Issue 5

velocity

issue 5 - february 2015

motorsport magazine

v8 supercars

top 1 technology of F

ten

unser museum ...and more

SPEEDWAY: sprintcar ace brad sweet

The 2015 motorsport season kicks off this month with the Bathurst 12 Hour.

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v8 supercars: top 10

formula tech

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Formula One pushes the boundaries of car design and engineering know-how, but it’s also at the cutting edge when it comes to information technology. We take a look inside McLaren to understand what the team manages its IT department, and how it helps it on track.

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brad sweet

Sprintcar ace Brad Sweet had a chat with us when he was in town last month, the Californian sharing his thoughts on racing in the US, his love for sprintcars and his relationship with team boss Kasey Kahne.

Unser Museum

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While travelling across the United States, our own John Morris took some time out to visit the Unser Museum, where he learnt about one of America’s great racing dynasties.

It’s a little off the beaten track, but well worth the visit says John.

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travel guide: malaysia

Home to the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix, and its MotoGP round too, find out what to do and where to stay on your motorsport journey to Kuala Lumpur.

The regulars

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mat coch

Our Editor reckons this is the best time of year. With so much to be uncoverd as the season begins it creates a sense on anticipation not felt during the rest of the year.

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Mike Lawrence

The popularity of modern touring car racing can trace its roots to saloon car racing in the 1950s. Mike Lawrence pulls that thread and unravels where it all began.

nuts & bolts

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FORMULA E Argentina

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DAKAR Argentina, Chilie, Bolivia

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WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Rally Monte Carlo

SPEEDWAY Scott Darley Challenge Grand Annual Classic drags Perth Motorplex

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Editorial Editor Mat Coch Photographer John Morris Editorial Contacts Telephone 0414 197 588 Website www.velocityemag.com Email editor@velocityemag.com Production Publisher Grand Prix Media Social Media

@VelocityEmag

facebook.com/ velocitymagazine Acknowledgements Tim Baker, Chris Balfe, Stuart Birrell, Matt Bishop, Danielle Breen, Iwan Jones, Dewi Jones, Mike Lawrence, John Morris, Luke Nieuwhof, Dean Perkins, Brad Sweet, Valvoline Raceway, Tom Worsley.

Copyright All rights are reserved to Grand Prix Media and associated entities.

Reproduction in whole or in part of any photograph, text or illustration without written permission from the publisher is prohibited.

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welcoming 2015 Editor Mat Coch looks at why this is the best time of year to be a motorsport fan.

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or mine, this is the best time of year.

There is a sense of anticipation in the air, not a foreboding of the future but an excitement about the unknown. It’s this time of year that, while the motorsport world is typically quiet, all the really important stuff happens.

The best part is the surprises that get sprung.

Who would have thought this time last year that Volvo would be a genuine front runner, and that Scott McLaughlin would emerge as the hottest talent in the V8 Supercars pitlane? Conversely, who could have seen the way both McLaren and Ferrari struggled in

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Formula One? Over the coming weeks we’ll begin to get an idea of the stories of 2015.

We’ll begin to see who is fast, who is slow, and who has made strides forward. That’s the really fascinating part.

Of interest this year will be the development of the Volvo, and whether Garry Rogers Motorsport can become a genuine championship contender.

Also, I’ll be watching with interest as David Wall settles in as it will give us an indication of not only his ability but also provides another yeardstick against McLaughlin.

We know Scott is good, and David has his supporters too, so it will be

interesting to watch that relationship develop.

In Formula One Honda has made its return, linking up with McLaren for the first time in more than two decades.

McLaren has also reunited with Fernando Alonso, a relationship that last time wounded McLaren’s deeply and ultimately did little but unsettled the team and trigger a management shakeup.

It’s all these stories, and hundreds of others we’ve not yet thought of, that will shape the coming season. That’s why this is the best time of year; everything is ahead of us, just wating to be uncovered.

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intop racing is now such a feature everywhere that we take it for granted yet really it is like entering the family pooch for a race against other pets on a greyhound track. I think that the first important saloon car race was a one-hour event during the International Trophy Meeting at Silverstone in 1954, but concede that the USA is the true home of the discipline.

Handicaps played a big part in British racing, so you could enter a saloon in a race. The Mille Miglia had classes for saloons (on occasion, it also had classes for bubble cars and for military jeeps). Tuned saloons ran at Le Mans for most of the 1950s. There was something in the air and the prestige of the British Racing Drivers Club gave the one-hour race a special status.

Across the Pond there was a growing movement. After WWII Brit enthusiasts played with prewar Austins and Fords (which led to Lotus, Lola and Elva) while their Yankee counterparts could buy prewar V8s for pocket money.

A car is a mating call and young Americans stripped and customised their old Ford Model A,

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What wins on sunday...

or whatever. The hot rod movement began in California and that led to drag racing. It also led to tuning outfits and companies making special parts: camshafts, cylinder heads, alloy wheels, everything. There were Halibrand caliper disc

brakes at Indianapolis in 1951.

In some parts of America people resented paying tax on hard liquor and people made moonshine. This was not cask-matured for 12 years, but neither would it make you go blind.

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Reflecting on the birth of touring car racing, Mike Lawrence suggests what happens on track is less important than what it does to our dreams.

‘Shine runners had to out-pace the cops, while carrying a heavy load and so they modified their cars paying attention to the suspension as well as the power mill.

You have cocky young guys and hot cars. They raced among themselves

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at first and then someone had the idea of marking out an oval in a field, offering prizes and charging admission.

It was dollars and cents stuff but, by stages, it led to NASCAR which is still proud of its outlaw roots even if they have

been exaggerated and romanticised, as all good legends are.

Tom Wolfe’s essay, ‘The Last American Hero’, about moonshine runner and NASCAR star, Junior Johnson, was made into a decent movie starring u Jeff Bridges.

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Back in Britain, new designs appeared during the 1950s so at that first one-hour race in 1954, you had unlikely cars like Jaguar Mk VIIs and Daimler Conquests. By the end of the decade, you had Minis and Ford Anglias, and there was also a thriving tuning industry.

Saloon car racing became big because spectators could relate to cars similar to those they owned or could aspire to own. You had men like Mike Hawthorn, Colin Chapman and Graham Hill entering their tuned,

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but still everyday, Jaguar Mk IIs. Increasingly, the rest of the field became saloon car specialists. Uren is a Cornish name and Jeff Uren was one such competitor.

Every race commentator claimed to have been the first to say, ‘Leston is passing Uren.’ Those early cars were pretty close to standard plus engine and suspension parts available over the counter. Ford then made the Lotus Cortina, BMC the Mini Cooper and Fiat encouraged Abarth, which now it owns.

The basic appeal of a race car similar to a regular saloon still holds true and advertising encourages us to hold on to the belief. Apart from all the mods to the engine, brakes and suspension, the most important element of a modern racing saloon is the safety cage. This is not because it protects the driver, but it is the spaceframe structure around which the rest of the car is constructed.

A racing saloon is not at all like the ones we can buy, but they allow us to dream.

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Nick Heidfeld again proved in Argentina he’s the unluckiest driver in Formula E.

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2015

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hile stopping short of calling 2014 a breakout season for Tim, he certainly reminded us all that he can drive.

There were glimpses of a potential race winner

at Homebush in the final race of the season, and around the streets of Surfers Paradise he pedalled as well as anyone else.

Results to date have not been forthcoming but

10. tim slade

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abulous Fabian’s fortunes have floundered in the last year or two. Though he was a race winner last season he dropped a couple of spots in the championship. He’s a strong top ten contender, frequently in a podium position and on a good day will grace the top step. If there is one thing Coulthard is it’s consistent.

Bit that only gets you so far. To make strides forward Fabs needs to

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turn top ten finishes into podium places more often. The pressure then is on Brad Jones Racing, and it will be interesting to see how the management shake-up there during the off-season influences the overall performance of the team.

The competition is ferocious at the front, and with others expected to raise their own games simply holding station at the bottom end of the top ten this year will be an accomplishment.

v8 supercars there is a lingering feeling that the flood gates will soon open. When they do, we’ve little doubt Tim Slade will grow in confidence and shoot up the overall standings.

9. Fabian cou

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8. James courtney

ulthard

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utside the car he plays the fool but inside it he’s rather more stern. That jovial demeanour hides away the determination and ruthlessness needed to be successful.

But while he’s among the very best on his good days, there are a few bad days each season, days which typically see him down the order and ultimately hurt his championship chances.

Part of the problem has been HRT itself. The team produces fast, race

winning cars and has race winning drivers in Courtney and Tander, but as a unit it hasn’t quite managed the reliability or consistency of form the likes of Red Bull Racing has.

There are signs that is changing, and Adrian Burgess will certainly help that, but Courtney too will need to mitigate his off days if he’s to once again to stand a realistic championship chance against Whincup, Van Gisbergen and McLaughlin.

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he smiling assassin hasn’t been assassinated, but he’s certainly been mugged of his title by Scott McLaughlin.

Craig Lowndes is now a veteran, one of the elder statesman of the sport. He isn’t one of the spritely whipper-snappers looking to establish a name, Lowndesy has already made his, the battle now is to maintaining his place towards the front of the field.

Racing alongside Jamie Whincup has probably not helped Lowndes’ own performances. Whincup

is metronomically consistent and for the most part that has been the key differentiator between the two. For every strong result Lowndes has there is another less impressive.

Not helping matters is the influx of the new generation drivers, the likes of McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen, who are showing they’ve got what it takes to run at the front. There is only so much room up there, and one feels that will bump Lowndes down a spot or two in the championship.

6. garth tander

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e has something of a swagger, does Garth. He seems entirely comfortable in himself and with his own performances and tends to pull no punches when appraising himself.

In 2014 there’s no doubt that would have been scathing at points,

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the former champ clearing having the speed at times only to suffer misfortune in one form or another. Take Phillip Island for example where he ran dry while leading on the final lap, or when he was caught out by the rain as the red flag came out at Sydney Olympic Park.

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7. craig lown

It was those little differences that separated him from the very top of the tree last season.

He has the pace, and his team has the ability, but moulding those together is the critical factor, not to mention where both Holden Racing Team drivers struggled last year.

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issan was beginning to come on strong in 2014, and pint-sized Caruso was heading that charge.

Frequently ahead of the likes of Todd and Rick Kelly, Caruso showed strong form during the endurance series and was consistently popping up rather close to the front by seasons end. Fifth in our list is perhaps a little generous but with the new Falcon expected to be slightly down on pace early it should open the door just a crack for the Nissan runners to take advantage, and it’s our bet that it will Caruso leading that charge.

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4. mark winterbottom

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ne of the best insights into Mark Winterbottom came at Phillip Island last year. After muscling his way by Whincup at the start Frosty held the advantage; he was fast, he was running with the leaders, and he made a mistake. There is just something missing in his armoury, though it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what.

Tyre pressure changes last year hurt the Ford

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teams, and in turn Frosty’s championship tilt, but there were also too many weekends where he failed to capitalise.

He was dreadful at Sydney Motorsport Park, unlucky at Bathurst and made mistakes at Phillip Island. A championship contender cannot afford a single bad weekend, and with competition at the top of the table as tight as it is any mistake will be punished. Frosty found that out the hard way in 2014.

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A new car this year will also not help matters. Though under the skin it’s much the same there will be differences, and that will take time to come to grips with. While it’s possible Frosty will roll the thing out of the garage at Clipsal next month and dominate it seems unlikely. We forecast 2015 a season to be weathered, but we’ll stop short of calling it a write off. There is potential there, it is up to Frosty to maximise it.

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cott McLaughlin was the revelation of 2014.

Combined with Volvo’s impressive debut it quickly became apparent McLaughlin was a star of the future. His easy going nature off track, a relaxed happy going 20-something youngster, made his a favourite with fans. But once strapped into a race car he’s proved he has what it takes to race with the best Australia has to offer.

Currently though he probably lacks that front end experience, but with another season under his belt he will no doubt

prove to be a serious championship contender in the years to come.

2014 was a year which showed he has what it takes to run at the front and lead races. He was the fastest man in the sport over a single lap.

What is needed now is to refine his art, build his consistency and gain experience. A championship cannot be won in a single race, but you can all but lose it in that time.

The Volvo will once again be a contender this year, and if anything should be more competitive at a wider range of circuits now it

v8 supercars has a season of data to refer back on. David Wall’s arrival should help things too as two cars running at the front should help the team gain information on the car. It will be curious to see how McLaughlin reacts should Wall push him hard, though based on his performances to date should that happen it would likely add to the lustre of Wall rather than take anything from McLaughlin.

For season 2015 Scott McLaughlin will be a championship contender, but probably needs another year before he becomes a title winner.

3. scott mclaughlin

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2. jamie whincup

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lready the most successful driver in the Australian touring car history, there is nothing left for J-Dub to prove. He won the title last year, and the year before and the year before that. He is the benchmark driver in V8 Supercars.

But the tide is changing, and a new generation of drivers is beginning to challenge him at the top end of the sport.

Much like he did to the established names like Lowndes, Ingall and co

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when he arrived at Triple 8 Engineering, Whincup is now the one with the target on his back. There may be no signs he is slowing down but the question is how long can he and Red Bull Racing maintain such a high level? Sooner or later something has to give, and the emergence of Shane Van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin towards the back end of 2014 began to suggest J’Dub’s reign will almost certainly end at the hand of a New Zealander.

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Of course he won’t go down without a fight. If he’s not winning races he’s accumulating points, and when it comes to mounting a championship tilt it is often the races you don’t win that are more important than those you do. Whincup knows that better than anyone else and he loves a challenge.

If fighting back to claim the 2014 title was hard work, 2015 promises to be a whole new ball game.

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he Gis is a popular figure. A typical Kiwi, he’s relaxed but competitive. He gives the sport the respect it deserves but never forgets that it’s fun too, and that’s a quality that has endeared him to many.

During the second half of last season Van Gisbergen was a very notable performer. Strong during the enduro series confirmed his credentials, if they weren’t already, while his ability in the

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wet is second to none.

Should it rain at any point during the season it would be a smart move to bet the mortgage on the Tekno car putting in an extremely strong showing.

What makes Van Gisbergen’s performances more impressive is the fact he’s done them in a single car team. He doesn’t have a teammate whose data he can use in the development of his own car and relies on the internal brains

v8 supercars trust. He can steer the car at the very highest level, but it is the people behind the scenes who are giving him the opportunity to do so at the front of the pack. We need look no further than his team owner and codriver Jonathan Webb.

The Gis has the machinery, he’s shown he has the ability, and in 2015 there is no reason to think he won’t have his first championship too.

1. shane van gisbergen

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The Uplink

Formula One’s relentless quest pushes the envelope in all industries.

Speaking with Mat Coch, McLaren’s Stuart Birrell explains how computer power is complementing the teams brains trust.

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ormula One is the pinnacle, and not just of motorsport.

It’s at the leading edge of technology and innovation, an industry which demands and attracts and hires the brightest and best. From the drivers to engineers, designers and even the support staff responsible for the day to day running of a team, being merely very good is not good enough.

In a fast paced industry like Formula One employing the right staff is critical. Though the driver collects the laurels, Formula One is not an individual effort. It is only as strong as its weakest link. It’s why teams invest heavily in process and efficiency, and why they are at the very front of the queue as new technology becomes available.

“We are a fast technology follower as we need reliability,” agrees Stuart Birrell, McLaren’s head of IT. Birrell was previously at the helm of Gatwick airport, among other companies, and knows what it takes to lead a company’s technology department. He joined McLaren in 2011 and since then has worked on streamlining the teams internal systems to drive down cost and u

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increase the speed of development. He’s also the man in charge of all the equipment the team takes to the track, and who it turns to should things go wrong.

“I look after IT across all the businesses; the road cars, the electronics and the racing team as well as all the usual back office type environments,” he explains. “It’s a very diverse world.”

From designers in the

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Formula One team to electronic engineers in the company’s Electronics division, he even oversees the technology used by the finance and human resources staff.

Each have specific and conflicting needs from their technology, and rely on Birrell and his team to provide solutions.

Some need little more than a desktop computer with word processing and spreadsheet capabilities

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but the engineering teams need far greater access and control.

At McLaren, each user is given an profile which has been assigned a role which dictates the level of access that individual has to programs, files and even the computer itself. Security is a priority, in some instances McLaren is its own competitor so ensuring staff cannot access certain files is important. It’s a

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point the company is audited on.

Some engineers have access to create their own virtual servers, a facility which Birrell claims can reduce the cost of development by some 25% because removing the reliance on the IT department building and configuring servers before handing them over. Now it’s all virtualised on a vast array of physical servers,

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allowing engineers to create ‘virtual machines’ by sharing physical resources.

“The services are all there, you don’t have to ask for permission but they are consuming standardised services which we have provisioned for them.

“I’m not in a financial institution where I can just lock everything down,” Birrell adds, rejecting the dictatorial

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position most IT departments take in large business.

In an IT world standardisation is the Holy Grail. Not only does it make solving issues simpler as there are less dependencies it also significantly reduces the cost of maintaining legacy systems. McLaren operates on a platform with standardised networking infrastructure and database services from u

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SAP. It’s data is a mixture of local file servers, databases, storage area networks and, increasingly, in the cloud. As far as big business goes it’s all fairly run of the mill, though cloud storage is still in its infancy in the corporate world, demonstrating McLaren and Formula One as early adopters of technology.

It’s capable of extending its network anywhere in

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the world, which is just as well since the racing team stays in one place for only a matter of days.

Over a race weekend the team at the track is linked back to the factory. Each circuit around they visit has a contract with a network service provider, it’s link to the outside world which teams piggy backing on for their data needs over a grand prix weekend.

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It’s not infallible but is reliable enough to allow the team to share data in real time from wherever it is back to the Technology Centre in Woking.

“From an architecture point of view you’d recognise a pretty standard software and hardware technology stack,” reveals Birrell, explaining the race team ships a virtual ‘office in a box’ with servers, networking

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equipment and file storage designed to keep the team working even if the link back to the factory is lost.

“But there are significantly more capable resources back here at head office in the Technology Centre that we would prefer them to use,” he adds. “That’s where the network comes in so all the telemetry is broadcast back here.

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The strategy work, most of that is done back here but there are people trackside who can fill in.”

Telemetry from the cars comes courtesy of a standardised Electronic Control Unit, a device designed and manufactured by McLaren Applied Technologies. It’s capable of recording hundreds of channels of telemetry, broadcasting them back to the pits via an RF

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radio frequency. During a typical race each car will produce about one gigabyte of raw data.

“We can easily stream that to an MPLS (multiprotocol label service, or a high-performance network in simple terms) link.”

Data is collected from the myriad of sensors on the car, each communicating on its own channel. The data u

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received from each can then be extrapolated to give engineers and designers an in-depth understanding as to what is happening on the car at any point in time.

That can all be combined in views through some of the bespoke toolsets that McLaren’s own engineers have developed.

Engineers can extrapolate the one gigabyte of race data into 500 gigabytes, which can then be used in the teams real time and offline simulations.

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McLaren, like a number of leading Formula One teams, has an advanced driver-in-the-loop simulator which plays an important part in the development cycle.

Data is therefore gold dust as it provides the team with an insight into what works and what doesn’t, which can be referenced against historical data, something McLaren maintains a library of - not only digitally on its computer systems but also on microfiche or backup tapes.

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The team protects that information at all costs and takes security extremely seriously, leaving Birrell with what he describes as a perennial challenge.

“There’s always a tension there,” he admits.

“We’ve got a lot of very, very bright, tech savvy people working here, a lot of them brighter than I’ll ever be, and working with them on how to secure them, how to make it go faster, how to cut out the administrative side of IT and technology (is something) we’ve

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been really successful at.

“It’s speaking to them a bit like adults rather than the usual IT business where you tend to treat the users as toddlers,” he adds. “There’s a level of trust. I think we’re probably more at a teenager level where they’re smart, they know what they’re doing, but they will make mistakes so we have to pick them up and point them in the right direction again before they’ve done too much damage! It’s a different attitude.”

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Attitudes within IT are changing as technology does, and not just in regards to the way it treats users. The march towards cloud computing grows ever more rapid as concerns over availability and security are met. There are other areas too which Birrell and his team is exploring as it continues to push the envelope with technology as far as it will go. As it does not only will he extend the capabilities of McLaren but of its partners, many

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of whom have consumer arms.

While we may never see quite the technology of a Formula One team in our own homes there is little doubt that what we do experience has in some way been shaped by being pushed to breaking point by some of the most fast paced companies in the world.

Just like the designers and engineers, in a Formula One team even the IT department is looking for an edge.

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BradSweetisoneoftheworld’sfastest ondirt.TheCaliforniantooktimeoutto chat with velocity about why there is nothing quite like racing in America.

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acing in the United States requires a special skillset. There are nuances in their style of racing, the biff and barge of stock cars and the fingertip control needed to succeed on ovals. It’s unique. It’s a challenge. It’s why the best drivers in the world try it, and very, very few succeed.

“People don’t realise how talented the NASCAR drivers are,” suggests Brad Sweet. “A lot of people think Marcos Ambrose will get in a stock car on a road course and just destroy the field because that’s his background. But they’re really talented guys, and the stock cars’ a unique talent.”

Sweet knows what he’s talking about. He grew up in Californian around dirt track ovals, where started racing, before his career took him to the doorstep of the NASCAR Sprint Cup. “I started in 2005 racing sprintcars just locally.

Then was just able to make the right moves and get in front of the right people in some of the sprintcars and midgets that I was driving, and then really my career started…”

Dirt tracks are a breeding ground of talent in

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speedway the US in much the way karting and Formula Ford is in Australia. On dirt, US youngsters learn the sorts of skills unique to American racing, which explains why so many world class drivers have parachuted into NASCAR without great success.

“It just doesn’t translate quite as well to what we learn in America,” says Sweet of the different feeder series in Australia and Europe. “It’s whole different way of racing.”

Success is important early, but it’s a delicate balancing act. Having the right equipment and right people help, but is not entirely essential according to Sweet who suggests the best way to be successful in the US is simply to win, and keep on winning.

“That’s what opens the next door to the next level,” he reveals. “It seems a lot of people it takes money to get them to the next level just because it’s hard to develop in not very good equipment or not very good people working around you. It tends to be the money, you get the better guy to work on your car, you get a little better equipment.”

Sweet’s education began at the tracks local to his family home in California. His father was a u

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passionate fan but never got behind the wheel himself whereas Brad soon came to the attention of sprintcar team owner Kasey Kahne, there beginning a relationship that would take him within a step of the big time in American circuit racing.

For Sweet, that’s as far

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as the dream would go.

Two seasons spent running a part time schedule in the Nationwide series failed to harbour the sorts of results he’d grown familiar of on dirt, and at the end of 2013 his foray into NASCAR came an end.

“As a kid growing up you dream of being a

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NASCAR driver,” he explains. “I also just dreamed of just being able to make a living in racing.

“You could say it’s a step back, but to me looking back on it it’s been really nice to just focus on the sprintcar,” Sweet reasons.

Even during his

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NASCAR adventure Sweet continued to appear in his beloved sprintcar, working his schedule with team owner Kahne to allow him to start in the big dirt races. It allowed him to claim the Kings Royal in 2013, the second biggest sprintcar race in the world and one that was

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particularly special to Sweet.

“Honestly you just don’t know if you can ever win a big race like that until you do,” he beams when asked about it. “They can’t take that away from you. No matter what, you’re going to go down in the history books as a Kings Royal champion

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and there’s not a lot of people that can say that.”

Sweet’s future is now very much focussed on sprintcar racing. Though he didn’t make the grade in the NASCAR ranks there is no bitterness or disappointment, instead he enjoys the challenges and nuances speedway u presents.

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“This is a huge passion of mine,” he smiles. “I’m still able to make a living racing, doing what I love, and the sprintcar is really my true passion.

The NASCAR thing is a dream and I at least got a chance to try it.

“It’s hard,” he laughs when asked about the competition. “Donny Schatz makes you stay up at night thinking about how you can get better as a driver, get your car better! He’s not easy to beat.”

There is competition too from Australian Kerry Madsen, who enjoyed a break-out year in 2014, culminating in victory at the Kings Royal.

“He’s had one of the best years he’s ever had last year,” agrees Sweet.

“The competition is just stout.”

Together with Schatz and Madsen, Sweet remains one of the top half-dozen sprintcar drivers in the world, however it’s the challenge to stay there which entices him to keep going. Combine that with his deep seeded passion for dirt track racing and the 29 year old still has a long career ahead of him to go with the success he’s already achieved.

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Turn Left at Albuquerque

The Unser Racing Museum

Tucked away in middle America lies the city of Albuquerque. With no significant motorsport venues, it is located some 380 miles south of Pike’s Peak in Colorodo Springs, and over 780 miles south west of Indianapolis. John Morris literally turned left at Albuquerque to find out more.

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large billboard placed alongside US 550 provided our first introduction to the Unser Racing Museum as we headed from Monument Valley to Albuquerque. Having watched the Indianapolis 500 for years and worked at Gold Coast Indy, I knew the Unser family were from New Mexico but had no idea how their motorsport history linked to the area.

To be

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honest, having driven through countless hours of New Mexico countryside, there seemed to be very little to support such predigious racing talent. The curiosity factor drew us in like a moth to a flame.

The museum is located just a few miles from

the city centre and the interstate, hidden away in a side street of Los Ranchos. It sits conspicuoulsy with a row of chequered flag banners across the front. To the right of the driveway is a section of the original turn four wall from the Indianapolis Motorsport Speedway, still bearing the marks from Al Unser Jr’s crash with Emerson

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column / News / Feature / Report Fittipaldi during the closing laps of the 1989 Indianapolis 500. Tony George donated the section to the Musuem when the Safer Barrier was installed in 2005.

A pathway between the race wall and main entrance is adorned with sponsor inscriptions, each brick raising $100 for the work of the museum. It is just one way that the not for profit organisation raises funds to stay open. In fact much of the museum operates on the

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donations of grateful fans and dedicated locals who work as volunteers, or docents as the museum refers.

The circular main building is shaped like a steering wheel, whilst the main door handles close to continue the theme. At the rear of the property is a large two storey addition referred to as ‘The Annexe’, which houses the Unser trophy collection, archives and the Challenger Learning Centre.

Inside the building sits the gift shop to the left, selling a variety of motorsport and Unser memorabilia, whilst the reception wall features a huge family tree. It is the first clue that the museum is based on more than just a bunch of lovingly restored racing relics. It is also the first step in unravelling the links between the family, the area and motor racing.

Each sector of the building houses a themed u

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V8 supercars

Whenever possible, the Unser’s have run their cars in the red, white and blue of the American flag.

exhibit, with an Indy section, speedway and an interactive display charting the development in race engines and tyre technology. The central hub is named the ‘Winners circle’ and features one of the museum’s cars. During our visit that car was Al Unser’s 1987 Indianapolis winning March Cosworth, a car and driver considered too old to win the event at the time.

Tucked away towards

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the rear is Jerry’s garage. It is here where the Unser’s links to Pike’s Peak and New Mexico are finally revealed, it also provides a further insight to the Unser racing story.

Louis Unser, Al Snr’s Grandfather, brought his family to the United States from Switzerland back in the late 1800s.

Travelling west, the family eventually settled in Colorado Springs. Though a butcher by trade, Louis

Unser was fascinated by the new motor vehicles and soon became a skilled mechanic.

They had three boys, Louis Jnr, Jerry and Joe, who shared their father’s passion. In September 1915 the three boys became the first people to reach the summit of Pike’s Peak in a motorised vehicle, piloting a motorcyle and side car.

Not long after a local philanthropist named Spencer Penrose built a

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road on Pikes Peak and started the ‘Race to the Clouds’.

Whilst all three raced Pike’s Peak, it was Louis Jnr who went on to dominate the event, winning 9 times between the early 30s and the mid 60s.

In 1929 their attention turned to the Indianapolis 500, though Joe was tragically killed when testing his car on a Colorado highway and the Indy 500 dream soon

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faded.

Jerry Unser became known for a knack for fixing cars no-one else could. Having travelled with a barnstorming show and a stint in the armed forces, Jerry married and eventually moved from Colorado Springs to establish a filling station and auto repair business on Route 66 just out of Albuquerque. Jerry had four sons, twins Jerry Jnr and Louie, Bobby and Al Snr.

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The Unser auto repair business thrived thanks largely to clever palcement. “Daddy put the business on the edge of town so we were either the first place or last place you saw,” explained Bobby Unser.

“Frank Lloyd Wright used to bring his cars to Daddy. He had all kind of weird cars and nobody could work on them”.

It was during this time that the boys learnt u the trade, as Bobby

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column / News / Feature / Report explained. “As kids we had to work on all the different cars that came into Daddy’s workshop, so it was a great education for us”.

In fact it was to become the early career for Al Unser Snr, when he first left school.

“I quit school in 1957 and my father one day, he says, ‘Let’s go sit down and have a talk.’

So he said my grades were not very good because I thought that it was a waste of time going to school. And he says ‘I think you want to quit school. You know if you do you’re gonna work and you’re gonna work very hard’. He paid me $7 a week. And I bought a car and all my clothes after that. I didn’t have to pay him any room and board, but he made me toe the line, you know.”

Jerry Unser once said “I don’t make them feel that they have to be first, only that they do their best. Racing is a great sport and it should be participated in greatly. My kids learnt long ago how to take a chewing out gracefully. When anyone asks me how come my kids make so few mistakes, I tell them, if you’d been chewed out as often as they had, you wouldn’t make any

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mistakes either. The kids don’t mind, they know I’m not stingy with my praise either”.

In 1958 the Unser family finally made it to the Brickyard. Jerry Jnr qualified for the race, however a multi-car warm up lap crash sent his car over the wall. A second attempt ended in tragedy when Jerry Jnr succumbed to injuries suffered in a practice crash. Seven years later Bobby Unser qualified for his first Indianapolis 500.

“Daddy was always a true blue American”, said Bobby.

“He always flew the flag at the shop and the race cars were red, white and blue. To be an Unser, you understand patriotism is as natural as breathing.”

Whilst Bobby Unser drove one year in Formula One, for the Owen Racing BRM team in a car that “almost killed me,” Al Unser Snr never ventured overseas to race.

“I had no intention of ever going over to run F1. I didn’t like the travelling and I didn’t want to go over there to live.

And there was all the racing in the world over here that I wanted to do. So I could care less about going over there.

I had many offers to go u

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over there and run and I wouldn’t do it”.

It was this sense of patriotism, coupled with his own experiences growing up that led to the creation of the Unser Museum.

Al Unser was dismayed to learn that auto mechanics had been dropped from the curriculum of most high schools, depriving young people of the opportunity that had been presented

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to him when his academic career was going nowhere.

“I want the museum to be open to all young people so they can get a hands-on feel for working with cars, both passenger and race vehicles,” said Unser in 2003. “I want to get the kids interested and off the street. Now the tough part of the project is underway- finding funding”.

Much of the initial

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funds for the museum came from his personal finances. Al Unser donated the land for the museum, purchased exhibits, such as the 1991 Lola of Arie Luyendyk, and donated items from his personal collection.

Susan Unser, Director of the Unser Discovery Campus and co-founder of the Museum explains: “Al and I began the process of finding the

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Between Bobby, Al Snr and Al Jnr, the Unsers have won the Indianapolis 500 seven times, with Al Snr’s four wins equalling the record of A.J Foyt, whilst Bobby won three and Al Jnr two.

property, hiring a design firm and contractor and finding financing in 2004.

Actually, we were in Japan at an IRL race when the final counter offer came in via fax for the property and the time difference, lack of ability to speak Japanese and essence of time to make the deal, made for an exciting piece of the puzzle. We opened the doors in September 2005 and had an extremely

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enthusiastic grand opening.”

“The vision we had in 2004 has grown to include an International Baccalaureate Charter School, the Challenger Learning Center (an international simulated space mission program) and on any given day we have over 350 students creating an educational campus which truly gives us so much joy.

“Did we intend to

create this space, to see our retirement going to finance it, to still be there making sure it all goes well? No. But we’re blessed to have the ability to make this happen and it has brought so many new people into our lives.”

Jerry and Bobby Unser quotes sourced from ‘Unser, An American Family Portrait’ by Gordon Kirby.

Anlon Press, Dallas, Texas First Published 1988

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formula e

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streets ahead F

rom the Red Bull scrapheap, Antonio Felix Da Costa is the latest driver to have stood on the top step of the podium despite being cast aside for a place in Formula One. Formula E is fast becoming Formula No Bull as Red Bull’s former development programme racers dominate the front end of the field. Sebastien Buemi, World Endurance Champion with Toyota, Jaime Alguersuari, JeanEric Vergne and now Da Costa have all featured at the front end of motorsports newest field. They’re fast, they’re smooth and they’ve perhaps something to prove.

Buemi had taken pole around the Buenos Aries streets with Alguersuari third, the former Toro Rosso duo showing pace while Da Costa was a little further back in eighth. His progress to the lead and eventual victory was an undercurrent in a race that once again featured the safety car.

The race also exposed the dangerously fragile suspension components.

Karun Chandhok was the first to retire when the right rear suspension gave way, pitching him into the wall shortly before half-distance, while Buemi fell victim to the same fault soon after the safety car had withdrawn. Soon after championship leader Lucas Di Grassi u was also out, the right rear corner

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hanging limp.

Suspension issues have been a problem which has blighted Formula E’s first four races. Bruno Senna suffered a front left failure in China after clouting a sausage kerb on the opening lap, while Stephane Sarrazin retired in Uruguay with a rear failure. For an open wheel series which races around bumpy street circuits hemmed by barriers the cars are hopelessly under equipped, and is something the sport must sort between now and its next race in Miami in two months time.

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It’s the last remaining area which needs attention. The racing has been sound, with no more evidence than the Argentinian race needed.

Following a slow start which led to a procession prior to the safety car, whch maintains a 100% starting record in Formula E, the race came alive.

That was due in part to the confusion caused when the leader was not picked up, leaving a number of drivers confused as to where they were in the race, and if they were even on the lead lap.

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A tense second half of the race followed, with most drivers coming under pressure at one time or another. Mistakes were an inevitability, Nick Heidfeld being stripped of the lead when he was handed a drive-through penalty for pit lane speeding. Sam Bird was also forced to relinquish the top spot when found to have passed a red light at pit exit when the safety car was on track.

Vergne and Alguesuari squabbling over the final podium place was one of the highlights of the race, with Vergne clearly

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faster but unable to find a way by. There was light contact between the two before an opportunistic Daniel Abt tagged Alguesuari rather more

race result P

Driver

formula e

heavily on the penultimate lap, ruining both their races.

Through the chaos, Da Costa kept his head to take an uncontested

team

time

1

Antonio Felix da Costa

Amlin Aguri

48:52.100

2

Nicolas Prost

e.dams-Renault

3

Nelson Piquet Jnr

4

victory. He led home Nico Prost and Nelson Piquiet Jnr, while Vergne was forced to slow as he ran low on energy in the final lap.

Championship P

Driver

Pts

1

Lucas Di Grassi

+ 5.354

2

Sam Bird

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China Racing

+ 8.552

3

Sebastien Buemi

43

Jamie Alguersuari

Virgin Racing

+ 11.148

4

Nicolas Prost

42

5

Bruno Senna

Mahindra Racing

+ 11.535

5

Nelson Piquet Jnr

37

6

Jean-Eric Vergne

Andretti

+ 13.319

6

A Felix Da Costa

29

7

Sam Bird

Virgin Racing

+ 13.617

7

Jaime Alguersuari

26

8

Nick Heidfeld

Venturi

+ 15.464

8

Jerome D’Ambrosio

22

9

Oriol Servia

Dragon Racing

+ 19.334

9

Franck Montagny

18

10

Stephane Sarrazin

Venturi

+ 28.973

10

Karun Chandhok

18

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Oh Yeah, Ogier

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Sebastian always looked set to win the Monte Carlo Rally, the question really was which one.

Making a return to the World Rally Championship, Sebastian Loeb mounted an early challenge to Volkswagon’s reigning world champion Sebastian Ogier, the two were seperated by precious little for the first day and a half until a mistake from Loeb allowed Ogier the victory.

It was Loeb though who recorded the most stage victories, the former champ looking worringly on-form before hitting a rock on stage 8 which saw him fail to complete the stage. It scuppered his hopes of a victory on return to the series, though his performance to that piont showed he’d lost none of his speed.

Kris Meeke in the other

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Citroen snared three points by winning the Power Stage, though was never a factor at the top of the standings, which were dominated

by Volkswagon. Loeb was the only driver who looked capable of breaking the VW stranglehold at the top as the German marque locked out the podium by the end of the rally, marking an ominously strong debut for the second generation Polo being driven by Ogier and teammate JariMatti Latavala.

For Ogier, victory in Monaco marked his 25th world rally win, equalling Colin McRae’s record.

It also places him at the top of the world championship standings, admittedly after the first rally of the year. Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen rounded out the podium.

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coma claims fifth dakar

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laiming the bikes class, Marc Coma won his fifth Dakar after an early battle for the lead while in the car class Nassar AlAttiyah dominated to win for the second time.

Driving a Mini, Al-Attiyah won five stages on his way to victory, leading for all but the opening stage. He’d have led after that too but for a time penalty for speeding during a link stage on the opening day.

The motorbike class was far more closely fought, with Coma challenging early leader Joan Barreda throughout the opening week.

Barreda held the lead by 12 minutes after stage two before he and Coma enjoyed a cat and mouse battle

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for the better part of the next week. It was only when Barreda’s charnge was halted on Stage 8 courtesy of mechanical problems when his bike was damaged during the waterlogged crossing of Salar de Uyuni. Needing a tow to get clear, it handed the rally lead to Coma and ended his chances of victory.

Australian Toby Price impressed on debut, winning Stage 12 and finishing third overall in the bike class, making him the best rookie of the rally and a contender for higher placings next year.

Elsewhere, Rafal Sonik won the Quads division while Ayrat Mardeev maintained Kamaz’s domination of the truck category.

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y e l r a D t Scot

CHALLENGE T

revor Green won a charged Scott Darley Challenge at Valvoline Raceway during an event where emotions hung over the track like a cloud.

Remembering Scott Darley, who was killed in a sprintcar in 2009, the event has quickly become one of the biggest on the Australian Speedway calendar, with a prize pool of up to $57,000 for the winner.

With a host of international competitors in the country, including American Brad Sweet who’d

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won three times at Valvoline Raceway already in 2015, the entry list was also bolstered by ex-pat Australian’s Brooke Tatnell and Kerry Madsen.

Split over two nights, run as separate events, the Darley Challenge builds to a 40 lap final on both evenings, culminating on a $19,000 pay day for the winner.

That is doubled should the winner of the opening night reach the final on night two and win again, if he elects to start 19th - Scott Darley’s racing number. u

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column / News / Feature / Report It was a challenge that was too good for Kerry Madsen to refuse. The 2013 Kings Royal winner had struggled early on the opening night and only made the final after racing through from the C Main, where he’d started on the front row. Using the high line throughout the final, at a time when most were opting for the low line, Madsen swept into the lead shortly after the last restart to take a popular win.

For a time it looked as though James Thompson or Brad Sweet might take victory on the opening night, with privateer Thompson holding the lead for long periods before finally falling victim to Sweet and then Madsen to finish third.

A brutal 40 degree day baked the track ahead of the second night, slowing it up dramatically despite best efforts to keep some life in the clay throughout the night. The pace Madsen had demonstrated late on the opening night was absent, though still accepted the Darley Challenge and elected to start the final from 19th in pursuit of the $38,000 grand prize. For everyone else victory was a meagre $19,000.

Madsen never got close.

He worked his way

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forward to 14th in the final but made precious little progress from there.

His preferred high line was not working, at least not for him. Towards the front Trevor Green made it work when he needed, so did Jamie Veal as the

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pair chased early leaders Brooke Tatnell and Jackson Delamont, who held top spot for long periods.

A late caution bunched the field, playing to Veal’s advantage after moving from the top to the botton line, but was

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running out of laps to make a serious challenge on the leader. He’d been gaining ground on Green, who had taken over out front.

At the restart, with clear track ahead, the duo ran side by side through the

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turns, with Veal edging perhaps an axle ahead mid-corner only for Green to stamp on the power earlier and have the momentum courtesy of his sweeping high line. For four laps they had the crowd on

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tenterhooks, with Veal’s best chance coming on the final lap. But it wasn’t to be, and though he was close by the chequered flag he remained a car length behind Green with Delamont third not much further back.

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Hirst’s Castle

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othing could have stopped Kyle Hirst from winning the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warnambool, not even the weather. The American led every one of the 40 laps to take Australia’s biggest sprintcar race, heading home Brooke Tatnell and Grant Anderson to record the biggest win of his career.

More than 100 cars entered the presitgious event, with a number of big names falling early in u

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proceedings. Tim Kaeding and James McFadden both failed to make the final, Kaeding eliminated in the D-Main after a surprise return to racing following a heavy crash the previous night. Brad Keller crashed out of the final heat race, flipping his car end over end, the South Australian needing to be cut from his car before being taken to Warnambool Hospital for precautionary checks after complaining of back pain. The crash delayed proceedings for more than an hour, meaning Hirst wouldn’t take the chequered flag until almost 2am.

Starting from pole, current Australian champion David Murcott retired after just 10 laps of the final with mechanical problems but by then he’d already ceded the lead to Hirst, who was unstoppable out front.

Hirst was briefly challenged at the front by Ian Madsen, only for Madsen to tag the wall after getting off line and halting his charge. He eventually recovered to fourth, one place ahead of brother Kerry.

Tatnell moved from sixth to second but was unable to match Hirst on the fast Warnambool track, leaving the veteran to rue his missed chance.

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ohn Zappia opened his 2015 season campaign in style at the Perth Motorplex, winning the Top Doorslammer final against Maurice Fabietti with a 5.86s pass. Fabietti put in a holeshot in the final to lead up to the 1000 foot marker before the engine in his Monaro blew a burst panel, allowing Zappia through for the victory.

During qualifying Zappia had put in the fastest ever Top Doorslammer pass with a 5.683s in qualifying, lowering his own benchmarch which had stood at 5.745s. It meant Zappia left the opening round with maximum points after winning, being the fastest qualifier, lowest elapsed time and top speed.

On two wheels, three time Top Fuel Motorcycle champ Chris Matheson claimed an unlikely win when Mark Drew mowed down the timing boxes at the finish line, disuqalifying him from the final. Drew was clearly the faster of the two, though his inability to bring his bike under control ultimately proved his undoing.

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Image: Luke Nieuwhof

zappia doubles-up

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ith just two rounds in the books, John Zappia has emerged as favourite to retain his Top Doorslammer title following his second round win of the season at the Westernationals in Perth.

Zappia faced stiff opposition from Peter Kapiris, who set the fastest qualifying time ahead of Zappia. Kapiris though is not a championship contender, at least not at this stage of the season,

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having failed to qualify for the opening round of the campaign in early January.

His challenge to Zappia however showed that, while Zappia may currently be the class of the field, there is precious little to separate him by.

In the final he was just 0.03s faster than Kapiris, who’d taken an early lead courtesy of gaining the holeshot.

It might have been Gary Phillips who claimed the golden Christmas tree

in Top Alcohol, but the round really belonged to the man in the lane opposite.

On his way to the final, Craig Glassby recorded the fastest ever pass for a methanol fuelled funny car anywhere in the world with a 5.410 second time, a mantle Phillips was far more concerned about than the win itself. Phillips ran consistently in the 5.4s bracket all night but had to cede the fastest time, at least for now.

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race travel

Travel Guide:

malaysian grand prix

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arly in the new season motorsport fans are spoilt for choice. Those on the east coast can head to Bathurst for the annual 12-Hour, or those in Adelaide can head out to Victoria Park for the Clipsal 500. There’s speedway out west, rallying in Tasmania, Superbikes at the Island and of course the Grand Prix in Melbourne itself.

But those keen to look a little further afield can head into Asia, which hosts the second round of the Formula One world championship at Sepang in Malaysia. For Formula One fans it can

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race travel make for an inexpensive holiday combined with a grand prix.

Landing in Kuala Lumpur, the circuit is just the other side of the motorway from the airport and can be seen from the plane depending on the approach. A number of teams will stay at the Sam-Sama Hotel attached to the airport, making the short trip by car each day, while others will stay further out.

The majority of the traveling circus stays in Kuala Lumpur itself, some 50 kilometres out from the airport. There is a train service from the airport into the heart of u

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KL. Accommodation in Kuala Lumpur is not especially expensive but as ever costs do rise when there is a major event in town.

It can also be worth looking a little further out as there are some great diamonds in the rough to be found, though many will necessitate hiring a car.

If you do hire a car we’d strongly recommend grabbing a GPS too, as relying on your mobile

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phone can be expensive and unreliable.

Getting to the circuit is easy. The roads are relatively good if you decide to drive, or take a taxi (Awana Limo Cab is the circuits official taxi provider), but for those staying in the city there are also trains and buses which can ferry you to and from the circuit easily. Buses have pickup points around the circuit, making getting to your gate easy and have a

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number of stops around the city making getting back to your hotel straight forward.

At the track itself grandstand passes with excellent views can cost as little as $112 for the three days, with a big screen opposite. There are other grandstands available, ranging up over $700, but there is no need to splurge for the sake of it. Sitting on the front straight might give you a view of the pits

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but at the cost of some of the other parts of the circuit behind the pit complex, whereas overlooking the back straight or in the grandstand up the back of the circuit offer a far better viewing experience at a fraction of the cost.

There are also general admission and standing tickets available, and while they’re cheap and there is some cover from the elements we’d recommend grabbing a covered

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grandstand pass because the sun can bake you and the rain wash away what’s left.

Away from the track there is plenty to do in and around KL. You can check out the Petronas Towers – two towering skyscrapers linked by a bridge about halfway up, which is open to the public. There are also temples and parks to check out, not to mention the shopping in Bintang Street, or you could

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venture a little further out and check out the Batu Caves. There’s also a theme park at Berjaya Time Square, though not all the rides are included with your entry.

Flights to Kuala Lumpur, from Sydney, start from around $750 per person return, flying in on the Thursday ahead of on-track action on Friday before departing on Tuesday, giving you a day to spare in KL.

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It’s difficult to imagine that Australia held it’s first Grand Prix 30 years ago.

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coming attractions FEBRUARY 1 - 4 FORMULA ONE Barcelona FEBRUARY 5 - 7 BAHTURST 12 HOUR Mount Panorama FEBRUARY 6 & 7 V8 SUPERCARS Sydney Motorsport Park FEBRUARY 7 TARGA AUSTRALIA Targa Hellyer Gorge FEBRUARY 12 - 15 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Rally Sweden FEBRUARY 14 & 15 FORMULA VEE 50th ANNIVERSARY Wakefield Park FEBRUARY 19 - 22 FORMULA ONE Barcelona

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FEBRUARY 19 - 22 FORMULA ONE Barcelona FEBRUARY 21 WORLD SERIES SPRINT CARS Perth Motorplex FEBRUARY 22 NASCAR Daytona 500 WORLD SUPERBIKES Phillip Island FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 1 DRAG RACING Perth Motorplex FORMULA ONE Barcelona FEBRUARY 27 - MARCH 1 V8 SUPERCARS Clipsal 500 MARCH 1 NASCAR Atlanta Motor Speedway

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