Motorsport News Issue 350 - December 6-19, 2006 by V8 Sleuth

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WEBBER'S FIRST RED BULL TEST THE NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS

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No.350 6 - 19 December 2006 Australia $6.50 NZ $8.00 inc GST

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Issue 350 6-19 December 2006

www.mnews.com.au

NEWS Grech returns- with SCAR

Super Man

Didya miss me? Jonesy back to Team BOC

Photos Cover

Hamiltakkinen Young and Old at McLaren

Dirk Klyrtsmith John Morris

10 Jesuis piste off Bourdais gives Power a serve 13 Clucas gets a V8 F3 Champ for Island debut

I EMAULT

I 9

OPINION

; t 25 Motor Mouth

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GUN FIGHT

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LOWNDES, RICK IN TITLE DECIDER

sutton-images.com Contents: Marshali Cass sutton-images.com Dirk Kiynsmith

Bahrain revisited

26 Opinion

Cheating death and red flags

28 Box Seat

Renault has a birthday

miP 82 Talk Converter

jBMors^jT

A once-in-a-lifetime letter (we hope)

30 Five Minutes with Andrew Jones 32 Five Minutes With Marcos Ambrose 34 I/S Supercars: The Showdown Rick Kelly and Craig Lowndes take aim for the Phillip Island

decider. Here are the seven points you need to know 40 Can't bat, can't bowl. But can write a bit Addison's Pom's Eye view of the I/S Supercars from Bahrain 42 Serial Winner A chat with three-time CCWS Champ, Sebastien Bourdais,

who opens up on Lolas, the Panoz and Will Power... 46 Frozen Solid m:

What's behind Formula I's engine freeze?

RACE

SO' And we thought Oasis was a British rock band ^.Bright winsjn Bahrain, Garth goes fast and28,000 -people showedup, Wellrtwoout ofthreeain'tbad

58 Battling iPBrn Marcus wms'd

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B 22 Bikes 60 International 62 Speedway 66 Drag Racing 68 National Scene

76 Race Shop/Industry NSWs 79 Classifieds

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Dexion subsfor TKR Evangeiou will step up to Main Game at Phillip Island -and Slade set to get 2007 Fujitsu chance DEXION Racing has secured an entry into the Caterpiller Grand Finale at Phillip Island this weekend. Tony Evangelou will make his solo V8 Supercar Championship Series debut at the wheel of his Dexion Racing Falcon, using the #021 Team Kiwi Racing licence. TKR has elected to lease its entry to Dexion Racing after engine problems at Bahrain would have forced them to complete a costly engine rebuild.TKR's next appearance in Australia will be in a Ford Performance Racing-prepared Ford Falcon in next year's Championship {see story page six).

Evangelou's team, ANT Racing, has competed in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series this year and currently sits in 11th place. Evangelou will not compete in the two Fujitsu V8 races at Phillip Island this weekend. The Phillip Island round will be Evangelou's first solo drive in the Championship Series. He contested the 2005 endurance racing season (Sandown and Bathurst) with AnthonyTratt in his Toll Racing Holden. "There are a few risks but its going to be a great challenge and great opportunity for ANT Racing," he told MNews. "I am absolutely looking forward to it."

Evangelou's drive at the Grand Finale is a timely exercise. Pending a final evaluation, Formula Ford championship contender Tim Slade will step into the Dexion Falcon in next year's Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. Only slight modifications will be made to Evangelou's ex-FPR Falcon to ensure it is eligible for the'main game.'The team will have to mount a TEGA camera, a pit stop light and the Mach 2 monitor, which is a device that screens the sensors on the cars. Evangelou will use the number 021 to comply with the Team's Licence Agreements. - GRANT ROWLEY

Handbrakes get pulled

THIS weekend's final round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series may be the final time 'handbrakes'are seen on cars. While handbrake devices have been in use for some time as a means of getting a fast getaway (as in a simple hand-brake road car start), the steering-wheel-mounted hydraulic rear-wheel handbrakes being used by thefour'Team Tom'Commodores, and more recently by Craig Lowndes's Triple 8 Falcon, have moved on and are now far more useful than just a means of getting a good start (well, most of the time). Now,the devices are proving a useful handling aid, especially on fast sweeping corners, where a judicious dab (or rather, pull) is enough to aid turn-in (remember the extra 'foot-brake'pioneered for a while by McLaren FI, although more for traction-control purposes?). But, like the McLaren gizmo,the handbrake's continued life is limited. While nothing is yet on paper, it is expected that rules will be in place to ban the devices for 2007 - otherwise everyone will have to have them ... 4

moiorsport news

NEWS

Making the most of Now

Betta Electrical's deal is over,so telecommunications giant'Lnowdes'steps in for V8 title decider

^Lnowdesi make the most of now

THERE is no more Team Betta Electrical. Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup will race their Fords under the guise ofTriple Eight Race Engineering and in new'teaser'livery for the team's new sponsor, Vodafone.This comes after its sponsor of four years, Betta Electrical, was placed in administration in October and was subsequently secured in a buyout by franchisees. "Vodafone will make its first appearance on our Falcons this weekend, with their brand statement 'make the most of now'featuring prominently for the round,"said Triple Eight Race Engineering Team Principal, Roland Dane. "It is great that we have this opportunity to provide them with a branding platform in the most crucial

race of the year for the team, and I am certain both Craig and Jamie will do a fantastic job to round out the season, with the goal of winning our first championship firmly fixated in everyone's sights." "We would like to welcome Vodafone on board this weekend and look forward to building a strong relationship in the exciting years to come with Triple Eight Race Engineering." The team's new Vodafone livery will be unveiled in the New Year and the official launch of TeamVodafone will take place in Sydney in mid-January - timed to match with the launch of Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes. At the same time, three-year deals with the team's other sponsors - Sony Ericsson, Ford,Toshiba and Dexion - will also be launched.

Now or Never: Craig Lowndes,above right with team-mate Jamie Whincup, will go head-to-head with Rick Kelly for the 2006 crown.

umh back lll with PWR irmer HRT man heads back to Holden with Kees JEFF Grech is back in V8 Supercars- with PWR Racing. Grech, who guided the Holden Racing Team to six titles in ^ seven years, has been appointed a'senior consultant's'role with i the Super Cheap-sponsored team. He started work at PWR's L Dandenong,Melbourne base, where its new Commodore VEs l are under construction, last Thursday. L "While the new cars will go a long way to improving our F performance,further changes within the team are also necessary if we are to achieve our goals,"said PWR co-principal L Kees Week |L "Jeff has been appointed to assess the situation and advise us H|ih what else is required to meet those goals." H Team manager John Panozzo remains with the team and Bn that position but Steve Henderson has left SCAR since Kthe Bahrain race. Henderson, who was the engineer on Greg ■Murphy's #51 entry, is believed to be headed to Tasman ■Motorsport. 5

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THE WPS 12-Hour race at Bathurst has a television deal and will be televised across Australia on the Nine Network. The race will have two-hours of Its highlights broadcast on April 22, two weeks after the race. The telecast will be produced by Greg Sita and his team atAVE. m This weekend's V8SCS Finale will be the last round for the current generation of V8 Supercars - and Ford will take the overall honours. Since its debut in 2003,the Falcon BA has taken 29 round wins,three Drivers'titles, three Teams'championships three Manufacturers'trophies. That makes the Barra the most successful model of the V8 Supercar era, with Holden's Commodore VT taking 26 round wins. Though to be fair, if you inciude the then-non championship Sandown and Bathurst wins in that total ... n Holden can boast a World Champion among its V8 Supercar driving squad. Nathan Pretty has won the Group A category of the UIM World Jetsprint Boat Championship,taking all four rounds held in Melton, Griffith and Albury. Pretty beat as many as 40 other boats in True Blue Too, a boat owned by Dixon Family Racing. n Richard Boland has parted ways with V8 Supercars Australia. The category's Brand and Communications Manager, who joined a year ago, left the V8SCS world HQ while the Bahrain round was in progress. No word yet on a replacement. n Bartercard Miss V8 Supercar Final is on tonight at Studio 3 in Melbourne's Crown Casino.Thirty-two international entries(we thought it was one per licence) will primp, preen and smile their faces off in a no-holds-barred test ofthe best, which may or may not require several Safety Car interventions. The action starts at 7:00pm. n Speaking of hornbags,Tony O'Alberto has made the press-and we do not mean MNews.The Fujitsu V8 star graces the pages of the January issue of Dolly,a magazine for Australian girls. The 20-yearold was hand picked by Dolly's'all female'spunk 'o' meter (Editor's note to publisher: We need one of those) to become one of 10 finalists in the annual'Search for Australia's Biggest Spunk'. 6

8s TV uncertainty Crompton toSeven? DETAILS ofV8 Supercar TV scheduling during the primary 'AFL'Football months, April to September,are eagerly awaited as differing slants on the Foxtel/7/10 AFL fall-out hint at possible dark clouds on the V8 TV horizon. Suggestions from within outgoing V8 broadcasters, Ten,that Seven will now be contractually obligated to show AFL Football on Saturday afternoons, thus compromising plans to show V8 qualifying and Race 1 (in the three-race format events), have been discounted by V8 Supercars Australia - but concerns are unlikely to go away until scheduling is released. It had been assumed (but not locked in) that Foxtel, despite part-owner Nine missing out on the main AFL contract, would pay the 7/10 consortium for the rights to show three or four of the eight weekly AFL games. With negotiations seemingly falling apart last week. Seven and Ten will have to arrange to show all eight on free-to-airTV. There have been rumours of deals with either the ABC or even SBS to help, alongside the more likely outcome that both Seven and Ten will simply have to air all eight games between them. The suggestion when the news broke in Bahrain last week was that Seven might find itself with two separate obligations on Saturdays. Both Seven and V8SA spokesemen have claimed that'all is weir,V8SA boss Tony Cochrane confident that he has an iron clad contract for live Saturdays; "V8 Supercar racing on TV will be more extensive and better than ever," he said. While there are rumours that calming forces within Foxtel (which may well suffer a consumer backlash without AFL, particularly in Victoria) could result in a last-minute return to the negotiating table, V8 fans will most likely have to wait for details of final programming before the full picture becomes clear. -CHRIS LAMBDEN

RESPECTED commentator Neil Crompton looks set to follow V8 Supercars to Network Seven. As with most things motorsport, official confirmation of the move is unlikely until the end of the month,but MNews understands that a deal has been done. Crompton was originally recruited from Seven (remember the red jacket!) when Ten won the V8 rights and his future has been the subject of speculation since Seven won the rights back. His presence will provide some continuity - and a familiar face - as Seven takes overVS broadcasting,starting with the Clipsal 500 in March.

While Ten ramps up FI NETWORK 10 looks set to ramp up its Formula 1 coverage in 2007following the loss of V8 Supercars.. Network Manager of Sport David White confirmed to MNews this week that the qualifying hour from European races is likely to be shown'almost' live,following Saturday nightfootball commitments. At the same time,there appears some possibility that the same(European) Grands Prix might move forward an hour or so on Sunday evenings to be live, or very close to it.To date,the commercial requir'ements(ie ratings) of '4 a 10pm Sunday slot have precluded FI broadcasts, although the loss of V8s may well have stimulated the network into overcoming that barrier. "Watch this space"is White's optimistic suggestion. - CHRIS LAMBDEN

TKR confirms 2007 plans TEAM Kiwi Racing has raised the sufficient funds to guarantee its spot on the 2007 V8 Supercar grid. In August this year,TKR announced that after seven years with Holden, it would switch to a Ford Performance Racing-prepared Falcon in 2007. At Bathurst in October,their plans were thrown into disarray when Paul Radisich suffered a major crash, braking his ankle and sternum. The destroyed Commodore, prepared by Paul Morris Motorsport, was written off, leaving TKR with an estimated $400,000 shortfall in its 2007 budget. After a 35-day plea to the public for funds to complete their deal with FPR,the ali-Kiwr received its final donation as MNews went to press on Monday. TKR team owner David John was ecstatic with the support from the public and was delighted to confirm that his team was locked into its deal with the Prodrive-owned operation. "We obviously have to say a big thank you to all the public," he said.

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"We've had a massive amount of support. I think everyone knows we've done it pretty tough over the years. Every two years we've moved forward in one way, shape or form and i think 2007 will be no different. "Next year, it's so important to make sure we have our best chance to win races." TKR will have its first test day in early February, where Radisich will get his first drive of a Falcon since his days at Triple 8 Racing in 2004. If Radisich and the team feel that has recovered sufficently and is capable of doing the job, he will be given the nod. - GRANT ROWLEY motorsport news

NEWS n

JB looksforward to busy 2007

JOHN Bowe will soon be confirmed as the lead driver at Paul Cruickshank Racing in 2007. The 1995 Australian Touring Car champion is set to saddle up with Cruickshank's fledgling V8 team, as we first told you back in October, in what will likely to be his swansong V8 Supercar season. Bowe will drive the #20 GlenfordsTool Centre Ford Falcon BA, which will also carry some new additional sponsors. Confirmation of Bowe's'07 deal is expected soon given this week's announcement that JB will contest his final V8 Supercar race forTeam BOC at Phillip Island this weekend. It brings to an end a partnership that has lasted five years.

Bowe also looks set to race in the Australian GT Championship in 2007. TheVS Supercar veteran has a number of possibilities to join the growing championship. 'There are possibilities to drive in the series, either in a Ferrari or a Lamborghini," he told MNews. '1 enjoyed the racing I did in the Nations'Cup.The GT Series has adopted world GT3 rules and I think that makes it a stable series. which is a plus. 1 think it will grow into something.' Bowe raced a series of Ferraris in the Nations Cup series, driving for Paul Cruickshank - coincidentally the owner he will race for in the 2007 V8 Series.

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Brad to bejoined by Andrew atTeam BOC in 2007

ANDRiVW Jbnes will: be reunited with his family-run team when he swaps colburs to replace John Bowe at the wheel of BJR's #12 Falcon next year. It will be the third change in teams in as many years for the 26-year-old, who had a difficult start to his main series V8 career with GRM in 2005 before moving to Tasman Motorsport this year - a seat that will disappear with the expected arrival of Greg www.mnews.com.au

Murphy to drive alongside Jason Richards next season. "As far as driving for BJR is concerned, it was something that I always wanted to do," Jones told MNews. "We had a chat at the end of 2004,[and] it was spoken about there,that they had seen what I was capable of, so they believed in what I was able to do. "I'm very close with my family, I'm very close with my Dad, I'm

very close with my uncle. It should be a good thing." The move also means a change of manufacturer for Jones, who will step into a Ford after two years in Commodores. "I have made some good friends with the people at Holden, even though I wasn't a factorysupported driver,"Jones said. "But to move to another manufacturer will be something that's good,and I look forward

to working on that side of the fence." Jones will suit up alongside his uncle. Brad,and under the eye ofTeam Manager father Kim. It will be the second time he has driven for the team, having won the Development Series title in a BJR Falcon AU in 2004. - MARKGLENDENNING For more on Jones's move to BJR, please turn to page 30. 7

Testing times TOYOTA set the fastest lap of the week of FI testing in Barcelona with Jarno Trulli recording a lm15.936s and Ralf Schumachera 1m15.976s. The two drivers were the only ones present on the final day of the day and prior to that hadnotbeenabletolap faster than 1ml 7.3s. When all the teams were present Ferrari set the pace with Luca Badoer setting the fastest time overall with a 1ml6.317s, beating the previous day's best of 1 ml6.403s, set by Massa. Ferrari ran Baoder, Massa and Marc Gene. Renault was the closest challenger with Heikki Kovalainen recording a lm16.609s,ahead of Robert Kubica's BMW,which set a 1 ml6.729s. Next up with Lewis Hamilton's McLaren with a best of 1ml7.077s. Most of the usual drivers were seen in the test with the addition of Timo Glock for BMW, Mika Hakkinen for McLaren, Christian Klien for Honda, Kamui Kobayashi for Toyota and Anthony Davidson running a reliveried Honda FI car in the colours of Super Aguri FI. n There will be a series of meetings this week in Monaco concerning the details of next year's rules and regulations. It is being proposed that teams be forced to run a test driver at some point on Fridays as some teams believe that with the rules as they are some teams will simply not bother with test drivers and that will mean that there will be fewer opportunities than ever for youngsters to get FI experience. n Toyota Motorsport GmbH has announced that Tadashi Yamashina has been appointed the new vice chairman of the Cologne-based operation. Yamashina will remain in charge of both Toyota Motor Company's Motor Sports Division and Motorsport Business Management Department in addition to his new role.

n Philips has announced an agreement to increase it sponsorship for the Wiiliams team in 2007.The company had a trial year in 2006 and enjoyed a 15 percent increase in its saies of shaving equipment. Philips will increase its use of iogo and team imagery, and endorsement rights via ; both team drivers. -JOESAWARD 8

MARK Webber has concluded his first two days of testing with the Red Bull Racing team. With the all-new RBR/Renault not due until mid-January,the primary purpose of these early tests - using this year's Ferraripowered car - was to familiarise himself with the personnel and operation of the RBRtest . team and for the team to start to evaluate Bridgestone's 2007 rubber. For the record,Webber shaded new team-mate David Coulthard on the two days the pair ran together,although times at this point are, as MNews consistently reminds you, meaningless. Webber professed himself happy with the first run,although the substantial difference between the'06 and'07 Bridgestone rubber prevented any meaningful comparisons between the RBR car and Webber's 2006 Williams.

Dear Lewis. Merry Christmas.From Ron Hamilton confirmed alongside Alonso for 2007 McLaren has ended months of speculation and crazy rumours by confirming that Lewis Hamilton will partner Fernando Alonso next season. The 21 -year-old, who signed with the team in September (the team delayed the announcement until after his maiden FI tests to avoid publicity) will be one of four British drivers in Formula 1 next season,joining Honda's Jenson Button, Red Bull Racing's David Coulthard and Super Aguri's Anthony Davidson. FI's first black driver (his grandfather moved to England from Trinidad in the 1950s)joins the team after a near-perfect lead-up to Grand Prix racing; he has won titles in British Formula Renault (2003),the 2005 Formula 3 EuroSeries and GP2 this year. "Having the best driver alongside me is the best position to be in," Hamilton said."Having a twotime World Champion, who is

experienced, talented and a few years older than me,is great. He can give a lot to the team and I will be able to learn from him." The news means that Pedro de

la Rosa will remain the team's test and reserve driver. Despite doing a good job after the team split with Juan Pablo Montoya this season, two Spanish drivers obviously did not fit into the team's future plans. "Pedro has done an outstanding job for us this season but we felt it was the right time to provide Lewis with this opportunity,"said team boss Ron Dennis. "It's obviously going to be the biggest challenge of Lewis's career so far but it's one that we are sure he will be able to meet. He is coming into the paddock for the first time as a Formula 1 racing driver and will have to familiarise himself with the pressures of a Grand Prix weekend. However, the confidence we have in Lewis's abilities and talent is clear from our decision to give him the chance." Hamilton tested with the team in Jerez last week and will continue this week. - JOE SAWARD

motorsport news

NEWS,

2007 Entry list revealed THE FIA has issued the official numbers of the 2007 season with no big surprises on the list, which is led by World Champion Fernando Alonso, who takes his number one to McLaren. The full list is as follows:

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

Fernando Alonso (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) Giancarlo Fisichella (ING Renault FI Team) Heikki Kovalainen (ING Renault FI Team) (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro) Felipe Massa Kimi Raikkonen (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro) Jenson Button (Honda Racing FI Team) Rubens Barrichello (Honda Racing FI Team) Nick Heidfeld (BMW SauberFITeam) Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber FI Team) Ralf Schumacher (PanasonicToyota Racing) JarnoTrulli (Panasonic Toyota Racing) David Coulthard (Red Bull Racing) Mark Webber’^,;; (Red Bull Racing) 3- (AT&TWilliams) Nico Rosberg Alexander Wurz (AT&TWilliams) TBA (Scuderia Toro Rosso)) TBA (Scuderia Toro Rosso) Christijan Albers -(Spyker FI Team) TBA (Spyker FI Team) Takuma Sato ^(TBA Super Auguri FTTeam)*si Anthony Davidson (TBASuper Aguri Fl feam); ™

The points ofinterest are the fact that neither Scuderia Toro Rosso dri> has been confirmed and that the cagwill be known as STR-Ferraris;tbal Spyker has got everyone to agree to'^name change and thatSuper Agu . -ir* obviously expecting to sign a fitle sponsor. ^iOE

Unfinnished Business Will Mika continue to testfor McLaren? MIKA Hakkinen may play a testing role with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. The 1998 and 1999 World Champion drove a Formula 1 car for the first time in five year at Barcelona last week, completing 77 laps and finishing the day 2s slower than the team's new recruit, Lewis Hamilton "It has been an exciting day, and I have enjoyed the opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car after a five-year break,"said Hakkinen. "I didn't expect to be quick straight away, and Barcelona is a hard track on both the car and driver. It took several laps before 1 was up to speed, but we were all expecting this to be the case. Although it was great fun, I also had to do some serious work for the team as any feedback I www.mnews.com.au

could give them from today's experience will help them with their preparations for the 2007 season. As a result I was really pushing to try and do the best Job that I could to assist them in any way possible." The question now is what happens next. It appears that Hakkinen could continue to test with the team to assist with set up, particularly with Hamilton. The Finn could be an ideal mentor for the 21 -year-old, who will partner World Champion Fernando Alonso in his rookie season. Hakkinen has driven in the DTM series for the last two seasons and is out of contract with the Mercedes-Benz team but may yet sign on to race in 2007. - QUENTIN SPURRING/STAFF 9

I ;-goo-goo MOTORSPORT News extends its congratulations to the Fernadez family. Britek Motorsport driver Jose and his wife Emma welcomed little girl Maya into the world last Thursday in Sydney. n The prestigious/iotoporf Awards 'have been handed out on London. World Champion Fernando Alonso bested Michael Schumacher to the International Driver of the Year, Jenson Button was British Competition Driver of the Year and Sebastien Loeb was Rally Driver of the Year. Lewis Hamilton was Rookie of the Year for his dominant GP2 season, Andy Priaulx took the Gregor Grant Award while Renault's R26, Ford's Focus WRC 06 and Audi RIO diesel also gathered trophies.

IJi

2006 Hondas to become 2007 Super Aguris

JB HURT

SUPER Aguri FI will race in 2007 with new cars based on this year's Hondas. The Honda-backed team's new SA07 will be based on the RA106 In the same fashion as Scuderia Toro Rosso ran old Red Bull Racing cars this season. That argument was that the cars were designed and built by Jaguar Racing rather than by Red Bull Racing,so the intellectual property belonged to someone other than Red Bull Racing. Honda Racing FI was previously British American Racing and

JENSON Button missed last week's Formula 1 testing after suffering two cracked ribs in an accident whiie kart racing. According to the team,the injury occurred when Button was"participating in a karting test scheduled as part of his winter preparation"- rather than being an accident while Button was playing around during his time off. It remains to be seen whether or not Button will be seen at the forthcoming tests at Jerez on'Oecember 6-8 and 13-15.Jenson is also due to compete in the Race of Champions event at the Stade _ , lertfllffler de France in PacL

it was this organisation that designed the RA106. It remains to be seen how Scuderia Toro Rosso get around the problem this year as the same arguments cannot be used. The team says it will have a new chassis but it is expected that this will look fairly like the car that Red Bull Racing will use.There are legal ways for this to be justified, even if it is not exactly in the spirit of the rules. -JOE SAWARD

n AndyPriauixisamanwho uses his head,so his cap should be worth a mozza.The World Touring Car Champion has donated his cap to be auctions to raise money for the family of Irish motorcycle racer Darren Lindsay, who was killed in September, leaving behind his wife Kerry and three young children Ben,Zak and Poppy.To help with a good cause, look on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBaylSAPI. d...7151&rd=1&rd=1 ■ World Series Sprintcar driver Drew Kruk is recovering in hospital after sustaining facial injuries at Heartland Speedway last weekend. Kruk was struck in the face by a lump of clay during the A-Main of the fifth round of the World Series. He was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital where he was placed in a medically induced coma, with the diagnosis including multiple factures to his face, jaw, nose and eye socket. Kruk is now responding to doctors and family. "Right now he's most disappointed that he can't race this weekend," said Kruk's father Reeve, "it's been amazing, people have been incredible in showing their concern for Drew; it's very encouraging and very humbling." ■ For those who think that MotoGP racing is all glamour; Ducati has released an interesting statistic on the 2006 season. Its MotoGP team was on the track for a total of 80 days on 17 different circuits {10 in Europe and 7 overseas): 51 for races and 29 for testing. 70

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Sebastien slams Power THREE-time Champ Car World Series Champion Sebastien Bourdais has questioned whether Will Power deserved the Bridgestone's Passion For Excellence award this season. Power, who was also awarded the trophy for Champ Car Rookie of the Year at the championship's gala awards night two weeks ago, won the Passion For Excellence award for posting the aggregate fastest race laps across every round this season. However Bourdais, himself a former winner of the award, said that the prize would have been his had he not

been involved in a crash with Paul Tracy at Cleveland. "We got taken out before we could complete a lap in Cleveland, which removed me from the Passion For Excellence competition," Bourdais said. "Will, although being a good driver, isn't the quickest in the series. He is going to get an award that doesn't belong to him." The Newman-Haas driver was also skeptical about Power's claim to pole position at Surfers Paradise. "I think he [Power] is a very good driver, although I don't think he should have been on pole

motorsport news

NEWS

Better USA TV

sutton-lmages.com

FORMULA 1 is set to increase its coverage in the USA market with confirmation that Fox Sports and its sister network Speed TV have signed a new three-year deal. The events will be split, with Fox broacasting four events in the mid season and Speed doing the rest. The commentary team will be led by Bob Varsha, with analysis from former FI driver David Hobbs and former FI mechanic Steve Matchett. Formula 1 journalist Peter Windsor will provide reports from the pits and from the starting grid. -JOESAWARD

Bravo Alessandro! AlexZanardi returns to the cockpit ofa Formula 1 car jo^saward ALEX Zanardi made racing history last weekend at the Formula BMW World Final at Valencia when he took the wheel of a BMW Sauber Formula 1 car and completed 12 laps of the track. The 40-year-old Italian racer lost both his legs in an horrific accident five years ago when his Champ Car exited the pit lane at the Lausitzring and was hit side-on at around 200mph by another car, driven by AlexTagliani. Zanardi was fitted with two artificial legs and in 2003 returned to the Lausitzring and drove a Champ Car again in a demonstration run. Having done that, Zanardi decided that he wanted to race full-time once again and had his first race in a touring car later that year.

using a hand throttle and a modified brake pedal. The BMW FI test was as recognition of his achievements in the WTCC.The car was specially adapted with a brake pedal on the right because Zanardi can generate more force with his right limb. His artificial leg was then fixed to the brake pedal with velcro. The accelerator and gearchange were both controlled by paddles on the back of the steering wheel.The biggest problem was fitting Zanardi's upper body into the narrow cockpit as he has developed considerable muscle in his arms through having to use them much more than other people. "I am very proud that I am doing this,"Zanardi said."The car was fantastic. Everything is so precise; I was really amazed - because usually

you need more time to work on all the details of the car. I expected the car to be much rougher." As an inspiration, Zanardi is a great example and, not surprisingly, has been compared to the famous British fighter pilots Douglas Bader and Colin Hodgkinson who flew fighters during World War II, despite both having lost their legs in crashes. "I have seen too many small children in the clinics, coping far better than I did with my problems,to believe I am anything special," Zanardi said. "A man loses his legs, people expect that he will Just go home and change the channels on the TV with the remote control. I have shown that this guy can come back after that accident and have the same life.That is the great thing."

-J in Australia, because conditions make it possible for him,"said the Frenchman. "Good for him.That is often the way it goes in Australia. But he was pretty quick in Mexico; not the quickest.[But] he can be a strong contender next year." Bourdais's comments may have been intended as an opportunity to return fire at Team Australia after owner Craig Gore declared that Bourdais was an "unworthy champion"in Australia following the collision that took Power out of the race while the Queenslander was in the lead. www.mnews.com.au

Le Best of Mates:Bourdais and Power did not see eye to eye - or wheel to wheel-at Surfers. Left, Bourdais has slid down the inside ofPower after using his Push-to-Pass button in the race and arriving at the ANA corner too fast. He tagged Power's left-front wheel. Power had to pit for repairs.

aska looking to England

Rising Star searching for budget to take Spectrum back to the UK CdMOnthe meod CRISTIANO da Matta is now back in Brazil and has been continuing his recovery following his crash in August at Road America when he suffered serious head injuries after colliding with a deer. Da Matta, who says that he is "almost completely recovered, living a normal life and focused on my health", has promised not to think about going back to racing until he is 100 percent recovered. n One of only two 1939 AutoUnion D-Type racing cars in existence is to be sold by Christie's in Paris next year, and the celebrated auction house is hoping that the sale will bring the highest price ever for an automobile at auction. That record has stood at US$9.95m since 1987 when a 1931 Bugatti Royale was sold. Christie's believe that the Auto Union D-Type will fetch $11.7m. ■ Andreas Zuber has signed to drive for iSport International in GP2 in 2007. Zuber, 23, won a race in CP2 this year.

PAUL Laskazeski is eyeing off a fuil tilt at the 2007 British Formula Ford Championship in a Spectrum. Laskazeski spent this season driving for Borland Racing Developments as part of the CAMS Rising Star program, where his schedule included the Australian Formula Ford Championship as well as a couple of appearances driving a Spectrum in the British Kent series. Budget permitting, Laskazeski will tackle next year's British Duratec series in a Spectrum run by Alan Docking Racing. "That's definitely what we want to do, It's just a matter of finding the budget,"said Laskazeski's father Frank. "To have an Australian driver in an Australian car with an Australian team would be great, and ADR really are a fantastic crew.There's also the link to British Formula 3 and A1GP, which are the sort of things we would be looking at for 2008." Laskazeski has already proven

■ The British Racing Drivers'Club is to have an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss the merits of leasing a small package of land on the Silverstone estate to Porsche. The German firm is planning to build a sales and demonstration centre at the Northamptonshire circuit. ■ Max Mosley, President of the Federation Internationale de i'Automobile will deliver a keynote address at the 2006 Motor Sport Business Forum. Mosley will offer an invaluable insight into the future of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, one which will involve one of the biggest technological advancements in the sport's history. With the inclusion of new ecologically-friendly regulations, it is a future that promises many benefits for all those involved from drivers and manufacturers to the sponsors and the fans. FI team principals Nick Fry, John Howett, Colin Kolles and David Richards will join FI driver David Coulthard and Vodafone's head of global sponsorship Peter Harris for a question and answer panel session about the sport and its commercial future. -JOESAWARD 12

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his ability to run at the front of the British Formula Ford fields, having qualified second in the Kent class at this year's Formula Ford Festival. "The trip to the UK really helped his self-belief,"said Laskazeski snr. "Every track he went to he was on the pace, and he picked up so much driving ability over there, especially racing in the wet. He knows now he can go there and run at the front." -ANDREWVAN LEEUWEN

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PCR puzzle falls into place

PAUL Cruickshank Racing will continue to run three cars in the Carrera Cup Championship in 2007 with two new drivers in their line-up. F3 driver Michael Trimble and Porsche regular Bryce Washington are set to join current PCR driver David Wall in the Queensland-based operation.

Trimble and Washington will replace current drivers Alex Davison and Jonathan Webb. In this year's Carrera Cup Championship, PCR's Cup Cars have competed in Glenfords Tools colours. At this early stage, it is unclear what war paint the cars will adorn. Trimble, who has competed in the Australian Formula 3

Championship for the past two seasons, will be reunited with Washington, as the pair drove together back in their Formula Ford days at Sonic Motor Racing in 2004. PCR's Carrera Cup team will also give the trio a chance to test the Glenfords Falcon V8 Supercar during next season. -GRANT ROWLEY

moiorsportmews

NEWS.

Clucassetfor FV8 debut Formula 3 Champ ready to tackle Phillip Island andrewlvan leeuwen BEN Clucas will make his V8 Supercar debut at Phillip Island this weekend, driving the Peters Motorsport AU Falcon in the Development series round. The current Australian Formula 3 Champion has been in New Zealand for the opening two rounds of the Toyota Racing Series, and thanks to his support from Gawier Farm Machinery, will return to racing in Australia in the Falcon that has been campaigned by Luke Youlden and Wayne Wakefield so far this year. "I'm definitely looking forward to making my V8 debut, it's what I've been working towards,"said Clucas. "From my point of view it's going to be a tricky weekend. In terms of

track time I've only done 20 laps in the car, which was at Queensland Raceway last week,so I guess I feel a little under prepared. I'm interested to see where I'll be in the field." Despite a flawless success rate at the Phillip Island circuit (four wins from four starts this year), Clucas concedes it will be a different experience in the V8 Supercar. 'I've been going over some data. and it's a completely different track in a V8 Supercar. it's seems as if there are more corners." Clucas also confirmed that at this stage the deal is only for one round, and that he is yet to make any solid plans for 2007. He will return to New Zealand in January to contest the Lady Wigram Trophy.

F3 goes Pacific FORMULA 3 could be about to launch an Asia-Pacific Series for next season. With the Asian Formula 3 Championship switching to a summer series, the 2007 season isn't scheduled to start until November.This gap has led to the concept of an Asia-Pacific Series, which would incorporate both the Australian and Asian series. The unofficial four-round schedule includes an opening round at Zuhai in China next February, foliowed by a support race at the Australian Grand Prix and a round at Oran Park.The series would then close back at Zuhai. The Asian series runs with a control Toyota engine, however this regulation wouldn't apply to an AsiaPacific Series to allow all Australian-spec F3 cars to run. More details on the series are expected later this week.

l BORLAND Racing Developments will have at leastfour factory entries in the 2007 Australian Formula Ford : Championship,and there could be even more than that. I Three of those entries will form I part ofthe team's continued involvement with the CAMS Rising Star program,with : Josh Scott, Ashley Walsh and Kristian Lindbom the confirmed ' drivers. Scott,pictured above, n and Lindbom are already part ofthe Spectrum family, with Scott running a semi-factory ; entry in this year's national championship and Lindbom I driving a Rising Star entry in this : year's Victorian and New South ; Wales state series. Walsh comes I to the team having run a Van ! Diemen in this year's national

eMfn^ibnship und’ertheVlP Petfoods banner. On top ofthe Rising Star entries,Tobia kipper will drive a new Spectrum for BRD in 2007. Kipper finished fourth in this year's Aussie Racing Car series and has recently confirmed his invoivement with the factory squad, making four confirmed entries. There is likely to be a fifth factory entry in the form of Nick Percat, who impressed on his way to second in the 2006 Aussie Racing series. Percat is yet to confirm his 2007 program, however it is highly expected he will join BRD, "Five cars would make it a big year,"said BRD sales manager Paul Zsidy."But it's a do-able program.We will look at putting

bn extra peoBle tp^ make.^re we . do it properly. "We're going to have a strong line-up, which is good f because next year's going to be one of the toughest-fought championship in years. Whereas before if you did OK you could get into the top five, next year it's going to be really tough even to finish sixth or seventh." In other Formula Ford driver news, Paul Pittam has been confirmed at Team BRM for next year's national championship. The 17-year-old has raced for BRD in this year's Victorian Formula Ford Championship as part ofthe Rising Star program, but will shift to the Adelaidebased team for his first full national campaign. -ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN 13

2006

4 Monday \ I t if*

Start Spreadin* the News. Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chuck Knaus took in The Big Apple to celebrate winning I the Nextel Cuo. 1 can hear the ocean'● Will Davison took some cinammon therapy (for his ears?) while passing the time in Bahrain.

testing may produce imes that never stand n the racing starts does manufacture some ng photos, like this f Rubens Barrichello at last week.

M N O P Q R

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BMW's Brazilian

First outing for Pacific Coast Motorsports

BMW Motorsport has signed Augusto Farfus as one of its factory drivers for the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship. The 23-year-old Brazilian will race a Schnitzer Motorsport BMW 320si as Jdrg Muller's new team-mate, replacing four-year team veteran Dirk Muller. The European Formula Renault champion in 2001 and the F3000 EuroSeries champion in 2003, Farfus has raced Alfa Romeo touring cars for the past three seasons, and had been expected to lead the Italian company's returning factory team.

WHILE most of the Champ Car teams await their 2007 Panozes, Pacific Coast Motorsports has conducted a track test with older Lolas. The team, which steps up to the Champ Car World Series next season, ran a test for American Alex Figge and Scot Ryan Dalziel in Rocketsport's Lolas at Houston last week. Both drivers completed around 800km at the track in the maiden tests with the expanded squad. "Our goal this week was to do long-distance running and it was great to have a few other cars out there,"said Figge. "Part of the training for race-distance testing

is mental focus and car handling.The extra cars created an important element for us. In addition, I feel great, which is a relief because I have spent most of the fall in the gym!" Dalziel was also satisfied with his efforts. "It was the first time that I have really done a long run or a bunch of long runs while testing. We did three long runs the second day and I wasn't tired, so that was a personal goal that I realized and I am pretty happy with the outcome." The team will test the Rocketsports cars for the final time at California Speedway's road course tomorrow and Friday.

n The FIA World Touring Car Championship will be the headline event of the historic Pau Grand Prix race meeting in south-west France for at least the next three seasons. KSO president Jacques Behar,the series promoter, was in the city's Palais Beaumont this week to sign what has turned out to be an extended contract with Jean-Paul Pasquet, his counterpart at the ASAC BascoBearnais,the event promoter. The 2.7 km street circuit has been active since 1933 and has staged events for FI, F2 and F3000 single-seaters, but never a World Championship race. n Alfa Romeo has scaled down its plans to run a factory team oftwo diesel and four gasoline-fuelled Super 2000 racecars in the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship, according to series promoter Marcello Lotti. The Italian manufacturer is committed to joining BMW,Chevrolet and SEAT in next year's WTCC, but is now understood to be preparing a reduced, two-car team,with conventional fuel. Alfa Romeo's base model will be the 147, but the FIA has agreed to allow the engine from the current 156. n Gary Paffett,the 2005 OTM champion who was passed over by McLaren Mercedes as Fernando Alonso's 2007 team-mate, is in negotiation for a return to the 'silhouette'touring car series, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport director Norbert Haug has confirmed. However Mercedes also intends to test several young Formula 3 drivers, including Yelmer Buurman,Casper Elgaard, Esteban Guerrieri and Norbert Siedler. - QUENTIN SPURRING 76

A new Bossfor Champ Car?

JOS'the Boss'Verstappen has revealed that he is planning to be racing in the Champ Car World Series next year. In a column on his own website, Verstappen told his fans to expect to see him in action in Holland on the weekend of September 2 next year when Champ Car is scheduled to visit the Assen circuit. Verstappen added that nothing has yet been signed and does not go into details about the team involved although there is speculation that he will be one of the drivers that Paul Stoddart will use when he completes his deal to buy into the CTE-HVM team. It is anticipated that the team will expand its operation to run four cars.

motorsport news

NEWS

llACQUiS Villeneuve has reached an agreement with Roush Racingito set up a satellite operation in NASCAR next year. The only problem now faeihg the 1997 world champion and his manager Craig Pollock is to find a rumoured US$18m in sponsorship income to pay for their new adventure. Both, it will be remembered, were shareholders in British American Racing although this turned out to be worth very little as British American Tobacco squeezed them out by increasing the capital in the company.Villeneuve and Pollock did,

however, make large sums of money from the operation as Villeneuve received healthy salaries from the team for a number of years. Roush President Geoff Smith has said that the plan is for Villeneuve begin with a few races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series before graduating to the Busch Series.This would mean that Villeneuve could be racing in front of his home crowd in Montreal next summer when the Busch Series goes to Canada for the first time. Viileneuve's ultimate aim is to join Juan Pablo Montoya in the NASCAR Nextel Cup. -JOESAWARD

Changing ofthe guard RuSPORT gets a new owner

RUSPORT founder Carl Russo has sold his team and left the Champ Car World Series, ending several weeks of speculation over the team's future. The new owner is Dan Pettit, a co-owner of PKV Racing.The team will remain at its Colorado base and is progressing with plans to run two cars next season, although the matter of whether Pettit will retain any ties to PKV is less clear. Russo founded RuSPORT as an Atlantic team in 2003, a year in which it dominated the championship with AJ Allmendinger, and graduated to Champ Cars the following season. It took Justin Wilson to second place in this year's championship behind Sebastien Bourdais. Russo's decision to sell was based on difficulties in Juggling his commitments to the team with those of his successful telecommunications company Calix.

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Carlin steps up

CARLIN Motorsport has done a deal with David Price Racing and will enter the GP2 series in 2007 in a Joint venture. Trevor Carlin will head the operation although Dave Price is staying with the team, which will enter under the name of Carlin DPR.The new team is relocating to the former Brabham FI factory in Chessington, Surrey, which Carlin bought earlier this year. The GP2 program will be assisted by the use of the in-house wind tunnel which is also being used for F3 development. "I'm absolutely delighted that we are moving into GP2 next season," said CarWn, pictured. "Dave and I have come to an agreement which is beneficial www.mnews.com.au

^ 20@fMIONALraRMLA : FORD DRIVES AVAILABLE Sonic Motor Racing Services currently has drives available for the 2007 season in Brand New SJ07A Mygale Chassis. Drivers with a sensible budget are sought to drive for this Multiple Championship Winning Tearh. Packages can be tailored to suit individual drivers needs. Phone 97614510 0418 306313 Email michael@teamsonic.com.au i

to both of us and having him involved will be invaluable, i am confident that the team wiil be able to build on the successes that DPR has achieved in its last two years in GP2." -JOESAWARD

I g) MOTOR R/KUNESERVICES 77

NEWS

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n IT is with great sadness we note the passing of Nick Brittan. The English-born Brittan experienced motor sport for many years and in many different roles,from race and rally driver, : to journaiist and promoter,to driver manager. Brittan was a karting ace in the eariy 1960s and turned his hand to car racing in 1965 in - of all things - a Hillman Imp. Two years later he won the first British Formula Vee title and when he was not racing, he started writing for such publications as Popular Motoring,Autocar, C.-r Motor and Cars and Car Conversions. He also authored several books,including How to go Saloon Racing, All About Motorsport and Safari Fever, in the 1970s, he was known for the irreverent'Private Ear'column in Tiutosport-which could never be published now - and he was instrumental in starting Formula Ford in England in 1968 and spreading it to other , countries. That same year, Brittan competed in the original marathon rally as a member of the Ford works team,the London to Sydney and it was, perhaps,in the role as organiser and promoter of recreations of some of the classic raiiies that he was best-known. His Trans World Events company conducted the London-Sydney event in 1993 and another six events through 41 countries, catering for drivers as diverse as world rally champions to ordinary enthusiasts. Over five decades, his contribution to the sport on many levels was massive and his loss is a big one to our sport.To his wife Jenny,family and many friends, MNews extends its sincere condoiences.

MM* \ '''S'j

111

David Brabham signs on for Acura ALMS ride DAVID Brabham is returning to prototype racing, having signed with Highcroft Racing to drive its Acura-powered LIV1P2 entry for the 2007 American Le Mans Series. It is the first prototype ride for the Australian star in the Series since 2003. Brabham,a winner 12 times in the Series, I will join a yet-to-be-named partner for the I full season in Highcroft's Acura-powered ( Courage LC75,similar to above. He was due i. to test the car Tuesday and Wednesday at ! Homestead-Miami Speedway. [ "I can't even begin to tell you how I feel at the moment," Brabham said. "Working with Highcroft and Acura on this new venture is a fantastic opportunity. It is an amazing program and I'm delighted to be part of this new era in sports car racing." Highcroft is one of three teams that will field Acura-powered LMP2s for the 2007 season. Andretti Green Racing and Lowe's

Fernandez Racing are the others. Team owner Duncan Dayton, who will drive the car at Sebring, Petit Le Mans and the Monterey Sports Car Championships,expects to make another announcement shortly to name Brabham's full-season partner. "After being away from Prototypes for two years, I'm really looking forward to getting out there on the track and mixing it up with everyone,"Brabham said. "After being in GT cars for the last couple of years, it was nice to get back into a Prototype, push the car to its limit, and then work with everyone at Highcroft and Acura to extend that limit. It's a great program to be part of." Brabham is one of only a handful of drivers to have at least one victory in seven of the eight series seasons to date. He has 12 career wins: seven in prototypes and a combined five in GT1 and GT2. He is the only driver to post wins in three different classes.

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Rossi wants more VALENTINO Rossi had his first taste of four-wheeied success with victory at the Monza Raiiy two weeks ago. Driving a Ford Focus, the MotoGP star set himself up by winning all five stages on the opening day and held station over the second day to finish with a 25s buffer to second-placed DindoCapello. "It was about time I won this event, since I've tried for the past 10 years," he told Gazzetta Delia Sport. In the wake of his successful completion of Rally NZ last month, Rossi also confirmed his plans to build upon the experience with an entry in next year's Rally GB. "In 20071 will definitely do Rally GB at the end of the season," he said. "Rallying could be my future after bikes. Formula One could have been in my reach, but I had my chance and I made a different choice. Rallying could be a good solution. Not an entire season, but maybe an eight-rally program." n Michel Nandan has been appointed Technical Manager of the Suzuki World Rally Team. Nandan's brief will be to oversee preparations of the SX4 WRC car that Suzuki will use when it makes its debut in the World Championship next year. It is Nandan's third stint in the WRC, having previously been involved with the Corolla WRC as well as Peugeot's 206 and 307 models. He will be assisted by Nino Prison, who hasjoined as Chief Designer. n The all-tarmac Raiiy Tasmania has been dealt a blow following the decision by long-term sponsor Toll Shipping to withdraw its supportfor the event, despite having already confirmed their support in September. "We had already prepared many things with the Toll in place,so this is not just a loss of their sponsorship funds, but now an added cost to're-jig' everything!" said event director Tony Wright."Obviously we will have to trim a few of the expenses." While acknowledging Toll's support over six years, Wright also said that the timing of the sponsorship withdrawal had left the organisers with no window to attract a replacement sponsor at such short notice. Rally Tasmania is scheduled to run between 16-18 February,2007. - RYAN LAHIFF/STAFF 20

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Fiesta S2000:Done Dea

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BRITEK MOTORSPORT'S management of Ford's rally program has kicked into high gear with news of the teams efforts to assemble a squad of leading engineers and managers to spearhead its assault on the 2007 NEC Australian Rally Championship. "I have to say that we have been inundated with interest from highly-regarded people involved with rallying,"said Britek General Manager Chris Jewell. Jewell confirmed that Stewart Reid, Barry Game, Paul Kane and Gavin Selth had all signed on to join the team. Reid, who

announced earlierthis month his intention to give up competitive driving to focus his attentions behind the scenes, will be the onevent manager for the Pirtek Rally Team, while Game and Kane will head the technical and mechanical side of the team. Both Game and Kane were key members of Subaru Rally Team Australia during the period of dominance of Cody Crocker and the late Possum Bourne. Selth, who will to run the engine program, is a former member of the Ford World Rally Team as well as other European rally teams. "This has made the process of

planning towards 2007 a lot easier,' Jewell said."We still have some more employees to come on board, but I have to say the calibre of people we already have and are looking at certainly shows that we are heading in the right direction." The team also confirmed that it will be running a pair of Super 2000-spec Fiestas for Michael Guest and Darren Windus, above right A Super 1600 Fiesta has been purchased from Italian outfit Astra and will form the basis of Pirtek Rally Team's first Super 2000 car, which will be built at Britek's Dandenong base. - RYAN LAHIFF/STAFF

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Delaysfor Toyota S2000 IN motorsport, part delays inevitably lead to timeframe blowouts, but for Neal Bates the first outing for the team's brandnew Super 2000-spec Toyota Corolla has been hindered by a dyno failure rather than a component malfunction. "The car is ready to go, we put the engine in and took it to the dyno but before we knew it the dyno had ground to a halt,"said Bates.

"That was about a week ago, and the parts to fix the dyno are still about a week away from arriving from the US." Bates expects that both he and Simon Evans will take to the wheel of the Corolla S2000 by mid-December and said that the construction of the first vehicle had gone surprisingly smoothly. "It's never smooth sailing when you're building a brand-new car with components that you have no experience with," Bates continued. "Having said that, this car actually came together without too many headaches at all. "Because we've re-engineered one of our existing Group N(P) cars the process was pretty straightforward, but the new

chassis might pose some problems." Toyota hopes to have an example of the next-generation Corolla in Bates's hands in early January. The new-look hatch will be back to form the basis for the Super 2000 car in 2007, while the test car that Bates and Evans will drive before Christmas will remain strictly for development duties rather than active competition. Bates also confirmed that his team will only build one S2000spec Corolla for the start of the new season, with the current Australian Champion Evans in the position to decide whether he will start the year in the fledgling Corolla or the proven Group N (P) Corolla that he piloted to victory this year. "We know we have a proven package with the old car, a car that can win rallies, so we'd be foolish to start the new year with two brand-new, unproven vehicles,"said Bates. "It'll be totally up to Simon which car he wants to drive, and based on that decision I'll drive the other car." - RYAN LAHIFF

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1 The Lime Green Split KAWASAKI has politely tipped a bucket on long-time team manager Harald EckI over his involvement with limor's MotoGP team. In a media release, the factory has confirmed the status of Racing Director khiro Yoda and that its decision was prompted by Eckl's limor links. "This is a major change in the way that Kawasaki go racing,"said the team. "The new team infrastructure is a result of the Japanese manufacturer's recent necessary split from and the company KMGP, after Kawasaki was confronted with Eckl's serious involvement with a competitor's MotoGP activities, which forced Kawasaki to terminate the relationship immediately." Ilmor had a tough time at the recent three-day test at Jerez and is yet to make an announcement about EckI, or riders or sponsors for the 2007 season. n Taiwanese TV and LCD monitor manufacturer HANNspree has been bitten hard by the bike bug. As already reported, the Taiwanese company will sponsor the Ten Kate Honda WSBK team next season. Now,the company has done a deal with MotoGP contender, Team Gresini. "I'm proud to announce this agreement with such a great and prestigious company as Hannspree," declared team principal Fausto Gresini. "I'm very happy to represent their brand in the world of motorcycle competition at its highest level. I'm sure that together we can achieve great results. With Marco Melandri,Toni Elias and all the team we wait for you on track." HANNspree will also back the Honda Martin Motocross team. n Nicky Hayden has undergone surgery to repair his shoulder Injury. The World Champion also had a plate,fitted to an old collarbone injury, removed and is expected to be fit to resume testing next month.

snow,now WINTER m Europe means the official ban on MotoGP testing is in force - but there is plenty of work to do before the circus resumes in January. With World Champion Nicky Hayden missing because of shoulder surgery, it was left to team-mate Dani Pedrosa to head the sheets, dipping under Valentino Rossi's 2005 lap record on Michelin qualifiers on his Honda SOOcc RC212V. Straight from winning the Monza Rally, Rossi snapped back into two-wheel mode quickly to be second-fastest j from Marco Melandri, above,and the Suzuki pairing of i Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins.The Suzukis continue I to impress before a definitive 2007 bike arrives, while ' Rossi tested several variations of chassis around the Yamaha SOOcc straight-four. In his first Honda test, Shinya Nakaho was sixth ahead ; of Colin Edwards and Alex Barros, the Ducati recruit raving ^ about Bridgestone's sticky tyres while Loris Capirossi and I Casey Stoner, inset,stuck to race testing on the factory ; GP7s. i Test riders Tady Okada (Honda)and Vittorio Guareschi (Ducati) completed the factory runners, but the biggest : disappointments of the test were saved for the fledgling I ilmor team.Jeremy McWilliams and Andrew Pitt both struggled to find speed from the X3- on the final day, : Julian Simon and Shuhei Aoyama both went faster than n the British bike on Honda 250s - but it all ended badly I when the Irish veteran was flung off the bike at high

I speed.

McWilliams suffered serious injuries in the fingers on his i left hand and fractured his left femur and right collarbone, : and was quickly taken to Jerez Hospital where he was due , undergo surgery on Monday.

m Ducati Corse

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 TO 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Dani Pedrosa M 1;39.910 Honda Valentino Rossi M 1;40.123 Yamaha Marco Melandri M 1;40.530 Honda Chris Vermeulen Suzuki B 1;40.766 B 1;41.049 ! Suzuki John Hopkins M 1;41.142 Honda Shinya Nakano Colin Edwards M 1;41.254 Yamaha Alex Barros B 1;41.276 Ducati B 1;41.492 Ducati Loris Capirossi B 1;41.596 Ducati Casey Stoner M 1;43.392 Honda Tady Okada B 1;44.071 Vittorio Guareschi Ducati Julian Simon Honda 250 D 1;44.153 1;44.502 Honda 250 D Shuhei Aoyama 1;44.661 Jeremy McWilliams Ilmor SRT M 1;44.723 Andrea Dovizioso Honda 250 D Andrew Pitt Ilmor SRT M 1;44.983 1;40.596 Lap Record; Rossi 2005 1;39.064 I Q Record; Capirossi 2006

CAMS-POSITIONS AVAILABLE MANAGER,HISTORIC RACING AND MOTOR SPORT SERVICES

2 CO-ORDINATOR ROLES; RALLY AND OFF ROAD MOTOR RACING

l Manager, Historic Racing and Motor Sport Services Based in Melbourne this position is responsibie for the management of historic racing nationally. This position manages the activities of the Historic Commission and all CAMS Sporting Delegations together with the administration of the Australian Motorkhana Championship,the Australian Hilldimb Championship and the discipline of Superkarting and motor sport services.

l Co-Ordinator - Rally & Off Road l Co-ordinator - Motor Racing For information regarding these two positions, please refer to the CAMS website at www.cams.com.au Position Descriptions are available by contacting Kathy Macnamara, Human Resources Officer via email kathm(acams.com.au.

Applicants for the above position should possess proven management experience,sound communication skills, ability to manage multiple projects and adapt to change, while developing and enhancing working relationships. Experience in motor sport or sports management is preferred.

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OPINION

KAY, let's get one thing out of the way straight away. Despite a published 20-something thousand crowd figure, virtually no-one turned up to watch the Desert 400.

On the final day,there were 300-400 people in the main grandstand. Where the rest were, who knows? That a bogus figure should be put out when what was so obvious was so... obvious, is silly. Like any number of'For TV'sport events around the world, nobody came to see it live.The intriguing thing is that nobody among the main players - ie, the officials of the Bahrain International Circuit, V8 Supercars Australia - seemed to care. So, why were the V8s there? For the same reason that the Victorian government cops a multi-million dollar loss on the FI Grand Prix every year; it's an 'event'. It attracts international attention. Victoria puts on an'event'every month. It's the way of the world, and the sports marketers know it. That's why the Australian cricket team fronts for a no-name tournament in front of a handful of fans in Dubai. Money. So,the Bahrainis were happy - very happy - with the event they paid for. The V8s put on a good show. V8 Supercars Australia is happy - the deal filled the coffers significantly and puts the category on a global footing. For the teams,there was less cost to attend the BIC round than an interstate race in Australia. No transport costs (other that getting to and from Melbourne for airfreight), the hotel was paid for, and so on. I was happy - the Kingdom could not have been more welcoming,the people were great,the facilities fabulous. I'd be quite happy to go back next time - and you can't say that about every venue the V8s go to! The circuit itself was okay - certainly

i±

I I

there was a bit going on most of the time - you know, cars passing cars.Traffic was light, car rental was inexpensive and the price of petrol was almost heartbreakingiy modest.So,from me, no complaints at all.

So everyone was, more or less, Almost.The losers - and thehappy? reason that no more races of this kind should be added to the calendar at the expense of local races - are (a)team sponsors, and (b) Australian race fans. The latter is obvious. An event on the far side of the world is only accessible to most Australians via TV, in this case late at night. An event anywhere in Australia is directly accessible to race fans - the kind who turn up, in tens of thousands to most races.The grass roots. And that has an effect on the first group - sponsors. TV is big, but it's not everything. Not everyone can be on-screen. Sponsors enjoy marketing to live crowds. There's atmosphere. As well as its Bahrain foray (replacing Shanghai) V8SA has recently walked away from a 300-400,000 four-day crowd at the Formula 1 Grand Prix race. That's a lot of people not seeing V8s live. That is, in turn and if we are hearing right, providing a fair bit of angst for some team sponsors. Many team PRs didn't even bother to catch the plane to Bahrain - why bother? It is not cheap to go there, international communications mean that much can be done from the other side of the world and it avoided the dreaded jet lag. Don't get me wrong, Bahrain was great. If you can afford to go next year, you should - it's an interesting experience. But that's enough. Please, no more overseas'event' races - unless (like the Aussie-cricket team) it's in addition to, rather than replacing, races in Australia.

)

motor mouth bden

That’s enough. Please, no more overseas ‘event’ races

rm nervous and excited COMPETING in the last round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Phillip Island is a great opportunity for ANT Racing. It's a bit of a risk that we are taking, but we are going to help out Team Kiwi Racing by running their #021 licence, as well as giving something back to Dexion and our other sponsors for their loyal support. There are a few risks but its going to be a great challenge. I am looking forward to it. Realistically, we should be last in qualifying.There are some fantastic teams in the field, almost all of which are better equipped than we are. I certainly won't be surprised if I'm starting at the back, but we are hoping that we can be somewhere near the back four or five. The race format is three sprint races over the weekend. It's the final round of the year,so everyone is going to want to finish on a high. As long as

strong there. I think we'll go well. And there's a championship to be decided down at Phillip Island as well. Dexion has an

ooinion

lith tony eva

r""

v8 supercar driver/H

we stay out of trouble, and as long as the team makes the right strategy calls, then we can definitely finish somewhere that Dexion and ANT Racing can be proud of. Our main aim will be to keep the car straight and clean and stay out of the way of the faster drivers. If we can achieve all that, it will be a success, regardless of the result. I can't wait to get into the pit stops. We don't get to do them in the Fujitsu V8 Series. The pit stops is what mixes it all up. Realistically, if your strategy is right, you could end up somewhere reasonable. I love the Phillip Island circuit. We always seem to go pretty

alliance with Craig Lowndes,so

across

the line there. But personally. I'll be keeping my nose clean and I won't be think about that stuff. I It's also probably going to be my iastVB race for the

foreseeable future,so racing in the main series this weekend is a great way to finish up this chapter of my career. At this stage, young Formula Ford drIverTIm Slade will be driving our car in next year's Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. It's not 100 percent, but as long all the things fall into place, I'm confident it will all happen.

/ I

A worid of wonders WINNING the Rotax DD2 World Final is absolutely the most significant moment in my racing career. I always dreamt of racing and being competitive at a world class level and this win has realised that dream. It's a huge result for me. I joined Team V because they gave me the opportunity to race in the European Rotax Championship. Initially, I moved to Europe in 2004 as a mechanic - which was actually Plan B! Plan A was to race in Europe, but I didn't have the budget. I worked for the Austrian Rotax distributor and they gave me the opportunity to race the Austrian Championships that year - which I won.That qualified me for the World Final, which is what I had my heart set on, but due to not being an Austrian resident, I wasn't allowed to use the ticket to the Worlds. Then for 2005 I was approached by Team V to help give guidance to their team. As part of my employment they gave me the chance to compete in both the Austrian and European Championships - and the full-time job enabled me to get Austrian residence, so I could go to the world finals if I qualified. I wouldn't say that I joined them to only enable me to 26

opinion

with ben george rotax max world champion

race at the Worlds, it was also the drive in the European championships that made the offer so attractive. I had a pretty good feeling leading into the event. I worked hard both physically and mentally to prepare myself for the championship race. On the second day of racing we had a wet morning warm-up and I was 0.6s quicker than everyone. I was pretty confident that if it was a wet final I would be in with a good shot. The first laps were pretty hectic, but I didn't panic. I started off pole but fell back to fourth after two laps. I caught the leader, Michael Simpson, who is a hard racer. He made it difficult for me to pass and I knew that if I didn't

get him and instantly pull a gap he might help me into the next corner. I picked my timing well and once I was in the lead I was confident of being able to bring it home. The Austrians understood me wanting to wear the Australian suit. It means a lot to me to support Australia. I think the Austrians were just happy to have me race under their country name. I hope that this win may create some opportunities for me to race in cars.That is my dream and I guess I can only hope and prayl motorsDortnews

;r.

OPINION

■1

I > ^ChrisCarter^

Cheating Death at The Island NOTHING quite gets the heart rate going like cheating death. OK so maybe I'm being a touch dramatic, but as I watched a Formula Ford wheel and its relevant suspension components flying towards me at an alarming rate at Phillip Island a couple of weeks ago, I heavily contemplated the fact that people had died from much less than this. Truth be know, I ran like a wuss. But that's not the point. The point is that my fellow MNews scribe Grant Rowley ran too, despite his rather skewed recollection of the event. Actually that's not the point either. The real point is, a really bad call on the behalf of the officials led to a life-threatening situation. OK we get it. No officials mean no motor racing, and it's thanks to countless hours from these guys, usually volunteers, that people go racing. But that doesn't change nor excuse what happened at Phillip Island two weeks ago. Just to clarify, the situation was this; With two laps of the opening Island Magic Formula Ford race to run, a car became stranded at the exit ofTurn 1. It was straddling the racing line at the exit of the fastest corner in Australian motorsport a blind corner at that. It was with some surprise that myself and Rowley noted that only a couple of yellow flags were displayed, nothing more. As the field roared around the corner, most went bush in avoidance.Troy Woodger had the novel approach of sticking to the tarmac, but at a shade under 200 clicks found

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himself hanging out of the wall right in front of our faces. Michael Pereira, pictured above, was the unluckiest, hitting the stranded car and turning his Spectrum into a canoe, wheels flying over the fence. As a result, a conservative $40,000 damage was done, and a couple of handsome journos were lucky not to be struck by a wheel seriously lucky. It was the clearest red-flag situation of all time. There was no other option. At that part of the track a yellow doesn't cut it. When racing drivers are committing a car to a sweeping corner flat-out in top gear, they aren't paying full attention to the flag points. The fact that the race wasn't stopped was a joke - a dangerous one at that. If a driver mucks up, they get in serious trouble. And so should whoever contributed to a red flag not being waved. Flag Marshall; Race Officials; communication breakdown - whatever went wrong, fix it and fix it fast.

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The Teapot Turns30 dny to go to a fniend^ 30th: IiHiAiD an inwitaliion theProtest other birthday party at the Bar in> the RoyaliSuva YachtClub in: Fiji. If I did:hot have grovun^ up things like ibills, children and other complications,:|; would havegone. :i spent my 30th ibirthday at Silverstone watching ISliigel Mansell winning the British GP and then wtliting lots of dull: reports about it. I have always felt that li was robbed of a big event andiso goingito someone etse’s 30th seemed like a nice idea. The good news is;that when dear Marigoldi announced'that, due to circumstances beyond her control she is going to remain:29, ill was not on:a:plane on my way there. An apparent coup d'etat in 'Fij;i:iis the best excuseT;,have heard yet for a lady not to be entirely truthful about her age. IHhave to say at this ipoint that military coups in Fiji are great fun. I was there for one ofthem in t987, betweeniWOrldiTouringCar

Championship races when there were a few days when there was nothing to be done. It was the best holiday I ever had. One could walk into any hotel and ask the price of a room and then divide it by four and still be accepted. A coup d'etat tends to send the rich running for home and so the hotels are left destitute and have to deal with mere mortals. I stayed irathe best hotels for $25 a night and was blissfully unaffected by a curfew.The four guests in the TOO^-room hotel became fast friends and I seem to recall spending;one evening getting rather drunk with a man who claimed not to be Australian

Prime Minister Bob Hawke but looked exactlylike him. He said his name was Kev - but I have always had my suspicions. I had forgotten all ofthis until I found some notes the other day aboutthe adventures we had back then, which included hiring a Hyundai Stellar with darkened windows and being saluted wherever we went as we sailed through,the road blocks. There was also the story of a horse race in Lautoka, which featured a Le Mans-style start with the jockeys running to the horses. I don'tthink I attended this event but there is a note that says:"The funniest thing ever". The final note said:"But coups

are dangerous. I nearly got brained by a coconut"

The good news that there is another 30thisbirthday f can enjoy closer to home,as Renault's FT program is currently' celebrating 30 years of existence. Apartfrom Ferrari, Renault Is the manufacturer that has been most involved In the sport in a handson way in,the course ofthe last 30 years, and un like some of the newer Johnny-come-latelies, has learned the hard way about what it takes to win. : The arnjjltiign, back in* December 1976 was for Re’nailit'to win the FT World Championship with:. its own car and its own engines

i My spies tell me that Mercedes-Benz bough| McLaren a few months ago and that the deal wHl[i» ^ announced sometime early next yea^r - RENAULT MAY HAVE TURNED 30. BUT THE BIG CHANGES ARE HAIpPENING ELSEWHERE

Tihe tearm was aetiually forged! froim two diffetienit'organisattotiis that Retiiatilt bought,each very sueeessfuI;in their own- way: Sordini and Alpine. Renauit had taken over Amedee Gordinl's company, which had been buildingi racing cars since 1i94I„as eariy as 1(968andi moved Sordini into the currentfactory at Viry-Chatiiion .(aithougihi itis now a great deal larger):ihi T9@9. RenaufoSordini was then merged with;Alpine in the autumn of 1I9?6 as Renault got ail its ducks in a tow for IFIi, Alpine had actually built Renaulta Formula f testcar the previous winter, known as the Alpine A500, and it was a reworked version,

ir-.

ofthis that became known as the Yellow Teapot because of its colour scheme and'its tendency to produce clouds ofsteam when the engines blew up - which they did on a regular basis in 1'977. Renault keptat itand before long the engines were hugely powerful and Renault ought to have won the World Championship on various occasions in the years that followed,,butsomehow managed to make a mess of it. In 1983 the company threw in the towel with chassis development and;concentrated on engines,leading to the amazing VI Os ofthe 1990s, which won six consecutive World titles.

Having achieved that, Renault revived the old ambition of building the cars as well and boug ht the Benetton Ft team - a good place to start- and finally in 2005 achieved the goal that had been set 30 years earlier.

boxseat

e will have to see how the team goes in 2007 butthe history of Renault In FT is one that the likes of Honda,BMW,Toyota and the rest would do well to look at. Renault did most things wrong before getting it right.They learned the hard way- a process through which some others are now going. Honda seems to be getting close, BMW is getting close, butToyota is yet to convince and Mercedes-Benz did not look

very good this year. . My spies tell me that MercedesBenz bought McLaren a;few months ago and thatthe deal willl be announced some time early next year. That would be the start of a new adventure for the German marque. ft:,1s ge,t]ting,tougher and tougher and that means that it is gettingii^ » more and more interesting: There will be no presents for Renault from the other car manufacturers next year.

Five minutes with

NDREW JONES

For the third time in three seasons,Andrew Jones will suit up for a new team in 2007. But this time,it's MARKGLENDENNING going to feel a lot like going home. He told MNews about his shift to BJR MOTORSPORT NEWS:What does your move to BJR represent for you? Is it a homecoming, a lifeline, natural career step ... ANDREW JONES: We spoke about it when there was no spot for me at BJR at the end of 2004. We spoke about a whole heap of things, and I guess the thing to call it, if you have to call it anything, would be the natural progression. I don't think it was ever going to be that I was going to go straight from the Development Series and into the main series with BJR. Just from a pure life and growth perspective, it was good to go somewhere else. Do a bit of growing up away from the family? Yes. It's good just to learn some life experience.To be honest it hasn't been easy; on the contrary, it's been quite tough. I set my own personal benchmarks quite high, and I haven't met any of them. It would probably be a progression to go to BJR. And as far as driving for them is concerned, it was something that I always wanted to do. When we had that chat at the end of 2004, it was spoken about that there as a base there, that they had seen what I was capable of during that year, so they believed in what I was able to do. And if things didn't go right, then there would always be an opportunity to try and right that and get some good results there. For me it's a good thing; I'm very close with my family, I'm very close with my Dad, I'm very close with my uncle. It should be a good thing. Do you think much about why things haven't gone the way you wanted them to over the last couple of years? It's something I can't not think about!To be honest, I don't have any answers. I feel like I am driving well; I feel like I'm driving better than I have done when things 30

'VOLVO'

It's not a case of, 'here's a free gig, you can drive the car for as long as you want have gone well, but there have been things that have been tough, and there have been things that haven't worked for me.There are no excuses, they just haven't worked. It's very frustrating, and I do think about it. It won't be something that 1 need to get to the end of the year to look back on, it's something that keeps me.awake at night-time. It's something that I have always wanted to do, and up until this point 1 have always been able to be relatively successful at it. But the last two years haven't brought the same success. I haven't lost faith in an ability that I think I have to go fast, but there are other parts to it I have found that I maybe am not so strong at. Every year that you've been in the main series, you've been with a different team. Not having stability in that regard must make things hard for you as a young guy? Like 1 said, there are no excuses for not going well. You should be able to make the most out of every situation, I think. But it hasn't helped. What

happened last year was not good for anybody's confidence, and I think if you put most people through that, not may would come out the other end that great. But 1 think I came out of that OK. Arid then to come to Tasman was to come to a completely different culture. It's been great, they have been very supportive, and I have learned plenty of things this year. At times there has been speed,just not at the right times. It hasn't been consistent enough at all. I felt that I started the year off OK, but things have not gone so well in the second half. I would say we actually took a step backwards. But you're rightabout continuity. I was talking to a friend of mine in the series who is going quite well, and he was saying that continuity does make a difference. There are so many things that go into it. But at the end of the day, the raw truth of it is that the results haven't been there and the speed hasn't been there. And they are the things that are the basis of the sport. I need to be able to make those things happen. Can you say how long the deal is?

Not really, but it's not a five-year deal or anything along those lines, that's for sure.They are expecting things and I am expecting things, and if they're not met then it will work like any other relationship. We will sit down and assess it. It's not a case of,'here's a free gig, you can drive the car for as long as you want'. I want to go well. I really don't enjoy not going well. I really, really, really don't enjoy it one bit at all (laughs). They've had a bit of an improvement over the last few months; pretty much from September to now,and especially with Brad's speed. Sandown they had good speed, Bathurst maybe they didn't. Indy and Tasmania definitely. So I would like to think that we can find some of that for me and get some good results. Is it going to be hard to separate the Dad from the Team Manager? 1 don't think so. Sure, Kim's very supportive, but it's not like the pressure for me to be doing the job I'm doing comes from Kim, or Brad or anybody else. It comes from a success drive that I've got; that 1 want to succeed. So I thinkthat distinguishing his team manager role will be quite easy. It's been done before, and it's worked successfully before. The thing with family, I guess, is that it can work both ways. You can maybe get away with some things that you wouldn't get away with otherwise, but you can get straight to the truth about things too, and just deliver it. It takes the emotions out of it a lot easier than if you're dealing with two people who don't really know each other, if that makes sense. And to be honest, the amount of people that go into running a Supercar team now ... it's not just five people. So I will be working with a lot more people than Brad and Kim.

motorsportnews

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Five minutes with

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MARCOS AMBROSE

There is much on the mind ofThe Devil Racer-like the coming 2007 Busch Series campaign. He also has PHILBRANAGAN some unique insights into final rounds ofthe V8 Supercar Championship MOTORSPORT NEWS:What have you done since you came back last week? MARCOS AMBROSE:We have unveiled a Team Australia car here at the Performance Driving Centre. We wanted to say a thank you to Craig Gore and Team Australia for the support I have had in 2006. We were able to carry the Aussie theme into the Craftsman Truck Series, with a fresh sponsor and a fresh attitude. We were not pinching anyone else's ride. We wanted to have a Team Australia car so, if anyone wants to take it for a blast, here is a car to use. I jumped into the car on Monday and even after 12 months of not turning right, it felt pretty natural. You have had a while to diagnose your maiden season in NASCAR. Did it exceed even your mid season, adjusted expectations? It did. It is a tough sport and we knew it was going to be a tough challenge, but forget the results. What we have been able to achieve in 12 months is to secure a full-time Busch schedule next year, we have cemented a career in NASCAR, with the team I am with. We have signed with JTG to run through until the end of 2011. It is special to have a team that supports me,that gives me confidence. We have a great sponsor in Kingsford Charcoal, a traditional American sponsor that is willing to give me a go in their car. That is awesome. It feels like I have become a part of the NASCAR scene over there. In layman's terms, what do you have to do to take that step into Busch from Trucks? The engines are the same,the tyres are the same.The bodies are different, the wheelbase is a little different. On a one-mile racetrack, the times between a Truck and a Busch Series are pretty much on par. For pure speed, I don't think 32

i Ford Media

it is special to have a team that supports me

Supercar finals. We face one this weekend. What do you think is going to happen this weekend at Phillip Island? I look at the championship and know that I have been in this position before.The championship will not be decided until the last lap of the last race. That is a real pressure cooker. It is going to be whoever can control their emotions the best. I think that Craig Lowndes has a couple of huge advantages; he is one of the best drivers ever to go around Phillip Island, he is a real natural around there. He was super-fast at the Island last year. The second factor is that he has been here before. He knows how to win a championship, he knows how to get the best out of himself and get the job done.That maturity will pay off.

- AMBROSE IS A BIG FAN OF WOOD BROS/JTG that there are many issues to worry about. I have to learn to set the cars up, with the different bodies and the wheelbase. I still have to improve my driving; I am not in a position to say that I am going to win when I show up at the first race at Daytona. We want to be in a position to win as the season progresses, so that is a learning curve.The team has told me that they do not expect miracles, we need to keep moving forward as we have done. Results will come. I am excited to be with the Wood Brothers team.There is the potential to go all the way to the Nextel Cup with this company and that is pretty special. As long as they believe in me and I keep improving, who knows where this is going to stop? Your first Busch race is going to be Daytona, with 15 or so 'Buschwackers'coming down from Cup. Is that daunting? It is. Every week, 15 to 20 Nextel Cup regulars come down and I have been racing against Carl

Edwards and Mark Martin, and Joe Nemechek and Kyle Busch in Trucks. It's just that there is more of them! Getting a top 10 is going to be even harder. But you have to back yourself and we have to be in a position to race those guys.The more you race them,the more comfortable you feel. Do you mentally note that there are some road course coming up next season? Yes, but my only angle there is that it is going to be a nice surprise for the team! I know I can run reasonably well on those tracks. But I have gone across there to be a good oval racer, not a good road course racer. We do not have any focus on the road course but I know I will do OK. I will feel comfortable behind the wheel and a lot of the oval regulars don't. But that is not going to give me a long career over there, I need to be comfortable on the ovals. You have experience in V8

What do you know about being in this situation that people who have not don't? Their heads will be spinning!The pressure sits on their shoulders and they have to talk about the weekend coming up - while they do the corporate work,from fans, to sponsors,to the media, a hundred different people. By the time they get to Sunday's races, you just want to get it over and done with! You really have to keep your emotions in check because it is easy to get involved and not see the overall picture. You get stuck in this cocoon and you don't think straight.That is the biggest thing. Those guys are going to be peppered all week, answering the same question and trying to assess the situation they are in. It is easy to lose concentration on the real job. I think that Rick Kelly's advantage in the championship right now is worth nothing. Craig is my tip to win the weekend and it is going to take a huge effort from Rick to even match his pace, let alone beat him.

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There are only seven points separating Rick Kelly and Craig Lowndes heading into V8Supercar's Grand Finale at Phillip island.Who will win? ' Who will lose? MOTORSPORT NEWS'S seasoned journos look at the seven wonders ofthe 2006season lll

Seven Points nBTQirsiiiiEC^iiai®

V8 SUPERCARS

IN the case of Rick Kelly and Craig Lowndes,their best races are not nessesarily victories. From 12 starts so far this year, Rick has no round wins, and only one race victory. which came at Surfers Paradise when he passed his brother Todd during the compulsory pit stop. A season full of podiums(seven) and top 10s(12 from 12) has put Rick on the

map in 2006. His efforts to climb from last to fifth at Bahrain (his worst round) should be noted. Craig has four wins to recall from 2006, with his most memorable being Bathurst, although Oran Park was a turning point. His round wins prior at Winton and Hidden Valley were partly due to other's misfortunes. His OP performance was exceptional.

But his best race performance came at the Sandown 500. Forced to fight back from a lap down,Craig finished in third place. The title pair have had a strong year and deserve to be fighting for the championship. Lowndes may have four victories, but both of them have stood on the podium seven times in 2006.

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888: Campbell Little CAMPBELL Little is in the unusuai position of having known his driver, Craig Lowndes,for most of his life. As the son of one of the fixtures of the sport in the 1970s, Frank Lowndes,the grinning youngster spent much time in the environment of racing cars and the masters. "Since he was eight or nine,"says Little,"and I wanted to work with him for a long time. I was with Stone Brothers in this first couple of years when he came over from Holden and I did not get the chance." So, what special requirements are there for the deciding round? "I don't know that Craig prepares for a race like this any different to any other race. In general, he is pretty laid-back. I think that the biggest thing to affect him is the pressures that come from all the

things V8 Supercars put on him. In Bahrain,for instance, he was there for a week and on not one night did he get to bed before midnight because he had functions to attend forVS Supercars every night. No sponsors,just V8 Supercars. That takes it out of him. We want to keep those things to a minimum. "Rick is not called upon for that kind of thing very often." So, how do the pair prepare for Phillip Island? "We review old footage,just prior to leaving to the race. We had a debrief after the last race and, with time like it is, we have a prebrief right after,'What do you want in your car for the next race?'Most times this year, his answer has been,'Horsepower!'I think Craig has been let down a little with a car that is not so great in a straight line.Thankfully, Phillip Island does not have a lot of that and our cars

have been typically good on fast, flowing circuits. It did not show in Bahrain in Race 2, we were bundled up, but it was there in Race 3." One recent weakness in the Lowndes armoury has been qualifying problems that have had him starting a little further back than he would like. "Craig has been a little nervous about qualifying, he has not put together a decent qualifying lap all year.That is one of our weaknesses at the moment but he typically races very well, as long as we stay out of the Stewards'eye. "In the 100km or 140km races, you need to be in the top six. Any further back and by the time the first corner is gone, you are eight or 10 seconds back from the leader and that is over. If you have car speed,there is no excuse not to be further up the road. Phillip Island

has some corners that bunch everyone up and there is only two, maybe three, overtaking places. It will really depend on how well everyone blocks. We have seen a fair bit of cars that are fast in a straight line slowing down mid corner and slowing everyone behind them,then straightening up and firing away.You do not get a chance to overtake them unless you do a kamikaze under brakes which the IPO doesn't like." And what roles does the team mate play? "Jamie is under no specific instructions. He had a fast car last week but I do not think that anyone can go out and play shotgun. You can't line things up like that; it is like winning Lotto. The reality is that Jamie was way faster than Craig in one race in Bahrain and that should not happen."

TollHSV: Erik Pender RICK Kelly's engineer Erik Pender is one of the most experienced men in pitlane and has forged a strong relationship with his driver. "Rick is treating this like any other race," he says calmly."We sit down and we watch vision from Phillip Island race from years past. We chat about what worked and what didn't and what worked well in the car this year, and what we need for this weekend. Generally, we try to keep everything simple, like we have all year." History shows that much can happen at the track, and change. "Phillip Island last year was slow,for some reason. So that meant that he wanted something that was easy for him to drive at a consistent and fact pace, so we do not want to reinvent the wheel. On the other hand,that does not mean that we sacrifice qualifying; we always aim for pole. If we do not start off with that footing, you are nowhere.The best form of defence is offence. You need to attack to get the speed out of the car from the start." Pressure is a big part of the final round and, according to Pender, Kelly handles it much better than he used to. "He handles it really well - which is a big change from last year, i think that he has had plenty of 36

pressure situations this year - Race 3 at Bahrain was like that. If he had dropped it, we had everything to lose. He put in a superb effort and the pressure didn't get to him. He probably drives better under pressure; he likes to keep his head down and use it as motivation, to keep his concentration up. "Rick is probably one of the guys who needs to be calmed down a bit. I make sure that we do not talk about the obvious, that it is seven points and blah blah. We do not need to talk about that! We talk about things like planes, things like that, and only talk about the car when we need. We need to throw things in front of him to keep his mind off things; he is very good at sitting down and going through things but, once he does that, there is no need to go through it 24 hours a day. . "We grab him when we need to, go through the information short and sweet, and let him go do other things." And, what of Tander's role? "Garth is going to go out and prove to everyone that he is an extremely quick bloke. He hopes to get the pole award [Ed: for the season] and the most wins. He will start the weekend hard and we want to have the cars first and second.That is always the aim."

motorsportnews

V8SUPERCARS

IT'S almost impossible to reflect on last year's Grand Finale at Phillip Island and not think of Stone Brothers Racing. After all,the Island was the place at which Russel Ingall left his bridesmaid tag in a frenzy of celebratory tyre-smoke. And then there was Marcos Ambrose winning his final V8 Supercar round before heading Stateside to have a crack at NASCAR.Yep, it was one to remember for SBR. Not that it really matters- all that does at this point is Craig Lowndes and Rick Kelly. So how did they fare at the Island in 2005? Qualifying times were close

at this time last year, real close, and at the end of the regular session, Lowndes and Kelly were separated byjust 0.4s, which equated to four grid spots. It was the Ford driver with the upper hand,going third fastest behind Greg Murphy and Jason Bright, while Kelly languished in seventh. The Shootout did little to improve Kelly's day, moving

him just one spot up to sixth. Lowndes,on the other hand, jumped straight to pole,just edging out Ambrose. If that wasn't proof enough of Lowndes'ability to pedal around Phillip Island, he took the opening race win,including a ballsy pass on Ambrose at MG corner. Third was as good as it got for Lowndes in Race 2, partly

Experience IF experience counts for anything,then this is one area where Craig Lowndes has a real edge over Rick Kelly. At 122 starts to Rick's 67, Lowndes has nearly twice as many V8 Supercar rounds under his belt than his young rival. He had also had more exposure to the pressure of a championship battle, having already win three titles and been an unexpected contender last season. Rick picked up the Gold Star in Formula Holden back in 2001, but the driver/car combination was so good that year that there was really no-one capable of giving him a scare. Unfortunately for Lowndes however, his veteran status probably won't count for a lot One thing that he and his younger rival share is that neither looked remotely out of their depth when they first moved into the category - Rick's first solo win, it should be remembered,came when he absolutely demolished everyone in diabolical conditions at Eastern Creek in 2004, and he had two Bathurst victories under his belt at the age of 21. if you still need convincing, cast your mind back to what Fernando Alonso was able to produce against Michael Schumacher over the past couple of years. No question over who was the more battle-hardened there - the Spaniard was 13 when Michael won his first world championship. There are plenty of things in Craig's arsenal that he can use to his advantage at Phillip Island. But experience is unlikely to be one of them. www.mnews.com.au

because Ambrose had crushing amounts of speed, partly because Lowndes endured a lengthy pit-stop and lost time getting past- wait for it- Rick Kelly. As for Race 3, Lowndes lost any chance oftaking the title off Ingall when a T8 mechanic turfed a wheel nut into the'fast lane' during his pitstop.The result was a drive-through penalty and 15th place. Kelly's weekend was a bit less hectic than CL's. He had a solid, if not spectacular weekend,and was rewarded with two fourths and a third. And if he does the same thing next weekend, he's likely to leave with a nice shiny trophy.

||^V@inH<iRii£k and'Crrai^iaiie wiith the prospect ofsome highly capable assistance fromi the other side ofthegarage;.lot will either oftheir team^^mates actually hetiniaipositionito helpl 0n paper,(aarth land'er and Jamie WZhincup have hadisimilar seasons.Mare than:that,lit's, probably not unreasonable to suggestthat the pair have been: amongithe revelations ofthe year. \Whincup:was widely ^ Gonsidered tOi be something: 'Of a iblamk canvas wihen Ihe first arrived;at Triple 8;this year after a sporadiccareer bn th eTlotdeni side:©f the ifenceiOuestions over whether he could:sta nd;up to: the scrutiny of drivingifor one ©f iFord's vangjuarditeams.alongside theBIiue Oval's leading; poster boy were answeredernphatiGaily with a win irsttiime out in: Adelaide, and backed up later with the success at Bathurst- a: win that owed a lot toIfflhfncup's fiina'l stiinit before hehanded the car back tO' Lowndes for the finish;. But after Bathurst,things have startedito:veer off the rails. WhinGup'ShotiintO'theWallat Suffers Paradise vwhenilh'is'car

Jumped out of gear,and a couple of weeks later ruled himself out Of contentiomfendi put Lowndes's title hopes on the back foot) with an openingrraCe shunt at Symmons Plains. Me looked to be turning things around'with a cOupiepf good irace results in iB'ahfain,,only to retire from the

his life at PI, but if the car is only quick enough for eighthi then iit's not going to make a huge bearing upon Craig's fortunes. Meanwhile,Tander is pretty much the class driver ofthe series at the moment.One ofthe great ironies about this year's title fight . is that if the Walkinshaw carnp , hadn't tried to get clever with i its driver pairings during the endurance races,Tander would be going into the final round:with:a virtually insurmountable points lead. As it stands though,Tander will « have to settle for helping Rick's cause-as will Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly who ostensibly drive C! for a different team, but exist under thB’sarne'Umbrella and enjoy similarly lethal weaponry. It's hard to imagine the team going as far as the type ofteam orders that made Ferrari so difficult to final outing with engine problems. like during the last few years,,but So momentum is somewhat chances are that the cars will be so against him,hut the bigger issue quick that they wonT need to. is whether the Triple 8 FalCon will At the very least. Garth and! have sufficient firepower to have the HRT pair will represent three an impact at the Island = a track more very fast Commodores that you'd think would favour the that Lo.wpdfl mustfind a way to likes of FPR,ToU/MSV and HRT. overcome.^I*tliat'sthe*lastthirig;, W/hincup eould dfive the race of Craig!needs.

V8 SUPERCARS

RK/CL

What if?

WHILE Lowndes and Kelly are racing each other - and Mark Winterbottom is still a mathematical chance of snatching the title at the final race - things could have been much, much different. As has, no doubt, been mentioned in the hallowed halls of Holden Motorsport in recent times, it could have been Garth Tander heading to Phillip Island with a significant points lead over the title protagonists - had he stayed with Toll/HSV for the endurance races. The extraordinarily bad run Tander and Skaife had at Sandown and Bathurst meant that Garth banked 70 points. despite a brilliant display in qualifying and the race. At Bathurst,the clutch trauma Skaife suffered meant that it was even worse and GT scored a zero - which is the number

he dropped under the current points system. So, what would have happened? All things being equal,Tander would have got second and second in the two enduros and racked 620 points. the same as the Kellys did. But he would have had to drop his worst score, which to that point was the 136 he got at Oran Park. So his nett gain would have been 414 points, and his current total would have been 3123 - a lead of 55 points. Tander could have had the luxury of heading to Phillip Island - where he went like a blur last year - and by his standards, could have cruised the weekend. And Lowndes would have faced defeating a tag-team pair ofTolls to win the title. If, but, maybe ... Maybe next year GT, maybe next year.

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Taking the

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OK,the Bahrain International Circuit is no Mount Panoramaand DAVID ADDISON is certainly not a religious Icon. But when the V8 Supercar circus got somewhat close to home, MNews's Man in Manchester, left, was on a plane in a flash. Sort of

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FEATURES ## n'M trying to find out the Arabic for ** I thank you,"V8 Supercar pit lane I commentator Grant Boyden told me. I Ohyes,this wasn't just a new track for the series, this was a new culture, a new crowd and a new,well ... everything. It is almost 1 am Sunday and the world has moved on.Teams have packed up, people flown home and already thinking of Phillip Island. But did Supercars in the desert work? Yes. And no. Let's start with the question of whether an Australian championship should be anywhere other than Australia, and no doubt many of you have your own views. What is unarguable is that the market for motor sport in the Middle East is growing and will take time to reach European or Australasian levels, and those that are interested in the sport are more concerned with rallying than racing.The point is that the series would always be playing to smaller crowds in an emerging spectator market than in, say, Europe. According to figure announced post-event, 28,000 people came to watch Saturday's two races, at which point it may be worth congratulating Bahraini scientists for perfecting the invisibility serum that they all appeared to have taken. Sparse was not the word. And hereby lies one disappointment, common of all fly-away races, be itV8s or FI. They lack atmosphere.The trucks aren't there, the colour is missing,the vast merchandising area is absent and with Bahrain having airconditioned garages or a team bungalow to inhabit, there was less to see and fewer people to talk to in the paddock. With such a limited crowd,there was never going to be the partisan support that you would get at home (has a Skaifey spin ever been met with such a resounding hush?), but the amount of team merchandising that the Bahrainis were buying suggested that they were starting to choqse their favourites.The signs for growth are good. The racing was ok, not as fierce as BTCC/ WTCC races, but on the whole interesting enough. Race 1 was tense and the third was a stormer with Will Davison and Mark Skaife being the stand-outs for their blinding first laps to make up places. In contrast Race 2 was a bit of a slog, and had Steven Johnson not been in a hurry for his lunch,there would have been little to talk about. Forgive me if I've sounded churlish here, because there were plenty of positives about the weekend and about the category,too. Firstly, the class suited BIC's relaxed staff better than the rigid practices of an FIA GT weekend,for example,and there was certainly no shortage of advertising - once you got to the Kingdom. Maybe next year that can be extended to Europeans who have

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The cars are the lure for me. In the UK,sewing machines go racing - ADDISON BETRAYS HIS NATION JUST WHEN THE ASHES IS ON

Dear Mum,send atmosphere: Addison points to the lack ofatmos in fiyaway races in any series, top. But the drivers impressed him, above, and the facilities at the track left him gazing at the heavens, below.

a golden chance to see the cars in the flesh. The drivers responded and won many new fans over the weekend and it was impressive to see the pair of teenagers who had scurried around taking pictures on Friday, printed them out and were getting drivers to sign them the day after! Whether having men dressed up as kangaroos or an indigenous loin-cloth wearer blessing the track were good ideas is debatable: Bahrain seemed to be trying to go Australian rather than Australia embracing the Middle East. Anyway, back to the good bits. The cars are still the lure for me. Over here in Old Blighty, sewing machines go racing, and standing on the outside of turn one on the first lap of V8 practice reminded me why I love motor racing. It was noisy, you could see drivers having to work on a grip less circuit and you could see who the gun drivers were. Flaving grumbled about the quality of racing, I can forgive V8 Supercars most things because of the spectacle they provide, unequalled by any other touring car category. Another plus was the roll out on to the grid.Too often cars head for the grid in random order, but I can't recall ever seeing the pit lane empty in order,team by team. It's a simple idea, but it was mighty effective and made the build up look even more professional. And having commentated on BTCC, WTCC and DTM races this year, it was a delight to see the cream of the final one of the Fab Four championships. It is impossible to assess whether V8 drivers are better than Super 2000 pilots, but there is certainly a wealth of talent, with Mark Winterbottom and Garth Tander being two of the stars of the weekend for me. Actually, add Steven Johnson to that, and the unlucky Will Davison. And Mark Skaife for Race 3. And Rick Kelly. And... the list goes on. I suppose if you have such a depth of driving talent, it's a shame to keep them ail in Australia, isn't it? That Race 3 was as good as it was can be put mainly down to the circuit, as it was slippy and abrasive and boasted a couple of tight corners. Add punctures to tyre wear to driving standards penalties, and it served up a perfect grid for Race 3. The circuit may not be to the purists'taste, being so lavish and clearly FI-centric, but it made a great setting for the V8s.That mammoth pit straight followed by the turn one hairpin was a super mix. Conclusion: racing,fair. Atmosphere, negligible. Bahrain, sandy. Overall weekend,average. Travel seven hours again to watch V8 Supercars? Bloody oath, mate. Bloody oath.

MOTORSPORT NEWS:In four seasons you have won three championships. Has it sunk in yet? SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: This has been a fantastic accomplishment, not just for me but a group of people who enjoy what they do and working together. I've always been the kind of driver who takes races one by one. As soon as you win something, you just concentrate and focus on the next step. Sometimes, people don't think I enjoy it. I enjoy it, and then I move on.That's the way you have to do it if you are successful. A lot of things have changed for me in the last three years.The time has “passed so fast and the results have been following. It's what I wanted to do. This has been fulfilling a lot of my dreams. I love it. Do you think you could have achieved similar results with a team other than Newman-Haas? It's impossible to say. I know I have been very fortunate to find Craig

(Hampson,engineer). When I arrived at Newman-Haas, everything was going wrong. We had mechanical issues. It took a while to get the chemistry going. [But] once it started, we were kind of unstoppable. People think we are consistent and not progressing. But I think we keep getting better and better. We had four fastest laps of the race in my first year, six in the second,seven in the third, and nine this year.That is the greatest success of all. Even if it looks from the outside that everything was perfect, we always find a way to make it better. To what degree does having a team-mate affect your success? It is always good to have a second read on things, a different opinion. Sometimes it backs up what you say, or it is a different read. Then you think we should try again. You may think one way but it is the other way. It is always a benefit. With an experienced d river, you go quicker through

things. You have personal choices to make early in the weekend, which dictate where you are going to be and what you are going to do. Bruno(Junqueira) has lacked confidence since the start of this season. We've been flying alone for part of the time. In the first two seasons, we completely relied on each other and boosted each other's performances. When your team mate is fast in a session, you try to go quicker. It raises the game of the whole team. It was definitely a benefit. If it is only a rookie and myself next year, we will be struggling a little bit. It's not an issue if a rookie joins in a third car. But if we have only two drivers, the new car will be an especially tough challenge. We have to learn that much quicker. Graham (Rahal, Atlantic runner up) seems to adapt pretty quickly and knows most of the tracks. Any time you have a rookie it's a little bit of a gamble.

Will you miss the Lola chassis? I've been driving a Lola chassis for the past seven years, since 2000, back to the F3000 days. It has been a great relationship and honour to drive such a good car. When I first arrived to Champ Car,the car was already good. But Newman-Haas kept making progress and we have achieved much success with Lola.The design made for a competitive and safe car that will be tough to top. How long do you think it will take to learn the new Panoz DP01 chassis for next season? We have six or seven total days to test the new car. It is impossible to say, depending on where you start. If you are happy with what you've got right off the bat, you can approach the first race after a few days of testing, confident it is going to be all right. But up until the point where you try the car in a few different configurations a couple of times, and you see the b ig guidelines striking themselves

Fighting Words

He may have his third Champ Car title under his belt, but there is still plenty of fire left in Sebastien Bourdais. He spoke to MARY BIGNOTTI MENDEZ about the dawning of the Panoz era, the end of the F1 dream - and Will Power

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INSIGHT in the picture, we can't reaiiy teli. You have very iittle time to expiore the geometries.You have to concentrate on trying to optimise the time you have. How do you feel about the restrictions on developing the new Panoz chassis, which requires standard parts such as shocks and differentials? The problem with a monotype series is you can start with something you aren't satisfied with,and you run into problems

which you can't fix with the toois you are given. Then it becomes a really frustrating game.You know exactly what you want to do on the car yet you can't get there because it isn't allowed. A monotype series doesn't necessarily put the best drivers at the top.The strengths of very good drivers compared to other drivers are to lead the team where they need to go in order to improve the car. It's not necessarily to drive the wheels off

the car better than the next guy. I just hope the car will suit my driving style. Otherwise, you just have to compromise with what is given to you. It's absolutely not a given that a driver can jump in my car and like it.That doesn't mean NewmanHaas can't set the car where a driver would like it to be. I just don't know if the Panoz is going to be where I want it to be. It's a car, which has a character continued on page 44

Bruno [Junqueira] has lacked confidence since the start of this season. We’ve been flying alone for part of the time - ACCORDING TO BOURDAIS, NEWMAN-HAAS HAS BEEN TWO ONE-CAR TEAMS THIS YEAR. RATHER THAN ONE TWO-CAR TEAM ..

continued from page 43 and a balance. It can be a matter of tools, what you can change on the car and what you can adjust. The range is not going to be what we've been able to adjust on the feurrent] car. Anything that is not Panoz will be disallowed. It is going to become like F3000, where you can't change anything. That changes the rules quite a bit. Whatteams do you think will emerge as the top contenders for the title next season? Right now, we don't'know who is going to be where.Teams that are used to a monotype series, like British-profile teams,will fit right in. HVM-CTE could be really strong, il'm still convinced good drivers and good teams will be competitive, but will they be the winning combination? Especially with the way the season starts, with three back-to-back races? The schedule does not give teams time to turn things around if for some reason you start on the wrong foot.You have to start the

season right. Otherwise, by the time the third race is over,a big chunk of the championship wiil be in the bag.You can't say you will win the championship after three races. But you can definitely get close to being out ofthe chase. Next season is going to be very open.The Newman-Haas car will be just as good as any other car. Everyone is starting with the same equipment. It will be a matter of who exploits the car in the best way,and who is the smartest to get it figured out the quickest. That is when the engineering department goes through simulations to figure out what is going to make a difference. Even though it seems Graham Rahal will be driving for Newman-Haas next season, there has also been a rumor that Simon Pagenaud,the Atlantic Champion you've mentored, could become your team-mate. What can you do to help a rookie driver? There's nothing i can do for Graham but be the benchmark, provide data, and Just being

open about all things. It speeds up the learning process. It's very beneficial for him. I will do what lean. With the new car and the steep competition, when it's a professional series where everyone makes gains in the details involving so many engineering sources,then it becomes more of a problem. The situation at NewmanHaas is pretty clear. It's moneyrelated.There is money on my car, but not on the next one or two. What Simon brings to the table is a pretty significant amount of money,which you can't ignore (US$2M Atlantic Championship bonus). But it is not a full sponsorship, either. Most likely Simon is a potential team-mate if the Graham Rahal deal doesn't come together and we need the budget for the second car rather than it being for a third car. The big deal right now is where Simon will end up.I've been trying to open some doors but it is very complex because everybody is focusing so much on the money.

Will, although being a good driver, isn’t the quickest in the series. He is going to get an award that doesn’t belong to him - DID WILL POWER DESERVE THE 'PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE' AWARD? DEPENDS WHO YOU ASK

Simon would like to get to Europe. Obviously the first year, especially if he starts with a top team,is going to be pretty hard to put him in the spotlight. If he doesn't,then it is all wasted. He's going to disappear and might not be back the following year. It's a tough deal all around. For a rookie, especially with the limited testing we have right now,to have a deal signed in January is going to be crucial. I'd like Simon to be able to test in the old car so he doesn't waste his first test getting acclimatised to the change in power and weight. You can test the old Lola car until the middle of December. I hope people will be curious enough,to give Simon a test. With the Champ Car announcement that its 2007TV broadcasts are moving to ABC/ ESPN,the same network that broadcasts the IRL, do you think this is the nOxfstep to a merger? I'd like a unified series. People act like they don't need the other side. And I say,'Oh really! Is everyone doing so well in their series?.'Who is not struggling today financially to put deals together? I think this has to happen sooner than later.Tony George and Kevin Kalkhoven deny they are talking to each other, but I am pretty sure they are. We have to leave them in peace. so they can do what they need to do. Were you surprised by how much Will Power has improved, earning the pole in Australia,

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Rookie of the Year honours,and the award you've won the past three seasons, Bridgestone's Passion For Excellence(fastest aggregate race laps)? I think he is a very good driver, though (don't think he should have been on pole in Australia because conditions made it possibie for him.Good for him. That is often the way it goes in Australia. But he was pretty quick in Mexico, not the quickest. He can be a strong contender next year. We got taken out before we could complete a lap in Cleveland which removed me from the Passion for Excellence competition. Will, although being a good driver, isn't the quickest in the series. He is going to get an award that doesn't belong to him. Are you disappointed that you never had another FI opportunity after Tom Walkinshaw's Arrows team went bankrupt before the 2003 season? l am still interested in FT but I have to be down to earth. I've been in talks over the summer. The good teams that don't ask for money can't guarantee anything for the future. I can't accept that. I don't underestimate what I've got here in the U.S. and especially in Champ Car.The chance a top team would ask me to join them is non-existent. McLaren, Ferrari,and Renault are never going to sign a rookie.They don't give credit to what we do (lin Champ Car). I could win the championship 10 times...

wiTOWiiiiHYTramiMn)

What is behind Formula 1’s engine freeze? And how will it work? FI Technical Editor PAOLO FILISETTI has been pondering the questions and here are his answers

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VER the last five seasons, there have been five different engine regulations in Formula 1. And,in 2007, we will have a sixth. For the first time,there will be a'freeze'on development of the major components of Grand Prix engines. Once again, engine companies will have to find a way to develop and improve their motors within tight regulations, this after any number of variations over recent years that have forced manufacturers to incinerate rooms filled of money. In the era of 3-litre VI Os, there was the'open'era (in other words, engines could be changed at any time); then there was one engine for qualifying and the race; then one for the whole weekend; and finally, one engine for two weekends(which dictated the ridiculous situation where the star drivers stayed off the tracks on Fridays to minimise their engine usage), This year, the V8 engines came into operation and now,the specification of the major parts of the motors have been set in concrete, all to save the makers' money. A good idea? "Certainly we were not among the promoters of the introduction of V8 engine this season, neither we were about the engine freeze 46

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Developing new V8 engines has increased costs instead of reducing them - BM W'S THEISSEN LAYS IT ON THE LINE

rule," says BMW's Motorsport Director, Dr Mario Theissen. "Developing the new V8 engines has increased costs instead of reducing them,and the rule for freezing their development at the end of this [2006] season,for a three years' period, has to be defined in detail. It is not correct to think that the engine technology will keep a status quo for three years, without any degree of development. In this case this would not be FI any more." Initially, the'freeze'was going to be implemented at the end of 2007 but, with heavy negotiation from the manufacturers (led by Renault, Mercedes and Ferrari) the FIA brought forward its plans by 12 months. Honda,Toyota and, obviously, BMW were less happy. Quite apart from any politicking.

there are drawbacks associated with the freeze. One is that the image of Formula 1 is largely based around it being the'eutting edge'of automotive technology. Unlike other forms of open-wheel racing - like Champ Cars of IndyCar - the freedoms allowed to pursue technology between manufacturers is one of the basic attractions of the sport. While the CCWS relies on turbocharged Cosworth V8s and IndyCar on normally-aspirated Honda V8s,there is no danger that FI will become a'spec'engine category.The basis of the freeze is that major components that determine the basic architecture of the engines will have their specification locked in - like the engine block and crankshaft - but there is still plenty of scope for

continued development. For example,the engine's water and oil pumps have a major effect on engine performance and under different circumstances, would be key in unlocking power high in the rev range. But with a mandatory engine rev limit of 19,000rpm after this season when 20,000rpm was a common sight - one might changes are more likely to be in the pumps'ability to integrate into the engine'package', rather than actual outright performance. But if the freeze means that the amount offerees acting on the inner moving parts is constant, and development modifies those subject to more severe wear,there will be an almost automatic performance increase. Even keeping the overall'engine environment'

motorsport news

unchanged, it is still possible to carry out a development worth of performance increase. But then we have to consider electronics, which may adjust the many working parameters of the engine in a suitable way. This means that engine mapping will be dramatically more sophisticated next season, in order to optimise every parameter to its best. This fact automatically prompts a question: how it will be possible in the future when the'control' ECU will come into action,to keep the same efficiency of current custom electronics, and hence reliability? Well,first of all, It is important to underline that the unified ECU is just the hardware of the system while the software - the programs - will still be compiled by the engine constructor. Of course there will be a more limited number of parameters monitored, but with multiple cross checks within the lines of the programs, it will be possible to duplicate the current programs, without losing the control of the engine. With this in mind, it is not hard to see that the teams that have supported the changes have been the ones particularly strong in terms of engine electronics; Renault, Mercedes(through the www.mnews.com.au

Smoking in da Boys'Room: Fernando Aionso had his oniy Renauit faiiure of2006 at Monza, above, but Toyotas went off with great reguiarity, ieft.

McLaren electronics division, which will be heavily involved in the control ECU project) and Ferrari, with long-time partners Magneti-Marelli. What is clear is that the top engines of 2006, including Ferrari, wiil likely keep their momentum for a wide period of time thanks to the engine freeze rule. This wiil not come at'zero cost', as the makers have already engineeredin a wide degree of reliability to its 2007 motors - and that vigilance has been built on a vast number of engines already broken on dynos. So, will it save money? In isolation, yes, it could, but Formula 1 is not like that. One of the notable things about the 2006 season was that all the teams either owned or directly backed

and supply more conservative rubber in the future. So, expect the already huge commitment to aerodynamic research to continue to absorb the millions of euros pumped into the sport. "Currently we work in our wind by manufacturers - Renault, Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, tunnel on two shifts,"saysTheissen, Honda, BMW.Sauberand 'but by the end of the year, we will work on three shifts, so to Toyota -finished ahead in the increase our aero testing capacity, Constructors'Championship of all the'independent'teams - Red Bull, and accelerate car's development. Aerodynamics, and simulations Williams,Toro Rosso, Spykerand are very important elements for Super Aguri. Of the independents, performance gain". only Super Aguri keeps the same So, what it seems, is that in 2007 engine supplier next season,and everything changes,to remain with identical engines and tyres to the same - until next time. For Honda FI, may move up the grid. years, the FIA has permitted only But even with an engine freeze gasoline-fuelled, reciprocating in place, we can expect that the teams will further invest in piston motors In FI and has research in the areas that are still specifically outlawed alternatives like diesels, rotaries, turbines or free. There will be no gains to be made in tyre development; indeed, turbos. Now,the FIA has decided that narrow view Is out of step Bridgestone (which becomes with society. So FI's future will lie the sole supplier next year and in energy regeneration and - you the'control'supplier in 2008) has guessed it - alternative engines. indicated that it will'slow'its tyres 47

Eights and Aces Gold: Renault RS26

IN 2006,the engine regulations in Formula 1 changed in the most major way imaginable. On the surface,the major shift was from a 3-Iitre VI0 to a 2.4litre V8-a 20 percent reduction in cylinders and capacity and, presumably, a similar drop in power. So it proved; as the VI Os ended their 11-year reign with the best motors tipping out almost . 950 horsepower,the V8s started in the mid-to-high 600s and then crept over 700. By season's end, the best engines delivered around 720 horses. But the changes were much more significant than that.The FIA effectively handcuffed the designers by restricting the architecture of the engine.The V-angle was set at 90 degrees; the centre of gravity was pre determined;the minimum weight

was 95kgs, which meant that many of the V8 engines were actually heavier than their VI0 predecessors.The metals from which the motors were built were also restricted, while the maximum cylinder bore allowed for the engines was 98mm. The changes meant everything had to be totally redesigned and not just on the motor.The vibrations of the V8s were different to those on a VI0, while the smaller motor produced less heat, so it needed less cooling, so the radiators and coolers could be smaller, so the sidepods were different in size and shape, so the car's whole aerodynamic package had to be redesigned. The change to two-race, 2.4litre V8s, aimed at cutting the expenditure by the teams and manufacturers, cost a fortune.

UNQUESTIONABLY the best all-around engine of 2006. We should call it the'jewel of the crown'. Renault's first V8 included many of the design features of the RS25 VI0 of 2005 but was the last of the new motors to see the light of day. In fact, the V8-powered R26 did not hit the track until January 31 while other teams were track-testing'mulettas'(2005 chassis fitted with V8s) as much as four months earlier. Like the VI0,the RS26 was designed to be reliable and fuel-efficient with compact and aero-friendly packaging - which explains why Red Bull went to such great trouble to trade the Ferrari engine deal to Toro Rosso,to appease new RBR designer Adrian Newey. Renault didn't need to run its RPM too high, and its conservative approach showed with steady development during the season before picking it up when Ferrari gained the upper hand on the track. Tellingly, Renault pushed a little hard and suffered its only engine failure in a race at Monza.The team took a small step backwards for reliability at China and Japan. Perhaps Renault's philosophy can be best shown by the fact that despite its late debut, Fernando Alonso won the opening race of the season after qualifying fourth fastest(team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella was ninth on the grid, and retired from the race with hydraulic failure). During the season, it presented five evolutions of its engine and in Brazil, ran two completely different specifications for Alonso (D5) and Fisichella (E, Renault's 2007 motor).

Silver: Ferrari 056 IRONICALLY,the last engine to carry Michael Schumacher to a win will not go down as one of the best because of the failure in Japan. Supervised by Paolo Martinelli, Frenchman Gilles Simon designed a reliable engine but, with the mandatory size and weight minimums of the newVSs,the 056 was in fact, bigger and heavier than its VI0 predecessor. Simon's philosophy was to push the performance of the internals as far as possible, in order to reduce the vibrations oftheVS as far as he could.There were at least two distinct generations of the engine,as well as countless developments on the dynos of Maranello. Ferrari was deliberately cautious early in the season as the team addressed problems unrelated to the motors and then, very clearly, increased the revs of the engine as the season progressed.This was, certainly, instrumental in the team giving Schumacher his 90th and 91 st (and final) wins of his career at Monza and Shanghai. Unfortunately,the downside was that the engine failure at Suzuka.

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Bronze: Honda RA 806E FINALLY, Honda broke through and won a Grand Prix in its own right, with its RA 806E V8. Honda ended 2005 with one of the most powerful engines on the grid but, at the start of 2006, this seemed to have disappeared. Despite Jenson Button's Melbourne pole position, the RA 004's topend seemed to be missing. Honda engineers got to work on finding more power and revs without sacrificing mid-range flexibility. While Honda is fairly secretive about its evolutions,the motor clearly took a major step mid-season - perhaps even a whole new version of the engine - and refinements in its ancilliaries and installation allowed it to tailor the car's aerodynamic efficiency. Button broke through in Budapest, always a test of flexibility, and maintained a level of competiveness that lasted the rest of the season. He ended the season on a high note but perhaps the more notable aspect of the Brazilian GP was the form of the Super Aguris, which appeared to be running the same spec engine for the first time. 48

motorsport news

f]jm:hnical,

Honorable mentions AFTER producing some impressive VI Os, BMW's first V8 was a little conservative. But three steps during the season raised revs and power, without sacrificing reliability. By season's end,the engine was closest to Ferrari in horsepower and was exceeding 20,000 on a regular basis; witness Robert Kubica's podium finish at Monza. The good points about Toyota's first V8: it was among the lightest of the engines in pitlane.The bad point was that it was not strong in any particular area. Toyota's RVX 006, inset, lacked power,so the cars were left behind on faster tracks.That, combined with some chassis problems, meant that the team had a tough season. And last but not least, Cosworth. The distinguished British company leaves Formula 1 after many seasons and many successes but its 2006 outing with Williams IN almost every way, Mercedes-Benz's V8 was the opposite of Renault's. While the dynos continued to hum at Renault's engine base at ViryChatillon, McLaren was well under way track-testing the FO 1085. On 13 September 2005,the engine was roaded for the first time in the back of a modified MP4/21. It was a disaster. By January, the team was testing a'21'refitted with an old VI0 for the simple reason that the V8 was so unreliable. And, it made no significant horsepower. By the time the season started in Bahrain, engineers from MercedesBenz High Performance Engines (formerly known as llmor) were confident that the unit would be reliable; they were wrong.The MP4/22S suffered a litany of engine problems through the season and McLaren had a winless season.

looked like one of its worst.The team suffered a litany of problems and it was certainly not novel to see Mark Webber or Nico Rosberg walk away from a smoking car. But look deeper and it is clear that Cosworth is a great loss to FI. Engine failures were actually rare; usually, it was installation problems or other mechanicals that stopped the cars.The engines themselves were quite reliable. And fast; Webber was leading in Melbourne when the car stopped with gearbox failure. He was running with Alonso and Raikkonen at Monaco when the exhaust failed. During qualifying at Monza,one of the drivers reported a'flare'over the second chicane that left a reading of over 21,000rpm on what passes fora 'tell-tale'on the telemetry now.The engine survived and finished the race in one piece. Cosworth did its job well and deserved better press than it got through 2006. And at Williams, there will be prayers that Toyota's 'frozen'engine will be much better than the one it raced this year.

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m SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP SERDES round 12- bahrain

The Cat in the Sandbox Jason Bright took advantage of others misfortunes to win the inaugural Desert400 wins,while CHRIS LAMBDEN Rick Kelly's hiccup sets up a winner-take-ail title shootout at the Island

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HERE was lots to take in when the V8 Supercar circus visited Bahrain for the first time, but even the most hopeful PR hack couldn't have scripted the weekend any better; professional effort from departing star overcomes pace shortfall to beat the guns; title goes to the wire. Tony Cochrane must have scrawled it out himself, while winging his way west in First Class ... Bahrain's surprise low-grip surface put a premium on a mistake-free effort from those who sought to take out the first Middle Eastern race for Aussie V8s. But mistakes there were from most of the expected hot-

shots and it paid dividends for Jason Bright, who extracted the maximum from an FPR Falcon that, while quick, was that nagging tenth or two off the pace-setting Toll/HRT Holdens. But that's what makes a really good winner - the ability to get 100 percent from a car that's not quite the fastest. FPR will miss Bright when he goes off to his own team after the Island. Among the contenders, Rick Kelly (Race 2 start), Craig Lowndes (Top 10), Mark Skaife (Top 10), Garth Tander (Race 3 start), Mark Winterbottom (qualifying) and James Courtney (Race 2 start) all made mistakes or'got involved' when the pressure was on.

It was left to the consistent, if not ultimately fastest, Todd Kelly to join Brighton the podium after a strong final race, whileTander had the pace (despite the fact that he must almost have been sobbing atthe wheel!) to recover from his drive-through penalty and snatch the final podium spot. Rick Kelly too showed race smarts and pace to ensure all was not lost with a huge Race 3 comeback drive, while there were unseen top efforts further back in the field - particularly from Steven Johnson, whose rise from a Race 2 pit lane start to sixth in Race 3 belied the team's current fiscal problems. Yes, the Desert 400 provided

plenty to see. It just seemed weird that so few actually saw it.

27 laps

n the end, a simple slip-up during his pit stop, at the end of lap 12, cost Tander the opening race. While Bright's getaway a lap earlier wasn't perfect ("Go, stop, go"from his car controller). Tender's was worse. He stalled. Bright, pounding down the front straight, expected to see the Toll car emerge any moment, but it didn't.

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V8SUPERCARS

1 was really surprised, but pleasantly so," he reported. I expected our times to drop off more than they did as the race wore on, but it wasn't too bad until the last few laps. I made a couple of mistakes in the period after the stops which allowed Garth to catch up but, unless he made a very brave move, he wasn't going to get past." Garth agreed. 'i also picked up a bit of debris that his car threw up, which blocked one of my front brake ducts, so one brake was getting a bit hot. i had a quicker car, but a pass was going to be a suicide move - not on this early in the weekend." www.mnews.com.au

Some seconds back late in the race,Todd Kelly spenta lonely second half ofthe race playing with the bars on his car"to see if i could find any improvements that would help for tomorrow." The best action was the Rick Kelly/Courtney scrap for fifth. James made a blinder of a start. then out-dragged Todd down the back straight for the first time to emerge in third, but the SBR car just didn't quite have the outright speed ofthe two Kelly cars, which both slipped by before the mid-race stops. JC managed to repass Rick in the stops but.

continued page 54

Three fast men,no championship chance: Tander, Bright and Todd Keliy were the podium men in V8 Supercar's first trip to the Middie East. 51

QUALIFYING

The more things change

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Two weeks after the V8s visited Tasmania,13,000kms away,little had changed.Qualifying came down to Team Tom versos FPR while Skaifey and Lowndes messed it up ●« ●

ERE we seeing things? When pressed, Dunlop's Kevin Fitzsimmons reckoned that the nearest track to Bahrain's short circuit, in tyre and car engineering terms, would be .... Symmons Plains. And he was right. Same bunch of blokes at the top of qualifying; same bunch (bar one) in the shootout; same front row. Or is it a case of the same bunch being on top of their game right now, regardless of venue? Either way, qualifying, and the shootout had a remarkably familiar feel to it. The only one missing was Mark Winterbottom. After a strong string of performances, running right with his more experienced team-mate, it just went a little wrong at the crucial moment for Frosty. He was in contention throughout practice, but struggled with the car after some more set-up changes overnight and ended up 15th. He was honest enough to admit that "I got it wrong ->-just couldn't get to grips with it in that session,"and would revert to Thursday's settings for Race 1. The low-grip surface, which had caught everyone by surprise on Friday, hadn't changed at all come Saturday. If any rubber was actually going down, it wasn't

showing. Indeed, the track was slightly slower - but with teams making small set-up gains, things were pretty much back to the same point, in terms of lap times. The Bahrain short circuit falls into two clear zones - the first half quite technical, slow corners, the second wider sweeping curves. As Ross Stone put it "you can get one bit right at one point, and then the other, you just need to do both at once!" Doing it best were the fourTeamTom (HRT + T0II) Commodores and Bright. Tander was first to cement his spot, his second lap on his second green set producing the 1 m24.0551 that no-one yvould match.Team-mate Rick Kelly followed the same pattern to end up fifth, half a second away. These two completed the least number of laps among the front group to get their time (11), while between them Bright (15),Todd Kelly (13) and Skaife (16) all managed to save a set of tyres for the Shootout. Lowndes and Courtney were next, both also saving a set for the one-lapper, although having set his time relatively early in the session, Courtney took the decision to lightly scrub his last set. Whincup, Murphy (in the 10 for the first time in a while), and Steven Richards completed the 10,

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The wide open spaces: There wasn't much grip on the Bahrain International Circuit, which hit Mark Winterbottom hard.

all three using all their tyres to do it - and thus likely to make little progress in the Shootout. A number of cars, mainly down the list, lost times as the Stewards implemented a strict policy on cutting Turn 4. Clearly, powering out of Three as quickly as possible was a crucial part of getting down the long back straight faster and part of that process was sliding wide, wheels over the white line, on the exit (and subsequent entry into theTurn 4 kink).The instructions at the drivers Briefing

were clear - four wheels over the line and you're gone. Several pushed the limit and a number paid the price. At one point Bright looked set to have a quick time disallowed, but so close was the call that it was withdrawn ... Of the rest, it was, again remarkably like Tasmania - Paul Dumbrell virtually matching his team leader (11 th). Will Davison, and this time team-mate Steve Johnson,just outside the 10, and Dean Canto looking promising

V8 SUPERCARS

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FASCINATING fact 37 of the Desert 400 was that at the end of Friday following the rigours of qualifying, shoot out and a race, 23 new windscreens were fitted to cars as a legacy of gravel and stones that spat up at them.

Mechanics were also kept busy on Saturday morning with permanent marker pens. No, they were tagging the cars, they were trying to hide the stone chip damage on the bodywork. -DAVID ADDISON

Bahrain Desert 400 (I

in 14th, albeit a second from Tender's benchmark. The overall conclusion? It was going to be about tyres. How badly would tyres degrade in the low-level grip as races went on? Most feared it could be significant... Top 7:1JlShootout 'ith the first three runners on used rubber, the interest started with Courtney's run. James' 1 m24.7815 gapped the previous best (Richo) by sixtenths, but he wasn't totally happy with the lap - reckoning he's lost time in a couple of spots. Lowndes was next and suddenly things were sparking up. His first sector was a couple of tenths down on Courtney, but then he simply overshot at the end of the back straight, scrabbling around the outside. It cost plenty. A 1 m26s wasn't good. Another uncharacteristic (or is it becoming characteristic?) error... Rick Kelly went to the top of the list with a smooth 1 m24.5499, while Skaife, embarrassingly, didn't even make Turn l.The back was gone virtually before he began to turn in and round it went. Skaife had been

complaining about rear brakes in qualifying, suggesting they were staying on a fraction - "a bit like a handbrake" he radioed, intriguingly. Handbrake? Hmmm (see news pages). Whatever, it happened again. The nightmare continues. Todd failed to match his brother by a couple of hundredths, and then it was time for the pole shootout Bright vTander. The Falcon put in good second and third sectors to knock off the Kellys by four-tenths. It looked impressive - could Garth do better? He could. "I was a little bit careful atTurn 1 bearing in mind what had gone on before," he admitted, the Toll Commodore very tight out of Turn 1, and even by sector two he was still a tenth down on Bright. But hey, the final sector at Bahrain is all straight, with one brake and turn, and if there's something Tom's car's don't lack it's grunt.Tander was home by ... seven hundredths! An intriguing post-script would come when Murphy's car was found to have ignition timing which "varied more than six degrees". His time would be lost - and Lowndes and Skaife would move up a spot.

POS NO DRIVER Cq^MIVER TEAM/CAR 1 16 GarthTander Toll HSV Dealer Team Commodore ■ JasoniBrw Ford Performance Racing Falcon 3 22 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Commodore MarkSkaife Holden Racing Team Commodore Toll HSV DealerTeam Commodore 5 15 Rick Kelly Team Betta Electrical Falcon [ 6 888 ^iglovmjto 7 4 James Courtney Jeld-Wen Motorsport Falcon Team Betta Electrical Falcon 1 8 88^ Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore 9 51 Greg Murphy Jack Lives Here Commodore ho 7i Steven'Richardss Jack Lives Here Commodore 11 11 PaulDumbrell jfAPVC Racing Falcon 13 17 Steven Johnson FirstRock Home Loans Falcon Repco Valvoline Cummins Commodore 15 5 MarkWinterbottom Ford Performance Racing Falcon liriliK Jasorggi 17' 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport Commodore hwa - L'eaHSiaSt ^ Repco Valvoline Cummins Commodore 19 1 Russell Ingall Caltex Racing Falcon Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore Cjunerpniiiikolnjlllro 21 12 JohnBowe Team BOC Falcon MaxWfls^Si WPS Racing Falcon 23 14 Brad Jones Team BOC Falcon Team Sirromet Wines Commodore 24 391 Jack Perkins ●> 25 55 Steve Owen Autobarn Racing Commodore Lfe&ifaa rAndrewJoneiNrL~ Tasman Motorsport Commodore Team Sirromet Wines Commodore 27 67 Paul Morris I 28 2[!li MarcusMarshl ilJ^ Glenfords AEG Racing Falcon 29 25 Warren Luff Fujitsu Racing Falcon I 30 021 ■■ (ihriSiPith^ Team Kiwi Racing Commodore 31 26 Jose Fernandez Fujitsu Racing Falcon

[nn

UiSkajfe; g 17.9464 35.9201 52.0372 2 Tander 17.9508 3’6.0269 52.1176 3 EBrijjht^ IS 18.0287 35.0633 52.2567 17.9801 36.0392 52.2814 4 Courtney Winterbotto^ 17.9741 36.1182 52.4166

TIME 1:24.0551 1:24.2836 1:24.3059 1:24.4759 1:24.5908 1:24.6791 1:24.6960 1:24.7375 1:24.8205 1:24.8848 1:24.9192 1:24.9440 1:24.9732 1:25.0305 1:25.0512 1:25.1098 1:25.1680 1:25.2935 1:25.3226 1:25.4573 1:25.5161 1:25.5882 ● 1:25.6099 1:25.6101 1:25.6716 1:25.8356 1:25.9332 1:26.0167 1:26.1245 1:26.2111 1:26.371

Topic gCIMUT

6 R Kelly 7 T Kelly 8 S Richards 9 Dumbreli 10 Witincup

18.1456 36.2406 52.4334 18.5536 36.3385 52.6139 18.3081 36.3649 52.7898 18.6396 36.7607 53.1970 18.2303 41.6706 58.0709

The Under 30 Club: Todd Kelly, above,and Mark Winterbottom and Paul Dumbrell, below.

PAUL Morris was the first contributor to the fine fund,copping $2300for careless driving (not using his pit lane speed limiter), and thus speeding in pit lane.The Dude also copped official wrath on Day 2-outed from qualifying for an incident involving Jason Bargwanna,then given a drive-through in the opening race after Brad Jones got turned around. Day 3 was, officially anyway,incident-free! n Quiet, but impressive,V8 debut came from Kiwi Chris Pither,substituting for the injured Paul Radisich this race in the Team Kiwi Commodore.The guy had no pre-eventtesting, but qualified and raced ahead ofthe Fernandez Fujitsu team car,stayed out oftrouble, and learned heaps. Hopefully will get another opportunity. n On hand to savour his team's success was FPR owner David Richards. He enjoyed the weekend -such a long way from where the team was in'05... n One ofthe biggest talking points after Thursday's first free practice session was grip -or the lack of it. Just about everyone in pit lane had been tricked by the surface,all believing it would be far grippier than it was. Even Garth Tander,who knew the bulk of the circuitfrom his celebrity race at the Bahrain GP,claimed to have no advantage:"Well, I know where the toilets are," he joked. "We'd based our set-up around much more grip than was actually available," he said after the session, whilst Jason Bright was of a similar opinion. "It was certainly more slippery than it felt under the shoe," he said."Getting the power down out ofthe corners was the hard part." Ford Star Will Davison confirmed that it wasn't what they had expected. 141

"Ali the rear grip goes under barking, but at least the track is consistently slippery, not like Dubai where the track conditions change lap after lap. Here,though,it is also very abrasive, which means a set of tyres is good for a maximum ofthree laps before they go away.That is going to make the races tough: pit early for track position and you have to do a long run on the second set, pit later and you'll be quicker but struggling to pass." Mind you,it sure made it dramatic. n A quirk ofthe Desert 400 was that by running on an FIA-sanctioned Grand Prix circuit, the V8 Supercar races began from Fl-style 1x1 staggered grids. That put the pole man a car's length ahead of his fellow front row starter,and under the track licence in Bahrain, pole was on the outside of the track,too. n Amongst the various support races that kept the sparse crowd amused in Bahrain were races for the local Radical championship (for ISOOcc motorcycle-engined sports-racers). Formula BMW and the Italian-based Mazda RX-8Cup. The Mazda entry attracted just nine cars...two of which were eliminated on the opening lap. n You may have missed it -most ofthe press room did - but there was Australian interest elsewhere over the weekend.The Chevrolet Lumina Championship boasted Aussie Tarek Al Gammai. An instructor at the Dubai Autodrome, Al Gammai took a second and a third in the brace of races for identical rebadged Commodores,which boasted an entry of novices and some with prior racing experience,all of which resulted in some novel corner lines. -CHRIS LAMBDEN/DAVID ADDISON

continued from 51

the tight right-hander was to claim some serious scalps on Saturday. It's not as if anyone couldn't see after sizing him up for a while,the - such was the degree of abrasive championship leader pulled off a neat move into Turn 3 and that dirt/dust thrown up by the cars so far, that no less than 27 cars was that. had windscreen replacements With Richo and Skaife driving overnight! steady (if busy) races, the drive ofthe race was Winterbottom's. Courtney, on five, got a better start than Rick Kelly (four), but as After his disappointing qualifying, they headed down to the tight FPR's yougster stayed out in clean Turn 1, complete with apex tyre air quite a lot longer than the bundle,theToll car came back, frontrunners, made good time, down the inside. Enough? Should and passed cars to end up a wellhe have backed out earlier? Those earned eighth - ahead of Lowndes are the questions that may well and Whincup. Good work. define the championship. Things ended badly forthe DJR Either way,the Falcon turned duo, a moment of stubbornness in, the Commodore had to do between Johnson and Bargwanna likewise (although it contacted also involved Davison and Wilson, Courtney hard enough to turn the delaying everyone to a greater or Falcon around) and Rick scraped lesser degree. the tyre bundle, hard enough to Morris copped a drive-through derange the front steering and cut for taking out Brad Jones(who got clipped by his nephew - both out), the right rear tyre. While cars went everywhere, and Bowe got turned around by sustaining peripheral damage, Canto, who was also required to for Kelly this was disaster. He got cruise up pit lane in penance. the car back to the pits to enable running repairs and, crucially get back out for a handful of points, Racei' f37laps albeit five laps down. Although a bent steering arm had been dealt with, there was still much amiss f Friday's start had produced a in the suspension department of well-mannered opening corner.

motorsportnews

V8 SUPERCARS

Bahraini moments: Johnson and Bargwanna dashed, left, which invovied Johnson's team-mate Davison, below. Courtney, above was consistent. and although the racing was byand-large dull, the wide circuit allowed for some three-wide racing.

theToll car, but right now damage control was the game. Courtney had stayed out, but the Jeld-Wen car had a badly bent diff housing that would require replacement. Up front, the race,from here on, was quite straightforward.Tander had got the better of Bright at the start, and managed to get out in front -just - after his lap eight stop(many had completed their tyre change as early as lap six). Garth eked out three seconds by lap 20 and just held it there. Job done. Looking good. Lowndes avoided the first corner carnage to emerge in third, but was soon despatched by a racy Winterbottom, now more than happy with the second FPR car, before the stops. Both HRT cars also found their way past the #888 car - perhaps in caution mode after the'Kelly News'? - in the early running,though Skaife's nightmare continued with a drivethrough after a fracas with old enemy Ingall. Not that Rusty was having a great day either.The Caltex car managed to'bone'one of the GRM boys as Russell pulled into the fast lane after his stop so #1 was asked to make another trip up pit lane ... The Race 2 results show that www.mnews.cotn.au

little happened from here on - up front.Todd Kelly reported what he thought might be a deflating tyre, but seemed able to turn in the times to the end. And that was that. But the drive of the race.was coming from further back. With the DJR boys having rapidly changed an axle broken on the parade lap, Johnson was on fire having started stone motherless, from pit lane. Okay, he wasn't passing the aces, but the First Rock machine was nevertheless despatching car after car on his way to an eventual 11 th place - and a worthwhile moraleboost for the DJR team.

Races^37laps So, a raceversus in twoBright in prospect. Tander for the glory; Rick Kelly from the back for the points. The first was resolved before the lights even went out. Inexplicably Garth's Toll car jumped,then propped, well before the lights, but over the grid line marker.The drive-through, when it came, was inevitable. And so unnecessary. When the lights did go,the Toll car was so

fast off the line, it had clear air by Turn 1,1.6 seconds at the end of the lap. An astonishing'could have been'... Garth's gap was aided by a slowish start from Bright, to the degree that Frosty burst through for second. Fiis renaissance was to be short-lived though;a gear selector problem forcing an early and lengthy stop. Lowndes had to give best to Toddler on the second lap, but with team-mate Whincup next in line to protect him from attack from Murph, he was secure. Murph was having a halfreasonable weekend, battling for most of it with team-mate McConville, Richo, Dumbrell (and later in this race, quite physically, with a restarted Winterbottom). Any thoughts Bright might have had of a comfortable race went early. Tander may have been pinged, Frosty gone, but now Todd was right there and looking pushy. After nearly half a lap side-by-side. Bright went a bit wide at turn 8 and it was all over. The stops changed little, and Todd reeled off a strong win,from Bright and Lowndes. It was what was going on further back which provided the interest.

While Johnson continued his good work,edging up to fifth late in the race, the real speed demonstration was coming from the remaining three team Tomsters - Skaife, Rick and Garth, all recovering from their indiscretions. In the end, Skaife worked his way to a strong fourth, but in championship terms, it was Kelly's drive to fifth (getting Johnson late in the piece) which caught the eye.TheToll team had intelligently put old rubber on for him to complete Race 2,so he had some useful Dunlops left for the finale, taking the quite reasonable punt(on no Safety Cars) to stay out until lap 25 before stopping. It was a good bet. TheToll car emerged in sixth, within striking distance of Johnson. Further back,Tander was pouring through the field as well these Tom Cars have plenty when driven in anger, don't they? - and got all the way to ninth, which salvaged an outright podium. Impressive pace. And so it finished.The maths graduates soon figured it outseven points. Roll on Phillip Island and the Kelly versus Lowndes title fight. Head-to-head ... 55

WINNERS^ JASON BRIGHT: He got the Bahrain silverware without the fastest car.Top job. V8 SUPERCAR TEAM OWNERS: Pay day. CRAIG LOWNDES: After a shocker at Symmons Plains, Lowndes left Bahrain line-ball with R Kelly, setting up a super Phillip Island showdown. BICand BAHRAINI AUTHORITIES: For its brilliant traffic plan. 10 minutes after the last race, there was no traffic! Honestly, Tony, we used to see bigger crowds at PROCAR rounds.

High speed,low grip

WENT to Bahrain not expecting a high-grip surface, because of the fact that the track is in the desert." From previous experience, when you have a track in that environment - and I have been to a few of those in South Africa - there is always low grip. You always get that in a sandy place. I don't think that China was high on grip either - modern Formula 1 circuits seem to place a priority on getting the surface smooth for FI cars, rather than high in grip. So I had no expectations of lots of grip. One of the things we had to deal with this time around was working with Chris Pither in his first V8 Supercar race. My priority was to get him used to the car and spend time making him comfortable in the car and with the track. So we did not play with the set-up in the sense of chasing outright speed. Everyone was chasing their

TIME

F/LAP

1 2 Tander

LOSERS ^ GARTH TANDER: By the standards of the outright pace of his car, anything less than absolute dominance was a loss. A stall in Race 1 and a jumped start in Race 3 cost the West Aussie a certain round victory. JAMIE WHINCUP: Anything that goes wrong at Triple 8 is happening to car #88.Since the enduros, he has dropped from fifth in the championship to 11th. AUSSIE RACE FANS: Boring racing in the middle of the night. Congratulations V8 Supercars, it's just like Formula 11 THE JONESES: Andrew had his helmet stolen (out of his race carl), and then unintentionally ran into Uncle Brad in Race 1. 56

4ir3S:0397*1:24.9102 3 41:38.4050 1:24.9341 3 41:45.6824 1:25.5557 13 4 R Kelly 41:53.8595 1:25.3884 10 5 R 41:55371 1:25.4857 4 6 S Richards 41:56.0655 1:25.8245 4 7 4T.57.89Q1 1:25.8285 3 8 Winterbottom 41:59.0777 1:25.9977 18 9 :low^ 42:03.1288 1:25.6229 14 10 Whincup 42:05.0565 1:25.5134 3 11 Dumfflj 42:05.2026 1:25.6940 3 42:08.2073 1:26.2958 4 12 Murphy 13 42:09.1802 1:26.3416 18 42:13.5370 1:26.4708 4 14 McConville 15 Hofd^aUL _42:18.6187 1:26.4845 3 16 Wilson 42:21.5339 1:26.9319 4 17 mm 42:28.3290 1:26^9438 19 42:29.1591 1:26.9399 17 18 Luff

19 lifflife20 Marshall 21 IgiaiTtl.

42:35.3645 1:26.7352 15 42:36.1815 1:26.6605 14 4236.3434 1:26.5398 15

22 Bargwanna

42:55.7576 1:26.0174 3 42-.56.7369 1:26377 4 26 laps 1:26.7088 4 26 Ians 1:27.1241 10 26 laps 1:26.8662 19 22 laps 1:26.3603 3 14 laps 1:26.0341 3 4 laps 1:28.0278 2 4 laps 1:27.9131 3 1. 4 laps 1:27.8312 3

23IPTO

24 Canto 25 26 Morris 27Ijohnsoi:

DNF Davison DNF femafflli DNFBJones DNF AJoniesI

cars'grip but Chris was not complaining about a lack of grip because it was all new to him! People made all sorts of changes during the weekend and we did, but I stayed on the path we started on. We dropped the roll

RESijiBV8SRACE3(37 LAPS)

RESUH^SV8S RACE 2(37 LAPS)

RESU|)!1j§V8S RACE 1 (27 LAPS) POS DRIVER

with PaulCeprnich^^

Engineer,#021 TKR C/dore

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1 IMF

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centres and increased the roll resistance by stiffness of the car. I didn't thinkthat we got the right set-up but we stayed with it. There was paint damage to the front of the cars, like sandblasting, from the sand in the bitumen.That does not go away from the surface and affects the cars. I was impressed with young Chris. He conducted himself well in his first race in the Main Game and stayed with it through the weekend, without interfering with the championship or without damaging the car. He was able to tell each time we improved the car's grip but at the end of the day, it was a big compromise. We were running some stuff on the car that was outside the 'normal'scope of where we would run the car - very low roll centres, high spring rates - and that made it hard to figure out whether it was working or not.

53:55.1641*1:25.0444 2 54:07.2589 1:25.0587 3 2 Bright 3 WiB^tiOTn 54:10.0127 1:25.3703 3 54:22.1468 1:25.3836 3 4 T Kelly 5 irnffte 54:30.9338~L25.7542 3 6 Whincup 54:31.1720 1:26.1055 10 7 ICTIffiW 54:38.5918 1:26.~2178 13 8 5 Richards 54:41.0309 1:26.1775 3 9 McCoiM3 54:47.3863 1:26^2134 3 10 J Richards 54:47.7402 1:26.1848 11 54:54.4122 1:26.4847 12 11 Jplmsonl 12 Wilson 54:55.9606 1:26.8315 8 13 tSTTOf 54:58.9642 1:26.6605 4 14 Holdsworth 55:00.4848 1:26.6010 10 15 Dumbieiil 55:05,0562 1:26.5319 11 16 Bargwanna 55:11.3170 1:26.9632 11 55:12.5307 1:267815 4 17 mtkr 55:13.8453 1:26.9912 13 18 Morris 19 ESE .55:18.8641 1:26.0599 5 55:20.5241 1:27.1406 12 20 BJones 21 36laps 1:263600 12 22 Pither 36 laps 1:27.5243 4 23 Femahdg 36 laps 1:27.4173 10 35 laps 1:26.4739 8 24 Courtney 35 laps 1:273232 6 25 HUIBit26 A Jones 34 laps 1:26.5631 4 27 ~ 32 laps 1:26.9439 8 32 laps 1:26.9446 5 28 R Kelly II; 4laps 1:29.4425 3 DNF|Marshal DNF Davison 3 laps 1:27.6565 2 dnfI Perkins) II .2 laps 1:27.9744 2

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F/LAP

54:15.87521:25.7672 12 54:17.15591:25.8113 4 2 Bright 3 54:24.87151:25.9055 12 m. 4 Skaife 54:37.88441:25.6438 4 54:41.98151:26.0346 8 5 ML 6 Johnson 54:43.59601:26.4589 11 7 Courtfiffl1 .54:48.8941 1:253024 9 8 Tander 54:51.76021:25.4886* 2 9 IWcMs 54:54.85901:26.5323 10 54:58.99541:26.5633 11 10 Ingall 55:02.69791:26.8123 16 11 mm55:03.67041:26.7705 13 12 Murphy 55:04.2251 1:27.0049 5 13 55:21.85471:26.6677 8 14 Dumbrell .55:2633661:27.2970 8 15®^ 55:27.0887 1:26.9084 10 16 Marshall 17 i5:28.13651:26.7567 10 55:29.6555 1:27.3626 13 18 Bowe 55:31.6455 1:27.4268 13 19 BJbnKi 55:32.1165 1:27.2821 11 20 A Jones 55:37.24101:273011 8 21 IttlMc 55:41.25301:27.3367 17 22 Bargwanna 23 1EMII 55:44.9021 1:27.9666 14 24 Wilson 55:51.56091:27.2252 10 25 iFeniail 36 laps 1:27.7793 17 26 Holdsworth 36 laps 1:27.1962 10 27 WintetSMhl. 33 laps 1:26.1585 6 DNF Davison 21 laps 1:26.3704 8 DNFPnmOl) J4laps 1:26.0733 9

V8SC-S psniSl'i - RD 12 R.Kelly3068,Lowndes3061,Winterbottom2792,Tander2709,Ingall2612,Bright2611,T.Kelly2508, S.Richards2481,Johnson2234,Courtney2197,Whincup2167,Dumbrell 2165, Bargwanna 1943,Wilson 1881,McConville1872,Canto1817,J. Richards1786,Skaife1773, Davison 1766, Morris1710,Holdsworth1648,Bowe1643,0wenl636,B.Jones 1516, Murphy 1507, Radisich 1235,A. Jones 1189, Luff 1101,Marshall 947,Fernandez 608, Ellery 594, Coulthard,478 Gurr,457 Ricdardello,398,Seton 300,Youlden 290, Baird 287

motorsportnews

V8SUPERCARS

rtss

Toeing the line

A CRUCIAL spot on the Bahrain short-circuit is theTurn 3/4 right-left kink onto the long back straight - exit speed is carried all the way. Race officials rightly figured ahead of time that a super-wide exit from T3 would soon be adopted by the guns, so a clear rule interpretation was imposed; All four wheels over the white line (on the left going fromTS toT4) meant trouble. Several drivers lost crucial lap times during qualifying by running too wide, while several'bad sportsmanship'flags were shown in races, although nobody offended enough to get a PLP (pit lane penalty).

Between a(First)Rock and a hard place THINGS aren't going swimmingly at DJR these days with a tough budgetary situation putting all sorts of pressure on the boysfrom Stapyton. Despite this,the DJR Falcons have been sneaking up on the opposition and, after Will Davison's terrific showing in lassie, both qualified just outside the top ten in Bahrain. But the most spectacular effort of the weekend came from the car #17 crew,and driver, in Race 2.

'Couldn't believe it," Dick Johnson explained to MNews. It broke a bloody axle on the parade lap! Rapid work by the crew actually replaced the axle In time for the start, and Johnson started from pit lane. By the end of 37 hectic laps,the First RockFalcon was nth. That became sixth when the Race 3 chequer was waved. Pretty smart effort under the circumstances. Particularly if the prospective sponsors were looking on...

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Win,lose or draw in Wales, Marcus Hronholm was always going to be just short ofsnatching tijie WRC title from Sebastien Loeb.The Finn won-andfinished point behind the Citroen ace

NCE upon a time, a very successful tennis player lamented the fact that his otherwise most successful season had not included wins in any of the four 'Grand Slam'tournaments. "There is nothing left to win from here,"he moaned."Except money." Marcus Gronholm competes for wins and titles and not for the money(not that he is badly paid). But it must have been galling for the Finn to maintain his motivation over recent World Rallies, knowing that even if he won all the events by an hour,the best he could do would be to fall a solitary point short of removing the title from Sebastien Loeb. So it was in Wales. Gronholm came out of the gate like a rodeo 58

buli to dominate proceedings,just as he has done in the rallies since Loeb broke his arm in a cycling incident. After building a 1 m20s lead in two days, he cruised on Sunday for his 25th WRC win,to tie Colin McRae on the all-time winners'list, "in terms of rally wins, this is my best season and I'm delighted to deliver this win for the (Ford Focus) team,"Gronhoim said at the finish. "I can't believe I have moved ahead ofTommi(Makinen)to become the most successful Finn ever." Things were less wonderful for Ford's other driver. With instructions from M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson to have some fun (since the Manufacturers'title was already in the bag) Mikko Hirvonen made it all the way

through the first stage - okay, he was two corners from the end of the stage - when it ali went wrong. He found a rock and the Focus limped into service with the driver's door and B-pillar caved in. "i just slid wide and went over some rocks on the outside of the corner," he admitted."It was a stupid mistake because there was plenty of room. I wanted to carry on and the car was still competitive but it's a safety issue so we cannot." In to the breach stepped Fetter Solberg but he slid off a stage at the end of Day 2, allowing Manfred Stohl to seize the position. It was a bitter disappointment for Solberg after a wretched season, while Stohl's third podium in a row gave him a brilliant fourth in the Drivers'standings.

RESOjSjSWALES rally gb 1

MarcusjiaitigiiiiTin Ford Focus WRC 06 3:20:24.8 Timo Rautianen Fin 2 iManHsail! Aut Peugeot 307 WRC 3:22:00.3 Aut Ilka Minor 3 PetfeFSoll Nor SubaruImpreza GB 3:22:20.0 Phil Mills 4 Jari^Matij)ite~g.v-:ilr Fin Subaru Impreza 3:23:01.9 Mikka Anttila Fin 5 Xavjg^IB E Citroen Xsara WRC 3:23:44.8 Carlo del Barrio E 6 filinffiFPtlimi: Aus Subaru Impreza 3:23:52.3 Glenn Macneall Aus E Citroen Xiara WRC 7 Panfgg 3:24:33.1 E Marc Marti ai Bel Skoda Fabia WRC 4:13:22.3 F Patrick Pivato Drivers'Points; Loebl12,Gronholm 111,Hirvonen 65, Stohl54,Soldo 49,P Solberg 40,Pons 32,H Solberg 25, Gardemeister and Atkinson 20,Galli 15,Bengue 9. Manufacturers'Points: Ford 195, Kronos Citroen 166, Subaru 106,OMV-Peugeot 88,Stobart-Ford 44,Red Bull Skoda 24.

moiorsport news

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ,

Jump for(no)Joy: Marcus Gronholm was in a class of his own,opposite, even if he knew that there was no championship on the line. So much for fun: Mikko Hirvonen almost made it to the end ofthe opening stage when he hit a rock and did this to his Ford, left.

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sutton-lmaqes.conf*

Frankygoes to Prague: Duval brought home a point for Skoda, below left, while Atkinson did better than that for Subaru, bottom.

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aim was to get to the end of the rally and that's what we've done," said the Queenslander. "A points finish is a good way to end a tough year and now we can turn our attentions to making the car strong for the start of the 2007 season.The team has been working incredibly hard and next year we want to reward them with wins." Jari-Matti Latvala took fourth

Sunday got worse for Solberg; while charging hard and looking a chance to catch the Peugeot, he had a puncture and a spin on SSI 5. In the end, he had to settle for three fastest times on the final day of the season, and his final day on Pirellis. "I set a very fast time on the first stage, but the puncture and spin we had in the second test made it impossible to overtake Stohl,"Solberg explained."The gap to second place was too big, so we had to settle for third. I was enjoying the stages in the afternoon and the pace we were setting shows that next year, when things are going better for us, I think we will be very fast." For Chris Atkinson,things looked to be running to'plan' on Day 1. He drove well, if conservatively to fourth on until the final stage, when his Subaru flat-out stopped with what the team suspected was an electrical fault. He dropped to seventh and gained a place on Saturday before successfully completing Sunday in that position. "The result isn't ideal, but it has been a really tough event and our

ISi SP73R

place,42 seconds behind Solberg, in a Stobart Motorsport-entered Ford Focus RS WRC 06. He had started the final leg in fifth place, behind Kronos Racing's Xavier Pons, but moved up with a steady drive and some help from Pons in the form of a spin. Pons took Kronos's final points of the year in fifth, meaning that the Champion team has not had a podium results since Loeb 'rested' and has been outscored by OMVPeugeot's 307s. Dani Sordo, who has comprehensively failed to take any steps forward in Loeb's absence, was seventh ahead of Francois Duval, who took eighth ahead of fellow Skoda pilots Harri Rovanpera and Jan Kopecky. So ends yet another season in which Loeb has reigned.The truth is that a one-point margin hides what was really a masterful season,though Gronholm and Ford never once dropped their heads and reaped their rewards, particularly when the odds tilted their way. Subaru will be glad that the season is over but a change in rubber for 2007 will not cure what is clearly not a happy passive Impreza. Citroen returns next season, Kronos will (hopefully) return and so will the French master. If the new C4WRC is half the carthat the Xsara was, it will be a long winter - and even longer summer - for the opposition.

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Rising star wins atSepang Young German ace continues to show the way in A1GP NICO Hulkenberg has vaulted Germany to the top of the A1GP standings with a dominant victory in last weekend's Sepang round of the series. The 19-year-old was unstoppable in the rain-affected Feature Race. Starting behind NeelJani, Hulkenberg grabbed the lead on the first lap. From there he was never headed,and despite stalling during his pitstop, finished a whopping 42s clear of second placed Robbie Kerr. It wasn't too bad at the start as it was not so wet any more, but when we went out for the installation lap when the pit lane opened,that was incredible,"said Hulkenberg. I have never seen so much water in my life and I spun off on the straight as there was just no chance to drive the car as it was aquaplaning all the time.That was a bit crazy. 'When we started the race it was quite wet but the car was okay to handle. I like the wet and have no problems with it. When I overtook Neel it was out ofTurn Four I think he had a little bit of problems with traction, a little bit of wheelspin, I was a bit smooth on the throttle in second gear and then I had better traction and could pass him." Kerr did the hard yards to finish second, having started from fifth. His progress in the wet was impressive. the Brit passing Malaysia, New Zealand and Switzerland in the torrential conditions. While A1 Team Switzerland fell back to fourth in the Feature Race, they did take some silverware away

from the weekend with Jani winning the Sprint Race. Jani was untroubled throughout the race, although the same couldn't be said for Germany and New Zealand. Having crashed together at the second round at Brno last month,the pair made contact again. Unlike the Brno race, both the Super Nova-prepped cars kept going and finished second and third respectively. capping off another strong performance by NZ's young driver Jonny Reid. While Reid was happy with his place, he was unimpressed with Hulkenberg. I am not smiling as I was run into in the first corner by my team-mate,"said Reid. 'I am not happy about that. We will have to sit down and talk about it again as it is the second time it has happened. We are lucky that we both didn't go off. 'I am a bit annoyed about it but third place Is still third place." As for A1 Team Australia, it was a tough weekend for Ryan Briscoe and Karl Reindler. Briscoe was back to undertake lead driver duties and was held back in qualifying by a midsession off that damaged his car. The Sprint Race saw a good battle between Briscoe and Adrian Zaugg for 12th place, with Briscoe getting the better of the South African. By the Feature Race A1 Team Australia were off the pace, eventually finishing a lowly 17th position. Points: Germany 37,Great Britian 31, Malaysia 24, Mexico 24, France 24, Canada 22,Italy 19, Netherlands 17,Switzerland 17,(Australia 16).

Rsher.SPayte'

Is it Broken? Briscoe, above,started vi/ith a crunch in qualifying. Jonny Reid had another good weekend for NZ,left. The Swiss team started well

with the Sprint win, but went backwards from there.

INTERNATIONAL

DANIEL RICCIARDO has rounded out his 2006 season is sensational fashion by finishing fifth at the Dell Formula BMW World Final at Valencia a fortnight ago. Having finished third in the Formula BMW Asia series this year, the 17-year-old West Australian lined up in Spain with Fortec Motorsport, the team that took Niall Breen to the UK Championship. Ricciardo started the final from ninth on the grid, but was qucikly on the move through the field. He wound up sixth at the finish. however his result was improved the fifth when second place finisher Josef Krai was disqualified fora technical infringement.The fifth place finish was made even more impressive with Breen

managing only 13th place. Earlier in the weekend, Ricciardo was quick to adapt to the Spanish circuit, impressing in the heats with three top 10 finishes, the best of which was fifth. The winner of the event was won by German Christian Vietoris, who will now have the opportunity to test a BMW Sauber Formula 1 car. This is a brilliant finish to a perfect weekend,"said Vietoris. 'From the first free practice, my car was perfect. I therefore had the chance to top the qualifying session and win all three heat laces. 'Quite obviously. I'm now looking forward to the Formula 1 test.' Mika Maki finished second ahead of Stefano Coletti.

Stars ofthe future: Daniel Ricciardo, above, was a revelation ofthe FBMW World Final. Christian Veitoris took the major prize and the FI test, left.

Fighting in the desert PHOENIX Racing has finally delivered on its early-season promise by winning the final round of the FIA GT Championship at Dubai. Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis Deletraz were unstoppable in the desert, leading home the Carsport Corvette of Mike Hezemans, Anthony Kumpen

and Bert Longin by a handy 49s. The Corvette took the lead early, however the Pheonix team took the lead after the second round of pit-stops. The GT2 class was taken out by Tim Mullen and Chris Niarchos in the Ferrari 430 GT Final Points; Micheal Bartels 71, Andrea Bertolini 71, Deletraz 62,Piccini 62.

Nyora Nightsfor Brazier The track wasn't perfect,but Garry Brazier didn't mind a bit WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

round 4-nyora HE may have been away for more than a decade, but Garry Brazier looked right at home at the front of the World Series Sprintcars field at Nyora a fortnight ago. Brazier's fourth round win was about as straightforward as they come. Having won the A-Dash, Brazier made up the front row with B-Dash winner David Murcott, with whom he had clashed during a heat race. It looked to be a heated battle, however Brazier got the jump at the start and was never headed,the win vaulting him to second in the series. "Last week we handed the front row to Robbie Farr with the inversion marble and tonight it worked back in our favour,"said Brazier. "I guess in this deal what goes around comes around. "I'm so happy for my guys Dave Sharman and Glen Beaton because they gave me a great car tonight. I really want to thank Bill Mann for giving me the chance to race World Series. I've been away for 12 years and I forgot how awesome it is to run with these guys night in night out." As for Murcott, he was able to run with Brazier in the opening laps, but didn't seem to have the pace to get past. He slipped even further back in the dying stages of the A-Main, with Max Dumesny

slipping through on the final tour to grab second place. "I saw'Murky'go wide a couple of times and I kinda guessed he might be using every bit of that right rear tyre," refected a satisfied Dumensy. "So I tried hard to stay close in case he got loose and we got an opportunity to pass. Luckily that's what happened." Murcott was less satisfied with

the outcome. "1 know we could have won tonight, but it all comes down to the start and Garry was better into the first turn than we were, particularly as he started on the bottom,"said the Victorian Champ. "For a long time there I waited for something to happen so I could make my move but it never came. I'm pleased for Bruce Stephens and Adrian Parr and my

guys, but I wish we could have been two spots further up." Running fourth for the night was Jason Johnson.The American lacked the outright pace he showed at Kwinana and Adelaide, but scored enough points to move into the series lead. Rounding out the top ten was Drew Kruk, Allan Haynes, Danny Reidy, Adam Wray, Ricky Maiolo and Luch Monte.

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Could've been me: David Murcott looked good for victory after winning the B-Dash, but couldn't outrun Garry Brazier or Max Dumesny in the A-Main. 62

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Garry Brazier Max Dumesny David Murcott Jason Johnson Drew Kruk Allan Haynes Danny Reidy Adam Wray Ricky Maiolo Luch Monte Ian Lewis Ian Thomsen David Muir Kelly Linigen Paul Bastow Daniel Morton Matthew Reed TonyMoule

motorsporlnews

SPEEDWAY

MAX Dumesny took his first round win of the 2006/2007 World Series season at Heartland Raceway last week, moving him into the series lead. Having won the preliminary final at Kwinana Motorplex last month and finished second at the previous round at Nyora, Dumesny was keen to record a round win. And he did just that at Heartland, starting from the front row before bolting into the distance and on to victory. 'It's great to finally get a World Series feature win, not just a preliminary,"said Dumesny after the A-Main. "I think it's going to be a close points battle all year the way thingsl are going." Jason Johnson, pictured above, missed an opportunity to win the round after qualifying and starting from the front of the field. He slipped back in the early stages, before losing track position after trying to pass David Murcott on the high line.The incident dropped Johnson back to eighth, however the American went on a hard charge to be second by the finish. "I think Disbury Racing is happy www.mnews.com.au

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tonight just to get this car home in one piece," lamented Johnson. "This track was evil tonight." Less than impressed with Johnson's hard-charging tactics was third place finisher Garry Brazier. The Round 4 winner was sure Johnson used the infield to make the pass for second place. "I think we got the raw end of the deal tonight - I saw Jason pass us clearly on the infield," he said. "At the end of the day we'll move on but 1 won't forget it. It's pretty disappointing." Fresh off a podium finish at Nyora, David Murcott looked to

continue his good run by running second for most of the A-Main. However he lost out to Johnson and Brazier in the late stages, winding up fourth. B-Main winner Danny Reidy was a big mover in the feature race, coming from 13th to finish fifth. Grant Anderson and Luch Monte were sixth and seventh, while Steven Lines, Allan Haynes and Ashley Cook rounded out the top 10. The next two rounds of the World Series Sprintcars are scheduled for Mountain Dew Ice Speedway in Tasmania next week.

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 ChaiTD

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V86 V68

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Max Dumesny Jason Johnson Garry Brazier David Murcott Danny Reidy Grant Anderson Luch Monte Steven Lines Allan Haynes Ashley Cook Mike Van Bremen Daniel Morton John Vogels Ian Thomsen Domain Ramsay Simon Amato Drew Kruk Brett Milburn Points:

Max Dumesny 2878,Jason Johnson 2830, Garry Brazier 2752, David Murcott 2557,Danny Reidy 2091, Robbie Farr 1781, Aian Haynes 1672, Ricky Maioio 1549. 63

PREMIER Speedway general manager Rob Harris has defended the decision to cancel a round of World Series Sprintcars and hold a domestic event instead a fortnight ago. Harris stressed the decision was based purely on the clash with a recently run monster truck show and not because of any conflict with World Series Sprintcars organisers. "Speedway is a breeding ground for rumour and innuendo," Harris said. "Premier Speedway would like to assure everybody that it does not have any ongoing issues with World Series Sprintcars other than the commercial decision we took to cancel the World Series event scheduled for November 25 due to a clash with a monster truck show." "The concern we had as a club was the capacity of the local population to afford two major shows, one week apart,four weeks before Christmas. We understand that a large part of a WSS crowd are dedicated speedway fans who would attend at any cost. However,an equally large part of the crowd are casual fans who only attend major shows and this was the segment that we were concerned about." Harris said the decision to host a round of the domestic series was due to pre-sold tickets. "Premier Speedway set its race calendar some months ago and sold season passes, grandstand tickets, terrace tickets, memberships, corporate boxes and secured sponsorship based on a set number of Sprintcar meetings. In view of this we just could not simply cancel a meeting.The cost of a domestic round is substantially cheaper than WSS and, while it would obviously be great to fill the spectator banks to capacity, we don't need the same number of fans to ensure a financially-secure result. "We also work in with the local tracks in the south-west to ensure that date clashes are resolved before the final calendar is released. For us to reschedule a round of WSS would have had an enormous impact on local tracks that just would not have been the right and fair thing to do." "We ask for common sense in allowing the club to make the correct financial decisions, both now and in the future." Premier Speedway will still hold its scheduled round of WSS on January 1. -GEOFF ROUNDS 64

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Big names return to Outlaws in 07

THE World of Outlaws looks set to regain the upper hand in American speedway following the announcement that Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski are returning to the series next season. Lasoski, who won this year's National Sprint Tour, will return to Outlaws with Roth Motorsports.The 2001 Outlaws champ has a total of 74 Outalws wins, a figure he is keen to add to in 2007. "The bottom line is to secure 410 sprint car racing," said Lasoski. "I feel we need to be back together as one group under one banner, stronger than ever. The World of Outlaws has done its homework, they got the proper television package with ESPN2 and SPEED and I'm excited to be coming back. I think really great things are on the horizon and the biggest winner will be the fans."

Kinser, meanwhile, will be lining up for his 21 st Outlaws crown. The Speedway legend has won a total of 533 Outlaws events, and will rejoin the series with his own team and Quaker State backing. "It's not going to be easy because there's a lot of good race teams out there now with a lot of good drivers," Kinser said. "It'll be tougher than it's ever been." The 2007 World of Outlaws series will also feature nine new events. The first will be in February at Volusia Speedway Park, followed by a return to Attica Raceway Park and West Virginia Motor Speedway. The Michael Ross Foundation event at Missouri State Fair Speedway will return to the schedule, while an all-new event will be staged at Ohsweken Speedway in July. There will also be four events at the 1/3-mileThunderbowl in Calif.

motorsportnews

March beatsthe Northern challenge

IT was a battle of north verses south last weekend as three of the best Darwin Sprintcar combatants ventured to Adelaide's Speedway City to take on the local brigade for Round 2 of the domestic Sprintcar Track Championship. Despite being outnumbered two to one,the northerners in Warrenne Ekins, Brooke David and Mark Grosvenor gave the locals a strong run for the cash up for grabs, but at the end of the night it was crowd favourite Philip March taking the victory in the 15-lap feature. As the lights went green March and Grosvenor screamed into the first corner, the tussle for the lead going to March. Ekins and Darryl Downing tangled in turn four, sending both drivers to an early retirement. At the complete restart March pounced away,and from that point on the #3S CBS Bins Cool driver would control the race. Grosvenor charged hard but later

found himself under attack from rookie driver Matt Egel, who was kept busy in the early stages fending off Karl Enderl. Egel managed to dive under the Grovesner, relegating him back to third. Reuter was next to cross the line ahead of Enderl and Justin Sloan. Also headlining the program was the Speedway City 360ci Sprintcar Series. With 18 cars in attendance the racing proved to be an exciting spectacle. Mark Caruso made a triumphant return to the Winner's Circle, topping the lap sheet for every circulation of the event. Fellow front row sitter Owen Pitt controlled second for the majority of the distance only to be pipped at the post by,the in-form Jamie Cobby, who had charged his way through the field, using both the high and low lines to his advantage. Reigning series champion Michael Burford rounded out the top four. -PARIS CHARLES

Winning at Warrnambool JOHN Vogels has extended his lead in the SRA Super Sprint Series after a flag-toflag victory in Round 3 of the championship at Premier Speedway a fortnight ago. With Premier officials pulling the pin on a scheduled World Series Sprintcars round, a good-sized crowd witnessed some spectacular action at the venue's first race meeting of the season. Vogels'outstanding earlyseason form has him now with a handy lead as he chases a third straight series title. "It's great to win here at Warrnambool in front of the home crowd, I have great support down here,"Vogels said. "It gives me some more confidence leading into some bigger events coming up and hopefully we can do half well there."

Vogels qualified in position two to win the 25-lap feature from top pointscorer South Australian Luke Dillon and last round winner Grant Anderson. According to Vogels,the start of the feature was a pivotal moment in the race as the Premier track was sensationally quick after rain showers throughout the evening. "On the start I didn't think I'd be able to beat Luke Dillon into turn one, but thankfully I did as it as the sort of track that once you get in front, you stay in front, he said." Dillon and Anderson both had brief moments to challenge Vogels for the win during the lapped car periods, but the local favourite had his car set up flawlessly and was able to grab victory. -GEOFF ROUNDS

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FLYiN'Ryan Farrell has created a little bit of history by taking out the WA Sprintcar Championship at the Perth Motorplex last Saturday night for a record third consecutive time. Impressive in the heats, Farrell started on pole but was upstaged early in final when Ken Sartori Jumped to the lead from position two. But his race ended when he got impatient in lapped traffic, clipping the right rear wheel of the slower car and crashing into the fence. Farrell wasn't really troubled for the rest of the race and went on to win the event. "We sat behind Ken for a while, we could match his pace and Just stayed there,"said Farrell. "He was taking a few risks out there and I wasn't going to get involved in it, in the end it looked as though it may have caught him out a bit. I am really happy to win this a third time". David Priolo finished second to

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Farrell after starting from position nine. "I literally pulled the wing back with about 10 to go and the car really launched,"said a satisfied Priolo. Wayne Russell finished third. - DARREN SUTTON

WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS 2006/07 CHAMPIONSHIP Round5- Heartland Raceway(Moama)

; Australian Distributors for

NSW: 0296791990 VK: 0393316477 SA: 0883320800

Flyin'Ryan makes it three

Points as of2nd December,2006

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THE Australian drag racing community was stung by the start of the Austraiian bushfire season two weeks ago when Benaraby Raceway, Qld, was hit by an out of control fire. The rural blaze has destroyed much of the Raceway's infrastructure. As fire units battied to save the facility on Monday, another fire front swung around, destroying the clubs scrutineering shed and office along with ail tender vehicles around midday last Tuesday. The fire then intensified and moved into several shipping containers containing much of the grounds keeping and track preparation equipment. The initial estimates have put the damage bill well over $100,000. Benaraby Raceway is looking for assistance or donations in any way. Visit www.benarabyraceway.com to find out how you can help. The club is confident to have the Raceway running again for the new season in February. ■ As predicted by Motorsport News (Issue 348), American-based Drag Racers Dave Grubnic and Scott Kalitta will return to Australia for the second Annual USA Boxing Day NItro Thunder Top Fuel event at Western Sydney International Dragway, "The interest via teams from the NHRA this year was amazing and I can confidently say we will continue to develop this event in the near future," said WSID CEO Jim Read. "Plans are already in place to make next year's Boxing Day event even bigger than this one will be. "However, I was keen to bring Grubnic and Kalitta back as they believe they can impress even more this year now they have some data on our track and know in greater detail the logistics and weather conditions." ■ Harley-Davidson Motor Company has announced that Pro Stock Motorcycle rider GT Tonglet has been released from his Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson NHRA Top Bike race team contract. Tonglet became the first NHRA rider to be sponsored by a Harley-Davidson factory team in 2002. He finished a career-best second in NHRA points in 2005 and was 12th in 2006. A possible replacement rider for Harley-Davidson's drag racing team is still under consideration. 66

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2006 Champions: Clockwise from above ieft; day Millican (Top Fuei); Dale Creasy Jr (Funny Car); Pete Berner (Pro Stock); and Mark Thomas (Alcohol Funny Car). Bottom right, Quain Stott (Pro Modified).

2006IHRA SEASON:

Four out of Five THE 2006 IHRA eIVlax Drag Racing Series saw four of its five professional category point battles decided during the final event of the seasori during a thrilling year of racing. Clay Millican wrapped up his sixth-consecutive Top Fuel title in Budds Creek one race earlier, after Doug Foley, who held the point lead midway through the year, crashed his car in Toronto and sustained injuries that kept him from competing in the final two events. Millican, the winningest driver in IHRA history, scored four wins in '06. Led by crew chief Mike Kloeber, Millican won in Edmonton,Toronto, Budds Creek and Rockingham. For'07, Millican's long-time sponsor Werner Enterprises will not be returning, and team owner Kenny Koretsky is rumoured to be selling the team. Second-generation racer Dale Creasy Jr became the first IHRA Funny Car Champion in 13 years as 2006 marked the return of the nitro floppers in IHRA competition. Creasy battled Jack Wyatt all the way to the final round of the season, where Creasy locked up the crown. He led the points for most of the season, and collected victories in all three of the Canadian events held in Grand Bend, Edmonton and Toronto. For 2007, Creasy will defend his title in a brand-new, Murf McKinney chassis, draped in a Monte Carlo body. After winning twice in 2006, Quain Stott and his LeeBoy Equipment Corvette captured the Pro Modified championship in the tightest points chase in Pro Modified history. Going into the final event, Stott had a slim lead over the other top five teams. Glen Kerunsky, who led in points most of the season failed to qualify, giving some breathing room for Stott and opening the door for Rowe, Janis and Stott team mate. Tommy D'Aprile. Stott had recorded a 6.11 s-best heading into the final round of qualifying and with the bump dropping

on every pass, Stott was eventually knocked out of the field, but pulled out a last ditch 6.09s to land a spot in the quickest Pro Mod field in history. Stott recorded a first round victory, while both Janis and D'Aprile were defeated in the first round. The title became Stott's when final competitor Rowe fell in the following round. Pro Stock Champion Pete Berner had campaigned a Ford combination for the last few seasons and switched to a new Rick Jones-built Pontiac Grand Am. Berner entered the final event at Rockingham with a 31-point deficit separating himself from leaderTony Gillig. He had to go two rounds further than Gillig to collect the title. Gillig was defeated in the opening round and Berner collected the crown with a first round victory over Mike Corvo Jr, then trailered Dan Sweeney in the second frame. Mark Thomas captured his sixth career IHRA Alcohol Funny Car championship, dethroning threetime-consecutive champion Rob Atchison. Thomas and his Ethanol-sponsored Chevrolet Monte Carlo posted event wins in San Antonio, Grand Bend and locked up the title in Rockingham with a win. DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

motorsport news

DRAG RACING

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ImsIS back in all-Stsidebaker final, while Lynch goes inha^atg^^^H^

luM nieuwhof VICTORIAN Peter Kapiris took out Round 3 of the Australian Top Doorslammer Championship at Perth Motorplex, Western Australia on December 1/2, during the annual running of the Golden State Nationals. Kapiris and his '53 Studebaker proved to have the right combination of luck and form when it counted to take the victory. Fie used up some of that luck early, qualifying into the field on the bump spot, with a 6.347s time, just holding out West Australian Grant O'Rourke's 6.370s. However that meant a first round clash with home-town hero John Zappia in the Striker Monaro, who earlier in qualifying recorded the world's quickest Doorslammer pass with a 5.922s time that set the Motorplex alight. Kapiris got lucky again as Zappia had troubles with faulty spark plugs and a 6.21 s to 6.47s win was his. Things didn't get any easier in the semis as Kapiris confronted Queensland's Victor Bray. The Kapiris Brothers Racing Studebaker came to the party on this run with a 6.13s defeating a 6.20s from the Castrol Edge Chev. All of which set-up a final with Queensland's Gary Phillips, a fellow Studebaker driver.

But that luck returned with Phillips breaking his supercharger in the burnout and handing Kapiris victory, which he took with a pedalling 6.33s lap. Finally out of the doldrums, Kapiris acknowledged his defeat of Zappia after the race. "I'm really, really sorry for beating John Zappia," he said. "I thought the crowd was going to boo me on the way back!" For Phillips, a runner-up placing was a valuable tool in working his way back into the series and he seemed nonplussed at his bad luck. "As soon as I did the burnout, 1 knew what had broken," he said. "The rest of the weekend was good and we should be looking alright in the championship now." Things did not go nearly so well for Queensland's Aaron Lynch, who hit the wall heavily during qualifying in his Corvette, writing off the front end of the B&L Steel Car. "I tried everything I could to bring it back," he said. "Physically I am 100 percent, the car is anything but." The event also made up Round 3 of the Australian Top Bike Championship and it was Jack Daniel's rider Troy McLean taking it out. He made it to the final with a string of six second passes but had it easy in the end as opponent Jay Upton broke a belt in the burnout of the final.

It was McLean's first victory at Perth Motorplex. "To qualify one-two in Top Bike (with Brett Stevens) was a fantastic result for the team and then to go on and take the win was fantastic," said McLean. Things were a lot more difficult for Upton who had to fix a broken motor between qualifying and eliminations. "Congratulations to Troy for the win, but I would have liked to have beaten him,"he said, ruing the lost opportunity. Both the Top Doorslammer and Top Bike categories now head to Sydney for their next championship rounds in February.

Golden State, or state of pain? Peter Kapiris, above main, was the victor, while Aaron Lynch, above, gave the wall a heavy hit in his Corvette. Below, Troy MacLean beat home town favourite Jay Upton to the win in Top Bike.

www.mnews.com.au _j

NATIONAL SCENE

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Edited by Andrew van Leeuwen'

MARCOS Ambrose will head-up a starfilled field at VACC Park (Todd Road) for the VACC Charity Karting Challenge today(Wednesday). Joining Ambrose's first on-track appearance back in Australia will be Ford drivers Jamie Whincup and Jason Bargwanna. Representing Holden will be Greg Murphy,Jason Richards and Dean Canto. The VACC Charity Challenge will comprise six teams with one V8 star, a media representative and a karter, who will each complete a lap. The team with the lowest aggregate time will be declared the winner. Motorsport News will be represented, as will Ten, FOX,SAW,the Herald Sun and a competition winner. All funds raised during the event will be donated to the Peter Brock Foundation. "The support shown by of the foundation by these drivers in the lead up to the final round of the V8 Championship is wonderful," Lewis Brock said. "Peter would have loved to have given this challenge a'red-hot-go' himself." Ambrose,a former Australian karting champion,is looking forward to getting back to his roots after his first year competing for Team Australia in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in America. "Karting is where myself and 95 percent of the V8 drivers first started a career in motorsport," Ambrose said. "I always enjoy getting back behind the wheel of a kart and it's even better when you can assist to raise money for a fantastic cause." n Australian driver Luke Youlden was rendered a non-starter at the third round ofthe Schaeffer Oil New Zealand Super Sedan Series at Pukekohe Park Raceway last weekend. Youlden arrived at the track yesterday leading the seriesfrom Steve Cox and Grant Brennan, but the Powerbuiit Tools/Bed Rumours Handcrafted Beds Ford Mustang suffered an engine problem in practice. With no spare engine available,the car was withdrawn. Youlden returned home to Melbourne but will return to New Zealand next month. The next round of the series is also at Pukekohe on January 14. 68

Mando's making a comeback

Ex-Formula 3 champ eyes off Aussie Racing Cars FORMER Australian Formula 3 champion James Manderson will contest the 2007 Aussie Racing Car Series. The Victorian has purchased the Ford Falcon AU-bodied car that Tobia Kipper drove to fourth place in this year's series. Manderson tested the car at Winton last week and will contest the entire 2007 season with a yetto-announced major sponsor. "I had a burn around on Friday. It was a bit hot on the day, but the car went pretty quick and got up to speed," he said. "I'm doing it to have some fun and have some real competition.

They look good,the category is great and you get to go to all the big V8 race meetings. "I'm really looking forward to racing again. "Based on the last time the Aussies raced at Winton, I would have done reasonably well in qualifying session.There is a long way to go. It's a much different car to what I've driven before." Manderson started his racing in Formula Vee, which led to becoming the 2002 Australian Formula 3 champion. His last race meeting was in mid-2003 in the Euro F3 Championship. - GRANT ROWLEY

Targa opens to rookies TARGA Tasmania will include a shorter three-day rookie event in 2007 -The Rookie Rallye. Designed to give younger, first-time Targa Tasmania drivers the opportunity to experience the'ultimate tarmac rally,'the inaugural 2007 Rookie Rallye will be made up of two outright competitions for vehicles both preand post-1991. Competitors contesting the 2007 Rookie Rallye will compete over the Temco Prologue at George Town,and continue on for the next two days of competition, comprising 17

4 stages, and wrapping up with the new Botanical Gardens night stage.That will be followed by a podium finish at Wrest Point in Hobart.

Unlike any other short tarmac rally on Australia's tarmac rallying calendar, rookie competitors will be vying alongside high-calibre drivers like Jim Richards but will not have to compete directly against them. The Rookie Rallye will be a stand alone event, with the lucrative first prize in both Classic and Modern of a free full entry in Targa Tasmania 2008. The inaugural Rookie Rallye will be held from April 17 to 19 April, starting in Launceston and finishing in Hobart.

motorsport news

NATIONAL SCENE

Bezzy still on top in NZ

REIGNING Champ Kayne Scott may have taken round honours away from the second round of the NZV8 series at Ruapuna a fortnight ago, but David Besnard held on to the series lead with another solid showing. Scott drew first blood in qualifying, with Luke Youlden the best-placed Australian second fastest. As for Besnard, qualifying was a disaster, a broken diff leaving him stranded at the bottom of the timesheets. The opening race was actionpacked right from the start, with Scott and Angus Fogg jostling for the lead on the opening lap. Their final change in position came on just the third lap, with Fogg taking Scott by surprise at the hairpin to take over the lead.The pair finished in that order, with John McIntyre and Youlden rounding out the top 10. Besnard had to come from the back of the field twice to finish ninth. Flaving started at the back thanks to the problem in qualifying, he made up eight places in the opening corners, but soon found himself at the back again after being punted off the road. The unique grid selection procedure saw Besnard line up third for Race 2, behind Fogg and

Scott. But by Lap 2 Besnard was in the lead, where he stayed until the race was red-flagged on Lap 12 thanks to Andrew Anderson clouting the pit-wall. The final race of the weekend was reverse-grid, which combined with heavy rain drenching the circuit made for tricky conditions for the drivers. Scott was relentless

in his pursuit for victory, and wound up winning comfortably from McIntyre and Fogg to claim round honours. Any chance Besnard had of winning the round went out the window with a spin early in the race, before throttle problems forced him to make an unscheduled pitstop. Fie finished 17th, enough to leave him in the

Knight timefor TRS ANDY Knight has joined the winner's list for the 2006/2007 Toyota Racing Series The New Zealand Ideal took a comfortable victory away from the second race of the weekend, leading home reigning Champion and current series leader Daniel Gaunt. Knight had started the race from pole position thanks to setting the fastest laptime on his way to fifth. Earlier in the weekend, Bahraini up-and-comer Flamad Al Fardan took the opening race win. Al Fardan had to overcome fellow international Ben Clucas, but did so with ease, vaulting pass the pole-sitter at the start. Gaunt finished fourth in Race 1, which combined with his second in Race 2 sees his hold on to the series lead. Points; Gaunt 325, Ben Harford 243, Knight 228, Clucas 225,Jayant Singh 207.

lead of the championship. The series takes a break now, with the next round scheduled as a support event to New Zealand's A1GP round next January. Points; Besnard 346, McIntyre 337, Fogg 295,Scott 286,Clark Proctor 256, Dean Perkins 247,Youlden 235, Mark Pedersen 207, Paul Manuell 178, Haydn Mackenzie 15.

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rtiieGhanicai problems to stop fABTAN Cpulthard'hasiproveni .ihjpirom taking vietory. I he is the man to beat in the I Battery townfors.che GT3, -.; 'EoulthardfeviGtories came I iiCtuppChallfengellywinningith^ 7 - lin Races‘fl/and 3, while Aussie Carrera Cupleader Craig Baird; seGond round at Ruapuna a tooktheiRaeeZ win. ' lortnight ago; Matt Malliday took two thirds : Like the previous round at and a fpiutith. j Pukekohe,Coutlhard ihad ail i the speed aboard the Mitre Points:Baird 201,Coulthard 186, i 1i0 machine,however this Jody Vincent l84>Hailiday ISO,Ross Rutherford 150. 1 time there were no niggling i

HE Historic Sports and Racing Car Association tipped its hat to a bygone era in Australian motorsport at Eastern Creek last weekend. It was the inaugural Tasman Revival Meeting, which, as the title suggests,focused on the Tasman Series and 1960s golden era of open-wheel racing in Australia. A highlight of the weekend was the Tasman Cup Revival race, which didn't disappoint. Over 15 laps, Brabhams, Lotuses, Elfins, McLarens, Rennmaxs and Coopers from Australia, New Zealand, America and the UK slugged it out. At the head of the field, there was a race-long battle between John Smith in an ex-Graham Hill Lotus 49,pictured right, and twotime Gold Star Champion Spencer Martin in a 1967 Brabham Alfa that itself won the title twice in the hands of Kevin Bartlett. The gap ebbed and flowed as they navigated lapped traffic in the 40-car field, and by the start of the final tour they were split by a second. Martin,the sole original Tasman Series driver in the field, had a 70

good look around the outside at Turn 9, and eventually snuck past in the final corner. He led the pair onto the front straight for the run to the chequered flag, only for Smith to power through and reclaim the win on the line. Phil Harris took third place in his Brabham BTC23, ahead of Lindsay O'Donnell, who fought.back after starting from pitlane in a McLaren Formula 2 M4A. Some slightly more modern international open-wheel machinery was on show in the Group Q & R Racing Car races. In the ex-Michele Alboreto Ferrari 156/85, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis took a pair of race wins, as did 1982 Spirit Honda pilot Chris Farrell. Vivian King also recorded win in a Ralt RT4, taking out the Ron Tauranac Trophy ahead of John Dimmer in the 1971 Tyrrell 004 formerly driven by Jackie Stewart. The late Denny Hulme's 1973 McLaren M23 was also a regular visitor to the Top 10 with Phil Mauger behind the wheel. Ross Hodgson (1965 Lotus 39) took out the opening two Group

21 3 ●o

M Racing Car races but failed to finish the final, paving the way for DeanTighe (1965 Brabham BT14) to win, rather appropriately, the Jack Brabham Trophy. The Formula Ford wins were split between Nick Lubransky (Reynard 83),TomTweedie (Elwyn 002) and Laurence Burford (Royale RP21), while Michael Donaher (Chev Camaro) and Des Wall (Ford Mustang) did the same in the Group N action.

the latter taking theTrophy Race aboard his ex-Ian Geoghegan machine. Porsche driver Bill Pye completed a clean sweep of the Group S Production Sports Car races, with John Gillet (1936 MG NB Regularity), Keith Simpson (1960 Lola Mkl Group J, K & L) and Nev McKay (1968 Mallock U2 Group M, O, Q & R Sports) among the other winners in their respective classes.

motorsport news

NATIONAL SCENE

* I

Grand Prix cars old and, well, slightly less old: A healthy grid ofTasman-spec cars made an appearance, top. There were more modern FI cars too,such as a Tyrell 004,above,and a Ferrari 156/85,left.

Fords big and small: Paul Truelove got all threewheeling in his Lotus Cortina, above left. Meanwhile,Des Wall headed the Historic Tourer field in his tough Mustang,left. The Matich SR4 always turns heads. above. Clive Chapman was on hand checking outsome ofhis father's handywork,right. www.mnews.com.au

Wall wins the race. Crick takes the title

i fWE:bif^©#ARGiaS#Frsigi» ewierythingifhat was gpp# I about MaroU5>lul«ahpVii4;|ihdi ' fhe finaliiiioundi oithe2006 ilbanc HEadeiibmthodore I Cup>ehanitpionShip at Easteiiliv ' CreekiRaGeway it was showy;, I enthusiastic and a heapoffun\ :l n argua b:iy the biggest I weekemdi pfliis career to'd'att,, i ZukanoMicelinehediithe series wiha \winiii«ithe first race ohi Saturday and then went on If win the inal'irace and the rOundiifn»wha# was a perfect ! sendoff series that has : ibeenipaiitieularlygpediiini : establishing the youngdriver's GareerlnureGent years, i A typically closeCdrhrhod'Ore iCupiieididid'ieverythinf initheir power to:usurp idkan'pvic,,jnfl'u'djhg>aistrOnf peiifbrrnanGe Irprnvir revitaiiSedi

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Whilst Zukanovic won the series, an honorary parade lap was reserved'for series i sta'lwart;Dawi.drCi.ttus, who j announced hisretireraentfrom; | the-championship prior to the weekend. i Despite an up-and-down I weefcen'di'fBus led'the teii i back to the pits following the | thirdirace Ih'i,a touchtngi gesture from;his fellow competitors. 'FindDPoihts:Ziikandvic 1096, ptA'|pstin'974,Brett'MoldsworthtB'7,, , Gittus'870, Daniel'Richert 867,:

Bruce the Champion

SCOTT Nicholas won his first round of the Supaloc Australian Saloon Car Championship at Eastern Creek Raceway a fortnight ago. The South Australian Ford driver beat home Bruce Heinrich for the round honors by winning two of the three races in convincing fashion, but it wasn't enough to stop the series-stalwart from clinching the first ever national championship for Saloon Car racing, Heinrich beating Kris Walton in the standings. The Champion was forced to 72

BREAKING through for his first and second race wins in the Speed Energy Drinks Australian GT Championship, David Wall was the star of the show at Eastern Creek. Wall was the dominant force all weekend aboard his Porsche GTS RSR,taking pole position and building a handy buffer early in each one-hour race. His charge in the opener was halted by a Safety Car period in the dying stages of the compulsory pitstop window. It elevated the Porsche of David Reynolds and Sven Burchartz - which sat in second place after Reynolds passed Greg Crick(Dodge Viper) and Bryce Washington (Porsche GTS Cup Car)- into the lead, almost a full lap up on the field. After a subsequent Safety Car shuffle, it came down to a two-lap dash, with Wall breathing down the neck of Burchartz. Wall made the pass to take the win, his first in the series, and there was more to come in Race 2. He seemed on-course to win with a comfortable margin, until striking late gearbox problems. It allowed Crick to close in rapidly, eventually finishing six seconds behind Wall. "It broke the cable on the sequential gearbox, and when that happens, whatever gear you're in is what you've got, s6 we were jammed in fifth,"

explained Wall. "We've had the speed at nearly every track this year, but we just haven't been able to get it to a result. "From the first practice session we went out this weekend,it was fantastic, and we just made little improvements to suit myself around the track and the conditions. I couldn't ask for anything more from the weekend." While he didn't quite overcome Wall for the race win. Crick's focus was on the bigger picture;the Championship. The pair of podium finishes | ensured the title was his. j "if I knew David was in a bit ! of trouble I'd have pushed a bit | harder,"said Crick. "But we had the desired | result, second, which wrapped up the Championship for us. I really only had to finish the race to win the Championship, | but I like to have a bit of a race i and push as hard as I can." j Third place went to j Washington, having moved past Burchartz late in the piece. Theo and James Koundouris (Porsche GTS Cup Car)took fifth, ahead of MaxTwigg and Andrew Luxton (Porsche GTS Cup Car), D'Arcy Russell and Dean Lindstrom (Dodge Viper), and Mark Cini and Dean Fiore (Porsche GTS Cup Car). -MITCHELL ADAM Final Points; Crick 713,Washington 651,J. Koundouris 524.5,T. Koundouris 487, Burchartz 438.5

work his way back to the front after a loose front wheel hub left him down the field in race one. Following a competitive season, a thrilling battle for the race lead with Walton in the final race was a fitting sendoff to the season. Walton had a shocking round, a puncture in race one followed by a broken throttle cable in the second before his strong thirdrace comeback. - RICHARD CRAILL Final Points: Heinrich 704,Waiton 617, Shawn Jamieson 493, Clint Harvey 454, John Goodacre 312.

motorsportnews

NATIONAL SCENE

Make Zukanovic's a double IT'S fair to assume Marcus Zukanovic left Eastern Creek Raceway last Sunday night a pretty happy chap, having secured a pair of National Titles. While the Commodore Cup glory was sealed relatively early, the Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series battle went down to the last race. He entered the finale with 40 points up his sleeve over Jack Elsegood. A Race 3 stall made life interesting, before recovering to finish seventh. Along with a pair of fourths in Races 1 and 2, it was good enough to wrap up the Championship over Elsegood, who finished fifth, fourth and fifth in the three races. "The car had been rolling on the startline in pretty much every race," he said of Race 3."Trying to stop the car, I had half the foot on the brake and half the foot on the throttle trying to get off the line, got a really bad start and I stalled it. "Got it going again, and then drove back up through.There were a lot of nerves going on, obviously,to try and get it home in one piece. "A 40 point lead is a really good way to come into a Championship decider, so it was good to come in like that, have a clean weekend and get the Championship win. I'm over the moon."

Just as Zukanovic had an early scare in Race 3, Grant Johnson was in the wars early in Race 2. Having won the opening race, Johnson started 10th in the Top 10inverted Race 2 and was caught up some opening lap chaos, dropping to 15th. He regrouped to ninth place, good enough to claim pole position for the final. From there, Johnson ended the season in dominant style, winning by seven seconds. By contrast, that was also the margin covering second to ninth. After winning Race 2, Gary Baxter slugged it out with James Brock in Race 3. He held on, with the pair second and third respectively for the race and round. Kerry Wade was the first .of the Fords home in fourth place, edging out Elsegood. Two-time Series Champion Damien White bowed out of the series with sixth place in his 166th start. White was on the comeback trail in the final, having finished 22nd in Race 2following a drivethrough penalty for jumping the start. Behind Zukanovic, Ashley Cooper was eighth and wrapped up the Rookie of the Year title. -MITCHELL ADAM

- MumaKMomeoi

I'll take two:Zukanovic, above, had some nervous moments throughout the final round of the V8 Ute series, but he took home the silverware. Johnson, meanwhile, was busy taking another couple ofrace wins. - B

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Final Points: Zukanovic 769, Elsegood 732, Johnson 696, Baxter 670,Wade 646,White 606, Brock 581,Jane 563.

Holt wraps up title in quiet style BERIC Lynton and Peter Floyd shared the limelight in the 2006 STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship season finale at Eastern Creek, as Garry Holt walked away with the title after a deliberately quiet weekend. Holt (Mitsubishi Lancer) entered the round with a comfortable points lead and elected to start each race from pitlane, rather than pole position after topping qualifying. He cruised to the chequered flag in each race to gain the required points for his first GTP title. Lynton (BMW M3)and Floyd (HSV GTS) each took a race win and a third place, with Lynton getting the round win after his Race 2 victory. Neither driver had a trouble-free run, though. From fourth on the grid, Lynton shot into the Race 1 lead on the opening lap, before contact at Turn 4 with Barry Morcom (Mitsubishi Lancer) dropped him down the order. As he recovered to third place, Floyd was hunting down Morcom.The gap www.mnews.com.au

gradually came down,with Floyd timing his run to the flag perfectly to snatch the win. While Lynton romped to a comfortable victory in Race 2, Floyd was involved in a race-long scrap with fellow GTS pilot Dean Lillie for second place. Lillie snuck through late in the race - to secure third for the round - as Floyd struck engine problems

and limped home. Drew Russell (Mazda RX7) and Jim Pollicina (HSV GTS) split the Ferntree Gully Privateers Cup race honours, with Russell sealing the class title. -MITCHELL ADAM Final Points: Flolt 447.5, Lynton 425.5, Floyd 413, Morcom 396.5, Lillie 342, Cramp 308.5

PHILLIP island hosted the final round of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships for 2006> Formula Ford's opening race was marred'by an incident that left several cars in pieces after the stranded Van Diemen ofTrent Ulmer was collected on the outside ofTurn 1.The race was red flagged with Glen Wood the winner.Taz Douglas won the following two races, making him the Champion; Robert Lange was a convincing round;victor in Porsche 944 after scoring pole position and all three race wins. Richard Howe finished second in all three races and

subsequently picked up second overall. John Wise slingshot passed Rodney Earsman down the main straight to claim the opening race in HQ Holdens. Wise then went on to win the final race ahead qf Earsman. Drew Beacham slipstreamed his way to round victory after scoring two wins from two races in Formula Vee, however Beachem was Inches away from receiving a penalty as a yellow flag was out on the main straight for the last lap. Fortunately for Beacham, he passed Daniel Reinhardt before thatflag-point and won The Isola di Capri Mauri

Fordham Memorial Trophy. Mort Fitzgerald dominated the MGs once again, winning all three races from Neil Hopwood and Fred Douglas. Hopwood picked up the championship. Historic Touring Cars saw front-runners Tony Hubbard and Scott Slater penalised for jumping the starts in separate races.This left Les Walmsley with an opportunity not to be missed, and he won Races 2 and 3, giving him the overall round win. A one-hour endurance race was the highlight event for the Sports Cars,and Ferrari duoTed Huglin and Allan Simonsen took the win by a considerable margin.Second place went to John Kaias and Dean Grant. Dean Randle returned to Phillip Island in his re-built Sport Sedan and thumped the opposition. He won both races with ease while Mark Nelson had a weekend to forget with two DNFs.Second overall went to Mike Roddy. Tony Wallis picked up his second Improved Production round win for the year from as many attempts. Graeme Watts was a close second and third overall went to Paul Rule, who had:a consistent weekend with a third and fourth placing. -AARON SHAW

BRAD Lowe scored a commanding victory in the final round of the Australian Touring Car Challenge at Wakefield a fortnight ago. Lowe finished the opening race in fifth, but it was the two handicap races where he stood tall,finishing second behind Shelton Loughrey in the first and then first in the final. Despite a tough final round for Terry Wyhoon,third piace for the weekend behind Loughery was enough for him I to seal the ATCC championship, in the Yokohama Austraiian Formula 4000 Championship, the battle between Ty Hanger and Derek Pingel went down to the wire. Hanger went in with a slim lead, but was unable to

match the pace of Pingel and the latter stormed to two race wins and the series. Luke Searie dominated ail three races of the Production Touring Car Series, while Tom Drewer was too strong in the Thunder Sports dass. David Gardner and Garry Stevens were the pick of the the 3.3 Litre Holdens and SuperTT classes. The Australian Motor Racing Series 500 endurance race capped off the weekend,and was won by John and George Vergotis, with the brother pairing taking a strong victory over the father and son duo of Ray and Shanan Sidebottom, while Helen Stig andTy Hanger in third. - DANIEL POWELL

That's allfrom QLD,folks MARTIN Swindells won the Queensland Formula Ford Championship at Morgan Park during the sixth and final round of the 2006 Queensland Motor Racing Championship a fortnight ago. n 18-year-old Swindells won the outright honours with his Van Diemen RF04 by 37 points over Jonathon Grant in his first season in Formula Ford. Colin Smith and Bob McLoughlin shared the Sports Sedans round victory with a win apiece, meaning that McLoughlin took the title. Sports Cars were declared non-championship due to insufficient numbers, but it was elementary, as Steve Morcombe had already won the title. Peter Hill won both of the races in his Bulant Mk7. in Formula Vee Shane Hart won the title and the round ahead of Grant Bromley and

Ross Louden. The Group N historic touring car title went to Bruce Dummet with hisTorana XUl, while Simon Phillips claimed the round win. In Saloon cars Tim Young stole the title and won the round, with Troy Norris and Nicholas Laracy behind him. Despite being absent, Chryss Jamison won the Superkart title, though Mark Maczek took the round win in his PVR Rodney Dawson took the Gemini round and title, although the result is still subject to appeal. Gary Bonwick managed to take the HQ Holden title and round win, with Michael McLeod and Brad Schomberg following. The Improved Production title and round win went to Justin Keys in his Mazda RX3. -DARIUS KOREIS

Chns Carter

motorsportnews

NATIONAL SCENE

Walterfinally takestitle

BEN Walter finally captured that major win which has cruelly eluded him for so long,the 21 year-old taking out the Leopard Heavy class at the Tasmanian State Championships at AWC Orielton Raceway two weeks ago. Walter had been the driver to catch in both Leopard Light and Heavy. It looked as though the bad luck had returned when a mechanical problem eliminated him from the running in Light, but nothing was going to stop him winning a blue late in Heavy, taking a 30s win over Luke Northeast. Two drivers picked up double titles; Jason Pringle (Leopard Light and Clubman Heavy) and Matthew Hayes(Rotax Light and

Clubman Light). Hayes led all the way to beat Matt Holmes to the Rotax Light win, but Clubman Light was a closer call. Running three wide across the line with pre final winner Franky Costanzo and Dean Foster, the commentator called Costanzo as the winner. However,the official electronic timing line was not in alignment with the painted finish line and it was to this that Hayes beat Foster by 0.004s. In the junior classes, Scott McLaughlin won Jnr Clubman, Luigi Cantanese had an easy run in Jnr Light while Byron Bateson snatched victory from a five kart freight-train in Jnr Heavy. State titles also went to Samm Harrington (Clubman Super Heavy), Daimon Shelton (Sen

Nat Light), Mark Brown (Sen Nat Heavy), Steve Crocker (Sen Nat Over 40 Light), Phil Goss (Sen Nat Over 40 Heavy), Brad Wyatt

(Rotax Heavy), Joseph Mawson (Midgets) and Christopher Hays (Rookies). -MARK WICKS

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Formula Ford Zetec Drives - $695 for 40 laps in our Van Diemen 98/99 Zetec cars. No pre-requisites. Held monthly.

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For more info please call, fax or email Peter or Gaye:

P 02 9873 1773

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Ik MOTORSPORT WHEELS

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Pirelli Motorsport Distributor Fm rti« toaplelo Plrefll Co*p«lrlten rocj* ol arroi!. Ccna Kogd Icgol Jolly Tyr« wppof1«l by Trmltild* Aflctidonco. Fiptrl fifflng Qod Advko, toBlart yovr Pirelli Moloriporl Diittilwtof iJoto 1996.

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Special DLl and Dash2 $2990,00

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racetechnology.com.au motorsport news

INDUSTRY NEWS. %

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Phone: 08 8363 5566 www.cranecams.com.au

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ng●fflfiH'fcjiii g Worl^Of Oi^laws Sprintcar teams. Performance \Wio!pa%haveSpintech

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ULT

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UltraRide has announced the launch of a completely new range of shock absorbers and suspension components onto the Australian market. UltraRide offers motorists superior ride and handling, with the latest innovations in suspension technology, available to suit most makes and models on Australian roads. UltraRide is now available through an established network of dealers in

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most states iHl and offers k Australiawide warranty and fitment by experience companies. The UltraRide range has been developed over many years and is aimed at providing the level of product demanded by Australian motorists. The Australian-made UltraRide springs are manufactured using the highest-quality Australian steel combined with the latest technology, such as tapered wire and progressive rate springs. The UltraRide range includes raised, standard,

low and super-low springs with shock absorbers to match, to ensure the best handling available, Many years of research and ' development has been invested in the design of UltraRide shock absorbers which has resulted in an ultra smooth ride and extra ride W} sensitivity. The TO

shock piston will move up and down slowly in normal driving

conditions providing a soft and comfortable ride; hit the corners or brakes JB hard and the shock absorber will instantly firm up allowing the driver excellent control and stability in an emergency situation, Superior ride and handling are achieved through specially-developed bump and rebound valve springs and UltaRide's unique 4-stage multi-lip seal, This outstanding seal allows the shock absorber to operate with less gas pressure, giving the drive a smooth feel in all conditions, For more information on the complete Ultra Ride range contact Motoline 03 9756 3700. p

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Advertising in RACE SHOPcosfs as little as $75 per issue! Call Brendan Sheridan on 0407007286 now.

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Balance Bars distributs brake lorco separately to front and rear brakes, and can bo adjustod to alter braking ratio.

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Product Ilf Australia

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Cal! now for your nearest dealer Ph:1800 797 344

ONE PIECE RACE PUSHRODS As used by top touring car,speedway & drag racing teams. l 0.080" wall chrome moly l one piece construction l available in Vie" & Va" diameter

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NEW street race version also available

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ALL ROUNDS ALL CLASSES Professional race car logistic & event specialists Security for car & equipment Contact Neil Griffiths on 0418 474 816

7 ^

O-/findt at(theiri^ii

4/30 steef tube and sheet Aluminium Tube and Sheet for ail your Metal requirements

uus

visit our website: www.crowcams.com.au

/●REEvSget'io/ Q'ffer;tp. d/f.T^Qtbij^gffttfSfeWs;^ FREE Motorsport News 6 morttll subscrippon or pair of uniden handheld radios and charger with every order. Conditions apply. Ask Matthew for details.

Ph 02 4577 7769 or email performancemetals@bigpond.com We are here to serve you www.performancemetotsaustralia.com.au

FIA HARNESSES

Race logistics Interstate transport

Fully enclosed custom built race car transporters

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2010 expiry, lightweight buckle, 3" webbing, clip in ends Black, Red, Blue ● 5 pt - $539 ● 6 pt - $579 FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY Aust Standard 4 point belts fr $ 145

SIMPSON) P 02 9756 0202 F 02 9756 0203 RAcip.oDocTs

Hyperco Race Spring Full Range Available

l HANS compatible models availabli

Vernier Pulleys

RACE LOGISTICS

High Performance Components

j sales@simpsonraceproducts.comau

For Motorsport tyre requirements contact:

EUROPEAN

TECHN I QUE E4; 338SwanStRichmondVIC3121 P 03 9428 5547 f/ Technical Support Contact Trevor Sheumack 0418 548 578

Ofncial di»Ulbub» of

Michelin Motorsport tyr« In Auutalatla

motorsport news

CLASSIFIEDS

RACE AND PERFORMANCE CLASSIFIEDS

/77JJ/iZI^^3R7777 online classifieds Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.my105.com

Ex Mike Figliomeni Sprintcar

Open Wheelers

<j±

Transporter

As campaigned Season 2005/06 at Perth Motorplex. MAXIM Chassis, 372 Rodek Engine, Complete Car. H Excellent Condition. Contact Kim Ledger or Mike Ng H bus/hrs 08 9350 6881.35,000 ONO.

B www.my105.com/14078

L\V^

^3hnards.6 sid^lfhE? 2.0WONO IM15 65di39.

www.my105.com/73613

351

I ^>i

Rail rt4 Ibis rM kss. Lii>t uaed

& has.t^nJuulUPy

Transporter/Scania p/mover

ici

2 sedans or 3 sprintcars+bugy 5m ally ramps, tyre,fuel, springs, racks, air power thoughout 6kva genset, 16cfm compressor full LED lights 110kms+@ 3.4kms p/I a/c 8001 fuel all new cleanskins nothing to spend. 60k ONO. Richard 0418 937 238.

eni

0412823^

www.my105?com/40471

353

Lola!969 T200FF

$30K Below Market Value

This Lola T200 FF isl of 3 built by Lola in 1969. The engine & Hewl& gearbox have done two historic meetings since full rebuild. CAMS log book, Certificate of Description & some spares. Idea! entry into historic racing in a factory car. $26500. Peter 03 92257486 / 0412 346838.

2 Ca^ Ttjispui gfMototl ●km fast 23 mtl New Bunks TV Video

www.my!05.com/13257

351

R^hceiua liable Troy

Impeccably maintained byMinda Motorsport, done only 4 meetings since complete 'no expense spared' rebuild. Comes with Motec ADL Data Logger, fresh Ritter engine, spare set of wheels with tyres, spare nose cone, spare radiators, etc. Ready to race. Contact colin 0409 027 323.30,000 060

www.myl05.com/21556 351

www.my105.com/49806 Silverado and Daytona Trailer

F-FORD SPECTRUM 011 2006 Excellent condition ready to race in 07 Australian Champ. Maintained by Borl& Racing Developments. 3 sets of wheels, spare body parts, full gear ratios, motec data logger. Available after Phillip IsISi in December. $70,000 neg. Contact Frank 0407 465 278,

www.my!05.eom/63805

351

Van Diemen RF03 EX Sonic 04 David Reynolds Natl Champ Winning F Ford fully rebuilt buy Sonic Motor Racing Services in 05, done 4 races since, with 2 factory Kent Ritter Race eng Motec ADL. Full logging, full set of ratios 3 sets of wheels spare panels all pit equip, set up history. Capable of winning, can be updated to nat spec engine POA Contact Colin 0415286986.

www.myl 05.com/58006 351

350

$78,000 ONO. Garry 0413 879 879.

www.myl 05.com/11740 —

■

Always a top 10 car, has had podiums this year,4th pi @ e/creek in last race, this car is competitive & well sorted, comes with 2 sets of wheels,2 complete bodies+spares. $28,500. tom 0410624700. 351

SUZUTRANSPORTER

Speedway

Mrt 28ft Gooseneck Enclosed 28ft gooseneck mrt built new in 03 to suit a group c falcon electric brakes au falcon wheels & It truck tires 2 spares 240v, ligths benchs, tire racks, annex is inci that is full length of side of trailer also can be towed with a falcon ute. $16500.00 Ono. Nick 03 9359 6066. 351

LATE MODEL FOR SALE Mono Leaf Late Model 700hp Chev Drysump Bg Carb Kirky Seat Wilwood Brakes New Rack Afeo Shocks & Springs Afeo Radiator Topline Car. 25000.00 Ono. Geoff 0732167855 / 0416086649.

F250 WITH GOOSENECK TRAILER

www.myl 05.com/18372

351

F250 V8 diesel 4x4 auto loaded with extras, warrenty inc. 38ft trailer, a/c. living 1/4's, carries 2 open wheel cars or 1 sedan, work benches, vice, bench grinder, 240 generator, tyre racks independant susp, commercial split rims & truck tyres, electric l&ing legs, shower & toilet. Call for full inventory. $155000.00. RUSS 0408793695 / 0754492860.

Professionally built tilting 28 ft pan on 88 model FSR Isuzu. Designed to carry dragsters up to 300 in wheel base. Fully fitted out inside with benchs & cupboards. A/C, fridge, lounge, lights, winch, external awning, power points & benches. Very well maintained & kept rig. P/S, Tint & cd stacker, $55000 Neg. dean 0408219554.

Single axle. Ramps. Two lift up side doors. Roof rack. Suit Formula Ford etc. Needs work but useable, $1800. Peter 03 92257486 / 0412 346838.

www.myl05.com/78737

www.myl05.com/81577

351

355

Jacer 99 for sale

Transporters/Trailers "State spec"Larnereng, spare set Performance alloy wheels/tyres, gear ratios, spare nose & wishbones, mould etc & 4th o'right last start with "very big" driver. All set up info & CAMS Cof D with log book. (Also available spare new complete Lamer eng extra $5,800 FIRM or will sell separately) The lot $36,000 or $31,000 without spare eng. Robert Tweeddie (02) 9817 5654, ibcholdings@bigpond.com

Tbs

www.myl 05.com/9052

www.myl05.com/97994

1983 ELWYN 004 FFord

www.mnews.com.au

Till

liew

wiU

Spectrum 07

www.myl05.com/86665

351

[Tc ” R^uild

pidge. Alf-com^' 8ft

www.my105.com/43248

www.myl05.com/47965

350

Enclosed Lightweight Trailer

351

V8 amca $10,000 spent on re-built motor, Willwood brakes. New imea chrome rims. New tyres. All new springs & shocks through out the car. Heaps of spares. $12500 Or Best Offer, corey 0400816802,

www.myl05.com/81864

351

RACE AND PERFORMANCE CLASSIFIEDS

online classifieds SELL yoil^arts,

Queensl& HQ For Sale

motorsport vehicle or anything to do with motorsport via our internet classified partners mylOS.cqm for as little as $35! Yes,3 months on my105.com, plus an insertion here in MNews, all for as little as $35. *(if directly entered onto myl05.com)

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.

Falcon XR8

r w|? 2nd o'rigtBito the 66 :c mints stfilng. Has Enkie whSI^ Bj^sn shnrkt;,

thec3K

V8 Supercar - Must Sell - $95,000 - Bargain!! Current FUJ!TSU V8 (Konica) Competitor. Ex-Dick Johnson Racing, Owen Kelly, AU Falcon with best of everything. Strong competitive car & engine. Good handling. Priced for quick sale with ali spares, rattle guns etc. Greg Smith Ph; 0411 724 711, email: gsm86@bigpond.net.au. $95,000 Neg.

www.myl05.com/76473

Currently leading Over 3 Litre SA State Championship.lOth at '06 Clipsal. Won '04 Vic series. Runner up'03. New 289(dyno sheets). Spare Close ratio Top Loader,2 pairs new rotors.12 wheels-4 Dunlop wets, 4 xl meeting oid Yokohama's,4x4 meeting Yokohama's. Loads of other spares. 1:20.4 Mailaia. $65,000.00 inc trailer Not Neg. Lyn 0417826284.

www.myl 05.com/19701

$75

CHECKLIST- have you supplied;

Mail: My105,Suite 8,11-21 Underwood Rd, Homebush, NSW,2140 Email: mnews@my105.com Fax: 02 9746 2100

Notice MadvertiseB:We

return photos supplied for advertising.Ad$ : wiliappearas soon as possible after receipt. MNews/mylOS classifieds ate for theiale ofpriyategoodsiand-vebicles only.Photos : marked'proof wili not be used:

ChromeMollycage Fresh Eng ModenaDogBox & Long shifter New Tailshaft New Diff 31 spline Moden axles Romac Floating hubs & spool 85ml Alumin Rad New exhaust Motec ADL Dash Logger Scorcher Distributor High Torque Starter Motor. Spares inc Eng, & more David 0416212048.

www.myl05.com/74924

351

nttniitr

Supersport/Thundersport Body

351

Sedans/Sports Cars T~

no change a bargin. $5800.00. Gregg 0428 745651.

www.myl05.com/46489

Ford Falcon BA XR6 Turbo

GTP HSV GTS HSV GTS proven race winner. Eligible for 2007 Bathurst 12hr. V8 Supercar support for 2007, channel 7 TV. Winner GTP Best Presented 2006, Koni 2812 shocks, 12 wheels. MoTeC ADL. M48 ECU. Clean fast car, 68,000 Or Best Offer. Dean Lillie 0397351533.

5 Spd manual. 15,250 kilometres. 320 kw RW. Cams Log book, easily be converted to road car, all orig interior. Road reg. Ford Edit, forged pistons, scat conrods, balanced crank piston & rod assem. Roll cage[ bolt in ] race seats 8/ harnesses. Plus More .Spares available. $36,000 Neg. Robert 08 82431122 /08 8^99196.

www.myl05.com/56854

351

www.myl05.eom/63901

Typed/written advertisement; category, photo; credit card details(number, expiry, name); your details(name, address, phone,email)?

SEND TO;

VS Commodore Cup Car

Supersport or thundersport Body Br& New Professionally Built to a very high st&ard finished in gloss biackgelcoat using vynalester resin Super iight & strong weighing only 18.6 kilos will suit 90 to 94 inch wheel base with

Standard ad(no pic) - my105.com & MNews $45

Extra issues(per issue) 'Colour'block ad (per issue) 'Feature' ?^lilews& my105.com

351

Group Nc Mustang

Sedans/Sports Cars; Open Wheelers; Speedway; Drag; Engines; Parts; Transporters/Trailers; Employment; Photographs; Wanted.

$10 $35 $20

351

V8 SUPERCAR-$95,000 Bargain

Categories include:

Additional options:

Great starting package, Has all the right gear 100% legal, Ran in top 5 all season, New engine, tyres, brakes & spare new engine is neg, spent $12,000 to-date available to lease if not soid, 4 spare prostars, lots of goodies, 6000.00 Neg. Wayne 0409491089.

www.myl 05.com/16637

Z388. www.my105.com/99312

Ads without pics may be faxed, along with your detaiis/contact and credit card details.

Photo

dU’-

Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.myW5.com

1964 Ford Cortina GT Affordable class winning log booked HTC. Inc 06 Biante Clipsal, 06 Historic Mallala & 05 SA HTC cup. Fully sorted car. Built 83 re-bodied 99. Strong engine, 45mm Webers, Needham close ratio gearbox, Quaife LSD. 8 Contessa wheels & Yokohama tyres, spare panels, original GT body shell available. Other spares. $16500 Neg. Darren 0417 688 244. 351

1974 Haggis U2 Clubman

; SUBRAU WRX STI VERSION RA Subaru wrx sti ver ra. Import from japan as race/rally car & can't be registered for road use. All sti extras, roof vent, p/steer, elec windows. Aftermarket exhaust. Minor damage to rear. Eng, gbox, diffs all good. Interior like new, excellent rally/circuit racer/ club racer/supersprints. Arrives, brisbane end Dec. $11,500 Neg. Chris 02 43889059.

www.myl05.eom/65012

HTC,Group Nb Ford Cortina GT

www.myl 05.com/17336

351

Cleaver racecar engineering. Comes with historic log book & C of D. Comes with wide range'of spares inc. body moulds,suspension jigs & spare set of wheels, fully restored in 04. also custom built fully enclosed trailer, can compete at state series race meetings. Will be on display at S&own Historic 11-12/11/06, & Eastern Creek Historic 1-3/12/06. Will deliver complete package at no cost to, NSW,QLD or VIC. All enquiries call Lloyd on 0246308200, Ray 0409673706.$29,500 Neg.

www.myl 05.com/50000

351

Aussie Race Car Package Aussie racing car with currant log book ready to race comes with fully enclosed trailer. 46000.00. nugget 0437526275.

www.myl05.com/59363

351

motorsport news

CLASSIFIEDS

RACE AND PERFORMANCE CLASSIFIEDS

/7Tp;f777^ mn online classifieds

Collectable/Memorabilia

nii'il

Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.myW5.com

UNIQUE MOTORSPORT DVDS Want unique motorsport DVDs click on www. capncornmedia.com.au.

www.my105.com/18198 2005/2006 Championship winning car. Motec

V8SUPERCAR

Holden SSTorana. ible

Strssg. Ig} Hp 351^ ■rmiB^ gear wc, T«)i ra

ADLdash logger. Wolf Engine Management.2

Fujitsu Development Series current specs VX V8 SUPERCAR Perkins Build 036 Fresh Engine Fresh Gearbox Full Spares Package Tools &

& 6 piaon u5HtJiii,.brates. Many rjgw rnnant Champ & 2is

Wanted

sets of wheels. In-car Sparco fire bomb. Alloy radiator. 30,000-i-GST. Ian 0408103815.

www.myl05.eom/35088

Accessories to suit this vehicle P.O.A Ring Mark Papendell on 0409 846 717.

www.myl05.com/68881

r CT. CuMiirn made trailg 540.000 CNO. Brai^ S3D37B8370.

ww.w.my105.com/8037

351

Truck Driver Wanted

Under 2L Sports Sedan

GTS CUP CAR GT3 cup car for sale. Black 02 with 04 updates.

Porsche 944 S2 Club Car

Rebuilt early 06, meticulously maintained

Porsche Club Vic. D class 6 months reg. a/c, CD M030 brakes & Pagid pads, LSD, 1/2 cage Brey-Krause strut brace stiffened ad] springs

with no expense spared. Front running GT car $ 110,000 a- GST James 0409 036 911.

www.myl 05.com/95700

351

Under 2L sport sedan. 3rd Outright 04 state

Morton Motorsport is seeking a fully qualified truck driver to drive a semi for the remainder

& nat champ, 2nd outright 05 s&n champ.

of the world Series Sprintcar season, Must

Fresh 12A rotary & close ratio gearbox, locked or LSD diff, fl oating axles & hubs, big

possess following criteria: Must hold a current Semi Licence Enthusiasm for sprintcar racing

brakes, heaps of spares, ready to race, also t&em trailer. Will consider trade on decent

Fiigh attention to detail Ability to work in a team environment Must want to win, If you

tow car. $24500 Neg. david 0418358197 / 0359715641.

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1997 Subaru WRX STi Targa Car 97 WRX STi V3 555 V-Limited Tarmac Rally Car, 2 events, excellent cond & presentation.

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LSD, New Tyres, Cams Log Book, Alloy Cage, Brake Bias Valve. Ready to Race. $7,500 Darrel, Newcastle, NSW on 0413 383 102. (02) 4967 T807.

can carry 3 cars $35 000. both $80 000 neg consider trade Was stunt car entertainment

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Deputy Editor: Mark Glendenning mark@mnews.com.au News Editor: Grant Rowley grant@mnews.com.au National Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen andrew@mnews.com.au n Production Graphic Design & Web: Jayne Uthmeyer design@mnews.com.au Advertising P 03 9877 7271 F 03 9877 7207 Manager: Brendon Sheridan M0407 007 286 ads@mnews.com.au Advertising Admin: Margaret Nelson artwork@mnews.com.au n Administration 357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, VIC, 3187 (PO Box 7072, Brighton, VIC, 3186) P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030 admin@mnews.com.au Managing Director/Publisher: Chris Lambden publisher@mnews.com.au n Contributors f7:Joe Saward, Adam Cooper, Paolo Filisetti furope;Quentin Spurring, David Addison US: Martin D. Clark, Phil Morris Speedway:Greg Boscato, Geoff Rounds, Darren Sutton,Tony Millard (UK) Rally: Ryan Lahiff Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski(USA), Ken Ferguson,John Bosher National: Mark Wicks, Mark Jones, Mitchell Adam Photographers:Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Marshall Cass, John Morris/ Mpix, AF1 images,James Smith, Peter Bury, Neil Blackbourn, Chris Carter, Coopers Photography, CBR Photographies, Paris Charles, Bob Potts, Neil Hammond,Joel Strickland, Mike Patrick (UK) Motorsport News is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55125120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Printed by: Webstar Printing 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.

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like Schumacher dedicated his

This year has seen some great performances from some of the

1994 title to Senna.Those great gestures bring glory to motor racing.

younger drivers in the V8 Supercar field.

n Editorial Editor: Phil Branagan

Jamie done good

1 year $148.50

2 years $285

A$210 A$270

A$390 A$495

All the hype has surrounded Mark Winterbottom, which he deserves with his consistency and race results through the year. However I believe more credit should be given to Jamie Whincup. From his brilliant win at the Clipsal 500 to his faultless drive at Bathurst(including the move that defined the race), he has shown that he is a driver well on the way to becoming a champion. Although his year has not been as consistent as Winterbottom's, many of the incidents that he has been involved in have not been all his own doing. He has had a number of top 10 race results to go with his two round wins, as well as a consistent showing in the top 10 shootout, if Jamie had a little more luck this year I believe he would have been up there in the top five fighting for the championship. I would like to congratulate Jamie on a fantastic first year with Triple Eight Racing and believe that it won't be too long before Jamie is fighting for the championship and getting the credit that the thoroughly deserves. Montanna Damm n TiarOjQLD Letter of the Century It's crunch time. Not only Holden v Ford and Lowndes v Kelly. It's also MN V [another magazine]. There's a lot of insecurity about jobs and the economy's really slowed up. People are cutting back their spending. I've already given [another car magazine, monthly, starts with'W'] the flick. I think your paper covers too

Se|id usrygurtliouglits: PO Box 7072,Brighton,M|£>31lB6 itinews@mnews.cQrn;au

much V8 racing. I can get all the latest V8 news in my daily paper plus FI too. So you have to do much better. Last Saturday we watched theTryNations [sic] footy. What a game!This Warriors [Ed: New Zealand?] were unlucky.Then we switched over to the V8s in Arabia [Ed: Bahrain?] About as interesting as an empty beer bottle. For a start, there was no bastard there except for the crews and media. The fact is V8s is too controlled. Pit windows,safety cars and crap. Seems like the safety car comes out even when a pit crew brakes [sic] a fingernail. And on TV there's that iffy-Diffy who sounds like he's getting a hard-on every time he mentions Darth Tender's passing Bargs Bunny or whoever! Lucky there's Bill Woods and Neil Crompton.They look legit and make up for the boring racing with their knowledge. It's a laugh! But then Chi0 gives us a checkout chick to talk racecars! She's about

I'm not an insider. I like League footy, AFL and can play too. Your paper does a good job for sure, so give the V8s the big flick. Commodes [sic] are for obese people. Give us reports on WRX, Focus, Nissans on the street, NASCAR trucks, Aussie utes (the femmes like Elsgood and Adam Brand) and Aussie speedway which is really cool at the moment. I know you cater to the older people who like V8s. Fair enough too but cut it off your covers. It's not extreme enough and it caters to sh-t-wits, like that KFC ad where Mum goes off in the Volvo. And what about those feral Holden coat people at Bathurst.Totally Jurassic. I know you do a lot of work to keep punching out a good paper, but the game has changed. Get with it and make it soon. It's crunch time. J Foley Bexley, NSW Ed:Thanks for the encourag ing words,J, much appreciated. We will give the appropriate consideration to the rest of the ideas. And,to anyone who suggests that we write our letter columns ourselves ... we are sending Foley around to sort you out.

n -

as warm as a melting iceblock. So you hit the remote.Then there's that blithering Cocko. As Rove says, what the III And what about Craig Lowndes bringing the sport into disrepute? That poor bastard dedicated his Mountain win to Brocky. Disrepute? What a champion. Just

mnews

97.

poll results How do you think Jason Bright will go at Britek in 2007? He's going to miss FPR:38% Hit and miss:32% Top 10 on a good weekend:26% Top five, easy:4%

poll results

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I never liked the idea:4% Jamie Whincup - 7 Bathurst win. Entire MNews staff- 0 Bathurst wins.

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