Motorsport News Issue 437 - November 2013

NEWS No.437 November 2013 Australia $8.95 NZ $10.99 inc GST

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Editorial Group Editor Steve Normoyle snormoyle@chevron.com.au At Large Phil Branagan

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Contributing Writers

Mark Glendenning, David Greenhaigh, Edward, Krause,Chris Lambden, Andrew van Leeuwen, Bruce Moxon, Geoff Rounds,Jon Thomson

Bathurst

Hardly any triechanical failures, crashes or Safety Cars, but plenty of top performances out on the track - the 2013 Great Race was one of the best Bathursts ever.

Graphic Design and Production Art Director Chris Currie

Junior Designer Melissa Karatzas

Photography

Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, John Morris, Paul Cross, James Smith, Andrew Hall, Geoff Grade, Sportspics, Michael Vettas, Daniel Beard Cover photos: Paul Cross (main), Mpix, Andrew Hall

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the monkey on his back that has slowly grown into a gorilla is now gone, because Mark Winterbottom is now a Bathurst winner.

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Chairman, Chevron: Ray Berghouse Circulation Director: Carole Jones

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Ekstrorri and Priaulx weren't the only international names racing at Bathurst in 2013.

motorsport news

Unusual Suspects

Vettel's new team-mate

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Daniel Ricciardo speaks about getting the thumbs up from Red Bull Racing as Webber's successor.

Mattias Ekstrom It was known before Ekstrom arrived in Bathurst that he was good - he is, after all, a two time DTM champion. But few realised just how good the Swede really is.

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COTA WEC and ALMS World Endurance Championship and American Le Mans Series sports cars from Texas, in pictures.

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Raymond returns

Veteran TV broadcaster/promoter Mike Raymond is the new chief at the former Parramatta City Raceway/Sydney Speedway venue, now known as Valvoline Raceway

Mark Winterbottom He's the man of the moment right now, the guy who just won Bathurst for the fi rst time. Any driver's fi rst Bathurst win is a huge deal, but this one, after so many disappointments, was absolutely massive.

Down to the wire The ANDRATop Doorslammer title has been the domain of John Zappia for a very long time but he is under severe threat as the 2012/13 season nears its conclusion.

REGULARS SU^^F

Motor Mouth with Phil Branagan The Scoop with Steve Normoyle On The Limiter with Chris Lambden Box Seat United States of Origin Model Behaviour Retro Vision Trade Classifieds Parting Shot

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Mike Raymond He is a legend of motor racing commentary and the voice behind those speedway TV ads. After a spell away from the sport, now Mike Raymond is back, returning to his oval track roots as the new manager at Sydney Speedway.

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ne of the occupational hazards of writing about motor racing is the questions one gets when standing about in social groups, sipping drinks and chewing canapes or hors d'ouvres (whichever is larger).

Inevitably, one of the common queries is, "Who is the best racing driver you ever saw?" Depending on the day, my mood and, possibly, how many cocktails have been consumed, the answers often involve some of the most recognisable names in the sport, even to those who may not follow it closely.

But one name that I sometimes mention often causes raised eyebrows. Not all casual followers of the sport know who Ian Geoghegan was.

I only saw 'Pete' drive in the waning years of his career but it was still obvious what a towering talent he was. in a variety of cars, some user-friendly and some far less so, he danced around racetracks at improbable speed, bending the machinery to his will with a combination of touch and force. Pete's reputation was moulded in cars as diverse as a variety of Mustangs, the 'Super' Falcon, proddie racers, Lotus 23Bs and the famed Craven Mild Monaro. All went fast in Pete's hands.

And Pete had big hands. Pete had big everything. He was a large unit. By today’s standards, he was huge.

He was not what you would call athletic, but Pete was not the bloke who looked like he was about to fall over when he went to the podium, regardless of how long and hard was the race. Pete would probably

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I would far prefer to see cars built to regulations that will accommodate the best drivers, notjust the ones who will fit. not get a ride today. He would not be what sponsors are looking for. Talent sometimes get overridden by other factors.

Which brings me to Nico Hulkenberg. As I write this, one of the sport’s brightest talents is struggling to get a Formula 1 seat worthy of his talents for 2014 because he is on the big side. Not the big side of the real world, in which he is average; he is on the big side for grand prix drivers, a crazy world in which Jenson Button has recently switched to a new racesuit that saves - get this -just over 100 grams in weight. Button is a triathlete of such capability that he is close in physiology to that sport's elite, which means by any standards, he is a skinny bugger.

The coming generation of FI cars will feature more bells and more whistles than the current examples. Phrases such as 'Power Unit' will replace 'Engine' because of the proliferation of compound turbocharging, multiple Energy Recovery Systems and others toys attached to the 1.6-litre V6 engines. The weight of the technical package, inevitably, will be higher than that of the current 2.4-litre normally aspirated V8s.

But the current FI cars are not heavier than the minimum weight limit. All of the cars are ballasted, some carrying more than 100kg of

ballast in optimum locations. The recent show of sparks from Nico Rosberg's Mercedes-Benz in Korea, when his nosecone was damaged, came not from the front wings scraping on the ground but the ballast mounted on the bottom of those wings doing just that. Mark Webber's Red Bull is not heavier than that of Sebastian Vettel but the Aussie's higher body weight means that his car can carry less ballast-therefore, Vettel's car can often have a slight edge in set-up.

And that is what is mitigating against Hulkenberg, a driver who once put a Williams on pole in Brazil. Not a Williams like that of Pastor Maldonado, who took pole and then held out Fernando Alonso for the whole race to take his first GP win in Barcelona. The Hulk's Williams was so slow it was lapped in the race and he finished eighth. Yet in qualifying, he beat Vettel and Webber to pole by a second. That takes talent.

The last thing I want is grand prix racing evolving into a sport only for jockey-sized drivers. I can put up with that in MotoGP but, in FI, I would far prefer to see cars built to regulations that will accommodate the best drivers, not just the ones who will fit. And I reckon that is what Pete Geoghegan would want to see too. motorsport news

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The Scoop !

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t was certainly a weekend for Ford fans to saviour. Holden was denied a fifth consecutive victory, and finally both Ford Performance Racing and Mark Winterbottom broke through for a win at Bathurst that was beginning to look, for both parties, as though it simply was never going to happen.

It capped off a weekend on which Ford Australia president and CEO Bob Graziano confirmed that the company's support of FPR will continue into 2014. So good news for Ford fans all round at Bathurst this year.

But what happens after 2014?

That is an interesting question. What once was a given - that Ford Australia would naturally support Ford Performance Racing, because this was the V8 Supercar racing arm of Ford Peformance Racing, the official Fordapproved manufacturer, for want of a better word, of Ford Performance Vehicles - is now no longer.

How quickly things can change. Even two or three years ago the idea that Ford even needed to confirm its support of FPR would have seemed laughable.

In three years from now, and at around Bathurst time, the last locally made Fords will have already rolled off the production line.

Presumably at that moment, and possibly even before then, the Falcon name will cease to exist. Thereafter, the Fords we buy will all be made elsewhere and will be imported into the country.

After that, if Ford is still in V8 Supercars, any Fords racing at Bathurst will be branded Mustangs or some other name.

No doubt lots of things are up for grabs at 8

How quickly things can change. Even two or three years ago the idea that Ford even neededto confirm its support of FPR would have seemed laughable.

Ford at the moment. No doubt plans for the transition from local manufacturer to importer are already being developed. That alone might explain the company's reluctance to commit to its racing programme beyond the end of next year.

But just because there isn't going to be a locally made Falcon into the future doesn't mean Ford should automatically opt to quit its racing activities. In fact, an ongoing V8 Supercar presence might be exactly the thing Ford needs right now.

A motor racing programme is for any car manufacturer the most visible, most direct form of marketing there is. Because it's a marketing/advertising campaign centred on a sport in which the product it's trying to sell an actual competitor.

Given that, and given that there surely must be plenty of uncertainty out there in the public about the Ford brand following the news of Geelong's impending closure, during the transition Ford is going to have to have a decent marketing spend to reassure its customers.

One way to get this kind of message across might be to make a firm commitment to its V8 Supercar programme into the future. To show the public that despite everything it

is business as usual at Ford, and that it will continue with what is a proud and long standing involvement in V8 Supercars.

The Falcon might not be doing much winning on the showroom floors right now (which is ironic, in a sense, because the FG is an Aussie developed and made car that's the equal of anything in its class anywhere in the world - is there a performance sedan anywhere that offers better bang for your buck than the XR6 Turbo?) but it just won on the track. In fact, it just won Australia's biggest motor race of the year.

I was there at Bathurst and saw it happen, and I saw all those delirious Ford fans cheering and waving their flags beneath the podium.

Of course, not all of the people who purchase Fords share the sense of elation and personal connection to the Ford name which Ford V8 Supercar fans feel. But some do.

That kind of passion for a brand name is something that even the greatest marketing genius can’t manufacturer. To look at it another way, no one gets that emotional or excited about a new washing machine. That's something Ford ought to think about as the company carves out a new future. motorsport news

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ow! I don't often applaud at my TV screen, but i have to admit that I did as I watched Mark Winterbottom's Falcon cross the line to win the Great Race.

There were no lucky Safety Cars or suchlike; just a genuine, hard-earned win over the team which has been, and still is, the current benchmark in V8 Supercars.

Jamie Whincup and co-driver Paul Dumbrell looked for all money the likely winners all the way through practice, qualifying, and even the early stages of the race. Then, a mid-race tactical pit-stop call, which gave up front track position, combined with a storming stint from Steven Richards, placed Whincup behind 'Frosty' as the race entered its final, crucial couple of stints, it was that simple.

A track which had proven problematic for most in grip terms seemed to 'come' slightly towards the FPR team as the day wore on and that was sufficient to quell a pace advantage that may have saved the day for Red Bull, in the end. Frosty was able to withstand over 30 laps of intense Whincup pressure, including a no-holds last-lap outside dive at Griffins, and it made for riveting television, everything about the 2013 Great Race was a good news story. It may have been a little ‘quiet’ early on, but the dramatic and redemption-filled victory provided a spectacular conclusion. In general, TV did a good job - spectacular imagery, reasonably informative, and didn't miss a thing. Not a bad day on the couch.

Downsides? Well, It wasn't a good day for Skippy! While the destruction on Todd Kelly's Nissan was significant and his emotional cliff-fall visible. Seven at least spared us a post-shunt shot of the poor old roo who'd ventured out onto the road heading up to the Cutting ...

On a more serious note, the only disappointment of Bathurst 2013 was the non-competitiveness of the two new manufacturers.

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The engine performance, including the fuel-efficiency, of the two new brands was the subject of much speculation and discussion in the lead-up to the PIrtek Endurance series.

While Erebus and Nissan had made some progress in terms of power/torque of their 4-valve ohc engines, it was clearly at the expense of excessive fuel consumption, which - given Car of the future's mantra of performance parity - required a solution if either was to play any meaningful role, especially at Bathurst.

Ultimately, despite a number of options being proposed - the innovative E70 fuel-mix one of them - little was actually done. The 'minimum number of pit stops' regulation was a token gesture, which ignored the fact that carrying up to 10 percent of extra fuel all day, and having to spend that much longer refueling at each stop was a significant handicap.

As it was only a handful of weeks ago that my two-year term, as the (only) Independent member of the V8 Supercar Commission concluded, I obviously have some insight into the way the whole parity issue between the four, soon to be five, brands has been handled to date. In detail, it's perhaps something for another time but, in short, I believe the new incoming Commission chairman's biggest challenge will be to improve the way in which this crucial area is handled; exactly what parity means in the COTE V8 context, and by whom and how the decisions are made.

But enough of the serious stuff. It can, and should, be resolved, and Bathurst 2014 ought to therefore provide a genuine contest between five brands, rather than just two.

In the meantime, Mark Winterbottom, Steven Richards, Tim Edwards and the crew at EPR, bloody well done. It's been a long road, with a few pot-holes, but when it came it was breathtakingl The Mark Winterbottom story is going to make a good book one day - his modest backgound; his mum, June, who sacrificed so much to get him into karts; along with the sad

Virtually everything about the 2013 Great Race was a good news story. It may have been a little 'quiet'early on, but the dramatic and redemption-filled victory provided a spectacular conclusion. fact that she passed away a couple of years back, before Mark was finally able to break through for this significant win.

I remember him winning the Eord-backed 2001 Kartstars series, which carried a full national Formula Ford season (2002) as Its prize. By this stage, he'd been in karts for over a decade and it was the only way he was likely to get an opportunity to break into cars. He grabbed it and made the most of it.

As a rookie, he finished second in the 2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship, to, believe it or not, Jamie Whincup ...

As an aside, the first Ford Kartstars series, in 2000, was won by Michael Caruso, another who would thus begin his trek to V8 Supercars via the national Formula Ford series, in 2001. Winterbottom was actually the runner-up that year and did a handful of Victorian State Formula Ford rounds as his prize, before nailing the Kartstars title in 2001 and securing the full national series backing.

Kartstars was the brainchild of Ford's legendary and charismatic motorsport manager, the late Howard Marsden, created as an unambiguous talent-search for Ford Australia. It worked.

I'm not a great one for the after-life but, if there is one, I suspect a smiling Marsden would about now be quietly sipping on a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and nodding his head in quiet satisfaction ... motorsport news

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! n motor racing terms, I've led a very I privileged life. I started out as the son of I a competitor, then became a competitor I myself, and then moved into the media.

As a result of this privileged upbringing, the majority of my trackside experiences have involved free passes, nice hotels, access to garages and cozy media centres - all of the required ingredients to turn someone into a complete motor racing wanker.

A few months ago, I decided I needed a reality check. I needed to experience motor racing from the fan's perspective, without the comforts - or the responsibilities - of being at the track for work purposes.

So when a good friend of mine who lives in Holland announced the plans for his Buck's Day, I couldn't have been happier - a threeday camping trip to Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix. Perfect.

A flurry of back-and-forth email conversations in the build-up to a race weekend is nothing new to me. There are always things to sort out. 'Which hotel am I staying at?' Where can I pick up a parking pass?''Where is the media centre?' But my pre-race organisational concerns rarely involve things like 'has someone got a spare inflatable mattress I can use?' and 'how many cartons of beer do we need?'.

Anyway, having all forked out the somewhat steep €130 for a general admission pass, we eventually made it to Spa. And by Friday evening there we were, a group of expats in Belgium -four Aussies, two Kiwis, a South African, a Pom and a soon-to-be-wed Indian. In other words, two thirds of Utrecht's Kampong SV Cricket Club first XI, and me, beer in hand, sitting in a damp paddock on a crisp, clear Belgian evening. Not a bad start.

But it took a late night stroll around the huge camping areas for me to properly begin to understand what was happening. It was at that point that I realised this is Europe's version of Bathurst. And the camping culture is even crazier than that of Mount Panorama.

Some of the campsites were incredible. clearly honed from years and years of the same people making the same annual pilgrimage to Spa. There was everything from huge bonfires to full-blown discos, complete

^i^This is Europe's version of Bathurst.

And the camping culture at Spa is even crazier than that of Mount Panorama. with DJs and comprehensive sound systems.

Some were roped off to stop random punters from joining in, some welcomed anyone and everyone with open arms. Some had comfortable furniture like couches and tables, some had dazzling strobe light displays.

And the one thing that almost every individual site had in common was a seemingly unending supply of fireworks - and I mean serious fireworks - that were set of regularly throughout the (entire) night.

It was like Ibiza on New Year's Eve and rural Belgium had been mashed together. From the relative quietness (and I stress the word relative) of our smaller campsite, the main camping area illuminated the sky like a small city in the distance. It was an incredible sight.

With the music and fireworks continuing through the night, I wasn't surprised to see that the camping area was basically baron when we awoke at 7ish on Saturday morning.

My guess was that the campers were all zonked out in their tents. As we fired up the Weber, I spotted a couple of blokes, camping chairs under their arms, walking towards the circuit. I figured they were early birds making a dash for a good spot. Turns out they were stragglers, and that the partygoers weren't asleep, most of them were already at the track.

By the time we arrived, 90 minutes or so before qualifying, space was at a premium.

Still, we found a decent spot on the grassy bank outside of the turn-in to Pouhon, splashed out €5 each for a can of beer (which is hideously expensive in this part of the world), and settled in.

Which was great. Until it started to rain.

And while a couple of my camping mates had ponchos, I was completely unprepared Suddenly, I found myself pining for the comfort of the media centre, instead having to make-do with sharing an umbrella with a very generous stranger, who took pity on me and my wet jumper.

At least we had a big screen right in front of us, which made qualifying pretty easy to follow, despite the fact that we could only understand a third of the track commentary (which is split between Flemish, French and English).

On Sunday, we weren't so lucky. Once again we were way too slow getting into the circuit, despite being there more than four hours before the race kicked off. As a result we ended up in being forced to sit on a rocky piece of hillside, about half-way up Kemmel Straight. We could (sort of) see the big screen, but couldn't read it. It made me realise that motorsport can actually be a very spectator unfriendly sport.

Still, we managed to see most of the major overtaking moves (which were happening on the way into Les Combes), and could follow enough to know that Seb had won, and th§'*"*'" Buck's beloved 'Nando was second. And we didn't get wet. All-in-all, a successful day.

So, what did I think of the first 'spectator' experience I've had in quite some time? Some parts, I really enjoyed. Being able to watch the race and not have to be constantly analysing everything was refreshing. Enjoying a few beers during qualifying was also an enjoyable experience. And to be able to sit back and say 'I once campfed'at the Belgian GP' is a completely cool feeling. It's something I'm «■ really glad to have done.

But am I ready to give up the luxuries like heated media centres, hotels with proper bathrooms, internet connections and timin & screens? Not yet, no. I guess I'm still a wanker after all.

I will say one thing, though; I now have a whole new respect for you guys, the fans that spend your hard earned dough and brave the elements to support the sport that you love.

And if you ever get the chance to go camping at the Belgian Grand Prix, for god's sake do it. Just make sure you take a poncho.

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Most FI circuits are as smooth as billiard tables, but IndyCar surfaces are a little more rustic,and bumps are an accepted hazard.That said,a bump that unsettles the car is differentfrom a bump that kills a gearbox.

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driver as the pole winner is the least embarrassing thing to come out of an When announcing wrong event, you knowthe it hasn't been a great weekend. As such, IndyCar's return to Houston in early October will long live in infamy.

IndyCar talks a good game: It is justifiably proud of the quality of its racing, which alone would be enough to get a few people to switch over from Formula 1 if only the series could work out how to sell itself. If you want to watch top-tier drivers in powerful cars that they actually have to wrestle into submission in order to make them go fast, rather than having them refined to the point that they could be driven with their fingertips, as is the case in FI, then there’s no other place to look. And I write that as someone whose enthusiasm for FI was deep enough for me to leave a job I enjoyed in Australia a few years ago to move to Europe.

And it's not that FI doesn't make mistakes.

The 2005 US Grand Prix was a shambles.

Fernando Alonso should never have been penalised for blocking at Monza in 2006.

The championship should not have raced in Bahrain after the protests, and the manner in which they were quelled.(And for those who will inevitably pipe up about the supposed separation between sport and politics, do some research into who pays for the Bahrain Grand Prix).

What happened at Houston wasn't different from some of the SNAFUs that have affected other series every now and then. IndyCar's problem is not just that it is bad at learning from its previous mistakes, but that it actually sets up its own mousetraps to step on.

If you missed it, here's a quick recap. The Houston event was the resurrection of a Champ Car street race on a circuit laid out in the huge Reliant Park car parking area.

Reliant Park is a large multi-use complex, the centerpiece of which is Reliant Stadium, home to the Houston Texans NFL team.

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The Texans had played a game at Reliant the weekend before the IndyCar race, which meant that track construction work could not begin until four(!) days before the first practice session. Take a moment and compare that to the two month-plus build time at Albert Park, and then bear in mind that they've been building the Albert Park track every year since 1996. Viewed through that sort of lens, a four-day build at a venue that hasn't been used in several years seems ... ambitious. Yes, the Albert Park layout is considerably longer than Houston, so that skews things a bit. But that accounts for only so much.

Aside from a total lack of wiggle room with the build time - I'd hate to think what the track would have looked like if the storm that passed through on Sunday morning had arrived four days earlier - the tighter-thanspandex construction schedule also ruled out such basics as a proper track inspection. This proved to be a landmine: when some slow-ish saloon cars headed out for the first practice session of the weekend on Friday morning and started getting air over the bump at the end of the main straight, it didn't need an engineer to recognise that the place was going to be undriveable in a fast single-seater.

Several hours were lost on Friday while the track was inspected and 'solutions'(the problem was limited, rather than solved) were worked out. We heard cheerful reassurances that the situation could be addressed relatively easily because similar problems had been encountered during the first couple of visits to Baltimore in 2011 and 2012. There was no mention of the fact that having so much experience in dealing with a preventable problem isn't necessarily a good thing.

It wasn't just the fact that the fans spent half a day sitting in the baking heat watching some guys build a temporary tyre chicane that was bad. The problem had massive knock-on effects on the entire weekend. The usual qualifying format was scrapped, which in theory should not have been a problem because everyone was in the same boat.

Except, they weren’t. The field was split into two qualifying groups, both of which were supposed to get a set amount of guaranteed green flag time in which to post a qualifying lap. The first group did not get that. Tristan Vautier crashed five minutes in, and due to time restrictions, the clock was not restarted.

As a result, then 'championship-leader Helio.f^H^,, Castroneves was forced to start the race from near the back of the field as he hadn't done a proper run yet, and even Will Power, who was quickest of that group, admitted that he'd set his time on the harder-compound tyres because he hadn't had a chance to throw the softer ones on. Provided that the track stayed green for the second group - which it did the first lot were sitting ducks.

The bump was.also suspected of playing a role in Castroneves' demise in both races;,,'In <41 the damage to the Brazilian's car potentially having been caused by hitting the affected area of the track too hard. How big a deal this is depends on how receptive you are to 'track character'. Most F1 circuits are as smooth as billiard tables, but IndyCar surfaces are a little more rustic, and bumps are an accepted hazard. That said, a bump that unsettles the car is different from a bump that kills a gearbox.

Immediately after the race, the bumps were forgotten as attention swung to Dario Franchitti's massive crash. Questions also need to be asked here, including why a section of fencing was able to fly into the crowd (thankfully without causing any serious injuries), and why a grandstand was positioned on the outside of a fast corner in the first place. But one thing IndyCar does we I is pay attention to safety, and the series has already announced an investigation into the incident.

IndyCar is a great championship, and one that deserves far more attention than it gets.

But when it comes to establishing credibility outside of its own paddock, it has an extraordinary knack for shooting itself in the foot. If it learns anything at all from Houston ... well, that in itself would be a start.

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almost no mechanical failures -just good, hard close racing, some fantastic battles and some incredibly skilled driving. It may just have been the best Bathurst yet, which in a way is fitting because it was won for the first time by a driver who ranks as one of the best the race has ever seen. Steve Normoyle was at Mount Panorama.

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ark Winterbottom has won Bathurst. FPR has won Bathurst. Finally.

After so many near misses and too many self-inflicted defeats, both driver and team must surely have been collectively wondering whether it was ever going to happen. This surely must have been at the front of their thoughts while Winterbottom raced on^ through!the closing laps, in the leadi, but with Jamie Whincup stalking him at barely a few car lengths' distance and looking ready to pounce at any moment to deliver the long-suffering Ford outfit yet another crushing blow.

But not this time.

This time FPR had taken care of all the fundamentals. The Pepsi Max Crew Falcon FG it presented for the 2013 Bathurst 1000 was quick enough and reliable enough to do the job. The team got the pit strategy right and they performed their pitstops with the required speed and efficiency. Crucially, there was no sign of the embarrassing wheel nut issues that have dogged them for so long that had been fixed back in the workshop before they left Melbourne. All that was left was for Winterbottom and co-driver Steven Richards to finish the job out on the track.

They did just that, with Winterbottom having.

to fight right to the finSIlap to secure the win.

So it was thattogether driver and team broke their Great Race hoodoo ^ and they did it in what was the best Bathurst in a very long time, it was a funny old race. While most years at Bathurst the result is reasonably predictable - and for sure while this was a first win for Winlerbottom and FPR, it was hardly what you’d call an upset win - nearly always the Mountain will throw up something unexpected. And that's exactly what we got in 2013.

All day it was as though everyone was waiting for that moment,that pivotal big

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crash or Safety Car period that would turned the contest upside down, as it always seems to do on the Mountain. Or instead that

occasion of the 10th anniversary of Murphy's qualifying 'Lap of the Gods', and certainly an uncharacteristic moment, because in his 20

turning point would arrive in the form of a sudden influx of bad weather, such as the

years at Bathurst Murph' has rarely crashed a car. In fact, the only other time he has had a shunt in the Great Race was that celebrated

storm which helped end what has looking a likely victory for Winterbottom and Richards back in 2007.

But it never came.

Likewise the widely held expectation that this race would (unlike the trend in recent Great Races of mechanical failure being almost a non-issue) be a good old fashioned Bathurst car breaker simply didn't happen.

This surprised even the teams and drivers.

After all, given that the V8 Supercar 'Car of the Future' had proven itself less than bulletproof elsewhere over the course of 2013, how the new hardware would cope with six hours of punishment on the Mountain - twice the distance of the longest race the cars had yet to face - didn't bear thinking about. For the first time in more than a decade, the 1000km looked like being an actual endurance race in which unreliability was a major factor in determining the result.

Yet it proved the complete opposite. Sure, there was a handful of walking wounded at the end, but 19 cars on the lead lap - and this on a day for once not ruined by multiple Safety Car periods - is a superb result.

The fact that only one car, the Dean Fiore/ Matt Halliday Commodore, retired due to mechanical failure has to be a ringing endorsement of the COTF package.

The other two DNFs came from mishaps on the track. The first was the (worrying) collision between the Todd Kelly/David Russell Nissan and a kangaroo; the other being the spectacular exit at Reid Park for the James Courtney/Greg Murphy HRT Commodore. It was an unhappy end to the

clash eight years ago that also involved one Marcos Ambrose, and which almost boiled over into fisticuffs. . .

But the fact that there were so few crashes meant that for once the race was not plagued

by Safety Car periods. For once we were treated to a pure racing contest - a total of 73 uninterrupted green laps to the flag. It meant that unlike any Bathurst in probably 20 years, only those who had consistently fast pace, from both drivers, and good pitstops and strategies, were going to be in with a shot at the end.

It meant that anyone in the top 10 after the last round of pitstops was there on absolute merit - and that's something which can't necessarily be said of any recent Great Race. Of course, the usual suspects were there: on lap 145, with all the stops done, the top 10 featured both FPR and RBR, cars, Tander/Percat, Bright/Jones, Reynolds/Canto, McLaughlin/Perkins and van Gisbergen Bleekemolen.

And Pye/Morris.

The latter deserves a lot of praise. Young Scott Pye's debut V8 Supercar season with the small LDM team has not been easy, but he has shown well on occasion - and on this particular one he was exemplary. He and his unlikely co-driver Paul Morris had legitimate top 10 pace and that's where they raced Mercurial effort: Lee Holdsworth and Craig Baird were best of the Mercs and overall were more competitive than suggested by their 14“' place result, top. The Mountain, the history, the contenders for 2013, right

The fact that only one car, the Dean Fiore/Matt Halliday Commodore, retired due to mechanical faiinre has to he a ringing endorsement of the COTF package.

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motorsport news

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he scarcity of shunts was all the more surprising given the conditions out on the track. Fierce, gusting westerly winds which blew up not long after the start created havoc for the drivers all day. Steven Richards said such were the conditions that it was the weirdest Bathurst he’d ever done; Garth Tander said it was easily the toughest conditions he'd ever experienced on the Mountain.

"The first two or three stints were really tough with the wind blowing and the sun on the track,” Tander said. "The car was moving around a lot. You had to really adjust to get your head around what was going on with the track. It was different from lap to lap - you'd fire into one corner and the car would be reasonably normal and the next lap there’d be a gust of wind and it would nearly catch you out. You really had to be on top of your game I thought it was going to catch a few of the non-regulars out a bit because of how different it was, and I think it’s a credit to all the drivers that there were so few crashes. www.mnews.com.au

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he compulsory seven-stop rule employed to help the thirstier Mercs and Nissans was a real point of controversy going into the race. But for the Holden and Ford teams up in arms about the leg-up the newcomers were getting, there were two potential advantages which they might have exploited.

One was the obvious less time needed

^ to refuel their cars compared to the Nissans ip- and Mercs, because they were using less of the stuff (so much for the seven stops as an actual equalising measure).

But another was the strategic advantage the expanded pit window gave them. The extra enforced stop meant at least one stint would be shorter than the remaining SIX The short stint (or stints) could be used strategically to ensure the two team cars were not locked into the same fuel schedule (by having each car doing them at different times in the race).

Of course, this would be largely negated by a reasonable number of Safety Car interventions, which of course had been the expectation, but which did not

happen...

Young Scott Pye's debut V8 Supercar season with the small LDM team has net been easy, but he has shewn well en eccasinn -and nn this particular nne he was exemplary. most of the day. Pye was in fourth place when he made his last stop, and that's where he would have rejoined the race had it not been for a slow stop - something over which Matt Halliday, co-driving with Dean Fiore in the sister car, angrily berated the team over the on-course commentary broadcast.

Also noteworthy was the Euro combo of Mattias Ekstrom and Andy Priauix.

Ekstrom was particularly impressive the fact that the Swedish driver hadn't seen the track and had only driven the car once at Queensland Raceway didn't stop he and Priauix from leading the race for a total of 17 laps. Had their fuel strategy not left them three laps short at the final change, they'd likely have found themselves in amongst the battle for the win in the closing laps.

That battle was really something. For a while it was overshadowed by the war going on just down the road involving Jason Bright and Garth Tander, with Craig Lowndes tucked in behind. The latter sat waiting for a moment to jump the both - "it was entertaining from where I was sitting," said Craig laterand indeed he did just that to race on to third place.

It was a Red Bull Racing two-three but afterwards both Lowndes and

Hot Pye: Scott Pye was a star at Bathurst this year - with a quicker final stop he'd have been a chance for the podium, top. Wall/ Pither Commodore didn't enjoy a clean run, above. Blanchard/Walsh DJR Falcon was an excellent 15“', left, chromed red liveried Mdaughiin/Perkins ran well into eight, centre left, while Reynolds/Canto were cruelled by the need for a late fuel stop, below left.

Whincup accepted the reality that it was just not their day. Still, they had to be happy with the big haul of championship points.

"Both cars just weren't as strong as they should be," Whincup conceded at the media conference, "so we'll go away and do our homework and hopefully come out of the weekend a better team.

"It was very fast at the start of the day, but that's not when the chequered flag is.

We were weak out of the Dipper, weak in Forrest's Elbow, and that's the key area where you need to be fast so you can make a lunge at the end of Con-Rod. That was really my only opportunity late in the race but we didn't have the speed.

We just missed the setup. The car was a handful to drive and PD did a good job keeping it on the track most of the time."

Still, there was that last lap challenge at Griffin's Bend which forced Winterbottom to fight for his win. motorsport news

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t didn t decide the race, but it was a contest that will likely go down as one of the alltime classic battles of Bathurst.

The Jason Bright/Andy Jones Team BOC Commodore had run strongly all day and was nicely poised in third place once the final stops had washed through. Ahead were Winterbottom and Whincup. Behind were Lowndes and Tander.

Bright had made his final stop on lap 137.

Lowndes' came two laps later, while Tender's, crucially, was five laps further still.

Tander was the surprise late-race performer.

A HRT Commodore that hadn't been anywhere close to being a front runner all week was suddenly trading fastest laps with Lowndes - and then passing Lowndes into Griffins Bend on lap 149.

Even Tander himself has been surprised to find himself in such a strong position near the end.

"When we popped out after the last stop and I saw the others going up Mountain Straight," Tander said, "I actually said to Scotty my engineer, 'is that the race just there?' And he said, 'yep, that's it!'. From there I knew I had to have a crack at Brighty and Lowndes as soon as possible if I was to have any chance."

Bright's car had been a jet earlier on, but later in the race it was becoming more prone to locking front tyres under brakes into Forrest Elbow - which was unfortunate, because one of the car's great strengths had been the way it fired onto Con-Rod Straight.

But into the Chase, Bright knew his brakes were working well enough to hold anyone out, and that's exactly how he planned to play it as Tander and Lowndes, now lapping around half a second faster, loomed large in his mirrors.

"I was struggling because he (Tander) had six-lap newer tyres," Bright said. "They

were the quickest cars in that last stint and they were coming at us. I held them off long enough, I felt, for their tyres to lose their edge. They were going to have to be desperate to pass me from then on, and that's sort of what happened.

In the previous stint Craig was behind me the whole way and we pulled away at the end because our tyre life was better. I'd have felt that if I'd have held him off there, that might have been his last challenge because they were both running out of grip. When they came at me, they came at me hard, but when you're trying hard to pass someone you burn up a lot of rubber, and I don't believe they would have had much left after that.

The first challenge from Tander came at the Chase on lap 151.

"I thought, I'm going to make him work for this," Bright explains. "I level-pegged him into the Chase and stayed one wide there and I knew I then had the inside for the right hander. We went through there side by side and I managed to stay level into the braking area. Our car's strong under brakes, and I was on the racing line, and I thought,'we going to lose third here'- and I can't remember who came third here last year, let alone fourthi "If you can hang on around the outside there, you can actually get a good run onto the straight, and I was able to hold him into Hell Corner. I'd actually done the same thing with Lowndes in the previous stint, so I knew it was possible with Garth."

Brilliant driving from both, but the sequel five laps later saw the two clash, with Tander slipping past Bright but also and slipping off the track enough for Lowndes to take the pair of them.

Afterwards, Bright was not happy.

"I was trying to stick around the outside through the Chase like I did the previous time, but this time he had a lunge and hit me.

They say at every drivers' briefing that you have to leave racing room when you're trying to pass someone, which is why the previous time with Garth it was such good racing.

Craig and I did it, Garth and I did it once, but he couldn't do it twice. It was shame because it was a bloody good battle and it should have kept.going.

"As I said, at every drivers briefing they tell you that you have to leave racing room when you're trying to pass someone. But when it happens, they don't do anything."

As is the way with these things, Tender's view was quite different.

"I thought it was fine," he said. "We raced pretty hard and he did a good job hanging around the outside through the Chase, and we hung around the outside of each other a couple of times. The first time I got hung out to dry, but it was good hard racing between'**'' three guys that have got plenty of experience and, you know, there were 10 laps to go at Bathurst, so you're going to race pretty hard."

For Tander, after a Bathurst 1000 in which he failed to make the top 10 in qualifying for only the third time in 16 attempts, fourth place was a result he was happy to accept.

"All week the car wasn't where we needed it to be," he said, "so to be even within a shot of being on the podium was a really good effort-from the whole team.

"We just kept buying fuel time for that last stop, so that we could be in a reasonable position towards the end, and when the car came to life in the last three stints, we could actually make up time. That was why we short-stinted Nick - we were prepared to give up track position early on so we could be in a good position at the end.

"A podium would have been nice, but it would have been a cheeky podium because our form wasn't there all week - but it was there at the end of the race when it counts."

At every drivers briefing they teii yen that yen have te teave racing rnnm when yon're trying tn pass snmenne. But when it happens,they don't do anything www.mnews.com.au

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etro was the overriding theme last year, which was not surprising given it was the 50th running of the Great Race at Bathurst. The anniversaries in 2013 were a little less obvious, but 30 years since Dick Johnson fronted at Bathurst with his Falcon XE wearing Greens'-Tuf livery was as good an excuse as any to dress up the 17 Chaz Mostert/Dale Wood machine in green Greens'Tuf 1983 style livery.

It looked a treat - full marks to who ever dreamed up the idea.

Of course, the obvious jibe to arise from this retro exercise was to hope that the Greens'-Tuf Falcon FG did not suffer the same fate which befell the Greens'-Tuf Falcon XE with its famous Forrest's Elbow crash during the top 10 shootout - a joke which Mostert himself made on TV during the week before the race.

There would thankfully be no 2013 sequel at Forrest's Elbow, but Mostert would shunt the car heavily at Reid Park on Friday in a crash that was all

I thought I may as well have a crack. He braked early down the inside and I had a lunge around the outside; he had a bit of a panic and came off the brake, and I thought he was then going to come around the outside. I'm happy I had a go, happy that we both played a straight bat; it was fair deal.

I prefer to be in the fence having had a go rather than settle dor second. I had a go, Mark drove extremely well. We didn't really lose; we got beaten by a class act today, so I'm happy.

It was a fitting sentiment on what was a truly great day for both the race and V8 Supercars.

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Pre-production samples

Apex replicas is pleased to announce their latest project which is the 1:18 scale EF-EL Falcon model in high detail diecast with opening parts. The initial releases will feature cars driven

by Dick Johnson and John Bowe, including the 1995 Australian Touring Car Championship winner and Bathurst cars. The pre-production version shown here indicates the high quality and fine detail you can expect from the final models, which feature opening doors, bonnet and boot. Keep an eye on Apex I newsletters for further announcements and release dates

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n hour after crossing the finishing line at Bathurst, Mark Winterbottom finally got a moment to himself.

In between live crosses to Channel 7 from his pit garage, he ducked across to quickly get changed out of his race suit. But he stopped and it finally sunk in that he was a Bathurst winner.

With his wife Renee next to him, a single line in a private conversation revealed the demons that had haunted him since Bathurst 2007. it had been six years since a Safety Car, the weather and a single misjudgement cost him a Bathurst victory. Six years where the raw speed of both car and driver had time and again been foiled in the bid for both a Bathurst and a championship victory. As the

years went by the monkey on his back had become a gorilla. As his former team-mate and co-driver for six of the past seven years, Steven Richards has seen first hand the pain that has driven 'Frosty'.

"In 2007, to come so close and yet have that result, it was gut-wrenching," Richards said. "I know there's been hard times. He has carried that. As a young bloke, back in '07 he probably wiped it off his shoulders and thought,'Oh, there'll be next year'.

But all of a sudden in '08 something else happened, in '09 it caught fire. There's been an issue every year and all of a sudden, as you grow up, as you have kids, it dawns on you a little bit that maybe this isn't going to happen. Maybe this is destined not to be.

"So seeing that, and knowing how determined he was, he wouldn't have

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Bathurst and I wasn’t just going td move □VER FOR HIM AND LET HIM CDME THRDUGH. IT WAS SERIDUSLY NERVE-WRACKING, THE LAST LAPS. binned it today. But that disappointment, had he not got over the line today, that would have shattered him. It would have shattered him. So there's a lot of determination that went into the result today."

The 5 FPR Falcon became the effective race leader from lap 77 onwards. Everything was running smoothly and the drivers were consistent when they needed to be, responded when they needed to and ensured that they kept track position. When the final pit cycle completed on lap 144, Winterbottom assumed the outright lead. But there was a fear, even an expectation, of another Safety Car. The clouds were darkening. There was an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu. And seeing the clouds roll in and watching the laps count down on the tower as well as the Red Bull Commodore of Jamie Whincup in the mirrors, Mark had to steel himself for the race to the end.

"There were nerves," he admitted. "There's no doubt the nerves were there.

"It's a lifelong thing trying to win Bathurst and I wasn't just going to move over for him and let him come through. You've got to back your ability. It was seriously nerve-wracking, the last laps. I could hear the energy on the radio from the engineers. I could feel everyone's tension."

As they commenced the final lap, Winterbottom knew he was vulnerable at 28

the Chase. The tow that Whincup could get off him would put him in a perfect position to strike and it would be tough to defend from there. Winterbottom was hoping that if Whincup was going to make a move, it would be earlier in the lap.

Ironically, Whincup thought Winterbottom was too strong out of the Dipper for him to be a threat down Con-Rod, so he also wanted to attack early in the lap.

When Whincup got a good run out of Hell Corner and drafted Winterbottom up Mountain Straight, Frosty got himself to the inside and planned the corner. He eased off the accelerator and then braked a little early to ensure Whincup was fully committed to the move on the outside.

He then eased off the brake and ran the Red Bull Commodore over the crown of the ripple kerb.

After 996km, Winterbottom just had to outrace Whincup for one corner and the race was his. Afterwards, Whincup said Winterbottom had panicked at the end of Mountain Straight. But in truth, Whincup had simply been outfoxed.

As he approached the Cutting for the final time, Winterbottom looked in the mirror and saw that Whincup was gone and no longer a threat. He could focus on just getting the car home.

(I was thinking) don't go too deep under

brakes. That last lap I was really conservative.

I got on the radio and told the boys that we just won Bathurst. That was an amazing feeling, because if it had have come down to that last corner it would have been pretty hectic."

After what many are calling one of the great Bathurst finishes, one has to pay tribute to Jamie Whincup. A championship leader went for a risky move to win. That's a racer.

And he was gracious and dignified in defeat.

He called the move a 'fair deal’ and showed neither remorse for having a go nor bitterness that it didn't come off. There's more to being a champion than winning titles and Jamie showed that on Sunday.

But the day was deservedly about FPR and in particular Frosty and his story of redemption. With that victory, six years of doubt, defeat and insecurity was gone. He had repaid FPR, Ford and, most importantly, his team-mate for sticking by him.

"You know,'07, Richo' definitely doesn't hold it against me and neither does the team," explained Winterbottom.

"But deep down, you know we could have won that day. The weather was bad, but it was driver error, so I always wanted to do something really special to repay them. I think what happened today, to win it with FPR and Richo' especially, pays back for any negative we've ever had at this place. There was someone watching, someone looked after us - and I know who she is."

While Bathurst 2013 will be known as the day Frosty finally beat the hoodoo, this is also Steven Richards' third victory and his motorsport news

contribution to it is so much more than just 60 laps of flawless driving.

Before the 2007 Shootout, Winterbottom was in his trailer 'shitting himself. The clouds were coming over, the sky was getting dark and it looked like it might rain, it was his Shootout debut and he had also never driven at Bathurst in the wet. When Richo' came to find him. Frosty confessed, "Mate, don't want to do this. I want you to do it.

Richards was having none of it. He told Mark he supported him no matter what. Frosty went out and claimed pole with the second fastest Shootout lap of all time. To this day only Greg Murphy's Lap Of The Gods is faster.

On that Sunday night, Richards supported his team-mate. And just as much as Frosty wanted to repay Richo', the then two-time winner wanted to be part of today.

I just always wanted to do it, particularly after that year ('07) but then '08 we finished fourth and I just thought, whether it's unfinished business, I don't think it was that, but I would really like to be around if and when FPR got their Bathurst win.

So it's awesome. For so many reasons this is really. really special.

For six years despite all the heartbreak and offers to go elsewhere, he's stuck by Frosty. He’s trusted him, supported him and believed in him. And while Richo' refutes it, there's no doubt that the confidence Frosty needed to go against the instinct of late braking and lure Whincup to the outside passing move came in no small part from the trust and support Richards has given him over the years. In 2013 everything aligned and FPR, Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards are Bathurst champions.

And just like that - the gorilla is gone. www.mnews.com.au

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formanufelfiurtiis ●\wh#are’e^thu ®andi.iih.ai^^tl!®lhhadi'njwer-^|(iin^^f.a w.hfdli : if iini anger.' . v Arriving atiB'athursffor this year's. Great^● '' ?Race,.lit was .o'b.vi^sJhat this was notgdin'g tq.Jbe.atii,yif|h’efle^^«i^l^g|n'^*satellite' -i - tearh: settled .at.th^ila$t garage'at .thVient,ty>“ V ■endi of the ipi.t'lane, while in ithie first;gitbox andiatthe'opposite^eniil^of the-lane-ffornithe ● r ,● iRed'iBu'IIBRaein'g ears. 'Naif the garage w/asin:^-, V', X<B'ox~,tm:e~irlni'd£iiiFiother side yyas iiiiii^^->’v’ " ., J JBiJIiblut^tl®'garage was sharedtwithi f|'s.' : !®fiifil|p; |ehes.<entry. Casey Stoner was the i'dhly®ji|i''d'riter withi-a pit ilane garage,'iV^|i|hi seeme|(ifeiiit^%ih:e>Apar?ifro,mfkeebih'g';:, Stoner cornfortab'lfelith'e'ihiiotfe'.alsd'faeilitatedi the fact that the itwo crews were somewhat lintermixed!; foriinstance, the #1i©';ah¥the’#I#' Gomrnbd'ores Sharedl a data engineer. .. ● iliheprocess Ihadl stantedbmdhths..%efdrej but a week before;, the team..andllhii;riffiers and! the ear came .together for the first tithe at .(a’ueehsland! Raceway; ilt was aill the track .time'th:e^dhiVersi«|uii 'have lUflphey' got fe IBathu rst.: !Biliid1if»we1l{ ibud'ditaeroix. irepbritedr' that the ear 4idiihef so:9muci.aS !have<a-wh'eel! . put off ithe track for the whole day. fhatwas the ffl issioh'for the' day;, going fast was imdf a Ideallytiifcyoitfiwere .going t@|^ a Ifth entry at The Great iRace, youj would! take :h«o experienced drivers oh boardl iBoth Andy Priaulx and Mattias Ikstrorh' make WWW

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1 Euro duo: Visiting Euro stars Mattias Ekstrom, ' centre, and Andy Priaulx, right, were hugely impressive in the wildcard Xbox Commodore. the grade on that front; Priauix's record is first-class, with three World Touring Car titles I following one European crown. He came to I the Mountain this time with three previous Bathurst starts, two with Kmart Racing in ’ 2002 and '03 and' one with Walkinshaw in : '09. Plus, of course, 2010 and '11' gigs at the ! Gold Coast 600 with TeamVodafone.

1 At the other end of the experience ; spectrum, Ekstrom travelled to Bathurst as a rookie. But what a rookie; apart from winning the DIM Drivers' title twice, he is a three time winner of the Race of Champions- not to mention a top 10 finisher in a World Rally j Championship event [Ed: go on Branagan, mention it was in a Skoda] and he has even led a Sprint Cup NASCAR race. Versatility was not going to be a problem ...

"He's like a sponge," said Triple Eight's John I Russell, whose regular job is running Casey i Stoner's Dunlop entry, on Thursday morning, i "He wants to learn all the time. He's an animal for data. He'll do alright."

Early signs were that the team was going to go well. As the more experienced driver.

Priaulx took to the track first and at the end are not interested in' qualifying liin: the top ' of the first session, was 12th fastest. The team 10].

But then came Saturday ... was delighted; so far, so good.

It was another picture perfect blue-sky day And then, things got much better. In the when the cars took to the track for Practice second session, which was for co-drivers 4. This was a co-driver session, but the body only, Ekstrom was seventh fastest. He was a language was much different when:the #10 just under a second behind the quickest man green car took to the track. Ekstrom was, in the session, who was Steven Richards.

Considering that Richo was about to embark .clearly-dn'a mission; he smoked a tyre under n brakes at Forrest's Elbow, and >bn his seventh on his 21 st Bathurst start, it was a really lap he broke into the nines for the first time encouraging performance. The two drivers were separated by Paul Dumbrell(who has 13 with a 2m09.90s lap. Then he took PI' with a 2m09.'12s, followed by a 2m09.23s. By the previous starts), Warren Luff (also 13), Steve end of the session, he had been put back to Johnson (20), Taz Douglas(3) and Craig Baird the third man in a T8 1 -2-3, with Luff and (18).

Then came the afternoon session, which Dumbrell leading the way.

"I have had to make a clean start," said was an interrupted one with no less than Ekstrom. three red flags. Ekstrom started proceedings, "The ear has nothing in comrhon with my but Priaulx jumped aboard mid-session and DTM car, it is much more like when|[was struggled to get a full lap. By the end of the session, the ear was all the way back in 24th - racing in NASCAR Sprint Cup. But the car did but it was still faster than fellow international just what Mark [Skaife] said it would do; in fact, everything he said that the car would do, visitors Ryan Briscoe, Maro Engel and Marc Lieb. happened:."

Priaulx started iin; Practice 5 and his second The team was satisfied but, racing drivers lap was an encouraging 2m09.4s, but then being racing drivers, they wanted more. a red flag interrupted the session. Ekstrom “We ran with no greens [tyres] in the resumed and, again, stood on the gas, setting afternoon," said Priaulx, "but we are not sure a 2m09.1164s for PI3 in the session. At what others were running. But that's OK, we

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Ekstrom s first effort in qualifiyng yielded a 2m09.94s; on his second run, he cracked a 2m09.00s, which jumped him all the way up to seventh - at the time, he was faster than Craig Lowndes... sessi0:n% ■»#. ®Hle ©He teinliinf the data ardi franflapedl Idlliiirtn), "f strraifItlit (iiiiiiiir Hit w# iif# idilieult to %ure>@uit wihi#K§f fhe diwers was/going t0.ta'Gkte:fifli!li%^^^^^ "idfey is €oin|ii|„"" adwiged' !P«aulx<. "We deeidedi tO'lfeifp iliiffliiMi tie ®ar beGauiselhe had! gioodfiilythriii. i aHii'going to he statrtilf and inisliiiiglle fface, so tiatiis the iitiHfUstaHt bit." ©.Hi tie Otierr ilandl, the team, was not iiof!kiii; ilik-e they were as '' disinterestediififiniiakiraigtle lop 1i®'Shoot©uit as they hadl ileen 24hours ' earlier, i'kstromi was K.3S slower thani Jarnie Wliihoup;, whOi was fastest ^ but he was within .©'.3s of Lee Holdsworth, who-was KQthi.

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nn Of the nine Main Game drivers who finished ahead of the XBox ! drivers, seven have won races. It does not, surely. get a lot better

: than the similar car of Whincup. Late in the session all the heroics that saw drivers like Garth Tander and Lee Holdsworth booted out of the top 10. Ekstrom missed the top 10 by 0.41s.

For qualifying, our realistic expectation was between eighth and 13th," said Ekstrom, So we came up short of that. We did not get the most out of the car in the session.

Saturday was as near a perfect day as you can get at Mount Panorama. The car was , back in 22nd position, 2.01 s slower that fastest man in the session David Reynolds. It , was as far back as the car had been, in terms of the speed, but still there were no issues to report. The car was proving as bulletproof as we have come to expect from T8; the only problem that the car experienced in the first three days was a loose oil union at the transmission end of the car. Ekstrom and Priaulx practised driver changes after threelap race sims on well-used tyres, the Swede reporting that the grip was "better than I

expected it to be".

It was way different to running on greens [new tyres] in qualifying," said Ekstrdm.

So, raceday dawned, with Ekstrom not hiding his light under a bushel.

I have a simple aim in every race; I want to win. It is much more simple to have a single goal all the time. Now, is that realistic here?

Hell nol But'll'want to do the best i can.

One more question for a multiple DTM titleist; how fast would a DMT Audi lap the track?

About 1m55," he said after a moment’s thought. "I think 1m55 to 1m58.

On Sunday morning, the smooth pre-race buildup continued. There had been changes in the garage. The 'entry' side, which to this point has been bedecked in Red Bull blue, is now a perfect match for the other side and is in XBox green. The crew look different too; in race mode, they are now bedecked eustommade Alpinestars fireproof suits. These are not cheap; a suit made to size and design runs

might get a discount for ordering in buik... : Talk about attention to detail... The crew helmets were custom designed, with their names on the back. The drivers' suits are not identical; for instance, Priaulx has a longstandihg personalisponsorship deal with Crowne Plaza hotels, so his racesuit wears", that logo - and only his. Yikes.

The car was in the first half of the field'for most of the warm-up session and ended up in 12th, with the drivers practicing a few inand-outs on the way. True to his word, Priaulx was in the ear when it starts up at 10:04 to drive to the grid. Ekstrom fussed around with his drink bottles. By the time he is ready to walk onto the gc^d, they are in a perfect line, arranged tallest to shbVfest.'

The race started and the strategies cotS^ into play.

'All good," smiled' Priaulx when he finished his first stint.

I lost a couple of places at the start but we had good pace towards the end of the stint.

Priaulx has run inside the tbp'tf during the pit cycle, and when Ekstrom'got into the car on lap 21, he resumed the race in PI 7.

Within 10 laps he was seventh) along the way he has passed Nick Percat in the HRT car and spent time behind Jereon Bleekemolen in an all-Europe, ali-T8 battle. He picked the Dutchman off and continued to move

forward in spite of feeling a bit hot and bothered in the second half of bis stint. We helmet-mounted air hose had not eonnectedi properly and he felt some of the heat in his waning laps.

At the end of lap'4:2, when:others had: made their second pistops, he was second.

SECOND.Itaifact, he mas the second iman in a T8 1-2; Whineuip was 33s :U;p the road, and they ran like that luniriap 45 when both T8 Commodores made their seGond stops together, Priaulx hopping back in the car. He pitted: again hang on:.qiueue on lap 69, the #1#car the last to mike iits thiirdi pitstop. While they were the only car tO’ run a 'EonHentional' strate^ of three eqiuali stints, each with its(own:driwer .Ghange, their 'corrected' position was almost impossible to determine without a computer, because everyone else was on* a different strategy.

So that meant that when the leaders pitted!

- in this case, Alex ©afflisononilip 1i0i, car #1, the ^Box iWhId'eniCommodOrev driven by Andy Priaulx, ied the 201:3 iBathurst ill0©0;.

He :puHed- away femi the second ear - in this ease, Greg litter the GIM Commodore and stayed in.the lead iuntiihe pitted eight laps later. Ekstromi was in P14 when he got back into the ear. ten laps after that, he was back into the top three, tthen'second:, setting the ear's fastest lap: of the 'race’s* a 2m11.y389s -to that ipoint. fhe» Garth: tanderpittedi’©:n]ilap iii3S and: jj was Ekstrom's turn tO’lead:the 'race, this time for nine laps, then came the final two pitstops. ikstrom: was in: on lap Udii^that was three laps, at least, short of the fuOl windlow to get to the end of the race. Priaulx climbedi aboard'for the final stint andl then:pitedl again feurlaps. later, to talfce the iin'alH splashi. iNOw it was a straight id'ash. for the flag; :he was. 40s Ibdhimdl raee ilead:er,M'aiik< Winterboiiom,.

By the end: of the race, that gap was 48s - and: Priaulx had gained'oniy one pipe, !by passing Shane wan: Gisbergen'. Such was the ■ pace of the final dash that the fulls-time ¥8' guns stretched: away, alllthe while jockeying for position and! Cballl'enges. Ihe XBox car was not just quick !in:Opghi'W/hfn the race was on the line.

"I got'him: at the Ch-PeT p.riau'i.X smiled'

after the race. “Weihawe done what we Game; d:©wnhere to do,; inish- in the top:1#i^have i'wdullrlbe any car other thanl affildl® had a itough' year;in the ©tM andi this is one iMOt many teams have the hardwzare'pii of the hardest races I have had'. the capability of rolling out a competitive 'll would love to come down here and :raCe, race-ready car, and'in the current climate, II i I had' a chance to go with: a top ieam.J lam: :is hard’to:see either alFOrdtteam (given the not a guy who brin'gs sp0ns©rship.'iuiijfeani make’s uncertaini'status.iinitl!ie' sp0rt's.futuirei)j l bring a'lot ofpterest,^ think.'" .● optre'buV'^iven-ihat jihe)teami.has-infr0ffiiGia!lfc And, 'his:G0*dh®er? l backing from 'A/iereedes,-Beriz|0!i>ithe^otlj|,|j|^ ‘‘ilidb in;ot want t©’think any luiih:ef ith‘im hah'd,onee|!lissan;dlears Vear^ihcitS'if^td^ . ^ (this weekendandenjoyingthisiiliimpt;® " n , n ito the sppntjj^C0u||^e that there Is iaindther ■; Altima at the Mountain some jtirnelh:^the IkstFom admitted. future S especially since it has a roster of i>'T. T^he other .question :to ask is, whath'appehs, next? capable' driy.ets.'fr0iifi-.ar0und; the 'wonl^^its. Sx books. ' ' The V#tC jposlliOh) on wildcard!(inthes: I'S'Clear; aibusiless case'imbltlbeiprfsfn'ted' : - j ihej'tiTe^fesliilt^MfetliihsMmB'ressiy^^^the :to), ahdl they .approwedi!by„4he:'^$tiu;p’erc,ars,. .nine Main,^iame'idniv^SiWhd'lign'is'hedi^aheadl*-' IBOardl. Wildcards.ihave run.dnl.y .atthe. ■ of the jfBo'xidri.y'ersrseveh'haveiwogri.raees.lll i'athiUirst 1i0i0;:i§ithepastlbut^theory, a does not, su rdly get a l|| better 'than' that ^ team: eou1d! iiiuiii: a wildcard, entry at anyirouiiL ib’ut the b'ar ihas been, set fairly 'higl'so .it will SO,:, there couldl be a wildcard at Adelaide, 'be fascinating to see whatls the'hext step jnf !

Albett Parkor ahyirace next season, for the process of fielding a wildcardientfy-wTIne' instance.

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HE first thing you need to go racing well, ONE of the first things you need ?= is a car.

Triple Eight had one. Ito' fact, they had the very first Car of The Future that they built. chassis number 30.

"It has never been raced," explained Ludo ! Lacroix, who also affirmed that it was as good i as identical to the Red Bull cars at the other i end of the pitlane.

"The rules say what the body shell is so you cannot make any changes. At the end |of the i qualifying session] the grip came, but it was late. We could have been a little bit faster [in qualifying] but it is OK. With the drivers and the car we have, we could have done an 8-5 or an 8-6, but it is OK. It is particularly close." j That does not rule out that the green I machine lacked the latest 'A/\k V front end

trim as it had been all season.

It was about as close as in 2012, when 18th fastest Steve Johnson wasf.8866s off provisional pole. In 2011, it was‘®7 ears within a second of pole; in 20TQ> it was 1.1 cars.

But clearly, over a 128 second lap, this business is not getting any easier.

Then you need a crew. Triple Eight has plenty of people but running a fourth ear at Bathurst takes some organisation. Here is the #10 ear's 'pick-up' crew and their 'day jobs; Ludo Lacroix - technical director [It was the first time he had acted as a race engineer on a car since 2007, when he oversaw the TeamVodafone Allan Simonsen/ Richard Lyons entry at Bathurst.]: Andrew Simpson - SACHS customer care Grant Crosby - machinist

"He's known as 'fhe Butler' as he does a bit of everything."

Daniel Williams - sub-assembly mechanic Ty Freeie - no.1: mechanic car 27/ride car Jarrod Bowles^ data engineer ear 27/ride car Danny Keetels - mechanic car 27/ride car Ben Leeds - mechanic car 27/ride car Gary Weiden = DVS truck drivers and tyres/ ride car Also on the scene in a 'floating' role was John Russell, T8’s director of engineering and production/engineer car 27.

Add'to that list Lucas Docking, who is Operations Manager at Skaife Sports, and Skaife himself, whose roles in the business are many and varied to the point that to list them all, we may need a pull-out supplement in this magazine t..

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iUTTlIhliS XBox into> 1he&eat 'Race is mjuCh more work than just painting a car green and applying decals.

The XBox effotit started in February, required approval fromi Microsoft's head: office (which: came liint Apriii); and: ra eedled: Hots of details sorted out - not the least of which was getting approval for IBMiW driver Andy f.riaulx i and Audi's Mattias ikstrom to drive a General Motors product dOwni 'under.

But the timing of the event made it much easier tO' lu ndferstandl, accordi ng to Alani Bowman, Microsoft's iRegiOnal Vice President " : ^ Retail for the ©reater A®ia iRegion'. Ill was ; all about the launch of litsmew platform XBOx ' ON:E and: j|s new racing simulation' game, Forza Motorsport 5. The game is the Srst ! from XBox to feature the Mount Panorama, I after five teChnieians fromi the company's M'S. software partners mapped the circuit earlier this year.

We have been involved in the VBs since we lauinChed: XBox Ini Australia,'''' fee saidi.

'We ihave been with) the NOlden Racing Team and: withi M'ark Skaife as a braidl ambassador. If you think about the origin of been one of gamin;ig. motor racin'ifeas the most ipopuilar games.

'The event is part of our global coverage for the liaunch of XBox ©Mi. 'Racing the car is not the most important thing; it is a part of

at a tmeeling and as the timing of the Jaunehi iLarkham's teehnical ropoits. feecame clear, so to© didithe opportunity to Jilll' were part of whait iOwman'describedi as "'ap integrated effort".andKiiMhileihe was mot do sonnething arouind iBathurst. "t just said, ‘'Let's race a ear at iBalhursf#^ able to place a dollar wa!l’ue'€iitii jproject,, he Ike says. ●|l;iinot refute th^tithedealiiiOStiifuthe imilllons.

That is where Skaife came in. We was the of dollars. : ■ ,■ one who made the introduction to ilolahdl iven WoTdenigotf »tlii ,game:„W/itiiiitw®) ' '' Dane and Triple Eight Racei|n|ineering, and' iWOld'en Commodore race car replicas in the fromi there',, V-8 SuperGars.beeamein'\/0ly.fdi As green' hues '^^tlii|''spihsor.^jfhiwas the5le,v||r 'OfJlIp around the track that one rivai'team' the project fleshed out, V8 Supercars became irnfmber irefgrredilojithe event as "'tHfd.'XBO'X a irelationfh i p as the ipromoter of the iraef ((hence, the cireuit signage during the'race):. t©l®" j. XBox and-IFOrza 5 willi fee availafel'eiffphf ■ .

SO'toO' didi Ohannel! Seven, with Iheavy XBoxid'entilteation ini the ifeackgrou ndl '©I Mark . . if^irllOtali games retailerifrimiilSl:0.yemfef?^f

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n 1977 Jacky Ickx was arguably the first superstar racer in the prime of his career to tackle the Mountain. The Belgian joined Allan Moffat in the lead Moffat Ford Dealers Falcon XC Coupe and was part of the historic 1-2 victory. A current Formula 1 driver, he was a twice championship runnerup, and earlier that year he had claimed his fourth (of an eventual six) Le Mans 24 Hour victory.

The Belgian was also the first to dispel the myth that the foreigners couldn't handle 'our' Mountain. But while the Mountain is just another, albeit very special and daunting, race track, there's no doubt that international drivers have struggled to adapt to our unique touring cars. Long before the V8 Supercar era, drivers from Europe and America, who were used to cars with power, brakes and handling, came out here to find that out here, we made do with just the power OR handling, and very rarely brakes in either.

When Ickx drove out of the pits for the first time in 1977, he returned after just one lap exclaiming: "Allan, this thing does not stopi" "To drive that Falcon fast was OK. To drive it very fast was difficult," Ickx said in a recent interview with motoring journalist Peter McKay. Much has changed at the Mountain in the nearly 40 years since, but the imports adapting to our cars has not. In recent years.

Triple Eight was the only team that regularly 40

S» ■ went for international drivers in their second

In 2012 he raced in both the Bathurst 12

car when they could pair Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.

But the rule change in 2010 preventing the pairing of lead drivers, and the Gold Coast event requiring internationals to participate exclusively (thus ruling them out for Bathurst), meant that the 1000km in recent years has had a distinctly local flavour.

But the creation of the Pirtek Enduro Cup opened up a new opportunity. Suddenly there were a large number of international drivers who had recent V8 Supercar experience via the Gold Coast event.

Two of those were Marc Lieb and Jeroen

Hour - where he made the podium - as well as a guest drive in the Porsche Carrera Cup support race for the Bathurst 1000. So he knew the cars and the circuit.

Bleekemolen. A factory Porsche sports car racer, Lieb drove with Webb at the Cold Coast in 2012, the pair finishing second on the Saturday, while sports car and GT racer Bleekemolen paired with van Gisbergen in the SBR Falcon where they gained two top 10 results.

Tekno team owner Steve Webb believed that having international drivers added to the spectacle, so when the new rules came out he opted to invite Lieb back with his team for all three races in 2013, despite the German having never been to Sandown or Bathurst previously.

Bleekemolen was a slightly different story.

Having partnered van Gisbergen at the street race, he not only had some V8 Supercar experience, he was well-versed with Bathurst.

But, the Car of the Future was a new car. it had subtle differences and less tuning capacity on-the-run with the loss of the roll centre adjustments. In the race, the set-up you started with would be the set-up you finished with - good or bad. So the input from the co drivers was going to be vital.

The other risk was the schedules didn't allow for any testing before the Sandown 500. Lieb was running the World Endurance Championship, while Bleekemolen is running in eight championships across the USA, Europe and Australia this year, accounting for 35 weekends! The team would send them data to review and on-board camera footage of the circuits, but that only helps so far. Most of the learning they had to do would be at the race weekend. But for Steve Webb - the positives outweighed the risks.

"Just look at their credentials," he said.

"They mightn't be Formula One drivers, but they're probably two of the most successful drivers in the world."

Both have strong ties to Porsche.

Bleekemolen is a two-time Porsche SuperCup champion and won the Le Mans 24 Hour with Porsche in the LMP2 class. He's also a GTC class champion in the American Le Mans motorsport news

Matfias Ekstrom and Andy Priaulx weren't the only international names racing at Bathurst in 2013. Edward Krause tracked the progress of Great Race rookies Jeroen Bleekemolen and Marc Lieb, Bathurst rookie More Engel, and Ryan Briscoe, who is neither a Bathurst nor a Great Race rookie, but who spends his time primarily in sportscars and Indycars on the other side of the world.

Series, a race-winner in the now-defunct A1 Grand Prix series and has also competed in the DTM. Lieb has been a factory Porsche driver for the past 10 years, although he's been racing Porsches much longer. He's won the Spa 24 Hours, both in class and outright, twice GT2 winner at Le Mans, four-time winner of the Nurburgring 24 Hour and winner of both the FIA GT (twice) and Le Mans Series championships. Just prior to Bathurst, he also became the first driver to complete a lap of the Nurburgring in under seven minutes, in a production Porsche, Since Ickx, the only driver whose record compared was three-time Le Mans winner Klaus Ludwig, who visited in 1987 with the Texaco Sierras. Ludwig was also the first rookie to claim pole position.

Sandown was a solid result, 12th and 13th for the VIP Petfoods and Darrell Lea Commodores respectively, but they admitted that giving the internationals extra time in the cars in practice there handicapped them a little for the race.

But the focus was always Bathurst and that extra time spent at Sandown would hopefully reap rewards at the mountain.

BATHURST WEEK Despite his 12-hour and Carrera Cup exploits, Bleekemolen still found the V8 WWW mnews.com.au

Supercar around Bathurst a massive learning curve.

"When I first came here, the (Mercedes) SLS is such an easy car to drive. You have ABS, traction control, with a car like that any track, even the Nordschleife, is easy to learn. I was up to speed right away.

"The (Porsche) Cup car was a lot harder and it took me a little bit of time, but by the end of the weekend we were fighting with Bairdo'(Craig Baird) and breaking the lap record.

"Now with this, it's like learning a new track again. It's very different, the braking points, how much speed to carry into the corners.

They move around a lot and you've got to get used to that, to get the confidence that it's going to stick. There are so many places where I pushed too hard into the corner, or I don't push enough. It's really about getting the corner speeds and the technique right on these cars."

Lieb had a similar view and described his opening laps a 'crazy' and ‘lots of fun, but also felt the Sandown circuit was harder to get right.

"It's not a big difference, but I found Sandown harder to learn because it's more technical. You have to be very precise on the braking and turn-in and you can lose so much time there. I like fluid circuits, when you have the flow and it's just fast corners."

Another international who was

experiencing the Mountain for the first time was Erebus driver Maro Engel. The Gold Coast-based German might be one of the 'local' championship drivers, but he is also a rookie at all the circuits in the championship, including Bathurst. He had a completely opposing view to his visiting compatriot.

"I wouldn't agree because there's 12 or 13 at Sandown corners and there's 23 here. At least half of them (here) are blind, most of them you can't see the exits so there's a lot to take in and a lot to learn. How the gradients work and how the car handles around those gradients is a big thing to learn as well.

"It's an incredible track. I don't think there's any track like it. It's unique and requires a lot of preparation."

Being paired with the very experienced Steven Johnson, the team elected to let Johnson focus on the set-up development while Engel learned the track on Thursday. By the end of the day Engel's 2m11.5 was only 0,3s off Johnson's time.

"The good thing is Steve and I have very similar preferences of what the car should feel like. After (today) I think my input is a lot more valid and is starting to be of relevance, definitely."

In the co-driver session Bleekemolen was 20th with a 2m12,5, while Lieb was 26th with a 2m13.4, the Darrell Lea Commodore suffering a few minor niggles that were affecting the set-up.

41

Bleekemolen: "I love the racing out here. Everyone has huge respect for each other, people don't just stick it in and push each other off. It's great, it's different from racing in n Europe, for sure.

Right behind Lieb was another international visitor - our own US-based expat Ryan Briscoe who was making his third visit to the Mountain. Briscoe had signed with Walkinshaw Racing earlier in the year, but when no confirmation of the partnerships had been made by the Townsville round in July, people began to wonder if Briscoe, or anyone other than Greg Murphy, had been signed.

"We made the agreement with the team at the beginning of the year, and I think I maybe said something about running with James because that's what I thought we were doing.

Then the team structured it the way it is now, but there was never any point where I wasn’t coming."

Further doubt was thrown when Nick Percat was re-called into the HRT squad and Briscoe broke his wrist in July. With doctors advising a six-week recovery, he was no risk of missing Sandown, but the injury combined

with his racing schedule of American Le Mans series and IndyGars meant he too wouldn't get to test the car beforehand.

Briscoe would also become only the fourth person to ever race at the Indy 500, Le Mans 24 Hour and the Bathurst 1000 in the same year. But despite jumping between open wheelers and sports cars every other weekend, Briscoe admits that this is the toughest one for him to adapt to.

"The V8s are what I have least experience in. Sports cars and IndyGars are very similar to drive - high downforce and low to the ground and stiff - and this is a very different car, so it takes a little more getting used to."

It wasn't helping that the Supercheap car was proving to be a handful. Neither Briscoe nor Ingall could get it inside the top 20 in any session. Between Friday's practice and qualifying was an autograph session. At its conclusion, ingall turned to Briscoe and said

'Let's go sort out this mongrel car', Unfortunately Ingall would only manage 25th - his equal worst qualifying position.

Despite the difficulties, Ryan was enjoying working with 'The Enforcer'.

"It's a big race and nobody wants to be slow. I don't know Russell that well, I've only gotten to know him in the last couple of races. He’s very determined and when things aren't going well he doesn't hide his emotions.

"I've been having a good time working with him learning from him. He's got a lot of really good insight about this place about what it takes and thinking forward to the race. He's a great team-mate to have" Maro Engel completed his Friday morning happy with the results. On old tyres he felt his SP Tools AMG was 'really hooked up' and was recording some strong sector times. Despite the balance being not quite right on the new set of tyres, he still netted a two second gain despite the red flag interruptions. This left him only a couple of tenths off Steven Johnson's fastest, which was also set with new tyres and no red flags.

But the team elected to put Johnson in for qualifying. While the paddock chatter was that Engel was not pleased about the decision, the German played a straight bat, saying it was a team decision probably based on Johnson's experience at the circuit.

Any concerns about the Tekno internationals not being able to make meaningful contributions to set-up were quickly allayed on Friday morning. Both spent their sessions working through changes which improved the cars, both van Gisbergen and Webb validating the changes. Bleekemolen was given a better set of tyres at the end but was unable to put a complete lap together

r

42

motorsport news

while Lieb only ran on old tyres. As a result they were near the bottom of the times, but were comfortable running in mid-2m11s, which was expected to be close to the race pace.

Early on Lieb was still struggling with the downhill sections, not helped by a brake issue on the Darrell Lea car that was eventually resolved, but by the end of his session he had found his rhythm.

The German was also taking a keen Interest in the engineering of the Tekno Commodores.

Holder of an automotive engineering degree, Lieb was an engineer in the Porsche factory until mld-2012, in addition to his driving duties. Part of his role was running test car programmes so he was keen to see what had been done to the car and ideas behind it.

In qualifying that afternoon, van Gisbergen would claim fifth fastest to get into the Shootout, while Webb was 20th, still struggling with getting the power down across the top of the Mountain.

RACE DAY

Sunday morning, race day. Cars firing up before the sun had risen. Instagram was filled with shots of the grid at the break of dawn, including many taken by drivers. There's no mistaking race day at Bathurst.

These days the pre-race grid is a zoo.

What were once teams, media and select VIPs is now a free-for-all with almost every corporate visitor allowed on. Some of the Internationals looked bemused. Jeroen Bleekemolen said the Nurburgring 24 Hour grid was similar, but not on any of the others.

Marc Lieb was calm - his nerves 'at the right level'.

Ryan Briscoe was feeling more confident as the Supercheap Commodore was the best it had been all week in the warm-up. Maro Engel was taking it all in, posing for photos and chatting, but also trying to get himself mentally ready to start his first Great Race. As well-wishers passed by, one said: "See you in

Lieb: "This place is very special. When I was on the grid it just blew me away, completely.

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59

Briscoe: "I don't know Russell (Ingall) that well, I've only gotten to know him in the lost couple of races. He's very determined one when things aren't going well he doesn't hide his n emotions.

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six hours."

For the first time since 1977 a factory Ford won the Great Race. It wasn't a 1-2 and there was no international sharing the spoils. But the three Great Race debutantes and Aussie expat all recorded a finish, although none as high as they would have wanted.

After Saturday's practice Maro Engel

had said that they would be making 'some adjustments to improve the car' for the race.

Starting the SP Tools AMG from 16th, it was quickly clear that those adjustments didn't deliver what they needed.

They hoped that the track might come to them, but despite getting a good start to move to 13th, they began to slip back as the

IMPRESSIONS w

e can get very parochial about 'our' race. Quite rightly we're proud of the Mount Panorama circuit and the Bathurst 1000 event. It's a round of a domestic touring car championship, but it's also an event known to a global motorsport audience. It's on many a driver's to-do list. But where does it compare to the great circuits and great events of the world of motorsport?

Ryan Briscoe As a driver I think they're all (Indy, Le Mans, Bathurst) on par with each other. As it's perceived to the rest of the world I'm not so sure because everyone has their own preferences. The Indy 500 probably trumps them all as far as the ceremonies that go on, the amount of time you spend at the race track, the preparation and then 300,000 people at the race track - no other race comes close to that.

But as a driver Bathurst means just as much as the others do.

Maro Engel It's amazing. It's absolutely great to race in this race for the first time It's one of the best races on the planet - no doubt. It's such a special atmosphere and such a special track. Quite honestly I can't wait to come back in a year's time.

It is what I expected. I expected a fantastic atmosphere, great fans, huge fan interaction. It's just a very special race. There are a few of those motorsport highlights in the world and this is one of them and

60

chronic oversteer and power deficit meant that he pitted for the first time in 19th.

It would get worse - the cool suit failed during Steven Johnson's first stint. The team tried to repair it, which put them a lap down, but to no avail so on a warm, blustery day of nearly 30 degrees they would have to complete most of the race with no cool suit.

After a tough day on track SP Tools AMG would finish the race in 20th, one lap down on the leaders, "It (the oversteer) went from being really terrible to somehow managing to get around.

We've just got to accept that we've gone the wrong way with the set-up.

"On the positive side, the car stayed straight and held up really well. It's the first time we've done 1000km with the car and the car ran faultlessly."

The Supercheap Auto Commodore was also struggling early with oversteer but ultimately the track did come to the set-up.

Unfortunately for them their pit strategy left them mired in the pack, and Ingall and Briscoe couldn't pick their way forward far enough.

"I think we just needed to be a few second ahead and we would have been clear of some of the slower cars that were holding us up," Briscoe said.

They would eventually finish 17th which, DNFs aside, was ingall's worst result at Bathurst.

"The result isn't good. I think we were trying to go a bit different on strategy expecting more safety cars and it just didn't work out.

"Mid-race we were looking pretty good. I thought we had a shot at a top 10. I'm not

those expectations have absolutely been met and the track was the challenge I was expecting.

Jeroen Bieekemolen I think it's just as big as any of the other races. Every part of the world has its own big race. In Europe we have Le Mans which is a stand out, America has the Indy 500 and this is the stand-out event here. If you attend any of the events you get a special feeling. It's just the same as doing Le Mans or doing a big race, it's just huge, you can see that in everything.

The track is special, of course, the fans are great. Bit crazy, but great.

You can compare it quite well with the 24 Hours Nurburgring. All the people are camping also, the track's also a bit crazy, lots of spectators, so it's a bit like that. But this is more of a sprint race - it's a long race but it's still a sprint race.

Marc Lieb This place is very special. It creates fantastic racing. When I was on the grid it just blew me away, completely. The atmosphere, the spectators cheering. Seeing all the cars, all the people around, doing. the parade. To me it's one of the best racing memories I've ever had.

I would put it up with my first 24 Le Mans, my first 24 Nurburgring race, it's just really, really special.

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Engel: "It's amazing.

It's abso ute y great to race in this race for the first time. It's one of the best races on the sure if we made the right decision because from then we just went backwards and it wasn't on the track, it was through pit sequences and stuff.

The two Tekno Commodores finished 11 th and 12th, the VIP Petfoods car of van Gisbergen and Bleekemolen in a form finish with the Webb/Lieb Darrell Lea machine.

As a result, they were second and third of the Bathurst 1000 rookies behind Mattias Ekstrom.

Van Gisbergen got a great start from grid five, making his way up to second when he handed over to Bleekemolen. They were shuffled back in the pit cycle, the Dutchman settling in 10th but lost a few places as he struggled with Forrest's Elbow, which he was approaching with too much speed. He dropped as far as 16th during his double-stint.

A change in tyre pressures and an adjustment of driving style would solve his Elbow problem later in the day.

In the Darrell Lea car, Jonathan Webb fell back to 27th on the opening lap, eventually making his way forward to eighth when he handed over to Lieb who resumed in 21st.

From there the German picked up a few places by passing cars to be ninth - although he did burn up the tyres too quickly - one place behind Bleekemolen when he pitted to hand back to Webb with a big smile on his face.

"It's good fun out there," Bleekemolen said.

"I really enjoyed it and now I feel confident. A good stint."

When they returned to the cars for later stints, the confidence was up and the times and race positions improved accordingly.

Mid-race the pair were running in close quarters doing battle with fellow Euro visitors Mattias Ekstrom and Andy Priaulx in the XBox Commodore. While the green car got much of the attention and plaudits, the two Tekno machines were all but matching their pace and the internationals had a great battle among themselves.

So it would be at the end, with the Tekno cars only two seconds behind the XBox machine.

LIEB: WEBBER'S NEW PORSCHE TEAM-MATE? I'm a good spotIfat theI will moment but I the have to I perform.

If isI perform in it's thecompletely two tests I'll be in the LMP1. not, stick with GT. mean this another well thing, different, it's the opposite way from a CT to a V8 Supercar, from a downforce level, which is basically nothing and then the GT car to the LMP1 car, which creates a shitload of downforce and a lot of grip. Definitely another driving style again and I'm not used to this, so it will be interesting to see if I can cope with it or not. So this will be the main goal, to adapt to the speed. I think this is the only question mark. I've done so many 24 hour races I know have the strength to do a 24 hour race, to be good in traffic, so I don't have doubt in this but the only question is can I be quick in a downforce car.

62

"I love the racing out here," said Bleekemolen afterwards. "Everyone has huge respect for each other, people don't just stick it in and push each other off. And if you do stick it in, everyone's going to leave each other some room. It's great, it's different from racing in Europe, for sure."

Having a mix of international stars in 'our' race adds so much to the event. While they may not be household names here, Bleekemolen and Lieb are highly credentialed racers.

One ambition of Car of the Future was that it would behave more like a 'traditional' race car so it would make it easier for drivers like this to come over and race in our endurance events. However, Lieb's opinion was that, if anything, the characteristics of the COTF made it even harder to drive than the old models.

However, both felt that it could certainly be done.

"We can compete with the main guys if we have some time in the car. But it's just very tough, very difficult," said Lieb.

"Ekstrom proved today that you can come over and do a really good job," said Bleekemolen, "It's very hard, even for us I've had moments in the race where I didn't feel very comfortable. It gets better and better all the time, so at the end of my stints I was really comfortable, but it just takes time. The first year, for all of these races is really tough."

Hopefully, schedules permitting, we'll see these guys back in 2014. And maybe some of their friends will come along too. motorsport news

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OTORSPORT NEWS: Let's start with the timeline what Red Bull are thinking, and I didn't want to get my hopes up. of the decision-making process. From the outside MN: When Red Bull asked you to drive for the team at the it seemed like you were just waiting for the team Silverstone test, did they make it obvious that it was a big step to make a call on who would get the set How in the audition process? Or did they play it down?

I was It from the inside? How in the loop were you?

I; DANIEL RICCIARDO: It wasn't too dissimilar from the outside.

DR: I was told that I had half a day, and that it would be a great opportunity for the team to reevaluate me, because it I Basically, when Mark [Webber] announced his exit from the had been a while since I'd driven for the team. They told me it I sport I was aware that there was really a seat up for grabs. was in my hands, and that it was my chance to try and impress I Before that it had been kind of a long-shot, but that's when it them.

I became real - and they let us know that.

MN: You had a bit of an off at that test; what was going I Then, it was pretty much a case that at each race they n through your mind when that happened? Did you think you I would say 'okay, you're doing good, but keep it up because might have blown it?

I the next few races are more important'. And it was like that; DR: The only thing I was concerned about was damage to the I each race was getting more and more important up until the car, because I didn't want it to cost me track time. I knew that I announcement was made. that the off was pretty light, so my only concern was that the I The news got announced on a Monday, and I'd known since floor had been torn apart and that it would take two hours to I the Wednesday, so I really only knew more than anyone else repair.

I did for a few days. I was left hanging a little bit (laughs).

The actual going off part didn't worry me. If anything, it I MN: How were you sleeping at night? might have worked to my advantage. It showed them that I DR: I was alright. I think I slept better before the news rather I than since the news!

I was pushing the shit out of it, and that I wasn't mucking around. ' MN:So you really had no idea until right before the MN: You said you only had a few days between finding out I announcement? about getting the drive and an official announcement being I DR: Exactly! Of course, there were little positive signs, like the I test at Silverstone, but at the same time I never really know made. Who were you allowed to tell and how hard was it not

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to jump on Twitter and tell the world?

DR:(Laughs) Twitter wasn't the first thing on my mind!

MN: But you know what I mean. The modern day equivalent of shouting it from the rooftops.

DR. I know exactly what you mean. Obviously my family were the first to know, my mum, my dad and my sister. They got the news, and that was pretty much it. And they understood that they had to keep it to their selves, i told my trainer as well, and that was it. Just four people.

MN: During that period between you finding out and the rest of the world finding out you must have filmed the little video that was part of the announcement. How surreal was that experience?

DR; That was where a lot of it sunk in. I don't know, that whole week was crazy. And fun. It felt weird doing all of that ’ stuff without there being an official announcement.

MN: You said before that when Mark announced he was leaving FI, that the team told "us" that the seat was up for grabs. Who were you referring to when you said “us"? You and Jean-Eric[Vergne]?

DR: Me and Jean-Eric.

MN: How has he taken the news that you got the drive?

DR: He was obviously disappointed. But he shook my hand and said congratulations, and that was it.

It's a tough one, because I know he's pissed. That's something we were both fighting for, and if he was in my position right now I'd be disappointed.

But at the same time he showed respect for me, and I'd have done the same for him, because we've been fair with each other in the last year and a half.

When people wonder why I got the drive and he didn't, particularly as he scored more points last year, I think it comes down to the fact that since Silverstone, when we knew the seat was available and we were told to pull our finger out, I got three Q3s in a row and scored some points. During the same time he didn't have much, so I think that's what Red Bull was impressed with.

MN: How big a turning point was Montreal, where Jean-Eric was quicker than you? What were you thinking after that race?

DR; That was a very big turning point, the biggest of the season for sure.

66

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It sounds silly, but JEV killed me in that race. He was sixth and I was 15th or something like that. And the biggest thing that pissed me off was that Montreal is pretty much my favourite circuit. I couldn't work out how the hell I could have my worst weekend at the race I was looking forward to the most.

After the race I spent some time with the engineers and we were pretty dark. We were confused and upset and scratching our heads on the Sunday night.

We weren't going to get anything constructive done at the track, because we were so confused, so I decided to have three days off. I went to New York and took some time to get away from it all. It allowed me to come back with a fresh approach.

So I got the guys together and we started working on what we needed to do come back.

MN: And what did you figure out? Because whatever it was, it worked.

DR: It was a few things, even stuff with the tyres. There were a few key things that we hadn't experimented enough with, and while we were working very hard, it wasn't always as constructive as it could have been, it was taking us too long to decide which direction we should go, and we felt like we had to keep changing things. A lot of the time we were chasing out tails.

So we took a step back to take two forward, and we became a quicker team. We were suddenly more decisive and we let the track come to us more. It was a process that involved a lot of things, but those were the basic changes we made.

MN: if you look at the Red Bull driver program as a whole, only Sebastian Vettel and now you have gone all the way to the 'main' F1 team. In other words, it's not a free meal ticket, it's hard work.

DR: It's an achievement I'm proud of. For Seb to be the only guy to have done it up until this point, it puts me in a very small group of people. Red Bull has had a lot of juniors, and to be in this position is something I'm proud of.

But it's not the last step. I want to be on top in the team.

MN: Is it a one-year contract?

DR: It's always been a year-by-year thing. They have an option with what to do after each year, so they can keep me pretty much as long as they are happy with me. It's always performance-based. I don't have a multi-year contract, but

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obviously Red Bull wants it to last for more than a year. I think we all want this to work and for us to build up a good working relationship.

MN: What are your thoughts on taking on Seb this year? He's obviously supremely quick, but what always strikes me is that he's willing to work so hard.

DR; I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge. From what I've seen of Seb, I see a lot of similarities with myself. Normally we're the two last people at the track. All of the drivers have their car bay at the circuit, and on a Friday night if I'm not the last to leave, then he is. We both enjoy putting in the hard work and really working with the engineers to get that last bit out of the car.

So in that respect we have a lot of similarities.

I'm just excited to see how I go against him. Fle's not only fast, but mentally very comfortable being where he is, and I think that's what separates him.

MN: You've known him for quite a few years now. How is your personal relationship?

DR; It hasn't branched out too far. We've had dinners together in small groups of people, and it's fine. But I'm also well aware that once we become team-mates a rivalry will creep in.

But at the same time I have no issues with him, and 1 definitely respect him for what he's done. That's my approach. I just need to go in there with a level of respect, but at the same time wanting to do everything better than him.

MN: Have you spoken to Mark much about what life is like as a Red Bull Racing driver?

DR: Yeah, I have. He's given me a heads-up on as few things over the last few weeks.

I think he knows that because I've been around the F1 environment for a few years that I know most of what's going on, but he also told me that everything is going to ramp up, things like the media commitments away from the circuit and the scrutiny at the circuit. He also said that if you do something good, don't be surprised if some people will try and bring you down.

He basically told me to stick with the people I have around me and to try not to get distracted by the things around you, because of course there will be more distractions. And how you handle them can dictate how long you stay in the sport.

MN: What are your expectations for the season? The team has said that it would like to see you putting pressure on Seb by mid-season; when do you want to be putting pressure on Seb? DR: I'd love to be cocky right now and say by Melbourne. Why not? But until I get in the car alongside him it's hard to say. I want to let the results do the talking, hopefully in my favour.

With that said, with not knowing how quick I'll be against him, ! still want to be in the game by Melbourne.

Look at [Honda MotoGP rider] Marc Marquez - he's made a big statement this year, and that's after jumping up a whole class. All I have to do is change teams. Yes, it's a bigger, stronger team, but it's still a Formula 1 car. I think if Marquez has done what he has done, there is hope for me to be there from Round 1.

MN: Speaking of Round 1, I know you've been through a couple of Aussie Grands Prix now, but never in what may well be a race-winning car. Have you thought about the extra pressure that might come with that? ' DR: Yeah, I have thought about Melbourne next year, but I'm trying to think about the good opportunities that it might present to me.

I think if the car is quick, and fingers crossed it is, and I'm in a position to get on that podium hopefully it will motivate me more. Obviously there is going to be a ton of pressure. I'm well aware of that, but I think I've been pretty good at using that to my advantage so far.

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The only thing, certain going into the 201 3 World Rally Championship was that the retiring Sebastien Loeb was not going to make it 10 titles in a row. It certainly wasn’t surprising to see another Sebastien (of the Ogier persuasion) take the championship instead, but it was certainly extraordinary that Citroen's nine-year hegemony should have been broken by one of its former drivers now at the wheel of aVolkswagen in what was manufacturer’s frst season in the WRC.Steve Normoyle was at Coffs Harbour for the Coates Hire Rally Australia to watch Ogier put the title beyond reasonable doubt

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t's funny how things turn out sometimes.

Heading into the Coates Hire Rally Australia, Sebastien Ogier enjoyed a commanding points advantage over Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala and Ford's Theirry Neuville. With a total of 112 points still up for grabs from the remaining four events, and with Ogier leading by 90, the numbers were stacked heavily in favour of he and co-driver Julien Ingrassia being crowned the 2013 World Rally Champions in Coffs. Latvala and Neuville needed little less than a win in Australia, while also hoping that Ogier made a repeat of his disastrous showing three weeks earlier in Rallye Deutschland.

But unlike in Germany, Ogier had no trouble safely negotiating the dusty forest roads on the mid north coast of NSW. In one of the drives of the year, he was for most of the rally unchallenged, winning 19 of the 22 stages to take the outright victory and a maximum points haul courtesy of the bonus for his Power Stage win. It could not have been better than that for the Frenchman.

Well, actually... it could have been a whole lot better, because while Ogier was

Quinny in a Mini: Like the sign says, Nathan Quinn was aboard a Mini, run by an Italian team, above left, and the local Coffs driver was a crowd favourite. Ford's Thierry Neuville kept the WRC alive at Coffs - just, above right. Spectacular special stage viewing in Coffs, right; dust was an issue, below, below right; but nothing got in the way of Ogier, opposite. charging towards what seemed to be a world championship-clinching drive, behind him things were not going his way at all.

Ogier's efforts had denied Mikko Hirvonen a fourth Rally Australia win and, even better, second place for the latter was going to be enough to put Ogier's points lead out reach of Latvala and Neuville. Or would have been because a puncture on the very last stage for Hirvonen's Citroen dropped the Finn from second to third place - behind Neuville.

Hirvonen's flat tyre meant the championship remained alive - by an agonising single point.

So a solitary point from any of the remaining three rounds was all Ogier needed to finally seal the deal. It must have be the height of frustration for the Frenchman to know that the championship crown was almost certainly his - but just not quite yet.

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Tenth title for Sebastien: Only this time it was Sebastien Ogier, not Loeb, above. Fittingly, Ogier clinched his first WRC title at Loeb's final WRC start.

Best kept secret allies aren't always the most spectator.friendly of motorsport events. They're generally held a fair way outside of urban centres, and they tend to cover wide expanses of countryside (in the case of the Coates Hire Rally Australia, the rainforest region inland, north and south from Coffs, using many of the dirt roads which hosted the Southern Cross Rallies in the 1970s and '80s).

Taking in the action at rallying's version of Formula One out in the forests is a rather different experience from sitting in the stands at Albert Park watching actual Formula One. But these are both singularly 74

The celebrations at Volkswagen would have to be put on ice at least until the Rallye de France-Alsace.

Yet if the French tarmac rally loomed as an anti-climax - because all Ogier really needed to do to become champion was to turn up - it offered the tantalising prospect of the champ-elect facing the outgoing champ in Ogier's former team-mate and arch-rival, and the man who has made the WRC his own for the past 10 years, the one and only Sebastien Loeb.

Even more fittingly, this was to be Loeb's final WRC start before the Frenchman makes the switch to circuit racing in the World Touring Car Championship with Citroen in 2014. It would be a showdown between the two Frenchmen through the streets of Strasbourg, Loeb's home town, and a chance for Citroen to spoil Volkswagen's party after what had hardly been a memorable season for the French manufacturer.

As for the two star French drivers, there is history between the pair. For 2011 Ogier was elevated from the Citroen junior team to be one of Loeb's team-mates but, outside of another dominant run for Loeb, things at Citroen that year did not turn out as management had planned. It started to go wrong in Germany, when Ogier refused to obey team orders and relinquish his position

to Loeb. This was to prove a cross-road moment in the career of Ogier, who to that point was a relative newcomer with a mere five WRC round wins to his name - against Loeb's 66 WRC round wins (not to mention all the championships).

The already tense relations between the rising star and the then seven-times champion quickly soured, and it was soon fairly obvious that one of them wouldn't be driving a Citroen in 2012. So at the end of the season as Loeb celebrated an eighth world title, Ogier was off elsewhere, to Volkswagen's Skoda te&m.

For 2013 the former Skoda team became Volkswagen Motorsport running new Polo R WRCs. Success for VW in the WRC was immediate, and the rest, as they say, is history.

For Volkswagen, it's a short but very impressive WRC history. It has won the WRC at more-or-less its first attempt, in a triumph bookended by the company's hatrick of Dakar Rally wins from 2009 to 2011. The company exited the off-road endurance scene at the end of 2012 to concentrate on the fledgling WRC effortwhich has proven to be no less dominant than its Dakar predecessor. It's a remarkable effort any way you look at it.

As for how the newly crowned Ogier measures against his predecessor is a judgment that can't yet be realistically made. The fact that this has been the first WRC crown not won by Sebastien Loeb in 10 years is a daunting statistic, but the one thing that can be said about Ogier's dominance in 2013 is that it's been decidedly Sebastien Loeb-like. Victory in Coffs Harbour was his sixth win from 10 rounds, and when Ogier celebrated his newly won title in France with a seventh win (while Loeb suffered a rally-ending rollover in his farewell appearance), team-mate Latvala had only won one, while Neuville was yet to win his first.

No wonder the thing was done and dusted with four rounds still to run.

exciting spectator experiences that really have no parallel in the sport: like FI, the visceral thrill you get watching a WRC car on the limit on a country dirt road is something that can't be properly explained it must be lived.

This was only the second time our WRC round has been held on the mid north coast of NSW. The first Coffs-based Rally Australia, held two years ago, firmly re established the rally oh the east coast, and the 2013 event took it a step further.

There is still a long way to go. The right ingredients are all in place; it is now up to the NSW government to get the message out there.

For the moment, however, it is as though the event is a kind of best kept

secret. Accommodation in the Coffs area, for instance, remained available over rally weekend, and at normal rates. Nowhere were the crowds at uncomfortable levels. It was easy to enjoy this event.

The point is that right now anyone interested in motorsport anywhere on the east coast of NSW from Sydney northward has an opportunity to experience the WRC in comfort, and at a reasonable rate.

Combine all that with the fact that this is also an ideal time of the year to enjoy Coffs' many natural coastal attractions and you've got a weekend destination that even offers something for non-motorsport fans.

Australia's WRC round in its new tropical paradise location might not remain a secret too long. motorsport news

Coffs Harbour; do you take Rally Australia to be your lawful wedded ...?

Like a couple who have been marriedand for almost two decades.

Rally Australia Perth had what could only be described as a messy break up.

The Australian round of the WRC established its relationship with Perth in 1988 as a round of the Asia Pacific Rally series and they were married the next year when the rally gained World Championship status. It was a long and fruitful marriage, bringing Perth some marvellous benefits as the suitor. So too the WRC, as the attractive young bride, realiy came of age as a result of its association with the WA city, introducing such innovations as Super Special stages in the city centre, central service parks and infield results services.

Come the late 2000s, however, and Perth grew tired of its partner, deciding to jettison it for some more exciting new young things like air races and world sailing championships. But like many second marriages, these failed to gel and now have all gone, leaving WA with nothing other than to count the cash from its mining t

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activities.

Like a spurned partner. Rally Australia sat on the couch for a few years before finding a new partner in New South Wales.

The early days were bumpy, the greeny in-laws kicking up a stink at the first family gathering at Murwiliumbah and the relationship appeared a little fractured in 2009.

Two years on. Rally Australia and new partner NSW found a new home at Coffs Harbour. But the newly weds didn't quite have their house in order and there were a few problems with logistics and timing.

Despite all of that, the general view was that this could be a marriage that might have some legs, and planning started for the next outing in 2013.

This year, after a four-year relationship Rally Australia and NSW seem to be getting on like a house on fire and the result was a real buzz around Coffs Harbour for this year's iteration of the event.

While every one of Coffs' many hotel and motel rooms may not have been full, many were, the restaurants were attracting plenty of business, the central service park and the 'mickey mouse' super special were a whole lot better than two years ago when the rally moved to town and the stages were generally pretty well received, save for the choking dust that came as a result of 10 weeks without rain (it bucketed down on the day after the rally finished...).

It seems likely that the FIA will give Rally Australia an annual slot on the calendar at the expense of our 'bros across the

dutch', with whom Coffs had been sharing the antipodean WRC round on a bi-annual basis. This will give the NSW government some impetus to invest a bit more heavily in the rally, a facelift and some new expensive jewellery in the form of perhaps a special stage in Sydney and some more permanent facilities in Coffs, in the same way that a wealthy husband might lavish such luxuries on a second wife.

The NSW public are still yet to embrace this event in the way that WA locals did, but the buzz is building and with some added attractions in the form of new entrants like Hyundai in 2014 and if you believe the rumours, Toyota returning in 2015, along with the real prospect that Aussie Chris Atkinson will be in the driver line up for the new Hyundai team, it makes for a really strong platform on which to build a solid, ongoing and successful marriage between Rally Australia and the East Coast.

The fact that the local Australian Rally Championship is on the up with new manufacturers like Citroen and possibly Kia joining Renault and Mazda should help build some local interest in the sport. But the combination of the lows the ARC found itself in and the loss of continuity with Rally Australia conspired to put rallying in the ditch and it is going to be a long slow winch back onto the road.

After this year's event, the powers behind Rally Australia will be slapping themselves on the back like happy wedding guests after a few too many glasses of cheer at the reception. However, they will have to be careful to avoid the hangover and ensure the glow of the wedding becomes a long term loving and productive relationship.

It will be a long road; lets hope they go the distance!

Jon Thomson 75

Postcard irom Texas Ace pnotograpner Andrew Hall travelled to iexas ior tne six-nour Worlc, Endurance Cnampionsnip round, anc. tke ALMS round keld on tke same weekend, to kring us tkese images.

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Clockwise from top,left: Allan Knstensen/Loic Duval WEC race wlnmf^lsMPI Audi; one of the Corvettes in the ALMS event, Anthony Davidson/Sebastien Buemi/SUphane Samzin LMP1 Toyota; scenes from ground' and from the circuit's 76-meire high viewing towen

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Clockwise from top left: Jacques Nicolet/Jean Marc Merlin/Erik Maris Morgan LMP2 'art car' featuring road sign livery (including, naturally, the N138 representing Mulsanne Straight) WEC start; photographers (Hall is second from right) taken into custody by 'SherrUff Greg'; McNish, Kristensen and Duval celebrate; Katherine Legg in the amazing closed cockpit Deltawing; Bruno Senna (99) won the CT Pro class In the WEC round.

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Speedway has a difficult job these days attracting big crowds when there are so many alternative Saturday night entertainment activities out there. But if there is any man capable of persuading punters through the gates in the tough Sydney market, then veteran TV broadcaster/promoter Mike Raymond is the man. Raymond spoke to Geoff Rounds about his new role as manager of the former Parramatta City Raceway/Sydney Speedway venue, now known as Valvoline Raceway. iimm ir . i wf a m

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S; Mike, why have you gone back to be manager of Sydney's Valvoline Raceway?

MR: The place needed a bit of caressing. The directors, who I've known for many, many years, are dedicated to what they wanted to achieve. I told them from the day they bought in here that I was available to give them a hand.

They've had a succession of managers, which was like a revolving door, and things didn't work out for whatever reason. I came on board and got my nose into the whole thing.

If I can make a contribution, then so be it, I will.

MS: With this new role, it is as though you've gone the full circle, returning to a position similar to that when you began in Speedway racing.

MR: Probably. I started back in the late 1950s and drifted into working with Channel 7 as their motorsport director. I was on the

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board at Channel 7 at the time, too, but I've never apologised for my roots in speedway.

I've always followed it and loved it. I like the people involved as they are down-toearth people, and while V8 Supercars has a tremendous following, I also believe that the people of Sydney have an enormous speedway following.

MS: So what does Valvoline Raceway need and what's your main role there?

MR: It needed a rebranding of the speedway.

It's got a very strong support base, and I'm delighted to say that we've got Valvoline as our naming rights sponsor; it becomes Valvoline Raceway now. They are grassroots into the sport and they are the only company that we approached because Valvoline has the right mix and the right fit. It's a long-term arrangement.

MS: What can Valvoline Raceway offer this season for fans then?

MR: We've completed arrangements with Steve Kinser and he'll be returning to Australia with his son Kraig. They will be coming here along with Dale Blaney, and interest is also being shown from Jason Meyers and also the 2013 Eldora Kings Royal winner. Brad Sweet.

They'll all be here from December 26 for the Valvoline Australian Grand Prix. They'll run through until the Scott Darley Memorial, and after that the Kinsers go home while a couple of those others will go on to Warrnambool.

MS: Speaking of Warrnambool, how do you view the relationships between the different speedway venues around the country?

MR: I think there might be some jealousy on Warrnambool's part at times and I'm not really interested in that. What we have here is a clay track built almost exclusively for sprintcars and late-models, here in Sydney. Warrnambool have a very successful operation and we have a good-strong working relationship with all of them. There's

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no professional jealousy in it at all.

MS: Where do you think speedway is at right now and going into the future?

MR: I think it just got a little bit off track. We were very strong in motorcycles in Australia and had a huge fan base. We did a lot at the Sydney Showground and at Liverpool, but unfortunately the track surface at Parramatta doesn't lend itself to bikes because it's clay and creates all sorts of problems for them.

I think there's been a steady move back to

looking at bikes again, but it's hard on a track like this to have bikes, sprintcars and speedcars because there's not enough hours for racing. If we start, it is staring at seven o'clock, then it has to start then, and the whole show has to finish at 10.20pm every night. All time limits have to be respected; the whole idea is getting people in and not spraying them with dust and dirt and not have them sitting here at midnight or later.

MS: Is Sydney a hard city and region to promote speedway into?

MR: It's terrible. It's terrible for anything.

We've got a rugby league code here in NSW that paid over $1 billion for the television rights and the crowds have gone down. It all comes about because there's more things to do in Sydney. You've got to make the show visually entertaining and you've got to sell it to the pubiic, and when they come there Sydney's Valvoline Raceway, formerly this Sydney Speedway, will be headlined | has to ,be a degree of reality in that concept. season by sprintcar legend Steve Kinser. ‘ If you've sold something and it's [turns out The 20 times World of Outlaws champion i to be] not representative of what you've : and multiple Knoxville Nationals champion | sold, or is not what they want to watch, then ; will be joined by his son Kraig in what already i they won't come back. The thing is, it's just not a speedway meeting now, it has to be : looms as a stellar cast of visiting Americans to entertainment as well. ' the Granville venue. | The Kinsers will also be joined by their : ' cousin Kody Kinser, with fellow Americans ; MS: Is television a problem for the sport of Dale Blaney, 2013 Eldora King's Royal winner ! speedway?

MR: I think speedway doesn't produce what it ; Brad Sweet, former Outlaws champion Jason . Meyers and the popular Rico Abreu. i should on TV. NASCAR does, because of the Newly appointed Valvoline Raceway i speed and the variation in tracks. Speedway is a terrific adrenalin rush while you're at manager Mike Raymond said luring the the races watching and listening of the cars, - Kinsers back to Sydney was the culmination ; but conveying that to a television audience ; of nearly six months of negotiations. !

"We've been friends for 30 years and have ' has always been difficult. Today there's still : done a lot together," Raymond said. "Steve ; a problem of transferring the spectacle of ' has had a terrible summer at home with : speedway back onto the television screen ; motors, but he and mechanic Scot Gerkin ; and conveying the same excitement, ’ have licked the problem, so getting the arms ! unfortunately. ; up in Sydney won't be a problem for him." j MS: Mike do you still have an interest ^ The two brand new Maxim chassis which ; Steve and Kraig will drive in Australia left i in Bathurst and the current V8 Supercars ; their Bloomington, Indiana, base in late I category? ; October to be ready for action when they | MR: Oh yes. I take an interest all year round and I'm still good mates with Neil Crompton ! debut in the Valvoline Australian Sprintcar n Grand Prix on Boxing Day. i and he's a person I have tremendous time for. I'm really proud of what he has done and i Geoff Rounds

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I believe he has been the greatest assets for V8 Supercars ever. He has brought a level of expertise and an understanding of the product being promoted.

MS: From a television front, you've worked with some of the greatest names in touring car racing in the likes of Peter Brock, Dick Johnson and Allan Moffat. How important do you think these iconic names have been in helping build the touring car category and V8 Supercars?

MR: This hasn't happened overnight, as much as Tony Cochrane wanted to sprout on about, but Brock, Moffat, Johnson and Grice were promotable and they wanted to work with us. i think they did a lot to build it up. If you look back, guys used to race cars and talk on race-cam, whereas today they race cars and don't talk on race-cam because someone could have a big spin or a wild moment and somebody will be at fault. But that's all just bullshit.

MS: Do you have any particular favourite drivers in speedway?

MR: No, I don't. In all the years I've dealt with names such as AJ Foyt and Johnny Rutherford, I've found that the bigger the name the easier they are to deal with. They give you their word on a deal, shake your hand and then look you square in the eye and turn up and race.

MS: How do you plan to get more Sydney people to Valvoline Raceway in the future?

MR: We're very much working towards getting the next generation of younger people to the sport. They have to be encouraged and you have to have mum and dad and their friends, and you've got to keep the prices down so they can afford to do it on a regular basis. You have to appeal to three demographics. We also need some razzamatazz as Sydney has to support many classes while still targeting the right market.

To me, the sprintcars class has enormous pressure on it, so we need to relieve some of that pressure by brining in and promoting the late models class with American drivers. motorsport news

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ZAmA:‘1KEDT0D0 EVERnHING POSSIBLE TO WIN IT ANO IT’S ALL IN PETER’S HANDS TO LOSE IT. IF PETER DOESN’T DO ANTTHING WRONG HE CAN’T LOSE.

FOR SO LONG THE ANDRA TOP DOORSLAMMER TITLE HAS BEEN THE DOMAIN OF ONE MANJOHN ZAPPIA. BUT AS THE 2012/13 SEASON NEARS ITS CONCLUSION,IT COULD BE THAT ZAPPIA’S REIGN IS ABOUT TO END.

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or John Zappia, the past five seasons of ANDRA Top Doorslammer has been a period of sustained success, winning five consecutive national titles. For the rest of the Top Doorslammer competitors, however, it's just been five long, hard years...

But things may be about the change. The 2012/13 season has seen a serious challenge come from Peter Kapiris, and for the first time in a long time Zappia's championship hopes are looking truly unsteady as the teams head towards the final event of the season, the 84

Australian Nationals at Sydney Dragway from November 1-3.

Kapiris has a 42-point lead over Zappia, meaning that Zappia must finish at least two rounds of racing ahead of the Victorian fruiterer in order to claim a sixth title. That sixth crown would then match Victor Bray's famed six championships in a row that he earned from 1996 to 2001.

Kapiris himself is no stranger to championship glory, having won in 2002 when his team charged to unprecedented performance gains and pushed perilously

close to the five second zone - at a time when 6.1 second passes were still rare.

The emotions from 11 years ago were odd, according to Kapiris, who said the series quickly moved on and it became a blur.

"The last championship I won I really didn't take it all in," he said. "I won the title and then before I knew it, it was all over. I was saying to my crew guys that this time we have to really try and enjoy that chase at the last round.

"Championships don't happen all the time, apart from for John obviously, they are a motorsport news

KAPIRIS:“NO ONE WANTS TO SEE HIM WIN ANOTHER ONE.WE’REGOINIiUPTO STOUT ORAGWAT TO TEST FOR THREE OATS BEFORE THE AUSTRAUAN NATIONALS; WE DON’T WANT TO LEAVE

really hard honour to earn."

This season saw Kapiris on a march early with two wins from the first three events and steady semi finals appearances since then.

Zappia, on the other hand, has left his charge late. He failed to qualify for the eight car race-day field at the season opener in Sydney last year, and while he has made three finals since he remains without a win. If the Nationals does not bring success for Zappia, it would be the first time since 2005 that the Western Australian driver has gone for a whole season without a win.

Domination rarely goes without a level of resentment from other teams in any discipline of motorsport, and the feelings are no different in the Top Doorslammer paddock.

Kapiris and Zappia are good friends away from the race track, but Kapiris can rest assured plenty of the other outfits want to see the Zappia era reach its end.

"No one wants to see him win another one, Kapiris said. "We're going up to Sydney Dragway to test for three days before the Australian Nationals; we don't want to leave anything to chance.

"There are a couple of things we've got to try, but at the same time we don't want to lose sight of the prize. We want to try a few things, we don't really want to say what they are, and if they don't work we will put it back as it was. www.mnews.com.au

"If you don't try new things you get left behind. The timing isn't exactly right but we have no other place to do it "John always seems to come from nowhere in these championship events, so we are taking two of everything."

Testing has been difficult for Kapiris in the past with a lack of ANDRA racing in Melbourne, hopefully something that will be changing following the running of Fuchs Nitro Thunder presented by Crow Cams last month where Top Fuel dragsters ran for the first time in championship competition at Calder Park since 2001.

"I go on and on about it but we are behind the eight ball with our testing because we have nowhere to test, to go to Sydney we will spend a fortune but it's just what you have to do," he said.

The last round of the series, the Lady Daly Hotel Springnationals at Adelaide International Raceway, saw Zappia able to edge closer to Kapiris in the points with a runner up performance while Kapiris went out in the semi finals. Kapiris said it was a case of knowing Adelaide would be a track suited to Zappia's tuning and driving style and trying to limit the points damage that occurred.

While Adelaide was a case of softly, softly on a track that no one had raced on in championship competition since 2000, Sydney Dragway will see a different approach from

Kapiris and his talented-crew chief, Mark Brew.

"At your average meetings you like to sneak up on it. You put in what you think it can take and then a little bit less until you get it to go down the track," Kapiris said. "The Nationals will be different. On the first qualifying pass we are going to throw everything at it and we are either going to set the world on fire or break."

Kapiris said the risky strategy is all about gobbling up as many points as possible. There are five point bonuses on offer for low time elapsed and top speed of the event, plus small amounts of points available for better qualifying positions.

"We want the whole lot points wise. Even though there is a lead there you can piss that up real quick," he said. "Like at the Fuchs Winternationals, John gained 11 points on us and we didn't even race because of the rain.

That was all down to those small points on offer."

For Zappia, his statements previous to the Adelaide round still hold true.

"I need to do everything possible to win it and it's all in Peter's hands to lose it," he said.

"If Peter doesn't do anything wrong he can't lose.

"I'd rather be on top but there's many of our championships we've won coming from behind. A first round lose for anyone can turn it all around."

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here's nothing quite like a supercar to fire the imagination. Since the early '70s, mostly European manufacturers have built cars that chase the ultimate in performance, style, power - and a total lack of practicality.

What teenage boy in the '70s didn't have that iconic poster of the Lamborghini Countach on their wall?

These days, supercars are no longer a once or twice in a lifetime sighting. Sure, they're still insanely expensive and out of reach of mere humans, but you see them with much greater regularity. Hell, I've even driven a couple of Audi R8s (pretty freakin' awesome.

by the way).

Most of us will never own one of these cars - unless we buy a worn-out junker and pay a fortune just to keep it going. And that's not a great idea.

But we can own many, if not most of these ultimate of cars vicariously. Matchbox made the aforementioned R8, so 1 grabbed a couple a while back.

Two of the hardest to see on the road are two of the greatest, of course. The Bugatti Veyron has been lauded in all the media as the ultimate car. Over 1,000 horsepower, over 400km/h, lots of cylinders, turbochargers and technology. It’s the Volkswagen Group's tour

de force, showcasing its technology in a million-buck package that very few will ever own.

Like the real Veyron, the 1/18 Minichamps version is a fine thing. The one we've seen is a metallic black with orange wheels - not what I'd choose for a road car, but then, that's a moot point, eh? And like the real thing, they're not cheap, but a high-end model with fantastic detail and quality. Minichamps is typically German in its efficiency and attention to detail, so while the models cost a little more than your usual 1/18 road car, they're something very special.

Second cab off the rank is another

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Minichamps super car - the McLaren MP412 is up there with the Bugatti in terms of rarity and ultimate performance. And so's the Minichamps 1/18 version, this one also in black, only a matte finish. Also like the Veyron, it's a limited edition (there's only a dozen or so available from Apex Replicas as I write) with fantastic detail and quality.

Both Bugatti and McLaren have long and glorious histories of fantastic cars. Perhaps these two models could be the start of a great collection. Certainly they'd be a great addition to an existing collection.

Also from Apex Replicas (but not for a while - be patient) will be two Bathurst cars

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in special one-off liveries. The Dick Johnson Racing 'Green's Tuf livery pays homage to the 1983 disaster that befell Dick and, while it had a tough weekend, it was surely a stunning looking thing. Also from Apex is the special livery celebrating 50 years of Garry Rogers in motorsport (below).

Now, I was wondering how this would play out. I'm talking about Holden releasing a new car called a Trax, when 'Trax' is the name of a long-established model car brand. Turns out they've done quite the deal. Trax has already announced it'll be making the Trax. They're a limited edition in resin, to be made in one production run only, in the same colours as

the real thing. To sweeten the deal, they come with a 'driver's watch'. They're $99 each check them out at www.topgear.com.au Biante's upcoming Norm Beechey Falcon CT-HO Phase III is a looker. Finished in Shell yellow with red stripes, the 1/18 Falcon Series Production Championship car is a great example of the time, when cars (in this series anyway) could be (and often were) road cars with numbers and some signwriting.

This car had been John French's factory car the year before. Beechey only raced it twice, at Winton and Hume Weir. It failed to finish at both races. Norm retired from racing later that year and the car was sold off.

Another interesting but ultimately unsuccessful car is also from Biante, this being the Peter Brock VN Commodore Group A car.

This was Brock's return to the Holden fold and a short-lived reunion of the Brock/Larry Perkins partnership that has delivered three Bathurst wins in the '80s. At Bathurst in '91 Brock qualified the car in the top 10 but an electrical problem in the race (with co-driver Andrew Miedecke at the wheel) caused a lengthy delay and a lowly (for these blokes) seventh-place finish.

Neither of these cars was available at the time of writing, although the Brock car is due very soon.

Gee, we're bringing back some bad

memories for Brock fans this time around! The 1981 race was another one in which Brock was expected to feature in the results sadly a broken axle early in the race and subsequent repair led to a long stop and no trophy for this, the last year of the Brock/ Richards MHDT partnership.

Maybe if the race had gone the distance they'd have made up a few more spots, from the 20th they finally managed.

Classic Carlectabl.es has done a fine job with

this 1/18 scale car, the model features such nice things as a soft rubber seal around the air box and the Peter Brock signature on the Momo steering wheel.

Of course, the livery lacks the historicallyaccurate cigarette signage, due to our NannyState's idiotic laws, but you can get those aftermarket.

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This new book ofovefiSOQ; pages,djgjails the 50 year History of.The Great Race at Bathurst.

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The official history

— AUSTRALIAN

touring car CHAMPIONSHIP

BATHURSI REGIONAL COUNCIl

By David Greenhaigh and Bill Tuckey

Available now!

Price: A$99'^^ order online anytime

Includes Australian Postage & Handling

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iRaceshop darkness with 3D light

Bring the light and fun into your man-cave, child's room, study or pool room with the 3D Light FX Deco Light. They are available In a range of stand-out styles including a muscle car-style front clip. Other styles include soccer balls, footballs and the Marvel Avengers series: Spiderman Iron Man, Captain America's Shield, Thor's Hammer and The Incredible Hulk's fists. All designs are cordless, battery-operated and fitted with the highest quality energy-efficient LED lights so you'll never have to change the bulb. The lights are cool to touch, making them completely safe to have around children. Easy to install with the unique crash sticker and fixtures included.

Available from selected stores across Australia including Big W,Target and Dick Smith. For enquiries call 1300 366 320. ^

Automotive Performance Distributors Quick Fuel Technology adds new low cost 600CFM Carbs in Black and Shiny finishes. QFT produces several versions of 600cfm performance carbs, from the Hot Rod Series to the affordable Slayer Series. However, none of QFT's current carburettors address the direct replacement requirements, including a single fuel inlet and side-hung fuel bowls.

Quick Fuel's newest carburettors - part # BD-1957 (Black) and SL-1957E (Shiny)- address these issues, plus they are packed full of QFT's exclusive features such as QuickSet vacuum secondaries, a fully adjustable electric choke, and on the BD version, Black Diamond high temperature coating.

Available from better performance outlets Australia wide.

5DD,000 +

MOTORSPORT IMAGES

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ACCESSIBLE PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MOTORSPORT Autopics.com.au is a photograhic history of Australian motor racing from the early 1950’s to the current day. Log on and explore!

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Based on the archives of Lance J. Ruting,^ Peter D’Abbs, David Blanch and many more photographers, our website allows ^ you to view over 9,OCX)imagesfrom our collection of over 500,(X)0.

l l n P.O,.Box.1i^9:Forsterj^NSWf2428»« l l ; Phone:’cW97'869 M0|8553 "** ’ ’● Emaik info@^autogfecjDrn'au]5! :

NOW AVAILABLE BATHURST 50 YEARS 675mm X 450mm Poster. of the 50 winning cars. l l

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BRACING shocks: Single adjuster through 4 way adjusters available

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SELL your parts, motorsport vehicle or anything to do with motorsport via our internet classified partners my105. com-for as little as $29.50!*

int^/T§BShsm NO.7 RACECAR CLASSIFIEDS Sabre Buick Indy Big Boys Toy

News (induding photo), all for as little as $55!

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Ford Pinto,one of a kind Ford Pinto,6.8sec @202, Perfect outlaws car. 14/71551,496 Rodeck,New Dart solid 360 heads,jesel rockers,3speed air shift Lenco,10" Grower clutch. Titanium housing,9" floater,!6volt battery and charger, Racepack data,Msd grid, MsdIO, projacks and spares for sale.

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Over 500hp, serious package race/ musuem.Built/designed Roman SiobodynskyJ Indy engineering award/designer 7 Eagle Indys. 1.12 STANDING lap Sandown demo runs by Tim Macrow $90,000#005 restored or $45,000#006 assembly & minor work required search sabre indy youtube footage.

Absolutely horn to drive. $45,000. Scott 0419 381 533

BMW rally car very competitive car 300hp B.OIt six cylinder race engine with to much to list.Murry coope suspension, cams approved cage,big brakes,terra trip and intercom this car is ready to go racing and it lots of fun and sounds great in the bush inspection won't dissapoint cheap car $22,000, David 0419355409 www.mYio5.com/iiA4i

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Log on to my105.com and place your ad by following the prompts. Payments can be made online by credit card only.

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If you prefer to pay by another method, please contact our office on 9746 0777.

For an additional $15, our staff can put your listing up for you! Simply type/ write your advertisement ciearly (no more than 50 words), nominate your category and include your pic(s). Then send it by mail or email (make sure to include your details) - see addresses below.

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Camira Super Sedan/ Super Gas Taverna Chassis, injected 355 methanol stroker by Southside Engines. New set only done only 5 meetings. All build details and receipts available. TB T400, Mechanical Injection, accumulator, delay box, new chute,slicks. Ran 9.71 but will go faster. With trailer, w/ shop and track gear. Will separate $30,000, Steve 0403 001 100 www.mYi05.com/iii74

Mail: Myl 05, Suite 8,11-21 Underwood Rd,

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Homebush, NSW, 2140

Email: Info@my105.com Fax:

Built

by Les Waikden, Genuine Spec C competing in Aust. Tarmac Championship. Just returned from Donegal Int. in Ireland. Fresh engine (300km) Gearbox / Diff (700km) AP Tarmac brakes / Discs. Reigers (900km) Autronic, Motec DCCD. Carbon Cards / Footwells, Coralba, Stilo Int. Bomb, absolutely ready to go $58,500, Stewart (08) 9248 1184

Wheel Alignment

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Nissan Skyline R32 GTR

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Notice to advertisers: We are unable to return photos supplied for advertising. Ads will appear as soon as possible after receipt.

MNews/my105 classifieds are for the sale of private goods and vehicles only. Photos marked 'proof' will not be used.

Subaru Spec C

NEW 05.PB Signiture plates The ultimate Peter Brock number plates which is ideal for a collector or investor. $15,000, Stew 0418 201 998 www.mYio5.com/ii488

Coloured ad spaces available now.

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had great success in Tarmac Rallies across Aust, many Circuit race wins . Engine makes great power and is ultra reliable6-pot and 4-pots competition brakes close ratio gearbox,nothing competition to spend, laps, Wakefield Park 1.04's includes near new tilt traile $28,000. Colin 0477 177 122 www.mYio5.com/895i

motorsport news

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Transporters/Trailers . --

Hino FD Hawk Transporter

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OsB E<^nda »w

Radical SRa RS 2010 Nov

2010,

ISOOcc,

headers

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fitted,

paddleshift with blipper, air jacks, high downforce diffuser, dive planes, AIM

1999 EVOVIRS Rare RS6, 96000km, Techsport serviced.

Power FC w h/controller, AVC.R Boost Controller, TTTimer & front downpipe (all APEXI), full stainless exhaust, POTENZAadjsusp,ARCfront intercooler, RECARO race seat, alum, radiator, carbon fibre openair filter, POTENZA Adrenalin tyres, EXEDY triple plate clutch & more 0402 354 344

www.mYi05.com/8525

2010 Subaru STi SPEC C

Walkinshaw Racing offers for sale the fol lowing V8 Supercars: WR-07-Last run by Fabian Coulthard WR-09-Last run by Nick Percat WR-12-Last run by James Courtney WR-13-Last run by Russell Ingall WR-15-Last run by James Courtney. Can be sold as rolling chassis or turn key cars. Spares also available.

0413 001 666

built in 2007 to carry Walkinshaw Group A race car. Lower rear tail and extra long ramps. Can load my race car without removing front spoiler.

Tyre racks,winch and storage box.

Hydraulic brakes and only weighs 600 KG. GVM 2000. Excellent condition

Single cab sleeper, (engine, gearbox, new turbo, clutch, radiator, power steer rebuilt 2012) ,alcoa alloy wheels, 7 kva generator, pantec airofoil, alloy ramps and electric wintch. Work bench,

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clothing locker, 9 spare parts cupboards,5 chassis lockers,alloy bull bar, driving lights + covers.

Alloy loading ramps.Carries 20 wheels & tyres lino tile flooring.

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V8 Supercars for Sale

Reduced!! Dual axle Race Car Trailer

MXL, brake pressure logging, lighting, 2 diff ratios, 2 nik links, head restraint, fire extinguisher, 3 sets wheels, original exhaust available, 13.5 hours racing. +64 2 7446 8483

2010 Tarmac rally or track car, built to highest standards, FIA Possum Bourne Cage fitted by PBMS, carbon door trims/footwells, fresh race engine - dry sump, Cosworth, Motec dash + ECU, Diff controller, DMS, Whiteline bars, PBMS exhaust, 300kW ATW 710 Nm,

two way radio 70k in last 5 years $35,000. Steven 07 3808 4698 www.mYlOS.com/ii363

RACECAR TRANSPORTER

FMiC, All the Fruit! Regrettable sale, as new has to go. 0407 911 848 www.mYi05.com/8404

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2004 Turbo Rodeo Transporter Long rego & VERY low original kilometres. Unique, custom built to carry race car and no expense was spared on this beautiful project all done to perfection. Up to date service history. Built in ramps & tool boxs.

Winch. Profestional 6 wheel conversion.

Valuation certificate $55,000.

07 5591 1007 www.mYio5.com/io563

BodiedSpeedway

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Ready to go racing 1870 id wheelbox elec brakes/tailgate/ ramps 6 tiedown hooks/4 seatlounge/heater/3 compressor outlets/fridge/tv/microwave/7.5kv generator/60ltr elect water-sink/ fusebox 12V-240V.7 X 3.5 Slide

2010 Dominator Unit No 5i

Ready to race in historic Group C. CAMS C of D. Genuine car not a replica. Price As GTHO Phase 3. See it at the Gasolene Muscle Car Expo in July in Melbourne.

0400 247 033 www.mYi05.com/i04i3

Complete $36,900 or $33,000 without gearbox & spares. 0418 134 174

15x6'6 floor size, light but strong, punched floor with over wheel straps, no car or suspension damage, beaver tail and fold up ramps and low sides, easy loading and your doors will open, LED, designed for race cars, full custom options available, $4999 or $5499 with tyre rack,TrikTrailers racing.

1300 880 417

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As raced less engine -Wilwood Brakes AFCOT2 Shocks - Electric Brake Lockoff

Ex-Rusty French Group C Ford

on canopy-pole system/18 bench shelfs/2 floor storage/2 spare tyres.Rego is $46 a year $23,500. Neil 0417 324 525

1 Racers Choice Sedan Trailer

-12/13 State Champion Winner - Winter Diff - Burt Magnesium Gearbox Spares - Front & Rear T2 Shock - Top & Bottom Arms. Well maintained done 31 meets.

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1.5 million

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Next issue of Motorsport News on sale 21st November

98

motorsport news

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