Pitstop magazine march 2015

O ff ici a l Pu blication of t h e B e n a l l a A u t o C l u b I n c .

pitstop March/April 2015

0 0 3 D L IE F E K A W E IN L O VALV Y E L L E H S E K A J STEVE & R E L L I R H T O R U D WIN EN

VMRC ROUND 1 REVIEW PLUS

FORMULA VEE 50TH SPRINTS ROUND 1

AUTHORISED PRINT POST NUMBER PP100001045

March/April 2015

Contents | President’s Report.......................................................... 4

PITSTOP The Official publication of the Benalla Auto Club Inc. July 2014 Edition #597

| Winton VMRC Round 1 Review................................. 6

Benalla Auto Club Inc 41 Fox Street Winton, 3673 Phone (03) 57664235 Fax (03) 57664249 race@wintonraceway.com.au

| News Briefs....................................................................... 7

WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

| Treasurer’s Report.......................................................... 5 | V8 Supercar Support Categories Confirmed....... 5

| Members at Play............................................................. 8 | Valvoline Wakefield 300 Review .............................. 14 | BP Midland/Pedders No Bull Sprints Rd1............. 18 | Wakefield Park MRA Rd1 Review............................. 20 | Formula Vee 50th Anniversary Review.................. 22 | Chequered Flag Chat.................................................... 24 | Easter Car Mania Preview.......................................... 25 | What’s On at Winton and Wakefield Park............ 26 | BAC Committee Notice................................................. 26

41 Fox Street Winton, 3673 Phone (03) 57664235 Fax (03) 57664249 race@wintonraceway.com.au www.wintonraceway.com.au WAKEFIELD PARK RACEWAY 4770 Braidwood Road Goulburn, NSW 2580 Phone (02) 48222811 Fax (02) 48222812 info@wakefieldpark.com.au www.wakefieldpark.com.au COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT President: Peter Lawrence Vice President: Bary Stilo Secretary: Matthew Ronke Treasurer: Chris Lewis-Williams Adam Ronke, Gary Bennett, Stephen Harrison, Ian Watt, Matt Thewlis, Warren Sheehan PITSTOP EDITOR Lachlan Mansell PITSTOP SUB-COMMITTEE Matthew Ronke, Brian Nighingale, Judi McDonald, Dianne Stolz CONTRIBUTORS Brian Nightingale PHOTOGRAPHS Judi McDonald, John Smith, Rene Martens

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pitstop PETER LAWRENCE BAC President

W

elcome to the latest edition of the Benalla Auto Club’s Pitstop Magazine. I apologise for the delay since the last one was published and in some ways it is a little symptomatic of how the club has been travelling in recent times, but a bit more later on.

Just a little background on myself for those who don’t know me. I have a fairly long involvement in motorsport and it started at Winton back in 1988. I followed a path quite familiar to many people starting with club sprints with my road car, through to circuit races at club and state level and, luckily for me, a start at Australia’s Great Race in 1997. Originally a high school teacher, I am currently employed as a trainer at Motorsports Training Australia, under the DECA banner as part of Wodonga TAFE. Prior to this I was the Technical Manager at CAMS for ten years before returning to the sunny North East.

Thank you to the members of Benalla Auto Club for entrusting me with such a prestigious role in Australian Motor Sport. Your club is, without doubt, the most influential motorsport club in Australia, owning and controlling two of the major motorsport circuits as well as being a founding member of the AASA. The club is in a sound financial state and is moving quickly to strengthen its position within the sport generally.

I’ll talk briefly about how Benalla Auto Club is structured, at least in lay terms. You, as a member of Benalla Auto Club, are the part owner of the Winton and Wakefield Park race tracks, as well as the infrastructure and facilities belonging to each. As some of you will know, running a not-for-profit club takes time and dedication from its members, and in particular its Committee of Management. This can be challenging enough for a local sporting club or association but when your club has assets in the tens of millions of dollars, management by a volunteer committee becomes impossible. As such your Club has set up two trading companies charged with the role of the dayto-day management of the facilities. These are Winton Motor Raceway and Wakefield Park Motorsport. Each company has a management structure of professional salaried officers and dedicated staff who manage and run the facilities. These companies organise and promote events to generate the income required to pay their way. Each company pays a fee to Benalla Auto Club for the use of the tangible assets enabling the Club to finance the infrastructure and capital improvements.

I am the President of the Club, whilst Brian Pearson and Matthew Ronke are the Executive Officers of the Winton and Wakefield companies respectively.

I mentioned earlier that things haven’t been travelling as well as they might, but do not think it is a crisis: it is not. For many years the club and the entities operated under the watchful and dedicated gaze of Michael (Mick) Ronke. Mick needs no introduction and was one of the larger than life characters in Australian motorsport. During his time the Club expanded in

many ways, from track extensions to new buildings and facilities at Winton and the purchase of the Wakefield Park circuit. He was instrumental in setting up the Australian Auto Sport Alliance and was a passionate promotor of the needs of club level motorsport. Mick was organised, efficient and managed the Club and its entities in a fluent and fluid way to maximise the benefits enjoyed by the club’s membership.

However, all thing come to pass and Mick was suddenly taken from us in early 2013. The Club lost its long standing secretary and the companies their CEO. It left a hole in the entity and nature abhors a vacuum. I will certainly not go into politics but for a time unity was replaced with division and distrust. Mick’s passing also highlighted issues with the management structures as so much was never written down.

The good news is that in the past twelve months a great deal has changed. The appointment of Brian Pearson to the management role at Winton saw the start of sweeping management and financial reforms that are rapidly setting that company on a strong growth path into the future. Working together with Matthew Ronke at Wakefield, financial management practices have been improved and targeted employment of specialist officers have ensured that we will see Winton and Wakefield maintain their position as the number one motorsport venues in each state.

The Committee of Management has also become a far more unified body of late. Whilst it will always be true that from time to time there will be strong differences of opinion, at least these differences are being properly aired and peoples differing views acknowledged and taken into account when decisions are made.

There is still more to do however, and we need our Club members to take an active part in the future management of their club. I want to encourage our members to attend the next Annual General Meeting to have your say as to makeup of your Committee of Management. The Club must also approve a new Constitution in order to comply with the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 and a draft will be circulated to members with the Notice of Meeting. At this stage, as foreshadowed in the Treasurer’s report, we should have audited accounts ready in the near future enabling an AGM in early May. However, we are to an extent in the hands of the financial experts so that timeframe is still somewhat fluid. Each member will receive a notification in the mail about the Annual General Meeting.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Peter Lawrence President, BAC

NEXT EDITION COVERAGE: V8 Supercars preview, CAMS NSW State Championship Round 1 report and more!

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CHRIS LEWIS-WILLIAMS BAC Treasurer

F

irstly, I would like to thank you, the members of the BAC for trusting with the position of Treasurer. Very few of you knew me prior to the AGM last year, but you put your faith in me to represent you, a fact I take very seriously. Rest assured, I will do my best for you and the club.

Victoria. CAV have requested consolidated financial statements so the committee has submitted all the documents requested and we are waiting a decision from CAV so we can finalise our 2013 finances and fulfil our regulatory duties for the BAC. Upon confirmation, these will be distributed to all members.

With the 2014 BAC financial year now finished the finance team and our auditors are working hard to complete the group’s financial reports for the committee so we can sign them off and progress to our AGM and present to you, our members.

We would also like to thank Brian Pearson and his team at Winton for their hard work updating the finance processed for the BAC and our trading companies, it is a massive task but Brian and his team are working through the issues and as treasurer I can already see of the benefits of their work.

We have had some issues with the 2013 financial year records which the previous treasurer, Matthew Ronke and Belmores, our accountants and auditors, are working through with Community Affairs Victoria (CAV), who are the regulators of incorporated clubs in

A

n exciting program of support categories has been locked in for Winton Raceway’s 2015 V8 Supercars event, to be held from 15-17 May. The Dunlop V8 Supercars Development Series, ENZED Touring Car Masters, Kerrick Sports Sedans and Australian Sports Racer National Series will all appear at the nation’s action track as support acts to the main V8 show.

The Dunlop Series is considered to be the primary breeding ground for future V8 Supercar stars – its graduates include drivers such as Bathurst 1000 winners Mark Winterbottom , Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat, as well as Scott McLaughlin, Michael Caruso, David Reynolds, James Moffat, Tim Slade, David Wall, Jack Perkins and Dale Wood.

The Dunlop Series has frequently appeared as a Winton V8 support category in the past, with a number of teams using the facility as their nominated test track.

It seems that Pitstop will be arriving in your mail, be it snail mail or email, more regularly from now on, so you will be seeing a treasurer’s note in each edition.

highly-tuned turbo or rotary motors. As a round of their national series, the Sports Sedans are expected to attract a quality field with front-runners such as Tony Ricciardello and Darren Hossack likely to battle for outright honours.

The Australian Sports Racer National Series features Le Mans prototype-style sports cars. They are powered by production-based motorcycle engines which rev up to 13,500rpm, and are designed for maximum aerodynamic efficiency and minimum weight. As a result, they are able to carry extremely high corner speeds and achieve scintillating lap times.

Winton Raceway CEO Brian Pearson says the venue is delighted to welcome such a diverse mixture of classes to support the main act.

“There will be something for everyone at this year’s Winton V8 meeting,” Mr Pearson said.

The ENZED Touring Car Masters is a series for historic touring cars from the period between 1964 and 1976. It attracts iconic muscle cars such as Ford Mustang and Falcon, Holden Monaro and Torana, Chevrolet Camaro and many others. It also attracts some of the most decorated drivers in Australian racing history, with legends like John Bowe, Jim Richards, Andrew Miedecke and Glenn Seton competing in the category.

“At one end of the scale, the V8s are the main drawcard and some of the sport’s most talented young drivers will be looking to showcase their abilities in the Dunlop Series.

Touring Car Masters appeared at last year’s Winton V8 event, with Richards taking the round win from Bowe.

“There will be some other initiatives for this year’s V8s, including a new online ticketing system, which we look forward to announcing in the near future,” Mr Pearson concluded.

The Kerrick Sports Sedans are some of the most exciting tin-top race cars in Australia, featuring highly modified vehicles with lightweight panels and large capacity V8 or

“Then there will be the raw speed and power of the Sports Sedans, and fans of old-school muscle cars will be catered for by the Touring Car Masters, while those who enjoy more sophistication will love the Sports Racers.

pitstop

VMRC Round 1 Report

four races and the round from defending champion Sean Bell and Brian Bourke.

In the Liqui-Moly Vic V8s, Graeme Meer ensured the mechanical problems he suffered throughout 2014 became a distant memory, winning the round with victories in three of the four races aboard his Holden VH Commovore. The other race win

S

imon Phillips has proven there is a substitute for cubic inches, using his diminutive Datsun 1200 Coupe to defeat a field of much larger-capacity cars in the Improved Production races, held during Round 1 of the Victorian Motor Racing Championships at Winton Motor Raceway over the weekend 7-8 March.

Phillips took the overall round victory with wins in three of the four races, defeating the Holden VN Commodore Group A SS of Andrew Rhodes-Anderson and Mazda RX7 of Tony Groves, which both featured consistently in the top five throughout the weekend.

Graeme Cox won the final race in his Honda Civic, but a non-finish in Race 2 hurt his weekend points tally.

The Victorian Excel Series also started its season at Winton, and reigning champion Jarrod Tonks resumed where he finished last season, winning all four races.

The action behind Tonks was fierce; Kaide Lehman was second in the first three races, briefly leading Race 3, but retired from the final, allowing Nathan Blight into

n the Graeme Meer wo

Vic V8s round in

his ex-Commodore

Stubbs was in more trouble in Race 3, copping a post-race penalty for jumping the start, as Rowe charged from the rear of the grid to second behind Quiddington. Rowe turned the tables on Quiddington to win the fourth and

Graeme Cox was second overall in

Improved Production.

second. Bronson Mercieca rounded out the podium after an intense contest with Neville Blight and former HQ Holden racer Brendan Avard in Race 4.

final race but Quiddington’s two race victories earned him the round win from Stubbs and the consistent Shane Purvis.

Also producing intense racing was Formula Vee. Race 1 was a relatively calm affair with Matt Stubbs taking the win ahead of Jake Rowe, Mitch Quiddington and Heath Collinson, but tensions erupted in Race 2, when Collinson and Stubbs came together in the first corner.

The Porsche 944 Series produced three different winners from the three races with Vince Misuraca, Cameron Beller and Adam Mills taking a race victory each. Beller won the round ahead of Mills and Chris Lewis-Williams.

Stubbs recovered to finish second behind Quiddington, while Collinson was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop to repair damage, and Rowe retired with a mechanical problem.

Stefan Versluis won all three PRB Clubman races to take the round win from Chris Barry and Stuart Shirvington, while Matt Martin returned to the BMW Drivers Cup in style after a two-year break, winning all

6

Cup car

March/April 2015 went to Glenn Bethune, who finished second for the round.

The final podium position was a hotly contested affair between two Ford drivers, Damien Gambold (XD Falcon) narrowly holding off Victor Argento (XB Falcon Coupe) to secure third place.

NEWS BRIEFS

C

ategories have been confirmed for the Winton Shannons Nationals event, to be held 12-14 Defending champion Mark Kakouri had a quiet weekend, swapping to a June. The Super Six Touring Car second-hand V8 motor after problems with his Commodore’s race engine during a pre-season test day. He circulated towards the tail end of the top 10 Series, Kumho Tyres V8 Touring Cars, Australian Formula 3 for most of the weekend, but accumulated valuable points which enabled Championship, Australian Formula him to finish seventh overall.

Ford Series, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, Australian Sports Racer Steve Howard (Toyota Corolla) won the Sports Sedan round after the two Series and IROC Challenge Series front-runners from qualifying, Lee Ulhorn (Mazda RX7) and Haydn Clark (Datsun 1600), suffered mechanical problems. For spectators, the highlight will all join the program. of the weekend was the dice between Howard and Mini driver Daniel Zandt, n preparation for the introduction the two drivers swapping positions a number of times in Race 4. of the Australian Formula 4 Series, the first Formula 4 race car has turned laps at Winton Raceway.

Anton De Pasquale, who is one of Australia’s leading drivers on the international stage having won last year’s Formula Renault 1.6 title, was gifted with the honour of turning the first laps in the new machine.

I

The mid-field in the Improved Production races was close and competitive.

T

he first Drift Matsuri event for 2015 was held at Winton Raceway on February 21-22. Based on the popular Japanese drift festivals, the event also included some mini competitions including a precision drift parking contest.

W

akefield Park hosted the popular Summer HSRCA meeting on February 21-22. The event included the opening round of the Heritage Touring Car Series for Group C and A race cars, Terry Lawlor taking victory in all four races aboard his ex-Mark Gibbs GIO Nissan Skyline R32 GTR. Other categories on the program included Group N, Group S, Group Q and R, Group M and O Sports and Racing, Formula Ford and Regularity.

Adam Mills was one of three different race winners in the Porsche 944 Series.

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pitstop

Members at Play

by Brian Nightingale

The 2015 racing season kicked off at Wakefield Park on January 25th with the opening round of the MRA Series, and the BAC was represented by Wayne Horswell in the Superkarts, and Carl Gibbs in Super TT. Driving his AASA/MRA Superkart Racing Team Italkart Avoig, Wayne Horswell did a great job to finish sixth outright in the opening kart race, and win the non-gearbox class .

The second race saw Horswell finish eighth outright and third in class, while the remaining two races he was ninth outright and second in class.

Wagga Wagga driver Carl Gibbs drove his old Wagga Mobile Cranes Mitsubishi Starion, a car that won the Winton 300 in the hands of his father, Des Gibbs, in the 1980’s. The first race over eight laps he posted a DNF beside his name, and then in Race 2 finished 19th, but did not start the third race due to mechanical problems.

Wayne Horswell

The 2015 Winton Champion of Winton meeting was run on February 15 at Winton Motor Raceway with many Benalla Auto Club members competing.

Super TT had six members competing, and after taking pole, Albury’s Greg Jones went on to win the six lap first race in his 5 litre Jonesys Pipe & Cable Ford Falcon from fellow BAC member and defending champion Steve “Harro” Harrison in the beautiful #1 Lucas Oil/Transgears BMW E36.

Other BAC members were Steven Murray in the Muzmotorsports 5.7 Litre Holden Commodore finishing fifth, Daniel Van der Heyden seventh in his 4.2 Litre Commodore and Corey Gooch 11th in his Corey Gooch Motorsports Holden Torana LJ. The remaining member was David Dixon in his Bendigo Hire 2 Litre Holden Gemini.

Daniel Van Der Heyden

David Dixon

8 The Henley Motorsport #43 Mazda RX8, Bathurst 12 Hour

March/April 2015

Matt Thewlis

Greg Jones, Steve Harrison and Corey Gooch

Steven Richards,

Bathurst 12 Hour

Jones won Mount Panorama on the second February 8, with three BAC members driving. r Hou 12 Matt Chahda, Bathurst race as well, this time Young Albury member Matt Chahda for the over an eight second year picked up a drive with the GWS Personnel lap journey, with Harrison second, less than a tenth BMW 335i, and along with his three fellow drivers did of a second further back. In fifth was Van der Heyden, a great job, finishing 28th outright and second in class, while Murray failed to complete a lap, finishing with just three laps in arrears.

DNF beside his name, and both Gooch and Dixon failed to start.

BAC member Bruce Henley entered two of his Mazda RX8 GT’s in the Bathurst 12 Hour race, and despite it For the third and final race over the longer distance being a troublesome event for the team, to their credit of 10 laps it was a BAC 1-2 again, this time it was the they got both cars home, finishing second and third man they call Harro who won with the E36, while Jones in Class I, Henley driving the car that finished third in was almost eight seconds in arrears. Van der Heyden class and 34th outright, some 113 laps behind the class was the only other club member that started, and he winner. finished 5th again. , Steven Richards was in the Interlloy / M Motorsport The other category on the program with BAC Lamborghini Gallardo driving line-up, and they were members competing was the Pulsar Challenge with still on the lead lap with Richo at the wheel on Lap 129, Matt Thewlis seemingly doing nothing wrong, for when it lost all drive on Mountain Straight and retired. he posted another three wins in his Matt Thewlis Motorsport entry, scoring maximum points for the Competing in the Radical Cup support events at opening round of the series. the 12 hour in his GT3 Factory Radical SR3RS, John Morriss had a weekend he would prefer to forget. After Driving the Executive Hideaway entry, Ethan Wilson qualifying seventh outright and third in the SR3 class, finished seventh in the opener, then did not finish the he looked good for a podium finish until Lap 3 when he second and failed to start the third. was involved in an accident on the Skyline and retired.

The 2015 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was run at

Making it even worse for Morriss, in the second and

9

pitstop

Terry Denovan, Wakefield 300

300 Ross Wood, Wakefield

final race over 15 laps he was doing a great job moving up through the field, but on the last lap spun at the final turn, and as he could not get the car restarted had to retire.

The 2015 Valvoline Wakefield 300 was run at Wakefield Park on 1 March in two divisions, and the BAC had five members in the 300, and Wayne Horswell competing in the Superkart100.

BAC’s Michael Cruse was co-driving for Brian Anderson in the latter’s BMW E46 M3, and did extremely well to finish eighth outright.

MRA owner and BAC member Terry Denovan, was seventh fastest in Saturday practice in his V8 Holden

10

Adam Ronke, Wakefield

300

Steven Richards, Camaro, GT

Commodore, but on his slow down lap a power steering failed. They then had to drive to Canberra for parts and repaired it, but then missed qualifying, and were subsequently sent to the rear of the grid for Sunday’s race, where Denovan and father-in-law Geoff Stockley finished 20th.

Bathurst BAC member Terry Nightingale drove with Gosford’s Rob Hay in his Colder Refrigerator Mazda MX5, but he only lasted 6 laps when the car ran out of brakes due to a master cylinder problem. After a spectacular off-track excursion at the Fish-hook, Nightingale retired from the race.

Ross Wood drove a Mazda Rx7 in the Wakefield 300

C

March/April 2015 B Main with car owner Roland Rohrle and finished eighth outright, 6 laps down.

streets of Adelaide where there were many members competing in the support events.

BAC’s Adam Ronke was also in B Main driving his Mazda MX5 with Peter Green Junior as his codriver, and they were excluded due to breaking out of the minimum lap time for Division 5 on too many occasions.

There was the Australian GT Championship round and the first of three races run over an 18 lap journey saw Steven Richards driving the DPM Motorsport Reiter Camaro GT3 and finish a most impressive ninth outright.

The Superkarts 100 was run in two legs on Sunday, and driving his 2014 Italkart Avoig Wayne Horswell did a great job to finish fourth outright in the fifty-minute enduro, and third in the non-gearbox class.

Cameron McConville was also on track over the weekend doing double duty, and he was driving the Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 with Adrian Deitz, and in Race 1 the car finished 25th.

Also on the 1st March was the Clipsal 500 on the

Race two, 42 laps and the Camaro retired after only

Steven Richards (centre) took a dominant Carrera Cup round win at Clipsal, with three wins from three races.

Championship Clipsal

Steven Richards, Camaro, GT

Championship Clipsal

Cameron McConville, Car

rera Cup, Clipsal

11

pitstop six laps, while McConville finished 12th.

Race three saw McConville do a great job to finish 9th, while Richards sat it out.

Both Richards and McConville were doing double duty as well and contesting the first round of the 2015 Porsche Carrera Cup. The defending champion, Richards was right on his game winning all three 12 lap races across the weekend in the Laser Plumbing & Electrical Porsche, while McConville driving the OPS Gateway entry finished sixth in both R1 and R2 and then gained a spot to finish fifth in R3.

Touring Car Masters and Tony Hunter was the only BAC representative behind the wheel of his #15 Sunliner RV Chevrolet Monza 2+2 and he finished 15th in the first event, and followed that up with 13th in the final two events.

The Dunlop Series saw two BAC members competing with Matt Chahda in the RevTrans WA/ Penrite Holden Commodore VE2 and Taz Douglas driving the THR Development Commodore VE2, and R1 saw Chahda finish 14th and Douglas 18th.

The second Dunlop Series race saw Douglas improve by nine spots to finish ninyj, while Chahda was 17th in the Challenger.

Matt Chahda, Dunlop Ser ies,

Clipsal

Bought in from the United States

by Robbie Gordon the Stadium Supertrucks were a big hit in Australia, and Nathan Pretty was competing in the Toyo Tyres/Go Pro/Gear Wrench entry, and he came back from a very heavy hit against the wall to not finish Race 1, then finish a most creditable fifth and sixth in Race 2 and 3 respectively.

Pretty was another BAC member doing double duty as he also competed in the Australian V8 Ute Racing Series opener for the year in the Burbank Homes Holden VE, and for the three races he did well to come back from a lower than normal qualifying in 12th, to finish ninth, seventh and fifth.

Nathan Pretty’s Stadium

Super Truck

12 Tony Hunter, Touring Car Masters, Clipsal

March/April 2015

Bruce Henley

13

pitstop

TRIPLE TREAT

Jake Shelley becomes most successful driver T

he father and son team of Steve and Jake Shelley has won the opening round of the 2015 Australian Endurance Championship (AEC), the Valvoline Wakefield 300 on 28 February-1 March in their Deputy. com Lotus Sport Elise.

The victory was Steve’s first in the AEC, while Jake added this year’s win to his previous Wakefield 300 victories in 2012 and ’13 with Michael Shaw, making him the most successful driver in the event’s history.

The Shelleys won the race from eighth on the grid and also set a new race record of 2hr 45min 11sec, eclipsing the previous benchmark by more than three minutes.

“It feels fantastic and the car was faultless all race, so full credit to the team,” an ecstatic Jake Shelley said.

The Shelleys had to overcome a couple of penalties on their way to victory, a stop-go for leaving the pits too early during their five-minute compulsory pit stop and a drive-through for overtaking under yellow flags.

“When we received those penalties, I was worried our chance of victory was going to slip away, but Jake drove

14

a fine stint and fought his way back to the front,” Steve Shelley said.

Michael Caine and Gerry Murphy were second in their Mazda RX7, backing up their podium finish at last year’s Winton 300 with another strong result.

In the final stint, Caine even looked set to challenge the Shelley car for victory but a late-race spin at Turn 2 ended his charge, and he settled for second.

Third place went to Canberra drivers Nathan Jess and Matthew Thompson in their Future Racer, who were elated just to finish after battling brake problems for the second half of the 137-lap enduro.

Callum Ballinger and Neil Dedrie were fourth in their BMW M Coupe, ahead of Daniel Sugden and David Krusza (BMW 328i) who fought their way to fifth after starting 24th on the grid.

All of the top five cars were in Division 2; the Division 1 win went to Grant and Iain Sherrin in the BMW 135i, who finished ninth outright. The Sherrins were ruing the lack of Safety Cars during the pit window to

March/April 2015

Jake and Steve Shelley (top) won the Wakefield 300 while Tony Ross/Paul Chapman (bottom) won the B-Main

in Wakefield 300 history complete their extra compulsory stop.

Talented female racer Linda Devlin and Henry Draper (Mini Cooper S) won Division 3 by finishing 11th outright, while defending Australian Endurance Champions Mark Mackay and Justin Ruggier scored the AussieHire.com.au Hard Charger Award with a stunning drive from 35th on the grid to 14th at the chequered flag.

The pole position curse at the Wakefield 300 continued, with Supashock Pole Position award winner Nick Cancian and his father Malcolm retiring from the race with a hub failure, which caused a wheel to fall off their Mazda MX5.

Other high-profile retirements included Daniel Reynolds/Matt Stubbs (cracked radiator), David Raddatz/Shane Otten (suspension problem), Chad Cotton/Jase Collins (broken timing chain), John Prefontaine/Robert Hackwood (alternator glitch) and Rob Hay/Terry Nightingale (brake failure).

The B-Main was won by Tony Ross and Paul Chapman (Mazda MX5), who took the chequered flag more than

a lap ahead of their nearest rivals, also winning Division 4.

For the first part of the race, David and Rob Viner (also in a Mazda MX5) looked to be in control but a blown engine resulted in a heartbreaking retirement for the Viners, and handed control to Ross/Chapman.

Michael Wedge/Peter Batterham (Holden VX Commodore) and Mike Fitzgerald/Rod Chivas (Honda Civic) were on course for second and third respectively, but late unscheduled pit stops handed second place to Russell/Andy Harris and Robin/Peter Lacey (Mazda MX5s), the Lacey husband-and-wife combination also winning Division 5.

Victory in Division 6 went to David Bailey and Matt Shylan (Toyota 86) while the ex-Australian Grand Prix Celebrity Challenge Mazda 6 Diesel of Adam Dodd/ Tony Bonnano was first in Division 7.

The next round of the Australian Endurance Championship is the Willowbank 300 at Queensland Raceway, 2-3 May.

15

pitstop

2015 Valvoline Wakefield 300 Results

2015 Valvoline Wakefield 300 B-Main Results

1st

Steve Shelley/Jake Shelley Lotus Sport Elise

1st

Tony Ross/Paul Chapman Mazda MX5

2nd

Michael Caine/Gerry Murphy Mazda RX7

2nd

Russell Harris/Andy Harris Mazda MX5

3rd

Nathan Jess/Matthew Thompson Future Racer

3rd

Peter Lacey/Robin Lacey Mazda MX5

4th

Calum Ballinger/Neil Dedrie BMW M Coupe

4th

Rodney Stait/Jason Humble BMW 328i

5th

Daniel Sugden/David Krusza BMW 328i

5th

Glen Potter/Rod Potter BMW 325i

6th

Gavin Holland/Daniel Byron Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

6th

Paul Shacklady/Anthony Carter Mazda MX5

7th

Ed Kreamer/Martin Duursma Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

7th

Jack Phelan/Nik Kalis Honda Integra Type R

8th

Brian Anderson/Michael Cruse BMW M3

8th

Roland Rohrle/Ross Wood Mazda RX7

9th

Grant Sherrin/Iain Sherrin BMW 135i

9th

Mike Fitzgerald/Rod Chivas Honda Civic

10th Dylan Thomas/Dave Thomas Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

16

10th David Bailey/Matt Shylan Toyota 86

March/April 2015

WAKEFIELD 300 PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Adam Ronke and Peter Green Jnr charged forward in the early stages.

Craig Burgess/Shaun Vanzyl (Ginetta) ahead of Glenn Townsend/Anthony Soole (Lotus)

Pit stop for Paul Shacklady and Anthony Carter

Valvoline grid girls

B-Main podium presentation

17

pitstop

BP MIDLAND / Pedders No Bull Winton Sprints Rd 1 Results Round 4 of the BP Midland/Pedders “No Bull” Sprint Series attracted a typically diverse range of cars, divided into different classes based on engine capacity and power output.

Class A Pos

Driver

Vehicle

Cap

Total

1

John Cutting

Nissan Pulsar

1998

03:42.6

2

Chris Rebeiro

Toyota Corolla

1968

03:47.4

Class B Pos

Driver

Vehicle

Cap

Total

1

Chris Hall

Nissan 260Z

2800

03:34.2

Class C Pos

Driver

Vehicle

Cap

Total

1

Ben Jensen

PRB

2300

03:26.2

2

John Buxton

Clubman

1500

03:29.2

3

C. Haynes

Clubman

1600

03:35.7

4

Gavin Eakins

Pretend Lotus

1996

03:36.0

5

Noel Clancy

Rundell

2000

03:36.3

6

Ian Tavare

Chev Legend

1200

03:36.6

7

Jim Follan

PRB S2

1587

03:38.0

8

Lyndon Millett

Clubman

1587

03:44.2

9

Gary Schliebs

PRB Clubman

1600

03:46.3

10

Anthony Duvoisin

Formula Vee

1192

03:53.0

11

Darren Ciantar

Commodore

3100

04:19.9

Class H1

18

Pos

Driver

Vehicle

Cap

Total

1

Grant Phillips

Toyota 86

1998

03:28.2

2

Leo Wanker

Toyota 86

1998

03:31.1

3

Matt Thewlis

Pulsar

1998

03:34.4

4

Mitchell Tuit

Gemini

2000

03:34.5

5

Dimitri Agathos

Pulsar

1998

03:36.9

6

Gene Alexander

Pulsar

1999

03:39.3

7

Christopher Quinn

Proton Satria

1800

03:42.0

8

Greg "Reggie" Wood Nissan Pulsar

2000

03:45.7

9

Bobby Tuit

Gemini

2000

03:56.7

10

Michael Clarkson

Proton Satria

1800

03:57.8

11

Stephen Brooks

Suzuki Swift

1300

04:35.6

DNF

Justin Aylett

Corolla

1600

March/April 2015

Class H2 Pos

Driver

Vehicle

Cap

Total

1

Rod Smith

Falcon

5800

03:21.5

2

Henry Ingold

Holden SV8

6200

03:21.7

3

Stuart Ingold

Holden SV8

6200

03:25.5

4

Phil Deane

Falcon

4000

03:28.4

5

Colin Adams

Commodore

5700

03:30.0

6

Wes Deane

Falcon

4000

03:31.2

7

Sylvain Cattier

Falcon

4000

03:36.5

8

Josh Heath

Pulsar

1998

03:36.8

9

Brad Lawrence

Falcon

4000

03:39.4

10

Tony Shepherd

Falcon

5000

03:41.4

11

Robert Hoskins

Falcon

5000

03:49.7

12

Pete Gaspero

Commodore

3800

03:54.2

13

Wayne Walters

Studebaker Lark 283

04:01.5

14

Darrell Green

Falcon

4000

04:02.9

Juniors Pos

Driver

Vehicle

Cap

Total

1

Corey Walton

Falcon

4000

03:43.8

2

William Downie

Subaru WRX

2000T

03:52.9

Ladies Pos

Driver

Vehicle

Cap

Total

1

Carolyn Kruger

Lancer Evo X

2000

03:34.2

2

Katilyn Hawkins

Suzuki

1600

03:43.0

Super TT Lite Pos

Driver

Vehicle

Cap

Total

1

Damien Gambold

Falcon

5800

03:23.5

2

Russell Deller

Falcon

4000

03:31.0

3

Walter Swanson

Subaru WRX

5700

03:36.8

4

Robert Knight

Falcon

4000

03:41.9

5

Geoff Rudolph

Anglia

3700

04:00.9

Cap

Total

Turbo and Forced Induction Pos

Driver

Vehicle

1

Phil Porter

Mitsubishi Evo 8 2000

03:15.4

2

Greg Keen

Nissan GTR

2600

03:20.9

3

Jim Hepworth

Mazda RX7

1308

03:24.6

4

Sebastian Downie

Subaru WRX

2000T

03:31.6

5

Anthony Mayberry

Nissan Skyline

2500

03:42.5

6

Clem Mayberry

Nissan R33

2500

03:43.7

7

Andrew Russell

Subaru WRX

2200

03:45.1

8

Colin O'Halloran

Silvia

2000

04:01.2

NEXT BP MIDLAND / PEDDERS NO BULL SPRINTS: ROUND 2 WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY MAY 10th

19

WAKEFIELD PARK SEASON KICKS OFF WITH MRA OPENER Wakefield Park hosted its first race meeting of 2015, Round 1 of the Motor Racing Australia series on Sunday, 25 January with Modern Sports Cars, Super TT, Superkarts, Minis and Regularity all on the program.

Brian Anderson won the first three Modern Sports Car races in his BMW E36 M3, but mechanical gremlins prevented him from starting the final, which was taken out by Malcolm Cancian, father of regular Wakefield Park competitor Nick.

It was Cancian’s first race meeting in many years, and he was elated with victory.

“It was a lot of fun being back in a race car and good to be competitive, but the last race was certainly hard work!” Cancian said.

Daniel Reynolds (Mazda MX5) and Sam Silvestro (BMW M3) each claimed Modern Sports Car class victories, based on their performances compared to similar cars across the three races.

Regular NSW Sports Sedan front-runner Steven Lacey won the first two Super TT races in his Holden Commodore, but a spin in Race

Wayne Horswell with his brand-new Avoig Italkart.

20

3 allowed Adam Burgess (Mazda RX7) to pounce, with Dori Saade (BMW M3) finishing in second.

The Mini Series was dominated by defending champion Linda Devlin, who took comprehensive victories in all three races.

John Walker was second in Races 1 and 3, but mechanical problems ruled him out of Race 2; Chris Adlam emerged in the runner-up spot.

Superkarts also produced four competitive races. John Pellicano won Race 1, but Aaron Cogger won Races 2, 3 and 4, setting times less than half a second outside the lap record.

The non-gearbox class was also a closelyfought affair with Mark Vickers, Wayne Horswell, Ryan Taplin, David Fogerty and Alan Dodge all swapping the race lead on multiple occasions. Vickers ended up winning three of the four races with Horswell victorious in the other.

Geoff Owens (Datsun 260Z) claimed two of the Regularity runs, with Mark Nottage (Hyundai Excel) and Gordon Lennox (Datsun 240Z) winning one each.

March/April 2015

Malcolm Cancian made a stun ning return to motorsport competition with an outright Mod ern Sports Cars win.

Wakefield Park Medal On the line in 2015

2

015 will see the presentation of the inaugural Wakefield Park Medal, which will recognise the most outstanding individual driver throughout the season.

At each of the race meetings listed below, three judges (who will vary from event to event) will secretly nominate their top three drivers of the meeting (3 points for first, 2 points for second, 1 point for third).

Voting shall be subjective and judges will cast their votes without discussion with other judges.

Following the final race meeting of the season, the votes will be tallied up and the driver with the most votes will receive the Wakefield Park Medal.

Judging for the Wakefield Park Medal will take place at 13 events throughout the season.

Wakefield Park Medal-scoring Events MRA Rounds (4 events) CAMS NSW State Championship Rounds (3 events) AASA NSW and ACT Championship Rounds (2 events) Valvoline Wakefield 300 NSW Time Attack Formula Vee 50th Anniversary Shannons Nationals

21

pitstop

THE BEST50 OFYEARS THE CELEBRATING

DARREN WILLIAMS, MAT PEARCE WIN Darren Williams and Mathew Pearce have prevailed in the Formula Vee 50th Anniversary race meeting at Wakefield Park on 14-15 February, winning their respective 1600 and 1200cc classes.

For most of the weekend, it was a battle between Ryan Reynolds and Daniel Stein in the 1600cc class, the pair finishing first and second in the first two races before their rivalry reached boiling point in the final.

Stein tried to overtake Reynolds on the final lap and the two cars made contact, Reynolds subsequently firing into the wall.

An ecstatic Williams pounced on Stein in the final corner to claim victory, while Stein was later excluded from the race for his part in the incident with Reynolds, elevating Dylan Thomas to second and Simon Pace to third.

In the 1200cc class, Mathew Pearce won all three races

22

despite a close challenge from Stephen Butcher in Race 2. Butcher also stalked Pearce for the opening laps of Race 3, even overtaking him for the lead at one stage before Pearce reasserted himself. But a mid-race spin saw Butcher drop down the order.

Colin Merz took advantage, chasing Pearce all the way to the chequered flag while David Cutts finished third.

A large contingent of historic Formula Vees was also present at the race meeting. A number of them competed in the Regularity events while all Formula Vees, encompassing more than 60 historic and current cars, participated in parade laps on Saturday afternoon.

Supporting the Formula Vees were the Mazda MX5 Cup, Stock Cars, Miniature Race Cars and Super TT. Matilda Mravicic was a comprehensive winner of the opening four MX5 Cup races, but a mechanical

March/April 2015

BRITISH DO BATTLE OF FORMULA VEE

COMMEMORATIVE RACE MEETING The first three Stock Car races were won by Michael Coulter but he retired from Race 4; Peter Robinson took victory ahead of Steve Coulter and Brian Walden.

Chad Cotton dominated the Miniature Race Cars, winning all six races in his Hayabusa-powered Future Racer. The battle raged for second place though, with Adam Casuccio, Steven Dascarolis, Jase Collins and Jake Klein all battling fiercely for the minor places.

Parry Anastakis was the overall victor of Super TT in his Peugeot 205 GTI, which he raced in preparation for his assault on the Valvoline Wakefield 300 in a fortnight’s time. problem eliminated her from the final two. Carl Kosutar won Race 5 but also developed mechanical problems in Race 6, allowing Scott Walker to win the race, and the round. Stuart McFadyen and Andy Harris completed the podium.

Mark McHenry and David Atkin also won Super TT races but did not contest the final heat, handing Anastakis the win.

23

pitstop

Chequered Flag Chat We’re all familiar with this scene – you’re watching your favourite motorsport event on TV, and a driver has worked hard to build a substantial lead over their opposition. All of a sudden, there’s an incident involving a couple of cars in the mid-pack, and they’ve come to rest in dangerous positions. The Safety Car comes out onto the track, all the cars bunch up and the race leader’s advantage is nullified.

The Safety Car first made an appearance in Formula 1 in 1973, although it was not officially introduced to every round of the world championship until two decades later.

Closer to home, the Safety Car (or Pace Car) was first used at the Bathurst 1000 in 1987, and since then it has become taken for granted as the best method of controlling a race during an incident or a sudden change in weather conditions.

But are Safety Cars really fulfilling their intended purpose?

Or are there alternatives that may be both fairer and safer?

Respected journalist and motorsport historian David Greenhalgh attempted to answer this question with an excellent article in last year’s annual Bathurst magazine, analysing the history of Safety Cars in the Bathurst 1000 and other international endurance races.

Greenhalgh made a number of valid observations on the drawbacks of Safety Cars, including: • The time when the Safety Car is first deployed is the time when any stranded drivers are in the most danger, yet this is the time when drivers are racing flat-out to join onto the back of the queue behind the Safety Car, or racing into the pits to gain an advantage by completing a pit stop under Safety Car conditions.

• In races with pit stops, it is a common occurrence for the Safety Car to pick up the wrong car, unnecessarily disadvantaging competitors.

• Drivers lose any advantage they have built over their rivals.

• To reference a motorsport cliché, “Safety Cars breed Safety Cars” – i.e. because of the field compression, drivers are highly motivated to pass their rivals immediately following a Safety Car restart, which can lead to them taking risks on cold tyres and causing incidents, resulting in further Safety Car interventions.

Another problem with Safety Cars, specific to multi-class races, is that a Safety Car deployment can severely disrupt a battle for class position. Consider the following scenario: The outright race leader has lapped all the cars up to second in a particular class, and the Safety Car is deployed.

Because the Safety Car picks up the outright leader, all the lapped cars are trapped a lap down, but the class leader, yet to be lapped, gets to continue around the track and join onto the back of the queue, thus gaining almost an entire lap on its class rivals.

The detrimental effects of Safety Cars on the racing competition are questionable on their own, but what

24

By Lachlan Mansell

are particularly glaring are the potential risks of cars continuing around the circuit at race pace, and we were all treated to a graphic indication of such hazards at last year’s Bathurst 1000 when Dale Wood, racing at full speed to join the tail of the queue behind the Safety Car, slammed into the back of team mate Andrew Jones.

A similar incident happened between the Audi TT of Glyn Crimp and Ferrari 458 of Jim Manolios at this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

Even more serious was the incident with Jules Bianchi colliding with a recovery crane during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix; while the incident did not occur under Safety Car conditions, it highlighted the dangers of cars continuing around a circuit at unabated speed while a recovery is in progress.

In his article, Greenhalgh proposed a couple of alternatives to Safety Cars, which are not without merit and definitely warrant further investigation. Some of these alternatives are already in use, both locally and overseas.

One of these options, “Slow Zone”, was introduced at the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour. In a Slow Zone, drivers are restricted to a speed limit of 60km/h and Slow Zones are used in specific parts of the circuit, rather than the full course.

Another alternative is “Code 60”, used at the Dubai 24 Hour. This is similar to Slow Zones in that drivers are speed restricted, but it applies to the whole circuit. A very similar system to Code 60 is the “Clampdown”, used at Queensland Raceway. At the Dubai Autodrome, drivers are notified of a Code 60 by purple flags while all drivers competing at Queensland Raceway must wear race receivers, allowing the clerk of the course to talk to them directly.

Because a Code 60 or Clampdown is activated immediately and cars must slow down straight away, the danger of drivers continuing to race at full speed is eliminated.

Similarly, there is no field compression so margins between cars are not lost and there is no danger of competitors being advantaged or disadvantaged by the Safety Car picking up the wrong car.

Nevertheless, there are still those who like the excitement of restarts with the field bunched up following a Safety Car, especially when it happens late in a major race such as the Bathurst 1000.

And certainly, the grandstand finishes we have been treated to in the Valvoline Winton 300 the last couple of years, would not have occurred without late-race Safety Car deployments on both occasions.

But this raises the question: is the Safety Car actually for safety, or is it in fact for entertainment?

March/April 2015

A

Easter Car Mania Preview

collection of Australia’s wildest modified vehicles will take to Winton on the Easter long weekend, 3-6 April, for the second annual Easter Car Mania event.

Easter Car Mania (ECM) is based on the annual Performance Car Mania (PCM) festival, which has become one of Winton’s most popular events for both competitors and spectators since its introduction in 2005.

ECM attracts a huge assortment of performance cars including V8 muscle cars, turbocharged imports and rotaries.

The event caters to a very important market of Australian motoring enthusiasts; people who often spend a large amount of time and money on modifying their cars, and then want the opportunity to test the limits of their machinery in controlled conditions on a racetrack, rather than on public roads where they are endangering the safety of themselves and other road users.

Events on the program for ECM include: Cruise – an opportunity for competitors to complete laps of the circuit, demonstrating the appearance and sounds of their cars to spectators at a tightly controlled speed.

Burnouts – competitors will be let loose on the burnout pad, and given permission to create the most

spectacular display of smoke and noise they possibly can. There will be plenty of rubber and blown tyres, and judging criteria will include continuous smoke, technique and who gets the biggest cheer from the crowd.

Grudge Match Drags – Mates will have the opportunity to compete against each other to see whose car is fastest in a straight line.

Power Skids – Drivers will have the opportunity to lay down some rubber and demonstrate the sheer horsepower of their cars with skids along the old pit straight (between Turns 2 and 3).

Dyno Challenge – Using Winton’s dyno, car owners will have the opportunity to measure the power output of their vehicles.

Scrutineering for ECM commences on Good Friday, with on-track events held on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Kiosk and bar facilities will be open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Spectator admission is $25 per day, $45 for a two-day pass (Sunday/Monday) or $60 for a three-day pass.

Camping for the weekend is also available at $75 for Friday/Saturday/Sunday, $50 for Saturday/Sunday or $25 for Sunday only. The campground opens at 9:00am on Good Friday and closes at 9:00pm on Easter Monday.

25

pitstop

WHAT’S ON

at Wakefield Park and Winton

Winton Events 14 March 15 March 20 March 21 March 22 March 27 March 28-29 March 2 April 3-6 April 10 April 11 April 12 April 17 April 18 April 19 April 24 April 1 May 2 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 15-17 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 28 May 30-31 May

Wakefield Park Events

Circuit Club Champions Ride Day Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles EXE Crew Fiat Car Club Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles AROCA Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles Easter Car Mania Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles Cobra Car Club Champions Ride Day Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles VicDrift Toyota 86 Club Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles Champions Ride Day Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles Tampered Motorsport Track Day BP/Pedders Sprints Round 2 V8 Supercars SuperSprint Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles WRX Club EXE Crew Test and Tune - Cars/Motorcycles Historic Winton

12 March 14 March 15 March 21 March 22 March 28 March 29 March 4-5 April 8 April 11-12 April 18 April 19 April 25 April 26 April 1-3 May 8 May 9-10 May 16 May 17 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 30 May 31 May 6-7 June 10 June 11 June

FX Ride Day Circuit Club Track Day Club FXRRC Club Lotus Porsche Club HSV Club Nulon Nationals Gear CAMS NSW State Championships Driving Adventures Mini Club Circuit Club MRA Round 2 FOSC FX Ride Day Stadium Drift Porsche Club BMW Club FX Ride Day FXRRC Thornleigh Car Club Nissan SCC MX5/Mini WRX Nationals Gear FX Ride Day

BAC Committee Notice The current committee of the Benalla Auto Club has examined a complaint and determined that Warren Sheehan, Adam Ronke and Matthew Ronke, did not act improperly in seeking that the 2013 AGM and elections be held as per the constitution in regards to seeking to proceed with the AGM on 9th May 2013, as notice had been given of the meeting. The personal letter from the then president of Benalla Auto Club to members made assertions that there may have been a wrong in asking for this. The letter from the then President was not endorsed by the Benalla Auto Club and was a personal letter. The committee believes there was no wrong done in asking for the AGM to proceed.

26