedans/Sports Cars

Great opportunity to purchase Group Nc Flistoric Touring Car. 1971 Holden Monaro, 350 Chev. Recent Podium finishes at Bathurst 2005 Biante round and Sandown Historic.

No expence spared. Car ready for 2006 National series complete with spares, setup information. Track/ Race assistance provided if required. Darrin 0417 474 883.

VH COMMODORE CUP as raced by 5teve Briffa consisant top ten finisher no money spared ready to race 2006.Fluge spares package quickest VFI available comes with full V5 body shell to upgrade.Extreamly reliable race package.may consider lease or trade. $26 000.Steve Briffa 0411 723 331.

www.myl05.com/24959

329

$10 $35

'Colour' block ad (per issue) 'Feature'ad MNews & my105.com

$20

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$75

CHECK LIST - have you supplied:

Typed/written advertisementcategory, photo; credit card details (number, expiry, name); your details (name, address, phone, email)?

SEND TO: Mail:

My105, Suite 8,11-21 Underwood Rd, Homebush, NSW, 2140

Toyota Levin Sports Sedan Rolling 5hell Space Frame ,(1) Set Of Slicks, (1) Set Of Wets, power Steering Rack With Electric Pump, (2) Spare Drive Shafts, Race Seat, Fuel Tank, Mechanical Jacks Fitted To Car, (2) Front Spoilers, Complete Set Of Body Moulds, Alloy Radiator, Alloy Oil Cooler, (2) Diffs, (4) Koni Shocks, Pedal Box. $12 000 Neg, Robert 041S660378 / 02 66283510.

return photos supplied for advertising. Ads will appear as soon as possible after receipt.

MNews/my105 classifieds are for the sale of private goods and vehicles only. Photos marked 'proof' will not be used.

Gibson Motorsport Nissan GRP "A" DR30 Skyline as driven by George Fury & Glen Seaton during 1986 & 87. Totally original & authentic in every respect this car is offered with spare Gibson Motor, original log book, homolagation papers & set up books as used

by Gibson. Full Price $125,000.00. For further details contact Terry Ashwood on 0415 262 855.$125,000.00.Terry 0415 262 855.

329

Combined Touring / Improved Production, Great car for state series or sprints, 3 meeting old, spare parts package, ready to race. For sale $7,500.00 or Lease. Ph: Michael 0418 377 372. $7,500.00. Mick 0418 377 372.

www.myl05.com/73365

328

www.myl05.com/28642

Jtsm

i Nissan Pulsar GTiR

1971 NC GTHO Falcon.

AUSSIE RACING CAR Drive at big events in 2006 including Clipsal, Bathurst and Indy, car just fully resprayed, strong engine, ready to race, $29,000 ring for more details 0418 411224.

www.myl05.com/83394

Gibson Motorsport Nissan GRP

www.myl05.com/l4966

Toyota Corolla Twin Cam

Email: mnews@my105.com Fax: 02 96471177 Notice to advertisers: We are unable to

329

VH Commodore Cup Holden Monaro Historic Touring

www.myl05.com/55258

Extra issues(per issue)

No engine mods,TV DVD, 18 Inch wheels, new tyres. Full ATB Bodykit, clear tail lights&indicators, M3 Mirrors, ATB muffler, lowered, MOMO gear knob, tinted windows, full service history,climate control,100,000km major service done. Sale to finance buying a house. This car is a very clean pimped out luxury car. Won't Disappoint. May trade/ swap for vehicle around 10 - 15K with cash difference eg Forester, GSR,SSS pulsar, GTIR, Lancer. 25,900 ONO. Brent 0418 299 112.

www.myl05.eom/63580

Additional options: Photo

Pimped Audi A4 - has to be seen ^

329

Top runner lap record breaker. Outstanding race history, 05 Clipsal 500 winner. Prepared and maintained with full set-up data, comes with Galvanised tilt trailer and extensive spares. $90,000. Call Eric (02)99976942 or Jack 0425333864.

www.myl 05.com/50601

329

SR20 Quad Throttle Body EFi, near new turbo, 40mm Drummond Suspension, Harrop rotors, 4 spot calipers, 16" wheels with 2 spares, CAMS logged as PRC. Full Roll Cage. Raced on bitumen only for the past 10 years. Heaps of other mods. Eligible for 3J with a restrictor.

Comes with Rally trip computer, terraphone.

Seats, Harnesses, Helmet net and Window net. Fast reliable car, may trade cheaper race car. Will transport to Melbourne. Ring to discuss. $19500 Neg. Scott 0363247529.

www.myl05.com/84441

329

motorsport news

classifieds

—■

^

Raceseat Raceseat. Suzuka Cobra model large size complete with base, FIA & CAMS approved with 6 point harness as new. $1,195 the lot or will separate, phone Bob 0401896733 or 08 84499196. $ 1,195 Neg. robert 08 82431122.

Toyota Corolla Twin Cam

www.myl05.com/44624

Improved Production Car, Newest car in fl eet, used for displays. Ready to race and comes with spare parts. Available for OLT's and state race leasing or for sale $7,500.00. Ph: Michael 0418 377 372. $7,500.00, Mick 0418 377 372.

www.myl05.com/5758

328

328

Transporters/Trailers

Group C Cooper S Original Group C Cooper 5 Original Log Book, Fresh 1293CC Eng Split Webbers, Straight Cut Gear Box, Salisbury Diff, Alloy Cage, Top Cond. Class Winner NSW Flill Climb Championship, Very Reliable. $19,500.00. Garry 02 6662 2822 BH.

www.myl05.eom/2606

1

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ij

328

Mitsubishi FK417 Transporter Open Wheelers

Mitsubishi FK417, easy conversion to transporter, 6 speed, powersteer, aircond, re sheeted and re-roofed. No log book required.

Excellent condition $33,000 inc. GST (BH) 02 9624 7766 (AH) 0425 231 027. $33,000 (inci GST). Phil 02 9624 7766.

Toyota Corolla Twin Cam 1st 2004 and 3rd 2005 Class D Vic State Championships, Fresh Engine and G/Box, Ready to race. Comes with spare parts package, For Sale $8,000.00 or for lease. Ph: Michael 0418 377 372. $8,000.00. Mick 0418 377 372.

www.my105.com/48721

328

Built with new or rebuilt parts 6 years ago, used twice sincel 235 RWKW 308, super T 10, Hays comp clutch, spooled 3.5 9" billet axles, V5 Simmons, big brakes, Sandown 1.27.1 heaps of fun. 14000 Neg. 0409501192 /0355651564.

n

328

www.myl05.com/23851

328

Hi-LiteYour Ad Block Coloured Ads Out NOW! Log on to

7-r.^

Fully Enclosed Transporter Chequer Plate fl oor, fully lined & insulated, reverse cycle air conditioner, power points, fl ourencent light, personal access door, barn doors on side & rear, roll out awning over side barn doors, currently lined with display racks as it has been used as a mobile display room. Aluminum chequer plate stairs for easy side access, light to tow (currently towed by a Toyota Troop Carrier), excellent condition, can deliver to NSW or VIC, current NSW rego. $ 11,500,00 Neg. Chris 0412153142.

www.myl05.com/68625

7.

328

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Enclosed dragster trailer This gooseneck trailer has wall mounted shelving & tool boxes set up for 240 volt electric brakes 12 volt hydraulic tilt ram 8 metre awning included, 12,000.00 Ono. Steven 0412887028.

www.myl05.eom/7770

329

For Lease

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ass

Under 2litre Toyota Corona

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^Gef ft see/T Get it sold!

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GREAT TOW VEHICLE

Driven by both David and Ashley Birks. Can be raced as either early or late model. There are a host of spares incI spare car. A very well built car, which is easy to drive and easy and inexpensive to maintain. This car has been on the front row of this class. An ideal car to sprint or hill climb. For more info call us and have a chat. $10,000 Aud. David 0412335573.

www.myl05.eom/58330

329

VECTOR MG096 Formula Ford Troy Dunstan Engine, Koni Adjustable Shocks, MYCHRON Gold Data Loggerand Dash, Ratios for OLD Raceway, Morgan Park and Eastern Creek, BF Racing prepared (07) 3807 0527.

Consistent state podium performer $26,500 (plus GST if applicable). Contact Roman 0419 646 1 00 or racer@rkmotorsport.com, $26,500.

Roman 0419 646 100.

Torana SS

www.myl 05.com/46068

www.myl05.eom/89403

7L

/ am very happy with the service I received. AH three of the enquiries you forwarded were firm buyers and it was sold on a first come first served basis.

Again thanks.

I. Hills

, 4 Speed Auto. 2" lovered spindles and rear spring shackles. Billet grill. Billstein shocks.

Black metallic paint. Rear lid. Alloy wheels, good tyres, aircon, showroom condition, RWC. $30,000. Paul 0427 885 075.

www.myl05.com/95284

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328

DRIVE AVAILABLE 2006Australian Production CarChampionship Fully Televised, Huge Media, Great Exposure for Sponsors, Competitive, Reliable, Well Presented & Maintained by LGM. All Enquiries ph Michael: 0418 377 372. Mick 0418 377 372.

www.myl05.com/99879

Lotus-7 Type Clubman Project.

328

Collectable/Memorabilia Transporter for Sale

Collectors Books Aust M Racing

Build for 944 5eries, 2004 Championship winning car, no expense spared, current spec engine, spare wheels and tyres, 5parco fire system, EC. $29,750. Kane 0408 103 815.

Possible Business/Hobby Opportunity.

(3 vehicles completed & registered in Victoria using this concept & equipment) Comprises- Drawings, Spaceframe chassis Jig, component jigs, panel patterns, fi breglass moulds for front & rear mudguards, nosecone, bonnet & scuttle, plus sundry parts & ongoing assistance to purchaser. Email for pics, jrnicholls@dodo.com.au. $20,000 Neg. Jim 0412777960,

392 Duel Fuel 88,000ks, 5 speed auto, seats 7, new extractors, 23' body, wired for 240v, new winch, includes honda generator, excellent truck, suit speedway or circuit cars. This is a regretful sale. $32,000 ONO. Ian 0403 686 809.

Collectors Books Australian Motor Racing Year Vol's 11-19 (1981-1990) $600. James Hardy 1000 (1981-82-83-84), The Great Race (1988-89-94-95-96) $650. Grand Prix Vol's 1-5 (1985-1990) $400 or $1500 for all 23 books in top condition. D (03) 6435 4435.

www.myl05.eom/69044

www.myl05.com/94994

www.myl 05.com/82008

www.myl05.com/74148

Porsche 944

1 February 2006

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talk cormrter^

mi Editorial Staff Editor: Phil Branagan

T-!

editorr^mnews.com.au

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Contributors F1: Joe Saward, Adam Cooper, Paolo Filisetti Europe: Quentin Spurring, David Addison US: Phil Morris, Martin 0. Clark Speedway: Geoff Rounds, Greg Boscato, Darren Sutton,Tony Millard(UK) Rally: Jon Thomson, Ryan Lahiff Drag Racing; Dave Ostaszewski(USA), Ken Ferguson National: Mark Wicks, Mark Jones, Daniel Powell, Erin McCowatt, Andrew van Leeuwen Photographers: Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Marshall Cass, John Morris/ Mpix, AF1 Images, Frank Midgley, Peter Bury, Mike Patrick (UK), Chris Carter, James Smith, Paris Charles, Bob Potts, Neil Hammond, Justin Collins Motorsport News is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55125 120 702 Publisher; C Lambden Printed by: Offset Alpine Printing Pty Ltd, Lidcombe, NSW. Distributed by: NDD Ltd Material published by MOTORSPORT NEWS is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or In part without the written permission of the publisher. Freelance contributions ate welcome, and while all care will be taken, Australasian Motorsport News does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted.

'Opinions expressed in Motorsport News are not necessarily those of Australasian Motorsport News or its staff.

What's up with Ellery?

I was wondering why Triple 8 sacked Steven Ellery? After all, he did finish third at Bathurst.

He did a very good job to come that far after'his boss'Craig Lowndes had the accident. It was the highest placed Ford in the race.Was this his decision or team boss Roland Dane's? It would be a shame to lose someone of Steve's talent.

Phillip Jones Ballarat, Victoria Jones should get DAMS Why is A1 Team Australia not performing? I can't understand it and quite frankly, I am getting a bit sick of watching'our team'lose.

Australia has always been one of the premier nations in world motorsport,so why does our A1 Grand Prix team not reflect this? I have always rated Will Davison's talents, so I doubt he is to blame.

So what is going on?

Now that mediocre results have become the norm,once Davison leaves the team to join Dick Johnson Racing it will be difficult for the team to attract another top-line Australian.The Briscoes, Courtneys and Powers of the world will not want to run in a car that is not capable of winning - and at the moment,the car doesn't look the goods.

Maybe Alan Jones should employ the policy of'if you can't beat them,join them,'and get out car prepared by DAMS next year?

Gavin Watts Simpson, Victoria Bathurst needs more entries I think that the Bathurst 1000 lacked something in 2005 - and I'm a Holden fan.

I really missed the privateer aspect of the Great Race this year.

With only 34 cars starting the race, every car on the grid was fielded by a professional team. I'm not saying that privateers cannot be

could keep fans entertained in Australia and if interest in NZV8s grows in New Zealand, it could help V8 Supercars Australia secure a second round in New Zealand.

Troy Molting Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Send us yoi^thoughts;

PO Box 7072rBnghton,VIC 31:86 Fax:0395965030 mnews@mnews.com.au

professional, but I always enjoyed the'Aussie battler'aspect of Bathurst, with the 40-plus cars running around Mount Panorama, many of which would only be seen once a year.

I realise that with the current professionalism of the sport we cannot have once a year teams and drivers return, but I think there is merit in allowing at least 10 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar teams to enter the race?

Garry Connor Armadale, Victoria

NZ V8 Tourers are cool, eh bro?

I have been following the New Zealand V8 Touring Car Series this summer while our own V8 circus is on holiday and I think that it is great.

I am never going to like it more that our own V8s, but I think that the NZ series should be promoted more in Australia and shown on the Ten Network to keep us fans entertained with V8 action.

Maybe V8 Supercars Australia could arrange some sort of promotional exchange with our Kiwi cousins. For example,the winner of the NZ series could win a funded drive in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series the following year.

Promoting the NZ series here

More V8 Supercars Australia merchandise needed I am one of those diehard fans that always buys V8 Supercar merchandise. I used to buy team merchandise, but all the sponsors, teams and drivers change far too much,so I didn't think it was worth buying all the team stuff.

So now I buy the other clothing and collectables, like Clipsal 500, Bathurst 1000 and V8 Supercars Australia merchandise. But I find that the ranges of these products are limited. I would likeV8 Supercars to follow NASCAR's lead and have a broader range of series merchandise. I for one would love to get a V8 Supercars dash mat for my Commodore and give out things like V8 Supercar lunchboxes to my nephews for Christmas.

I realise that team merchandise sells the best, but I just thought that there should be an alternative for the fan who just loves all the drivers and teams.

Bill Cassington Kempsey, New South Wales Where's Crompton?

I was wondering whether Neil Crompton still wants a V8 Supercar drive, or at least an endurance drive.

I always love reading the news in Motorsport News in the first part of the year when various drivers from all sorts of categories get signed up by the V8 teams for Sandown and Bathurst, but Neil's name never comes up.

Is he too busy with Ten doing the commentary,or is he going to make a comeback?

Tracy McAllistar Salisbury Downs,South Australia

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The Good Old Days:Reader Garry Connor misses the days ofprivateers at Bathurst,like Biil O'Brien in 1996,above.

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