Motorsport News Issue 351 - 20 December 2006-10 January 2007

KELLY AND LOWNDES:THEIR OWN WORDS THE NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS

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AMBROSE'S NEXTELCUP DEAL

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No.351 20 December 2006 -10 January 2007 Australia $6.50 NZ $8.00 inc GST

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CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY FOR DICK JOHNSON RACING /

DAMON HILL REVIEWS FI'06 Shdt

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DJR's Jim Beam deal

7 See-thru V8s

No, but they are transparent

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Actually, it's Macrowand Wills

Adam and Eve

11 Faster than Pop Andretti III makes his FI debut 12 ChampPain?

Stoddy hopes forCCWSsuccess

OPINION 25 Motor Mouth ■ 26 Opinion 3 28 Box Seat 82 Talk Converter

Jack, Larry,Jim and Dick Winners:Frosty,Johnny and Crowley Crunching the numbers with Aibert2 Big reactions to Phillip Island

FEATURE

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NEWS 5

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30 Five Minutes with Greg Murphy 32 Five Minutes with Andrew Thompson 34 In his Own Words:Rick Kelly After the fuss ended, Kelly speaks about winning the title

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38 The Runner-up

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Craig Lowndes got over the disappointment quickly

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40 Formula 12006 Revisited EXCLUSIVE:Damon Hill reviews the 2006 Grand Prix season 46 Goodbye to Regga A look at the life ofone ofthe sport's great characters

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RACE 48 All is fair in Love and War(and V8 Supercar racing)

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Rick Kelly take the title after a controversial finish to the 2006 Championship

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56 First the Mountain, now the Island A two-word race report:Andrew Thompson 60 An Island Fling""" Porsches and Formula Ford on the Go

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL r1 20 Rally 62 International

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64 Speedway 66 Drag Racing 68 NationalScene

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Photos Cover James Cormick sutton-images.com ^

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TEGA doses diffloophole Teams ban'clutch/diff hubs'after somebody asks the question SUGGESTIONS that one or more leading V8 teams may have been using a'differential device' during the 2006 season have been shrugged off by TEGA Technical chief Steve Brow - but TEGA is nevertheless moving to tighten its relevant regulations.

Over recent weeks MNews has learned of disquiet among some teams at the rumoured use of a freewheeling device or clutch assembly in the rear hubs of V8 Supercars - much like the freewheeling device in many 4WD vehicles.

The use of such a device would overcome the paramount

handling hurdle in V8s - the locked rear end and its tendency to'push'into corners.

The V8 regs as they stand only refer to the banning of differential effect in the'final drive'. MNews understands that, while the intent of the rule is obvious, it was at some point conceded that the loophole existed, and that work was done on the'hub-clutch' concept by more than one team - to the degree that the matter was raised at a TEGA Technical Advisory Group meeting during the Gold Coast Indy weekend.

"Some teams had concerns that the technology was around and

that someone might be tempted to do it," Brow told MNews this week.

"The intent of the rules is clear, but at the moment the actual wording does refer to the final drive (ie crown wheel and pinion), rather than the whole axle assembly.That will be changed for 2007."

In the meantime. Brow is fairly confident that such a device hasn't been used: "We conduct checks, differential checks, as part of our regular checks. We have specifically checked for differential action after a number ofTop 10

Shootouts. We have no evidence that anyone has used such a device."

On an official level, then,the situation is clear.

Unofficially, there are still lingering doubts that maybe someone has pulled a technical masterstroke.There are some clever engineers out there.There is also some disappointment that, in the era of V8 technical transparency,the subject was not more widely known about.

The bottom line is that if such a device was in use, it isn't going to be any more...

- CHRIS LAMBDEN

Marcos setfor Nextel Cup debut in 2007 MARCOS Ambrose will race in the Nextel Cup next season.

The two-time V8 Supercar champion, who made his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series this year, will race in at least three and a many as 10 rounds of the world's most popular and competitive series in 2007. He will race a Wood Brothers/JTG Ford Fusion, which will be liveried in the colours ofTeam Australia, in the series.

As already reported, Ambrose,30, will also race in the entire Busch Series in a Fusion in the colours of Kingsford Charcoal. But MNews believes that there will be a commercial agreement between Kingsford, which will back the entry for the 10th straight season, and Aussie Vineyards,the primary sponsor of Team Australia.This will mean that the Australian 4

wine brand will be sold through the same outlets as Kingsford.

One of those outlets is team co-sponsor Food4Less, a California-based grocery chain that is part of the Kroger Company which is.

with sales of US$60bn,the USA's third-biggest retailer. By itself, Kroger has more than 2500 supermarkets under various names,and Kingsford retails through other retail outlets. As such.Team Australia boss Craig Gore stands to see Aussie Vineyards become a major brand in the USA. Ironically, Kingsford Charcoal has only been called that since 1950; prior to that, it was known as Ford Charcoal.The company started to make charcoal in 1921 when Henry Ford wanted to find a use for the growing piles of wood scraps from the production of his Model T. Ford learned of a process for turning the wood scrap into charcoal briquets, and one of his relatives - E.G. Kingsford - helped select the site for Ford's charcoal plant.

-PHIL MORRIS

motorsport news

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Dick Johnson Racing secures Jim Beam backing for 2007 V8 assault DICK Johnson Racing has emerged from the down-times with the news that Steven Johnson and Will Davison will race in the colours of Jim Beam next season.

The iconic Ford team, which has endured a tough, but competitive, 2006 season, will field its two Ford Falcons in the livery of the internationally-recognised Kentucky bourbon whiskey.

The deal is expected to be confirmed later this week, after Johnson and DJR Commercial Manager Steve Chalker met with representatives of the company in Sydney yesterday (Tuesday).

The news sets up a fascinating rivalry with Johnson's long-time sparring partner, Larry Perkins. After battling each other on the track for two decades, the team owners are now on 'opposite'sides of the beverage wars, Johnson with Kentucky-made Beam and Perkins with Tennessee's Jack Daniel's. The black brand has made a huge impact in merchandising in its debut season and a similar effect is expected

with the Beam brand.

There also appears to be opportunities to relivery either or both the DJR cars in different branding for particular events. Apart from the traditional white label bourbon (which is four years old), there Is also Jim Beam's Choice (green label). Black Label (eight years old) and Yellow Label (which is rye whiskey).

In preparation for the new season, the team's two Fords are being updated at the nearby headquarters ofTriple Eight Race Engineering.

DJR has entered into a technical arrangement that will see It useTB as a supplier of chassis engineering, in much the same fashion asT8 is a customer of SBR Engines.

WHICH livery do you like for Dick Johnson Racing?

MNews artist James Cormick has been burning the midnight oil and has come up with some sensational designs for the DJR Fords - Steve Johnson in the 'standard' livery of Jim Beam and Will Davison in the'Jim Beam Black'.

While we do not expect that the cars will look exactly like this when they hit the Adelaide track on March 1, we reckon it's pretty close - and that the cars look tough.

And, just in case Dick and the troops have not absolutely decided on how the BFs will be painted next season, we are going to pop a poll up on the MNews Platinum website to allow ail Johnson fans to have a say. So, subscribers, feel free to visit and have your vote.

LPs nabs 32nd

LARRY Perkins has acquired a second V8 Supercar licence for Jack Daniels Racing and is now looking to finalise his driver line-up for 2007.

LP has negotiated the purchase of a Level 1 licence - the 32nd licence - fromTEGA and, along with the Level 2 licence he already holds, is set to continue his two-car assault on the championship.

"I'm delighted," Perkins told MNews on Monday.

"I'm happy with the arrangement reached with V8 Supercars Australia, and I can now go about finalising the line-up.

"I've got one driver locked in [rumoured to be Shane Price] and have a short list for the other.

"If the short list was a little longer, it might include me!" he quipped.

Perkins has no intention of returning to the track, but the Joke does indicate the relatively short supply recognised top drivers are in at present, with most having confirmed plans for 2007.

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8Superear shopping list No Storey here RESPECTED engineer and team manager at Tasman Motorsport Wally Storey is staying put for 2007, despite a couple of attractive offers to move further north.

"They (the offers) were good, but I feel like I've got unfinished business here,"Storey told MNews on Monday.

■ While V8SA boss Tony Cochrane hammed it up on stage with a pretend incoming mobile call from AGP boss Ron Walker, highlights of VSSA's presentation night were Craig Lowndes'second Barry Sheene Medal; James Courtney's Rookie of the Year; and best of all, Jim Richards'induction into the Hail of Fame.

But for emotion,once the cameras stopped recording, you couldn't cap a dignified and heartfelt'thanks and goodbye'speech from Network Ten boss David White. Classy stuff.

■ Townsville will not be hosting a V8 Supercar round any time in the near future,following the OLD government's decision not to underwrite some of the pre-event infrastructure costs.

Slightly better news further south, though, where NSW opposition leader Peter Debnam has said that he's okay with the costs of a V8 race at Homebush and has budgeted for NSW Special Events to underwrite it ■ Queensland Raceway is expanding.

The owners of the facility have acquired a 100-acre property adjacent to the current circuit and, while it will be used initially to build a dirt track, we hear that there are extensions to the current bitumen circuit in mind.

■ Elsewhere in QLD, we believe that racing it to resume at Brisbane's Lakeside back racing in June, under the AASA banner.

■ Wakefield Park has been sold.

While the identity of the new owners is not known, MNews has been told that there are plans to upgrade the circuit and continue its motorsport tradition.

■ Motorsport News will be closing its doors and taking a well-earned break over Christmas. We will be back on board in early January and the next issue will be on sale on Wednesday January 10, with our notorious MNews Quiz and the 2007 Castrol Motorsport Calendar. Don't miss it!

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V8 SUPERCAR'S new Engine Transparency Regulations have met with mainly positive reaction from many of the category's teams.

Last week,TEGA distributed a list of components that each team had supplied, and an index of components eligible to be used in the assembly of V8 Supercar engines. Under the guidelines of the system,teams will nominate which components it uses in the assembly of its motors on an Engine Assembly Specification Sheet, which details the manufacturer or brand of component(including those produced in-house), its part number, retail price and its expected life in kilometres.

Once an engine is assembled, the teams will maintain an Engine Usage Log for each motor, which will be identified by Engine Number and a TEGA-assigned build number.This will ensure that each engine is used in accordance with the regulations.

The system is still open to discussion and input from the

teams but MNews has been told that the initial reaction is positive.

"I never really believed this would get up,"commented one team principal,"but I am pleasantly surprised by the response."

A look at the list of components makes fascinating reading.Thirdparty components, like a camshaft, can vary greatly in price. A WR cam, used by at least one Holden team,is listed for $500 and 12,000plus kilometres. One other brand is listed for $1800 for 1500kms.

The other items of interest are

PD going SCAR

the airboxes, which can largely be made by the teams themselves and which have been, until now have been, literally, shrouded in secrecy (they will not be allowed to be covered in the future).

The most expensive airbox on the list is one made by a Commodore squad at $9219, which is lifed to 10,000km. On the other hand,the cheapest $1000 airbox is rated for 5000km, and the second-cheapest, at $1125, is good for 30,000km.The latter sounds like a bargain!

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PAUL Dumbrell has been confirmed at Super Cheap Autos Racing.

As exclusively reported in Motorsport News (Issue 349),the four-year veteran of the Perkins Engineering team will partner Cameron McConville in the Dandenong, Melbournebased team. Both will drive new Commodore VEs, currently under construction.

"Driving for a legend like Larry Perkins is every young driver's dream and I was lucky to realise mine,"said Dumbrell."But after four good years, it is now time for the next phase in my career and I am excited about the challenge."

Dumbrell has his first taste of the SCAR Commodore VZ, which uses Perkins Engineering engines, in a Super Cheap drive day at Queensland Raceway on Monday.

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Murph going Tasman

GREG Murphy is looking for a big upturn in results with Tasman Motorsport in 2007.

The four-time Bathurst winner confirmed last week that expects much better than the tough season he has endured with Super Cheap Autos Racing this season.

"This year has hurt my brand fairly heavily and it has been pretty frustrating not to be anywhere near the podium this year," he said.

"Every other year, I have won something and raced at the front of the field. I have had podiums;this year, I was nowhere near that."

Murphy is also keen to build Tasman's New Zealand following.

"But, we definitely do not want to lose sight of the fact that the team is called 'Tasman'for some fairly big reasons. We want to have a good association with Holden New Zealand and the Holden fans over there but we want to retain a big stake in Australia, with the business and the fans as well."

For more on Murphy,see 5 Minutes, page 30-3?

motorsport news

NEWS

Gentlemen,tighten your purse strings

TREC set to change V8 Supercar spending habits as of2007 THREE and four-car V8 Supercar teams will face severe financial restrictions under the category's new cost containment policies.

The Total Racing Expediture Cap (TREC) will restrict two-car teams to a maximum spend of $6.75m for the 2007 season. Single car outfits will be allowed 60 percent ofthe figure, three-car teams will be permitted 120 percent, and four-car teams will be restricted to 130 percent.

The TREC was developed by a group of commissioners appointed byTEGA Board, chaired by Ross Oakley, who was also involved in the creation of the AFL salary cap in the 1980s. He is joined by South Australian Motorsport Chairman Roger Cook,former federal Liberal party leader John Hewson andTEGA's Kelvin O'Reilly, with Neil Crompton being brought on board as a fifth commissioner as the TREC is rolled out.

According to O'Reilly, the championship was in danger of becoming unsustainable unless something was done to control levels of spending.

"V8 Supercars have come an enormous distance in the last 10 years,"O'Reilly said."And in the last two years, our teams have started to recognise that we need to constrain the costs associated with racing in this category for the long-term benefit of all teams."

The TREC will essentially be applied to any part of a team's budget that affects on-track performance, including construction of cars, development,testing, drivers and staff. Areas such as marketing, PR and promotion are exempt and special allowances can be made for unexpected expenses such as major crash damage.

Teams will be required to submit accounting records each year, and may be subject to an audit from a yet-to-be-appointed Investigations Officer.

Sanctions for breaches ofthe TREC can range from reprimands through to a fine of $1 million.There is also the provision for sporting sanctions, including the requirement to start from the rear of the grid for an entire season, and up to two laps behind the leaders in endurance races. www.mnews.com.au

How does it all work?

The MNews guide to V8 Supercar cost containment Q: How many teams would currently be affected by the $6.75m limit?

A:The commissioners were reluctant to say, however MNews believes that four teams are currently operating above next year's spending cap.

Q:What about 2008?

AiTheTREC will be further reduced in 2008.TREC Commission Chairman Ross Oakley,pictured right, said that the figure will be determined during 2007, but paddock wisdom suggests $5.8m.

Q: How can areas such as driver salaries, which could theoretically be redirected through areas like marketing that are unaffected by the TREC, be policed?

A: According to O'Reilly,"The AFL probably dealt with similar things with most of their footballers, and in actual fact the human element is one of the easier elements in this process."

Q:What about supply of components and services that can be obtained through the'back door'?

A: Nominal values will be supplied to componentry,and any components that are developed by a team must then be made available to other teams at normal commercial rates.

- IM,

Q: How does this affect teams like HRT and HSV/Toll, which are grouped?

A:The Walkinshaw Performance teams stand to be hit hard by the TREC, which under current rules would consider them to be a four-car outfit,thus reducing their total budgetto just 130 percent of that of a two-car team.

Q:What about the Fujitsu Series?

A: Over to O'Reilly:"It doesn't include the Development Series. If a team is operating with a Development Series as well, they will be required to account for that separately. If they need to apportion part of their floor space and infrastructure and overheads to the Development team,they are able to do that and make their own determination on that. And at the time that there is any audit done,simply put,they will be required to justify it. And if they can justify it, then it will all be fine."

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V8 Hamilton Tributi A PERPETUAL'Mark Porter Trophy' will be awarded to the winner of the Hamilton V8 Supercar street race, to be staged from 2008 onwards. Pukekhoe will host its last V8 race in 2007, before Hamilton takes over as the NZ V8 Supercar event.

Porter, who grew up in Hamilton, where the Porter family continue to have a large presence, died due to injuries sustained in an accident at Mount Panorama in October this year.

■ It seems any suggestions that the television coverage of the Indy 300 was in jeopardy may have been premature.

According to MNews spies, plans are well advanced to show the V8 Supercars and Champ Car races on the same TV network - and that would be Seven.

As for the rest of the Champ Car World Series, we are yet to come across a free-to-air broadcast deal but, again, our spies suggest that Seven executives are not making a huge effort to secure the rights to the rest of the series. As we are wont to say from time to time, check your local guides.

■ Elfin Sportscars has a new owner.

The iconic Melbourne-based Sportscar and racing car manufacturer is the latest company to fall under the umbrella of Walkinshaw Performance, and will continued to produce and expand upon its current products. Long-time co owner Nick Kovatch will stay with the company as a technical director while Bill Hemming will retire. Walkinshaw Performance is to expand the company's workforce from its current level and assist with ADR compliance and development of new models.

■ If you cannot wait for the 2007 season to start, the Seven Network will screen an hour of highlights from the 2006 Australian Muscle Car Masters at 1 pm this Saturday, December 23.

The action-packed program relives the greatest moments from Australia's premier Muscle Car Heritage event.

■ The 1995 and 1997 Bathurst winning Commodores of Larry Perkins have been sold.The two cars,formally owned by Victorian Mark Seamons, have been fully restored by Seamons into their former Castrol livery. The Commodores were sold to Sydneybased collector for a cool $840,000, where the new buyer has tentative plans to take them to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.

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Britek:Second seatsorted ADAM Macrow and Simon Wills will share the second Britek Falcon next season.

The current and former Development Series champions will split the season, Macrow driving the car in the first six races of the year and Wills driving it in the last five'solo'rounds.

Macrow, who sealed his Fujitsu Series crown at Phillip Island earlier this month, will partner Jason Bright in the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.

The move also marks the return to V8

Supercar racing for Wills, a former winner of the Queensland 500 with Stone Brothers Racing and a Gold Star winner.The 2001 Konica Series champion moved into the V8SCS with Team Dynamik the following year and continued with the team, which was found guilty of a testing breach in 2004. His last appearance was a year ago, when he drove for Dynamik in its final race.

Sponsors and liveries of the second car will be announced in the new year.

Macrow

Wills

Autobam's perfecttiming AUTOBARN Racing is looking forward to its 2007 season after a strong finish to the year at Phillip isiand.

The Marty Brant-run team will start the new season in its trusty VZ Commodore,and won't debut a new car until after the Supercheap Auto 1000 at Bathurst in October.

Both Steve Owen and Autobarn will also return to the squad for their second season.

At Phillip Island two weeks ago, Owen sat at the top of the time sheets in the Friday practice session, eventually finishing sixth, but he had his fastest time taken off him due to a timing error (apparently the time keepers refused to believe that Owen was that fasti).The furious Autobarn team protested the outcome and had its time reinstated.

"They were having trouble with the timing systenri all day,"said Brant."Our car was at the top of the timesheets for more than half an hour,and they didn't think that was possible. We argued and they changed it back."

After a trying debut season in the main game, Brant is looking forward to 2007.

"We hope we'll come out of the box with a known quantity (VZ Commodore)in the first few rounds," he said.

"We won't debut new car until after Bathurst. We are looking for new staff, but other than that we are looking forward to a quiet off-season."

-GRANT ROWLEY

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Never say never

CLARIFICATION of V8 Supercar broadcasting schedules remains a work in progress amid rumours that Foxtel has come back to the AFL negotiating table with the Network 7/10 consortium.

"There's nothing we can do until that is finally resolved,"V8SA CEO Wayne Cattach told us on Monday.

"The good news is that Foxtel has, we hear, gone back in with a new negotiating team,so they may be

able to make some progress."

TV industry sources maintain that without AFL, Foxtel will be in severe trouble, and that some form of deal,to televise three or four AFL matches a week, has to happen - despite the fact that negotiations appeared to have nose-dived a month ago.

That in turn will considerably ease Network Seven's problems in fitting in live coverage of the several V8 races that fall within the AFL season proper.

motorsportnews

NEWS

Coulthard getsfull-time PMM gig

FABIAN Coulthard is set to become a full time driver in the V8 Supercar Championship Series with Paul Morris Motorsport.

The 2005 Carrera Cup champion looks certain to drive the #39 PMM Commodore VZ for the entire 2007 season after spending the majority of the 2006 season on the sidelines.

The #39 car had many drivers contest rounds in it this year. Coulthard, Alan Gurr, Steven Ellery, Kayne Scott, Shane Price and Jack

Perkins all shared the entry, although that will change in 2007.

Coulthard is currently leading the New Zealand Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, keeping him race fit over the V8 off-season.

It is expected that team owner and lead driver Paul Morris will start the season in a brand-new VE Commodore, while Coulthard may have to wait until the end of the season before he gets his hands on a new VE. In the

meantime, he'll drive Morris's current VZ. In his limited running this year, Coulthard had a exceptional results at Oran Park (seventh in Race 2) and Sandown (13th with Paul Radisich). At Bathurst, his running was limited, but when in the car he was impressive, going faster than Radisich on most occasions.

Coulthard's next race will be atTaupo in the Porsches, supporting the A1GP event.

- GRANT ROWLEY

Davo splits JON Davison's 16-year link with Sandown International will end following the 2007 Sandown 500.

The Melbourne Racing Club, which owns the Sandown Racecourse and Sandown Motor Circuit, has announced that it will assume control or motorsport events when the current Licence Agreement with Rapid Australia (Davison) ends on September 30.The Club will conduct a number of motorsport events at the track,including the 500, and is developing a fourwheel drive course for driver training at the facility.

The Club will consider a partnership in some of its motorsport activities.

"We are looking at options," said MRC spokesman Wade Calderwood.

"We would look at not running the 500 by ourselves."

A possible partner in the 500 would be IMG, which currently partners Davison in the event. www.mnews.com.au

Wood scores GMR Fujitsu seat

DALE Wood is poised to take the remaining S seat in Greg Murphy Racing's 2007 Fujitsu I V8 Supercar Series campaign. r Wood has been in discussions with the team for some time, and has all but signed to join Sam Walter in the ex-Tasman Motorsport VZ Commodores for next year.

Having spent this year in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, of which he won two rounds. Wood has acquired backing from A&l Helicopter Services, allowing him to make the step up to V8 Supercars.

"I can't wait for next season,"said Wood of the deal.

"I haven't set any goals at this point, but this deal is going to be a two-year thing, which is what you need to do it properly."

Wood car will run in the same colour scheme as this year's Tasman Motorsport cars, with A&l's branding

I on the side.The familiar tiger logo is ’ likely to remain on the Commodore's roof, j highlighting the direct relationship between Ill Tasman Motorsport's main-game program and GMR's involvement in the Fujitsu Series.

"This is the direction I want to go and I couldn't be doing it with a better team.

Being joined with a Level 1 team,especially one as good as Tasman with two lead drivers, is an absolute bonus."

Wood will test the car at Winton before the opening round of the Fujitsu Series at the Clipsal 500 next March.

In other GMR news, Peter Hill is confirmed as the first of two drivers to run for the team in the 2007 Carrera Cup. At this stage it is unsure who the second driver will be.

-ANDREWVAN LEEUWEN 9

Olivier out FRENCH driver Olivier Panis, best remembered for a shock victory for the Ligier team in the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, retired from the Formula 1 scene this week after completing his test contract with Panasonic Toyota Racing.

■ There is talk in Formula 1 circles at the moment of trying to organise a test in Malaysia in March next year, in order to try to make sense of the daft calendar that was presented with a three-week gap between the Australian and Malaysian GPs and then a mad dash to get everything to Bahrain.Teams are believed to be discussing moving all the equipment up to Kuala Lumpur for a test in the spare week between the races.

WORLD Champion Fernando Alonso was released from his Renault deal for one day to allow him to try out a McLaren at Jerez last week. Alpnso^lonned an unmarked helmet and racesuit for the test, which was little more than a chance for the Spaniard to build a rapport with his new team.

The First Taste

■ The Super Aguri Formula 1 team, which will race with Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson next season, has hired Giedo van der Garde as its test and reserve driver. The 21year-old Dutchman, who is part of the McLaren Young Driver Programme, finished sixth in this year's Formula 3 EuroSeries with the ASM team.

■ McLaren has signed a deal with a Chinese sponsor. The new deal is with the Beijing Huaqi information Digital Technology Co., Ltd, which sells Aigobranded MP3 players. The company turns over USSBOOm a year around the world and is aiming to increase that dramatically as more people become aware of the company.The Aigo logos will appear on both the cars and the drivers in 2007.

■ Honda Racing Development President Yasuhiro Wada, who is also a member of the management board of Honda Racing FI Ltd, has been promoted to a new role as head of all competition activities for Honda Motor. This means he will be overseeing motorcycle racing, plus the FI, Indy Racing League and GrandAm programmes and the two Honda circuits at Suzuka and Motegi.The 55year-old will still attend as many FI races as possible.

■ Giancarlo Fisicbeila has signed up Antonio Pizzonia and Jason Tahinci to be his drivers in GP2 in 2007. Pizzonia is hoping to use the opportunity to challenge for the championship and thus show FI teams that he is ready for another try at FI. - JOE SAWARD/QUENTIN SPURRING

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VALE:Clay Regazzoni GIANCLAUDIO'Clay'Regazzoni was killed in a road accident in Italy last Friday. He was 67.

Reports indicate that Regazzoni's Chrysler Voyager collided head-on with a truck on the A1 Motorway near Parma last Friday, possibly as a result of Regazzoni suffering from a sudden medical problem while driving.

Swiss-born Regazzoni made his FI debut with Ferrari in 1970 and had his first taste of success with a win a Monza that year. But his best season came in 1974, when Regazzoni returned to Ferrari alongside Niki Lauda after an unsuccessful stint at BRM and finished second in the championship behind his team-mate.

A quiet spell with Ensign and Spirit followed before Regazzoni was contacted by Frank Williams to discuss the possibility of a drive for 1979.

Regazzoni duly lined up alongside Alan Jones, and

gave Williams its first-ever FI win at the British GP. Despite his role in the team milestone, Regazzoni was dropped at the end of the year and returned to Ensign. At the 1980 Long Beach GP, he suffered a brake failure and crashed heavily, causing major spinal damage that left him paralysed from the waist down.

Nonetheless, Regazzoni returned to race in Sports Cars and the Paris-Dakar in hand-controlled vehicles, and also built a new career as a FI commentator for Italian TV. Universally popular for his generosity and lack of pretension, Regazzoni was one of FI's greatest characters, and a man who left an indelible impression upon the sport.

For a full tribute to Clay Regazzoni, please turn to page 46 motorsportnews

NEWS

SEBASTIEN Bourdais tested for Scuderia Toro Rosso at Jerez last week and quickly showed that he is a man capable of racing competitively in Formula 1.

The sport may not consider Champ Car to be as good a series as it once was, but there is no doubt that the 27-year-old Frenchman, who has won the last three Champ Car titles, has got what it takes.The fact that he is willing to consider testing for a minor FI team shows how keen he is to make the switch, as many drivers in his position would not even consider such a move.

A total of 27 drivers ran during the three days of testing with the fastest time going to the McLaren of Pedro de la Rosa, who lapped the track at 1 ml 9.085s,just a fraction faster than Heikki Kovalainen's Renault.

Bourdais ended the weekend just a few tenths off the time set by Tonio Liuzzi, but the real surprise was a little further down pitlane, where Fernando Alonso had his first

opportunity to drive a McLaren (see opposite).

The Spaniard's test was unexpected, as Renault had been refusing to let him run until the end of the year, but in the end the decision was taken to allow him one day. It gave him an idea about the McLaren but little more than that, and the entire thing was more of a PR stunt that made Renault look magnanimous. In real terms, it provided little value for McLaren.

The times are not particularly significant

as different teams were working on different programmes but they did give a clear indication that both Bourdais and Marco Andretti(who tested a Honda) would quickly become very comfortable in FI cars. Both man have commitments for the immediate future, but Bourdais has made it clear that he would be happy to move to FI in 2008 and Andretti could follow in 2009.

- JOE SAWARD

Heir Apparent

A third generation of Andretti samples FI MARCO Andretti did a solid job in his first Formula 1 test session with Honda at Jerez last week,the 19-year-old American lapping less than a second slower than the team's regular test driver James Rossiter after just one day of running.

It was the first time that an Andretti had been back in FI since 1993, when Marco's father Michael departed from McLaren.The name, however, has long associations with the sport, going back to 1968 when Marco's grandfather Mario arrived with style, taking pole position for Ferrari in his first race.

Mario's career extended (on and off) from then until 1982, when he bowed out(once again at the wheel of a Ferrari) and during that period he won the 1978 world championship forTeam Lotus.

Marco is under contract to his father's Indy Racing League team until the end of the 2008 season and hopes between now and then to win the Indianapolis 500 and perhaps even the IRL title. After that, he says that he would like to be in FI.There is no doubt that FI would happily embrace the youngster, as the Andretti name is well known in the United States and would help the sport grow in America - particularly if Marco could win races.

- JOE SAWARD

www.mnews.com.au

● jT'. .

n

SrODDY CLOSES N Bart wants Mawer ONE of Phillip Island's guests during the last round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series was Bart Mawer.

The A1GP Team Australia driver was wandering up and down pitlane, talking to various main series and development series teams his possible future as a V8 Supercar driver.

"I was just having a look around," he told MNews.

"Things aren't looking that fantastic overseas. I still have the A1GP ride and 1 might get a race or two later in the season, and that could also lead to something overseas. But I just wanted to speak to a couple of people,see what was about and see what I need to do.

"The main thing for me was to get on their radar. The worst thing I could do was sit on my bum for another season..."

■ A new V8 Supercar book is on the bookshelves just in time for Christmas. The Insider's Guide details all technical aspects of V8 Supercars, taking you on in depth look into the components and technology used in the ford and Holden racing cars. It covers all aspects of the cars including engines, gearboxes, drive line, chassis, suspension, brakes, aerodynamics, tyres, data acquisition, wiring, regulations and componentry.

The book is now available from Supercheap Auto, Myer and most technical bookshops.

■ The Australian Production Car Championship will now have two extra classes running in their championship in 2007, with the announcement of the inclusion of a Super Production Class for next season.

The SP Class(Super Production) well cater for the higher level of performance production cars than it's current Class A-based cars. With the inclusion of a diesel class, which was announced two months ago. This means that the category will return to five classes.

The President of the PCAA, Brett McAlister said that the new class will give the championship a major boost.

"Having the big V8s like the HSV R8s, the Ford FPV GT cars, as well as the turbo -charged four wheel drives and cars like the new BMW 335i twin turbo eligible for our SP Class, this can only mean bigger fields and better racing in the championship."

12

PAUL Stoddart's much-heralded move into the world of Champ Car racing was due to be announced after MNews went to press this week.

It is being suggested that the former Minardi FI team owner will be buying into the CTE RacingHVM team, although it is possible that there is more to the deal.

MNews spoke to Stoddart on Monday, but the Australian entrepreneur was unable to confirm anything: "We have really tight confidentiality clauses on it, and it's worth more than my life to speak too soon," he said.

A teleconference to discuss the announcement was scheduled for Ham Monday US East Coast time (Sam Tuesday Australian time).

The team, which won its maiden CCWS race at Surfers in October, may expand to a three-car entry to incorporate an seat for Dutch ex-Fl veteran, Jos Verstappen.

Full details in our next issue.

L *

. 31-

Champ Car in Vegas

AIW - H'

IVe have our own CSIs: Brad Yonover, Visa's Richard Ramirez and Dale Jensen have a look at a Lola.

THE Champ Car World Series will kick off its new era, and the 2007 season, at a new street course in downtown Las Vegas.

The Vegas Grand Prix will take place on a 4km street circuit on April 6-8, with naming rights sponsorship from credit giant Visa and the support of the major casinos on the famed Strip.

The event is owned by two Phoenix businessmen, Bradley Yonover, the owner of New York-based GreeneStreet Films, and Dale Jensen,the largest single owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team and part owner in the NBA's Phoenix Suns.

Operating the event is Jim Freudenberg and his team of professionals who have successfully run more than 70 Champ Car street racing festivals and other major motorsports events in the U.S. and throughout the world over for the past 25 years.

The City is backing the venture, which will need US$4.4 million of capital expenditure to construct a street circuit, walls, pitlane and seven spectator bridges over the track.The 14-turn temporary street circuit will circumnavigate the World Market Center, Fremont Street and the downtown casinos.

The event, which will be the first to feature Champ Car's new Panoz DPI, will also have support events for the Champ Car Atlantic Series and a races for Historic Grand Prix cars, as well as rock concerts and a boxing matches promoted by former World champion, Oscar de la Hoya.

motorsportnews

NEWS

Prodriving Ahead Richards has two manufacturers looking for Formula 1 entry

B6& sawaTd" DAVID Richards remains very confident that Prodrive will be able to enter Formula 1 as planned in 2008.

Richards said recently that he has two offers on the table from car companies that want to take advantage of the new 2008 rules, which will allow teams to build cars for more than one team.

This is relatively common in the automotive industry, but in FI terms it means that a manufacturer can build four cars for the price for slightly more than two,and thus increase the costbenefit ratio of the sport.

Honda and Red Bull are already planning to go down that route, and it may be that eventually Ferrari and Spyker reach the conclusion that they would be better off if they worked more closely together. Williams and Toyota are certainly collaborating

f

And now,I wantsome drivers:Richards may have his eye on a British pilot or two but, maybe it's notSir Stirling Moss, right. on projects for the future.This means that the options available to Richards are somewhat limited, with the obvious choices being Renault, McLaren and BMW. While the teams may argue that supplying two teams makes it more difficult for them to concentrate on winning,the top management of car companies look at the problem differently

as they get a better return on investment with four cars.

Richards is also keen to point out that his plans for a new factory have been approved and that these include the right to run cars on the runways at the site on the former Honiley Airfield at Wroxall in Warwickshire, although he accepts that this will have to be used sparingly to avoid opposition.

Bobby's Boy can Fly!

J

BMW'S A2 FI PC BMW Sauber last week unveiled a new supercomputer called Albert2, which it hopes will improve the team's performance without the need for a second windtunnel.

The computer, built as part of a wide-ranging deal between BMW and Intel, can make 12.2 trillion calculations per second. www.mnews.com.au

giving the team's engineers computing power that can run astonishing computational fluid dynamics programs.

The team is not saying what this costs, but makes the point that the 10m wide,21 tonne computer is certainly cheaper than a windtunnel.

-JOESAWARD

HE may not have a confirmed seat with Newman/Haas Racing for 2007,and he may be'only'17, but Graham Rahal has shown that he has the right stuff to drive a Champ Car. Rahal had his second test in a Lola-Cosworth at Mercedes Sugarland Raceway near Houston and smacked Antonio Pizzonia's lap record for a home run.The son of the three-time CART champion Bobby Rahal lapped the 4km road course in 1:10.37,fully 0.8s under the time the Brazilian set in a Rocketsports car earlier this year.

\HoIcintheWallCamps

"I just spoke with him on the phone and he's happy with his progress,"said Bobby Rahal."He seems to be picking things up nicely and he also had a good test at Homestead."

Rahal, who finished second in the Champ Car Atlantic series this season,topped Swiss GP2 front-runner and former FI test driver Neel Jani in PKV Racing's car. The week before, A1 Team France star Alex Premat turned the quickest lap of 1:11.860 for MiJack/ Conquest Racing during a threeteam Champ Car test session.

December 2006

Week 49

It's Christmas Time, again, and you always see some odd things. These naughty boys seem to have opened their presents early. (Especially the one with the sunglasses)

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The hard part is working out how the new presents work.

(And not pulling a funny face)

Island for saw a man very upset that two young fellas were standing on his car. A.nd it was snowincr!

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Back to tin tops GARY Paffett is returning to the DIM in 2007, but there are suggestions that he has some kind of assurance from Mercedes-Benz that his name will be put forward if there is a secondary Mercedes-Benz FI team in 2008.

This is by no means certain to happen,and there is also no guarantee that the team will listen to what Mercedes-Benz is saying.

Things may change in early 2007, when it is expected that the German company will announce that it has completed the purchase of McLaren.

■ Juan Pablo Montoya is tipped to be seen in the Daytona 24 Hours on January 27-28 as a member of one of Chip Ganassi's Riley-Lexus GrandAm sportscars.

Montoya is likely to join Scott Pruett in the team's CompuUSA-sponsored car. The team won the classic endurance race this season thanks to Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Casey Meats.

■ The Champ Car World Series has announced that It is to introduce standing starts next year to make the racing a little more exciting.

The plan is to have a number of races with standing starts to see how things go.

■ There are plans for an IRL race to be held on a street track in Biloxi, Mississippi, next year.

The event is being run by Larry Cahill, a former IRL team owner who is a partner in Marquis Sports Marketing, which will organise the event. Cahill is also planning to run a two-car team in the series for Venezuelan lady racer Milka Duno and Sprintcar driver Jeff Mitrisin.

The aim of the Biloxi project is to rebuild tourism in the region, but the event will not be a championship event. Biloxi is a booming casino town, but tourists have been slow to return after Hurricane Katrina.

■ The theme for the 2007 Goodwood festival of Speed has been announced.'Spark of Genius - Breaking Records, Pushing Boundaries'will celebrate the individual competitors and engineering visionaries over 100 years of competition. The 2007 event will take place between August 31 and September 2.

-JOESAWARD 76

A new Prodigy in V8Supercars A NEW multi-car Fujitsu V8 Supercar team will hit the track in 2007.

Prodigy Motorsport wili campaign a minimum two-car team in the Fujitsu Series, with Jack Elsegood to be confirmed as the team's first driver.

Prodigy will campaign at least one,and probably two ex-Larry Perkins Engineering Commodores.

Elsegood, a former NRL Rugby League player and V8 Utes driver, will bite the bullet and head to the Fujitsu Series, with his long-term goal getting into the main V8 Supercar Championship Series.

"I am 100 percent committed to doing the Development

Series," he said.

"It's going to be a competitive car and I'm very excited about next year.

"Damien White has set a good standard for V8 Ute drivers in the Fujitsu Series.That gives me a, fair bit of optimism because the level of competition in the Utes is quite strong."

The brains behind the Prodigy Motorsport operation are commercial director Ross Cadell and technical director Greg Wheeler.

Cadell has worked in the sport in the past through the Holden Young Lions and was Alex Yoong's Australian manager.

South African-born Wheeler has been a part of many top-

●●●

level race teams across the globe. He started his racing careec.w.itb.thejyii^subishi World Rally Team, before switching to road racing with West Surry Racing and Williams-Renault's Super Tourer effort. He then joined Williams's Formula 1 team which was followed by stints with Arrows and Minardi.

Wheeler moved to Australia in 2003 to work with Dick Johnson Racing, before moving to WPS Racing.

Prodigy Motorsport will have its race base in Newcastle, NSW, close to the Newcastle harbour.

Its factory is a 2000sq metre building, with "room to grow"for further racing activities.

-GRANT ROWLEY

Club Newcastle ready to race PRODUCTION Car racer Drew Russell will enter the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series next season.

The current Performance Cars Privateer's Champion will enter next year's Fujitsu Series in the ex-Derek Van Zelm Holden Commodore VX, which was last seen in action in 2004.

The car, which was delivered recently, will be prepared by Russell's family team Global Racing Industries at their Newcastle base.

"We are just starting to pull the car apart and making sure there's no problems before we hit the track for a couple of tests," Russell said.

"If you look at all the cars, the drivers and the teams in the Fujitsu Series, its going to be

difficult to compete against that sort of competition. We are just going to learn as much as we can and hopefully move up the field each time we go out.

Finishing inside the top 20 will still be a good result because the competition is going to be pretty tough."

Drew will have his first drive of the Commodore in early January

at his test circuit Oran Park.

Drew is the son of former V8 Supercar privateer racer Wayne Russell, and to coincide with the family's return to the V8 fray, the team will soon launch a'Club Newcastle'program for Newcastle businesses and motorsport enthusiasts to get involved in the project.

- GRANT ROWLEY

motorsport news

NEWS

Walkinshaw backs youngster Nick Percat gets a helping hand from Walkinshaw Performance for 2007

NICK Percat has secured backing from Walkinshaw Performance to run in the 2007 Australian Formula Ford Championship.

Walkinshaw Performance will help fund the 18-year-old's Formula Ford program with Borland Racing Developments next year, as well as giving him work experience at Clayton.

"We're going to support Nick so he can learn a bit about the racing business,"said Walkinshaw Performance CEO Craig Wilson.

"He's a good kid who we believe has a lot of potential. For someone his age he has shown a lot of maturity in his racecraft, so we're happy to be helping him.

We're not sure if it's long-term yet, we'll have to wait and see" Percat finished second in this

5 2

year's Aussie Racing Car Series, the highlight coming during the final race at the Indy 300 where he came from the back of the 36car field to win the six-lap rainaffected race.

"This will be the first time I've been involved in a professional team,so it's going to be a big learning experience,"said Percat.

"We had some options for 2007, but the lure of maybe having Walkinshaw Performance guide my career over the next few years sealed the deal."

Percat will form part of BRD's factory squad in next year's Australian Formula Ford Championship,joining Ashley Walsh, Josh Scott, Kristian Lindbom andTobia Kipper.

- ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Martin Mania

A

JOHN Martin will race in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2007.

Pending final confirmations,the newly-crowned Australian Formula Ford Champion will suit up in the prestigious British F3 Championship with a yet-to-be confirmed team.

Caratti looking toUKfor'07 AUSTRALIA could well have another international driver in 2007, with Nathan Carrati in discussions with a Formula Renault UK team.

The West Australian spent four days testing for Team AKA at Albercete in Spain recently, and wound up second fastest of the six drivers testing for the squad. He is now discussing options for 2007 with the team, with a deal likely to be struck some time this week.

"The test went really well," said Caratti.

"So we're in the process of discussing a deal at the moment.That's what I hope to be doing, because it's no more expensive than the next step here in Australia."

Caratti has spent the last two seasons racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship for Fastlane Racing, -ANDREWVAN LEEUWEN www.mnews.com.au

1

"Our plan was always to go and race in Europe," Martin told MNews.

"When went there to race Formula Ford with Borland, it opened our eyes. Everything is so professional over there and they race so much.You could race every day if you wanted to!There are so many more people involved in motorsport."

While his expectations aren't to win the championship outright, Martin doesn't want to be off the podium too long.

"I'd like to think that I can win a few races," he said.

"I don't think I'd be a shot at the championship.

Realistically I'd hope to finish in inside the top five in the championship."

A testing ban for British F3 is currently in force,so Martin will not be able to test there until mid-February, before the first round of the series at Oulton Park in April 7-9.

Martin collected the Australian Formula Ford crown at Phillip Island two weeks ago,and admitted to MNews that there was still one box left to tick in his Formula Ford career.

"I would like to go back to the Formula Ford Festival and have another go at it," he said.

"I have some unfinished business there. I didn't even make it to the final this year after I hit Emma Parker Bowles on the start line."

Expect an announcement some time early in the new year regarding all of Martin's 2007 plans.

- GRANT ROWLEY

mmpmji

Bio-de-Audi-able AUDI Sport, the first manufacturer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with a diesel engine, now aims to become the first to win the big race with bio-fuels.

Speaking at the World Motorsport Symposium in London, head of engine technology Ulrich Baretzky said:"We want to use the RIO programme to develop combustion technology for a future target- to go a step beyond oil and gas based fuels."

■ Peugeot Sport has successfully completed a 24-hour dynamometer test of the all-new, 5.5-litre V12 diesei engine which will power its 908 Le Mans Prototype.The first chassis will be ready in early January and Peugeot will take it to Florida for track-testing at Sebring, although it has no plans to contest the 12-hour race.

■ Mexican former Champ Car driver Michel Jourdain has tested a SEAT Leon World Touring Car Championship racecar on the 2-mile Calafat circuit in Spain, and is hopeful of contesting the series in 2007 with the backing of SEAT Mexico. Meanwhile SEAT Italia has confirmed that it will sponsor a similar car for former Formula 3000 driver Roberto Colciago.

■ Alfa Romeo is embarking on an international sportscar racing programme with a GT2 version of its 8C model, according to its executive vicepresident, Antonio Baravalli. Speaking at the Bologna Motor Show in Italy, Baravalli said that the car would be developed during 2007"to race in classic events like the 24 Hours of the Niirburgring, Le Mans and Daytona" in 2008,and that there would be"an important American programme".

The new racecar will share its name with the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, which won the Le Mans 24 Hours four years on the trot between 1931 and 1934.

■ Juan Pablo Montoya is tipped to be seen in the Daytona 24 Hours on January 27-28 2007 as a member of one of Chip Ganassi's Riley-Lexus GrandAm sportscars. Montoya is likely to join Scott Pruett in the team's CompuUSA-sponsored car. The team won the classic endurance race this season thanks to Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Casey Meats and it is unlikely that Ganassi will not use the Colombian to try to repeat the success.

- QUENTIN SPURRING/JOE SAWARD 78

PETER Fitzgerald has retired from Carrera Cup racing.

The 56-year-old Victorian farewelled the Cup Car driver's seat at Phillip Island, ending a 30 year racing relationship with Porsche cars.

Pending sponsorship, Fitzgerald will remain in the category with his own team,and is currently assessing the driver market for a suitable driver.

“I'm philosophical about it," Fitzy said of his retirement.

"You can't drive forever. My aim now is to find an up and coming driver for next year, and we want to put our best foot forward for our existing sponsors.

"I didn't come to grips with the new 997 this year.

'm was The downchanges with the new br, very different to the old car. It was like trying to teach an old dog new tricks!"

While Fitzgerald will not contest Carrera Cup, he told MNews that he has not ruled out venturing into other forms of motorsport.

"I'd like to do the 12 Flour at Bathurst next year.

That's my forte. I'm also going to consider doing more tarmac rallies, like Mount Buller Sprint and Dutton, maybe even Targa Tasmania."

DRIVING PCR UP THE WALL 1

u

i John Morris Mplx

AAM shows some Spirit

ANGLO Australian Motorsport has confirmed its plans for the 2007 Australian Formula Ford Championship.

The Sydney-based team will continue with acting as a factory entry for the Spirit chassis, with three ofthe 2007 variation ofthe chassis making their way to Australia. Brad Lowe and Luke Wood will race two ofthe new cars in the national series, while Robert Storey will campaign the third in the NSW state series.

Lowe has been involved with the team since the penultimate round of this year's national championship at Symmons

Plains, while Wood had only one outing in the national series this year, at Oran Park, with Anglo.

"This year we didn't really know how things were going to unfold on the Spirit side of things, and with the new engines,"said team manager Tim Beale.

"Obviously when you get new cars,there a little things that come up, which you take for granted when you've been running cars for a while. But I'm pretty happy with the pace that the car's have shown at most places -1 think they've proven that they can be competitive."

-ANDREWVAN LEEUWEN

DAVID Wall will have his first taste of V8 Supercar power at Queensland Raceway in the Glenfords Racing Ford Falcon BA today(Wednesday).

Wall, who won the Michelin Rookie ofthe Year award in the WPS Carrera Cup this year, will drive the car in a Glensford Racing ride day around the Ipswich circuit.

Team manager Paul Cruickshank is giving Wall the V8 test as a reward for his massive development in 2006.

"We are delighted with is progress,"Cruickshank said.

"It's been a competitive year. He has slowly built up to speed. He started the year at the Clipsal 500 outside the top 10, but we changed the way he approached his racing and it has paid off.

His speed was as good as Alex (Davison)and Jono(Webb)in the Carerra Cup races at Phillip Island."

Wall's impressive form has led Cruickshank to consider him as a potential V8 driver in the coming years.

"David has all the ingredients to go and be a competitive driver in the V8 championship.

"We very much see him as part of our future."

- GRANT ROWLEY

motorsport news

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Back to work American Dream AMERICAN Moto-X rider turned rally driver Travis Pastrana announced his intentions to expand his rally outings over the next three years, with plans for the reigning Rally America Champion to progress into the WRC. Pastrana, who edged out 1995 world champion Colin McRae earlier this year at the X-Games, confirmed that he will compete in at least three rounds of the WRC next year with the intention of mounting a serious campaign on the Production World Rally Championship in 2008 and 2009.

"Our three-year extension with Travis Pastrana shows our commitment to Travis,the Rally America National Championship, and the sport of rallying,"said James Han of Subaru of America, Inc. "The prospect of developing a driving talent such as Travis with the goal of having an American compete successfully at the WRC level is an exciting one. Although the team's primary objective in 2007 will be to retain the Rally America title, evaluating development opportunities for Travis is also a key priority."

It is believed that Pastrana will contest PWRC Rounds in Mexico, Argentina and Great Britain next season as a warm-up to a full championship assault in 2008.

- RYAN LAHIFF

SEBASTIEN Loeb has returned to the drivers seat for the first time in over three months as Citroen ramps up the final phase of testing the new C4 World Rally Car for 2007.

Citroen spent three days testing the car in wintery tarmac conditions similar to those they will encounter at the season opening Monte Carlo Rally. Loeb spent two days with the team before handing the car over to 2007 team-mate Dani Sordo.

"Everything went well and everybody was very happy with Tuesday's work,"a team spokesman told L'Equipe newspaper.

Loeb was forced to sit out the final four rounds of the season after breaking his arm in a mountain biking fall in late September.

- RYAN LAHIFF

Henning's Sorted AS reported in MNews last month, Henning Solberg has confirmed that he will drive with the second Ford team in next year's WRC. Solberg will contest every round of next year's championship in a Ford Focus 06.

Both the name of the team and the identity of Solberg's team-mate are yet to be decided, however the team will have to finalise its entries for Monte Carlo by this Friday.

International S2000in Aus?

AUSTRALIAN Rally Commission Chairman Garry Connelly believes that further world-class rally action may not be far away as interest in Super 2000 and the recently-formed Intercontinental Rally Challenge take off.

"There is no doubt that Super 2000 has incredible interest at the moment throughout the world,"said Connelly.

"The inaugural IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge) season has really helped to raise the profile of Super 2000 as a category, and the performance of the cars against the traditional Subarus and Mitsubishis has shown that these cars are extremely capable."

The IRC, run for the first time this season, will expand in 2007 to include nine international events

including rounds in Kenya,Turkey, Belgium, Russia, Portugal, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland and China.The series is open to both existing Group N and Group A rally cars, but Super 2000 category vehicles are being promoted as the main drawcard.

Connelly believes that the international reach of the series and the recent announcements by both Toyota and Ford regarding their Australian-built S2000 cars may well open the door for Australia's round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship, or perhaps some other round of the ARC,to put forward its name for inclusion.

"I believe it'd be a great move by the (IRC) series to have an Australian round; tying the IRC in with the APRC or another round the NEC ARC,"Connelly said.

- RYAN LAHIFF

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motorsportnews

RALLYING

Mitsubishi Returns I

MITSUBISHI.will return to the WRC in 2^7.

A two-car 'ManufacturerTeam', the class that will supersede the M2 category next year, will be entered by Mitsubishi Motors'' Motorsport(MMSP)and will contest 12 of the 16 rounds. The ManufacturerTeam designation excuses Mitsubishi from being

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Toni Gardemeister will head up the driving duties with 2005 Middle East rally cRampion Khalid Aj Qassimi in the second car.They will start their 2007 campaign^a#' Monte Carlo in 2005-spec cars. with a switch to a 2007 slated for ●later in the season. . -

New Era for Skoda SKODA has announced its withdrawal from the WRC after spending the season supporting Red Bull's second-tier team.

Instead, the Czech manufacturer will put Its resources into developing an all-new Fabla Super 2000.

Skoda becomes the fifth manufacturer to commit to designing a Super 2000-based vehicle. The team hopes to debut the S2000 Fabia before the end of next season, with the intention to build a competitive car targeted towards privateer competitors.

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Kronos and Stohl reunited for 2007 I :

KRONOS Citroen World Rally Team has sealed its place in the 2007 WRC after securing the services of Manfred Stohl and sponsor OMV to contest the full 16-round season.

The Belgian team will run two Xsaras next year. with Swedish driver Daniel Carlsson signed on for a limited campaign in the second car that will see him run in at least six events.

It will be Stohl's second stint with Kronos,the Austrian having taken the team to its first-ever podium with a second-place finish in Cyprus in 2005.

He spent this year driving a Peugeot 307 with Bozian

Racing, picking up several podiums late in the season.

The fact that I \will compete in 16 rounds next year seems like a dream,"said the 34-year-old.

Even more exciting, it will be with the current World Championship teamIThe team works perfectly and has the advantage of being supported by Citroen Sport.That should give us the opportunity to reach top positions next year."

Kronos has registered as a M2 team,supporting the factory Citroen outfit as it returns to the championship after a year's sabbatical with the brand new C4 model.

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XAVIER Pons has elected to walk away from the WRC in 2007, citing the lack of a competitive seat as the reason behind his decision.

The 26-year-old Spaniard, who finished seventh in this year's championship in a Kronos Citroen, wrote on his official website that he would rather not compete than drive an uncompetitive car.

"In spite of the good performances of the last part of the season, and having some proposals on the table, none of them offered me the minimum guarantees to enter a 2007 season trying to fight for podium places, as was my goal,"Pons said.

"I will continue with my fitness training as usual, hoping to find a chance of coming back in the future."

motorsportnews

RALLYING

tT t.

AT the end of a difficult season for the Subaru World Rally Team,operations director Paul Howarth has had to defend the team's decision to delay the introduction of its significantlyrevised Impreza WRC car until the fourth round of next year's championship.

Lead driver Petter Solberg has been highly critical of his car this season, during which he has struggled to even get close to the pace shown by rivals Sebastien Loeb and Marcus Gronholm. Howarth, however, acknowledged that the criticism was justified.

For sure, Petter is a driver and he wants to win events," said Howarth.

"No driver wants to start the championship off in a way that puts him at a disadvantage to his opposition. The team don't willingly want that, no way, but we have got to learn from the past and we have got to know that the car is right."

While externally the 2007 car will be identical to the current Impreza, Howarth elaborated on the details.

You are going to see the new car in Mexico, but you are not going to see a completely new-shaped car or anything like that," he explained.

Underneath though, a lot of the detail, the geometry and other aspects of the car have been addressed.'

With tensions between driver and team thick in the air at almost every event this season, Howarth downplayed the comments of Solberg and confirmed that the fiery but flamboyant Norwegian was on the same page as the team in terms of future progression.

I respect that Petter wants to go out from day one and wants to get a good result in Monte Carlo," Howarth said.

'And for sure he will want to win Norway, it is his home event and he won't want to be beaten there. He is emotional sometimes, but he is on board with exactly what the team wants to do. We have a strategy between us all, and that is what we are going to deliver.'

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OPINION

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HERE are two types of people in the world; those who believe that there are two types of people in the world and those who don't.

There are two types of people in motor racing.There are those who believe that this is a survival sport, with absolutely no room for sentiment.These are the folk who think that racing teams are like any other business and that the strong - teams that can attract the financial backing needed to keep moving forward - survive and the weak go under. Do not expect to see any photos of a Lotus, a Brabham or a Ligier on their office walls.

The other type of people are the ones who believe that the iconic names of the sport deserve to be supported and that, if that means that they need favours from time to time,that is the way things are.

Both types should be happy with the news that Dick Johnson Racing has secured its future with a big deal with Jim Beam.

Whether you are a Dick lover or a hater, there is no denying that DJ is one of V8 Supercar's iconic owners and the news that he has not just landed a sponsor, but an international and household brand, holds few if any downsides for the sport.

1^ [FpTd Racing Media]

www.mnews.com.au

t is not hard to figure out what the attraction is for Jim Beam.

The bourbon company(bourbon being corn-based whiskey made mostly in Kentucky) is a huge rival of Jack Daniel's, which is made in nearby Tennessee. Jack landed in V8 Supercar racing with Perkins Engineering almost a year ago and, even if Steven Richards and Paul Dumbrell have not had the year that they might have wanted,the brand has made a huge impact.

How much black clothing do you see at the tracks now?

JD's branding of the Perkins Commodores has, largely,followed what the company has done in NASCAR with Richard Childress Racing. Expect to see Beam do the same with DJR as it has done with Robby Gordon in the Nextel Cup. You can just see it now; Dick in Jim Beam white,facing off with LP in Jack black. Ford versus Holden, Kentucky versus Tennessee, whiskey versus whiskey.The merchandising areas of the tracks are going to be busy places next season.

The other good news is that it, if anything, makes the series even more competitive. Steve Johnson has shown some late-season speed, particularly in Bahrain, while Will Davison has been one of the stars of the second-half of

2006. His faith has been rewarded; while no-one is likely to admit it on the record, we know that Davo had offers to jump ship and join other teams but he held true. It would be good to see some rewards for him in 2007.

Another year is within of the finish line and,sight unless Santa decides I have really been as good as I said and brings me that long-overdue Boxster S this Christmas, we are taking a break.

It has been a great year for Motorsport News and we will be indulging in turkey, ham, pudding and some of the finest in Yuletide beverages for the next little while.

Because of that, there will be a three-week gap between issues of MNews.

Look for the next edition on the newsstands on January 10.

As usual, it will have the best in holiday reading (including the infamous MN Quiz,so start studying) and some red-hot features. A must-have for sitting next to the caravan with a cooling drink.

Until then, may we wish you happiness and peace for the holiday season and please, be careful on the roads. Jim Beam and Jack Daniel would want it that way.

See you in '007.

uth

n111iTil

with phil brafit

You can see it now; Dick in Jim Beam white, facing off with LP in Jack black

Thrashed!But not beaten A

pel*

GREG Murphy is one of four or five V8 Supercar drivers who is instantiy recognisabie to any motor racing fan. He is a hero on New Zeaiand shores. For god's sake. Burger King even named a hamburger after him!

Murphy is also a four-time Bathurst winner, a multiple V8 round winner and,in my opinion, an all-round top bloke.

So, with all this in mind,do you think I could be a Bathurst winner,a national hero,or could McDonalds call one of their burgers a Quarter Rowley, with cheese?

The answer to all of the above is no. But when the clock stopped at the inaugural VACC Charity Karting Challenge at Todd Road, I was faster than Murph.

It's been a character-building season for Murph,and in some

join Jason Richards.

The move is going to be a challenge. Over the years, Murphy has had awesome team-mates, including Peter Brock, Steven Richards,Todd and Rick Kelly, Paul Weel and most recently Cameron McConville. Now he lines up against Jason Richards a fellow Kiwi and noted qualifying specialist.This pairing is sure to be very quick and will push each other right up the front. Who will come out on top? That in itself is a fascinating question.

But before we find out the answer to that, we all have to wait for Santa's arrival. I'm asking the fat man in red to bring me a go-kart. I'm not too sure what Murph wants. I guess it would be another Bathurst win and a V8 ' championship... unless he wants a rematch with MNews!

opinion

with grant rowley mnews news editoi

ways,the thrashing he received by an old karting hack sums up his year (thrashing equates to 0.014s!).

It Just hasn't been a season to write home about for Greg. Car damage, mechanical troubles and a few mistakes saw him finish the year in 24th - his worst-ever championship result in his ninth full-time season. He didn't even figure in the Pukekohe results...

But his 10th year in the V8 business promises to bring greener pastures. After a season full of speculation, Greg is heading to Tasman Motorsportto

World-Stage headingfor NZ

COMING of the back of winning both the Sprint and Feature races at Indonesia, I can't wait for the next round of A1 GP at my home track,Taupo.

It was a huge moment to hear the New Zealand national anthem played for both races. It's just a small taste of what I can expect at Taupo next month. I can't wait to meet all the fans and do it all on home turf.

The circuit has come along really well. It's a bit narrower than we are used to in A1 GP but, in other areas, it's really wide. It's going to throw up some interesting passing

opinion

tjonny reid

idalgp driver

opportunities.

It's great for New Zealand and NZ Motorsport that the series is coming here. Besides the V8 Supercars, it's something we haven't seen for a long time, bringing the world stage down here. It will certainly be different.

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but I think it's going to be a great event,one not to miss for sure.

We've had a good season so far. We were quick at Silverstone in testing this year, and then at Brno in my first race in A1GP this season, I was on pole position. I should have won that race but we clashed with Germany. At Sepang, I qualified on the front-row but the torrential weather got the better . of us as we stayed on a dry set-up.

We took the risk and it didn't work. . In Indonesia, we qualified again on pole in dry conditions and the weather threw it down for the main races. We went with a

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complete wet set-up and showed what we could do. We've proved to be a front-runner and I think we will do for the rest of the championship.

It was really, really wet at Indonesia. It’s like rain we don't see here in New Zealand. It was absolutely torrential, monsoon rain.

My engineer believes in me a lot. We have a great working relationship. We get on like a house on fire and the rest of the guys. We have a reliable car with a good team,and that's the key to winning.

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motorsport news

OPINION

a^CC

Ticking all the boxes WINNING a sprint race was a goal I really wanted to tick off this year, and I was starting to think it wasn't going to happen.

Thankfully at Phillip Island, it did!

To go over the line first is an awesome feeling, especially when you do it on your own. It's an awesome feeling.

I guess it feels like it's been a long time coming. It's something I always thought I could do, but if you look at the last two years, I thought it was going to take a lot longer. Once I got to FPR, I really thought we could do it at that stage during the year, but we left it to the last round so l was starting to think it wouldn't happen until next year. But it's good to get it off my back for next year.

It's tough because when your in the junior categories, you've always got the opportunity to win, and when you didn't, it wasn't because of equipment

or anything like that. But in V8 Supercars, it's so tough to even win a race, let alone a championship. Unless you get with a good team,it's really hard, and that makes you wonder whether or not it will ever happen. It's so dependent on your team,and it proves the importance of your team. I was lucky in the development series that I was with a team which had just won the championship,so it just has so much to do with that.

The Phillip Island win was special because I did it on my own, whereas Sandown was a bit different. Sandown was a team win and my first round win so

you watched it like a spectator.

So that's why Phillip Island sent a shiver down my spine!

The seasons been very, very terbottom good and we've achieved a lot *upercar driver during the year. The team were a bit like me; had the potential but it was an awesome feeling, but hadn't shown it in the last couple I wasn't even in the car to cross of years. So to win races and the finish line, so it changes finish third in the championship the sensation a bit.This time made us really proud. When you look back at it, we read out these lag, last time I just watched it, so stats at the debrief, something 1actually the chequered nere twotook different feelings. like 10 race wins, nine podiums with the team, we've achieved The best feeling about winning a lot. e race is driving across the start/ f nish iine and taking the flag, I really hope we can fight for t lat's the bit you remember,so the championship next season. it's strange at Sandown where I learnt a lot this year, and our cars are well in the window so we know what they do and what changes we can make to make them go quicker, if you look at the second part of 2006 there were two teams dominating, and ours was one of them.So if we can carry that over, we will have a pretty fair chance.

opinion

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VISITING ALBERn ^

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with joe saward

ATHEMATICAL simulation is not something I am very good at. You should ask my bank manager.

No matter how I go about planning if I plan at all - the theories never seem to match the realities. I ceased to understand mathematics when years ago someone told me that X and Y had numerical values. It just didn't make sense to me,so the world of engineering closed down to me and I went happily down the road to a land where I could play with words and let others deal with the numbers.

I am impressed that my computer does what it does- life is so much easier without pieces of paper to keep track of- and I know that mathematics is involved in making it all happen. I am thankful to Intel and AMD and such people for giving me what I want.Just don't expect me to understand it.

I have to say, however,that the other day I actually got quite excited about the power of calculation when I went to HinwiI to see a new computer called Albert2. Perhaps the enthusiasm is an infectious disease and,if that is the case, I know where I got it.

1

I

BMW Sauber's aerodynamics Willem Toet, a Dutchman whohead was of raised in Australia, was so excited that he could not keep still. He wasjumping around like a Mexican bean as he discussed this new toy with which he and his fellow researchers at Sauber can do the most extraordinary things.

They can go into oil pipes and see where the oil flow is inefficient.They can sneak through radiators and sit in the fuel tanks and watch the stuff sloshing about and they can watch tyres deforming at speed and work out how to make them move faster through the air.

This, of course, is the whole point of the exercise and anything that moves a F1 car just a little bit quicker is worth a vast sum of money.When someone asked how much Albert2 had cost, everyone official developed amnesia. But they did say that it was cheaper than building another windtunnel - and much more efficient.

I

must say I have believed that for at least 10 years after a visit to the Ford Motor Company's Advanced Engineering Center in Dearborn, Michigan.

That showed me what would one day be possible and 10 years later,the dreams that Ford engineers had back then have arrived. Simulation technology can do the same thing as a windtunnel but it can do more as well.The one question that no-one seemed able to answer was why we still need windtunnels.

They said it was for validation but if one has confidence in one's simulation,surely, validation will one day become irrelevant.

BMW believes that spending money on computers is more valuable than spending money on another windtunnel - which seems to suggest that secretly they too believe in simulation tools rather more than they are letting on.

About the only thing these days that one I’it'W .itijjsr-ffltiTiMin

cannot easily simulate is the action of the man driving the racing machine. Albert2 can make 12,288,000,000,000 calculations (ie decisions) per second (per second!). Some clever soul at BMW worked out that it would take the entire population of Munich (1.3m people)doing simple multiplication sums,one after another, more than a year to do what Albert2 can do in just one second.That is interesting, but do we love Albert2?

No,technology is all well and good but when it comes down to it, we watch motor racing because it is a fight between people. You can do all the surveys you wish but the chief reason people watch motor racing is to see the men in action. We are more interested in what Marco Andretti did in a Honda'Sl' Sebastien Bourdais in a Toro Rosso than we are in what Albert2 can do. If it was different,there would be crowds of FI fans lining up outside the Sauber factory asking to see this computer.

B

ut what really gets people going is winning. If you look at the impact that Mark Webber has made in Australia, you can see the point. A few people are interested but it is not like the kind of passion that Fernando Alonso generates in Spain or Michael Schumacher used to do in Germany. For the sport to grow, people need people to get excited about. If FI wants to be big in America, it needs an American winner.

The reason that it is hard to find that is that without the infrastructure to create FI drivers a country cannot easily find someone who is capable of competing at FI level, so interest remains low. It is a vicious circle that many countries have yet to figure out. As we have often seen the people who have the best idea are those who have racing in the family, which explains the apparently never-ending stream of sons offamous fathers throughout the sport.They start with an advantage because the fathers know what to tell the sons and have the contacts to open doors to find the money.

The key,therefore, is education.

And if you want evidence of that,think back to the BMW Junior team of the 1970s;the Elf scheme in France or the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team of the late 1980s.Think of the McLaren Young Driver programme.

Formula 1 does a lot of things right but there is always room for improvement. Everyone talks of breaking into America and China but that is not going to happen until either a son of a famous father(and there aren't any of them in China) breaks through or FI invests some of its huge sums of money to create a school for FI stars where the best from all around the world learn what it takes to be successful.

Compared to a supercomputer or a new windtunnel that is a small investment and,so the mathematicians tell me,that will improve FI's chances of growth dramatically... .

3^

Five minutes with

●●●

GREG MURPHY

It's been a tough 2006 season for Murph,with no podium finishes with PWR Racing and a deal with Tasman PHILBRANAGAN Motorsport he could not talk about- until now MOTORSPORT NEWS: Is it a relief now to be able to adnnit that you are heading off to Tasman Motorsport?

GREG MURPHY: It really is!There has been an unfortunate set of circumstances so far that have meant that I have not been able to talk about things as freely as I might have wanted to.There are reasons for that but it has not been the best thing to ... not deny, I suppose, but to put people off.

and we hope that we can get the results for a team that does have close New Zealand ties.

You are getting good at deflecting questions from people like me.

Yes, but you have not been that annoying.There are plenty of others who have been more annoying.

Before we get onto Tasman, when you went to PWR Racing, you said that you were going there because you wanted to win a championship. It must have been a disappointing time?

That has not been any different no matter where I have been.That has always been my goal.

I thought that things might have been a little different to what they have been at PWR. But it has been a disappointment for everybody, not just me.The entire team have not had a memorable year.

Do you think that the team has the potential to be a front-running team or is there something fundamental missing?

This year, there was a lot missing.

If you want to compare it against other teams that are competitive and winning races, there is a lot missing.That is unfortunate.There were a lot of things that we did not see coming and in the end, we were lacking with the equipment we had. We got caught out.That is unfortunate for everybody; not just me, but Kees [Weel] and the rest of the team, and the sponsors.

What are the positives at Tasman?

I think the structure is unique - very different. There is no30

This year has hurt my brand fairly heavily and it has been pretty frustrating not to be near a podium - MURPH IS LOOKING FOR BETTER RESULTS AT TASMAN

one there who singly makes big decisions.There is no single owner, everyone is accountable.You know that there are people in positions who have ownership and who are working very hard and collectively to be successful.

There are people working all day, every day on parts of the business and it is not a oneowner deal. And the people there are not... racing is not the only thing that they do. At PWR, Kees has a very successful business and that partially funds the race team. He is busy doing that.The focus at Tasman is on Tasman, wholly.Things like that can make a difference.

The speed of theTasman cars must have been an attraction?

You have to delve deep to get the full picture of what they have produced with what they have got.

They have had some good speed and the scope is there to really improve that.

But there have been some problems this year, like unreliability issues, that have let them down.To punch at the same weight as HRT, FPR,Triple 8,there is still a lot of work to do.

There is a long history of New Zealand Holden fans following Team Kiwi Racing. Now,that team will race for Ford. Can you see an opportunity forTasman to take that Holden support from the homeland?

I hope so. But, we definitely do now want to lose sight of the fact that the team is called'Tasman' for some fairly big reasons. We want to have a good association with Holden New Zealand and the Holden fans over there but we want to retain a big stake in Australia, with the business and the fans as well. We do not want to lose sight of that.

We are going to work very hard in New Zealand to make sure that we take our fair share of support

is it reinvigorating to join a team that is still in its development phase?

It is. But for me, I have been around a fair while now and I need to have some success.

This year has hurt my brand fairly heavily and it has been pretty frustrating not to be anywhere near the podium this year. Every other year, I have won something and raced at the front of the field. I have had podiums; this year, I was nowhere near that.

My best result this year was a seventh. It is very important that we have results and I am really focussed on that.

There are a lot of good people in the team. But to make it all work we need results; that is what counts. Change is good and it is a big thing but it needs to be successful. Otherwise I am done and dusted.

Hang on; you have been pretty close to a podium finish. I hear that you were on the way to one at the karting extravaganza at [Melbourne's]Todd Road but you were done over by Motorsport News's own Grant Rowley ...

Yep. When things are going bad, things are going bad.

There was definitely some cheating going on - some underhanded tactics. My team - which included a four-time Australian champion karter - were let down by the equipment, let down very heavily.

Let me get this right; everyone else was cheating, your equipment was bad and your team-mate let the side down?

No, but he confirmed that we were set upon by the underhanded people who were there on the day.

We were very badly let down by the equipment and the opposition (laughs).

motorsport news

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Five minutes with

●●●

ANDREW THOMPSON

In just two rounds ofthe Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, Andrew Thompson wentfrom zero to hero.The former GRANT ROWLEY KartStars champion is now looking to build on his breakout season MOTORSPORT NEWS: Heading into Bathurst, did you have any idea that you were going to win the last two rounds of the year?

ANDREWTHOMPSON: I didn't think the finish to the year was going to be as good as it was.

1 had a lot of confidence going into Bathurst because we'd had a really good round at Mallala a few weeks before. Even though we didn't get to qualify there (ED:Thompson was penalised for leaving pit-lane too early), we still finished the round off quite strong.

I knew that if I could get my head around the car and start pushing it closer to its limits, we could be strong.

1 never thought the season was going to finish as it did. It was a bit of a surprise. I knew I could do it, it was just a matter of finding the parts in me to get there.

Was there any one thing that clicked for you and made you realise that you could run up the front?

We tried some different things.

We made some changes before Mallala, and after that, we came on gangbusters.The car took off and I started driving to suit and everything started to work well.

I could get the most out of the car and feel comfortable doing it, rather than being on the edge. I didn't have to force it. I was more relaxed.

Once we fixed those things, I had pace and we've been going forward ever since. At Phillip Island, we found more pace, but we've been making massive jumps since Mallala.

At Phillip Island, the track surface changes a lot - from race to race, lap to lap. How did you deal with that intheVB? Melbourne has some pretty crappy weather sometimes!

I half-expected the track to be like that.The only thing we didn't have was rain, which was quite surprising for Melbourne.The wind 32

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I knew I could do it, it was just a matter of finding the parts in me to do it - THOMPSON HAS FOUND THE TRICK TO MAKE V8 SUPERCARS GO FAST was blowing in different directions, then it was hot, and then after our last race, the temperature.dropped several degrees and the Main Game guys were out and the cars needed to be totally different.

It was interesting to look at the data over the weekend, considering all the changes down there and trying to adjust the car for the heat, the wind, whatever.

fast he's going through a corner, where he brakes, all that stuff.

It was a massive advantage to come in after a session on a new track, look at what I'm doing compared to him and then go out in the next session to improve.

Having Will in the team was great as well. He's young with a slightly different style to Steven. It was good to combine what they do.

You were fortunate engugh to have two team-mates in the Development Series (Grant Denyer and Marcus La Delle) and two in the main series Steven Johnson and Will Davison). How much have you learnt from those guys?

I learnt heaps, especially having Steven and Will to tap into.

Steven has been doing it for six years and has a heap of experience on all the circuits. Being able to ask him questions about the track and looking at his data and seeing what he's doing differently, or how

Whose driving style replicated yours most?

I think, overall, the whole set-up matched Will's car. Steven likes different things that I like, but overall the whole package was more like Will.

There was a chance for you to step up to the main V8 Supercar series in 2007. Is that too early?

I think I could make the step. I would have to find more pace to run where I'd like to run. But I think I could do it.

There are more competitive cars and teams,the cars are faster.

I'd have to step up my game big time.There are some very quick cars in the Fujitsu V8 Series, but on average its still about one second off what the main guys are doing.

Another year in the Development Series would be good for driving the cars and learning them. Its not quite as competitive and you can learn what you need. If I jump in the main game, I would learn a lot more but it would be tougher.

There are pros and cons for each one, but I'm only 19,though.

I'm not 21 or 22 yet. I can still afford to do another year in the Development Series before moving into the Main Game. Agewise I don't have a problem.

If there was a good option for where I can get in, I'd be interested in it, but the Development Series is where I could fully learn the craft before stepping up.

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ICK Kelly has had a pretty big week.

On the night he secured his first V8 Supercartitle at Phillip Island, there was much to celebrate but there was also the spectre of Triple Eight's protest, which had to be settled on Monday.That done,there was the V8 Supercar Gala Dinner in Melbourne on Monday night, but celebrations had to be muted - because the n4xt two days were'work'days. In company with Garth and Leanne Tander, and David Reynolds and Taz Douglas, Kelly had drive days at Phillip Island for the Toll/HSV Dealer Team to complete Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Friday, there was the annual Holden drivers'day, which involves getting together with the other member of the Lion's teams, and Motorsport Manager Simon MacNamara and ... we have heard rumours but, like a footy trip, the details of these events are deadly secret. Not that Rick misbehaved; that night, there was the CAMS Awards Dinner to attend to collect (again)the Australian Touring Car Championship trophy.

The following night - after a quick dash back to Phillip Island to pick up his helicopter - there was a team get-together to celebrate the upcoming nuptials ofTander's

motorsport news

INTERVIEW

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First,there were the races,then the pretest,then the criticism,then the social whirl. Rick Kelly has has been a man under pressure.By Phil Branapan

race engineer Matt'Techo'Nilsson, which no doubt, involved further unspeakable matters.

"I can't believe it has already been a week,"said Kelly when some of the dust settled."! have been so busy, I have not spent more than a couple of hours at home. It has been such a big thing for the team and me, it will take some time to sink in."

Of course,there has been some criticism.The Race 3 incident that saw Kelly's Commodore hiT Craig Lowndes's Falcon - and Rick's subsequent drive-through penalty - has prompted unprecedented, and largely hostile, reactions from many of the sport's fans.

"To be honest, some of the Ford fans have had some fairly harsh comments," he admits,"but none of those have been constructive enough to worry about! We have had a laugh from some of them, but I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support that I have had everywhere I have been this week. "[But] we did not arrive at Phillip Island in the iead in the championship by mistake.The job we have done all year is what put us in that position.[Kelly's race engineer] Erik [Pender] and the team have given me a good car ail year; I finished on the podium seven times, which means that www.mnews.com.au

The Holdens-at-Honda two-step:Kelly leads Lowndes Into Honda during the Phillip Island V8 round. whatever happened,it was the best year we have ever had."

And,that has been, in some quarters, another criticism of Kelly's championship season. Fie has won none of the 13 rounds and only one race, at Indy and after brother Todd made space for him. But Rick is making no apologies.

"Erik and i worked out the plan at the start of the year. I knew what we had to do and said,'I think this is what we have to do'and he agreed. We went with it, but the

good thing was we were able to stick to it the whole year.That is what paid off. Whatever happened on the track, we kept sight of what we wanted to do and that put us in that position."

And,to be fair to Kelly, he did nothing that Russell Ingall did not do in 2005 - in fact, he did it better. Fie finished all the races, an important factor because of V8 Supercar's socialist(and now discarded) points system. While Lowndes won four rounds, and Mark Skaife won seven races,the

same points system did not give them sufficient reward to knock Rick off the top step of the series 'podium'.

While 2005 ended on a strong note for the team,it was a much different HSV Dealer Team that started this season.Toll arrived as title sponsor(has any sponsor in the sport's history gone from the back of the grid to the front so quickly?) but the biggest changes were within the Clayton Flolden continued on page 36 35

The View from Number 15 What did Rick make ofthe incident with Lowndes? the window in the incident, what was his reaction?

THE post-Phillip Island response to the Kelly and Lowndes incident in Race 3 has been "Todd was pretty good about it. He would have unprecedented. been,obviously, pretty upset if he did not manage Never before has one clash produced such to get back to win the round. In our opinion,there an avalanche of emails,firstly (and almost was a question mark over whether Craig could unanimously) condemning Kelly and then, gradually, have managed to stop his car before he hit Todd some defending him.The correspondence has if I had not have touched him. He was closing on ranged from furious to frustrated,to the classic Todd pretty rapidly for that corner. In comparison 'What-is-Motorsport-News-going-to-do about-this to other people. It would have been interesting to travesty?'(For the record, we will report it). see what might have happened in slightly different circumstances."

So, what is Kelly's view?

"The whole weekend at Phillip Island was tough," While immediately after the race there was he says. major grief, predictably, things calmed down and, at theVS Supercar Gala Awards Dinner, Rick was "There was a lot of pressure on both of us and there was a lot of hard racing.There were doors congratulated by both Craig and Natalie Lowndes.

The other interesting comments that night came rubbing and cars touching each other. when your tuxedoed MNews editor was chatting off"When we came down into Turn 3 and approached the-record with some prominent drivers over a glass the braking area at Honda, we both jumped on the of something fizzy. brakes and we were committed to braking.There was enough room down the right-hand side and, "I feel a bit sorry for Rick in all this," one said, 'because he does not usually hit people."

I positioned my car for that. Craig didn't allow me racing room and continued to come over to the The others agreed,one adding,"Certainly, not as much as Craig does..." right-hand side until we touched.That was enough Swings and roundabouts,then ... to upset him."

-PHILBRANAGAN And, with Todd Kelly's hopes of a clean sweep out

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continued from page 35 headquarters. Instead of being 'second'of the Holden teams, and therefore using hand-me-down HRT cars,Toll started the season with cars identical in specification to the Reds, a fact made necessary

by TEGA's action to'group'the teams and,therefore, effectively halve the testing allowed by them.

To make the most of what testing the teams did have available, Walkinshaw Performance made sure that both squads had equal hardware.

"It is difficult to put a finger on one or two changes," he says.

"The whole team,the whole family at Clayton, has evolved dramatically and in every single aspect this year.The cars, the way they are engineered, my driving, the way they are bolted together ... everyone's attitude is different.

That can be the hardest thing to change; when things go wrong, the way people react has been better this year."

The changes, especially monetary, made life easier for the team but Kelly downplays its importance.

"There is always a restriction, no matter what budgetyou have, no matter what car you have. It was not as if we got through the year problem-free, we got through the year with less problems than the other guys. In 2005, we finished the year on a high; it was not like the season was crap. We came out of the box screaming this year, we had two cars that were much

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7626 KILOMETRES

The whole team, the whole family at Clayton, has evolved dramatically and in every single aspect this year - KELLY SHARES THE LOVE AROUND

2331 LAPS NOT ONE GEAR CHANGE C&TERP

better and we proved at the end of'05 that we were going to be tough to beat by finishing on the podium in the last three rounds.

Garth won at Symmons,we were both on the podium at Phillip Island."

At 23, Kelly looks to have it all.

An ATCC title and two Bathurst wins is a pretty darn good career; on top of the lifestyle he has as a successful V8 Supercar driver,the Kelly family has a background of business success and, because of that,financial freedoms. And apart from the cars, the boats,the chopper and the other toys, Rick was named one of the nation's most wanted men by Cleo, a magazine not noted for rating a man's ability to drive fast as much as his looks [Ed: to our female readers, Ricko Is currently single].

But let there me no mistake.

While it is entirely appropriate to wonder where some drivers on the grid might be without some serious family money,the Kellys are not like that. Rick is first and foremost a talented racer with the respect of his peers and his V8 Supercar title means the world to him.

"It means everything. It is what we work for our whole career. It has been unbelievable. I accepted the Australian Touring Car Championship trophy at the CAMS Awards last Friday and I just took in the well-known names of all the drivers who have won it. Now, my name is on there. It's something will drive us into next year with a lot of motivation to go out there and achieve it again." www.mnews.com.au

And, what about a repeat?

"Looking at that trophy, it is amazing the number of people who have been able to win it one year and back it up the next year.

I think that does add a little bit of motivation; we have proven to ourselves that we can do it. We are on a bit of a high and we know we can do a good job. I think that what we have is a little easier than trying to improve a car that is running in 10th position to first.

Nevertheless, next year is going to be the most difficult year that we have done;Jason Bright,Todd and Garth,they were not able to fight for the championship at the last round,through no fault of their own,they have had a tough year.

If those guys have a little better luck next year, it could be a lot of trouble to try to win It." With some down time in sunny Mildura overdue, Kelly is not making too many plans about next year right now. Holden's teams are hard at work on their Commodore VEs and that means that Rick and his fellow Lionhearts are not going to get any wheel time until, at best, mid-February.

He knows that backing up in 2007 is a whole new challenge.

"It will be difficult. But we have a good family of guys who can out their heads down and work through it.The barworkis not greatly different; it should be a little bit better for us.That is what it has been designed to be. It will take us a few races to sort out, no doubt, and hopefully we can get on top of it quickly. It will be an exceptional car when we do."

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- RICK KELLY AND TOLL HSVDT CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THE 2006 Va SUPERCAR® DRIVER AND TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS.

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Liuing in the Noiu Craig Louindes was disappointed about the Phillip Island result. But a couple of days after the race, he mas back to his old self. By PHIL BRRNHGRN

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Have you come to terms with what happened yet?

CRAIG LOWNDES: I had already come to terms with what happened straight after the weekend.

We didn't lose anything by having our hearing, we are still second.We have come to terms with that.

Do you think that people have over-focused on one incident? It was a long championship.

It was a long championship. We both had a pretty good season and we were delighted at winning Bathurst.That was something that we had been working on pretty hard, especially after last year. It was a relief and a lot of satisfaction to win Bathurst this year.

There was a lot of focus on that last race. We both wanted to win, it was the last race of the championship and we were equal on points. Noone would ever believe that! We just had to beat each other so those circumstances obviously added a lot of focus to that one race, out of all the races that we do over the whole season.

Is there anything you would change for this year?

There are always a few things that you want to clean up, I think that any driver would want to say something like that. We get to this stage of the year and we all say,'If only we had done this, if only you had done that and we would have been further up - or won - the championship'.

There is definitely improvement that we can all do and we will focus on our weaknesses and try to rectify them to make them a strength for next year.

There was a downturn in the team's race results after Bathurst. Was that a new car thing or something to do with the races and how

they ran out?

I think that it was to do with the races. We still had the Bathurst car at Indy and that would have been a good weekend but there were issues with tyre warming that we brought to the stewards'attention, and then it went from bad to worse!

In Tassie, we debuted the new car and it did not run, maybe, as well as it should have. We had the incident with Jamie and that set us back for the rest of the weekend. In Bahrain, no-one knew what to expect until we got there and at Phillip Island, we believed that we could make amends. And we were going to.

The points situation;some people will crunch the numbers and say that Rick was not a deserving Champion because he drove in a certain way - not so much to win races but to get points.

There's no question that he did that. But there is also no question that he was smart enough to do it. We want to win races and the championship. Ask anyone;the champion is supposed to be the person who is the fastest and who won the most and run up the front.

The way that our points system was to this point, consistency paid.That is exactly what Rick said he did;they sat down and worked out the points system, and made it work for them.You cannot knock him for that.

The points system will change for next year.

We will see how this system works out.

Is it a great relief to have that points system in your past now?

Whether you agree or disagree with it, you have to work around it and make it work for you.

Obviously, Rick and his team did that. For us, I do not necessarily agree with dropping your

worst round. I think you should count the good with the bad results. You have to carry your momentum through the whole season.

In the final vyeekend at Phillip Island, were you frustrated? First you had Mark Skaife in front of you,then Garth Tander. Was that hard to deal with?

Probably, it was difficult to deal with. We knew it was coming;they had been pretty vocal about wanting to help Rick to win the championship.

We just had to do the best we could with what we had and where we were positioned. 1 think that we did a pretty good job, especially in Race 2. In that race, if that had not happened the way that it did, I do not think that many people would have focused on Race 3. 1 think that it was a little disappointing.

What has been the reaction from people around you, people you bump into on the streets?

Disgusted.That is pretty much the word. A Champion is supposed to be a Champion who wins on their own merits, not by the tactics that they played.

I guess we expected that, but it was pretty blatant, particularly in Race 2. Garth mysteriously had issues with the car, then it fixed itself, then it had it again. I was using first gear in a couple of places where I would normally use second.That is how slow we were going though corners and that allowed Rick to attack me.in the end. Garth got a black flag, which was probably deserved.

Do you think that this will have an effect on the relationship you have had with Rick in the past?

No. I went and saw him at the[V8 Supercars

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INTERVI

I guess we expected that but 8t was pretty blatant, particu arly in Race 2 - LOWNDES KNEW WHAT WAS COMING

Awards] Gala Dinner and wished him all the best and congratulated him. He is the Champion anyway and we get on with life. We get ready for next year.

As you said, it has been a long year and it now concluded. We can get on with Christmas and spend some time with the family. On the other hand,there are some things that we want to rectify for 2007.This gives us, probably, better motivation than anyone to do that.

Will next year be even more competitive?

1 think so. With our team,there will be revisions and Holden will have their new car.

The youngs guys will improve, I think that Mark Winterbottom did a fantastic job with FPR to finish third and win the last race, he will have a lot of confidence. Jason Richards is showing good form,so there is a lot of guys pushing hard and working really well.

WE UKE HIS STYLE! All at Dexion would like to thank Craig Lowndes for being part of our team in 2006. You have been a great sport and we can't wait for 2007!

Dexion, Australia’s Number One for Storage Equipment Call

1300 DEXION or visit

dexion.com.auIsupplycentre

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When it came time to review this year's Formula 1 season,we could think of no-one better qualified than Damon Hill.The1996 World champion told MARK GLENDENNING what he thought ofthis year's championshipstarting with the retirement of his arch-rival, Michael Schumacher

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FORMULA 7 REVIEW

MOTORSPORT NEWS: I suppose the main thing the 2006 season will be remembered for is the retirement of Michael Schumacher. From your point of view, was it the right time for him to go?

DAMON HILL: I think so, yes. I think there is a point where you can't see how he could have improved on what he'd done. I mean, he loves racing, I know that, but Formula One is not about whether or not you love it. It's quite demanding.

start to think,'it's not going to get MN: How do you think he's going to be remembered? easier'. And you just can't afford to DH; I think ... he has been give anything away,so after a bit controversial, but I think you just think,'right, I know how hard it is to stay at the front when everything eventually comes I've got everything going for me, around again and people will so I certainly can't afford to give respect him for his driving talent, which has been superlative. away anything in terms of physical fitness'.

Really, no-one came close to him . in his era for that level of talent And there are also distractions, as well. As you get older you start and consistency. So I think he'll to take a wider interest in things. It definitely go down in the record can be a bit like being a laboratory books as the modern-day pinnacle rat, being a sportsman sometimes. of the sport; of the art of driving. I think it's unquestionable that he had talent in abundance when it MN: How hard is it to pick the MN:So your priorities just start to moment? To know when it is change? came to driving. time?

DH: Definitely, yes. I mean, Michael But particularly with relation DH: Well for me, I knew that 40 was to Australia, he is famous for his mentioned his family, so it does probably a limit. I mean, I didn't approach to the rules, which have come to everyone.jYou just think, like the look of the number,fora 'Christ, where's the extra benefit of been, at times, controversial. In his last season he had a number racing driver! I think 39 is already doing another season?'

He has even admitted himself looking long in the tooth. of less-than-glowing reports for I mean,sport is for young that he found himself asking his attitude towards penalties that he'd received, and that was people at their peak. You can himself why he was going around have quite an extended career in and around. It's fantastically a consistent theme throughout motorsport compared to most exciting to drive a Formula 1 car, his career. So from that point of sports, and Michael stopped when but not after you've done however view,there is a question over his he was 37. 1 think you recognise, at many seasons Michael did, and all approach to the sport.

I think I am not alone in the karting and everything when least physiologically, when you go into the gym and you start training, you were a lad. Eventually, you wanting,from the sport, a level do think,'urn ... I've done this!' you realise that it is harder this of sportsmanship. I think that is {laughs). crucial in creating that relationship. year than it was last year. And you www.mnews.com.au

a binding relationship, between the viewer,the spectator,the fan, and the sport itself. I think once you turn a blind eye to fairness in sport, then you split the loyalty to that sport down the middle.

Clearly, the people who benefit from it think it's fantastic, but those that don't tend to walk away.

MN: But as someone who raced yourself, where do you think that less savoury side of him came from? How do you think he justified it to himself?

DH:Well, as a person, if you were to meet Michael, you would find a perfectly charming,completely nice guy. I think that he has had,through his career, advice, and he has been very closely protected by those around him. And he clearly put his faith in those people around him.

So I would say that his approach has been guided,to some degree.

Everyone has their own point of view about the way to approach life, you know? Some people have a more ... let's say fluid attitude towards rules and regulations. And some people think that if the rules are there,then that's the game and you try to play to those rules.

41

Damon MN:Would you have liked to have competed under the current qualifying system?

DH: Can I be honest? I have completely lost track of the qualifying system. I don't get it anymore. I just loved the old system where you got one lap on the qualifying tyres. I just thought that was fantastic, and it was very entertaining. I don't know why they had to fiddle with it. But there you go.

MN:Someone has to justify their job, I guess.

DH:Well ... sometimes moves have been made, I think. to address a problem that is somewhere else. When Michael and Ferrari were winning the whole time, back in 2001 or whenever it was, lots of people turned off because they knew who was going to win. But the problem was not the qualifying system or strategy.

The problem in those days was that there was not free reign for Michael's team-mate to compete with him.

You had a season with Alain Frost and Ayrton Senna and they won 15 out of 16 races, but it was still gripping to watch because Alain Frost was out there racing Ayrton Senna. So you don't need more than two guys in the best equipment to create a motor race. But if you've got one guy who is precluded to having a competition,then of course it is boring.

MN:You have mentioned your admiration of Fernando Alonso. It will be interesting to see whether he cai).still;^xpress himself like that at McLaren.

DH:Well,that is a very good question! (laughs). I think McLaren is a team which ... I would say their ethos is distinct from the way I would like teams to approach the sport.You cannot challenge their technical excellence and their attention to detail, but as I said,the sport has to entertain.

A cool, calculated, almost surgical approach to winning is not terribly inspiring. Winning is important, but if you Just turn up, win and then pack up and go,then it's not really in the spirit of the thing, I don't think.

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MN:It's funny virtually everybody seems to be saying the same thing as you,except for the people that can do something about it.

DH:Well that's always the way,isn't it? There have been some reports about how spectator appeal has been on the wane,and I think that after a while,the people that are involved in the day-to-day running ofthe sport begin to lose touch with what it's like to sit down and watch a race,or be a fan.

I think that it is very frustrating for fans who remember the sport, back when they used to follow a driver or whatever,to be reading about manufacturers and the big deals that are going on.That's OK,that's one part of the sport. But it's not the sport. And I think they tend to forget that sometimes.

motorsportnews

FORMULA 1 REVIEW

MN:We saw the end of a former team-mate of yours this year in Jacques Villeneuve, who ended things on a rather different note to Michael. Were you surprised by the direction that his career took after he left Williams?

DH:Yes. I could see what he was trying to do - he \yas trying to build a team around himself. And it was just too tall an order, because I think to start from scratch is just to underestimate the difficulties of Formula One. They didn't do a bad job-they nearly got there. And in fact, if you look at the team that BAR left behind,they are a serious contender now,in Honda.

But I think Jacques is a complex individual, and when you compare him to Michael's single-minded dedication to his job,and his lack of distractions - apart from going to the football, apparently - you have got the complete item, whereas Jacques has a wider view of the world. He has other interests. And that perhaps drew him away from focussing on thatjob.

MN:So where would you have put yourself in that regard? Were you somewhere in between them?

DH: Urn ... it's a bit like comparing paintings. How do you do it? You can't.That is at least one good thing about FI; the style of individuals.

Although we're doing the same thing, it can be quite different in the approach.You can't compare Nigel Mansell to Nelson Piquet, or Alain Prost to Ayrton Senna.The difference is the fascinating thing.You can do precisely the same lap time, but drive in two completely different styles.

So the human factor, I think, is the beguiling thing about the sport. If I can bang my own drum here, I think that is what has been in decline for the last few seasons. I am very keen on Alonso; I think Alonso has a lot of personality. Whether it is the team he was with - and I like the model if the ex-Benetton team,the Renault team -1 like that model; I think they approach the sport with a lot offun and the right attitude. And I think that Alonso has not been tethered, he has not been gagged, he is free to speak his mind. And I think he backed that up.That interesting side to his personality has been backed up by his talent. He is someone who I will turn on to watch, because I love the way that he competes.

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MN:What do you make of Toyota? By all accounts they are spending something in the region of a Ferrari budget,and they have made no progress whatsoever since arriving in the sport.

DH: No. Formula 1 is an incredibly complicated,small family environment.

I think many companies do not fully appreciate the complex nature of the beast.

So I think they may have made some errors in their initial approach to the sport. We'll see. I have to say, there is no reason why you can't have a race team in Germany. But there must be a reason why more teams are in the UK (laughs). And you'd have to say. why make it more difficult for yourself?

MN: I understand that you don't watch all of the races, so I don't know how closely you followed the judicial side of the sport this year, but there were a number of decisions that compromised Renault and worked in favour of Ferrari. Generally speaking, do you think there is any substance to the idea that there is one set of rules for the red cars, and one for everybody else?

DH: I don't think people are easily fooled. From time to time it actually seemed quite insulting to the intelligence of the year-in, year-out fan. And also the pundits who have been involved with the sport for a long time - they've seen it all for many years, and when they're saying that it isn't right, then you'd have to say that something is a bit uncomfortable.

So yeah, definitely there were times when it seemed as though there was a different set of rules.The objective was achieved. Ferrari is important to the sport.There is no question about that. But they are not the sport. If the sport was just Ferrari, then fine. But Ferrari is just part of the equation.

There is undisguised partiality from Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone towards Ferrari - they have both been quoted as saying that the most important team is Ferrari. And you just think,'hang on, how can you have the people who are running the sport expressing a preference to one of the teams?'

You can't have the president of FIFA saying that he much prefers Man United to everyone else.There would be an outrage.Their devotion should be to the health of the sport, and in that way, at least there is an opportunity. In private, fine, it's OK to say'actually, I really like Ferrari'. But not publicly.

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MN; Based on your experience of what Williams was like in the mid90s, are you surprised at what has happened with the team over the past year or two?

DH:Yes. I think they have perhaps been a victim of this whole manufacturers break-away series. I don't know.

They had a relationship that went bad with BMW,and if you look at Frank's history, he seems to build up, get to a point, and then drop down to the middle of the grid, and then build himself up again. So perhaps he really enjoys the struggle. I don't know.

MN:Well, he has one on his hands now.

DH:Yes. I think that they still have an enormous record and reputation, but it is not where you would like to see them be. And there is a question of whether that is a team in decline.The trick is to make sure that it is not terminal.

MN:It must be especially painful www.mnews.com.au

for Williams, as a team that has always outwardly valued the Constructors'championship over the Drivers'one,to have built a car that was both slow and unreliable. The only good thing was the engine,and Cosworth is gone next year.

DH:Yeah. You can't underestimate

the affect of continuity on your attempt at a championship. You need to have a long relationship between engine manufacturers and teams to understand each others'ways of working.

I would say that the Toyota factor with Williams will be ... my feeling is that they will be very

well matched, and very well suited to each other. I think that Toyota has realised that this will put the pressure on its own team to deliver results. With a team as experienced as Williams, working with a large company like Toyota will be more like the kind of relationship that they are used to.

45

A Racer and a Gentleman Formulal is mouring the loss ofone ofits great characters after the death ofClay Regazzoni in a road ‘ accident last weekend. ¤ MARK GLENDENNING looks back at a remarkable career, and an even more remarkable man VEN by the standards of the era in which he drove,Clay Regazzoni was a little too real for Formula One. Born in the town of Lugano in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, Gianclaudio Giuseppe Regazzoni entered FI with Ferrari at the Dutch GP in 1970 after Enzo Ferrari weighed up his speed in Formula 2 and Formula 3 against an occasional tendency for wildness,and decided that the youngster was worth a punt.

The gamble paid off almost immediately - Clay was fourth on debut,and took the first of five career wins at the Italian GP just four rounds later. He ended the season third in the world championship, and sealed his claim to the second Ferrari seat alongside Jacky Ickx for 1971 when his main rival, Ignazio Giunti, (whom Ferrari had run prior to offering the seat to Regazzoni for Holland) was killed in a Sports Car accident in Argentina.

A couple of lean years prompted a move to BRM alongside Niki Lauda for 1973, but the grass there was not much greener. A managerial shakeup at Maranello saw Luca di Montezemolo installed as team manager, and for 1974 both Lauda and Regazzoni were tempted across to a Ferrari that had been further rejuvenated by the deployment of Mauro Forghieri to supervise the technical department.

This time around,the Prancing Horse was a good place to be.

Lauda was the clear number one in the team and took the championship, but Clay was never far behind and finished the year in second place, having taken a

commanding win at the daunting Nurburgring along the way.

Further success followed over the next couple of seasons, with a win at Monza in 1975 and another at Long Beach a year later. However the arrival of Carlos Reutemann at the end of 1976 left Regazzoni out in the cold at Ferrari, and a couple of anonymous years with the uncompetitve Ensign and Shadow outfits seemed to suggest a career in decline.

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ut in 1979, along came Frank Williams, who needed someone to drive alongside Alan Jones. Regazzoni signed up,and repaid the team's favour when he took his final but most famous win at the British GP, giving the Williams team its first-ever taste of victory.

For the second time in his career though, he was replaced

by Reutemann at the end of the season and returned to Ensign for 1980. At the fourth race of the year at Long Beach, Regazzoni suffered a brake failure and crashed heavily at the end of Shoreline Drive while running fourth. He sustained severe damage to his spinal cord that left him paralysed from the waist down.

Despite the immense blow, he remained a regular figure in race paddocks, both as a competitor (he drove hand-controlled vehicles in Paris-Dakar during the 1980s,and drove another handcontrolled car at the Sebring 12 Hour in 1993),and as a FI commentator for Italian TV during the 1990s.

Just as Alex Zanardi would do decades later, Regazzoni accepted the cards that fate had dealt him

with a disarming modesty and pragmatism.Indeed,Zanardi later wrote in his autobiography that Regazzoni was one of the first people to contact him offering support after his accident in 2001, despite the fact that the pair had never met.

Itissays for Clay that he one much of very few successful drivers in FI history who is remembered not for his statistics, nor his impressive soup-strainer, but for his charisma, humour and sheer class.

Mo Nunn, who ran the cashstrapped Ensign team between 1977 and 1982, recalled his experiences with Clay in a recent interview.

“I explained our situation, and he agreed to drive the whole season for no salary or no prize money," Nunn told SpeedTV. "He knew we spent every penny to keep the thing going,and he was a total team player."

Regazzoni was killed last weekend in a traffic accident in Italy, with early reports suggesting that he may have been incapacitated by a medical ailment before colliding with a truck. He was 67 years old.

His loss is a tremendous one to the sport. Regazzoni was the Jean Alesi of his era - a driver who could be untouchably quick one weekend,frustratingly erratic the next, but with a permanent flair that elevated him to hero status throughout the world's grandstands.

When I was in Formula One, I was young, quick and handsome," he said in a recent French interview."Now, I am only'and'!"

He will be missed.

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47

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vs^upercIrs championship series^ ’ round 13-phiHip island^

Phillip Island's V8 Supercar finale featured offered everything you want In racing -and everythingo^^ MARKGLENDENNING you don't;action,controversy,a protest and a new Champion

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ELL, we can't say that the showdown for the Championship was not memorable.

Rick Kelly walked away from Phillip Island with his name on the 2006 Champion's trophy two weekends ago, although his first drivers'crown seems destined to be forever associated with the way that it was won.

TheWalkinshaw Performance family took a strength-in-numbers approach to helping Rick across the line, echoing some of the strategies previously seen from Ferrari over the last decade.

History shows us that the Prancing Horse's approach to racing during the Schumacher era did not make it many friends - but count the trophies.

And there are undoubtedly some who will take a long time to forget that between them, HRT and Toll/HSV amassed two bad sportsmanship flags and two black flags in their effort to help Rick's cause. On the flipside, it needs to be remembered that Rick has done a better job than anybody of working within the points system this year, which is how he got to be in contention for the championship in the first place.

Meanwhile, Craig Lowndes may have gone home without the silverware, but there were plenty of people ready to crown him as the season's moral champion.

48

Overshadowed by all of the drama was the fact that Todd Kelly was in a class of his own for much of the weekend, earning a resounding round win.

"I tried as hard as I could all weekend to make sure that my car was good and that we could win another round this year," he said.

"It has been a tough year for us, and at the same time I was really keenly looking at Rick's progress over the weekend.The little bugger's got me twice now with Bathurst and the Championship, so I am going to have to square that up!"

Mark Winterbottom finished the weekend in second place, taking his first-ever sprint race win in the process.

"I was 28th or 29th last year, and third in the championship this year," Frosty said.

"So that's a big improvement. I can see no reason why we can't progress with this result next year and have a serious crack at the championship. We're going to hit Round 1 running, whereas a few of the other guys might need to develop a few things."

And third, after an eventful weekend, was Mark Skaife.

"I am a little bit surprised," he admitted."But our speed has been good.The car in the second race was probably the worst of the weekend for me, but the car in the last race was very good."

Uohh Morris/Mgbc

Battle Lines: Lowndes found himselfahead of Rick Kelly in all three races, top,even though Clayton's 'other'troops led the way in Race 1, above. At the end of the day Rick was celebrating, right, though there was a post race and Monday stewards'session to endure.

Race 1 23 laps

Rarely interested has anyone in who was been first less to cross the finish line.

Virtually unseen by anyone, Todd Kelly produced something close to a perfect race. A good start from pole kicked off 23 flawless laps punctuated by some neat pit work from the HRT crew, giving Todd his first haul of points for the weekend.

Garth Tander was just behind him, but his second place was similarly neglected because all eyes were on what was happening 10s further back down the road, where Lowndes was wedged between his title rival and a bright red rolling roadblock.

Mark Skaife had lost a position to Tander while rejoining the track after his pitstop, which put him just ahead of the battle between Jason Bright, Lowndes and Rick. In just one lap the HRT car dumped 6s and Skaife backed himself squarely into the fight.

He continued to drop a couple of tenths over the next few laps, leaving a frustrated Bright tapping and dodging around behind him looking for a way past, and an even more frustrated Lowndes with the job of clearing the pair of them. Part of his job was done for him when a gentle nudge on Skaife's bumper from Bright put the FPR car into a spin, nearly collecting Lowndes in the process. continued on page 52

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Red is the new Red The title contenders had a lot on their minds during practice and qualifying.Todd Kelly and Mark Skaife MARKGLENDENNING took the opportunity-and the front row ofthe grid - with both hands

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T'S rare that you can get the entire pitlane to sing from the same songsheet, but at the end of qualifying everyone was asking the same question: what the hell was going on with the track surface?

Friday had produced few surprises other than the thick haze of smoke that hung low over the circuit as a reminder of the bushfires blazing over on the mainland, and on the whole, most of the usual contenders were somewhere around where they'd expect to be. Jason Bright, was quickest; no headlines there, considering that he was coming off the backof a win in Bahrain.

And besides,the FPR Falcon had been a rocketship (albeit an unreliable one) at the Island last year.

Probably the one aberration was

Paul Dumbrell, whose Jack Daniel's Commodore was exploring whole new worlds of understeer and relegating its driver to 27th as a result. Oh,and both of the title contenders were outside the top 10 - and almost outside the top 50 percent, it might have looked disconcerting on paper, but there were no signs offrowns in either garage.

"We ran our better tyres early in the session and went much better later in the session in older tyres,"said Rick Kelly, who was 13th."I was pretty happy with the changes."

Craig Lowndes was right behind him on the timesheet and equally happy with his Saturday's work.

"Our two set of tyres weren't too bad," he said with his trademark grin."Jamie went in a slightly different direction with set-up

though,and his seems to work better."

A lot of the work that the teams put into tuning the cars for qualifying the following morning went out the window when Saturday produced far warmer conditions and a track that was vastly different to what it had been 24 hours earlier. Worse, it was changing by the hour - in the 90 minutes between the Fujitsu Series qualifying session and the Championship qualifying session, the track had slowed down so much that Shane Price's pole time in the Development Series would have put him fourth-fastest in the main game!

The sudden change caught a few teams off guard, while others were pleasantly surprised to find that the track had suddenly come to them. But in terms of

outright results, it didn't mean a great deal. In the lead-up to the weekend many had expected the Walksinshaw Commodores and FPR Fords to be the benchmarks, and so it proved to be, with Todd Kelly topping the times ahead of Bright prior to the Shootout.

Indeed, all four of the Walkinshaw cars were safely ensconced in the top 10, although the guy that had the biggest scare was the one who needed it least.

Rick Kelly had been hovering in the lower part of the 10 late in the session when Will Davison came from nowhere to park the APVC Falcon second quickest, dumping Rick onto the bump spot with five minutes remaining.The appearance of MarkWinterbottom a few moments later send theToll/ FISV car out of the 10 altogether, although he recovered his slot on

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VSSUPERCAR^^

Phillip Island Grand Finale'[QUALIFYING

IKNO DRIVER CO-DRIVER TEAM/CAR 1 22 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Commodore VZ 2 6 V iason Bright Ford Performance Racing Falcon BA 3 16 GarthTander Toll HSV Dealer Team Commodore VZ 4 888 Craig Lowndes'^jp Triple Eight Race Engineering Falcon BA 5 2 MarkSkaife Holden Racing Team Commodore VZ < 15'- Rick Kelly Toll HSV Dealer Team Commodore VZ 7 18 Will Davison APVC Racing Falcon BA t 5 b MarkWinterbottom f:'4 Ford Performance Racing Falcon BA 9 4 James Courtney Jeld-Wen Motorsport Falcon BA TO I ; Jason Richards Ta^an Motorsport Commodore VZ 11 7 Steven Richards Jack Daniel's Racing Commodore VZ 12 88 ^ Jamie Whincup B£^_rriple Eight Race Engineering Falcon BA 13 34 Dean Canto RepcoValvoline Cummins Team Commodore VZ 14 55 1 Steve Owen ^ *●' Autobarn Racing Commodore VZ 15 51 Greg Murphy Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore VZ T6 -Tj Russell Ingall ^ Caltex Racing Falcon BA 1 7 25 Warren Luff Fujitsu Racing Falcon BA IS 50 ■■ Cameron McConville Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore VZ 19 11 PaulDumbrell Jack Daniel's Racing Commodore VZ 20 33^ Lee Holdsworth 4 Repco Valvoline Cummins Team Commodore VZ 21 23 Andrew Jones Tasman Motorsport Commodore VZ FirstRock Home Loans Falcon BA 22 17,4 Steven Johnson ^» 23 20 Marcus Marshall Glenfords AEG Racing Falcon BA 24 8 Max Wilson WPS Racing Falcon BA 25 39 Shane Price Team Sirromet Wines Commodore VZ g 12 John Bowe Team BOC Falcon BA

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27 10 Jason Bargwanna7 28 1^* Brad Jones 29 ^ Paul Morris M,021 Einy Cvangelou : 31 26 Jose Fernandez

WPS Racing Falcon BA Team BOC Falcon BA Team Sirromet Wines Commodore VZ

Ml Jeam Kiwi/Dexion Racing Falcon BA

TKelly^g2 5kaife J Tander 4 Bright > > Lowndes

Fujitsu Racing Falcon BA

27.9069 1:07.7859 1:34.1747 28.1596 1:07.6557 1:34.4167 28.0725 1:07.8689 1j34.4215 28.1517 1:07.9990T:343675 28.2381 1:08.0723 1:34.6344

his next flying lap and was safe.

Davison was the session's shining light with a performance made to look all the better by the fact that DJR stablemate Steve Johnson was stuck back in 22nd with balance problems, but there were some other standouts.

James Courtney once again showed that he is making huge inroads in adapting to the nuances of a V8 Supercar with another Shootout appearance, while on the other side of the garage outgoing Champion Russell Ingall missed the cut after struggling to find grip.

Elsewhere, while Rick looked to have plenty of support around him, Lowndes was facing the prospect of flying solo after fellow 888-er Jamie Whincup also fell short of the mark and qualified 12th. Bad news for Craig; good news for Jason Richards, who underlined his reputation as one of the series'gun qualifiers by claiming the final Shootout slot for Tasman Motorsport.

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TIME 1:34.2348 1:34.3634 1:34.4022 1:34.5579 1:34.6556 1:34.7200 1:34.7693 1:34.7869 1:34.8234 1:35.0592 1:35.2462 1:35.3548 1:35.5137 1:35.5503 1:35.7028 1:35.7630 1:35.8650 1:35.9996 1:36.0233 1:36.1292 1:36.2675 1:36.3297 1:36.3404 1:36.3459 1:36.4729 1:36.4876 1:36.5332 1:36.6567 1:37.0229 1:37.4205 1:37.8812

Top 10 SHOOTOUT sd

6 J Richards 28.2217 1:08.0764 1:34:7271 7 Winterbottom 28.2657 1:08.2277 1:34.9052 8 Davison 28.2581 1:08.1830 1:34.9993 28.1662 1:08.4460 1:35.0851 9 R Kelly 28.5036 1:08.4793 1:35.0909 10 Courtney

Top 10 Shootout

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ARRING somebody going through turn one on their roof, the only thing that was going to make the Shootout interesting would have been a disaster for one of the title protagonists.

Lowndes failed to come to the party and drove a clean lap that eventually left-him fifth, one spot back from where he had qualified, so it fell to Rick to spice things up. His time through the opening sector was the quickest that anyone had managed to that point, but the team had barely had time to get excited before he made an absolute mess of the second sector and eventually ended up ninth. Not the start he was hoping for.

Skaife, Tander and Bright were all fast and neat, but the day clearly belonged to Todd, who was in a different league to everybody else despite only rating his lap as a 'nine out of 10 job".

iJohn'Morns/Mpix;;

One year on: In his first appearance at Phillip Isiand, James Courtney quaiified 10th, right behind Rick Kelly.

Another Feel-Good Luff Story THERE might have been a few headaches caused here and there by the changing track conditions, but you didn't hear some of the smaller teams complaining.

Over at Planet Britek, Warren Luff, below, was looking justifiably pleased with himself after qualifying 17th, which may not seem all that impressive until you look further down the list and see names like Cameron McConville and Paul Dumbreli behind him.

"We're very happy," Luff said. "We know that the car is a bit down on grunt, but the

track was quite slow and the car felt really average. I was a bit surprised to see where we ended up!"

It was a similar story at PCR where Marcus Marshall finished the day in 23rd, although he, too, felt that it hadn't come easily.

"It was a nice change to qualify a bit further up,'he said. "The tyres we used on Friday were terrible, so the set we had today made a big difference.

But the track is a lot worse than yesterday - there is a lot less rear grip," - MARKGLENDENNING

57

continued from page 48

Island Notebook PCR farewelled one of its foundation staff members at Phillip Island with the departure of Jimmy Hewlett.The Kiwi, who joined the team when it started in 2003, was the number one mechanic on the Development Series car and spent this year serving as the sub-assembly/ workshop manager. Hewlett is returning to New Zealand to establish his own racing business in Christchurch, ill WPS drivers Jason Bargwanna and Max Wilson swapped cars at Phillip Island. It was the first time that each had driven the other's Falcons this year, and given that there was barely a tenth between the pair for much of the weekend,it seems fair to assume that the cars are fairly equal! ift Mark Skaife might have a lot of reasons for wanting to put the 2006 season behind him, but he managed to salvage one highlight at the Island when he sealed the Armor All Pole Position Award. Garth Tander,Jason Bright and Skaife were the only drivers still in contention for the $20,000 prize going into the final round, with Skaife and Tander leading the chase with four poles apiece during the year. Skaife sealed the deal on countback after qualifying second, with Tander and Bright right behind him on the grid, ffl Had mechanical problems not interfered, Marcus Marshall and PCR looked set for a pretty good weekend.

Marshall did just five flying laps in the opening race before retiring with fuel problems, but he still managed the 15th fastest lap of the race. Not the kind of speed that's going to get podiums,sure, but a big step for the fledgling team, ifl Paul Radisich returned to the V8 Supercar paddock at PI. The Rat, who is recovering from injuries sustained in his Bathurst 1000 crash, spent much of his time in the FPR garage, keeping an eye on Jason Bright's car. Fitness permitting, Radisich will start testing the car in Team Kiwi Racing colours in February. l6 And finally... Michael Mas! needs to be more careful in the paddock.

TEGA's Fujitsu Series head honcho was assisting Terry Wyhoon's Falcon with a push on Friday when,somehow,he fell under one of the car's wheels. Masi suffered a leg injury and was hobbling around on crutches the following day.

Masi recovered in time to cut a dashing figure at the V8 Supercar presentation dinner on the following Monday.

52

Skaife's car was momentarily unsettled and Lowndes pounced, poking his car up alongside the Commodore and running line astern through the next couple of corners until the pair reached the Hayshed. Attacking around the outside of that corner is not something you see anyone attempt very often, but Lowndes was clearly not In the mood for convention and kept his foot down.The cars touched and the Triple 8 Falcon veered wide onto the grass,forcing Lowndes to draw upon all of the skill, luck and good karma available to him to keep the thing pointing In the right direction. Somehow he kept it straight, and returned to the tarmac before Rick had a chance to get past.

"If I was closer to the both [Skalfe and Bright], I probably could have got a run on Mark up Into Siberia," Lowndes reflected."! mean, we did anyway, but we only ended up sIde-by-sIde. If we'd had overlap, it probably would have been easier to pass him."

Skaife, meanwhile, was unaware until long after the race was over that it was Lowndes that he'd been scrapping with, and said that he'd been so busy trying to gather his own car up after the tap from Bright that he hadn't noticed the FPR car spinning.

"When I got hit, I just thought that Bright did the criss-cross on me,"Skaife explained.

"I'm glad that Lowndes lived to fight another day. I wouldn't have wanted to put him Into the fence. But that was crazy.To try to drive around the outside of one of the fastest corners in Australia ... crazy."

Lowndes may have survived two potential brushes with disaster in 10 seconds, but his problems were not over. Fie had no support, for one thing - any hopes of assistance from Jamie Whincup went out the window at the first corner when Jamie dropped a wheel onto the grass and then spat himself and Jason Richards off the track while attempting to recover.

So Craig was flying solo, and trying to keep tabs on Rick, who was still just behind him, and Skaife, who was still right in front of him and switching into full defensive mode.

Lowndes clearly had better pace than Skaife - not a surprise, considering that he was lapping around 0.5s slower than Todd was up at the front - but Skaife was doing everything within his power

Lnowdes f]

to make sure that any possible opening was covered. Eventually the officials decided that he was taking things too far and issued a bad sportsmanship warning, but by then the job had been done, and Lowndes had been stopped from pulling any sort of gap over Rick.

There were plenty of people making noises about team orders, but Skaife preferred to talk about tyres.

"I knew that I was blocking a bit, but that's gamesmanship," he said.

"I'd pitted later than the other guys, and I had put tyres down one side, so my car wasn't strong for a couple of laps after that until each side of the car had got into synch.

"But I needed to block for a couple of laps because I couldn't stop the car. When you put fresh tyres down one side and the older ones on the other side, the car tracks under brakes and you can't really aggressively drive the car.

And what normally happens under that scenario Is that when they do match up you do get Into a bit of a flow again. As it turned out, we were struggling for rear tyre grip."

Race2 32 laps

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F nothing else, Lowndes's encounter with Skaife in the opening race gave him some experience to draw upon when he found himself in a similar situation

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V8SUPERCAR^^^

Taking its Toll; Lowndes found himself trapped behind Hoidens for much of the weekend, top left, though Tander's Race 2 penalty helped matters.

Old rivals and former team-mates Skaife and Bright battled hard, above, while Winterbottom won Race 3and looked good doing it, top.

Jason Richards, right, roared to third in the final race of2006.

on Sunday morning.This time though, it was Tander who took up thejob of running interference.

Lowndes had made a good enough start to put a couple of cars between himself and Rick, and brieflythought about trying for the scalp of Todd as well before opting to settle for what he had and slotting into second.

Garth allowed Rick past on the opening lap; a move that paid dividends just two laps later when Lowndes went slightly wide at the Southern Loop and allowed Rick to nip past. At this stage of the race at least, theToll/FISV car seemed to have more speed that it had shown on Saturday once clear of Craig, Rick had little

www.mnews.com.au

trouble opening a small gap, while Lowndes started to drift back dangerously close to Tender.That threat was removed when Tender pitted on lap 8, but there was an even bigger bonus in store for Lowndes when he and Rick pitted together four laps later. Lowndes's stop went off without a hitch, but a cross-threaded wheelnut on the front-right corner of Rick's Commodore was precisely what the HSV team didn't need.

The problem was rectified quickly, but the damage was done - Lowndes had taken his position back, Rick has lost some time that he couldn't afford, and as the team watched the #15 car return to the track there must have been more than oneTollster wondering whether they hadn't just said goodbye to the championship.

But help came in the form of Tander, who ripped past Lowndes as the Ford was exiting the pit road. Lowndes had a buffer of just over 3s back to Rick and also looked to have enough speed to do something about Tander, but after backing out of one big passing attempt he began to develop a sense of deja vu.

Tander started to drop 0.4s per lap, a symptom of what he later reported to be fuel problems.

Whatever the case,the result was that Lowndes was once again squeezed back into Rick's reach, and within a few laps the gap had been eroded back to less than a second.

For the second time over the weekend the bad sportsmanship flag was waved. Shortly afterwards the flag was replaced by a black one, and Tander was summoned into pitlane for a drive-through penalty.

Clearing Tander from Lowndes's path may have seemed like a good thing, but ironically it actually did Rick a couple of favours. At that stage of the weekend he and Craig had been level on points, but a quirk in the points system meant that the reshuffle of positions actually gave Rick an extra point. But more importantly, it moved him up one row on the grid - whereas he had earlier been facing the prospect of starting the third race just behind Lowndes, he would now start alongside him.

With no chance of reeling in the two cars ahead of him before he ran out of laps, Lowndes held on to take third for the race, with Rick chasing him across the line.

So who was ahead of them?

Todd, again virtually unnoticed, had driven a perfect race to take another comfortable win, and behind him was Mark

Winterbottom.The Frosty/ FPR combination were,frankly, awesome. Frosty made a great getaway off the line and had the car speed to stand tow-to-tow with anyone on the track, but the real difference was made in the pits. The FPR crew had Frosty serviced and out in a scant 3.0s, allowing him to leapfrog about four cars without risking even a scratch on the bumper. Nice work.

But the big charge of the race came from Whincup, who did an amazing job to recover from his indiscretion of the previous day to drive from 26th to ninth.

It was a tough race for SBR, who watched Russell Ingall make an early visit to pitlane for a drivethrough penalty after hitting Steve Owen at the start, and then weathered problems with James Courtney's car after the Jeld Wen Falcon missed the pit entry, bounded through the grass and filled its ducts with Phillip Island's finest sandy loam.

But things got worse later when Courtney and John Bowe found themselves on the same piece of road,sending the SBR driver into the barriers, and then into the garage for repairs.

Races 37 laps SO after 13 rounds,the fight for the Championship came down to the last race.

The two men left standing were equal on points, and starting from alongside one another on the grid.

The tension was palpable, and was heightened further when the first attempt at a start was aborted due to Tony Evangelou's car stalling on the installation lap.

There were no such problems second time around, and true to the script, everyone who needed to make a good start, did.

Lowndes had briefly challenged Todd for the lead around the outside of the first corner, pulled out of it, and almost immediately came under attack from Rick.The pair briefly ran side-by-side before Rick was hung out to the edge of the track and dropped back between his rival and Frosty.

But one lap later, the Championship was over.Todd had left a bit of room going into turn 4, but Lowndes was not close enough to do anything about it and braked normally - whereupon Rick slammed squarely into the back of him, pitching the Falcon straight into Todd's door.

continued on page 55

RESULT!^V8S RACE 1 (23 LAPS) POS DRIVER

TIME

F/LAP

OH

1 J8:00.1350 *1:36.1290 3 2 Tander 38:01.5818 1:36.1728 11 3 Skaife 38:11.3835 1:3‘6.5157 4 4 Lowndes 38:12.0027 1:36.5800 11 5 R.Kelly _38:13.9472 1:36.7995 9 6 Davison 38:14.3859 1:36.7232 4 7 WinterbottpiJL38:14.9093 1:36.8659 10 8 5. Richards 38:17.7460 1:37.0878 4 9 Courtn( ^38:18.3798 1:36.6116 14 10 Bright 38:21.5536 1:36.5183 11 11 Owen^ 38:32.6560 1:37.4814 8 12 Murphy 38:32.8917 1:37.4596 11 13 Canto 38:35.4910 1:37.4350 11 38:35.6396 1:37.0822 9 14 Ingall 15 McConville, 38:36.6517 1:37.3451 7 16 Dumbrell 38:39.9033 1:37.6116 13 17 Luff 38:41.0240 1:37.6473 11 18 Holdsworth 38:41.5385 1:37.5977 12 19 iJohnson: 38:43.7143 1:3T7989 12 20 Wilson 38:47.4749 1:37.7577 13 21 Bar^hnaj 38:49.8739 1:37.9536 18 22 J. Richards 38:51.5792 1:36.6792 5 23 Price 38:54.5183 1:37.7218 13 24 Bowe 38:55.5852 1:37.9150 9 25 Morris ; 38:55.8674 1:37.7303 16 26 Whincup 39:02.6658 1:36.6619 10 27 B.Jonesi 39:063503 1:38.4039 13 28 Evangelou 39:18.0684 1:38.8672 16 29 Fernandez ^*22laps 1:39.2608 4 30 A.Jones 18laps 1:37.8117 15 DNF Marshall L 8 laps 1:37.4585 8

m:

RESULT!jV8S RACE 2(32 LAPS) POS DRIVER

TIME

F/LAP

CM

1 »!^I!1e 52:49.36631:36.1481 5 2 Winterbottom 52:55.5314*1:36.0653 9 3 Lowndes!

53:03.2592 1:363391 5 53:05.1079 1:36.3996 4 4 R. Kelly 5 S.Richa1E5 53:062734136/8098 10 6 Skaife 53:06.6135 1:37.1503 10 7 DavisonIF 53:06.9358 1:36.8259 12 53:14.4239 1:36.2562 8 8 Bright 9 Whincul^ 53:14.5843 1:36.7328 11 10 McConville 53:16.5073 1:37.1655 4 11 Holdsworth:;_53:26.7809 1:37.0589 8 12 J. Richards 53:27.2153 1:37.4853 24 13 Luff ic 53:27.6560 1:37.7673 16 14 Canto 53:32.3963 1:37.4402 12 15 Johnson ^tL 53:39.8411 1:37.6847 11 53:41.1627 1:37.8968 11 16 Wilson 17 IMMfc' 53:41.6062 1:37.4399 9 18 Tander 53:44.1858 1:36.4804 9 19 BarqwannaiL.53:49.5057 1:38.0065 8 20 Dumbrell 53:50.2785 1:37.8178 10 21 Bowe [J_53:50.4688 1:377914 10 22 A.Jones 53:50.7335 1:37.7039 17 23 B.Jones : S 53:57.4828 1:38.1499 13 24 Marshall 53:57.7784 1:38.3287 10 25 Price r 53:59.7480 1:377570 15 53:59.9121 1:36.8853 17 26 Ingall 27 Morris K1.54jP4.4823 1:37.8521 9 28 Fernandez 31 laps 1:38.5861 15 29 Owen T" 27 laps 1:37.8857 4 28 laps 1:38.4650 17 DNF Evangelou DNF Courtney 19 laps 1:37.5731 5 53

Phillip Island: Balance and Temps

WINNERS

BALANCE is one of the major issues that you have to deal with when you go to Phillip Island.

There are so many corners, and they are so long, that you need to have a decent amount of car balance to get the car Into the corner,then have enough front grip roll through the corner, and then have enough rear grip to drive through the middle of the corner and all the way out.

The other thing about the Island is that it is probably the most temperature-dependent track that we go to. It is unbelievable how much the track goes off due to the temperature, and when that happens the balance then changes. So you need to be ready to change something on the car during the session to try to get it back.

It's always difficult to predict what the track is going to do, but we just try to base it on what has happened in the past, what has worked in the past, and also on things like what time of the day it

TODD KELLY: Among all the fussin'and a-fightin'after the race, it may have gone unnoticed by some that the elder Kelly hosed everyone at the Island in one of the best performances of the season.

RICK KELLY: Despite all the post-race mayhem, Ricko is a talented and deserving Champion.

MARKWINTERBOTTOM: The day after the race, he admitted that he liked looking out a windscreen with no cars in view. Frosty has had his coming out party and is counting the sleeps until 2007.

JASON RICHARDS: Getting polaxed in the first corner of the weekend was not a great start. But the Tasman VX was a rocket after that, as shown by third in the final race.

POS DRIVER

LOSERS ^ GARTH TANDER: Maybe the back of car #16 should have read,'Caution: Road Block Ahead'. Oops, sorry, it was a fuel problem, wasn't it?

JAMIEWHINCUP: This weekend, the Whizz Kid needed to be a lot closer to Lnowdes to fight off the Clayton Army.

RUSSELL INGALL: We have commented in the past about Rusty's recent qualifying woes.This time, it was the clumsy bump into Steve Owen that was sub standard.

54

\

^,S^eeo#17DJRFa/con . :

is, the track temperature I think in some of the sessions we managed to stay on top of what the track was doing, but a

t S

RESULT!^8S RACE 3(31 LAPS)

THE DSO AND IPO: We have taken Colin Bond and Peter Wollerman to task over some of their calls this season.

Not this time.Top marks.

STEVE JOHNSON: As if the ongoing woes of DJR are not enough to cope with, Steve copped an absolute shellacking from his team-mate Will Davison.

' wthGeorge Lomniins

1

TIME

couple of times we were caught out.The qualifying session was definitely a bit of a curveball.The other thing about that was that I wouldn't have expected the second session to have gone so much faster, proportionally, as it did compared to the first session.There is obviously a fairly substantial gap between the first and the second sessions, but I would have thought it would be a bit closer.

We basically struggled to carry speed from the entry to the middle of the corner all weekend, and that is criticai to being fast around there. You need to be able to brake and then wash a lot of the speed off into the corner with the front of the car, and that was hurting us all weekend.

From the entry to the middle of the corner the car was quite nervous at the rear, and that obviously affected Steve's ability to carry speed into the corner.That was our biggest complaint.That, and the rear under brakes.

F/LAP

1 WinterbolEliji 50:47.1883135.8053 9 50:47.3126*1:35.5114 15 2 Tander 3 J. Ridiardlt_ 50:48.4341 1:35.6875 10 51:01.61461:35.5441 12 4 Bright 5 T.Kelly ; 51:01.90811^35.5253 8 6 McConville ll:05.8815 1:36.3562 17 51:06.0541 1:36.1012 10 7 Whincui 8 R.Richards 51:10.38961:36.7321 18 9 51:11.2542 1:36.4525 13 10 Canto 51:12.72071:36.2133 16 11 Skaife ●2^ 51:13.86341:35.9315 20 51:21.83441:36.1000 14 12 Courtney 13 Dumbrell"L 51:27.80601:36.7373 10 51:28.01361:36.4321 15 14 Marshall 15 Owen ^51:32.5951 1:36.3493 18 51:37.32681:37.3861 26 16 Wilson 51:37.4551 1:36.8721 14 17 Morris 51:46.5185 1:36.5050 7 18 R. Kelly 51:48.9931 1:36.8725 9 19 A. Jones j 51:50.6472 1:37.2872 17 20 B. Jones 21 Holdswoithl 51:51.21141:36.7367 10 51:53.29801:37.4841 10 22 Johnson 23 Price _ 51:53.92161:37.1397 23 51:56.20981:37.0462 5 24 Bowe 25 Evangeloii^i*. 52:14.41781:37.9785 20 30 laps 1:37.8851 20 26 Bargwanna 27 Fernandez' 30 laps 1:38^6700 21 28 Luff 29 laps 1:37.6108 15 29 Lowndes 27 laps 1:40.6182 5 24 laps 1:36.5976 22 30 Ingall DNF Davison Hap 1:48.3211 1

w*-'r

3

18MTOWVC.S: RUjCON *- ,

Marshall Cass _

WILL Davison's weekend may have ended on an unwelcome note when he became entangled in the Todd Kelly/ Craig Lowndes mess in the final race, but up to that point he'd been having the best round of his career.

One of his season's targets was met early in the weekend with his first appearance in the Shootout.

"One of my major goals for the year was to get into the Shootout," he said."We've come so close before - I've been 11th a couple of times, 12th a couple of times... it has been getting on my nerves like you wouldn't

believe! So to finally do it was great."

His qualifying speed carried over into the races. Davison was sixth in Saturday's opener, but would have been as high as fourth had he not lost time to a bad pitstop.

He backed it up with seventh in the following race, but his hopes of completing the job were dashed when damage from the collision with Lowndes's car forced him into retirement.

Not the finish that he was hoping for - but he'd still managed to make a point. If DJR is in good shape next year, things bode well for car #18.

V8SCS POINTS!rRD13 R Kelly 3308, Lowndes 3271, Winterbottom 3089, Tander 2965,8rlght 2868, T Kelly 2815,5 Richards 2740, Ingall 2708, Johnson 2378, Whincup 2357, Courtney 2347, Dumbrell 2332, McConville 2099, Bargwanna 2053, Wilson 2038, Skaife 2036, Canto 2024, Richards 1993, Davison 1943, Holdsworth 1811, Morris 1810, Owen 1782, Bowe 1743, Murphy 1710, B Jones 1612, A Jones 1283, Luff 1238, Radisich 1235, Marshall 1040, Fernandez 658, Ellery 594, Fabian Coulthard 478, Gurr 457, Ricciardello 398, Seton 300, Price 296, Youlden 290.

motorsport news

Race 3, Lap 4: Rick Kelly hits Lowndes in the rear on the way into Honda,above. The T8 Ford and pitched sideways and into Todd Kelly, top right, and wasjust starting to move when hit by an unsighted Will Davison, right. Three stops were made to replace damaged tyres, below, but Lowndes remains a fan favourite, right.

continued from page 53 Lowndes's left-front wheel took the full impact of the hit, damaging the steering, and then Davison inadvertently finished the job when he came around the corner to find the Vodafone Falcon across the track, and slammed into the right-front wheel.

"I just wanted to give those guys a fair go - the last thing I wanted to do was start blocking Lowndes," Todd explained.

"So I ran down into Honda down the left-hand side and they were far enough back not to be a threat, but I turned in and the next minute, Lowndes was in my door."

Todd recovered unscathed, but Lowndes, whose front wheels were suddenly pointing in different directions, was in a world of trouble. He pressed on but if the sight of the wheels weren't enough to tell the story, then the www.mnews.com.au

in-car footage of the angle he was holding the steering wheel at did.

The team attempted a fix, but it clear that this was not something that could be sorted out on the fly and the Eights were resigned to watching their man potter around 5s off the pace, and making frequent stops to have his shredding tyres replaced.Their only hope was for Rick to have some sort of terminal problem, but after being served a drive-through for causing the accident, Rick had no incentive to take any risks whatsoever and spent the rest of the race cruising around in the back half of the field and counting off laps to the finish.

Despite being right amongst it, Winterbottom had managed to avoid the mess on the second lap and capped his great weekend off by taking his first-ever solo V8 Supercar race win. He had to work for It too,fending off a late-race

challenge from a resurgent Tander.

"It's a great feeling to win your first race," he smiled.

"You look at it when you're young, you watch TV, you want to do it, and to finally cross the line and take the chequered flag first on your own is a pretty awesome feeling. I am glad I ticked that box off this year; it wasn't looking too good with one race to go!"

Tander had to settle for second ahead of Jason Richards, who at least managed to salvage something from a weekend that had been compromised at the first corner of the first race.

Elsewhere, Cameron McConviile and Greg Murphy managed to get both Supercheap cars across the line inside the top 10(sixth and ninth respectively), while 11th for Skaife (a legacy of being knocked off the track on the first lap) was still enough to secure third for the round.

Bright's last run with ERR delivered a fourth place, Steve Richards farewelled Jack Daniel's with an eighth, and Ingall's last outing with number one on the door ended on a down note when the car was forced into the garage with electrical problems.

And so ended another season.

Anyone who follovyed Supercars through 2006 will have an opinion about the manner in which the Championship decided, but there is no arguing that we had a season that was eventful right down to the final lap.

So now the circus pulls down the tent for a couple of months, and plenty will be different when it returns in March 2007. Here's hoping that somewhere amid the activity in the workshop,the gym, and all the other places that races are won and lost away from the track, everyone manages to fit in a little R&R as well.

55

FUJITSU V8 SUPERCARS SERIES round 7- phillip island

*

Youth triumphed at Phillip Island, but experience GRANT ROWLEY took the biggest trophy

F

IVE round wins meant that Adam Macrow was a very deserving 2006 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Champion, but through different circumstances during the last round of the series at Phillip Island two weeks ago,the win was never guaranteed until the last lap.

Macrow was involved in a practice clash and then, after qualifying on pole, he was sent to the back of the grid for Race 1 after an electronic discrepancy in his Howard Racing Falcon.The feeling was tense in the Howard camp, but two mature drives netted Macrow the Fujitsu crown - his first championship success since his Formula Ford days in 1998.

Shane Price was the only man with a chance of stealing the crown from Macrow and he did his level best by winning Race 1.

The Perkins Engineering star took second for the round and second in his rookie championship. But above all else, the Victorian has cemented himself as one of the brightest talents in V8 Supercars.

While the majority of the attention was centred around the battle for the series, Andrew Thompson produced another special performance to secure his second round win in a row. He dominated Race 2, leading every lap. After a slow start to the year, 56

Thompson emerged as another young gun who is likely to have a long future in V8 Supercar.

Race 1a 19 laps Price won, wasn't a simple victory, inbut hotitconditions, the Perkins driver battled with squishy rear tyres at the end of the race on the deteriorating track to take his second V8 race win. "i pulled a gap early and then relaxed a bit," he said.

"The team soon told me to get a hurry on."

The reason he had to pull his finger out was that Thompson was making big inroads.

The Dick Johnson Racing driver had the opposite problem to Price.

His Ford wasn't to his liking in the opening laps, but after five laps, it came on strong.

Thompson wasted little time passing Tony D'Alberto for second and from there, he hunted down the struggling Price. On some laps,Thompson was taking more than a second out of his lead. A slight issue with lapped traffic also assisted Thompson with his chase, but he simply ran out of laps.

"I was really struggling in the first few laps,"Thompson said.

"After a while, everything settled down and I got some good pace out of the car and got down to

The new Champs:Howard Racing,above,secured its first V8 Supercar championship with success in the Fujitsu V8 Series. It was also a handy day for private Ford outfit Matthew White Racing, who grabbed its second overall podium for 2006.

some good lap times. I saw that Shane was struggling with his rears but I couldn't get close enough in the end."

D'Alberto may be one of Dolly magazine's hot spunks, but the only hot thing that he was concerned with in Race 1 was the temperature of his engine.

The GMAC driver had a piece of advertising foam stuck in his front intake after a couple of backmarkers had visited the Island's scenery the lap before. It became stuck from lap three at turn two,and it sent his engine's temperatures soaring.Thompson took advantage, passing D'Alberto

motorsportnews

FUJITSU V8s

Nothing beatsa bit ofcontroversy

THERE were many highs for Adam Macrow and the Howard Racing team in 2006, but just when they didn't want a low, they got one.

Macrow's Falcon was banished from pole position to the back of the Phillip Island grid after a timing advance error was found by V8 Supercar officials.

If anything,the glitch had a negative affect on the performance of the car - not that you could tell. Macrow took a narrow pole from Shane Price, who was promoted to the number one spot when Macrow's penalty was enforced.

It was the second headache for the mechanic's of the #27 Ford. In practice, Macrow clashed with Bruce Williams's ex-HYL Commodore at the Hayshed.

GMAC driver Tony D'Alberto made it an all-Holden front-row, while the second row was the two Dick Johnson Racing Falcon's of Andrew Thompson and Grant Denyer.

Matthew White was fifth from Jack Perkins, who didn't get a gain on his green tyres.

Chris Alajajian again impressed by qualifying seventh, but his former Formula 3 rival Ben Clucas didn't get the same opportunity.

The current Gold Star title holder lost most of the first practice session with an engine problem. He was then excluded from qualifying, despite not completing a quick lap. A wheel broke on first lap of qualifying, and Clucas drove the car back to pit lane.The Peters Motorsport team put another wheel his Falcon AU on, but within half a lap, the sway bar bracket was digging into the wheel broke it again.The damage sustained to the car saw it retire for the weekend.

- GRANT ROWLEY

Agent 077: Holden Young Lion Shane Price, above, picked up pole position when Adam Macrow was bumped to the back of the grid due to a timing advance error with his Howard Racing Falcon. at MG Corner on lap seven. The TDR team said post-race that if the event had run two laps longer the engine would have roasted.

"The foam was affected our pace, not just with engine temperature, but aerodynamically it slowed us down as well," D'Alberto said.

Privateer Matthew White plugged away for a lonely fourth place, although he was closing in on the overheating D'Alberto in the latter stages.

The surprise of the race was Damien White. In his ex-Paul Morris Motorsport Commodore, White raced and bumped with the best on the Fujitsu field, finishing a superb fifth. An elbow match with former V8 Utes rival Grant

www.mnews.com.au

Denyer brought back memories.

The minor clash between them actually damaged Denyer's steering arm, and along with the clutch that he blew off the line, he fell to an eventual 14th.

Jack Perkins, Michael Caruso and Nathan Pretty were part of the top 10 action, but not in the league of the top three.

Wayne Wakefield was running in front of that trio, but an off slipped him down to 10th.

From the back of the field, championship leader Adam Macrow chipped his way up to ninth place. After one lap, he had picked off eight places, and a steady climb kept him in the box seat for the series win.

● ●●

Grant Denyer, left, qualified alongside his speedy i team-mate.

Faster:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Fujitsu V8Supercars Phillip Island gUAUFYI^

77 Shane Price

Perkins Engineering Pty Ltd Commodore VZ Tony D'Alberto GMAC Racing Commodore VZ AndrewThomp'son! Latitude Developments Falcon BA GrantPenyer Summit Fleet Leases Jax Tyres Falcon BA Mathew White Smrtskip Racing Falcon BA Jack Perkins Perkins Engineering Pty Ltd Commodore VZ 43 Chris Alajajian Ml ELF/Jack Flillerman Commodore VZ 100 Damien White Mark Fetch Motorsport Commodore VZ 45 Shannon O'Brien M O'Brien Motorsport Falcon BA 99 71 81 28 78

10 ^^^a^m^akefield 11 60 Michael Caruso 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

42 72 70 61 41 96 69 74 37 95 44 48 32 49 90 35 13 91 30 62 31 57 32 68 33 80 EXC 27 EXC 40

Smartskip Racing Falcon BA Decina Racing Falcon BA Fli-Trans Commodore VY

JayVerdnik Nathan Pretty^;i - Smiths Trucks Racing Commodore VY Geoff Emery Smiths Trucks Racing Commodore VY Marcus La Delle IfirstRock Flome Loans Falcon AU Chris Pither Kanqa Loaders Racing Falcon AU Brett Flobson l^ynited Oil Falcon BA Robert Jones Re-Car Racing Commodore VX Mark McNally fefT GMAC Racing Commodore VY Mark Howard Betta Electrical/Crimsafe Falcon BA Mathew Hunt Mi llion DVD Commodore VY Adam Sharpe Velocity Pay.com.au Falcon AU Dean Neville Kitome Falcon AU Aaron McGill Dux Fiot Water Falcon AU Terry Wyhoon j _ Image Racing Falcon AU Clayton Pyne Auto One Commodore VX Steve WilliamsTransport Commodore VX Mark Papendell Colin Sieders All-Trans Truck and Spares Falcon AU Gary Deane '■*--Custodian Wealth Builders Falcon BA Scott Loadsman Tint-A-Car Racing Commodore VY Bruce Wilfiams " JPS Automotive Commodore VY LI Shane Beikoff Turbo Brisbane Falcon AU BarryTanton ^ Formula Group Falcon AU Adam Macrow Betta Electrical/Crimsafe Falcon BA Ben Clucas l^ace Experience Falcon AU

Race 2 119 laps

B

efore the Oran Park round, Thompson hadn't done too much to grab the attention of the V8 fraternity. By the end of the . last race, he was labelled one of the hottest properties in theV8 category.

The LDG-backed driver smoked the field at the start and seemed to cruise away to the race and round win. Despite finishing the series in eighth, his 2006 season will go down as his breakout year.

"It wasn't the start to the year that we'd hope to have," he admitted.

1:34.4241 *| 1:34.7066 1:34.7353 1:34.8527 1:35.3139 1:35.3515 1:35.3586 1:35.4311 1:35.5624 1:355726 1:35.6425 1:35.6724 1:35.8712 1:35.9894 1:36.0573 1:36.1914 1:36.3121 1:36.5957 1:36.6144 1:36.9240 1:37.2505 1:37.5037 1:37.5535 1:37.5798 1:37.7660 1:37.8708 1:37.8903 1:37.8991 1:38.3750 1:38.6245 1:39.0253 1:39.4837 1:42.4088

"I made a few mistakes and got unlucky. The second part of the season has been totally different.

"We made a decision to run with DJR at the start of the year because of their experience they have and the speed of their cars. It made it easier for me to learn how to drive them."

Price finished a galant second in the race, the round and the championship.

"To be honest, I would have been happy with second for one round, let alone second in the championship. It's exceeded my expectations. continued page 58 57

^

FUJITSU V8s

White hot debut ■ i : :

AFTER practice, Fujitsu V8 Supercar rookie Damien White was in 15th place.

For a first-timer, it was a result that most expected. But White, who always has high expectations, wanted more.

After the two Friday practice sessions,the two-time V8 Ute Champion had a yarn to Paul Morris,the former owner of White's WPR Commodore.

Some timely tips on throttle application across the back of the circuit(from Siberia to MG)were enough for things to click in White's approach. He went out in qualifying and put his black Holden on the fourth row of the grid, before racing his way to fifth and fourth in the

two races. On all accounts, it was a surprising, but fantastic debut.

"I was struggling in practice,"he said.

"Paul was a big help. He sat down with me and gave me a few tips.These cars are obviously so different to the V8 Utes.

"PMM have been great.They've helped out where they can and our investment has paid "A lot of people in the V8 Supercar paddock think that the V8 Utes category is irrelevant.

Yes, mechanically there are no similarities whatsoever. If nothing else,though,the Utes have taught me how to race. I have done a little bit of V8 Supercar before, but until this

continued from page 57 "I struggled for pace today. We made some changes. It didn't go our way.The team told me that Adam was a fair way back, and I was hoping Adam would come off, but it was so slippery out there I had to focus on keeping my car on the track!"

Third and fourth went to the unrelated White duo (Matthew and Damien). Again, it was a lonely race for Matthew, although he kept Thompson and Price within sight the whole race. While still coming to grips with his new BA Falcon, White was happy to end the year with his second podium for 2006.

"It was a little bit trying," he said.

"It was the first time here with the BA so we've been trying to come to grips with it slowly. We are not hanging onto our tyres as well as Andrew, though."

D'Alberto made a good start and had a challenge at Price for the lead at turn one. He was squeezed and dropped back to seventh, before picking up the pieces to take fifth. A flat tyre on the last lap saw him lucky to hold the hard-charging Grant Denyer out on the final straight.

D'Alberto was involved in a tough dice with Wakefield on lap four. Wakefield ended up worse off.

Pretty and Caruso again shadowed each other, taking seventh and eighth, while Perkins slipped down the order to ninth.

The Jack Daniel's driver was frustrated by the lack of pace in his #78 Holden, but was happy to seal third in the championship in his rookie season. With one season under his belt, the 20-year-old will be one of the men to beat in 2007.

So, another season run, and a new Champion crowned.The 58

weekend at Phillip Island,the closest racing I've ever been in is V8 Utes.

"Except for my chief mechanic(Des Conway) all my crew are new to V8 Supercar. It's been an eye-opener, but I think we can now head into the off-season with a lot to look forward to.'

-GRANT ROWLEY.:

off.

2006 season delivered us record fields, fantastic racing and-terrible sadness.

For 2007, the Fujitsu pack will be strengthened by an influx of quality cars and up and coming drivers.

But after dominating the first five rounds of the season, the last words should go to the new Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series Champion, Adam Macrow.

"We had the possibility to win it last year, but this shows that we are consistent," the new Champ said.

"Howard Racing builds fantastic cars. We were very fast here this weekend. Obviously we had a little hiccup after qualifying, which was disappointing. So we had to gather it up and do our best and think about the championship.

"I cruised around like an old woman for the first few laps of Race 2. Once the adrenaline came down and everyone found their rhythm, I picked a couple off here and there and secured the win.

"There's only one place to go from here ..

RESULT!pV8S RACE!(19 LAPS)

RESULT!■)FV8S RACE 2 (19 LAPS)

POS DRIVER

POS DRIVER

TIME

1 Price '■ 31:10.0944 2 Thompson 31:10.4340 3 D'Albeiii3 31:26.1687 4 MWhite 31:27.2755 5 D White]*- 31:32.6891 6 Perkins 31:33.6411 7 Caruso jEL_31:39.8527 31:41.2608 8 Pretty 9 Macrowin 31:45.7954 10 Wakefield 31:47.8708 11 Emery ^tJ1:48.4243 31:48.9972 12 LaDelle 13 McNally ^:49.5566 31:50.2630 14 Denyer 15 Verdnik h 31:51,2717 16 Pither 31:57.5780 17 Howard [^2:00.5867 32:00.8895 18 Hobson 19 HWIWili~32:12.5707 20 Hunt 32:15.9842 21 Jones T , 32:23.3316 22 Neville 32:2614448 23 Pyne L??:26.7220 32:28.0880 24 Beikoff 25 Loadsman^ ;J2:3T.3675 32:39.7997 26 Sharpe 27 O'Brien j?32:43.1867 32:51.5684 28 5ieders 29 Papendell rr.18laps 30 McGill 18 laps 31 Tanton ^18 laps 32 Deane 16 laps DNd Williams g 16 8 DNF Alajajian Championshi

FfLAP

ON

1:37.1104 2 1:37.2296 8 1:37.7263 2 1:38.0725 6 1:38.4028 10 1:38.1292 4 1:38.4275 14 1:38.7776 5 1:37.0523 6 1:38.8078 4 1:39.0985 3 1:39.0215 6 1:39.0595 4 1:38.7077 5 1:38.8484 3 1:39.3759 11 1:39.2345 9 1:38.7421 9 1:39~!8830 9 1:39.9977 3 m2063 4 1:40.6680 4 1:40.0135 3 1:40.7751 13 1:41.0418 7 1:40.1965 11 1:38.8682 6 1:40.2038 4 1:40.2932 7 1:40.4814 4 1:44.5770 9 1:40.7458 11 1:41.1176 6 1:39.1319 3

TIME

F/LAP

ON

1 2 3 4 5

Thomps^ 11:27.0600 1:37.8077 4 31:30.4083 1:38.3608 3 Price MWhite^ 11:31.0548 1:38.1557 4 D White 31:34.5574 1:38.0580 4 D'Albelt^ 31:39.7054 1:38.0036 6 6 Denyer 31:39.7567 1:38.7271 13 7 Pretty Ol;51.3026 1:38.5009 5 8 Caruso 31:51.6103 1:38.7765 5 9 Perkins^ir- 31:52.0420 1:38.6002 5 10 Macrow 31:52.2402 1:38.3682 8 11 McNallyTt^1:52.6674 1:38.8449 9 12 Hobson 31:53.0709 1:39.0843 8 13 Pi^k. 31:54.9212 T3878011 11 14 Alajajian 31:55.3691 1:38.7445 8 15 Verdnik 3T55,5629 1:38.9458 9 16 Howard 32:08.1371 1:39.5010 10 17 Jones ● -j 32:15.9890 1:40.4243 3 18 Neville 32:21.2747 1:40.3679 5 19 O'Brien 32:23.0136 1:38.7048 8 20 McGill 32:25.1730 1:40.6635 6 21 Pyne ^2:26.1958 1:40.1981 3 22 Loadsman 32:29.4466 1:40.9403 3 23 LaDelle^ H 32:35.4383 1:39.4592 3 32:35.7593 1:40.8169 10 24 Beikoff 32:39.8764 1:39.2672 11 25 Hunt 32:40.3087 1:39.3108 6 26 5ieders 27 Emery 1^32:50.114 1:39.2907 4 28 Williams 32:50.8996 1:41.4001 6 29 Deane ●^33:01.0248 1:41.0827 6 30 Tanton 18 laps 1:44.0519 12 DNF Sharpe r 17 laps 1:40.1228 4 DNF Wakefield 7 laps 1:38.8256 5 DNF Papendell ^3 laps 1:44.4873 3 DNF Wyhoon 3 laps 1:41.0018 2

Points:

Macrow 2024, Price 1984, Perkins 1597, Caruso 1567, Pretty 1455, D'Alberto 1443, Porter 1423, Thompson 1376, Denyer 1,313, White 1272, Pither 1131, Wakefield 1101, Scott 1030, Evangelou 1005, McGill 861, Howard 853, Verdnik 851, La Delle 806, Clark 784, Hobson 761, Hunt 717, Youlden 703, McNally 678, Emery 671, Alajajian 634, Sharpe 627, O'Brien 615, Wanless 576, Loadsman 487, Sieders 470, Deane 441, Smith 439, Neville 423, Eggleston 388,5 Beikoff 364, J Beikoff 352, Pyne 337, Henderson 317, Wyhoon 314, D White 285, Stones 280, Jones 270, Gurr 254, Monte 227, Papendell 225, Tanton 165, Savage 1000, Hocking 76, B Falk 76, J Falk 36, Williams 25, Voight 24, Kelly 4.

motorsport news

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CARRERA CUP

The Kid and the Champ

Craig Baird won the 2006 Carrera Cup at Phillip Island, but David Reynolds turned heads andrew'van leeuwen

BOTH David Reynolds and Craig Baird did what they needed to do at the final round of the WPS Carrera Cup Championship at Phillip Island.

For Baird, the mission was to roll around, keep out of trouble, and amass the small amount of points needed to take out the 2006 title.

For Reynolds, it was to streak into the distance and jump into favouritism for next year's title.

Mission accomplished on both counts.

Reynolds's round-winning weekend started in fine form with pole position, pipping David Wall by a comfortable 0.2s.The Sonic driver obviously liked being at the front, so much so that he launched from pole and drove away from the field.

By the time Race 1 's 12 laps had been run, Reynolds was more than 3s ahead of second-placed Alex Davison, and had set a new lap record for good measure.

It worked so well that Reynolds did almost exactly the same thing in Races 2 and 3, lowering his new lap record again in the second.

"Last year I tried to win every race, this year it's happened," Reynolds smiled.

"It's capped off what's been a 60

really good year, well really good from Sandown on anyway.Those three bad rounds early in the year killed our chances of winning the title, but next year I want to show the big boys how to do it!"

Heading into the final round, the fight for the title was between Baird and Davison. And for the latter to take the title, he needed Baird to run into some bad luck.

It became obvious early that Baird wasn't taking any chances.

After qualifying third and jumping into second at the start of Race 1, the Kiwi found himself fending off a hard-charging 'Davo', who had come from sixth on the grid.

But Baird didn't fend for long, letting Davison go through

to second on Lap 4 and doing likewise with Davison's PCR team mates Wall and Jonathon Webb later in the race. Fifth was good enough for Race 1, and allowed Baird to wrap up the title with an even more conservative sixth in Race 2(David Russell the only change to the top five).

Baird turned up the wick again in the final, finishing third to wrap up his title-winning year.

"It made it easier that we came here with the lead,"said Baird after the third race.

"It meant we just had to roll around.

"It's been a tough championship all the way through,though, fighting with Alex. I guess it was in

the first five rounds that we made the break - after that we had a buffer and could settle everything down."

Wall was a stand-out throughout the weekend. After being the fastest PCR driver in qualifying, Wall came home third in Races 1 and 2, and looked to have as much car speed as Davison. Despite dropping to fifth in the final race he wrapped up the Michelin Rookie of the Year award.

Race 2 saw Rodney Jane end his run of 11 consecutive class wins in the TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge, with Tony Quinn making the most of jane's retirement. Not that it mattered in terms of the class standings, Jane having already secured himself a nice new watch.

The Phillip Island round also farewelled a couple of long standing competitors.

Porsche veteran Peter Fitzgerald was having his last run in the series, although it wasn't a very successful swansong,clashing with Jonathon Webb in Race 3.

Jim Richards didn't have a great finish to the season either, outbraking himself out of eighth place heading into the hairpin in the final race.

Final Points: Baird 1164, Davison 1099, Reynoids 1029, Richards 822, Webb 657, Russeli 633,Wali 564, Dean Fiore 471, Anthony Tratt 390,Jane 360.

motorsportnews

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Hot title battle at The Island John Martin is the 2006 Formula Ford Champion after a thrilling showdown at the final round THE final round of the Australian Formula Ford Championship was indicative of the entire season - close and unpredictable.

After three frantic races, Ashley Walsh took his maiden round win and John Martin took Spectrum's first championship since 1998.

Martin and Tim Slade went into the Phillip Island round separated by just three points, which became just one point after the pair finished third and fourth respectively in the opening race. It was fantastic preview of what was to come, with just 0.007s separating them at the finish line after a drag race out of the last corner.

It was Race 2 that shaped the Championship outcome. Slade landed the first blow by jumping Martin at the start, and even moved into second behind Walsh on the opening lap.

Scott was back through Slade within a couple of corners, at which point Slade's Sonic stablemate Tim Blanchard weighed into the battle by pressuring Martin for fourth place. But as much as Blanchard helped Slade for a couple of laps, he did him a notable disservice with four laps to go when he spun, making contact with Dale Wood and bringing out the Safety Car. Even with the field bunched up, Slade had sufficient car speed to streak away from Martin at the restart, but on the final lap it all changed.

At the front, Josh Scott and Walsh got together, forcing Slade to take evasive action.This allowed Martin to sneak through into the lead, which was followed quickly by Slade nudging Martin's Spectrum, dislodging his own nose cone and slipping back to eighth.

A cruising sixth in the final race was enough for Martin to wrap up both the title and the Rookie of the Year.

"It's been a strange season, but I'm really

happy,"said Martin.

"It means everything - if you look at the past winners,so many of them have gone on to bigger and better things. Hopefully now I'll go on to bigger and better things."

Slade was philosophical in defeat.

"I'm disappointed - I was looking so strong in Race 2,and then the Safety Car came out," he lamented.

"I had the pace, but there was an incident and I came off second best. But I've got a big year in the Fujitsu Series to look forward to."

Almost overshadowed by the excitement of the Championship was Walsh's round win.

After qualifying fourth, Walsh finished second behind runaway winner Scott in Race 1.

He looked set to take another top two finish in Race 2, however the crash with Scott relegated him to sixth. Walsh was a hard-charger in the final race, moving into the lead with a couple of laps to go and the holding out Blanchard for the race and round wins.

"It's good to break through," he said.

"A round win was the only thing I hadn't done this year, and it puts me in good stead for next season."

Todd Fiore had a quiet weekend, but was on the pace in all three races. Having cruised to seventh in the opening race, he made the most of the ScottAValsh/Slade debacle in Race 2 to sneak into third place behind Paul Laskazeski. Once up the front, Fiore stayed there, even leading the final race before slipping back behind Walsh and Blanchard in the closing stages. His two thirds were enough to claim that positiori for the round,and finish fourth in the championship.

-ANDREWVAN LEEUWEN Final Points: Martin 300,Slade 279,Walsh 229, Fiore 192, Blanchard 186.

ChampionsUohn Martin, Tim Siade and Ashiey Waish enjoy the moment on the Phiiiip island Podium,above. The Championship took a vital swing when Slade damaged his nosecone, below.

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The A1GP lads are getting pretty good at driving in the rain,as Team NZL proved in Indonesia THE Super Nova teams continue to dominate the A1GP Series, with stable-mates New Zealand and Germany scrapping it out at the front of the field at SentuI in Indonesia a fortnight go - but this time it was the All-Blacks turn to take victory.

For the second round in a row,torrential rain affected proceedings. And, like the previous round in Malaysia, Nico Hulkenberg was a master of the wet.The young German,pictured right, started the Feature race from P3, but by the end of the second lap had found away past pole-sitter Jonny Reid for the lead.

Once in front, Hulkenberg sprinted away, pulling 6s away from Reid in the next five laps.

It was the first round of stops that swung the momentum back in favour of New Zealand.The two teams spent a similar amount of time on pit-lane, however once back on the track, Reid put 62

the hammer down,lapping at more than a second faster that Hulkenberg on the drying track.

By lap 24 the gap was down to less than a second, and when Hulkenberg pitted on Lap 30 for slicks, Reid further turned up the wick. An extra three laps before his stop was enough to ensure the New Zealand team the lead and the Feature race win.

"It was not a straightforward race at all and the weather came

in and played a big part in that race," said Reid.

"After the start of the race I was struggling quite a lot and at the pitstop we made a change and the car was much, much better, as.you could see in the lap times.

I snatched back the lead and pushed hard to get a gap.We put a lot of push on at the end and I just got my head down."

Germany hung on for second place, while France's Nicolas

Lapierre made a late race move on Team Great Britain's Robbie Kerr to take the final podium place.

New Zealand's Feature race win capped off what was already a successful weekend for the Kiwis, having qualified on pole and won the Sprint race.The Sprint race was a lights-to-flag victory for Reid, however Mexico's Salvador Duran did his best to get into the lead in the closing laps. Kerr finished third.

A1 Team Australia and Ryan Briscoe had a quiet weekend.

Things looked promising in the Sprint race when Briscoe ran as high as fourth. He looked set to hold onto fifth in the finish, however Hulkenberg snuck through late in the race, relegating Briscoe to sixth.

The Australian squad came home 10th in the Feature Race.

Points; Germany 48,Great Britian 36, Mexico 34, France 32, New Zeaiand 31, (Australia 18).

motorsporinews

INTERNATIONAL

ROCing the house down

EVEN the world's best rally drivers have struggled to beat Sebastien Loeb in a Citroen WRC car in recent years,so it was with some surprise that DTM star Mattias Ekstrom did just that to claim the Race of Champions at Stade de France last weekend.

Ekstrom and Loeb met in the best-of-three final, the first heat of which was run using Citroen Xsara WRC cars.To the crowd's amazement, Ekstrom was first to the finish line. He wrapped up the series on the next run, dispatching of Loeb in the Renault Meganes.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to have won,"said the euphoric Swede.

"It's the best moment in my life. Better even than winning my DTM titie in 2004. And I'm especially proud to have beaten Loeb in his own car. I knew before that race that it would be tough and I just told myself to go for it. I didn't get off to a very good start but then the adrenalin kicked in and I fought back.

Unbelievable."

Ekstrom had a star-studded run to the final, advancing through

the racing drivers semi-final at the expense of Formula 1's latest Finn Heikki Kovalainen. He then met Champ Car Champion Sebastien Bourdais in the final, and while the Frenchman seemed to be keeping up with Ekstrom, he struck a barrier on the final lap.

Loeb's run to the Grand Final was just as tough. Rally Raider Nani Roma was a surprise threat to the home-town hero, leading him to the half-way point before falling behind in the late stages of the quarter-final. Loeb knocked out American Travis Pastrana in the semi-final before edging out Colin McRae in the rally driver's final.

Not so surprisingly,the Nations Cup went the way of Finnish pairing Kovalainen and Marcus Gronholm.They met Team USA in the final, which was being represented solely

by Pastrana after his two team mates Jimmie Johnson and Scott Speed withdrew. Pastrana was impressive on his run to the final, but went down 2-1 in the final to the dynamite Finnish duo.

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Gives you wings;" Ekstrom surprised the 51,000fans by upstaging their locai hero, main pic. The Finnish super-squad of Kovalainen/Gronholm,top, usurped a valient effortfrom a one-man American team,above.

'IVi

Murcott heads SRA ALBERT Park's David Murcott finished strongly to win Round 4 of the Eureka Garages and Sheds Super Sprint Series Fireball Derby at Avalon last weekend.

Murcott was in ominous form early, winning the opening qualifying heat and then backing that up with a third place in his final heat race to start the feature event from position two alongside four-time SRA champ Matthew Reed.

Reed was faultless early in the final until the final 10 laps when he encountered slower cars. It was then Murcott and the current SRA Series leader and Champion John Vogels who pounced and went on to fill the first two places in the A-Main from Reed.

It was Murcott's second feature race at Avalon this season from as many starts, and the regular World Series Sprintcar driver said the lapped traffic did help him in his final run to the checker.

"It was a great battle with Matty Reed and Johnny Vogels here at our local track, it was one of those races where you had to be patient with the lapped cars," Murcott said.

"We were set up for the right end of the race, although it took us a bit longer to get going than i expected."

South Australian driver Steven Lines was solid,finishing fourth, but the drive of the night went to Warmambool's Jamie Veal, who won the B-Main and started the final from thirteenth and finished fifth.

Also making the slick track work was South Australian Wayne Rowett, who raced from 11th to claim sixth.

42 Sprintcars packed the Avalon pits, including seasoned campaigners Ryan Farrell of Western Australia, South Australian speedster Luke Dillon and Northern Territory's Danny Reidy.

Vogels still leads the series from Brett Miiburn, Steven Lines, Mike Van Bremen and Jamie Veal.

The next round of the SRA Super Sprint Series will be at Avalon on Boxing Night and with Nyora Raceway scheduled for the following evening.

■ The rider line-up for the 2007 Australian Motorcycle Speedway Title has been finalised to include Jason Crmup, Leigh Adams, Scott Nicholls, Simon Stead, Troy Batchelor, Steve Jonston, Chris Holder, Jason Doyle, Rory Schlein,Travis McGowan, Cameron Woodward and Mark Lemon.

-GEOFF ROUNDS/STAFF 64

Madsen keeps on winning KERRY Madsen has fast become the man to beat at the Parramatta City Raceway with the now Knoxville(USA) based Aussie star picking up his third Parramatta Sprintcar victory in a row.

Madsen's Cool Sprintcarjumped from position five at the green and simply drove around the outside to take the race winning lead into Turn 2 on the opening lap, going on to score an unchallenged win from Troy Little, with younger brother Ian Madsen finishing a very impressive third.

Parramatta track champ Trevor Green looked like he might give Madsen a bit of a shake-up and was

running in a solid second place, but on lap 10 an incident with Troy Little resulted in Green spinning out. Green was able to restart from the rear and stormed back to pick up ninth at the checker.

Rounding out the top six places were Ken Sartori, Craig Brady and James Thomson. Unlucky Mark Blyton, who had moved up into fifth position late in the race suffered a flat tyre and was forced back to finish 10th. Adrian Maher was another to have problems,and after running as high as fourth he also dropped down finishing back in 14th position.

-GREG BOSCATO

Farrell on top down south RYAN Farrell has further proven that he is the King of Western Australian Sprintcar racing by winning the Sprintcar Summer Cup at Bunbury Speedway a fortnight aog.

In doing so, Farrell extended his lead In the AHG series.

"Both I and the team seem to have turned a new leaf so far this season and we are going great guns right now," declared Farrell as he received his victor's trophy.

"The track was demanding tonight. In the past we may have overdriven on conditions like this, however we held it together well tonight.That said,there is always an element of luck out there. Lapped traffic in particular was a real handful."

Since the season kicked off American import Brock Mayes hasn't really shown the potential that has been promised, but tonight the light started shine bright with a second placed podium position.

Shaun Bradford put in a brilliant driver in his 360 to charge from fourteenth to third and claimed the last podium spot.

- DARREN SUTTON

motorspoitnews

SPEEDWA 4T

Max the Tasmanian Tiger WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

round 6-latrobe result:jJWSS ROUND 6(30 LAPS)

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DRIVER

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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Max Dumensy Jason Johnson Garry Brazier Mitchell Dumesny Daniel Morton Jason Redpath David Murcott Anthony Sargent Gerry Hoekstra James McFadden Phillip Woodberry Allan Haynes Anthony Johns Tim Austin Kurt Luttrell Adrian Redpath Mark Grovsenor Luch Monte

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The World Series Sprintcars hit Tasmania's Mountain Dew ice International Speedway a fortnight ago and round 6 was the first night on the agenda.

A total of 15 Tasmanians were pitted against 13 mainland cars, setting up a mouth-watering field for the big crowd that turned out.

The multiple Australian and World Series champion Max Dumesny proved he is always a force to be reckoned with storming to victory. Setting quicktime and then transferring high in both heats saw Dumesny start the A-Main from the front row, along side former Tasmanian David Murcott.

The A-Main hadn't started when there was the first red light stoppage for a bizarre event. While completing the

front straight pass for the four wide salute Tasmanian champion Adrian Redpath got squeezed between David Murcott and Northern Territorian Mark Grovsenor, resulting in Redpath spinning to the infield.

Officials deemed he would be allowed to make repairs on the infield prior to the race being started.

Dumesny trailed Murcott to begin the A-Main, yet quickly chased him down and passed with ease as the two started to hit lapped traffic. From there it was plain sailing for Dumesny, executing passing moves to perfection on his way to another World Series victory.

Finishing second was a rampant Jason Johnson, who started four rows back in the A-Main and blasted through the field.

American Hero

RESULT*IVJSS ROUND 7(30 LAPS) POS

WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

round 7-latrobe THE Seventh round of the World Series Sprintcars through up a surprise visitor in the form of former Australian champion Kerry Madsen, but it wasn't enough to stop Jason Johnson take maximum points.

Johnson showed he meant business by setting quick-time, following which he got straight back to the pit area to make set up changes, not waiting around for the infield interview.

Madsen, meanwhile, was driving for Tasmanian Robin Dawkins'team and finished second in time trials. After a small hiccup in heat races, he started the main event from the

front alongside Max Dumesny.

Madsen charged to the lead early, overtaking Dumesny after a handful of laps. Following that, he and Johnson put on one of the greatest battles seen this year, dicing through lapped traffic.

Johnson slowly reigned in Madsen and moved in for the pass as the race came down

Driving the Q6, Garry Brazier finished in third with Mitchell Dumesny and Daniel Morton rounding out the top five.

-DAMON KINGSHOTT

to the wire. With only a couple of laps remaining,Johnson made the inside move, beating Madsen in the drag race down the back straight.

Johnson went on to record victory ahead of an unlucky Madsen, with Dumesny, Garry Brazier and Mitchell Dumesny filling the top five spots.

- DAMON KINGSHOTT

NUMBER

1 ■ U5 2 T21 3 Liii 4 Q6 5 5m 6 NTS 7 Hi NT20 9 !8 10 T9 11 Hi 12 NT69 13 N98 14 Q18 15 16 T45 17 18 V91

DRIVER

Jason Johnson Kerry Madsen _ Max Dumensy Garry Brazier Mitchell Dumesny Danny Reidy Jason Dawkins James McFadden __ Daniel Morton Jamie Cobby Steve Bricknell Mark Grovsenor _ Phillip Woodberry David Muir Phill Coates Kurt Luttrell __ Tim Hutchins David Murcott

ChampionshjI?' Points: Jason Johnson 4055, Max Dumesny 4045,Garry Brazier 3785, David Murcott 3234,Danny Reidy 2739, Dan Morton 2255, Aian Haynes 2208, Mitchell Dumesny 1963.

HoosierTire Australia

WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS 2006/07 CHAMPIONSHIP

Australian Distributors for

Round 5-Mountain Dew Ice Speedway - LaTrobe,TAS

Xoo$trr

^¤ RACING TIRE ^or more info on Hoosier Drag &Speedway Tyres call: F0296791187 NSW: 0296791990 F0393317444 VIC: 0393316477 F0883640296 SA: 0883320800

www.mnews.com.au

Points as of 10 December,2006

I

Arend to Worsham FUNNY Car driver Jeff Arend has joined Worsham Racing and the Checker Schuck's Kragen Funny Car team for 2007.

Arend will be the driver of the team's blue car, replacing Phil Burkart Jr, who piloted the blue CSK machine for more than three seasons.

Arend began racing Funny Cars professionally in 1995,and has one career victory on his record (Maple Grove, 1996.) He has spent much of his career driving for legendary tuner and car owner Paul Smith, but did join the CSK team for one race in 2006, when he drove the team's special edition Murray's car in St. Louis.

■ Cruz Pedregon Racing has announced that Wayne Dupuy has joined the Advance Auto Parts Racing Funny Car team as crew chieffor the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season.

Dupuy,43, brings a lifetime of tuning experience to the Pedregon operation. He first assumed the role of crew chief on an alcohol-powered dragster. A year later, he graduated to the elite ranks of Top Fuel racing, where he worked the bottom end of the dragsters of NHRA legends Connie Kalitta and Gene Snow.

■ Sydney-based drag racers Dennis and Jeff Gatt recently unveiled their latest Super-Charged Outlaws, below, in support of under-priviledged youth at the annual Mirror Finnish Metal Polishing Charity show at Hoxton Park in Sydney.

Formerly Competition Eliminator racers, the team have stepped up to Super-Charged Outlaws with the purchase of the ex-US-based Funny Car of Dick Spencer.

The long-time Altered lovers teamed up with chassis legend Alan Odgers and paint-ace Les Butler to morph the car into their idea of the today's cutting-edge Altered.

With the support of new sponsors Sydney Speed Supplies the Gatts hope to have the car race-ready for the 2007 Summer Nationals at WSID in February.

WESCO ready to run

?ommie'Steve Read gets late call up with new team for Boxing Day duel AUSTRALIA'S newest Top Fuel team,Team WESCO, has hit the track and will make its debut at the Western Sydney International Raceway in the Boxing Day NitroThunder event on December 26-27.

Due to mechanical issues during Team WESCO's first run, driver Mark Masini failed to secure his Top Fuel licence. It has forced the team to hire the services of experienced drag racer Steve Read for the Boxing Day event next weekend.

Read will drive the ex-Santo/ Joe Amato Top Fueller in Team WESCO's first Top Fuel race.

"I think Steve is a very experienced driver,"WESCO team owner John Masini told MNews.

"We want the team to be out there and we want to promote the team and our sponsors in front of all the Sydney fans. We want to have an impact.

"It was a shame that Mark didn't get his licence, but these things happen in motor racing. We are learning by this experience. All due credit must go to our team who got the car out there. It's been a tough process to get the car to where we are, and we are looking forward to the Boxing Day meeting."

Masini admitted that its been a slow process to get the

Fueller ready for its debut and there is no expectation on the team or Read for any result.

"Honesty, I hope the guys have a good time and put on a good show for the fans," he said.

"I want Top Fuel to be a great sport in Australia, and i want to see eight top level cars do battle."

Second-generation racer Mark Masini will now concentrate on securing his licence after the Boxing Day meeting.

His licence test at WSID last week,pictured above, was a difficult one.

The team needed to do two full runs, but mechanical woes prevented that from happening "We had a few teething problems. We had a throttle cable stuck in the first launch.

In the second launch, the cable snapped.

"Santo and Read helped us get back on the track, and Mark did a 1.1 s to the 60 foot mark at lOOmph."

Even though the car ran strongly during its one and only run, it wasn't enough for Mark to be granted his licence.

Also testing a Top Fuel at WSID was Jim Read Racing.The Read team were getting some pre-Boxing Day miles on the car that expat-Aussie Dave Grubnic will drive.

-GRANT ROWLEY

motorsportnews

DRAG RACING

Schumacher's'Down to Wire'title How The Sarge wentfrom zero to hero in the second half ofthe 2006 NHRATop Fuel season

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HILETony Schumacher's drive to the 2006 NHRA POWERadeTop Fuel championship was nothing short of miraculous, his dominance over Doug Kalitta in head-tohead racing in the second half of the season was clearly the deciding factor when the final drag race of the season came to a thrilling, and seemingly impossible conclusion.

Sitting back in eighth place after 10 events into the season, having just eight round wins in the first half and 336 points out of the lead, Schumacher began his climb toward the top.

It wasn't that Schumacher's car struggled for performance - he low qualified at six of those first 11 events - but lost in the opening round in five of those events and bowed out in the second round at four.The U.S. Army team was kept out of the final round for the entire first half of the season.

At this point in the season, Schumacher's team-mate Melanie Troxel was enjoying a stellar year.

Troxel had a 210 point lead over sixth-placed Kalitta after the fifth event. She started the year with seven final-round showings in the

first 10 events and took 27 round wins, but Kalitta started to gain ground,then trailing her by just 24 points.

Then the tour visited St. Louis, where the Schumacher team roared to life. He won the event and begun his unbelievable climb to the top. Before the St. Louis event, Schumacher was defeated

by Kalitta both times that the pair had faced each other in head-to-head competition. After St. Louis, Schumacher stopped Kalitta in Denver and Sonoma, and had shrunk his points lead to 126. By the time the tour rolled into Brainerd, Schumacher had reached five straight finals and collected two wins along the way.

Kalitta was able to defeat Schumacher in Memphis, but'The Sarge'claimed his fifth Indy title, and was closing the points gap in a hurry, cutting the deficit to 54.

Schumacher claimed another win in Las Vegas, again stopping Kalitta during final eliminations and headed to Pomona 45 points shy from the lead.

Troxel was now far out of the picture and struggling. She collected a mere nine round wins during the second half. What she

1 ufimm

There can only be one winner:Doug Kalitta, above,lost the title on the very last race of the year to Tony Schumacher, below. was able to do, was help her team mate lock up a title by derailing Kalitta twice during the last four events on the schedule.

Heading into the final event, Kalitta still enjoyed a seemingly safe, but not out-of-reach lead in the standings. Kalitta top qualified, with Schumacher ending up second. Both Schumacher and Kalitta advanced through the first two rounds and headed into the semis. Schumacher was able to stop Brandon Bernstein, but Kalitta fell to Troxel, setting up an all-DSR racing final, with

Schumacher needing to win the event and establish a new elapsed time record to collect his thirdconsecutive and fourth overall NHRA title. It seemed impossible.

Crew Chief Alan Johnson supplied a tune-up that propelled the U.S. Army dragster to the win and the 5.428s pass to set the record and deny Kalitta the 2006 POWERade title by just 14 points.

Schumacher only held the lead once during 2006 campaign, but it was the only time that being the points leader really mattered ...

-DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

I

I

1 1

NATIONAL SCENE Edited by Andrew van Leeuwen

Female drivers and dirt dwellers THE participants for the 2007 CAMS Rally and Women's Driver Development Programs have been selected following a self-nomination process.

The drivers who are deemed to be the most promising in the two fields will now attend two specialist training camps at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

The Women's program will include Queensland karters Victoria Whitiey and Jessica Golding, New South Wales rally driver Molly Taylor and Victorian rally driver Kira Douglas.

On the rally program will be Paul Batten, Glen Raymond and Brendan Reeves from Victoria, Mitchell Hall from South Australia and Brendon Thomas from New South Wales.

"We received a large number of applications for both programs this year and after much deliberation we selected those who we believe to be the cream of young and up and coming rally and female competitors in Australia,"said CAMS Member Services and Development Manager Quentin Crombie.

"We are hopeful that these competitors will become regulars on the international stage in the foreseeable future."

The AIS camps will be held in March next year. n Targa Tasmania is set to receive a major facelift with 25 percent of the 2006 course being altered for 2007.

The new-look Targa will include 11 major stage changes or new additions, six of which form part of the first leg.

The most notable alterations are the new-for-2007 evening stage around Hobart's Royal Botanical Gardens, and a visit to the competitive run through the Beaconsfield mining town.

"Not since Targa Tasmania's 10th anniversary in 2000 has the course changed this dramatically,"said Event Director Mark Perry.

"This course takes in some of the world's most challenging tarmac rally roads as well as branching out to parts of our beautiful island currently untouched by the event."

So far 221 nominations have been received for next year's Targa, with the early favourites Jim Richards in his new Turbo Porsche, local hero Jason White in his Lamborghini and V8 Supercar veteran Tony Longhurst.

68

Tell your Storey walking

ROBERT Storey is set to rejoin the New South Wales Formula Ford Championship with Anglo Australian Motorsport in 2007.

The son ofTasman Motorsport Engineer Wally Storey will campaign a brand new 2007-spec Spirit chassis in next year's state series, a return as such following his part-campaign in 2004.This time it will be a full assault on the championship, with a deal done to contest the entire series.

"It's a big relief to have my 2007' plans sorted,"said Storey.

"It's a relief to know that I'll be doing a full program, and to know

how committed the team are to seeing me do well."

Storey may even contest some of the rounds of the 2007 National Formula Ford Championship, with the new Spirit chassis easily transferred to Duractec power.

"That would be ideal, especially to give me some miles on tracks like Symmons Plains and Phillip IslancJ, but it will depend on engine availability and how much money we've got at the end of next year."

Regardless of whether Storey competes in the Australian Championship in 2007, he has

definitely set his sights on the national stage in 2008 and beyond.

"The plan is to do well next year, so I can go into the National series in 2008 and do well there," he said.

"And then the plan is to pick up a Development Series drive in V8 Supercars, and with Tasman becoming involved in the Fujitsu Series with Greg Murphy Racing, there is now a good path that I can try to take."

Storey is set to drive the Spirit for the first time early January at Wakefield Park.

-ANDREWVAN LEEUWEN

Rising Stars readyto shine SCOTT Pye and Daniel Erickson have been chosen as the CAMS state level Rising Star drivers for 2007.

After an on-track evaluation at Mallala and an Australian Institute of Sport camp in Canberra, Pye (16)and Erickson (19) were drafted to steer the program's Formula Fords in state level competition next year.

"The four entry-level drivers acquitted themselves superbly which made the decision extremely difficult. Flowever, taking all factors Into account, we believe that we have selected the two drivers most capable of racing successfully at state

Erickson level in 2007"said Quentin Crombie from CAMS. Leigh Nicolaou and Robert Munnerley will continue to be part ofthe 2007 squad.

At national level,Joshua Scott, Kristian Lindbom and Ashley Walsh will contest the 2007 Australian Formula Ford Championship as part of the Rising Star program.

motorsport news

NATIONAL SCENE

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THE inaugural running of the VACC Charity Karting Challenge has been deemed a success * - for many reasons, but none no more than the i fact that IVlotorsport News took victory!

Tasman A/lotorsport V8 Supercar star Jason Richards, Phoenix karter Matthew Mayes and this journalist took a convincing win ahead of five other teams, comprising! a V8 Supercar dttver, a sprint kart iracer and a media representative.

Five V8 drivers and one NASCAR driver made I the trek to VACC Park in Port Meibourne, ail in aid ! of raising: funds for the Peter Brock Foundation^ The cha rity event was held on the Wednesday before the last round of the V8 Championship Series at Phiiiip island two weeks ago. Even though the season had one final race to go; you i eou'ld already telli that the V8 stars were letting; their hair down.

Marcos Ambrose was one of the celebrity drivers involved; and; while he didn't have racing duties at fhe ilslandi he relished his iirst opportunityin a Rotax-powered kart.

"It was great to get back to my roots and have my first drive of a kart in a long; time," said Ambrose.

"It felt like my young days ail over again and t had an absolute ball out there. I've never driven a Rotax-powered kart before but I picked it up and had a blast running around.

"It was a great atmosphere between the V8 guys and the karters and media. These karters are the Stars of the future and have a heap of talent, it showed."

To spark up a bit of media interest, Marcos Joined former rival Greg Murphy to 'bury the hatchet'for a photo opportunity. The last time these two spoke was atThe Cutting; at the end www.mnews.com.au

of the 2005 Supercheap Auto 1000, with fingers pointing and strong words exchanged!

The organisers sent the duo out for a couple of 'demo'ilaps for the television' cameras, and what do you know, they had an accident! Harmless fun, or just that competitive spirit flowing,?

In terms of laps times, the six fulhtime karters finished Inside the top seven; with reigning Bathurst Champion Jamie Whincup quickly getting back to his fast old ways by setting the fourth fastest time.

Phoenix duo AndrewiMercuiikan|i MattiHayefJ were first and>secondifrom Arrow'driveritiu'ke Ellery, Whincup, Jason Pringle, David Sera and karting stalwart Darren Hossack. Whincup is a two-time Australian CIK Kartinglehampion #998-|999jV Richards was the best of the rest; from Ambrose, Dean Canto, Jason Bargwanna and Murphy.

Mercuri; who recently wons two state titles In Tasmania, was glad to be the fastest, despite missing out on the main silverware.

"It has been a really good couple of weeks," said Hayes.

"To take two state titles In Hobart a couple of weeks ago was really good and to take out this event is icing on the cake.

"It was great to talk with all theVS drivers andi hear the stories they were telling about their karting days.1 think they really appreciate that karting is where it all started for them and we are now trying our best to followiin their footsteps."

The VACC-supported event Is set to become a regular end-of-season feature, and MNews will be doing its level best to return and defend its crown!

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Meanwhile, Marcos and Murph iburled!theihgtchet:over:ajRotax,

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69

izzling hot titles in Adelaide Antonucci Rubbed!

THE new Formula A World Champion, Tony Kart's Francesco Antonucci, has been excluded from the results.

Antonucci and three other drivers were rubbed from the results after video evidence surfaced showing they had altered their karts illegally prior to the start of the wet world championship final. The amended result hands Davide Fore yet another world title.

An appeal from Tony Kart failed to get Antonucci reinstated, meaning Fore heads off to rival manufacturer Maranello carrying the Number One.

WITH forecasted Saturday temperatures well into the 40s, the City of Adelaide Titles at Bolivar two weeks ago was cut back to a one day event.

Junior National and senior Clubman 'Pro'races were features of the event with first prizes of $500 and $1000 respectively.

After a break from racing due to schooling, Bryan Adams(Omega) won the junior prize, crossing the line ahead of Scott Kissock and Ross Miller. Adams also won Junior National Heavy in front of Rohan Booth and Kissock, all three now ready to hit the senior ranks in 2007.

Mathew Panella (Arrow) won the senior feature over Kevin Millard and Chris Fathers.

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CoATitles also went to Jake Cole (Midgets), Rhys Newman (JNL), Jesse Batson (Junior Clubman), Ben Edward (TaG Light), Danny Errigo (TaG Heavy), Aaron Wilamowski (Sportsman),

n With Fore now out of the picture, who will take his place at Tony Kart?

Recently retired from FI, Michael Schumacher has been testing with the team in Italy. Schumacher was reportedly using the new 2007125cc KF1 engine as he completed a full day of work at Lonato.

Titles dose season

■ Queensland junior karter Nicholas Foster has been given the allclear to get back behind the wheel.

Foster broke his collarbone during practice for the South Australian championships but is now ready to start testing for January's Trophy of New Zealand CIK meeting.

■ The electric start Yamaha KT100SEC motor has been approved for use in all the Clubman classes in 2007.

The motor is essentially the same engine already used in Clubman, but includes a new dry-clutch arrangement and all the necessary hardware for TaG style racing. Yamaha currently has an exchange program in place swapping the earlier wet-clutch over to the new dry clutch at no charge.

■ The 2007 SA festival State Cup is set for a format shake-up, with a proposal being put forward to split the series into two groups.

■ Next year's Leopard series will once again have two cars up for grabs for the winners of the Light and Heavy classes.

Additionally, five Australians wiil be eligible to compete in the 2008 lAME Leopard World Final in Italy.

The chosen drivers will be selected from the Australian final, as well as a 'loyalty' slot to someone who has supported all rounds of their state series.

-MARK WICKS 70

Ethan Hussein (Rookies), Jed Stojakovic (SNL), Chris Fathers (Clubman Light), Michael Cross (Clubman Heavy) and Darryl Tolmer(Over 40s).

-MARK WICKS

THE Victorian season concluded with the Vic Closed Titles at Swan Hill earlier this month. ●< The meeting saw quite a number ofjuniors make their first competitive senior outings as they prepare for next year. Leigh H\co\aou,pictured below, was one such driver, qualifying fastest in Clubman Light and winning a heat before having to settle for second to Trent James in the final.

James,inset picture, was a double winner, picking up the Formula 100 title as well. He came under pressure from Dominic Albanese in the heats, however Albanese was sidelined In the final. Wins also went to Ross Gathercole (Over 40s), Aaron Johnstone (JNH), Kyle Bell (Rotax Heavy), Cameron Waters (Rookies), Jordan Ford (Junior Clubman), Matthew Smith (Midgets), Lachlan Stewart(SNL), Lee Mitchener (Clubman Heavy) and Zeke Edwards (JNL).

-MARK WICKS ■D

Aussie Invasion at Rotax Max

Record number of Oz karters in 2007 AUSTRALIA will send six drivers to the 2007 Rotax MAX Challenge World Final.

Three juniors and three seniors will be selected from various state series in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, plus the Rotax Nationals (to be held at Ipswich) where karters from other states may receive assistance to attend. The dates and venues for the state series will be announced over the coming weeks.

This wiil be the most drivers Australia has had at a World Final since the inaugural running of the MAX Challenge in Puerto Rico in 2000. Despite three Aussies competing in the event this year, only one (junior driver David Whitfield) qualified via racing in Australia.

The 2007 final will take place at Al Ein in the United Arab Emirates next November.

-MARK WICKS

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motorsponnews

NATIONAL SCENE

PAUL Stubber smoked the opposition during the final round of the Historic Touring Cars at Philip Island.

Three wins from as many starts and a new lap record signed off a perfect weekend for the 2006 Champion.

"We came into the round as Champions,so we had nothing to lose and went out to have some fun in a category where the cars are the real show. And to come away with three race

wins and the lap record was great,"Stubber said.

Drifting sideways throughout the weekend did not slow Stubber down. He passed Steve Mason on the final corner to claim Race 1 victory. Fellow Camaro runner Alastair McLean was fortunate enough to finish the race in third after returning to the pits with a bone-dry fuel tank.

Stubber made an ambitious move in the name offun to

start Race 2 from the rear of the grid. Gavin Bullas and McLean made his work easier when the pair ran off on the opening lap at Southern Loop. Mason held onto the lead for the large part, but out-braked himself heavily at Honda hairpin.

But so did Stubber, who had stormed through to second place. Stubber then gathered himself up and went on to win from Mason andTrevorTalbot (Torana XU1).

The final 10-lap race was a spectacle filled with smoke as Stubber continued his drifting around the Island. McLean did lead the race momentarily, but he ventured off course and handed the race lead back to Stubber.Tony Hunter(Chev Camaro)took his turn in trying to find a way past Stubber, couldn't find a way through, finishing a close second.

McLean recovered to third.

- AARON SHAW

Panel Beaters delight at Winton endure PANEL beaters will have no shortage of business following the annual HQ 4-hour at Winton two weeks ago.

There was not a straight HQ in sight, and one wouidn't expect to find such a rarity, especially after four hours of racing.

Victors Wayne King and Gavin Porteous dominated, leading for more than half the race distance. They gave spectators a scare in the remaining laps, where their lead was cut from 18s to a mere 6s when four hours and 125 laps were completed.The duo also brought home the straightest car of the weekend.

Behind them mayhem unfolded, with several incidents bringing upon the wrath of stewards.

Time penalties were handed out in due course as a result of speeding in pit-lane and incidents under Safety Car conditions.

But as with any endurance race you would be hard pressed not to find a hard-luck story, and there were a fair few of them.The fastest car of the weekend driven by Australian Saloon Car Champion Bruce Heinrich and Neil Corey endured electrical gremlins during the first half

of the event, and then copped a one-minute penalty for an on-track incident with a Wog Boys Racing car.

Early leaders Michael Fitzgerald and Rob Whyte suffered a fuel pick-up problem, yet they drove a spirited comeback that saw them finish second.Their yellow 77 HQ sped away in the early stages of the race, and if not for the mechanical issue they looked a certain winner.

A similar fuel problem plagued the combination of Stephen Whyte and Martin Doxy.The duo ran third until the final lap of the first two hour session when their HQ came to a sudden stop, only two corners away from meeting the first chequered flag. From then onwards their race went backwards and they failed to finish.

Third place belonged to the combination of Phillip Aitkin and Brendan Avard.They fell behind during the pitstops after leading the early stages of the race. Lap traffic didn't cause them any problems as they executed their passes cleanly.

-AARON SHAW 77

/

National Champions2006

By Andrew van Leeuwen & Grant Rowley

Greener(and golder)pastures m

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YOUNG Briton Ben Clucas took a big risk in 2006,leaving his homeland to tackle Australian Formula 3 in the hope of reaching V8 Supercars.

But it was a risk that paid off, Clucas dominating the Gold Star, wrapping up the title with races to spare.

"It's been a great year,"said Clucas.

I came to Australia not knowing really what to expect but obviously our aim was to hopefully try to win the championship. Now that we have achieved that it's a great feeling.

'The guys at Team BRM and my car owner James Rosenberg have all been fantastic, and I'm really glad to have won the championship

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together with them this year.

"The Gold Star is a very prestigious award and I'm really happy to win it - it's great to be included with all the great names that have won it in the past.To win it in the 50th anniversary year makes it even more special.

"The wet race at Phillip Island (Race 1, Round 3) still stands out as being the highlight of the season. It was a tough race because we got the drive-through penalty for the start and I had so much adrenaline running through my body when I got back on track.To come back as we did and win the race by three-one thousands was the best feeling I have ever had in a race car."

VIP:Very Important Paul

Historically Speaking PAUL Slubber likes having fun and winning, and in 2006, he did both.

"This year has been a whole load of fun, especially in Tasmania at Symmons Plains," he said.

"The whole trip, the flight and the drive in the truck with a few close mates was one of the most enjoyable weekends this year. We picked up the championship victory there along with a lap record, which was great as well.

72

"The season itself was up and down.

"We came to Phillip Island to really put on a show. We set a new lap record in the opening race and then for the second race we decided to start from the rear of the grid to have some fun.The win wasn't the priority, but to take the win on the final corner was pretty cool.

For the final, we added to the atmosphere with tyre smoke."

As for next year, watch out for Paul at the Dubai 24-hour.

PAUL Kemal faced some Stiff competition in this year's Aussie Racing Car Series, but come the final round the'veteran'of the little racers was on top of the tree.

Kemal started the season in fine form, winning the opening round at the Clipsal 500.

A short drought followed. before Kemal found the top step of the podium again at Oran Park for Round 4. He won again at Sandown, but ninth place at the penultimate round Bathurst at Bathurst left him trailing Nick Percat.

But reversed fortunes for the leading pair on the Gold Coast handed Kemal his second ARC title.

"I've been in this game for a long time and all it takes is one slight mishap and you're back in it," said Kemal of the title deciding round.

"That's just because of the way our points system works,so I just went out and did my own thing and hoped for the best.

"It's different winning the series

PaulRema/

this time. We're more of a national category now, with so many cars and everyone recognises us. When I won it before it was pretty much the first year and it was mostly New South Wales."

molorsportnews

NATIONAL SCENE

Z-Man on the double

Sport Sedans:Bean Randle

Randle with care IN 2006, Dean Randle secured his first Sport Sedan crown since his Victorian series victory in 1998.

But the season wasn't all smooth sailing.

His season highlight came in Race 1 at Phillip Island. He diced hard with Darren Hossack and pipped him on the last lap.

His season lowlight came in the very next race when he was involved in a clash with Daniel Tamasi. "it was devastating," Randle said.

"Knowing that I was in good shape for the series, 1 thought there was no way we were going to rebuild the car. After I got out

of hospital, the boys and I all met and decided it could be fixed.

"We finished rebuilding the car on the Thursday morning before Oran Park. I finished second, and won the last race. Everyone in our team was so pumped."

Randle also mentioned that one of his season highlights was the final round at Oran Park.The Sport Sedan field saw 21 entries roll up, giving the series some hope of a bigger and better 2007.

"It looked as good as any race meeting," he said.

"The future is looking good.

Kerrick has signed on to support the series again, and without them there wouldn't be a series."

i GARRY Holt finally : got the Australian ' Performa nce Ca r Championship he has been yearning for in 2006, but it didn't come easy.

"Over the last three years ! we've had a third and two seconds, so we've been close, but it's good to win. the Championship,"he said.

"That was the aiwii to try and win it. We've had a good year. but a couple of terrible rounds.

'My approach hasn't really I changed; we drove hard* when we had'to'drive hard. Wehad^ a^ lot of stop-go penalties

PerfotmaiKe Can: Garry Holt

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11

when we didn't deserve stopgo.penalties - because the way we start the car, it shudders but things like that, and it's pretty disheartening when you get a good start, are in the lead and then get a stop-go penalty.

"The reality bigi surprise, really where we moved forward, was Eastern Creek. We weren't expected to win there.

'Symmons Plains was just the worst round; one of those to forget about."

;

WAY back in 1992,a bloke by the name of Mark Skaife won a couple of championships in the same year.

And 2006, Marcus Zukanovic has done the same.

OK,so Zukanovic didn't quite win the Austraiian Driver's Championship and the Australian Touring Car Championship simultaneously like Skaife did, but winning both the V8 Ute Championship and the Commodore Cup in one year isn't a bad effort at all.

"To tackle two championships like that; it takes a good team,"said Zukanovic.

"They need to prepare two good cars, sometimes on the same weekend,so it's a massive job.

"Racing two categories on one weekend works in your favour, really. I used to hit the track in the Ute before the Commodore Cup boys got to have a go,so I already had laps before I got in the Commodore.

Especially when the cars are reasonably similar in terms of set-up, you can jump from one to the other and drive quickly.

"Looking back, I probably would have liked a few more round wins in Utes. I only won one round,obviously I can't complain because 1 won the championship, but there were times when I had the speed,I just probably lost out on set up and tyre longevity with it being a brand new BF Falcon.

"The Commodore was really quick and really consistent, which was what won me that

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championship. And the Ute was good once we got on top of it speed wise, to win Indy was especially good.

"The year I did in the development series in 2004 was a big learning step, and what it did was teach me a lot for when I stepped back into Utes and Commodore Cup. So my level of driving came right up, and the extra race miles and reverse grid races in utes gave me a bit more racecraft and maturity, which will help me next year when I head back to V8 Supercars."

Zukanovic refers to his impending return to the Fujitsu Series, where he will tackle the 2007 Championship in an ex-GarthTander Commodore.

Is he looking forward to it?

"1 am pumped, mate, I cannot wait!'

National Champions2006

By Andrew van Leeuwen & Grant Rowley

Good or Bruce does it again BEING the inaugural year of the Australian Saloon Car Championship, Bruce Heinrich was motivated more than ever to be the first to be crowned Australian Saloon Car Champion.

With the later model cars being approved by CAMS for 2006,and the calibre of competition,the chase for the title was always going to be a huge challenge.

"Having fought hard to win the 2005 Saloon Car National Series and the chance of being the 2006 Australian Champion, I was determined to not surrender the number one plate without a fight," Heinrich said.

It was a dominating year for Heinrich.

Out of the 21 races, Heinrich won nine of the races,finished second nine times.

Bruce Heffnrich a ninth, a 12th and a mechanical related DNF. Heinrich's fiercest rival came from fellow Falcon AU driver Kris Walton.The pair diced hard,especially in the later part of the season,and even right up until the final race.

"Kris Walton and I headed the field and raced door handle-to door handle at nearly every round," he said.

"It was very enjoyable to race Kris throughout the year and eventually take the title at the final round at Eastern Creek."

AJ

Crick goes quick r

GREG Crick and his Viper took it to the Porches in 2006.

"It was a good year, very enjoyable,"said Crick.

"We enjoy it, I've got a couple of guys from the service department who actually prepare the car, and they do a great job, so it's enjoyable for them and it's enjoyable for me, it's a real team effort.

"The Viper's surprisingly good to drive, it's quite balanced, but it doesn't have ABS so we lack on the Porsches a bit of cold tyres or when it's damp. It's obviously a lot heavier than the Porsches, so you've got to drive wide, sweeping lines to cope with the weight, so it's different. It's a terrific car, and I think it can win another championship.

"We've had 26 starts and 26 finishes - no DNFs - and in

Aust,alianGT:6re|C!^

74

that we've done a few onehour races as well. So while we're not always the fastest, we're reliable.

"The highlight for the year was going to Bathurst; I just love driving around there. I had a good duel there with David Reynolds and Bryce Washington. In the early laps they were terrific on cold tyres and I wasn't, but then I wore them down throughout the race. Mallala was good too because it was extremely close. I really enjoy the combat.

"Martin and Rachael Wagg and Terry Little have done a great job persevering with the category, and putting it back together. We get good grids now - I think there were 30 cars at Eastern Creek - and a lot of nice people in the category."

Production line THE big capacity cars were back on top in the Australian Production Car Championship in 2006,and David Ryan led the charge in his Falcon XR6 Turbo.

"They're never straightforward weekends,they're full-on," said Ryan following the final round of the championship at Oran Park.

"I've got a great bunch of guys who help me and give me an easy weekend.

"We've had a good weekend [at Oran Park], we wrapped it up in Queensland and still wanted to come out here and do it the usual way. We bought tyres, and all the little things we normally do and it was the same result, thank god.

"From memory, we've had 12 straight pole positions for the last two seasons, and 18 race wins this year. You can't top it; it's been a

PfoductionCars; cracker year.

"It has been a couple of years in the making. We debuted this car at the end of 2003 in the 2-Hour Bathurst Showroom Showdown, gave it a run there. 2004 was our first full season, and it takes a couple of years to do it. They're not easy just to come out and win, it takes a lot to learn what you need to do. We brought it all together this year."

Not on to rest on his laurels, Ryan is planning a big 2007.

"We'll defin*itely do the Bathurst 12 Hour,this will be a good car at Bathurst I think depending on the categories, and maybe come back and try and defend the title."

motorsportnews

NATIONAL SCENE

Doing Australia proud A MODERN day legend of Australian karting, Matthew Wall added two national championships and three state titles to his resume in 2006, taking his impressive tally to six and 24 respectively.

It was a lucky win in Formula 100 when the two leaders crashed late in the race, but his victory in Leopard Light had pressure all the way to the line.

"Becoming the first person to win a Leopard National Title was pretty special,"Wall said.

"And I think it was the only time I got to beat David Sera.That's the hardest thing in karting at the moment,to beat David Sera fair and square."

Wall also won the All-Japan

qualifier, and won in Japan, plus City of Melbourne and Central City Series wins. Beating the Kiwis on home soil in 125cc Gearbox karts was source of much satisfaction.

"We struggled there last year and don't get to race it here, so to go and beat them with all their experience was good."

Having had a taste of Formula Ford in the past. Wall is trying to secure a budget to do Aussie Racing Cars at Clipsal and the Grand Prix;"l'll still race karts, but not as much as this year."

Of course. Clubman Light at the AKA Nationals will be on the 'To Do'list:"It's the only national title in Australian karting I haven't won."

-MARK WICKS

In with the big boys HAVING won the 2005 Junior Clubman National Title after another competitor had been rubbed from the result. Grant Smith finally got to spray the champagne when he claimed his second-consecutive green plate at the AKA Nationals at Bolivar.

Smith's meeting was remarkable, coming through from the repechage to eventually win the final. A spin in qualifying and a bout of food poisoning put he and the rest of theTony Kart team on their back foot.

"We almost called it quits.

It was a dismal start to the meeting,"said Smith.

But the boys in green were back on their (wobbly)feet by Day 2.

"For sure it was a highlight to celebrate it (the win) on the

>.*i

www.mnews.com.au

Matt Wall

Karting

spot, unlike last year. So it was kinda magic."

Later in the year Smith enjoyed success at the annual Junior Sprint Classic, winning Junior Clubman plus the Champion of Champions finale.

He also placed second at the Victorian Open.

No longer a junior, how does he find senior competition?

"It's a different set of drivers, but the same rules apply. You do have to be more committed with passing, as they're not as forgiving."

For 2007, Smith will combine Year 11 studies with a full season of Leopard racing.The Victorian Open and the AKA Nationals at Eastern Creek are his biggest targets for the year aithough he's yet to set eye on the Sydney circuit.

-MARK WICKS

I^THEiRotax'Nationals features r' s6me of the toughestfields L ,in Australian kartingiand't'his 'f year it was Hayden McBride, r somewhat df an unknown outside of NSW,Who beat all the recognised stars^ In addition to the Nationals, ^ the 21-year old was third in the Queensland Championships, - enjoyed wins at Dubbo's 'Australasian Gold Cup and the Newcastle City Cup, plus ^ second in the Premier State Cup final, all in Rotax Light.

McBride said the highlight of his year was''both the nationals and getting to race overseas. In fact,jl wish now that I had gone and raced overseas earlier."

Despite some tyre trouble, he raced to fifth place in a round of the Dutch championship.While a berth in

n theWbrldi Fihali wasn't;ohioffer this year, he almost ended lupi there. . i "About two weeks out a ' dude hadi cancelled, but we didn't have enough time to get . organised."

Despite this,the international karting bug has bitten hard, McBride now confirming his participation in the 2007 European Rotax ‘ Championships.

"It will be with the factory Gillard team but it looks like we will take bur own engines as they seemed faster than theirs when we were there last time."

McBride will also contest the major local events in Rotax, plus a few outings in Leopard.

"But Europe is the number one thing for next year."

-MARK WICKS

a.

75

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INDUSTRY NEWS.

GOSS RENEWS 70S SPONSOR LINKS

F

ormer touring car and open-wheeler champion John Goss is now the proud owner of a new Beil Mag Heimet. [ Revolution Racegear's Managing Director :\ Daie Rodgers met John at the unveiling of ; the replica of his T974 Bathurst winning:XA i Falcon, at Mt Panorama in 2005. Rodgers was n fascinated to see'Gossie'stilli wearing the ; actual T974 race-winning Bell Open Face jet 1 style helmet for his demonstration laps. l The outcome oftheir meeting culminated in j the presentation to John,at this year's Historic n Sandown meeting in early November,of a j new BeH Mag:helmetpaintedintheoriginali ! Goss colours of silver grey with an off-white It peak i "To renew a deal with one of my oldest I sponsors and;to ibulldi an important reiationI ship with Bell importer Revolution Racegear ' is really a great thing for me,the interest in; I the Falcon and Jaguar is very high and to 1 bring some of the elements into the new ; era without losing the look of the period is fantastic.!li am proud to carry on representing’ ; Bell helmets and now Revolution Racegear in I Australia."

As a flamboyant and immensely popular privateer lin the '70s, Goss worked very hard

with his sponsors at all levels of the sport. He was a Bell Helmet sponsored driver during; his racing career and won both the i1'974 andi f^BS IO00km races at Mt Panorama along with the T975 Australian Grand Prix at Sandown.Johnfs signature cap was a Bell cap that he proudly wore on the podium following his'74 Bathurst victory.

Beil Racing Helmets and are available from; Revolution Racegear centres nati0nwid&,are Snell SA2005 & FIA 8858 approved for use with HANS device..

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Similar to the popular S/S fuel pump P/ N 11203, but internally regulated down to 7 PSI, the H/0 fuel pump is ideal for carburetted, high output street cars and mild race cars alike.

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For more info on this or any other Aeromotive Product please contact VPW Australia on 1300 659 904 or www.vpw. com.au.

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CLASSIFIEDS

RACE AND PERFORMANCE CLASSIFIEDS

///J online classifieds

Van Dieman RF94

Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.my105.com

Transporters/Trailers

n - ;r

RF94 Complete ready to race has completed

1

$30K Below Market Value

naant a/c

bench, ogrieratw DhU taK Hyteulk Bstly UK±ars,’^XW'BeMM En§ke, ^7fSBN,(S |(aa& Current tdas imcoo. wHI sW for $t1Qip00. Ovraac www.tfiTI 05.com/49806

351

annual Audit Nat Champ winning car comes with 4 spare corners many body panels spare set of wheels excellent eng good clean car $22,000 0419 371 289. Colin 0419371289.

352 I' .

www.my105.com/98149 FULLY ENCLOSED TRI-AXLE RACE TRAILER

Mrt 28ft Gooseneck Enclosed 28ft goosenck mrt built new In 03 to suit a group c falcon electric brakes au

Fully lined; wired 24/12v fully lit, electric

falcon wheels & It truck tires 2 spares 240v &

loading winch, super strong chassis - towing

ligths benchs & tire racks & annex is inci that

arm & park leg, kitchenette, cupboard space

is the full length of side of trailer also can be towed with a falcon ute. $16500.00 Ono. Nick 03 9359 6066.

& forward living area, secure external lockers,

Reynard 97D. Holden 3.6 litre Alloytec Eng.

electric brakes on all axles, internal storage,

MoTeC Dash & M800 ECU. 5 spd sequential

will take any size race or drag car anywhere.

g/box. Inc: spare wheels, wets, new slicks,

www.myl05.eom/9052

Phone: Josh 0439 731 695, please Attention

nose box, gear ratios. Fantastic & awesome

to Josh, info@bcglaw.com. $33,000.00.

to drive. May trade road or race car with cash either way! $79,000. Mark 0438 525 395.

352 www.myl05.com/24138

352

www.myl05.com/72855

352

Reynard 97D

Open Wheelers

[

if ' '-^0-

Spectrum 06B Formula Ford ex Tim Macrows & comes complete wih a

F250 WITH GOOSENECK TRAILER 98 HOLDEN SUBURBAN TURBO DIESEL 2500 LS 4WD, 6.5L V8, 4 spd auto, dual a/c, cruise control, electric windows & mirrors, cruise control, ABS, air bags, dual batteries, cd player, alloy bull bar, side steps, driving lights, 169000kms, very economical(23mpg), powerfull & luxurious, immaculate cond,

good Lamer Eng. been maintained by Icon Motorsport for the past few seasons, would

F2S0 V8 diesel 4x4 auto loaded with extras, warranty inc. 38ft trailer, a/c. living 1/4's, carries 2 open wheel cars or 1 sedan, work benches, vice, bench grinder, 240 generator,

Ralt rt4 Ttus

& toilet. Call for full inventory. $155000.00.

RUSS 0408793695 / 0754492860.

www.myl05.com/47965

hpM rphtiilf ftargtn haHc teeh louagty & is in iamac con. New

tyre racks independant susp,commercial split rims & truck tyres, electric l&ing legs, shower aiYSfeei

be a great 1 st car & is capable of running at the front of the state series. $22500 ONO. Ben 0409 467 136.

www.myl05.com/7578

352

^igStiew bodywork rt4 '$ IL

350 S7OT0 NotT3^041^SE2.

always garaged, ultimate tow vehicle, seats

www.myl05TCom/40471

9 people, $37000 ONO, Must sell, Craig 03 53346048 or 0419801333..

VECTOR MG096 Formula Ford

www.myl05.com/45253

Troy dunstan eng, koni adj shocks, mychron gold data logger 8f dash, ratios for qld

3 X Van Diemen RF04's

raceway, morgan park & eastern creek, bf

available comp with & without eng in Kent config or Duratech. Package inc Motec with

Silverado and Daytona Trailer

full log & sensor, 4 way adj Ohiins TT44

www.myl O5.com/11740

dampers, Oz Rims Upgraded brakes, set up

8

$78,000 ONO,Garry 0413 879 879.

355

2 Car Transporter & Prime Mover

history & Motec data, meticulously rebuilt

hydraulic tailgate loader & carries 2 cars - one above other. Top deck easily raised for more

prior to 06 "as new" cond. Spares package available. Michael. POA Neg. 03 97614510 / 0418306313.

space. Work area inc cabinets for tools etc & tyre rack. Lower lockers hold compressor,

www.myl O5.com/10207

racing prepared (07) 3807 0527. Fresh eng, shocks, brakes & tyres ready for 07 season.

3Rd in state for 04-05, priced to sell at $22,500 or will lease. Roman 0419 646 100 or racer@ rkmotorsport.Com.

www.myl05.com/2385

352

352

generator & loads of storage for spares, Seperate living area has built in cupboards, sofa & full size fridge. Sleeps 6 in bunks with ensuite with full shower & vanity. $110,000.

Mark 0404875557.

Motorhome & Transporter isuzu 2 story electric poptop upstrs 2 bedrms, spabath, shower, toilet, downstrs; 2 slide-

www.myl05.com/71004

outs, kitchen, lounge, large workshop/living

Enclosed trailer

area, can carry car $55 000, trailer 9 metres

352

Van Diemen RF03

FORMULA LIBRE

EX Sonic 04 David Reynolds Nat Champ

PIRAHNA Open Wheeler up to 1300cc, ideal

Winning F-Ford fully rebuilt buy Sonic Motor

for sprints & hillclimbs, the 'Best-bang-forbucks' in motorsport, real perfomance race

capable carring 3 cars $35 000 sell both $80

used to transport super sedan, 12mths

Racing 05, done 4 races comes with 2 factory

000 neg consider trade, transporter used travelling Aust with stunt car entertainment

rego. 2 new spares, tyre rack, winch, side door, rear loadingdoor/ramp, good cheap

Kent Ritter Race eng Motec ADL with log, ratios 3 sets wheels spare panels all pit equip

all vehicles for sale poa. warren 02 6662 6037 / 0417 796 960,

transporter ready to go. $6000 Neg. bernie

full set up history can be updated to nat spec

car, CAMS Log book, professionally built in Melb'99, numerous spares, c/w'new'custom tilt trailer, call for details. POA.0417 589 114/

jack 0417910835 7 0417910835.

eng POA Contact Colin 0415286986.

07 3511 6017,

352

www.myl05.com/51349

www.myl05.com/24484 uinAfw.mnews.com.au

352

www.myl 05.com/58006

352

www.myl05.com/53188

352

79

iI »

RACE AND PERFORMANCE CLASSIFIEDSE

SEEfj

ZZ/ZJ^SZ^RinD online classifieds

1

Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.my105.com

SELL yoii^arts,

motorsport vehicle or anything to do with motorsport via our internet classified partners my1 OS.cqm for as little as $35!

Yes,3 months on myl05.com, plus an insertion here in MNews, all for as little as $35. (if directly entered onto my105.com)

BOW? Either log on to myl0S.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 SO words), nominate your category and include your pic(s). Mail or email(include credit card and your details)- see addresses below.

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

;: Mazda S6 Turbo Race/Rallyc,,gently B Road licensed (WA) & CAMS logbook, can be used in Dutton style Rally. Road raced by David Turner in Streetcars at Barbagallo Raceway (2nd in 06) behind sister-car driven by Kerry Wade. 400 hp single turbo/intercooled, alloy radiator & coolers, stainless manifolds & exhaust, Microtech ECU, Harrop brakes & rotors, professionally built with all the good gear by LF Performance Products, reliable & fast. 08 9350 6881.

40,000 ONO.08 9350 6881

www.myl O5.com/1965

352

Sedans/Sports Cars

'

HSV GTS GT Performance Car Barrie Nesbitts HSV GTS GTP car, genuine VT HSV GTS SOOkw car, complete upgrade to VY GTS dash etc, current log book, motec, Olins suspension, legal for GTP or Bathurst 12 hr with minor mods, sold complete or less engine for $50,000, full rebuild since last raced. $65,000 Neg. Greg 03 9357 6580.

www.myl05.com/34584

352

Alfa Romeo SportsSedan Project Historic touring car nc monaro running in the Biante nat series, 1 of the best presented cars in country, built from groung up with new everything,looks & sounds great & is improving on its performance every time inc recent good results, serious contender in the right hands, ready to race in 1 of the best series going.69,000 Neg. keven 0419315984.

www.mylO5.eom/9201

Alfetta GTV shell with flared metal guards, fibreglass rear hatch, full space frame/roll cage, upper & lower rose joint front susp, anti dive geometry, with Alfa 2.5 L alloy V6 eng inc comp, loom etc, V6 5 spd transaxle, drive shaft & rear susp.4 Adv Racing 17 x 7.5 in alloy wheels. $2500.00. Bruno (03)93869650.

352

www.my105.com/14668

352

Aussie Racing Car & Trailer Excellent, Prof maintained condition & fresh for 07 with 8 spare wheels & tyres, plus spares.

2nd Oran Park 05, 3rd Darwin & Bathurst 06 plus other top 5 finishes. 05 pro built fully enclosed dual axle trailer in as new condition. $50,000 Inc GST. Russell 0407 228 407.

www.myl05.com/64571

353

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

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

Additional options:

Photo

$10 $35 $20

Extra issues(per issue) 'Colour'block ad (per issue) T6ature^3d - MNews & my105.com

Sports Sedan

80 BMW 323i Ready to race

Fresh 300+HP 202 Alloy head, triple 48 dellortos w/ fabricated airbox, new 6AL MSD electronic ignition system, reco. single rail 4 speed, 18 wheels 20 tyres(slicks&wets) transponder, 3" belts 3 spoilers, volvo 4spots, 5diff centers (3 Ratios) includes dual axel trailer, possible to convert to group NC $13,500 ONO.Jeff 0429302038.

Excellent condition. Ready to rally. Cams app roll cage. Bilstein susp. Terratek rally meter & intercom. 2 fresh std spec eng plus heaps of excellent quality spares inc spare car. 6 ●new wheels with potenzia's 6 M3 wheels with Potenzia race tyres. 15000 Neg. Ian 0417033065/03 62252958.

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81

TALK CONVERTER

. , ? .-4

n Editorial Editor: Phil Branagan

editor@mnews.com.au

Deputy Editor: Mark Glendenning mark@mnews.com.au

Phillip Island aftermath

For Rick to claim that Lowndes

The way I look at it is that Rick Kelly was the driver that achieved the most points to win the 2006 Championship, but I don't think he was truly a Champion. I also think that neither Ford nor Craig Lowndes will want to win the

squeezed him out is absurd and then to not even mention the

News Editor: Grant Rowley grant@mnews.com.au National Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen andrew@mnews.com.au n Production

Championship by way of a protest, but 888 have to do what they have to do.

Peter Britnell

Graphic Design & Web: Jayne Uthmeyer design@mnews.com.au

I was surprised by Rick's lack of morals, but I suppose that's what you get from a spoilt little rich kid.

Instead of the Number 1 on the

U Advertising P 03 9877 7271 FOB 98777207 Manager: Brendon Sheridan M 0407 007 286 ads@mnews.com.au Advertising Admin: Margaret Nelson artwork@mnews.com.au n Administration 357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, VIC, 3187 (POBox 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 Ft:Joe Saward, Adam Cooper, Paoio Filisetti Europe: Quentin Spurring, David Addison US: Martin D. Ciark, Phii Morris Speedway:Greg Boscato, Geoff Rounds, Darren Sutton,Tony Millard (UK) Rally: Ryan Lahiff Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski(USA), Ken Ferguson,JohnBosher National: Mark Wicks, Mark Jones, Mitchell Adam

Is it true that CAT will switch it's sponsorship to Rick'the bulldozer' Kelly for 2007?

Trent Purcell For me, Rick Kelly can't win races, unless his brother lets him, can't match Garth Tander for speed and needs Flolden drivers to block for him.

Paul Lister Rick is a fantastic driver, no doubt

Photographers:Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Marshall Cass,John Morris/ Mpix, AFl Images,James Smith, Peter Bury, Neil Biackbourn, 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 55 125 120 702 Pubjisher: C Lambden Printed by: Webstar Printing Distributed by: NDD Ltd Material published by MOTORSPORT NEVUS is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Freelance contributions are welcome, and while all care will be taken, Australasian Motorsport News does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted.

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door, Rick's 2007 car should display the bad sportsmanship flag.

Tracey McNailie

1 year $148.50

2 years $285

A$210 A$270

A$390 A$495

about that, and one day will be a great champion. However, even blind Freddy can see that the moral champion is undoubtedly Craig Lowndes. Nothing against Rick for his talent is undeniable, but a champion who has won ZERO rounds against four round wins...

Dean Turner This is a Clayton's championship for Rick. I for one would have had a lot more respect for him had he won it on his merits rather than the deplorable actions of Mark Skaife, Garth Tander and himself.

Mark Cattell

incident or attempt to apologise to Lowndes when on the podium shows what a spoilt brat he is.

Trevor Gladman

Send us yqurtfioughts: PO Box 7072,Brighton,VIC,3186 mnews@mnews.com.au

Rick is not a good driver because a good driver would not push a fellow contender off the track.

Rick Kelly does not have the right to be crowned 2006 V8 Supercar Champion.

Mitchell Down Is cheating the only way FHolden can win? In saying that,Todd Kelly didn't reduce himself to cheating.

Fle would be a more deserving champion than his brother.

Claire Ingram I am a serious Flolden fan and I am so disgusted at the way that Rick Kelly won the title. Fle has driven so well and consistently and would have been the perfect champion if he didn't reduce himself to dogging tactics. I wanted people to know that Holden won the championship fairly and now that can't said.

Daniel Henderson ■Rick Kelly has really surprised me with the tactics he chose to be come the V8 Supercar champion.

He would have been a worthy champion if he didn't lower himself to the standards that he did. You will always be known as a cheat when you could have been known as a great racing car driver.

Chris Colter

For Rick's team to tell him before the start of the Race 3(As mentioned on Ten's coverage)to either win the title or don't bother bringing the car back, as we don't need it for next year, is a disgrace.

Andrew Smith A number of dangerous precedents have been set.The teams now know they can punt a fellow competitor off in the early laps when traffic is thickest and they will almost cetainly sustain damage,cop a drive-through, and carry on.

Graham Daley I don't believe that Lowndes was robbed, nor is he'the moral champion.' In a championship which is as much a business as a sport, Lowndes received more than his fair share of benefit from stewards decisions on the track.

Scott Browne Rick is the right Champion. I have lost respect for Lowndes, as a true Champ doesn't whinge when he doesn't get his own way.

ReeAitken How many times this season has Craig tapped someone up the bottom? Fortunately the drivers he has tapped are more skilled than he is and regain car control, and how many times has he radioed pits asking to have cars in front of him removed.(Remem ber in this life what goes around comes around).

Lionel Davis

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Disapointing: 34%

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Worthy Champ? MNews readers kept our inbox nice and full over this one!

Good progress from last year: 4%

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