Motorsport News Issue 352 - January 10-23, 2007

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THE MEWS BEHIND THE NEWS

No.352 10 -23 January 2007

Australia $6.50 NZ $8.00 inc GST

STARTING OVER JACK DRIVES HERE Perkins Jr Steps up

How Bright will take Britek to the front

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Issue 352 10-23 January 2007

www.mnew5.com.au

NEWS 4 Black Power

ChangesforJOB and GRM

7 Steel me,Richo! FPR makes its changes Jim arrives in V8SA-land 9 V8 Whiskey n Bulltish

How Red Bull will build its cars

16 Jailhouse Blues NZracer charged with robberies

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Jack joins Shane at JDR JACK Perkins will Join Shane Price in Jack Daniel's Racing's brand-new line-up in the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series.

After a very strong debut season in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar ranks. Price was always likely to be promoted to the main series, replacing Ford-bound Steven Richards. Perkins, though, didn't get the nod until late in 2006, when a suitably experienced driver could not be found.

Team boss Larry Perkins elected to give the drive to Jack, who finished third (behind Price) in last year's Fujitsu Series.

"Both Shane and Jack have showed considerable improvement and development in their first season and I felt they should be rewarded as such," Perkins said.

"They both know that the step into the main series is massive and they will need to be as prepared as they can be."

Jack will compete in #11, the number made famous by his father.

"Naturally, I'm proud to see the name'Perkins'on the side of the #11 Commodore," Larry said.

"But Jack isn't going to get a free or an easy ride. He is treated the same as Shane and the rest of the team and he's expected to perform."

New look

GARRY Rogers Motorsport will enter the 2007 season with a totally new look.

Dean Canto will debut GRM's first VE Commodore at the Clipsal 500 in a striking new black and silver livery, ditching the traditional blue, red and white that has served the Melbourne-based team so well for nearly 15 years.

Canto's team-mate Lee Holdsworth will start 2007 in one of GRM's VZs, which is likely to feature the old colour scheme, before acquainting himself with his 4

Before Larry gave him the good news. Jack was completely focused on trying to win the Fujistu Series.

"I was pretty sure that I was going to have a crack at the Fujitsu Series," he told MNews.

"A day or so before we broke up from work, I was told that I had the drive. I was very stoked, of course, but surprised as well. It's something that I never expected."

It's been a fast rise to the top for Perkins, who was competing in karts just three years ago.

"It's definitely not the way I expected it," Jack said of his fast-tracked career. "Hopefully I can prove his decision to be the right one and get some really good results before the season's out.

Like Perkins, Price is looking forward to his full-time main series debut.

"This is an opportunity you don't get very often," Price said.

"It's quite rare for a team to have two new drivers to start a season with. I'd like to think that we can give a good account of ourselves and put into practice what we've learnt over the last 12 mionths."

The Perkins/Price duo will make their full-time main. series debuts at the Clipsal 500 in two brand-new Commodore VEs. -GRANT ROWLEY

new colours and new car mid-year.

The main sponsor group will remain with the team (Repco, Valvoline and Cummins) and while Rogers remained tight-lipped on his team's new look, he did admit to the change.

"The colours will be vastly different," he hinted. "But more recognisable than ever before."

GRM has just come off the back of one of its best seasons in recent times, and 2007 promises to be even better.

Engine man Mike Excel has been

WITH Shane Price and Jack Perkins stepping up to.the main series,two vacant seats now exist in Perkins Engineering’s Fujitsu V8 Supercars.

At Winton late last year, James Moffat,Tim Blanchard and James Small sampled some Perkins power, with all three completing 25 laps each on used tyres.

"I felt very comfortable in the car," Moffat said, who i hasjimijed experience in V8s through fiis former connections with Dick Johnson Racing.

"The team made me feel very welcome.The way they ran the day was very professional and the prospect of driving one of their cars in the Development Series is mouth watering."

Blanchard, who has only raced Formula Ford and Aussie RacihgGars, was equally impressed.

"It was awesome,but its totally different to anything I've ever done" he said.

"All I've ever driven is Formula Ford. It was my first . time I've driven a V8 or even a sedan.The test proved I have a lot to learn about driving a V8 but was certainly a great experience."

Confirmation on Perkins's Development Series attack is expected soon.

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on a summer fact-finding mission in the United States, searching for extra horsepower. But Rogers was quick to admit they need "a bit of everything" to take the next step.

"It's engine, suspension and driveability," he told MNews.

"We've looked at we can do and what we can spend to try and improve. I want to make it clear, though, that its not just engines.

its about the whole package.

"I'm very happy with the work that my group of guys produced last year. I think you'd have to say that it was our best season in quite some time. We don't need a lot. We just need a little bit of suspension, a little bit of engine, a little bit of brakes, a little bit of driver and all of a sudden, it could be amazing!"

-GRANT ROWLEY

motorsport news

NEWS

Bright wants revenge on International invasion Team/owner driver v\fants to restore some pride for locally-based teams

Justin Deeley

JASON Bright is confident that he can get results with Britek Motorsport this year - and reclaim some lost honour for Australia.

Bright, who finished the 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series in fifth overall, says that he believes that despite the involvement of internationallyowned motorsport entities Walkinshaw Performance,Triple 8 Race Engineering and Prodrive, Australian teams can fight back.

1 have always believed that, regardless of whether people have come here or we have gone overseas, Australian motorsport has meant that we can do as

good a job as the Europeans," he says.

"If the engines for Prodrive were still being built in England and they were as strong as they are, then yes, I would allow that we have some things to learn. But it was not exactly setting the world on fire when they were doing it their own way...

"That proves to me that there are plenty of good people here that can do the job and I don't think that you need the biggest budget to win this series' Bright comes to his own Britek team while it is on the rise. Both Fujitsu-backed Falcons have undergone a major rebuild in the

off-season, which should add to the competitiveness of the team's hardware. At the end of 2006, the Britek Ford of Warren Luff started to show some real speed, highlighted by qualifying one place behind outgoing champion Russell Ingall at Phillip Island.

Bright joins his own team after two seasons with Ford Performance Racing. In 2006, he won two rounds of the series and was one of the championship leading drivers, but he remains confident that his own team can step up to the mark.

For more on Jason Bright See pages 32-37

Vale Bruce Reed MOTORSPORT News is sad to report the sudden passing of Bruce Reed from Triple Eight Race Engineering.

Reed, 28, was the number one mechanic on Jamie Whincup's car and was considered to be a key member of the Triple Eight crew, a fact borne out by his reputation as the team's fastest wheel-changer. He was also extremely popular among his colleagues, and will be missed by all within the Triple Eight organisation. MNews extends its condolences to the Reed's family, friends and workmates.

FALCON

Ford's Steelers V8 SUPERCAR racing's worst-kept secret is out- Steven Richards has joined Ford Performance Racing.

As first reported in Motorsport News last August,the former Jack Daniel's Racing man will suit up in an FPR Falcon alongside Mark Winterbottom, Richards, whose Castrol branding will be announced next month, has signed a five-year deal with the Ford factory team.

"It Is terrific to be joining a team that is clearly on the rise following the speed that FPR displayed during the 2006 season,"said Richards.

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■ The FIM has announced that the opening round ofthe World Sidecar Championship will take place at Albert Park as a support class to the ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

This would mean that the track needs to be inspected by motorcycle racing's governing body, and separate officials would need to be appointed to oversee the three-wheeled races. Full details next issue.

■ Stone Brothers Racing will expand its racing operations in 2007, entering the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series with Jonathon Webb joining the team.

As predicted by MNews (Issue 346) Webb will join the development series ranks after a successful year in the WPS Carrera Cup. The Sydney resident will move to the Gold Coast to be closer to SBR's base.

Webb said that he plans a two-year program in the Fujitsu V8 Series.

■ Australia has another overseas racer. As predicted by MNews (Issue 352) Nathan Caratti has confirmed that he will compete in the Formula Renault UK Championship.

Caratti will drive for Team AKA. The first round is at Brands Hatch in early April, but before then, Caratti will undergo an exhaustive testing schedule. Caratti move to the United Kingdom to be based there.

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"Mark Winterbottom's results in 2006 mirror FPR's and I am sure we can make a formidable combination that will continue developing FPR's front running form in 2007. It is a special time to be joining this team and I cant wait to get behind the wheel of the FPR Falcons at our first test day.

There is no settling in period and the intention is to get the neW season started on the pace with FPR at the Clipsal 500."

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MEANWHILE,Winterbottom's new Orrcon Steel Tube livery has been unveiled.

The Hills-owned company unveiled its FPR link at the Melbourne Sports and Acquatic Centre on January 1.The Albert Park centre was chosen because ofthe fact that it is constructed from 800 tonnes of Orrcon steel.

Ironically, like all of the V8 Supercar drivers, Winterbottom, who carried Orrcon colours in 2004-05 when he drove for Larkham Motor Sport, will not be racing at Albert Park this March...

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Walden's wait on TEGA WALDEN Motorsport is taking steps to be involved in the V8 Supercar Championship Series this year.

The Sydney-based squad has purchased Bap Romano's #24 licence, most recently used by Larry Perkins last year and is now awaiting TEGA approval to gain its entry into the field.

If successful, the Walden's will become the 32nd car in the V8 field.

While the deal between Walden and Romano has been completed, Walden now faces the TEGA board.

Whenever a licence is sold, the sale has to be ratified

by TEGA, who can elect to acquire the licence back.

If WalcJen does get onto the grid, MNews understands that the team may purchase an ex-PWR Commodore, using spares from Mark Porter's MSport operation.

Walden Motorsport's last foray In the V8 Supercar field was when it used the Romano fanchise in the

2004 V8 season. Garth Walden steered an aging AU Falcon at a number of rounds, pictured above.

TEGA chairman Kelvin O'Reilly is currently on vacation, which means a decision will not be made until late this month.

motorsport news

NEWS

Adelaide's major change

THE Adelaide Street Circuit is set to undergo significant changes as a result of a $32 million redevelopment of Victoria Park.

racing track, facilitated by both the South Australian Jockey Club and the South Australian Motor Sport Board.

A recent proposal by the South Australian Government will see the realignment of both the Victoria Park horse racecourse and the worldfamous Adelaide Street Circuit, home to the Clipsal 500, diagram right.

The changes, as illustrated here, will mean that the horse and motorsport courses will no longer overlap, with the park section of the circuit moved east.

The layout of the motorsport circuit will endure changes of the Victoria Park section.

The run to the Senna Chicane will now see a curve left and while the shape of the final hairpin/pit straight section is largely retained,the new layout will significantly change the circuit's final sector.

A permanent multipurpose three-storey building, 12 metres high, 250m long and 15m wide. will also be erected between the horse and motor

During such events astheClipsal 500,the facility will be the pit building as well as housing spectator, hospitality and operations areas.The permanent structure will remove the need and expense of assembling and disassembling the current temporary pit building and offer teams and fans better facilities.

The heritage-listed grandstand will be retained for motorsport events.

Other motorsport events are not currently scheduled for the facility, however such facilities would give rise for the opportunity for further events in Victoria Park.

Only the final stages of approval are reportedly required for the plans to go ahead, with protests already forthcoming from parklands supporters. Construction is slated to begin mid-2007 and be completed by the end of 2008.

-DANIEL JORDAN

Huge faceliftfor iconic South Australian street circuit

WAKEFIELD Park has a new owner - Winton Motor Raceway.

The 2.2km circuit, 180km south of Sydney near Goulburn, is expected to strongly unite the operations of both tracks.

'Wakefield Park is similar to Winton in that they are among Australia's busiest race circuits and we are more than pleased to have been the successful purchaser of the property,"said Winton Motor Raceway Chief Executive Officer Mick Ronke.

We are experiencing a growth period at Winton Motor Raceway mainly thanks to circuit users being able to make a choice between the Australian Auto-Sport Alliance and other recognised alternative sanctioning bodies and we look forward to bringing Wakefield Park similar opportunities for further growth which will be very exciting

indeed'

The current staff at the 2.2km National standard racing track, which is due for resurfacing in the next 12 months. will continue their employment,including Circuit Manager Garry Willmington.

Wakefield Park was established in 1994 as'The Home of Club Motorsport'by Paul Samuels and John Carter before being acquired by a Sydney- based consortium in 2000.

The new owners then built on Wakefield Park's grass roots beginnings in club and historic motorsport, by improving the circuit and facilities, running higher profile meetings and expanding its corporate activities.

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Reindler back in the lead for A1 Team Oz Osborne Staying on COLIN Osborne has been re-elected as the President of CAMS for a further two years following a recent meeting of the CAMS Board.

Bob Glindemann was also re elected as one of two Vice Presidents, along with Andrew Papadopoulos, who replaces Peter Marcovich who has served as a Vice-President for several years. n CAMS has announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Rob Nethercote, will not be renewing his contract which expires in June.

Nethercote will become involved in the establishment of the Australian Institute of Motor Sport Safety (AIMSS), an CAMS initiative that will be formally launched early in 2007. n Former NEXTEL Cup regular and Craftsman Truck Series driver Bobby Hamilton passed away last week.

Hamilton was diagnosed with neck cancer last year.

Hamilton,49, won four NEXTEL Cup races with three teams, with his first win coming with Petty Enterprises at Phoenix in 1996.he also drove for Larry McClure and Andy Petree in 371 starts.

Most of Hamilton's success came in the Craftsman Truck ranks where he won 10 times,including four triumphs en route to the 2004 series title.

He is the only driver-owner to win the series championship. n There has finally been a conviction for the murder of Mickey Thompson.

Michael Goodwin,a former business partner of the US racing legend, was found guilty in a California Court last week of the 1988 killing of Thompson and his wife Trudy. A jury found that Goodwin ordered the execution-style shooting of the couple, as revenge for a lawsuit between the two that saw Thompson awarded more that US$500,000. n Famed NASCAR racer-turnedcommentator Benny Parsons has been hospitalised in the USA, The 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup champion, who retired from racing in 1988, was admitted on Boxing Day,as the result of complications stemming from his battle with lung cancer. The cancer was diagnosed earlier this year and was recently reported to be in full remission.

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KARL Reindler will step back into the race seat for A1 Team Australia at New Zealand in 10 days time.

The West Australian will replace Ryan Briscoe as lead driver, with Briscoe ceasing his involvement with A1 Team Australia thanks to his newlysigned deal with Penske's factory Porsche squad in the United States.

"I can't wait to race for the , team again,"enthused Reindler.

"The last time was at Beijing

and that went really well (Ed: Reindler finished third), so I'm hoping Taupo may go the same sort of way. And perhaps that will lead into a race drive at Eastern Creek, which is a circuit I know well and it would be great to race in front of the home crowd."

While Reindler has been confirmed as the lead driver in New Zealand,there are still questions over A1 Team Australia's driver line-up for the upcoming rounds.There

is yet to be announcement regarding the rookie driver for New Zealand, however MNews understands that regular rookie driver Ian Dyk and Australian Formula Ford Champion John Martin are the likely prospects.

And both drives are still up for grabs at the Australian race in three weeks, with Reindler's race seat only confirmed for the NZ round at this stage.

- ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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AMSF focus on Martin JOFIN Martin will be the sole beneficiary of the Australian Motor Sport Foundation in 2007.

The foundation, which offers financial support for young Australian drivers racing overseas, chose to back several drivers in 2006, including Michael Patrizi, Karl Reindler and Barton Mawer.

But none of these drivers will receive funding in 2007, with the Foundation choosing to focus its resources solely on Martin.

"To backjust one driver this year isn't a change in philosophy, we simply select the driver or drivers who we believe offer the best prospect,"said AMSF Manager Noela Foote.

"For this year we believe John is the hot prospect and with the maximum benefit from the foundation has a good opportunity of becoming a Formula 1 driver."

Despite not yet being fully clear on his 2007 program, Martin has already began familiarising himself with Formula 3 machinery.

The reigning Australian Formula Ford Champion has spent the last couple of weeks testing an F3 car shocJ on the Australian-spec Kumho tyres for Borland Racing Developments, visiting Winton, Phillip Island, and most recently.

Eastern Creek.

- ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Safety concerns spark technical changes A NUMBER of new safety innovations will be introduced to V8 Supercar racing in 2007.

A new side impact protection panel and an in-car safety warning light will be compulsory for all V8 Supercars this year.

The side impact panel was an optional item brought to team's attention from the Sandown 500 last year, but the new season's rules will make it mandatory in 2007.

The honeycomb cell structure (Ayrelite 2022) will be mounted in both doors down the driver's side.

Some teams, including Triple 8 Race Engineering and Stone Brothers Racing, have already developed their own side impact devices.

The yellow and red flag warning lights is not a

new concept to motor racing, but a welcome one in V8 Supercar-land.The LED lights will be mounted on the dash of each car in both the Main and Fujitsu Series.

The lights will flash in the cockpit of the cars to warn drivers of an incidents on the track, or in the case of a full course red flag situation.

- GRANT ROWLEY

motorsportnews

NEWS

Jim Beam...and make it a double Boyrbon deal doesn't stop with team sponsorship JIM Beam will not just become Dick Johnson's favourite bourbon, it will be V8 Supercars Australia's.

After confirming MNews's exclusive report on it backing the DJR Ford team, Beam Global Spirits and Wine Australia has become a platform sponsor of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. At all rounds of the series except for alcohol-free Bahrain, there will be a Jim Beam bar.

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'Jim Beam is geared to support the V8 Supercar Championship Series in a big way in 2007,"said Phil Baldock, Managing Director of Beam Global Spirits & Wine Asia Pacific.

'We recognise the opportunity to reach millions of passionate V8 Supercar fans in the world's most exciting touring car category.'

Furthermore, both Jim Beam and V8 Supercars Australia have experienced phenomenal growth and popularity over the past decade. Whilst both brands are deep rooted in their heritage, we share a strategic focus on reaching beyond traditional audiences and loyalists in the future," he said.

Thompson, Sharpe, 888 chassis.

DJR engines. Looks like ●●●

ANDREW Thompson will spearhead Howard Racing's three-car attack on this year's Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

The reigning Fujitsu Series Champion team is set for a big season, with all three of its Triple 8 Race Engineering specification cars powered by Dick Johnson Racing engines.

Thompson will be joined at the Queensland-based team by Adam Sharpe and team owner Mark Howard.

According to Thompson, who won the final two rounds of the Fujitsu Series with DJR last year. www.mnews.coiii.ay

Howard goes large for 2007

it's the best possible package.

"We are going to have a good car, a good team and good engines," he said.

"I don't think you could ask for a better package.

"Howard Racing has been really strong over the past couple of years, so it's just a matter of getting in and getting used to the difference between the DJR and Howard, if I can get the speed out of it, we definitely should be no worse than top three, but the championship is what we are going for.

"It's good to get it all sorted

and now we can press on, but I've still got a bit to prove and I have to perform."

Joining Thompson will be new team recruit Brit Adam Sharpe. Sharpe contested last year's Fujitsu Series, finishing ■ 26th with his own team in an AU Falcon.

Team owner Howard finished 16th in 2006, and has continued to improve with each outing.

Howard Racing team manager Warren Davis is building the team up to defend the crown.

"The team is gearing up accordingly," he said.

"We've run three cars before, and we've done it well. We'll just put on a couple of new guys. Naturally we are out there to back up last year's championship. We want to be the first team to go back-to-back.

"And having Triple 8 chassis with a DJR engines is a pretty good combination. It's going to give us a great overall chance."

The team's sponsors and liveries will be launched at the end of the month at the Brisbane Motor Show.

-GRANT ROWLEY

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util Scores

PANASONIC Toyota Racing will be the first Formula 1 team to launch its 2007 racecar, on 12 January at its HQ in Kiiln, Germany.

Other launch dates and venues: McLaren Mercedes on 14-15 January at the Valencia circuit in Spain: BMW Sauber on 16 January, also at Valencia; Renault FI on 24 January in Amsterdam,the home city of its new title sponsor, ING; Honda on 25 January in Barcelona, Spain;and WilliamsFI on 2 February in its factory at Grove.

H Honda is rumoured to be switching to a green livery in Formula 1 in 2007 with reports that the company has decided to push hard to market its environmental policies using FI. Honda FI's budget comes entirely from the research and development side of the company and this is the direction in which that side of the business is now going - with Honda not only building more and more environmentally-friendly cars but also diversifying into solar panels and other energy-saving ideas. n Time Glock has been signed as BMW Sauber's second test driver for 2007. He will work with race drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica and the team's test driver Sebastian Vettel.

Glock will also be contesting his second season in the GP2 series with the iSport team. n Super Aguri FI has confirmed that it will continue its relationship with Japanese driver Sakon Yamamoto, who will take on the position of second test driver in 2007.

The Japanese driver made his debut as a test driver with Jordan in 2005 and this year he moved in to race for Super Aguri after the team had been forced to drop Yuji Ide and after Franck Montagny had stood in for a number of races.

It is expected that the 24-year-old Japanese driver will also compete in 6P2in2007. n The owner of Germany's Niirburgring race circuit has posted a loss of almost US$22 million for the its financial year 2004-05.

The result is blamed on the high cost of hosting formula 1 races and falling spectator attendance figures.

- JOE SAWARD/QUENTIN SPURRING 10

THE Spyker FI team surprised the FI community with the announcement that it has signed a deal to run Germany's Adrian Sutil alongside Christijan Albers for 2007.

The news means that Tiago Monteiro is now out of a drive after two years with the team.

Sutil was the team's third driver in 2006 at the Nurburgring, MagnyCours and at Suzuka.

There is little doubt that the team's managing-director Colin Kolles has played a major role in the decision. He is a big supporter of Sutil, having run the Munich driver in his rookie year in Formula 3 in 2004.That was not a great success, with Sutil finishing 15th in the Formula 3 Euroseries (and only the sixth best rookie) but Kolles has been a strong supporter ever since.

In 2005 he finished runner-up in the Eurocup to his ASM team mate Lewis Hamilton but with an appreciable gap between the two, Hamilton scoring 172 points and Sutil only 94.

As a result he had to head off

to Japan last year but he did well with the TOM'S Toyota and duly won the title with five wins in 18 races.

Sutil is usefully multi-cultural, speaking German,Spanish and English fluently. His father Jorge was born in Uruguay and moved to Germany after winning a musical scholarship in Cologne.

He went on to become the lead violinist of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and a noted violin teacher.

A relative later-starter in racing, Sutil began karting at 14, having had ambitions to be a pianist before deciding to go racing.

The team is now finalising its third driver and there are reports from Holland that Ho-pin Tung,a Dutch-born Chinese racer, is in negotiation for the drive.

The 24-year-old won the Recaro Formula 3 Cup series in Germany in 2006 and may race in the Renault World Series next year. He had his first FI test with Williams back in 2003 but nothing came of that opportunity.

- JOE SAWARD

Chasing The Crumbs THE announcement that Spyker has signed Adrian Sutil means that there are now only two drives left open in 2007.

Decisions are expected very soon on the two seats at Scuderia Toro Rosso. Although there have been a lot of rumours in recent weeks, we expect the Red Bull team to keepTonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed,as replacing one of them with a pay-driver would seriously undermine the credibility of the Red Bull Young Driver programme.

The Austrian drinks company has failed to promote its own men into Red Bull Racing, preferring to bring in David Coulthard and Mark Webber, neither of whom had a background with Red Bull.

While many young drivers will take whatever money is available, a young driver programme needs a certain amount of internal momentum if it is to attract the best talent.

The handling of the careers of Christian Klien, Liuzzi, Speed and Neel Jani will make youngsters wary of committing to long-term deals.

The US-based Red Bull young driver scheme, which aimed to help an American to get into FI, is effectively dead with only Speed now left and Red Bull apparently having decided to promote its activities in the US by way of NASCAR rather than through FI.This makes sense from a marketing

point of view.

There is still a question of whether or not Holland's Robert Doornbos will get a place in the team. He is supported by Dutch real estate developer Har Muermans, who has money to spend.

He may end up having to take Doornbos to Champ Car if Red Bull decides that taking on a third non-Red Bull driver is not a good idea.

Doornbos has much to commend him. He has done a perfectly decentjob thus far in FI and has money behind him,so Speed's position in FI must remain a little exposed.To drop Liuzzi would be illogical, given that the Italian is clearly a man with talent, even if this has been hidden somewhat in the last couple of years by Red Bull's handling of his career.

The team's test of Sebastien Bourdais was interesting and there is no doubt that the team might decide to do a deal to run the Frenchman in 2008 - if he is interested in taking such a risk.

Toro Rosso will, if all goes to plan, have a much better chance in 2008 when it will be allowed to run the same chassis as Red Bull Racing.

There is still much to be done to make the team into a solid FI operation - which will take time and money.

- JOE SAWARD

motorsportnews

NEWS %

Peas In A Pod

The RiR and STR cars will look very similar in 2007. Here's why

RED Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso will be using the same chassis in 2007.The Red Bulls will be fitted with Renault V8 engines and the STRs will be powered by Ferrari V8s.

The Concorde Agreement l Clause 10.4 defines a j constructor as the person : “whether or not incorporated, who owns the intellectual n property rights to the rolling chassis it currently races".

It is hard to understand how two teams can both own the IPRs for the same basic chassis but : the argument is that Red ; Bull Racing and Scuderia : Toro Rosso have each commissioned a third party to design the car and that they each own the rights to the car.

The problem is that the third party in this case is a company called Red Bull I

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Technology Ltd, which until December 20 2006 was known as Red Bull Racing Holdings Ltd, and acted as the holding company of the racing team. Red Bull Racing Ltd, which was previously known as Stewart Grand Prix and then Jaguar Racing, is the signatory to the Concorde Agreement. Red Bull Technology is legally registered at Building 1, Bradbourne Drive while Red Bull Racing is registered at Building 2, Bradbourne Drive.

It is clear that work on the cars vyas done before December 20 and that those involved were employed at the time

by Red Bull Racing Ltd - at least according to team press releases - but the Austrian drinks company is arguing that by moving employees to a different company is sufficient to create an independent third party.The

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SUPER Aguri FI will be going into 2007 with a new car designed for the team by I an outside contractor called i PeeJayUU Ltd, which is run by FI designer Paul White.

Super Aguri had been hoping i to be allowed to use the same I car as Honda Racing FI but this ! proposal was rejected by the I other FI teams.

It seems that Honda anticipated that defeat and

www.mnews.comi.au

up with the plan without first consulting the FIA,so one can assume that the federation has given some indication unofficially - that it would be accepted.

The other teams do not have to accept the FIA decision but the arbitration process is long and expensive,and unless they are absolutely certain that they will win it is usually avoided.

- JOE SAWARD

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rival teams are bound to argue that this is just a device to enable the two Red Bull-owned teams to share chassis and that the spirit of the rule Is being circumvented even if the letter of the law is being adhered to.

It will be interesting to see whether any of the other teams decide to challenge Red Bull's interpretation of the rule and whether or not the FIA agrees to accept It. It is very unlikely that Red Bull would have come

Delaysfor RB3?

o 0 CU that it has been working with PeeJayUU since January 2006, when White began working for the team after leaving Toyota. , According to our sources within the team,PeeJayUU is one of several consulting firms that have helped the team get things done during a hectic 2006 season, during which time the design department at Super Aguri FI has been involved in constant upgrades

on the original chassis, which were based on an old Arrows car.

These companies are believed to have included John Barnard's B3 Technologies.

It remains to be seen whether the new Super Aguri will look like the Honda.The team says that this will not be the case, but if others feel that it is too close for comfort there may be questions asked.

-JOE SAWARD

NEXT week's expected debut of Red Bull Racing's new RB3 may be delayed a week.

The new Adrian Neweydesigned car, powered by a Renault engine, was scheduled for its first shakedown run at Jerez next Wednesday, but UK sources are suggesting a slight delay as the team works non-stop to apply the finishing touches to the muchawaited machine.

The delay will extend a nervous period of waiting for RBR (and Australian FI fans), as the success or otherwise of the first track test of a new design is usually a reliable barometer of what kind of season may lie ahead.

If the car aerodynamically good out of the box and can complete its program without any major dramas then Red Bull's earlyseason optimism could be wellplaced. If not, 2007 may be a long year - the last thing that Webber needs after two frustrating seasons with Williams.

n

KIMI Raikkonen is scheduled to drive the 2007 Ferrari Formula 1 car for the first time in the third week of January, on the Mugello circuit near Florence. n Michael Schumacher is set to become a talent scout for Scuderia Ferrari. Fiat president Luca di Montezemolo remarked to Italy's Gazetta dello Sport newspaper: "Michael will be a consultant for Ferrari. He will have an office, he will come in whenever he wants to, and he will attend some Grands Prix. He is already interested in his new role and he will also act as a talent scout in karting for us." n Ferrari team boss Jean Todt has been honoured by the French government, having been promoted to the rank of Grand Officier in the country's Legion d'Honneur. There are only 250 Grand Officiers, the secondhighest class in the celebrated legion.

Sebastien Loeb,the three-time World Rally Champion, has also joined the ranks of the Legion d'Honneur, with his appointment as a chevalier, the lowest of the five classes. There are around 100,000 chevaliers in France at any given point. n There are to be changes made to the Circuit de Catalunya in an effort to improve safety at the Barcelona track.

The plans include a slower penultimate corner, which will in turn slow down the cars as they go into the final corner.

The run-off area at the final corner is to be asphalted with highfriction tarmac in order to get rid of the current gravel trap. There will be further changes made at the back of the track to improve safety and there is also going to be upgrading work on the pits and in the paddock.

FIA,TEAMS SET DOWN 2009 FI RULES ii 11 m ll ^——1 THE FIA has published its 2009 F1 technical rules, which have been agreed by the teams and the World Council.

Many of the new rules refer to the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems(KERS) which are to be introduced but there are many other detailed changes. Significantly, the FIA will restrict the use of new systems that are not specifically covered by the rules.These will "only be admitted the end of the championship during which it is introduced". After that the FI Commission will be asked the review the technology and decide if it adds value to FI. If not it will be prohibited, and the team will be required to publish details of the system.

There are also significant changes in the size of the cars, with the maximum width increasing from 1800mm to 2000mm and the minimum width being no less than 1980mm,which more or less standardises the cars. Wheels will increase from a maximum of 380mm at the front to 460mm and at the rear from 355mm to 365mm,putting more rubber on the road.

There are changes to the bodywork rules, with an increase in the allowed width between the wheels.

It is significant that the maximum bodywork behind the rear wheels is being increased to 2000mm up from the current 1000mm.This will mean that there is more scope for creating downforce and ground effect.There are complicated new rules about the way in which rear wings can operate, with new measuring techniques and insistence on rigid supports.The weight remains much the same, moving from 600kg to 605kg.The KERS devices

COMPAa

are the only place where energy can be stored and these must never have more than 60kW and energy released must not exceed 400kJ in the course of one lap.

There will be FIA-designated electronic control units and these may only use software that is FIAapproved. In addition, competitors must have a means of removing all fuel from the car. Radio communication must be open and accessible to both the FIA and, where appropriate, broadcasters.

The cockpits will be fitted with red, blue and yellow lights to give drivers information concerning track signals or conditions.There will also be a warning light linked to the FIA accident,data recorder that will indicate the severity of an accident,so that rescue crews will be immediately aware if the impact was a dangerous one.

Perhaps the most significant change is that the rule that stated:"the name of the car manufacturer must always precede that of the engine manufacturer. Should a hybrid car win a Championship Title, Cup orTrophy,this will be awarded to the manufacturer of the car" has been deleted.This suggests that the FIA is continuing with its plan to move away from a Constructors' Championship towards a Manufacturers'title.

There is also a significant change in terms of how < % the technical regulations are formulated, with a new clause stating that after 2008 the current Concorde Agreement can no longer be used to establish rule changes and "changes to these or to the sporting regulations which, in the opinion of the FIA Technical Department,involve significant change to the design of a car, will be announced no later than 30 June to come into force for the next season but one".

Trin/fron

n The Spyker Formula 1 team has signed a three-year deal with the McGregor Fashion Group. n Audi has poached two fast-rising young German drivers from Porsche.

Lucas Luhr(27)and Mike Rockenfeller (23)will join the Audi Sport squad in both DTM and sportscar races in 2007.

Both are products of Porsche's'Star of Tomorrow'scheme and former winners of the Porsche Carrera Cup one-make series, Luhr in 1999 and Rockenfeller in 2004.

-JOE SAWARD/QUENTIN SPURRING 12

moiorsportnews

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The Egel has Landed ...

Premier Speedway saw some classy aerials from the aptlynamed Matt Egel. The car was pretty bent but the driver emerged unhurt.

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It was an all-gorgeous affair at Homebush last week. John Harvey was reunited with the MobilGas Special while he could never resist a quick hug with George Tatnell!

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P 5 6 --^1 12 13 ns 19 20 25 26 27 . .. and Christonher Morris must have been a good boy through his first year. He got a real Michael Schumacher-type Ferrari from Dad (and MNev/s photographer) John.

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THE two races during each World Touring Car Championship meeting will no longer be run back-to-back this season.

Instead, the first race will normally start at noon, and the second at 15:30 local time. However the pare feme rules are unaltered and the cars may not be accessed until 25 minutes before the time of the formation lap for the second race - in other words, the teams will only be allowed to work on them for 15 min before pit exit closes. The gap in the timetable will accommodate the new Formula Master one-make single-seaters.

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NEW Zealand racer Kayne Scott will enter his good piece of kit,ibut the HRf carls going:*© be second FujitsUiVS Supercar Series... in an exthe next step."

HRT Commodore VZ. MPM's current ex-;©,ynamikConnmodOteisifor| Scott,the reigning New Zealand louring:Car sale or lease,fhe team even hinted!that they i Champion> contested:selected events in the 2106 would considerentefingithe car for.aho.ther driver, I Fujitsu Series with. Mark Fetch Motorsport. He will; . if the^right d'eal and’tight drivereou'ldibe found'.' | . returnto Australian shores for the entire Fujitsu: . MPM,willcontinuet6preparethecarforScott r Series in 2©0f in one ofthe'Clayton Commodores.' ■-.0010,* its Adelaide'base. , _ . . ' "i thoroughly enjoyed my first season,"Scottsaidl While Scottiiseagedy.antiei,patihg?!hl|:fW8’rfdriMei, ''It was a great challenge and great to have a run be currently sits f0ufstkirrBtbejNZf0urih|,tia^^ j in it.The plan now is to;put all of what we leannedi having won the last roundiLof theiKiwi'sJom’esfic to good use with the new car. series at Ruapana.

"In fairness> the ear we had last year was a; biOOdy

■ Felix Porteiro, a 23-year-old Spaniard, has been signed by BMW Team Italy-Spain to race in the 2007 World Touring Car Championship alongside Alessandro Zanardi. Porteiro featured strongly when he was added to the team last October for the FI A European Touring Car Cup at Estoril, Portugal.

■ Former Alfa Romeo star Augusto Farfus had his first run in a BMW 320si in a World Touring Car Championship test just before Christmas at Jerez, Spain. Andy Priaulx was the fastest man in the session, ahead of Nicola Larini in a Chevrolet Lacetti and BMW team-mates Jorg Muller and Farfus.

■ The Grand Prix Masters series will embark on its second season with four new former Formula 1 drivers, namely Raul Boesel, Johnny Herbert, Roberto Moreno and Alessandro Nannini. The 2007 6PM single-seaters will be powered by 4-litre Mecachrome V8s, replacing the converted Cosworth Indycar engines used in 2006, and will be fitted with Michelin instead of Cooper-Avon tyres. Four races are currently planned with a new street circuit in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. The other races will be at Kyalami, Losail and at a venue yet to be revealed.

■ The Grand Prix Masters series had been hoping that Jean Aiesi would accept its invitation to compete in 2007, following his departure from the DTM touring car series, but the former Ferrari star told Germany's 'Auto Motor und Sport' magazine: "It might have interested me if it was taking place within a Formula 1 weekend. This is a great chance lost."

-QUENTIN SPURRING 76

Caratti joins PCR

WEST Australian Aaron Caratti will drive with Paul Cruickshank Racing in the Carrera Cup Championship this year.

Caratti, 26, will join PCR's all new line-up, which includes Formula 3 front-runner Michael Trimble and Porsche expert Bryce Washington.

Caratti debuted in Carrera Cup in 2006, finishing 12th overall.

According to Caratti, the biggest advantage of competing with PCR is that he'll have two team-mates to work with.

"The main reason for changing over is that I'll have team-mates," he said.

"We were looking for a team mate to run in our own team, but we couldn't find someone suitable.

Garth (Walden) and Louis (Kapitsas) did a fantastic job for us in 2006, but we wanted something different.

"And PCR has a great amount of Porsche experience."

Caratti said that he has a couple of clear goals for the new season.

■

"I want to win a race," he said.

"That's my first goal. As far as my championship goes, I'm aiming for a top five."

The addition of Caratti to the PCR fold will see Rookie of the Year David Wall compete under his own RDS Racing banner for the new season, as Cup Car rules state that teams can only run a maximum of three cars. Wall himself will remain contracted to Cruickshank's organisation.

- GRANT ROWLEY

NEW Zealand racing driver Jayant Singh has been arrested for bank robbery.

The Wellington driver, who has been competiting in the 2006/07 Toyota Racing Series, has been charged with two counts over robbery of bank security guards who were servicing automated teller machines. The thefts, on August 25 and December 1 last year, involved a total of NZ$200,000 ($175,000).

Singh, 27, appeared in Wellington District Court last month on two charges of aggravated robbery, two of using a firearm during an aggravated robbery and one charge of money laundering NZ$190,000. He entered no plea and was remanded in custody till February 14.

motorsport news

NEWS

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Morton adds ex-Larkham Falcon to his Ford fleet JIM Morton's has confirmed that his Decina Racing outfit will expand to two cars for the 2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

Morton has purchased one of Shannon O'Brien's ex-Larkham Motor Sport Ford Falcon BAs for a second yet-to-be-confirmed driver. The car was last seen in the hands of Marcus Marshall in Glenfords Racing colours in the last three rounds of the 2006 V8 Championship.

Morton told MNews that he was looking forward to the new season with an expanded line-up.

'It's just not economical to have one car," he said.

'We've always had plans to run two cars and now I'm looking forward to the challenge.

We had to reorganise a lot of our gear for 2006, and I think we did a good job. It made sense for us to add another car, and we'll now work towards the main series in 2008."

Both Decina Racing Falcons will useSBR Engines. The team expects to confirm its second driver in the near future.

- GRANT ROWLEY

%

More Masters Muscle

THE Biante Historic Touring Car Series is set for a shake-up in 2007, with the instigation of the Biante Touring Car Masters Series.

The new category will feature many of the same cars from the Biante Series, however the cars will now be classed outside of Historic regulations, utilising a Sports Sedan style logbook to make non-period technical modifications involving safety and reliability.

There will not be modifications allowed to the coachwork of the cars, meaning they will retain their period look, however small

www.mnews.conn.aii

amounts of advertising will be allowed, unlike under the previous regulations.

There has been an administration change too, with TV personality Glenn Ridge's taking over the category management through his company Q Media.

"This is going to be exciting from my point of view," Ridge told MNews.

"This series is going to be really strong and I'm glad to be involved, mainly because of how solid the existing group of competitors are.

"The new regulations will ensure the category

is more financially viable and safer for all competitors. Safety really is the key issue - some of these cars are clocking really fast speeds."

The Biante Historic Touring Car Series will run over eight rounds, the first three of which will following the V8 Supercar Series to Clipsal, Barbagallo and Eastern Creek. The Muscle Car Masters will be the Biante Series sole standalone round for the season, before it rejoins theV8 Supercar Series for Sandown, Bathurst, Symmons Plains and Phillip Island.

-ANDREWVAN LEEUWEN 77

WINGS

BOURDAIS FOR 2008?

First,a shot at a fourth CCWS title.Then will Seb go into FI? saward SEBASTIEN Bourdais is giving the impression that he is looking seriously at entering FI in 2008 in the wake of his FI test with Scuderia Toro Rosso in December.

Bourdais says that he is willing to drive for one of the smaller FI teams in order to try to break into FI.The Frenchman is currently still only 27 years old but by the start of 2008 he will be approaching

his 29th birthday, which means that he does not have a great deal of time to waste if he is going to establish himself as a credible prospect for top FI teams.

Bourdais may have some friends in high places, however, as his FI activities are now being looked after by Nicolas Todt, who manages Felipe Massa as well as running the ART GP2 team.Todt also happens to be the son of Jean Todt,the man who supplies

B POSITIONS VACANT I

TONY Purnell,the former team principal of the Jaguar Racing and Red Bull Racing Formula 1 teams, has been appointed a Technical Consultant to the FIA. Purnell's role will be to assist the FIA in developing Formula 1 technologies that will be road-relevant and will help to improve the racing on the track. He will work closely with FIATechnical Consultant Peter Wright and Head of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Department Charlie Whiting.

Purnell will also liaise with manufacturers, oil companies and key universities to identify the latest trends in vehicle technology developments.

At 48, below left, Purnell must be considered a potential future FIA President.

He made a considerable fortune in 1999 when he sold his PI Group to the Ford Motor Company,and from there went on to become involved in Ford's FI activities as the boss of Jaguar Racing.

- JOE SAWARD suttoh-images.com

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n PAUL CRUiCKSHANK RACING Based on the Gold Coast We have the following positions available with our V8 Supercar team 1. Workshop Manager 2. Sub-assembly Mechanic Please apply to ; Hayden Morris hayden@pcrnet.com.au 07 3807 7931 PO Box 6421 Yatala QLD 4207

18

engines to Scuderia Toro Rosso in his role as head of Ferrari. He is l also French, a feature rare in 21st century FI ....

Scuderia Toro Rosso is expected to nominate Tonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed in its cars for 2007.

Bourdais will stay in Champ Car in 2007 with Newman Haas Racing and is aiming for an unprecedented fourth straight title.

Top FIA job for Purnell

New F1 Makes'Body THE FIA is planning to create a Formula 1 Major Manufacturers' Advisory Commission with members from the senior management of BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ferrari, Honda, Renault and Toyota.

If the World Council agrees, this body will be headed by Burkhard Goschel, the former BMW executive, who is currently chairman of the Grand Prix Manufacturers'Association.

FIA commissions are consultative bodies that propose change to the World Councils.

Under the current Concorde

Agreement, which expires in 12 months,the Formula 1 Commission has special powers that mean that the World Council can only accept or reject its ideas but cannot modify them, A new commission would, in effect, replace the GPMA and serve to bring all the manufacturers back together again, as Ferrari was never a GPMA member and Toyota quit the organisation last year.This would have the effect of bringing discussions in-house within the FI structure, which is probably not a bad thing.

- JOE SAWARD

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Fast Rookie: Max Biaggi continued his impressive testing about Suzuki's 2007-modei CSXRWOORR,above, whiie Reggie Laconi pushed the Kawasaki into the top five, right, with a iate surge ofspeed.

Kawasaki Racing

SPEED FX RACBryG SYDNEY’S OWN V8 SUPERCAR RACING TEAM iS EXPANDING AND LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO BE PART OF OUR 2007 TEAM □ur program includes two cars in the 07 Fujitsu Series and looking to expand into the main series in 2D08.

Candidates will have an opportunity to join a team with a long, rich and successful history in motor sport from karting to VS Supercars.

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20

DUCATI may not be that thrilled about running its 2005-6 model 999 against the latest World Superbike weapons from Japan but the Italian V-twin still sets the pace in pre-season testing.

Troy Bayliss topped the times in the latest Pirelli test in Qatar,the World Champion leading all three days on the 5.4km Losail circuit.

TheTaree ace was quickerthan Max Biaggi and Troy Corser.

That time was set on a softer tyre which it's not possible to do a race distance on but my long run was good as well," said Bayliss.

"We did almost race distance and I was a lot quicker than in last February's race. It's been a long hard year but it's been great and certainly worth all the effort."

Biaggi and Corser set near identical times on the final day of the test, the Aussie determined to beat the man who ousted him from the Corona Suzuki team.

Corser's Yamaha Italia team-mate Noriyukia Haga was seventh fastest as the pair worked through a combination of three different chassis. Qnly Corser rode with the latest 2007-spec rear suspension.

Unlike everyone ahead of him James Toseland (Ten Kate Honda) relied on his second day best of 1:59.1 to set the fourth best time, but a big surprise of the test was the speed of Regis Laconi.The Frenchman's PSP-1 Kawasaki was right on the speed of the other 'fours'and meant that the test ended with five different makes in the top five places.

SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEST LOSAt^ Aus Ducati 1:58.1 1 Troy Bayliss Ita Suzuki 1:58.9 2 Max Biaggi Aus Yamaha 1:58.9 3 Troy Corser 4 James Toseland GB Honda 1:59.1 Fra Kawasaki 1:59.2 5 Regis Laconi 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ita Ducati 1:59.3 7 Fonsi Nieto Spa Kawasaki 1:59.5 8 NoriyukiHaga Jap Yamaha 1:59.7 9 Yukio KagayamaJap Suzuki 2:00.1 10 Roberto Rolfo Ita Honda 2:01.7

In SuperSport, Aussies Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes were dominant.The Yamaha Motor Germany riders led the times with 2:02.5 and 2:02.6 respectively.

Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati) posted the third best time, a 2:03.3 despite crashing out early from the final day of testing.

The final pre-season test prior to next month's Qatar opener takes place at Phillip Island from January 13-15.

World Supers

motorsportnews

NEWS

Bayliss,Hodgson Duke it out A WAR of Words, via the Internet, has erupted between Troy Bayliss and Neil Hodgson.

The two Superbike stars have conflicting opinions about why the Englishman is out of a ride after Ducati pulled its support from the AMA Superbike Championship.

Hodgson,inset, started the fussin'when he wrote on his website; "It appears thatTroy Bayliss didn’t want to be put under pressure by having a competitive team-mate and Ducati have bowed to his demands.This has left me as the longest-serving Ducati rider facing the prospect of changing brands for the first time in eight years."

On his own site, Bayliss, main pic, replied,"!just heard today that Neil Hodgson thinks I blocked his

Ducati corse

move back to WSB on a factory Ducati. He is not the only one, Alex Barros thought I blocked him as well. I am flattered they think I have that much power but I am only one small piece in a big team.

There are many people and a lot of factors that decide who goes where. I'm not here to bad mouth people so I will leave it there.

"We are enjoying our first Christmas in three years with family and friends back in Australia. It has been really nice, so nice that only three days ago I said to [wife] Kim I didn't want to go back to Europe. Seriously, I thought about ringing Neil and offering my job to him for the next two years.That is the truth, believe it or not. But there are a lot of things to consider and first of all is that I still want to win."

Bayliss will defend his title this season while Hodgson's remaining hope of a ride appears to be a semi-works Ducati run by n Carl Fogarty. Whatever happens if the two men get close on the track, be sure to watch ...

Tl'll: UsGIsMD

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TEAM Klaffi Honda has pulled out of the World Superbike Championship.

The Austrian-based Honda team, which ran a Ten Kate-built CBRl OOORR for Alex Barros last season, has lost its Honda funding.

Team boss Klaus Klaffenback said that the team would www.mnews.com.au

concentrate on its Isle of Man TT program this season, prior to a possible SBK return in 2008.

Klaffi will run in the Supersport, Superstock and Superbike classes in theTT,for riders TBA. Barros, left, took the team to sixth overall in last year's SBK, with one win and five podium finishes.

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The Crew Chief Shuffle LARRY Carter, who was to be crew chief at Michael Waltrip Racing for rookie driver David Reutimann in 2007, departed his position before the season began to join Roush Racing as crew chief for Jamie McMurray. Carter will be McMurray's fourth crew chief since joining Roush at the inception of the 2006 season, which produced zero wins.

Carter will be replaced at MWR by Frankie Kerr who turned his hands from Sprint Car driving to wrenching within the last six years and more recently worked as car chieffor Robby Gordon Motorsports. n Following a one-year hiatus veteran driver Ricky Rudd,50, will return to Robert Yates Racing to drive the second Ford Fusion alongside rookie David Gilliland with sponsorship coming from Snickers, Pedigree dog food and Combos snacks. Gilliland's sponsor will remain M&M's,another brand under the US Masterfoods umbrella. Butch Hylton will crew chief for Rudd, who last drove for Yates from 2000 through the 2002 season when sponsor Texaco jumped ship to Ganassi Racing. n The Army National Guard will join forces with 13-year Hendrick Motorsports sponsor GMAC to back the No. 25 Chevrolets driven by Casey Meats this season in Nextel Cup. The Guard moves from Roush Racing, where it's sponsored Greg Biffle for the past three seasons. Ameriquest will be the primary Biffle sponsor for Biffle in 2007 along with 3M and Dish Network.

■ Daytona testing starts this week with cars that finished in the'odd' point positions from 2006 testing January 8-11 and the 'even' point cars January 15-17. The Busch and Truck Series also on track this month for three days each culminating on January 23.

■ Two Nextel Cup drivers will miss the Daytona testing sessions. Robby Gordon will be competing in the ParisOakar rally from January 6-21 (in a Hummer, despite his recent switch from Chevrolet to Ford) and Tony Stewart. As he did last year, 'Smoke' will have have former Busch champion Mike McLaughlin in his seat, while P.J. Jones will test for Gordon.

- MARTIN D CLARK 22

usch drops Series

NASCAR's second-tier series to lose 26-year backer: Wal-Mart or niiaistiiifidj dark THERE will be no Busch Series in next year.

NASCAR has confirmed that the 'second tier' NASCAR Series will have a new title sponsor in 2008 after Anheuser-Busch,the parent company of the iconic beer brand, will pull the plug on backing the series that it will have supported for 26 years.

With a new TV package in place this season through ESPN, NASCAR apparently upped the ante on Its required dollar figure -from a reported US$10 to $30 million. While it shied away from the huge naming-rights number, Anheuser-Busch will continue its sponsorship of Dale Earnhardt Jr. through Its Budweiser brand and maintain'The Official Beer of NASCAR'status. Bud Pole Award and the title to the Budweiser Shoot Out, held annually at Daytona in February.

Mega department store chain Wal-Mart and Korean electronics giant Samsung are among possible replacements at this early stage as NASCAR begins negotiations with possible backers.

Daytona could be the

IF practice is any indication, the Rolex 24 at Daytona is going to be a cracker of a race.

Max Angelleli topped the times in practice, with a 1 m43.483s lap in the Pontiac Riley he will share with owner WayneTaylor, Jan Magnussen and Jeff Gordon.

"It was a very successful weekend for the SunTrust team and we leave here this weekend with a combination that makes us really excited for the race," said Angelelli, right.

"We got all of our drivers plenty of time in the car, and we had a very nice confirmation from Jeff that what we saw from him at Homestead was another very talented driver for our team. We still have a lot of work to do after everything we learned this weekend. But, overall, everyone on the

SunTrust team can feel good about the results we showed here this weekend."

Second fastest was the Bob Stallings entry of Jimmy Vasser, Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty and Stallings, Gurney fast in a car almost identical to Taylor's.

Right behind were the defending winners,Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Scott Dixon led the all-star lineups while Juan Pablo Montoya took his time getting used to the team's Lexus Riley. Right behind was veteran Hurley Haywood in the Brumos Porsche he will share with JC France, Joao Barbosa and Roberto Moreno.

The competitiveness of the field was probably best demonstrated in Friday's night's practice session, when the top nine Daytona Prototypes were within a second of each other. The race will take place on January 27-28.

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motorsportnews

Deal Samsung may step in

VOLKSWAGEN held the edge as the cars, bikes , and trucks of the 2007 Dakar Rally headed for , Africa. [

The German SUVs took the top five spots in the opening day of the event from Lisbon, Portugal and two Carloses - Souza and Sainz- took stage wins.

But it was the privateer, Souza,above, who led the event overall after the former world rally champion struck back for the works squad after a 67km,WRCstyle second day.

"Generally speaking, I enjoyed the Portuguese stages more than last year and we are happy with our results,"Sainz said."As a conciusion, the car is competitive and we managed these two days in Portugal quite weil."

Mitsubishi piayed a conservative opening, with Nani Roma third ahead of Stefane Peterhansel,

but BMW struggled, with former winner Jutta Kleinschmidt in 35th place after losing time with an electrical drama that turned out to be a loose battery cable.

But there were a number of incidents over the two days. Ari Vatanen lost an hour when his VW bogged in a river within sight of the finish line on Day 2, costing the Finn an hour.

Meanwhile, French touring car ace Yvan Muller had a tough introduction to Raid events.The former Sandown 500 winner hit a tree in the Nissan he shares with Rene Metge, but the damaged car made it to control and he headed to Africa in 11 th with some optimism.

In the Motorcycle Class, Portuguese Yamaha riders finished 1-2 on both days, with Day 2 winner Fielder Rodrigues leading Ruben Faria.

GM Motorsport

City of Angel

Stoddy really is a Champ FORMER Minardi FI team owner Paul Stoddart has confirmed his intention to run Team Minardi USA in the Champ Car World Series.

The Australian has acquired the majority shareholding in the CTE-HVM Champ Car team.

We believe that the shares were previously owned by Champ Car boss Kevin Kalkhoven, who took controi in order to guarantee the team's existence after its original Mexican backers withdrew in 2005.

Keith Wiggins wili remain as the man running the team and co-owner Cedric the Entertainer is aiso expected to stay onboard but Stoddart wiii now make all the strategic decisions as team owner.

The team says it will run multiple entries in 2007, which means at least two cars and probably a third. Given that Nelson Philippe finished third in the championship last year, it would be logical to try to keep him on in order to maintain progress and stabiiity.

His 2006 team-mate Dan Ciarke is also a driver with great potential and it may be that Stoddart only brings in one new driver although there has been talk of drivers such as Jos Verstappen, Robert Doornbos, Justin Wilson and even Katherine Legge. Much depends on other moves on the Champ Car driver market, because at the moment there is very little decided.

-JOESAWARD 23

No Rainbow for Rovanpera

Galli's Lifeline GIGI Gaili may have been saved from a season on the sidelines, with a lastminute deal to contest the Swedish Rally that could see the spectacular Italian return to active competition during 2007.

The former Mitsubishi works driver, who contested a number of rounds of the WRC with Pirelli backing last season in a privateer Peugeot 307, submitted an entry for the Swedish Rally last week.

"We have entered Sweden and Norway, but it is still not certain that we will compete.

"But I am quite confident that I will be able to drive in Sweden,"said Gaili, who will drive a PH Sport-prepared Citroen Xsara.

Gaili is confident that he can secure the necessary funding to not only compete in Sweden, but also on as many as seven other rounds during the year.

"In a couple of weeks we will know something for sure," Gaili stated.

"But I still have to find a budget and some people to help us to compete and to go and do everything.

"What is very important is to stay involved in rallying, and try to show our performance and our personality. I need to do everything I can to get back in a works team."

- RYAN LAHIFF/STAFF

HARRI Rovenpera has declared that he won't return to the WRC unless he can drive a car capable of winning rallies.

"I'd rather stay at home than drive pointlessly around in an uncompetitive car," said Rovanpera, who contested six

rounds with Red Bull Skoda in 2006.

"The competition in WRC events is so fierce that no matter which car you drive and on which surface, you have to get a chance to test enough before anyone can expect any results," he said.

However, Rovenpera did say that he may be prepared to help a new team to prepare for the WRC, presumably referring to Suzuki, which is yet to announce a driver lineup for its 2007/08 campaign.

- RYAN LAHIFF

-I Ii

And Mundii's Makes Six

Ford confirms two second-level teamsfor 2007 WRC FORD has confirmed its second B-manufacturer team for 2007,taking the total of officially-run Focuses up to six.

Whiie Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen spearhead the Blue Oval's attack from the front, the team will also field cars under the Stobart banner for Matthew Wilson, Henning Solberg and a string of upand-coming drivers including Jari-Matti Latvaia.

However Ford has now annouced another B team; the Munchi's Ford World Rally Team.The team will have a distinct Argentine feel to it, with Luis Perez Companc taking the lead and countryman Juan Pablo Rales joining him in the second Focus.

Meanwhile,former Ford factory driver Roman Kresta, who had remained with the team in a test driver capacity during 2006, has had his deal terminated; the team having deemed Kresta's services to be"surplus to our current needs".

- RYAN LAHIFF

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RALLYING , m

ARC TV goes in-house

THE NEC Australian Rally Championship will take its television production inhouse for 2007.

Fighting Words

On the basis of providing greater ability to control the content of the product, Rallycorp,the promotional body behind the NEC ARC, has parted ways with Network Ten and will Instead contract an outside company to handle filming and production.

While the departure from Ten was seen as a risky move, with producers reportedly threatening to axe coverage of rallying unless they remained the host broadcaster, it is understood that Rallycorp is optimistic

that Ten will continue to show coverage in 2007.

The move will no doubt please both the manufacturer and privateer teams competing in the ARC, with ARCom and Rallycorp having repeatedly expressed a desire to provide a greater level of coverage across the board if production was taken in-house.

An announcement is expected regarding the identity of the production company, but it is believed that the company has extensive prior experience covering Australian motorsport.

- RYAN LAHIFF

MARCUS Gronhom has made his intentions for 2007 clear by stating that he won't settle for anything less than securing a second-straight manufacturers'title for Ford, and a third drivers' crown for himself.

"A year ago when Ford made their plans for the forthcoming season, they didn't expect to gain the manufacturers'championship with a brand-new car,"explained Gronholm.

"However Ford took the manufacturers' championship title in 2006;therefore the Ford team and I head into the new season looking to gain both titles!"

Standing in Gronholm's path will be Sebastien Loeb and Citroen, and while the Finn has been hard-pressed to knock off his French rival in the past, he believes that the form of the Ford Focus on tarmac and gravel is ready to take on all challengers.

"I can match the speed Sebastian keeps up in every rally. Seb keeps a steady pace in every rally, so therefore I really have to avoid making any mistakes," he said.

- RYAN LAHIFF

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Written applications by the 2nd February 2007 should be addressed to the Managing Director, PI Operations Pty Ltd, RMB 500GP, Cowes, Victoria, 3922

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25

Chang I

WAS interested to hear that the layout of the Adelaide street circuit is likely to change.

I believe that the current layout is spot-on. But 1 am obviously slightly biased, because I have had good results there in the past!

What makes Adelaide what it is, is the event itself- it's the heat. it's the kerbs, and it's the first race of the year. Even though they are considering a to change the layout,those key elements will stay the same.

It will still be one of the best events on the calendar. It will still be hot. It will still be our first race hopefully! And it will still be the one that everyone wants to win.

We'll just be driving on a slightly different track.

It will be interesting to see which teams, if any, can make a change to go faster, whether they can find something to suit the of the circuit new

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OPINION

e m the City of Churches When we won there last year, I believe that we just found a compromise in the car. We didn't make it good in some parts and bad in others; it was a good all round package. For any long race, that is the most comfortable the car can be.

The track has got both tight corners and quick corners, so any changes that are made are not going to change the nature of the track a great deal. It has already pretty much got everything; it will just be a slightly different way of mixing up the corners as opposed to going to a flowing track and putting in a really tight corner.The track at Adelaide already has a good variety as it is.

The new run into the chicane looks interesting, although it shouldn't change things too much.

All the cars will be braking earlier, because the more speed you carry into a corner, the earlier you have

to start braking. But then you just wash off enough speed to get through the Senna Chicane as comfortably as possible.

All we'll have to do is change our brake marker and attack it at the same speed. As drivers, we are always changing our driving styles and lines according to the conditions over the course of a weekend,so where we brake into the Senna Chicane in qualifying is completely different to where we brake in the race.

So this is just another variable.

As a driver you are able to adapt to change quite well, so I don't expect that anyone will have any issues adapting to the new layout.

As with a team 2006. weWe were won very fivehappy rounds and we won Bathurst, and if you are disappointed with that then you shouldn't be doing it!

As for me on a personal note, I

was a bit disappointed with my run from Bathurst to the end of the year. I had a bit of a rough run there. It was a bit of everything ... just a few little things that we need to touch up so that that it doesn't happen again this year.

Flopefully next year I will be fighting for the Championship that's what I am doing all this hard work for, to be in that position.

The team gives me the tools to do the job,and it's up to me and the guys on my car to work together and improve on what we lacked last year, and make sure that we are the car that is out there chasing the Championship.

You know,there is not much between the front and the back these days. It was my first year with Triple 8, my first year working with Ludo [Lacroix, Whincup's race engineer] and I am going to go into next year with a lot more confidence, knowing that all the

otor mouth

'=’Ulie whincup

little mistakes that I made last year won't happen again.

o

ver the New Year,the team received the sad news that my number one mechanic, Bruce Reed, had passed away.The only thing I can say about Bruce is that he is irreplaceable.

His death was very, very unexpected. He had so many strengths, and we are going to miss that. He was as competitive as Craig [Lowndes] and myself; he wanted to be the quickest man in pitlane and he wanted to do the bestjob out there. He just did an awesome job, and we're going to miss him.

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27

i.

box seat e saward

T

HE current plan in Formula 1 is for teams to be allowed to sell chassis to other teams in 2008.There are some who believe this is a great idea - and others who see it as a disaster in the making.

There are many conflicting arguments but the basic logic of the idea is that FI cannot generate sufficient income to support 12 competing constructor teams, all of which are doing what amounts to parallel development work.This is very wasteful but at the same time this is the cut-throat competitive world that has created the vibrant industry of today.

There is no place for the weak in FI.There is some validity to this argument as the teams at the back of the grid are always struggling for money because they do not have the results or more importantly the exposure - to bring in more money.The result of this is that these teams tend to be supported by eccentric wealthy folk who eventually run out money and/or enthusiasm or make enough of an impact to move up the FI ladder.

In an effort to shore up the crumbling rear end of the FI field, the idea of selling chassis has come along.There is an argument that

28

such an idea is logical as it applies"platform engineering"concepts from the automobile industry in racing and thus offers the big players betterVeturn on investment.

The argument is that it is much more logical for constructors to supply additional cars to smaller teams.This makes particular sense for the car manufacturers as they can promote more than one automotive;brand or - in the case of Red Bull - can get the maximum exposure at the minimum cost.The problem is that when one takes this idea to its logical conclusion, it makes more sense for the bigger teams to own the smaller teams rather than just being a supplier. Running twice as many cars does not cost twice as much money and the bigger teams want as much control as possible over the smaller teams to ensure that they do as well as they possibly can - and do everything that the bigger teams want.

w

e have already seen the concept with engine supply deals with Ferrari and Sauber.

The deal was such that in order to get the engines Sauber had to agree to always vote

with Ferrari on technical matters.Team owners like David Richards may talk about the new era of low cost FI operations with small teams and no need for huge investment but the downside of this is that the smaller teams are unlikely to have any political voice or indeed independence. As BMW's Dr Mario Theissen recently pointed out, having six constructor teams plus six customers would very quickly change to a situation in which there would be six four-car teams.

The question that must be asked,therefore, is whether the idea of customer chassis is really protecting the weak teams or whether it is condemning them to lose their independence.

The other weakness in the thought process is that the system will only work well if there are six organisations big enough and keen enough to keep on fighting.The budgets in FI will go on rising as long as there is money to spend.The problem comes when the money runs out and car manufacturers decide, as they are wont to do,that they have had enough of FI and withdraw. If that happens for each manufacturer the sport loses two teams will disappear. And while there will always be

motorsportnews

OPINION

CUSTOMER CRRE

people willing to step in, there is unlikely to be the kind of money needed because of the sheer scale of the investment involved. f two manufacturers suddenly decided to leave the sport at the same moment, FI would lose one-third of the field.

Thus the idea only really makes sense if the aim is for the manufacturers to be an integral part of the sport in the very long term. In order to achieve that the FIA and the commercial rights people need to have a new long-term Concorde Agreement to guarantee the future - and even then there are no real guarantees as car manufacturers tend to think they are big enough to do as they like and will walk out even if there is a contract, paying damages if necessary. Damages might help the Formula One group to increase its profits but they will not fill up spaces on the grid.

The way to achieve that would thus be to allow constructors to expand to supply three teams or more - and that would set the sport heading in a direction which could ultimately result in there being just one or two chassis suppliers. www.mnews.com.au

Is the idea of customer chassis protecting the weak teams or is it condemning them to lose their independence?

Perhaps it is worth studying the history of CART at this point. Back in the early 1980s the CART teams built their own chassis.There were some car manufacturers who sold cars but there was great variety with companies like McLaren, Penske, Chaparral, Phoenix, Eagle, March and Wildcat were all winners.

Others such as Longhorn, Coyote, Parnelli, Lightning, Interscope, Primus and Rattlesnake did not win.The bigger chassis manufacturers were able to invest more than the teams and so by the mid-1980s March and Lola were so dominant that for a time even Penske gave up building his own cars. When March hit trouble only Lola and Penske remained until Reynard joined the fight in the mid-1990s.

Swift and Calmer came.and went but in the end only Reynard and Lola remained and when Reynard went out of business, CART was left with no choice but to become a one-chassis championship. Nowadays,the series is cheap

and cheerful but no-one looks at it with any awe In terms of technology and one or two wellorganised teams have dominated.

There one argument is never applied whenisthese things arethat discussed.

Far too much of the money that is generated in the sport goes straight out of it rather than being returned to the competitors. In addition to this the sport refuses to agree to split the prize money between the 12 competing teams and sticks at paying only 10.This means that the teams at the back are doubly disadvantaged and it is tough to survive.

There used to be an argument that there would be teams at the back which would simply cruise along and collect the money if there was no incentive but such is the level of competitiveness in FI these days and such are the costs that such things are simply not possible in the modern age.

29

Five minutes with

lll

JACK PERKINS

While Perkins Jr was preparing for another year in the Fujitsu V8 Series, his team surprised him with the GRANT ROWLEY news he was moving into the Main Game- with a new JDR Commodore VE MOTORSPORT NEWS:You said at the end of 2006 that you wanted to do another year of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. Since then, you've been given the nod for an attack on the main series. What changed?

JACK PERKiNS: After Phillip Island, I was pretty sure that I was going to have a crack at the Fujitsu Series. I was disappointed with my results at Phillip Island, but it was great to finish third in the championship, but at the end of the day,Shane [Price] flogged me.

So I was looking forward to having a good training season and really coming back and having a good Fujitsu series, all with the aim of potentially coming back to win the series.

We had a test day at Winton close to Christmas. Shane had Richo's car and I drove Paul Dumbrell's car and we had a very successful day. From there, I assume that Dad and the team couldn't find a Level 1, or a suitable number one driver.

A day or so before we broke up from work, I was told that I had the drive. I was very stoked, of course, but surprised as well. It's something that I never expected - to race for Dad's team, and to race in the Main Game,in what is effectively only my third year of having a CAMS licence. It's fantastic. it only seems like yesterday that you were racing karts. Everything has turned around pretty quickly.

Yes, it has. From karts to state series Formula Ford, Development Series and now main game,all in three years. It's definitely not the way I expected it and it's definitely a gift I didn't expect to receive from my father. Hopefully I can prove his decision to be the right one and get some really good results before the season's out.

It's the first time that Perkins Engineering has entered a season without a seasoned V8 driver on 30

Jack OanieiS

doing an outstanding job. I have no doubt they'll be fast.

The first half of the year, unfortunately, it's going to be Shane and I who'll let the team down in terms of really strong results. Flopefully by the end of the year, and then even looking into next year, we'll arguably be contenders for the top 10.

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It’s only my third year of racing cars.

To go out there and expect it all to happen is probably a little far-fetched - PERKINS KEEPS THINGS REAL the books. Is that this going to be a disadvantage?

Well, yes and no. I know Shane and I used Steven and Paul a lot last year to get up to the level we got to.

There are some great people at work.There's three or four switched-on guys who have been around the sport a long time and they know what its all about. And there is also Dad there as well, we can learn from him.Those guys are the ones who make the cars go fast.The drivers are a small, but important, component of getting the results.

Sure, it would have been great to have a Level 1 driver to go with Shane. But that's not the way it worked out. Shane and I don't really have any preconceived ideas on what we want from a V8.

We only know what we need and we seem to be going just as fast as the main game drivers.That has given the guys at work a lot of confidence and there's plenty of

work for them to do with getting the new VEs ready for Adelaide.

It's great that the whole team is behind us and we are looking forward to rewarding them for all their hard efforts and hopefully give them some good results - probably not in the first few rounds but we'll look to improve as the year goes on.

The Holden teams have new model cars this year. How does a rookie approaching having a brand-new car under his feet?

It's going to be quite different.

Last year I was in the team's oldest car, which was originally dad's VX from 2002.To jump from the oldest car in the fleet into a shiny new one all to myself is going to be dream, really.

There are some small differences to certain aspects, but mechanically,they are pretty similar.The team is working around the clock to have them both ready for Clipsal.They are

Are you treating this as a two-year program for yourself?

I suppose that's the way I'd like to look at it. It's obviously going to be pretty hard. It's only my third year of racing cars.To go out there and expect it all to happen is probably a little far-fetched.

If you have a look at James Courtney for example, I thought he was going to go better than he did and he's had a hell of a lot more experience than me.

I'd like to think it's a two-year deal. He hasn't signed me up for a contract, we just go at that pretty casually on that basis. I'm hoping that I get a two-year opportunity.

I think it would be hard to get my full potential out of the first season.Then hopefully capitalise for 2008. Maybe not right up there fighting for the championship, but making our presence felt and doing our best for Jack Daniel's and Holden.

We don't need to tell you that the championship is competitive, and if you qualify at the back you are likely to get caught up in the riff raff. Is that a concern?

Yes it is, and that is going to inspire Shane and I not to qualify at the back. I found that-out at Bahrain. Unfortunately, I didn't get the most out of the car and I should have been a lot higher up.

But that's something that we've been working on all year.

Qualifying pace really comes from experience on the green tyre, making the most out of the car and the tyre and making sure you don't put it in the fence by trying too hard.

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continued from page 32 Following that, Bright moved to SBR before heading to America to race in Indy Lights. After suiting up for DickJohnson in the endurance races, he moved to the Flolden Racing Team for two years,then two at PWR and finally, two at Ford Performance Racing.

With experience in teams that fill almost half of the grid, he has learned a lot.

"I never drove for those teams to build up and take experience from all of them," he says."I drove for all the teams for different reasons at the time. From that, I have seen how each of them work, rather than be tied into the same environment for five, eight years, or whatever. I have seen how different teams work,see their ingredients, and that experience just happened.

"Working with Ross and Jimmy and watching the relationship with Pirtek grow in the two years that I was there -from humble times initially to seeing the sponsorship virtually double showed me first of all that a team of good people can match any other team out there. I don't think that you need the biggest budget.

Renault has probably proven that in Formula 1 - and against Ferrari. If you spend the right money and give the people the right environment, you have the opportunity to race against the big teams."

Of all the steps in Bright's career, the most recent is the most interesting. FPR was searching for a lead driver after the inevitable loss of Craig Lowndes at the end of 2004. Bright joined the team (and joined Lowndes as the only man to drive for both manufacturers'works teams) at a time of transition.The team had been reorganised and Bright and

his PWR engineer Phil Keed had a lot of work to do.

"I went to FPR and there were some people wondering why I did," he says."But I was confident that it could be turned into something competitive pretty quickly.

"The Grand Prix proved that; we qualified on the front row. Every track that we went to after than showed up how bad our shocks were or how bad the geometry was in the front of the car. It took a while to get on top of those problems; we should have been on top of, certainly the shock problem, a lot sooner.

"But 2006 was great. We were in contention for winning six or seven rounds and we won two, with five or six podiums. Winton, Darwin, Perth, Bathurst, we were in contention for the win or second and missed out.There was the potential for a lot more. I don't think that fifth position in the championship reflects how competitive we were and how good the car was. It is hard to leave a team when everything is like that.

"The way that the guys in the team bonded meant that it was a good environment to be around.

Good times. It was a good place to be around;for the last six months, it was as good as environment as I have ever been around.

"It was a good thing.The Aston Martin stuff was great and I would like to think that it could still happen this year. Whether it does or not is another thing; whether I chase other opportunities overseas is another thing. I have a pretty big job here at the moment.''

But even while the successes were coming at FPR,there was always the spectre of Britek looming. Did that mean that Bright's role in building FPR

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motorsport news

INTERVIEW

Will it Work?

Ifthe owner/driver model has failed for others, will Britek succeed?

IT has not gone unnoticed that Bright is moving into the role of owner-driver.

That has been,to a point, successful in the past.

Once upon a time,touring car racing was all about owner-drivers. More recently, drivers like Dick Johnson and Glenn Seton have taken titles while running their own squads.

But in recent times,the model has not been a positive one. Brad Jones has rarely been competitive in V8s; as an owner, Mark Skaife has suffered all manner of problems at HRT. Bright is adamant that the cases in the past have been individual ones.

"I thinkthat why the owner/driver model has been broken are not for the reasons that everyone thinks.

The owner/driver model that Glenn Seton used in the mid-1990s worked really well; where it probably started to go wrong was when Glenn didn't have the budget to compete with the bigger teams, and the series probably out-grew that team.

"The driver/owner model that came about when Mark Skaife owned the Holden Racing Team meant that the team got left behind a little bit, but I don't think that that was down to the fact that Mark owned the team. He was still driving well [but]the team got left behind a little bit.The team had had unlimited tyres and a bigger budget than everyone else in the field, and had gained that advantage over time.They were continuing to win races but, eventually, everyone caught up]Once again,the series caught up and that team might not have been ready for it.

"1 don't believe that the driver/owner model was the thing that didn't work.There are a lot less owner/drivers these days. Owners can employ professional drivers who they think will do the best job for them. I certainly have not seen any concrete

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proof as to why an owner/driver combination does not work.

"From the beginning, I knew that I would not be able to spend time being a team owner and a driver if I was worrying about all the day-to-day business stuff, as well as all theTEGA and V8 Supercar stuff.

I still want to stay in touch with all those things and know what is going on,and sometimes make decisions on those things. But there are a lot of things in that area that I don't need to worry about.

That is why I wanted someone like Chris [Jewell] who I have worked with and trusted to run those things and report back what I need reported back. I want to be a driver and worry about the technical side rather than worrying about business stuff.

But I enjoy the business and marketing side, and I want to have input into it, but finding the time to be involved in all of it would mean that something would suffer."

One thing that Bright is keen to pursue is to prepare for the days when he hangs up the helmet and concentrates on being a team owner.

"I have always,from early in my career knocking on doors to find the money, wanted to help drivers.

The hard part has been,to this point, I have been building my own career and then building Britek, so I have not been able to do that. Hopefully Britek will be in a position where we can employ a second driver and groom them and, down the road when I am solely a team owner, I can hunt for the two best drivers to drive for me.That will give me as much satisfaction then as driving gives me now. I want to find the right drivers and put the right team together from now."

It's a big call. Apart from the opportunity to occasionally race internationally, Britek is going to be the last team Jason drives for...

‘ Excludes 2% Government stamp duty, dealer delivery. $95 administration fee, other on road costs additional.

continued from page 34 into a winning team was a'dress rehearsal'for Britek?

"I guess it was," he says."I didn't go into it thinking that FPR was a dress rehearsal but, in some ways, that happened.

"I learned a hell of a lot about the Falcon and about what needed to be done to help a team go from where they were to become a strong team, which is what they are now. I learned a lot about they way the team was run to how it is run now,and how to make a team have a common direction which, in the past, probably wasn't done properly.That is not to say that I did not have my own thoughts on those things anyway but, seeing it succeed and move forward proved that a lot of those things worked."

But having said that, it must have been a tough cali to leave the perks of a factory team - a competitive car, an appropriately impressive salary and plenty of applause - to take a step into the unknown, "it was a big decision," he admits.

'Going in there with Britek being set up in the background meant that I could bring a lot more experience here and help in a way that things had evolved at FPR. "But there were still some tough times,some disappointments and i think that we probabiy could

have progressed a lot faster last year [2005], I wanted to get on top of a few problems sooner In 2005, and sort out a few other issues, like using the pitlane when you are running at the front, cracks under pressure when you are running at the front.They might have happened in 2005 rather than at the start of 2006."

With SBR ending its three-year winning streak last year, it wasToll/ HSV and Tripie 8 that fought out the 2006 titie. But with FPR ending the year as the closest challengers, that means that the top three V8 Supercar teams are either owned or influenced by British-owned entities - Walkinshaw Performance, Triple 8 Race Engineering and Prodrive. Does Bright have an element of wanting to re-establish Australian-owned teams in the series?

are plenty of good people here that can do the job and I don't think that you need the biggest budget to win this series. Having won races for each of the different teams proves that, in two years at PWR, we were on a modest budget but I was just as successful as I have been in other teams.

We had a very dedicated small group working out of a modest workshop with a Portaloo as a toilet but we did everything properiy. We had some solid equipment to do the job and some things needed to be sorted out and understood but, once we had solid equipment and got rid of the idiosyncracies that had been developed into what was there, the car was on the pace.

"The direction and set-up that I

had at Holden Racing Team and took to PWR,and which I worked with [engineer] Phil [Keed] on and what we developed, was not that different to what we took to FPR and what I will use at Britek. There have be a total of five or six chassis in which i have been competitive and won races. I do not have too many concerns about being competitive in a new team."

In the 21 St century V8 Supercar racing has, largely, been about partnerships.Toll and HRT get their technoiogy Walkinshaw, Tripie 8 uses SBR engines - and, in turn, supplies chassis technoiogy to DJR. FPR will become a partner with Team Kiwi this year. Was Bright tempted to enter into a partnership with another Ford team?

"I have aiways believed that, regardless of whether people have come here or we have gone overseas, Australian motorsport has meant that we can do as good a job as the Europeans," he states.

"If the engines for Prodrive were still being built in England and they were as strong as they are, then yes, I would allow that we have some things to learn. But it was not exactly setting the world on fire when they were doing it their own way...

"That proves to me that there

Keeping the Cap in Hand ONE of the main talking points in V8 Supercar racing at the moment in the implementation ofTEGA's Total Racing Expenditure Cap. The cost-containment initiative, which came into effect on January 1, is designed to limit the amount of money that teams can spend on their programs. As a man who has just stepped from the obviously well-funded FPR team to the lesser-funded Britek, Bright's views are interesting.

"I think it will help our team," he says.

"It is hard at the moment.There are certainly some expenses in impiementing it for the teams, and it will be difficult to control.

"Can it be policed to the level it needs to? i hope so.The penalties are pretty high if teams try to find a way around it. Will it help the smaller teams? If it halts the teams that have four or five times their budget at the moment,which is the case,then it can. Will it mean that the bigger teams win iess and the smaller teams win more? Probably not.

36

'It is a hard call. If it means that some of the talent in the I bigger teams filter down to the smaller teams because there will not be as much work available in the bigger teams, that is when it wiii start to ;■ help, if it means that the bigger teams can only support one T ( top-line driver rather than two, and the other drivers start to : i ’ go to smaller teams, that would help the smaller teams be more competitive and attract sponsorship. "in March 2007 - and maybe into 2008 - it might not have a massive impact into the competitiveness of the teams. But in a couple of years, I think you might see some effects and they wiil probably go unnoticed.

"The smalier teams will not have a better driver, get more money or be closer to the bigger teams this year. But down the road, if the bigger teams have less money to spend on the right engineers, the support network, help from Europe and all those things, that is when it will start to help,"

motorsport news

INTERVIEW

"I get a lot of satisfaction out of doing my own thing," he says.

"I am not going into the engine shop and tell them how to build an engine, but if there is someone doing a great job on the engines and the cars look great because the spray painter we have is doing a good Job, we get a bit more satisfaction out of that. Having an alliance with someone building your engines, and having them as a plug-in item, is all well and good.

But there is more of a challenge out of building your own engines and trying to win with your badge on the engines.

"Not to say that, in two years, I may look like a fool and we might knock on the door of other engine builders. I look at the whole thing as a challenge."

Something Old, Something New: Bright comes off a successful 2006 campaign, taking FPR to wins at Sandown, left, and Bahrain, below.

He may have added Bathurst but a rare engine failure struck him while he led the race, right.

And, he admits,the possibility exists that after those two years, the knocking may be on Britek's door... it is a remarkable thing that Bright has done. In his'absence', his team has built up to be one of the category's coming attractions.

It has already diversified into other areas of the sport and that may continue into other arenas in the future. All it needs now is some success.

Jason Bright is no dummy. He has done all this with his eyes open and,to this point, whatever he has said he will do in his career, he has done.

He reckons that Britek can upset some of V8 Supercar's bigger teams - this year. So, who is going to argue with him?

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always wanted Britek to be a ; bit more diverse than just a V8 j- Supercar team’and' whether that ; was a Forinula.Ford' team or a ' rally team, l didn't know"he says. : "Before Ford set up-the rally i team, whenffwas setting up Britek, I thought that a rally I iprogramjmight be something I we could run for Ford one day.

■ It was not long after that they i announced thatthey were : doing it. At the time, il remember being disappointed because : it looked like we might have

ffi iSsed that ■opportunity. ' i "Butit.camelup.again,this_ | year and^it was soraefhmg.th^ i'was keen to. bring iriShouse.'|r will beatbugh'starttotheyear, because pfthetight timeframe j tOjb'Qild two Fiestas and get it off ] the ground. But it is not a 'March j 2007' program; it is 2007, '08, '09, J 'TOl Although>it will be a tough task getting:to the first .rally,'l, am i sure it will be a good package and a great opportunity to build: , a program into something it should'be."

Ihe ARC iprOjeCt also reunites Bright with Pirtek, whose colours he carried: to victory at Bathurst nine years ago.

-''It's also great to renew the relationship-with Pirtek. Tihat was not foreseen two years ago and'i enjoyed working with therri' at Stone Brothers, fhey backed' me at Stone Brothers after Komatsu pulied out, and fgrew into a relationship w/ith ;

them"

37

Rearview Mirror

Ninety-nine percent of motorsport is about looking forward. But 10 years down the road from winning the Formula 1 world title, Damon Hill is finally in a position to reflect.

MARK 6LENDENMING spoke with the 1996 world champion about life, the universe - and Youlite MOTORSPORT NEWS: The season that you and Jacques Villeneuve were at Williams, 1996, was the last time that we've seen a championship battle fought within the same team. As a driver, it must be so different to fight out a title against someone from the other side of the garage to fighting someone from another team?

DAMON HILL: Yes. I think that's a fascinating thing, if people can get their head around that - what must it be like, to be in the same garage, with the same team, fighting for the world championship. I mean, talk about a tense atmosphere in the debrief room!

MN: Well, you did it. What was it like?

DH: Well of course, the other guy knows everything you are up to. So it is a very interesting relationship. Piquet and Mansell, when they were in the same team fighting for the championship, you always thought,'! want to watch this, because it's going to be entertaining'.

MN: A iot of drivers feel a void in their life

when they quit racing, but it seems, from the outside, that it never seemed to be an issue for you.

DH: It is difficult. I think that quite apart from anything else, there is a routine, which is quite straightforward (laughs). Someone sets the dates for the races, and testing, and you just show up. And that is probably biggest problem; suddenly there is no routine.

But I spent quite a lot of time going around the world, so for the first few years or so - and even today - I hardly ever go anywhere on an aeroplane. I have done very little travelling, and it's been a relief. I've been at home, and able to spend time with my family and watch the kids growing up.

I know what it is like, because when my Dad was a racing driver he wasn't around, and then he got killed when I was 15. So I feel quite strongly that while I am around, I ought to be around. Just for theni, as they are growing up.

And I have been able to do that, thankfully.

MN: What about living in the spotlight? The British press and fans have a reputation for

being quite-fevefish> and you were squarely . tin the middle of that for a long time. Was it hard to be under that sort of scrutiny?

DH:Teli me. Are the Australian press any different?

MN: I think they are, to be honest.

DH:Yeah?

MN: i think so.

DH: OK. In what way? Do you think they are more supportive of their sports people, or not?

I got the impression with the Australians that they are as tough as nails.

MN:They can be. Mark Webber gets a rough time because the mainstream sports media don't understand FI, so when someone who usually writes about cricket and football goes to one Grand Prix a year and sees someone finishing 16th they tend to put two and two together and come up with 22.

But the specialist press... it's hard for me to continued on page 40 jiiuio’iijiiKiim'.'f?

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continued from page 39 say because I am part of it, but I would say that we try to be a little more level about it. it's just about trying to keep things in perspective. Plus, there is not the same culture of FI here as there is in Britain. I mean, you walked straight in on the back of Nigel-mania,and he was like a folk hero...

DH: I did, yeah. But there has always been a strong Antipodean representation in Formula 1,for whatever reason.There have been McLarens, and Brabhams, and Tauranacs ... all sorts of strong connections there.

-i'

MN: But when you see Ron Tauranac in a race paddock here, a lot of people don't know who he is. If he were British and wandering around at Silverstone, he'd probably have a knighthood.

DH:Yes.You have to remember that it is an intense country, Britain. It has got quite a lot going on in it. Motor racing actually gets slightly marginalised, by comparison to football and some other events.

The press in this country ... you are fighting on the back pages against football.There is enormous football coverage, and cricket. I think motor racing is regarded as a slightly ... it's not something that most people can relate to. I think it falls more into the category,from the fan's point of view, of being in a similar category to boxing.

So someone like Nigel Mansell, he seemed like he was a fighter, and I think he drew in a lot of people who feel that they like to see someone who is out there fighting. And its patriotic, as well.

You are an individual as a racing driver.

But it doesn't happen every weekend, it doesn't happen on weekdays - you don't have weekday matches, or whatever - you don't go racing every weekend. And of course there are fewer people,so you are at the front, and all the hopes are resting on your shoulders.

I mean,someone like Tim Henman,for example ... he cannot win! And I am not saying that he cannot win because he is . a bad tennis player. He's the best tennis player this country has turned out for generations!

But because he is not winning I like ... urn, name me a winning I tennis player? (laughs) S i

MN:[Roger] Federer.

DH: OK, Federer. Because he

motorsportnews

INSIGHT

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Do I reflect on my career? I can’t get away from it!

It’s being bloody shoved in my face my kidsj[ ^

fe*|i||'d>SGoveps that.his.eap^iris met ^ie^ng a;second; ”

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is not winning like him, he is portrayed as a failure. And it's just a completely distorted and unfair assessment ofTim Henman.That guy is brilliant.

MN:And that's what Webber often gets from the daily papers here. Same thing.

DH;Yes. I think that it is just very difficult for the wider public to understand that there are limitations depending on what team you are in and so on.

But maybe the pressure is also good. I can remember responding to pressure. I did not like it, but I also did not like being the runt.

And there were times where ...

I knew that if I lost the world championship in Suzuka, I was well aware that my name would be mud. And I tell you what,that is quite a big motivation!(laughs) So in some ways, you could say it was a help.

MN:So you could make it work for you?

DH:Well, it's a very complicated and tricky game that you play with the media. But you benefit from it as well, you see. You have to be very careful about criticising it, because without the press, you would not get the acclaim when things go well. And they are there to sell your achievements as much as your faults.

MN:What was your basic motivation as a driver? Was it the simple pleasure of driving those cars at those speeds,or the competitive element and the need to win?

DH: I think it's a combination of the two. I enjoy driving.

Sometimes, it is really nice to enjoy the equipment you are driving on an empty track, with no-one around, when you are just

www.mnews.com.au

testing. Sometimes you Just think, 'thank God, I have got the whole place to myself and I can just play'.

That's beautiful. And other times, you want to put all that hard work to the test and the take on the challenge that it is.

It is a wonderful adventure when you turn up to a race meeting, because you don't know when you first arrive what is going to happen. But you've got this hope in your heart, and you sort of throw yourself open to whatever is in store. You never drive as hard or as well as when you are in competition.

Competition drives every last bit out of you.

You just never know what you are capable of doing until you are put under that kind of pressure.

MN:That must be a really difficult sensation to replace when it is all over.

DH; No.(laughs) Not when you've had enough of it! You know what, you tend to avoid pressure! I think you can have enough of that.

There is a point where you go,'urn, thank you, I have really enjoyed this, but I think that's enough'.

MN: I spoke to Vilieneuve a while ago,and he said that winning the title took a weight off his shoulders because no matter what else happened in his career, he didn't need to prove to anyone that he was capable of being a champion. Was it the same for you?

DH: I think that it is a ... it's like a certificate of competence.You can say,'well, that is a Formula 1 world championship there. Say what you like!'. It is quite satisfying to have that.

MN:Do you still reflect back upon it?

Jj

DH:Well my son is now 15, and he has been trawling through YouTube. I don't know whether you know about YouTube.This is the new phenomenal aspect to our world now.

When I was young, we didn't even have my Dad's racing on television. I think I saw him once.

Maybe twice. And that was it. Now, you can go onto YouTube, and my son has been downloading all of my bits that people have uploaded. You know, all the interesting bits that don't get shown anymore.So he gets to sit there watching me crash into Michael Schumacher!(laughs) We were watching one last night and he said,'Dad, I think that one was your fau\tV(laughing) I had to watch it and I'm going, 'urn, yep, I think you're right. I didn't make a very good move on that one.'

So you were asking about me reflecting on my career. I can't get away from it! It's being bloody shoved in my face by my kids!

My own son is saying,'look, you totally ballsed that up, you old fart'. So it's quite fun.

MN:YouTube is dangerous.You can lose hours on that if you're not careful.

DH:Yeah, we were watching Kimi Raikkonen fall off a boat last night!

Have you seen that one? And there is a brilliant one with a baby laughing. Just brilliant.That's the thing about kids,they bring all this to you.You've never got time for it, but there are all these amazing new things going on and they shove it under your nose. It's great.

MN:Getting back on track, was there an additional sense of urgency to win the title after coming so close in 1994?

DH:Well, I think you have to

remember that I didn't get into Formula One until I was 33. Not properly,for my first full season.

So I was always very much of the view that I was quite extraordinarily lucky to be there in the first place.

I did take the view that if 1 didn't win the world championship, well, 1 had gotten a lot further than it looked likely at one time.

So it's a bit like in Hungary, when I was in the Arrows, I was leading the race, and i thought, 'this is absolutely mad'. After 20 laps I thought,'well even if it breaks down now, it has been a fantastic weekend'. And it kept on going.

And Ithinkthe same thing applied to the FI world championship. I wanted to win it, but you can't make things happen.

A large degree of it is down to opportunities that come up, and you can work to make the best of your opportunities, but some things are completely out of your control.

It would have been gutting not to have won it at all; that would have been very difficult. But I took the view that I tried my best, and as long as you try your best all the time, you just have to put your trust in what happens after that.

MN:Just to finish off, you copped a bit of grief in 1996 from people who said that you only won the title because you had the best car. Your thoughts?

DH: I did.That's absolutely true.

That was the best car.(laughs).

And I was very grateful for it!

But yes, people said that you only win because you're in the best car. Well, of course. You have got to get your hands on the best car. But you can also not achieve with the best car. And I don't think l ean be accused of that.

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Clipsal 500 Aust FI GP BIMF Eastern Creek Oran Park Bathurst 1000 Lexmark Indy Baskerville

AUSSIEJ^ACING CARS

1 NC 2 NC 3 4 5 6 6 1 8

Clipsal 500 AustGP Wakefield Park BIMF Eastern Creek Hidden Valley Qld Raceway Option A Sandown 500 Option B Lexmark Indy 300 Symmons Plains Phillip Island

Mar 4 Mar 18 Apr 8 Jun 11 Aug 19 Oct7 Oct 21 Dec 2

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Mallala Raceway Eastern Creek Phillip Island Symmons Plains To Be Confirmed

Jul 1 Jul 15 Aug 12 Sep 2

Clipsal 500 Barbagalio Winton Eastern Creek QLD Raceway Sandown 500 Symmons Plains Phillip Island

Mar 4 Mar 25 May 20 Jun 11 Jul 22 Sep 16 Nov 18 Dec 2

Outlaws Downunder Grand Annual Classic Aust Sprintcar Nats Krikke Boys Shootout Easter Trail

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FORMULA 3

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Sep 16 Oct 21 Nov 18 Dec 2

NATIONAL

Toronto Edmonton San Jose Elkhart Lake Denver Surfers Paradise Mexico City Phoenix

Aug 5 Aug, 19 S#2 Oct 7 Oct 14 Oct 28 Nov 18 Dec 2

SPEEDWAY

DRAG RACING Winternationals East Coast Nationals Australian Nationals

Jun 10 Sep 1 Sep 16

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KARTING AKA Nationals Northern Territory Queensland City of Melbourne Rotax Nationals New South Wales Western Australia Tasmania South Australia

Apr 8 Jun 17 Jul 29 Aug 19 Sep 2 Sep 30 Oct 7 ?

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SPECIAL EVENTS Daytona 24 Hour Daytona

Jan 27-28

Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis

May 27

Le Mans 24 Hour Le Mans

Jun 16/17

Muscle Car Masters Eastern Creek

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2007:V8 Supercar Season Review E VERY year, it seems, we say that this was the closest and hardestfought V8 Supercar Championship Series ever. And every year, we are right.

The 2006 edition of the greatest show on wheels had it all. Cast in the familiar but distant role of pre season favourite, Craig Lowndes went within a step of fulfilling Ford's long-held expectations but, in the final tally, Rick Kelly and theToll/HSV DealerTeam played a better, less emotional game to snatch the title in the final, controversial encounter.

But that tells only a little of the story of the season. From the Adelaide 500, when many of the expected contenders found 44

themselves on the back foot from the get-go,to the post-season hearings over the Kelly-Lowndes clash at Phillip Island, 2006 was a year of breathless competition, on and off the track. Even as the battles continued from round to round, behind the scenes there were battles for supremacy and for survival, both by drivers and teams; controversial rulings; charges and changes; revisions to the rules; and, finally, a worthy new Champion.

Some of the innovations introduced for the season worked; many did not. Some from both sides have been discarded but some remain. New sponsors came and old ones left, then returned in a different guise. A new destination loomed in Bahrain

and,even months later,the jury is still out deliberating whether it was a success or not.

It was also a season that, largely, met the expectations of many. A year ago,the then Toll-less HSV ended the season as the form Holden team. Betta Electrical Racing looked to be the prime Ford squad, with Ford Performance Racing coming hard on the outside. Stone Brothers Racing faced a Marcos Ambroseless future bravely and spent the year doing what many expected; fixing cars bent by rookie James Courtney before he figured out how to run with the leaders, and encouraging Russell Ingall to qualify higher than he did.

Holden Racing Team started the

year dogged by political dramas and suffered an astonishing level of drama,failure and, it has to be said, plain ill-fortune. Mark Skaife's visage was slightly reminiscent of the brave face shown by Lowndes in his final races at FPR in 2004.

The drivers who'arrived'were Mark Winterbottom,Jamie Whincup, Courtney and Will Davison and all promise much for the future.The new tv deal with Seven was announced, as were platform sponsorship with BigPond and Jim Beam. Oh yes, there were a bunch a crashes, overtaking manoeuvres, wins and losses.

So,turn the page and remember what happened in the last 12 months.

motorsportnews

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Toll HSV:The Champions IF ever there is going to be an award for a turnaround for a sponsor,surely it would go to Paul Little.

The Toll Holdings boss backed Anthony Tratt's team for years and, with due respect to the Melbourne driver, 31st in the 2005 series was clearly not what Toll wanted. So Little went shopping for a new team,ended up with the HSV DealerTeam and saw Rick Kelly and Garth Tander finish first and fourth in the series, romp home with the teams'prize and end 2006 as Holden's gun team.

And this is not the work of a moment- or

even a single season.Two years after Kmart and Greg Murphy parted ways with the Bathurst-winning team,it has transformed into a contender at every single round. It was about the same time asTEGA announced that its new Category Technical Manager would be KRT team manager Rob Crawford, who looked to be a popular and respected choice for the role. A short time later, Crawford reversed his decision and decided to stay.

Why? "Because I want to win a championship," he said in his no-frills manner.

With Kelly or Tander?

"Not fussed."

It was a remarkable season forToll, with Kelly finishing every race in the series. In fact, as we have already said, had Tander not been seconded to HRT, he would have probably won the title and Kelly would have been second.That is SBR-like dominance, circa 2004.

And the signs are that this will not end any time soon.The team stays intact to a man in 2007,so look for some more orange and black cars getting black and whites.

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SBR Look further WHEN you look at the final points tally and see Russell Ingall sitting in eighth, five spots ahead of James Courtney, it's easy to say that SBR fell into a slump during 2006.

Easy, but not entirely correct.

Ingall played the points system better than anyone else in 2005 and was rewarded with the championship - the Stones'third on the trot. But his tactics did not go unnoticed, and for 2006 Rick Kelly rolled up having decided

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I11I16WS Ingall was battered in qualifying 4^^ Courtney was on his learning curve

to do the same thing, only with a faster car. Right from the outset.

Ingall's chances of retaining the #1 looked slim, while Courtney had enough on his plate in learning the ropes during his first full V8 season to be worrying about the championship.

That said, it is true that the 2006-spec SBR was less potent than the SBR of a couple of seasons earlier.The problem was not so much that the team had slumped, although it did stagger

slightly through what was clearly a development year. The real difference was that a lot of other teams had stepped up.

Nevertheless, not all of the sailing was smooth. SBR was essentially a one-and-a-half car team during the first part of the season while Courtney got his eye in, which would have taken its toll during the early part of weekends when the emphasis is on getting the cars to work.

Ingall continued to be

battered around in qualifying, while Courtney had to juggle his learning curve with the demands of developing the newgeneration engine. But many of the things that shackled SBR during 2006 should be under control when the new season starts.

If the picture is not brighter in 2007 then the time may come to start asking some questions.

But for now, think of 2006 as the Stones'gap year.

HRT: The pressure mounts at Clayton

MARK Skaife suffered a tough 2005 - plenty of speed but only fifth in the V8 Supercar Championship Series (behind team-mate Todd Kelly). But 2006 was even worse for the Red Leader.

It is partially an indicator of his woes that Skaifey finished a career-worst 16th in the points - behind the ancient Fords of WPS. It is also an indictment on the pointscore system that any driver with a season-high seven wins could miss out on the top 10.

There is no point in publishing a list of 46

woes suffered by the Holden Racing Team - it is certain that Tom Walkinshaw has done that, several times - but suffice to say that some of the dramas were a combination of freakish mechanical failures and human errors - some by management, some by the team and some by the drivers. The good news is that the team's brains trust and drivers can deliver the speed (witness: Ryan Briscoe and Garth Tander at Sandown, Skaife at Bathurst, Kelly at Indy and Phillip Island).They now need 'only'to bulletproof theirVEs and maintain

their focus.

HRT has a long history of success but, with a number of other teams now operating on similar budgets and theTREC coming in this year, it remains to be seen whether 2005 and 2006 were exceptions of the rule.

Clearly, there is an element of disharmony in the squad, which bubbled publicly to the surface at the Island. This needs to be addressed if HRT is to be successful; it is almost impossible to field a winning team in any sport in the midst of a power struggle,

moiorsportnews

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Craig Lowndes:Under promo pressure?

IN a year that threw up just about every possible drama, Craig Lowndes didn't win the championship that, mid-season, looked his for the taking.

All that had denied him the opportunity to lead from the front all the way was the'somebody else's shunt'melee in Race 2 at the Clipsal. As it was, it took five rounds to drag back the points margin that Rick Kelly had taken away from Adelaide.

Sandown,a superb comeback drive,then that emotional Bathurst win, eked out the lead to 100-odd points. It seemed all over.

But then the tide turned.

Indy.Two drive-th roughs, both controversial. Wheel-spinning at the end of the warm-up lap (for goodness sake!),then the not quick enough 'redress'after a chicane fracas with Russell Ingall.

An angry Lowndes on TV, something we hadn't seen before; a disrepute charge. It boiled on all the way toTassie, where a deal was struck to forego a Stewards hearing.

Even so, all was not well in the Lowndes psyche. A couple of

critical errors in qualifying saw him miss the Top Ten for the first time in a long time. And then, because of that, involvement in someone else's lap one shunt.

Disaster.

It was only Rick Kelly's Judgement lapse at turn one at Bahrain that recovered things, which opened the door for the Phillip Island shootout. And at that point, it could have gone either way.

So what was it that rattled one of the most outwardly implacable drivers on the grid?

How's this for a theory:there's no doubt Lowndes is the most promotable driver on the grid.

He himself doesn't particularly like the'New Brock'tag, but it fits.

While all drivers are contracted to a certain number of appearances on behaif ofV8 Supercars Austraiia, due to requests, Lowndes fulfils many, many more many more - than he is obliged to.

There are those in and around his team who will tell you he's hardly ever home because of it. And that can be wearing.

Drive-throughs, particularly at

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Indy, are a major penalty.Your weekend is screwed. Given the huge amount of time given to V8SA appearances,couid Craig have felt a sense of frustration, particularly given the frivolous nature of the first 'misdemeanour'? Was he just mentaily worn out? Both? Maybe, in the end,the V8 Judicial system may have empathised.

We've even heard that it requested a list of Craig's V8SA appearances in the Indy'disrepute' aftermath.

(Trading justice for appearances? Now there's a

possible scandal!)

Or could Craig's Tassie problems been down to the fact that the team did choose to put aside a winning combo and debut a new car? Yes, it had been tested; yes, it was fine - but in the end it meant putting aside a race winning combo.That's always a risk.

Whatever, it was Tassie which swung the title away from Lowndes. And mentally,the potential champ just didn't seem on top ofthegame.Outcome? We'd guess a reduced appearance schedule in 07 ...

DJR:Good things come in threes

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mnews Three season factors. Car speed, THERE were some flashy(and trashy) phrases doing the rounds in 2006. Here are the ones we never want to hear again.

Disrepute Drunken footballers and TV hosts flashing brought disrepute, usually on themselves, in 2006.We honestly cannot think of one case of a racing driver prompting disrepute (apart from Paul Dumbrell and Warren Luff's shoes at the Awards Dinner).

Driver Swap We would like to say it was a good idea that didn't work. But it was a lousy idea that didn't work. If you have to bring in a guest driver, please, next time, make it a supermodel.

Homebush Sin City remains the Holy Grail forVSSA.Yep, it's a huge marketthat has proven they have better things to do than attend most sporting events.The people don't support it, the government doesn't support it and V8SA won't bankroll it with its own money.

Time for a new idea?

TREC No, it's not another animated movie with a green ogre. But it has caused some head-scratching and promises some ripper stories in 2007...

Breaking Traction.

Let's see now; even in Formula 1 - where engineers have spent millions developing cars that will not wheelspin - our heroes smoke the bags on the way to the grid without endangering lives.

But in V8 Supercars? Verboten. Brilliant.

^^^^Jh^2^^Jinancesan£bour^^ WHEN Motorsport News thinks about the fortunes of Dick Johnson Racing in 2006,there are three strong factors.

The first is the speed of their cars. No,they weren't race winners, but they were the best of the rest. Steven Johnson finished ninth in the series, while Will Davison displayed the raw talent that has been missing from Australian race circuits since his Formula Ford championship win in 2001.

The second factor MNews thinks about is DJR's 2006 budget,or lack of it. At the start of the year, the Queenslanders took a punt and sponsored their own cars with two new businesses. Before the halfway point of the year, V8 Telecom was dead. FirstRock Home Loans had a bit more success, but its financial input wasn't enough to keep them in the game in 2007.

Which brings us to our third point. After the last round of the year, popular bourbon Jim Beam signed up as the team's major backer for 2007. Financially, it may not be a massive deal but it keeps their heads above water.

It's great to have one of the foundation Australian race teams ensured for the new season but, no one can deny that modern day motor racing is a survival sport. So with the speed of its cars, if the books can be balanced at the end of each month,then there's no reason why DJR can't be a force for years and years to come.

^ Live. Love. Race We like the tale about the event promoter that was reprimanded after his race for not using VSSA's official credo in pre-race advertising - after attracting his biggest V8 crowd ever. But we love theslogan,Justas wedid when it appeared in motocross racing, years ago.

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THE 2006 season was always going to be an important one for Jamie Whincup.

A competitive team in Triple Eight; an even more competitive team-mate in Craig Lowndes, The year was either going to prove or disprove Whincup's ability.

And for the most part, it proved it Victory at the season opening Ciipsai 500 marked a perfect debutfor the likeable

23-year-old, and his move on fodd Kelly at Bathurst made life easy for Lowndes during the last stint CL may have crossed the finished line at the Mountain, but it could be argued that Whincup really won that race; Quite timely, given that his performance review was just a couple of days later.

ButJust as there were highlights,there were lowlights.

Whincup put a serious dent in both Lowndes's Falcon and his championship aspirations at. .

Symmons Plains by hitting him i on the way to the hairpin.Fie almost did:the same thing at the Grand Finale at Phillip Island in

December,narrowly avoiding his team-mate,on the way through liurn 1 in the first race.

And with that contract renewal safely stowed away in his kit bag;The Whizz.Kid can do it all:again in 2007.

Street races:Enough? mnews The idea ofa street race wasthrown

IT'S probably Adelaide's fault.

Such is the success of the Clipsal 500, not just as a round oftheVS Supercar Series but as one of this country's major sporting events, that every city seemed to talk about staging a street race during the 2006 season.

The idea of a street race was thrown around in Perth, Townsville and Sydney, and one-by-one they fell by the wayside, primarily because of a lack of government support in the respective cities.The only successful new street race bid was New Zealand's Hamilton race, which will be a welcome addition to the calendar in 2008.

Just because the formula works so well in Adelaide doesn't mean it would be a raging success everywhere else as well. For starters, Adelaide had a walk-up audience thanks to the old days of the Australian Grand Prix, not to mention the immaculate organisation.

Perhaps V8 Supercars need to use a more Formula 1like approach to racing around the streets. FI has only one genuine street race, the Monaco GP, and they haven't risked damaging the prestigious and succes.sful event with a poor reproduction in another city.

Maybe that's the key.The Clipsal 500 is a special event because it is unique as V8 Supercar's only stand-alone street race. If every second race is around the streets, then we run the risk of detracting from the Adelaide event.

And that would truly be a shame.

4^^ around in Perth,Townsville and Sydney

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Thrill— Stuff that raised excitement levels Last race decider That the two contenders should be tied with one race to go was extraordinary, and the anticipation over the couple of hours pre-race was immense.The nervous tension was at a peak. So often, what follows can be an anti-climax, and in this case it was...

Channel 10 Network Ten delivered. People tend to be critical of the minutest detail of TV coverage, but in our view,some people have short memories.Ten raised the bar, got inside the drivers' heads in a way that little motorsport coverage globally does. Can Seven take it up another notch?

Money Like FI, money-talk is starting to overtake sport-talk. If you're inside theTEGA/VSSA world, cashflow is an exciting word.The Seven deal, Bahrain, several major new team sponsors, all mean increased $$$ flowing in during 2007. Even so, cost-containment is becoming a buzz-word. Does any of this affect the racing that you,the punter, sees? Er.... no.

FPR:The pain was worth it IT took Ford Performance Racing four years, a lot of frustration and many engines to get the mix right. Now, finally, the Blue Oval brand has a genuine front-running factory team.

IHI16WS With a healthy budget and two quality drivers, FPR stepped up

With a healthy budget,two quality drivers and a tonne of useful resources, FPR stepped up to the mark in 2006.Jason Bright and Mark Wint^rbottom shared two round victories and spent most Sunday afternoons celebrating on the podium.

Bright won the Sandown 500 with Winterbottom, and followed that up with the round success at Bahrain round. He also should have won Winton and Symmons Plains.

A podium at Queensland Raceway underlined his exceptional talent and the team's strong turnaround.

One of Bright's key moments in 2006 was the move he put on Rick Kelly to take the lead late in the Sandown 500. While Rick was fiddling around inside his Toll Commodore, Brighty was ready to race, and pushed his way

past at the final corner.

Winterbottom had his breakout season. He won the Development Series in 2003 but, lets face it, in that Stone Brothers'Falcon, anything other than a championship would have been a failure.

His next two seasons at Larkham's were fruitless, and he finished the 2005 season in 29th place.

FPR threw him a lifeline with a one-year deal for 2006. After a steady start. Frosty used consistency, rather than race wins to ensure he was a factor in the series. In fact, he was the only driver other than Rick Kelly or Craig Lowndes to have a chance at winning the championship in the final round.

In 2007,there's two major changes. Bright leaves for his own team,and FPR will prepare a third car forTeam Kiwi Racing. How will these factors change the winning curve they are on?

Roll on the new season ...

Chill Stuff that we're glad to seethe back of Reverse grids The debate over artificial interference in top-level motorsport will go on.

Full reverse grids was probably worth a try but it didn't work - in many ways due to....

The points system Risk management under the 2006 points system fell heavily on the side of caution. Imagine racing drivers (and their engineers) having to decide whether, on balance, it was worth having a go. No more. For'07 there's proper incentive to get to the front.

Yay! 98 Seconds Some marketing ideas are a good idea, some aren't.TV companies maximise revenue in many ways, but we're not sure this was the best idea ever. We'd rather see the old, grumpy Enforcer...

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motorsport news

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THE Story of Super Cheap Auto Racing's season had been written before the year reached the halfway point.In many respects,the remaining rounds were simpiy about ticking off the days until 2007.

For exactly one day,the signs were good.The cars that rolled out ofthe SCAR transporter in Adelaide were quick enough for Cameron McConville to finish fourth in the opening race, but 24 hours later a couple of massive crashes had left the team with two trashed cars, two sore drivers, and an uphill battle for the rest of the year. Greg Murphy's car was sufficiently battered to sideline him from the non-championship round at the Grand Prix a fortnight later.

The team regrouped and went to New Zealand, only to see both cars involved in another accident in the opening lap of the first race and prompt another rebuild of Murph's steed.

Accident damage on that scale, coupled with the fact that the cars were seasoned warhorses in the first place - Murph's was about six years old - is very difficult to recover from,and for the rest of the year the team found itself stuck with two creaky Commodores that were neither reliable nor responsive to changes.

There were also traced of instability from within. Murphy's defection to Tasman for 2007 and beyond was an open knowledge in the paddock for months,and team manager Dave Ward also departed during the season. With several rounds to go, it was clear that the team's energy was being directed towards the future - the new VEs,the recruitment of Jeff Grech to steer the ship and the addition of Paul Dumbrell to the driving line-up.

After a bruising season, marking time will be the last thing on the SCAR crew's minds as they prepare for 2007.

in news For exactly one day of 2006, the signs 4^^ for SCAR were good...

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You've survived Christmas.You've survived the New Year.You've made a small return from betting on the Aussies to redaini The Ashes.There'sjust 9ne thing left to make youfsummer complete,an3that is the annual MNews quiz. Bonus points if you can complete it without resorting to G(>ogle...(Answers n&(tissue) QUESTiON 1:Three drivers appeared on an FI podium for the first time in 2006. Names, please.

Q2: Of the V8 Supercars drivers who raced only in the endurance races, who scored the most points (ignore dropped rounds)?

Q3: True or False: No Australianborn driver has ever won the Daytona 24 Hour race.

Q4: Will Power won the Rookie title in the Champ Car World Series last year. But the two men who preceded him no longer race in the series. Name them.

Q5: V8 Supercar's Total Racing Expenditure Cap is all about numbers.

So, how much 'allowance'does a two-car team get, and what 52

percentage is it for one car,three cars and four?

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Q6: How many drivers have driven in at least one race for both HRT and Brad Jones Racing?

■'1.

Q7: Marcos Ambrose scored one pole position in his debut season in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series. Where was it?

Q8; Four manufacturers will compete in the 2007 Nextel Cup. What model cars will they race?

Q9: How many sets of tyres will be allocated per car in 2007's FI Grands Prix?

QIO: Speaking of tyres, name the sole tyre suppliers in F1,V8 Supercar, DTM, WTCC and BTCC. Q11: Who am I? My father was

moiorsportnews

QT5: Fernando Alonso has a racing driver, and he taught me to drive at 14 on one of the _ .replaced Emerson Fittipaldi as world's greatest tracks. the youngest two-time world I started racing at 18 and a ‘ champion driver. Who is third on that list? year later I won my first race. I raced in 79 GPs with March, Brabham,Shadow and ATS and Q16: And,speaking of which, is finished on the podium twice. I Rick Kelly now the youngest-ever have had a successful career in ATCCA/8SCS Champion?

Sportscars and Touring Cars and I am still racing today.

Ql7;V8 Supercars have control gearboxes, ECUs and brake discs.

What brand is which?

Q12: Match the drivers and their 2007 car numbers. Mark Webber, Juan Pablo Montoya,Steven Q18: Who is the oldest living Richards, Russell Ingall and If world champion driver?

Marcos Ambrose. ® Q19: When was the only time Peter Brock and Dick Johnson Q13: Who will drive Britek's factory Fords in the 2007 ARC? competed as team-mates? Name the year, track and the cars they =3 Q14: All the 2007 MotoGP drove.

3 contenders feature four cylinder Q20;Peter Brock won all of his s engines. But which are'Vees'and 3 which are'Straight'? nine (or 10) Bathurst endurance

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races in Holdens. But how many different models did he win in?

to Australia in 2003. Name its four champions.

Q21: At what round will Mark Skaife clock up 200 ATCC/V8SCS starts this year?

Q27; Out of all the Australian Formula Ford champions, how many Bathurst wins do they have between them?

Q22:And what round will Skaife's team-mate Todd Kelly clock up 100 race starts?

Q28; How many Australian Formula Ford titles have been won in Australian-built chassis?

Q23: Between the last two V8 Supercar Champions, how many races have they wo.n inthe past two years?'

Q29: And which Australian-built Formula Ford chassis has won the most?

Q24; What was the official name of the V8 Supercar Championship in 1999?

Q30;Where did Brooke Tatnell finish in the 2006 World of Outlaws Speedway series?

Q25: GRM uses #33 and #34.

What were the two numbers it previously campaigned?

Q31: Which driver won both the World of Outlaws and the Knoxville Nationals in 2006?

Q26:Carrera Cup was introduced

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the Champ Car World Series wasn't won by a Lola chassis?

Q32: In which country did Australian Jason Crump wrap up the 2006 Speedway Grand Prix crown?

Q42: Which two riders who finished in the top six in the 2006 World Superbike Championship are moving to MotoGP this season?

Q33: And how many rounds were there left in the series when he did so?

Q34; Leigh Adams was the next best Australian rider in the Speedway Grand Prix season, finishing fifth. What was his best finish in 2006 and where was it?

Q35: Between Mario, Michael and Marco, how many Indy 500 wins does the Andretti family have?

Q36: At which circuit did Marco Andretti become the Indy Racing League's youngest ever winner in 2006?

Q37: And which veteran driver did the Andrettis have a verbal stoush with during season 2006?

Q38:Who is the Indy Racing League's'Spiderman'?

Q39: Which American city will open the 2007 Champ Car World Series?

Q43: Which French driver won the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship forTeam Australia?

Q44: And who were his two Australian team-mates?

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Q45: How many different drivers have raced for Australia's A1GP team,and who are they?

Q46: Who am I? An ex-kart and Formula ^ champion. I'm a Sydney-sider who now races in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Championship.

Q47: Which manufacturer had more cars in the top 10 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Championship in the final points?

Q48: Which Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driver took his maiden win at Bathurst in 2006?

Q40: Which circuit will host Champ Car's inaugural visit to China?

Q49: One of the 2006 MotoGPs famously featured a rider parking his bike against a barrier before he kicked the heck out of it. Name the rider, the bike,the track and the reason.

Q41: What was the last year that

Q50: How does Carl Edwards

celebrate when he wins a NASCAR Nextel Cup race?

Q51: What brand oftyredothey use in NASCAR Nextel Cup racing?

Q52: Name the longest and the shortest circuits on the NASCAR Nextel Cup calendar.

Q53:Which American Top Fuel driver has won the past two Boxing Day races at the Western International Drag Racing track?

Q54: Doug Kalitta fell short of winning the NHRA Top Fuel crown in 2006. Who did he lose to and what were the circumstances?

Q55: In drag racing, what is the difference between the quickest time and the fastest time?

Q56:Which FI driver holds the record for most retirements in a season - in fact in the year he set the record, he didn't finish a single race!

Q57:Who holds the FI record for most starts without a pole position?

Q58:Who has made the most Formula 1 starts without a point?

Q59:Which combination oftwo drivers have made the most starts as FI team-mates?

Q60:Who is the record for an FI driver to have the most non-qualifications?

Q61: What is the name of the two roads that make up the Albert Park GP circuit?

Q62: If you were putting together a Grand Prix car in the late 1960s, your parts list might have included a Hewland DG300 gearbox. But what did the'DG' stand for?

Q63:Who was the first driver to use Mugen engines in British Formula 3?

^EQSTEBlft

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54

motorsportnews

Q64: What open-wheeler category did Michael Schumacher progress to after karts?

Q68: With which European F3000 team did Will Power test with in 2004?

to drive at last year's Rally of Melbourne, who replaced him?

Q69: What colour are the frames on Sebastien Bourdais'glasses?

Q73:Three drivers suited up for Kronos Racing in the WRC last year.

Name them.

Q70: Which team entered the diesel-powered Audi R10 that won Le Mans last year?

Q74: With which Champ Car team did Ryan Briscoe make his series debut at Surfers Paradise?

Q66: We all know that Sir Jack Brabham was the first driver to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix in a car bearing his own name. But who was the second?

Q71: ln 2007 the Race of Champions will be staged at Wembley Arena in London. Where was it held last year?

Q75: Only one driver other than Sebastien Loeb and Marcus Gronholm managed to win a round of the WRC in 2006. Who, and where?

Q67: Who holds the unofficial lap record at Valencia?

Q72: When Ford ARC driver Michael Guest was unable

Q65:Two Formula 1 drivers from the 2006 season never raced karts during their junior years. Who are they?

www.mnews.com.au

Q76:Characters from which

cartoon series were featured on the roof of the DJR Falcons in 2006?

Q77: Who won the final race of the 2006 V8 Supercar Championship?

Q78: Where did Peter Brock finish in the 2006Targa Tasmania?

Q79: Peter Brock was part of the driving line-up that won the Bathurst 24 Hour race in 2003.

But he won another race that weekend,too. What was it?

Q80; Which two V8 Supercar drivers share a house?

55

Here comes Con¥ray Britfsil F3 Championship,check. Nacau Grand Prix,check.

It seems 1006 was a darned good year for Nike Conway and he told ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN all about it

A

S far as Formula 3 seasons go, Mike Conway's 2006 was about as close to perfect as you're ever likely to get.

In just his second season of F3 racing, the up-and-coming Briton dominated the famed British F3 Championship, including a win on the streets of Pau and then, as if to prove it wasn't a fluke, he won the Macau Grand Prix. As a Formula 3 driver, it doesn't get much better than that.

"This year was one of those years where we had to win the championship, there were no ifs or buts, It was something we had to.That was the goal I set myself, and we did it and did it in style,"said Conway.

"And with Mercedes HWA coming on for the first time in the UK, it was great to get their first British championship win.

"But in saying that, it wasn't an easy year - it was tough,there is some good competition out there. But we came out on top. 10 wins, 10 poles and a lot of podiums - and then to finish with the Macau win made it even better.

"There were some weekends that could have gone better, but as far as seasons go, it's been great. We pretty much dominated the championship; so it's been a season that I'll look back on and have good memories of. And the fact that it was tough made me pick my game up, push for those extra tenths, which is great."

The hardest part about reflecting on such a successful year is picking a highlight - Just ask Conway.

"The championship is harder fought - it's so drawn out with some many different weekends and different circuits, so that's been the best part of the year. But then again, Macau was fantastic as well - actually it is probably as good as winning the British F3 Championship, because it's a one-off race it feels really good at the time."

It's little wonder that winning at Macau feels so good. For starters, it's a prestigious event, with such past winners as Ayrton Senna, both Schumachers brothers and, more recently,Takuma Sato. And then there's the track - imagine a cross between Monaco and Bathurst...

"The first time you see a video of the track, and for me it was Just a clip on the computer, you're Just blown away by it," said Conway.

"You think,'bloody hell that's close.'It looks like there are so many corners, and that was the first thing I had to do, get my head around all the corners. I spent a month or two Just memorising the track layout, so I knew where I was going when I came out of the pits for the first time.

56

"You have to know where you're going next because it's one of those places where you can't afford to get it wrong. If you think that you're at a different corner all of a sudden then you'll be in the wall! So you really need to do your homework. But it's great racing through all the buildings, and then it gets tighter and tighter as you go through the mountain section, and one little mistake and you'll crash.

I love it, and I'd love to go back, but I don't think I'll be doing that in a F3 car."

The reason that Conway speaks of F3 in past tense is because even before his 2006 F3 program was complete, he was becoming a GP2 driver. And now, with a bucket of testing miles and a couple of race starts under his belt, Conway is focussed on tackling the last step before Formula 1.

"They're awesome - really quick cars," he enthused.

"They are Just so different to F3 cars, which are low-power, light and nimble.The GP2 cars are harder to get a handle on - especially the power.You've really got to nail that one lap on the new tyres. You've really got to nail it because if you don't, then the lap after you Just lose traction and the car starts moving around, and trying to get traction with 650 horsepower, it's quite and animal when it starts getting lose.

"But it's awesome, it's such a step forward like 1 Os faster than an F3 car."

It's all well and good Jumping into a car capable of going lOsfasters, butyou have to drive it 10s faster as well. So how does one go

about doing that?

"It's really just getting used to the power, you put your foot down and there's instant power.

But everything is more advanced - more grip, the tyres, the downforce,the carbon brakes - that's one thing that I found really awesome. When the carbon brakes are up to temperature,they are Just so good at stopping!

You're coming up to a corner at 1 SOmph,and then braking after the 100m board, and it's unbelievable that you're going to stop! The car Just dives down and stops, and that was initially the hard part to get used to.

"And then there's the grip on the high-speed corners, and in that way they're a bit like the F3 car, you Just brake a little and then carry all the speed through the corner, it's the same, but you're approaching it that much faster. At first you think,'hey 1 need to slow down,'but you don't and you carry so much speed that the first couple of times you feel like your head's being ripped off your neck. But as you get used to it everything starts to slow down,and then itjust clicks.

"And then comes the new tyres, and you can go from doing 1 m32s laps, and then go for new tyres and be doing 1 m28s laps - so you can find all that time in a set of tyres. It's such a massive step, and that's a difficult thing to get around.That's why it's so crucial to get the most out of those tyres, or you wind up way down the grid."

While Conway is yet to ink a GP2 deal for the 2007 season, it's a case of when, not if. With a final test scheduled at Valencia this week, Conway and his management team (which consists of ex-Grand Prix drivers Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell) will look to make a decision in the near future. And as Conway says,"it's an exciting time for me,that's for sure."

r

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[muE:'dK!TCiirai'.(?. ..

At first you think, ‘hey I need to slow down,’ but you don’t and you carry so much speed that the first couple of times you feel like your head’s being ripped off your neck - Conway talks about switching from Formula 3 to GPS

Bridesmaid no more Jimmie Johnson got tired of being the first of Nextel Cup's losers in 2006-so hejust finished first. MARTIN D CLARK recounts the season that was AVING finished runner-up two of the previous four Nextel Cup seasons,Jimmie Johnson came»away with the silverware at HomesteadMiami Speedway.

But back in February at Daytona, when his crew chief Chad Knaus was barred from the track and subsequently suspended by NASCAR for the next three races after an aerodynamic change to the rear window,Johnson's hopes of a title looked bleak.

Amazingly,Johnson went on to win that Daytona 500 and the Las Vegas race three weeks later - without Knaus.Then Johnson went on to win the 'other'prestigious event on the 36-race schedule at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, becoming the first champion to win the title and big money events in the same year, along with three other victories, 13 top fives and 24 top ten finishes.

Johnson had a 165-point deficit after the third event in the Chase for the Nextel Cup,then at Talladega, his now-former team-mate Brian Vickers spun both he and Dale Earnhardt Jr for the win on the last lap. But four runner-up positions and a win in the final six races sealed the deal, giving Hendrick Motorsports its sixth title.

NASCAR passed a major milestone in 2006, as it was the first year since 1974 that a race had not been won by a driver at least 40 years of age. Jeff Burton was the oldest to visit victory lane this season at 39 years of age. Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler and David Gilliland marked

■●IKl) .

NASCAR REVIEW

:

cinau

Clockwise from top left:Denny Hamlin led the youth movement in his rookie season,outpacing regulars such as Tony Stewart.

Meanwhile,JeffBurton was as old as it gotin victory lane. Montoya caused a massive stir in the NASCAR world by deflecting from Formula 1 KaseyKahne won more races than anyone in 2006,but inconsistency put pay to any title hopes. the first time in 17 straight years that Robert Yates Racing did not get a win, while Martin ended a 19-year relationship driving for Roush that netted him a total of 35 victories. However,the elusive championship passed him by again in 2006.

Denny Hamlin set the NASCAR world on fire in his rookie season. capturing eight top-five results and two wins. He finished a very respectable third in the title chase ahead of Kevin Harvick, who led a resurgence at Richard Childress Racing along with Jeff Burton, who finished seventh in the championship,and Clint Bowyer back in 17th. For Harvick, though,the year was monumental. winning 14 races in the Cup and Busch Series, where he claimed the title by a whopping 824 points.

Roush Racing had all five of itsteam in the Chase in 2005, but just Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin made it through in 2006.

NASCAR's'Mr Nice Guy'Kasey

Kahne won the most races and poies of 2006 with six each, and swept both the Charlotte races.

But a lack of consistency in the Chase stunted any title threat. although he knocked out Biffle and defending champion Tony Stewart.

The big story of 2006 was Juan Pablo Montoya's announcement that he was to join Ganassi Racing in 07, replacing Casey Mears.

Montoya finished 11th in his Busch Series debut and ran a race highlSth at Homestead-Miami in his Cup Series debut until his fiery wreck late in the race.

With TV ratings down for 32 of the 36 points races and almost half of the events not selling out, NASCAR hit hard times by their previous standards in 2006. But President Brian France is denying any form of lull is taking place within America's largest spectator sport.

So with that said, bring on the 2007 season.

Boxing Match . WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

A FESTIVE Christmas crowd

^ round 8- adelaide

packed Adelaide's Speedway City on Boxing Day to watch Max Dumesny win the opening round of the Proton Jumbuck World Series Sprintcars Speedweek competition.

The line up provided a great mixture of youth, experience, former Australian champions, and with five visiting Americans, the competition proved to be extremely tough.

After the heats and dash races had been run the experience of Dumesny proved to be a valuable asset. He top qualified, while filling the starting positions two to four were Shane Stewart, Paul McMahan and Robbie Farr (all three drivers substituting for their respective team regular drivers).

Dumesny led the field away but it was Farr who was on a mission.

resuilt:?WSS ROUND 8(35 LAPS) pos

NUMBER

DRIVER

1 2

V5 US

Max Dumesny Jason Johnson Paul McMahan Dean Jacobs Shane Stewart Grant Anderson Luch Monte Luke Dillon Dylan Jenkin David Murcott Warrenne Ekins Phillip March Mark Reuter Steven Lines Robbie Farr

3 Hue

4 W3 5 V37 6 7 W17 S81 8 9 il V91 10 11 NT11 S3 12 13 Ism 14 SS9 IS 16 S82 17 ■E2L_^.

18 S67

Lee Dilloi^ Ashley Cook Jamie Cobby

■y:

taking the Krikke Motorsports Cool to a commanding lead over Max and CO. Whilst in lapped traffic the lead duo had the crowd on the edge of their seats as Dumesny set sail on the high line to reel in Farr.

Farr was showing blistering speed and looked set to claim the honours until an unaccustomed error threw him into a violent

wheelstand and into the path of Dumesny. After making contact Farr rolled over and out of the event, leaving Max untroubled to the finish.

Behind the Aussie was a quartet of Americans; Jason Johnson, McMahan, Dean Jacobs and Stewart.

-PARIS CHARLES

First plus first equals points 0, 0

WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

round 9 - riverview

WHILE South Australia recovered from the Christmas ceiebrations, Max Dumesny celebrated victory as the crowd favourite treated the Murray Bridge audience to a polished display on his way to claiming his second victory in as many nights to collect a cool $20,000.

Dumesny proved to be in fine form on the night and Crew Chief Mouse Green had the V5 Valvoline Maxim humming from the moment the car hit the track. He once again sat on top of the pointscore, earning him the all-important front row position for the main event alongside series arch-rival Jason Johnson.

At the drop of the green Dumesny pounced away to lead the field, making the most of track position as the surface proved difficult to pass on. The event was riddled with many caution periods and with each restart, Dumesny set sail, showing his counterparts the fastest way to navigate the 60

RESUjaigWSS ROUND 9 (35 LAPS) POS

1 2

track.

South Australia's Mark Reuter flew the flag proudly for the locals, holding down a comfortable second position for the majority of the distance aboard his S95 ROH Wheels/ WhitelineTransport Cool until colliding with the stranded car of Lee Dillon on the exit of turn three.

With yet another stoppage.

Max made the most of the clear track ahead to power on to

Victory Lane. Once again Paul McMahan and Johnson flanked Dumesny on the podium, although this time the positions were reversed, while Robbie Farr went the distance to claim fourth over the consistent Shane Stewart, who led home .a quartet of former Australian national Speedway champions in Luke Dillon, Philip March, Warrenne Ekins ancJ Steven Lines.

- PARIS CHARLES

4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

NUMBER

- V5 036 W2 ■Q6

S81 3 NTH iS59 S91 F:Q78 S41 V37 S95 W92 tV91 NT20

DRIVER

Max Dumesny Paul McMahan Jason Johnson Robbie Farr Shane Stewart Luke Dillon Phillip March Warrenne El kins Steven Lines Ashley Cook Daniel Morton Wayne Rowett Grant Anderson Mark Reuter Lee Dillon Brock Mayes David Murcott James McFadden

motorsport news

SPEEDWAY

Back to victory lane WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

round 10- borderline

RESUigjgWSS ROUND 10(35 LAPS) POS

1 ROBBIE Farr put the Bunbury Toyota/Krikke Motorsport Cool back in familiar surroundings when he won the third round of the Proton Jumbuck Speedweek at Borderline Speedway on December 28.

"I'm so glad I can make amends for the other night in Adelaide," Farr said.

"I really feel like I screwed up and let the boys down in round one so tonight I can give one back to them.

"I kept banging the cushion pretty hard and I worried about that, I kept thinking that they'd come by on the bottom if I didn't keep an eye out," The battle between Max Dumesny and Jason Johnson to the chequered was tight, with Dumesny grabbing second from Johnson by the width of the nerf bar.

"Wow that was amazing," Dumesny said, "it was really busy out there and there were so many different lines

2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

NUMBER

W2 V5 :.U5 Q36 LQ6 NTS V91 V88 S67 Q78 Q18 V52 NT11 ■W17 W92

DRIVER

Robbie farr MaxDumesny Jason Johnson Paul McMahan Shane Stewart Danny Reidy Dean Jacobs David Murcott Luke Dillon Ryan Farrell Jamie Cobby Daniel Morton David Muir Darren Mollenoyux Wayne Rowett Warrenne Ekins Luch Monte Brock Mayes

to choose. I found I could run the highline nice in turns three and four but I had to go back to the bottom in one and two.That race was a lot of fun."

Johnson was again spectacular all night in the Supaloc/Armor All/Jim Beam Eagle and finished a solid third in Round 10 ofthe WSS championship.

-GEOFF ROUNDS

'Murky' water works WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

round 11 - avalon TEARS welled in David Murcott's eyes as he grabbed the biggest win in his Sprintcar career, taking out Round 4 of Proton Jumbuck Speedweek at Avalon Raceway on December 30.

The biggest crowd ever seen at an Avalon meeting of World Series Sprintcars watched Murcott lead home some ofthe sports biggest names in Max Dumesny and Americans Paul McMahan and Jason Johnson and Robbie Farr.

"I've dreamed about this moment for most of my life," Murcott said after his stunning victory.

"I can't believe it's finally here. I can't thank my car owner Bruce Stephens and all of our sponsors

www.mnews.com.au

enough.This is a great moment.'

Murcott started his Cool chassis machine on the front row alongside Dumesny for the 35-lap feature.

Steven Lines's night started brilliantly in qualifying, with a sizzling 12.224s lap, marginally quicker than Paul McMahan.

Lines then struck disaster when he flipped in turns three and four after he tripped over Warrenne Ekins left rear tyre in his second heat.

Dumesny stayed close to Murcott during an intense feature but there was no way of getting passed.

RESdun1)WSS ROUND 11 (35 LAPS) POS

NUMBER

1 2 3 4

:V9i V5

DRIVER

David Murcott MaxDumesny Paul McMahan US Jason Johnson Robbie Farr Luke Dillon 6 S81 7 ¥74 . Troy Shells ‘ 8 S59 Steven Lines John Vogels 10 TIO Mitchell Dumesny 11 W92 Brock Mayes 12 Q47 Allan Haynes 13 Luch Monte :W17 James McFadden 14 NT20 Daniel Morton 15»‘ Q78 Mike Van Bremen V6 16 17^E1ql7~~ GrantAnderson 18 NTS Danny Reidy The consistent McMahan recorded his third podium finish in four nights.

-GEOFF ROUNDS 67

Johnson steals the Jumbuck WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

m

round 12- premier

I RESUj^^WSS ROUND 12(35 LAPS) pos NUMBER DRIVER 2 3 4

V5 U5 Q36

6 7

NTS W3 V91

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

m.

V88 S67 Q78 Q18 V52

i4i

NT11 :W17 W92

Robbie Farr Max Dumesny Jason Johnson Paul McMahan Shane Stewart Danny Reidy Dean Jacobs David Murcott Luke Dillon Ryan Farrell Jamie Cobby Daniel Morton David Muir Darren Moilenoyux Wayne Rowett Warrenne Ekins Luch Monte Brock Mayes

AMERICAN Jason Johnson needed only 35 laps to grab back-to-back victories at Warmambool's Premier Speedway and drive away in a new Proton utility for winning the WSS Speedweek Series from Max Dumesny by a narrow 10 points.

Johnson won the A-Main from Robbie Farr and David Murcott, and needed pointsleader Dumesny to finish beyond eighth position in the feature. And, amazingly, that's the way things finished, with Dumesny finishing ninth behind his son Mitchell.

"This is great,"Johnson said.

"I've always wanted to win one of these great little cars, and I thank Proton very much for this great award."

Farr, who started the final from position seven, was delighted to finish second.

"We salvaged something (from the night)," Farr said.

"We got right up to him but we just didn't get the run we wanted in traffic. Fie got past that lapped car and then the guys in front of me started running three wide which made it tough."

Mitchell Dumesny, 19, in his first full World Series Sprintcar Championship campaign, was the surprise packet, setting fastest time in qualifying.

But it was American Johnson who found a way underneath him down the back straight, after which he slipped back through the field to finish eighth.

Ironically, he deprived his father Max of the Speedweek Series crown and the Lite by one place.

There was a touching tribute just prior to the A-Main to Stuart Dumesny,father of Max and grandfather of Mitchell, and

popular Premier clubman and former racer Trevor Ludeman.

Both were much loved characters and identities at the venue and in the Nullawarre region for most of their lives, and both passed away late last year.

-GEOFF ROUNDS

RESUl55WSS ROUND 13(30 LAPS) POS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

NUMBER

’ V5 V91 "US NTS iQ18 S81 178 Q47 ACT26 r- S25 Q6 W3 NT11 r NTIO S24 (S W17

Chami

WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS 0

^ round 13-Mildura

MAX Dumesny may not have won the Jumbuck during Speedweek, but he's certainly racking up some silverware in the World Series.

Dumesny was back in Victory Lane again at Mildura last Sunday night, edging out David Murcott and Jason Johnson, who led the 62

series heading into the round.

Shane Stewart looked set for victory in the 30-lap AMain, cruising out front in the Lusty Low Loaders machine.

Flowever it all turned bad for the American when his engine gave up mid-race,forcing him to retire to the infield.

"It's disappointing but I know we were good before that happened,"said Stewart.

"I know we're going to be fast

in Brisbane this week coming."

Stewart's retirement handed the lead to Dumesny, however a late charge from Murcott made life hard for the Valvoline car. But Dumesny was too good, holding on for victory and the series lead.

Jason Johnson may have lost the series lead to Dumesny, but his third place keeps him well and truly in contention heading into the final rounds in Brisbane

DRIVER

Max Dumesny David Murcott Jason Johnson Danny Reidy David Muir Luke Dillon Daniel Morton Alan Haynes James I^Fadden TonyMoule Justin Sloan Shane Stewart Dean Jacobs Warrenne Ekins Brooke David Ricky Maiolo Harold Brennen Jr Luch Monte jf Points:

Max Dumesny 7425,Jason Johnson 7342, David Murcott 5899,Danny Reidy 4593,Robbie Farr 4190, Gary Brazier 3785, Dan Morton 3740, Aian Haynes 3607. this week.

Danny Reidy was fourth, transferring from the B-Main before putting in a solid drive.

David Muir was fifth, a careerbest finish in the World Series, while Luke Dillon, Dan Morton, Alan Haynes,James McFadden and Tony Moule rounding out the top 10.

motorsportnews

SPEEDWAY

3.

Cold hard cash $50,000justfor driving around Parramatta?

Good work if you can get it AMERICAN superstar Donny Schatz claimed his sixth

Welcome home. Crump

World Champ makes his presence felt at home CURRENT Speedway Grand Prix Champion Jason Crump has made a successful return to home soil, jumping out to an early lead in the Linddales Labour Hire Australian Motorcycle Speedway Championship.

Crump had a relatively trouble free run to victory at the opening round at Newcastle Showgrounds last Wednesday, with his only loss coming in the first round to South Australian Rory Schiein. But as Crump later explained, even that minor loss came in bizarre circumstances.

"The truth is I was wearing a new racesuit and when I dropped the clutch, the crotch split open,"said Crump.

"After that I was fine, the race track was great and it was fantastic to be riding back in Australia once more."

But the loss was all that hampered Crump, who went on to win the round from West Aussie Steve Johnston, pictured inset, British Champion Scott Nicholls and Schiein.

Reinging Australian Champion Leigh Adams had a shocker.

Having won his opening heat, Adams suffered two DNFs, and only just scraped into fifth for the meeting after winning the B-Final.

Two days later the field landed on Sydney Showgrounds, where Crump was once again unstoppabie. He took six wins from six races, cementing his place at the top of the points table.

"It was a great event and everything is really going well," said a satisfied Crump.

"It was fairly tough out there, you know, Leigh (Adams) was www.mnews.com.au

back on it and Mildura will beinteresting as there are so many riders - myself included - that began their careers there."

Adams was indeed 'back on it,' recovering from his misfortune from Newcastle to win four races and come home second to Crump in the final, "I'm not that happy, I wanted to be standing on the top step of the podium," he said.

"But, I'm doing what everyone else in the worid is doing at the moment - and that is chasing Jason Crump. Bring on Mildura, I used to hate the place because I never did that well there, but I have had a run of success there lately."

Johnston continued his solid run, finishing third.

Points: Crump 40, Johnston 34, Adams 33, Schiein 33, Nicholls 29, Chris Holder 29, Mark Lemon 26, Jason Doyle 20, Simon Stead 20, Tom Medley 19.

Tyrepower Parramatta City Raceway $50,000 winner's cheque last Saturday night after another superb drive in the Garry Rush-owned Pick'n' Payless sprintcar.

Schatz had to hold out a very determined Joey Saldana during the running of the 40lap Bevelite Glass-supported $50,000 to win International, but on a different type of track Schatz held on to take the win over Saldana with an impressive Peter Murphy third. Jason Meyers was fourth followed by Steve Kinser and a sensational Ian Madsen, who was the first Australian home.

Sharing the front row with Saldana, Kinser jumped into the lead at the green with Schatz quickly getting by Saldana to moving into second position. By Lap 6 Schatz had taken Kinser, with Saldana also storming by the'King.'Kinser dropped backa couple of places while Saldana briefly took control just before mid-race distance.

Saldana did try to retake the lead in the latter stages but it was Schatz's night, the World of

Outlaws Champ taking the cash.

"This place has been definitely good to me,"said Schatz.

"We were glad to see the end of the 40 laps, when it gets a freight train down the bottom it's hard to get through lapped traffic. It's always you're loss, you have everything to lose nothing to gain, i knew if we got into lapped traffic and that we could push Saldana a little bit into a mistake. You can push and rattle their cage but he doesn't rattle that easily, he's a good racer.

"We were just lucky to get by when we did and I was kind of smart from there."

Saldana rued the loss.

"I could have done it but crashed one of us out," he said, "it's a great car but the track could have been better and with lapped cars I ran off the track and you can't make mistakes being impatient. He (Schatz) is good everywhere but he's not unbeatable."

For the first time this summer, Schatz didn't set quick-time in qualifying.That honour went to Marty Perovich, whose 12.054s edged out Trevor Green and Troy Little.

- GREG BOSCATO

●r

ahneing them at Parammatta MASCAR star rips it up on Aussie dirt The Wright way DARRYL Wright capped of his New Years celebrations in the best possible manner, claiming a well-deserved victory in the 360ci Sprintcar Series round at Adelaide's Speedway City on New Year's night.

"It's great to be back in the winners circle,'said an elated Wright as he climbed out of the S28 River City Sheds Eagle after leading the feature race from green to chequer.

Renmark's Chris Evans showed good speed to slice his way from sixth to second, as did the reigning Australian 360ci Champion Jamie Cobby,coming from 13th position to claim third. n FortheAHGSprintcarsitwas unfamiliar territory playing second fiddle to an all sedan show at Kwinana Motorplex, but the winged wonders put on a great A-Main recently for round nine of the series.

It was so close yet so far for young 360 Sprintcar driver Shaun Bradford, who looked as though he had the race in the bag. But with three laps to go he touched the walled, clipped a lapped car, and crashed out of the race, handing the round win to Jamie Maiolo.

Earlier, Allan Nash took honours in third Annual Sprintcar Muster at the Motorplex. Prior to the A-Main commencing, a rain delay of an hour had caused the track to become quite heavy, but that couldn't stop Nash.

While Nash was having a ball up front, it was Farrell who got involved with lapped traffic and midway through the big event flipped and was out. n Jonathan Allard snatched a controversial victory from Brent Kaeding to win the Piston Cup at Brisbane International Speedway last weekend, Brent Kaeding rocketed from third to win the dash, ahead of Cameron Gessner, Allard, and Bryan Mann.

When the feature race started Kaeding kept control,taking a close but unchallenged lead ahead of Allard.

The race was then struck with a moment of controversy when Allard saw an opportunity to pass Kaeding while lapping traffic.

The two Californians clashed, and the result left Kaeding facing backwards and out of the race with damage,with Allard continuing.

-CHARLES/SUTTON/KORIES 64

WHILE Kasey Kahne only had a brief two-meeting attack on the Parramatta clay, he certainly was impressed with theTyrepower Parrammatta City Raceway.

"It's really a nice place but we've had two really different race tracks on both nights," he said.

"It's been nice, I've really enjoyed the racing and being in Australia.

I didn't know a lot at Parramatta.

I've seen videos and Joey Saldana has talked about here, but I really didn't know much about it. But it's really a nice place and it's been fun racing in Australia."

But with his holiday barely over, Kahne is already thinking of the 2007 season.

"I’d love to win some Nextel Cup races, 1 hope the World of Outlaws team wins some races, and that the USAC team wins some races too. Well I'll try to get that Nextel Cup at some time. It will happen ... someday."

- GREG BOSCATO

Bringing in the New Year,American style WORLD of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz has recommenced his winning ways down under with three sensational A-Main victories at the Parramatta City Raceway since Boxing Day. Schatz's Garry Rush-owned J&J machine has virtually been in a class of his own,and even with the'King'Steve Kinser, Outlaws star Joey Saldana, NASCAR star Kasey Kahne, it was Donny Schatz picking up from where he left Australia last summer - and that's winning.

The annual Boxing night Sprintcar GP saw Schatz dominating the meeting after setting quick time in qualifying with a 11.913s(second was Kinser 12.031). He won both his heat and dash races to share the front row with Kinser in the 30-lap final.

Schatz stormed into the lead at the green and while Kinser did his best, Schatz took the victory over Kinser with Madsen home in third.

On Saturday December 30, Kasey Kahne joined the 66sprintcar strong TPCR field, but again it was Schatz on a mission.

He again set quick time with a 11.816s time but having his first

ever look at theTPCR Kahne was third quickest(11.884s). After finishing third in his heat, Schatz again won his dash race sharing the front with Kahne for the A-Main.

Kahne took the lead at the green and led for eight laps until Schatz took control, while Kahne started to be pressured by Kinser, until the'King'took second position from the NASCAR star.

New Yearss Day and Kahne's second and final appearance, but again Schatz set quick time in qualifying with 14.504s.

An impressive Mark Richards won the start of the A-Main, leading for eight laps before Schatz took control. Saldana moved into second and Kinser third but with just two laps remaining, Kinser ran over a muffler on the track (dropped by Ian Madsen) and stopped on the back straight with a punctured rear tyre.

Madsen was excluded from the results because of the lost muffler so it was Schatz winning again from Saldana, Murphy, Kahne, Loadsman and Kerry Madsen.

-GREG BOSCATO

John Morris/IViDix

Welcome to Australia:Schatz, top,Saldana, middle, and Kinser, above, have been unstoppable in Oz.

motorsportnews

speedway:

1800-Garry's-out No Show ONE of Australia's leading teams is boycotting this month's Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.

The Adelaide-based Disbury Family Racing team, which stars American Jason Johnson, has ruled out a tilt at the prestigious Classic on moral grounds.

Owner Darren Disbury explained his decision was made after Premier Speedway ditched plans to host a World Series round in November.

The club dropped the WSS event on November 25 after a monster truck show, run by a shareholder of WSS,opted to run at the city's showgrounds a week before the WSS event.

"We have the best show racing at the best tracks and (the decision) meant we had to take the best show to one of the worst tracks," Disbury said.

-GEOFF ROUNDS

GARRY Brazier is remaining unusually tight-lipped about his racing future after severing ties with high-profile Queensland car owner Bill Mann late last month.

"1 really have nothing to comment on at the moment, it's not something I really want to talk about at this stage to anyone," Brazier said.

"What has happened between Bill and I is just that, between Bill and I." Brazier confirmed he "finished with the Bill Mann team"after just seven rounds ofthis year's World Series Sprintcars championship, at the time citing family and personal reasons for his decision.

"I haven't spoken to Bill as yet, I haven't since I last drove for him a few weeks ago," Brazier added.

Team owner Mann confirmed during the January 1 WSS round at Warrnambool that Brazier had resigned from the team during 'a series of seven text messages" without talking to him, and that he had tried to contact Brazier for the reason for his decision.

"Yeah, I sent him (Mann)a couple of text messages just before Christmas, I haven't got anything more to say on it though for now," Brazier said.

I

Brazier first drove for Mann at last year's Easter SprintcarTrail and was asked back to contest the 2006-07 season, which included all major sprintcar events in Australia including WSS, with the possibility of racing in the United States later in 2007.

He had two wins for the team, including a WSS win at Nyora and the $10,000 Morvale Sprintcar Spectacular at Mackay last September.

The brilliant New South Welshman said he really enjoyed working with Mann's experienced

crewmembers Dave Sharman and Glen Beaton and was undecided if he will race anymore this season.

"Dave and Glen were great to work with and we had a lot of fun together," Brazier said.

"As far as my racing goes, I don't really think I'll contest any more events this season, not at this stage anyway."

Mann said he was disappointed with Brazier's decision but would like to again see Brazier back in his car.

"I'd like to go on record that Garry is welcome to come back and drive our car in the near future," Mann said.

"We are all disappointed with his decision and although we respect it, we'd love to think he'll be back at some point to drive the car again."

Brazier's retirement saw Oklahoma driver Shane Stewart arrive Christmas Day and will race for the team for the remainder of the WSS and other feature events.

Stewart, who finished second in the 2005 Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Premier Speedway,said he was delighted to be back behind the wheel for Mann and his team.

-GEOFF ROUNDS

Tatnell Brothers honoured in SI BOXING Day at Speedway City started with a speciai induction to the Worid Series Sprintcars Haii of Fame.

George and JoeTatneil were inducted;the brothers having been big supporters of the World Series concept from the beginning and George is a former World Series Sprintcars champion.

While the ceremony was taking place, Brooke Tatnell was listening in via mobile phone from America while trying to secure an Outlaws drive for next season.

After the ceremony George and Joe were photographed with Phil March,Warrenne Ekins,and Robbie Farr.These men {excluding Joe) are all former national Speedcartitleholders, while March,Tatnell and Farr are the only three men in Australia to have captured both national Speedcarand Sprintcar championships.

-PARIS CHARLES

;Hoosier Tire Australia Australian Distributors tor

Round 13-Mildura Speedway - VIC

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NSW: 0296791990 me 0393316477 SA: 0883320800

www.mnews.com.au

WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS 2006/07 CHAMPIONSHIP

F029679H87 F0393317444 FO883640296

Points as of7January,2007

Scott Kalitta grabbed his^s^ Western Sydney International Orapi

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S easy as you like, American drag racer Scott Kalitta rocketed to his second USA Top Fuel Invasion victory at the Western Sydney International Dragway three weeks ago.

Kalitta, currently competing in the Funny Car class in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series, maintained his unbeaten status on Australian soil (six straight wins) with a convincing victory against Terry Sainty in the final at the Sydney track.

And It wasn't as if Kalitta wasn't trying. In the final, he ripped a 4.58s/325mph, easily beating Sainty's 5.635s/184.57mph.

To add to Kalitta's achievements, he reset Australia's quickest elapsed time record on Boxing Day, with a flawless 4.517s/332mph (that's over 530kmh,folks!). It was one of four 66

passes in the 4.5s bracket - the first time anyone in this country had set those times in Top Fuel.

With the help of his American crew chief Jim Oberhoffer, Kalitta was thrilled to secure back-tobackTop Fuel in Australia.

"What a way to end an awesome two days of racing," he said.

"It was great to come down here last year and even better to come back again this year."

Unsurprisingly, Kalitta was the top qualifier, and disposed of Steve Read in the first round. His Round 1 win gave him a bye run in the semi-final.

For Sainty, his march through to the final wasn't quite as simple.

In his first round clash against Aussie NHRA star David Grubnic, he was behind at the 60 foot mark, but by half-track, he was back in the game. Sainty only just snuck past, beating Jim Read Racing's

Grubnic with a 5.103s/269.56mph to5.192s/201.94mph.

In his semi, Sainty defeated Phil Read, who was forced to pedal hard at the half-track mark.

Read had a nice lead at the 60 foot mark until Sainty skipped ahead, taking his second win against Jim Read Racing cars in as many races.

At the end of the evening, an exhibition race was run between Phil Read and Grubnic, with Read running a 4.974s/218.94mph to take an easy win after Grubnic blew his engine.

The Read family didn't totally go home empty handed,though.

In the second qualifying session on Boxing Day, Read became the first all-Australian team to break into the 4.5s zone with a 4.571 s.

"We finally did it,"Jim Read said.

"Bruce, Phil and the rest of the crew really deserve this. We

couldn't think of a better time to achieve this feat than right here on our home track and in front of the visiting Americans.

"This is a sign of things to come."

The Top Fuel field was depleated by one when stalwart Luke Shephard was a late withdrawal after qualifying.

The Top Alcohol class was ohso-close. Wayne Newby defeated Brett Stevens in a nail-biter, with Newby actually recording running a slower time. His superior reaction time was what helped him to the great win, 5.675s/247.16mph to Steven's 5.657s/254.14mph.

"Without a doubt my start was what won me the race," Newby admitted.

"I knew I had to make a good start or otherwise Brett was going to be hard to peg back. Thankfully I got the better of him off the line

moiorsportnews

DRAG RACING

I 1

JohnBosher

It's getting hot in here:Bob Shepherd, top, escaped this fireball. Above, Wayne Newby was too good in Top Alcohol, while Brett Stevens, below, did everything in his power to stop him. Bottom, Dave Grubnic blew up.

and I carried that advantage all the way to the finish line for my third round win in a row."

Newby's win ensured his dominant 2006/07 season continued, having now taken all three rounds of theTop Alcohol title.

"It's wonderful to be able to score a hat trick of wins," Newby said.

"And to do it on my home track makes it even more special.

"I knew I had to go all out in the final as Brett [Stevens] is a tough competitor and was in good form, so I had to be at my best from the word go."

The Gatorz-backed driver defeated Debbie Reed and Steven Reed on his way to the final.

Stevens advanced to the final with ease. Flaving qualified in the number one position, he was to face Mark Grima, but his www.mnewjs.com.aiu

withdrawal left Stevens on a solo, in Steven's semi-final, Gary Phillips red-lighted handing Stevens an easy ticket to the final.

Top Doorslammers ran an exhibition round, and after carnage in qualifying, only four cars remained. Maurice Fabietti and Brett Gillespie won the heats, but Steve Dupond and Peter Lovering contested the final.

Lovering went straight down the lane for a convincing win.

The winners of the other classes were; Joe Catanzariti (Super Gas), Chris Soldatos (Competition), Bill Perdikaris (Super Stock),Terry Jackson (Competition Bike), Ken Stewart(Modified Eliminator), Neil Constantinou (Super Sedan), Michael Gaud (Super Street), Evelyne Schotz(Modified Bike) and Ronnie Palumbo (Junior Dragster).

miRQ FIRE CHAMPIOIMSHSPS willowbank raceway

Playing the numbers game

The first major meeting at Willowbank Raceway saw the first major milestone of2007-the quickest KEN FERGUSON side-by-side pass in Australian drag racing history

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HIL Read and Top Fuel rookie Allan Dobson capped off an exciting nights racing at the Nightfire Top Fuel Championships last weekend at Willowbank Raceway's first major drag racing event for 2007.

The pair created history with the quickest side-by-side pass in the history of Australian drag racing.

The event, Willowbank's first to be unaffected by the weather in nearly 12 months,saw a huge crowd in attendance to witness Read take the narrowest of wins.

An 11th hour deal was struck for Dobbo to pilot the Uplift Cranes entry of Santo Rapisarda (the car which Scott Kalitta drove at WSID recently), giving him the dream ride, in the quickest and fastest car in the country.

Kalitta had smashed all milestones in this country in the car at the WSID Boxing Day

68

event with his 4.51 s/332mph.

Dobbo never disappointed after his shakedown pass in the first round of qualifying, going 4.78s at 303mph in the second session, grabbing pole, his quickest and fastest-ever excursion down a drag strip.

Phil Read's fireballing 5.27s at 211 mph in the Auto One dragster beside him was good enough for second spot on the ladder. Read had dropped a valve resulting in the massive fireball that engulfed the engine at half-track.

Phil Lamattina lit up the startline in his Fuchs dragster during the burnout,following a massive over rev in the absence of the throttle stop. Damage was minimal and he returned for the remaining two sessions doing enough to gain his license.

The first round of eliminations saw the two Queensland cars do battle, with Roy Smith taking on

'Pommie'Steve Read in his ex-Gary Clapshaw 'Spirit of Las Vegas'car.

Read took the win over Smith despite blazing the tyres and losing the blower belt early. Smith never even made it past 60 feet under power.

A battle of the Phils in the second race saw the Read car take a solo win after a failed circlip in the reverser put an end to Lamattina's night of racing.

Round 2 saw Phil Read step up into the 4s zone with an early shutoff 4.84s at only 252mph on a solo, while Dobbo again ventured into the fours with a 4.95s at 301 mph,despite losing the blower belt, as did Pommie Read, losing a belt as was the case on every pass.

The final saw the quickest sideby-side pass in history in this country. Identical reaction times and a win margin ofjust 0.0054s saw Read defeat Dobbo with a

4.66S/317mph to a 4.71 s/306mph.

Phil Lamattina returned after both rounds for demo passes and recorded his best ever numbers with a 4.72s at318mph. n the Top Alcohol category, Brett Stevens capped off a memorable night's racing in his Kitten Car Care Mustang Funny Car. After top qualifying ahead of Gary Phillips' Lucas Oil Products dragster, with a 5.72s at 238mph to Phillips'5.73s at 245mph, Stevens then easily defeated him in the final after Phillips got loose atthe330'markand got off the throttle.

Phillips had earlier recorded consistent low 5.70s to defeat both Debbie and Steve Reed en route to the final.

Stevens'5.71s in the final was his slowest throughout eliminations, going 5.63s at 256mph to defeat Mark Brew in Round 1, and 5.66s at

motorsport news

DRAG RACING

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Hot runs: Above, Allan Dobson. Below, the undefeated Dion Prowse.

3

Flame out:Above,Phil Lamattina, Gary Phillips, below left and Jason Lee, below.

256mph to defeat Dean Oakey in the second.

The Brett Stevens Racing team continued with its success in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class with Dion Prowse on board the S&S Buell.

In his rookie year, Prowse has been undefeated and now holds a good lead over championship rival Daniel Peatey, who red-lit away his chances in the first round of eliminations. As was the case in the first two rounds of the championship, Peatey collected www.mnews.com.aii

the bonus points for low ET and top mph, but was defeated

by Prowse in the final. Peatey virtually gave the championship to Prowse after his first round exit and Prowse's final round win.

The Supercomp final was a classic C/AA versus A/AA race. Justin Walshe took a welldeserved win in his 500ci Chev powered A/AA with a sub-index 7.14s at 187mph to defeat Mike O'Donnell's also sub-index C/AA 8.17sat158mph.The performance by Greg Leahy in his A/DA saw the quickest two

passes by a naturally aspirated vehicle in the country, with a 6.86s at 198mph qualifying effort, followed by an even quicker 6.82s at 197mph in his second round loss to Mike O'Donnell.

Other winners on the night include Keg Garland in Comp Bike, defeating Rhett Lougheed, after Lougheed slept on the start line, gifting Garland the win nearly 0.3s advantage on the start line.

Bill Fetcher was another to snooze on the startline, and he was defeated in the Supercharged Outlaws final by Russell Schafer.

After consistent 0.4s reaction times throughout the event, his slowest 0.529s reaction time came at the worst possible time.

Current Modified national Champion Graeme Frawley showed his class with another win in the Modified final, while Tony Whyatt took a tough win in Super Sedan.

Tony Wallace took the honours in Super Street, as did Mike Grunwald, while Glen Loy won Junior Dragster and Glenn Waterman was the Screamin Eagle Flarley class.

69

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NATIONAL SCENE

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TOM Tweedie will complete Anglo Australian Motorsport's 2007 driver line-up with a full season in the New South Wales Formula Ford 1600 Championship.

The 18-year-old has spent the last couple of seasons cutting his teeth in historic open-wheeler racing, winning the 2006 HSRCA NSW Historic Formula Ford Series in a 1977 Elwyn 002 chassis.

Tweedie will line-up for the Outright NSW series in a Van Diemen Stealth.

Ironically, Tweedie's 2007 team mate will be Robert Storey, son of Wally Storey - who built and raced the Elwyn 002 chassis.

■ After the success of the one-hour races this year, the Production Sports Car Racing Association of Australia has announced plans to stage a series of one-hour endurance races next year.

Dates for the races have been locked in, with February 25 at Eastern Creek being the first race for 2007.

Other dates are July 1 (Eastern Creek), September 29-30 (Queensland Raceway), October 27-28 (Oran Park) and November 24-25 (Phillip Island).

The concept is already already creating huge interest amongst the Production Sports Car fraternity.

■ Tim Macrow has confirmed that the he will drive in the Sevan Carrickowned Cooltemp Racing Dallara F304 in the opening round of the 2007 Gold Star championship at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway.

Macrow, 22, won the final two rounds of the Formula 3 Championship last year in the car and should be one of the front-runners in the Gold Star category. It's not yet confirmed if he will continue the arrangement beyond the first round.

The operation will again be supported by Scud Racing.

"It's really good to be involved with Sevan Carrick, Gary Sturdy (engineer) and Sill Maddocks again for the upcoming season," Macrow said. "It's a really good collaboration and they have been fantastic supporters of my career." m The 2007 Australian Motor Racing Series management has delivered some great news to competitors - Entry and Series registration fees have been lowered by six percent for 2007.

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THE Aussie Racing Cars Series is preparing for its biggest-ever season, with the announcement of its 2007 season calencJar, plus new drivers and a new body shape.

The popular series will support all of the major V8 Supercar races in Australia this year, and for the first time, will be at the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne's Albert Park in March.

To complement this, the Aussie Racers will visit Bathurst twice (both times for series points), and conclude in a stand-alone event at Baskerville in early December.

As usual, the category will . feature grids in excess of 40 cars, including many cars in the same livery ofV8 Supercars.

One of the new drivers confirmed for the Aussie Racing field is Charles Davison, son of Sandown promoter Jon. Charles has recently been competing

in selected Porsche 944 events in Victoria and has impressed, considering his limited racing experience.

While there will be a horde of Supercar-inspired cars, there is likely to be a new shape car hit the track early in the season.

Phil Ward's small team is close to confirming that a Mercedes Benz CLK-shaped car will compete in 2007, possibly as early as the Grand Prix in March. All the designs for the new car are in place, with the new body shape said to be similar to the Mercs that compete in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship).

When the Mercedes hits the track. Ward (a long-time Mercedes fan and former racer of the German product) will be the first to compete in it.

"I Just like them," he said of his affection for the Mercedes brand.

"Everyone is doing Ford and

'

Holden racing to death, so it's just something different. We have a new way of designing and building our cars, so we'll now have the opportunity to do even more car shapes in the future."

The series is likely to have its own stand-alone television package in 2007, possibly on pay television.

- GRANT ROWLEY

2007 Aussie Racing Car Calendar 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

ClipsalSOO March 1/4 Australian GP March 15/18 BIMF April 5/8 Eastern Creek June 9/11 Oran Park August 17/19 Bathurst 1000 October 4/7 Lexmark Indy October 18/21 Baskerville December1/2

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V8 LITE team SAGE Racing has secured a new major sponsor for the 2007 championship.

Sprint Gas will adorn the flanks of Gary Baxter's Holden Ute, which took him to fourth in last year's series.

SageTeam Manager Andrew Eglinton was over the moon to confirm the new deal.

"We're thrilled to sign an aggressive market leader such as Sprint Gas (Aust) for the 2007 season," he said.

Sprint Gas Australia is one of this country's largest suppliers and exporters of automotive LPG/CNG conversion Equipment.

motorsportnews

NATIONAL SCENE 1

Giant new category

V8 GIANTS is an all new motor racing category for 2007,taking in some of theTouring Car Challenge, plus new and exciting cars.

V8 Giants will run a nine-round championship with the Australian Motor Racing Series.

The new series is set to feature V8-powered touring cars from a diverse range of manufacturers.

The cars will have different capacity engines, different weight and rpm limits, all in the aim of providing close racing.

The idea of the series is to have cars with 550hp,4.6 litre quad cam V8 powered car, weighing 1300kg, doing battle against a 700hp, 7-litre pushrod V8 powered car weighing in at 1500kg.The lighter car will have the advantage in cornering and braking, while the 7-litre beast will have the advantage on the straights. It's this diversity that has been the foundations of the Australian Touring Car Challenge.

For 2007, V8 Giants will run in conjunction with the Australian Touring Car Challenge, allowing a year where the new cars can be developed. As the number of V8 Giants increases during 2007, an extra race will be added to the AMRS schedule, solely for the V8 Giants cars(and with a longer distance, non-handicapped format).

Garry Willmington is building an AU Falcon that will be powered

by a pushrod V8. An unnamed Victorian racer is building a 7-litre Commodore, while Neil Byers is believed to be heavily into the planning of a 360ci Chrysler V8powered Mitsubishi 380.The Mumbo Racing stable is also working on a 4.6-litre, quad cam powered Ford Mondeo.

A control V8 Giants aeropackage is one of the few compulsory items.

The category can accept cars like the Chrysler 300Cs,the Mercedes-Benz SSOOs,the Ford V8powered Mazda 6s and the Lexus V8-powered Camrys.

TheV8(orV6)engine used must be from a manufacturer with a recognised relationship with the car manufacturer, and it must be installed in front of the original firewall (with modifications allowed for transmission fitment only), the engine capacity, configuration and rpm limit must comply with the equivalency table (below). Wheels may be 17" or 18"diameter, with a maximum width of 11".

V8 Giants-Proposed Technical Classification Capacity

Config.

Rev Limit

Min. Weight

4000CC 4600cc SOOOcc 5400CC 6000CC 6400CC 7000CC

4(OHC) 4(OHC) 2(Pushrod) 4(OHC) 2(Pushrod) 4(OHC) 2(Pushrod)

7500rpm 7500rpm 7500rpm 7000rpm 7000rpm 7500rpm 6500rpm

1200kg 1250kg 1300kg 1350kg 1350kg 1500kg 1500kg

www.mnews.com.au

Myfair lady

Daniel Gaunt wins 2007 Lady Wigram in NZ

DANIEL Gaunt has won the 2007 Lady Wigram Trophy after a thrilling dice with Ben Harford at Christchurch's Powerbuilt Tools International Raceway last Sunday.

The two local lads went at it hammer and tongs for the entire 25-iap race, after Gaunt got the better of polesitter Harford at the start.

Throughout the race Harford made three valiant overtaking attempts, but was unable to reclaim the lead from Gaunt.

At the finish just 0.172s,the closest finish in Toyota Racing Series history, separated them.

"It was always going to have to happen off the start as Ben (Harford) has been quick here all weekend,"said Gaunt after . the race.

"It was a confidence boost to get the lead but it was tough as he pushed and attacked me for the whole distance."

Harford, meanwhile, was already thinking about the next round atTaupo in 10 days time.

"Win,win, win - I really like Taupo and won the last race there - it's a cool circuit," he enthused.

"I know the car will be set up right so we intend to win and maintain our lap record there."

Third for the trophy race was Briton Ben Clucas, who held off Shane Van Gisbergen, Andy Knight and Bahrain's Hamad Al Fardan.

Earlier in the weekend.

Harford took a pair of victories in the preliminary races.

Race 1 was almost perfect for Harford,launching from pole position and leading every lap. He did come under some pressure from Clucas in the early laps, but as the race progressed Clucas fell away, finishing second ahead of Al Fardan.

The top three were unchanged in Race 2, however the leader was well out in front.

Harford now leads the International Series, while Gaunt maintains his lead in the Toyota Racing Series.

Points: Gaunt 562,Harford 514, Clucas 479, Knight 442, Al Fardan 403, Van Gisbergen 361.

77

Jlny young driver who oan oonvince Tom Walkinsliaw to haek him In Formula Ford must have a lot of potential.

UNDHEW VilN LEEUWEN found out why Nioh Percat is ...

Going Platin MOTORSPORT NEWS: How would you describe your 2006 season?

NICK PERCAT: Well I guess it was successful, because I did the Aussie Racing thing to try and get noticed. We decided it was a good category to do that in, and that happened late in the year, which has really set me up for this year.

But you just missed out on the Aussie Racing Cars title! Wasn't that disappointing?

Yes it was. After that crash in qualifying at Indy, I was pretty down about the whole thing.

But going into the last race I was pretty much over it, and then I came from 39th to the front.

72

which well and truly made up for not winning the titlel No one else has ever come from that far back, so it felt pretty good.

Going back to that crash in qualifying at Indy, how did it feel when you realised your championship hopes were pretty much dashed?

That was destroying, because we'd worked so hard to get into the lead of the championship, and to build a decent points gap between second place and me.So when I hit and realised it was all over, it was very disappointing.

Do you look at it as something to learn from?

I'm sure the experience will help me somewhere along in my career - that's the only way to look at it.

Although tough to look at it that way at the time ...

Then we got the car ready for Race 2, and had electrical problems, so that made the weekend even worse, because if I'd got up to 10th in the second race and then won the final, I would still have won the series. But that didn't happen,except for the win in the

final.

And is that where things started with Walkinshaw?

Yeah things started moving when I was introduced to John

Kelly on the Sunday morning at Indy. He watched that final race thanks to a contact I have in their merchandising department, who I believe made him watch through those opening laps where I was at the back of the field, and then he saw me at the front.

So you owe a bit to that race, then?

Pretty much. I think I proved my car speed before that race, but it allowed me to highlight race craft and that kind of stuff. If you've got plenty of speed, you tend to get out in front and pull away, so it worked out well that I was at the back and could do some passing.

motorsportnews

NATIONAL SCENE

3 3“

On top ofthe world: Wins at Bathurst and Indy were highlights of the year, top images, while a crunch at Oran Park was a lowlight, below left. But2007 won’t be Percat's first foray into Formula Ford, below.

How does it feel to be asked to be involved with the Walkinshaw Group in 2007, and perhaps even beyond?

It feels amazing.You wouldn't read about a young driver being picked up by someone as far up the ladder as Tom Walkinshaw,so it feels amazing. I guess it gives you a bit more confidence.

Tough question: Why do you think they chose you?

Umm,I don't know! I guess it's a combination of things. I can drive well,for starters, and I do try and carry myself as well as possible at the race meetings and introduce myself to as many people as possible to get my name out there.

All year 1 was trying to put in good performances and then bugging them about it (laughs).

How important is this as a stepping stone in your career?

It's by far the most important thing that's ever happened to me.

We really didn't have the budget to run a Formula Ford this year, so I was headed back to Aussie Racing Cars to try and do it again.

But then when the Walkinshaw Group came along, it went from there and has now given me a www.mnews.coni.aii

good leg-up for my career.

What's the game plan for this season?

It's going to be a tough call! Every meeting I need to be in the top five and then if it all goes well and I've got the speed. I've just got the try and win by as much as I can. But I also want to prove I'm not a driver who just goes out and crashes if I can't win.

This won't be your first go in a Spectrum. Are you looking forward to getting your hands on an 01 IB? It should be good. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the Van Diemen RF06 and I'm guessing it will be totally different to my old 01 OB Spectrum,so it'll be good. I can't see adapting to a new car being a problem.

Finally, what will be the base level of acceptance in terms of being satisfied at the end of this season?

Probably top three. But to go on the list of drivers who have won the Australian Formula Ford Championship would be really good.That would be a big box to tick.

It worked out well that was I at the back so I could do some passing - Percat on his 39th-to-first effort at Indy 2006

(J FIVE Australians are set to compete at the CIK Trophy of New Zealand at Hamilton in two weeks.

Juniors Nicholas Foster and David W/hitmore will compete in the high performance JiCA class. Jason Burns, Dominic Albanese and Jessica Golding will take on the Formula 100 field.

Unfortunately,there will be no Australians in the 125-iCC class, won last year by Matt Wall. n The Toowoomba Kart Club will be conducting a karting swap meet and come-and-try day at their circuit on Saturday, January 20th.

Both the come-and-try (to give nonkarters a sample of driving a race kart) and the swap meet are free to attend. n There will be plenty of endurance style four-stroke racing next year, particularly for karters in NSW. ProKart has scheduled two 24hour races as part of their 14-event calendar. These will take place at Griffith in April and Wollongong in June. The TEKA group will run an eight round series, including an event at Ipswich and an 8-hour state title at Eastern Creek. n Speaking of Eastern Creek,the circuit will play host to the first ever Brian Farley Memorial on February 3-4.

This will be the circuit's first major event of the year and is sure to be popular with many travelling from interstate to test at the circuit in preparation for the AKA Nationals in April. Farley, who passed away last year, was a long serving AKA member, particularly in a technical capacity. n Davide Fore has been busy with his first test with his new team Maranello.

Having defected from Tony Kart, the four time world champion started testing first thing in the New Year at the Lonato circuit.

He spent the first day using 2006spec lOOcc FA engines before switching to lAME's new Reedster KF1.The third day was aboard a gearbox kart with Maxtor's KZl motor.

■ If you're in Melbourne looking for something to do on a Friday night, head out to the Oakleigh kart track.

The annual two-round Junior Top Guns summer series kicks off there on January 19, with Round 2 on the 26th.

-MARK WICKS 74

Sweet and sour memoriesfrom Macau AUSTRALIAN karter Glenn Powles endured a tough Macau International Kart Grand Prix last month.

After a heavy crash in the pre-final, Powles made a strong start in the final, but had to be content with a 14th place finish.

Driving for the Italian MBA team, Powles and his mechanics were on their back foot before the meeting even began due to the late arrival of their gear.

"The freight was late and we then had to run-in engines" he explained.

This, and track/tyre familiarisation was also hampered by wet practice sessions.

"The(new control) Yokohama tyre was nowhere near as sticky as we thought it was going to be. We later heard that some of the other teams had been able to test on it beforehand."

The team elected to use their chassis fitted with front brakes.

"We didn't even get time to assemble the second kart to try it out,(but)two thirds of the field had them and they were absolutely essential.

Unfortunately this chassis needed a huge amount of grip to be truly competitive,so we were lacking some mid-corner and exit grip."

Powles competed in the Formula A class against some of the world's best, including Tony Kart's (decrowned) world champion Francesco Antonucci and last year's winner Marco Ardigo.

"The racing was incredibly aggressive and the starts were crazy -five wide into most corners on the first lap."

Fiaving qualified 25th, Powles carded heat results of 23,16 and 19 to sit 20th overall. Fie was up to 11th in the early running of the pre-final but, with their engines red-lining at 20,600rpm,seized with six laps to go.

New Zealand's Mitchell Cunningham had one of his best meetings of the season.

Qualifying 15th, the CRG driver was fifth after the heats and held the position in the pre-final. However he too seized an engine and DNF'd the final.

Danish driver Michael Christensen won the event for Gillard ahead of James Calado and Kazuya Ishii.

-MARK WICKS

Veteran karter calls it a day

Coopers Photography

NEW South Wales karting stalwart Greg Martin has retired from competition. ●The 48-year-old enjoyed much success in the Senior National and Clubman classes, but arguably his biggest claim to fame was aboard the mighty Biland 250s, representing Australia at the Biland World Finals In France In 2002. He qualified for the event again the following year, only for It to not go ahead.

Over the years, Martin has won 13 titles at the annual Goffs Harbour 0ver-40sTitles and Is the only person to have won three classes there in the one year. A multiple state champion, Martin won a national title in 1990.

While no longer behind the wheel, he will remain In the sport, helping at the Combined Districts club in NSW of which he is a life member.

-MARK WICKS

motorsportnews

NATIONAL SCENE m-

Lead us not into temptation It was tough but someone had to do it MARK WICKS put the HyperMAX racer through its paces

I

N retrospect, it was foolish of me to accept Jon and Dean Crooke's invitation to have a steer of their HyperMAX Racer.

I was happy enough to be in 'retirement'still involved in the sport, but from the socalled friendlier side of the fence. Unfortunately, this thing was too much fun to drive; the feel of the road, the tyres loading up, biting, sliding, feed in the lock, squeeze the power - I don't know why I've stayed away for so long.

The Rotax class in Superkarting is almost identical to the Sprint kart version. In fact, a gearing change and addition of rear safety light is pretty much all that's required to complete the crossover. A typical sprint kart is still a competitive package, but the HyperMAX Racer has moved the goal posts.

The frame itself is built by Phoenix, with a fully adjustable front end and wheelbase. It's then delivered to the Crooke's Hyper workshop as a rolling chassis but without seat, steering wheel or bodywork. And that's when Hyper go to work, bolting on their go-fast bits to turn out what many consider the most attractive looking Superkart on the grid.

The Hyper seat and flip-up steering wheel allow the driver to sit much lower compared to a sprint kart. This, combined with the nose fairing, results in a frontal area reduction of around 20 percent.The steering geometry is also significantly changed to suit the longer and faster corners found on racing tracks.

Preparing to driveready the HyperMAX Racer was just like getting fora Formula Ford;

mmim

it started with a seat pouring. Yep, most of the Hyper drivers use a foam seat insert so they have a snug and comfy fit - unheard of in sprint karting.

The steering actuation is rather weird.

Because of the heavily angled steering wheel, it required more a pushing action than a rotational one to get the wheels to turn. While it looked strange in the pits, on track it was brilliant; very light to steer and virtually no fatigue on the wrists.The kart was incredibly crisp on initial turn-in,just a breath of lock and it fired down to the apex.

After a few lockups and slides to re-calibrate the brain-to-left-foot link, the kart pulled up nice and square.The higher speeds mean longer braking distances compared to sprint karts, but even the hard stops at Winton were much shorter than anything else on the track that day.

The old Turn 2 is flat. Well, it's going to be, I just didn't want to tear the back out of the seat on that huge exit kerb. Once you realise how well the kart will stick,the Sweeper is totally flat, but it's thread-the-eye-of-a-needle stuff at maximum G-force. Just a fraction too fast on the steering input and you're going for opposite lock in a flash.

With no gearbox,the tight Gum Tree section is all about keeping the momentum up and is very much like sprint karting, but with a bigger time loss if you get sideways. And isn't it amazing how rough some parts of Winton have become? The karts are totally airborne on the approach to the Motorsport News esses before a hint of brake and back in the gas, hard on it up the hill for another lap.

The HyperMAX class Racerof competes in the 125cc Non-Gearbox Superkarting.

There are both light and heavy weight senior divisions plus provision for juniors from 12 years of age.

Superkarting allows karters to go racing on full size circuits without having the complexities and expense of a race car. Speedwise, Superkarts eclipse all but the top echelons of the motor racing world. At Winton, the MAXs do a lap time half-way between Carrera Cup and Commodore Cup and on the short circuit are only bettered by high performance open wheelers and sportscars.

The 250cc karts are often the fastest vehicles at a race meeting.

And the most fun ...

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FORD Performance Vehicles will celebrate the completion of the most successful year in its history at the 10th consecutive running of its famous Open Day on Sunday, February 25.

The FPV Open Day is set to continue the tradition of being a family affair, with around 10,000 Blue Oval fans expected to descend on the company's site in Campbellfield, in Melbourne's northern suburbs.

Hundreds of cars will be displayed by FPV, Tickford and Ford enthusiasts from all over Australia. Also on display will be an eye-popping concept vehicle designed by FPV's technical partner. Prodrive Australia.

FPV will throw open the doors to its vehicle manufacturing and engine plants, while Ford Performance Racing will host tours of its state-ofthe-art racing workshop and massive B-double race transporter.

There will also be competitions, giveaways, displays and food to keep the entire family busy for the day.

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81

■T

TALK CONVERTER

And it continues...

winning the V8 Supercar spoils.

"Shame, Holden, Shame"? What

John Gray jjgtd@idx.com.au

complete and utter bullsh-t. n Editorial Editor: Phil Branagan

editor@mnews.com.au

Deputy Editor: Mark Glendenning mark@mnews.com.au News Editor: Grant Rowley grant@mnews.com.au National Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen andrew@mnews.com.au n Production Graphic Design & Web: Jayne Uthmeyer design@mnews.com.au n Advertising P 03 9877 7271 F 03 9877 7207 Manager: Brendon Sheridan M 0407 007 286 ads@mnews.com.au Advertising Admin: Margaret Nelson artwork@mnews.com.au H Administration 357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, VIC,3187 (PO Box 7072, Brighton, VIC, 3186) P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030 admin@mnews.com.au Managing Director/Publisher: Chris Lambden publisher@mnews.com.au n Contributors f7;Joe Saward, Adam Cooper, Paolo Filisetti Europe:Quentin Spurring, David Addison l/S; Martin D. Clark, Phil Morris Speedway:Greg Boscato, Geoff Rounds, Darren Sutton,Tony Millard (UK) Rally: Ryan Lahiff Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski(USA), Ken Ferguson,John Bosher National: Mark Wicks, Mark Jones, Mitchell Adam Photographers:Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Marshall Cass,John Morris/ Mpix, AF1 Images,James Smith,Peter Bury, Neil Blackbourn, Chris Carter, Coopers Photography, CBR Photographies, Paris Charles, Bob Potts, Neil Hammond,Joel Strickland, Mike Patrick (UK) Motorsport News is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55125120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Printed by: Webstar Printing Distributed by: NDD Ltd Material published by MOTORSPORT NEWS is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Freelance contributions are welcome, and while all care will be taken, Australasian Motorsport News does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted. ●Opinions expressed in Motorsport News ate not necessarily those of Australasian Motorsport News or its staff.

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Rick Kelly and Craig Lowndes had a tussle and things like this happen in racing. When you are fighting for track position at 280km per hour something or someone is bound to give.

Rick admits what he did, he was penalised for it and he has publicly apologised for it and as he said "it is unfortunate that the race ended in the way it did".

For fans of the series to crucify him over it is unbelievable, not to mention it's an incredible show of bad sportsmanship. For those goldfish out there, Craig rearended Jason Richards at Indy and Craig was also appropriately penalised for the incident with a drive through. If Phillip Island wasn't such a pressured race the incident would have gotten no more coverage than Indy. Hardly surprising,888 were rather quiet about Indy. I'm sure if the fans were in Rick's position they would be feeling the same thing .

I personally happen to think that Rick did a brilliant job all year round and deserved to win.

He put his head down, kept his mouth shut and worked away at the championship. If something went wrong,so be it, he got on with the job at hand - the championship. So what if he didn't win a round? Big deal!

Everyone is acting like it's some big crime. Round wins is not what gets you the champion's trophy. Consistency is the key.

Consistency is what Rick did.

Nobody sits around talking'about Ingall's one round win in 2005 do they? Seems to me that the older generation doesn't take to well to new talent, when they see it and see it doing well, they are determine to bring it down.

I for one will be flying the Toll/ HSV Dealer team colours in 2007.

Ashley Lloyd alloyd.86@hotmall.com And again ...

I'm excited.

HRT acting as the Kelly Gang

And one more time with feeling I have read all the arguments regarding the Lowndes-Kelly incident, and I can see that some

SeniiusyQUF PO Bbx 7072, Brighton,VIG,3186 mnews@mnews.cbm.au

really managed to'hold-up'race paced cars, such as Lowndes (by six seconds a lap) and allow Rick (Ned) Kelly to steal the V8SC Crown.

Yes it was a case of full points for Ned and his Bushranger gang to rob Lowndes of the V8 Supercar Championship Crown,ironically after smart-arsed Holden had ruined an easy title win for its consistently fast GT. I also thought it was incredible how Holdens could suffer fuel starvation, broken valves,funny black flags, and even broken crankshafts problems, yet still manage to finish with fastest last laps. Maybe the chequered flag for a Holden win in future should consist of black dots instead of squares?

Okay,full credit to the Holden guys, using the rules and doing the jo. But Bright and Ingall also deserve a gold hold-up star for starting Lowndes downhill run way back at Indy.

Maybe the judicary was correct for RK's'incident'with Lowndes, but RK had come out of the box at PI, as Bazza would say,'a hand grenade waiting to go off.'Oh the joys of not having race winning pace (ever) and nothing to lose by doing just as he (accidentally) did.

Also I hope the V8 Supercar judiciary won't allow such blatant team-mate protection to rule and take control in future.

I felt Hayden jagged the MotoGP title in a year of the misfortunes of many others, and wasjust a Champion, but the'F' word springs to mind with R Kelly

POST cheque/money order to the address above FAX credit card details (VISA or Mastercard) to 03 9596 5030 (int'l +613 9596 5030) EMAlLtosubs@mnews.com.au or PAY ONLINE at:

times in your magazine that Craig constantly hits people from behind. Rick Kelly is also guilty of this, as is everyone else on the grid.

Let's hope the new points system encourages passing and winning.

Rick may have number 1 on his car, but Craig is number 1 to me.

Tracey Young ttyoung@southcom.com.au

I

mnews pyutiimiifm

poll results

Which livery do you think DJR should run with next year? :34% :34% :32%

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the appeal. You fight for what you believe in and what you think is right. If the shoe was on the other foot HSV would of done exactly the same thing.

It has been said numerous

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readers may have got it wrong.

Firstly, the incident itself: Readers have suggested that Craig was blocking, now correct me if I am wrong, but you are allowed to block as long as you are not holding the other car up, and you are not doing it lap after lap. It was the second lap. If Craig was so in the wrong then why wasn't he given a penalty for it?

Secondly, people have suggested that Craig and his team are sooks and whiners for

Doesn 't look like this debate is going away any time soon.

motorsport news

So your phone didn’t ring when Michael announced his retirement from FI , and V8 Supercar teams just haven’t picked up an option on you yet.

Dollars are a bit tight to commit to Carrera Cup. V8 Utes or Aussie Racecars? Well... not really your thing at this point.

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